According to the Conversion of Georgia, during the rule of King Archil in the early 5th c., Step'ancminda, or the church of *Stephen (The First Martyr, S00030) was built on the banks of the Aragvi River. Written in Georgian, possibly in the 7th c.
E00108
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Mokcevay Kartlisay (Conversion of Georgia)
The Conversion of Georgia
The chronicle of the Conversion of Georgia lists Iberia's rulers and patriarchs together with their major achievements. This brief episode narrates the deeds of king Archil in the early 5th century:
მერვე არჩილ, და მთავარ ეპისკოპოსი იყო იონა. და დაეცა ქუემოჲ ეკლესიაჲ. და იონა მიიცვალა და სუეტი იგი ცხოველი თანა წარმოიღო. და მისსა შემდგომად აზნაურთა აღაშენეს სტეფან-წმიდა არაგუსა ზედა. მათ ჟამთა ოთხნი მთავარნ ეპისკოპოსნი გარდაიცვალნეს.
'Eighth [ruler was] Archil and the Archbishop was Jonah. And the lower church was destroyed. Then Jonah died and [was buried] in the church of the outskirts [?]. [He] brought with him the Living Pillar. After this, the noblemen built Stepancminda [i.e. the church of Stephen] on the banks of Aragvi river. After that four archbishops have died during the rule of Archil.'
Text: Abuladze 1963, 92.
Translation: N. Aleksidze.
Cult building - independent (church)
Places Named after SaintTowns, villages, districts and fortresses
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesAristocrats
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
The Conversion of Georgia is considered one of the earliest pieces of Georgian historical writing, composed, most probably in the 7th century. This part of the Conversion of Georgia, known as the chronicle, is a brief list of Iberia's rulers and bishops with a short description of their major achievements or some of the most important events that coincided with their rule.Discussion
The reference to the church of Stephen is indeed a rare instance in early Georgian writing, in which references to saints are scarce. Nevertheless, Stephen was one of the most popular saints in late antique Iberia, and other churches of roughly the same period are also known in eastern Georgia.Bibliography
Edition:Abuladze, I., ძველი ქართული აგიოგრაფიული ლიტერატურული ძეგლები [Monuments of Old Georgian Hagiographic Literature] (Tbilisi, 1963).
Studies:
Akinean, N., Die Einführung des Christentums in Armenien und Georgien (Vienna: Mechitarist Press, 1949).
Aleksidze, Z., “Four Versions of the ‘Conversion of Georgia’.” in W. Seibt (ed.), Die Christianisierung des Kaukasus/The Christianisation of Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Albania). Referate des Internationalen Symposions (Wien, 9.-12. Dezember 1999) (Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2002), 9-16.
Kiknadze, Z,. “Die folkloristischen Varianten der ‘Bekehrung Georgiens’”, Bedi Kartlisa 42 (1984), 222-231.
Lerner, C.B., The Wellspring of Georgian Historiography: The Early Medieval Historical Chronicle the Conversion of Kartli and the Life of St. Nino (London: Bennet and Bloom, 2004).
Nikoloz Aleksidze
29/10/2014
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00030 | Stephen, the First Martyr | სტეფანე | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Nikoloz Aleksidze, Cult of Saints, E00108 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00108