The Three Hundred Georgian Martyrs, known as the Laz, Papati, or Dudikvati Martyrs, are saints of the Georgian Orthodox Church who suffered for the faith in the second half of the 17th century in the historical province of Chaneti (Lazeti, Lazistan), in the territory of the modern Turkish provinces of Artvin, Rize, and Trabzon.
In the 17th century, Chaneti, an ethnically Georgian territory, was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The Laz, one of the Georgian peoples, professed Orthodoxy but faced systematic pressure from the Ottoman authorities, who sought to Islamize the region.
According to tradition, in the middle or second half of the 17th century the Ottoman authorities organized repressions against the Christians of Chaneti. The Laz, including laypeople, priests, and monks of a nearby monastery, were given a choice: to accept Islam or to die. Three hundred people, inspired by their faith, refused to renounce Christ. Their execution was cruel: the martyrs were beheaded, their bodies were thrown into the sea, and their heads were placed on stakes and displayed in the villages to intimidate other Christians.
Mount Dudikvati likely became the place of the mass execution of laypeople, while Papati was the place where clergy and monks were put to death. The names of the mountains Dudikvati and Papati, located near the village of Esenkıyı (Abuisla), serve as key testimony to the tragedy. The Laz word “Dudikvati” is translated as “beheading,” which corresponds to the description of the execution. “Papati” points to the death of the clergy, since “papa” in Laz means a priest or monk. These toponyms, preserved until the 20th century, confirm the localization of the events and their significance for the local Christian community.
This martyrdom is included in the Orthodox calendar as an example of faithfulness to Christ under persecution.
