Venerable Fathers Shio the New, David, Gabriel and Paul of Gareji, Slain by the Leks (+1696–1700)
The Venerable Fathers Shio the New, David, Gabriel and Paul, of Gareji. The monastery of David Gareja was always distinguished by the multitude of its monks and the strictness of its ascetic life; here ascetics who had left the vanity of the world found peace of soul. In the holy house monks who had fled from wealth and honour and monks who had come out of extreme poverty lived under the same conditions.
The Venerable Shio came from the village of Vedzisi in Kartli. His parents, Papuna and Tamar, were known in that region for their wealth. They had eight children — five sons and three daughters. After their parents’ death Shio’s brothers quarrelled, abused one another with foul words, and then the eldest killed the youngest with a knife.
When blessed Shio heard of this, filled with anger and grief he resolved to leave the deceitful world, love of which can make a brother kill his brother and a son his father. “I no longer wish to live in this world,” he confided to his confessor. The confessor advised him to go to the monastery of David Gareja and be tonsured a monk. At that time the abbot of Gareji was Father Onuphrius Machutadze, who had already several times suggested to blessed Shio: “Come, brother Shio, to my monastery, and here let us finish our days.”
Onuphrius joyfully received Shio, who was known among the people for his honesty and faithfulness, gave him a cell of his own and appointed him his obedience.
Blessed Shio’s tireless labour, his humility and his love for the brethren bore fitting fruit: many came to him for counsel, and with the abbot’s blessing he often managed the affairs of the monastery as well.
Once the abbot, Father Onuphrius, went away on the monastery’s business and entrusted the brethren and the monastery to blessed Shio. After Vespers and the meal, while the brotherhood was resting from labour and prayer, a raiding band of Leks fell upon it; together with the hieromonk Shio they seized and tortured to death the monks David, Gabriel and Paul. At the noise some managed to flee and hide, but the lawless caught up with those who fled too and cut them down mercilessly with their swords. Blood filled the church and the cells. Then the Leks stripped the martyrs, smashed and burned the church vessels, carried off some of the priestly vestments and threw others into the well there, and hacked the holy icons with an axe.
King Erekle and Catholicos Ioane were grieved, and marvelled too: “How did the Leks get this far?” With the catholicos’s blessing and by the king’s command, the hacked relics of the holy martyrs were buried to the south of the grave of Saint David of Gareji (commemorated 7 May and on the Thursday after the Ascension).
