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Catholicos Anton IICatholicos-Patriarch of Eastern Georgia (1788-1811)
Date of Birth: 08.01.1762
Country:  Georgia |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Ecclesiastical Career
- Catholicos-Patriarch
- Exaltation and Exile
- Legacy and Canonization
Early Life and Education
Prince Antony II, the last Catholicos-Patriarch of Eastern Georgia before the abolition of the Georgian Church's autocephaly, was born in 1763 as the son of King Heraclius II of Kartli-Kakheti. He received his education at the Tbilisi Theological Seminary, where he was tonsured a monk in 1782 and ordained a hierodeacon.
Ecclesiastical Career
In 1784, Antony visited Russia as part of a Georgian embassy. He was consecrated Bishop of Ninotsminda at the court church of the Summer Palace in Tsarskoye Selo in the presence of Empress Catherine II. He was promoted to Metropolitan of Alaverdi in the same year and returned to Georgia at his father's request.
Catholicos-Patriarch
Upon the death of Catholicos-Patriarch Anthony I in 1788, the 25-year-old Antony II was elected as his successor. During his tenure, the Kartli-Kakhetian Kingdom joined Russia in 1801. Subsequently, Emperor Alexander I abolished the autocephaly and patriarchal dignity of the Georgian Church in 1811.
Exaltation and Exile
Antony II was summoned to St. Petersburg to participate in the Holy Synod and never returned to Georgia. He was granted a green velvet mantle, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, a carriage, and a substantial pension. He retired to Nizhny Novgorod, where he passed away on December 21, 1827.
Legacy and Canonization
Antony II's remains were initially interred at the Annunciation Monastery in Nizhny Novgorod and later transferred to the Transfiguration Cathedral in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. However, after the cathedral's demolition in 1929, his remains were lost. In July 2011, he was canonized by the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, with his feast day celebrated on December 21 (Julian calendar).
