The Origins of Sacramental Church Life in Georgia

Abstract

In this article, I attempt to answer the question: Who stood at the origins of the sacramental church life in Georgia or, to put it in other words, by the mediation of which apostolic cathedra was the Church of Georgia (Iberia) entitled to apostolic succession?

The study shows indirect apostolic succession transmitted through the mediation of the Antiochene cathedra, which itself was founded by the personal involvement of Christ’s Apostles. This article is the first attempt to provide historical evidence and theological arguments in favour of a paradigmatic shift in the apostolic succession of the Georgian Church from the Andrian to Petrine tradition, which, naturally, requires further study and academic discussion.