Razhden ( ka, რაჟდენი, tr, also transliterated as Ražden or Rajden; died ) was a 5th-century Persian people, Persian nobleman in the service of the Georgia (country), Georgian king Vakhtang I of Iberia and a convert to Christianity who was executed by the Sassanid Empire, Sassanid military in Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia. He was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church as St. Razhden the Protomartyr (რაჟდენ პირველმოწამე, ''razhden pirvelmotsame''), with his feast day marked on August 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics), August 16 (Old Style, O.S. August 3).Machitadze, Archpriest Zakaria (2006)
"St. Razhden, Protomartyr of the Georgian Church (†457)"
i
''The Lives of the Georgian Saints''
. ''pravoslavie.ru''. Retrieved on 2011-12-18.

History

The earliest mention of Razhden is found in the ''History of King Vakhtang Gorgasali'', part of the medieval The Georgian Chronicles, Georgian historical compendium, composed in the 8th or 11th century and traditionally attributed to Juansheriani, Juansher Juansheriani.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', p. 226. Peeters Publishers, . The source relates Razhden's death as a martyr during the war of Sassanids against Vakhtang I.Robert W. Thomson, Thomson, Robert W. (1996), ''Rewriting Caucasian History'', pp. 217, 220. Oxford University Press, . Razhden was a guardian or tutor (მამამძუძუ, ''mamamdzudzu'') of Balendukht, a daughter of the king of the Persians, whom he accompanied to Iberia on the occasion of her marriage with Vakhtang. Razhden converted to Christianity and entered Vakhtang’s service, proving himself an able soldier. He was eventually taken captive by the Persians and tortured to death for refusing to reject Christianity. Vakhtang later built the Zemo Nikozi church of the Deity, church of Nikozi at the site of Razhden's burial and installed a bishop there. According to the "History of King Vakhtang Gorgasali", Vakhtang also built a church in St. Razhden's honor in the suburb of Ujarma. The Georgian name "Razhden" is of Iranian languages, Iranian Theophoric name, theophoric origin, perhaps being a composite of two Iranian words. Thea Chkeidze / ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' notes:

Hagiography

In the 1720s, the brief medieval narrative of Juansher was transformed into hagiography by the Catholicos of Georgia, Georgian catholicos Besarion Orbelishvili, who refurbished the story with further details. According to Besarion, the captive Razhden was pressured by the king of the Persians himself into denouncing his Christian faith. Briefly freed, through the mediation of Georgian nobles, to bid a farewell to his family, Razhden voluntarily returned to captivity and was handed over to a Persian commander in Tsromi, in Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia, where he was eventually crucifixion, crucified, along with five criminals, and shot with arrows. Besarion also authored a canon (hymnography), canon to St. Razhden, while another Georgian catholicos of the 18th century, Anton I of Georgia, Anton I, included a rewritten passion of Razhden in his collection of Georgian martyrdoms in the 1760s. Khoperia, Lela (2010)
რაჟდენ პირველმოწამე
(''Razhden the Protomartyr''). ქართველი ისტორიული მოღვაწენი (''Georgian Historical Figures'') by Georgian National Center of Manuscripts. Accessed December 18, 2011. The sources on Razhden were compiled by Mikhail Sabinin into his account of the saint's life, embedded in the "Paradise of Georgia" (საქართველოს სამოთხე, ''sakartvelos samotkhe'') published in St. Petersburg in 1882. Razhden's passion was translated into Latin language, Latin and published, in 1914, by Paul Peeters. Peeters, Paul (1914), "Mensis augusti die III. Passio et certamen sancti megalomartyris Razden, qui tempore magni regis Vakhtang a Persis passus est in Hiberiae pago Dsromi". ''Analecta bollandiana'' 33: 305-317.

References

External links

www.oca.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razhden the Protomartyr People executed by crucifixion Saints of Georgia (country) 450s deaths 5th-century Christian martyrs Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism Year of birth unknown People executed by the Sasanian Empire Christians in the Sasanian Empire Georgian people of Iranian descent 5th-century Iranian people