Житие святого отца нашего Феофана исповедника

The Monk Theophan was born in Constantinople from noble parents - Isaac and Theodotia. Isaac was related to King Leo the Isaurian and his son Copronymus 1876, which is why he was nicknamed Isaurian, since he was of the same royal family and came from the country of Isauria. He held honorary positions at the royal court and was a commander during the reign of Copronymus. At this time, the iconoclastic heresy arose, and strong persecution began against pious people. The pious Isaac and his wife Theodotia strictly adhered to Orthodox teaching and were honored to become the parents of such a son who was soon to shine like the dawn in the Church of Christ. They named him Feofan, which means revealed by God 1877. He was named so primarily because he was born on the feast of the Epiphany, which in Greek was called Theophany 1878; but mainly he was so named according to God’s will - to inform him that, like the once prophet Jeremiah, the Lord chose him from his mother’s womb and sanctified him to be the great lamp of His Church (Jer. 1:5). As the bookkeeper Anastasius testifies, he was sometimes called by his father’s name - Isaac, but that was before he was tonsured to the monastic rank, to which he ardently strived from his very youth, as this will be described in his life. After the birth of the blessed and epiphanic Theophanes, his parent Isaac, having lived another three years, passed on to endless life. Dying, he wrote a will in which he gave his three-year-old son and his mother into the care and protection of Tsar Constantine Copronymus himself, as his relative. Studying the Divine Scripture and improving in a virtuous life, the youth began to be distinguished by his extraordinary intelligence over the years. When Theophanes was twelve years old, one of the senators wished to betroth his ten-year-old daughter to him, since the youth Theophanes was handsome, very smart, rich and was a relative of the king. Theodotia, Feofan’s mother, also readily agreed to this betrothal. But since all this could not happen without the royal will, the senator made an earnest request about this to the king himself, seeking to become related to him through the marriage of his daughter to the royal nephew. When the king agreed to this, the betrothal of the children took place, before the age allowed for marriage, but the marriage itself was postponed until the betrothed came of age. At this time, King Copronymus died; after him, his son Leo IV ascended the throne, nicknamed Khazar 1879 after his mother, for she was the daughter of a Khazar khan and in idolatry was called Khazar, and in holy baptism she was named Irina. A few years later, Theodotia, Feofan’s mother, also died. She died before her son's marriage, leaving him countless wealth. At that time, a certain God-fearing and chaste slave lived in Theophan’s house; Theophan loved him very much for his virtuous life and considered this slave to be his best adviser. Inspired by frequent soul-saving conversations with him, and more often instructed by the all-active Holy Spirit, Theophan loved chastity, thinking only about one thing: how to preserve his virgin purity incorruptible, and, ardently desiring the monastic rank and life, he began to distribute all his wealth to the poor and wretched. Having learned about this, Feofan’s father-in-law, contrary to the wishes of the groom, tried to consummate the marriage as quickly as possible, especially since the bride and groom had come of age. When the day appointed for the marriage arrived and, according to custom, the wedding feast was already underway, the epiphany young man Theophan, lifting his mind to God, prayed in the secret of his heart that the Lord, by His grace, would preserve him in pure virginity. And so, when the young man Theophan and his bride were already in the bridal chamber, he sat down on the bed and, sighing heartily, discovered the thought hidden within him and said so to his bride: - O beloved, don’t you know that the time of this life of ours is short, but our death is unknown and an unmerciful judgment awaits those who, spending their lives in pleasures and wealth, often anger the Lord. Marriage, although established by God Himself, but the worldly cares necessary during married life alienate the human mind from the Lord, make people’s pious thoughts futile and do not allow them to look at the future life with the bright eyes of the soul. We know that Lazarus, for temporary suffering, was carried by the Angels to the bosom of Abraham, and the rich man, who had spent his life in abundance, was cast into hell and could not receive even a drop of water to cool his tongue (Luke 16:24). We also hear the Gospel beatitudes prepared in Heaven (Matthew 5). Who are they promised to? Not the rich, who live in the joy of this world and in all prosperity, but the poor, who weep, hunger, thirst, and endure persecution and reproach for the sake of Christ; I’ll say briefly: the strait and narrow path leads into eternal life, but the wide gate and broad path lead into Gehenna (Matthew 7:13-14); We also know that whoever lives luxuriously in this century, in vain pleasures, will endure sorrow and grief in the next century - and it cannot be otherwise. Therefore, my beloved bride, if you wish, let us abstain from carnal marital union and unanimously remain in pure virginity; Now we will live a little together, as if in a carnal marriage, for the sake of your cruel father, but under the guise of marriage we will remain as brother and sister; and then, when the Lord sends us a convenient time, we will go to the monastery: I will go to the men’s monastery, and you will go to the women’s monastery. So let us devote ourselves to the Lord for the rest of our lives, so that in the next century we may be worthy of a portion of His saints. The holy bride Theophan, like the good earth, having accepted this good seed, answered blessed Theophan with joy in her soul: “I know, my beloved lord, the words of our Savior, who says in the Gospel: “If anyone does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, he is not worthy of Me” (Luke 14:26; Matthew 10:38). So, let us make ourselves worthy followers of our Lord and, if you want, let us leave all vanity. If you agree, I agree; if it pleases you, it pleases me too; and if you want to remain a virgin, then I want this too. And let us present ourselves blameless to the Heavenly Bridegroom, keeping not only our souls pure, but also our bodies. What benefit will it be to us if, having lived this short life in vanity, we are deprived of eternal blessings? And if we have children, we will be filled with even greater sadness, worrying day and night about their food and their fate, while falling into the manifold snares of this world. When death, unknown to us, comes, where we will then go - to heaven or Gehenna - we still do not know. So, let us live in purity, secretly preserving our virginity until the Lord grants us the monastic rank. The blessed young man, hearing these words of his chaste bride, marveled at her prudence and, falling to the ground, gave thanks to God, who guided the maiden by His Holy Spirit to such a decision, which was completely in accordance with his intention. And they spent that whole night in prayer, asking for help from above, so that the way of life they had begun would be carried out to perfection. When morning came, they fell asleep for a short time and both saw the same dream: a certain young man with a fair face appeared to them in a vision; smiling, he said to them affectionately: “The Lord accepted your intention and sent me to bless you for the life to which you agreed, so that you might appear to Him holy and blameless.” Having said this, he marked them all over his body with the sign of the cross and became invisible. Having risen from sleep, they told each other a dream that they had seen in the same way. At this time they felt an indescribable fragrance emanating from the presence of the Angel and were surprised. And then, falling to the ground before the Lord, they gave Him fervent praise. The same heavenly fragrance, for a long time, was smelled by many not only in their palace, but throughout the house. And this holy couple lived like Angels in the flesh, burning before God with the flame of Divine love, like two priests or like two olive trees exuding the oil of generosity, for every day they gave innumerable alms, generously distributing all their property to the poor. After some time, Feofan’s father-in-law, having learned about his son-in-law and daughter that they were living in virginity and giving away all their wealth to the poor, became very sad. Going to the king, he informed him about this and complained about his son-in-law: - Alas for me, unfortunate one! - he screamed, - alas for my accursed old age because of my obscene son-in-law! He wastes his wealth senselessly and in vain destroys my young daughter, not living with her as a spouse, and I have no hope of being consoled by my grandchildren. And why did he take her? Why didn’t he break his betrothal vow before marriage and abandon her, so as not to bring her, so young, into such misfortune, and expose my old age to even greater sadness? I have a double sadness: I regret about my daughter, that she, being married, does not have a husband and cannot be a mother, and about the wasted wealth, since Theophanes squandered not only his estate, but already a considerable part of what I gave for my daughter as a dowry. And he asked the king to punish and convince his son-in-law to live according to marital law and not waste his property in vain. The king, filled with anger, called blessed Theophanes to him and, looking furiously at him, began to threaten him, ordering him to change his way of life; in case of disagreement, he promised to gouge out his eyes and send him to prison. But the godly young man did not pay attention to the king’s