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Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze
In 1166 a daughter, Tamar, was born to King Giorgi III (1155–1184) and Queen Burdukhan of Georgia. The king proclaimed that he would share the throne with his daughter from the day she turned twelve years of age.
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Archimandrite Grigol (Peradze) was born August 31, 1899, in the village of Bakurtsikhe, in the Sighnaghi district of Kakheti. His father, Roman Peradze, was a priest. In 1918 Grigol completed his studies at the theological school and seminary in Tbilisi and enrolled in the philosophy department at Tbilisi University.
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St. Nino and her disciples prayed through the night, and at dawn they watched as a youth, encompassed by a brilliant light, descended from the heavens and raised the column.
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Holy Queen Ketevan was the daughter of Ashotan Mukhran-Batoni, a prominent ruler from the Bagrationi royal family. The clever and pious Ketevan was married to Prince Davit, heir to the throne of Kakheti. Davit’s father, King Alexandre II (1574–1605), had two other sons, Giorgi and Constantine, but according to the law the throne belonged to Davit. Constantine was converted to Islam and raised in the court of the Persian shah Abbas I.
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Archimandrite Ioane (Basil Maisuradze in the world) was born in the town of Tskhinvali in Samachablo around 1882. He was raised in a peasant family and taught to perform all kinds of handiwork. Basil was barely in his teens when he helped Fr. Spiridon (Ketiladze), the main priest at Betania Monastery, to restore the monastery between 1894 and 1896.
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Saint Shushanik was the wife of the Georgian prince Varsken, the ruler of Hereti. Having been raised in a pious Christian family, she was deeply penetrated with love and the fear of God.
In the second half of the 10th century King Davit Kuropalates founded Khakhuli Monastery in the historical region of Tao, at the gorge of the Khakhuli River, where it joins the Tortumi River.
Abbot Ekvtime Kereselidze was born in 1865 in the village of Sadmeli (Racha region) to the pious Solomon andMarta Kereselidze. At birth he was given the name Evstate.
Our holy father Anton of Martqopi arrived in Georgia in the 6th century with the rest of the Thirteen Syrian Fathers and settled in Kakheti to preach the Gospel of Christ. He always carried with him an icon of the Savior “Not-Made- By-Hands.” Anton made his home in the wilderness, and deer visited him every evening to nourish him with their milk.
Saint Alexi (Shushania) was born September 23, 1852, in the village of Noqalaqevi, in the Senaki district of Samegrelo, to a pious Christian couple. His father died in 1868, after giving the sixteen-year-old future hieromonk1 his blessing to care for the family.
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Тoday little is known about the life of venerable Eprem the Lesser, the great 11th-century writer, translator, philosopher, and defender of the Georgian Church. His work Reminiscences and other sources, however, provide us with the means to speculate about the major periods of his life and labors.
Saints Salome of Ujarma and Perozhavra of Sivnia were the helpers and closest companions of St. Nino, Enlightener of Georgia. St. Nino herself had converted them to the Christian Faith.
Saints Giorgi and Saba of Khakhuli were brothers of Iakob, the father of St. Giorgi of the Holy Mountain. Giorgi and Saba labored as monks at Khakhuli Monastery in southern Georgia.
The Life of the holy martyr Ioane, Abbot of Zedazeni Monastery, has not been preserved, but the list recalling “the names of the holy fathers who reposed at Zedazeni Monastery after Ioane of Zedazeni,” which was compiled by Catholicos Arsen II, tells us that Abbot Ioane was “murdered at Zedazeni by Muslims.”
Saving examined the history of Georgia and the hagiographical treasures attesting to the faith of the Georgian nation, we become convinced that Heavenly Georgia — the legion of Georgian saints, extolling the Lord in the Heavenly Kingdom with a single voice — is infinitely glorious.
