The Jerusalem Manuscript of the Holy Typicon – Jer. Geo. 150

Abstract

The article discusses the Georgian manuscript preserved at the library of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem – Jer. Geo. 150. We have described and studied the colophons kept in this manuscript.

We find many inscriptions on the manuscript. They can be divided into two groups: 1. Liturgical comments and 2. Commemorations.

It was determined that the MS Jer. Geo. 150 is related to the well-known Georgian scribe of the 13^th-14^th cc. Tevda Dighmeli.

At the beginning of the 14^th century, Tevda brought several manuscripts from Georgia to Jerusalem and handed them to Georgian monks who served in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Nowadays in addition to the library of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem itself, the manuscripts and manuscript fragments he donated or copied are stored both in Austria at the Vienna National Library (Ven. Geo. No. 2), in the UK, at the library of the Cambridge University (Georgian Ms. 9 / MS. add. 1890.6.) and other one in a private collection. Of particular interest are two colophons of Tevda, which have some special details interesting for the biography of this famous figure.

Inscriptions of the manuscript reveal that the teacher and spiritual father of Tevda was Basil from Armazi, which in turn confirms Tevda’s Eastern Georgian origin. Moreover, the colophon demonstrates that Tevda had his own disciples and followers in Jerusalem, which makes him one of the outstanding figures of the Georgian community of Jerusalem.