Martyr20th century

Righteous Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia

1837 – 1907

Also known as Ilia the Righteous · Ilia Chavchavadze

A writer and leader of his people, called the uncrowned king and the father of the nation, who in word and deed defended the Georgian Church and people, and was murdered for it in 1907.

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Commemorated as

The Righteous Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia

Life

Ilia Chavchavadze was a Georgian writer, poet, journalist, and lawyer who led the revival of the Georgian national movement in the second half of the nineteenth century, during the period of Russian rule. Born into a noble family in the Kakheti region, he devoted his life and his pen to the defense of the Georgian language, culture, and Orthodox faith. He is remembered by such epithets as the 'Uncrowned King of Georgia' and the 'Father of the Nation,' and is commemorated by the Church as Saint Ilia the Righteous on July 20.

Ilia held that a people's identity rests on inherited gifts — in his formulation, motherland, language, and faith — and that, as he put it, a nation whose language is corrupted can no longer exist as a nation. He gave practical form to these convictions through cultural and educational institutions, and through a long career as an editor and public figure. In 1907 he was murdered by political opponents, and in 1987 the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church numbered him among the saints.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 2

(Podoben: “You sought the heights...”) You appeared as a bright star announcing Christ with your radiance,
which is repulsive to this world, O Martyr Ilia;
extinguishing the allure of false gods,
you enlighten the faithful,
always interceding for us all.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 3

Your holy martyr Ilia, O Lord,
through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through his intercessions, save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline5 momentsReadHide

1837Birth in KakhetiBorn on October 27 in the village of Qvareli in the Kakheti region of Georgia, into the noble Chavchavadze family.
1857Studies at Saint PetersburgEnrolled in the law faculty of Saint Petersburg University, later leaving without a diploma to return to Georgia.
1906Member of the Russian State CouncilMade a member of the Russian State Council.
1907Martyrdom near MtskhetaShot to death by militant social democrats near Mtskheta, by the Tsitsamuri forest, while travelling with his wife Olga.
1987CanonizationNumbered among the saints by the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church as Saint Ilia the Righteous.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Early life and education

Ilia was born on October 27, 1837, in the village of Qvareli (Kvareli) in the Kakheti region of Georgia, into the noble Chavchavadze family, a line that had been granted princely status in 1726. He lost both parents while still young — his mother in 1848 and his father in 1852 — and was raised in part by his aunt. He received his first instruction at home and began study under Archdeacon Nikoloz Sepashvili from about the age of eight.

After attending a classical gymnasium in Tbilisi, he enrolled in 1857 in the law faculty of Saint Petersburg University. There he devoted much of his energy to researching Georgian historical texts in the archives, and he left the university in his fourth year without taking a diploma in order to return to Georgia.

Writer and public figure

Returning home, Ilia became a prolific writer and publisher and a central figure among the reform-minded young Georgian intellectuals of his generation, sometimes called the Tergdaleulebi. He founded and edited periodicals, including those known as Sakartvelos Moambe and Iveria, through which he promoted the revival of the Georgian language and literature.

Beyond his writing, he built lasting institutions for the cultural life of his people. He founded the Society for the Propagation of Literacy among Georgians, established a depository for Georgian manuscripts and antiquities, and helped organize a Georgian land bank. He also advocated the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and in 1906 he was made a member of the Russian State Council.

Martyrdom and canonization

In the late summer of 1907, Ilia set out from Tbilisi toward his estate at Saguramo, travelling with his wife Olga (Guramishvili). Their carriage was stopped near Mtskheta, by the Tsitsamuri forest, where a band of militant social democrats lay in wait and shot him to death; sources record the date variously as August 28 or August 30, 1907. By one account his assassins were sentenced to death, and his widow Olga requested their pardon.

In 1987 the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, weighing his service to the Church and his people, decreed him worthy to be numbered among the saints and canonized him as Saint Ilia the Righteous. He is commemorated on July 20.

Companions2 figuresShowHide

The Man of God who preserved the treasures of Georgia through exile.

Euthymius (Takaishvili)the Man of God

Whose studies he helped to support, by the confessor's own account.

Euthymiusthe Confessor of Georgia

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