Hierarch 10th century

Saint John (Chrysostom) IV Catholicos of Georgia

Catholicos of Georgia c. 980–1001

Also known as John IV of Georgia · John Chrysostom IV

Catholicos of Georgia at the close of the tenth century, whose parents had prayed for his birth at the tomb of Saint Shio of Mgvime; he shepherded the Georgian Church into the new millennium.

Feast Day

March 3

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints John, surnamed Chrysostom, Catholicos of Georgia

Life

Saint John (Chrysostom) IV was Catholicos of the Apostolic Church of Georgia from approximately 980 to 1001, shepherding the Georgian Church across the turn of the first millennium.

By tradition his parents were childless and prayed at length at the tomb of Saint Shio of Mgvime, the 6th-century anchorite and one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers; following his birth they sent him to be raised at Shio-Mgvime Monastery near Mtskheta.

There he cultivated the learning and sanctity for which he was later surnamed 'Chrysostom' — 'golden mouth' in Greek. He is commemorated on March 3.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide

6th century Foundation of Shio-Mgvime Saint Shio of Mgvime, born in Antioch and a disciple of John of Zedazeni, founds the Shio-Mgvime monastery near Mtskheta and spends his final years secluded in a deep cave, where he is buried; his tomb becomes a place of pilgrimage and miracle.
c. 980 Accession as Catholicos John IV becomes Catholicos of the Georgian Apostolic Church, the office held before the title was later expanded to Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia under Melkisedek I.
c. 1001 End of his catholicate His tenure as Catholicos concludes around the year 1001, having led the Georgian Church into the new millennium.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Birth and Upbringing at Shio-Mgvime

The Narration of Saint Shio's Miracles, attributed to Catholicos Basil III, relates that the hitherto childless parents of John prayed at length to Saint Shio of Mgvime for a son, and following his birth sent him to be raised at the Shio-Mgvime Monastery.

Shio-Mgvime is a medieval Georgian monastic complex near Mtskheta, roughly 30 km from Tbilisi, founded by the 6th-century monk Shio, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers who came to Georgia as Christian missionaries. By the end of the 6th century it is said to have housed some 2,000 monks, and it remained under the patronage of the Catholicos of Georgia throughout the medieval period.

It was in this setting that John acquired the wisdom and eloquence reflected in his epithet 'Chrysostom.'

The Two Catholicoi Named Chrysostom

A second Georgian Catholicos also bore the surname Chrysostom: John, sometimes called John V, who served from approximately 1033 to 1049 (died c. 1048) and was a disciple of Catholicos-Patriarch Melchizedek I.

Because the two figures shared identical epithets and comparable spiritual reputations, they have at times been conflated by historians. John IV is the earlier of the two, distinguished by his catholicate around 980–1001.

Sources and Documentation

John IV is a genuinely obscure saint with limited external documentation. There is no dedicated Wikipedia or OrthodoxWiki article for him; searches for the figure and for the List of Catholicoi of Georgia return no coverage of his life.

The principal external witnesses are the OCA synaxarion and the Mystagogy Resource Center (Sanidopoulos). As with much of the obscure Georgian and pre-schism record, the entry rests on these few sources and warrants scholarly and clergy review.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints