Holy Georgia: in the steps of St Nino and the Syrian Fathers - Day 2

Cows! There are cows everywhere. They not only graze in the (mostly unfenced) pastures, which are wonderfully rich in wild flowers, but they also stroll on the verges by the side of the road, even along main highways, seemingly unperturbed by the fast moving traffic swishing past, perilously close to them. They look like Jersey or Guernsey cows, honey colored with big doleful eyes, but we are told they are a Georgian breed, especially sure footed to cope with the mountainous terrain.

Cows are of course revered by the Hindus as a source of food and life (contrary to popular perception they are not worshiped or regarded as sacred by Hindus. See Why is the Cow Important to Hindus ).  But Georgia is a very Christian country and that is why we are here; as Christian Pilgrims, come to follow the route of St Nino and the Syrian fathers through the beautiful churches, monasteries, cathedrals and sacred places of this wonderful country. As well as all the cows, I am enthralled by the many broom bushes here along the roadside, in full flower in May, the yellow blossoms almost luminescent in the sunshine. But it is not sunny today. We wake up to rain and it feels very muggy and humid. This may be short lived. It looks as if it may clear later although first we are destined to drive through torrential rain and a dramatic electrical storm.

It is Day 2. Yesterday we completed the first day of our pilgrimage to Holy Caucasian Georgia at the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary where we held a group Eucharist, the first of three we will celebrate during our pilgrimage. The priest at the church is proud to give us a talk on the history of Christianity and Catholicism in Georgia, and of his church in particular, before we commence our service. The church standing today dates back to the early nineteenth century, but an earlier church here was built in 1671. The present church was closed during the Soviet period, and was used as a storehouse, before it was restored and reopened in 1999 for the visit of the Pope St. John Paul II to Georgia. The architecture is eclectic, with elements of pseudo-gothic and baroque styles.

There are currently about 50,000 Roman Catholics in Georgia. They date back to the Ottoman period when the Muslim rulers were more tolerant of Catholicism than of Orthodoxy. Many Orthodox Christians became Roman Catholics at that time rather than convert to Islam. It has to be said that today there does not appear to be total harmony between the Catholic and the Orthodox Christians - see for example "Being a catholic in Georgia"). There is seemingly a negative attitude towards Roman Catholics in Georgia and some dispute over certain churches assigned to the Orthodox Christians at the end of the Soviet era. Some of us found the acoustics in the church difficult and missed some of the explanations but there is plenty to be found on the internet for those who wish to learn more of the history of Roman Catholicism in Georgia.

We had an early dinner last night, most of us glad to retire to our rooms to catch up on our sleep. We needed to restore our energy levels in preparation for our drive westwards to Imereti, setting for the story of the Golden Fleece stopping off en route at Mtskheta, (pron. Skayta) Georgia's ancient capital and still its spiritual capital today, the center of its religious life. It is just 20 km and an easy 30 minute drive away from Tbilisi.

The Jvaris(Cross) Church Mtshketa

There has been a settlement here in Mtshketa for over 3000 years. People used to come here to make gifts to their pagan gods, as it was the center of the pagan cult of Armazi.. Bulls were apparently the most common sacrifice and there used to be a statue on the hilltop to Armazi, but only the description remains, of an iron warrior, with golden helmet and shield, visible from all around.

Now Christian pilgrims come here from across the world to visit Svetiskhoveli Cathedral.

Svetiskhoveli Cathedral

Here tradition holds that fragments of the crucifixion robe of Christ are buried, brought to Georgia by Elias soon after Christ's death. Elias's sister Sidonia is said to have been so enthralled by this relic that she died of joy clutching it in her hands so tightly that it had to be buried here with her. A cedar tree grew out of her grave, the wood from which was used to build St Nino's first church, on this spot, in the fourth century. This is also the area where in the same century St Nino erected the first Christian cross.

Only one month before our visit, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, announced Mtshketa to be the Holy City of Georgia, during his Sunday sermon on April 6th 2014 at the Cathedral of Saint Trinity in Tbilisi. He said that the decree on bestowing the title of Holy City upon Mtskheta had already been enacted and furthermore that this was fulfilling formally the wishes in the final will of Melkisedek I, the first Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, who reigned from 1010 to 1033. He has been revered as a saint by the Georgian Orthodox Church, canonized on October 17th 2002, his feast day being October 14th. Of all the icons I took photos, I cannot believe I do not have one for this vitally important saint. So I am sorry that I have had to resort to the internet instead!

In 1994 the whole of the old city was included as a UNESCO world heritage site.

In my next post I shall say much more about these sites which are so sacred to Georgian Christians....

Holy Georgia In the Steps of Saint Nino and the Syrian Fathers

Pilgrim; from Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary:

"a wanderer: one who travels to a distance to visit a holy place: allegorically or spirituality, one journeying through life as a stranger in this world." That's me!

Mother Georgia statue

Georgia, in the Caucasus region of Europe (and not to be confused with the American state of Georgia), has the highest level of biodiversity, the highest human settlements, some of the highest mountain peaks, the oldest prehistoric Hominid bones, and the highest Orthodox Christian church. It boasts stunning countryside and scenery, good food, renowned wine, and wonderful hospitality. Its state language, Georgian, is one of the oldest living languages in the world. This beautiful country, at just under 70,000 square kilometers, is slightly smaller than Austria or the Republic of Ireland and under half the size of the American state of the same name. It may not be great in size, but it is a country full of superlatives.

Some of the superlatives are not so good. Against all odds Georgia has survived probably one of the most turbulent histories for a country of this size. Significantly for us, it is also only the second country, after Armenia, to adopt Christianity as its state religion, and today something like 80 - 90 % of the population is devout Christian and these attend their orthodox church regularly.

Bodbe convent site of St Nino's tomb

Christianity was introduced to Georgia in the 1st century by the apostles Andrew, Simon and Matthew. Later a female slave from Cappadocia, St Nino, so impressed the Georgian Queen Nana and later her husband King Mirian with her miracles that they both converted from paganism to Christianity, and this became the official state religion in AD 337, making it the world's second Christian nation. St Nino's tomb within Bodbe Convent is a sacred place for many Georgians. But it wasn't until the arrival in the sixth century of twelve Syrian missionaries from Antioch, with the foundation of several monasteries, that the religion became firmly established.

That is why we have come to Georgia, a party of 36 pilgrims from the Anglican Diocese of Southwark in the city of London, assisted by McCabe Pilgrimages, to visit many of the ancient churches and monasteries, following in the steps of St Nino and those Syrian Fathers.

Me on the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan

We don't know it yet, but our tour will involve some strenuous mountain treks. One will involve bitterly cold and soaking rain and the danger of bathing in mud. The other will be in dry desert heat, with the added excitement of poisonous snakes, said to be particularly aggressive at this time of year (don't worry if you are ophidiophobic - this particular climb is optional and I will not be sharing photos of these!). For some this will prove to be the highlight of the trip. But those joys are saved for much later in the week.

Over the next few weeks the story of our pilgrimage will unfold on this blog with plenty of photos as well so please come back for more - and I hope you enjoy!