Our Venerable Father Anton the Stylite of Martqopi
Life
Saint Anton of Martqopi was a sixth-century monastic who, by Georgian tradition, came from Edessa as one of the Thirteen Syrian (Assyrian) Fathers, a band of ascetics led by John of Zedazeni who travelled from Mesopotamia to Georgia to strengthen Christianity and plant monastic life across the country. He is remembered above all as a missionary of eastern Georgia and as a stylite who passed the closing years of his life atop a pillar.
His memory is bound to an icon of the Savior Not-Made-By-Hands, which he carried throughout his ministry and which gave its name to the place and monastery of Martqopi. He is commemorated on January 19 and on August 16.
Timeline 3 moments
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6th centuryArrival in GeorgiaAnton came to Georgia among the Thirteen Syrian Fathers under the leadership of John of Zedazeni, joining their mission to evangelize the land and establish monastic communities.
6th centuryMission in KakhetiHe settled on Mount Akriani, east of Tbilisi, and preached among the people of the surrounding region, including the villages of Akhmeta and Lopotiskhevi, founding a monastery that came to be called Martqopi.
later lifeLife as a styliteSeeking solitude from those who sought him out, Anton withdrew to a mountain peak and lived atop a pillar, from which he continued to preach, remaining there for the last fifteen years of his life.
Contributions & Legacy
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The Icon Not-Made-By-Hands
Tradition holds that Anton brought with him from Edessa a copy of the icon of the Savior Not-Made-By-Hands, impressed on a clay tablet, which he carried throughout his missionary labors. Sources connect this image with the Mandylion of Edessa, the ancient not-made-by-hands likeness of Christ associated with that city's conversion.
By tradition, a pagan nobleman who came upon Anton holding the icon attempted to seize it and to sever the saint's hands, but the act was miraculously prevented; the synaxarion relates that this and a related healing helped move many to the faith, and that the nobleman afterward assisted in building Anton's monastery. The saint is said to have died on his knees before the icon, and to have been buried still holding it.
Name and Legacy
The name Martqopi is traditionally derived from the Georgian word for one who lives in seclusion, reflecting the solitary life Anton kept. He is counted among the founders of organized monasticism in Georgia, and the monastery associated with him preserved his memory and his icon.
