Foreign researchers' interest in the history, literature and art of Georgia revived in the beginning of the 20^th century. The Georgian culture was studied and popularized not only by foreign Kartvelologists, but by the Georgian scholars (who lived and worked abroad) as well. Their desert had been less known till the 80s of the 20^th century. The foreign editions had not "entered" the territory of Georgia or had been kept in special funds. Nowadays, a lot is known about our compatriots, who worked in different spheres. Hence, still a lot must be studied and researched. At the end of the 20^th century several letters were written about Georgian scientists Michael Tarkhnishvili, who lived and worked abroad. Some of his works were translated. In 1994 the publishing house Kandeli published Tarkhnishvili's letters [Tarkhnishvili, 1994] in the series the history of the Georgian church, materials and researches. Despite these facts, Tarkhnishvili's desert and the spheres of research are less known to the Georgian society.

       Michael Tarkhnishvili had a profound knowledge of Georgia's history and literature. He loved his native country. All his time and energy was spent on researching and publishing the Georgian written monuments. He facilitated the revival of interest in the Georgian culture. As a Kartvelologist, he was often asked about philology and bibliography. "He was the first, who showed the less known treasury of the Georgian literature to the western researchers", - Michael Tarkhnishvili's disciple Jerar Garitte wrote about him [Garitte, 1958:308].

       M. Tarkhnishvili was born in Akhaltsikh on 12 January 1897. He entered public school of the village Skra. In 1913 Tarkhnishvili was brought to Constantinople (Istanbul) by the Georgian Catholic monks, who chose pupils for Georgian Monastery School. Michael stayed in Constantinople till 1917. Then he left Turkey and went to Germany. Till 1919 he studied at the Abbey of Etal's Benedicts. After declaration of the independence of Georgia (1919), Tarkhnishvili was given an opportunity to go on his studies in Tbilisi, but in December he went to Istanbul and has never returned to his native country. In 1923 Michael graduated from Cappucins' College. From September 1923 till July 1924 he studied at Constantinople's Georgian Monastery. In 1924 Tarkhnishvili went to Austria and finished the course of philological and philosophical education at the Society of Saint-Gabriel's Divine Word. Then he went to Rome, where he entered Greek College as a free listener. Afterwards, Michael studied at the Eastern Institute of the Pope of Rome (1930-1933), where he defended the dissertation in the Latin language ("Teatinian preachers in Georgia in the 17^th century") and was awarded a degree of Doctor. On 6 August 1931 Tarkhnishvili was ordained a priest at Grotaperata Greek Abbey.

        In 1934 he was given the task by the Spiritual Society. Tarkhnishvili had to raise Georgians (who lived in France, Belgium and German) as the representatives of the Eastern Church. For that purpose, he visited France and Degendorf (Bavaria) in the company of Benedict fathers.

        During 1936-42 M. Tarkhnishvili tried to find a job. At that period of time the congregation of the Eastern Churches in Vatican raised the question of publishing Georgian liturgical texts. Michael Tarkhnishvili moved to Rome as the most suitable candidate.

        The researcher stayed in Rome till the end of his life. Despite illness, he worked very hard. It was the most fruitful period of Tarkhnishvili's life. The researcher looked for the Georgian sources, which were kept in the book depositories of Italy. He translated and published the Georgian literary monuments. Tarkhnishvili popularized the Georgian literature and culture in Europe. After his death (October 15, 1958), he was buried in the common burial vault of foreign fathers, who worked in Vatican.     

         The direction and character of M. Tarkhnishvili's scientific work was stipulated by his origin, Catholic faith and working abroad. He published his works in European journals and considered the interests of the European readers.

         At the earliest stage of his work M. Tarkhnishvili was interested in theology and historical liturgics. His first works were more theoretical. The researcher was deeply interested in the Eastern Church. One of his works was "Byzantine Liturgics, as the realization of unity and connection in the dogma" [Tarchnishvili, 1939]. The author underlined the aspiration of the Eastern Church towards the unity and harmony. Tarkhnishvili tried to show how vividly was seen the divine unity in Byzantine liturgics (the complines of Saint Ioane Okropiri and Basili Didi are considered). The researcher depicted liturgical action and prayer. He described a spiritual condition of the eastern person. His(her) obedience, god-fearing and teocentric character. Tarkhnishvili thought, that the most important was the idea of connection between God and a human being. He singled out the importance of the meaning of peace in liturgy.

