John the Iberian

John the Iberian[lower-alpha 1] (Georgian: იოანე მთაწმინდელი; died c.1002) was a Georgian monk, who is venerated as a saint. His name refers to his origins from the Kingdom of the Iberians.


John the Iberian
Fresco of John the Iberian at Iviron on Mount Athos
Athonite Father
BornKingdom of the Iberians
Died~1002 AD
Mount Athos
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
FeastJuly 12
PatronageGeorgia
Mount Athos

Life

A member of a Georgian noble family from Tao-Klarjeti in southern Georgia,[1] he was married and served as a military commander.

After becoming tonsured as a monk early 960s at the lavra of the Four Churches in Tao-Klarjeti, he became a monk at Mount Olympus (now Uludağ) in Bithynia and then traveled to Constantinople to rescue his son, Euthymius the Illuminator (Euthymius Opplyseren).[1] Euthymius had been held as a hostage by the emperor.[2]

John and his son attracted many followers, so they both retired to the monastery of Saint Athanasius on Mount Athos. They founded Iviron monastery with the help of John’s brother-in-law, John Thornikos, a retired general. John served as the first abbot of Iviron. He died in 1002.[3]

References

  1. also known as John the Georgian, John the Hagiorite, and John Iweron.
  1. Speake, Graham (2018). A history of the Athonite Commonwealth: the spiritual and cultural diaspora of Mount Athos. New York. ISBN 978-1-108-34922-2. OCLC 1041501028.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Butler, p. 86
  3. Butler, p. 87

Bibliography

  • Butler, A. (1995) Butler's Lives of the Saints, Volume 7, Liturgical Press
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