Evagrius

Venerable Evagrius lived in Georgia in the sixth century, as a fellow ascetic of Saint Shio of Mgvime and Saint John of Zedazeni. He was at first Duke of Zhichantini, an eminent man at the court of the kingdom of Kartli, in western Georgia. While going on a hunt, he saw a wonder: a dove was bringing food to the hermit Shio. He resolved to become a monk, and Shio at first opposed it, judging the decision too hasty; but Evagrius insisted and the venerable father accepted him. He was one of the first Georgian disciples of Shio and later abbot of the monastery founded by him.

Saint Evagrius and the deacon Elias, with others, continued and strengthened the monastic rules taught by Shio and John of Zedazeni. In the sixth century, with the blessing of the Mother of God, thirteen Assyrian fathers came from Antioch to Georgia, and John sent them to various parts of the country; their names are tied to the founding of many monasteries and the renewal of Georgian monasticism. Venerable Evagrius is commemorated on 4 January (new style; 17 January on the Julian calendar of Georgia).