Monastery of Iviron of Mount Athos
The monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos (Atonis Iverta Monasteri) is the most important ancient Georgian cultural center abroad.
It is located in Greece, close to the Aegean coast, in the eastern part of the Chalcedon peninsula, which extends into Agion Oros i. e., the Athos peninsula. From the mid-10th century, Georgian priests settled here together with Christians of other nationalities. In the beginning, they lived in Greek monastic cells, but in 980-983, they built a big church and constructed a monastery complex of Iviron (Iverion) around it. Ioane Mtatsmindeli (John the Iberian) and especially, Commander Tornike (see. Tornike Eristavi) played an important role in the construction of the monastery. Tornike, after defeating the army of Bardas Skleros, acquired considerable spoils of war, which he used to construct the monastery. The monastery complex contained many buildings for different purposes, the “Great Church” among them. It is a domed church that has been reconstructed various times over the centuries and still exists today. Soon, not only did the monastery become a religious center for Georgians living in the Byzantine Empire, but it also became the heart of Georgian ecclesiastical culture. A large group of Georgian writers and calligraphers worked here under the directives of Ioane and Tornike. Athos School of Literature was established here. Ekvtime Mtatsmindeli (Euthymius the Athonite) and supporter of his tradition, Giorgi Atoneli (George the Hagiorite), headed this school. Under their supervision, in the 10th-11th centuries, great cultural and creative endeavors started in Athos: original literary works were written, important works of Byzantine literature were translated into Georgian, and numerous copies of manuscripts were created. For Georgian writers, the Athos school of literature facilitated further familiarization with Byzantine culture. It helped to adapt Byzantine literary tradition to Georgian reality and promote Georgian literature internationally. Ekvtime Mtatsmindeli translated Sibrdzne Balavarisa (Wisdom of Balavar) from Georgian to Greek, which then was translated into numerous European languages. In later centuries, educational work at the monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos decreased. For the most part, scholars were content with creating manuscripts. Their new copies of manuscripts further enriched the library, which, to this day, is a priceless asset of Athos. The reduction and the subsequent end of all scholarly work in the Georgian cultural center of Athos was the direct result of the prosecution and harassment against Georgians. This process started in the 11th century. From the 14th century, the Greeks slowly occupied parts of the monastery and from the 19th century, they fully controlled it. However, Georgian monks still continued working there. At the start of the 20th century, there were 51 Georgians on Athos, among them 48 were in the monastery of Iviron itself. Today, the monastery resembles a sea fortification. Buildings of the monastery complex create a square-shaped plaza, which houses the “Great Church” in the center. In the surroundings, there are the monk cells and reception halls. In the first hall, one of the paintings depicts St. Nino while people and King Mirian kneel in front of her. The second painting shows the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral of Mtskheta. Outside the monastery, there are buildings for agricultural purposes. Here is a spring, a basin with holy water, an arbor, and other constructions. The last Georgian monk here passed away in 1956. Due to the good relations between Greece and Georgia in the 80s of the 20th century, literary and scientific cooperations flourished. Georgia has received microfilms of valuable manuscripts. A new period in the history of the Athos School of Literature has started. In 1985, foreign scientists published Actes d'Iviron (Acts of Iviron) in Franch (coauthored by E. Metreveli).
Literature: ათონის საღვთისმეტყველო–ლიტერატურული სკოლა, თბ., შოთა რუსთაველის ქართული ლიტერატურის ინსტიტუტი, 2013; ა ლ ე ქ ს ი ძ ე ა., ათონი ათასწლოვანი, თბ., 1982; გეორგიკა. ბიზანტიელი მწერლების ცნობები საქართველოს სესახებ, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოც., ტ. 8, თბ., 1970; კ ე კ ე ლ ი ძ ე კ., ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორია, ტ. 1, თბ., 1960; მ ე ნ ა ბ დ ე ლ., ძველი ქართული მწერლობის კერები, ტ. 2, თბ., 1980; Х и н т и б и д з е Э., Афонская грузинская литературная школа. Тб., 1982.
L. Menabde
