Lives of all saints commemorated on April 17

Great and Holy Friday

On Great and Holy Friday, Christ died on the Cross. He gave up His spirit with the words: “It is finished” (John 19:30). These words are better understood when rendered: “It is consummated.” He had accomplished the work for which His heavenly Father had sent Him into the world. He became a man in the fullest sense of the word. He accepted the baptism of repentance from John in the Jordan River. He assumed the whole human condition, experiencing all its alienation, agony, and suffering, concluding with the lowly death on the Cross. He perfectly fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he has poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

(Isaiah 53:12)

The Man of Sorrows

On the Cross Jesus thus became “the man of sorrows; acquainted with grief” whom the prophet Isaiah had foretold. He was “despised and forsaken by men” and “smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:3-4). He became the one with “no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). His appearance was “marred beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men” (Isaiah 52:14). All these Messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus as he hung from the Cross.

As the end approached, He cried: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). This cry indicated His complete identification with the human condition. He had totally embraced the despised, forsaken and smitten condition of suffering and death—alienation from God. He was truly the man of sorrows.

Yet, it is important to note that Jesus’ cry of anguish from the Cross was not a sign of His loss of faith in His Father. The words which He exclaimed are the first verse of Psalm 22, a messianic Psalm. The first part of the Psalm foretells the anguish, suffering and death of the Messiah. The second part is a song of praise to God. It predicts the final victory of the Messiah.

The Formal Charges

The death of Christ had been sought by the religious leaders in Jerusalem from the earliest days of His public ministry. The formal charges made against Him usually fell into the following two categories:

1) violation of the Law of the Old Testament, e.g., breaking the Sabbath rest;
2) blasphemy: making Himself equal with God.

Matters were hastened (consummated) by the moment of truth which followed His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He had the people behind Him. He spoke plainly. He said that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. He chastised the scribes and Pharisees for reducing religion to a purely external affair;

“You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27-28).

It was the second formal charge; however, that became the basis for His conviction.

The Religious Trial

Christ’s conviction and death sentence required two trials: religious and political. The religious trial was first and took place during the night immediately after His arrest. After considerable difficulty in finding witnesses for the prosecution who actually agreed in their testimony, Caiaphas, the high priest, asked Jesus the essential question: “Are you Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus, who had remained silent to this point, now responded directly:

“I am; and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62).

Jesus’ reply recalled the many other statements He had made beginning with the words, “I am.” “I am the bread of life . . . I am the light of the world. . . I am the way, the truth, and the life. . . before Abraham was, I am.” (John 6 through 15). The use of these words themselves was considered blasphemous by the religious leaders. The words were the Name of God. By using them as His own Name, Jesus positively identified Himself with God. From the burning bush the voice of God had disclosed these words to Moses as the Divine Name:

“Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13-14).

Now Jesus, as He had done on many other occasions, used them as His own Name. The high priest immediately tore his mantle and “they all condemned Him as deserving death” (Mark 14:64). In their view He had violated the Law of the Old Testament:

“He who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death” (Leviticus 24:16).

The Political Trial

The Jewish religious leaders lacked the actual authority to carry out the above law: to put a man to death. Such authority belonged to the Roman civil administration. Jesus had carefully kept His activity free of political implications. He refused the temptation of Satan to rule the kingdoms of the world by the sword (Luke 4: 1-12). He often charged His disciples and others to tell no one that He was , the Christ, because of the political overtones that this title carried for many (Matthew 16: 13-20). He rebuked Peter, calling him Satan, when the disciple hinted at His swerving from the true nature of His mission (Matthew 16:23). To Pilate, the spineless and indifferent Roman Governor, He said plainly: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Jesus was not a political revolutionary who came to free the people from Roman control and establish a new kingdom based on worldly power.

Nevertheless, the religious leaders, acting in agreement with the masses, devised political charges against Him in order to get their way. They presented Christ to the Romans as a political , leader, the “King of the Jews” in a worldly sense, a threat to Roman rule and a challenge to Caesar. Pilate became fearful of his own position as he heard the charges and saw the seething mobs. Therefore, despite his avowed testimony to Jesus’ innocence, he passed formal sentence, “washed his hands” of the matter, and turned Jesus over to be crucified (John 19:16).

