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[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Damiane (†1157)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Zabulon and Sosana, Parents of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino (4th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

The Entry into Georgia of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino, Enlightener of Georgia (323)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Martyrs, the Brothers Davit and Tarichan (†693)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Martyrs Killed by the Latins at the Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos (13th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Ekvtime of Mt. Athos, the Translator(†1028)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Repose of Venerable Shio of Mgvime (6th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Ioane of Zedazeni and His Twelve Disciples (6th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Fathers Mikael and Arsen the Georgians (9th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.”

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Catholicos Mamai (†744)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Hierarch Zosime of Kumurdo (16th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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).

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Queen Tamar (†1213)

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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