Awaiting the Next Southern Ethnarch
‘Dixie has a grand tradition of excellent leadership: Francis Marion, N. B. Forrest, Francis Nicholls, and many others. Why does the Lord withhold from us another leader of their caliber who will help us rebuild an independent, Christian Dixie…’
Father Dabney’s recent article on Trump as a type of Alexander the Great, the last leader of an empire before its splitting apart, resonated with us quite strongly. In our age that idolizes the masses (democracy), the ability of strong leaders to change the course of history is downplayed. But it has been proven through the ages, from Righteous Gideon to Cincinnatus to St Vladimir of Kiev.
There is another saint of Georgia, a holy king named Ashot, who is also a strikingly good example of this. Muslim Arabs had conquered Georgia and were ruling over her people when he inherited the crown in 786. He attempted to drive them out, but was bested in battle and decided to flee. But the Lord’s Providence led to a different outcome:
Ashot was compelled to leave Kartli, and he departed for Byzantium with his family and small army. The refugees journeyed as far as Javakheti in southern Georgia and stopped near Lake Paravani for a rest. But while they were sleeping, a Saracen army assailed their camp. The king’s army was doomed, but “God helped Ashot Kuropalates and his scant army. He bestowed power upon them, and they defeated an enemy that greatly outnumbered…