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ACTIVITY OF Manana Gnolidze |
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The This variety does not, by itself, lead to conflict. The
variety encompasses common customs, traditions, and the ethnic and
psychological individualism of the Caucasian people. If measured by diversity
and integrity, the most interesting area in the Caucasus could be The Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainardji
between the Russian Empire and Sublime Porte on 10 July 1774, in articles
concerning the Caucasus, pronounced In 1783, Kartli-Kakheti signed the
Treaty of Georgievsk,
which
continued Russia.s political advance into the the present analysis, the act established regulations of the
two Orthodox Churches (in Russia and Georgia) that made the Patriarch of
Georgia a permanent member of the Holy Synod.3 This
agreement instituted a new relationship between the Georgian Catholicos-Patriarch and the Holy Synod, giving eight
degrees of sanctity to the Georgian Patriarch and ranking it behind the
Archbishop of Tobolsk.4 This meant that the Georgian Church lost
its independence, coming under the jurisdiction of the Russian Catholicos-Patriarch. Importantly, as the Synod was
supervised by a (secular) Ober-Prosecutor who
answered to the Empress, the Georgian church became dependent on the Russian
state. The beginning of missionary activity The idea to use the Orthodox faith to create a common ideology
in the The Society sent its first missionaries from The status of the Following the reforms in the Georgian church, the erstwhile
Clerical Commission of Ossetia was re-established in 1815, now centred in mountains). The
fact that Cossacks were enlisted indicates Russia.s
fear of the mountain people.s resistance to the
missionary project. In 1810, the Abkhazia. Thus, the area of the Commission.s
renewed activity was already much bigger and included territory beyond the According to the missionaries. reports, they baptised 216 Abkhazians, as well as 2,788 Kists (Chechens and Ingush) living in Georgia, and 43,927
Ossetians between 1817 and 1825.6
In 1857, the Viceroy of the Caucasus, Alexander Ivanovich Bariatinskii, and the
Exarch of Georgia, Isidor
(Nikolskii), reported to the Emperor that, “The
duty of the Orthodox Christian state is to create a Society for the
restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the Caucasus. tool of Orthodox Christianity herself”7 The report presented by Bariatinskii
and Isidor was discussed for three years in The Society declared, as did Bariatinskii,
that the main aim of its work was to spread Orthodox Christianity in the Bariatinskii wrote,
in a report cited in the Survey of Activity of the
Society for Restoration of OrthodoxChristianity in
the “Islam for the Caucasian mountain people is the faith of
patriotism. It is the symbol and flag of independence. For the entire population of the As this quote makes clear, for Russian policy makers in the The establishment of the Society proclaimed the aim of
restoring Christianity in the region where the natives had been Christians
since ancient times. The main directions of the Society.s
activity were: 1) To construct and restore churches, and to establish nearby
housing for the clergy; 2) To establish and finance parochial schools for the
education of the locals; 3) To translate and publish the Bible and other sacred books
into local languages and to compile alphabets for peoples who did not have
them; 4) To improve the social position of priests and to improve
their training.10 Only Orthodox Christians could join the Society. The Council
of the Society was the main authority for missionary activities, with the
Georgian Exarch serving as Chairman of the Council. The Society inherited the property of
the Clerical Commission of Ossetia, totalling
238,174 rubles,11
and
received money from the government and individuals, which by 1861 had reached
376,339 rubles. 12 The Society received lands, including the
Karaiaz steppe, amounting to 100,000 square dessiatinas (approximately 275,000 acres) in all. The
property of the Society as of January 1, 1864, amounted to 450,188 rubles.13
In
1862-1863, the finances of the Society were increased permanently, thanks to
the attention of the Emperor and the Empress of Russia, and reached a
.considerable amount..14 The zeal of the government to finance the Society shows the
great importance it gave to the spread of Orthodox Christianity in the How did the Muslim population and mullahs react to this
activity? In its first report (for 1862-1863), the Society admitted that,
.the mere fact of the appearance of the Society caused an awakening of
religious fear and enmity towards it and presented a challenge for Muslim
propaganda, which uses any means to paralyse the
