12Jun,2018
Second International Symposium "Catholic Heritage in Georgia"
On June 5-7, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University hosted the second international symposium "Catholic Heritage in Georgia", dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the first democratic republic of Georgia.
Rector of Sabauni, Prof. Vaja Vardidze opened sympozium and in his welcoming speech spoke about the importance of the Catholic Church for Georgia. The audience was also greeted by the founder of the university, the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Catholics in Georgia, bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, and secretar of Apostolic Nuncio in Georgia, Michele Blage. At the beginning of the symposium, Prof. Nugzar Bardavelidze , professor of Sabauni and Technical University spoke briefly about the first democratic republic of Georgia and the Catholic Church for the last 100 years.
The first plenary session was opened by Murman Papashvili, Doctor of History, Professor of Tbilisi State University, who spoke about the life of the Catholics in Tbilisi in the 80s and 90s of the 17th century, according to Julius Cremonelli, a Capuchin monk. The second report "Archangel Lambert's work" St. Colchis "and its new Georgian translation" was read by Davit Merkviladze, Doctor of History, Senior Research Fellow, TSU Institute of History and Ethnology. The third speaker of the session, Kakhaber Surguladze, in his report "From the History of Georgia's Relations with the Roman Church" reviewed the relations between Georgia and the Catholic Church in the XI-XIII centuries, based on the letters of George Mtatsmindeli and King Rusudan.
After a short break, the second plenary session resumed, continued by Ilia State University Associate Professor Manana Javakhishvili, who spoke on "Catholic Missionary Narratives of 'Own' and 'Foreign', where the relationship between 'own' and 'foreign' was presented in the early 17th century. Based on the reports of the theatine missionaries who arrived in Georgia, Archangelo Lambert, Giuseppe Judicio Milanelli, Cristoforo Castelli and Petro Avitabile. "Medical Case as a Social and Religious Mission of Catholic Missionaries" was the subject of a report by Ilia State University doctoral student Anna Chkuaseli, in which the author based on his original manuscripts based on Georgian manuscripts by Catholic missionaries (Christopher Castelli, Judic Milan and Archangel Lambert) Adapting to the local, traditional Georgian medical culture and identifying social and religious trends in the healing practices of Catholic missions. The next speaker, Mariam Marjanishvili, a researcher at the Kutaisi State Historical Museum, spoke in detail about Nikoloz Janelidze, who translated Father Mikheil Tamarashvili's prayer with the blessing of St. Nino's life in German and her translation work, teaching Georgian at the universities of Hamburg and Kiel, made a great contribution to the rapprochement of the Georgian-German peoples. The last speaker of the session, Ms. Ketevan Akhobadze from the Tbilisi Museums Association, reviewed the illustrated book "Catholic Church in Georgia" by Ms. Manan Kutateladze, which presented traces of Catholic missions in the past and present.
At the end of the day, a screening of Beso Gaprindashvili's film "In the Footsteps of st. Ketevan " was held, which described the history of st. Ketevan torture based on the information of Catholic monks. The story of the history of the parts of the saint in different countries and the history of his arrival in Georgia has a great place in the film.
The June 6 plenary session was opened by Nugzar Papuashvili, Doctor of Philology, Professor of Sabauni, with a report on the orientation of the Georgian Church to the first stage of the Great Schism according to Moktsevai Kartlisai (IX century). Bezhan Javakhia, a professor at Ilia State University, spoke about the challenges of the Catholic Church in a speech entitled "Challenges of the Catholic Church in Eastern Politics."
The next report "Patri Nikola and Georgia" was read by Gulnari Mchedlidze, Doctor of History, Senior Researcher at the Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Center of Manuscripts. In the report, Ms. Gulnari spoke about the life and work of the Catholic missionaries, and especially about the Capuchin monk who arrived in Georgia in 1792, Nicola Rutiliano. At the end of the plenary session, the audience was greeted by Rinaldo Marmara, Director of Caritas Turkey, who came to the symposium especially for the symposium. He spoke in detail about the Georgian savannah archive and expressed readiness to cooperate with Sabauni.
After a short break, a plenary session was resumed by Giorgi Chubinidze, Assistant Researcher at Ilia State University, with a talk on "Georgian Catholic Priest Ivane Gvaramadze and Georgian Antiquities," where the speaker spoke about Ivane Gvaramadze's collection of material and cultural antiquities. Davit Tinikashvili, Doctor of History, in his report "Kirion Sadzaglishvili's Critical Opinions on Mikheil Tamarashvili's Work" expressed critical views on the right. On the remarks of Bishop (later Patriarch) Kirion Sadzaglishvili on Father Mikheil Tamarashvili's work "History of Catholicism among Georgians" (1902). The work of the Italian guest Giorgio Fedalto "Catholic Missionaries in the East and the First Episcopal See in Georgia" was read by Deacon Edward Gogilashvili. Natela Khitarishvili, a graduate student of the Technical University, spoke about the history of the Catholic Church in the village of Arli in the village of Arali, Adigeni district. The session ended in Georgia. Presented by Camilo Order Rehabilitation Center.
On June 7, the symposium was hosted by Gori State University, where Prof. Nugzar Papuashvili spoke about the history of the Catholic Church in Gori. Gori State University, Doctor of History, Prof. Eldar Mamistvalishvili in his report "Letter of Justino and Livorno of 1687 - a source for the history of Georgia" reviewed the letter of Patrice Justino and Livorno, a missionary working in Georgia (Kartli Kingdom) in the second half of the 17th century, which describes the life and work of Catholic missionaries during that period. Professor of Sabauni and Technical University, Nugzar Bardavelidze, in his report "Zigzags of Georgia-Vatican Relations" reviewed the relations between Georgia and the Vatican in 1992-2017. At the end of the session, the Deacon of the Batumi Catholic Parish, Tengiz Parmaksizishvili, spoke briefly about the situation and activities of Georgian Catholics in the period mentioned in the report "Movement of Georgian Catholics for the Preservation of the Georgian Spirit and Language in Georgia in the XIX-XX Centuries".
Sabauni hosted a symposium of the same name on June 6-8, 2017, on which reports were published as a collection and distributed at a symposium held this year.