George the Scribe and Savva

Venerable George the Scribe and Savva were brothers of Jacob, father of Saint George of the Holy Mountain, and struggled as monks at Khakhuli Monastery in southern Georgia. They reposed in peace in the middle of the eleventh century.

They were filled with divine grace. The elder brother, George, was a spiritual adviser at the court of King Bagrat III Kuropalates and, along with the king, took part in producing ecclesiastical literature, in a period called the Golden Age of Georgian Letters, when many church writings were translated and copied. The younger brother, Savva, is remembered as a righteous and blameless man by the great scholar George the Lesser. According to him, the brothers were richly endowed with both spiritual gifts and material wealth.

Hearing of the piety of their nephew, the young George (later the Athonite), they urged Jacob to bring him to them at Khakhuli in Klarjeti. Jacob brought his son with great gladness to the God-⁠fearing brothers. At that time a nobleman, Peris Jojikisdze, married to a daughter of King Bagrat III, governed the village of Tvartsatapi and thought it wise to invite a learned and experienced monk to his palace as a teacher and spiritual guide; he chose Saint George. After much reluctance the venerable father consented, and he was entrusted with the spiritual and earthly affairs of the palace. George of Khakhuli took the young George with him. A year later the Byzantine emperor Basil II brought false accusations against Peris and ordered his execution. His wife and those of his court, among them Saint George and the young George of the Holy Mountain, were captured and taken to Constantinople. After twelve years of captivity in Byzantium they were allowed to return home. Back in Georgia, George of Khakhuli sent his nephew to Khakhuli Monastery, entrusting him to his brother Savva.

They are commemorated on 19 December.