Orthodox Icon of St. Shushanik

Saint Shushanik

August 28th
Troparion
O Holy Shushanik, because of thy husband's trangression thou wast adorned with a martyr's crown and thou didst deny the rank of earthy queen in favor of the Heavenly Kingdom. Now thou dost stand boldly before the Bridegroom, the Immortal Christ. Protect us who praise thy name!

St. Shushanik was the wife of the Georgian prince, Varsken. She was raised in a deeply Christian home and was filled with love for God. Under political pressure, her husband denied the True Faith and promised to convert his household. When St. Shushanik learned of this, she mourned for him and took her four children and fled the palace to a nearby church. Varsken tried to persuade her to deny Christ and join him in the palace once again. She refused and stood fast in the faith. He then sent his brother, Jojik, to persuade her to come back to the palace. St. Shushanik refused for a time, then agreed to come back to the palace. Upon returning to the palace, she did not assume her former quarters, instead she locked herself in a cell. In his frustration with St. Shushanik, Varsken beat her, bound her with chains, locked her in prison and refused her any visitors. St. Shushanik was held like this for six years, during which time she prayed for the sick and the childless and many found healing through her prayers. She reposed there in the year 475.

This Icon is by the hand of Lasha Kintsurashvili.

Order # lkg-27.