Saint Ise of Tsilkani arrived in Georgia in the 6th century with the other Syrian fathers and companions of St. Ioane of Zedazeni. At the recommendation of St. Ioane of Zedazeni, Catholicos Evlavios of Kartli consecrated St. Ise as bishop of Tsilkani. The holy father traveled throughout his diocese preaching the Holy Gospel.
Saint Petre was the first catholicos of Georgia. He led the Church of Kartli from the 460s through the beginning of the 6th century. According to God’s will, St. Petre inaugurated the dynasty of the chief shepherds of Georgia.
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The holy and right-believing king Vakhtang I ascended the throne of Kartli at the age of fifteen. At that time Kartli was continually being invaded by the Persians from the south and by the Ossetians from the north. The situation was no better in western Georgia: the Byzantines had captured all the lands from Egrisi to Tsikhegoji.
Saint Abibos of Nekresi was one of the Thirteen Syrian Fathers who arrived in Georgia in the 6th century under the leadership of St. Ioane of Zedazeni.
Saint Ilarion the Georgian was the son of a Kakheti aristocrat. There were other children in the family, but only Ilarion was dedicated to God from his very birth. Ilarion’s father built a monastery on his own land, and there the boy was raised.
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In the year 914 a certain prince by the name of Mikael- Gobron distinguished himself in a battle against the Arab Muslim invaders. After they had captured the fortress of Kvelistsikhe in southern Georgia, theMuslims took captive those who remained alive, and Prince Gobron was among them. Deeply impressed by the Georgian soldier’s valor, the emir Abu al-Qasim ordered his army to treat him with respect.
Тhe 9th century was one of the most difficult periods in Georgian history. The Arab Muslims wreaked havoc throughout the region of Kartli, forcibly converting many to Islam with fire and the sword. Many of the destitute and frightened were tempted to betray the Faith of their fathers.
Among the multitude of saints we remember those Christianswho dedicated their earthly lives to glorifying Godand serving others. In a single lifetime they performed allthe spiritual feats of the venerable and devout fathers, confessors,and martyrs.
Saint Nikoloz was the author of many church services, but little else about his life is known.He lived in the second half of the 13th century, and the last years of his life coincided with the reign of King Vakhtang III (1298, 1302–1308), the son of the holy king Demetre the Devoted.
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In 1227 Sultan Jalal al-Din of Khwarazm and his army of Turkmen attacked Georgia. On the first day of the battle the Georgian army valorously warded off the invaders as they were approaching Tbilisi. That night, however, a group of Persians who were living in Tbilisi secretly opened the gates and summoned the enemy army into the city.
In 1446 Giorgi VIII was crowned ruler of a united Georgian kingdom. Filled with every virtue, the valiant warrior and God-fearing king dedicated the twenty years of his reign to a ceaseless struggle for the reunification of his country.He was constantly warding off foreign invaders, surmounting internal strife, and suffering the betrayal of his fellow countrymen.
Saint Serapion of Zarzma was the son of a Klarjeti aristocratfamed for his wealth and good deeds. Serapion had twobrothers, who were still young when their mother died.Their father also reposed soon after.
The holy hieromartyr Neopite of Urbnisi descended from a line of Persian fire-worshippers. In the 7th century, by order of the Saracen emir Mumni (Mu’min), the military leader Ahmad attacked Georgia with an enormous army. After overrunning the central part of Shida (Inner) Kartli, Ahmad dispatched two of his commanders, Omar and Burul, to the capital city of Mtskheta.
The holy hierarch Alexandre (Alexi Okropiridze in the world) was born in 1824, in the village of Disevi in the Gori district, to the family of the village priest. Growing up around the church, he received his primary education at Gori Theological School and later continued his education at Tbilisi Seminary.
Nikoloz Dvali, one of the great saints of the Georgian Church, was distinguished by his love for Christ from his youth. His parents began preparing him for the monastic life on the day he was born. Thus he was dedicated to God from his infancy.
