The Thirteen Assyrian Fathers
By Georgian tradition the Assyrian Fathers were a band of monastic missionaries who arrived from Mesopotamia in the sixth century to consolidate the Christian faith that Saint Nino had earlier brought to the country. They are credited with founding numerous monasteries and hermitages and with initiating the ascetic movement that shaped Georgian monasticism. Their leader, John of Zedazeni, is said to have been directed by a vision of the Theotokos to take twelve monks into Georgia; he settled on Mount Zedazeni near Mtskheta. The disciples named with him include Abibus of Nekresi, Anthony of Martqopi, David of Gareji, Shio of Mgvime, and Pyrrhus of Breti, among others.
The accounts of the Fathers survive in a cycle of medieval Georgian hagiographic texts whose dating and authorship are debated, and the surviving tradition names as many as nineteen monks, so the number "thirteen" is understood to be largely symbolic. The whole company is commemorated together on May 7.