{"slug":"efremucq-efrem","id":"georgian:titus:efremucq-efrem","title":"Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","author":"Epr.Mc.","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"georgian","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T00:59:31Z","cost_usd":0.001456},"source":{"registry_id":"georgian:titus:efremucq-efrem","work_id":"efremucq-efrem","edition":"titus","language":"","license":"This text is part of the TITUS edition of Eprem Mcire, Ucqebay. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 12.12.2008. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"},"stats":{"passages":2,"english_words":343,"coptic_letters":0,"commentary_units":11,"commentary_kinds":6,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":4,"work_notes":4,"external_links":0,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"efremucq-efrem","abstract":"Ephrem Minor's Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians is a medieval Georgian ecclesiastical text that constructs a national conversion narrative for Georgia. Attributed to Ephrem Minor (fl. 9th–10th c.), the work survives only in Old Georgian manuscripts and was likely used in liturgical or catechetical settings. The text frames itself as an investigation into the cause of the Georgians' conversion, drawing on Greek sources and reflecting the Georgian church's reliance on Byzantine historical and hagiographical traditions. The precise date of composition remains unestablished, and the edition lacks critical apparatus or variant readings.","historical_context":"The work is attributed to Ephrem Minor, a Georgian monk and translator active in the 9th–10th centuries, likely at the church of St. Symeon the Wonderworker (Symeon Stylites the Younger) in Constantinople, a center for Georgian monastic activity. The text survives only in Old Georgian manuscripts, with no critical edition or variant readings available. It belongs to the genre of instruction (didaskalia) and reflects the Georgian church's effort to construct a national conversion narrative, probably for liturgical or catechetical use. The work draws on Greek books, indicating reliance on Byzantine historical and hagiographical sources. The precise date of composition is not established in the source edition, and the text's transmission is limited to a single source (titus).","significance":"The Instruction is significant for understanding how the medieval Georgian church constructed its national identity through a conversion narrative, relying on Byzantine sources. It sheds light on Georgian monastic activity in Constantinople and the use of Greek hagiographical traditions in Georgian ecclesiastical literature. The work also illustrates the genre of instruction in the Georgian tradition and its role in catechesis and liturgy.","timeline":[{"date":"9th–10th c.","event":"Ephrem Minor active as a Georgian monk and translator in Constantinople."},{"date":"9th–10th c.","event":"Composition of Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians (date uncertain)."},{"date":"Medieval period","event":"Text transmitted in Old Georgian manuscripts."},{"date":"Modern","event":"Edition published in the TITUS corpus."}],"relations":[{"work":"Ephrem Minor's other works","relation":"Attributed to the same author, likely sharing similar theological and historical concerns.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Byzantine hagiographical and historical texts","relation":"Cited as sources for the conversion narrative.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Georgian conversion narratives (e.g., Life of Nino)","relation":"Part of the broader tradition of Georgian national conversion stories.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Psalm 77:1 (LXX 76:1)","relation":"Adapted in the text to refer to the apostles.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The precise date of composition is not established in the source edition; only a broad 9th–10th century attribution is given.","The text survives only in Old Georgian manuscripts, with no critical apparatus or variant readings from other manuscripts.","The edition is based on a single source (titus), limiting the ability to assess textual variation or transmission history.","The attribution to Ephrem Minor is traditional but not definitively proven."