King Erekle I and Catholicism (A New Aanalysis of the Problem)

Abstract

The Capuchin missionary Giuseppe Antonio Romano, in his report sent from Tbilisi on August 15, 1675, informs us that in April of the same year, he participated in negotiations to achieve the unification of the Armenian and Catholic churches in Iran. During this period, at the court of Shah Suleiman I (1666-1694), there was a contender for the throne of the Kingdom of Kakheti, Erekle I (also known as Irakli, or Heraclius), who had arrived from Moscow and had no intention of ascending to the throne in exchange for changing his faith. It was revealed that he contacted father Francesco Piscopo of Nakhchivan, who was present at the Shah’s court,
with the aim of resolving Nakhchivan’s Catholic debt and unifying the Armenian and Catholic churches. According to the same source, Erekle appealed to father Francesco Piscopo, requesting acceptance into the Roman Church. From the indirect information recorded in the source, the following conclusion is drawn: Prince Erekle’s appeal to father  Piscopo was aimed
at leveraging his significant embassy and seeking an ally before the Shah in the person of the Pope. In inclining towards Catholicism, Erekle sought to demonstrate to the Shah, who tolerated Catholic missionaries within the empire, his disassociation from Orthodox Russia and support for the Western orientation of the Iranian court, while highlighting the potential benefits he could bring to the Shah’s court by embracing Catholicism, rather than converting to Islam. Therefore, as part of the mutually advantageous relationship between the Roman Curia and the Shah’s court, Prince Erekle endeavored to enlist the Pope as an intermediary at
the Shah’s court, with the hope that the latter would support his claim to the throne of Kartli or Kakheti as a Christian ruler