Our Venerable Fathers Zebinas, Polychronios, Moses and Damian

Sts. Zebinas, Polychronios, Moses and Damian (Feast Day - February 23)

Verses

To Zebinas

Divine Zebinas arrives at divinity with his end,
For he left behind life with men.

To Polychronios, Damian and Moses

Polychronios and his two fellow ascetics,
The three together fulfilled the years of their lives.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus in Syria

1. Zebinas is praised even today by those who have had the privilege of seeing him.1 He is said, on reaching extreme old age, to have practiced the same labors till his death, without being compelled by the great burden of old age to change any of those of his youth. He surpassed, they said, all the men of his time in assiduity at prayer; spending all day and night at it, he not only did not experience satiety, but he made his longing all the more fervent. He would say but a few words to those who came to see him, for he could not bear to draw his thought down from heaven; and as soon as he was free of them, he would again address supplication as if he had been separated for not even a short time from the God of the universe. When old age did not allow him to bear without pain continuous standing, he used a stick as a support for it, and leaned on this when hymning the Master and when praying.

Our Venerable Fathers John, Moses, Antiochus and Antininus

Sts. John, Moses, Antiochus and Antoninus (Feast Day - February 23)

Verses

The regiment of four honorable men,
You collected together and changed their lives for the better.

These four venerable fathers lived in the mountains near Cyrus in Syria as open-air ascetics in the fifth century. John was a friend and disciple of Saint Limnaios (Feb. 22), and from him was inspired to imitate his example of living at the edge of a mountain in the open air, wearing a goatskin, loaded with heavy chains, and living on nothing but bread and salt. Moses, Antiochus and Antoninus also embraced this same type of life. All these men were still alive when Bishop Theodoret wrote the account of their lifestyle and example below.

Saint Palladios the Anchorite

St. Palladios the Anchorite (Feast Day - January 28)

Verses

You were mighty against the leaps of the flesh,
Leap now Palladios to the celestial realm.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus in Syria

1. The celebrated Palladios was of the same date and way of life as Symeon [the Ancient (Jan. 24)], and his familiar and friend; in frequenting each other, it is said, they enjoyed mutual benefit, stimulating and stirring each other on to holy contest. He was immured in a cell near a large and well-populated village which has the name Imma.1 The man's endurance, fasting, vigils, and perpetual prayer I think superfluous to narrate, since in them he bore the same yoke as the godly Symeon.

Saint Maris the Recluse of Cyrus

Verses

You fled all love for the world Maris,

At a divine height you attained divine love.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus in Syria

1. There is a village called by us Omeros. Here the inspired Maris built a small hut and continued immured in it for thirty-seven years.1 It received much rain from the neighboring mountain; in the winter season it even poured out streams of water. Both townsmen and countrymen are aware what harm this causes bodies; to the peasants are manifest the diseases that are produced thereby. Nevertheless, not even this induced this sacred person to change his cell, but he maintained his endurance until he had accomplished his course.

Saint Publios of Zeugma in Syria

St. Publios of Zeugma (Feast Day - January 25)

Verses

Life in the material world Publios trampled,
And received the immaterial and noetic.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus in Syria

1. At this same time there lived a certain Publios,1 who was both good-looking in physique and possessed a soul that matched his physique, or rather displayed one far more wondrous than his body. He originated from the curial order, while his city was where the celebrated Xerxes, marching against Greece and eager to cross the river Euphrates with his army, assembled a large number of ships, yoked them to each other and in this way bridged the river; he called the place Zeugma, giving it a name from the event. Originating from here and stemming from such a family, he repaired to a high place not more than thirty stades distant from the town. Here he built a small hut and gave away everything he had inherited from his father - I mean home, property, herds, clothing, vessels of silver and bronze, and anything else that went with them.

Saint Macedonios the Barley-Eater

St. Macedonios the Barley-Eater (Feast Day - January 24)

Verses

Alone and without a paternal home,
Macedonios O Christ received one.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus in Syria

1. Macedonios,1 called the Barley-eater - for this food won him the name -, is known by all, Phoenicians, Syrians, and Cilicians, and known too by the neighbors bordering on them, of whom some were eyewitnesses of the man's miracles, while others heard reports that celebrated and circulated them. Not all know everything, however, but some have learnt this and others that, and naturally they admire only what they know. I, who possess more accurate knowledge than others concerning this sacred person - for I had many incentives to go to him and go often -, shall relate each point as I may be able. I have reserved this position for him and placed his story after many others, not because he was second to the others in virtue - for he was a match for the perfect and first - but because, having lived an especially long time, he came to the end of his life after those whom I have recalled already.

Saint Maesymas the Syrian

St. Maesymas the Syrian (Feast Day - January 23)

Verses

Tongues of those in Syria once spoke of Maesymas,
Tongues of Angels now speak of him to Angels.

By Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus in Syria

1. Know that many other luminaries of piety have been conspicuous near Antioch: Severus the Great, Peter the Egyptian, Eutychius, Cyril, Moses, and Malchus, and very many others who trod the same path;1 but if we were to try to record the life of them all, limitless time would not be enough for us. In any case, the reading of a long account is for most people tedious. Judging therefore the lives of those omitted from those recorded, let everyone praise and emulate them, and reap benefit. I myself shall pass over to the meadows of Cyrus, and display, as far as is possible, the bloom of fragrant and beautiful flowers therein.

Saint Eusebius of Teleda in Syria

St. Eusebius of Teleda (Feast Day - January 23)

Verses

Come hither towards us to the delights of heaven,
The delightful intelligences said to Eusebius.

By Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus in Syria

1. Which fruits are offered to God by the fruitless desert, ripe and mature and precious, dear to the gardener and beloved and thrice desired by men of good judgment - these we have displayed in the narratives we have already written. But lest anyone should suppose that virtue is circumscribed in place and that only the desert is suitable for the production of such a yield, let us now in our account pass to inhabited land, and show that it does not offer the least hindrance to the attainment of virtue.1

Saint James, Bishop of Nisibis

St. James (Jacob, Iakovos) of Nisibis (Mygdonia) (Feast Day - October 31 & January 13)

Verses

For October 31

James supplanted the passions of the flesh,
Bearing the name he shows forth the deed.

For January 13

James died according to nature,
Though dead he appeared as if not dead.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus

1. Moses, the divine legislator, who laid bare the bottom of the sea, flooded with water the moistureless desert and worked all the other miracles, wrote down the way of life of the holy men of old, not using the wisdom he had adopted from the Egyptians but receiving the splendor of grace from on high. For from what other source could he have learnt of the virtue of Abel, the devotion of Enoch, the righteousness of Noah, the priestly piety of Melchizedek, the call, faith and endurance of Abraham, his attentive hospitality, the celebrated sacrifice of his son and the list of his other achievements, and, to speak in summary, the contests, victories and utterances of those glorious men, if he had not received the rays of the rational and divine Spirit? I too need this assistance at present, as I try to write down the life of the glorious saints of our own time and the recent past, and seek to set out a rule, as it were, for those who wish to emulate them. I must therefore invoke their prayers, and so begin my narration.

Saint Domnina the New of Syria

St. Domnina the New (Feast Day - March 1)

Verses

You bore a load of virtues Domnina,

Approaching God as a truly happy merchant.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus, Syria

Emulating the life of the inspired Maron, whom we recalled above, the wonderful Domnina* set up a small hut in the garden of her mother's house; her hut is made of millet stalks. Passing the whole day there, she wets with incessant tears not only her cheeks but also her garments of hair, for such is the clothing with which she covers her body. Going at cockcrow to the divine shrine nearby, she offers hymnody to the Master of the universe, together with the rest, both men and women. This she does not only at the beginning of the day but also at its end, thinking the place consecrated to God to be more venerable than every other spot and teaching others so. Judging it, for this reason, worthy of every attention, she has persuaded her mother and brothers to spend their fortune on it.

Saint Eusebius the Hermit of Asikha

St. Eusebius of Asikha (Feast Day - February 15)

Verses

Gladly fleeing human contact in life,

Eusebius became the wonder even of Angels.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus, Syria

To the Saints described above I shall add the great Eusebius, who died a short time ago.1 During a lifespan of very many years he endured labor equal to this time, accumulated virtue equal to this labor, and carried off therefrom a profit many times greater, for the Umpire surpasses the contests in the munificence of his gifts in return. Entrusting the care of himself at first to others, he followed where they led, for they too were men of God, athletes, and gymnasts of virtue. After passing time with them, and well and truly acquiring knowledge of philosophy, he embraced the solitary life. Repairing to a mountain ridge - adjacent to it is a large village which they call Asikha - and using a mere enclosure whose stones he did not even join together with clay, he continued for the rest of his life to endure the hardship of the open air, covered in clothing of skins, feeding on chick-peas and beans soaked in water; and sometimes he ate dried figs, trying thereby in some way to support the weakness of his body.

Saint Maron of Cyrus

St. Maron of Cyrus (Feast Day - February 14)

Verses

Nature quenched the flesh, Maron sprouted,

And is replanted in the land of Eden.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus, Syria

I shall now recall Maron,1 for he too adorned the godly choir of the saints. Embracing the open-air life, he repaired to a hill-top formerly honored by the impious. Consecrating to God the precinct of demons on it, he lived there, pitching a small tent which he seldom used. He practiced not only the usual labors, but devised others as well, heaping up the wealth of philosophy.

