The Episcopacy of Bichvinta

The Episcopacy of Bichvinta was the first eparchy in western Georgia in the 4th century. It was the Catholicate (catholicosate) of Abkhazia from the 9th to the 13th centuries.

The bishop of Pityus (i.e., Bichvinta), Stratophilus, attended the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, which declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. This indicates that at that time the Episcopacy of Bichvinta was a significant and important Christian center, as only the most prominent ecclesiastical leaders from major centers were invited to the Nicaean Council. This participation confirms that Christianity was already the state religion in western Georgia in the first quarter of the 4th century. The list of participants in the Nicaean Ecumenical Council has survived in six languages, and in all of them, the Episcopacy of Bichvinta is mentioned.

In the 7th century, Greek taktikons mention three churches in western Georgia, including the Diocese of Abasgia, with its cathedral located in Sebastopolis (modern-day Sokhumi). However, it seems that the Episcopacy of Bichvinta continued to exist as a separate entity, and by the 9th century, the bishop of Bichvinta was no longer dependent on the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Instead, he became the bishop of all western Georgia.

The cathedral of Bichvinta was a basilica built in the 4th century, with a floor decorated with mosaics. A new cathedral (a three-aisled basilica) was constructed in the 5th century on top of its ruins.

Sources: გეორგიკა. ბიზანტიელი მწერლების ცნობები საქართველოს შესახებ, ტ. 1, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის და ა. გამყრელიძის გამოც., თბ., 1961.

Literature: ბ ე რ ძ ე ნ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი  ნ., სავაზირო ფეოდალურ საქართველოში, წგ.: საქართველოს ისტორიის საკითხები, წგ. 3, თბ., 1966; კ ე კ ე ლ ი ძ ე  კ., ეტიუდები ძველი ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორიიდან, ტ. 3, თბ., 1955.

N. Shoshiashvili