Ioane of Polivoti

Venerable Ioane of Polivoti was bishop of Polivotos in Phrygia, in the time of the iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian (717-741). From his youth he was distinguished by a strict life, purity and mercy, and for this he was made bishop. Having become a shepherd, he multiplied his struggles. When the emperor began to blaspheme the holy icons, Ioane rebuked this lawlessness firmly and, by his confession of faith, kept his flock from the iconoclast heresy. For his God-⁠pleasing life he received the gift of healing the sick and casting out demons. In his time, when the Hagarenes besieged Amorium, they were repulsed with God's help, and the Christians taken captive received freedom through the care of the saint.

His body is preserved incorrupt. Every year at Pentecost it is taken from the shrine, clothed in episcopal vestments, carried first to the holy altar and set upright, then raised to the high place and held by two priests during the service. Through his prayers many miracles take place, especially healings of the possessed and of the sick. The Church of Georgia commemorates him on 4 December (old style; 17 December new style).