Born in Bithynia. From his
youth he was fond of monastic life and
entered one of the area monasteries. Later in life, when the Byzantine
official Galoliktos had founded a monastery at the River Sagarisa, St
Thomas was already an experienced monk, and the brethren chose him as
head of the new monastery.
From there St Thomas withdrew into the wilderness, where for a long time he labored in solitude. The monk overcame many snares of the devil in the wilderness. The Lord glorified him with the gift of healing and prophecy.
Once, the emperor Leo the Wise (886-911) came to the monastery to St Thomas for advice. Not finding the monk at the monastery, the emperor sent his messenger with a letter for him. And just as the messenger arrived at the the Elder's hut, the saint carried out to him a sealed answer, resolving the emperor's question. It is not known when St Thomas reposed.
From there St Thomas withdrew into the wilderness, where for a long time he labored in solitude. The monk overcame many snares of the devil in the wilderness. The Lord glorified him with the gift of healing and prophecy.
Once, the emperor Leo the Wise (886-911) came to the monastery to St Thomas for advice. Not finding the monk at the monastery, the emperor sent his messenger with a letter for him. And just as the messenger arrived at the the Elder's hut, the saint carried out to him a sealed answer, resolving the emperor's question. It is not known when St Thomas reposed.
near Steyning in Sussex.
He cared for his aging mother and, aided by
his neighbors, built a church in Steyning. Cuthman, who was known for
his miracles, was honored in the church that he built. His relics were
later transferred to FeCamp, in France.
Cuthman of Steyning, Hermit (AC) also known as Cuthmann 9th century.
Among the ancient Anglo-Saxon saints was Cuthman, a native of Devon or Cornwall (judging by his name; some ancient documents seem to indicate that he was possibly born at Chidham near Bosham, c. 681), who spent his youth as a shepherd on the moors.
A grey and weather-beaten stone high among the heather is said to mark the spot where he used to sit, and around which he drew a wide circle in the gorse, outside which his sheep were not allowed to wander. When his father died and his mother was left poor, Cuthman proved himself a good son and worked hard for their joint livelihood, but when she fell sick he was unable to leave her and they became destitute.
Cuthman, at his wit's end, made a wooden two-wheeled barrow in which he laid his mother, and with its two handles supported by a rope round his neck, begged from door to door. The dream of his life was to build a church, and though he had no idea how this could be done, he resolved to leave Cornwall with its bleak and windswept moors and travel eastward. Putting his mother in the barrow along with their few belongings, he pushed it day after day across the breadth of England until he came to Steyning in West Sussex. There the rope which held the barrow broke, and this he took for a sign that it was here where he must settle.
He prayed by the roadside: "O Almighty Father, who has brought my journey to an end, You know how poor I am, and a laborer from my youth, and of myself I can do nothing unless You succor me."
Cuthman of Steyning, Hermit (AC) also known as Cuthmann 9th century.
Among the ancient Anglo-Saxon saints was Cuthman, a native of Devon or Cornwall (judging by his name; some ancient documents seem to indicate that he was possibly born at Chidham near Bosham, c. 681), who spent his youth as a shepherd on the moors.
A grey and weather-beaten stone high among the heather is said to mark the spot where he used to sit, and around which he drew a wide circle in the gorse, outside which his sheep were not allowed to wander. When his father died and his mother was left poor, Cuthman proved himself a good son and worked hard for their joint livelihood, but when she fell sick he was unable to leave her and they became destitute.
Cuthman, at his wit's end, made a wooden two-wheeled barrow in which he laid his mother, and with its two handles supported by a rope round his neck, begged from door to door. The dream of his life was to build a church, and though he had no idea how this could be done, he resolved to leave Cornwall with its bleak and windswept moors and travel eastward. Putting his mother in the barrow along with their few belongings, he pushed it day after day across the breadth of England until he came to Steyning in West Sussex. There the rope which held the barrow broke, and this he took for a sign that it was here where he must settle.
He prayed by the roadside: "O Almighty Father, who has brought my journey to an end, You know how poor I am, and a laborer from my youth, and of myself I can do nothing unless You succor me."
Here by the River Adur, in
a lonely and quiet spot among the Downs, he
built a hut to shelter his mother, and then measured out the ground on
which to build his church. The local people were kind to him; they
watched him dig the foundations single-handedly, cut the timber and
build the walls, and they provided two oxen to help him. One day,
however the oxen strayed and were carried off by two youths who refused
to return them, whereupon Cuthman was angry. "I need them not," he
said, "to do my own work but to labor for God." and he yoked the two
youths themselves to his cart to draw it. "It must be moved," he said,
"and you must move it."
So Cuthman built a church and preached and stirred up the people. And there where he worked, he died, and was buried beside the river, and they called the place Saint Cuthman's Port, for the river in those days was navigable.
Cuthman's name occurs in several early medieval calendars and in the old Missal that was used by the English Saxons before the Norman conquest (kept in the monastery of Jumièges, in which a proper mass is assigned for his feast), a German martyrology clearly indicates a pre-Conquest cultus, and the church at Steyning seems to have been dedicated to him in the past. Saint Edward the Confessor gave the Steyning church to Fécamp, which monastery built a cell of monks on the site of his old wooden church and built a new one dedicated to his memory, although Cuthman's relics were translated to Fécamp. The information on Cuthman preserved there may contain some genuine material.
So Cuthman built a church and preached and stirred up the people. And there where he worked, he died, and was buried beside the river, and they called the place Saint Cuthman's Port, for the river in those days was navigable.
Cuthman's name occurs in several early medieval calendars and in the old Missal that was used by the English Saxons before the Norman conquest (kept in the monastery of Jumièges, in which a proper mass is assigned for his feast), a German martyrology clearly indicates a pre-Conquest cultus, and the church at Steyning seems to have been dedicated to him in the past. Saint Edward the Confessor gave the Steyning church to Fécamp, which monastery built a cell of monks on the site of his old wooden church and built a new one dedicated to his memory, although Cuthman's relics were translated to Fécamp. The information on Cuthman preserved there may contain some genuine material.
The memory of this once forgotten saint was revived by Christopher Fry in his one-act play The boy with a cart (1939) (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth).
In art, Saint Cuthman is
always
shown among sheep because he was a
shepherd of Steyning (Roeder). He feast is kept at most Benedictine
monasteries in Normandy (Husenbeth).