        M. Tarkhnishvili's work did not remain unnoticed by the researchers of theology. Ts. Shneider wrote a review in "Byzantinische Zeitschrift" [Schneider, 1940:156], where he characterized the work as a "neat" analysis of Byzantine liturgy and an attempt of the perception of its content. According to the reviewer's assessment the letter could not be regarded as a genuinely scientific work. Therefore, it was intended for a wide circle of readers. 

          The Georgian scientist's another work "Una Sancta before division" was published in 1939 [Tarchnishvili, A, 1939]. It was dedicated to the unity of different Christian countries and the Christian church. The Catholic researcher considered the connection with the Roman church as a unifying feature of the whole Christianity. Moreover, he once again singled out the following characteristic features of the Christian world: the eastern spiritual leadership of the western church and the unity of the whole cultural-religious life of Christianity (which had the eastern shade). The author proved his idea with the following facts: mediators and writers, who worked during the first two centuries were of eastern origin; before the division church meetings were held in the East; the western school depended on the Eastern and African Churches. Roman church was under the influence of Alexandria, while Gaelic liturgy was influenced by Syrian-Byzantine.  Dependence on the eastern was seen in the western art: church music, poetry, architecture, iconography and book painting.

         The author hoped that the unity of church would be restored by the joint work of the Eastern Catholics. Therefore, a particular unification in liturgical-religious and theological spheres was needed.

         In the work "The eschatological feature of the Eastern Christianity" [Tarchnishvili, 1940] the author discusses the connection of the Christian doctrine with the condition of a soul after death. Tarkhnishvili concludes that according to this doctrine Catholic eschatology stands on one pole, Monophysite-Nestorian on the other, while Orthodox occupies the middle position and makes a bridge between them. M. Tarkhnishvili tries to find common features of the Catholic and Monophysite-Nestorian Churches. 

       In the article "The ways of improvement" [Tarchnishvili, 1941] the author singled out several features (obedience, prayer, fast, confession) which were needed for the human being's improvement.

      M. Tarkhnishvili discussed the questions of historic liturgy in connection with the history of the Georgian church. The author was interested in these issues in relation with the past of his country, its culture and the spiritual life of its people.

      The issues of the history of the church are discussed in the following works of M. Tarkhnishvili: "From the life of the Georgian monks" [Tarchnishvili B, 1939; Tarchnishvili A, 1940], "Christianity in Georgia" [Tarchnishvili, 1936; Tarchnishvili A, 1936], "The relationship of the church and the state in the kingdom of Georgia" [Tarchnishvili, 1955] and others. He wrote also the history of Georgian church till the 8^th century (in Georgian language), which was not published by the author. Nowadays, it is kept as a manuscript in the national center of manuscripts.

          The main subject of M. Tarkhnishvili's interest was the research of ancient Georgian lectionaries and scientific study of their texts. The researcher published the first work about Khanmeti lectionary in the liturgical journal "Janbuch für Liturgiewissenschaft", which  presented the main facts about the monument and its short description. In the work "Two fragments (of the 5^th and the 7^th centuries) of the Georgian lectionary" [Tarchnishvili, 1942-43] Tarkhnishvili studied two fragments of the Georgian lectionary (Khanmeti and Haenmeti) and discussed the question of their origin. The author compared Khanmeti lectionary with other liturgical monuments, discussed the questions of their relationship and concluded, that this lectionary was created in the middle of the 5^th century earlier than the Armenian one. Tarkhnishvili supposed that the place of its origin was Palestine, while the original itself was Syrian or Greek.  

