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[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Saint Ilarion of Tvali (†1041)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Saint Ilia the Righteous (†1907)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Hieromartyr Kozman (†1630)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Fathers Ioane and Gabriel of Mt. Athos (10th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Royal Martyr Mirdat, King of Kartli (†410)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Giorgi the God-bearer (†1068)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Feast of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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).

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Queen Dinar (10th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Hieromartyr Kirion, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia (†1918)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Father Giorgi of the Holy Mountain(†1065)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

[Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

May God Give You Wisdom! The Letters of Fr. John Krestiankin. Letters to Clergymen,To Those Desiring the Priestly Rank, and to Priests’ Wives. Part 5

We are obligated to pray for baptized people, for they received the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism. We cannot pass judgment on these people before God’s judgment, and only the Lord sees the inner man. How did they live, what made them tick, whose prayers upheld them in this life?

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Royal Martyrs Archil and Luarsab (†744 & †1622)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

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.

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