The Life of St. Kozman has not been preserved. In the commemorations for this day it is mentioned only that he died a martyr’s death in the region of Kartli. Here it is fitting to note that, due to its geopolitical circumstances, Georgia has throughout history been a constant victim of foreign aggression. To give one’s life for his motherland and Faith became so customary for the Georgian people that the Georgian Church is unable to commemorate all of its martyrs by name.
Saint Ioseb (Jandierishvili) received his spiritual education at Davit-Gareji Monastery. He was endowed by the Lord with the gift of wonder-working. His prayers healed the terminally ill and demon-possessed. For his wisdom and virtue, he was consecrated bishop of Rustavi, and in 1755 enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch. St. Ioseb remained a monk-ascetic in spite of his hierarchical rank.
Saint Anton of Chqondidi was born to the family of Otia Dadiani, the prince of Egrisi (now Samegrelo). Anton’s mother, Gulkan, was the daughter of the prince Shoshita III of Racha. There were six children in the family: five boys and one girl. Anton’s sister, Mariam, later married King Solomon the Great of Imereti.
Little is known about the life of St. Ioseb of Khevi. The Church is certain only that he was a native of Khevi (in northern Georgia) and served as a priest in that village.
For centuries the region of Tao-Klarjeti in southwestern Georgia was known for its holiness, unity and spiritual strength. The cultural life and faith of Kartli were nearly extinguished by the Arab-Muslim domination from the 8th to 10th centuries. Tao-Klarjeti, however, which had been emptied by a cholera epidemic and the aftermath of the Islamic invasions, filled with new churches and monasteries, becoming a destination for many Christian ascetics.
Our Holy Father Grigol of Khandzta was raised in the court of the Kartlian ruler Nerse. His family was part of the Meskhetian aristocracy. He received an education befitting his family’s noble rank and displayed a special aptitude for the sciences and theology.
Saint Evdemoz led the Georgian Orthodox Church in the mid-17th century during the reign of King Rostom-Khan (1632–1658), a Georgian who had converted to Islam. Having murdered King Luarsab II of Kartli and chased out King Teimuraz I of Kakheti, the Persian shah Abbas I had declared Rostom-Khan ruler of a unified Kartli-Kakheti kingdom.
The 8th century was extremely difficult for theGeorgian people. Marwan bin Muhammad (called “the Deaf” by the Georgians and “the Blind” by the Armenians), the Persian ruler and military leader for the Arab caliph, invaded eastern parts of the Byzantine Empire, then Armenia and Georgia. With fire and the sword he fought his way across Georgia from the east to the city of Tskhumi (now Sokhumi) in the region of Abkhazeti. The princes Davit and Constantine Mkheidze of Argveti were faithful Christians and skilled military leaders. When they heard about the enemy’s invasion, the brothers prayed to God for protection, assembled their armies, and urged their people to pray fervently for God’s help.
After the repose of Catholicos Svimeon, leadership of the Georgian Church passed to Catholicos Melchizedek I. St. Melchizedek led the Church from approximately 1010 to 1030, during the reigns of Kings Bagrat III, Giorgi I, and Bagrat IV.
Saint Onopre of Gareji (Otar Machutadze in the world) lived and labored in the 18th century. He was a Kartlian aristocrat famed for his wealth, hospitality, and charity.
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In September 26, 1989, a copy of the famous Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, the “Portaitissa,” arrived in Tbilisi from the Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. With the blessing of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the monks of the Holy Mountain had painted this exact copy as a symbol of love and gratitude to the Georgian people.
Saint Arsen the Great, a pupil and spiritual son of Grigol of Khandzta, was the youngest son of a certain aristocrat, Mirian, from Meskheti in southern Georgia.
In the 17th century the Persian aggressors razed churches, monasteries, and fortresses and drove out thousands of Georgian families to resettle them in remote provinces of Persia. The deserted territories were settled by Turkic tribes from Central Asia. In the chronicle The Life of Kartli it is written: “The name of Christ was not allowed to be uttered, except in a handful of mountainous regions: Tusheti, Pshavi, and Khevsureti.”
