Saint Eustathios of Antioch as a Model for our Lives

St. Eustathios of Antioch (Feast Day - February 21)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Eustathios, Archbishop of Antioch, was born in Sidon of Pamphylia in 260 AD. In 320 he was elected Bishop of Beroea (Aleppo) in Syria, and after three years the Archbishop of Antioch. He took part in the proceedings of the First Ecumenical Synod, which convened in 325 at Nicaea in Bithynia and condemned the heresy of Arius.

He was in the front lines for the battle for Orthodoxy and a fellow-struggler of Athanasios the Great, who called him "a man who is a confessor". That is why he was envied by the leading followers of Arius, namely the Bishops Eusebius of Nicomedia, Theognis of Nicaea and Eusebius of Caesarea, and was slandered as an underminer of secular authority, and as unethical, therefore he was exiled. In other words, they claimed that he was attacking the mother of the Emperor Constantine, namely Saint Helen, but also that he had an illegitimate child with a woman of loose morals, whom they bribed to accuse him. Thus they managed to exile him, but God protected him and finally glorified him. A result of his flawless life and his painful struggles for the Orthodox faith, was that his flock was not seduced by heresy.

Saint Meletios of Antioch Resource Page

 

St. Meletios of Antioch (Feast Day - February 12)

 

 

Verses

 

As the Lord grasped the hands of Meletios,

"I surrender my soul into Your hands" he said.

On the twelfth Meletios entered the all-nourishing earth.

 

Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch (+ 381) 

 

Life of Our Holy Father Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch

 

Funeral Oration to St. Meletios of Antioch (St. Gregory of Nyssa)

 

Homily in Praise of Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch (St. John Chrysostom)

Saint Meletios of Antioch as a Model for our Lives

 

February: Day 12: Teaching 2: Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch

 

Saint Meletios of Antioch in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 
 

Life of Our Holy Father Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch

St. Meletios of Antioch (Feast Day - February 12)

 

The holy Meletius was a member of one of the noblest families of Lesser Armenia and was born in the city of Melitene. Renowned for his piety and meek demeanor, he was elected to the see of Sebastea in the year 357, but met with such violent opposition that he departed his diocese and made his abode in the desert, later retiring to the town of Beria in Syria.

Eudoxus, Archbishop of Antioch, [1] a proponent of the Arian heresy, was attracted by the wealth of the see of Constantinople and wished to transfer thither. His opportunity came when the infamous heretic Macedonius, [2] who had hitherto held the position of archpastor in Constantinople, was expelled. During the reign of Constantius, [3] son of the holy Emperor Constantine the Great, the Church of Constantinople abounded in great treasures and was far richer than the Church of Antioch and the others. Hence, Eudoxus, disdaining the see of Antioch, began to covet the see of Constantinople. But the inhabitants of Antioch, learning of the intrigues of their archbishop, were greatly offended, incensed against him because he had spurned his own Church, and for this cause they drove him from their midst. And betaking himself to Constantinople, Eudoxus indeed did manage to obtain the cathedra of that city.

Saint Eulogios, Patriarch of Antioch

St. Eulogios of Antioch (Feast Day - February 13)

Verses

The blessed lot of the kingdom,
Was found above by Father Eulogios.

Saint Eulogios, Patriarch of Antioch, met his end in peace.

It should be pointed out that the name Eulogios is absent from the Patriarchal Lists of the Church of Antioch. This may therefore refer to either Patriarch Eulogios of Alexandria, though he is already commemorated on February 13th, or perhaps even Patriarch Eulalios of Antioch (331–332). In any case, he is unknown to us for the time being.

Saints Anastasios I and Anastasios II, Patriarchs of Antioch

St. Anastasios of Antioch (Feast Day - April 20)

Verses

What shall I write on your behalf Anastasios,
You who hastened to die by the sword on behalf of Christ?

There is some confusion concerning which Saint Anastasios we commemorate today. Though the Synaxaria and the Menaia tell us that on April 20 we are to commemorate an Anastasios who was Patriarch of Antioch and died by being martyred with a sword, we are not given any other details. However, the only two Patriarchs of Antioch with the name Anastasios were Anastasios I, who served twice as Patriarch from 559-570 and 593-599, and he was succeeded by Anastasios II who served from 599-609. Neither of these Patriarchs are recorded as having been martyred with a sword.

The Romiosini of 1821 and the Great Powers (6 of 11)

...continued from part five.

19. Greek Television Promotes the Russian Plan

Indeed, every week Greek television presents a forged movie of Papadiamantis' The Gypsy Girl, which depicts Greeks before the Fall of Constantinople in Peloponnesos as seemingly being enslaved in Romiosini.(13) In order for people to not become indignant by this, the Romans are called Byzantines. Therefore, Greek television teaches our children through this movie that Greeks were enslaved in Constantinople and that the Hagia Sophia of Justinian the Great was a church of the enemies of the Greeks.

