A Collection of Georgian Sermons by a Non-Georgian Preacher

Abstract

Ilia State University recently published a collection of commentaries on the Bible and sermons, written in Georgian, in two volumes. The manuscripts of these texts, housed in two separate collections without mention of the preacher, are currently in the General Archive of the Order of Capuchins (Archivio Generale Cappuccini), in Rome. These teachings, it seems, were originally preached by a non-Georgian priest in the second half of the eighteenth century for Georgian Catholic believers. In the preface to the edition, the publishers suggest that the author was likely the Italian missionary Bernardino de Magliano.
The biblical commentaries include twenty-one texts, and the number of sermons stands at sixty-six. With such a large collection of writings now made accessible, over two centuries after they were printed, the need has arisen to clarify the meaning and value of the published texts, both as a whole and individually. It is necessary to give them a proper place not only in the Georgian homiletic heritage, which includes centuries-old remnants of Christian sermons, but also in the national history of Georgia, Church history, history of public life, cultural history, and intellectual history. Further study of the texts from linguistic, literary, and ethnological perspectives will undoubtedly bear fruit.
The manuscripts have not been preserved in their entirety, as evidenced by the fact that the Biblical explanations provided by the preacher concern only the text of one book of the Old Testament, the First Book of Kings.

The article assesses the general significance of this two-volume work and presents the value of the published texts for understanding Biblical or theological knowledge in the Georgian context of the time. Notably, in some sermons, the preacher addresses the believers from Tbilisi, indicating that the temple in which he served was located in Tbilisi.
The preacher considers it necessary to explain theological teachings, such as the concept of Purgatory, which is viewed differently by followers of the Roman-Catholic Church and the Oriental-Byzantine Church. In addition, the list of Church Fathers and Teachers referenced by the priest differs, although special attention is given to the views of the Doctors of the Catholic Church, particularly St. Thomas Aquinas.
The descriptions of the everyday environment where divine service takes place are valuable for researchers. The preacher sharply assesses the attitude of believers towards being in the temple and participating in rituals. These descriptions will likely prove extremely useful to those studying how religion, culture, and intellectual movements shaped Georgia’s history, making them essential reading for anyone studying that period.