defensive activity of the Society..15 Muslim resistance as well as the Georgian mountaineers’
reluctance to give up their traditional customs,including some pre-Christian elements, presented
some difficulties for missionary activity in the In response, the Emperor appointed the Viceroy of the region lay in
the foundation of Orthodox educational institutions and the immediate
compilation of local alphabets. The Society admitted in the same report of 1862-1863 that the
compilation of alphabets in the local languages languages
was intended to remedy the fact that all local education was conducted by the
mullahs. They taught the Arabic language to the local children in order to
teach them the Qur.an
in
Arabic. The Society thought that if they could provide new schools for the
youth, where the teaching would be in native languages using books in the
(new) local alphabets, they would win the .battle. for
Christian propaganda. According to this plan, Georgian was to be used at schools
among the Georgian mountaineers and Armenian, Turkish, and Georgian would be used
in south Georgia, in consideration of the ethnic structure of the region (at
least for the beginning classes). The Society was trying to make the Georgian mountaineers give
up the local “pagan” traditions and change the local structure of the communities,
where often the head of the community was also the elder, or khevisberi. The khevisberi
was also the spiritual leader of the community, leading church service during
the festival for the community saint. Regular weekly church service among the
Georgian mountaineers was not observed, but they had special celebrations of
Christian saints such as St. Mary, St. George, and others when they gathered
at a special place called khati
(in
English, .icon.). A khati, which was not a large
church but a small building like a basilica, was built for each saint. The khevisberi would lead the ceremony, praying for
community, offering sacrifices to the saint, and switching candles. This structure apparently seemed dangerous, as it made a
single person both a spiritual and community leader and gave him great
influence on the local community. At present, this institution has been
weakened in Georgia, but among some North Caucasian groups it remains strong
and defines the unity of community (such as among Chechens and Ingush). The Viceroy began his work actively and created the post of
Inspector of Orthodox schools in 1864, by the Order of the Society #16, and
assigned two inspectors to this position. In 1873, the local government
created the special position of Inspector of the Society.s
schools under the administration of the Caucasian educational district.. The
Inspector was also responsible for some public schools in regions located
outside the authority of the Governor.s inspectors
in Svaneti and Abkhazia.16
The
first Inspector, Streletskii from Muslim priests opposed the Society.s
educational activity, since they had previously maintained a monopoly on
education in regions with dense Muslim populations,17 and yet
they could not stop the Society.s educational
activities. In 1861, the Commission for Introduction of Literacy Among the
Mountaineers was established by the Society to compile alphabets. The Society
appointed Ivan Bartolomei as
Chair of the Commission, with a staff made up of Pavel
Uslar, Dimitry Purtseladze, Vladimir Trirogov
and others. In 1865, the Commission compiled andpublished
an Abkhaz alphabet with translations of Abkhaz aphorisms and stories for
children. The book was approved as the textbook for use in Abkhaz schools.18
In
1868, the Board of the Society changed this policy, admitted the “infant”
position of Abkhaz language and so Abkhaz language remained undeveloped and
all translation projects were ceased.19 Konstantin Davidovich Machavariani and his seventeen-year old student, Dimitry Gulia (the creator of
the present Abkhaz alphabet), continued the work only later after 1892.20
The
reaction of Georgian intellectuals to this act was remarkable. Jacob Gogebashvili, the creator of the Georgian textbooks (Deda Ena, Bunebis
Kari, and others) noted: “We Georgians must strive to develop and enrich our literature
and the liturgical language. And we have to wish the same for the other
nations, including the Abkhaz. [...] Exarch Kirion supported efforts to compile an Abkhaz alphabet
and create their literature. He demanded that I take part in creating
textbooks in the Abkhaz native language. Georgians in Sokhumi should work towards this goal, as the
awakening of the Abkhaz will change their external unity with Georgians into
the internal solidarity and intensive Brotherhood”.21 During 1864-1865, some of the Kists
in the Pankisi gorge were converted to Orthodox
Christianity, and the Society opened a school in Pankisi.
The Society invited two Kists to come to Literacy published the textbook the same year together with
the Chechen alphabet, but soon the work stopped as The translation of Gospel into Ossetian
was finished in 1864 and published in the same year. The changed political situation after the end of the wars
prepared fertile ground for the future missionary activity. Now that it did
not have to contend with Murid resistance, Akhatsikhe pashalik (Akhaltsikhe-Akhalkalaki
distr.) had become part of In 1864, The new territories with compact Muslim populations created
some difficulties for the Caucasian governors. Paving the way for the
establishment of the new rule was resolved by forcing the native Muslims
(ethnic Georgians and others) to immigrate to These regions became the main arenas (together with the Akhaltsikhe-Akhalkalaki districts, 1861-1885 By 1880, the Society had three schools in Akhalkalaki
and two in Akhaltsikhe district,22
and
one shelter opened in 1878 at a school in the Akhalkalaki
district.23 In 1880, four more parochial schools were
opened in Akhaltsikhe district, in Akhaltsikhe, Vale, Safara-Muskhi,
and Toloshi. Akhalkalaki district: Akhalkalaki,
Kilda, Baraleti Society schools were located in three of the four parishes in
the district (the village Mushki being the only
parish without a school), one school in each. The fourthschool
was established in the Muslim Georgian served as the language of instruction when the school
first opened, but later it was replaced by Russian. In 1880, the Assistant Commander of Civil Affairs in the The most remarkable development was the establishment of a
school in Khertvisi in 1870 where the majority of
the population was Muslim. About twenty young men graduated from the school,
and in 1880 five Muslim students studied at the Caucasian Teachers Seminary.
Four young Armenian men also graduated from the school.27 The attempts to use education to spread Orthodox Christianity
in Akhaltsikhe-Akhalkalaki districts did not yield
the anticipated results. The report of the Society for 1885 shows the
disastrous position of the newly converted Christian population in the region.28 For 1880, there were only 77
cases of baptism into Christianity among the Muslim Georgian (Meskhs),29 and this
number did not increase considerably in future. Abkhazia, 1860-1885 The situation in Abkhazia was different. The Russian Orthodox missions
in this region were extremely successful. Building on the activity of the
Clerical Commission of Ossetia in Abkhazia, the Society worked to strengthen
and spread Orthodox Christianity in the region. Before examining the main reasons for its success, we must
first examine the form of Islam that was prevalent in Abkhazia.The
establishment of Turkish supremacy over the Black Sea coast of In 1810, after realizing Russia.s
increasing strength in the Caucasus, the Abkhazian ruler Sapar-bei
Sharvashidze declared his alliance with The Society reported that despite their conversion, Abkhazian
political interests and religious sympathies still were biased towards “There is no sign that Christianity is preserved either among
the princes or the people”.30 To expand their activity, the missions needed to have detailed
descriptions of different regions and ethnic groups in the Abkhazia and in the other parts of The missionaries divided the Abkhazian Muslim population (in
accordance with their devotion to Islam) into two groups: fanatics and
non-fanatics. The former, a minority, kept all the traditions of Islam
strongly but were not committed to pilgrimages to the sacred Muslim sites nor
to praying five times a day. Non-fanatic Abkhazians, who formed the majority, maintained
Islamic traditions by keeping Ramadan and the feast of Kurban-Bairam,
and by inviting mullahs to ceremonies. They practised
a more syncretic Islam, as they also celebrated
Christmas, Easter, New Year, Whit Sunday, and festivities observing the
Virgin Mary and St. George. In addition, they worshipped icons and lit
candles when praying, dyed eggs on Easter, and poured wine on bread in memory
of dead ancestors.31 The missionaries concluded that there was no religious
friction in Abkhazia between Muslims and Christians. The missionaries had
been disturbed by the fact that religious difference did not impede marriage
between Christians and Muslims in the According to the missionaries’ reports, the two main centres of Islam in Abkhazia were Atsi
(in the Gudauta region) and Jgerda
(in the Kodori region), where there were two small
mosques. The Muslims in Gudauta were more devoted
Muslims than their coreligionists in the Kodori
region. Nevertheless, the influence of Orthodox Georgians living in Samurzakano (the Gali district
of today.s Abkhazia) did not outweigh the influence
of Islam on the population of Kodori. Samurzakano is a territory in Abkhazia where the
great majority of the natives are Georgians (Megrelians). The Society claimed that one outstanding result of missionary