Synaxarion of Saint Ephraim, Patriarch of Antioch (+ 545)

St. Ephraim of Antioch (Feast Day - March 7)

Verses

Ephraim the shepherd is joined with the shepherd,
Lesser with the greater, O great dignity!

Saint Ephraim came from Amida and was a count by office, when Justinus the Thracian was reigning in 518. He came to Antioch to rebuild it because it had been destroyed by earthquakes for a second time. By royal command he was consecrated Bishop by the people of Antioch in 527, as Meletios (vol. 2) writes, and as it had happened in times of old with Ambrose of Milan and Nektarios of Constantinople.

Holy Hieromartyr Demetrianos, Bishop of Antioch

St. Demetrianos of Antioch (Feast Day - November 10);
Picture depicts the chronological spiral on the Patriarchal throne at Dayro d-Mor Hananyo.

Saint Demetrianos, known in some sources as Demetrios, became Bishop of Antioch in 252. Among the first things he did was gather a synod in 252 to condemn Novatianism, which was held by his predecessor Fabian. Not long after this, in 256, Antioch fell to the Persians, and Demetrianos was among the captives taken to Persia. There he served as leader of the exiled Christian community and is considered to have became the first Bishop of Gundeshapur. It is said he was martyred in Persia with over twenty other Christians. Despite being far from his original see, Demetrianos was not replaced as Bishop of Antioch until Paul of Samosata became bishop in 260. This was probably because his fate was unknown in Antioch until this time.

Homily on Saint Babylas of Antioch (St. John Chrysostom)

Homily on Saint Babylas of Antioch

By St. John Chrysostom

1. I was anxious today to pay the debt which I promised you when I was lately here. But what am I to do? In the meanwhile, the blessed Babylas has appeared, and has called me to himself, uttering no voice, but attracting our attention by the brightness of his countenance. Be not, therefore, displeased at the delay in my payment; at all events, the longer the time is, the more the interest will increase. For we will deposit this money with interest. Since thus did the master command who entrusted it to us. Being confident, therefore, about what is lent, that both the principal and the profit await you, let us not pass by the gain which falls in our way today, but revel in the noble actions of the blessed Babylas.

Saint Christopher I, Patriarch of Antioch (+ 967)

St. Christopher I, Patriarch of Antioch (Feast Day - May 21)

The future Patriarch Christopher was born in Baghdad to Orthodox parents who gave him the name Issa. As a young man, his penmanship and eloquence in Arabic made him a good candidate for the type of secretarial career that has often through history been the best path for advancement open to Christians in the Islamic world. So he went to Aleppo to seek his fortune at the court of the ruler Sayf al-Dawla. Sayf al-Dawla was himself most famous as the patron of the poet Al-Mutanabbi, who wrote many poems celebrating Sayf al-Dawla’s campaigns against the Romans. It seems that Sayf al-Dawla was sufficiently impressed with Issa’s abilities, and he made him secretary to one of his emirs, Caliph ibn Jundi, in the town of Shaizar, northwest of Hama.

Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch (+ 381)

St. Meletios of Antioch (Feast Day - February 12)

Verses

As the Lord grasped the hands of Meletios,
"I surrender my soul into Your hands" he said.
On the twelfth Meletios entered the all-nourishing earth.

This holy Father, who was from Meletine of Armenia, was a blameless man, just, reverent, sincere, and most gentle. Because he was exceedingly virtuous and possessed pure love in Christ, he was consecrated Bishop of Sebaste in 357. He was later banished from his throne by the Arians and departed for Beroea of Syria (this is the present-day Aleppo). After the Arian bishop of Antioch had been deposed, the Orthodox and the Arians each strove to have a man of like mind with themselves become the next Archbishop of Antioch. Meletios was highly esteemed by all, and since the Arians believed him to share their own opinion, they had him raised to the throne of Antioch in 360.

Synaxarion of Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer

St. Ignatius of Antioch (Feast Day - December 20)

Verses

You are set before a lion as supper Ignatius,
You who communes the secret supper, O brave lion.
On the twentieth Ignatius died by the jaws of the lion.

He was a successor of the Holy Apostles, being appointed as Patriarch of the Church of Antioch, second after Patriarch Euodios.* He was a disciple of John the Theologian, together with Saint Polycarp the Bishop of Smyrna, in the year 109. When Emperor Trajan was to leave Antioch to go to Parthus, this great Ignatius was brought before him. And having conversed much regarding the faith of Christ, the emperor realized that his mind was unalterable. Thus the Saint was scourged with iron balls. Then spreading out his arms, he accepted the fire by them. After this his sides were burned with censers full of coal and smeared with oil. Then he was made to stand on lit coals and scraped with iron claws.

