Old and New Traditions of Saints’ Commemorations in Late Medieval (14th–16th Centuries) Georgian Liturgical Collections – The Gulani

A new genre of Georgian miscellanies—the Gulans—primarily composed of texts with liturgical significance, emerged in the late Middle Ages. The Gulans are especially noteworthy for their volume and for combining materials from both very ancient and more recent liturgical traditions (Jerusalemite and Constantinopolitan). Unfortunately, they remain entirely unexplored: their unique characteristics—such as the commemoration of saints preserved only in early calendars, the introduction of new feasts that appear in these collections, and feasts that later became firmly rooted in church tradition—have not yet been examined in scholarly literature. The Gulans are significant liturgical compilations that span both the pre-reform and reform eras, vividly illustrating the shifts that occurred across specific geographical regions as well as in universal church calendars.