Gabriel (archimandrite)
Encyclopedia
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
Gabriel (26 August, 1929 Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
– 2 November 1995, Mtskheta
Mtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
) (მამა გაბრიელი), born Goderzi Urgebadze (გოდერძი ურგებაძე) is one of the most renowned Georgian
Georgian people
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Early life and persecutions
He opposed the communistCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
regime in Soviet Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
(former republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
of the USSR) and was persecuted by the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
for many years. He built a four-cupola church in his yard single-handedly. Monk Gabriel was arrested by Soviet police after he burnt down a huge portrait of Lenin during the parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
in Tbilisi, 1965. Tortured by KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
for several months monk Gabriel was eventually released from prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
.
Last years and death
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
. During his last years he lived in Samtavro Convent
Samtavro Transfiguration Orthodox Church
Samtavro Transfiguration Orthodox Church and Nunnery of St. Nino in Mtskheta, Georgia, were built in the 4th century by King Mirian III of Iberia. The church was reconstructed in the 11th century by King George I and Catholicos-Patriarch Melkisedek. The famous Georgian monk Gabriel is buried in the...
(city of Mtskheta
Mtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
) in the King Mirian
Mirian III of Iberia
Mirian III was a king of Iberia , contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine I .According to the early medieval Georgian annals and hagiography, Mirian was the first Christian king of Iberia, converted through the ministry of Nino, a Cappadocian female missionary...
’ Tower
Tower of Mirian
Tower of Mirian is a tower built by the King of Georgia Mirian III in the 4th century.Famous Georgian monk Gabriel during his last years lived in the tower of King Mirian.- See also :* City of Mtskheta* Starets* Monasticism* Hesychasm...
(built in the fourth century). He was visited by hundreds of pilgrims
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...
per day from around the world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
(mainly from Georgia), and was reputed to have the ability
Aptitude
An aptitude is an innate component of a competency to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Aptitudes may be physical or mental...
to answer his guests' questions before they could ask. Archimandrite Gabriel was extraordinarily harsh to himself, but was too kind and gentle toward others. He is buried in the yard of Samtavro Transfiguration Orthodox Church
Samtavro Transfiguration Orthodox Church
Samtavro Transfiguration Orthodox Church and Nunnery of St. Nino in Mtskheta, Georgia, were built in the 4th century by King Mirian III of Iberia. The church was reconstructed in the 11th century by King George I and Catholicos-Patriarch Melkisedek. The famous Georgian monk Gabriel is buried in the...
.
Veneration
According to thousands of witnesses the oil from lampada which constantly burns at the grave of Monk Gabriel has a healing powers (Church often receives letters/reports from the people being healed from disease like cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus , also known as "water in the brain," is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of the head,...
, cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
etc.). The blood of Monk Gabriel is still incorrupt. Today many believers consider him as a saint.
Teachings
Fr. Gabriel was especially known for his teachings about Love and End TimesEnd times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
:
- The Love dominates all rules and laws. Love everyone; if you can’t, at least show a goodwill. How to love the evil man? Hate the evil, but love those who do evil. Who knows maybe one day they will repent their sins by the powers of prayer, tears and confession and become like an angel.
- The fight between the prophets Elijah and Enoch against AntichristAntichristThe term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
will be shown on TV. - At first, the Mark of the Beast will be offered to volunteers. However, within the enthronement of AntichristAntichristThe term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
everyone will be forced to receive his mark. Disobedience will be claimed a treacheryTreacheryTreachery is a statutory offence in Australia. There was also an unrelated statutory offence bearing that name in the United Kingdom, but it has been abolished. Both of these offences were derived from or inspired by the related offence of treason. The name treachery was chosen because it is a...
. Faithful will flee to the forests. - In the End Times a man will be saved by love, humbleness and kindness. Kindness will open the gates of HeavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
; humbleness will lead into the Heaven; a man, whose heart is filled with love, will see the God.
See also
- GeorgiaGeorgia (country)Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
- City of MtskhetaMtskhetaMtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
- StaretsStaretsA starets is an elder of a Russian Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher. Elders or spiritual fathers are charismatic spiritual leaders whose wisdom stems from God as obtained from ascetic experience...
- MonasticismMonasticismMonasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...
- HesychasmHesychasmHesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches,...
- Eastern Orthodox ChurchEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
- ThaumaturgyThaumaturgyThaumaturgy is the capability of a saint or magician to work miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking...
External links
Source
- Elder's Diadem, Tbilisi 2008 ISBN 978-9941-0-0605
- "Confessor of Christ in Present day Georgia", The Orthodox Word, 1992, USA
- ბერის დიადემა, თბილისი, 2006 ISBN 99928-0-441-6 (Geo)
- Диадема Старца, Москва, "Святая Гора" 2005 (Rus)
- ღვთაებრივი სასწაულები და კურნებები I, II, III, თბილისი 2005 (Geo)