St. Gabriel Confessor & Fool for Christ

St. Gabriel Urgebadze
the Fool-for-Christ &
Confessor of Georgia

(Commemorated November 2)

~Early years:

St. Gabriel born Goderdzi Urgebadze, is one of the most renowned Orthodox monks in Georgia. He was born to Vasili & Barbara Urgebadze on August 26, 1929 in Tbilisi, Georgia, which was governed by the Soviet Union.

The communist regime was furiously violent then; religion was persecuted; churches were destroyed and closed; innocent people were murdered and deported. Goderdzi was about 2 years old when his father, Vasil Urgebadze, was murdered in uncertain circumstances. After that his family members called him Vasiko in honour of his father.

Vasiko was an extraordinary boy; since his childhood he had been endowed with Divine Grace.
The young Goderdzi Urgebadze was dedicated in prayer and pursued an ascetical life beyond his years, piously enduring ongoing attacks from demons.

In his youth Vasiko behaved strangely, he often stopped playing with his friends and preferred to be alone and in silence.

During World War II, poor people, who had no information from the frontline, used to come to Vasiko to get some news about their relatives. Vasiko (Fr. Gabriel), who was only 12 then, gave answers to all visitors and preached – “Go to the church, don’t abandon Christ and don’t lose salvation of your souls.” His words always came true and people respected him much. Vasiko’s extraordinary abilities and apparent clairvoyance turned people's hearts back to having confidence in the Church.

Soon after, he was called to the medical hospital and was questioned there about his childhood visions, when at the age of 12 he saw an evil spirit.
“On seeing the Demon, my belief in Christ became stronger and I said – if the Demon exists, then God exists more…”

After few days he got a certificate; he was acknowledged mentally ill and was forbidden to work at any post. All this was conducted on the part of the soviet security and communist party ideology; in order a person of such consciousness should not pose a danger to the communist system.

His mother, though she was not irreligious, did not permit her son to lead a religious life. At first, when her son expressed an unusual passion to the Christian faith, she was surprised. But when she witnessed that faith in Vasiko’s life took a deep and established form, she adamantly demanded from her son to refuse his choice. “Don’t torture yourself! Live as ordinary people live! Be religious, but not so that to want only Gospel and religion!”

His mother had requested to him to prioritize family over faith.
At the age of 12. Vasiko was forced to make his first serious decision in his life. At midnight, Vasiko took his Gospel and abandoned his house. It was late autumn. He left home and roamed from monastery to monastery.

God had endowed the 12 year old Vasiko with divine power and revelations for his true love and devotion.

In 1949, Vasiko was called up for military service in the Soviet Army. He served in Batumi border guard unit. Despite strict regime, he still managed to fast and even walked secretly to St. Nicholas church and received Holy Sacraments. After passing obligatory military service, Vasiko returned to his home.

~Archimandrite Gabriel Confessor & Fool for Christ:

In January of 1955, he was consecrated as deacon, and on February 23, he took the monastic vow in Kutaisi Motsameta monastery and was called Gabriel.

3 days after he was ordained as hieromonk (presbyter and monk) by Bishop Gabriel (Chachanidze).

From the day of taking a monastic vow, Fr. Gabriel worked hard with enormous love and full devotion to God and neighbour.

In 1965, at the May Day rally in Tbilisi, he took kerosene and burned the giant portrait of Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution which installed Communist rule.

He then stood on a second floor balcony and gave a sermon to the shocked crowd, saying: “The Lord said, ‘You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…’ (Exodus 20:3-5)

“People, come to your senses! The Georgians have always been Christians! So why are you bowing down before idols? Jesus Christ died and rose again… But your cast idols will never be resurrected. Even during their life they were dead…”

Enraged crowd threw stones at him mercilessly. Half-alive and seriously damaged Fr. Gabriel having 17 fractures of skull and other parts of the body was taken to the isolator of the security department hospital.

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