Georgian Monks on Mount Athos. Two Eleventh-Century Lives of the Hegoumenoi of Iviron. Translation, notes and introduction by Tamara Grdzelidze. London: Bennett & Bloom, 2009. 199 pages. £14.99 paperback. ISBN 978-1-898948-03-2.

One of the best-documented of all the Athonite monasteries is that of Iviron, originally founded in the tenth century to house Georgian monks and still in existence today. The surviving documents of its medieval archives have been published over the years (Actes d’Iviron, vols 1-4, Paris, 1985-95) and Bernadette Martin-Hisard has made a series of French translations with detailed commentary of the eleventh-century hagiographies of three of the most important early hegoumenoi: John, the founder, his son, Euthymios, and George the Hagiorite. Now Tamara Grdzelidze, a Georgian scholar working for the World Council of Churches, has made an English translation of these Lives. This is much to be welcomed, as it will bring these fascinating texts to the attention of a much wider readership. Her work is limited in scope, however. The translation, though admirably clear, does not pretend to provide a scholarly edition; indeed it is not very clear which texts she has based it on. The notes are brief, and the introduction, though informative for the general reader, does not enter into any detailed discussion about the history of these texts, or that of the monastery. In short, this is a book for those, both students and others, who want to be introduced to the early history of Iviron.

In these terms it succeeds perfectly well. Both the Lives date from the mid-eleventh century, a time of great difficulty for Iviron after the involvement of the hegoumenos George I in an unsuccessful revolt against the Byzantine emperor led to his disgrace and the confiscation of many of the possessions of the monastery. So they were themselves part of the ‘recovery process’ and as such are interesting witnesses to the aspects of Georgian monastic life that their authors wished to emphasize. The Life of John and Euthymios traces the process by which the Georgians established themselves on Mount Athos, emphasizing not only the ties of friendship between Greeks and Georgians there, but also the political links between Georgia and the Byzantine emperors which saw the extraordinary circumstance of the monk John, previously the general Tornik, issuing from Iviron to lead a Georgian army to defend the emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII against rebels in Asia Minor. It was the rewards gained from this successful campaign that enabled Iviron to be established on a firm footing. The Life of George the Hagiorite relates how relations with the imperial power were restored after the ‘time of troubles’ of the early eleventh century and how the Georgians made sure to re-establish the terms of their privileges and monetary grants. Both Lives also emphasize the cultural links between Byzantium and Georgia; Euthymios and George the Hagiorite made numerous translations of Greek theological texts into Georgian, some of which are still in use today.

These texts also give a fascinating insight into the spiritual lives of the Georgian monks. The Life of Euthymios contains his detailed instructions for the running of Iviron and his firm (but understanding!) strictures against the petty squabbles which might distract its monks; the Life of George the Hagiorite emphasizes the evolution of Iviron as a relic-filled sanctuary for the Georgian people as a whole. Most notably, they emphasize the continuing renewal of the spiritual resources of Iviron by the maintenance of contacts with Georgia itself and the influx of monks and lay donations from there that continued to strengthen the monastery in this period. Iviron, as Grdzelidze clearly shows, was not just a ‘Georgian monastery’ but a part of Georgia itself.

ROSEMARY MORRIS

University of York