Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze
Saint Serapion was abbot of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in the Davit-Gareji Wilderness. He was endowed by God with the ability to work miracles.Once St. Serapion set off for the city, following at a short distance behind several of the monastery’s brothers.
The chronicles listing the generations of chief shepherds of Georgia reveal that St. Sarmean was leader of the Georgian Apostolic Church from the year 767 (or 760, according to some sources) until the year 774. These were years of Arab-Muslim rule in Georgia. The Arabs persecuted the Christians, oppressed those who served in the Church, and tried in every way to convert the country to Islam. Despite the frightful abuses that the faithful endured and the transformation of the city into a residence for the emir, many Tbilisi churches continued to function.
Holy Father Tbeli Abuseridze lived and labored in the 13th century. His father Ioane, the archduke of Upper Atchara, perished in a battle with the Turks. After Tbeli’s mother was widowed, she was tonsured a nun and given the name Ekaterine. Tbeli’s brothers, Abuseri and Bardan, were also well-known figures in their time.
It is commonly believed that St. Kristepore Guruli was martyred, but little information exists about him to prove this. Kristepore’s name has been preserved in the nation’s memory, and he is commemorated in the Church calendar.
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Metropolitan Nazar of Kutaisi-Gaenati was born in 1872 in the village of Didi Jikhaishi in Imereti. His forefathers belonged to a long lineage of clergy, and the future metropolitan was nurtured in the Church from the earliest years of his youth.