He is one of the twelve Syrian fathers who spread monasticism in Georgia. He was born in Antioch, Syria. He was the only child of his pious Christian parents. He received a good share of education. He studied the Holy Bible and showed an excellent ability to preach the divine word. He joined a monk named John, who is Saint John the Forerunner of Zadeni.

Twenty years later, he joined the group of John’s disciples who went to Georgia to spread the word of God there with the blessing of the Georgian Catholicos of the day, whose name was Evlavius.

Shio settled in a cave west of the city of Mtskheta, where he practiced extreme asceticism and was blessed with miraculous visions by the Lord God. News of the saint's solitude spread and the place was soon transformed into a monastery, where a church was founded in the name of the Holy Trinity, followed later by another for the Mother of God and a third for St. John the Forerunner. The number of monks increased and the Makvim Monastery was founded, while Shio continued his seclusion.

The Saint of God died on May 9 in a year we do not know exactly during the sixth century AD. His remains were deposited in the monastery. He is credited with writing one hundred and sixty monastic sayings for the brothers.