Caucasian Iberia | Martyria

Studia Humanitatis No. II (XX) / 2025 The spread of Christianity amongst the Georgians in the 1st–3rd centuries and the organisation of the first churches during that period Rev. Prof. Dr. Aleksi Kshutashvili

The organisation of the Georgian Christian Churches during the first three centuries, founded by the Holy Apostles in Cappadocia, Pontus and Iberia, is analysed in the light of the fundamental canonical principles: hierarchy, synodality, autocephaly, autonomy, ethnicity and ecumenicity. Sources such as the History of Kartli confirm the establishment of the hierarchy by divine right and the existence of distinct Georgian ecclesiastical traditions in the pre-Nicene era.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (XIX) / 2025 The Spread of Christianity among the Georgians in the 1st–3rd Centuries and the Organisation of the First Churches of that Period (Part I) Rev. Prof. Dr. Aleksi Kshutashvili

The study examines the spread of Christianity amongst the Georgians in the 1st–3rd centuries, beginning with a delineation of the geographical area inhabited by the Georgian peoples – the Iberians, Meshi, Laz and Svan – in Iberia, Cappadocia and Pontus. Evidence is drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea, Origen, Epiphanius of Constantinople and Georgian sources such as the History of Kartli, attesting to the missionary activity of the Holy Apostles Andrew, Peter and Matthias amongst the Georgians.