The review of the texts clearly
shows the importance of this periodical collection in regards to
the development of today’s theological thought: Each of the essays
displays the author’s profound knowledge of the subject and is
based on existing scientific experience. All of the suggested
material is innovative and highlights the importance of
ecclesiastical thought based on academic knowledge. The readers
have the opportunity to become acquainted with the
“Theological-Scientific Works”, as well as with the present
article, and form their conclusion on the work performed at the
Theological Academy today. The author of the essay describes the
situation at this institution in the following way: “The presented
works clearly prove that along with the active educational process
in Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, scientific activity is
also conducted at a high level. It must be noted that all this has
been achieved thanks to the high attention paid by the
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude
Ilia II, to the activities conducted at this school. The dedicated
work for the advancement of the Academy conducted by its Rector,
PhD in Philology and Theology, Professor, Protopresbyter Giorgi
Zviadadze should also be mentioned. The academy thrives on a
professorship of high-level scientific knowledge. All this has
brought great recognition to the Theological Academy.”
The following is the essay
mentioned above in its unaltered form:
I could not conceal my
satisfaction when I received the volume “Theological-Scientific
Works (X-XI)” of the Theological Academy as a gift from the Rector
of Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, PhD in Philology and
Theology, Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze.
I envisioned then a high-level
theological high school founded by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All
Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, which is more than
three decades old now. This is the school, which has become a
crucible for the preparation of highly qualified clergy; the
graduates of this school work honourably in various regions of
Georgia. They are dedicated to serving the people who have returned
to the Church. It should be particularly noted that the Theological
Academy pays high attention to the development of theological
science. Of great importance is the fact that with the efforts and
prayers of our Patriarch, the Dissertation Council in Theology and
Doctorate Department were established at the academy. I had the
honor to attend a session of the Dissertation Council held at the
Patriarchate of Georgia, where a very interesting and important
dissertation was defended (by the doctoral student Irakli
Orzhonia).
We should not omit to mention
Gelati Theological Academy, founded in 1990 (with the blessing of
His Holiness, I myself gave lectures at that school for a certain
period of time) and Gelati Academy of Sciences (1995). These events
were the most significant in the life of our nation.
The collection
“Theological-Scientific Works” of Tbilisi Theological Academy
(published in 2020 by the Publishing Office of Tbilisi Theological
Academy and Seminary) is a clear confirmation of the dedicated and
profound scientific work of Georgian ecclesiastical figures and
scholars working in this field.
My objective is not to write a
review about the collection as the task is difficult in itself due
to the specificity of the works included in it. Rather, I would
like to express my humble opinion and good attitude to the great
contribution the scholars of the Theological Academy have made to
the research and development of science in general and various
fields of Theology, in particular. I would also like to mention
that the collection “Theological-Scientific Works” clearly reflects
the careful vision of its editor, PhD in Philology and Theology,
Professor Edisher Chelidze.
The works present a number of
important studies in various fields (theology, exegetics,
ecclesiastical linguistics, angelology, ecclesiastical history,
liturgy, homiletics, patristic epistolography and ecclesiastical
polemics). I will once again mention that it is not my goal to
dwell on all of them in detail. We will suggest our opinion about
each article and the collection taken as a whole.
The article “Ancient Georgian
Translation of One Homily Dedicated to the Feast of the Ascension”
is published in the section of “Theology”. The author of the work
is the Rector of the Academy, PhD in Philology and Theology,
Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze. Here, I should emphasize that
along with great organizational work which is his duty as of the
Deputy-Dean of Sioni Cathedral Temple (Dean of this temple is the
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II himself),
Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze is engaged in important scientific
activities.
His monograph on the translation
of Gregory of Nyssa’s work “On Virginity and Godly Citizenship” is
one of the best executed in the field. One does not often come
across a book organized at such a high editorial, scientific and
technical level. Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze focuses his
attention on one homily preserved in the 10th-century monument
known as “Klarjul Mravaltavi”. Authored by St. Athanasius of
Alexandria, the writing is dedicated to the Feast of the Ascension.
