Житие святого отца нашего Парфения, епископа Лампсакийского

Named virgin 1245, Saint Parthenius was born in Melitopol 1246. His father, named Christopher, was a deacon of one of the churches of this city. From childhood, Parthenius was not taught to read and write, but, listening to the Divine Scripture in the church, he studied much of it so well that he could compare with any skilled scribe. In his youth, he often went to a nearby lake and, catching fish there and selling it, distributed the proceeds to the poor. From a very young age he was filled with the grace of God; At the age of eighteen, by invoking the most holy name of Christ, he began to cast out demons from people and perform many miracles. After the fame of Saint Parthenia began to spread among people, Philip, Bishop of Melitopol, called him to himself. Having examined everything that he had heard about the holy young man and having become convinced of all this, he marveled at his virtue and God’s grace in him and ordered him to be taught the art of books. Then, soon, Bishop Philip appointed Saint Parthenius, contrary to his wishes, as a presbyter and entrusted him with the care of one of the churches. In the rank of presbyter, Saint Parthenius labored even more in virtue. Having received from the Lord the deep grace of holiness and miracles, he healed all sorts of illnesses and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ performed many wonderful miracles. Among such miraculous signs, by the way, was the following. One day, on the way, a certain man met the miracle worker, whose eye was gouged out by some young man; the diseased eye hung on his cheek, and the man, suffering and crying, supported it with his hand. Saint Parthenius, taking the gouged out eye in his hand, put it in its place and washed it with water; After three days the patient was completely healed. Another time, one woman, possessed by a fierce and incurable disease on her body, came to Saint Parthenius and asked him for healing; when the monk made the sign of the cross on her forehead, she immediately received healing. Once Saint Parthenius went to visit a sick person; when he was walking near the house of a certain nobleman, a large dog, breaking loose from its leash, rushed at the saint and, throwing its front paws on his shoulders, wanted to bite him in the face. But the saint, blowing on it, made the sign of the cross, and at the same instant the dog died: after that Saint Parthenius threw him off his shoulders. Hearing about such miracles, Archbishop Achillius of Cysia summoned Saint Parthenius and installed him as Bishop of Lampsacia 1247. Arriving at the bishopric entrusted to him, Parthenius found all its inhabitants devoted to wicked Hellenic idolatry, while at that time there were a very small number of Christians there. The good shepherd of Christ grieved greatly over this. First of all, he began to exhort, reprove and implore his flock; showing them the path of truth and performing miracles in the name of Christ, he healed the sick and thereby led many to the knowledge of the true God. Having finally seen that the inhabitants of that city were succeeding in their faith and were rejecting idolatry, Saint Parthenius decided to destroy the nasty churches located there, and instead build splendid holy churches of God in their place. For this, Saint Parthenius went to the great Tsar Constantine to ask him for power to do this. Received by the pious and Christ-loving king with honor and very kindly, the saint of Christ received from him what he wanted: Saint Constantine the Great gave him his royal charter for the destruction of idol churches and, at the same time, handing over to the monk a lot of gold for the building of God’s holy churches, he released him in peace. Returning to Lampsacus, Saint Parthenius of God immediately destroyed all the churches to the ground and in the middle of the city he soon erected a vast and beautiful church of God; he himself took part in its construction and helped the builders with his own hands. While this church was being built, a certain man came to Saint Parthenius who had an unclean spirit in him; The demon had already possessed him for a long time, but he could not understand it. And this demon-possessed man, approaching Saint Parthenius, began to greet him with kind words. The saint of Christ, noticing the presence of an unclean spirit in him, refrained from greeting. Then the demon, disgraced in this man, said to the saint: “I wanted to see you, that’s why I greeted you; Why didn’t you answer my greeting? “You saw me, so what do you need?” - Saint Parthenius answered him to this. “I saw and recognized you,” said the demon. “If you, having seen, really recognized me,” answered Saint Parthenius, “then you would come out of this God’s creation.” “I beg you, do not drive me out of my home, in which I have lived for so long.” – How long have you been with this person? - asked the saint. “From his very childhood,” answered the demon, “and until