Venerable Martyr
Venerable Martyr Nicholas (Nikoloz) Dvali
кон. XIII в. — 1314
Also known as: Николай Туальский (Двальский)
Venerable Martyr Nicholas (Nikoloz) Dvali — a Georgian monk of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, who deliberately chose the path of martyrdom by openly preaching Christianity to Muslims, and was beheaded in Damascus in 1314.
IMPORTANT CORRECTION: the category has been corrected from "righteous" to "venerable martyr". The previously listed contaminated date list ("December 6/May 9/July 29," belonging to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra) has been replaced with his own correct date. Visually confirmed: the image is a Life icon inscribed with the name "Nicholas Dvali."
Venerable Martyr Nicholas (Nikoloz) Dvali was born in the village of Tsei in the Dvaleti region (now Alagirsky district, North Ossetia) in the late 13th century. At age 12 he entered monastic life at the Klarjeti monastery, later settling at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. He deliberately sought martyrdom, openly preaching Christianity to Muslims in Jerusalem and Damascus; he was repeatedly arrested and finally executed (beheaded) by order of the Mamluk emir Sayf al-Din Tengiz on October 19, 1314, in Damascus.
According to tradition, his severed head glorified God seven times, and a pillar of light stood over the execution site for three days. He is venerated by the Georgian Orthodox Church and ROCOR.
His feast is kept on October 19/November 1; also February 12/25 (Synaxis of Georgian Monastic Saints of Jerusalem).