activity here was the fact that in 1910 there were not any Muslims recorded
among the citizenry. In this situation the missionaries exaggerated the impact
of their work, as the great majority of natives in Samurzakano
were Georgian Christians even before the missionary activity began. The reality was that the observance of Christian traditions in
the region persisted, albeit weakly, and that the missionaries had simply
strengthened existing tendencies. The Society also emphasized that the
population tried to preserve and restore Christianity in other parts of
Abkhazia.33 The popular Georgian newspaper Droeba
mentioned
that about 2,875 Muslims and 876 pagans were baptised
in 1867, the majority of whom were Abkhaz.34 The real success in baptising Muslim
Abkhazians was achieved by Bishop Gabriel (Kikodze,
1869-1885) of Imereti. He sent David Machavariani (as part of the Clerical Commission of
Ossetia) to carry out missionary work in Abkhazia. Although the Commission for Ossetia no longer existed, Machavariani continued his work after 1869 under the
authority of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the Georgians contributed significantly to the success of Russian
missionary work. in fact, they defined the success
of the Russian Orthodox missions. Their knowledge of local languages,
customs, traditions, and ethnic psychology simplified their task. Tradition
also played important role. Georgians, indeed, had historically beenthe propagators of Christianity among the different
ethnic groups in the The Society was a pioneer of mass education in Abkhazia and in
many regions of the Reorganisation of the Society in 1885 1885 marked a turning point in the history of the Society,
when the Emperor ordered its reorganisation. The
Chairman of the Society became the Exarch of
Georgia, and the Assistant Commander for Civil Affairs in the The reorganisation was initiated by
the Ober-Prosecutor of Holy Synod and the Commander
for Civil Affairs in the The report on the state
of Christianity for 1885 counted 170 churches under the auspices of the
Society. There were 143 parishes in the region: East Georgia - 64, Vladikavkaz - 26,
Sokhumi (Abkhazia) - 37, Guria-Megrelia (West
Georgia) - 15, Imereti (West Georgia) - 1. The Society also had a number of churches in the regions of Vladikavkaz
bishopric - 29, Sokhumi bishopric - 54, Guria-Megrelia
bishopric - 14, Imereti bishopric - 1. In 1885, the Society spent over 281 rubles to repair the
Muslim mosque in village Samovat (Karsi district).39 This
flexible policy in regions where the majority of the population was Muslim
guaranteed local assistance for the foundation of the missionary schools
there. The priests of the Society received generous salaries of about 200-700
rubles annually. The total amount for the maintenance of the clergy increased
to 64,687 rubles in 1885.40 The
Society also granted scholarships to successful pupils to continue their
education at the ecclesiastical schools of The outcome of the missionary activity during the period of
1860-1885, according to the Society.s reports, was
not impressive except in Abkhazia and in parts of modern-day This evaluation of immediate causes was correct, but the main
reason for local resistance to Christianity was defined by resistance to
Russian political rule. Akhaltsikhe - Akhalkalaki districts,
1885-1910 The most poverty-stricken converts were the Christians in Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki.
The authors of the 1885 report stated: “The prospect of such a poor life restrains even those Muslims
who sincerely wish to become Christians. ... Muslims are afraid of Christian
priests and try to avoid the meeting with them. Naturally, it is difficult to
speak of the possibility of successful missionaryactivity,
let alone of success achieved”.43 The missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church also
focused on Georgian society, as expressed on the pages of Georgian newspapers
and magazines such as Tsnobis
Purtseli, Shroma, Droeba, Iveria. In
assessing the Society.s activity, the press
was mostly critical of the Society not only for its lethargy in spreading
Orthodox Christianity but also for its passive educational work.44 The period of 1885-1910 can be considered the second stage in
the history of the Society. The political tides in the The migration processes in newly acquired territories had
ended. Colonization of the In 1888, Tsar Alexander III visited The missionaries and the native Muslims improved their
relations by the end of the nineteenth century: ”The Muslims, who not a long time before were full of enmity
towards their Christian neighbours, at present
express not only religious tolerance but also allowed their children to receive
education at Christian schools ... In the year of this report (1896) there
were five Muslim young men and one young woman at the Toloshi
School (Akhaltsikhe Distr.) They make up one
seventh of the total number of pupils there”.46 Beginning in 1901, the situation turned against Christianity.
