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Our father among the [[saint]]s '''Evdemoz (Diasamidze) I of Georgia''' was Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia from 1632 to 1642. Catholicos-Patriarch Evdemoz defended the Christian soul of the Georgian people during the time the Georgian people were oppressed by the Persian supported self-styled King Rostom-Khan. [[Catholicos ]] Evdemoz is commemorated on [[October 4]].
==Life==
Little is known of the early life of Evdemoz. He was the Catholicos-Patriarch during the time Rostom-Khan came to rule of the united kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in 1682. Rostom, a Georgian convert to [[Islam]], was placed as the Georgian viceroy (Wali) of Kartli by the Persian Shah Abbas I of Safavid. While Rostom attempted to balance the beliefs and customs of the Persian Shah and the Georgian people, it brought about the deterioration of the moral life of the country and people. Human vices became common.
Catholicos Evdemoz did not surrender to the moral decline of the people. He confronted the crisis with faith, conviction, and fearlessness. He encouraged the Georgian military leaders to rebel against the Persians. Catholicos Evdemoz resisted the Islamic custom of raising the king's heirs in the shah's court from a young age. He was never too timid to point out to the king his wrong doing and tell him that: "You are the natural father of the Muslims, but the step-father of the Christians." Evdemoz was the spiritual father of Queen Mariam, the daughter of Manuchar Dadiani, the Prince of Bamegrelo. Although married to Rostom-Khan, she remained true to her Christian faith.