Crucifixion—The Triumph of Evil

Before succumbing to this cruel Roman method of executing political criminals, Jesus suffered still other injustices. He was stripped, mocked and beaten. He wore a “kingly” crown of thorns on His head. He carried His own cross. He was finally nailed to the cross between two thieves at a place called Golgotha (the place of the skull) outside Jerusalem. An inscription was placed above His head on the Cross to indicate the nature of His crime: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” He yielded up His spirit at about the ninth hour (3 p.m.), after hanging on the Cross for about six hours.

On Holy Friday evil triumphed. “It was night” (John 13:30) when Judas departed from the Last Supper to complete his act of betrayal, and “there was darkness over all the land” (Matthew 27:45) when Jesus was hanging on the Cross. The evil forces of this world had been massed against Christ. Unjust trials convicted Him. A criminal was released to the people instead of Him. Nails and a spear pierced His body. Bitter vinegar was given to Him to quench His thirst. Only one disciple remained faithful to Him. Finally, the tomb of another man became His place of repose after death.

The innocent Jesus was put to death on the basis of both religious and political charges. Both Jews and Gentile Romans participated in His death sentence.

“The rulers of the people have assembled against the Lord and His Christ.” (Psalm 2—the Prokeimenon of the Holy Thursday Vesperal Liturgy)

We, also, in many ways continue to participate in the death sentence given to Christ. The formal charges outlined above do not exhaust the reasons for the crucifixion. Behind the formal charges lay a host of injustices brought, on by hidden and personal motivations. Jesus openly spoke the truth about God and man. He thereby exposed the false character of the righteousness and smug security, both religious and material, claimed by many especially those in high places. The constantly occurring expositions of such smugness in our own day teach us the truly illusory nature of much so-called righteousness and security. In the deepest sense, the death of Christ was brought about by hardened, personal sin—the refusal of people to change themselves in the light of reality, which is Christ.

“He came to His very own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11).

Especially we, the Christian people, are Christ’s very own. He continues to come to us in His Church. Each time we attempt to make the Church into something other than the eternal coming of Christ into our midst, each time we refuse to repent for our wrongs; we, too, reject Christ and participate in His death sentence.

The Vespers

The Vespers, celebrated in the Church on Holy Friday afternoon, brings to mind all of the final events of the life of Christ as mentioned above: the trial, the sentence, the scourging and mocking, the crucifixion, the death, the taking down of His body from the Cross, and the burial. As the hymnography indicates, these events remain ever-present in the Church; they constitute the today of its life.

The service is replete with readings from Scripture: three from the Old Testament and two from the New. The first of the Old Testament readings, from Exodus, speaks of Moses beholding the “back” of the glory of God—for no man can see the glory of God face to face and live. The Church uses this reading to emphasize that now, in the crucifixion and death of Christ, God is making the ultimate condescension to reveal His glory to man—from within man himself.

The death of Christ was of a wholly voluntary character. He dies not because of some necessity in His being: as the Son of God He has life in Himself! Yet, He voluntarily gave up His life as the greatest sign of God’s love for man, as the ultimate revelation of the Divine glory:

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

The vesperal hymnography further develops the fact that God reveals His glory to us in this condescending love. The Crucifixion is the heart of such love, for the One being crucified is none other than He through whom all things have been created:

Today the Master of creation stands before Pilate. Today the Creator of all is condemned to die on the cross. . . The Redeemer of the world is slapped on the face. The Maker of all is mocked by His own servants. Glory to Thy condescension, 0 Lover of man! (Verse on “Lord I call”, and the Apostikha)

The verses also underscore the cosmic dimensions of the event taking place on the Cross. Just as God who revealed Himself to Moses is not a god, but the God of “heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible,” so the death of Jesus is not the culmination of a petty struggle in the domestic life of Palestine. Rather, it is the very center of the epic struggle between God and the Evil One, involving the whole universe:

All creation was changed by fear
when it saw Thee hanging on the cross, 0 Christ! The sun was darkened,
and the foundations of the earth were shaken.
All things suffered with the Creator of all.
0 Lord, who didst willingly endure this for us, glory to Thee!
(Verse I on “Lord, I Call”)

The second Reading from the Old Testament (Job 42:12 to the end) manifests Job as a prophetic figure of the Messiah Himself. The plight of Job is followed in the services throughout Holy Week, and is concluded with this reading. Job is the righteous servant who remains faithful to God despite trial, humiliation, and the loss of all his possessions and family. Because of his faithfulness, however, “The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42: 12)

The third of the Old Testamental readings is by far the most substantial (Isaiah 52:13 to 54:1). It is a prototype of the Gospel itself. Read at this moment, it positively identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the Suffering Servant, the Man of Sorrows; the Messiah of Israel.

