Lives of all saints commemorated on May 13

“AND ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN....”

V. Rev. George Florovsky, D.D.

“I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God, and Your God” (John 20:17).

In these words the Risen Christ described to Mary Magdalene the mystery of His Resurrection. She had to carry this mysterious message to His disciples, “as they mourned and wept” (Mark 16:10). The disciples listened to these glad tidings with fear and amazement, with doubt and mistrust. It was not Thomas alone who doubted among the Eleven. On the contrary, it appears that only one of the Eleven did not doubt—Saint John, the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” He alone grasped the mystery of the empty tomb at once: “and he saw, and believed” (John 20:8). Even Peter left the sepulcher in amazement, “wondering at that which was come to pass” (Luke 24:12).

The disciples did not expect the Resurrection. The women did not, either. They were quite certain that Jesus was dead and rested in the grave, and they went to the place “where He was laid,” with the spices they had prepared, “that they might come and anoint Him.” They had but one thought: “Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher for us?” (Mark 16:1-3; Luke 24:1). And therefore, on not finding the body, Mary Magdalene was sorrowful and complained: “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him” (John 20:13). On hearing the good news from the angel, the women fled from the sepulchre in fear and trembling: “Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8). And when they spoke no one believed them, in the same way as no one had believed Mary, who saw the Lord, or the disciples as they walked on their way into the country, (Mark 16:13), and who recognized Him in the breaking of bread. “And afterward He appeared unto the Eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them who had seen Him after He was risen” (Mark 16:10-14).

From whence comes this “hardness of heart” and hesitation? Why were their eyes so “holden,” why were the disciples so much afraid of the news, and why did the Easter joy so slowly, and with such difficulty, enter the Apostles’ hearts? Did not they, who were with Him from the beginning, “from the baptism of John,” see all the signs of power which He performed before the face of the whole people? The lame walked, the blind saw, the dead were raised, and all infirmities were healed. Did they not behold, only a week earlier, how He raised by His word Lazarus from the dead, who had already been in the grave for four days? Why then was it so strange to them that the Master had arisen Himself? How was it that they came to forget that which the Lord used to tell them on many occasions, that after suffering and death He would arise on the third day?

The mystery of the Apostles’ “unbelief” is partly disclosed in the narrative of the Gospel: “But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel,” with disillusionment and complaint said the two disciples to their mysterious Companion on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:21). They meant: He was betrayed, condemned to death and crucified. The news of the Resurrection brought by the women only “astonished” them. They still wait for an earthly triumph, for an exernal victory. The same temptation possesses their hearts, which first prevented them from accepting “the preaching of the Cross” and made them argue every time the Saviour tried to reveal His mystery to them. “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26). It was still difficult to understand this.

He had the power to arise, why did He allow what that had happened to take place at all? Why did He take upon Himself disgrace, blasphemy and wounds? In the eyes of all Jerusalem, amidst the vast crowds assembled for the Great Feast, He was condemned and suffered a shameful death. And now He enters not into the Holy City, neither to the people which beheld His shame and death, nor to the High Priests and elders, nor to Pilate—so that He might make their crime obvious and smite their pride. Instead, He sends His disciples away to remote Galilee and appears to them there. Even much earlier the disciples wondered, “How is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” (John 14:22). Their wonder continues, and even on the day of His glorious Ascension the Apostles question the Lord, “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). They still did not comprehend the meaning of His Resurrection, they did not understand what it meant that He was “ascending” to the Father. Their eyes were opened but later, when “the promise of the Father” had been fulfilled.

In the Ascension resides the meaning and the fullness of Christ’s Resurrection.

