Catholicos Anton I of Georgia

Anton I of Georgia
Anton I as depicted on an 18th century oil painting.
Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia
Tenure	1744–1755 1764-1788
Predecessor	Nikoloz VIII
Successor	Ioseb (Jandieri) (after 1st term) Anton II of Georgia (after 2nd term)
Born	28 October 1720
Died	12 March 1788
Burial	Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Dynasty	Bagrationi dynasty
Father	Jesse of Kartli
Mother	Elene-Begum
Religion	Georgian Orthodox Church

Anton I of Georgia (Georgian: ანტონ I); 28 October [O.S. 17 October] 1720 – 12 March [O.S. 1 March] 1788), born as Teimuraz Bagrationi, was the Catholicos–Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the period 1744–1755 and again in 1764–1788.

Being one of the sons of Jesse of Kartli by his wife Princess Elene-Begum (a daughter of King Erekle I of Kakheti), Anton was born a royal prince (batonishvili). He was raised together with his cousin prince Erekle, the future king Erekle II, in Telavi, Kakheti. There, he studied in order to become priest, as well as learning the Greek, "Tatar", and Persian languages. At age 15, Anton became engaged to the daughter of the influential politician Givi Amilakhvari, however, his bride was taken away by Nader Shah when the latter took Tiflis (Tbilisi) in 1735. According to Prof. Alexander Mikaberidze, therefore, the reconquest of Georgia over the Ottomans by Nader Shah in 1735 through the Ottoman-Persian War of 1730-1735 had a profound effect on Anton, for he left the court and became a monk at the Gelati Monastery in 1738. Five years later, he moved to the Gareja Monastery in Kakheti, and was elected catholicos-patriarch of the Orthodox Church in 1744. In a row of important political events that occurred in 1744, this event coincided with the Iranian king Nader Shah granting the kingship of Kartli and Kakheti to Anton's uncle Teimuraz II and his cousin Erekle II, respectively.