Davit Garejeli

Davit Garejeli (David of Gareji) was one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, who came to Georgia in VI century from Syria.

He arrived in Georgia from the city of Antioch in the mid-6th century and founded a monastery in the rocky mountains of Gareja. Initially, David and his disciple Luciane settled in a natural cave, sustaining themselves with field produce and deer’s milk. The episode of milking a deer later became a popular theme in Georgian iconography (depicted in David’s Lavra, Bertubani Monastery, Udabno Monastery, and others). David was the monastery’s first abbot. With material support from Bubakar, a noble resident of Rustavi, he built a church, which later came to be known as the Church of the Transfiguration, where David is also buried. According to oral tradition, David’s name is also associated with the sites of Mama Daviti and Kashveti churches in Tbilisi, where he is said to have lived before moving to Gareja.

David’s activity contributed to the defense and strengthening of the Christian faith, as well as the conversion of the still-pagan population. At his initiative, his disciples Dodo and Luciane founded new monasteries in the vicinity of Gareja.

David is canonized as a saint, and his feast day is celebrated on the Thursday after the Ascension.

His life and deeds were recorded shortly after his death, in the 6th–7th centuries, but that work has not survived. Later, accounts of his life were written again and two versions of the text are known: the first, a shorter version from the 10th century, and the second, a more elaborate metaphrastic version from the 12th century.

Sources: ასურელ მოღვაწეთა ცხოვრების წიგნთა ძველი რედაქციები, ილ. აბულაძის გამოც., თბ., 1955; ძველი ქართული აგიოგრაფიული ლიტერატურის ძეგლები, წგ. 3, ილ. აბულაძის რედ., თბ., 1971.

Literature: ლ ო მ ი ნ ა ძ ე ბ., ქართული ფეოდალური ურთიერთობის ისტორიიდან (სენიორიები), [ტ.] 1, თბ., 1966; ს ა ბ ი ნ ი ნ ი მ., საქართველოს სამოთხე, სპბ., 1882; И о с е л и а н и П., Гора св. Давида в Тифлисе, Тфл., 1858.

B. Lominadze