September 21, 2015

Saint Jonah the Sabbaite, Father of Saints Theodore and Theophanes the Branded

St. Jonah the Presbyter (Feast Day - Gr. September 21; Slav. September 22)

Verses

Jonah left the place where his life was unstable,
Finding a place both stable and sure.

Our venerable Father Jonah was a presbyter in the year 829, and the father according to the flesh of the most venerable and most blessed Confessors, namely Theodore and Theophanes the Branded, whom Theophilos the Iconomach branded on the forehead with twelve iambic verses.

After entering the Lavra of Saint Savvas and becoming a monk, he acquired extreme reverence towards God, and through much asceticism, fasting, prayer, continuous tears and laments, he was esteemed by all and inspired many to a similar way of life.. And having been adorned with every virtue, he acquired the gift of working miracles, and many came to him seeking healing. After living a wondrous and God-pleasing life, he surrendered his soul to the Lord in deep old age.

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