Patriarchate asks gov't to hand over medieval Anchiskhati icon to Orthodox Church management

Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Georgia, has asked Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to switch management over the Anchiskhati medieval icon, a major cultural exhibit currently preserved by the Georgian National Museum, to the church, with plans to use the treasured item for daily use in services at a Tbilisi monastery.

In a letter sent to the PM in the latest effort to see the 16th-17th century icon switch ownership, the head of the Patriarchate has asked Garibashvili to make the decision on the exhibit on this year's anniversary of 1500 years since the construction of the Anchiskhati Church in Tbilisi, where the Patriarchate plans to install the historical exhibit.

Religious authorities, through their Initiative Group for Anchiskhati Return, invited an unnamed German company to install a frame into which the icon is intended to be placed in the monastery, the letter from the Catholicos-Patriarch says. Along with "other efforts", the work was done to satisfy the government's requests on relevant conditions for preserving the icon, made as a response to the Patriarchate's continuous requests on handing over the exhibit since the 1990s.

The Anchiskhati icon, returned to Georgia in the 17th century and preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts.

The possible handover has been criticised by art historian Tamar Amashukeli and Literature Museum Director Lasha Bakradze, with Amashukeli telling TV Formula channel the development created suspicions on a "deal between the government and the Patriarchate" on the former handing over a part of the Golden Fond collection - a group of major historical exhibits, including the Anchiskhati icon, currently at the GNM's Museum of Fine Arts - to the latter.

The art historian said the Patriarchate had no means to protect historical items that require specific environment for preservation, with Bakradze telling netgazeti.ge the possible move on changing management over the treasured icon could have political background ahead of the municipal elections on October 2.

The ruling party could make the decision on handing over the Anchiskhati for "gaining votes for the election" from the Orthodox electorate, Bakradze told the news outlet, while also adding the move could form a part of a wider development of bringing the state and the Orthodox Church closer as part of an effort against liberal circles in society. The comments follow violent events in Tbilisi on July 5, where right-wing groups and clergy protested against a planned Tbilisi Pride queer march that was subsequently cancelled after the violent groups' assaults on reporters dispatched to cover the event.

The Anchiskhati Church in Tbilisi, where the Patriarchate intends to move the icon for daily services. Photo: Lasha ge/CC BY-SA 4.0.

In first comments from the government following the Ilia II letter, Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze said on Wednesday any decision on the icon would be "made with full consensus" between the government and religious authorities.

The fate of the icon has become the subject of the latest discussions in the frame of new developments around the Museum of Fine Arts, where the Golden Fund and the Anchiskhati is preserved. The crumbling museum venue is scheduled to be rehabilitated and renovated in a major project announced by culture minister Thea Tsulukiani, with its exhibits to be temporarily moved out of the building before returning after the renovation, expected to be completed in 2024.

The Anchiskhati icon is regarded as a major historical exhibit for both its cultural and religious significance. Representing as an illustrative item of Georgian goldsmithery, the icon was created using encaustic painting method on a wooden frame with silver details.

Originally preserved at the Ancha Monastery in historical southwest Georgia's Bishopric of Ancha - now the Artvin Province of Turkey - it was returned to Georgia in the 17th century following the Ottoman Empire's conquest of the territory of the monastery. The icon was initially preserved at the Anchiskhati Church in Tbilisi before being moved to the Museum of Fine Arts during the 1920s.