Domentius IV of Georgia

Domentius IV (, Domenti IV, secular name Damian Bagrationi, ; 1677–1741) was the Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia from 1705 to 1724 and again from 1739 to 1741. He was a member of the royal Mukhrani branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, born as a younger son of Levan of Kartli (Shah-Quli Khan) and his first wife Tuta Gurieli. Domentius was energetically involved in the politics of Kartli and, according to some contemporary accounts, he even had regal ambitions. The split in his patriarchal tenure was due to his opposition to the accession of the Ottoman regime in Kartli and he spent thirteen years in the Ottoman captivity from 1725 to 1737. A man of letters, Domentius compiled a collection of Georgian hagiography. He also sponsored reconstruction and repair of several churches and monasteries in Georgia. His regnal name is sometimes given as Domentius III. Family and early life Domentius was born in 1677 into the royal family of Kartli. His father was Levan, the Georgian prince royal and a nominal convert to Islam as Shah-Quli Khan, who was briefly titular king of Kartli in 1709. His mother, Tuta Gurieli, of the princely dynasty of Guria, died a year after. Among the siblings of Domentius were three future kings of Kartli, Kaikhosro and Vakhtang VI—his brothers—and Jesse, his half-brother. Almost nothing is known of Domentius's early life. After his mother's death, Domentius was cared for by the certain Barbara, whom he mentions in his Jerusalemite records of 1699. Domentius was tonsured as a monk at an early age under the name of Damian and spent some time in Jerusalem. He traveled extensively, visiting also Turkey, Iran, and Russia. First patriarchal term In 1705, Domentius, then aged around 28, was elected the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church after the synod convened by his brother Vakhtang, regent of Kartli for his absent uncle, George XI (Gurgin Khan), accused the catholicos Eudemus II of "ignorance" and removed him from the position. The Safavid government of Iran, claiming sovereignty over Kartli, tolerated Vakhtang's support of the church owing to the contribution of the Georgian royals fighting on the Afghan front.