Callistratus of Georgia was a Georgian religious leader who served as the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from 1932 until his death in 1952. Born in Tobanieri in 1866, he was educated in Tiflis and Kiev before being ordained as a priest in 1893. Throughout his career, he held several significant positions, including serving as the Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi. He is remembered for his efforts to navigate the difficult relationship between the Georgian church and the Soviet regime.
Ecclesiastical career
After his ordination, Callistratus supported the movement for Georgian church autocephaly. Following the restoration of the church in 1917, he became the Metropolitan of Ninotsminda in 1925. He also served as a locum tenens during the period when Patriarch Ambrose was imprisoned by Soviet authorities. Upon his election as patriarch, he sought to maintain stability by pursuing a conciliatory approach toward the Stalin administration, eventually helping to reconcile the Georgian and Russian churches in 1943.
Veneration
The Georgian Orthodox Church canonized Callistratus in 2016. His feast day is observed on June 3. He is interred at the Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi, where he had previously served as an archbishop.