         The author's some ideas were considered as incorrect or doubtful after the later researches. For example, a famous Armenologist Atanase Renu rejected Michael's idea about the origin of Khanmeti lectionary (the first half of the 5^th century) and its precedence to the Armenian one [Renoux, 1971]. The researchers did not share the idea, that Khanmeti lectionary and canonary are two independent translations of different redactions of the Greek originals. It was proved that there was one continuous line of development from Khanmeti lectionary to canonary of Jerusalem. Therefore, the ancient Georgian translation gradually shared changes of Greek and the inventories of the Georgian redaction were created. M. Tarkhnishvili's some ideas provoked disputes and doubts. Hence, his researches were directed correctly. Moreover, Tankhnishvili moved forward the date of the Georgian translation of lectionary relying on the signs of its ancient origin.

        M. Tarkhnishvili worked hard on the text of the Georgian version of Jerusalem's lectionary. Hence, the monument was published (in Georgian and Latin) only after the researcher's death under the leadership of R. Drage and G. Garitte [Tarchnishvili, 1959; Tarchnishvili, 1960]. The lectionary presented the full text of monostrophes. This fact stipulated the research of the lectionary from the hymnographic point of view [Leeb, 1970; Khevsuriani, 1973].This edition widened the circle of the researchers interested in the Georgian lectionary. The attachment of the Latin translation made the text of the lectionary accessible for the European scientists. Afterwards, liturgists, hagiologists and palestinologists evaluated it as one of the most significant monuments, which "reserved" the ancient typicon of Jerusalem. Moreover, this edition was recognized as one of the best works of the researcher.

          In 1948 M. Tarkhnishvili published the German translation (with researches) of the Georgian inventory of Jacob's complin [Tarchnishvili, 1948], which was followed by the edition of the texts of Georgian complins with their Latin translations [Tarchnishvili, 1950].

          The researcher played the greatest role in the publication of the typicon of Petritsoni Georgian Monastery, which can be regarded as a significant historical monument of the 11^th century. The statute of Petritsoni Monastery was created in the Georgian and Greek languages by the founder of the monastery Great Domesticos Grigol Bakurianis Dze (in 1083). At the end of the 19^th century it was "spread" in scientific circles. In 1904 the French scientist Lui Petit published the old Greek text of Petritsoni typicon according to the copy, which had been rewritten in the 18^th century. He could not find an original and filled up the gaps by means of the new Greek translation, which was published by G. Musiosi. The Georgian text had been unknown till M. Tarkhnishvili revived his interest in it. The researcher found Georgian manuscript on Chios Island.  The original was not given to him. Therefore, he took the copy, which was rewritten in the 19^th century, arranged the text and published it in two books in 1954 (with the added Latin translation) [Typicon ... 1954; Typicon... 1954 A.]. At that period of time, the old inventory of typicon was not found and the publication of its copy was regarded as a significant fact. M. Tarkhnishvili's work played a particular role in the study of the history of Petritsoni Monastery and the biography of Grigol Bakuriani. I. Molitor thanked him for carrying out such a responsible work" [Molitor, 1956:146].

           Tarkhnishvili was deeply interested in the issues of the Georgian epigraphy. In the research "New Georgian epigraphic and literary discoveries" [Tarchnishvili, A 1950] he discussed the ancient inscriptions of Bolnisi Sioni, Djvari Monastery, Sahakdukht and Tsksisi. Tarkhnishvili's research "The inscription of the icon of the Divine Virgin in Petritsoni Monastery" is dedicated to the inscription, which was written on the icon of the Mother of God in Petritsony Monastery [Tarkhnishvili, 1950].

         M. Tarkhnishvili was the first who responded to the discovery of the old Georgian archaeological monuments in holy places (thirteen churches and monasteries near Antioch, the church which was built in Egypt in the 5^th century by Petre Iberi and the Bachkovo Monastery). Foreign specialists often asked him for help. Tarkhnishvili's advice and notes stipulated the research of some monuments.