threats and did not abandon his so beautifully begun, pure, virgin life: he tried more to gain favor from the King of Heaven than from the king of the earth. Soon after this, Theophanes was ordered by the king, due to some popular needs, to go to the Kizichesk country in 1880. This journey was deliberately invented by his father-in-law: on the one hand, so that, amid concerns about the affairs entrusted to him by the tsar, Theophanes would stop and forget to perform the usual feats of prayer, fasting and abstinence, on the other hand, so that he would stop giving away his estate, over which his father-in-law now became the guardian. When Theophanes, fulfilling the royal command, went to Cyzicus, the king and his father-in-law were ordered to go with him and his wife, for the father could not bear for his daughter to be separated from her husband, even for a short time. They happened to cross the river, which was formerly called Rindakos, and then the people called it Great; on one bank of it lay the Olympic region, and on the other - the Sigrian region 1881. Blessed Theophan wanted to travel by this river, although it was possible to travel by land; but in view of the bodily weakness that befell him then, he preferred the river route, as it was easier. All this happened according to God’s will. Having sent his friends and slaves with horses and chariots overland, he himself got into the boat with his blessed wife and a few servants; floating along the river, Theophanes admired the beautiful Sigrian mountains, hills and deserts and burned in spirit for a silent life on them. And he saw in one place, among the mountains, a spacious valley on which a dense forest grew; and he really liked this place. Having landed on the shore to spend the night, and ordering everyone else to stay in the boats, Theophanes went to this valley and, walking around that deserted place, was touched by his soul. Standing in one place in a dense forest, he began to earnestly pray to God. Raising his hands to the sky and falling to the ground many times with tears in his eyes, he said: - “Show me the path I should follow”! (Ps. 142:8). Embraced by a great desire for desert life and deciding to immediately leave everything, Theophanes hid in that desert. Having become tired in prayer and sitting down to rest, he saw that light-like Angel who had once appeared to him and his bride in their bridal chamber. This celestial being, pointing his finger at the desert, said to Theophanes: “It is fitting for you to settle here, but wait a little until those blocking your path are taken from the land of the living; they will soon be taken from here, and then you will freely go where you want. Saint Theophan was very pleased with this vision. Returning joyfully to the boats, he continued on his way. Noticing the desert monasteries and hermitages located in those Sigrian mountains, he visited them, walking around together with his chaste wife. In these places he met a certain perspicacious old man named Gregory, nicknamed Stratigius, who lived in an area called Polychronia. Blessed Theophan revealed his intention and desire to this elder and heard from him what the Angel who had appeared to him had previously told him. This elder, for his angelic life, granted by God the gift of foresight, said to Theophan: “Wait a little, good young man, soon both the king and your father-in-law will be exterminated from the face of the earth, and you, being free, will fulfill your good intention.” The holy elder said quietly in the ear of the virtuous bride Theophan that her beloved brother Theophan would in due time receive the crown of martyrdom. After this, Saint Theophan went to Cyzicus and carried out what the king ordered him regarding public administration. There he often went with his servants to the nearby Sigrian Mountains, where he visited the holy fathers. Asking for their blessings and prayers, Theophanes at the same time edified the soul with their divinely inspired conversations. He especially often went to the perspicacious Gregory Stratigius and to Christopher, the abbot of “Maly Selo” - that was the name of that monastery. Once, when Theophanes was passing through the Sigrian Mountains to visit the desert dwellers, in one place he had to hesitate. At that time there was intense heat, for it was harvest time, and therefore Theophanes and everyone with him became very thirsty. The place was deserted and waterless. When the day was already approaching evening, we had to lie down there and spend the night. At this time, both they themselves and their cattle were positively exhausted from thirst. Blessed Theophan, having prayed, sat down under one hill in order to get some sleep and quench his thirst with sleep. And just as he dozed off, suddenly a source of living water flowed over his head and wet him. So, the Lord did not despise His servant, who once poured out water from a stone to the ungrateful Jewish people; all the more He deigned to do this