920 St Peter the
Wonderworker Bishop of Argos in the Peloponnesos ransomed captives
healed the sick and the afflicted, and possessed the gift of insight
relics exuding myrrh, and working miracles and healingsLived during the ninth and early tenth centuries, and was raised by pious parents. St Peter's parents, and later his brothers Paul, Dionysius, Platon and St Peter himself, all became monks. St Peter zealously devoted himself to monastic labors, and he excelled all his fellows. This came to the attention of the Italian bishop Nicholas (who from 895 was Patriarch of Constantinople), who wanted to elevate him to the rank of bishop. St Peter declined, accounting himself unworthy of such honor.
After a year emissaries
came to Bishop Paul from the city of Argos,
where the bishop had died, and they asked for St Peter as their bishop.
After long and intense entreaties, St Peter finally gave his consent.
As bishop, St Peter toiled zealously in guiding his flock. He was
extraordinarily compassionate, concerning himself with those in need,
especially orphans and widows.
The saint fed the hungry in
years of crop failure. Through his prayers food for the
hungry never ran out. Theodosius of the Caves
The saint also ransomed
captives, healed the sick and the afflicted,
and possessed the gift of insight.
The saint predicted the day of his death, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy.
His relics were transferred from
Argos to Nauplos in 1421, exuding myrrh, and working miracles and
healings.The saint predicted the day of his death, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy.
also listed as Guiborat and Weibrath. Born at Klingna, Aargau, Switzerland, she belonged to the Swabian nobility.
When her brother Hatto entered
the Benedictines at St. Gall, she went with him and worked as a
bookbinder and lived for a time as a recluse. She desired to exist as a
hermit and to be walled up as an anchoress. Before the monastic leaders
of St. Gall would acquiesce, she was forced to endure an ordeal by
fire, successfully convincing her vocal critics. Her cell was visited
by many who sought out her wisdom. She was also noted for her
austerities, holiness, and her gifts of prophecy. One of her visions
told of her own martyrdom, which came to pass when invading Magyars of
Hungary murdered her in her cell.
Born at Poitiers, France;
died at Anzy-le-Duc, c. 930. As a child,
Saint Hugh was placed in the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Savin in
Poitou. His fervor for monastic life was so great that he became a
monk. Hugh's reputation for wisdom and miracles was such that he was
sent to reform several other houses. His success in reorganizing other
led him to the newly founded Cluny Abbey where he helped Blessed Berno.
Hugh's relics were raised in 1001 (Attwater2, Benedictines).
930 St. Hugh of Anzy le Duc Benedictine prior established Cluny and aide to Blessed Berno. A native of Poitiers, France, he helped reform St. Martin’s at Autun and established Cluny. Hugh of Ambronay OSB, Abbot (AC) 9th or 10th century. Saint Hugh was the third abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Ambronay in the see of Belley (Benedictines).
930 St. Hugh of Anzy le Duc Benedictine prior established Cluny and aide to Blessed Berno. A native of Poitiers, France, he helped reform St. Martin’s at Autun and established Cluny. Hugh of Ambronay OSB, Abbot (AC) 9th or 10th century. Saint Hugh was the third abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Ambronay in the see of Belley (Benedictines).
946
St. Luke the
Younger Hermit death place called Sterion (place of healing)
wonder-worker (Thaumaturgus ) one
of the earliest saints to be seen levitating in prayerwhose solitary hermitage
in Thessaly, Greece,
became known as the Soterion, “the place of healing.” Luke tried to
become a religious but was arrested as an escaped slave and imprisoned
for a time. He finally became a hermit on Mount Joannitsa. near
Corinth. There he was revered for his holiness and miracles, which
earned him the surname Thaumaturgus.
Luke the
Younger (AC) (also
known as Luke Thaumaturgus or the
Wonder-worker) Died c. 946.
Saint Luke is known to the Greek Church as Luke the Wonderworker. His parents were farmers or peasant proprietors on the island of Aegina, but were forced off their land by attacking Saracens. They settled in Thessaly, Greece. Luke was the third of the seven children of Stephen and Euphrosyne. Although Luke was a pious and obedient boy generally, he often made them angry because of his charity to those poorer than himself. In childhood he often gave his meal away to the hungry, or would strip off his clothes for a beggar. When sowing seed, for instance, Luke the Wonderworker spread at least half of it over the fields of the poor instead of over his parents' fields.
Later it was said that one of wonders God worked on Luke's behalf was to make his parents' crops yield more than anyone else's, even though he had given away half the seeds. But at the time his mother and father were extremely angry.
After Stephen's death, Luke left the fields and gave himself for a time to contemplation.
When he told his family that he wanted to enter a monastery, they tried to stop him. But Luke ran away. Unfortunately, some soldiers caught him and for a time put him in prison, thinking he was a runaway slave. When he said that he was a servant of Christ and had undertaken the journey out of devotion, they refused to believe him. He was shut up in prison and cruelly treated until his identity was discovered. He was allowed to return home where he was scolded for running away.
In the end, however, Luke got his way. Euphrosyne provided hospitality to two monks on their way between Rome and the Holy Land. They managed to persuade his mother to let him accompany them as far as Athens. There Luke was admitted as a novice in a monastery, but he didn't stay long. One day the superior sent for him and told the young saint that Luke's mother had appeared to him in a vision and that, as she needed him, he must return home to help her. Luke went home once again and was received with joy and surprise. After four months Euphrosyne herself became convinced of her son's calling and no longer opposed his entering religious life. So, age the age of 18, he built himself a hermitage on Mount Joannitsa near Corinth and lived there happily for the rest of his life. Luke is one of the earliest saints to be seen levitating in prayer. He worked so many miracles there that the site was turned into an oratory after his death and became known as Soterion or Sterion (place of healing) and he himself as the Thaumaturgus (the wonder-worker) (Benedictines, Bentley, Walsh).
Saint Luke of Hellas was a
native of the Greek village of Kastorion. Saint Luke is known to the Greek Church as Luke the Wonderworker. His parents were farmers or peasant proprietors on the island of Aegina, but were forced off their land by attacking Saracens. They settled in Thessaly, Greece. Luke was the third of the seven children of Stephen and Euphrosyne. Although Luke was a pious and obedient boy generally, he often made them angry because of his charity to those poorer than himself. In childhood he often gave his meal away to the hungry, or would strip off his clothes for a beggar. When sowing seed, for instance, Luke the Wonderworker spread at least half of it over the fields of the poor instead of over his parents' fields.
