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The Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church is one of the world's most ancient Christian Churches, founded in the 1st century by the Apostle Andrew.
The Apostle Andrew the First-called went to preach in Georgia with the Holy Mother's Uncreated Icon (an icon of the Virgin Mary that tradition holds was not made by human hands). Affection for the Theotokos runs very deep in Georgian Orthodox consciousness. Georgian Orthodox tradition holds that Georgia is a country alloted to Mary, Mother of Jesus and that she is the main protector and intercessor, thereof. Together with Saint Andrew, the Gospel was preached in Western Georgia by the Holy Apostle Simon the Canaanite who was then buried there near Sokhumi, in the village of Comani . Another Holy Apostle, Saint Mathias , preached in the southwest of Georgia and was buried in Gonio , a village not far from Batumi. Some Christian sources point also to the fact of the Holy Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus being in Georgia.
The Apostle Andrew established the first Georgian Eparchy in Atsq'uri (South-West Georgia).
The oldest Georgian church was constructed in the beginning of the 3rd century, in the village Nastakisi ( KartliKartli is the largest and most populated province of Eastern Georgia. It includes the Georgian capital Tbilisi and two other major cities, Gori and Rustavi. It is bordered by the nountain-range of Great Caucasus to the north, by Georgian province of Kakhe province of Eastern Georgia).
Since 303Events Diocletian launched the last major persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire; Hierocles was said to have been the instigator of the fierce persecution of the Christians under Galerius. February 24 Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict th, Equal-to-the-Apostles Saint NinoAccording to a pious tradition, Iberia, also called Georgia, is the particular province of the Immaculate Mother of God. Saint Stefan of the Holy Mountain relates that after our Lord's Ascension, as the Apostles and His most Holy Mother remained in Jerusa of CappadociaIn ancient geography, Cappadocia was an extensive inland district of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). In the time of Herodotus the Cappadocians occupied the whole region from Mount Taurus to the Euxine ( Black Sea). Cappadocia, in this sense, was bounded in th (left) preached Christianity in the Georgian kingdom of IberiaCaucasian Iberia is the term designated to the Kingdom of Iberia ( 4th century BC 5th century AD) established in Eastern Georgia by the Georgians ( Kartvelians). The king of Iberia, Farnavaz I was a reformer of the Georgian alphabet ( 284 BC). He was also (Eastern Georgia). In 337Events February 6 Julius is elected pope. June 17 Constantius II announces the restoration of Athanasius to the Patriarch of Alexandria. September 9 Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine the Great as co-emperors of it was adopted as the state religion by the rulers of Iberia, King (later Saint) Mirian and Queen (later Saint) Nana . West Georgia, then part of the Roman Empire, became Christianised in a gradual process that was complete by the 6th century. Western Georgian Kingdom of Egrisi declared Christianity as the state religion in 523. The country adopted Saint George as its patron saint.
Georgian Christianity was heavily influenced by the form practiced in the Byzantine Empire and is considered to be part of the wider tradition represented by the Eastern Orthodox Church. From the 320s, the Georgian Orthodox Church was under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic See of Antioch. The Georgian Orthodox Church become autocephalous (independent) in 466 when the Patriarchate of Antioch elevated the Bishop of Mtskheta to the rank of Catholicos of Kartli . In 1010 the Catholicos of Kartli was elevated to the honor of Patriarch. From then on, the premier hierarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church carried the official title of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.
Between the 6th and 9th centuries, Georgia underwent a cultural transformation as monastiscism flourished. Important monasteries were founded at a number of locations, notably the Iveron monastery on Mount Athos in Greece, where many important religious works were translated from Greek into Georgian. Significant works of hagiographic literature were also produced in Georgian, such as the " Life of Saint Nino " and " Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik ".
Well-known centers of Christian culture included the Georgian Monastery in Sinai, the monastery complex ( Iveron ) on Mount Athos (the well-known "Wonderworking Iberian Icon of the Mother of God" is located in this Monastery), Georgian churches in the historic province Tao-Klarjeti (part of Turkey since the 16th century), the Georgian Petritsoni Monastery in Backovo ( Bulgaria), Bagrati Cathedral , Gelati Monastery and Academy, Iq'alto Monastery complex and Academy, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral , the monastery in Martvili, and the monastic complex at Davitgareja .
Outstanding Georgian representatives of the Christian culture included Evagrius Ponticus (Evagre Pontoeli. 4th century), Peter the Iberian (Petre Iberieli. 5th century), Euthimius the Athonite (Ekvtime Atoneli. 955-1028), Giorgi the Athonite (Giorgi Atoneli. 1009-1065), Arsen Iq'altoeli (11th century), and Epraim the Lesser (Eprem Mtsire. 11th century).
The invasions of Genghis Khan in the 13th century and Tamerlane in the 15th century greatly disrupted Georgian Christianity. Between the 15th and 18th centuries both church and state were divided into eastern and western parts, and accordingly the two parts of the Church were ruled by two Catholicos-Patriarchs. In 1801 the Kartlian-Kakhetian Kingdom (Eastern Georgia) was occupied and annexed by the Tsarist Russian Empire. In 1811, the autocephalous status of the Georgian Church was abolished by the Russian authorities, despite strong opposition in Georgia, and the Georgian Church was subjected to the synodical rule of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Georgian liturgy was suppressed and replaced with Russian.