Stepane Mtbevari

Stepane Mtbevari was a 10th-century hierarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, religious writer and calligrapher. Mtbevari, "of T'beti", is the title indicating his holding of the diocese of T'beti, centered on the eponymous monastery in Shavsheti (now in eastern Turkey). He is praised by the contemporary hagiographer Giorgi Merchule as a writer in The Life of Grigol of Khandzta, but beyond a translation of a commentary to the Psalms, the Passion of Gobron is his only—and best known—extant work.

The Passion of Gobron is a piece of original hagiography, commissioned from the author by the Georgian Bagratid prince Ashot Kukhi (died 918) While describing the Muslim invasion and Gobron's defense of Q'ueli, Stepane shows a talent for epic storytelling.