Anton I of Georgia

Anton I (; – ), born as Teimuraz Bagrationi, was the Catholicos–Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the period 1744–1755 and again in 1764–1788.

Biography Being one of the sons of Jesse of Kartli by his wife Princess (a daughter of King Heraclius I of Kakheti), Anton was born a royal prince (batonishvili). He was raised together with his cousin prince Heraclius, the future king Heraclius II, in Telavi, Kakheti.

Socio-cultural efforts Anton was a generous supporter of the Georgian arts and literature, and supervised the establishment of a number of schools, which included the seminaries of Tbilisi and Telavi in 1755 and 1782 respectively. He personally directed the drafting of the curricula in these schools, wrote the textbook in 1753, and translated European treatises on physics, which he taught in seminaries. As further stated by Prof. Mikaberidze, he was instrumental in reorganizing the new ecclesiastical calendar, wrote original hymns and canons, and translated numerous Slavic Orthodox works into Georgian.

In 1769, Anton completed one of his greatest works named Martirika and began his long poetical study of the cultural history of Georgia, titled with the name Tsakobilstikvaoba. Responsible for directing the educational system in Kartli-Kakheti for a quarter of a century, as stated by Prof. Mikaberidze, under his guidance a new generation of Georgian artists, scientists, and writers were produced, amongst whom Ambrosi Nekreseli, Gaioz Rektori, Philip Qaitmazashvili, amongst others. Thanks to his efforts, he left a deep imprint on the 18th-century sciences in Georgia, specifically on philosophy and literature.