Muslims in the village Muskhi who had previously
agreed to send their children to the Society’s school suddenly changed their
minds for fear that they would be converted to Christianity. The number of
mullahs was increasing. They were coming from The report of the Society for 1898-1901 shows that the missionaries
were concerned with possible attempts to inspire enmity between Muslims and
Christian Georgians. The situation did not encourage peace and friendship,
and eventually there were signs of growing hatred because of religious
differences. The Society suggested that the government not give permission
to mullahs from Adjaria, 1889-1910 Beginning in 1889, the Society took a step forward in the restoration
of Christianity in another region of the Black Sea coast of The foundation of this Missionary Section came as a result of
a report by Ambrosi, the leader of the Shemokmedi monastery (Guria, in
West Georgia), who was sent as a missionary to Adjaria
by the Exarch in 1888. Ambrosi
explored the current position of Islam in the region and concluded that many
Christian traditions survived in Adjara. He thought
that it proved that the Batumi-Artvini districts
could be fertile ground for reviving the ancient faith of the natives . Orthodox Christianity.48 The Missionary Section did not produce any results, despite
the active efforts of the Society. The Society itself recognized the reasons
for its lack of success: the death of Bishop Gregory, who had much influence
among the Muslims in Adjara, and the significant
distance between the residency of the Bishop in Guria-Imereti
and It should be recognized that these reasons were not the
primary causes of their failure. The main cause was the strong influence of
Islamic propaganda in the region: “Mullahs have a great influence among Muslim Georgians. These
mullahs are fervent fanatics, Adjarians constitute
a tightly united body at their disposal,
and each member of Muslim society is expected to work equally
hard towards its preservation and prosperity. The Muslims strove to preserve
the faith among their brothers... The most malicious in this field are the
mullahs who arrived from The restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the On October 21, 1896, the day when Tsar Nicholas II ascended to
the throne, the annual assembly of the Society took place in Abkhazia, 1885-1910 The next step to increase the influence of Christianity was to
found libraries at the schools and the churches of the Society,51
and
to open two parishes in Abkhazia in 1899.52 Special
attention was given to the professional education of the youth. The pupils at
the New Athens Monastery were permitted to continue study for a fifth year to
study agriculture and Psalm teaching.53 The
fruits (lemons) grown at the monastery were represented at the agricultural
exhibition of the in Abkhazia for cultivating
even tender southern plants ... will no doubt bring region a significant
profit. To introduce the natives to scientific methods of planting through
the help of the New Athens Monastery school’s students ... will result in the
growth of economical prosperity in the country”.54 From 1889 to the end of the century, the Muslim population
began to increase in Abkhazia: “Many Christian settlements became totally
Muslim. Before 1889, not a single village in Abkhazia had a majority Muslim
population. Christians lived even in the centres of
Islam in Abkhazia (such as Gudauta) and, concerning
the birth records, Christian Abkhazians there diligently carried out their
Christian duties..55 The Bishop of Sohkumi reported that
the inclination of Abkhazians towards Islam was very serious and dangerous
for the influence of Christianity in the region. In order to revise and lead
the missionary activity in Abkhazia, in 1899 the Society appointed the
missionary Tarasi Ivanitskii.
His main task was to draft an accurate picture of the
influence of Orthodox Christianity in Abkhazia. Ivanitskii
reported that the Turks living in Sokhumi, Ochamchire,
and Gudauta were the key factor for the conversion
of Abkhazians to Islam. They secretly kept mosques in Jgerda,
Atsi and even in Megrelia
(Tskhenitskali). Ivanitskii
emphasized that the reason for the weakness of Orthodox Christianity in the
region was its use of Old Church Slavonic for church services instead oflocal languages, and, conversely, the requirement that
the vernacular be used for teaching at schools. He paid particular attention
to the method Ilminskii used in Arseni, Bishop
of Sokhumi, appealed to the Military Governor of In 1899, the Society relocated the anti-Islamic library from Zakatala district to Abkhazia. Zakatala district, 1885-1910 The Zakatala district was settled by
Georgians of Sunni Islamic confession. The Society expended great effort to
restore Orthodox Christianity in the region and partly
achieved its goal. Ingiloes,
natives of Zakatala, lived in compact villages: Kakhi, Alibeglo, Koragani, Tasmalo, Zagami, Marsani, Lala-pasha, Musuli, Engiani, etc. Missionaries reported that
Muslim Ingiloes remembered their Christian
heritage, respected Christian churches, and kept some Christian traditions.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Society had five parishes
(in Kakhi, Alibeglo, Tasmalo, Koragani and Ketuklo) with four
schools (including one for girls) in Alibeglo, Koragani and Ketuklo. In 1899, E. Maminaishvili was
appointed to the post of Inspector of the Zakatala
district, replacing the aforementioned Tarasi Ivanitski, who had carried out some of the most important
missionary work among the Ingiloes and was now
transferred to Abkhazia. The activity of the missionaries was met with resistance by
the mullahs. Ivanitskii reported that the mullahs
forbade the Ingiloes (Georgians living in
Azerbaijan in Zakatala/Kakhi districts) to speak in
Georgian even for everyday usage.57 The same fact
was reconfirmed in 1915 by Kavkazskoe
Slovo.58 The newspaper mentioned that after 1860s,
when the war with Shamil was over and the North
Caucasus finally was joined to the Russian Empire, Ingiloes
began to lose their native language. Kavkazskoe
slovo linked this loss with the persistent
efforts to restore the Orthodox Christianity among them. It acknowledged
that, “missionary work had almost no positive
result, except for four villages which really turned back to Christianity.