         Italian archaeologist Virgilio Corbo found the remains of monastery complex in the surroundings of Sair-al-Ghanim.  It was decorated with the old Georgian inscriptions and was connected with the name of Petre Iberi. Virgilio Corbo invited M. Tarkhnishvili to study the Georgian inscriptions. Michael deciphered and scientifically analyzed[1] four Georgian Asomtavruli inscriptions, which were written on the mosaic floor.  The depiction of historical persons played an important role in dating the inscriptions. The works of M. Tarkhnishvili and V. Corbo "deserved response" in Europe (H. Engberding) and Georgia (A. Gamkrelidze, B. Giorgadze, Sh. Nutsubidze). The Georgian scientists (Sh. Nutsubidze, S. Kaukhchishvili, K. Kekelidze, G. Tsereteli) tried to identify the persons depicted in the inscriptions. G. Tsereteli's book "The Ancient Georgian inscriptions from Palestine" was published in 1960. The author discussed the existed literature and highly evaluated M. Tarkhnishvili's idea: "The inscriptions were read absolutely correctly by M. Tarkhnishvili. There are no letters, which need corrections. The same can be said about the translation and the interpretation of the text. Only some proper names need explanation and identification" [Tsereteli, 1960:10]. Gr. Tsereteli identified the persons indicated in the inscriptions and found out the exact date of their creation. It was supposed, that two Georgian inscriptions were created in the 30s of the 5^th century and therefore, originated earlier than the ancient inscriptions of Bolnisi Sioni. M. Tarkhnishvili played a significant role in their research.

        Since the very beginning of his scientific work, Michael had been interested in the study of Georgian ecclesiastic writing and dedicated several works to it.

      The most important work from this point of view "The history of Georgian literature" [Geschichte... 1955] was published in 1955. It was written on the basis of K. Kekelidze's "The history of old Georgian writing" with an active participation of Julius Asphalg. At that period of time Europeans were deeply interested in the Georgian ecclesiastic literary monuments (original and translated). The necessity of creation of a summarizing work emerged. This honorable mission was carried out by M. Tarkhnishvili, who was supported by friends and foreign colleagues.

      The work was published in 1955 in the series "researches and texts" of Vatican's library. It begins with M. Tankhnishvili's introduction and Julius Asphalg's "The substitution of the introduction". The work consists of an additional checklist of names and a list of the Georgian translations of hagiographic works of Kimen redaction. 

         In the introduction M. Tarkhnishvili wrote about Europeans' deep interest in the Georgian literature and thanked Julius Asphalg and other researchers, who had played their role in the creation of the work. The author said nothing about its relationship with K. Kekelidze's book. In contrast to M. Tarkhnishvili, J.Asphalg in his introductory letter emphasized the necessity of the creation of such work. According to his point of view, the research was not a mere translation. It was M.Tarkhnishvili's free remake, where the author tried to simplify K. Kekelidze's expanded discussions, fill the sources, add literature and "submit" the work to the contemporary scientific demands. The scientist indicated to the changed places and showed the features, which differentiate M. Tarkhnishvili's and Kekelidze's works. Finally, J. Asphalg made the following conclusion: "The work can be regarded as the first attempt of publishing the history of Georgian ecclesiastic literature in the German language (in accordance to the scientific demands). In case of the first attempt, some inaccuracies or mistakes cannot be avoided. If the book becomes a necessary supplementary material for the European researchers and if it revives the interest in the people, history and literature of Georgia... the goal of this book will be achieved" [Geschichte... 1955:5-6].

          M. Tarkhnishvili shortened K. Kekelidze's work. His book was more compact and easily comprehendible from compositional and lingual point of view. On the other hand, the          scholium were added and filled with the European editions of old texts and the works of the European researchers. Moreover, the book presented M.Tarkhnishvili's observations and original ideas about different facts (The author dated differently the working periods of Martviri Kartveli, Leonti Mroveli, Ioane Bolneli. He discussed the Catholic missioners' work in Georgia and etc.).

         It's worth mentioning, that K. Kekelidze did not share M. Tarkhnishvili's ideas. His criticism was often just. Hence, it was only a welcomed fact, that a German-speaking reader had an opportunity to get acquainted with a course of the Georgian ecclesiastic literature. Its publication in the German language had the greatest importance for popularization of the Georgian writing on the international level. The work was often referred to and appreciated by the European scientists - foreign Kartvelologists and Orientalists, which worked in this sphere. A lot of informational works nominate M.Tarkhnishvili's book as a sample of supplementary literature.