The Epistle Reading (I Corinthians 1:18 to 2:2) speaks of Jesus crucified, a folly for the world, as the real center of our Faith. The Gospel reading, a lengthy composite taken from Matthew, Luke and John, simply narrates all the events associated with the crucifixion and burial of Christ.

All the readings obviously focus on the theme of hope. As the Lord of Glory, the fulfillment of the righteous Job, and the Messiah Himself, humiliation and death will have no final hold over Jesus. Even the parental mourning of Mary is transformed in the light of this hope:

When she who bore Thee without seed
saw Thee suspended upon the Tree,
0 Christ, the Creator and God of all,
she cried bitterly: “Where is the beauty of Thy countenance, my Son?
I cannot bear to see Thee unjustly crucified. Hasten and arise,
that I too may see Thy resurrection from the dead on the third day!
(Verse IV on “Lord I call.”)

Near the end of the Vespers, the priest vests fully in dark vestments. At the appointed time he lifts the Holy Shroud, a large icon depicting Christ lying in the tomb, from the altar table. Together with selected laymen and servers, a procession is formed and the Holy Shroud is carried to a specially prepared tomb in the center of the church. As the procession moves, the troparion is sung:

The Noble Joseph, when he had taken down Thy most pure body from the tree, wrapped it in fine linen and anointed it with spices, and placed it in a new tomb.

At this ultimate solemn moment of Vespers, the theme of hope once again occurs—this time more strongly and clearly than ever. As knees are bent and heads are bowed, and often tears are shed, another troparion is sung which penetrates through this triumph of evil, to the new day which is contained in its very midst:

The Angel came to the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb and said: “Myrrh is fitting for the dead, but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to corruption.

A new Age is dawning. Our salvation is taking place. The One who died is the same One who will rise on the third day, to “trample down death by death,” and to free us from corruption.

Therefore, at the conclusion of Holy Friday Vespers, at the end of this long day of darkness, when all things are apparently ended, our eternal hope for salvation springs forth. For Christ is indeed a stranger to corruption:

“As by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” (I Cor. 15:21-32)

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

- Father Paul Lazor

The Hieromartyr Simeon, Bishop of Persia, suffered during a persecution against Christians under the Persian emperor Sapor II (310-381). They accused the saint of collaborating with the Roman Empire and of subversive activities against the Persian emperor.

In the year 344, the emperor issued an edict which imposed a heavy tax upon Christians. When some of them refused to pay it, this was regarded as an act of rebellion, so the emperor began a fierce persecution against Christians.

Saint Simeon was brought to trial in iron fetters as a supposed enemy of the Persian realm, together with the two hieromartyrs Habdelai and Ananias. The holy bishop would not even bow to the emperor, who asked why he would not show him the proper respect. The saint answered, “Formerly, I bowed because of your rank, but now, when you ask me to renounce my God and abandon my faith, it is not proper for me to bow to you.”

The emperor urged him to worship the sun, and he threatened to eradicate Christianity in his land if he refused. But neither urgings nor threats could shake the steadfast saint, and they led him off to prison. Along the way the eunuch Usphazanes, a counsellor of the emperor, saw the saint. He stood up and bowed to the bishop, but the saint turned away from him because he, a former Christian, out of fear of the emperor, now worshipped the sun.

The eunuch repented with all his heart, he exchanged his fine attire for coarse garb, and sitting at the doors of the court, he cried out bitterly, “Woe to me, when I stand before my God, from Whom I am cut off. Here was Simeon, and he has turned his back on me!”

