Memory 25 June 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 … [Read more…]
The holy Apostles Andrew the First-called and Simon the Canaanite first preached the Christian Faith in Georgia in the 1st century, but at the beginning of the 4th century most of the country was still pagan. After the Theotokos revealed God’s will for her future, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino set off for Georgia to enlighten the … [Read more…]
The virgin Nino of Cappadocia was a relative of Great-martyr George and the only daughter of a widely respected and honorable couple. Her father was a Roman army chief by the name of Zabulon, and her mother, Sosana, was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem. When Nino reached the age of twelve, her parents … [Read more…]
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. Timur’s armies ravaged Kartli, then took the king, queen, and the entire royal court captive and sent them to Karabakh (in … [Read more…]
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. St. Giorgi of Atsquri lived at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th centuries. A member of the aristocratic and pious Shuartqeli family, St. Giorgi … [Read more…]
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 … [Read more…]
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. … [Read more…]
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. St. Giorgi of Atsquri lived at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th centuries. A member of the aristocratic and pious Shuartqeli family, St. Giorgi … [Read more…]
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 … [Read more…]
Saint Ambrosi the Confessor (in the world Besarion Khelaia) was born in 1861. He received his primary education at the theological school in Samegrelo and graduated from Tbilisi Seminary in 1885. He graduated and was ordained to the priesthood in the same year. Fr. Ambrosi served as a priest in Sokhumi (in northwestern Georgia) for … [Read more…]