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| Not this Georgia |
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| This Georgia |
Saint John of Zedazeni was a Syrian monk, living in Antioch in the sixth century. Following instructions delivered by a vision of the Theotokos (Mary, Mother of Jesus), he recruited twelve like-minded monks and headed to the the monastery of Saint Simeon the Stylite . There they trained to evangelize, and from there set out for Georgia.
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| Mount Zedazeni -- Some fine caves to live in, if you like that. |
John chose a spot high up on Mount Zedazeni to settle. It had been the site of a pagan temple; he liked the idea of taking the fight to the demons that might be inhabiting the area. He made friends with the local bears, whom he said were friendlier than the local Georgians. Nevertheless, over time he and his band of monks won converts to Christianity and built up a community of faith to eventually overspread the country.
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| Saint John, center, calling pass interference |
When he died, he left very specific instructions that he was to be buried in the cave high on the mountain where he had first lived as a monk. His instructions were ignored and he was laid to rest in a crypt in the chapel at the foot of the mountain. An earthquake and series of aftershocks suggested to his followers that they might want to re-inter him where he had directed -- they did so and the earth stopped shaking.
At left is a picture of the saint and his twelve followers. I could not find a picture of the saint and his friends, the bears.
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