Background
He was born as Kristepore Tsitskishvili (ქრისტეფორე ციცქიშვილი) near the town of Kharagauli.
He was born as Kristepore Tsitskishvili (ქრისტეფორე ციცქიშვილი) near the town of Kharagauli.
Having graduated from the Tiflis Theological Seminary in 1895, he served as a priest in the Transport-Caspian region, and later in Georgia.
Christophorus was consecrated as a bishop of Urbnisi (1921–1925) and metropolitan of Abkhazia (1925–1927). Elected as the catholicos-patriarch on June 4, 1927, he had to lead the Georgian church as it withstood harsh pressure from the Soviet authorities.