On this day, June 13 according to the Julian (Old Style) Calendar — June 26 by the civil calendar — we commemorate our holy father among the saints, Antimos of Iberia, Metropolitan of Wallachia, scholar, defender of the faith, and martyr for Christ.
Saint Antimos of Iberia was one of the most highly educated men of his time. Born in the Samtskhe region of southern Georgia, he was given the name Andria at Baptism by his parents, Ioane and Mariam. From his youth he showed extraordinary gifts: fluency in many languages including Greek, Romanian, Old Slavonic, Arabic, and Turkish; deep knowledge of theology, literature, and the natural sciences; and remarkable talent in the fine arts — painting, engraving, sculpture, and calligraphy. He was, in every sense, a man raised up by God for great works.
In the course of his early life, Antimos was captured by Dagestani raiders and sold into slavery. Through the providential care of Patriarch Dositheus of Jerusalem, he was freed and remained in the Patriarch’s service to deepen his theological formation. Around 1691, Prince Constantine Brincoveanu of Wallachia (present-day Romania) invited the gifted Georgian master to his kingdom. There Antimos took charge of the local printing press and transformed it into one of the most productive centers of Orthodox Christian publishing in the entire East. Under his direction, books were printed for Orthodox Christians in Romanian, Greek, Arabic, Georgian, and Old Slavonic — bringing the Word of God and the divine services to nations that had never before read them in their own tongue. He established the first printing press in Tbilisi in 1709 and personally oversaw the printing of the Georgian Gospel.
In 1694 Antimos was appointed Abbot of Snagov Monastery. In 1705 he was consecrated Bishop of Rimnicu Vilcea, and in 1708 he became Metropolitan of Hungro-Wallachia — the highest ecclesiastical office in the land. The whole country celebrated. As one contemporary wrote: “The divine Antimos, a great man and son of the wise Iberian nation, has come to Wallachia and enlightened our land.” Under his direct guidance, more than twenty churches and monasteries were built. The gates of All Saints Monastery in Bucharest, which he founded, were carved in traditional Georgian motifs by his own hand.
From the day of his consecration, Metropolitan Antimos fought tirelessly for the liberation of his flock. He preached boldly, cared for the poor, and urged the princes of Wallachia to resist Ottoman oppression. This courage cost him everything. In 1716, the Phanariot ruler Nicholas Mavrokordatos, a servant of the Ottoman Empire, had Antimos condemned by a corrupt ecclesiastical council and sentenced to perpetual exile at Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai. The metropolitan was taken from the city at night — the conspirators feared the reaction of the faithful people who loved him.
He never reached Mount Sinai. On September 14, 1716, a band of Turkish soldiers ambushed Saint Antimos on the bank of the Tundzha River near Adrianople, stabbed him to death, and cast his remains into the river. Thus ended the earthly life of this great son of Georgia — a man who had dedicated all of his strength, learning, and love to the strengthening of Orthodox Christianity among the people of Wallachia.
In 1992 the Romanian Orthodox Church glorified Antimos of Iberia as a saint, establishing September 14 as his commemoration. The Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates him on June 13 (Old Style). Both nations venerate him together as a common father in the faith.
Troparion: Thou didst dwell on earth as an angel, O Holy Hierarch Antimos, and now thy soul rejoices with the angels above. Grant that we also may be made worthy of everlasting life.
May the intercessions of Saint Antimos of Iberia be with us all.