On November 17, 2023, a
scientific conference, dedicated to the 130th birthday of the great
Georgian scientist Pavle Ingoroqhva, was held at Tbilisi
Theological Academy and Seminary. The event was organised with the
blessing of the Catholicos- Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of
Mtskheta and Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Bitchvinta and
Tskhum-Abkhazeti, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II. The Rector of
Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, Doctor of Theology,
Philology and Political Sciences, Professor, Protopresbyter of the
Orthodox Church of Georgia Giorgi Zviadadze opened the scientific
conference; he spoke about the special merits of the great
scientist and patriot Pavle Ingoroqhva.
The speeches at the conference
were presented by: Doctor of History and Theology, Professor Sergo
Vardosanidze, the title of whose topic was Pavle Ingoroqhva’s
“Giorgi Merchule” and a Biased Scrutiny of the Work, Authorized by
State Authorities, and Doctor of History, Academician of Gelati
Academy of Sciences, Professor Eldar Bubulashvili whose speech was
titled Pavle Ingoroqva’s Analysis of the Historical Geography of
Abkhazeti, Considering His Work “Giorgi Merchule”.
“Pavle Ingoroqva published his
first fundamental work Old Georgian Ecclesiastical Poetry in 1913,
at the age of 20. From then on, until his old age, he worked
tirelessly as in public and political so also in scientific
arenas,” – said Prof. Sergo Vardosanidze and gave a detailed
description of Pavle Ingoroqva’s life and work.
Prof. Eldar Bubulashvili
expounded in his talk on the issue of research of the historical
geography of Abkhazeti, based on the fundamental work Giorgi
Merchule which was published by Pavle Ingoroqhva in 1954. “Pavle
Ingoroqva discussed and determined the issue of the settlement of
the ethnic groups who lived in the territory of Abkhazeti at
different times, founding his analysis on the historical geography
of Abkhazeti and the toponyms related to it. Employing this method
of research, the scholar came to the conclusion that Abkhazians
belonged to Georgian tribes and their original name was Moskhi. As
for the later Abkhazians, he refers to them as Apsuas who settled
in the territory of modern Abkhazeti in the 17th century having
moved from the North Caucasus,” said Prof. Eldar
Bubulashvili.
Edisher Chelidze, Professor of
Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, Academician of Gelati
Academy of Sciences, and the Head of the Department of Liturgics
and Pastoral Theology, Doctor of Theology, Professor, Archdeacon
Demetre (Davitashvili) expressed their opinions regarding the
speeches given by the speakers and spoke about the merits of Pavle
Ingoroqhva. The students and professors of Tbilisi Theological
Academy and Seminary attended the conference. At the end of it, the
Rector of Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, Protopresbyter
Giorgi Zviadadze, thanked the organizers and participants of the
event for having held it at a high academic level and for the
proper acclaim of the achievements of the great scientist and
patriot.
