Our Venerable Father John Chimchimeli, the Philosopher (XII)

Very scant information about the venerable John Chimchimeli has come down to us: he was a great churchman, translator and philosopher at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The author of the “Histories and Eulogies of the Sovereigns” writes that the life of the holy King Demetre (commemorated 23 May) “with its glory, valour and lineage is shown forth in the eulogy and narrative of John the Philosopher Chimchimeli”.

John received his education at the literary school of Petritsoni. He translated several works of an exegetical character: 1) “Commentary on Ecclesiastes” of Metrophanes of Smyrna; 2) “Commentary on Ecclesiastes” of Olympiodorus of Alexandria; 3) “Commentary on the Gospel of Mark” of Theophylact of Bulgaria; 4) the same author’s “Commentary on the Gospel of Luke”.

The works of the venerable John Chimchimeli were of great importance for Georgian spiritual literature. A fresco of the venerable John was painted in the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem.

The well-known eighteenth-century churchman Metropolitan Timote (Gabashvili) describes in his “Pilgrimage” the frescoes of the Monastery of the Cross, and among the holy fathers and martyrs depicted with haloes and crowns he names the venerable father John Chimchimeli too.

Mose Janashvili notes in his “History of the Church of Georgia” that John Chimchimeli had a literary school at Gremi, where he taught philosophy, theology, and the Greek, Syriac and Arabic languages.