The emperor Sapor learned about the grief of his beloved tutor and asked him what had happened. He told the emperor that he bitterly regretted his apostasy and would no more worship the sun, but only the one true God. The emperor was surprised at the old man’s sudden decision, and he urged him not to abjure the gods whom their fathers had reverenced. But Usphazanes was unyielding, and they condemned him to death. Saint Usphazanes asked that the city heralds report that he died not for crimes against the emperor, but for being a Christian. The emperor granted his request.

Saint Simeon also learned about the death of Usphazanes, and he gave thanks to the Lord. When they brought him before the emperor a second time, Saint Simeon again refused to worship the pagan gods and confessed his faith in Christ. The enraged emperor gave orders to behead all the Christians in the prison before the saint’s eyes.

Without fear the Christians went to execution, blessed by the holy hierarch, and they bent their heads beneath the sword. Saint Simeon’s companion, the Priest Habdelai, was also beheaded. When they came to the Priest Ananias, he suddenly trembled. Then one of the dignitaries, Saint Phusicus (Pusicius), a secret Christian, was afraid that Ananias would renounce Christ, and he cried out, “Do not fear the sword, Elder, and you will see the divine light of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Saint Phusicus betrayed himself by this outburst. The emperor gave orders to pluck out his tongue and to flay the skin off him. Along with Saint Phusicus, his daughter Askitrea was also martyred. Saint Simeon was the last to go before the executioner, and he placed his head on the chopping-block (April 13, 344). Executions continued all during Bright Week until April 23.

Saint Azates the Eunuch, a close official to the emperor, also received the crown of martyrdom, along with Saints Abdechalas, Usthazanes, and Azades. The sources indicate that 1,150 Martyrs perished because they refused to accept the Persian religion.

Saint Akakios was born into a pious family in the Armenian city of Melitēnḗ. His parents had been childless for a long time. They had prayed for a son, and vowed to dedicate him to God. Therefore, Akakios was given to Bishop Oustrykhios¹ of Melitēnḗ (November 7) to serve the Church. Saint Oustrykhios was a firm supporter of Orthodoxy. When the heresy of Macedonius arose, it was Saint Oustrykhios who set forth the Orthodox teaching about the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Holy Trinity, one in essence and indivisible, at the Third Ecumenical Council, which met at Ephesus in the year 381.

The holy hierarch raised Akakios with love, made him a Reader, and later ordained him as a deacon, and then to the holy priesthood. Saint Akakios served the Church well, instructing both adults and children in the Holy Scripture, and in the Orthodox Confession of faith. Among his disciples was Saint Euthymios the Great (January 20).

After the death of Saint Oustrykhios, Saint Akakios was elevated to the hierarchal throne of Melitēnḗ by general acclamation. He governed his diocese wisely, and because of his firm faith, humility and deeds, the Saint received the grace of working miracles. Once, during a dry summer, the Saint served the Liturgy in an open field, suddenly the wine in the Holy Chalice was mixed with the falling rain, which fell throughout the land.

The holy Bishop prayed when the river flooded, and it turned back, rising no higher than the stone which the Saint had placed at the riverbank. On one of the islands of the River Azar, the Saint built a temple in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, despite opposition from the pagans.

The builders of the church, either by their carelessness or malice, were not diligent in building the dome. During the Liturgy the dome was ready to collapse, and people rushed out of the church in terror. But the Saint halted their flight saying, “The Lord is the defender of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 26/27:1). The dome remained suspended in the air. Only when the service had ended, and the Saint was the last one to leave the church, did the dome collapse, causing harm to no one. After this, the church was rebuilt.

Saint Akakios participated in the Third Ecumenical Council (431) and he defended the Orthodox teaching of Christ's two natures (divine and human), and of His seedless birth from the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos.

Saint Akakios reposed peacefully around the year 435. He should not be confused with Saint Akakios the Confessor (March 31), who was also a Bishop of Melitēnḗ.

¹ Saint Oustrykhios (or Bostrykhios) was one of the 33 Martyrs of Melitēnḗ.

Saint Zosimas, the Igumen of Solovki and great luminary of the Russian North, was the founder of cenobitic monasticism on Solovki Island. He was born in the Novgorod diocese, in the village of Tolvui near Lake Onega. From his early years he was raised in piety, and after the death of his parents Gabriel and Barbara, he gave away his possessions and received the monastic tonsure.