for His grateful servant at a time of such need. The saint, awakened by the unexpected noise of water splashing him, immediately stood up from his place and called everyone who was with him. And everyone, having gathered, was amazed at that unexpected and unexpected miracle and glorified God. And everyone not only quenched their thirst, but also watered their livestock. When they got up the next day, the source was no longer there: the place had become dry, and there was not even a trace of water on it. They were especially surprised at this and therefore glorified the miraculous power of God, that the Lord, during a time of thirst and in a completely waterless land, brought out a spring, and when there was no longer a need for water, He dried up the water, clearly showing that in every place the Lord is ready to give everything necessary to those who first of all seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). After that, Theophanes spent some time in Kyzicus and, having duly fulfilled everything ordered by the king there, returned to Constantinople. At this time, the prediction of the Angel of God and the prophecy of St. Gregory came true: King Leo the Khazar, son of Copronymus and grandson of Leo the Isaurian, died; Feofan's father-in-law also died. And he, like his holy bride, became free. Immediately, as they wanted, they gave away all their wealth and all their possessions. Then Theophanes tonsured his bride in one of the women’s monasteries in Bithynia in 1882, giving this monastery a lot of land to feed her; When she was tonsured, she was named Irina. In monastic life, Irina pleased God and performed many miracles, receiving from God the gift of healing illnesses and casting out demons. These miracles were subsequently told by His Holiness Patriarch Methodius of Constantinople. After the tonsure of his blessed bride, the maiden Irina, Saint Theophan distributed the rest of his estate to the poor in Constantinople and, leaving only a little money, went to the aforementioned seer Gregory Stratigius. It was for him that Theophan was tonsured as a monk. There, from the remaining money, Saint Theophan created a monastery for this elder and lived with him for quite a long time, perfecting himself in monastic deeds. Then, on the advice of the same elder, Saint Theophan went to an island called Kalonimos 1883; on this island Feofan had a small village left over from his parents, which he had not yet managed to distribute to the poor. There he built a monastery, where he transferred all the brethren from the Theodore monastery, called Monocheraria; He summoned and appointed an abbot for them - a reverent and experienced man. Theophan himself locked himself in his cell and began copying books, for he was a skilled scribe. He sold these books and used the proceeds to feed not only himself, but also others. After several years, the abbot of that monastery died, and the brethren began to persistently ask the Monk Theophan that he himself would agree to be their abbot. But the saint did not agree and again went to Mount Sigrian; Remembering that desert where he was rewarded with the appearance of an Angel when he was sailing to Cyzicus, Theophanes went there and began to live in that desert, pleasing God. Soon the Monk Theophan populated that desert with godly desert dwellers, for many began to come to him and settle near him, so that soon the need arose to build a monastery. In this desert there was a certain place that belonged to a certain farmer; this place was called “Great Village”. Saint Theophan, having sent to his friends and borrowed money from them, bought this place and built a monastery here with the help of the Lord, who according to His Divine providence provides everything we need. Soon the monk gave away the money he had borrowed, and in his monastery he had in abundance everything necessary to feed the brethren who had gathered to him. Saint Theophan could not help but accept the rank of abbot in this monastery, for all the desert inhabitants begged him for this, and it was necessary. Being an abbot, Theophan was the leader that Christ commands to be in the Gospel: “And whoever wants to be great among you, let him be your servant; and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave” (Matthew 20:26–27). The Venerable Abbot Theophan worked with his own hands, serving everyone, for the Lord then gave him great bodily strength, and he took part in every monastic work more than anyone else and was an example for everyone of a virtuous and at the same time hardworking life. At this time, namely, during the reign of Constantine, son of Leo and grandson of Copronymus, under his pious mother Irina and under His Holiness Patriarch Tarasius of Constantinople, the VII Ecumenical Council of 1884 was convened in Nicaea against the iconoclasts. At this council, the Holy Church cursed the iconoclastic heresy, and reverent veneration of holy icons was again restored. The Monk Theophan, abbot