St. Tamar Georgian Orthodox Church
St. Tamar Georgian Orthodox Church in Washington, DC, is a sacred place where weekly prayers, masses, and holiday celebrations are conducted following the Georgian Orthodox calendar. We also organize cultural events and host gatherings with Georgian families. The church's funding comes from the Georgian community through monthly pledges. As our church continues to grow, we welcome new members and actively support new immigrants in connecting with established Georgians.
Leadership
Bishop Saba Intskirveli
Bishop Saba (born Lasha Intskirveli on June 22, 1981, in Ozurgeti, Georgia) was baptized on April 4, 1993, and became a student at the Theological Seminary of St. John the Theologian in Batumi in 1996. He began his monastic life in Cyprus and completed his theological studies in 2000. He furthered his education in Serbia (2001–2007) and returned to Georgia in 2008, where he was tonsured as a novice and appointed secretary to Metropolitan Dimitri.
Bishop Saba was ordained a hierodeacon on July 5, 2009, and became the first Georgian cleric to be ordained in North America on October 26, 2010. He served as the Abbot of the Georgian Monastery of St. David the Builder and Father-superior of St. George Georgian Church in Pennsylvania. He was elevated to Igumen in May 2011, and later became Archimandrite in February 2013.
In June 2014, he was elected Bishop of North America by the Holy Synod of the Georgian Church and was consecrated by Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II on June 22, 2014. His sister, Ketevan, was tonsured a nun the same year.
Archpriest Paul Zakaraia
Archpriest Paul was born in Sokhumi, Georgia, on October 15, 1970. He has had a distinguished journey in both his spiritual and academic pursuits. From 2010 to 2014, he served as the head of the Church of Our Lady of Iveria in Canada, before moving to Tbilisi Trinity Lavra in 2015. Since 2016, he has been serving in Washington DC. He holds a Master of Theology degree, with a focus on the views of 20th-century philosophers on Orthodoxy, reflecting his deep academic interest in the intersection of philosophy and faith. His work combines pastoral care with scholarly exploration of Orthodox thought.