then no one noticed me, only you; and now, as I see, you are driving me out; but if so, then where will you tell me to go? “I will give you a place to settle,” answered Saint Parthenius. “I think that you will certainly command me to enter the swine herd,” said the demon. “No, I will show you the person in whom to dwell, just come out of this,” answered Saint Parthenius. – But do you really want to do this, or are you just saying so? “Tell me about this,” the demon asked Saint Parthenius. “I’m telling you the truth,” said the saint, “that I know a person in whom, if you want, you can dwell—just get out of this quickly.” After this, the demon, convinced by the words of the saint, began to ask him to show him such a person. Then Saint Parthenius, opening his mouth, said to the demon: “Here is this man: come in and dwell in me.” The devil, as if scorched by fire, cried out to this: - Woe to me! If you, after such a long time, drive me out of a stranger, then what harm will you not do to me if I inhabit you? And how will I enter the house of God? Having said this, the demon disappeared into deserted and impassable places; That man, by the grace of God, became healthy and praised the Lord. After the church building itself was ready, Saint Parthenius began to take care of the construction of a throne in the altar, in order to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on it. At this time, he found a large stone in one of the ruined idol churches; in appearance it was very convenient for building the holy throne, and so the saint of Christ ordered the masons to make it better and prepare it for serving the holy meal on it. The craftsmen, having arranged and prepared this stone, properly placed it on a cart and harnessed strong oxen to it to take it to the church. The devil, enraged over the stone taken from the church, frightened the harnessed oxen, and they suddenly rushed off so quickly that no one could restrain them. A charioteer named Eutychian, who was walking beside them and driving them, fell backward under the wheels through a demonic action, and the stone-heavy chariot, running over the fallen man, crushed his bones and crushed him; and the driver died immediately. Having learned about this, Saint Parthenius said: – The devil’s malice did this, but, O devil, do not interfere with God’s work! Rising immediately, he took with him the pious men who were with him and hastily went to the place where this accident occurred. Seeing the corpse of a dead man, he bowed his holy knees in prayer and, with tears, diligently began to pray to the Lord like this: – Almighty God, giver of life and death, You know why the evil enemy, through his machinations, brought death to Your creation; but, O Most Good One, as always, so now, make his evil intention vain and restore the life of Your servant Eutychian, and thus show the believers Your invincible power, for You are the only God and glory is due to You forever. Amen. While Saint Parthenius was still saying this prayer, dead in the sight of all the people, he came to life and exclaimed: - Glory to You, Christ God, that You raise the dead too! And immediately, becoming healthy as before, he drove the oxen and carried the stone on them all the way to the church. Then everyone who saw this miracle and the sudden resurrection of the dead gave glory and praise to the Most Good God and began to bring from everywhere the sick and suffering from unclean spirits, and they all, through the prayer of Saint Parthenius, were healed by the grace and power of God, and at that time almost no one resorted to the medical art, since they considered it completely unnecessary, and the people stopped turning to doctors, for all diseases, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the saint of Christ healed for free. Among other sick people, Saint Parthenius, in three days, healed the demon-possessed daughter of a certain Dionysius, from the royal family, named Daphne. Another time he healed the daughter of the Smyrna prince Mamalia, named Agalmatia; she, too, was possessed by a demon and often rolled on the ground; Foam flowed from her mouth, and she herself sometimes seemed as if dead. Saint Parthenius also helped one noble woman named Zoile, who had previously been possessed by the spirit of unbelief, which greatly distressed her. One day a young man, the son of a presbyter, named Nikon, was brought to the holy saint of God; he was also possessed by a demon that tormented him greatly. The parents, throwing their son at the feet of Saint Parthenius, prayed for him to take pity on him and deliver him from the unclean demon. Then the Saint of Christ said to them: – Your son is unworthy of healing, and the evil spirit was given to him as punishment, since he is a parricide: after all, you yourself, often suffering reproach and insults from him, in the sorrow of your soul, prayed that he would be punished by the Lord; So leave him in this illness - this punishment is necessary for him. They, like child-loving