The Lord did not rise in order to return again to the fleshly order of life, so as to live again and commune with the disciples and the multitudes by means of preaching and miracles. Now he does not even stay with them, but only “appears” to them during the forty days, from time to time, and always in a miraculous and mysterious manner. “He was not always with them now, as He was before the Resurrection,” comments Saint John Chrysostom. “He came and again disappeared, thus leading them on to higher conceptions. He no longer permitted them to continue in their former relationship toward Him, but took effectual measures to secure these two objects: That the fact of His Resurrection should be believed, and that He Himself should be ever after apprehended to be greater than man.” There was something new and unusual in His person (cf. John 21:1-14). As Saint John Chrysostom says, “It was not an open presence, but a certain testimony of the fact that He was present.” That is why the disciples were confused and frightened. Christ arose not in the same way as those who were restored to life before Him. Theirs was a resurrection for a time, and they returned to life in the same body, which was subject to death and corruption—returned to the previous mode of life. But Christ arose for ever, unto eternity. He arose in a body of glory, immortal and incorruptible. He arose, never to die, for “He clothed the mortal in the splendor of incorruption.” His glorified Body was already exempt from the fleshly order of existence. “It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (I Cor. 15:42-44). This mysterious transformation of human bodies, of which Saint Paul was speaking in the case of our Lord, had been accomplished in three days. Christ’s work on earth was accomplished. He had suffered, was dead and buried, and now rose to a higher mode of existence. By His Resurrection He abolished and destroyed death, abolished the law of corruption, “and raised with Himself the whole race of Adam.” Christ has risen, and now “no dead are left in the grave” (cf. The Easter Sermon of Saint John Chrysostom). And now He ascends to the Father, yet He does not “go away,” but abides with the faithful for ever (cf. The Kontakion of Ascension). For He raises the very earth with Him to heaven, and even higher than any heaven. God’s power, in the phrase of Saint John Chrysostom, “manifests itself not only in the Resurrection, but in something much stronger.” For “He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).

And with Christ, man’s nature ascends also.

“We who seemed unworthy of the earth, are now raised to heaven,” says Saint John Chrysostom. “We who were unworthy of earthly dominion have been raised to the Kingdom on high, have ascended higher than heaven, have came to occupy the King’s throne, and the same nature from which the angels guarded Paradise, stopped not until it ascended to the throne of the Lord.” By His Ascension the Lord not only opened to man the entrance to heaven, not only appeared before the face of God on our behalf and for our sake, but likewise “transferred man” to the high places. “He honored them He loved by putting them close to the Father.” God quickened and raised us together with Christ, as Saint Paul says, “and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephes. 2:6). Heaven received the inhabitants of the earth. “The First fruits of them that slept” sits now on high, and in Him all creation is summed up and bound together. “The earth rejoices in mystery, and the heavens are filled with joy.”

“The terrible ascent....” Terror-stricken and trembling stand the angelic hosts, contemplating the Ascension of Christ. And trembling they ask each other, “What is this vision? One who is man in appearance ascends in His body higher than the heavens, as God.”

Thus the Office for the Feast of the Ascension depicts the mystery in a poetical language. As on the day of Christ’s Nativity the earth was astonished on beholding God in the flesh, so now the Heavens do tremble and cry out. “The Lord of Hosts, Who reigns over all, Who is Himself the head of all, Who is preeminent in all things, Who has reinstated creation in its former order—He is the King of Glory.” And the heavenly doors are opened: “Open, Oh heavenly gates, and receive God in the flesh.” It is an open allusion to Psalms 24:7-10, now prophetically interpreted. “Lift up your heads, Oh ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty....” Saint Chrysostom says, “Now the angels have received that for which they have long waited, the archangels see that for which they have long thirsted. They have seen our nature shining on the King’s throne, glistening with glory and eternal beauty.... Therefore they descend in order to see the unusual and marvelous vision: Man appearing in heaven.”

The Ascension is the token of Pentecost, the sign of its coming, “The Lord has ascended to heaven and will send the Comforter to the world”