Synaxarion of Saint Philogonios the Patriarch of Antioch

St. Philogonios (Feast Day - December 20)

Commemoration of our Venerable Father Philogonios, 

Who From a Lawyer Became Patriarch of Antioch.

Verses

The representative Philogonios is absent from life,
Having run the course of excellence in the commandments of God.

From infancy the blessed Philogonios was given over to the learning of sacred writings, and by this he at first dedicated himself to God. For this reason when he passed through all the sciences, and pursued them in accordance with his readiness of mind and genius, he learned all the sciences with such precision, that it was as if he had learned only one. And he achieved a luminous life, even though he had a wife and children, and he conducted himself in the courts. Because he defended the unjustly accused, and lent a hand of help to the oppressed, the blessed one shined more than the sun, due to the purity of his conduct. Thus, from the external rule and authority which he possessed, he became worthy of internal and ecclesiastical authority. From the external bema of judges and lawyers, he was elevated to the external sacred bema of the Church and Bishops.

Saint Kalandion and his Unique Church in Cyprus

St. Kalandion (Feast Day - April 26)

At the village of Pano Arodes in the province of Paphos on the island of Cyprus, there is located the only church in the world that is dedicated to Saint Kalandion. It's the central church of the village and was built in the 18th century. Saint Kalandion is one of the Saints of Paphos who is unknown not only in the wider Greek world, but also in the other districts of Cyprus.

According to the Cypriot chronicler Leontios Machairas, who lived during the 15th century, this Saint is one of the Three Hundred Alamanni Saints who came to Cyprus in the seventh century when the Saracens conquered Palestine and Syria, countries that were then major centers of monasticism. Saint Kalandion was bishop of Antioch, and after losing his flock, he came to Cyprus along with Saint Agapios and Saint Barlaam, who decided to live from then on as hermits. According again to the historian Machairas, these three Saints lived as ascetics in the village of Arodes in Paphos. "...in Arodes there is Saint Kalandion, Saint Agapios and Saint Barlaam...".

Synaxarion of our Holy Father Eustathios, Archbishop of Antioch

St. Eustathios of Antioch (Feast Day - February 21)

Verses

Eustathios was as far as life and breath,
Exceedingly steadfast against the breath of the enemies of God.

Eustathios the divine Confessor lived during the reign of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great (306-337). He was from Side in Pamphylia, as Jerome says in his "On Ecclesiastical Writers". Niketas says he was from Philippi in Macedonia. This Saint was a teacher, and sent by the wisdom of his words the rays of Orthodoxy throughout the ecumene. He was also present at the First Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea, which gathered in 325, keeping the dogma of piety and Orthodoxy, while rebuking and overturning the Arians. These mindless ones had introduced a cutting and division into the one nature of the Holy Trinity, calling the Son of God a creature, and dividing Him from the essence and honor and worthiness with His consubstantial Father.

Holy Apostles Evodos and Onesiphoros of the Seventy

Sts. Evodos and Onesiphoros the Apostles (Feast Day - September 7)

Verses

To Evodos

Evodos ran the road of the straight word,

Running to teach it to all.

To Onesiphoros

Onesiphoros brought profit to all,

Bearing the name he hastened to preach the Word.

St. Gregory the Great on the Unity of the Three Apostolic Sees of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria

When Saint Gregory the Great (Mar. 12) was Pope of Rome, he had a lively correspondence with Saint Eulogios, Pope of Alexandria (Feb. 13), and in Letter 40 of Book 7 he writes the following about the unity of the three Sees of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria due to their association with the Apostle Peter, and their mutual authority:

Saint Meletios of Antioch as a Model for our Lives

St. Meletios of Antioch (February 12)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Meletios was born in Melitene (modern Malatya) of Lesser Armenia at around 310 A.D. He was ordained Bishop of Sebastia and then was made Archbishop of Antioch in 360. He was pious, gentle, candid and educated. Because of his Orthodox mindset, he was exiled by the Arians thirty days after his enthronement. But during the short period while he was Archbishop of Antioch he managed to strengthen and make firm his flock in the Orthodox faith, so as to enable them to survive the test of the coming of the heretics.

The Orthodox Church in Mesopotamia

By A.K.

Mesopotamia, the mythical East, the land of Eden, Babylon, the Persians and the Arabs, is in a constant turmoil of war.

The Church there was founded through the preaching of the Apostles Thomas, Thaddeus and others of the Seventy.

We will make a brief mention and tribute to this Church so that we will remember it and be moved to pray for it to the Lord and for our brethren there.

The Last Interview of Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo

Below is the last known interview His Eminence Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo gave before the civil war in Syria and his kidnapping by Muslim terrorists, when he visited Mount Athos and was staying at Vatopaidi Monastery.