Demetrius the Devoted

Saint Demetrius the Devoted, King of Georgia, also called Demetre the King, was a great-⁠grandson of the holy Queen Tamar. God sent him many tribulations from childhood. He was still an infant when the Mongols killed his mother, the pious Queen Gvantsa. His father, King Davit V (1258 to 1269), died when Demetre was ten. At twelve he was sent by the court to the Mongol ordu, the camp of the Ilkhanid Mongols in Mughan of Azerbaijan, ruled by Abaqa Khan (1265 to 1282). The Georgians, being under Mongol dominion, asked Abaqa to proclaim Demetre king, and their request was granted.

Demetre ruled with wisdom and kindness. At night he went out in search of the poor, the infirm and the orphaned to distribute his wealth to them. In calmer periods he built and restored churches and monasteries and strengthened fortifications. Many of his goals were never realized, for the khan constantly called the Georgian soldiers to arms, and a vast number of Georgia's finest soldiers perished in the khan's battles. Georgia was exhausted, and in the strife the people began to pillage even the lands and villages of their own Church. In this hard time Demetre yielded to a temptation: although already joined in a marriage of political convenience, he abducted Natela, daughter of the ruler of southern Georgia, Beka Jakeli. She bore him a son, Giorgi, who would later be Giorgi V "the Brilliant" (1314 to 1346).

After Abaqa's death his brother Ahmad Tegüder was proclaimed khan (1282 to 1284), and then Abaqa's son Arghun (1284 to 1291) rose against his uncle and seized the throne. The khan's prime minister, Bugha Chingsang, organized a plot against Arghun and on 17 January 1289 was executed with his fellow conspirators. Demetre, who had been on friendly terms with the khan, was summoned to the ordu as a suspected member of the plot. He understood the reason at once: "The khan is very angry and has called me. I am certain he intends me evil, but my kingdom will lie defenseless if I do not go. How many Christians will die or become slaves? How many churches will be laid waste? My life cannot be so valuable that I could live and bear this sin while many Christian souls perish. God's will be done; if I am killed, I will be certain that my country is saved."

The court tried with all its might to dissuade him, so as not to meet certain death and leave the country without a ruler. Only Catholicos Abraam supported his decision: "If you sacrifice your life for your nation, we, the bishops of this land, will bear your sins and pray to God that you be numbered among the holy martyrs. For the Lord Himself said, Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." The king rejoiced and prepared for the journey, taking with him Catholicos Abraam, the priest Mose, his son Davit and several courtiers.

At the ordu the Mongols could find no fault in the young king, but imprisoned him anyway. A group of faithful Georgians forced their way into the prison and offered to help him escape. Deeply moved, the king refused: "I knew from the beginning the death I would suffer, and I offered my life for this nation. If I escape now, the nation will be destroyed. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" The khan ordered his execution. Fully prepared, Demetre prayed fervently, received the Holy Gifts and gave up his soul to the Lord. Those present witnessed a miracle: the sun grew dark and a gloom enshrouded the whole city.

The catholicos and the priest Mose secretly retrieved the royal martyr's body and, with the help of a group of Tbilisi fishermen, brought it home. He was buried at Mtskheta, in the burial vault of his forefathers at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, in the year 1289. He is commemorated on 16 March (new style; 29 March on the old calendar).