On May 4, 2026, in the hall of the Center of Youth Spiritual and Intellectual Development of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Father Giori Vashalomidze, lecturer at the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary and Dean of the Seminary, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, entitled “The Iconography of Gospel Events and Their Theological and Iconological Aspects.” The dissertation was prepared at the Department of Biblical Studies of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary of the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia, within the field of New Testament Studies.
The doctoral dissertation was supervised by Archpriest Mikheil Galdava, Doctor of Theology and Philology, Professor. The reviewers were Archpriest Bidzina Gunia, Academic Secretary of the Dissertation Council, Academician of the Gelati Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Theology and Philology, Professor, and Archpriest Ioane Bondarenko, lecturer at the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary and Doctor of Theology.
The session of the dissertation defense was chaired by the Co-Chairman of the Dissertation Council, Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze.
The dissertation defense was attended by the following members of the Theology Dissertation Council of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary: Archpriest Bidzina Gunia — Doctor of Philology and Theology, Academician of the Gelati Academy of Sciences, Professor, and Academic Secretary; Archpriest Mikheil Galdava — Doctor of Philology and Theology, Professor; and Archpriest Giorgi Gugushvili — Doctor of History and Theology, Professor; Father Ioane Bondarenko — Doctor of Theology; Priest Tsotne Chkheidze — Doctor of Theology, Professor; Archdeacon Demetre (Davitashvili) — Doctor of Theology, Professor; Edisher Chelidze — Doctor of Philological Sciences, Doctor of Theology, Academician of the Gelati Academy of Sciences, Professor; Sergo Vardosanidze — Doctor of Historical Sciences, Doctor of Theology, Professor; and Irakli Orzhonia — Doctor of Theology, Professor.
The work of the Dissertation Committee was led by His Eminence Metropolitan Stephan (Kalaijishvili) of Chkondidi. The Secretary of the Dissertation Committee was Professor Mariam Didebulidze, Doctor of Art History.
The dissertation defense procedure was conducted by the Academic Secretary of the Dissertation Council, Archpriest Bidzina Gunia.
The session was attended by Bishop Grigol (Katsia) of the Tsalka Eparchy; Archpriest Irakli Akhaladze, Rector of the Gelati Theological Academy and Seminary; Professor Zaza Skhirtladze, Doctor of Art History at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University; as well as clergy, scholars, professors and lecturers of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, and students.
The audience was addressed by the Co-Chairman of the Dissertation Council, Rector of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, Doctor of Theology, Philology, and Political Science, Professor, and Protopresbyter of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Giorgi Zviadadze.
Before presenting the dissertation, the doctoral candidate, Father Giorgi Vashalomidze, expressed his special gratitude and love for the recently departed Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, and paid tribute to his blessed memory, as well as to his immense contribution to the revival of theological and academic education.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Rector of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze, noting that through his great efforts and tireless work, the highest theological school founded by the Patriarch — the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary — continues to function as a strong educational and scholarly center, a place where knowledge and faith are harmoniously united.
The doctoral candidate expressed his gratitude to his academic supervisor, Archpriest Mikheil Galdava, noting that his qualified guidance made it possible to complete the research. He also thanked the reviewers, whose constructive advice and recommendations significantly contributed to improving and refining the dissertation. He expressed special gratitude to the head of the doctoral program, Doctor of Theology Father Tsotne Chkheidze, Doctor of Art History Ms. Mariam Didebulidze, and Doctor of Philology Ms. Asmat Jikia, for their assistance and valuable professional advice provided during the work on the dissertation.
Father Giorgi Vashalomidze clearly formulated the relevance of the dissertation, its scientific innovations, and the main results of the research. In the present work, the doctoral candidate, for the first time in the academic field, conducted a systemic study of the theological foundations of the iconography depicting Gospel events and demonstrated that iconography is not merely a subject of aesthetic, stylistic, or historical analysis, but is grounded in the profound essence of theology, exegesis, liturgics, and homiletics. Accordingly, within the framework of the concept of “visual theology,” iconography is understood not only in terms of art history, but also as a fully-fledged theological discipline, and the examples of Georgian icon painting are studied with consideration of their profound theological purpose. Inasmuch as iconography is regarded as a means of exposing the heresies that arose within the Church, the doctoral candidate, on the basis of the iconography of the Transfiguration and the Crucifixion, convincingly demonstrated the inseparable unity of iconography and theology, as well as the distinctive significance of iconography in the history of the Christian Church.
The doctoral candidate’s academic supervisor, Mikheil Galdava, spoke about the merits of the work and its interdisciplinary significance.
The official reviewers of the dissertation — Archpriest Bidzina Gunia and Archpriest Ioane Bondarenko — gave a positive assessment of Priest Giorgi Vashalomidze’s work and offered qualified remarks and recommendations.
A scholarly discussion was held, in which members of the Academic Council and the professors and lecturers of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary took part. It was unanimously noted that the dissertation is of a high academic standard, highly relevant, and significant both from an ecclesiastical and a scholarly perspective.
The Dissertation Council gave the work a high evaluation and unanimously awarded Father Giorgi Vashalomidze the academic degree of Doctor of Theology.
