On this day, June 30 according to the Julian Calendar (July 13 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Holy Queen Dinar of Georgia (Iberia), a righteous queen who rendered great service to the Christian faith.
Russian ecclesiastical chronicles have preserved information about “Dinara, Queen of Iberia,” to whom great merit for the Christian faith is attributed. Scholars long debated which historical figure of Georgia this name referred to. Some believed the sources were referring to the holy Queen Tamar, but the available information points to a pre-Tamar period.
Notably, the Georgian chronicle known as the Kartlis Tskhovreba (Life of Kartli) preserves information about Dinar, Queen of Hereti. Some scholars identify her with the famous Kavkasiis Dedopali (“Queen of the Caucasus”), who bore the Georgian name Dinara.
According to Russian sources, this holy queen was renowned for her defense of the Christian faith, her piety, and her active support of the Church and her people. She was celebrated as a champion of the faith who drove away enemies and protected the Orthodox population. She is depicted in historical records as a warrior queen who led her forces to protect her Christian kingdom.
In the Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, on the north wall of the Golden Queen’s Hall, there is a depiction of the holy Queen Dinara mounted on a white horse, victorious over her enemies — a testament to the fame and veneration she received even outside the borders of Georgia.
The Georgian Orthodox Church honors this holy queen as a righteous and God-fearing ruler who placed her kingdom and her reign in the service of Christ and His Church.
May the intercessions of Holy Queen Dinar of Georgia be with us all.