The existing text is incomplete and, to some extent, it complicates
the full study of the homily. The monument is important by itself;
the author of the article emphasizes that the Georgian translation
was executed in the 5th-6th centuries. Giorgi Zviadadze
substantiated the accuracy of its translation, collated it with the
Greek original, and showed the reason for its various
interpretations. An important part of the article is devoted to the
author’s teaching on the Ascension of the Saviour, highlighting the
homiletic explanation of how death was vanquished by the
Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Incarnate Saviour.
Noteworthy is the fact that the
author of the article gives a detailed discussion of the complete
Georgian text, noting that a number of teachings, are more correct
than in the Greek original.
In one of the sections of the
text, he dwells upon one place of the original Homily, which says:
“Where is your deceptor (deceptor – tempter) snake?” This sentence
is not confirmed in the Georgian translation nor is it confirmed in
the Latin text, and this is important in itself, because it was
Satan (in the form of a serpent) who deceived Eve. Giorgi Zviadadze
draws the reader’s attention to the fact that the monument conveys
the dogma on man who bears the image of God, his discussion is
related to the situation after the fall of the human being,
emphasizing that the Georgian translation uses the term
“condemnation”. Although the translation is incomplete,
Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze’s essay still clearly shows that
the teachings given in the homily are valuable in many respects. It
presents Christological teachings (God’s Passion, Redemption of the
human race, Resurrection from the dead and the Ascension). The
research Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze gives in the essay is
undoubtedly valuable for the science of ecclesiastical
theology.
The book presents the essay of
Professor Maia Rapava, PhD in Philological Sciences, “On the
Grammatical Arthron of the Divine Names in One Treatise of Theodore
Abū Qurrah” (section “Ecclesiastical Linguistics”). Professor Maia
Rapava cites the dispute of Orthodox priests with heretics in
connection with the definition (according to its use) of the
grammatical arthron in regards to the names of the hypostases of
the Holy Trinity. The heretics did not acknowledge the oneness in
the essence of God and complete equality of the Persons of the Holy
Trinity. The article cites the sermons of Saint John Chrysostom.
The great Church figure, who opposed them, explains the names:
“God”, “Lord”, “Holy Spirit”. Professor Maia Rapava presents
a treatise by Theodore Abū Qurrah, entitled “A Compiled Doctrine
for the Names of the Trinity and for Each of His Persons” (the
Georgian translation by Arsen of Ikalto). The author attaches great
significance to Theodore Abū Qurrah’s opinion: when naming the
“Holy Spirit” and a simple “soul”, an attribute of the word or an
arthron appears. Regarding the issue, Athanasius of Alexandria is
of the same opinion. According to Georgian authors, Arthron
enriches the word, and according to Professor Maia Rapava, the
theological understanding of Arthron in Theodore Abukura’s treatise
coincides with the opinion expressed by them.
Professor Edisher Chelidze’s
essay is entitled “Saint Catholicos-Patriarch Melchizedek’s Will
and the So-called Celebration of Mtskheta”.
The author of the article gives a
high level critical consideration of the tradition and,
accordingly, to the opinions of scholars about the feast held in
the town of Mtskheta, which is associated with the name of
Patriarch Melchizedek I and was, according to the tradition,
celebrated on the day of the Annunciation (March 25). Professor
Edisher Chelidze, citing various sources and literary works, has
established that the term “celebration” has the meaning of “eternal
commemoration” and is associated with death and eternal repose. In
a most tactful manner, he shows that Academician K. Kekelidze’s
opinion about the possibility of establishing the celebration of
the day of Mtskheta on that day is incorrect. E. Chelidze
cites highly significant material, which refutes the mistake about
the “celebration of the feast of Mtskheta”. Furthermore, he points
out that despite Melchizedek I’s curse for all those who would
alter his will (“the one who alters it, may he be cursed by the
Mouth of God, by the grace of the Church, by the grace of the
Apostles and by the grace of all saints; may he be cursed with his
soul and body in both worlds …) the document has gone through a
significant alteration, namely, the “commemoration of Mechizedek’s
brothers” (as mentioned in the original text) was considered
inaccurate. Professor Edisher Chelidze raises the issue of
restoring the commemoration of Melchizedek’s fleshly brothers on
the day of Annunciation.
