The Holy Venerable-Martyr Luke of Jerusalem, the Georgian
Life
Luke of Jerusalem, surnamed the Georgian, was a thirteenth-century monk who served as abbot of the Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem and was beheaded for refusing to renounce Christ under Muslim rule. He is venerated as a martyr in the Orthodox Church and commemorated on February 12.
Born into a pious Georgian family bearing the name Mukhaisdze, he came to Jerusalem as a young man and remained there as a monk, rising to lead the Georgian brotherhood of the Holy Cross Monastery until the community was driven out and he himself put to death.
Timeline 4 moments
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13th centuryBirth into the Mukhaisdze familyLuke was born into an honorable and pious Georgian family by the name of Mukhaisdze. His father died during his youth, and his mother afterward entered monastic life at a monastery in Jerusalem.
Age twentyPilgrimage to Jerusalem and tonsureAt the age of twenty, Luke traveled to Jerusalem to visit his mother and venerate the holy places. He resolved to remain there and was tonsured a monk at the Holy Cross Monastery.
13th centuryOrdination and abbacyLuke was ordained a deacon and became fluent in Arabic. Recognized by the brotherhood for his wisdom, he was asked to serve as abbot and directed the monastery in an exemplary manner for three years.
1273 or 1277MartyrdomAfter the Georgian monks were expelled from the Holy Cross Monastery, Luke confronted Shekh-Khidar to demand the release of imprisoned brethren. Ordered to convert to Islam, he refused, and was beheaded; his body was afterward set on fire.
Contributions & Legacy
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Monastic Life in Jerusalem
Luke came from a Georgian family of the name Mukhaisdze. The sources relate that his father had died and that his mother had taken up monastic life at a monastery in Jerusalem; it was to visit her and to venerate the holy places that the twenty-year-old Luke first journeyed to the city.
Drawn to the religious life there, he remained and was tonsured a monk at the Holy Cross Monastery, the historic Georgian foundation in Jerusalem. He was later ordained a deacon and acquired fluency in Arabic, the language of the region's rulers. The brotherhood, recognizing his wisdom, asked him to lead them as abbot, and according to the sources he governed the monastery in an exemplary manner for three years.
Persecution and Martyrdom
An influential Persian named Shekh-Khidar, who held standing at the court of the sultan, obtained possession of the Holy Cross Monastery. The sources identify the ruler as Sultan Penducht, probably to be understood as the Mamluk sultan Baibars (Zakhir-Rukedin-Baibars-Bundukdar) of Egypt, whose reign is given as 1260 to 1277. Shekh-Khidar treated the Georgian monks harshly and eventually drove them from the monastery altogether.
Luke confronted Shekh-Khidar to demand the release of imprisoned monks. When pressed to convert to Islam, he refused, and the enraged Shekh-Khidar ordered him beheaded; afterward his body was set on fire. The Orthodox sources differ on the year, giving either 1273 or 1277, but agree that he died in the thirteenth century. The Church commemorates him as a martyr on February 12.
