Goneli Arakhamia
PhD in History
The University of Georgia
Tamaz Beradze Institute Georgian Studies
Chief Research Fellow
Goneli Arakhamia
PhD in History
The University of Georgia
Tamaz Beradze Institute Georgian Studies
Chief Research Fellow
Arsen the Monk (12th Century) as a Historian
Arsen the Monk is credited with a revised edition of the Life of St. Nino, which he composed during the reign of King Demetre I (1125-1156). By this time, at least three versions of works dedicated to St. Nino's life existed in Georgian literature (The Conversion of Kartli in its short and extended versions, and the so-called Leonti Mroveli version in The Life of Kartli).
Arsen the Monk believed that the version of St. Nino’s life used in liturgical practice at the time contained several flaws unsuitable for such a text. Specifically, the saint’s deeds were merged with narratives about kings, and different narrators presented St. Nino’s story in a jumbled chronological order. Arsen promised his readers that he would correct these flaws, which he faithfully accomplished.
At the end of his revised edition of the Life of St. Nino, Arsen the Monk added a historical excursus, where he presented his views on various issues concerning the history of the state and church of Kartli. He endorsed the early version of the origin of the Kingdom of Kartli found in The Life of Kartli and the historical chronicle The Conversion of Kartli, and he categorically rejected the views of Leonti Mroveli on the same matter.
Arsen the Monk paid special attention to significant events in the history of the Georgian Church, such as the establishment of the Catholicosate during the reign of King Vakhtang Gorgasali. He considered it essential to inform readers about the Antiochian Patriarchate’s granting of the right to select and ordain the Catholicos for the Georgian Church’s synod (Council of Bishops).
The author found it necessary to highlight the complete separation of the Georgian Church and its congregation from all forms of heresy, including iconoclasm, which had even spread within the Church of Byzantium itself, and their unwavering loyalty to the "true faith."
Arsen the Monk is one of the first historians in medieval Georgian historiography to conceive of the significant events in the Georgian Church’s history after St. Nino's era as an essential component of the country’s history. This understanding later found further development in the works of King Vakhtang VI and the so-called "Commission of Learned Men" in the 18th century.
Keywords: Arsen the Monk, Life of St. Nino, Georgian Church history, Medieval Georgian historiography.