of Velikoye Selo in Sigrian 1885, was also summoned to this council. Establishing true orthodoxy at this council, Theophan shone among the holy fathers like a bright star. His presence at the council was very useful for many; where many showed off beautiful clothes, chariots and horses, he arrived there on a bad donkey, in old clothes and patched rags. Everyone who knew his former life, when he was rich, noble and close to the king and was one of the members of the synclite, was touched to see him in such humility and poverty, and everyone learned that for the sake of the Lord one can humble oneself and become impoverished, and consider everything in the world as nothing. At the end of the holy council, the monk returned to his monastery, bringing the pious dogmas of the holy faith, approved at this Ecumenical Council, as the best decoration of his monastery. Here Theophan continued to strive in his usual exploits, enlightening with the example of his virtuous life not only his monastery, but also the entire surrounding country; rumors spread about him everywhere, and everyone glorified the Heavenly Father for his sake. For his pious life, he was given from God the grace of working miracles: he healed illnesses and cast out demons from people. One day, when the monk fell asleep, the demon planned to attack him; resembling a wild boar, he began to gnaw the saint’s thumb, so that it became very painful for him. Immediately rising from sleep, Theophanes noticed on his finger the marks of the teeth of his enemy, who wanted to completely bite off his finger, and this wound caused severe pain to the saint, but taking the myrrh that was with him from the Life-giving Tree of the Cross, he anointed his sore finger with it and was immediately healed. From then on, having received power over demons, Theophanes with his word began to drive them out from the suffering people brought to him. This reverend father, sailing one day on a ship, calmed the storm. He distributed bread and other food in abundance to strangers and the poor who came to his monastery, and at the same time the bread did not diminish, just as the prophet Elijah did this with a tub of flour from the widow with whom he lived (1 Kings 7:16). One day the cellarer began to murmur against the saint because he was distributing bread to the poor, and yet there was not enough bread for those living in the monastery. Then the Monk Theophan ordered him to count and measure everything that was in the pantry, and it turned out that nothing had decreased; all the brethren glorified God for this, and the grumbling cellarer, falling to his knees, began to ask forgiveness from the Saint. Already fifty years old, the Monk Theophan fell ill with stone disease and suffered severely. From that time on, he spent the rest of his life on his bed, and the one who healed others from illness with his prayer did not ask the Lord to heal his illness, but endured it with thanksgiving. In this illness, the time of confessional death came for him, according to the prophecy of that perspicacious elder Gregory, who quietly told his bride, the holy maiden, in his ear that in due time her groom would receive the crown of martyrdom. Many years later, when the monk had already grown old and several Greek emperors had replaced him (for after the aforementioned Tsar Constantine, who reigned with his mother Irina, Nicephorus ascended the imperial throne together with his son Stavrikiy, and after them Michael Kuropalate reigned), it was after these emperors that Leo the Armenian took the scepter of the Greek kingdom in 1886. This emperor erected the iconoclastic heresy. He greatly confused the Church of Christ by expelling the holy Patriarch Nicephorus and his disciples from the throne in 1887; He directly tortured and killed many other Christians for venerating icons. Church historian Georgy Kedrin 1888 writes the following about Saint Theophan. When Patriarch Nikifor of Constantinople was traveling by sea to imprisonment and on a ship passed by the area where the monastery of the Monk Theophan was located, this latter learned about this with his perspicacious spiritual eyes; he ordered his disciple to bring burning coals in a censer, put incense on them and, ordering the candles to be lit, bowed to the ground, as if talking with someone passing by. Then the student asked Theophanes: - What are you doing, father, and with whom, bowing, are you talking! “Here, His Holiness Patriarch Nicephorus, exiled for his orthodoxy, is going to prison and is now sailing past our country on a ship. For his sake, I lit candles and incense, so that we could pay due honor to the patriarch. His Holiness Patriarch Nicephorus, who was traveling on the ship, foresaw this, for he, suddenly kneeling, responded to the holy elder with a bow and, raising his hands, blessed him. One monk, who was with the most holy patriarch, asked him: – Who are you blessing, Holy Father, and before whom did you kneel? To this