Origins and Conversion
By the account of his Passion, Eustathius was born in Persia under the name Gvirobandak, an Iranian cobbler and the son of a high-ranking Zoroastrian priest (magi), and came from the city of Ganzak. He was raised in the fire-worship of his fathers before embracing Christianity.
Around 541 he fled Persian persecution into Georgia and settled in Mtskheta, where, drawn to the Christian traditions of the Georgian people, he resolved to be baptized. According to Orthodox accounts, Catholicos Samoel himself baptized him and gave him the name Eustathius. He then married a local woman and was assimilated into Georgian society and the life of the Church.
Arrest and Martyrdom
When the Persians occupying Mtskheta invited him to one of their celebrations, Eustathius declined. Members of the local Iranian cobblers' guild denounced him, together with seven other converts, to the marzban (Persian governor) Arvand Gushnasp, who punished apostates by piercing their noses and imprisoning them under sentence of death. By the synaxarion's account two of the captives renounced the faith and were freed, while six, including Eustathius, remained in prison; after roughly six months they were released through the petition of Catholicos Samoel and Georgian nobles.
Some years later, under the new marzban Vezhan Buzmihr, Eustathius was rearrested. The Passion relates that he reaffirmed his faith before the court at length, in a speech that fills nearly half of the surviving text. Refusing to deny Christ, he was beheaded at Tbilisi around 550.
The Passion of Eustathius of Mtskheta
The chief source for the saint's life is an anonymous Georgian hagiographic text, The Passion of Eustathius of Mtskheta, composed in the sixth century within about thirty years of his death. Roughly half of the work is given over to Eustathius's defense of the Christian faith before the Persian court, and the text is valued as an early witness to Christian life in Georgia under Persian rule.
Relics & Shrines
After his execution his body was recovered by Christians and carried to Mtskheta. According to Orthodox accounts the relics were received by Catholicos Samoel and interred in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the principal church of Mtskheta, beneath the altar table.
Miracles & Traditions
Historically Documented: The Passion records the saint's two arrests, his trial and confession before the Persian governors, and his beheading; it names Catholicos Samoel as the one who baptized him and who received his relics for burial at Svetitskhoveli.
Traditional Accounts: The synaxarion preserves words attributed to Eustathius in refusing the Persian celebration and in confessing the faith, including the statement that he was stamped with the seal of Christ and far removed from every darkness, and his declaration that he was prepared to endure torture and death itself for the sake of Christ.