For the Holy Spirit was not yet in the world, until Jesus was glorified. And the Lord Himself told the disciples, “If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you” (John 16:7). The gifts of the Spirit are “gifts of reconciliation,” a seal of an accomplished salvation and of the ultimate reunion of the world with God. And this was accomplished only in the Ascension. “And one saw miracles follow miracles,” says Saint John Chrysostom, “ten days prior to this our nature ascended to the King’s throne, while today the Holy Ghost has descended on to our nature.” The joy of the Ascension lies in the promise of the Spirit. “Thou didst give joy to Thy disciples by a promise of the Holy Spirit.” The victory of Christ is wrought in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“On high is His body, here below with us is His Spirit. And so we have His token on high, that is His body, which He received from us, and here below we have His Spirit with us. Heaven received the Holy Body, and the earth accepted the Holy Spirit. Christ came and sent the Spirit. He ascended, and with Him our body ascended also” (Saint John Chrysostom). The revelation of the Holy Trinity was completed. Now the Spirit Comforter is poured forth on all flesh. “Hence comes foreknowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, apprehension of what is hidden, distribution of good gifts, the heavenly citizenship, a place in the chorus of angels, joy without end, abiding in God, the being made like to God, and, highest of all, the being made God!” (Saint Basil, On the Holy Spirit, IX). Beginning with the Apostles, and through communion with them—by an unbroken succession—Grace is spread to all believers. Through renewal and glorification in the Ascended Christ, man’s nature became receptive of the spirit. “And unto the world He gives quickening forces through His human body,” says Bishop Theophanes. “He holds it completely in Himself and penetrates it with His strength, out of Himself; and He likewise draws the angels to Himself through the spirit of man, giving them space for action and thus making them blessed.” All this is done through the Church, which is “the Body of Christ;” that is, His “fullness” (Ephesians 1:23). “The Church is the fulfillment of Christ,” continues Bishop Theophanes, “perhaps in the same way as the tree is the fulfillment of the seed. That which is contained in the seed in a contracted form receives its development in the tree.”

The very existence of the Church is the fruit of the Ascension. It is in the Church that man’s nature is truly ascended to the Divine heights. “And gave Him to be Head over all things” (Ephesians 1:22). Saint John Chrysostom comments: “Amazing! Look again, whither He has raised the Church. As though He were lifting it up by some engine, He has raised it up to a vast height, and set it on yonder throne; for where the Head is, there is the body also. There is no interval of separation between the Head and the body; for were there a separation, then would the one no longer be a body, nor would the other any longer be a Head.” The whole race of men is to follow Christ, even in His ultimate exaltation, “to follow in His train.” Within the Church, through an acquisition of the Spirit in the fellowship of Sacraments, the Ascension continues still, and will continue until the measure is full. “Only then shall the Head be filled up, when the body is rendered perfect, when we are knit together and united,” concludes Saint John Chrysostom.

The Ascension is a sign and token of the Second Coming. “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

The mystery of God’s Providence will be accomplished in the Return of the Risen Lord. In the fulfillment of time, Christ’s kingly power will be revealed and spread over the whole of faithful mankind. Christ bequeathes the Kingdom to the whole of the faithful. “And I appoint unto you a Kingdom as My Father has appointed unto me. That ye may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:29-30). Those who followed Him faithfully will sit with Him on their thrones on the day of His coming. “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21). Salvation will be consummated in the Glory. “Conceive to yourself the throne, the royal throne, conceive the immensity of the privilege. This, at least if we chose, might more avail to startle us, yea, even than hell itself” (Saint John Chrysostom).

We should tremble more at the thought of that abundant Glory which is appointed unto the redeemed, than at the thought of the eternal darkness. “Think near Whom Thy Head is seated....” Or rather, Who is the Head. In very truth, “wondrous and terrible is Thy divine ascension from the mountain, O Giver of Life.” A terrible and wondrous height is the King’s throne. In face of this height all flesh stands silent, in awe and trembling. “He has Himself descended to the lowest depths of humiliation, and raised up man to the height of exaltation.”

What then should we do? “If thou art the body of Christ, bear the Cross, for He bore it” (Saint John Chrysostom).

“With the power of Thy Cross, Oh Christ, establish my thoughts, so that I may sing and glorify Thy saving Ascension.”

Originally published in Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 2 # 3, 1954.

Used with permission.

Saint Glyceria suffered as a martyr for her faith in Christ in the second century, during a persecution against Christians under the emperor Antoninus (138-161). She came from an illustrious family, and her father Macarius was a high-ranking Roman official. Later, the family moved to the Thracian city of Trajanopolis.

Saint Glyceria lost both her father and mother at an early age. Falling in with Christians, she converted to the true Faith, and she visited the church every day. Sabinus, the prefect of Trajanopolis, received the imperial edict ordering Christians to offer sacrifice to the idols, and so he designated a certain day for the inhabitants of the city to worship the idol Zeus.

Saint Glyceria firmly resolved to suffer for Christ. She told the Christians of her intention, and she begged them to pray that the Lord would give her the strength to undergo the sufferings. On the appointed day Saint Glyceria made the Sign of the Cross on her forehead, and went into the pagan temple.

