Callistratus of Georgia
Callistratus | |
|---|---|
| The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi | |
 | |
| Church | Georgian Orthodox Church |
| Installed | June 21, 1932 |
| Term ended | February 3, 1952 |
| Predecessor | Christophorus III |
| Successor | Melchizedek III |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | April 18, 1893 |
| Consecration | November 1, 1925 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kallistrate Mikheilsvili Tsintsadze April 24, 1866 |
| Died | February 2, 1952 (aged 85) |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Occupation | Catholicos-Patriarch |
St. Callistratus (Georgian: კალისტრატე, Kalistrate) (Kalistrate Tsintsadze) (April 24, 1866 – February 2, 1952) was Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from June 21, 1932, until his death. His full title was His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.
Biography
[edit]
Callistratus the Confessor | |
|---|---|
| His Holiness and Beatitude the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia | |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized | December 22, 2016 by Georgian Orthodox Church |
| Feast | May 21 (June 3 NS) |
Educated at the theological seminaries of Tiflis and Kiev, he was ordained to the priesthood at the Didube Church in 1893. He then served at the Kashueti Church (1903) and was involved in the Georgian autocephalist movement in defense of which he produced, in 1905, a special study of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which had been under the Russian control since 1810.
After the reestablishment of the Georgian church in 1917, he was consecrated Metropolitan of Ninotsminda in 1925 at Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral. He was transferred to the Bishporic of Manglisi in 1927. Following the imprisonment of Catholicos Patriarch Ambrose by the Soviet government, Callistratus was a locum tenens from 1923 to 1926.
After his election to the patriarchate in 1932, following a brief reign of Christophorus III, Callistratus tried to pursue a conciliatory line with the Stalin's regime in order to ease the pressure from the authorities.
Through Stalin's mediation, Callistratus reconciled the Georgian church with its Russian counterpart, which in turn recognized the Georgian autocephaly in 1943. In 1948, he was appointed to the Soviet Peace Committee. Despite official Soviet atheist propaganda, Callistratus maintained that Christianity and Communism could coexist.[1][2] He died in 1952 and was interred at the Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral.
He was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church on 22 December 2016, his feast day set for 3 June (NS 21 May).[3][4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Shirley, Eugene B. (1991), Candle in the wind: religion in the Soviet Union, p. 42. Ethics and Public Policy Center
- ↑ Kolarz, Walter (1962), Religion in the Soviet Union, p. 103. Macmillan
- ↑ "წმინდა სინოდმა წმინდანებად ორი მეფე - ბაგრატ მესამე და სოლომონ პირველი, ასევე, კათოლიკოს-პატრიარქი კალისტრატე ცინცაძე შერაცხა". Georgian Times. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ↑ "კათოლიკოს-პატრიარქი კალისტრატე ცინცაძე სინოდმა წმინდანად შერაცხა". Tabula. 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
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