Ioane Mtatsmideli

Ioane Mtatsmideli (Atoneli) ( Approx. 920-1005), Religious figure and scholar, one of the noblemen of Samtskhe(South Georgia). In secular life he was called Varazvache Chordvaneli. Ioane was the father of Eqvtime Mtatsmideli. After taking the Monastic Vow, he served at the Monastery on Mt. Olympus in Byzantine Empire. Together with his son Eqvtime and several his pupils he moved to Mt. Athos and settled down in the Lavra of Athanasius the Great. Georgian monks built the Church of John the Evangelist there; later they settled on Mt. Athos, in the Iberian Monastery, which was built by Ioane Mtatsmindeli who was its first Dean as well.