Greek (Cypriot) monastery’s Georgian Metochion and its Church serfs according to the Georgian newspaper Droeba (1883)

Abstract

In the Russian empire one of the most important changes happened in the 19th c. was the Emancipation of serfs. In this regard the article “Situation of our former serfs” by David Ghambashidze (1840-1912), a wellknown ecclesiastical figure, should be mentioned. It was published in the newspaper “Droeba” in February 1883 (volumes № 24, 25, 26). The publication refers to church serfs of the village Vardzia (Shorapani region) granted to the Kykkos Monastery in Cyprus at the end of the 18th century. Publication’s data is analyzed in conjunction with metochion’s reports written in Greek.