The holy martyrs Isaak and Ioseb the Georgians were born into a Muslim family, but their Georgian mother, a Christian, secretly raised them according to the Christian tradition. The brothers were so firmly dedicated to the Faith that they journeyed to Byzantium to request that Emperor Nicephorus I Phocas (802–811) permit them to settle in his capital.
Blessed Abba Ioseb of Alaverdi was a disciple and companion of St. Ioane of Zedazeni, who in the 6th century arrived in Georgia with twelve Syrian ascetics to spread the Christian Faith.With the blessing of his teacher, Fr. Ioseb settled in the village of Alaverdi in eastern Georgia. According to tradition, he carried with him a cross formed from the wood of the Life-giving Cross of our Savior.
Thirty-five thousand Persian soldiers marched toward Georgia in the year 1795. The Georgian king Erekle II (1762–1798) and his two thousand soldiers declared war on the invaders as they were approaching Tbilisi. The Georgians won the first skirmish, but many perished in the fighting. The enemy was shaken and was preparing to flee the battleground, when several traitors reported to Aqa Muhammed Khan that King Erekle had lost nearly his entire army.
Saint Svimeon was raised at Davit-Gareji Monastery. He labored as a simple monk until he reached an advanced age, and was chosen to be abbot. Outstanding in virtue and humility, St. Svimeon was endowed by the Lord with the ability to work miracles.
Saint Serapion was abbot of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in the Davit-Gareji Wilderness. He was endowed by God with the ability to work miracles.Once St. Serapion set off for the city, following at a short distance behind several of the monastery’s brothers.
The chronicles listing the generations of chief shepherds of Georgia reveal that St. Sarmean was leader of the Georgian Apostolic Church from the year 767 (or 760, according to some sources) until the year 774. These were years of Arab-Muslim rule in Georgia. The Arabs persecuted the Christians, oppressed those who served in the Church, and tried in every way to convert the country to Islam. Despite the frightful abuses that the faithful endured and the transformation of the city into a residence for the emir, many Tbilisi churches continued to function.
Holy Father Tbeli Abuseridze lived and labored in the 13th century. His father Ioane, the archduke of Upper Atchara, perished in a battle with the Turks. After Tbeli’s mother was widowed, she was tonsured a nun and given the name Ekaterine. Tbeli’s brothers, Abuseri and Bardan, were also well-known figures in their time.
It is commonly believed that St. Kristepore Guruli was martyred, but little information exists about him to prove this. Kristepore’s name has been preserved in the nation’s memory, and he is commemorated in the Church calendar.
Metropolitan Nazar of Kutaisi-Gaenati was born in 1872 in the village of Didi Jikhaishi in Imereti. His forefathers belonged to a long lineage of clergy, and the future metropolitan was nurtured in the Church from the earliest years of his youth.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries the Dagestanis were continually raiding and pillaging the Davit-Gareji Wilderness. They destroyed churches and monasteries, stole sacred objects, and tortured and killed many of the monks who labored there.
Saint Ekvtime was abbot of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in the Davit-GarejiWilderness. In the chronicles of the monastery he is commemorated as a “man of many labors.”
In the Feast of the Annunciation in the year 1625, the Georgians annihilated the army of the Persian shah Abbas I in the Battle of Martqopi. The victory unified Georgia’s eastern provinces of Kartli and Kakheti. It also instilled hope in other enslaved peoples of the Transcaucasus, and rebellions began to break out everywhere.
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Saint Razhden the Protomartyr was descended from a noble Persian family. When Holy King Vakhtang Gorgasali married the daughter of the Persian king Hormuzd III Balunducht, the queen took Razhden with her to Georgia.
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Arsen of Ninotsminda was an ascetic who labored in the 11th century. History tells us that he was a brilliant translator, writer, calligrapher, and theologian, and indeed one of the greatest Church figures of his time.
Saint Tsotne Dadiani, a virtuous military leader and the prince of Egrisi, lived in the middle of the 13th century. During that time Georgia languished under the yoke of Mongol oppression.