The saint stood on a raised spot in the rays of the sun, and removed the veil from her head, showing the holy Cross traced on her forehead. She prayed fervently to God to bring the pagans to their senses and destroy the stone idol of Zeus. Suddenly thunder was heard, and the statue of Zeus crashed to the floor and smashed into little pieces.

In a rage, the prefect Sabinus and the pagan priests commanded the people to pelt Saint Glyceria with stones, but the stones did not touch the saint. They locked Saint Glyceria in prison, where the Christian priest Philokrates came to her and encouraged the martyr in the struggle before her.

In the morning, when the tortures had started, suddenly an angel appeared in the midst of the torturers, and they fell to the ground, overcome with terror. When the vision vanished, Sabinus, who was hardly able to speak, ordered them to throw the saint into prison.

They shut the door securely and sealed it with the prefect’s own ring, so that no one could get in to her. While she was in prison, angels of God brought Saint Glyceria food and drink. Many days afterwards, Sabinus came to the prison and he himself removed the seal. Going in to the saint, he was shaken when he saw her alive and well.

Setting off for the city of Heraclea in Thrace, Sabinus gave orders to bring Saint Glyceria there also. The Christians of Heraclea came out to meet her with Bishop Dometius at their head, and he prayed that the Lord would strengthen the saint to endure martyrdom.

At Heraclea they cast Saint Glyceria into a red-hot furnace, but the fire was extinguished at once. Then the prefect, in a mindless fury, gave orders to rip the skin from Saint Glyceria’s head. Then they threw the martyr into prison onto sharp stones. She prayed incessantly, and at midnight an angel appeared in the prison and healed her of her wounds.

When the jailer Laodicius came for the saint in the morning, he did not recognize her. Thinking that the martyr had been taken away, he feared he would be punished for letting her escape. He wanted to kill himself, but Saint Glyceria stopped him. Shaken by the miracle, Laodicius believed in the true God, and he entreated the saint to pray that he might suffer and die for Christ with her.

“Follow Christ and you will be saved,” the holy martyr replied. Laodicius placed upon himself the chains with which the saint was bound, and at the trial he told the prefect and everyone present about the miraculous healing of Saint Glyceria by an angel, then he confessed himself a Christian.

The newly chosen one of God was beheaded by the sword. Christians secretly took up his remains, and reverently buried them. Saint Glyceria was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts. She went to execution with great joy, but the lioness set loose upon the saint meekly crawled up to her and lay at her feet.

Finally, the saint prayed to the Lord, imploring that He take her unto Himself. In answer she heard a Voice from Heaven, summoning her to heavenly bliss. At that moment, another lioness was set loose upon the saint. It pounced upon the martyr and killed her, but did not tear her apart. Bishop Dometius and the Christians of Heraclea reverently buried the holy martyr Glyceria. She suffered for Christ around the year 177. Her holy relics were glorified with a flow of healing myrrh.

Saint Glyceria, whose name means “sweetness,” now rejoices in the unending sweetness of the heavenly Kingdom.

Saint Glyceria was tortured at Heraclea in Thrace during a persecution against Christians under the emperor Antoninus (138-161).The martyr was then thrown into prison onto sharp stones. She prayed incessantly, and at midnight an angel appeared in the prison and healed her of her wounds.

When the jailer Laodicius came for the saint in the morning, he did not recognize her. Thinking that the martyr had been taken away, he feared he would be punished for letting her escape. He wanted to kill himself, but Saint Glyceria stopped him. Shaken by the miracle, Laodicius believed in the true God, and he entreated the saint to pray that he might suffer and die for Christ with her.

“Follow Christ and you will be saved,” the holy martyr replied. Laodicius placed upon himself the chains with which the saint was bound, and at the trial he told the prefect and everyone present about the miraculous healing of Saint Glyceria by an angel, then he confessed himself a Christian.

The newly chosen one of God was beheaded by the sword. Christians secretly took up his remains, and reverently buried them.

The scarcity of information about Saint Glykeria (Γλυκερία) indicates that she kept the details of her life and ascetical struggles hidden from those around her. She was the daughter of Panteleimon, an official of Legoscha Street in Great Novgorod.

