Mtsire, Efrem

Georgian cleric writer, scholastic philosopher, and historian.

Born ca. 1025. Was educated in Greece. Lived mainly in the Georgian monk colony of the Black Mountain. Authored compositions on emergence and spreading of Christianity in Georgia: Letter on the Reason of Kartli's Christianization and Notes on Simeon Metafrast. With Efrem Mtsire's participation, a literature-and-grammar school was created, which played an important role in the history of Georgian literature. Efrem Mtsire translated Ioann Damaskin's Source of Knowledge into Georgian, as well as the so-called Areopagist Books and other philosophic compositions; he stated his views in comments and notes to them. Thanks to Efrem Mtsire, the ideas of Aristotlism and neo-Platonism infiltrated into Georgia.