All others not only did not express any interest in Christianity but withdrew
even further into their religious fanaticism, and hated anything Georgian as
a reminder of despised Christianity”.59 The Georgian newspaper Sakartvelo
stated
that, “many of the villages resolved that mothers would not speak Georgian
with their children. To hasten the disappearance of the Georgian language, Ingoloes began to marry women from the Nukhi and Kazakh Districts, which, as known, are settled
by Tatars [that is, by Dagestanians and Azeris. The term .Tatar. was
often used as a synonym of Muslim. M. G-S.]. Children whose mothers did not
speak Tatar were sent to Tatar villages to learn the language and to forget
their native Georgian. Ingiloes stopped visit
Georgian sacred places [i.e., churches M. G-S.], which they had worshipped
until now. They dug up the vineyards, accepted Tatar customs, and voluntarily went towards total denationalization”.60 Kavkazskoe
Slovo also mentioned that, in Georgian
newspapers, intellectuals began to devote much attention to the restoration
of the Georgian spirit among the Muslim Georgians after the last Turkish
invasion of Adjara. Georgian intellectuals supported their Muslim brothers during
this hard period morally and financially, and the interest in Georgian
Muslims is increasing among Georgians. The newspaper mentioned that it should
immediately begin hard work in Zakatala to restore
this lost region to its native culture.61 The same newspaper in October admitted a similar situation
among Abkhazians and Meskhs.62 It is
noted that, “in the western part of the Sokhumi district, Georgian culture is
disappearing. Abkhaz culture, which for many centuries was close to Georgian
culture, is today almost totally detached from the Georgian family. It isperhaps strange, but this voluntary denationalisation
(as seen in the Muslim parts of I do not think that it can be explained by a lack of interest
from Georgian intellectuals in their Muslim brothers, or by the role of
Orthodox missions in weakening the position of Christianity. The reality is
that Islam began to serve as the flag against Russian supremacy among all
independent people of the Opposition to Georgians, who were joined to the Russians by a
common faith and also who led the Russians to enter the Caucasus, was also a
natural feeling among Muslims Georgians and non-Georgians. Prince Alexander of The Society, 1885-1910 The reorganisation of the Society
marked increased engagement in different fields of missionary activity and
also some revision of its methods. Monies allocated for the restoration and
construction of the churches was doubled, reaching 200,000 rubles.63 The Inspector of the Svaneti-Batumi-Artvini
regions examined the Society.s schools and assessed
the state of Christianity in Abkhazia for 1894-95. His sudden death ended the
review, but in 1896 Society appointed a new missionary, Evtikhi
Maminaishvili, who worked successfully under the Society.s authority in Zakatala
( The Society reported in 1896 that its schools consisted of: 21
for young men, 8 for young women and 19 coeducational institutions in
different regions of It had forty schools in Muslim districts: four in Zakatala, four in Akhaltsikhe-Akhalkalaki,
seven in Abkhazia, eighteen in North Ossetia, six in South Ossetia, and one
in Pankisi (among Chechens and Ingush).64
The
number of students at the schools were: 30 boys in Pankisi (Chechens and
Ingush); 72 boys and 9 girls in the Zakatala
district; 237 boys and 52 girls at the schools of Akhaltsikhe-Akhalkalaki
districts; 289 boys and 13 girls in Sokhumi district schools; 1,157 boys and 367 girls in 263 boys and 26 girls in South Ossetia.65 The hardest task was to improve teaching methods. Using the
vernacular in teaching and preaching would assist in the victory of
Orthodoxy, according to the Society.s resolutions.
