The Thirteen Assyrian Fathers ( ka, ათცამმეტი ასურელი მამანი, tr) are, according to
Georgian church tradition, a group of
monastic
Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
who arrived from
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
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 ...
to strengthen Christianity in the country in the 6th century. They are credited by the Georgian church historians with the foundation of several
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
and
hermitages and initiation of the
ascetic
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
movement in Georgia.
[Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', p. 321. Peeters Publishers, ][ Lang, David Marshall (1956), ''Lives and Legends of the Georgian Saints'', pp. 81-83. London: Allen & Unwin]
History
The lives of the
Assyrian Fathers are related in a cycle of medieval Georgian hagiographic texts and are unattested beyond these sources. Some of these
vitae are formalities composed for an 18th-century
synaxary, but four of them exist in original form, as well a
metaphrastic version. The dating as well as authorship of these texts is controversial. The Georgian
Catholicoi Arsen I (830-87) and Arsen II (955-80) have been suggested as authors of some of the vitae. Other, unattributed, texts may have been composed earlier, in the late 7th century.
[ Rayfield, Donald (2000), '' The Literature of Georgia: A History'', pp. 50-51. ]Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, .
Many monasteries in modern Georgia are named after the Assyrian Fathers and are said to have been founded and led by them and their numerous disciples. In the Middle Ages, these religious foundations played an important role in forging Georgian Christian identity.
Tradition, written and oral, names as many as 19 Assyrian monks active in Georgia in the 6th century and the number "13" seems to be largely symbolic. Modern scholarly opinion is divided as to whether they were Assyrians, Assyrian-educated Georgians, whether missionaries or refugees —
miaphysite
Miaphysitism () is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature (''physis'', ). It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It differs from the Dyophysitism of the ...
or
diophysite — from Syria, from which miaphysitism had retreated while Georgia was still primarily miaphysite at that time.
Holy Fathers
Chief of the Assyrian Fathers were:
# Davit Garejeli (დავით გარეჯელი) /
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
of
Gareja
# Ioane Zedazneli (იოანე ზედაზნელი) / John of
Zedazeni
# Abibos Nekreseli (აბიბოს ნეკრესელი) /
Abibos of
Nekresi
# Shio Mgvimeli (შიო მღვიმელი) /
Shio of Mgvime
# Ioseb Alaverdeli (იოსებ ალავერდელი) /
Joseph
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
of
Alaverdi
# Anton Martkopeli (ანტონ მარტყოფელი) / Anton of
Martkopi
# Tadeoz Stepantsmindeli (თადეოზ სტეფანწმინდელი) / Thaddeus of
Stepantsminda
# Piros Breteli (პიროს ბრეთელი) / Pyrrhus of
Breti
# Iese Tsilkneli (იესე წილკნელი) / Jesse of
Tsilkani
# Stepane Khirseli (სტეფანე ხირსელი) / Stephen of
Khirsa
# Isidore Samtavneli (ისიდორე სამთავნელი) / Isidor of
Samtavisi
# Mikael Ulumboeli (მიქაელ ულუმბოელი) / Michael of
Ulumbo
# Zenon Ikaltoeli (ზენონ იყალთოელი) / Zenon of
Ikalto
See also
*
Nine Saints
References
{{Reflist
External links
The Yezidi Kurds and Assyrians of Georgia Journal of the Central Asia & the Caucasus, Iraklii Chikhladze, Giga Chikhladze. (3/21/2003)
Following the way of Assyrian Holy FathersThe Assyrians of Georgia: Ethnic Specifics Should be ReservedDavid Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage from Unesco
Christian saints from Georgia (country)
Saints from Roman Syria
Christian monks from Georgia (country)
Old Georgian literature
6th-century Christian saints
6th-century Christian monks