Saint Prokopios and the Young Antonis from Kerkyra

Icon of St. Prokopios in the village of Agios Prokopios, Kerkyra

Antonis Koskinas from the village of Kouramades in Kerkyra was a child when his parents sent him in winter to the village of Varypotades, where there was a mill, to grind a bag of corn. It was quite a distance for his age. He went on foot but was too late because he was giving his turn to the others. He was last and the night overtook him.

His mother was worried about her child and taking a lantern went to look for him. She was afraid that while crossing a ravine with trees she would be attacked by jackals, who hid there and attacked passers-by at night.

The Veneration of Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr in Greece and Cyprus

14th cent. icon from the Church of Saint Prokopios in Beroia, that was stolen and remained missing from 1967 to 1974. On July 6, 2012 it was returned to Beroia and placed in the Byzantine Museum of the city.

The Holy Great Martyr Prokopios, who was martyred in Caesarea of Palestine in 303 AD for his faith in Christ, is a highly revered and honored Saint throughout Greece and Cyprus.

Among the churches dedicated to Saint Prokopios of distinction are 1) in Kerkyra, in particular in Kavos Lefkimmi and in the city of Kerkyra, 2) in Naxos, where the central church of the village of Vourvouria is dedicated to Saint Prokopios as well as the picturesque chapel on the island's homonymous beach, 3) in Lesvos, where the historic parish Church of Saint Prokopios in the village of Ippeion was reconstructed in 1741 and is adorned with a magnificent wood-carved iconostasis, 4) in Katerini, specifically on the Olympic Coast, 5) in Trikala, where there is a church dedicated to the Saint in a village named after the Saint called Agios Prokopios, 6) in Florina, where there is a church dedicated to the Saint in the village of Kladorrachi, 7) in Thesprotia, in the village of Lista, 8) and in Helydorea, where there is a chapel in mountainous Corinth that was an independent monastery but now is a dependency of the Monastery of the Prophet Elias at Zacholis.

Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr Resource Page

St. Prokopios the Great Martyr (Feast Day - July 8)

Verses

As Prokopios bent forward his neck,
He said as he was beheaded: "I will not sacrifice to delusion."
On the eighth the head of Prokopios was swiftly cut off.

Holy Great Martyr Prokopios at Caesarea and Those With Him

Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr (St. Nikolai Velimirovich)

Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr as a Model for our Lives

 

The Tomb of Saint Prokopios of Caesarea

 

The Veneration of St. Prokopios in the Time of the Crusades

The Veneration of Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr in Greece and Cyprus

Sts. Prokopios and Constantine, Protectors of Orthodox Marriage

 

Saint Prokopios and the Young Antonis from Kerkyra

 

Holy Great Martyr Prokopios at Caesarea and Those With Him

St. Prokopios the Great Martyr (Feast Day - July 8)

Verses

To Prokopios.

As Prokopios bent forward his neck,
He said as he was beheaded: "I will not sacrifice to delusion."
On the eighth the head of Prokopios was swiftly cut off.

To Theodosia the Mother of Prokopios.

Theodosia was the mother of the Athlete,
Hastening as a champion to the point of the sword.

To the Twelve Women of Senatorial Rank.*

The doubly renowned maidens were taken away to the sword,
Holding fame to be as the dung of the earth.

To Antiochos and Nikostratos.

As Nikostratos was carried off to be beheaded he said,
Like Antiochos: "For my head also?"

To Abda, or Auda.**

Once she approached her sufferings she became courageous,
Abda had joy as she suffered the sword.

Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr as a Model for our Lives

St. Prokopios the Great Martyr (Feast Day - July 8)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

At the dismissal of the Marriage Service, our Church has appointed the commemoration of the name of the Holy Great Martyr Prokopios, because it wants the newly-married couple to have the blessing of the Saint at the beginning of their common journey in life and to prosper. The name Prokopios was given to him to prosper [prokopsi means to prosper or thrive]. And indeed it was given to him from Christ while the Saint was in prison due to his public confession that he was a Christian and his refusal to make a sacrificial offering to idols. Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite says that Christ loosed him from shackles and named him Prokopios in order for him to thrive in his martyrdom.

