George the Hagiorite into a vibrant center of Georgian Orthodox culture. At some point between 1052 and 1057, George left his fellow monk George of Oltisi in charge of the Iviron monastery, and set off to Antioch to appear before the Patriarch to defend his brethren, accused by a group of the Greek clerics of heresy. The dispute quickly evolved around the canonical legality of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox church, which had originally operated within the framework of the see of Antioch, but had been becoming increasingly independent since the 6th century. In defense of the Georgian autocephaly, George was referring
Church of the Most Precious Blood (Manhattan) church was begun by the Scalabrini Fathers around 1891. The Scalabrini Order built the foundation but ran out of funding. The Franciscans then took over the parish and completed the church building in 1904. During the Feast of San Gennaro, which is held yearly in September, a celebratory Mass is held at the church on the last Saturday of the festival. After the Mass, a statue of San Gennaro is taken from its home within the church on a procession through the streets of Little Italy. Most Precious Blood is home to several vibrant religious societies in addition to the