India Hands Over Martyred Queen’s Relics to Georgia

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By Verghese V Joseph –

Early this month, India permanently returned the holy relics of Georgian queen, 400 years after her murder at Shiraz in Iran in 1624. Portions of Saint Queen Ketevan’s relics were clandestinely taken by the St. Augustine Portuguese Catholic missionaries, eyewitnesses of her martyrdom, to Georgia where they were interred at the Alaverdi Monastery. The rest of her remains were said to have been buried at the Church of St. Augustine in Goa. After several expeditions to Goa in the 21st century to search for the remains, they were believed to be found in late 2013.

Addressing the nation through the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday shared how Indian researchers in 2005 uncovered the relics of a 16th-century Georgian queen, Ketevan the Martyr, from the Saint Augustine Church in Goa. “India handed over the holy relic or icon of Saint Queen Ketevan to the Government of Georgia and the people there,” the Prime Minister said.

Hand over of the holy relics of St. Queen Ketevan to the people of Georgia. PIB picture

The handing-over ceremony that took place at the Sameba Holy Trinity Cathedral saw the participation of Georgia’s top political and religious leaders including the Georgian President, PM, and His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

St Queen Ketevan’s relics were found in St. Augustine Convent in Old Goa, India in 2005. DNA analysis by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad at the instance of the Archaeological Survey of India confirmed its authenticity. It is believed her relics were brought to Goa in 1627.

India had sent the holy relics to Georgia in 2017 for a period of six months to celebrate the 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. On July 9, earlier this month, external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar permanently handed over the relics to the Government of Georgia.

“The words that were said in praise of India at the ceremony are indeed very memorable,” the Prime Minister said on Sunday, lauding the strong diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Saint Ketevan, the queen of Kakheti, a kingdom in eastern Georgia, was murdered at Shiraz in Iran in 1624, nearly 400 years ago now. Queen Ketevan earned the title of ‘martyr’ because it is believed she gave up her life defending the Christian faith and refused to convert to Islam, even after prolonged tortures by the Safavid suzerains. After her death, Ketevan was canonised as a saint by the Georgian Orthodox Church.

A key icon for the Georgian people, Saint Ketavan inspired a new-age Holy Grail search, where followers of the faith went on a “hunt” for the queen’s holy relics across the world. Goa was one of the chief locations where Georgian delegations would often frequent, trying to interpret centuries-old Portuguese documents that provided clues to Ketevan’s burial place – Church of St Augustine.

In a series of searches between 2004 to 2005, a group of Indian archaeologists, accompanied by a Portuguese architect, uncovered a number of relics and bone fragments that were confirmed to be of Georgian descent on a DNA test. Additional tests confirmed that the U1b bone came from a woman. Therefore, in 2013, it was established that the bone found in two pieces in 2005 was consistent with being from a Georgian woman.

The relics have reached Georgia back after more than 390 years. In the past, in September 2017, relics were sent to Georgia for almost a year and were returned to India in September 2018.

Lauding Goa, the PM said, “I would like to thank the people of Goa for preserving this unique side of the shared history of India and Georgia. Goa has been the land of many a great spiritual heritage. Saint Augustine Church is a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site – a part of the Churches and Convents of Goa.”

This was Dr Jaishankar’s first visit by an Indian external affairs minister to the country since it became independent in 1991. He also unveiled the newly installed statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the city of Tbilisi. Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagarishvili and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had met in New Delhi on 11 May 2000.

At Georgia, Dr Jaishankar began by saying that he came here with a sacred purpose. “And we have, as you all know, kept and preserved a very valuable heritage of Georgia for many years – the Holy Relics of St. Queen Ketevan. There has been obviously an understandable interest in Georgia for the relics to be permanently transferred, given the fact that the holy martyr is regarded with so much reverence in your society. Moreover, in view of our very close friendship and understanding the importance of it, Prime Minister Modi decided to gift one part of the Holy Relic to the Georgian people. And, it was my honour, my privilege to personally carry it.”

There are nearly 8,000 Indian students studying in Georgia and over 50,000 Indian tourists visit Georgia.