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| St. Nikephoros the Leper (Feast Day - January 4) |
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Synaxarion of Saint Nikephoros the Leper
On this day [January 4th], we commemorate our Venerable and God-bearing Father Nikephoros the Leper, who in Chios these latter days persevered in contest and was prominent in asceticism.
Verses
Wearing the schema of a monk Nikephoros,
You became a model of unceasing prayer.
On the fourth of January the leprous flesh
Of Nikephoros was buried in the earth,
While his all-shining spirit flew off to the heavens.
Our Father Nikephoros, who is all-sacred and wondrous among the saints, had as his homeland the village Serikarion on the great island of Crete, and was born towards the end of the nineteenth century (in the year 1890), from pious parents who were virtuous in the simplicity of their souls and cultivated in faith. When still young he became an orphan, and placed under the care of his paternal grandfather John Tzanakakis.
Saint Nikephoros the Leper Is Canonized By the Ecumenical Patriarchate
Nikephoros the Leper, who reposed on 4 January 1964, was officially numbered among the canonized Saints of the Orthodox Church by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on Saturday, December 1, 2012.
Below is a brief life of the newly-glorified Saint Nikephoros written by Monk Simon in the book Nikephoros the Leper: The Radiant Athlete of Patience (Athens, 2007 [Greek]):
Fr. Nikephoros (in the world, Nicholas) was born in a village of Chania, in Serikari. His parents were simple and pious villagers, who while he was still a small child, died and left him an orphan. Thus, at the age of thirteen he left his home, traveled to Chania and began to work in a barbershop. There he started to show the first signs of Hansen's disease (i.e. leprosy). At that time, lepers were exiled to the island of Spinaloga, because leprosy was a transmissible disease and was treated with fear and horror. Nicholas, when he was sixteen years old and when the signs of his disease began to be more visible, to flee from enclosure on Spinaloga fled with a boat for Egypt. There he remained working in Alexandria, again in a barbershop, however the signs of his disease became even more evident, especially on his hands and face. Due to the suggestions of a cleric he fled to Chios where there was a home for lepers, in which was a priest, Fr. Anthimos Vagianos, later St. Anthimos of Chios.
Nicholas reached Chios in 1914 at the age of 24. At the leper home in Chios, where there was a grouping of many beautiful little homes, was a chapel of St. Lazaros, where was preserved the wonder-working icon of Panagia of Ypakoe (Obedience). In that place was opened the stadium of virtues for Nicholas. Within two years St. Anthimos discerned that he was ready for the angelic schema and tonsured him a monk with the name Nikephoros. The disease progressed and evolved in the absence of suitable medicines, and brought many great changes (the medicine was found later, in 1947).
Fr. Nikephoros lived with indiscriminate, genuine obedience, with austere fasting, working in gardens. He also compiled in a catalogue the miracles of St. Anthimos, which he had seen with his own eyes (many took the place of healing of the demon-possessed).
There was a unique spiritual relationship between St. Anthimos and monk Nikephoros, who “did not separate himself from him by even a step”, as mentioned by Fr. Theoklitos of Dionysiou in his book “St. Anthimos of Chios”. Fr. Nikephoros prayed for endless hours at night, performing countless prostrations, not offering a word to anyone nor spoiling his heart on anyone, and was the head chanter of the church. Because of his illness, however, slowly he lost his eyesight and most of the hymns were chanted by others.
In 1957 the Lovokomeio of Chios was closed and the remaining patients, along with Fr. Nikephoros, were sent to the Anti-Leper Station of St. Barbara in Athens, in Aigaleo. At that time Fr. Nikephoros was about 67 years old. His body parts and his eyes had been totally affected and transformed from the illness.
There, in the Anti-Leper station lived Fr. Eumenios, who also had Hansen's disease, but because of medical advances was totally cured. He decided however to remain for the rest of his life in the Anti-leper station near his fellow patients, who he treated with much love. Thus he became a spiritual child of Fr. Nikephoros, to whom as a reward for his patience, the Lord had granted many gifts. Many people flocked to the humble cell of the leper monk Nikephoros, at St. Barbara of Aigaleo, to receive his blessing. Those who met him mention that:
Though he was confined to bed, with wounds and pains, he did not murmur but showed great patience.
He had the grace of comforting the troubled.
His eyes were constantly irritated, his vision was minimal, and he had hooked hands and paralyzed lower extremities.
Besides all of these he was most sweet, mild, greatly smiling, relating grace-filled stories, he was enjoyable, lovable.
He said: “My children, do you pray? And how do you pray? ...with the prayer of Jesus you should pray, with the “LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON ME”. Thus you should pray. This way is good.”
His face, which was eaten by the signs of his sickness and wounds, shone and imparted joy to all who saw this totally poor and phenomenally sick man who said: “Let His holy Name be glorified.”
At the age of 74, on January 4th 1964, Fr. Nikephoros reposed in the Lord. His holy relics were fragrant when they were later uncovered. Fr. Eumenios, and other pious people offered many occasions when miracles occurred at the intercessions of Fr. Nikephoros.
For more information, hymns, and photos, see:
Spinalonga: The Island of Lepers
The Venerable Nikephoros the Leper (1890-1964)
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| St. Nikephoros the Leper (Feast Day - January 4) |
Fr. Nikephoros (in the world, Nicholas) was born in a village of Chania, in Serikari. His parents were simple and pious villagers, who while he was still a small child, died and left him an orphan. Thus, at the age of thirteen he left his home, traveled to Chania and began to work in a barbershop. There he started to show the first signs of Hansen's disease (i.e. leprosy). At that time, lepers were exiled to the island of Spinaloga, because leprosy was a transmissible disease and was treated with fear and horror. Nicholas, when he was sixteen years old and when the signs of his disease began to be more visible, to flee from enclosure on Spinaloga fled with a boat for Egypt. There he remained working in Alexandria, again in a barbershop, however the signs of his disease became even more evident, especially on his hands and face. Due to the suggestions of a cleric he fled to Chios where there was a home for lepers, in which was a priest, Fr. Anthimos Vagianos, later St. Anthimos of Chios.
