Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani

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Prince Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (Georgian: სულხან-საბა ორბელიანი) (November 4, 1658 in Tandzia, Georgia; † January 26, 1725 in Moscow) was a famous Georgian prince, writer, monk and convert to Roman Catholicism.

[edit] Biography

Sulkhan Orbeliani was born into a prestigious dynasty of the Georgian nobility, with close ties to the Royal Bagrationi Dynasty. Before becoming a monk of David-Garedja Monastery 1698 under the name Saba, he converted to the Roman Catholic Church (1692). He originally practiced his new religion in secret. After 1703 he made spreading the Catholic Faith in Georgia a major policy of King Vakhtang VI, who had been his pupil. In 1713-1714 he made a journey to the Holy See and to France. He visited Pope Clement XI and King Louis XIV and requested aid from them for King Vakhtang and the Catholic Faith in Kartli (East-Georgian Kingdom). After his return to Kartli he actively began trying to spread Catholicism in Georgia. Therefore was Georgian Orthodox Church very hostile to him and persecuted him. In 1724 he fled with King Vakhtang to the Russian Empire. Prince Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani was the creator of a new literary Georgian language. His dictionary for the language is still essential for those who wish to learn Georgian today.

[edit] Selected bibliography

• Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani: Lexikoni Kartuli (With Kommentary from I. Abuladse). 1-2 v. Tbilisi: Merani 1991/1993.

• Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani: Opera. 5 v. Tiflis: 1959/1966 (geo.).

[edit] About Orbeliani, Sulkhan-Saba

• A. Baramidze, Sulxan-Saba Orbeliani : c'xovreba da literaturli mogvaceoba ; nark'vevi. Tbilisi: Sabtschota Saqartvelo 1959 (geo).

• M. Tarchnisvili, J. Assfalg: Geschichte der kirchlichen georgischen Literatur: Auf Grund des ersten Bandes der Georgischen Literaturgeschichte von K. Kekelidze. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1955 (ger).

• M. Tamarashvili: History of Catholicism among the Georgians. Tbilisi 1902, passim (geo.).

Persondata
NAME Orbeliani, Sulkhan-Saba
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Prince, writer, monk and author
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1658
PLACE OF BIRTH Tandzia, Georgia
DATE OF DEATH January 2, 1725
PLACE OF DEATH Moscow