Institution

Catholicate of Abkhazia

Also known as Catholicate of Western Georgia

The Catholicate of Abkhazia was the autocephalous church of western Georgia, headed by a catholicos who resided at Bichvinta (Pitsunda) and later at Gelati near Kutaisi. It took shape in the medieval kingdom of Abkhazia and continued under the kingdom of Imereti and its vassal principalities. The Russian authorities abolished it in 1814 and placed its dioceses under the Georgian exarchate of the Russian Church.

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Catholicate of Abkhazia. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/catholicate-of-abkhazia
MLA
“Catholicate of Abkhazia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/catholicate-of-abkhazia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Catholicate of Abkhazia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/catholicate-of-abkhazia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Catholicate of Abkhazia’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/catholicate-of-abkhazia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