Venerable (Monastic) 20th century

George (John) of Georgia

1887–1960

Also known as George the Archimandrite

Feast Day

January 21

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father George-John (Mkheidze), Confessor of Betania

Life

Saint George-John (Mkheidze) was a Georgian monastic of the twentieth century who, together with his fellow ascetic Saint John (Maisuradze), maintained clandestine monastic life at Betania Monastery near Tbilisi through the decades of Soviet persecution. Born in 1887 in the village of Skhvaki in the Racha region, he turned to the ascetic life in his youth and was eventually tonsured into the great schema, taking the name John.

He arrived at Betania in 1924, where he labored alongside Fr. John (Maisuradze) until the latter's repose. By tradition he was endowed with gifts of clairvoyance and healing, which he took pains to conceal. He reposed in 1960 and was buried in the monastery courtyard beside St. John. The Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church canonized both men as holy confessors in 2003.

He is commemorated by the Orthodox Church in America on January 21; the Georgian calendar keeps the joint feast of the two Betania confessors on September 8/21. Sources for his life remain limited, and as a modern Georgian saint his entry warrants clergy and source review.

Timeline 8 moments Read Hide

1887 Birth in Racha Born in the village of Skhvaki in the Racha region of Georgia. By tradition his father, Methodios, was a respected military officer who had received the Cross of St. George; he had seven brothers and three sisters.
1909 Resolution to monastic life After village schooling, study in Tbilisi, and a brief period serving as secretary to the righteous Ilia Chavchavadze, his path crystallized following the death of his elder brother Polycarp, who had become a monk. Finding Polycarp's notes, he resolved to dedicate himself wholly to God.
early 1900s–1920s Ascetic formation By tradition he trained in asceticism in a cave near his village, later studied under St. Alexiy (Shushanin) in Samegrelo, and was tonsured by the hieromartyr Nazarius (Lezhava).
1924 Persecution and arrival at Betania At Khirss Monastery he was attacked by Chekists, beaten, and threatened with death. That same year he came to Betania Monastery, where he met Fr. John (Maisuradze) and joined him in maintaining monastic life under Soviet rule.
during World War II Sustaining the faithful During wartime famine, the two fathers produced their own bread, cheese, and honey and fed all who came to them. By tradition George was given gifts of clairvoyance and healing, which he carefully concealed.
after 1957 Tonsure into the great schema Following the repose of Fr. John (Maisuradze), George was tonsured into the great schema and received the name John.
1960 Repose He reposed and was buried in the courtyard of Betania Monastery, next to St. John.
August 18, 2003 Canonization The Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church canonized both Archimandrite John (Maisuradze) and Archimandrite George-John (Mkheidze) as holy confessors.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Two Confessors of Betania

Saint George-John is venerated jointly with Saint John (Maisuradze), with whom he shared the monastic life at Betania. The two are distinct individuals who labored together: John (born Basil/Vasily Maisuradze, 1882, Tsinkvali) was tonsured on Mount Athos and spent some seventeen years on the Holy Mountain before Soviet pressures forced Georgian monks to leave in the 1920s; George-John (Mkheidze) came to the monastic life from the Racha region of Georgia.

Both men endured violence under the Soviet authorities — by tradition they were shot by armed agents at St. Armaz Monastery and survived — before settling at Betania in 1924. Betania remained the only operating Georgian monastery, though unofficially, until it became defunct around 1963; earlier abbots there had been shot in the Soviet purges. Against this background the two fathers preserved a hidden monastic witness for decades.

Family

By tradition his brothers Ivan and Peter were communist agents who mocked and tested his faith. Peter is said to have become an assistant to Lavrentiy Beria and to have been executed with his wife in 1938; Ivan is said to have taken his own life. His elder brother Polycarp, by contrast, had become a monk, and it was the discovery of Polycarp's notes after his death that confirmed George in his own monastic vocation.

Sources and Open Questions

The surviving sources for these saints are limited and not fully consistent. The repose dates given by different sources for Fr. John (Maisuradze) conflict: a Wikipedia liturgics listing gives 1957, while a hagiographical account gives 1975 at age seventy-five, which appears to be an error. This profile follows the date of 1957 for John's repose, after which George-John was tonsured into the great schema.

There is also an apparent difference of commemoration date rather than a true contradiction. The Orthodox Church in America commemorates St. George (John) on January 21, the date recorded in the anchor for this entry, and a January 21 liturgics listing does include him. The Georgian Orthodox Church keeps the joint feast of the two Betania confessors on September 8/21, the date associated with their 2003 canonization. As a modern Georgian saint, this entry is advised for clergy and source review.

Notes

Modern Georgian saint — clergy/source review advised.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 21