On July 14, 1572, her body was found incorrupt, fifty years after her repose. An old woman named Nastasia told Archbishop Leonid of Novgorod that she had received healing fifty years before, when Saint Glykeria was buried. The second Novgorod Chronicle states that her tomb was discovered behind the stone church of the Holy Martyrs Florus and Laurus, and that her relics were incorrupt. Afterward, Archbishop Leonid solemnly placed the Saint's relics in the church of Saints Florus and Laurus.

On the same day, at the Righteous one's tomb, the four-year-old son of Bogdan Suvorov was healed of an illness, after which other miraculous healings occurred. These were the basis for her canonization.

The Holy Virgin Glykeria is depicted on an ancient icon of the Novgorod wonderworkers. At the top of the icon, Sophia, the Wisdom of God, is depicted. Next we see the Mother of God and Saint John the Forerunner; then there are six rows of Novgorod Saints. In the fourth row is Venerable Anna of Novgorod (February 10). The Righteous Glykeria is in the sixth row.

In the middle of the XIX century, a chapel dedicated to Saint Glykeria was built in the Tikhvin church of Moscow's Simonov Monastery.

The Relics of the Hieromartyr Macarius, Archimandrite of Kanev, were transferred on May 13, 1688 from Kanev to the city of Pereslavl because of the threat of enemy invasion. The main Feast commemorating Saint Macarius is on September 7.

The Holy Martyr Alexander suffered for Christ at the beginning of the fourth century. He was a soldier serving in the regiment of the tribune Tiberian at Rome. When he was eighteen, the Roman emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) issued an edict that all citizens were to go to the temple of Jupiter outside the city on a designated day to offer sacrifice.

The tribune Tiberian assembled his soldiers and he ordered them to go to this festival, but Alexander, raised from childhood in the Christian Faith, refused and said that he would not offer sacrifice to devils. Tiberian reported to the emperor Maximian that there was a soldier in his regiment who was a Christian. Soldiers were immediately sent to arrest Alexander.

Alexander was asleep, but an angel woke him and warned him of his impending martyrdom, saying that he would be with him during this time. When the soldiers arrived, Alexander came out to meet them. His face shone with a light so bright that the soldiers fell to the ground when they saw him. The saint upbraided them and told them to carry out their orders.

Standing before Maximian, Saint Alexander boldly confessed his faith in Christ and he refused to worship the idols. He said that he was not afraid of the emperor, nor of his threats. The emperor tried to persuade the young man with promises of honors, but Alexander remained steadfast in his confession, and denounced the emperor and all the pagans. They tortured the holy martyr, but he bravely endured all the sufferings.

Maximian remanded Saint Alexander to the tribune Tiberian, who was being sent to Thrace to persecute Christians there. So they brought the martyr to Thrace, fettered in chains. At this time an angel told Saint Alexander’s mother, Pimenia, of her son’s martyrdom. Pimenia found her son in Carthage, where he stood before Tiberian and again he steadfastly confessed himself a Christian.

They subjected him to torture before the eyes of his mother, and then they took the prisoner on his final journey, walking behind Tiberian’s chariot. The brave Pimenia asked the soldiers to let her go to her son, and she encouraged him to undergo torments for Christ. The soldiers were astonished at the stoic strength of the martyr and they said one to another, “Great is the God of the Christians!”

The angel appeared to the martyr several times, strengthening him. By night a fearsome angel appeared to Tiberian with sword in hand, and commanded the tribune to hasten to Byzantium, since the martyr’s end was drawing near. Tiberian hurried on his way.

In the city of Philippopolis, Tiberian retried Saint Alexander in the presence of the city dignitaries gathered for this event. At this trial Saint Alexander remained steadfast. During his grievous journey the holy martyr had been repeatedly subjected to cruel tortures. He was strengthened by God, however, and he endured all the torments.

He gave strength to the soldiers weakened by thirst, asking the Lord to provide a spring of water for them. During the journey, the martyr prayed beneath a tree, asking for strength in his sufferings, and the fruit and leaves of this tree received a curative power. At a place named Burtodexion, the saint again met his mother Pimenia, who fell weeping at his feet. The holy martyr said to her, “Do not weep , my mother, for the day after tomorrow, the Lord shall help me finish matters.”

