The 11th International Scientific Conference “Archival Studies and Source Studies: Trends and Challenges” opened at the National Archives of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. This year’s event is dedicated to the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity being proclaimed the state religion in Georgia.

By adopting Christianity and proclaiming it the state religion, the country chose a spiritual path that shaped Georgian culture, thought, state development, and values. This legacy is reflected in architecture, painting, hymns, and literature.

The conference was opened by Tamar Zodelava, Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia, and Teona Iashvili, Director General of the National Archives. The participants were welcomed by Claudia Rapp, a professor at the University of Vienna and a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Ketevan Asatiani, Head of the Scientific Department of the National Archives.

More than 40 Georgian and international scholars are participating in the conference. They will present the latest research on the spread of Christianity and its proclamation as the state religion in the South Caucasus, in the context of parallel developments in the Roman and Sasanian Empires and narratives found around the world.

The presentations will address the work of Enlightenment figures, the development of monasticism, the organizational transformation of the Georgian Church, liturgy, and the history of saints and religious festivals. Particular attention will be paid to Christianity as a faith rooted in the written word, as well as to Christian art and culture, medieval historiography, and understandings of religion in the late medieval and modern periods.

The conference will be held at the National Archives of Georgia through October 3.