RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Georgia

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Georgian Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Georgian Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Gabriel Urgebadze (1929 - 1995)

With an HPI of 57.78, Gabriel Urgebadze is the most famous Georgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Gabriel of Georgia (Georgian: წმიდა გაბრიელ ქართველი, romanized: ts'mida gabriel kartveli), born Goderdzi Urgebadze (გოდერძი ურგებაძე; 26 August 1929 – 2 November 1995) was a Georgian Orthodox monk venerated for his dedicated monastic life and piety. With many miracles ascribed to him, Gabriel's grave in Mtskheta has attracted an increasing number of pilgrims. The Georgian Orthodox Church officially canonized him as Holy Father Saint Gabriel, Confessor and Fool for Christ (წმ. ღირსი მამა გაბრიელი აღმსარებელი-სალოსი), on 20 December 2012.

2. Anthim the Iberian (1650 - 1716)

With an HPI of 54.95, Anthim the Iberian is the 2nd most famous Georgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Anthim the Iberian (Romanian: Antim Ivireanul, Georgian: ანთიმოზ ივერიელი – Antimoz Iverieli; secular name: Andria; 1650 — September or October 1716) was a Georgian theologian, scholar, calligrapher, philosopher and one of the greatest ecclesiastic figures of Wallachia, led the printing press of the prince of Wallachia, and was Metropolitan of Bucharest in 1708–1715.

3. Gregorio Pietro Agagianian (1895 - 1971)

With an HPI of 53.53, Gregorio Pietro Agagianian is the 3rd most famous Georgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Gregorio Pietro XV Agagianian (ah-gah-JAHN-yan; anglicized: Gregory Peter; Western Armenian: Գրիգոր Պետրոս ԺԵ. Աղաճանեան, Krikor Bedros ŽĒ. Aghajanian; born Ghazaros Aghajanian, 15 September 1895 – 16 May 1971) was an Armenian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the head of the Armenian Catholic Church (as Patriarch of Cilicia) from 1937 to 1962 and supervised the Catholic Church's missionary work for more than a decade, until his retirement in 1970. He was considered papabile on two occasions, in 1958 and 1963. Educated in Tiflis and Rome, Agagianian first served as leader of the Armenian Catholic community of Tiflis before the Bolshevik takeover of the Caucasus in 1921. He then moved to Rome, where he first taught and then headed the Pontifical Armenian College until 1937 when he was elected to lead the Armenian Catholic Church, which he revitalized after major losses the church had experienced during the Armenian genocide. Agagianian was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Propaganda Fide) from 1958 to 1970. Theologically a moderate, a linguist, and an authority on the Soviet Union, he served as one of the four moderators at the Second Vatican Council. His cause for canonization was opened on 28 October 2022.