Constantine of Aragvi

Holy Martyr Constantine of Aragvi, a prince, was, together with his brother David, one of the two martyrs, the princes of Aragvi, who suffered in Georgia in the year 740. Raised from childhood in the Orthodox faith, they were not only worthy rulers and brave military commanders, but also devout Christians.

The brothers bravely defended Georgia against the Muslim conquerors, but the forces were unequal. The Arab commander Murvan-⁠Abdula-⁠Kasim captured the princely brothers and tried by flattering promises to persuade them to accept Islam, but they firmly confessed Christ. Then Murvan Kru (the word "kru" means deaf) sought, with the help of sorcerers, to bring them to renounce the Orthodox faith. The brothers David and Constantine overcame all the devices of pagan wisdom by prayer. Seeing the steadfastness of the holy confessors, the Muslim ordered them put to cruel torments and then drowned in the river Rioni (in 740). The river carried the brothers' bodies to the bank, lit by three pillars of light. The Christians took the bodies out of the river and buried them in a cave of Mount Tskhaltsitela, in the city of Kutaisi.

In the twelfth century, during a hunt of King Bagrat the Great (1072-1117), the incorrupt relics of the holy brothers were found in the cave filled with light. The king built in their honour the church of the Martyrs (Motsameta) and founded the Motsameta monastery. The relics of the holy brothers became famed for many healings. Saint Constantine is commemorated with David on 15 October, in the new style.