Nicholas reached Chios in 1914 at the age of 24. At the leper home in Chios, where there was a grouping of many beautiful little homes, was a chapel of St. Lazaros, where was preserved the wonder-working icon of Panagia of Ypakoe (Obedience). In that place was opened the stadium of virtues for Nicholas. Within two years St. Anthimos discerned that he was ready for the angelic schema and tonsured him a monk with the name Nikephoros. The disease progressed and evolved in the absence of suitable medicines, and brought many great changes (the medicine was found later, in 1947).
Fr. Nikephoros lived with indiscriminate, genuine obedience, with austere fasting, working in gardens. He also compiled in a catalogue the miracles of St. Anthimos, which he had seen with his own eyes (many took the place of healing of the demon-possessed).
There was a unique spiritual relationship between St. Anthimos and monk Nikephoros, who “did not separate himself from him by even a step”, as mentioned by Fr. Theoklitos of Dionysiou in his book “St. Anthimos of Chios”. Fr. Nikephoros prayed for endless hours at night, performing countless prostrations, not offering a word to anyone nor spoiling his heart on anyone, and was the head chanter of the church. Because of his illness, however, slowly he lost his eyesight and most of the hymns were chanted by others.
In 1957 the Lovokomeio of Chios was closed and the remaining patients, along with Fr. Nikephoros, were sent to the Anti-Leper Station of St. Barbara in Athens, in Aigaleo. At that time Fr. Nikephoros was about 67 years old. His body parts and his eyes had been totally affected and transformed from the illness.
There, in the Anti-Leper station lived Fr. Evmenios, who also had Hansen's disease, but because of medical advances was totally cured. He decided however to remain for the rest of his life in the Anti-leper station near his fellow patients, who he treated with much love. Thus he became a spiritual child of Fr. Nikephoros, to whom as a reward for his patience, the Lord had granted many gifts. Many people flocked to the humble cell of the leper monk Nikephoros, at St. Barbara of Aigaleo, to receive his blessing. Those who met him mention that:
Though he was confined to bed, with wounds and pains, he did not murmur but showed great patience.
He had the grace of comforting the troubled.
His eyes were constantly irritated, his vision was minimal, and he had hooked hands and paralyzed lower extremities.
Besides all of these he was most sweet, mild, greatly smiling, relating grace-filled stories, he was enjoyable, lovable.
His face, which was eaten by the signs of his sickness and wounds, shone and imparted joy to all who saw this totally poor and phenomenally sick man who said: “Let His holy Name be glorified.”
At the age of 74, on January 4th 1964, Fr. Nikephoros reposed in the Lord. His holy relics were fragrant when they were later uncovered. Fr. Evmenios, and other pious people offered many occasions when miracles occurred at the intercessions of Fr. Nikephoros.
He said: “My children, do you pray? And how do you pray? ...with the prayer of Jesus you should pray, with the LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON ME. Thus you should pray. This way is good.”
For more information, hymns, and photos, see:
Saint Nikephoros the Leper Is Canonized By the Ecumenical Patriarchate
Venerable Nikephoros the Leper: Hymns and Photos
Spinalonga: The Island of Lepers
Source
I Knew St. Nikephoros the Leper (video)
According to His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh, who shot the above video, this is a "Testimony from a parishioner of St. John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Church in Boardman, Ohio, following the Divine Liturgy on Monday, January 7, 2013, the Synaxis of St. John." Below I made a rough translation:
My name is Ioannis Simoudis, from Chios, from the parish of Saint Matthew Kofina, which is about 400 meters from the Leper Hospital of Chios. This is where St. Anthimos was when I was a young child. There, in the Church of Saint Lazarus, was a leper named Nikephoros, whom St. Anthimos brought from Egypt when he was young. He left because he was afraid they would take him to Spinalonga. An Archimandrite from Chios knew St. Anthimos and wrote him, and St. Anthimos brought him [Nikephoros] to Chios. Because Chios was under the Turks at that time, St. Anthimos had to pay, I believe, 98 gold pieces to allow him to bring him to the Leper Hospital in Chios. So St. Anthimos went to Smyrna and brought him.
When I was a young child my mother Markella would take me to the Leper Hospital, to Saint Lazarus Church, for services like the Paraklesis to the Panagia, during Great Lent, etc. As I was sitting next to him, he would sit there and I would see him bundled in his rags, his hands melted, his ears had fallen, half of his lip was missing. We weren't afraid at all, because at that time we did't know about this sickness.
I left Chios for America at 17, and I grew up and got married. I returned [to Chios] in 1999. I went into the Leper Hospital to the Church of Saint Lazarus. For years I had discussed with my wife about what happened to that venerable saint, Nikephoros. I couldn't find out anything. Eventually a woman from Chios said: "I will bring you a gift tomorrow." The next day she brought me a book of the Venerable Nikephoros the Leper. That same night in Chios I read it. When I returned back to America, my daughter, without telling me, took the book and brought it to the Poconos, where she had an enormous icon made of the Venerable Nikephoros the Leper. When I was going into surgery, and had this icon in the house, every day I would say certain prayers to St. Nikephoros: "Nikephoros, venerable ascetic, do not neglect me the spiritual paralytic. But you diverge beastly sickness and all sin and so raise us up." "You are a living icon of virtue, and similar, Father, to Job in patience. You endured sorrows and were well-pleasing to God, therefore posthumously you were fragrant." And I learned his whole story, and learned that in his last days they sent him to the Leper Hospital in Athens, at Saint Barbara's. And he went from no one visiting him while he was sick, to thousands waiting in line to see him at the Leper Hospital in Athens. He never complained nor said anything of his sickness. In the end, when his grave was opened, he was fragrant.
I was moved when I heard that he was declared a Saint, because he was in my heart all these years. I asked for him and wondered what happened to him, what happened to the Venerable Nikephoros. And in the end God allowed this knowledge to unfold. The book has also been translated into English to be published in Greece.
Saint Eumenios Saridakis Resource Page
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| St. Eumenios the New (Feast Day - May 23) |
Verses
Healer of lepers and pestilential diseases,
You were seen, Eumenios, as a guide of the faithful.
Healer of lepers and pestilential diseases,
You were seen, Eumenios, as a guide of the faithful.
The Lovokomeio of Chios (The Leper Colony Where Saint Anthimos Served and Saint Nikephoros Was Treated)
The Lovokomeio of Chios is the oldest Leper Colony in Greece with a continuous presence of about six centuries, dedicated to the treatment of leprosy patients. It is referred to as the "cleanest" and the most "well managed institution" which provided comfort and complete medical care to its patients.
The Genoese founded the Lovokomeio in Chios probably in 1378, in the area of Sifi, in the valley of Ypakoi, which had taken this name from the Byzantine-era Church of Panagia Ypakoi, or Panagia tis Epikou, in order to limit the spread of leprosy which harmed their commercial and financial interests. The spread of the disease on the island is known from the tenth century due to its central position in the sea communication routes in the Aegean region.
The Genoese founded the Lovokomeio in Chios probably in 1378, in the area of Sifi, in the valley of Ypakoi, which had taken this name from the Byzantine-era Church of Panagia Ypakoi, or Panagia tis Epikou, in order to limit the spread of leprosy which harmed their commercial and financial interests. The spread of the disease on the island is known from the tenth century due to its central position in the sea communication routes in the Aegean region.
Encomium on Behalf of Saint Nikephoros the Leper (Elder Eumenios Saridakis)
When Saint Nikephoros the Leper reposed on January 4th 1964, Father Eumenios Saridakis, who was then known as Father Sophronios, wrote a moving encomium that is full of grace, which can be read below, and every year on the same day, he did a memorial service in his honor and served everyone tiropita.
Encomium on Behalf of Saint Nikephoros the Leper
If pain, sorrows and trials are taken away from the life of the people, sanctity would only belong to the Angelic orders. This truth, which is self-evident in our Orthodox faith, was well recognized by the departed to the Lord on the 4th of January 1964 Father Nikephoros Tzanakakis, who was known as Nicholas in the world. He was born in Hania in 1887 to pious parents, and, having been infected with the disease of leprosy, he did not consider it to be a curse, but as a special favor from heaven and a personal calling from the director of the contests Christ. For this reason at the age of 17 he departed from his particular homeland in order to go venerate the Holy Land, especially the Place of the Skull, where pain became sanctified and Golgotha became a symbol to those who have overcome sorrows and the adversities of life. From there, from the inexhaustible ocean of his bravery and endurance, he drew courage and patience to hold up high, very high, his own cross for 52 whole years.
3 Greek Orthodox Shrines Dedicated to Saint Nikephoros the Leper
1. Church of Saint Nikephoros the Leper in the village of Emporio on the island of Santorini.
It was consecrated on June 21, 2014 and is the first church dedicated to Saint Nikephoros the Leper.
Couple Fulfills Vow to Saint Nikephoros the Leper for Saving the Life of Their Child
This past week Metropolitan Joseph of the Princes' Islands, from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, visited the Pilgrimage Church of Saint Nikephoros the Leper, which is located at the place the Saint was born and raised in Sirikari, Kissamos. He went their to fulfill his own personal vow to the Saint and celebrated the Divine Liturgy as a priest. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Amphilochios of Kissamos introduced a young family for whom Saint Nikephoros performed a miracle and they came to the shrine to fulfill their vow to the Saint. He shared the following:
The Monastic Cell of St. Nikephoros the Leper in Attica
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| St. Nikephoros in his cell shortly before his repose. |
Saint Nikephoros the Leper lived the last years of his life and died at the Western Attica General Hospital Agia Barbara in Aigaleo west of Athens, which had a leprosy center. There he had his monastic cell, attended services and chanted at the Church of the Holy Unmercenaries, and there he was buried in the cemetery set aside for lepers. At that time Elder Eumenios Saridakis, who had been a patient at the hospital after coming down with leprosy but was eventually healed there and decided to stay and serve the lepers, also had a cell next to that of Saint Nikephoros, and he was the celebrant priest at the Church of the Holy Unmercenaries. Though the cell of Elder Eumenios still exists, the cell of Saint Nikephoros no longer exists, but there is a small shrine at the spot where the cell once was.
Miracles of Saint Nikephoros the Leper
Father Eumenios would say how, one night, after having readied Father Nikephoros for sleep, he also went to rest in his cell. However, he could not sleep. He had great concern, perhaps because he did not do something well, or perhaps he forgot to close the oven. These and other things passed through his thoughts. He rose up, therefore, and went to the cell of the old Father.
To not bother him, lest he was perhaps sleeping, he considered it best not to knock on the door, nor to say "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us", and await for the response within of "Amen", as is done with monks. Very slowly he opened the door, and what did he see? He saw Father Nikephoros hovering one meter from the ground with his arms raised and praying.
His face shined like the sun. Once Father Eumenios saw this fearsome spectacle, without saying a word he very carefully shut the door and ran to his cell. There he fell with his face to the ground and began to weep with tears, lest he saddened the old Father for having not knocked on the door and seeing him in his wondrous stance.
He also wept for joy, because he saw for himself how great and virtuous his Spiritual Father was, Father Nikephoros. In the morning, as he went to minister to him as usual, he gave him a deep prostration and asked forgiveness for his misconduct. He, with a slight smile, immediately forgave him and told him not to reveal to anyone what he saw, as long as the same was alive.
Father Eumenios further said, that one night, many years after the repose of Father Nikephoros, since there were many mosquitoes and other insects in his cell, he considered it best to shut the door and window and to empty a large bottle of strong insecticide inside, and then he fell asleep. He would have never awoken again if Father Nikephoros did not appear to him and awaken him, grabbing his hand and bringing him outside of his cell. And, before Father Eumenios realized clearly what happened, he said to him: "My child, do not enter again into your cell, unless you first open the door and window, for it to air out." And then he immediately disappeared. Then, after a good amount of time, Father Eumenios recovered and understood the miracle that had occurred, giving thanks with all his heart to Father Nikephoros, his beloved old Father, who saved him from certain death.
The Hieromonk Father Amphilochios, from the Holy Monastery of Saint Paraskevi in Megaron, asserts that one day as he sat in his cell, he felt something giving off a fragrance. He looked to his left and right but could not find where this fragrance was coming from, which was growing. Then, at some point, his eyes fell on a big fat postal envelope. He opened it and saw a piece of holy relic, which was ineffably giving off a fragrance, and a note which read: "Father Nikephoros Tzanakakis, 1/4/1964". This holy relic was in the possession of another Hieromonk, who sent it to the Monastery for temporary storage protection, since he was going to be away. When Father Amphilochios removed it from the envelope and placed it reverently in a place where he had other holy relics, then the fragrance slightly decreased.
Monk Kallinikos, from Mount Athos, said: "When they gave me a small piece of the holy relics of Father Nikephoros, it was fragrant. Later, however, it stopped. One day, when I opened it to venerate it, I said to the old Father: 'My Saint, I am unworthy, but I entreat you, do me a favor and do not abhor me the sinner.' And - O the miracle! - it became fragrant again. After a few days, when I went once again to venerate them, as soon as I opened the box that contained the holy relic, an ineffable fragrance permeated throughout my entire cell. Immediately it came to me to write the following Megalynarion to the Saint: 'You are a living icon of virtue, and similar, Father, to Job in patience. You endured sorrows and were well-pleasing to God, therefore posthumously you were fragrant.'"
Hieromonk Matthew said that, after the repose of Father Eumenios, the Hieromonk Father Epiphanios, who was the head priest of the church in the Leper Hospital, found in a box some holy relics of Father Nikephoros. Therefore Father Matthew told him: "I want you also to give me a piece of the holy and sacred relics". Father Epiphanios told him: "I will personally bring it to you in Thessaloniki when I come". Indeed, after a short time, he brought it. They opened it and placed it in a box on the table. They also lit a candle. After a short time another priest came to visit Father Matthew. When he saw the holy relic, he venerated it, and said: "To whom does this holy relic which is giving off a fragrance belong?" Father Matthew said: "I did not believe him much, but we got up and went to venerate it. Indeed, it was fragrant, and as time went by, it became all the more fragrant. This lasted many days. I have venerated many holy relics of many saints, but this was the first time this happened."
A devout Christian, young in age, who for personal reasons wanted to remain anonymous, went one day to Father Eumenios and told him: "Father, I heard that you had holy relics of your spiritual father, Father Nikephoros. I wanted you to give me a portion for a blessing, to protect my family." Father Eumenios gave him a piece. The young man took it, wrapped it piously, and put it in his shirt pocket - it was summer time - and he then left with his motorcycle for home. On the way, even though he was going at a great speed, he could smell a continuous ineffable fragrance. Even though naturally, as he would say, "because of the speed the wind should have taken the fragrance", still the fragrance surrounded him. The most important thing is this. When he got home, he said to his wife: "Come quickly to kiss a holy relic I brought." His wife, when she went to venerate, was thrown backwards. Frightened, she yelled, "It burned me! It burned me!" She later asserted: "When my lips approached to kiss the holy relic, I felt an intense heat, like something was burning, which is why I became frightened and was thrown back." From that time this woman became more faithful, because until then she was indifferent to spiritual things. They then placed the holy relic on their proskynitarion and light a vigil light for it every day.
Source: From Σίμωνος Μοναχού, Νικηφόρος ο Λεπρός της καρτερίας αθλητής λαμπρός, Β΄ Έκδοσις, Εκδόσεις «Ο Άγιος Στέφανος». Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Synaxarion for Holy and Great Wednesday
By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos
GREAT WEDNESDAY
On Holy and Great Wednesday, the Divine Fathers decreed that we should commemorate the harlot who anointed the Lord with myrrh, because this took place shortly before His saving Passion.
Verses
The woman who applied myrrh to the body of Christ
Anticipated the myrrh and aloes of Nikodemos.
Synaxarion
GREAT WEDNESDAY
On Holy and Great Wednesday, the Divine Fathers decreed that we should commemorate the harlot who anointed the Lord with myrrh, because this took place shortly before His saving Passion.
Verses
The woman who applied myrrh to the body of Christ
Anticipated the myrrh and aloes of Nikodemos.
Synaxarion
As the Lord was going up to Jerusalem, He came to the house of Simon the leper, where a woman who was a harlot approached Him and poured precious myrrh upon His head. This episode is placed here, in order that, according to the word of the Savior, her act of fervent devotion might be proclaimed everywhere. What moved her to come to Simon’s house? Because she saw His compassion and the fact that He kept company with all people, and especially now, when she noticed that He had entered the house of a leper, with whom, being unclean, it was forbidden by the Law to associate.
The woman reckoned that, just as He had put up with Simon’s leprosy, so also He would tolerate the disease of her soul. Thus, as Christ was reclining at supper, she poured on His head myrrh that was worth three hundred denarii. The Disciples, and Judas in particular, rebuked her for this. But Christ came to her defense, lest they thwart her good intention. He then alluded to His entombment, deterring Judas from betraying Him and deeming the woman worthy of honor, saying that her good deed would be proclaimed throughout the world.
It should be known that some are of the opinion that one and the same woman is mentioned by all of the Evangelists; but such is not the case. As the Divine Chrysostomos says, the same woman is cited by three of the Evangelists, and she is thus called a harlot. It is not she who is mentioned by Saint John, but another woman, admirable and of chaste life, Mary the sister of Lazarus, whom Christ would not have loved had she been a harlot.
Of these women, Mary performed the act of pouring out myrrh six days before the Passover, at her house in Bethany, while the Lord was reclining at supper. She poured out the myrrh on His beautiful feet and wiped them with her hair, showing Him exceeding honor and offering the myrrh as to God. For she knew very well that at sacrifices olive oil was offered to God, that priests were anointed with myrrh, and that Jacob of old had anointed a pillar with oil and dedicated it to God. Thus, she offered the myrrh to Christ, honoring her teacher as God in return for the resuscitation of her brother. For this reason, she is not promised any reward. On that occasion, Judas alone, being a lover of money, murmured against her.
The other woman, that is, the harlot, two days before the Passover, when Christ was still in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, likewise reclining at supper, poured very costly myrrh upon His head, as Saints Matthew and Mark recount. The Disciples were indignant at this harlot, being fully aware how earnest Christ was with regard to almsgiving. This woman was given the recompense of having her good deed proclaimed throughout the world. Some commentators, therefore, say that one woman was mentioned by the four Evangelists, whereas St. John the Golden-tongued says that there were two women.
There are others who maintain that there were three women. Two of them were the aforementioned—that is, the harlot and Mary, the sister of Lazarus—when the Lord’s Passion was drawing near. The third was another, who performed such a deed prior to these—or rather, being the first of them—around the middle of the Gospel narrative; she was a harlot and a sinner. She poured out myrrh only on Christ’s feet and in the house not of Simon the leper, but of Simon the Pharisee. On that occasion, only the Pharisee was scandalized. Upon her the Savior bestowed the recompense of the remission of her sins. Only the Divine Luke tells about her, around the middle of his Gospel, as we have said. In fact, after the account of this harlot, he immediately adds the following: “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). From this it is evident that the event in question did not occur during the time of the Passion.
It seems, therefore, from the time, from those who entertained the Lord, from the location, from the persons involved, and from the houses, and also from the manner in which the myrrh was poured out, that there were three women, two of them harlots, and third Mary the sister of Lazarus, who was conspicuous for her virtuous life. As well, it seems that one house was that of Simon the Pharisee, the other that of Simon the leper, situated in Bethany, the third being that of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, in the same city of Bethany.
Hence, it may be inferred from these considerations that two suppers were given for Christ, both of them in Bethany. One took place six days before the Passover, in the house of Lazarus, when Lazarus also ate with Christ, as the Son of Thunder relates: “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair” (John 12:1-3). The other supper was held for Christ two days before the Passover, when He was still in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, at which time the harlot went up to Him and poured out the precious myrrh. This is confirmed by Saint Matthew’s narrative, in which Christ says to His Disciples: “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover” (Matthew 26:2). A little further on, the same Evangelist adds: “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at table” (Matthew 26:6-7). Saint Mark concurs with this account, for he says: “After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread... And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head” (Mark 14:1, 3).
From this it is clear that they are incorrect who maintain and assert that one and the same woman is mentioned by the four Evangelists as having anointed the Lord with myrrh; who suppose that Simon the Pharisee and Simon the leper are one and the same person—some of them interpreting Simon the leper as being the father of Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha; and who opine that one and the same supper took place in one and the same house, in Bethany, and that Simon prepared and furnished the upper room in which the Mystical Supper was held. For these two suppers were given for Christ in Bethany, outside Jerusalem, six days and two days, respectively, before the Jewish Passover, as we have said, when the women offered myrrh to Christ in different ways. The Mystical Supper and the furnished upper room were prepared within the city of Jerusalem one day before the Jewish Passover and the Passion of Christ. Some say that this Supper was held in the house of an unknown man, others that it took place in the house of Christ’s Disciple and bosom friend John, in holy Sion, where the Disciples were hiding for fear of the Jews and where the touching by Saint Thomas occurred after the Resurrection, as did the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, along with other ineffable and mystical events.
For this reason, it seems to me that the account given by Saint John Chrysostomos is truer and more precise, that is, that there were two women about whom the Evangelists wrote. One, as we have said, was the woman mentioned by three of the Evangelists, who was a harlot and a sinner and who poured myrrh on Christ’s head. The other was the woman mentioned by Saint John, Mary the sister of Lazarus, who applied myrrh solely to Christ’s Divine feet by pouring it on them. There were two suppers in Bethany, the Mystical Supper being separate from these. This is evident from the fact that, after the narrative of the harlot, the Savior sends His Disciples into the city to make ready the Passover, as Saint Matthew says: “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples” (Matthew 26:18). Again, St. Mark says: “And...there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.... And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us” (Mark 14:13, 15). The Disciples went, and found it to be just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover, that is, the Jewish Passover, which was at the doors and which Christ came and celebrated with the Disciples, as the Divine Chrysostomos says. Then, after the Mystical Supper had taken place, the Divine Washing of the feet having been performed in the meantime, Christ reclined once again and instituted our Passover on the same table, as Saint John the Golden-tongued explains.
The Divine John, and also Saint Mark, the Holy Evangelists, add in their accounts the type of the myrrh, calling it “spikenard, very costly.” It is customary to call spikenard that which is unadulterated and trustworthy in purity. Perhaps this was also an appellation of the best and prime kind of myrrh. Saint Mark adds that the woman broke the alabaster flask in her eagerness, since its neck was narrow. This is a glass vessel, as St. Epiphanios says, made without any handle, which is called a bikion. Myron was compounded of many other kinds of fragrances, and from the following in particular: myrrh, cassia, iris, calamus, and oil.
Yea, O Christ God, free us from the flood of passions and have mercy on us, for Thou alone art holy and lovest mankind. Amen.
Source
The woman reckoned that, just as He had put up with Simon’s leprosy, so also He would tolerate the disease of her soul. Thus, as Christ was reclining at supper, she poured on His head myrrh that was worth three hundred denarii. The Disciples, and Judas in particular, rebuked her for this. But Christ came to her defense, lest they thwart her good intention. He then alluded to His entombment, deterring Judas from betraying Him and deeming the woman worthy of honor, saying that her good deed would be proclaimed throughout the world.
It should be known that some are of the opinion that one and the same woman is mentioned by all of the Evangelists; but such is not the case. As the Divine Chrysostomos says, the same woman is cited by three of the Evangelists, and she is thus called a harlot. It is not she who is mentioned by Saint John, but another woman, admirable and of chaste life, Mary the sister of Lazarus, whom Christ would not have loved had she been a harlot.
Of these women, Mary performed the act of pouring out myrrh six days before the Passover, at her house in Bethany, while the Lord was reclining at supper. She poured out the myrrh on His beautiful feet and wiped them with her hair, showing Him exceeding honor and offering the myrrh as to God. For she knew very well that at sacrifices olive oil was offered to God, that priests were anointed with myrrh, and that Jacob of old had anointed a pillar with oil and dedicated it to God. Thus, she offered the myrrh to Christ, honoring her teacher as God in return for the resuscitation of her brother. For this reason, she is not promised any reward. On that occasion, Judas alone, being a lover of money, murmured against her.
The other woman, that is, the harlot, two days before the Passover, when Christ was still in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, likewise reclining at supper, poured very costly myrrh upon His head, as Saints Matthew and Mark recount. The Disciples were indignant at this harlot, being fully aware how earnest Christ was with regard to almsgiving. This woman was given the recompense of having her good deed proclaimed throughout the world. Some commentators, therefore, say that one woman was mentioned by the four Evangelists, whereas St. John the Golden-tongued says that there were two women.
There are others who maintain that there were three women. Two of them were the aforementioned—that is, the harlot and Mary, the sister of Lazarus—when the Lord’s Passion was drawing near. The third was another, who performed such a deed prior to these—or rather, being the first of them—around the middle of the Gospel narrative; she was a harlot and a sinner. She poured out myrrh only on Christ’s feet and in the house not of Simon the leper, but of Simon the Pharisee. On that occasion, only the Pharisee was scandalized. Upon her the Savior bestowed the recompense of the remission of her sins. Only the Divine Luke tells about her, around the middle of his Gospel, as we have said. In fact, after the account of this harlot, he immediately adds the following: “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). From this it is evident that the event in question did not occur during the time of the Passion.
It seems, therefore, from the time, from those who entertained the Lord, from the location, from the persons involved, and from the houses, and also from the manner in which the myrrh was poured out, that there were three women, two of them harlots, and third Mary the sister of Lazarus, who was conspicuous for her virtuous life. As well, it seems that one house was that of Simon the Pharisee, the other that of Simon the leper, situated in Bethany, the third being that of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, in the same city of Bethany.
Hence, it may be inferred from these considerations that two suppers were given for Christ, both of them in Bethany. One took place six days before the Passover, in the house of Lazarus, when Lazarus also ate with Christ, as the Son of Thunder relates: “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair” (John 12:1-3). The other supper was held for Christ two days before the Passover, when He was still in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, at which time the harlot went up to Him and poured out the precious myrrh. This is confirmed by Saint Matthew’s narrative, in which Christ says to His Disciples: “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover” (Matthew 26:2). A little further on, the same Evangelist adds: “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at table” (Matthew 26:6-7). Saint Mark concurs with this account, for he says: “After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread... And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head” (Mark 14:1, 3).
From this it is clear that they are incorrect who maintain and assert that one and the same woman is mentioned by the four Evangelists as having anointed the Lord with myrrh; who suppose that Simon the Pharisee and Simon the leper are one and the same person—some of them interpreting Simon the leper as being the father of Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha; and who opine that one and the same supper took place in one and the same house, in Bethany, and that Simon prepared and furnished the upper room in which the Mystical Supper was held. For these two suppers were given for Christ in Bethany, outside Jerusalem, six days and two days, respectively, before the Jewish Passover, as we have said, when the women offered myrrh to Christ in different ways. The Mystical Supper and the furnished upper room were prepared within the city of Jerusalem one day before the Jewish Passover and the Passion of Christ. Some say that this Supper was held in the house of an unknown man, others that it took place in the house of Christ’s Disciple and bosom friend John, in holy Sion, where the Disciples were hiding for fear of the Jews and where the touching by Saint Thomas occurred after the Resurrection, as did the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, along with other ineffable and mystical events.
For this reason, it seems to me that the account given by Saint John Chrysostomos is truer and more precise, that is, that there were two women about whom the Evangelists wrote. One, as we have said, was the woman mentioned by three of the Evangelists, who was a harlot and a sinner and who poured myrrh on Christ’s head. The other was the woman mentioned by Saint John, Mary the sister of Lazarus, who applied myrrh solely to Christ’s Divine feet by pouring it on them. There were two suppers in Bethany, the Mystical Supper being separate from these. This is evident from the fact that, after the narrative of the harlot, the Savior sends His Disciples into the city to make ready the Passover, as Saint Matthew says: “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples” (Matthew 26:18). Again, St. Mark says: “And...there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.... And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us” (Mark 14:13, 15). The Disciples went, and found it to be just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover, that is, the Jewish Passover, which was at the doors and which Christ came and celebrated with the Disciples, as the Divine Chrysostomos says. Then, after the Mystical Supper had taken place, the Divine Washing of the feet having been performed in the meantime, Christ reclined once again and instituted our Passover on the same table, as Saint John the Golden-tongued explains.
The Divine John, and also Saint Mark, the Holy Evangelists, add in their accounts the type of the myrrh, calling it “spikenard, very costly.” It is customary to call spikenard that which is unadulterated and trustworthy in purity. Perhaps this was also an appellation of the best and prime kind of myrrh. Saint Mark adds that the woman broke the alabaster flask in her eagerness, since its neck was narrow. This is a glass vessel, as St. Epiphanios says, made without any handle, which is called a bikion. Myron was compounded of many other kinds of fragrances, and from the following in particular: myrrh, cassia, iris, calamus, and oil.
Yea, O Christ God, free us from the flood of passions and have mercy on us, for Thou alone art holy and lovest mankind. Amen.
Source
Doxastikon of Saint Kassiani
Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord, a woman of many sins
takes it upon herself to become a myrrh-bearer,
And in deep mourning brings before Thee fragrant oil
in anticipation of Thy burial; crying:
"Woe to me! For night is unto me, oestrus of lechery,
a dark and moonless eros of sin.
Receive the wellsprings of my tears,
O Thou who gatherest the waters of the oceans into clouds.
Bend to me, to the sorrows of my heart,
O Thou who bendedst down the heavens in Thy ineffable self-emptying.
I will kiss Thine immaculate feet
and dry them with the locks of my hair;
Those very feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise
and hid herself in fear.
Who shall reckon the multitude of my sins,
or the abysses of Thy judgment, O Saviour of my soul?
Do not ignore Thy handmaiden,
O Thou whose mercy is endless."
An Eye-Witness Account of Miracles by St. Anthimos of Chios
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| St. Nikephoros the Leper with St. Anthimos of Chios |
St. Nikephoros the Leper sent the following letter, which is a list of miracles of St. Anthimos of Chios, from Athens on 22 July 1961, to the Abbess of the Sacred Monastery of Panagias Voitheias.
I wanted to inform you of some miracles of our most-holy Father, as I remember them. But I know, Lady Eldress, that I went to Lovokomeio in Chios in 1914. Our holy Elder went in 1912. So in those two years I do not know how many he performed. Now I will write to you those that I saw with my own eyes.
First, the late Justina had fourteen demons, as confessed by the demons she had. Thirteen left, but one demon was bestowed by God for her humility. You may remember how sometimes she would run to the fields and mountains. Especially during the Liturgy the demon would try to drown her or throw her off a cliff.
At the same time Styliani Hatzigeorgiou and her sister Sevasti had demons and he healed them.
And another Tsikitridaina from Agio Mathaio, whose child is still alive. And a Cypriot who worked at the tanneries, whose name I don't remember, was possessed and healed.
Also, a young priest from Cyprus came who had the demon of pride and was healed. Indeed, the watch he had in his pocket he left as a souvenir with his name engraved on it, George Aspiotis.
Then was brought from Athens a young man, his name was John Diatsintos, who had the lord of demons, Beelzebub, as confessed by the same, and he was healed. Indeed, he later became a priest and his life ended at the Monastery of Fr. Matthew in Keratea.
Two brothers from Vrontados - they were teachers - Pantelis and George, were both possessed, and healed.
And another man from Vrontados, John, came from England possessed and was healed. And a daughter of his cousin, Angelica, who embraced the monastic life, was also healed. She also brought a daughter from Dafnona, whose name was Marouko, who while drying lime-twig in the river blasphemed and made room for Satan. He entered her and the demon barked like a bulldog within her, and she was healed.
Then was brought a daughter from the village of Leptopoda, whose name was Helen Moschouris, and she was healed.
From the same village came a certain Kalliopi N. Fasola, sister of Fr. Ambrose, Abbot of Myrsinidi Monastery, who had breast cancer, and she was healed.
They also brought a woman from the village of Volissos, whose name was Helen, her husbands name was John. They had spent 300 lira on doctors who told her that she had a nervous condition. She had a demon from magic and was healed.
A child named Panagiotis was completely blind, and he became well. His mothers name was Maria.
In a rich home within the country there had befallen a great rage. What kind of rage? Everything in the kitchen - bottles, glasses, vases, plates - were found in the morning thrown cluttered in the middle of the house. They put them back in place and again found them in the middle. This happened many times. A pious man enlightened them, saying: "Go get the young priest from Lovokomeio, he is the only person who has boldness before God as we see from his countless miracles. Bring him to the house that he may pray to God that this rage may end." So our holy Elder went to the home and prayed to God and the rage ended. But the landlord's name now I do not remember.
Then Mr. Rodokanakis, a senator of Chios, became sick and came near death. His son-in-law was the doctor Mr. Kountouras. He along with other doctors of the area were unable to find the source of his sickness. His daughter however, that is the wife of Mr. Kountouras, had great faith and reverence towards our holy Elder and she persuaded her husband Mr. Kountouras for our holy Elder to be sent for to go to the house, and he went. Once he arrived there was heard weeping and crying from the family, as well as many others. As he arrived he told them: "Stop, do not weep, Mr. Rodokanakis will become well and tomorrow will go to his office." Some of them laughed at him. He approached and crossed him, he blew on his face and - O the wonder! - at that moment he arose and came to his initial health. Since then Mr. Kountouras marveled at him and had great reverence for him, and he even appeared useful at the time when officials wanted to imprison him for some of the medical aid he performed, and God together with him acquitted him.
They brought a daughter from Viki, 18 years old. She died outside of the Lovokomeio. They brought her to our holy Elder to be healed, but the unfortunate one did not arrive on time. They pleaded with our holy Elder to allow her to be buried in our cemetery. After three years our holy Elder went to the cemetery and opened the grave of the daughter, and he saw the body was dissolved, but the right hand was completely incorrupt, and she had stretched out her hand. The nails of her hands had grown. Immediately he notified her relatives to come with no one else to Lovokomeio, and they came. He said to them: "What did this daughter do that her right hand did not corrupt?" They told him that they knew of nothing except the following: "She had a dispute with the priest of the village and as soon as he turned his back to leave, the daughter turned and blinded him. This is all we know." Then our holy Elder went to the cemetery and knelt at her tomb for three days pleading with God to dissolve her right hand. And - O the wonder! - on the third day her hand became dirt.
Up until here I have informed you of those things I know and have seen with my own eyes. Again, if I remember other things, I will write you. Know however, Lady Eldress, that he had the gift of foresight and the gift of prophecy and he knew the future, much of which he revealed to me. He did not want his gift to be revealed, to bring glory from people.
With spiritual love, the worthless Monk Nikephoros Tzanakakis
Source: Σίμωνος Μοναχού, Νικηφόρος ο Λεπρός, της καρτερίας αθλητής λαμπρός. Β΄έκδοση, εκδόσεις «ΑΓΙΟΣ ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ», Αθήναι. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Venerable Nikephoros the Leper: Hymns and Photos
Read about the venerable leper Nikephoros at this link: The Venerable Nikephoros the Leper (1890-1964)
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Angels were awestruck by your struggles and your brave asceticism Venerable Nikephoros the Leper. As another Job in his pain you endured glorifying God and He arranged for you a glorious crown of miracles. Rejoice you who lead monastics by the hand, Rejoice projector of light, Rejoice joyful fragrance issuing forth from your relics.
Kontakion in the Second Tone
Shunning pain and bodily corruption. as a horse you lead towards the heavens, Venerable Nikephoros, the steadfast support of lepers. As a brilliantly lit temple of God, in sickness your body shined.
Megalynarion
You are a living icon of virtue, and similar, Father, to Job in patience. You endured sorrows and were well-pleasing to God, therefore posthumously you were fragrant.
Απολυτίκιο. Ήχος γ΄. Θείας πίστεως.
Θείον σμάραγδον ευρέ, ψυχή μου, ανιχνεύουσα εν ασθενείαις, Νικηφόρον σεμνόν και αθόρυβον· τον υπομείναντα πάθη του σώματος και ως χαράν την οδύνην δεξάμενον. Πάτερ όσιε, εκ θείου σταυρού, ως άγγελος, ελθέ και τους εν Γη νοσούντας ίασαι.
Κοντάκιο. Ήχος β΄. Τα άνω ζητών.
Εκ πόνου φυγών και της φθοράς του σώματος, ως έφιππος νυν οδεύεις προς ουράνια, Νικηφόρε όσιε, των λεπρών ακλόνητων στήριγμα, ως γαρ ναός υπέρλαμπρος Θεού εν ασθενεία το σώμα σου έλαμψεν!
Μεγαλυνάριο.
Έμψυχος εικών συ της αρετής, ομοιώθης, πάτερ, τω Ιώβ τη υπομονή, υπέμεινας θλίψεις Θεώ ευαρεστήσας, διό και μετά θάνατον ευωδίασας.
Saint Anthimos of Chios (+ 1960)
St. Anthimos of Chios (Feast Day - February 15)St. Anthimos, who in the world was known as Argyrios K. Vagianos, was born on July 1, 1869 to devout peasants, Konstantinos and Argyra, in Chios, in the region of Agios Loukas Leivadion. He left elementary school early to become a shoe mender. At the age of nineteen he visited the Skete of the Holy Fathers founded by the monk Pachomios, who had been the spiritual counselor of St. Nektarios. With the blessing of the elder, Anthimos returned home and built himself a small hut and dwelt in it. His only help in his spiritual contests was an icon of the Mother of God given to him by his mother later known as Panagia Voithia (the Helper), which soon began to work miracles, drawing many to his hermitage. He had returned home to relieve the suffering of his parents and help the poor of his village as well. After a time he retired to the Skete of the Holy Fathers, and it was here that he became a Small Schema monk and took the name Anthimos given by Elder Pachomios. After this he was put in charge of building the Convent of Saint Constantine. However, he soon fell ill and his abbot sent him home to his parents for the sake of his health. At home, despite the fact that he was caring for his aged parents and practicing his shoe mender's trade, he continued to live as a monk, spending nights on end in prayer and sometimes living only on bread and water for extended periods every two days. "Not even for a minute," he said later, did he give himself rest, and even spent nineteen nights awake in prayer. He took his inspiration reading about the lives of the great ascetics, and in this way he was able to conquer every assault of the devil. At the end of his feat, he was rapt in ecstasy and his spirit was carried up into paradise amid the angelic choirs, while he repeated without ceasing: "Lord have mercy."
Increasing numbers of visitors came to his hermitage and wonderworking icon of the Theotokos, and in 1909, at the age of forty, he received the Great Schema by the successor of Pachomios, Hieromonk Andronikos. The people of Chios wanted him to be ordained to the priesthood, but his bishop refused due to the Saint's lack of education. At the prompting of Anthimos' godfather, the Bishop of Smyrna ordained him instead in 1910. At the moment of his ordination there was an earth tremor, accompanied lightning and claps of thunder. Since his virtues and miracles provoked the jealousy of certain priests, he left the region. After a pilgrimage to Mount Athos in 1911, he returned to Chios, where he became chaplain to a leper hospital. Soon the hospital, which had fallen into spiritual corruption, became a spiritual center, as much like a monastery as a hospital. Saint Anthimos tended many of the sickest with his own hands, working many miracles of healing; some of his recovered patients became monks or nuns (such as Venerable Nikephoros the Blind). Thirty-eight people were freed of evil spirits through his fasts and his prayers before the icon of the Mother of God.
With the notorious 'Exchange of Populations' of 1922-1924, refugees poured into Chios, many of them destitute nuns and girls. Ever since his youth, St. Anthimos had dreamed of founding a monastery on a certain steep uninhabited site that he knew of. Now, in response to a vision of the Mother of God, St. Anthimos received permission to found a monastery there in 1927, and he confirmed this by drawing lots three times following the Divine Liturgy. He built the monastery in 1930, which opened with thirty nuns and grew rapidly, despite the opposition of many who said that setting up such a community was out of date. The Monastery of Panagia Voithia, as it came to be known, soon housed eighty nuns and was known throughout Greece as a model of monastic life. Father Anthimos served as priest to the nuns, and continued to receive the many faithful — often sixty or seventy per day — who came to him for prayer or counsel. He carried on this ministry for more than thirty years, working many miracles of healing. When he was too old to work with his hands, he retired to his cell and prayed that he be enabled to serve his neighbor until his last breath.
On January 27, 1960 St. Anthimos celebrated his final Divine Liturgy. He reposed in peace at the age of ninety-one on February 15th, mourned and revered by the whole island of Chios. The remains of St. Anthimos are in the church inside of the monastery he founded and still work miracles along with the holy icon of Panagia Voithia. He was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on August 13, 1992.
The following account is taken from an interview with Protopresbyter Andrea Dafnou who knew St. Anthimos:
"I have been found worthy to receive the blessing of two sacred personalities, while still alive, that were canonized. One of these is St. Anthimos of Chios. When I was a child, I injured my eye. I was afraid that, if my father found out, that he would beat me. I remember it had become bruised as well. What would I do? I thought that I should go to the holy man up at Panagia Voithia Monastery. I told him my problem. He read a prayer over me, crossed me, and healed me! Receiving his blessing, I left.
The other holy personality that I had the blessing to meet was another Saint of Chios, Saint Symeon, the abbot of Psaron. From the age of 8 I would go to the Monastery and learn letters studying the Psalms of David! I remember he was a strongly built man and upkept the monastery buildings with much love. At night they would hear him go to a gorge next to the Monastery and break stones, in order to, as he would say, tame himself through work and for the devil to not battle against him. In the morning he would be prompt for Services. I was blessed, from the age of five, to be near him" (ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΗ, num. 55, Winter 2003-04).
Sayings
- “Humble-mindedness will bring all the virtues.”
- “What do people do when their hands and faces are dirty? They turn on a tap and allow the water to clean away the stains. We should imitate them. Only, we should open two taps – our eyes, so that an abundance of tears of repentance pour out, which will wash out all the poisons of this futile world which have infected and dirtied our wretched souls."
- "The Panagia is the only mother of all Christians. And who does not call upon her? Because the sufferings of mankind are many in this vain world, nowhere else can we all find relief, except in the Panagia. When you are sitting there quietly, a thought suddenly comes to you and brings darkness. Where will you go to be loosed from this darkness? To the Panagia. All the Saints are our helpers, but above all is the Panagia.
She has the riches of great compassion. She has great love for mankind, especially for sinners. For this reason she never ceases to mediate to her Son, and the Son takes great joy when His mother intercedes on behalf of mankind. For this reason she brought us His mother and granted her to us that we may have her as a source of salvation."
Video on the Life of St. Anthimos of Chios
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O new boast of Orthodoxy, and newly-adorned flower of purity, you shared the name of Anthimos of Nikomedia, and shared his virtues and way of life, O new seal and adornment of the venerable ones. O Father Anthimos, the boast of all Chios, entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy.
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| St. Anthimos in 1957 |
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| St. Nikephoros the Leper and St. Anthimos |
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| Last Liturgy of St. Anthimos on January 1, 1959 |
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| Cell of St. Anthimos at Panagia Voithia Monastery |
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| St. Anthimos resting in his cell |
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| Repose of St. Anthimos |
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| Tomb of St. Anthimos |
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| Blessing the foundation of Panagia Voithia Monastery |
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| Panagia Voithia Monastery |
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| Panagia Voithia |
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| Interior of the church of the Monastery |
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| First church dedicated to St. Anthimos in Livadion, Chios |
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