Martyr Martyr Abo of Tbilisi

Martyr Abo of Tbilisi (Tiflis) was an Arab by birth, born in Baghdad, where he worked as a skilled perfumer. At seventeen or eighteen he followed Nerse, ruler of Kartli, back to Georgia after Nerse's release from captivity in Baghdad. In Tbilisi, Abo learned Georgian, attended church services, and debated matters of faith with local priests.

Moved by the piety of Georgian Christians, he was baptized in Khazaria while accompanying Nerse north, then lived an ascetic life for a time in Abkhazia. Returning to Arab-controlled Tbilisi, he openly professed Christianity — apostasy from Islam — and was arrested by the new Arab emir.

He withstood imprisonment, interrogation, and torture without renouncing his faith. He was executed on a cliff where the Metekhi Church would later stand; his body was burned with naphtha and his remains cast into the Mtkvari (Kura) River. His martyrdom was recorded by an eyewitness and friend, Ioane Sabanisdze. Abo is venerated as the patron saint of Tbilisi.