Description

[Flower Basket or Selected Poems: For the Benefit of Young Men]

Istanbul: Antuan Gvizaliani 1878.

The Servites of the Immaculate Conception were founded in Constantinople in 1864 by Peter Kharischirashvili, a Georgian Hieromonk who was previously a member of the Mekhitarist Congregation on San Lazzaro Island. The purpose of the congregation was to address the spiritual needs of the Georgian people. It was officially confirmed by Pope Pius IX on May 29, 1875. The Servites in Istanbul offered the Byzantine Rite in Old Georgian..

The Georgian printing press in Istanbul was established by Peter Kharischirashvili in 1870. The press primarily printed pamphlets containing religious and moral texts, which were distributed for free to the impoverished Georgian community in the city. Peter Kharischirashvili personally oversaw the printing to ensure proper spelling and grammar.

Kharischirashvili also established a Georgian language printing press on San Lazzaro Island in Venice, as well as the Servites of the Immaculate Conception, who printed Georgian books in Montauban, France. The last two pages of this pamphlet contain a list of the publications produced by the Servites in Montauban.

The Present Book in Focus

The pamphlet was published to guide young men along the right path. Its introduction harshly criticizes modern “Latin” literature that is non-Georgian, particularly targeting the liberal Georgian newspaper “დროება” (Droeba), meaning “Times.” According to the pamphlet, this publication corrupts the minds of young men. The poems within the book celebrate homeland, parents, war, God, and Georgian history.

According to the database of Georgian libraries, the author or editor of the book was Ivane Gvaramadze (1831 – 1912). According to other sources, the author of the poems was Peter Kharischirashvili himself.

We could trace a single example, housed at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. For the scan of the book please click here: Yvavlebis_Kona_Gina_Rcheuli_Leqsebi_1878.pdf