Neophytus of Urbnisi

Saint Neophytus of Urbnisi (in the world Omar) was a warrior of Persian descent who became a monk and bishop of Urbnisi, in Georgia, and was stoned to death by Zoroastrians in the year 642. The Church remembers him on 28 October on the old calendar, which is 10 November on the new.

The commander who saw angels

According to the story of his life, Omar was of Persian descent and lived in the seventh century. He was a military commander under the emir Ahmad and, at his order, set out with an army against the Georgian kingdom. Two commanders of Ahmad, Omar and Buruli, laid waste the valley of the Great Liakhvi and met at Mtskheta. Then, at the confluence of the Aragvi with the Kura, near the village of Tsikhedidi, his soldiers tried to cross the river by the rocks of Sarkineti, to destroy a group of caves, but, entering the water of the Kura, they could not cross it. Asked, the prisoners from Sarkineti said that the monks of the Shio-⁠Mgvime monastery lived there, simple servants of God.

The tale astonished the commanders of the Muslim army, who decided, it is said, to inform Ahmad. The emir marvelled at the strength of the monks and sent Omar to them with gold, asking them to pray for him. Arriving at Sarkineti, Omar sent a messenger to the monks to say that he came with gifts and did not seek war. As he drew near the monastery gates, he is said to have seen many bodiless shadows and among them an elder who spread light, all appearing to him like angels. Understanding that the shadows were monks and the elder the abbot of the monastery, he told them of his vision and promised to become a monk among them.

Monk and bishop

He left his office, his domains, his power and his wealth and settled at the Shio-⁠Mgvime monastery. He was baptized together with two of his slaves, received in monasticism the name Neophytus and called himself a slave of Christ. One source says that, for his zeal in fasting and prayer, he was made a bishop, and this is the title under which he is known, bishop of Urbnisi.

According to the life, the Zoroastrians resolved to kill the Persian who preached Christianity and attacked him as he prayed alone in his cell. Knowing that Neophytus wished to resemble Saint Stephen, the first martyr, they stoned him to death. Our sources use words such as "it is said" and "reportedly" for much of this, so some details of the account cannot be verified.