Later it was said that one of wonders God worked on Luke's behalf was to make his parents' crops yield more than anyone else's, even though he had given away half the seeds. But at the time his mother and father were extremely angry.
After Stephen's death, Luke left the fields and gave himself for a time to contemplation.
When he told his family that he wanted to enter a monastery, they tried to stop him. But Luke ran away. Unfortunately, some soldiers caught him and for a time put him in prison, thinking he was a runaway slave. When he said that he was a servant of Christ and had undertaken the journey out of devotion, they refused to believe him. He was shut up in prison and cruelly treated until his identity was discovered. He was allowed to return home where he was scolded for running away.
In the end, however, Luke got his way. Euphrosyne provided hospitality to two monks on their way between Rome and the Holy Land. They managed to persuade his mother to let him accompany them as far as Athens. There Luke was admitted as a novice in a monastery, but he didn't stay long. One day the superior sent for him and told the young saint that Luke's mother had appeared to him in a vision and that, as she needed him, he must return home to help her. Luke went home once again and was received with joy and surprise. After four months Euphrosyne herself became convinced of her son's calling and no longer opposed his entering religious life. So, age the age of 18, he built himself a hermitage on Mount Joannitsa near Corinth and lived there happily for the rest of his life. Luke is one of the earliest saints to be seen levitating in prayer. He worked so many miracles there that the site was turned into an oratory after his death and became known as Soterion or Sterion (place of healing) and he himself as the Thaumaturgus (the wonder-worker) (Benedictines, Bentley, Walsh).
The son of
poor
farmers, the saint from childhood had toiled much,
working in the fields and shepherding the sheep. He was very obedient
to his parents and very temperate in eating. He often gave his own food
and clothing to the poor, for which he suffered reproach from his
parents. He once gave away almost all the seed which was needed for
planting in the fields. The Lord rewarded him for his charity, and the
harvest gathered was greater than ever before.
As a child, he prayed fervently and often. His mother saw him more than once standing not on the ground, but in the air while he prayed.
After the death of his father, he left his mother and went to Athens, where he entered a monastery. But through the prayers of his mother, who was very concerned about him, the Lord returned him to his parental home in a miraculous manner. He spent four months there, then with his mother's blessing he went to a solitary place on a mountain called Ioannou (or Ioannitsa). Here there was a church dedicated to the holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, where he lived an ascetical life in constant prayer and fasting. He was tonsured there by some Elders who were on pilgrimage. After this, St Luke redoubled his ascetic efforts, for which the Lord granted him the gift of foresight.
After a seven years on Ioannou,
the saint moved to Corinth because of an invasion of the Bulgarian
armies.
As a child, he prayed fervently and often. His mother saw him more than once standing not on the ground, but in the air while he prayed.
After the death of his father, he left his mother and went to Athens, where he entered a monastery. But through the prayers of his mother, who was very concerned about him, the Lord returned him to his parental home in a miraculous manner. He spent four months there, then with his mother's blessing he went to a solitary place on a mountain called Ioannou (or Ioannitsa). Here there was a church dedicated to the holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, where he lived an ascetical life in constant prayer and fasting. He was tonsured there by some Elders who were on pilgrimage. After this, St Luke redoubled his ascetic efforts, for which the Lord granted him the gift of foresight.
Hearing about the
exploits of a certain stylite at Patras, he went to
see him, and remained for ten years to serve the ascetic with humility
and obedience. Afterwards, the saint returned again to his native land
and again began to pursue asceticism on Mount Ioannou.
The throngs of people flocking
there disturbed his quietude, so with the blessing of his Elder
Theophylactus, St Luke went with his disciple to a still more remote
place at Kalamion. After three years, he
settled on the desolate and arid island of
Ampelon because of an invasion of the Turks. Steiris was another place
of his ascetic efforts. Here brethren gathered to the monk, and a small
monastery grew up, the church of which was dedicated to the Great Martyr Barbara.
Dwelling in the monastery, the
saint performed many miracles, healing sicknesses of soul and of body.Foreseeing his end,
the saint confined himself in a cell and for three
months prepared for his departure. When asked where he was to be
buried, the monk replied, "Throw my body into a ravine to be eaten by
wild beasts." When the brethren begged him to change these
instructions, he commanded them to bury his body on the spot where he
lay. Raising his eyes to heaven, he said, "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I
commend my spirit!"
St Luke fell
asleep in the Lord
on February 7, 946. Later, a church was built over his tomb. Myrrh
flowed from his holy relics, and many healings occurred.
a native of the city
of Aelen in Pergamum. Early bereft of his father,
he was educated at the monastery of St Stephen in Phrygia. After the
death of his mother, he devoted himself completely to monastic deeds at
a monastery on Mount Latra, near Miletos.
Seeking even loftier accomplishments, he secluded himself in a cave. For his ascetic deeds he gained the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking. The emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (912-959) often wrote to him, asking his prayers and counsel. St Paul twice withdrew to the island of Samos, where he established a monastery and restored three monasteries ravaged by the Hagarenes (Arabs). Foretelling his end, the monk reposed in the year 955.
956 St Paul of Latros
The father of this hermit was an officer in the imperial army who was slain in an engagement with the Saracens. His mother then retired from Pergamos, which was the place of his birth, to Bithynia, taking her two sons with her. Basil, the elder, took the monastic habit upon Mount Olympus in that country, but soon for the sake of greater solitude retired to Mount Latros (Latmus). When their mother was dead he induced his brother to embrace the same state of life. Though young, Paul had experienced the world sufficiently to understand the emptiness and dangers of what it has to offer. Basil recommended him to the care and instruction of the abbot of Karia. St Paul desired for the sake of greater solitude and austerity to lead an eremitical life; but his abbot, thinking him too young, refused him leave so long as he lived. After his death Paul’s first cell was a cave on the highest part of Mount Latros, where for some weeks he had no other food than green acorns, which at first made him very sick. After eight months he was called back to Karia. It is said that when he worked in the kitchen the sight of the fire so forcibly reminded him of Hell that he burst into tears every time he looked at it.
Seeking even loftier accomplishments, he secluded himself in a cave. For his ascetic deeds he gained the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking. The emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (912-959) often wrote to him, asking his prayers and counsel. St Paul twice withdrew to the island of Samos, where he established a monastery and restored three monasteries ravaged by the Hagarenes (Arabs). Foretelling his end, the monk reposed in the year 955.