Sts. Prokopios and Constantine, Protectors of Orthodox Marriage

In the blessing at the conclusion of the Holy Matrimony service, the prayers of St. Prokopios* (commemorated on July 8) and those of Sts. Constantine and Helen (commemorated on May 21) are requested, as they are considered protector saints of marriage. But why does the Church consider Sts. Constantine and Helen as intercessors for marriage? By mentioning them together in the service of Holy Matrimony, is confusion not perpetuated (or created) among some believers that they are husband and wife?

Reading about the lives of these protector saints of marriage, we find some striking similarities between them. Just as Constantine the Great had a strong relationship with his mother who was instrumental in bringing him to Christ, Prokopios also had a strong relationship with his mother Theodosia. The difference is that Prokopios led his mother (who was a strong pagan believer) to Christ.

Another similarity is that both St. Constantine and St. Prokopios had a vision of the Holy Cross. Most of us are familiar with the revelation to Constantine, which changed the course of salvation history. The vision of the Holy Cross was instrumental in Constantine’s decision to make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. It also empowered his mother Helen to travel to the Holy Land to find the holy places where our Lord lived, walked, taught and ministered and to build churches on these sites. 

Reminiscent of St. Paul the Apostle, St. Prokopios, who was at one time a general in the Roman army of Diocletian, was sent to Alexandria to destroy those “who believe in the One who was crucified.” About three o’clock in the morning, while on the road to Alexandria, an earthquake shook the ground and there was lightning and thunder. Prokopios heard a voice from Heaven asking him, “O Neania (which was his name as a pagan), do you come against Me also?” A bright cross appeared in the sky and the voice continued, “I am Jesus the Crucified One, the Son of God.” The cross went up to Heaven and the voice spoke again saying, “In this sign that you saw, you will defeat your enemy and My peace will be with you.” The Holy Cross, which led these Saints to the true faith, united them in the Body of Christ and protected their lives, is also the guiding sign of Holy Matrimony. The experience of the Cross is what made these Saints the protectors of Holy Matrimony.

Of course, we acknowledge the fact that “the cross we all must carry" in our following of Christ is part of marriage. However, the cross is also associated with marriage, because marriage is seen as a fight. This fight is not a struggle between two persons trying to work out their differences and making the marriage work, as we might simplistically see it. This is "the good fight", a “warlike” fight, in which the husband and wife become partners, and they help and support one another.

We understand marriage in this way as a school of virtues. In marriage, the natural gratification of the pleasures of the flesh is sanctioned by God as an expression of true love between a husband and a wife and as a means of perpetuating mankind. In regard to this, St. Paul says, “But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: it is good for them if they remain even as I am (unmarried): but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with the passions.” The Cross of Christ is part of marriage, for in this sign, marriage will succeed, will conquer, will destroy the enemies of our souls and will find the peace of God.

Sts. Constantine and Helen are considered as intercessors for marriage, because they were crowned emperors: “God-crowned Kings and Equals to the Apostles.” Marriage is also called “the crowning”, for in marriage, a crowning takes place. The new couple indeed becomes King and Queen, being crowned for each other. Their crowning is recognized on Earth and in Heaven. They start a new dynasty, and a new little church,” which can last until the end of the world through their offspring.

More important is the fact that Sts. Constantine and Helen’s crowns were received in Heaven. We know the same thing about St. Prokopios, who died as a martyr for the faith of Christ. From the Heavenly place, these saints pray that the crowned servants of God in Holy Matrimony will also become worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Let those of us who receive the crowns of Holy Matrimony, remember that marriage will succeed only when it is under the protection of the sign of the Holy Cross.

Let us also remember that, ultimately, marriage is not a goal in itself, but a means for the salvation of our souls. In this respect, the prayer of the priest at the crowning is meaningful: “Bless their goings out and their comings in; replenish their life with good things; receive their crowns into Your kingdom, preserving them spotless, blameless, and without reproach, unto ages of ages.”

Source

* It should be noted that the name Prokopios means "to advance" or "to move forward" or "to improve" or "to increase". In the last prayer during the Service of Matrimony, when St. Prokopios is invoked, it is prayed that the newly-crowned couple "advance" or "move forward" (προκόπτων) in their faith in Christ. In the hymns dedicated to St. Prokopios we pray that just as he "advanced" in faith, that he also lead us to "advance" in Christ and good works. This is the primary reason St. Prokopios is invoked during the Service of Matrimony. [note by John Sanidopoulos]

The Veneration of St. Prokopios in the Time of the Crusades

THE VENERATION OF ST PROKOPIOS IN THE PERIOD OF THE CRUSADES 

AND HIS VITA ICON IN THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM

By Georgios Tsantilas

Exhibited today in the great hall of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the vita icon of St Prokopios (Fig. 2), which according to tradition was found beside what are considered to be the tombs of saints Prokopios and Modestos, in Jerusalem. It is the only surviving vita icon of the saint.

In the central panel of the icon, St Prokopios is represented in bust framed by seventeen scenes from his life (Figs 3-6). The cycle of St Prokopios in the Jerusalem icon follows faithfully the Vita written by Niketas David the Paphlagonian and the arrangement of the scenes corresponds exactly to the narrative sequence in that text. This case is not unique, since in the vita icon of St Catherine in the Sinai monastery, the twelve scenes from her cycle correspond to the Vita composed by Symeon Metaphrastes.

The vita icon of St Prokopios includes a series of Western ele­ments, which permit the more precise definition of its date as well as the milieu within which it was created. The rela­tionship of this icon both to illuminated manuscripts that are ascribed to scriptoria operating in Acre and to Crusader icons in the monastery of St Catherine on Mt Sinai, dating to the second half of the thirteenth century, as well as the com­bination of punched and incised design in its execution, which is encountered after the mid-thirteenth century, lead to the attribution of the icon to a Crusader workshop in Acre and its dating after the mid-thirteenth century but before the fall of that city in 1291. More specifically, the icono­graphie and stylistic affinity with codex Add. 15268 in the British Library (c. 1285) lead to the dating of the icon of St Prokopios in the 1280s.

The boosting of the veneration of St Prokopios by the Cru­saders is confirmed by another three notable thirteenth-cen­tury works in the Sinai monastery, all of them associated with the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. These are the icon of St Prokopios created at Sinai by the painter Petros from Jerusalem in the early thirteenth century, the epistyle with the great Deesis including the two saints Prokopios and George, and the diptych with St Prokopios on the left and the Virgin and Child on the right (Fig. 7α-γ). The last two works are dated to the second half of the thirteenth century and are ascribed to Crusader artists located in Acre.

In the last scene on the Jerusalem icon, representing the saint's burial, a ciborium is visible behind his sarcophagus. It is identified as the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (Fig. 6). This depiction, combined with the fact that this is the only scene in the cycle that bears an inscription, leads to the conclusion that the painter had incorporated in his work elements ex­tracted from the contemporary surrounding reality and thus indicated that the martyr's tomb was in Jerusalem.

The church of St Prokopios in Jerusalem is attested in the Georgian Calendar as well as in sources of the period of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The textual testimonies are confirmed by excavation findings at Abou Thor, where the ruins of a three-aisled basilica of the sixth century were re­vealed, and beneath this a crypt of the fourth century. The archaeological findings clearly demonstrate that the basilica was renovated during the period of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The tombs of Sts Prokopios and Modestos are considered to have been located on this site.

The discovery of the icon of St Prokopios close to his tomb, as well as the iconography of the last scene, directly connect the work with the church of St Prokopios and his relic in Jerusalem. The linking of the vita icon with churches in which the tomb or relic of the saint was situated is docu­mented not only by the icon of St Prokopios but also by two vita icons of St John the Lampadistes in the homonymous monastery on Cyprus, where a twelfth century parekklesion accommodates the saint's tomb. The vita icon of St Cather­ine in the Sinai monastery is also associated with her relic, which existed in the monastery at least from the early thir­teenth century.

The linking of the vita icons of Prokopios, John the Lam­padistes and Catherine with their relics, in Jerusalem, Cyprus and Sinai respectively, places yet another interpretative para­meter with regard to the function and use of vita icons in the Eastern Mediterranean during the thirteenth century.

Read more and see icons here.

Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr (St. Nikolai Velimirovich)

St. Prokopios the Great Martyr (Feast Day - July 8)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Prokopios was born in Jerusalem of a father who was a Christian and a mother who was a pagan. At first, his name was Neanias. Following the death of his father, the mother raised her son completely in the spirit of Roman idolatry. When Neanias matured, Emperor Diocletian saw him and, at once, took a liking to him and brought him to his palace for military service. 

When this nefarious emperor began to persecute Christians, he ordered Neanias to go to Alexandria with a garrison of soldiers and there to exterminate the Christians. But, on the road, something happened to Neanias similar to that which happened to Saul [Paul]. In the third hour of the night there was a strong earthquake and, at that moment, the Lord appeared to him and a voice was heard: "Neanias, where are you going and against whom are you rising up?" In great fear, Neanias asked: "Who are You Lord? I am unable to recognize You." At that moment, a glowing cross as if of crystal appeared in the air and from the cross there came a voice saying: "I am Jesus, the crucified Son of God." And further, the Lord said to him: "By this sign that you saw, conquer your enemies and My peace will be with you." That experience completely turned him around and changed the life of Commander Neanias. He issued an order to make the same kind of cross which he saw and instead of going against the Christians he, with his soldiers, turned against the Agarians who were attacking Jerusalem. 

He entered Jerusalem as a victor and declared to his mother that he is a Christian. Being brought before the court, Neanias removed his commander's belt and sword and tossed them before the judge thereby showing that he is only a soldier of Christ the King. After great tortures he was cast into prison where the Lord Christ, again, appeared to him, baptized him and gave him the name Prokopios. One day twelve women appeared before his prison window and said to him: "We too are the servants of Christ." Accused of this they were thrown into the same prison where St. Prokopios taught them the Faith of Christ and particularly about how they will receive the martyr's wreath. For that reason in the marriage ritual of the betrothed, St. Prokopios is mentioned along with the God-crowned Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena. After this, those twelve women were brutally tortured. Witnessing their suffering and bravery, the mother of Prokopios also believed in Christ and all thirteen were slain. 

When St. Prokopios was led to the scaffold, he raised his hands toward the east and prayed to God for all the poor and misfortunate, orphans and widows and especially for the Holy Church that it may grow and spread and that Orthodoxy shine to the end of time. And to Prokopios there was a reply from heaven that his prayers were heard after which he joyfully laid his head under the sword and went to his Lord in eternal joy. St. Prokopios honorably suffered in Caesarea in Palestine and was crowned with the glorious wreath of immortality on July 8, 303 A.D.

Hymn of Praise:
Saint Prokopios the Great Martyr

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

When it is the will of the Omniscient God,

Persecutors become His servants,

Haters, wonderful apostles

Pagans, zealots for the Faith.

By God's will, Saul became Paul

Neanias, Saint Prokopios

Prokopios, against Christ went,

As a Christian, to his mother came.

Tortures prepare and himself received tortures,

All of a sudden, the truth he recognized

Before the Son of God, bowed down,

The earthly king, ceased to serve

To the heavenly King, a servant became.

The King of Heaven to him a gift bestowed

The gift of might, the afflicted to help

As at that time, so it is today:

By Prokopios, the afflicted are comforted

For today as one time, he helps.