On October 28, a public lecture was held at the Tbilisi Theological
Academy and Seminary on the topic: Akaki as a Defender of the Church of
Georgia.
The
speaker was Julieta Gabodze, Doctor of Philology and Senior
Researcher at the Research Center for Textology of Ivane
Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University’s Shota Rustaveli Institute
of Georgian Literature.
“It is noteworthy that in 2010, the Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature at Tbilisi State University began publishing a new academic twenty-volume edition of Akaki Tsereteli’s works, enriched and supplemented with previously unknown or less well-known archival materials. This lecture is an extended part of the public lecture series Akaki — the Creator and the Public Figure. ’It is based on published scholarly materials as well as on previously unknown archival sources that, for many years, could not be uncovered due to the censorship regimes of first Tsarist Russia and later the Soviet Union,” said the speaker.
Ms. Julieta Gabodze spoke about the writer’s family traditions and, more generally, the ecclesiastical items preserved in the Tsereteli family. She presented previously unknown and particularly noteworthy documentary materials on the following topics: Akaki as a defender of the Church, Akaki’s role in the restoration of the autocephaly of the Church of Georgia, and the items donated by Akaki to the Church.
Based on Akaki’s letters and the relevant documentary materials, Ms. Julieta Gabodze discussed issues such as Akaki’s support for the Church of Georgia and his relations with the clergy, etc.
The meeting was attended by students and faculty members of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary. The report generated considerable interest, and the participants expressed a desire for a future meeting.
