Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

The Beauty of the Saints

Very Reverend Ihor Kutash kutash@unicorne.org

Right-believing Tamara, Queen of Georgia:

“Do away with every wickedness beginning with me.”

Saint Tamara the Great, Queen of Georgia was born around the year 1165. She was descended from the ancient Georgian Bagratid dynasty and in the year 1178 she was a co-regent with her father, George III. She was his only child. Upon his repose she became Queen at the age of twenty-four!

Despite her youth, she reigned so wisely, prudently and courageously that the time of her reign is known as the Golden Age of Georgian history. She was also noted for her profound piety. Continuing the initiatives of her grandfather, the holy Emperor St David III the Restorer (Jan. 26/Feb. 8), she promoted the growth of Christianity throughout Georgia, and built churches and monasteries.

After her coronation, she convoked a local council to correct problems in church life. When the bishops had assembled from all parts of her kingdom, she, as had Saint Constantine at the First Ecumenical Council, honoured them as if she were a commoner and they were Angels of God. She called upon them to establish righteousness and stop any abuses. Her humble words were: "Do away with every wickedness, beginning with me, for the prerogative of the throne is in no wise that of making war against God."

In 1204 the governor of the Ruma sultanate, Rukn-en-Din, sent a demand to the Empress Tamara that Georgia abandon Christianity and accept Islam. The Empress Tamara refused this demand, and in an historic battle near Basiani the Georgian army defeated a coalition of Moslem rulers.

The wise rule of St Tamara won her the love of her nation. She spent the final years of her life in the Bardzia Cave monastery. She had a cell, connected with the church by a window, through which she could offer up prayers to God during church services. She died peacefully in the year 1213, and was numbered among the Saints.

The holy right-believing Queen Tamara of Georgia is commemorated twice during the year: on May 1 (14), the day of her repose, and also on the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women. Her name is very popular among Ukrainians and other Orthodox Christians.

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