Historical Context
Evdemoz held the catholicate during a period when Georgia lay under heavy Persian domination. The Shah Abbas I had murdered King Luarsab II of Kartli and driven out King Teimuraz I of Kakheti, and the throne of Kartli passed to Rostom-Khan, a Georgian who had converted to Islam. Rostom sought to accommodate the Christian population—setting a standard salary for the Georgian clergy and even building churches—yet his reign brought moral decline that threatened Georgia's spiritual foundation.
Evdemoz maintained ties to the resistance movement, including through his niece's marriage to Prince David, heir to King Teimuraz I of Kakheti. He confronted Rostom openly, reportedly telling him, 'You are the natural father of the Muslims, but the stepfather of the Christians!' He coordinated military revolts against Persian influence and opposed the practice of raising royal heirs in the shah's court.
Resistance and Martyrdom
Working alongside Queen Mariam Dadiani, his spiritual daughter, Evdemoz sustained Georgia's Christian life through church construction and the promotion of spiritual literature. In 1642 a major conspiracy formed to assassinate Rostom and restore Teimuraz I; the plot drew together several factions, including Zaal of Aragvi, Evdemoz himself, Prince Revaz Baratashvili, and Korkhmaz Beg, with support from the western Georgian rulers Alexander III of Imereti and Kaikhosro I Gurieli. The plan called for Teimuraz to enter Kartli from the east toward Tbilisi while a usurper was proclaimed.
Korkhmaz Beg betrayed the conspiracy at the decisive moment, warning Rostom and allowing him to escape to Gori. The king responded with severe reprisals: conspirators were blinded, executed, or imprisoned, and extensive lands were confiscated. Evdemoz was arrested in 1642 and initially sentenced to imprisonment as Rostom hoped to break his resolve, but the catholicos only intensified his criticism and called upon the people to rebel. Rostom-Khan then ordered him strangled to death in his prison cell.
Relics & Shrines
As a further insult, Evdemoz's body was cast off the Nariqala Fortress in Tbilisi in the direction of the Turkish baths. Christians secretly retrieved his remains that night and buried him in the northwest corner of the Anchiskhati Church in Tbilisi.
