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[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Nikoloz, Radiant Star of the Georgians (†1308)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

Saint Nikoloz was the author of many church services, but little else about his life is known.He lived in the second half of the 13th century, and the last years of his life coincided with the reign of King Vakhtang III (1298, 1302–1308), the son of the holy king Demetre the Devoted.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich

Hieromonk Damascene

Born to Serbian immigrants in San Francisco in 1863, Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich has the distinction of being the first person born in the United States of America to be ordained as an Orthodox priest, and also the first native-born American to be tonsured as an Orthodox monk.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

The Hundred Thousand Martyrs of Tbilisi (†1227)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

In 1227 Sultan Jalal al-Din of Khwarazm and his army of Turkmen attacked Georgia. On the first day of the battle the Georgian army valorously warded off the invaders as they were approaching Tbilisi. That night, however, a group of Persians who were living in Tbilisi secretly opened the gates and summoned the enemy army into the city.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Serapion of Zarzma (†900)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

Saint Serapion of Zarzma was the son of a Klarjeti aristocratfamed for his wealth and good deeds. Serapion had twobrothers, who were still young when their mother died.Their father also reposed soon after.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Hieromartyr Neopite of Urbnisi (7th century)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

The holy hieromartyr Neopite of Urbnisi descended from a line of Persian fire-worshippers. In the 7th century, by order of the Saracen emir Mumni (Mu’min), the military leader Ahmad attacked Georgia with an enormous army. After overrunning the central part of Shida (Inner) Kartli, Ahmad dispatched two of his commanders, Omar and Burul, to the capital city of Mtskheta.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Hierarch Alexandre, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo (†1907)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

The holy hierarch Alexandre (Alexi Okropiridze in the world) was born in 1824, in the village of Disevi in the Gori district, to the family of the village priest. Growing up around the church, he received his primary education at Gori Theological School and later continued his education at Tbilisi Seminary.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Martyr Nikoloz Dvali (†1314)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

Nikoloz Dvali, one of the great saints of the Georgian Church, was distinguished by his love for Christ from his youth. His parents began preparing him for the monastic life on the day he was born. Thus he was dedicated to God from his infancy.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Martyr Kozman

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

The Life of St. Kozman has not been preserved. In the commemorations for this day it is mentioned only that he died a martyr’s death in the region of Kartli. Here it is fitting to note that, due to its geopolitical circumstances, Georgia has throughout history been a constant victim of foreign aggression. To give one’s life for his motherland and Faith became so customary for the Georgian people that the Georgian Church is unable to commemorate all of its martyrs by name.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Holy Catholicos-Patriarch Ioseb the Wonderworker (†1770)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

Saint Ioseb (Jandierishvili) received his spiritual education at Davit-Gareji Monastery. He was endowed by the Lord with the gift of wonder-working. His prayers healed the terminally ill and demon-possessed. For his wisdom and virtue, he was consecrated bishop of Rustavi, and in 1755 enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch. St. Ioseb remained a monk-ascetic in spite of his hierarchical rank.

[Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Holy Hierarch Anton of Chqondidi and His Disciple Hieromonk Iakob the Elder (18th–19th centuries)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

Saint Anton of Chqondidi was born to the family of Otia Dadiani, the prince of Egrisi (now Samegrelo). Anton’s mother, Gulkan, was the daughter of the prince Shoshita III of Racha. There were six children in the family: five boys and one girl. Anton’s sister, Mariam, later married King Solomon the Great of Imereti.

[Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Venerable Ioseb of Khevi, Elder and Wonderworker (†1763)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

Little is known about the life of St. Ioseb of Khevi. The Church is certain only that he was a native of Khevi (in northern Georgia) and served as a priest in that village.

[Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

May God Give You Wisdom! The Letters of Fr. John Krestiankin. Letters to Laypeople. Part 18

You are impatient. For, only those who endure to the end will be saved. Yes, and after all, there is reason to endure. The Holy Fathers say that the living children of mothers who killed their own infants take revenge upon their mothers for their brothers and sisters who never saw God’s light. Yes, and there are many other sins, known and unknown, and sorrows are a penance from God, but you have to bear them without murmuring.

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