Patriarch Nikifor answered: “Now confessor Feofan, abbot of Velikoye Selo, greeted us with lighted candles and incense; I mutually bowed to him; after all, like us, he too will soon have to suffer. All this soon came true. After a little time, the evil king Leo the Armenian, wanting to seduce the Monk Theophan to like-mindedness with himself, sent ambassadors to him and honorably called him to himself in Constantinople; at the same time, he slyly wrote to him: “Soon I will have a war with the wicked, but before I go out against them, I need to arm myself with your prayers, and so, honest father, do not refuse to come to us.” The Monk Theophan, although he saw the king’s deceit and was at that time overcome by a serious illness, nevertheless decided to go in order to suffer for the true faith. Having boarded the ship, the saint soon arrived in Constantinople, but there he was not introduced to the king, for the king was ashamed and afraid of Theophan’s denunciations. But he sent his noble dignitaries to the Monk Theophan in order to seduce him into his evil faith with flattering promises. “If,” he said through them to the holy man, “you are of the same mind with us, I will build your monastery with tall stone buildings and enrich it in everything; and you will be exalted in my honor more than anyone else, and also all your close relatives, I will honor you with great rank. To these promises, however, the tsar also added a threat: “If you,” he continued, “contradict us, then you yourself will be guilty of great dishonor.” To this Saint Theophan answered the king through the messengers: - I do not desire anything from the riches of this world: if, as a youth, for the love of Christ, I left all my gold, silver and all my possessions that I had, then will I really desire them in my old age? Let this not happen. The Lord Himself provides for the monastery and for my brothers, more than all the kings and princes of the earth. Why, O king, do you frighten me with your threat, like some little boy with a rod! Prepare torment for me, light a fire, and although I cannot walk due to my illness, as you see, I will throw myself into the fire for my orthodoxy. Having heard these words of the saint spoken with great boldness, the messengers went to the king and conveyed all this to him. The king, surprised at such unheard-of courage, ordered a certain sophist John, an insidious wizard and heretic, to go to the monk in order to talk with him; but before the divinely inspired words of the reverend father he found himself as if dumb and defeated, and with shame he returned to the king who had sent him. Then the king, filled with anger, ordered the Monk Theophan to be imprisoned in a dark and cramped room at the so-called Eleutherian Chamber and guards to be assigned to him. The monk, already old and sick, spent two years in this gloomy imprisonment; Here every day, either by kindness or by threats, they tried to draw him into iconoclasm, and the evil heretics deliberately sent to him mocked him and slandered him. Once, when the king kindly sent his ambassador to the saint, wanting him to sign the decree on the overthrow of icons, the Monk Theophan answered him: - Know, O king, who gave you the kingdom, the One by whom kings reign and tormentors rule on earth. Know, I tell you, that the Lord, being indescribable, deigned to be visible and, having accepted our nature, became like us in everything, except for sin; and with this nature, deified in Himself, He raised the dead, enlightened the blind, cleansed the lepers, and performed many other miracles. With this human nature He voluntarily accepted death from the Jews, was resurrected on the third day, ascended into heaven with glory and was never separated from the Father. The Gospel teaches us about this human nature in Christ; Therefore, we accept this Gospel book with reverence, believing everything written in it, all the wonderful deeds of Christ - so that in the Gospel we honor Him, as it were. And if we are not condemned for believing in the works of Christ described in words, then why are we condemned if we accept and honor the same Gospel story, but only depicted in icons? And the barbarians who came to our faith, thanks to icons, easily recognize all the life of Christ on earth with people and all His wonderful deeds. And how many unlearned people, looking at the miracles of Christ depicted on the icons and at His free death, glorified the Lord who suffered for us? But you, rejecting the icons, must have envied their salvation. And what council has ever considered it a sin and sacrilege to venerate holy icons? Didn’t Christ Himself send an image of His Face, made miraculously in 1889, to the Edessa prince Abgar for healing? And didn’t the holy Apostle Luke leave us an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary of 1890, painted with multi-colored paints? There is nothing here contrary to the tradition and teaching of the holy fathers: Saint Basil the