Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani and the Teachings of the Catholic Church

Abstract

Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (1658-1725) was a Georgian statesman, diplomat, prosaist, poet, preacher, scholar, lexicographer and editor, who authored works of outstanding significance in more than one field of Georgian scholar-ship. His life and literary activities serve as evidence of his firm commitment to the Georgian spiritual and cultural values and his adherence to European weltanschauung. The article shows Orbeliani’s attitudes towards the teachings of the Catholic Church. Where the positions of the Eastern and Western Churches diverge, Orbeliani supports the Catholic stand, e. g. concerning attrition, the supremacy of Apostle Peter and of the Bishop of Rome, the Purgatory and Orthodoxy.