         M. Tarkhnishvili was interested in the problem of "Balavariani" and dedicated several letters to it [Tarkhnishvili, 1958; Tarchnishvili, A 1958]. This work was the object of interest of many Georgian and foreign researchers. The date of its creation and the name of the author caused the emergence of different suppositions. When Baron Rosen and Nickolas Marr discovered the old Georgian version of the story, the idea of translating the novel from Georgian into Greek was presented. The first translation was made by Ekvtime Atoneli and supposedly, it was the source of all other inventories. This supposition was supported by A. Khakhanashvili, E. Takaishvili, Iv. Javakhishvili, K. Kekelidze, S. Kaukhchishvili, I. Abuladze, P. Peters, R. Blake, R.V. Wulf. The same question was discussed by the famous Byzantinist Franz Dolger. In 1950 he published a letter in the journal Kzantion, where he tried to prove, that the author of the novel was John from Damask. The same idea was given in Dolger's book "Der griechische Barlaam-Roman, ein Werk von Johannes des Damaskos" [Dölger, 1950].  Some scientists thought, that the author of the novel was Ekvtime. Franz Dolger criticized them and regarded "The life of Ekvtime" as an unreliable source. He was supported by P.M. Biderman, while F. Halkin published a long review with the help of M. Muzarilio, V. Laurdas and D. Lang.

          M. Tarkhnishvili joined the discussion and in 1954 he published the work "The beginning of Saint Ekvtime's literary work and the rebellion of Barda Skliaros" [Tarkhnishvili, 1954]. M. Tarkhnishvili paid attention to the date of the beginning of Ekvtime's literary work, which was essential for regarding him as the translator (into the Greek language) of "Balavariani". The researcher analyzes the notes about the rebellion of Barda Skliaros given in "The life of John and Ekvtime". He discussed them in connection with the data given in the Georgian and Greek sources and concluded, that Giorgi Atoneli's notes "and their description of the events fully correspond to the data of other sources" [Tarchnishvili, 1954].

         In 1955 Dolger published a responding letter, but he was not able to reject M. Tarkhnishvili's arguments. Later Dolger's ideas were criticized by the professor of Byzantine liturgics at Harvard University G. Daun and K. Tumanov, who worked in America. M. Tarkhnishvili returned to this question in the letter "Historic-literary notes" [Tarkhnishvili, 1954]. Besides Dolger, he disputed with K. Kekelidze about the date of the creation of the Georgian translation of "Balavariani".

         M. Tarkhnishvili was greatly interested in the life and work of Ioane Bolniseli and Leonti Mroveli. His ideas were distinguished for their originality and courage. Hence, they were not always shared in the Georgian scientific literature.

         M. Tarkhnishvili's some letters about Georgian literature and history had a reviewing and a bibliographic character. For example, "The Georgian manuscripts and old books in Rome's book depository" [Tarkhnishvili, 1952], "A short review of the research of the Georgian literature" [Tarkhnishvili, 1954], "Historic-literary notes" [Tarkhnishvili, 1954].     

        The research of the history of literature separately from the history is impossible. Therefore, M. Tarkhnishvili often analyzed historical facts. He relied on the results of the researches of famous specialists, who worked in different fields (especially, Iv. Javakhishvili's "The history of the Georgian nation" and other classical works). Moreover, M.Tarkhnishvili had original observations of historic character in the form of a special work or in the form of an excursus, which was inserted in the literary research.

         The samples of special researches are the following articles: "The Byzantine-Georgian epopee of 979" [Tarkhnishvili, 1956], which is dedicated to the rebellion of Barda Skliaros in the last quarter of the 10^th century; "The past in the present" [Tarkhnishvili, 1949], which refers to Syrian writer's (Bar-Hebreus or Abul-pharaja) notes about Georgia; "One of the Georgian military leaders in Byzantine" [Tarkhnishvili, 1952], which presents the discussion about Grigol Iberidze;  "It was once" [Tarkhnishvili, 1949], which presents a discussion of Parsman Iberieli's relationship with Roman emperor;  A work of reviewing character: "The remains of the Georgian art in Egypt" [Tarkhnishvili, 1952] and others.

