Saint Aristides and His Veneration in Greece

St. Aristides in a fresco from the Church of Panagia Phaneromeni in Aigio

 

 By Aristides G. Theodoropoulos

On September 13, the Orthodox Church honors and celebrates the memory of Saint Aristides, this eminent and eloquent Athenian philosopher and famous martyr of Christ, who became better known in Ecclesiastical History and Patrology by his famous Apology, which is also the oldest surviving apologetic text.

This eminent Christian philosopher, ardent apologist and glorious martyr of the 2nd century AD was born in Athens and studied classical philosophy at the famous Philosophical School of Athens.

Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (+ 258)

St. Cyprian of Carthage (Feast Day - September 16)

The Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage,* was born in about the year 200 in the city of Carthage (Northern Africa), where all his life and work took place. Thascius Cyprianus was the son of a rich pagan senator, and received a fine secular education becoming a splendid orator, and a teacher of rhetoric and philosophy in the school of Carthage. He often appeared in the courts to defend his fellow citizens.

Cyprian afterwards recalled that for a long time “he remained in a deep dark mist.., far from the light of Truth.” His fortune, received from his parents and from his work, was spent on sumptuous banquets, but they were not able to quench in him the thirst for truth. He became acquainted with the writings of the Apologist Tertullian, and became convinced of the truth of Christianity. The holy bishop later wrote that he thought it was impossible for him to attain to the regeneration promised by the Savior, because of his habits.

Athenagoras and Early Christian Apologetics

By Jackson Watts

Early church history shows that believers took seriously the task of apologetics. They knew that their beliefs and practices had profound spiritual consequences, and thus sought to “destroy the lofty arguments raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5-6 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ). One such Christian was Athenagoras of Athens, a philosopher whose passionate intellect is displayed in A Plea for the Christians.[1]

Written in A.D. 177, Athenagoras penned this letter to Emperors Lucius Aurelius Commodus and Marcus Aurelius. To a large degree, the letter is a “plea for civic toleration”[2] It is as striking in its philosophical and legal argumentation as it is in its theological appeal.

While we may be tempted to analyze Athenagoras through the lens of modern apologetic methodologies, his Plea resists narrow classification. Instead, we’ll consider three instructive elements of his work: (1) inconsistencies in Greco-Roman thought and life; (2) the use of secular sources to support religious arguments; and (3) respectful appeals to the character and intellect of the letter’s recipients.

Saint Dionysios, Bishop of Corinth

St. Dionysios of Corinth (Feast Day - November 29)

Verses

Dionysios performed sacrifices,
Approaching the sword, he is also a Martyr.

Saint Jerome wrote the following about Saint Dionysios, information of which he took from Eusebius, who placed him as being Bishop in the eleventh year of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was 171.

"Dionysios, Bishop of the Church of Corinth, was of so great eloquence and industry that he taught not only the people of his own city and province but also those of other provinces and cities by his letters. Of these one is To the Lacedaemonians, another To the Athenians, a third To the Nicomedians, a fourth To the Cretans, a fifth To the Church at Amastrina and to the Other Churches of Pontus, a sixth To the Gnosians and to Pinytus the bishop of the same city, a seventh To the Romans, addressed to Soter their bishop, an eighth To Chrysophora a holy woman. He flourished in the reign of Marcus Antoninus Verus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus."

Saint Pinytus, Bishop of Knossos

St. Pinytus of Knossos (Feast Day - October 10)

Saint Pinytus was the Bishop of Knossos in Crete in the late second century. He was considered one of the foremost ecclesiastical writers of his time by Eusebius of Caesarea.

Holy Hieromartyr Dionysios, Bishop of Alexandria (+ 265)

St. Dionysios of Alexandria (Feast Day - October 3)

Verses

Dionysios and his fellow eight contestants,
From the darkness below were transpositioned to a place inhabited by light.

Much of the information about his life comes from the extensive correspondence he maintained during his life that survived in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius. Dionysios was born about the year 190 in Alexandria to a pagan family of wealth, and he was well read. After a divine vision instructing him to do so, he studied in depth the traditions of the heretics after becoming a Christian at a mature age in order to be able to refute them. Dionysios joined the Catechetical School of Alexandria where he became a student of Origen and Heraklas. In 232, as Heraklas became the Bishop of Alexandria, Dionysios, now a priest, succeeded him as leader of the school.

About the "Apology" of Saint Aristides the Philosopher

We know of about twelve Apologists in the second century, but out of this number there are about five whose works have been entirely lost or from which we have only a few passages. The earliest Apologist whose work we possess in its entirety, is Aristides, a philosopher of Athens, whom Eusebius names immediately after Quadratus. Like Quadratus, Aristides is said to have presented his Apology to Hadrian (c. 117-138).

