Open main menu

OrthodoxWiki β

Changes

David V (Devdariani) of Georgia

5 bytes added, 00:01, July 30, 2014
no edit summary
==Life==
Khariton Devdariani, (Georgian: ხარიტონ დევდარიანი), was born on [[April 6]], 1903 in the village of Mirotsminda, now Khargauli Imereti. Little is known of his early life. Khariton was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[priest]] in 1927. Upon his [[tonsure]] into [[monasticism] as a [[monk]] the monastic life he was given the name of David.
Fr. David was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] a [[bishop]] in 1956. He served as [[chorepiscopos|chorbishop]] to Catholicos-Patriarch [[Ephraim II (Sidamonidze) of Georgia|Ephraim II]] from 1959 to 1972 and was elected to replace him upon Ephraim's death in 1972. Bishop David was installed as Catholicos-Patriarch David V on [[July 2]], 1972.
While Throughout his tenure on the patriarchal throne, Catholicos-Patriarch David V was followed by controversy. Unlike his predecessor Ephraim II, who frequently appealed to Georgian patriotism, David never gained popularity because of his perceived loyalty to the Soviet government. Also, Georgian dissidents suspected that the Soviet KGB was involved in his election by rigging the election and undermining Ephraim's will. Ephraim had allegedly endorsed Bishop [[Ilia II (Ghudushauri-Shiolashvili) of Georgia|Ilia of Sukhumi and Abkhazia]] as his successor. The Georgian nationalist underground claimed in their ''samizdat'' publications that corruption and moral depravity flourished in the [[church]] under David V who was also accused of being involved, along with the Georgian Communist party officials and the Russian KGB, in the plunder of the Georgian church treasures.<ref>Ramet, Sabrina P. (1989), Religion and Nationalism in Soviet and East European Politics, pp. 35-6. Duke University Press, ISBN 0822308916</ref>
In 1977, Catholicos-Patriarch David V died in Tbilisi and was buried at the [[Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition (Tbilisi, Georgia)|Sioni Cathedral]] in Tbilisi.
599
edits