Shio of Mgvime
Georgian saint
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Shio of Mgvime (Georgian: შიო მღვიმელი, romanized: shio mghvimeli; lit.'Shio of the Cave'[1]), sometimes known as Simeon of Mgvime,[2][3] was a 6th century anchorite, desert father, thaumaturgus and one of the thirteen Assyrian apostles of the Georgian kingdom of Iberia. He is venerated as a saint who introduced the notion of a strict ascetic life to the Georgian Church.[4]
Shio of Mgvime | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bishop, Preacher | |
| Born | Antioch, Byzantine Empire |
| Died | Mtskheta, Kingdom of Iberia |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Shio-Mgvime monastery |
| Feast | May 22 |
| Patronage | Georgia |
Life
He was born in Antioch. At the age of 20, he became a disciple of the famous hermit John of Zedazeni,[5] distributed his property to peasants and monasteries, and became a monk himself.[6] In the middle of the 6th century, he lived in Mtskheta. Monk Shio separated from his brethren and founded the Shio-Mgvime monastery on Sarkine mountain.[7][8] Initially, Shio lived in a small cave, which was converted into a church around the 9th century, the monastery became a large organization during the time of Shio.[9] On his own initiative, the first church named after John the Baptist was built here. Shio performed an extraordinary feats of endurance,[10] by spending the last years of his life in total seclusion, in a 12 metre deep cave,[11] he was buried there.[12] His feast day is on May 22.