Peter Kharischirashvili (in , born in 1804 or 1805 in

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია ), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region () of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is the administrative center of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality and ...

Tiflis Governorate Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative centre in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants. ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

– 7 October 1890 in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

) was a Georgian Catholic

hieromonk A hieromonk,; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: ''Иеромонахъ''; ; ; ; ; Albanian language, Albanian: ''Hieromurg'' also called a priestmonk, is a person who is both monk and Priest#Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priest in the Eastern Christianity ...

, theologian, scientist and founder of the Servites of the Immaculate Conception.

Biography

Early years

Peter Kharischirashvili was born in 1804 or 1805 in Akhaltsikhe, according to most sources.ბლუაშვილი, უჩა (2008). მესხეთის სახელოვანი შვილები / Славные сыновья Месхети (in Georgian and Russian). საქართველოს პარლამენტის ეროვნული ბიბლიოთეკა. pp. 70-76, 175-180. . According to his tombstone, Kharischirashvili was born on May 2, 1818, which is the date accepted by Zakaria Chichinadze. Zakaria Chichinadze (1895). აბატი პეტრე ხარისჭირაშვილი . შარაძისა და ამხანაგობის სტამბა. Meanwhile, other sources give his birth date as April 20, 1818.Dalleggio, Eugene; Čičinaże, Zak'aria (2003). İstanbul Gürcüleri (in Turkish). Translated by Fahrettin Çiloğlu. Sinatle Yayınları. p. 44. . He studied at the parochial school and later went to study at the seminary in

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

, and finally to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to study Superior Theology.

Priesthood and last years in Georgian lands

In 1842 he returned to Akhaltsikhe, there he was ordained, and was appointed assistant archimandrite to Pavle Shahqulianis. His return to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

also meant an awareness and a determination to fight so that Catholic Georgians could worship God in their native

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

in the traditional

Old Georgian Old Georgian (ႤႬႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႭჃႪႨ, ''enay kartuli'') is a literary language of the Georgian monarchies attested from the 5th century. The language remains in use as the liturgical language of the Georgian Orthodox Church and for ...

liturgical language A sacred language, liturgical language or holy language is a language that is cultivated and used primarily for religious reasons (like church service) by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Some religions, or part ...

. Kharischirashvili captivated his faithful thanks to his eloquent preaching. Despite obeying the law and offering only the ''

Badarak Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divine Liturgy transcend ...

'' in

Classical Armenian Classical Armenian (, , ; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at the beginning of the 5th century, and most Armenian literature fro ...

, he preached in the

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

Georgian language Georgian (, ) is the most widely spoken Kartvelian language, Kartvelian language family. It is the official language of Georgia (country), Georgia and the native or primary language of 88% of its population. It also serves as the literary langu ...

. He worked hard to improve the situation of his people, exempting the

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

for women with few resources, and teaching people to read and write. His authority, however, aroused suspicions among the Armenians. The tensions reached their highest point when the Armenians announced the decision to build a seminary at Akhaltsikhe and Shahqulianis supported them. Kharischirashvili faced him and, finally was sent to Khizabavra, and from there to Vale. In the 1850s he was transferred to Khizabavra (today's Aspindza region).

Sacerdotal life abroad

In 1856 he moved to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, where he joined the

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

's Mekhitarist Congregation. He founded a

printing press and published a number of significant historical and

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

books in the Georgian language on San Lazzaro Island. Kharischirashvili also translated books from Armenian, which he had found in the library of the Mekhitarist community. Thanks to his work,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

allowed him to found a new Georgian

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from Religious order (Catholic), religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – i ...

on May 7, 1859, in Constantinople and also a

typikon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; , "that of the prescribed form"; Church Slavonic: ') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite office and variable hymns of the Divine Liturgy. Historical de ...

there. Approval was given for the use of three rites,

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

Armenian Rite The Armenian Rite () is a liturgical rite used by both the Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Catholic churches. Isaac of Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians, initiated a series of reforms with help from Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th cent ...

, and the

in the traditional Old Georgian

Upon his arrival he founded the congregation of the Servites of the Immaculate Conception and began to celebrate the Byzantine Rite

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

. A convent of nuns and a Catholic school were also founded. Each year the school had more than 100 students, many of whom were former Georgian serfs whose freedom was purchased by Fr. Kharischirashvili himself, and others who came from Georgia. His work also attracted Orthodox and Muslim Georgians. In 1861, Fr. Kharischirashvili founded the first

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the Georgian Greek Catholic Church in one of the most prestigious districts of Istanbul. As the Roman and Armenian Rites were the only Rites permitted by the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

for Catholics in

Georgia within the Russian Empire The country of Georgia became part of the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Throughout the early modern period, the Muslim Ottoman and Persian empires had fought over various fragmented Georgian kingdoms and principalities; by the 18th centu ...