956 St Paul of Latros
The father of this hermit was an officer in the imperial army who was slain in an engagement with the Saracens. His mother then retired from Pergamos, which was the place of his birth, to Bithynia, taking her two sons with her. Basil, the elder, took the monastic habit upon Mount Olympus in that country, but soon for the sake of greater solitude retired to Mount Latros (Latmus). When their mother was dead he induced his brother to embrace the same state of life. Though young, Paul had experienced the world sufficiently to understand the emptiness and dangers of what it has to offer. Basil recommended him to the care and instruction of the abbot of Karia. St Paul desired for the sake of greater solitude and austerity to lead an eremitical life; but his abbot, thinking him too young, refused him leave so long as he lived. After his death Paul’s first cell was a cave on the highest part of Mount Latros, where for some weeks he had no other food than green acorns, which at first made him very sick. After eight months he was called back to Karia. It is said that when he worked in the kitchen the sight of the fire so forcibly reminded him of Hell that he burst into tears every time he looked at it.
When he was allowed to pursue his vocation Paul chose a new habitation on the rockiest part of the mountain, where for the first three years he suffered grievous temptations. A peasant sometimes brought him a little food, but he mostly lived on what grew wild. The reputation of his holiness spreading through the province, several men chose to live near him and built there a laura of cells. Paul, who had been careless about all corporal necessaries, was much concerned lest anything should be wanting to those that lived under his direction. After twelve years his solitude was so much broken into that he withdrew to another part of the mountains, whence he visited his brethren from time to time to cheer and encourage them; he sometimes took them into the forest to sing the Divine Office together in the open air. When asked why he appeared sometimes so joyful, at other times so sad, he answered, “When nothing diverts my thoughts from God, my heart overflows with joy, so much that I often forget my food and everything else; and when there are distractions, I am upset”. Occasionally he disclosed something of the wonderful communications, which passed between his soul and God, and of the heavenly graces that he received in contemplation.
But St Paul wished
for yet closer retirement, so he passed over to the isle of Samos, and
there
concealed himself in a cave. But he was soon discovered and so many
flocked to
him that he re-established three lauras that
had been ruined by the Saracens. The entreaties of the monks at Latros
induced
him to return to his former cell there. The Emperor Constantine
Porphyrogenitus
wrote frequently to him asking his advice, and often had reason to
repent when
he did not follow it. Paul had a great tenderness for the poor and he
gave them
more of his food and clothes than he could properly spare. Once he
would have
sold himself for a slave to help some people in distress had he not
been
stopped. On December 6 in 956, foreseeing that his death drew near, he
came
down from his cell to the church, celebrated the Holy Mysteries more
early than
usual and then took to his bed. He spent his time in prayer and
instructing his
monks till his death, which fell on December 15, on which day he is
commemorated by the Greeks. He is sometimes referred to as St Paul the
Younger.
After
having been printed for the first time in the Analecta
Bollandiana, vol. xi (1892), a
still more carefully revised text was edited by Delehaye in the volume Der Latmos, issued in 1913 by T. Wiegand
and other scholars, with abundant illustrations and archaeological
comments.
The Life of St Paul, written by an anonymous disciple, is one of the
most
trustworthy of Byzantine biographies. In Wiegand’s volume it is
supplemented by
a panegyric from MS. Vatican 704 previously unprinted. See also the Zeitschrift f. kath. Theologie, vol.
xviii (1894), pp. 365 seq., and
the Revue des quest. histor., vol. x (1893), pp.
49—85.
sometimes
listed as “the Younger.” Paul was born at Pergamos, near Smyrna, in Asia Minor, the
son of an
officer in the Byzantine army. His father was killed in battle, and
after his mother died, he became a monk in a community on Mt. Olympus
in Greece, with his brother, Basil. Paul later left the monastery and
became a hermit on Mount Latros in Bithynia, Asia Minor. Soon he
attracted followers, and Paul was compelled to organize them into a
laura, or community. After twelve years, Paul departed Mount Latros and
settled on the island of Samos to live in a cave. More followers
gathered around him and Paul oversaw the creation of several more
lauras before returning to Latros, where he died after years of prayer
and mortifications.
Also known as Odo of
Canterbury. Born to Danish parents in East Anglia,
he joined a Benedictine monastery at Fleury-sur-Loire and then was
appointed bishop of Ramsbury, in Wessex. In 937, Odo was present at the
Battle of Brunabur where King Athelstan of Wessex defeated a force of
Scots, Danes, and Northumbrians. In 942, Odo became archbishop of
Canterbury, wielding both secular and spiritual authority with fairness
and deep concern for the welfare of the people. He assisted in the
formulation of the legislation of Kings Edmund and Edgar the Peaceful,
created as a separate diocese the region of East Anglia, and gave his
blessings to the monastic reforms of St. Dunstan at Glastonbury,
thereby promoting the revival of monasticism in England. Known as “the
Good” because of his famed holiness, he was also credited
with miracles.
ODO was born in East Anglia of Danish parents. While bishop of Ramsbury he was present at the great battle of Brunanburh, when King Athelstan defeated the Danes, Northumbrians and Scots, and shortly afterwards was translated to the see of Canterbury. As archbishop he was very active in both civil and ecclesiastical affairs; he made his native East Anglia into a separate diocese, and encouraged the monastic reforms of St Dunstan at Glastonbury. Odo himself had received the religious habit at Fleury-sur-Loire.
He was popularly known as " Odo the Good ", and several miracles are recorded of him, one of which, at Canterbury, was a demonstration of the Real Presence against some doubting clergy. He died in 959, having lived in the reigns of six kings, and his name appears in several ancient calendars of the church of Canterbury.
ODO was born in East Anglia of Danish parents. While bishop of Ramsbury he was present at the great battle of Brunanburh, when King Athelstan defeated the Danes, Northumbrians and Scots, and shortly afterwards was translated to the see of Canterbury. As archbishop he was very active in both civil and ecclesiastical affairs; he made his native East Anglia into a separate diocese, and encouraged the monastic reforms of St Dunstan at Glastonbury. Odo himself had received the religious habit at Fleury-sur-Loire.
He was popularly known as " Odo the Good ", and several miracles are recorded of him, one of which, at Canterbury, was a demonstration of the Real Presence against some doubting clergy. He died in 959, having lived in the reigns of six kings, and his name appears in several ancient calendars of the church of Canterbury.
