Synaxis of saints
Synaxis Synaxis of Georgian Saints
Also known as: Слава Грузинской Церкви
Synaxis of Georgian Saints — a collective commemoration of all the saints who have shone forth in the land of Georgia from the beginning of Christianity in the 4th century to modern times, known and unknown by name; among them St. Nino, Equal-to-the-Apostles and Enlightener of Georgia, the Martyr-King Archil, the Martyrs David and Constantine of Argveti, the Martyr-Queen Ketevan, Venerable Gregory of Khandzta, King David the Builder, Queen Tamar, and numerous 20th-century new martyrs.
The Synaxis of Georgian Saints is the collective glorification of all ascetics of the faith who have shone forth in the Georgian Orthodox Church throughout its centuries-long history, beginning with the preaching of St. Nino, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in the 4th century. The icon "Synaxis of Georgian Saints" (also known as "Glory of the Georgian Church" or "Glory of the Georgian Catholicosal Church") was painted in the 1880s by the Georgian spiritual writer and hagiographer Mikhail Sabinin. Among the best-known saints included in this synaxis are: St. Nino, Enlightener of Georgia (d. 335); St. King Mirian III and Queen Nana, the first Christian royal couple of Georgia; the Martyrs David and Constantine, Princes of Argveti (8th c.); Venerable Gregory of Khandzta, monastic reformer (d. 861); the Right-Believing King David IV the Builder (d. 1125); the Right-Believing Queen Tamar (d. 1213); the Hieromartyr Queen Ketevan, martyred in Persia in 1624; as well as a great many ascetics whose names are known to God alone, and the Georgian new martyrs of the Soviet era. The feast is kept on November 28/December 11.