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000387,"generated":"2026-11-15T00:16:34Z"},"checks":{"work":"efremucq-efrem","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":2,"translated":2,"commentary_passages":2,"commentary_units":11,"english_words":343,"source_letters":1525,"commentary_kinds":6},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is attributed to Ephrem Minor (fl. 9th–10th c.), but the precise date of composition is not established in the source edition.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives only in Old Georgian manuscripts; the source edition (titus) provides the basis for this annotation.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Instruction reflects the Georgian church’s effort to construct a national conversion narrative, likely used in liturgical or catechetical contexts.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition does not include a critical apparatus or variant readings from other manuscripts; the text is presented as found in the single source.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 2 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Eprem Mcire, Ucqebay. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 12.12.2008. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder."}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":2},"term_index":[],"citations":{"ed:efremucq-efrem":{"label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"უწყებაჲ მიზეზსა ქართველთა მოქცევისასა, თუ რომელთა წიგნთა შინა მოიჴსენების.*\n\nსულიერსა მამასა ჩუენსა და პატიოსანსა ეკლესიარხსა ჩუენ ქართველთასა, მღდელსა უფლისასა იოანეს კჳრიკესსა ყოვლად მცირე და უღირსი სახისა და სახელისაჲ ეფრემ მონაზონი თაყუანის-ცემით მოგიკითხავ. ვინაჲთგან მადლითა ღმრთისაჲთა სრულ იქმნა გულსმოდგინებაჲ შენი წიგნისა ამისთჳს სადღესასწაულოჲსა, რომელი შენ იწროებასა შინა ჟამთასა უხუჱბით განვრცომითა გონებისაჲთა მოუგე საზოგადოსა მაგას ნიჭსა ნათესავისა ჩუენისასა ეკლესიასა წმიდისა სჳმეონ საკჳრველთმოქმედისასა,** რომელი ვითარცა საწყაული კეთილი და განმყოფელი იფქლისა ცხოვრებისაჲ ჭეშმარიტებით წმიდად მოდად*** სახელდებულ არს, ჯერ-იყო ამასცა ზედა ჩემგან სრულ ყოფად ბრძანებაჲ შენი, რაჲთა წერით დაიდვას მას შინა მოსაჴსენებელი ოდეს მოქცევისა ჩუენისაჲ და თუ რომელთა წიგნთა შინა ბერძენთასა ჴსენებულ არს იგი, უჴმდეს თუ ვისმე გამომეძიებელთაგანსა ცნობად.","english":"Knowledge of the Cause of the Conversion of the Georgians, and in Which Books It Is Mentioned.\n\nTo our spiritual father and venerable ecclesiarches of us Georgians, the priest of the Lord John Kyrikes, the utterly small and unworthy in form and name, Ephrem the monk, I greet you with prostration. Since by the grace of God your diligence concerning this festal book has been fulfilled, which you, in the narrowness of the times, with a swift expansion of thought, offered to that common gift of our nation’s church of the holy Symeon the Wonderworker, which, as a good and life-giving beginning of the loaf of life, is truly and purely designated as coming, it was fitting that your command be fulfilled by me in this matter as well, so that in writing there be placed therein a commemoration of the time of our conversion, and in which books of the Greeks it is mentioned, should it be necessary for someone among the inquirers to know.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"უწყებაჲ მიზეზსა ქართველთა მოქცევისასა","severity":"info","text":"The title announces the work as an investigation into the cause of the Georgians' conversion and the books that mention it, framing the ensuing letter as a prefatory explanation.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ეკლესიარხსა","severity":"info","text":"The term 'ecclesiarches' (ἐκκλησιάρχης) designates a church official responsible for order and administration, here applied to John Kyrikes as the recipient of Ephrem's letter.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"სჳმეონ საკჳრველთმოქმედისასა","severity":"info","text":"The church of St. Symeon the Wonderworker (Symeon Stylites the Younger) in Constantinople was a center for Georgian monastic activity, where Ephrem likely served.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"წიგნთა შინა ბერძენთასა","severity":"info","text":"Ephrem refers to Greek books as sources for the conversion narrative, indicating the Georgian tradition's reliance on Byzantine historical and hagiographical texts.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"სახელდებულ არს","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'designated as coming' (სახელდებულ არს) is ambiguous; it may refer to the festal book being intended for future use or to a specific liturgical designation.","cites":[{"key":"ed:efremucq-efrem","label":"source edition: Ephrem Minor, Instruction on the Conversion of the Georgians","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etca/cauc/ageo/origlit/efremucq/efrem.