Saint Evstati, a Persian by descent, was a fire-worshipper named Gvirobandak prior to his baptism into the Christian Faith. When he arrived in Georgia and settled in Mtskheta, he was deeply drawn to the morals and traditions of the Georgian people, and he resolved to convert to Christianity.
The venerable Giorgi the Builder was the third abbot of the Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. According to some sources, he was a nephew of St. Ioane, the founder and first abbot of the Iveron Monastery.
Saint Ilarion of Tvali (Tulashvili) served as abbot of Khakhuli Monastery in southwestern Georgia at the beginning of the 11th century. In his work The Life of Giorgi of the Holy Mountain, Giorgi the Lesser writes that Venerable Ilarion was outstanding in virtue and celebrated for his sermons and ascetic labors.
Saint Ilia, called the “Uncrowned King of Georgia,” the “Father of the Nation” and “the Righteous,” belonged to the noble family Chavchavadze. He was born on October 27, 1837, in the village of Qvareli in Kakheti. He received his primary education at home: his mother instructed him in reading and writing, prayer and the law of God. When he was eight years old, Ilia was sent to study with Archdeacon Nikoloz Sepashvili of Qvareli. The years he spent there left an indelible impression on this holy man’s life.
The details of the life of St. Salome the Georgian are notpreserved. In the Synaxarion of Jerusalem’s Holy CrossMonastery it is written: “On this day (July 20) we commemoratethe martyrdom of Salome the Georgian, who atfirst yielded to the Persian threats and renounced Christ,but later confessed the true Faith. For this she was beheaded and castinto the flames.”
Over the centuries the monastic complex founded by St. Davit of Gareji became a spiritual and cultural center for all of Georgia.Many of the faithful flocked there with a desire to serve Christ. Among them was the hieromonk Kozman, who would end his earthly life as a martyr.
Saint Ioane was born the son of a nobleman during the reign of King Davit Kuropalates.For his love of Christ he left his family and the world to be tonsured a monk. After informing the royal court of his decision, St. Ioane received a blessing from his spiritual father to travel to Greece, where he settled at a monastery on Mt. Olympus.
King Mirdat (408–410), the son of Varaz-Bakur, was the first martyred king of Georgia. He was raised by his maternal grandfather, King Trdat.
Saint Giorgi the God-bearer and Recluse labored in the Black Mountains near Antioch during a time when the churches and monasteries there flourished. Orthodox Christians from many parts of the world came to settle there, and as a result, tensions often arose between monks of different nationalities.
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A history museum in Zugdidi (in western Georgia) has preserved many of the sacred artifacts confiscated from churches and monasteries at the beginning of the Soviet rule, from 1923 to 1936. Included among the artifacts is the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was brought there from the Dormition Monastery in Khobi (near Zugdidi).
The Russian Church has preserved chronicles of the life of Queen Dinar, a woman who achieved much on behalf of the Christian Faith. For years scholars have disputed about the historical figure discussed in great depth in the Russian Church. Many believed that the sources described Holy Queen Tamar, but the period of Tamar’s rule does not match that of the figure described in the chronicles.
Holy Hieromartyr Kirion II (known in the world as Giorgi Sadzaglishvili) was born in 1855 in the village of Nikozi in the Gori district. His father was a priest. He enrolled at the parochial school in Ananuri, then at the theological school in Gori, and finally at Tbilisi Seminary.
Saint Giorgi’s family had its roots in the region of Samtskhe in southern Georgia. Giorgi was born in Trialeti to the pious Iakob and Mariam.When Giorgi reached the age of seven, the God-fearing and wise Abbess Sabiana of Tadzrisi Monastery in Samtskhe took him under her care. Giorgi spent three years at Tadzrisi, and when he was ten his father sent him to KhakhuliMonastery, to his own brothers Sts. Giorgi the Scribe and Saba.
