Bolnisi Episcopacy
The Episcopacy of Bolnisi is one of the oldest dioceses of historic Lower Kartli region.
Georgian sources ("Conversion of Kartli," "Life of Kartli") attribute the construction of the first church in Bolnisi to various kings (Bakur, Pharasmanes, early 5th century), while Juansher (11th century) credits the founding of the Bolnisi Cathedral to King Vakhtang Gorgasali (5th century). One inscription from Bolnisi Sioni mentions Bishop David, who was from Bolnisi during the reign of King Vakhtang Gorgasali.
According to Vakhushti Batonishvili (18th century), the congregation of Bolnisi was in the region of “Somkhiti” (a term used in the 18th century to describe the area from the Mashaver-Foladauri watershed to the Debed River basin). In the earlier feudal period, the administrative-territorial unit "Khevi Bolnisisa" included the territories of Foladauri, Talavri, Mankhuti, and Shulaveri. The formation of dioceses in the past was based on such units. Therefore, information provided by Vakhushti aligns with this tradition. In the 10th century, Eliya Bolneli is mentioned among the bishops in one of the inscriptions in Sioni. In the 13th century, according to the tradition of the time, the bishop of Bolnisi held the 26th place in the hierarchy (after the bishop of Valashkerti). According to documents from the 17th–18th centuries, the Bolnisi Episcopacy owned serf lands in Middle and Upper Bolnisi and Upper Tserakvi (Shulaveri gorge). 1651 church inscription from Foladauri Gorge mentions Bishop Joseph Revishvili of Bolnisi, who referred to Upper Bolnisi, Akhotasa, and Talas as long-standing villages of the Bolnisi Episcopacy.
The bishops of Bolnisi, in addition to being patrons of their congregations, actively participated in public life. According to "Archilian," one of the Bolnisi bishops participated in the war between King Rostom and Teimuraz I in the 17th century and died in the battle. In the second half of the 17th century, Nikoloz of Bolnisi painted the altar screen in Bolnisi Sioni and constructed a psaltery, a bell tower, a caravanserai, and taverns. He also painted the Church of the Holy Trinity in Kazreti, in the neighboring Dmanisi ravine. The Bolnisi bishops Ioseb Revishvili and Maxime Machutadze donated manuscript books to the Natlismtsemeli Monastery in the desert of Gareji.
From the early 18th century, the Bolnisi Episcopacy was united with that of Tbilisi, and thereafter the title of Tbilisi-Bolnisi bishops was created. According to Papuna Orbeliani, the Bolnisi Episcopacy was restored in 1747, but in 1749, Catholicos Anton donated it with its serf lands to the Archbishop of Kartli. In the second half of the 18th century, along with the dioceses of Dmanisi and Tsalka, the Bolnisi Episcopacy was dissolved. In the 1780s, documents show that the nobility of the area had taken over the lands of Bolnisi. Finally, in 1805, a document mentions the Metropolitan of Tbilisi-Manglisi-Bolnisi.
Sources: ქართული სამართლის ძეგლები, ი. დოლიძის გამოც., ტ. 2–3, თბ., 1965–70; ტ. 6–7, თბ., 1977–81.
Literature: ბ ე რ ძ ე ნ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი დ., ბოლნისის ისტორიული გეოგრაფიის საკითხები, «საქართველოს ისტორიული გეოგრაფიის კრებული», 1964, [ტ.] 2; მ უ ს ხ ე ლ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი ლ., ბოლნისი, «ენიმკის მოამბე», 1938, ტ. 3.
D. Berdzenishvili
