Historedia
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Russia abolishes the Georgian Catholicosate and installs a Russian-appointed bishop

When
1811
Where
Mtskheta (last service at the cathedral of Mtskheta); decree issued in Petersburg; Russian Empire; St. Petersburg
Episodes
3

In 1811, the Russian Empire abolished the autocephalous Georgian Catholicosate, removing Catholicos-Patriarch Anton II from office. This action reduced the Georgian church to an exarchate under the Russian Orthodox Church, ending its independence. The transition involved the removal of Anton II, who had resisted imperial encroachments, and the appointment of a Russian-appointed exarch, marking a significant shift in ecclesiastical governance.

Episodes

  1. 1811 · St. PetersburgInstallation of Exarch

    The Georgian patriarchate was replaced by an exarchate, with Varlaam Eristavi appointed as the first exarch to manage the transition.

  2. 11 July 1811 · Mtskheta (last service at the cathedral of Mtskheta); decree issued in PetersburgRemoval of Anton II

    Anton II was escorted to Russia and unilaterally removed from his office by Imperial decree in July 1811, ending his tenure as Catholicos-Patriarch.

  3. 18 July 1811 · Russian EmpireAbolition of Autocephaly

    The Russian authorities abolished the autocephalous status of the Georgian Church, placing it under the synodical rule of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Background and detail

Background. Anton II, a member of the Georgian royal family, served as Catholicos-Patriarch from 1788. Following the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801, he resisted Imperial officials' attempts to control church affairs. His defense of traditional Georgian laws and refusal to surrender privileges created tension with the Russian administration, which sought to align the Georgian church with the new regime.

Abolition of Autocephaly. The Russian authorities abolished the autocephalous status of the Georgian Church in 1811, placing it under the synodical rule of the Russian Orthodox Church. This decision was made despite strong opposition in Georgia. The Georgian patriarchate was substituted with an exarchate, and the title of Catholicos-Patriarch was abolished, marking the end of the church's independence.

Installation of Exarch. To mitigate the impact of losing independence, the Russian government initially appointed a Georgian, Varlaam Eristavi, as the first exarch. However, subsequent exarchs were ethnic Russians appointed from St. Petersburg. This shift ensured the Georgian church remained under Russian ecclesiastical control, with the exarchate structure replacing the former autocephalous patriarchate.

People involved

Sources

  1. Anton II of Georgia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16
  2. Georgian Orthodox Church Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-09

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.