Saint Gregory the Wonderworker as a Model for our Lives

St. Gregory of Neocaesarea (Feast Day - November 17)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

He was a great figure of the third century. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, in his encomium to the Saint, calls him "Great". Due to his internal purity and deep humility, as well as his great love for God and people, he received the gift of wonderworking "from a young age". However, the greatest miracle is what happened to him, by converting from paganism to Christianity.

He was born in a pagan environment. His wealthy parents, following his initial education in his homeland, sent him to study law in Beirut. On the way, and by good fortune, he came to know the great teacher Origen in Caesarea and was literally captivated by his words and rhetorical skill. What followed in his life took place according the will of God's good providence. He became a Christian and instead of law he studied theology in Alexandria. When he returned to his homeland, in Neocaesarea of Pontus, the Church found him to be the right shepherd for the Diocese of Neocaesarea. At that time Neocaesarea was a pagan city in which there were only 17 Christians. This was his entire congregation when he was ordained. But when he was called by God to abandon all earthly things, the city was inhabited almost entirely by Christians with only 17 pagans! And his biographer notes that he departed this life disappointed because he did not baptize them as well.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa says that he grew up listening to stories and descriptions of the facts of the life of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker as well as his inspired teachings from his grandmother Macrina. Macrina was a student and spiritual child of Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea and nurtured her grandchildren "in the education and admonition of the Lord", as the Apostle Paul says, milking them and nourishing them with the words and bright example of the Saint. Wanting to teach them, she told them how he treated temptations, difficulties, slander, persecutions and the war with the pagans. How with patience, prayer and fiery zeal he changed just about every inhabitant of the city from the darkness of idolatry to the bright faith of Christ. These incidents made such an impression on him that he remembered them until the end of his life, and he felt great gratitude for his grandmother who raised him in this way. Instead of tales with witches, dragons and non-existent figures, that sicken the imagination and create trauma for children, she gave them living words, true stories and real events, that have a direct relationship with truth and life and offer children proper models.

The Triune God of the Orthodox Church is not simply a higher power, an impersonal being or an abstract idea, but He is "the God of our Fathers". He is a Person and man has the ability to have personal communion with Him when, of course, he harmonizes his life with the way of life of the Orthodox Church. He does not dwell in the heavens, but He is in heaven and on earth, since He is "everywhere present and filling all things". He has heaven as His throne and the earth as His footstool and, according to the words of Christ, He contains Himself into human existence: "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." Just as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Christ, "Who is entirely uncontainable", "contained Himself in the womb of a woman", the Holy Theotokos, so in the same way can He be contained in the human heart when it has been purified of the passions. This is not a utopia, because we see it demonstrated and verified in the lives of the Saints. The Saints experienced significantly in their existence true repentance, which leads to humility and the coming of Divine Grace that is felt in their entire being. This is why their words, which are "given from above", are regenerating, healing and life-giving.

Parents who wish to give their children a proper upbringing must raise them by offering them the truth, not fairy tales. An illiterate grandmother, yet with an entirely holy existence, said to her five-year old and seven-year old grandchildren: "Now you have grown up. No longer will you ask me, 'Grandma tell us a fairytale', but you will say, 'Grandma tell us about Christ and faith'." These words remind me of the words, full of gratitude, that Saint Gregory of Nyssa had about his grandmother Macrina: "From the blessed Macrina, we learned of the words of the blessed Gregory." By words he meant the divinely inspired words, which have the potential to offer true consolation and transfuse "life and more abundant life."

Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi, "ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΣ ΝΕΟΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΙΑΣ Ο ΘΑΥΜΑΤΟΥΡΓΟΣ", November 2000. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

Saint Aristides the Philosopher as a Model for our Lives

St. Aristides the Martyr (Feast Day - September 13)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Aristides was born in the second century A.D. in Athens and studied classical philosophy in the famous School of Philosophy. He was a restless spirit and the divinely inspired sermons of Saint Hierotheos, the first bishop of Athens, and Saint Dionysios the Areopagite did not leave him unimpressed, but rather resulted in him being baptized and then becoming an apologist of the faith and a martyr of Jesus Christ.

It should be noted that even before his baptism he was moved by the excellent character of the Christians and the purity of their lives, and therefore could not tolerate the fact that they were being persecuted, imprisoned, made to suffer and be killed as criminals simply because they had a different faith. After being admitted into the God-man Body of Christ, the Church, he rebutted all the charges against the Christians and praised their ethic and purity of life and their state, which were the fruit of their faith, through his gift of writing in his famous apology titled "On Reverence Towards God".

