“In Honorem” of PhD. Professor & Academician Roin Metreveli

Op-Ed

It is indeed commendable the initiative taken by the President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, Acad. Giorgi Kvesitadze, together with his distinguished colleagues, and co-workers, to publish the papers sent by the members of the Academy “in honorem” (in honor) of our distinguished colleague Academician Roin Metreveli, the Vice President of the Academy, on the occasion of his 80th anniversary, in a special volume.

I have to confess to fact that I received the announcement from the Secretary of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences concerning said 80th anniversary with both great pleasure and with great emotion, since, just at that moment, I was working on a book concerning the Prefaces of Hyeromonk Mihail Stephanishvili, the Romanian typographer, the spiritual son of Saint Antimoz Iverieli, who printed the first books on the Georgian land, and, as it has to be known, these two outstanding personalities of the Romanian and Georgian cultures contributed forever to the brotherhood of relations between our nations.

Personally, I met the Academician Prof. PhD. Roin Metreveli, Vice-President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, about ten years ago in Tbilisi, on the occasion of some international congresses organized under the aegis of the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate and with the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia.

Afterwards, I had the opportunity to participate in some symposiums and conferences organized by the tutorial forum of the Georgian culture, i.e., of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, in which the erudite historian, an internationally renowned specialist in the Georgian and Caucasian history and European medieval culture, organized and chaired their work sessions.

Thanks to the Acad. Giorgi Kvesitadze, President of Georgian National Academy of Sciences, I had the happy occasion to speak about Antimoz Iverieli and about Mihail Stephanishvili, not only in Tbilisi, in the Hall of Georgian National Academy, when I had also a beneficial discussion with Acad. Metreveli, but also in Constanta and Râmnicu-Vâlcea (Romania), dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the martyrdom death of Saint Antimoz Iverieli.

On other occasions, in Tbilisi, I had the opportunity to discuss with Acad. Metreveli topics of common interest (history, culture, religion, academic life, socio-politics, etc.). All the discussions with him were always a real intellectual feast, which can be likened to Plato's Banquet.

At the same time, all these happy occasions gave me the opportunity to find out that Acad. Metreveli is a perfect host, who knows how to welcome his guests in accordance with the ancient Georgian custom, i.e., in the spirit of Christian hospitality, an exceptional one, of the Georgian people, and a research historian of caliber, who, through the extent of his knowledge and his pedagogical tact, makes one decipher the millennial history of the Georgian people and wish to become a broadcaster of his great deeds not only in one’s country, but also in the entire world.

By his entire academic and scientific activity, Acad. Metreveli has proved to be a real servant to the culture of his nation, to which our forefathers, Antimoz Iverieli and Mihail Stephanishvili, laid the bases of the Georgian culture expressed in printed books.

Since I am one of the “Foreign Members” of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, who had the honor to be invited to send a such paper, with this happy occasion, that is “in honorem” of Academician Roin Metreveli, who becomes 80 years old on 7th December 2019, I would like to say some words both about his personality, as I perceived and understood it myself, and about his outstanding academic and scientific activity.

Acad. Roin Metreveli is one of the first publishers and editors of the ‘Georgian National Universal Encyclopedia,’ and that from October 2013 to present day, he is the Vice President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences.

I am also acquainted with the fact that Prof. Acad. Metreveli is a member of different national academies, among them the International Academy of Art, Science and Education of California (USA), the International Academy of Higher Education of Moscow (Russia), and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts of Salzburg (Austria).

I know also that Acad. Metreveli is not only a great scholar with international recognition, as proved “à l’évidence” the fact that he was honored as a Scientist by different countries, such as the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic in 1996; he is also recognized a specialist not only in the history of his country and the Caucasus region, but also in the history of Christianity, which brought to him also the highest rewards of the Georgian Patriarchate, namely St. George’s Gold Order, in 2011.

I know also the fact that, as a parliamentarian, Professor Roin Metreveli signed the Act on the Restoration of Independence of Georgia (9th April 1991).

As a professor (from 1977) and as academician (from 2005 until present), Roin Metreveli became famous in the universal and academic world (national and international) both for his academic and scientific works (more than two hundred), mostly in the historical field, and by his competent activity as editor: the editor of Georgian National Academy of Sciences’ Journal “Matsne” (Herald) (Series of History); the editor-in-chief of Annuals “Kartuli Diplomatia” (Georgian Diplomacy) (17 volumes published) and “Kavkazika” (Caucasica) (7 volumes published).

Certainly, speaking both about his outstanding scientific activity and about his remarkable university and academic activity, I hope that even by the means of my few words I have managed to convey to our distinguished colleague a sincere message of consideration and friendship, accompanied by my good wishes for his health, which will continue to permit him to bring other cultural and spiritual contributions both to his great and beloved Georgian nation and to the European history.

Ad Multos Annos, dear professor and academician Roin Metreveli, Vice President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences!

By PhD. Prof. Acad. Nicolae V. Dura, Romania