The most reliable
information about St Odo comes from the life of his
nephew, St Oswald of York, by a contemporary monk of Ramsey; it is
printed in Historians of the Church
of York, vol. i, in the Rolls
Series. A life of Odo himself by Eadmer (Acta Sanctorum, July, vol. ii)
is valuable, but much later in date. See also DNB., vol. xli. Odo's
prefatory epistle to Frithegod's metrical Life of St Wilfrid is a
curiosity of Anglo-Saxon learning; cf, Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lxx
(1952), p. 400 .
listed also as Rosendo.
Born in Galicia, Spain, in 907
to a noble family, he
was appointed bishop of Mondonedo at the age of eighteen and against
his personal wishes. Soon after, he was given the duty of replacing the
dissolute bishop of Compostela, his cousin Sisnand. He distinguished
himselfwith his military skills by leading armies in the field against
invading Norsemen and Moors. When Sisnand escaped from imprisonment, he
drove Rudesind from his office as bishop under threat of murder.
Rudesind retired to the monastery of St. John Caveiro which he had
built, and founded the abbey of Celanova at Villar, where he lived as a
monk. He built several other monastic communities, installing in each
strict observance of the Benedictine rule. Elected abbot of Celanova to
succeed the first abbot, Franquila, he became a leading figure of his
time, receiving visits from Church leaders throughout Portugal who
sought his spiritual advice. A relative of St. Senorina, Rudesind earned a
reputation for performing miracles. He died at Celanova and was
canonized in 1195
977 St Rudesind, Or Rosendo, Bishop Of Dumium
St Rudesind, or San
Rosendo as he is called by his Spanish fellow
countrymen, came of a noble Galician family. According to his
biographer, Brother Stephen of Celanova, his mother was praying in St
Saviour's church on Mount Cordoba when the birth of this son was
divinely foretold to her. Rudesind grew up a serious and saintly youth,
and when the see of Dumium (now Mondofledo) fell vacant, the people
demanded that he should be appointed. In vain did he plead that he was
only eighteen and quite unsuitable: they insisted, and eventually he
had to accept consecration. As a bishop he was a great contrast to his
cousin Sisnand, Bishop of Compostela, who neglected his duties and
spent all his time in sports and dissipation. This caused such scandal
that King Sancho put him in prison, and requested Rudesind to take over
the diocese, which he did very reluctantly. On one occasion, when King
Sancho was away, the Northmen descended upon Galicia, whilst at the
same time the Moors invaded Portugal. Bishop Rudesind gathered together
an army and, with the battle-cry, "Some put their trust in chariots
and some in horses, but we will call on the name of the Lord", he led
his men first against the Northmen whom he drove back to their ships,
and then against the Moors whom he forced to retire into their own
territories.
But at the death of King Sancho in 967 Sisnand broke out of prison and on Christmas night attacked Rudesind, whom he threatened with death unless he Vacated the see. The holy man made no resistance and retired into the monastery of St John of Caveiro which he had founded, and here he remained until he was instructed in a vision to build another abbey in a place that would be shown him. To his joy he found the place of his dream at Villar-a valley owned by his forefathers-"full of springs and streams and suitable for flowers, grain and herbs, as well as for fruit trees". Here he began to build and in eight years he completed the monastery, which he called Celanova. Over it he placed a saintly monk named Franquila, under whose obedience he chose to serve. With the help of this abbot he continued to build more monasteries as well as to enforce in those already founded a stricter observance of the Rule of St Benedict. After the death of Franquila, he was elected abbot, and so great was his influence that bishops and abbots came to him for advice and instruction and other religious houses placed themselves under his jurisdiction.
But at the death of King Sancho in 967 Sisnand broke out of prison and on Christmas night attacked Rudesind, whom he threatened with death unless he Vacated the see. The holy man made no resistance and retired into the monastery of St John of Caveiro which he had founded, and here he remained until he was instructed in a vision to build another abbey in a place that would be shown him. To his joy he found the place of his dream at Villar-a valley owned by his forefathers-"full of springs and streams and suitable for flowers, grain and herbs, as well as for fruit trees". Here he began to build and in eight years he completed the monastery, which he called Celanova. Over it he placed a saintly monk named Franquila, under whose obedience he chose to serve. With the help of this abbot he continued to build more monasteries as well as to enforce in those already founded a stricter observance of the Rule of St Benedict. After the death of Franquila, he was elected abbot, and so great was his influence that bishops and abbots came to him for advice and instruction and other religious houses placed themselves under his jurisdiction.
Many miracles are related
by his biographer Stephen as having been
wrought through St Rudesind-demoniacs and epileptics were healed, the
blind cured, stolen property restored and captives liberated; and he
prefaces his catalogue with a simple little personal experience of his
own. "When I was at a tender age", he says, "my parents delivered me
over to study letters. In order to escape from the toil of study and
also from canings (which are the common lot of boys) I used to hide in
the woods. As I could not be made amenable, even when I was securely
tied up, my master, moved by a divine inspiration, went to the tomb of
St Rudesind, lit a candle and prayed that if I were destined by the
Just Judge for the order of the clergy, He would constrain me by the
bonds of His virtue and would open my heart to learn. After this I
became more docile, as I have often heard him say, and not so very long
afterwards I received the religious habit in that very monastery." St
Rudesind was canonized in 1195.
It
is not certain whether the life attributed to the monk Stephen was
really
written by him, and in any case he lived nearly two centuries after the
saint
he commemorates. By far the greater part of the documents printed in
the
Bollandist Acta
Sanctorum are
taken up with the miracles after Rudesind's death. Much obscurity
envelops his
connection with the two sees, Dumium and Compostela, and whether he did
not
retire to Celanova before he was called away to take his cousin's
place. See A.
Lopez y Carballeira, San Rosendo (1909); and Gams, Kirchengeschichte
Spaniens, vol. ii, pt 2,
pp. 405-406. In Antony de
Yepes, Coronica
General de la Orden de San Benito, vol. v,
pp. 14-16, is printed a Spanish translation
of the bulls of beatification and canonization of San Rosendo. Ano Cristiano, by Justo
Perez de Urbel (5
vols., 1933-1935) is useful for this and other Spanish saints, but it
makes no
claim to be a critical work.
Thessalonícæ sancti Fantíni Confessóris, qui, multa a Saracénis perpéssus, atque e monastério, in quo abstinéntia víxerat admirábili, expúlsus, demum, cum plúrimos ad viam salútis perduxísset, in senectúte bona quiévit.
At Thessalonica, St. Fantinus, confessor, who suffered much from the Saracens, and was driven from his monastery, in which he had lived in great abstinence. After having brought many to the way of salvation, he rested at last at an advanced age.
