Anthim the Iberian (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: ''Antim Ivireanul'',

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

: ანთიმოზ ივერიელი – ''Antimoz Iverieli''; secular name: ''Andria''; 1650 — September or October 1716) was a

theologian, scholar, calligrapher,

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and one of the greatest ecclesiastic figures of Wallachia, led the printing press of the prince of Wallachia, and was

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of Bucharest in 1708–1715.

Early life

Anthim was born in the Kingdom of Kartli, a Georgian kingdom then known as Iberia in the west. Anthim was taken prisoner by Ottoman troops, and sold in the slave market at Constantinople. He was trained as an artisan, learning wood sculpting, painting, embroidery, and calligraphy.Old, Hughes Oliphant and Bulgakov, Sergeĭ Nikolaevich. "Antim of Iveria", ''The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church'', Vol. 5, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, p. 376
At some point he was ransomed by the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

. He took orders in Istanbul, while living on the compounds of the Patriarchate. Patriarch Dositheos traveled to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, taking Anthim with him. A Greek printing office had been established there in 1682.

In Wallachia

In 1689 he was asked to settle in Wallachia by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, and in 1691 was given charge of the newly founded printing press in Bucharest.Maxim Marian Vlad. (2020). "The Testamentary and Philanthropic Value of the Settlement Bequeathed to All Saints’ Monastery by Its Founder, Saint Anthim the Iberian, Metropolitan Bishop of Wallachia". ''Technium Social Sciences Journal'', 13(1), 551–560
/ref> In 1693, he published the '' Gospels'' in Romanian. In 1695, being appointed father superior (egumen) of the Snagov Monastery, and established a printing office at the new location."Anthimus of Iberia", in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007 edition. Retrieved May 23, 2007
Anthim spoke and wrote Greek, Turkish, and Arabic. He soon acquired a thorough knowledge of

, and was instrumental in helping to introduce that language into the local church as its official language. citing M. Gaster, ''Chrestomathie roumaine'' (1881) and "''Gesch. d. rumänischen Litteratur,''" in Grober, ''Grundriss d. rom. Philologie'', vol. ii. (1899); and E. Picot, ''Notice sur Anthim d'Ivir'' (Paris, 1886). In 1702 he returned to Bucharest. He became bishop of

Râmnic The Râmnic is a left tributary of the river Casimcea Casimcea is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Casimcea, Cișmeaua Nouă (historical name: ''Ramazanchioi''), Corugea, Haidar, Rahman an ...

in 1705, and in 1708 Metropolitan of Wallachia. In 1709 Anthim was a founder of the first Georgian printing press in Tbilisi; he also trained Georgians in the art of printing, and cut the type with which under his pupil

Mihai Iștvanovici Mihai or Mihail Iștvanovici (Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic: Мiхаи Iщвановичь, ka, მიხაი იშტვანოვიჩი, tr, mikhai isht'vanovichi, hu, Istvánovics Mihály), also known as Ișvanovici, Iștanovi ...

printed the first Georgian ''Gospels'' (1710). He also printed a short

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

to assist his priests in giving catechetical instruction. In addition, Anthim published 25 other books in Romanian, as well as

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...

, Greek, and Arabic (usually in bilingual volumes, such as the Greek-Arabic ''

Missal A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pries ...

'' of 1702); this meant that he was also the first in Wallachia to use Arabic fonts. His homiletic work, the ''Didache'',"St. Antim of Iberia, Martyr Metropolit of Romania (1650-1716)", Saint John the Evangelist Pomanian Orthodox chirch, Toronto
/ref> was a collection of sermons meant as a sharp critique of contemporary habits and morals; notably, beside Christian sources, Anthim made reference to classical philosophy. Alongside his literary output, the cleric was the builder of the ''All-Saints Monastery'' in Bucharest, now known as the Antim Monastery in his memory.

Death

Anthim's overt opposition to Ottoman tutelage over Wallachia made him an adversary of the

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...

regime. The new Prince Nicholas Mavrocordatos imprisoned him, and subsequently

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d him to Mount Sinai. Anthim was captured by the Ottomans while making the trip, and

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

somewhere in modern-day Bulgaria (his body would have been discarded in the Maritsa or the

Tundzha The Tundzha ( bg, Тунджа , tr, Tunca , el, Τόνζος ) is a river in Bulgaria and Turkey (known in antiquity as the Tonsus) and the most significant tributary of the Maritsa, emptying into it on Turkish territory near Edirne. The rive ...

). It is alleged that his murder was ordered by Mavrocordatos himself.

Canonisation

In 1992 Anthim was canonised by the Romanian Orthodox Church having his saint day on September 27. In memory of 300 years of his death, Romanian Orthodox Church declared 2016 as Saint Anthim the Iverian year.

Legacy

In the modern day, Anthim represents a symbol of the relations between Georgia and Romania. A rugby union trophy, the Antim Cup, contested between Romania and Georgia every year, is named after him.

References

Sources

* "Antimoz Iverieli", in ''Sakartvelo Encyclopedia'', Vol. I, Tbilisi, 1997, p. 158 * Otar Gvinchidze, ''Antimoz Iverieli'', Tbilisi, 1973 *

George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...

, ''Istoria literaturii române''

București Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, 1968, p. 19

External links

''Didahii'' (online transcript)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthim The Iberian 1650 births 1716 deaths Saints of Georgia (country) Eastern Orthodox Christians from Georgia (country) Early Modern Romanian writers Romanian Orthodox metropolitan bishops Romanian printers Romanian saints Eastern Orthodox Christians from Romania Assassinated religious leaders 18th-century Christian saints 17th-century Romanian people 18th-century Romanian people Romanian people of Georgian descent Christian saints killed by Muslims Calligraphers from Georgia (country) Founders of Christian monasteries Georgia (country)–Romania relations