         The special attention must be paid to M. Tarknishvili's cooperation with special editions and his private relationships with Kartvelologists, who work in Europe.

         When the Kartvelological journal "Bedi Kartlisa" was published with the initiative and editorship of Kalistrate Salia in Paris in 1949, M. Tarkhnishvili was the first, who responded to this fact and became an active co-worker of the journal. The researcher published his researches in every edition of "Bedi Kartlisa" and stipulated the formation of the profile of the journal.

         At request of R. Drage - the main secretary of "Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalis", M.Tarkhnishvili took responsibility for the Georgian part of the collection and published 4 volumes in this "corpus": the old Georgian liturgies and Grigol Bakuriani's typicon. After his death the Georgian lectionary was published in the same series.

         M. Tarkhnishbili's researches were published in the authoritative organs of the field of Oriental studies (Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Le Museon, Oriens Christianus, Archiv für Liturgiewissenschaft and others). He gave information about Georgia to the European journals and encyclopedias (Enciclopedia Cattolica, der Christliche Orient in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart). He was often addressed by foreign Kartvelologists and the Georgian scientists, who lived abroad.

          M.Tarkhnishvili's disciple and co-worker was a famous Georgian Kartvelologist Julius Asphalg. They got acquainted in 1951. Afterwards, they wrote each other and had several quite durable meetings. M. Tarkhnishvili helped J. Asphalg to study the Georgian language and supported him in getting photocopies of Jerusalem's manuscripts. Julius edited M. Tarkhnishvili's works. In cooperation with Asphalg was published a fundamental work "The history of the old Georgian ecclesiastic writing". After the death of father Michael, Julius gathered biographical data and published a necrology in the journal "Bedi Kartlisa". He wrote also a bibliography of Tarkhnishvili's works.   

       M. Tarkhnishvili taught the Georgian language to another famous scientists G. Garitte, who was interested in the Georgian literary monuments of the ancient period (the 5^th - 12^th centuries). The Georgian scientist dedicated several letters to Garitte's Kartvelological works and highly evaluated his work in this sphere. After M. Tarkhnishvili's death, Garitte led the publication of Jerusalem's lectionary, which was prepared by Michael.

        M. Tarkhnishvili was particularly respected by his disciple and friend David Lang. Michael wrote him regularly and supplied with the necessary information. "I was so happy to know father Michael and to feel pleasure from his live speech and especially, from the relationship with such a brilliant person" [Lang, 1958:6], - wrote D. Lang after Tarkhnishvili's death. David received father Michael's last letter several days prior to his death.

       When M.Tarkhnishvili studied in Munich, he got acquainted with the Georgian scientist Alexander Nikuradze, who lived in Germany. Nikuradze remembered pleasantly the time spent with Michael, his aspiration to study the history of Georgia, to discover new sources and to "present" renovations in the research of the old sources [Nikuradze, 1958:6].

       When Tarkhnishvili stayed in Vatican, he was visited by the Georgian scientist Nikoloz Janelidze, who accepted Catholicism and studied in the post-graduate studentship under the leadership of Michael. Later N. Janelidze used the monument of the Georgian ecclesiastic writing "The life and citizenship of blissful Nino who is equal to apostles" and published "Apostle Nino" (Die Apostolin Nino) in the German language. M. Tarkhnishvili helped him in determining the text and translating it into the German language [Sharadze, 1989].

         M. Tarkhnishvili actively wrote to the Georgian scientist Vakhtang Jokhadze, who lived in America. V. Jokhadze wrote about his scientific plans and sent his works to father Michael. The scholars, who lived far from Georgia lacked the scientific literature, which was published in their native country. When they found the material, they shared information and their ideas to one another.

         We presented a short review of Michael Tarkhnishvili's works. We hope it will help the readers, which are interested in his scientific researches.

[1] The research of V. Korbo and M. Tarkhnishvili  was published in the form of a letter. Afterwards, V. Korbo's book was published in Italian language. It consisted of M.Tarkhnishvili's research (as a sub-chapter) [Tarchnishvili, A. 1955].