Tenth Century St Fantinus, Abbot
This Fantinus is said to
have been abbot of the Greek monastery of St
Mercury in Calabria. After some years he claimed that the voice
of God
was telling him to leave the monastery and he accordingly did so,
wandering about the countryside from place to place, sleeping in the
open, and living on fruit and herbs. When he came to a church or
monastery he lamented and prophesied woe; when he met a monk he wept
over him as though he were a dead man. When his friends, much
upset by
this strange behaviour, tried to induce him to return to the monastery,
he only replied that there would soon be no monastery to return to and
that he would die in a foreign land. In due course the Saracens
devastated Calabria, the monastery of St Mercury was destroyed, and St
Fantinus with two disciples went overseas and landed in the
Peloponnesus. He lived for a time at Corinth and at Larissa in
Thessaly, and then moved to Salonika, where his miracles and virtues
made him famous. Here he died.
Not much that is reliable is
known of this saint, though the
Bollandists have devoted a few pages to him in the Acta Sanctorum,
August, vol. vi. It is apparently this Fantinus who figures in
the
Constantinople synaxaries on November 14; though in an
Italo-Greek
synaxary he is assigned to August 30. See J. Rendel Harris,
Further
Researches into the Ferrar Group (1900), with Delehaye's comments in
the Analecta Bollandiana,
vol. xxi (1902); pp. 23-28. The story seems to be nothing but
legend
and confusion, including possibly confusion between two holy men, both
named Fantinus.
Saint Fantinus was a monk in Calabria at the
Basilian monastery of
Saint Mercury. He was an old man when his monastery was destroyed by
the Saracens, but he fled to the East and died there (Benedictines).In Británnia sancti Eduárdi Regis, qui, dolis novércæ necátus, multis miráculis cláruit.
In England, St. Edward, king, who was assassinated by order of his treacherous stepmother, and became celebrated for many miracles.
Edward was the eldest son
of King Edgar of England and his
first wife, Ethelfleda who
died shortly after
her son's birth. He was baptized by St.
Dunstan and became King in 975 on his father's death with the
support of Dunstan but against the wishes of his stepmother, Queen
Elfrida, who wished the throne for her son Ethelred.
Edward ruled only three years when he was murdered on March 18 while hunting near Corfe Dastle, reportedly by adherents of Ethelred, though William of Malmesbury, the English historian of the twelfth century, said Elfrida was the actual murderer. In the end, Elfrida was seized with remorse for her crime and, retiring from the world, she built the monasteries of Amesbury and Wherwell, in the latter of which she died. Edward was a martyr only in the broad sense of one who suffers an unjust death, but his cultus was considerable, encouraged by the miracles reported from his tomb at Shaftesbury; His feast day is March 18 and still observed in the diocese of Plymouth.
Edward ruled only three years when he was murdered on March 18 while hunting near Corfe Dastle, reportedly by adherents of Ethelred, though William of Malmesbury, the English historian of the twelfth century, said Elfrida was the actual murderer. In the end, Elfrida was seized with remorse for her crime and, retiring from the world, she built the monasteries of Amesbury and Wherwell, in the latter of which she died. Edward was a martyr only in the broad sense of one who suffers an unjust death, but his cultus was considerable, encouraged by the miracles reported from his tomb at Shaftesbury; His feast day is March 18 and still observed in the diocese of Plymouth.
the son of rich,
illustrious and pious parents, was born at
Constantinople. He was mad Patrician and General of the Cibyrra
military Theme (the Byzantine Empire was divided into 29 Themes, or
districts). Once, when he was traveling by sea with his soldiers, a
storm arose and the ships sank. Of all the soldiers only St Arsenius
was saved. After this he became a monk, and he mortified his flesh by
fasting, vigil and hardships.
Later, he came to a certain place on Mount Latros, in Asia Minor. There he killed a poisonous viper by his prayer and the Sign of the Cross, and then he settled in the nearby Kelliboria monastery on the north side of the mountain, where he was chosen igumen. From the monastery St Arsenius went to a cave, where he repelled wild beasts by prayer. The brethren of the monastery asked him to return to them. He did go back, but did not live with the other monks. He lived alone in a small cell, and for six days of the week he neither ate any food, nor would he converse with anyone.
Finally, St Arsenius attained such perfection that he was fed by an angel. He was also granted the grace to perform miracles. He could stir bitter water with his staff and change it into sweet water. After performing many other miracles, he called the brethren to him and gave them his final instructions.
After advising them to put aside all worldly cares and vanities, St Arsenius surrendered his soul to God. The saint continued to work miracles even after his death
Later, he came to a certain place on Mount Latros, in Asia Minor. There he killed a poisonous viper by his prayer and the Sign of the Cross, and then he settled in the nearby Kelliboria monastery on the north side of the mountain, where he was chosen igumen. From the monastery St Arsenius went to a cave, where he repelled wild beasts by prayer. The brethren of the monastery asked him to return to them. He did go back, but did not live with the other monks. He lived alone in a small cell, and for six days of the week he neither ate any food, nor would he converse with anyone.
Finally, St Arsenius attained such perfection that he was fed by an angel. He was also granted the grace to perform miracles. He could stir bitter water with his staff and change it into sweet water. After performing many other miracles, he called the brethren to him and gave them his final instructions.
After advising them to put aside all worldly cares and vanities, St Arsenius surrendered his soul to God. The saint continued to work miracles even after his death
Tulli, in Gállia, sancti Gerárdi, ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopi. At Toul in France, St. Gerard, bishop of that city. B (RM)
(also known as Gerard,
Geraud) Born in Cologne, Germany, 935; died at
Toul in 994; canonized in 1050 by Pope
Saint Leo IX, who succeeded him as bishop of Toul. Gerald was
born into a noble family headed by his father Ingranne.
Gerald was educated at the cathedral school in Cologne. After his mother, Emma, was killed by lightning, he understood the precariousness of life and devoted himself to God. When his reputation for piety reached the ears of Archbishop Bruno of Cologne, Gerald was removed from the semi-monastery of the Canons of Saint Peter in Cologne and, in 963 at the age of 28, compelled to accept consecration as bishop of Toul, which he governed for 31 years.
His zeal never slackened. Along with executing the duties of his office, each day Gerald recited thirteen canonical hours because he joined the office of the monks with that of the canons. The holy scriptures and the lives of the saints he read daily, and meditated on them good part of the night.