It was decided to use the Georgian clergy in organizing missionary work. .A Khevsuri, or Svani, or
mountaineer ... who is familiar with local conditions, is educated... and who
is appointed to the post of priest or teacher would not hesitate [to go] and
never would request to be reassigned to another location. Besides, he will be
content in his native country among his countrymen, with the customs and
traditions he is already familiar with. He will have a stronger influence
than a priest or teacher who would need some time to study the native culture..66 To proceed with this plan, Society granted scholarships to the
most successful students from the region for graduate study at the St. Petersburg
and Kazan Theological Academies, the Tbilisi and Kutaisi Theological
Seminaries, the Kutaisi Theological School, the Tbilisi Diocese Women.s School, and St. Nino Women.s
School at the Bodbe Convent. The Society discussed the missionaries. reports
on different parts of Why had the success of Christian education not led to the
success of Orthodoxy itself in the Muslim regions of the Zakatala
district)? The Society reported that the difficulty was due to the
multi-religious societies of the “Nowhere else are the universal ideas of Christian
enlightenment embodied ... as in the church schools of the The church school has not been an unusual entity for the
non-Orthodox population, even for the Muslims. The latter are the neighbours of Russians and, when given the opportunity,
the Muslims send their children to church schools. ... If a missionary was
skilful, any missionary institution could have a great influence on the
wide-scale Christianization (mostly of Muslims) at the school. Muslims are
afraid of the missionary but don.t fear the mission
school, and this in particular is the way to draw in Christianity without
force and to bring Christian and Muslim customs in contact”.68 The Society acknowledged that it should recognize the role of
its schools as institutions of public education and assist in the conversion
of the natives into Orthodox Christianity.69 The Society.s schools used the same
teaching methodology as throughout the Russian Empire. The textbooks used at
the schools were the best textbooks at the time, such as the .Reader in
Russian Literature.(by Ushinskii),
.Arithmetic. (Grubbe), .Deda
Ena. (Georgian language), .Kartuli
Anbani. (Georgian alphabet), and .Bunebis Kari. (Biology, Gogebashvili).
Textbooks, notebooks and other necessary school things were free for the
students and teachers. By 1910, the society managed 53 parishes and 83 educational
institutions in the the region. It stated that
2,063,795 rubles totally were spent only for the education of the natives.
Correspondingly, 2,761 rubles were spent in 1860, and 75,498 rubles in 1909.70
The
number of the Society.s donors varied between 30
and 158. The Society had 53 parishes and 83 schools. The number of those
converted from Islam were: Ingiloes 162 (1869 - 1903) Kists 161 (1864 - 1868) Meskhs 96 (1880 - 1895) Adjarians 23 (1888 - 1899) Abkhazians 21,336
(1866 - 1902) Assyrians 3
305 (1867 - 1902)71 The Survey concluded with the statement: “Instead of the crescent of the mosque, many of mountaintops
of the Conclusion As the result of the missionaries. activity
among the Muslim natives of Caucasus, we can conclude that the methodology of
cultural conquest in the The main difference with the British missionary activities was
that the In contrast, The Orthodox Georgian priest served as the best means to
accomplish this aim. The non-Christian (Muslim) population began using Islam as their
tool against Russia.s expansion. This medium was
used many times in 19th and 20th centuries.
The current situation in the Caucasus, with increasingly
religious shape of national struggle of the Caucasians (Chechens, Dagestanis and other Caucasian nations) is a reminder
that religious and national relations remain undecided in today’s Endnotes 1 Imperial
Dmytryshyn
(Hinsdale, Ill.: Dryden Press, 1974), Chs. 7, 8,
23. 2 Ibid., 3 Full Collection of Regulations and Ddecrees concerning to Orthodox Faith of the Russian
Empire, v. II. ( 4 Ibid., Al. Khakhanov, Anniversary of Joining of Georgia to 5 Report of Synod to the Emperor of
Russia from 21 June, 1811, p.8 (in Russian). 6 Survey
of Activity of the Society for Restoration of OrthodoxChristianity
in the 7 Ibid., p.92.