parents, grieving in their hearts for their son, with tears in their eyes, cried out to the saint: - Pray to God for him, Saint of God, that he may be delivered from the fierce devil! Then blessed Parthenius, seeing the tears of his parents, took pity on them; he prayed fervently to the Lord, and the demon immediately left the young man. The parents, seeing their son healthy, returned to their home, praising and blessing God. A certain resident of the city of Arisva, named Alexandra, was also brought to Saint Parthenius of God; This woman, by the power of the devil, was possessed as if by the spirit of some kind of snake: she sometimes hissed like this reptile and at that time killed many. The Saint of Christ, having driven out the evil spirit from her, healed her and sent her healthy to her relatives. Another time, Saint Parthenius, by laying on his hand and praying, healed a girl brought to him by his parents, the daughter of the Avidene citizen Synodius, who was also possessed by a demon and wandered through the mountains. At the same time, the saint of God performed a miracle on one warrior named Aksan. All the members of this man were relaxed, but the saint of Christ washed him with water and, having prayed over him, sent him away healthy. A certain man named Alan, a Syrian by birth, under the influence of the evil spirit that dwelt in him, hanged himself in the church created by Saint Parthenius and hung dead in the vestibule of the catechumens; Having learned about this, the saint went to his corpse and, having driven out the devil from him with his prayer, raised him from the dead. Eutropius, a resident of Parea, a city located between Lampsacus and Cyzicus, brought his possessed wife to Saint Parthenius. The saint of Christ, blowing into the face of the suffering woman and saying a prayer over her head, immediately healed her. The saint of God also healed another demon-possessed woman named Akaki, who was brought to him from the village of Feleia. At the same time, Saint Parthenius healed a certain Eucheria, the wife of the nobleman Agapit; Having prayed over her and given her holy oil to drink, he immediately healed her, but before that, poisoned, she suffered severely and was tormented by the deadly poison. A certain young man named Maximus, from the city of Visa, while staying in Lampsacus, served one of the deacons. Having once fallen ill with a stomach disease, he could not recover and died. The parents, having learned about the death of their son, came from Viz to Lampsak to bury him; Having taken the body of Maxim from the bed there, they carried him weeping to the church and on the way they laid him in the very place where the saint of God Parthenius was supposed to pass. Approaching this place and seeing the dead man lying and his weeping parents, the saint of God shed tears and, bending his knees, prayed to God for him - and immediately Maxim came to life and, rising, sat down and began to speak. Saint Parthenius stretched out his hands to him, picked him up and returned him to his parents healthy. All the inhabitants of this city were greatly amazed at such a glorious miracle and glorified the Lord. They were also brought to the holy saint of God - the deaconess Theophila, from the village of Asermia, and together with her, from the same village, the youth Rufina; they were both weakened by the power of demons. Parthenius, having sprinkled them with holy water and prayed over them, healed them both. Also, the saint of Christ, through his prayer, healed a certain Thelasius, the only son of Presbyter Hilary; This patient, due to the action of Satan, was weakened in mind. Another time, he healed a certain beggar old woman named Calliope, and with her the young woman Kyriacia; they both suffered from unclean spirits; Having given them money for food, he sent them away healthy. In addition to these and many other untold miracles of the saint, by the way, the following also happened. The devil entered the house in which the royal purples and clothes for the royal dignitaries were being prepared and caused the workers a lot of harm: he destroyed their work and frightened them with ghosts. Because of this, everyone was in great sadness, and the guards over them were afraid of the royal wrath and even execution for wasting so many goods. Saint Parthenius of God, having learned about this, at the request of the guards, immediately came here and cursed the demon with the terrible and holy name of Christ. The demon being cast out screamed out loud and said that some kind of Divine fire was driving him into fiery Gehenna; and from then on, all the machinations of the devil ceased in this house. Another time, an unclean spirit began to interfere with the fishermen: when they lowered their nets into the water, it always seemed to them, through the devil’s delusion, that a lot of fish had fallen into them, but when, with great difficulty, they pulled their nets ashore, they did not find a single fish in them; and so the