Gerald was a noted preacher himself, and sent likewise talented clergymen to preach in the countryside. He made Toul a center of learning by bringing Irish, Scottish, and Greek monks into the diocese.
Dreading the intellectual hubris that often accompanies erudition, Gerald ensured that all scholars, especially those studying for the priesthood, applied themselves with greater fervor to the development of their interior life than to their studies. This was his own rule of conduct; thus, he did not have the regret that some men have expressed in their last moments that they took more pains to cultivate understanding of science than to correct and improve their will by virtue. By mortification and sweet contemplation, Gerald nourished in his soul a constant spirit of devotion.
Gerald also rebuilt churches (including the cathedral of St. Stephen) and monasteries (including Evre or Aper, Saint Mansuet, and Saint Martin near Sorcy), and founded the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Toul. His charity was recognized by Emperor Otto II, who placed all the monasteries of the country under the care of Gerald, who had worked hard to relieve the famine of 982 and the victims of the plague that followed. Gerald also obtained from the emperor a confirmation of the privilege granted his predecessor which recognized the independence of Toul under its bishop.
Gerald's vita was written by Abbot Widric of Saint Aper's Abbey in 994. On October 30, after his canonization in 1050, Pope Leo had Gerald's body exhumed and enshrined. After this ceremony Widric added a second book to the life of Saint Gerard (about his canonization), and later added a third on the translation of his relics, with an account of some miracles (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
Gerald was educated at the cathedral school in Cologne. After his mother, Emma, was killed by lightning, he understood the precariousness of life and devoted himself to God. When his reputation for piety reached the ears of Archbishop Bruno of Cologne, Gerald was removed from the semi-monastery of the Canons of Saint Peter in Cologne and, in 963 at the age of 28, compelled to accept consecration as bishop of Toul, which he governed for 31 years.
His zeal never slackened. Along with executing the duties of his office, each day Gerald recited thirteen canonical hours because he joined the office of the monks with that of the canons. The holy scriptures and the lives of the saints he read daily, and meditated on them good part of the night.
Gerald was a noted preacher himself, and sent likewise talented clergymen to preach in the countryside. He made Toul a center of learning by bringing Irish, Scottish, and Greek monks into the diocese.
Dreading the intellectual hubris that often accompanies erudition, Gerald ensured that all scholars, especially those studying for the priesthood, applied themselves with greater fervor to the development of their interior life than to their studies. This was his own rule of conduct; thus, he did not have the regret that some men have expressed in their last moments that they took more pains to cultivate understanding of science than to correct and improve their will by virtue. By mortification and sweet contemplation, Gerald nourished in his soul a constant spirit of devotion.
Gerald also rebuilt churches (including the cathedral of St. Stephen) and monasteries (including Evre or Aper, Saint Mansuet, and Saint Martin near Sorcy), and founded the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Toul. His charity was recognized by Emperor Otto II, who placed all the monasteries of the country under the care of Gerald, who had worked hard to relieve the famine of 982 and the victims of the plague that followed. Gerald also obtained from the emperor a confirmation of the privilege granted his predecessor which recognized the independence of Toul under its bishop.
Gerald's vita was written by Abbot Widric of Saint Aper's Abbey in 994. On October 30, after his canonization in 1050, Pope Leo had Gerald's body exhumed and enshrined. After this ceremony Widric added a second book to the life of Saint Gerard (about his canonization), and later added a third on the translation of his relics, with an account of some miracles (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
In território Archiacénsi, in Gállia, sancti Victóris Confessóris, cujus laudes sanctus Bernárdus conscrípsit.
In the province of Champagne in France, St. Victor, confessor, about whom eulogies have been written by St. Bernard.
in Champagne, France, he was much venerated by the Benedictines of Montiramey who asked St. Bernard of Clairvaux to compose a hymn in Victor's honor.
Victor the Hermit (RM)
(also known as Vittre) Born in Troyes,
Champagne, France; 7th century. Born of noble parents, Saint Victor was
educated under strict discipline in learning and piety. He was one of
those rare creatures that was a saint from his cradle. In his youth,
prayer, fasting, and alms- giving were his chief delights.
After embracing the priesthood, the love of heavenly contemplation was so alluring that he preferred retirement to the care of souls. This appears to have been God's will for him. He lived in continual communion with God and God glorified him by many miracles, but the greatest appears to be the powerful example of his life.
After embracing the priesthood, the love of heavenly contemplation was so alluring that he preferred retirement to the care of souls. This appears to have been God's will for him. He lived in continual communion with God and God glorified him by many miracles, but the greatest appears to be the powerful example of his life.
Victor's feast was celebrated by the Benedictines of Montiramy at whose request Saint Bernard wrote two pious panegyrics
{Greek meaning a speech
"fit for a general
assembly" (panegyris)} about Victor (Ep. 312, vet. ed.
seu 398, nov. edit.), including: "Now placed in heaven, he beholds God
clearly, revealed to him, swallowed up in joy, but not forgetting us.
It is not the land of oblivion in which Victor dwells. Heaven does not
harden or straiten hearts but makes them more tender and compassionate;
it does not distract minds, nor alienate them from us; it does not
diminish, but it increases affection and charity; it augments bowels of
pity. The angels, although they behold the face of their Father, visit,
run, and continually assist us; and shall they now forget us who were
once among us, and who once suffered themselves what they see us at
present labor under? No: 'I know the just expect me till you render to
me my reward.'
"Victor is not like that
cup-bearer of Pharaoh, who could forget his
fellow-captive. He has not so put on the stole of glory himself as to
lay aside his pity, or the remembrance of our misery" (Sermon, 2).
Saint Victor died at
Saturniac, now called Saint-Vittre, in the diocese
of Troyes. A church was built over his tomb but in 837 his relics were
translated to the neighboring monastery of Montier-Ramoy, or Montirame
(Benedictines, Husenbeth).
998
St. Nicon Missionary
called Metanoeite Armenian Pontus on the Black Sea "the Preacher
of Repentance"In
Arménia sancti
Nicónis Mónachi. In Armenia, St. Nicon,
monk.
Born at Pontus Polemoniacus at the beginning of the tenth
century. He
was the son of a wealthy landowner, and he was given the name Nicetas
in Baptism.Since he had no desire to take over the management of his family's wealth and estates, Nicetas entered the monastery of Chrysopetro, where he shone forth in prayer and asceticism. When he received the monastic tonsure, he was given the new name Nikon. The new name symbolizes a new life in the Spirit (Romans 7:6), and the birth of the new man (Ephesians 4:24). A monk is expected to stop associating himself with the old personality connected to his former life in the world, and to devote himself entirely to God.
