„SIGNALING THE DAWN LIKE THE CROWING OF A ROOSTER…“ (REVAZ PAVLENISHVILI)

Abstract

Along with others, the representatives of the Pavlenishvili family have made a significant contribution to the cultural life of the Tskhinvali region. The Pavlenishvili family represented the ancestral house of the great nobility of Kartli, who are deeply rooted in the historical past of Georgia. According to existing assumptions, since the 9th-10th centuries, the surname of Pavlenishvili has been connected to the lineage of the Tbelis. From the 17th-18th centuries, the Pavlenishvili family owned estates in Tedzami gorge, as well as in Eredvi, Vanati, Nikozi, and other locations. Researchers hold different opinions about the Pavlenishvili family’s origin, with some suggesting a connection to the Mkhargrdzelis. According to the Catholicos Anton I, the Pavlenishvili family initially settled in Pavnisi and later in the village of Eredvi in the Little Liakhvi gorge. Professor Giorgi Sosiashvili indicates that a branch of the Pavlenishvili family, which had settled in Eredvi, owned a castle there during the late feudal period. They had serfs in Vanati and Eredvi, where the said family lived until the first quarter of the 20th century. The powerful family of Pavlenishvili played an important role in the public life of the country. Their spheres of influence included not only certain territories within the country, but they also had active relations with strategically important objects outside the borders of Georgia, such as the Georgian Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem, having in mind Epiphane and Barnaba Pavlenishvili. The latter was the archbishop of Tbilisi and the abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, while Epiphane served initially as the head of the Diocese of Nikozi and later as the abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in the Holy Land, as well as a diplomat. One branch of the Pavlenishvili family, which settled in the village of Eredvi, lived there until the early 20th century, when they were expelled by the Bolsheviks. The Pavlenishvili family made a significant contribution to the literary and cultural development as well as public life of the region, among other contributors. Their traces can be seen in the 1832 Georgian plot, in literature, and in their activities with the 150 ა. მღებრიშვილი Society for Spreading Literacy among Georgians, among other places.  For example, on May 11, 1916, Archil Dedanashvili, the secretary of the Tskhinvali branch of the society, sent the report of their 1915 activities to Burjanadze, the secretary of the main board of the Society for Spreading Literacy among Georgians. According to one of the documents, in 1915, the Tkhinvali department included: Priest Zakaria Sadzaglishvili, Priest Davit Svimonishvili, Philimon Siradze, Priest Vladimir Unapkoshvili, Ivlita Purtseladze, Vasil Pavlenishvili son of Dimitri, Vasil Pavlenishvili son of Giorgi, Giorgi Pavlenishvili, and others. In terms of literature, Revaz Pavlenishvili has greatly contributed to the development of the literary traditions in the Tskhinvali region, and unfortunately, his name is still unknown to some people in his native area.