A Lecture on the History of Christianity in Georgia

Christianity arrived in the Georgian lands as early as the 1st century: the first to preach the religion here were Andrew the First-Called and Simon the Canaanite. But the path toward Christianity becoming established throughout the country was long and not always peaceful.

At the lecture, we’ll learn:

• how Nino, a young woman from Cappadocia, converted the king of Iberia to Christianity;
• how ritual beer brewing and other pagan traditions became intertwined with Christian holidays and survived to the present day;
• why Georgia had two independent ecclesiastical centres for several centuries.

The lecture will be given by Giorgi Anchabadze — Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Emeritus at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, and recipient of the Defender of Tolerance Award.