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Our father among the [[saint]]s [[Hieromartyr ]] '''Antimos of Iberia''' was a Georgian scholar who as [[Metropolitan]] of Wallachia invigorated Christianity in the area that now is Romania. A person of considerable artistic ability, he inspired the printing industry of the area, as well as encouraging the liturgical usage of the Romanian language. He is commemorated on [[September 14]] in Romania and on [[June 13]] in Georgia.

Born in the Samtskhe region of southern Georgia, the son of Ioane and Mariam, Antimos Iverieli was given the name Andria at [[baptism]]. His childhood is largely unknown. He developed his artistic talents, becoming well known for his paintings, engravings, and calligraphy.

Antimos accompanied King Archil on a trip to Russia , where he helped the king establish a Georgian print shop. On his return to Georgia he was captured by Dagestani robbers and sold into slavery. He was freed through the efforts of the [[Patriarch]] of Jerusalem, Dositheus, and remained in the Patriarch’s patriarch’s service while furthering his spiritual education.

Famed for his artistic and printing skills , Antimos, about the year 1691, was asked by Prince Constantine Brincoveanu of Wallachia to come to Wallachia. After arriving, Antimos became the driving force in the development of the printing industry in Wallachia, making it a major publisher of books in the eastern European area. In 1694, Antimos was appointed [[abbot]] of the Snagov [[Monastery]], in what is now Romania, and established a new print shop there. On [[May 21]], 1694, the shop published his ''Guidelines for the Divine Services''. This volume was signed by Subdeacon Michael Ishtvanivich, his pupil, who was to establish, in 1709, the first print shop in Georgiain 1709. In 1710, this Georgian shop printed the [[Gospels ]] in the Georgian language.

In 1705, Antimos was consecrated [[bishop]] of Rimnicu Vilcea. Then, in 1708 he was appointed [[Metropolitan]] of Hungro-Wallachia. During the following years , Antimos directed a building program of more than twenty churches and monasteries in Wallachia, including All Saints Monastery in the heart of Bucharest. Today, this monastery is known as Antim Monastery in his memory. The main gates of the monastery were designed by Antimos himself using Georgian motifs. As metropolitan, he established the rules for the monastery and declared its independence from the [[Church of Constantinople]].

Metr. Antimos, from From the day of his consecration, he Metr. Antimos fought for the liberation of Wallachia from foreign, particularly Turkish, rule. In 1714, Prince Constantine was executed by the Turks. His successor, Stephan Cantaczino, the last prince of Wallachia, was executed in 1716. The Phanariote Nicholas Mavrokordatos, who was only interested in the [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman Empire]], replaced the Wallachian princes. Mavrokordatos was suspicious of Metr. Antimos and ordered the Metropolitan metropolitan to resign. Mavrokordatos appealed to Patriarch Jeremiah after Metr. Antimos refused to do so. The Patriarch convened a [[council]] of bishops, without any Romanian representation, that condemned the metropolitan to anathema and excommunication. Not satisfied in a finding that denied Metr. Antimos his title of Metropolitan of Hungro-Wallachia, Mavrokordatos order the Metropolitan metropolitan to exile to St. [[St. Catherine's Monastery (Sinai)|Catherine’s Monastery]] at [[Mount Sinai]].

On September 14, 1716, while enroute en route to his place of exile, Metr. Antimos was ambushed by Turkish soldiers on the bank of the Tundzha River, near Gallipoli, as it flowed through Adrianople, and butchered him. Then, they threw his remains into the river. This brutal action ended the earthly life of a great man who had dedicated his strength, talent, and knowledge to the revival and strengthening of Orthodox Christianity among the people of Wallachia.

A scholar as well as an hierarch, Metr. Antmos was committed to a Christian community that understood the teachings of the Church through services in the local languages. He recognized the importance of the use of the new printing presses as part of religious education. The extent of his efforts is witnessed in the literature that he wrote himself, as well as sponsored. Besides translations of the Gospels into Romanian and Georgian, Metr. Antmos published at least twenty -five other books in the Romanian language as well as others in [[Church Slavonic]], Greek, and Arabic. These included bilingual volumes such as the Greek-Arabic Missal he published in 1702. In addition he published many of his sermons including the collection, the Didahiile, a commentary that criticized sharply the contemporary habits and morals.