Monastery of James, son of Alphaeus
Monastery of James, son of Alphaeus, a Georgian monastery in Jerusalem. It is located near the Greek Patriarchate, adjacent to the Church of the Resurrection (the Church of the Holy Sepulchre).
According to tradition, it is built on the site where the holy apostle was martyred. According to Timothy Gabashvili, the "Monastery of St. James, son of Alphaeus, was built by King George the Kuropalates." In the manuscript of Timothy's Mimosvla (Travelogue), there is relatively extensive information: "The tomb of the Apostle James, son of Alphaeus, was built by George, King of the Georgians, which is now held by the Armenians. They say the mint of our kings was in that monastery." It must have been constructed prior to 1072, during the period when George II was the crown prince.
The single and final instance of the Georgians' struggle to retain the Monastery of James, son of Alphaeus, is reflected in a manuscript from the Monastery of the Cross, which dates to 1514. The Jvarismama (Abbot of the Monastery of the Cross), Beena Cholokashvili, engaged in a dispute with the Armenians over the monastery. "Here, the Armenians and I litigated over the throne [church] of Saint James," writes Beena, but the Georgians could not retain the monastery for long. In 1517, Sultan Selim I subordinated the monastery to the guardianship of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius. It is probable that the Greeks were also unable to free the monastery from its debts, as a result of which the Georgians were compelled to lease it to the Armenians.
Patriarch Germanus attended the signing of the agreement; consequently, the monastery passed into the hands of the Armenians between 1534 and 1579.
Around 1610, during reconstruction works at the Monastery of James, the Armenians discovered a massive hoard of treasure. It appears Timothy Gabashvili was correct when he wrote that the mint of the Georgian kings was located within the Monastery of James, son of Alphaeus.
Sources: ტიმოთე გაბაშვილი, მიმოსლვა, ე. მეტრეველის გამოც., თბ., 1956.
Literature: მარი ნ., იერუსალიმის ბერძნული საპატრიარქო წიგნსაცავის ქართული ხელნაწერების მოკლე აღწერილობა, ე. მეტრეველის გამოც., თბ., 1955; ჯეჯელავა ლ., წმ. იაკობის ქართული მონასტერი იერუსალიმში, წგ.: ამიერკავკასიის ისტორიის პრობლემები, თბ., 1991.
E. Mamistvalishvili
