Abstract

This article examines the historical provenance of the quotation commonly attributed to Catholicos-Patriarch Ambrose Khelaia: “My soul belongs to God, my heart to my homeland, and I give you my body, O tyrants!” Challenging the assumption that the phrase was uttered during Khelaia’s 1924 trial, the author analyses documentary evidence identified by Professor Levan Jikia in the records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Particular attention is given to Constantine Gvarjaladze’s letter of 1 August 1922, which records an earlier and substantively equivalent statement attributed to Khelaia. The article argues that this archival testimony confirms the quotation’s historical basis and recommends citing the wording preserved in the original document.