Memorial Day of St. George Khozevit

On January 21, the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of remembrance of St George Khozevit According to the testimony of Anthony's student, George, named Chozebitus after his place of residence, was born in Cyprus His family was distinguished by piety and obedience George's elder brother, Iraklid, was a monk (monk, or monk) in the Kolomanova Lavra near the Jordan and the Dead Sea After George was orphaned, a relative became his guardian, who fell in love with the meek and humble boy so much that he wanted to marry him to his own daughter However, the youth did not want a worldly life, dreaming of serving God, so he ran away to his brother To strengthen the spirit of the young man, George’s brother brought him to a monastery located in the desert of Khozeva, or Khuziva This monastery was distinguished by the severity and asceticism of the monks' life The churches and cells of the Khuziv monastery hung above the ravine at an altitude of fifty fathoms, clinging to the rocky rocks In this place, George became famous for his obedience, peacefulness and humility For this, God gifted him with miracles The news of this quickly spread among the monks: frightened by such worldly fame, George again fled to his brother Together with Iraklid, they began to live peacefully as hermits, indulging in prayer and contemplation of God Here George continued to work miracles For example, he forced a barren palm tree to bear fruit, or, heeding the grief of an inconsolable father, resurrected a baby After the death of his brother, George returned to the Khuziv monastery Living in a separate cell, he collected rags from heaps of garbage, then used them as clothing and bed The rest of the monks called him iron, since only he was able to light the bread oven in the heat In addition to baking, the ascetic devoted himself to gardening and poultry care In addition to painful labor, Georgy conducted instructive conversations with instructions The ascetic left his monastery only once: during the Persian invasion The relics of the saint are kept in the church named after John and George Khozevit On the day of George Khozevit, believers read the biography of the saint and a kontakion (narrative sermon)