fishermen worked in vain for a long time. This happened not only in Lampsacus, but also in all the surrounding cities and localities of that country. And so fishermen from all over gathered to Saint Parthenius and asked him to pray to God for them, so that their work would not be in vain. When the saint of God prayed to the Lord for them with tears, it was revealed to him from God that the fishermen were suffering these intrigues from the devil. And immediately the saint, rising, went and walked around all the shores and piers, saying prayers and driving away the devil nesting in the waters from everywhere; then he ordered the fishermen to throw their nets into the water in front of him. When they joyfully fulfilled this, then, according to the prayers of the saint, their catch was so great that from the multitude of fish it was barely possible to pull the nets to the ground, and from then on, as before, their catch of fish was always plentiful. When one day, while fishing, Saint Parthenius was sitting at the Kataptelian pier, one large fish called finnos (tuna) fell into the fishermen’s net. Jumping out of the net, she fell at the feet of the saint. Having made the sign of the cross over it, he ordered it to be cut up and distributed to the brethren to be eaten for the glory of God. Then the saint of Christ healed one lame man named Callista, who after that began to walk properly. At this time he also healed another person named Blades; from head to toe he was covered with scabs, so that he was in no way different from a leper: anointing him with holy oil and praying over him for three days, the saint released him healthy. One day, Saint Parthenius of God, due to church needs, went to Thrace; Having arrived in the city of Heraclius in 1248, he visited Archbishop Hypatian, who was very ill at that time, and, talking with him, asked about the cause of his illness. That same night, the Lord revealed to His saint Parthenius that Archbishop Hypatian was suffering from a serious illness due to his love of money and stinginess, since he appropriated to himself the things and property of even the poor and wretched. In the morning Saint Parthenius again came to the archbishop and said: - Arise, great bishop, because you are not possessed by physical weakness, but you are being punished by your mental weakness: shake it off from you, and you will be healthy. “I myself recognize myself as a sinner, which is why the Lord punishes me, but I ask you, pray for me, so that I may be cleansed of my iniquities.” Then Saint Parthenius said to him: - If someone sins before his neighbor, will his prayer not be heard, but you have sinned before God: - so, what belongs to the poor, return it to God, and you will be healthy in soul and body. Touched by these words, the archbishop said: - Father, I have sinned before my Lord - He is the righteous Judge! And immediately, calling the steward to him, he ordered to bring the silver he had collected from the property of the poor. Seeing how much there was, he prayed to Saint Parthenius to give it all to the poor. But the saint of God advised him that he himself should distribute what belonged to the poor. Then the sick archbishop ordered himself to be placed on a cart and taken to the church of the holy martyr Glyceria: there, having gathered the poor and wretched, he gave them all his silver. The good and merciful God, who did not despise the two mites of a widow and the tears of a harlot and accepted the repentance of the publican, accepted the repentance of this archbishop and three days later completely healed him. Saint Parthenios, going around the churches of Iraklia every day, performed his usual prayers in them. One day he entered a certain church; here he saw one completely withered sick man lying. Having mercy on him, the saint of God bowed his knees and with tears prayed for him to the most good God; then, rising from prayer, he anointed the sick man with holy oil, and immediately healed him, and, setting him on his feet, ordered him to go. And the healed man, praising the Lord, went home completely healthy. Having learned about this extraordinary miracle, the citizens of Irakli, no matter what ailments and illnesses they were possessed of, flocked to the saint of God, and all, by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of the saint, returned healthy. While Saint Parthenius, by the grace and power of Christ, performed these miracles, healing various diseases, the archdeacon of the Iraklian Church was with him; his name was the same as the archbishop's, Hypatian. This archdeacon, seeing the miracles performed by Parthenius, one day fell at the feet of the saint of God and with tears in his eyes told him that due to the drought in his village, the sown seeds and all vegetation, and fields, and orchards, and vineyards had died. “Honest Father,” he begged him at the same time, “go there, look at everything that has dried up there and pray to God that He will give rain to the earth, so that our