Saint Tryphon, Patron Saint of Vine Growers

By Katerina Houzouri

Among the Saints that our Church celebrates today is Saint Tryphon, who is the protector of vine growers. In iconography, the Saint is presented young with curly hair and a pruner in his hand. Saint Tryphon is associated with viticulture, because he came from an area which had one of the largest vineyards of that time.

Saint Tryphon lived in the middle of the third century, in Lampsaki of Phrygia. He came from a poor family and was a shepherd of geese. He was pious, virtuous and humble, as his biographer notes, and he studied Holy Scripture. God gave him the gift of healing diseases and casting out demons. A miraculous incident of healing of the empress's daughter, who was tormented by a demon, is reported. When Decius ascended the throne, he proclaimed a persecution against the Christians. Tryphon was denounced as a Christian and taken to the prefect Aquilinus, in Nicaea of Bithynia. Horrible tortures followed the Saint's refusal to sacrifice to the gods. Saint Tryphon prayed to God, asking for the forgiveness of his executioners. Seeing that they could not force him to deny Christ, they ordered his beheading. But the Saint surrendered his soul to God before he was beheaded.

The Relics of Saint Tryphon the Wonderworker

1. A portion of the skull is at Xenophontos Monastery on the Holy Mountain.

2. A portion of the skull is at the Metropolis of Arta.

3. A portion of the skull is at Mega Spelaion Monastery in Kalavryta.

4. A portion of the skull is at Zoodochos Pege Monastery in Andros.

5. A portion of the right arm is at Konstamonitou Monastery on the Holy Mountain.

6. A portion of the right arm is at Vatopaidi Monastery on the Holy Mountain.

The Veneration of Saint Tryphon in Greece

The Holy Martyr Tryphon the Wonderworker, who was martyred in Lampsakos of Asia Minor in the third century, is celebrated by Orthodox Christians annually on February 1st. Many monasteries in Greece today have portions of his holy relics, which are a source of numerous miracles to those who flee to Saint Tryphon with faith. Among these is the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos at the Holy Mountain, where his skull is kept. And churches and monasteries throughout Greece have been built in his honor, among which is a monastery in his name on the island of Chios in the village of Nenita that was founded in the seventeenth century.

Saint Tryphon the Wonderworker Resource Page

St. Tryphon the Wonderworker (Feast Day - February 1)

Verses

For what reason, O Tryphon? I have come to die by the sword.
When will your end be? The first of the month.
On the first of February Tryphon died before being decapitated.

 

Synaxarion of the Holy Martyr Tryphon the Wonderworker

 

Holy Martyr Tryphon of Phrygia

 

Saint Tryphon the Great Martyr as a Model for our Lives

 

February: Day 1: Holy Martyr Tryphon 

 

The Authority of Saint Tryphon Over Demons

  

The Veneration of St. Tryphon in the Roman Empire 

 

The Veneration of Saint Tryphon in Greece

 

Saint Tryphon, Patron Saint of Vine Growers

 

A Wondrous Intervention of Saint Tryphon at Xenophontos Monastery

 

The Relics of Saint Tryphon the Wonderworker

 

The Skull of Saint Tryphon in Kastania of Agrafa

 

The Chapel of Saint Tryphon at Mount Sinai

 

Saint Tryphon, Patron Saint of Birds In Russia

 

Saint Tryphon Cultural Celebration In Bulgaria

 

Synaxarion of the Holy Martyr Tryphon the Wonderworker

On the first of this month [February], we commemorate the Holy Martyr Tryphon.

Verses

For what reason, O Tryphon? I have come to die by the sword.

When will your end be? The first of the month.

On the first of February Tryphon died before being decapitated.

Saint Tryphon was from Lampsakos in Phrygia, and lived during the reigns of emperors Gordian (238-244), Philip (‎244–249) and Decius (249-251). He was most poor in his young age, and was a keeper of geese to earn a living. Although he occupied himself with his humble occupation, at the same time he studied Holy Scripture, and with much zeal performed his religious duties.

A Wondrous Intervention of Saint Tryphon at Xenophontos Monastery

St. Tryphon the Wonderworker and Martyr (Feast Day - February 1)

The sacred Skull of Saint Tryphon can be found at the Athonite Monastery of Xenophontos. It has proven to be miraculous in protecting fields, gardens and orchards from beasts, locusts, creeping things and reptiles (especially snakes). Below is testimony provided by the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos of the wondrous intervention of Saint Tryphon in such an instance.

Saint Tryphon the Great Martyr as a Model for our Lives

St. Tryphon of Lampsakos (Feast Day - February 1)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

"When I was in Lampsakos and cared for and herded geese, the wrath of God fell, not only on that place, but in all the surrounding area. The rage was in the vineyards, the gardens and the leaves, and the fruit rotted and no longer appeared. When I, the leastest Tryphon, saw the fruits rotting and the people languishing with sorrow for the cause of the disappearance of the fruits of the earth, the fields, the vineyards, the gardens, the vegetables and all the trees, I prayed to my Lord and God that all the beasts perish that caused the injustice and damage to the gardens, the fields, the vineyards and all the trees and vegetables, and to all those who inhabit the small town, which is located near the lake, who came by my request and invitation. And while I knelt and prayed to God with upraised hands, God, who listens to those who have established their hope in Him, He sent forth and angel, who killed the criminal beasts that destroyed the vineyards, the gardens, and the place of His servants, and these beasts he knew well by name and they are as follows: caterpillar, worm, caterpillar worm, weevil, mole cricket, locust, epimalos, kaligaris, makropoys, ant, louse, rygitis, psyllid, cutworm, claviceps purpurea, snail, catachlorops and everything else that destroys and withers the grapes and other species and vegetables. But I myself, however, have bound them to an oath for them not to come and live in the places where I am invited, but I ordered for them to go away to places that have not been stepped on by man."