When the Muslim military leader Marwan bin Muhammad (called “the Deaf”) besieged Georgia early in the 8th century, a certain Mir, the older brother of Archil, was ruling Kartli. The armies of the ruthless invader pillaged everything in their path. Seeing this, the crown-bearing brothers Mir and Archil fled to western Georgia and, praying fervently to God and the Most Holy Theotokos for help, prepared for battle.
Saint Shalva of Akhaltsikhe was a brilliant military commander in the army of Queen Tamar and the prince of Akhaltsikhe. After his victory at Shamkori in the Ganja region, Shalva carried with him the flag of the caliph, as a sign of the invincibility of the Christian Faith, and conferred it, along with the wealth he had won, as an offering to the Khakhuli Icon of the Theotokos.
The life of St. Kaikhosro the Georgian has been passed down to our century in the works of Archbishop Timote (Gabashvili), a famous Church figure and historian of the18th century.
Saint Antimos of Iberia was one of the most highly educated people of his time. He was fluent in many languages, including Greek, Romanian, Old Slavonic, Arabic, and Turkish and well-versed in theology, literature, and the natural sciences. He was unusually gifted in the fine arts — in painting, engraving, and sculpture in particular. He was famed for his beautiful calligraphy. Finally, St. Antimos was a great writer, a renowned orator, and a reformer of the written Romanian language.
Tornike Eristavi (later Ioane of Mt. Athos) was a Georgian army commander famed for his victories in war and a favorite of King Davit Kuropalates. Eventually he abandoned his worldly glory and set off in search of his spiritual father, St. Ioane, on Mt. Olympus. There he learned that St. Ioane had moved to Mt. Athos, so he journeyed there and settled with him in a monastery headed by St. Athanasius the Athonite. He was tonsured a monk and given the new name Ioane.
Saint Tevdore was a simple priest who labored in the 16th century in the village of Kvelta. At that time the Ottoman Empire and Persia were locked in a bitter feud over control of the Near East. At the beginning of 1609 the Ottomans conquered first the city of Baghdadi, then part of Samtskhe in southern Georgia. In June of that year they launched an attack on eastern Georgia.
The holy monk-martyrs Shio the New, Davit, Gabriel and Pavle labored in the Davit-Gareji Wilderness at the end of the 17th century. St. Shio was from the village of Vedzisi in the Kartli region.
Saint Mikael of Parekhi was a native of the village of Norgiali in the Shavsheti region of southern Georgia. He was tonsured a monk in the Midznadzori Wilderness.Fr. Mikael journeyed to Khandzta Monastery, and with the blessing of the brotherhood, he built a small chapel and dwelling for the monks nearby. Built in a cave on the side of a cliff, St. Mikael’s establishment was difficult to reach (the new monastery was called “Parekhi,” or “Cave”).
Saint Basil, the son of King Bagrat III, lived in the 11th century and labored at Khakhuli Monastery (in southwestern Georgia, present-day Turkey). He was a major figure in the spiritual and educational life of southern Georgia.
Saint Damiane (in the world King Demetre I) was the son of Holy King Davit the Restorer. King Davit proclaimed his son co-ruler of Georgia and crowned him with his own hands. He declared that his son Demetre, through his wisdom, chastity, bravery, and handsome appearance, would rule Georgia better than he himself had.
According to Holy Tradition, St. Nino and Great-martyr George were blood relatives. At the same time as St. George’s martyrdom, a certain nobleman, the servant of God Zabulon, arrived in Rome from Cappadocia. Zabulon began to serve in the emperor’s army, and before long he was widely recognized as a courageous cavalryman and a fine soldier.
Holy Apostles Andrew the First-called and Simon theCanaanite first preached the Christian Faith in Georgia inthe 1st century, but at the beginning of the 4th centurymost of the country was still pagan.
The holy martyrs Davit and Tarichan were born to Vardanand Tagine, pious Christians and relatives of the king.Vardan died while his sons were still young, and Tagine’spagan brother Theodosius seized all the family’s possessions.