In the city of Drizipera Tiberian imposed the death sentence on the saint. The holy martyr gave thanks to the Lord for giving him the strength to endure all the torments, and to accept martyrdom. The soldier who was supposed to carry out the execution asked the saint’s forgiveness, and for a long time he could not bring himself to raise his sword, for he saw angels waiting to take the soul of the martyr.

The saint prayed and asked God to remove the angels, since he wanted to go to the Lord. Only then was the executioner able to cut off the saint’s holy head. The saint’s body was cast into a river, but four dogs dragged it out of the water, and they would not let anyone near it, until Saint Alexander’s mother Pimenia came. She took up the remains of her martyred son and reverently buried them near the River Ergina.

Healings began to take place at the grave of Saint Alexander. Soon the holy martyr appeared to his mother in a dream, in which he comforted her and said that soon she too would be transported to the heavenly habitations.

Saint Pausicacus, Bishop of Synnada, lived at the end of the sixth century in the Syrian city of Apamea. He had been raised in the Christian Faith by his pious parents, and he began to lead an ascetic life of prayer, vigil and fasting in his youth.

The Lord gave him the gift of healing sicknesses of both soul and body. Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople (591-606) consecrated Saint Pausicacus as Bishop of Synnada. Saint Pausicacus wanted neither heretics nor dissolute people in his flock. He constantly taught his flock about the virtuous life, and his discourse was always powerful and lively.

Having come to Constantinople on affairs of the Church, he healed the emperor Mauricius of sickness, and on his return journey he asked the Lord for water to quench the thirst of his companions. After the prayer of the saint, a spring of pure water sprang up from the ground. Saint Pausicacus died peacefully in the year 606.

The Holy Confessor George suffered for the veneration of holy icons at Constantinople in the first half of the ninth century. The emperor Theophilus demanded that Saint George renounce the veneration of holy icons, but the brave confessor refused the order and told the impious emperor that in venerating holy icons, we offer worship to their eternal Prototype [i.e. Christ the Logos].

For his disobedience, the emperor ordered Saint George’s property to be taken away and seized, and to drag him through the streets of Constantinople with a rope about his neck, and then cast him into prison. After this, Saint George was sent into exile with his wife Irene and their children. Saint George died after suffering many afflictions in exile.

Saint Irene lived in Constantinople in the first half of the ninth century. When her husband Saint George was sent into exile because he venerated the holy icons, she and their children went with him.

Our holy Father Euthymius was from the town of Tao in Georgia . He was the son of pious, noble and wealthy parents. When his father renounced the temporal and perishable splendor and glory of this world, preferring poverty in Christ which leads to heavenly riches, he donned the angelic schema of a monk, changed his name to John, and moved to Constantinople. Euthymius, who was still quite small, stayed with his grandfather (though some sources say that Euthymius was left with John’s brother-in-law) a man renowned in glory and in virtue, who raised the child in the instruction and admonition of the Lord. After a little time had passed, he took Euthymius with him, and they went to Constantinople looking for John. When he found him, he urged him with many words and tears to come back to his country. Not only was John not persuaded by this, he tried in every way to keep his son with him, thereby causing the boy’s grandfather great sadness.

Since they quarreled a great deal about this, and because John tried to take his son and his father would not allow him to do this, the Emperor Nikephorus Phokas (r. 963-969) learned of it, and commanded that both men appear before him and bring Euthymius with them. After the three presented themselves to the Emperor and he had heard the argument they had about the youth, the sovereign decreed that neither of them should take him by force. They were to leave it to God to decide what to do with him. He also told them to let the youth go to whomever he freely chose to go. He ran at once into his father’s arms, though he had never seen or known him until that moment. This action evoked wonder and tears in all those who were present.

The blessed John received his son as if from the hands of God and soon clothed him in the monastic schema, then gave him to teachers in order to be educated. The good Euthymius, having a sharp mind, much fervor and diligence, soon learned worldly wisdom and also the inner wisdom of God from his instructors. So he appeared as a river of the teachings of the Spirit. After this, he fell gravely ill, but he recovered through the care and help of the Most Holy Lady Theotokos. He excelled in virtue, wisdom, and grace, and in many other wondrous things from which it was apparent to all what sort of prodigy he would become.