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'festal book' (სადღესასწაულოჲსა) is not specified; it may be a menaion or a collection of saints' lives.","The phrase 'narrowness of the times' (იწროებასა შინა ჟამთასა) could refer to a period of persecution or simply to time constraints."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"საცნაურ იყავნ, ვითარმედ მიერვე ქადაგებითგან წმიდათა მოციქულთაჲთ, რაჟამს, წინაწარმეტყუელებისაებრ დავითისსა, \"ყოველსა ქუეყანასა განჴდა ჴმაი მათი და კიდეთა სოფლისათა სიტყუანი მათნი\",1 ერთად კიდეთა ამათგანად ითქუმის ჩუენთჳსცა მიმოსლვასა შინა წმიდათა მოციქულთასა ანდრია პირველწოდებულისა მიერ ქადაგებაჲ შორის ავაზგიაჲსა, რომელ არს აფხაზეთი და მიერ წარვლაჲ ოსეთად და კუალად ბართლომეს მიერ მიმოვლაჲ ჩრდილოეთისაჲ, რომელ არს ქართლი. გარნა ამათ წმიდათა სამოციქულონი მოძღურებისა თესლთა ანეულნი მრავალ ჟამ დაიპყრნა ღუარძლმან მეკერპეთამან არა ხოლო ჩუენ შორის, არამედ თჳთ მათ ბერძენთაცა შორის, ვიდრე ჟამთადმდე მეორედ პავლედ ზეცით წოდებულისა დიდისა კოსტანტინესთა. ამის კეთილად მსახურისა მეფისა ჟამთა ღმერთმან, რომელმან დიდთა და მრავალთესლთა ტომთათჳს იზრუნა, არცა ჩუენ მცირენი დაგჳტევნა უღუაწად, არამედ ესრეთ განაგო კუალად აღმოწოდებაჲ ჩუენი, ვითარცა მოიჴსენებს თეოდორიტე საეკლესიოჲსა მოთხრობისა წიგნსა შინა თჳსსა ოცდამეოთხესა თავსა და იტყჳს ესრეთ:","english":"Let it be known that from the very preaching of the holy apostles, when, according to the prophecy of David, \"their voice spread over the whole earth and their words to the ends of the world,\" among these ends it is also said concerning us, in the course of the visitation of the holy apostles, that there was preaching by Andrew the First-Called among Avazgia, which is Abkhazia, and from there a passage to Ossetia, and again a circuit of the north by Bartholomew, which is Kartli. But these holy apostolic seeds of teaching, once sown, were long held back by the thorn of idolatry not only among us, but even among the Greeks themselves, until the times of the great Constantine, the second Paul called from heaven. In the times of this pious king, God, who cared for the great and many-seeded nations, did not leave us, the small ones, without reward, but arranged our recall in such a way as Theodoret recalls in his book of ecclesiastical history, in the twenty-fourth chapter, and speaks thus:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ყოველსა ქუეყანასა განჴდა ჴმაი მათი და კიდეთა სოფლისათა სიტყუანი მათნი","severity":"info","text":"The quotation adapts Psalm 77:1 (LXX 76:1), 'His voice went out over the whole earth, and his words to the ends of the world,' shifting the singular to plural to refer to the apostles.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ავაზგიაჲ","severity":"info","text":"Avazgia is the Greek-derived name for Abkhazia, used in early Georgian sources to denote the region on the Black Sea coast.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ქართლი","severity":"info","text":"Kartli is the central region of Georgia, often synonymous with Iberia in classical sources; here it is identified with the northern circuit of Bartholomew.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"თეოდორიტე","severity":"info","text":"Theodoret of Cyrus (c. 393–c. 458) wrote an 'Ecclesiastical History' in five books; the reference to chapter 24 likely corresponds to a section on Constantine's reign, though the exact chapter numbering varies in manuscripts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"მეორედ პავლედ ზეცით წოდებულისა დიდისა კოსტანტინესთა","severity":"info","text":"Constantine is called 'the second Paul called from heaven,' a typological epithet linking him to the apostle Paul as a divinely appointed converter of nations, common in Byzantine and Georgian hagiography.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage transitions from a general apostolic mission to a specific historical claim, citing Theodoret as an authority for the Georgian conversion narrative, thus framing the work as a scholarly compilation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'second Paul called from heaven' may conflate Constantine's vision with Paul's conversion; the exact source of this epithet is unclear.","The reference to Theodoret's chapter 24 is imprecise; the chapter numbering may differ in the Georgian translation of the Ecclesiastical History."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}