In search of a solitary place, he journeyed to the shores of the White Sea, and at the mouth of the Suma he met Saint Herman (July 30), who told him of a desolate sea island, where he had spent six years with Saint Sabbatius (September 27).

About the year 1436, the ascetics crossed the sea and, providentially, they arrived at the Solovki islands. There Saint Zosimas beheld a vision of a beautiful church in the sky. With their own hands the monks built cells and an enclosure, and they began to cultivate the land and to plant seeds.

Once, in late autumn, Saint Herman had to go to the mainland for provisions. Because of the autumn weather he was unable to return. Saint Zosimas remained alone on the island all winter, enduring many temptations in his struggles with the demons. Death by starvation threatened him, but miraculously two strangers appeared and left him a supply of bread, flour and oil. In the spring Saint Herman returned to Solovki with a fisherman named Mark, and he brought supplies of food and some materials to make fishing nets.

When several hermits had gathered on the island, Saint Zosimas built a small wooden church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and a trapeza. At Saint Zosimas's request, an Igoumen was sent from Novgorod to the newly-formed monastery with an antimension for the church. Thus the renowned Solovki Monastery had its beginning. In the severe conditions of the remote island the monks knew how to economize. But the Igoumens who were sent from Novgorod to Solovki could not endure life under such harsh conditions, and so the brethren chose Saint Zosimas as their Igoumen.

Saint Zosimas occupied himself with building up the inner life of the monastery, and he introduced a strict cenobitic Rule. In 1465 he transferred the relics of Saint Sabbatius to Solovki from the River Vyg. The monastery suffered from the nobles of Novgorod, who confiscated the fish caught by the monks. The saint was obliged to go to Novgorod in order to seek the Archbishop's protection.

Following the Archbishop's advice, he visited the homes of the nobles and asked them not to allow the monastery to suffer harm. The influential and wealthy Martha Boretskaya impiously ordered Saint Zosimas to be thrown out, but then she repented and invited him to a meal. At this meal he suddenly saw that six of the illustrious nobles sat there without their heads. Saint Zosimas told his disciple Daniel about this vision, and predicted the impending death of the nobles. His prediction came to pass in the year 1478, when the six boyars were executed during the capture of Novgorod by Ivan III (1462-1505).

Shortly before his repose, the Saint prepared his own grave, in which he was buried beyond the altar of the Transfiguration church (+ April 17, 1478). Later on, a chapel was built over his relics. His relics and those of Saint Sabbatius were moved to the chapel which was dedicated to them at the Transfiguration cathedral on August 8, 1566.

Many miracles took place when Saint Zosimas and Saint Sabbatius appeared to fishermen who were perishing in the depths of the sea. Saint Zosimas is also considered a patron of bee-keeping and a guardian of beehives; and he is even known as "The Bee-keeper.” Those who are sick often hasten to Saint Zosimas, asking to be healed. The many hospital churches dedicated to him attest to the great healing power of his prayers to God.

Saint Zosimas is also commemorated on August 8, and on the First (1566) and Second (1992) transfers of the relics of Saints Zosimas and Sabbatius.

Saint Alexander of Svir died on August 30, 1533. His incorrupt relics were uncovered in 1641 during the reconstruction of the Transfiguration cathedral.

On April 17, 1641, the relics of Saint Alexander of Svir were found and examined. The discovery was accompanied by special signs; on April 15 and 16 there was extraordinary thunder and lightning, which ran along the ground above the grave of the holy founder of the monastery. Then during the Divine Liturgy on April 17 (the Saturday of the Righteous Lazarus) the workers were digging a hole for the walls of the new stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord; and in the altar of the old church they found the Saint's coffin. The ground above it was in the shape of a cave, with nothing to support it.

All the monks came down to see the decayed coffin (only the lower board was well preserved). When Igoumen Abraham removed the top board, a strong fragrance was noticed. The Saint's body was intact, and was clothed in a mantya and the schema. His face was covered, and beneath the schema, part of his beard could be seen; both legs lay as if he were recently deceased, with the right foot upward, and the left foot facing to the side, both feet were in sandals.

From his body emanated a fragrance like myrrh, or flowers. Metropolitan Aphthonios of Novgorod was present at the uncovering of the relics. With reverence and joy, the relics were placed in a new coffin and were taken to the temple of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in that same Hermitage.

