06 Works, Today, May 9th is Shio Mgvime's day, With Footnotes - #130

Venerable Shio Mgvime

The venerable father Shio Mgvime was a Georgian anchorite whose preaching of the Word of God and ascetic life led to the founding of a number of monasteries in Georgia. He is remembered on May 9, the day of his repose, and on May 7 with St John of Zedazeni and his twelve disciples which included St Shio.

Franz Ejsmond, (1859–1931)

The Anchorite, c. 1881

Oil on canvas

Height: 93 cm (36.6 in); Width: 78 cm (30.7 in)

National Museum in Warsaw

The anachoresis became common in Greek in the sense of detachment from the world, even if only in habits and interests, but it was reserved for the more prestigious forms of eremitic life and has passed with this meaning into modern languages. Extreme Hermits

Franciszek Teodor Ejsmond (born on March 29, 1859 in Goździe , died on August 13, 1931 in Warsaw) was aPolish painter.

He studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts , and then (1879-1886) at the Munich Academy (at the end of October 1879 he entered the Academy of Fine Arts - Naturklasse)  . He enjoyed considerable recognition and international publicity. He exhibited the paintings devoted to Polish national life. He was the author of beautiful portraits. For some time he lived and worked in Germany (1880-1890s). He returned to Poland in 1897. He was the director of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In the years 1913-1918 he was the president of the Polish Art Society.

He preferred Dutch and Munich painting, he stayed on the sidelines of the development of modern painting. He painted idealized and sentimental genre scenes from the lives of patriarchally depicted peasant families with children. As a passionate hunter, he painted hunting scenes, as well as eastern motifs, portraits, still lifes, landscapes and religious paintings. More on Franz Ejsmond

Shio Mgvime was born in Syrian Antioch. His parents were Christians and raised their son as their only heir. The youth received a fine education; he studied the Holy Scripture, and by a young age he was accomplished in expounding the Word of God. After hearing about a holy ascetic named John, Shio secretly left his parents' home and went to the saint. However, John made the youth return to his parents, foretelling that they would become monastics. This prediction was soon fulfilled.

Then Shio sold all his possessions, distributed the profits to the poor, widows, orphans, and hermits, freed all his family’s slaves, and returned to Fr. John.

The Holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers

Twenty years later, Shio set off to Georgia to preach the Word of God with twelve other chosen disciples of St. John. With the blessing both of his teacher and of the Georgian Katholikos Eulabius, St. Shio settled in a cave west of the city of Mtskhet, where he made austere ascetic efforts and was vouchsafed miraculous visions. The solitary life of the ascetic became known, and soon the place of the saint's struggles was transformed into a monastery, where he established a church dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity.

MARTYR EVARGRISI OF THE SHIO-MGVIME MONASTERY

Another time, Saint Evagre (at that time ruler of Tsikhedidi and military adviser to King Parsman) went hunting in the Sarkineti Mountains. There he encountered Saint Shio and, astonished by his piety, resolved to remain there with him. The news of the ruler’s conversion soon spread through all of Georgia, and many people flocked to witness the venerable father’s miraculous deeds. Many remained there with them, following Saint Evagre’s example.

Venerable Shio Mgvime

Once Saint Shio prayed to God to reveal to him the place where He desired a church to be built. He placed a lump of hot coal in his hand and sprinkled incense on it, as though his hand were a censer. Then he followed the smoke as it swirled up from the hot coal. In the place where it rose straight up like a pillar, he took his staff and marked the ground where the church would be built.

St. John the Forerunner, the Theotokos and St. Shio

Later on, other churches were built in honor of the Mother of God and St. John the Forerunner. All the churches were consecrated by the Katholikos Macarius. The number of brethren increased, and the monk gave his blessing for them to found the Mgvim monastery, while he continued his deeds of salvation in seclusion.

St. Shio reposed on May 9. On the night before his death, he partook of the Holy Mysteries and gave the brethren a final salvific instruction. The saint's relics were buried in the monastery he founded. St Shio is the author of 160 precepts for the brethren. More on Shio Mgvime

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