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Georgian monks began to settle on Mt. Athos in the middle of the 10th century, and a Georgian monastery, Iveron, was founded there not long after. At that time foreign armies were constantly invading Mt. Athos. In the 13th century the Crusaders stormed through the region, and between 1259 and 1306 the pope’s private army devastated Mt. Athos several times.
Venerable Ekvtime of Mt. Athos was the son of St. Ioane of Mt. Athos, a military commander during the reign of King Davit Kuropalates, who abandoned the world to enter the monastic life.While St. Ioane was laboring on Mt. Olympus, the Byzantine emperor returned a large portion of the conquered Georgian lands, but in exchange for this benefaction he ordered that the children of certain eminent aristocrats be taken to Constantinople as surety.
Blessed Kristesia’s family was from Egrisi in western Georgia. From his youth Kristesia longed for the divine services and the solitary life, but he was forced by his master to marry, and by this marriage he begot a son. Later, when both his wife and son had died, his master insisted that he marry again, but the pious Kristesia would not heed his master’s order.
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An Antiochian by birth, St. Shio of Mgvime was among the Thirteen Syrian Fathers who preached the Christian Faith in Georgia. His parents were pious nobles who provided their son with a sound education.
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Our Holy Father Ioane of Zedazeni and his twelve disciples, Abibos of Nekresi, Anton of Martqopi, Davit of Gareji, Zenon of Iqalto, Tadeos of Stepantsminda, Ise of Tsilkani, Ioseb of Alaverdi, Isidore of Samtavisi, Mikael of Ulumbo, Piros of Breti, Stepane of Khirsa, and Shio of Mgvime, were Syrian ascetics and the founding fathers of Georgian monastic life. St. Ioane received his spiritual education in Antioch.
The biographies of Sts. Mikael and Arsen the Georgians have unfortunately not been preserved. It is known that they were contemporaries of Patriarch Sergius of Jerusalem (843–859). The following entry is recorded in the synodicon of Jerusalem’s Holy Cross Monastery: “Our Holy Fathers Mikael and Arsen, founders of Olympus.”
Saint Mamai served as chief shepherd of the Georgian faithful from 731 to 744.The information we have about his life is scarce, but it is known that St.Mamai was abbot of ZedazeniMonastery and died a martyr for Christ.
Saint Zosime of Kumurdo lived and labored from the endof the 15th century through the first half of the 16th century.To the world he was known as Zebede. He was raisedby Princess Ketevan, the daughter of King Giorgi VIII(1446–1466).
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Lazeti is a region in southern Kolkheti (Colchis), the ancient kingdom located in what is now southwestern Georgia and northeastern Turkey. In ancient times, Lazeti was a center of Georgian culture. The holy Apostle Andrew began the conversion of the Georgian nation from this very region.
Saint Basil Ratishvili, one of the most prominent figures of the 13th-century Church, was the uncle of Catholicos Ekvtime III. He labored with the other Georgian fathers at the Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. Endowed with the gift of prophecy, St. Basil beheld a vision in which the Most Holy Theotokos called upon him to censure King Demetre’s impious rule.
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Saint Eprem the Great of Atsquri — one of the most important figures in the Georgian Church of the 8th and 9th centuries — was a disciple and companion of St. Grigol of Khandzta.
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The holy martyrs Sukia, Andrea, Anastasi, Talale, Teodorite, Ivkirion, Iordane, Kodrate, Lukiane, Momnanos, Nerangios, Polievktos, Iakob, Poka, Domentian, Bictor, and Zosime were Georgian noble lords who served the Albanian government (in the southeastern Transcaucasus) in the 1st century a.d.
In the 14th century, during the reign of King Bagrat V (1360–1394), Timur (Tamerlane) invaded Georgia seven times. His troops inflicted irreparable damage on the country, seizing centuries-old treasures and razing ancient churches and monasteries.