The monks, who had seen the incorrupt flesh of their heavenly patron, were amazed, and they made a detailed description of the shrine. Particularly surprising was the face, which was so life-like that the Saint seemed asleep. The face matched the icons which had been painted by his contemporaries. The authors of the description also noted the unusual position of the Saint's hands and feet and the amber-yellow color of his skin. Soon the relics were placed in a silver reliquary donated by Tsar Michael, and were moved to the newly rebuilt Transfiguration Cathedral.

At the same time, the commemoration of Saint Alexander was appointed on two dates: August 30, the day of his blessed repose, and April 17, the day of the uncovering of his relics.

The incorrupt relics of the saint were removed from the Svir Monastery by the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1918 after several unsuccessful attempts to confiscate them. There was an infamous campaign to liquidate the relics of the saints which continued from 1919 to 1922. Many relics of Russsian saints were stolen and subjected to “scientific examination” or displayed in antireligious museums. Some were completely destroyed.

Hoping to prove that the relics were fakes, the Soviets conducted many tests. However, the tests only confirmed that the relics were genuine. Finally, the holy relics were sent to Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy. There they remained for nearly eighty years.

A second uncovering of Saint Alexander’s relics took place in December 1997.

The relics were found to be incorrupt, just as they were when they were confiscated. The saint’s appearance matched the description in the records from 1641. Once it was determined that these were in fact the relics of Saint Alexander, Metropolitan Vladimir of Saint Petersburg permitted them to be taken to the church of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love (September 17) for four months before their return to the Svir Monastery. As people venerated Saint Alexander’s relics they noticed a fragrant myrrh flowing from them.

The holy relics were taken to the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery in November 1998, and miraculous healings continue to take place before them.

See August 30 for the Life of Saint Alexander.

The Holy Martyr Adrian suffered during the time of the reign of the emperor Decius (249-251). Like many other Christians at that time, Saint Adrian was locked up in prison. During a pagan festival they brought out all the Christian prisoners to offer sacrifice to the idols. They ordered Saint Adrian to throw some incense on the coals, but the holy martyr scattered the fire and wrecked the sacrifice. The pagans fell upon him in a rage, beating him with sticks and iron rods, and striking him with stones. Finally, they threw him into a fire, and he won the crown of martyrdom.

Saint Agapitus, Bishop of Rome, was a zealous adherent of Orthodoxy. By his pious life he won the general esteem and was elevated to the See of Rome in the year 535.

The Gothic king Theodoric the Great sent Agapitus to Constantinople for peace negotiations. Along the way, Saint Agapitus encountered a man who was lame and mute. He healed him of his lameness, and after receiving the Holy Mysteries the mute one spoke. After arriving in Constantinople, the saint healed a blind beggar.

At that time, a local Council was convened in Constantinople. Saint Agapitus participated in it and zealously defended the Orthodox teaching against the heretic Severus, who taught that the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ was subject to decay similar to every man’s body.

Saint Agapitus died at Constantinople in the year 536.

Saint Makarios was born in Trikala, of Corinth in 1731, to devout parents who were descended from the famous Notaras family of Constantinople. His father’s name was George and his mother’s was Anastasia. In Baptism he received the name Michael. His teacher in Kephalonia was named Eustathios. Young Michael was very zealous for the solitary life, and so he left his parents’ house in secret, and went to the Great Cave (Μέγα Σπήλαιον) Monastery. The Monastery was so named because it is the largest monastery of the Peloponnesos, and it was built in front of a cave. His father discovered where he was, however, and had Michael sent back home, where he spent much of his time studying the Divine Scriptures and other edifying books.

Since Corinth had lacked a teacher for a long time, Michael taught the young people for six years without payment. Even when he was very young, it was apparent that he did not care for the material things of this world, but only for spiritual treasures. When his father appointed him as the supervisor of an area where he could become very wealthy, he gave his money to the poor, and his father scolded him.

He excelled as a teacher, and the Corinthians loved him for his exemplary way of life. After the death of His godfather Archbishop Parthenios of Corinth in 1764, they suggested to Patriarch Samuel of Constantinople that he appoint Michael, who was then a layman, as his successor. Thus, he passed through the various degrees of ordination and was consecrated as Archbishop of Corinth by Patriarch Samuel.