The blessed one despised the glory of men as something contrary to the glory of God, so he left and went to Mount Athos with his father John. After meeting Saint Athanasius (July 5), they desired to live with him in the holy Lavra. The divine Athanasius, seeing with the clear-sighted eye of his soul the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Euthymius, urged him to receive the dignity of the priesthood. At first he did not wish to do so, saying that he was not worthy of it. Finally, he obeyed the words of the holy Athanasius and was ordained as a priest. From that time he began to add struggles upon struggles, abstinence on top of abstinence, and greatly increased all the virtues that he had. As a result, he became a vessel of the All-Holy Spirit, and translated all the Holy Scriptures into the Georgian language. He also wrote many books filled with his teachings on morality and virtue. Saint George of Mount Athos (May 13 & June 27), the author of the Life of Saint Euthymius, says that the saint translated the Holy Scriptures, and more than fifty other works, into the Georgian language. He also rebuilt many churches and hospitals, and adorned the Holy Mountain with hermitages.

With what words can one describe worthily the kindness which he showed toward all or his incomparable humility when for fourteen years he cared for the great Athanasius and his father who were ill? Once these two had gone to the Lord, the blessed Euthymius was given the protection of the Holy Lavra, and not just the Lavra, but all of the Holy Mountain . In this he was willing and quick in his dual healing of the souls and bodies of the brethren. His divine mouth always spouted forth rivers of wisdom and instruction to the glory of God. Since he was overcome by the love of extreme tranquility, he made his cousin George the igumen of the Lavra. Euthymius remained alone, pleasing God night and day. No one knew of his spiritual struggles and their fruits, because he strove to accomplish them in secret, so that no one should know of them but God, Who wished to reveal the many accomplishments by which His servant shone forth.

Once there was a drought on the Holy Mountain, and all the Fathers were immeasurably sad because of the lack of water, so they begged the saint to pray to God about this. The blessed one was persuaded only with great difficulty. He climbed to the chapel of the Prophet Elias, which is near the Holy Monastery of Ivḗron, praying with tears to the All-Merciful God, offering to Him the rational and bloodless Sacrifice. Immediately, so much rain fell that the ground was saturated. Everybody glorified God, Who glorifies those who glorify Him.

It is customary for the monks on the Holy Mountain to ascend to the summit of the mountain during the all-radiant Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior (August 6), and to serve the all-night Vigil. The next day they celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and then came back down. Once, when this Great Feast had arrived, Euthymius ascended the mountain with many others just when it time for the Divine Liturgy to be celebrated. With one voice they all begged him to serve the Divine Liturgy and he fulfilled their request with great humility.

He came to the exclamation where the priest says, “Singing the triumphant hymn, shouting, proclaiming, and saying....” Suddenly a blinding light flashed about all of them and the earth quaked, and everyone fell face down upon the ground. Only the blessed Euthymius remained standing motionless before the altar, appearing as a pillar of fire. This wondrous event made him even more renowned everywhere.

When the Archbishop of Cyprus departed unto the Lord, the Emperor Basil II (976-1025) sent envoys with letters, fervently entreating Euthymius to accept the position. The saint would not even consent to hear the whole message, saying that he was not worthy of the appointment. Indeed, he said, he felt more worthy to be shepherded than to shepherd others. So Euthymius, in a God-pleasing manner, remained alone in stillness and quiet both day and night. In his heart was rooted humility, the mother of all virtues.

Meanwhile, the apostate devil, who always bears malice and works against all good and God-pleasing works, could not tolerate seeing the saint’s virtues. He progressed each day and was very pleasing to God, and everything he did was for the glory of Christ God.

The devil grieved out of envy and malice and so found a man who, by his dress, appeared to be a monk, but who had a defiled and unclean heart. Since this man was such a suitable dwelling place, the devil entered into him and persuaded him to kill the saint. The devil whispered into his ears, just as he had whispered to Eve of old, “If you kill this Euthymius, I give you my word that you will receive great favor.”

