Hierarch 18th century

Saint Joseph Catholicos of Georgia

Died 1770

Also known as Joseph Jandierishvili

A Georgian hierarch educated at David-Gareji and later Catholicos of Georgia, remembered for wisdom, pastoral care, and healing prayers.

Feast Day

October 17

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

Hymn / Apolytikion Icon gallery Video / Media

Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Joseph, Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia, the Wonderworker

Come to them for

Healing

Life

Saint Joseph (secular name Jandierishvili, also rendered Jandieri) was an eighteenth-century Georgian hierarch who served as Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia. He received his spiritual education at the David-Gareji Monastery, where he was formed in monastic discipline and ascetic practice.

Consecrated bishop of Rustavi on account of his wisdom and virtue, he was enthroned as Catholicos in 1755 and, according to the list of heads of the Georgian Orthodox Church, held the office until 1764 as its 141st occupant. He remained a monk-ascetic throughout his tenure as primate.

He was remembered for the gift of wonderworking, his prayers reported to have healed the terminally ill and those afflicted by demonic possession. After stepping down from the primatial throne he withdrew to Akhmeta, where he lived out his days in manual labor and almsgiving, reposing in 1770. He is commemorated on October 17.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide

1755 Enthroned as Catholicos Having been consecrated bishop of Rustavi for his wisdom and virtue, Joseph was enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia. Sources list him as the 141st head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, serving from 1755 to 1764.
1764 Withdrawal from the throne Following the example of Saint Gregory the Theologian, Joseph humbly stepped down from the archpastor's throne and withdrew to Akhmeta in northeastern Georgia, where he engaged in manual labor, cultivating vineyards by hand and distributing the harvest to the poor.
1770 Repose Having lived in godliness to a ripe old age, Catholicos Joseph reposed peacefully at Akhmeta.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Formation and Episcopate

Saint Joseph received his spiritual education at the David-Gareji Monastery, one of Georgia's principal monastic centers, where he developed the monastic discipline and ascetic practices that marked his life. On account of his wisdom and virtue he was consecrated bishop of Rustavi, and was subsequently enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia in 1755.

Despite his elevation to the highest hierarchical office in the Georgian Church, he remained a monk-ascetic throughout his tenure. He was credited with the gift of wonderworking: his prayers were reported to have healed the terminally ill and those afflicted by demonic possession.

Withdrawal to Akhmeta

In 1764, following the example of Saint Gregory the Theologian, Joseph stepped down from the archpastor's throne and withdrew to Akhmeta in northeastern Georgia. There he engaged in manual labor, cultivating vineyards by hand and distributing the harvest to the poor residents of the area.

Tradition relates that his presence brought miraculous protection to the region: while Saint Joseph labored there, the area suffered neither drought nor hail, despite a climate otherwise known for frequent crop devastation. He lived in godliness to a ripe old age and reposed peacefully in 1770.

Traditional Accounts

Saint Gabriel the Lesser recorded having met Joseph, writing: by his account he had once seen and twice kissed the hand of the holy man. The reports of healings and of the region's protection from drought and hail are preserved in the traditional lives; the sources consulted hedge these as devotional tradition rather than documented record.

No source consulted confirms a formal glorification act or its date by the Georgian Orthodox Church. The synaxarion accounts list him as a commemorated saint with a feast day of October 17 and repose in 1770, without recording a synodal canonization decree or a relic-translation.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints