Gregory of Khandzta (

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 ...

: გრიგოლ ხანძთელი, ''Grigol Khandzteli''; 759 – 5 October 861) was a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

n ecclesiastic figure and a founder and leader of numerous monastic communities in

Tao-Klarjeti Tao-Klarjeti may refer to: *Tao-Klarjeti Tao-Klarjeti may refer to: * Tao-Klarjeti, part of Georgian historical region of Upper Kartli * Kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti, AD 888 to 1008 {{set index article Kingdom of Iberia Historical regions of Ge ...

, a historical region in the Southwest of

. Born into an aristocratic family in

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role ...

, Gregory was raised at the court of the prince

Nerse of Iberia Nerse ( ka, ნერსე, also spelled ''Nerses''), of the Nersianid family, was a ruling prince of Iberia (Kartli, eastern Georgia) from c. 760 to 772 and again from 775 to 779/80. Nerse succeeded his father, Adarnase III, Curopalates of Ibe ...

, whose wife was Gregory's paternal aunt. He left his home when he was young and became a monk in the region of

Klarjeti Klarjeti ( ka, კლარჯეთი ) was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is now part of Turkey's Artvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region wit ...

(now located in north-eastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

), the only region of Georgia free of Arab presence. After a short time in the monastery of

Opiza Opiza ( ka, ოპიზა) was a medieval Georgian monastery and cathedral church located in historical Klarjeti region, now in Artvin Province, Turkey. It is one of the oldest Georgian churches in the Tao-Klarjeti region. Opiza was reconstruct ...

(ოპიზა), he founded his own monastery at

Khandzta Khandzta ( ka, ხანძთა, ) was a medieval Georgian monastery founded by Gregory of Khandzta in 782 AD. It has been identified as probably being the ruined monastery known as Porta, in Pırnallı village, Artvin province, Turkey. History ...

(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 title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

. The monasteries and their

scriptoria Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes and ...

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 Ashot I the Great ( ka, აშოტ I დიდი ) (died 826/830) was a presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia), first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the B ...

, the presiding prince of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, had chosen Artanuji in

as his residence and stronghold in his effort to assert independence from other regional powers, such as the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

or the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. 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.St. Gregory of Chandzoe in Georgia
/ref> 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 A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

work written by

Giorgi Merchule Giorgi Merchule ( ka, გიორგი მერჩულე) was a 10th-century Georgian monk, calligrapher and writer who authored "The Vita of Grigol Khandzteli", a hagiographic novel dealing with the life of the prominent Georgian churchman S ...

in 951.

References

Saints of Georgia (country) Centenarians from Georgia (country) 759 births 861 deaths Christian monks from Georgia (country) 9th-century Christian saints 9th-century people from Georgia (country) Men centenarians Hymnwriters from Georgia (country) {{saint-stub