entire area will be saved from hunger.” Saint Parthenius hastily went to the fields, gardens and vineyards and, seeing how everything sown and all the gardens had dried up, he shed tears and, bending his knees, with tears in his eyes, prayed for a long time to God the Lover of Mankind, asking Him to give rain to the earth and let all vegetation vegetate. God, fulfilling the will of those who fear Him, even during the prayer of the saint, covered the sky with rain clouds, and it began to rain heavily, watering the earth to the point of abundance. Staying overnight with the archdeacon in his village, Saint Parthenius spent the entire time in prayer, and in the morning he said to the archdeacon: - Brother, be careful with yourself, because you know that your archbishop was punished by God with a serious illness for his love of money; This night the Lord revealed to me that in a few days he will pass away from this temporary life, and you will instead become the Archbishop of Herakleia, so know that you must always take care of the poor, for this appeases God most of all. Then Saint Parthenius, having blessed the fields, gardens and vineyards of the archdeacon and with his prayer and blessing made them fruitful, returned to the city and there he went first of all to the archbishop in order to greet him and then set sail on the ship. The archbishop, having kindly met the saint of God, kissed him, and when they sat down and began to talk with each other, Saint Parthenius said to him: “I inform you, saint, that in a few days you, leaving your body, will go to the Lord, for Christ, our True God, is calling you; But you, going to God, as the Lord revealed to me, will leave as your successor the good Hypatian, your archdeacon. The Archbishop responded to this: - May the will of the Lord be done! And, having kissed each other with a holy kiss, they parted. Saint Parthenius, setting out from Iraklia, arrived a few days later in his city of Lampsacus; and the Archbishop of Irakli, after some time falling ill again, rested in the Lord, and Hypatian, a former archdeacon, was installed in his place, and so the saint’s prophecy was fulfilled. When the time came for the harvest and gathering all kinds of fruits, Archbishop Hypatian went to his estates, to the fields and vineyards, which had previously dried up from lack of rain, and found on them a great abundance of fruits, more than all previous years - this was through the prayers and blessing of Saint Parthenius. The archbishop, having filled a large ship with wheat, wine and all kinds of fruits, went to Lampsacus to the miracle worker in order to thank him for his blessing. Saint Parthenius received the archbishop kindly, but did not want to accept the gifts brought, saying: - Thank God for everything, and distribute this to the brethren. After a rather long and pleasant conversation with the saint, Archbishop Hypatian, returning to his home, at the command of the saint, distributed to his brethren a lot of wheat, wine and all kinds of fruits, and until his death he confessed before everyone those great miracles of God that the Lord had performed through His servant Parthenius. Thus, the saint of God and the great wonderworker, Saint Parthenius, shining in his life as an angel, converted many from idolatry to the true God and healed many sick people from various diseases; Finally, he himself fell ill and, called by the Lord, died in the month of February, on the seventh day, resting in peace in venerable old age. When the surrounding towns and villages learned about the saint’s honorable repose, bishops from all over flocked to his burial—Heraclian, Kizichesky, Melitopol, Paria and many other bishops and priests. All of them, as if by agreement, arrived in the city of Lampsacus and arranged a glorious burial for the saint; singing psalms and other spiritual songs, they laid the venerable body near the cathedral church, in the chapel he created in 1249. And many healings were given to the sick at the tomb of Saint Parthenius: not only in his life, but also after his death, this free and miraculous doctor cleansed lepers, cast out demons from people; and now he heals and heals our souls and bodies with his prayers, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory forever, amen. Thou hast received miracles of Divine grace, O holy God-wise Parthenius, wonder-working God-bearer, purifying all the faithful passions, the spirit of wickedness, Father, casting out. For this reason we sing praises to you, for the greatness of the hidden place of God’s grace. From Greek the words “parthenos”, which means “maiden”, “virgin”. Melitopol is one of the cities of Mysia, the northwestern province of Asia Minor. Lampsacus is a significant city of Mysia, founded by the Pheoceans, in the northwestern region of Asia Minor. Iraklia is one of the cities of Thrace, a region in the Byzantine Empire, in the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Saint Parthenius died in 318. You might be interested in: