Saint George’s family had its roots in the region of Samtskhe in
southern Georgia. George was born in Trialeti to the pious Jacob and
Mariam.
When George reached the age of seven, the God-fearing and
wise Abbess Sabiana of Tadzrisi Monastery in Samtskhe took him under her
care. George spent three years at Tadzrisi, and when he was ten his
father sent him to Khakhuli Monastery, to his own brothers Sts. George
the Scribe and Saba.
Soon after, Prince Peris Jojikisdze of
Trialeti invited George’s uncle, George the Scribe, to stay with him,
and George’s uncle took his young nephew with him. But the Byzantine
emperor Basil II subsequently summoned Peris and his family to
Constantinople, accused him of conspiring against the throne, and had
him beheaded. (At that time Trialeti was under the jurisdiction of
Byzantium.) Peris’ faithful wife remained in Constantinople for twelve
years and sent the young George to study with the finest philosophers
and rhetoricians of that time.
Eventually Emperor Basil was moved
with compassion for the prince’s family and permitted them to return to
Georgia. The twenty-five-year-old George returned to Khakhuli Monastery
and “bowed his neck to the sweet yoke of monastic life.”
Later
George secretly left the monastery and, clad in beggars’ rags, journeyed
to Jerusalem. After enduring many deprivations and overcoming a great
number of obstacles, he reached the Black Mountains near Antioch and,
after venerating the holy places and visiting several elders, began to
search for a spiritual father and guide. He found the great Georgian
elder St. George the Recluse (the God-bearer) in an isolated cave and
remained there with him for three years.
Then St. George the
Recluse tonsured his disciple, “who had reached perfection of age,
wisdom and understanding,” into the great schema and sent him to
Jerusalem on a pilgrimage. According to his teacher’s counsel, George
then moved from Jerusalem to the Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos to
continue the work of St. Ekvtime—the translation of theological texts
from the Greek to
the Georgian language. George considered himself
unworthy and unqualified to continue St. Ekvtime’s great work, but St.
George the Recluse was insistent, so he set off for the Holy Mountain in
humble obedience.
The monks of the Iveron Monastery received St.
George with great joy. But instead of translating the patristic texts as
his spiritual father had advised him, George soon grew slothful and for
seven years performed only the work of a novice. When St. George the
Recluse heard this, he sent his disciple Tevdore to Mt. Athos to rebuke
him and remind him of the reason he had been sent there. Finally George
of the Holy Mountain obeyed the will of his teacher, and soon he was
enthroned as abbot of the monastery.
From that time on St. George
of the Holy Mountain pursued his work with great earnestness. He
gathered information on Sts. Ekvtime and John, compiled their Lives,
translated their holy relics to ornate burial vaults covered in precious
jewels, and enhanced the life of the monastery in many other ways.
During
a visit to the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomachus, the Georgian
king Bagrat IV Kuropalates offered George the opportunity to return to
Georgia to be consecrated bishop of Chqondidi and serve as his own
spiritual adviser. But George declined, having already been drawn far
from the vanity of the world.
Leadership of the monastery was
demanding, and George was forced to choose between his literary work and
the life of the monastery.
He resigned as abbot and returned to
St. George the Recluse for counsel. But his teacher blessed him to
return to the Iveron Monastery, so George set off again for Mt. Athos.
The
God-fearing king Bagrat IV Kuropalates continued to ask St. George to
return to Georgia, and he finally consented to the will of the king and
the catholicos. In accordance with their request, the pious father
instituted general guidelines for the qualifications and conduct of the
clergy and wisely administered the affairs of the Church. Five years
later St. George returned to the Iveron Monastery. Before he departed,
King Bagrat bestowed upon him much of his own wealth and saw him off
with great respect.
Departing for Mt. Athos, Blessed George took
with him eighty orphans. En route he stopped in Constantinople, and
sensing that the day of his repose was near, he arranged for the orphans
to be received in the emperor’s court. He personally requested that the
emperor make provision for the orphaned children.
Venerable
George of the Holy Mountain reposed peacefully the next day, the Feast
of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. His Athonite brothers buried him on
the monastery grounds with great reverence.
Source.Oca.org
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