The Cloister of the Georgian Catholic Fathers in Istanbul, and the National Struggle for Liberation

Abstract

For over a century, the Cloister of the Georgian Catholic Fathers in Istanbul, with its mission and activities, served as a form of protest, initially against the colonial policies of the Tsarist Government, and later against the Soviet Government. Indeed, it played a significant role in the national liberation struggle of the Georgian people. The Georgian Independence Committee, established in Geneva in 1914, operated within the premises of the Cloister. Its objective was to restore Georgia’s independence under German protection. Shalva Vardidze, the head of the monastery, was a member of this committee. The Istanbul Cloister Archive contains a comprehensive list of Georgian Legionnaires compiled by Shalva Vardidze, along with materials documenting their activities from 1915 to 1921. In February 1921, the (Menshevik) Government of the Democratic Republic, seeking refuge from their homeland, took shelter in the Georgian Catholic Fathers Cloister in Istanbul, where they stayed for several months. In 1921, the first issue of the emigrant political magazine ‘Free Georgia’ was published in the Cloister’s Printing House. Shalva Vardidze collaborated with the ‘White George’ organization, founded in 1924 in Paris, France. He drafted a memorandum on behalf of the Georgian people to be presented at the World Peace Conference. The Cloister emerged as one of the most prominent centers of the national liberation struggle of the Georgian people abroad.