St Nikon had a remarkable
gift for preaching. When he spoke of virtue
and spiritual matters, his listeners were filled with heartfelt
compunction and love for God. His words produced such spiritual fruit
in those who heard him that he was asked to travel through the eastern
regions to preach. He visited Armenia, Crete, Euboea, Aegina, and the
Peloponnesus, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.
"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This was the message of St John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2), and of Christ Himself (Matthew 4:17). This was also the message of St Nikon. Wherever he went, he would begin his sermons with "Repent," hence he was called "Nikon Metanoeite," or "Nikon, the Preacher of Repentance."
At first, people paid little heed to his message. Then gradually he won their hearts through his preaching, his miracles, and his gentle, loving nature. He stressed the necessity for everyone to repent, warning that those who utter a few sighs and groans and think that they have achieved true repentance have deluded themselves. St Nikon told the people that true sorrow for one's sins is cultivated by prayer, self-denial, almsgiving, ascetical efforts, and by confession to one's spiritual Father.
After sowing the seeds of piety, St Nikon began to see them bear fruit. People started to change their lives, but he urged them to strengthen their souls in virtue and good works so that they would not be overwhelmed by the cares of this world.
Eventually, St Nikon settled in a cave outside Sparta. Soon he moved into the city, because so many people were coming to hear him. In the center of Sparta, he built a church dedicated to Christ the Savior. In time a monastery grew up around the church.
St Nikon never ceased to preach the Word of God, and to lead people back to the spiritual life of the Church. He also healed the sick, and performed many other miracles.
St Nikon fell asleep in the Lord in 998, and his memory was honored by the people around Sparta. During the Turkish occupation of Greece, however, he was all but forgotten, except in Sparta. After the Greek Revolution in 1821, a service to St Nikon was composed by Father Daniel Georgopoulos, and was based on the saint's Life, which had been written by Igumen Gregory of St Nikon's Monastery in 1142.
St Nikon was recognized as the patron saint of the diocese of Monemvasia and Lakedaimonia in 1893 when the cathedral church in Sparta was dedicated to St Nikon, the Preacher of Repentance.
"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This was the message of St John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2), and of Christ Himself (Matthew 4:17). This was also the message of St Nikon. Wherever he went, he would begin his sermons with "Repent," hence he was called "Nikon Metanoeite," or "Nikon, the Preacher of Repentance."
At first, people paid little heed to his message. Then gradually he won their hearts through his preaching, his miracles, and his gentle, loving nature. He stressed the necessity for everyone to repent, warning that those who utter a few sighs and groans and think that they have achieved true repentance have deluded themselves. St Nikon told the people that true sorrow for one's sins is cultivated by prayer, self-denial, almsgiving, ascetical efforts, and by confession to one's spiritual Father.
After sowing the seeds of piety, St Nikon began to see them bear fruit. People started to change their lives, but he urged them to strengthen their souls in virtue and good works so that they would not be overwhelmed by the cares of this world.
Eventually, St Nikon settled in a cave outside Sparta. Soon he moved into the city, because so many people were coming to hear him. In the center of Sparta, he built a church dedicated to Christ the Savior. In time a monastery grew up around the church.
St Nikon never ceased to preach the Word of God, and to lead people back to the spiritual life of the Church. He also healed the sick, and performed many other miracles.
St Nikon fell asleep in the Lord in 998, and his memory was honored by the people around Sparta. During the Turkish occupation of Greece, however, he was all but forgotten, except in Sparta. After the Greek Revolution in 1821, a service to St Nikon was composed by Father Daniel Georgopoulos, and was based on the saint's Life, which had been written by Igumen Gregory of St Nikon's Monastery in 1142.
St Nikon was recognized as the patron saint of the diocese of Monemvasia and Lakedaimonia in 1893 when the cathedral church in Sparta was dedicated to St Nikon, the Preacher of Repentance.
998
St. Nicon Missionary
called Metanoite Armenian Pontus on the Black Sea in Asia Minor and entered a monastery at
Khrysopetro.
He was then
sent as a preacher to Crete, and after enjoying considerable success,
he went to his native country and Greece. He was given the title
Metanoite because of his common use of penance as a theme for his
sermons. He was noted for his miracles. He died in Peloponnesus.
Nikon Metanoite (RM) (also known as Nicon) Born in Pontus (now in Armenia); died in Peloponnesus, Greece, in 998. Nikon received his surname from the Greek 'metanoia' (change of heart) because penance was always the theme of his preaching. In his youth, he secretly ran away from his wealthy family to an Armenian monastery called Khrysopetro (Stone of God), where he engaged in austere penance and humble prayer for 12 years. The purity of his love of God when he spoke about virtue caused his superiors to send him out into the world to preach the Word of God as a missionary, first in Armenia and later on the Saracen-held island of Crete for 20 years, then in Greece.
In imitation of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Nikon began every sermon with a call to conversion and the necessity for sincere repentance and penance. He taught that earnest prayer, mortification, alms, and holy meditation are needed to allow the resolution of conversion to take root in the heart. The sweetness with which Nikon recommended the most severe maxims of the Gospel, made our faith appear amiable to the Islamics themselves. The words he preached were confirmed by many miracles (Attwater 2, Benedictines, Coulson, Husenbeth).
Nikon Metanoite (RM) (also known as Nicon) Born in Pontus (now in Armenia); died in Peloponnesus, Greece, in 998. Nikon received his surname from the Greek 'metanoia' (change of heart) because penance was always the theme of his preaching. In his youth, he secretly ran away from his wealthy family to an Armenian monastery called Khrysopetro (Stone of God), where he engaged in austere penance and humble prayer for 12 years. The purity of his love of God when he spoke about virtue caused his superiors to send him out into the world to preach the Word of God as a missionary, first in Armenia and later on the Saracen-held island of Crete for 20 years, then in Greece.
In imitation of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Nikon began every sermon with a call to conversion and the necessity for sincere repentance and penance. He taught that earnest prayer, mortification, alms, and holy meditation are needed to allow the resolution of conversion to take root in the heart. The sweetness with which Nikon recommended the most severe maxims of the Gospel, made our faith appear amiable to the Islamics themselves. The words he preached were confirmed by many miracles (Attwater 2, Benedictines, Coulson, Husenbeth).