Saint Zeno the Letter Carrier of Caesarea

St. Zeno of Caesarea (Feast Day - February 10)

Verses

Zeno seeks the delights of Eden alone,

Having as a delight the release from the flesh.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus, Syria

Not many know of the wonderful Zeno,1 but those who do cannot adequately express admiration of him. After renouncing exceptionally plentiful wealth in his native land - it was Pontus -, he benefited, as he used to tell, from the streams of his neighbor the great Basil, watering the land of Cappadocia, and yielded fruits worthy of the watering.2 Immediately after the violent death of the emperor Valens,3 he lay aside the military girdle - he had been enrolled among those who carry swiftly the letters of the emperor. Darting from the palace into a tomb (for the mountain near Antioch contains many), he lived alone. Purifying his soul and constantly cleansing its eye, he perceived the vision of God, "placing in his heart the highways" of God, a yearning to have "wings like a dove" and desiring to "fly away and be at rest" in God. For this reason he had neither bed nor lamp nor hearth nor jar nor flask nor chest nor book nor anything else, but he used to wear old rags and likewise shoes that needed straps, since the pieces of leather had come apart.

Saint Romanos of Cilicia the Wonderworker

St. Romanos the Wonderworker (Feast Day - February 9)

Verses

Having deep forgetfulness and living life,

Romanos departed this life.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus, Syria

The Great Theodosios, while originating from Antioch and contending in the mountains of Rhosus, returned to the city of Antioch to finish his life there. In contrast, the godly Romanos, both born and first reared at Rhosus, took up the contests of virtue in Antioch; he pitched his tent outside the circuit of the city by the foot of the mountain, and lived all the time in someone else's house, and this a tiny one.1 He continued into old age neither using fire nor accepting the light of a lamp; his food was bread and salt and his drink spring-water. His hair was like that of the great Theodosios, as likewise his dress and irons. He surpassed him, however, in simplicity of character, gentleness of behavior, and modesty of spirit. Because of this he emitted the radiance of divine grace; for, "On whom," says the Lord, "will I look except on the man who is gentle and quiet and trembles at my words?" And again he said to his own disciples, "Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls," and again, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And this was the distinguishing feature of the achievements of Moses the lawgiver: "Moses," he says, "was very meek, more than all men that were on earth." The All-holy Spirit bore witness of this in the case also of the prophet David: "Lord, remember David and all his meekness." And concerning the patriarch Jacob we have learnt that he "was a quiet man, dwelling at home." Gathering these virtues like a bee from the divine meadows, he made the true honey of philosophy.

Saint Peter the Hesychast of Galatia

St. Peter the Galatian (Feast Days - November 25 & February 1)

Verses

For November 25th*
Having lived in quiet in the sea of life,
You arrived at a quiet harbor O Peter.

For February 1st

Completing your life in asceticism, Peter the uttermost Galatian,

You spread the words, of Paul to the Galatians.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus, Syria

We hear of the Galatians in Europe, those of the West, and we know of those in Asia, their ancestors, who had settled by the Euxine Sea; it was from the latter that stemmed the blessed Peter,1 thrice and many times blessed. Reared by his parents for seven years, they say, from the time of his birth, he spent the whole of the rest of his life in the contests of philosophy. He is said to have died after living ninety-nine years. Who could adequately express admiration for one who strove for ninety-two years and through every day and night pursued his victorious path? What tongue could suffice to narrate the laborious achievements of the child, boy, adolescent, adult, middle-aged man, elderly man, and ancient man? Who could measure his sweat? Who could number the combats that took place during so long a time? What account could attain to either the seeds he sowed or the sheaves he garnered? Who is so elevated in thought as accurately to survey the abundance he amassed from so excellent a commerce? I know the ocean of his achievements, and therefore fear to embark on historical narration, lest the account become submerged. Because of this I shall walk along the shore, and admire and narrate that which is beside the land on the near side of the ocean; the deep sea I shall leave to one who, in the scriptural phrase, a searches the depths and knows secrets.

Saint Symeon the Ancient

St. Symeon the Ancient (Feast Day - January 26)

Verses

You did away with the dirt Ancient Symeon,

The head of the ancient enemy you reduced to the dirt.

By Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus in Syria

If one were deliberately to omit Symeon the Ancient* and consign the memory of his philosophy to oblivion, one would doubtless not escape a charge of injustice and malice, as neither being willing to praise what is worthy of praise nor offering what is worthy of love for imitation to those wishing to benefit; I myself not from fear of accusation but through desire to praise shall make the narration of this man's way of life. He persevered for the greatest possible length of time in embracing the eremetical life and dwelling in a tiny cave; he enjoyed no solace from men, for he chose to live alone, but discoursed persistently with the God of the universe. It was edible plants that he made his food. This toil won him also the gift of rich grace from above, even to the extent of exercising authority over the most bold and fearsome of wild animals. And this was manifest not only to the pious but also to unbelieving Jews.