Confessor13th century

Saint Tsotne Dadiani the Confessor

died c. 1260

Also known as Tsotne Dadiani

A Georgian prince who, when his fellow nobles were seized and tortured by the Mongols for plotting to free their land, came of his own will and stripped himself to share their torments, and by this love so astonished the Mongols that they let them all go.

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Commemorated as

The Holy and Right-believing Tsotne Dadiani, Duke of Odishi, the Confessor

Life

Tsotne Dadiani was a thirteenth-century Georgian nobleman of the powerful Dadiani house, hereditary dukes of Odishi (latter-day Mingrelia) in western Georgia. He is remembered above all for an act of voluntary self-sacrifice during the period of Mongol domination of the Kingdom of Georgia.

When his fellow nobles, having met to plan resistance against the Mongol overlordship, were seized and tortured, Tsotne came of his own will and stripped himself to share their sufferings. According to the tradition preserved in the synaxarion, this act of love so astonished the Mongols that they released all the prisoners. He was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church as a Confessor in 1999.

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TroparionTone 8

Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of purity and of true worship,
the enlightener of the universe and the adornment of hierarchs:
all-wise father Tsotne, your teachings have gleamed with light upon all things.
Intercede before Christ God to save our souls.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline5 momentsReadHide

1245-1250Governor in western GeorgiaDuring the interregnum when the two kings named David were absent at the court of the Khagan in Karakorum, the Mongols divided the Kingdom of Georgia into eight districts (tumen), each governed by a leading noble. Tsotne Dadiani shared the governorship of western Georgia with Kakhaber, and held the offices of mandaturtukhutsesi (Lord High Steward) and eristavt-eristavi (Duke of Dukes).
c. 1246The assembly at KokhtastaviTsotne joined other Georgian nobles in a clandestine meeting at the castle of Kokhtastavi, in Javakheti, to discuss an overthrow of Mongol overlordship. When the gathering was discovered, most of the participants were captured; the only ones to escape were Tsotne and the eristavi of Racha, who had left earlier to recruit troops.
c. 1246The torture at Shirakavan and his self-sacrificeThe arrested nobles were brought before the Mongol noyan Chormaqan at Shirakavan. Disbelieving their protestations, he had them stripped, bound hand and foot, and left exposed to the scorching sun. Tsotne, returning with his troops and learning of his companions' plight, dismissed his army and went with two servants to Shirakavan; when he saw the prisoners he took off his own clothes and joined them. His self-sacrifice moved the Mongol commander, who took it as testimony to the Georgians' innocence and set them free.
c. 1260ReposeTsotne Dadiani reposed in the Kingdom of Georgia around 1260.
26 October 1999CanonizationThe Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church canonized him as Saint Tsotne Dadiani the Confessor, instituting his feast day on 30 July (12 August in the civil calendar).

Contributions & Legacy

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Family and Office

Tsotne belonged to the Dadiani family, hereditary eristavi (dukes) of Odishi, later known as Mingrelia or Samegrelo, in western Georgia. His father was Shergil Dadiani and his mother was Nateli; his wife was Khuashak, daughter of Bega, eristavi of Kartli. He had at least three sons, named George, Ioane, and Erashahr.

The House of Dadiani was among the leading noble houses of Georgia, and would become the most powerful feudal house in western Georgia by the 1280s, with branches governing regions including Svaneti, Guria, and Bedia. Tsotne himself rose to high state office, serving as mandaturtukhutsesi (Lord High Steward) and eristavt-eristavi (Duke of Dukes).

Historical Context

Tsotne lived during the Mongol domination of Georgia. In the interregnum of 1245-1250, with the kingdom's rulers detained at the Mongol court in Karakorum, the Mongols partitioned Georgia into eight tax-and-military districts (tumen), each placed under a leading Georgian noble. It was against this overlordship that the nobles met at Kokhtastavi.

The episode that defines Tsotne's memory is preserved in the Georgian tradition and recounted in the synaxarion: his decision to share the torments of his condemned companions rather than save himself. The Georgian Orthodox Church honors him as a Confessor, a title given to those who suffered for the faith and people without dying a martyr's death.

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