Antoni Meskhi

Venerable Antoni Meskhi was a Georgian monk of the second half of the 13th century, an enlightener of the Lezgins. He was a deeply learned man, "an ascetic and complete in governance", and labored in the Davit Gareji lavra. No biographical records have survived, but the fact that he was called "the sun of the Georgians" says much. He labored together with Pimen the fool for Christ, for the glory of God and the good of the country, at a time when the land was ravaged by Mongol invasions, unbelief had grown strong, and even King Demetre the Self-⁠Sacrificer (commemorated 25 March) was falling into disorder. Catholicos Nicholas rebuked the king for his lawlessness, and the king's resistance forced the catholicos to leave the patriarchal throne and live as a simple hermit.

Pimen and Anthony, filled with the grace of God, knew that if the king and the princes repented, the people would repent too, and so they began to care for the nation by counselling and rebuking the king. The Chronicle of Kartli says that the holy elders rebuked the king and all the people, "but were not heard". They added preaching among the pagans. The chronicler relates that Pimen turned the nation of the Lezgins from paganism, and they persist in the faith of Christ. By the will of God and the prayer of the saints the great wish of Pimen and Anthony was fulfilled: King Demetre repented of his lawlessness and ended his life with a martyr's death. The Church of Georgia commemorates Anthony on 16 March (old style; 29 March new style).