The blessed one did not seek the hierarchal office for power, or as a means of acquiring wealth, but out of his paternal concern for the security and the salvation of his flock, for which he would have to render an account to the Lord and God of all. He rid the Church of corrupt and ineffectual priests and replaced them with priests who were virtuous and qualified. Those who were not qualified were sent to monasteries to be educated and trained how to serve.

When the Russo-Turkish War began in 1768, Archbishop Makarios was forced to flee to Zakynthos with his family, and from there to Hydra, where he lived in a monastery. When things settled down, the Holy Synod of Constantinople chose a new Archbishop of Corinth, perhaps because Archbishop Makarios had abandoned his See.¹

He visited Hydra and from there he went to Chios. From Chios he went to Mount Athos, fulfilling his persistent and praiseworthy desire to visit the Holy Mountain and to experience its way of life. When the divine Makarios arrived on Mount Athos in 1777, he settled in the kelli² of Saint Anthony, which belonged to his compatriot Elder David. There he met Saint Νikόdēmos the Hagiorite once again. At that time, the Athonite community was divided by quarrels and controversies over Memorial Services and kollyva. The reason for the dispute was a disagreement about when the departed ought to be commemorated in church.

The Church’s Tradition is to have services for the departed on Saturdays, and that Memorial Services are not permitted on Sundays or Feast Days. Hence, disputes arose out of the intense quarrels and contradictions which also extended to other areas of Church life. The situation there saddened the hierarch. Because of the riots and disturbances on the Holy Mountain, he feared for his own life, and so he returned to Chios. After remaining there for a brief time, he departed for Patmos.

During his stay in Patmos, the Saint sought a permanent residence, and since he was attracted by the location, he founded the Sacred Kathisma³ of All Saints (Ιερό Κάθισμα των Αγίων Πάντων) in 1782.

After the Saint’s father reposed, his two brothers wanted him to act as executor of his will. Saint Makarios gave everything to his brothers without keeping anything for himself. Then he returned to Chios to obtain some letters of recommendation, and went to Smyrna to meet with Prince John Maurogordatos of Moldovo-Vlakhia.⁴ The Prince knew Saint Makarios by reputation, and therefore he received him with reverence and respect for him as a man of God. Not only was he happy to show him hospitality in his home, but Maurogordatos also contributed money for the publication of The Philokalia, and for the publication of the Holy Catechism of Metropolitan Platon of Moscow.

From Smyrna the Saint returned to Chios. He chose his place of residence at the church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in the north-northwestern edges of Vrontados at the foot of Aippus. He found spiritual peace with Saint Athanasios Parios (who wrote his Life), Saints Nikephoros and Niphon of Chios, Gregory of Nisyros, and Athanasios of Armenia, all of whom had left the Holy Mountain several years earlier, because of the disturbances and scandals over Memorial Services.

Saint Makarios remained in his hermitage on Chios for the rest of his life (1790-1805), engaging in severe ascetical struggles, practicing interior prayer, writing books, confessing and counseling people, instructing them in the Faith, inspiring them to virtue, and helping those in need.

He also prepared several individuals who had denied Christ to go back to the place where they had done this, and confess that they only worshiped Christ, the true God. Of course, the Turks put these New Martyrs to death when they heard such talk, so he encouraged the martyrs by his words, and strengthened them by prayer and fasting, so that they would not lose their courage and deny Christ again.

Saint Makarios departed to the Lord on April 17, 1805. His honorable body was buried in the courtyard of the church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul on the south side. The recovery of his relics took place in 1808.

¹ It has been suggested that Saint Makarios was replaced because the Turks thought that he encouraged the Greeks in their desire to revolt. In any case, the Saint retained his rank and was permitted to serve unhindered anywhere he wished.

² A Kelli is a monk’s cell, or a monastic establishment consisting of a building with a chapel in it, and some surrounding land. Usually it is occupied by three monks.

³ In an Orthodox context, a Kathisma refers to a division of the Psalter, a chair or seat, or a monastic establishment, perhaps a type of hermitage.

⁴ This region is now part of modern Romania.