Martyrs Бидзина Чолокашвили и братья, Ксанские эриставы Шалва и Элизбар, мчч.

Martyrs Bidzina Cholokashvili and the Princes (eristavis) of Ksani, Shalva and Elizbar, were Georgian military commanders who led the liberation of Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) from Persian rule in the mid-17th century. King Vakhtang V of Kartli, who had converted to Islam and ruled under the name Shah-Nawaz, handed all three commanders over to the Persians at the demand of Shah Abbas II. Shah-Nawaz, despite his oath to protect them, agreed to their extradition. By order of Shah Abbas II, after cruel torture, Elizbar and Shalva were beheaded before Bidzina's eyes. Bidzina himself was subjected to even more terrible torments: his body was dismembered joint by joint, and only then was his head cut off. All three were martyred on September 18, 1660 (according to other accounts, the execution took place under Shah Safi, son of Abbas II, in 1664). The Georgian Orthodox Church numbered Bidzina, Shalva, and Elizbar among the holy martyrs. The relics of the holy martyrs Shalva and Elizbar rest in the Alaverdi Monastery. Their memory is kept on September 18.