Saint Grigol of Khandzta. An 18th-century miniature from Georgia.
Gregory of Khandzta (Georgian: გრიგოლ ხანძთელი, Grigol Khandzteli; 759 – 5 October 861) was a Georgian ecclesiastic figure and a founder and leader of numerous monastic communities in Tao-Klarjeti, a historical region in the Southwest of Georgia.[1]
Born into an aristocratic family in Kartli, Gregory was raised at the court of the prince Nerse of Iberia, whose wife was Gregory's paternal aunt. He left his home when he was young and became a monk in the region of Klarjeti (now located in north-eastern Turkey), the only region of Georgia free of Arab presence. After a short time in the monastery of Opiza (ოპიზა), he founded his own monastery at Khandzta (ხანძთა) which soon attracted an increasing number of brethren. He founded several other monasteries in Klarjeti, and subsequently he was elected as their archimandrite. The monasteries and their scriptoria functioned as centres of wisdom for centuries and played an important role in the development of a national Georgian culture.
At the same time, Ashot I Kuropalates, the presiding prince of Iberia, had chosen Artanuji in Klarjeti as his residence and stronghold in his effort to assert independence from other regional powers, such as the Abbasid Caliphate or the Byzantine Empire. Gregory played a prominent role to mobilize popular sentiment against Muslim presence in the Caucasus. His influence grew so strong that he was able to affect both the political and the private lives of the Georgian princes.[2]
Saint Gregory of Khandzta died as a centenarian in 861, surrounded by followers and disciples. The Georgian Orthodox Church marks his memory on the day of his death, October 18. His life was compiled in the hagiographic work written by Giorgi Merchule in 951.
^"Upper-Story Chapels Near the Sanctuary in Churches of the Christian East", Natalia Teteriatnikov, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 42, (1988), pp. 65-72
^St. Gregory of Chandzoe in Georgia
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GregoryofKhandzta (Georgian: გრიგოლ ხანძთელი, Grigol Khandzteli; 759 – 5 October 861) was a Georgian ecclesiastic figure and a founder and leader of...
Khandzta (Georgian: ხანძთა, Georgian pronunciation: [χandztʰa]) was a medieval Georgian monastery founded by GregoryofKhandzta in 782 AD. It has been...
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complex of Ubisi comprises a 9th-century St. George’s Monastery founded by St. GregoryofKhandzta, a 4-floor tower (AD 1141), fragments of a 12th-century...
Georgian kingdom of Kartli (Iberia), from village of Leteti. He was relative of Patriarch Ephraim and the student ofGregoryofKhandzta. Macarius worked...
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resettlement of Georgians in these lands, and patronized monastic life initiated by the prominent Georgian ecclesiastic figure GregoryofKhandzta (c. 759–861)...
history of Georgian monasticism is judged to be GregoryofKhandzta (759–861), who founded numerous communities in Tao-Klarjeti. Specific forms of art were...
into a major centre of Christian culture aided by a large-scale monastic movement initiated by the Georgian monk GregoryofKhandzta (759 – 861). Around...
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stated that Saba, the nephew and follower of the priest GregoryofKhandzta, founded a monastery on the site of an earlier church. The first church built...
Young Grigol was named in honor of the 11th-century Georgian Saint GregoryofKhandzta – Grigol being the cognate ofGregory. His father died when he was...
compelling definition of Georgia was introduced by the writer and ecclesiastical lawyer Giorgi Merchule in 951 in his "Vita ofGregoryofKhandzta". ქართლად ფრიადი...
of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 786 to 827 Grigol Khandzteli (GregoryofKhandzta, 759–861), Georgian church leader Grigol Kipshidze (born 2005), Georgian...
of the Tang Dynasty (b. 792) Gladilanus, Galician clergyman (approximate date) GregoryofKhandzta, Georgian archimandrite (b. 759) Heonan, king of Silla...
Materials of Nikolai Okunev’s Expedition of 1917 on the Wall Paintings of Parkhali. Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles...
many Georgian historical persons, such as GregoryofKhandzta, Beqa and Beshqen Opizrebi. The main church of the monastery is a domed cruciform design...
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Georgian Kingdom of Klarjeti (modern-day Artvin Province of Turkey). The monastery is an illustration of the activity of St. Gregory's followers. Founded...
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