The wretched one was willing to commit this act of murder. He got his knife ready and he climbed to the tower where the saint had his cell. Seeing that the man was completely dominated by the devil, and that he held a knife in his hand, the saint’s disciple closed the door to the cell and would not let him in. The murderer, not finding the saint in order to satisfy the rage which overcame him, immediately wounded the disciple and left that place amidst wild cries and shouts. He encountered another disciple of the saint and attacked him in the same manner. He went a little farther, and then fell face down on the ground. After confessing his sin and revealing all the words that the devil had spoken to him, he violently gave up his foul soul. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, the saint recognized that the accident which had befallen his disciples occurred with the devil’s collaboration. Quickly he descended from the tower, hastening to perfect his disciples with the Great monastic schema. Shortly after he tonsured them, they both departed unto the Lord.

The devil could not stand to see the saint’s accomplishments which he performed for the glory of God. Therefore, he incited a gardener to slay the saint. The man had the knife ready, and approached the saint, stabbing him in the abdomen, but the saint remained unharmed. The edge of the knife bent like wax, and the hand that struck the saint withered and remained unmoving. Falling at the saint’s feet, the gardener confessed the demon’s plan, and he pleaded earnestly with Euthymius for forgiveness and healing. Being compassionate, the saint entreated God on his behalf, and so the gardener received both spiritual and bodily health.

What words suffice to recount the virtues of the saint, the sympathy he had for all, his compassion, his cheerfulness, his lack of anger, his tranquility, his all-night vigils, his ceaseless prayer, and his humility, the poor quality of his food and clothing which inured his body to hardship? He also wore heavy iron chains on his body. To put it plainly, he was truly an angel in an earthly body, an unwavering beacon to the world, reflecting in his own person the word of life.

Because there are scandals everywhere, and the earth is the principal place for scandal, some troubles also occurred on the Holy Mountain . Because of this, the Fathers pleaded with the saint to go to Constantinople to ask for an imperial decree to put an end to the scandals, and to restore peace on Mount Athos. Heeding their words, the blessed one went to Constantinople. The whole Senate and the nobility received him with great courtesy and much reverence. At once, his request was granted.

One day, the blessed one was riding a mule through Constantinople . He and another monk were going to the section of the city called Platia for some necessities. A beggar sat in the road asking for alms. Seeing him, the saint felt compassion and was about to give him something. The mule he was riding became startled when it saw the beggar, and it became wild. Violently carrying the saint away, the mule galloped off and did not halt until it had thrown the saint to the ground and crushed him. Some Christians ran and picked him up, bringing him back to the home where he was staying. A few days later, on May 13, 1028 he received the Holy Mysteries, and then gave his holy soul into the hands of God. During the burial of his holy body, many healings and miracles took place. These were seen as proof of his holiness and boldness before God, and they were performed for the glory of the Lord.

Later, his holy relics were moved to the Holy Mountain , and were buried in the venerable monastery of the honorable, glorious prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John. Later, the monastery was renamed the Ivḗron (Georgian) Monastery which had been rebuilt by the blessed Euthymius to the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one Godhead, to Whom is due glory, honor and worship, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

No information available at this time.

No information available at this time.

No information available at this time.

Georgian monks began to settle on Mt. Athos in the middle of the 10th century, and a Georgian monastery, Ivḗron, was founded there not long after.

At that time foreign armies were constantly invading Mt. Athos. In the 13th century the Crusaders stormed through the region, and between 1259 and 1306 the pope’s private army devastated Mt. Athos several times. Monks of Zographou and Vatopedi monasteries and the Protaton were martyred for the Orthodox Faith, and the monks of the Ivḗron Monastery eventually met the same fate.

During this period Georgian and Greek ascetics labored together at the Ivḗron Monastery, and many young ascetics of the new generation began to arrive from Georgia.

The Crusaders demanded that the Ivḗron monks convert to Catholicism and acknowledge the primacy of the Roman pope. But the monks condemned their fallacies and anathematized the doctrine of the Catholics.

According to the Patericon of Athos, the Ivḗron monks were forcibly expelled from their monastery. Nearly two hundred elderly monks were goaded like animals onto a ship that was subsequently sunk in the depths of the sea. The younger, healthier monks were deported to Italy and sold as slaves to the Jews.

Some sources claim this tragedy took place in the year 1259, while others record that the Georgian monks of the Holy Mountain were subject to the Latin persecutions over the course of four years, from 1276 to 1280.