Hieromartyr 20th century

Kirion II Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia

1855 – 1918

Also known as Kyrion II · Kirion II of Georgia · Giorgi Sadzaglishvili · George Sadzaglishvili

A learned bishop and church historian who became the first Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia after the restoration of the Georgian Church's independence in 1917. He was found murdered at Martqopi Monastery in 1918 under circumstances that remain unexplained.

Feast Day

March 12

Also Jun 27

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Kirion II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia

Life

Kirion II, born George Sadzaglishvili in 1855 in the village of Nikozi in the Gori district of Georgia, was a bishop and church historian who became the first Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia after the restoration of the Georgian Church's autocephaly in 1917. He was the son of a priest and was educated at the parochial school in Ananuri, the theological school in Gori, and the Tbilisi Seminary, before graduating from the Kiev Theological Academy in 1880.

Following his graduation he taught and held school administrative posts in Georgia and the wider Caucasus, and in 1886 he was tonsured a monk with the name Kirion and installed as abbot of Kvabtakhevi Monastery. Over the following decades he was consecrated to the episcopate and served in a long succession of dioceses, both in Georgia and within the Russian Empire, culminating in his elevation to Archbishop of Polotsk and Vitebsk by 1915. Alongside his pastoral duties he was a prolific scholar, publishing studies of Georgian Church history, antiquities, and culture.

When the Georgian Church declared its autocephaly restored in 1917, Kirion returned to Georgia and was enthroned that September as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, the first primate of the renewed independent Church. His tenure was brief: on June 27, 1918, amid the upheaval that followed the Russian revolution, he was found murdered in the patriarchal residence at Martqopi Monastery. The circumstances of his death have never been explained and those responsible were never identified. He was canonized by the Holy Synod of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church in 2002 and is commemorated on March 12 and June 27.

Timeline 8 moments Read Hide

1855 Birth Born George Sadzaglishvili in the village of Nikozi, Gori district, to a priest's family.
1880 Graduates from Kiev Theological Academy Completed his theological education after studies in Ananuri, Gori, and Tbilisi.
1886 Monastic tonsure Tonsured a monk with the name Kirion and installed as abbot of Kvabtakhevi Monastery.
1898 Consecrated bishop Consecrated Bishop of Alaverdi in August; the same year he published a study of the monuments of the Liakhvi Gorge.
1915 Archbishop of Polotsk and Vitebsk Elevated to this see after service in several dioceses across the Russian Empire.
1917 Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Enthroned in September as the first primate of the restored autocephalous Georgian Church.
1918 Death at Martqopi Found murdered on June 27 in the patriarchal residence at Martqopi Monastery under circumstances never explained.
2002 Canonization Glorified as a hieromartyr by the Holy Synod of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church on October 17.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributions Read Hide

Scholar and Bishop

Kirion was known as a learned man and a productive church historian. According to the sources, he authored more than forty monographs on Georgian Church history and Christian culture, and in 1898 he published a description of the historical monuments of the Liakhvi Gorge. He is also reported to have collaborated with the linguist Grigol Qipshidze on a history of Georgian philology, and to have undertaken archaeological work that recovered older ecclesiastical treasures.

His episcopal career took him through a series of sees. He was consecrated Bishop of Alaverdi in August 1898 and installed as Bishop of Gori in 1901, after which he was reassigned by the Russian church authorities to dioceses outside Georgia, including Cherson, Orel, Sokhumi, and Kovno, and was elevated to Archbishop of Polotsk and Vitebsk by 1915. The sources connect him with the movement to restore the autocephaly of the Georgian Church, recording that he presented arguments in its favor to a Russian commission in 1905.

Patriarchate and Death

The Georgian Orthodox Church had lost its autocephaly under Russian imperial rule, and its restoration in 1917 was a defining event for the modern Georgian Church. Kirion returned to Georgia in the wake of this restoration and was enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia in September 1917, becoming the first ruling primate of the renewed Church.

His patriarchate lasted less than a year. On June 27, 1918, he was found slain at Martqopi Monastery, where the patriarchal residence was located. The sources state that the subsequent investigation was a formality and that the perpetrators were never found, and his death continues to be described as unexplained. He is venerated as a hieromartyr and new martyr, and his glorification by the Georgian Church followed in 2002.

Notes

Found slain at Martqopi Monastery in 1918; the first Catholicos-Patriarch after the 1917 restoration of Georgian autocephaly. Commemorated Mar 12 and Jun 27. Merged with retired duplicate OS-1440.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints; en.wikipedia.org