John the Iberian[a] (Georgian: იოანე მთაწმინდელი; died c. 1002) was a Georgian monk, who is venerated as a saint. His name refers to his origins from the Kingdom of the Iberians.
Life
A member of a Georgian noble family from Tao-Klarjeti in southern Georgia,[1] he was married and served as a military commander.
After becoming tonsured as a monk early 960s at the lavra of the Four Churches in Tao-Klarjeti, he became a monk at Mount Olympus (now Uludağ) in Bithynia and then traveled to Constantinople to rescue his son, Euthymius the Illuminator (Euthymius Opplyseren).[1] Euthymius had been held as a hostage by the emperor.[2]
John and his son attracted many followers, so they both retired to the monastery of Saint Athanasius on Mount Athos. They founded Iviron monastery with the help of John’s brother-in-law, John Thornikos, a retired general. John served as the first abbot of Iviron. He died in 1002.[3]
References
Bibliography
- Butler, A. (1995) Butler's Lives of the Saints, Volume 7, Liturgical Press
