http://blacksea.ehw.gr/Forms/filePage.aspx?lemmaId=11665 http://travelblozhik.blogspot.ro/2012/06/blog-post.html Circassians are one of the most ancient people on the Planet, native to the North Caucasus mountains. Most of circassians are of muslim faith, but also of christian faith, and “Habze” beliefs. In this video we shall analize the ancient roots of christianity of the circassian people and their lands. Circassians recieved christianity from the Disciples of Christ. Missionary activity in the Black Sea coasts dates back to the Apostolic era. The monk Epiphanios, from the monastery of Kallistratos at Constantinople, wrote the Vita of the Apostle Andrew where he recorded the Apostle's itinerary, according to a tradition that was being established already in the 4th c. Among others, the Vita offers an account of Andrew’s activity in Skythia, in the land of the “Kosogdians,” that is the habitants of the city of Sougdaia (mod. Sudak in Crimea), in Colchis, in the land of the “Ethiopeans” (the inhabitants of Inner Colchis) and the “Gorziniens” (Georgeans?), as well as in the “great Sebastopolis” (today’s Sukhum in Abkahazia), in the garrisons of Apsaros (mod. Gonio in Georgia), and near the river Phasis, where Iberians, “Soussoi”, “Foustoi” and Alans were settled.3 According to the tradition, Andrew was buried in Patras, Greece, but his remains were transported to Constantinople and placed as relics in the church of the Holy Apostles, built by Constantine I. The Acts of Andrew (Acta Andreae), dated in the 7th century, have survived in several languages and describe Andrew’s missionary activity in the Crimea and the eastern coast of the Black Sea.4 The diverse itinerary that Andrew followed can be traced around three large areas: Skythia (Crimea and its environs to the north), Colchis and the coastal area of Asia Minor, including the city of Byzantium and its surroundings. The Latin sources that discuss Andrew’s activity in Skythia are the eldest: the testimony of Arnobius (between the 3rd and 4th centuries), Tertullianus (first half of the The church of Zichia was also linked to the Orthodox churches of Georgia and Alania . Zichia came under Islamic influence during the period of Tatar domination. The Abazas initially vacillated between Christianity and Islam; the Janey group embraced Islam in the 1560s, other tribes reverting to animism. After the sixteenth century the Circassians were almost entirely Muslim. Eastern Christianity in Zichia

• published: 18 Sep 2014
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