, the

was offered mainly by the Servites at Constantinople, which was seen as the mother-house of their congregation. Fr. Kharischirashvili spoke eight languages, but he paid particular attention to education in the Georgian language. In addition to theological work, his congregation and school have also had a significant influence upon the Georgian language, its

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. Their pupils were also taught using excerpts from Georgian

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

Shota Rustaveli's ''

The Knight in the Panther's Skin ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

''. The students were also taught

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and French. The school's students included, among others, Fr. Michel Tamarati and Mikheil Tarkhnishvili. In 1870, he founded a new Georgian

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

in Constantinople, and distributed many of the books free of charge to poor Georgian people. Fr. Kharischirashvili also paid special attention to ensure that every book was grammatically correct. Among his published works was a collection of his own poetry "ყვავილების კონა" ("Qvavilebis Kona"). The expansion of the Servite congregation caused a new monastery and publishing house to also be built at Montauban (France) in that same decade. Between 1877 and 1881 alone, the Servites in Montauban published and distributed over 25 different books in the Georgian language. Meanwhile, the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

had lost both its

autocephaly Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

and

Patriarchate Patriarchate (, ; , ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, referring to the office and jurisdiction of a patriarch. According to Christian tradition, three patriarchates—Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria—were establi ...

to the Tsarist civil service in the

Most Holy Synod The Most Holy Governing Synod (, pre-reform orthography: ) was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between 1721 and 1917. It was abolished following the February Revolution of 1917 and replaced with a restored patriar ...

, who were determined to use both Orthodoxy and the educational system as tools of

linguistic imperialism Linguistic imperialism or language imperialism is occasionally defined as "the transfer of a dominant language to other people". Such language "transfer" (or rather unilateral imposition) comes about because of imperialism. The transfer is cons ...

and the coercive

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

, not only of the

Georgian people Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Georgian kingdoms. Significant Georgian diasp ...

, but of all other ethnic minorities. For this reason, they appointed ethnic Russians to the local hierarchy and forbade the State-controlled Georgian Orthodox Church to participate in the Georgian linguistic and literary revivals. The Catholic Church, whether Roman, Armenian, or Byzantine Rite, remained independent, however, from control by the State. The Servites and their schools were accordingly able to continue the work of St. Gregory of Khandzta and laid the foundation for the subsequent mass revival of Georgian-medium education in Orthodox form by Prince

Ilia Chavchavadze Tavadi, Tavadi (Prince) Ilia Chavchavadze ( ka, ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 27 October 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgians, Georgian journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism ...

Death and legacy

He died on October 7, 1890, in Istanbul (other sources say October 9). His headstone says: OSSA PETRI CARISCIARANTI / GEORGIA DOMO DOMO AKALCIK / SERVORUM / ANCILLARUMQUE VIRGINIS / AB IMMACULATO CONCEPTU / INSTITUTORIS / AC MODERATORIS GENERALIS PRIMI / PIISSIMA VITA CESSIT / VII ID OCT MDCCCXC / VIXIT ANNOS LXXII MONTHS V TWELFTH XXVI RI P ".Natsvlishvili, Natia (2015). "A struggle for identity: Georgian Catholics and their monastery in Istanbul". Caucasus Survey 3 (1). According to Father Christopher Zugger, nine Servite missionaries from Constantinople, headed by

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

Shio Batmanishvili, came to the newly independent

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, tr) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia (country), Georgia, which exist ...

to permanently establish Catholicism of the

there, and by 1929 their faithful had grown to 8,000. Their mission came to an end with the arrests of Exarch Shio and his priests by the

Soviet secret police There were a succession of Soviet secret police agencies over time. The Okhrana was abolished by the Provisional government after the first revolution of 1917, and the first secret police after the October Revolution, created by Vladimir Leni ...

in 1928, their imprisonment in the

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

at Solovki prison camp, and their subsequent murder by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

at Sandarmokh in 1937.

Bibliography

* ბლუაშვილი, უჩა (2008). მესხეთის სახელოვანი შვილები / Славные сыновья Месхети (in Georgian and Russian). საქართველოს პარლამენტის ეროვნული ბიბლიოთეკა. pp. 70-76, 175-180. . * ჭიჭინაძე, ზაქარია (1895). აბატი პეტრე ხარისჭირაშვილი. შარაძისა და ამხანაგობის სტამბა. * Dalleggio, Eugène; Čičinaże, Zak'aria (2003). İstanbul Gürcüleri (in Turkish). Translated by Fahrettin Çiloğlu. Sinatle Yayınları. pp. 43-50. . * კურტანიძე (Kurtanidze), ლ (L) (2002). "პეტრე ხარისჭირაშვილი და" სიბრძნე კაცობრივი " ". კავკასიის მაცნე / Caucasian Messenger (5). .

References

Sources

External links

*http://www.nplg.gov.ge/emigrants/en/00000018/ *http://www.nplg.gov.ge/bios/ka/00006038/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Kharischirashvili, Peter 1804 births 1890 deaths 19th-century poets from Georgia (country) Catholic Church and minority language rights Eastern Catholic priests from Georgia (country) Eastern Catholic monks Eastern Catholic poets Eastern Catholic writers Founders of Eastern Catholic religious communities Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholics Male poets from Georgia (country) Mekhitarists Poet priests Translators from Armenian Translators to Georgian