Few biographical details about St. Giorgi of Atsquri have been preserved in the writings of the famous 10th-century Georgian hagiographers Giorgi Merchule and Basil of Zarzma.
The great Georgian hymnographer, philosopher, and orator St. Ioane of Shavta labored in the 12th and 13th centuries, during the reign of the holy queen Tamar. Few details of his life have been preserved, but we know that he received his education at Gelati Academy, where he studied theology, ancient and Arabic history, philosophy, and literature. He was later tonsured a monk and labored at Vardzia Monastery.
Saint Ioane (Saakadze) of Manglisi was born in 1668 and spiritually nurtured in the Davit-Gareji Wilderness. Outstanding in virtue, Ioane was quickly ordained a hieromonk, and soon after consecrated bishop of Manglisi.
Saint Gabriel the Lesser was a major figure in the eighteenth- century Georgian Church. Few details of his life are known, but it is evident that the education he received was quite good for the period. Striving toward the monastic life but still living in the world, Gabriel tried in every way to close himself off from the vanity of the world. He kept a small sewing shop in Tbilisi and distributed most of his profits to the poor.
Saint Pimen the Fool-for-Christ and Anton Meskhi (of Meskheti, in southern Georgia) lived in the 13th century, when the Mongols were regularly invading Georgia. The entire country, and the Church in particular, languished under the yoke of Mongol oppression. The Georgian people were once again faced with a terrible choice: to preserve their temporal flesh or attain spiritual salvation. Most would not yield to the temptation of the enemy and chose instead to die as martyrs for Christ.
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In response to one of the Bolshevik interrogations, the patriarch asserted, “Confession of Faith is a spiritual necessity for every nation — persecution increases its necessity. Faith deepens, being contracted and accumulated, and it bursts out with new energy. So it was in the past, and so it will be in our country. Georgia is no exception to this universal law.” St. Ambrosi spoke these remarkable last words to his persecutors: “My soul belongs to God, my heart to my motherland, and with my flesh you may do whatever you wish.” The court sentenced the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia to seven years, nine months and twenty-eight days in prison.
The khan ordered his execution. Fully prepared to meet death, King Demetre prayed fervently, received the Holy Gifts, and gave up his soul to the Lord. Those present witnessed a divine miracle: the sun grew dark and an ominous gloom enshrouded the whole city.
In the second half of the 10th century King Davit Kuropalates founded Khakhuli Monastery in the historical region of Tao, at the gorge of the Khakhuli River, where it joins the Tortumi River. A contemporary of King Bagrat III (975–1014), St. Ioane of Khakhuli was a highly educated theologian, translator, and calligrapher. He has been called “Chrysostom” since he, like the beloved archbishop of Constantinople, delivered his sermons with extraordinary eloquence.
Catholicos Basil III’s “Story of St. Shio’s Miracles” describes how the hitherto childless parents of St. Ioane prayed at length to St. Shio of Mgvime. After the birth of Ioane, his God-fearing parents sent him to be raised at Shio-Mgvime Monastery. There he acquired the sanctity and wisdom for which he would later be called “Chrysostom,” meaning “golden mouth” in Greek. By this name he has been known throughout the history of the Georgian Church.
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Nino began to pray fervently to the Theotokos, asking for her blessing to travel to Georgia and be made worthy to venerate the Sacred Robe that she had woven for her beloved Son. The Most Holy Virgin heard her prayers and appeared to Nino in a dream, saying, “Go to the country that was assigned to me by lot and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will send down His grace upon you and I will be your protector.”
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Since the time of the ancient Greek historians, Georgia has been viewed as an enigma hidden behind impenetrable mountains and a complex language. Little has been written about this small country and its saints. Now, Pravoslavie.Ru presents the entire collection of the Lives of the Georgian saints which has been translated for the first time into English. These lives encompass the seventeen hundred years of Orthodox Christianity in Georgia. The stories of ascetics and bishops, warriors and noblemen are intertwined with the tumultuous history of the Georgian land.
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