The format of the present article
does not allow for a detailed review of all the materials included
in the “Works”. However, essays are very important and make their
contribution to theological science. Interesting is Archpriest
Bidzina Gunia’s “Comments on the Fragments of the Paschal Book
‘Eternal Calendar’.” The author provides the text of the work. He
clarifies separate fragments of the text and adds his unique
comments. We deem Irakli Orzhonia’s “Theophanies of the Old
Testament and Their Exegesis” as an in-depth piece of research in
which the author concludes that the Theophany revealed to the
righteous is the revelation of the Incarnate God in the flesh of a
human being to men rather than the essential cognition of the Holy
Trinity or the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Mirian Gunia, in his essay
“Naming of the Fallen Angel as Morning Star’” indicates that
the fallen angel, enslaved to envy and arrogance, had been a sharer
of eternal bliss, and the terms “morning star” or “star of the
dawn” were used to refer to him. (As referred to the condemnation
in The Holy Scriptures: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning
star, son of the dawn!”)
In his article Lasha Tkebuchava
discusses in detail the Georgian translation of Evagrius Ponticus’
“The eight Evil Thoughts”. The translation was executed by Saint
Euthymius the Athonite. The author also furnishes his essay with
the text of the translation.
Priest Ioane Bondarenko offers
the fourth chapter of the Gelati translation of John Sinaites’
“Climacus” (“On Obedience”). It is noteworthy that the author gives
the entire text of the fourth chapter of “Climacus”, along with the
Greek original.
In another of his essays
presented in the “Works”, Lasha Tkebuchava discusses Saint
Giorgi the Athonite’s translation of Theodore the Studite’s
“Spiritual Teachings”, which he furnishes with the Georgian
text.
Rati Sturua’s essay “A
Georgian Translation of the Ascetic Epistle of Saint Mark the Monk”
is presented in the section “Patriotic Epistleography”. This essay
is useful as within it the author compares and analyzes the Greek
and Georgian texts. The Georgian version represents the translation
performed by Euthymius the Athonite. The text is furnished with a
linguistic critical apparatus and a vocabulary.
The “Works” of Theological
Academy is concluded with a polemical essay, authored by Professor
Edisher Chelidze. The issue discussed in it is - “Whether God the
Father has existence of His own” (regarding one of the theological
phrases of John of Damascus). Relying on the extensive material
of source criticism and founding his conclusion on scientific
literature, Prof. Edisher Chelidze concludes that the expression
used by John of Damascus “from Himself” is used causatively, which
is confirmed by Euthymius the Athonite as “by Himself” (in modern
Georgian “by himself”). The term corresponds, on the one hand, to
God by nature (the Holy Trinity) and, on the other hand, to God the
Father Himself, since the hypostasis of the Father has the right to
exist in itself.
The “Works” clearly proves that
along with the active educational process conducted at Tbilisi
Theological Academy and Seminary, the scientific activity is also
performed at a high level. It is a noteworthy fact that all of
these activities at this educational institution are maintained at
such level owing to the high attention of the Catholicos-Patriarch
of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II. The dedicated
work for the advancement of the Academy done by its Rector, PhD in
Philology and Theology, Professor, Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze
should also be mentioned. The academy thrives on a professorship of
high-level scientific knowledge. All this, intensive work with
students and in-depth scientific research, brought great
recognition to the Theological Academy. I wish success to Tbilisi
Theological Academy and Seminary in its great activity of national
advancement.
