THEATINE MISSIONARIES ON METROPOLITAN  MITROFANE OF ALAVERDI

ELDAR MAMISTVALISHVILI

ELDAR MAMISTVALISHVILI Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Gori State University, Georgia, Gori http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5978-7624

Abstract

In the first half of the seventeenth century, one of Georgia’s most notable ecclesiastical figures—a person well known to the missionaries and of a highly distinctive character—was Metropolitan Mitrophane of Alaverdi. Virtually nothing has been preserved in Georgian written sources about his life, so this study follows the information provided by Italian missionaries, tracing his story from his return to Georgia after captivity in Persia to the end of his life. Among these sources, the letters of Cristoforo Castelli are of particular interest, as they show that he enjoyed such a close personal relationship with the Metropolitan that Mitrophane wished to have Castelli at his side during his final moments and, in fact, died in his presence.

The information on Metropolitan Mitrophane of Alaverdi on which this article is based comes almost entirely from Italian Catholic missionaries, beginning with the identification of his family name. Neither Georgian nor foreign sources record this surname directly. Only one indirect clue exists in a portrait of a horseman drawn by Cristoforo Castelli, bearing an inscription stating that the depicted person was a certain Shabatari (or Sabakhtari) Avalishvili, brother of the Metropolitan of Alaverdi and an enemy of the missionaries. From this, it has been determined that Mitrophane’s family name was Avalishvili.

A few Russian accounts also mention Mitrophane; they were recorded by Russian envoys stationed in Mingrelia and are based on the Metropolitan’s own testimony.

From the famous traveler, diplomat, archaeologist, and writer Don Pietro della Valle, we learn that Mitrophane had been taken captive by Shah Abbas I of Persia together with his relatives. He eventually escaped and returned to Georgia, later residing in western Georgia, where he established contacts with the Theatine missionaries Don Cristoforo Castelli, Don Arcangelo Lamberti, and Don Giuseppe Giudice. Based on their reports, we can trace the Metropolitan’s remarkable life in the Principality of Mingrelia, where he died on 3 January 1643.

According to Castelli’s account, Mitrophane professed the Catholic faith shortly before his death—a statement that remains highly doubtful.

Keywords: Alaverdeli, Della Valle, Castelli, Persia, Ketevan the Martyr.

Author Biography

ELDAR MAMISTVALISHVILI, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Gori State University, Georgia, Gori

In the first half of the seventeenth century, one of Georgia’s most notable ecclesiastical figures—a person well known to the missionaries and of a highly distinctive character—was Metropolitan Mitrophane of Alaverdi. Virtually nothing has been preserved in Georgian written sources about his life, so this study follows the information provided by Italian missionaries, tracing his story from his return to Georgia after captivity in Persia to the end of his life. Among these sources, the letters of Cristoforo Castelli are of particular interest, as they show that he enjoyed such a close personal relationship with the Metropolitan that Mitrophane wished to have Castelli at his side during his final moments and, in fact, died in his presence.

The information on Metropolitan Mitrophane of Alaverdi on which this article is based comes almost entirely from Italian Catholic missionaries, beginning with the identification of his family name. Neither Georgian nor foreign sources record this surname directly. Only one indirect clue exists in a portrait of a horseman drawn by Cristoforo Castelli, bearing an inscription stating that the depicted person was a certain Shabatari (or Sabakhtari) Avalishvili, brother of the Metropolitan of Alaverdi and an enemy of the missionaries. From this, it has been determined that Mitrophane’s family name was Avalishvili.

A few Russian accounts also mention Mitrophane; they were recorded by Russian envoys stationed in Mingrelia and are based on the Metropolitan’s own testimony.

From the famous traveler, diplomat, archaeologist, and writer Don Pietro della Valle, we learn that Mitrophane had been taken captive by Shah Abbas I of Persia together with his relatives. He eventually escaped and returned to Georgia, later residing in western Georgia, where he established contacts with the Theatine missionaries Don Cristoforo Castelli, Don Arcangelo Lamberti, and Don Giuseppe Giudice. Based on their reports, we can trace the Metropolitan’s remarkable life in the Principality of Mingrelia, where he died on 3 January 1643.

According to Castelli’s account, Mitrophane professed the Catholic faith shortly before his death—a statement that remains highly doubtful.

Keywords: Alaverdeli, Della Valle, Castelli, Persia, Ketevan the Martyr.