Venerable Ioane of Manglisi (†1751)

Memory 28 March (5 April)

Venerable Ioane of Manglisi (†1751) Venerable Ioane of Manglisi (†1751)
Venerable Ioane of Manglisi (†1751)

Saint Ioane (Saakadze) of Manglisi was born in 1668 and spiritually nurtured in the Davit-Gareji Wilderness. Outstanding in virtue, Ioane was quickly ordained a hieromonk, and soon after consecrated bishop of Manglisi.

In 1724 St. Ioane left Davit-Gareji for Derbend, Dagestan, where he constructed a wooden church and began to preach Christianity among the local people. He labored there with eleven other pious believers. St. Ioane’s humble life and the miracles he performed attracted the attention of the Muslim Dagestanis, and even the government took notice of his tireless evangelical activity.

At that time the Georgian King Vakhtang VI (1703–1724) and Tsar Peter the Great of Russia were corresponding regularly about the evangelization of the Caspian seacoast. Both kings recognized the importance of St. Ioane’s activity in regard to this matter, and they generously contributed to his efforts. With their help, St. Ioane built one church in honor of the Nativity of the Theotokos and another in honor of Great-martyr Catherine.

In 1737 Ioane left his disciples in Dagestan and journeyed to Astrakhan, near the place where the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea. There he constructed a church in honor of St. John the Evangelist, which was converted into a monastery in 1746. ArchimandriteGerman, one of St. Ioane’s disciples, was elevated as abbot of this monastery.

Manglisi Cathedral. Manglisi Cathedral.
Manglisi Cathedral.

While in Astrakhan, St. Ioane discovered that many ethnic Georgians were passing through the city of Kizliar in Ossetia, but they did not have a church in which to celebrate the divine services. So he traveled to Kizliar and, with help from his kinsmen, built a church and opened a preparatory school for clergy nearby.

On March 28, 1751, St. Ioane reposed in Kizliar at the age of eighty. He was buried in the church that he himself had constructed.

Later, by order of King Teimuraz II (1744–1761), the myrrh-streaming relics of St. Ioane were translated to Tbilisi and buried in Sioni Cathedral, in front of the Manglisi Icon of the Mother of God.

O Holy Hierarch Ioane, who art robed in divinity, protect us by thy grace and intercede with Christ God to save our souls!

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze


For further information on the book THE LIVES OF THE GEORGIAN SAINTS by Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze contact St. Herman Press:
St. Herman Press, P.O. Box 70, Platina, CA 96076
http://www.stherman.com/catalog/chapter_five/Lives_of_the_georgian_saints.htm

4/18/2007

See also
Venerable John the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves Venerable John the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves Venerable John the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves Venerable John the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves
The saint prostrated himself and said: “Lord! Why did You leave me for so long in torment?” “I tried you according to the power of your endurance,” was the answer. “I brought upon you temptation, so that you might be purified like gold."
Why we need and honor the saints Why we need and honor the saints
Gabe Martini
Why we need and honor the saints Why we need and honor the saints
Gabe Martini
Some Christians object to the idea of honoring Saints—whether that be venerating their relics and images, or asking them for their prayers—because they feel it is to ignore the living already with us in the Church here on earth. They will suggest that a danger lies in only “speaking with the dead,” as the dead either cannot or will not talk back to us, redirecting us when straying from the straight-and-narrow. But is this really the case?
Saint Ioane (Chrysostom) the Catholicos (†1001) Saint Ioane (Chrysostom) the Catholicos (†1001)
Commemorated March 3/16
Saint Ioane (Chrysostom) the Catholicos (†1001) Saint Ioane (Chrysostom) the Catholicos (†1001)
Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze
Catholicos Basil III’s “Story of St. Shio’s Miracles” describes how the hitherto childless parents of St. Ioane prayed at length to St. Shio of Mgvime. After the birth of Ioane, his God-fearing parents sent him to be raised at Shio-Mgvime Monastery. There he acquired the sanctity and wisdom for which he would later be called “Chrysostom,” meaning “golden mouth” in Greek. By this name he has been known throughout the history of the Georgian Church.

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