Память святого Агапита Исповедника, епископа Синадского

The Monk Agapit was born in Cappadocia 1465 during the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian 1466. His parents were Christians. While still a young man, he accepted monasticism and entered one of the monasteries of his homeland, where more than a thousand monks labored. Having learned from them good monastic skills, the monk soon became a skilled fulfiller of the Lord’s commandments. He labored so zealously in fasting, vigilance and prayer that he aroused everyone’s astonishment and, for his strict deeds, enjoyed universal love in the monastery. He wore clothes made of tree bark, often ate ash instead of bread for 80 days, refused sleep and, honoring and calling all the monks of the monastery his masters, tried to be useful to them with various monastic services. For such feats, the Lord vouchsafed the monk the grace of miracles. With prayer, he once killed a snake, and then healed a girl who was suffering from a serious illness. Emperor Licinius 1467, having learned that the Monk Agapit had great bodily strength, ordered him to be taken from the monastery and, against his will, assigned him to be one of his soldiers. While fulfilling the duties of military service, the monk did not abandon monastic deeds and was honored with the grace of God by his very appearance to heal painful epileptic ailments. In addition, he miraculously healed various diseases not only in people, but also in horses, oxen and other animals. At that time, Licinius initiated a persecution of Christians, and when the glorious martyrs Victor, Dorotheus, Theodulus, Agrippa 1468 and many others, at his command, were subjected to cruel torment for their faith in Christ, the Monk Agapit wished to be among them. After they accepted martyrdom for Christ, the monk was wounded by a spear, but the Lord saved his life so that he would later save many. Soon Licinius died, and by the will of God, Emperor Constantine the Great assumed power over the entire Roman Empire. Among the emperor's servants there was one servant he loved, who was possessed by an unclean spirit. Having learned about the monk, the emperor called him to himself, brought a sick servant to him and asked him to heal him. The monk prayed, and the servant immediately received healing. The emperor wanted to reward the saint, but the monk did not ask for any other reward than that he be allowed to leave military service and return to his beloved monastic life. The emperor assisted him in this, and he, leaving his military rank, returned to the same monastery where he had labored before. Some time after this, the bishop of the city of Synada 1469 called the Monk Agapit to himself and, against his wishes, ordained him to the rank of presbyter, and then soon died. Then, by the will of God and by the election of the clergy and people, Saint Agapit was installed as Bishop of Sinad. With his acceptance of the episcopal rank, the monk was awarded by the Lord the gift of prophetic insight. This gift was revealed in the following cases. One woman, having heard about the newly installed bishop, came to him one day to receive his blessing. When she appeared before the saint, he told her everything that had happened to her throughout her life, starting from childhood, gave her instructions, and she left him with the firm intention of living a pious life. Then the monk accused the servant of a deacon of Irakli 1470 of molesting a girl when he came to him to ask for a blessing. Possessing the gift of prophetic insight, Saint Agapit also performed miracles. So, one day the bishop of the city of Silandei 1471 came to him and reported that the river flowing near the city in the winter months was so filled with water that it flooded the fields and fields and spoiled the crops. Then the monk prayed to God, and the flow of the river turned in the other direction. Saint Agapit performed many (more than a hundred, as the record about him says) other miracles, healing those possessed by epilepsy with one word, the touch of his hand and the shadow falling from his body. Having ended his pious and godly life, the monk, in deep old age, fell asleep in the Lord our Savior Jesus Christ 1472. Cappadocia, the eastern Asia Minor region of the Roman Empire, bordered on the east by Armenia, on the north by Pontus and on the south by Cilicia. Emperor Diocletian (284–305), for more successful management of the vast Roman Empire, at the beginning of his reign chose co-rulers, among whom, from 285, was Maximian Herculus. Emperor Licinius, successor of Emperor Galerius since 311, was the ruler of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, co-ruler of Constantine the Great. Their memory is celebrated in the same way as the memory of St. Agapit The city of Sinada was located in Phrygia. The city of Heraclius, or Heraclea, was located in Bithynia on the shores of the Euxine pontoon, now the Black Sea. The city of Silandea or Selene was located in the Phrygian region at the source of the Meander River, which flowed into the Aegean Sea. The death of Saint Agapit dates back to the 4th century. You might be interested in: