Icon Saint Euthymius

Celebration 20 January

Saint Euthymius the Great was born in Melitini, Armenia in the year 377 AD during the reign of Gratian (375 – 383 AD). His parents, Paul and Dionysia, belonged to an official lineage. Being childless, they deserved to have a child, whom they dedicated to the ministry of God, to whom they gave the name Euthymios by divine decree, since his birth gave them cheerfulness, joy and exultation.

At the age of three, Efthimios lost his father. Then his widowed mother handed him over to the pious Bishop of Melitene, Euphronius, who, together with the readers Acacus and Synodius, who later became Bishops of Melitene, educated him well and, after placing him in the sacred clergy, made him an exarch of the monasteries.

From Melitini the Saint went, around 406 AD, to Jerusalem and was confined in the cave of St. Theoktistos, where he practiced with rigour and became the canon and boast of monks. So much did he advance in virtue that many believed in Christ. His great spiritual gifts quickly elevated him and his reputation as a saint spread everywhere. Many monks gathered around him and elected him their abbot.

Through the holiness of his life, Saint Euthymius the Great contributed to the return of numerous heretics, such as Manichaeans, Nestorians and Eutychians, who rejected the decisions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council. Everywhere, in Egypt and Syria, the Monophysites prevailed. But in Palestine, thanks to the presence of St. Euthymius and his disciples, Orthodoxy prevailed. And when the Saint met Queen Eudocia (see August 13), who had wandered in the networks of the Monophysite heresy, he spoke to her so convincingly and irresistibly that he ascribed her to the Orthodox doctrines.

Saint Euthymius the Great had received from God the gift of foresight and the power of miracles. With a few loaves of bread he managed to feed four hundred people, who once visited him in his cell on the same day. Many women who were barren, like his own mother, through the prayers of the Saint had a child and experienced the joy of childbearing. And like the Prophet Elijah, he prayed to God and opened the gates of heaven and watered the thirsty earth with much rain, and it was refreshed and gave rich fruit.

Once, while he was celebrating the sacrament of the Eucharist, the faithful saw a beam of light coming from heaven and going down to the Saint. This heavenly light remained until the Mass was over, indicating the inner purity and splendor of the Saint. It was also a sign of his purity and holiness that he was able to know who was coming to receive communion with a clear or defiled conscience.

The Saint died in peace in the year 473 AD, at the age of 97, during the reign of Leo the Great.

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