International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Giorgi Macharashvili
Georgian National Committee of Byzantine Studies, 
Institute of Oriental Studies, Tbilisi, Georgia; 
[e-mail]
Two Monuments of Georgian Hagiography Concerning the Western Christians
This work deals with new interpretation of the evidence about Western Christians found in 
Georgian hagiographical monuments of the Great Schism period, namely in The Life of John and 
Euthimios and The Life of George the Hagiorite. 
From the first text we learn that the Georgians played important role in settling of Benedictine 
monks from Italy on Mount Athos. In the beginning of the 11
th
century Georgian fathers gave 
shelter to the Italian Benedictines in Iviron and later on helped them to build their own monastery. 
We will buy land for you and will give you all you lack – they said to the Italians. Here follows an 
important chronology: in the beginning of the 11
th
century the Pope of Rome officially inserted 
Filioque clause into the Creed. This had led to the schism between Eastern and Western Christians. 
Communion between East and West Churches broke in early 11 th century, though this did not 
distort the friendship between the Georgian and Italian monks.
No less interesting is an evidence of the second hagiographical monument: despite the existing 
schism, George the Hagiorite did not reproach Western Christians in heresy. Heresy did not take its 
rise among them - he said at a meeting held at the Byzantine imperial court. By that time Filioque was 
long spread throughout the West. Therefore, a significant part of the researchers took these words as a 
direct support of the Catholic doctrine. Based on the above-mentioned hagiographical materials, they 
considered that in the 11
th
century the Georgians had sympathy towards Roman Catholicism, and that 
they did not share the position of the Greek Orthodox Church concerning Rome.
Our study revealed entirely different picture. It turned out that the Italian Benedictine monks, 
who lived on Mt. Athos, were not Catholics and opinion of George the Hagiorite about the West-
ern Christians was not unacceptable to the Greek Orthodox. For example, Greek hagiography, Acts of 
Mount Athos, the Chronicle of Leo of Ostia corroborate the fact that the Athonite Benedictines were 
the Orthodox Christians. Works of the Greek anti-Latin fathers give evidence that George the Hagiorite 
just repeated their opinion about the Western Christians at the meeting in the Byzantine imperial court.
The Georgian hagiography of the Great Schism period reveals how the Georgian Athonite 
fathers reacted to theological issues of religious polemics with Rome. It is emphasized in these 
monuments that the Georgians and Greeks had the same faith. At the same time, Georgians had 
friendly relationships with Western Christians; they just tried to restore communion between East 
and West to the former state, as it existed before the Schism. This does not imply that they supported 
Roman Catholicism.

---