The directory «Plots»

Orbeliani (ორბელიანი) Sulkhan-Saba
(1658—1725)

Prince Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani was a famous Georgian prince, writer, monk and convert to Roman Catholicism. Sulkhan Orbeliani was born into a prestigious dynasty of of the Georgian nobility, with close ties to the Royal Bagrationi Dynasty. Before becoming a monk of David-Garedja Monastery 1698 under the name Saba, he converted to the Roman Catholic Church (1692). He originally practiced his new religion in secret. After 1703 he made spreading the Catholic Faith in Georgia a major policy of King Vakhtang VI, who had been his pupil. In 1713-1714 he made a journey to the Holy See and to France. He visited Pope Clement XI and King Louis XIV and requested aid from them for King Vakhtang and the Catholic Faith in Kartli (East-Georgian Kingdom). After his return to Kartli he actively began trying to spread Catholicism in Georgia. Therefore was Georgian Orthodox Church very hostile to him and persecuted him. In 1724 he fled with King Vakhtang to the Russian Empire. Prince Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani was the creator of a new literary Georgian language. His dictionary for the language is still essential for those who wish to learn Georgian today.

Georgia, 2009, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani

USSR, 1959, Sulkhan Orbeliani