Architecture and Asceticism: Cultural interaction between Syria and Georgia in Late Antiquity,

Author

Emma Loosley Leeming

Year

2018

Publisher

Brill

Language

English

Pages

Link

Last Update

01-Jun-2026

Keywords

History

Description

In May 2013 at Bodbe, at the convent that houses the tomb of St. Nino, the legendary evangelist of Georgia, I bought a modern icon of the Thirteen Fathers that is labelled in Georgian characters Asureli Mamebi, which in English is translated as the Assyrian Fathers rather than the Syrian Fathers. Throughout Georgia there are references to these somewhat enigmatic figures in churches, historical and literary sources and in popular culture. The Thirteen Fathers who came to the country in the sixth century are credited with bringing Christian monasticism and consolidating the process of Christianization begun by St. Nino in...