When one studies carefully the apology of the martyr Aristides they will recognize, among other things, that he knew Holy Scripture well, together with the dominant philosophical currents of his time. According to the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius, the apology of Saint Aristides was served to the Roman Emperor Hadrian, while according to the Syriac translation, this apology was served to the successor of Hadrian, Antoninus the Pious.

Saint Aristides after horrible torture incurred because of his faith and devotion to Christ and the Church "was perfected at the gallows" and "was presented to God as an immaculate sacrifice and divine burnt offering." His life and times give us the opportunity to emphasize the following:

First, in his apology, Saint Aristides, after talking about the beliefs and way of life of the barbarians, the idolaters, the Jews and the Christians, attempts to reveal the superiority of the Christian faith over others, which is evidenced by their superior way of life and behavior. He says the following, among others, about the members of the Church: "They do not worship strange gods" and they walk their path in life "full of modesty and joy." They are straightforward and honest in their dealings and "falsehood does not live among them. They love one another, do not turn their faces from their widows and save orphans from those who treat them brutally. And whoever has gives to the one who has not, without boasting... If they hear one of them is imprisoned, wounded or is held answerable in the name of their Messiah, all run to him, and as much as possible they relieve him to liberate him. And if there is someone poor among them and do not have a surplus of food, they will fast for two or three days to ensure them from their deficiency." He then highlights the fact that "they do not publicly confess their kindness, but are careful so that no one notices them. They hide their offering as someone who finds a treasure and hides it. They struggle to be righteous...." All this and much more moved the well-intentioned of that time and many desired to learn how they could live this way, thus asking to be catechized and baptized. Primarily, though, they were impressed how the Christians faced death, both theirs and that of their loved ones. Saint Aristides writes: "If one of the righteous die among them, they rejoice and thank God. And they treat the body as if it is leaving one place and going someplace nearby. When one of them brings a child into the world, they also thank God. And if one of them happens to die at a young age, they thank God even more for someone to have lived a sinless life. If they see someone among them die without faith or in sin, they mourn with grief and bitterness...."

Second, Saint Aristides, after vividly describing what was mentioned above, along with many other things regarding the faith and way of life of the members of the Church, does not fail with boldness and courage to urge the emperor to study Holy Scripture in order to establish the truth of what he writes. He also begs to allow for the study of it by whoever desires to do so. "Take therefore their scriptures, and study them deeply. Then behold, for you will discover that what I said is not molded by my imagination, nor do I speak as their lawyer. However, from the time I read their scriptures, I was made fully certain of these things, as well as about future things... Consequently let all those who do not have knowledge of God, to approach them, and they will receive incorrupt words which come from eternity."

The study of the divinely inspired Scriptures comforts and sweetens the heart and simultaneously creates inspiration when done with humility, respect and good intentions rather than curiosity, critical attitude and arrogance. For this reason many are studying Holy Scripture, but few change internally and experience true freedom, who are actually dominated by the passions and are overcome by death, which are corrected in the Church with asceticism and the sacramental life.

The way of life of the members of the Church of the first centuries should rebuke all of us modern Christians and motivate us to strive to increase our zeal and desire towards God and love towards our fellow man.

Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi, "ΑΓΙΟΣ ΑΡΙΣΤΕΙΔΗΣ Ο ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΜΑΡΤΥΣ", September 2009. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

See also: The Holy Martyr Aristides the Philosopher of Athens

Saint Dionyisos of Alexandria and His Love For Truth

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Whenever men exert great effort in seeking the truth, and prefer nothing else to the truth, God comes to meet them in His gentle way. This is shown to us in the life of St. Dionysios of Alexandria (Oct. 5).

Even as a young man and a pagan, Dionysios read all the Greek literature, seeking the truth. When he was not satisfied with this, he read everything that came into his hands. And, in accord with God's providence, he met a poor woman who offered to sell him several hand-copied epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul. Dionysios gladly purchased and read them. They so overcame him that he sought out this woman and asked her if there were more such writings to be had. The woman directed him to a Christian priest who gave him all of Paul's epistles. Having read all carefully, Dionysios came to believe in Christ, and was baptized without any hesitation.

Here is another incident: In the town of Arsinoe, the Millenarian heresy had spread. This heresy taught that Christ would soon come, and He would establish an earthly kingdom on earth for a thousand years. At the head of this heresy was a certain Korakion. St. Dionysios went to Arsinoe to change the minds of the millenarians and to prevent the spread of this heresy. At a large gathering of millenarians and true Orthodox, Dionysios debated with Korakion and other leaders of the millenarians. This debate lasted for three whole days. (Such zeal did the ancient Christians show in the examination of the truth!) God blessed their labor and zeal, through the prayers of St. Dionysios. At the end of the debate, Korakion and all the other millenarians rejected their false teaching and accepted the Orthodox teaching of St. Dionysios.