For the full version of Bariatinski.s report, see
pages 91-98;); Bishop Kirion,
Short View of the History of
Georgian Church and Ekzarkhat for 19th Century ( 8 Ibid., p. 101. 9 Ibid., pp.
92-93. 10 Report
of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianityin
the Caucasus for 1906-1907 (Tiflis, 1909),
.Chart of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the 11 Dudko, A. P.. From
the History of Schools in Abkhazia before the Revolution, 1851-1917 (Sokhumi,
1956), p. 25 (in Russian). 12 Report
of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianityin
the 13 Ibid., p. 4. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid., pp.
6-7. 16 Survey.,
p. 194. 17 Report.
for 1862-1863, p. 7. 18 Bartolomei,
I. Abkhazian Alphabet ( 19 Survey.,
p. 157. 20 Uslar, P. Abkhazian Language ( 21 Gogebashvili,
J. Selected Works, v. III ( 22 Report
of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the Caucasus for
1880 ( 23 Ibid., p.
193. 24 Ibid., p. 51. 25 Ibid., p. 69. 26 Ibid., p. 77. 27 Ibid, p. 82. 28 Report
of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the Caucasus for
1885 ( 29 Survey.,
p. 172. 30 Survey.,
p. 62. 31 Survey.,
p. 64. 32 Survey. p. 71. 33 Survey.,
p. 70. 34 Droeba, no.5, January
30, 1869, p. 1 (in Georgian). 35 Shroma, no.2, September
2, 1881, p. 4 (in Georgian). 36 From
the History of Schools in Abkhazia.,
p. 25. 37 Report.for 1885, pp. 3, 10;
.Chart of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the 38 Report .
for 1885, p. 7. 39 Ibid., p. 16. 40 Ibid., p. 17. 41 Ibid., p. 18. 42 Ibid., p. 27. 43 Ibid., pp.
31-32. 44 Droeba, no. 67, March
29, 1881, pp. 1-2; Droeba,
no. 104, May 1881, pp. 1-2; Droeba, no. 35,
February 15, 1881, p. 1 (in Georgian). 45 Iveria, no. 100, May 14,
1898, p. 3 (in Georgian). 46 Report
of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the Caucasus for
1896 ( 47 Report
of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianityin
the Caucasus for 1898-1901 ( 48 Survey.,
pp. 145-146. 49 Ibid., pp.
40-41. 50 Report .
for 1896, p. 15. 51 Report .
for 1898-1901, p. 19. 52 Ibid., p. 48. 53 Ibid., p. 61. 54 Ibid., pp.
61-62. 55 Ibid., p. 80. 56 Ibid., p.
111. 57 Ibid., p.
147. 58 Kavkazskoe slovo,
no. 210, September 18, 1915, p. 4,.Concerning the
Question of Georgian-Ingiloes. (in
Russian). 59 Kavkazskoe slovo,
no. 210, September 18, 1915, p. 4. 60 Report .
for 1989-1901, p. 147. 61 Kavkazskoe slovo, no.
210, September 18, 1915, p. 4. 62 Kavkazskoe slovo, no.
236, 1915, p. 3. 63 Report .
for 1896, p. 18. 64 Report .
for 1896, .Register of
the Society.s Schools,. pp. 62- 95. 65 .Statement of Inspection of the Society.s Schools for 1896,. pp. 62-102 (in Report .
for 1896). 66 Report .
for 1898-1901, p. 29. 67 Ibid., pp.
15-16. 68 Report
of the Society for Restoration of Orthodox Christianity in the Caucasus for 1906-1907 ( 69 Ibid., p. 77. 70 Survey.,
pp. 196-197; 199. 71 Survey .,
pp. 170-174. 72 Survey., p. 201 Source: Caucasus and Issue 4 Summer 2003 Caucasus
and 260
Stephens Hall MC #2304 Manana Gnolidze-Swanson is a senior
research fellow at the G. Tsereteli Institute of
Oriental Studies at the |
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