Zedazeni Monastery

Zedazeni Monastery (Georgian: ზედაზნის მონასტერი) is a monument of medieval Georgian architecture and a monastic complex, is located northeast of Mtskheta, on the left bank of the Aragvi River, on the slope of Zedazeni Mountain of the forested Saguramo Ridge. According to historical tradition, a pagan idol of Zaden stood here, on whose site, in the 540s, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, John, founded a Christian monastery. Later he became known as John of Zedazeni, and the monastery as the Monastery of John of Zedazeni. Of the scribes who worked at Zedazeni, only the abbot Michael (11th century) is known; on his initiative and based on material he supplied, an anonymous author created the metaphrastic version of The Life of John of Zedazeni.