Great, tester of the ineffable Mysteries, said that the honor shown to the icon goes back to what is described on it. John also said with his golden lips: “I love the image made of wax” 1891. Saint Cyril 1892 - this harp of the Holy Spirit, said: “often seeing the image on the icon of the Passion of Christ, I cannot pass by this icon without tears.” So, if the first six Ecumenical Councils, which were held before the seventh council, did not forbid the veneration of holy icons, giving honor to the persons and events depicted on them, then do you think you are wiser than them! Your job, king, is to wage war against foreigners, but to study church dogmas and laws belongs to holy fathers, not kings. Having read this message from the reverend father, the king was filled with unspeakable rage; he immediately sent one of his cruel dignitaries to the Sigrian country to destroy the Theophanes monastery, called the “Great Village,” and completely burn it; His disciples, having beaten him mercilessly, were dispersed. The king sent another ambassador, equally fierce, to the Monk Theophan, who had already been imprisoned for two years in the gloomy dungeon of the Eleutherian castle in 1893. This messenger, having torn off the clothes from the holy elder, who was already exhausted by fasting and prolonged illness, beat him mercilessly with ox sinews on the ridge and belly and, having given him three hundred blows and imprisoned him again, left him. In the morning, by order of the king, this tormentor again came to the monk; taking him out of prison, he brutally beat him. And then Saint Theophan was sent into captivity on the island of Samothrace in 1894. The reverend father foresaw this in advance with his perspicacious eyes and told the novice serving him a few days before that they would be sent to this island. Having lived in this place for only twenty-three days, the holy martyr from earthly exile, adorned with the crown of confessional suffering, moved to the heavenly fatherland in 1895, and his venerable body was laid there in a wooden shrine. God glorified His holy saint not only during his life, but also after his repose: He bestowed healing power on his saints, and many sick people, only by touching his cancer, received healing. After the evil king Leo the Armenian was killed, the exiled disciples of Saint Theophan again returned to Mount Sigrian and renovated the burned monastery. Here they transferred the holy relics of their venerable father Theophan from the island of Samothrace and reverently placed them in the church, and from them many miracles were performed - to the glory of Christ our God, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever. Amen 1896. Receiving Divine revelation from above, you carefully departed from the midst of worldly rumors and, having gone into solitude, reverend, you received miracles, actions and prophecies, dignity, wealth and a wife, having lost your wife. Emperor Leo the Isaurian (717–741) was the first iconoclast to issue a command to throw out holy icons from churches and destroy them. Emperor Constantine Copronymus (741–775) strongly supported the iconoclastic heresy. He convened a council in Constantinople, which he called the Ecumenical Council, at which the veneration of icons was rejected. Isauria - where both the emperor Leo the Isaurian and Theophanes' father Isaac came from - is a small, little-known country in Asia Minor, bordering Lycaonia and Cilicia. Currently, only ruins remain near Ulubunar. Theophanes - Greek. Θεοθανοσ - revealed by God or revealing God. Θεοθανεια (from Θεος - God and θαινω - I manifest) - Epiphany. Emperor Leo IV, nicknamed Khazar, reigned from 775 to 780. He also supported iconoclasm, although weaker than his predecessors. The country of Cyzicus (with its main city Cyzicus) is located in the northwestern part of Asia Minor, on the southern shore of the Sea of ​​Marmara. The Sigrian region is a part of Asia Minor, coming from the Propontis (Sea of ​​Marmara) between the rivers Rindak (in ancient times Lykos, now Lyunad and in the lower reaches of Mikalitsa) and Ezepos, separating Mysia from Troas. Bithynia is the northwestern province of Asia Minor. The island of Kalonym or Kalonimos (now Kalomios, in ancient times Besbikon) is located opposite the mouth of the Rindaka River, in the Sea of ​​Marmara. The Holy Queen Irina, the wife of Leo the Khazar, first, after the death of her husband, ruled the empire during the infancy of her son, Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (780-792), on his behalf, and then on her own (797-802) - the Holy Patriarch Tarasius from 784 to 806 (his memory is celebrated on February 25). The VII Ecumenical Council, which approved the veneration of icons, was convened in 787. The Sigrian monastery was located 22,000 steps from Cyzicus and from the sea. – The Great Village (Megagrit – Μέγας Αγρός) was in the same area; another monastery is Maloye Selo, where Christopher was abbot. Emperor Leo the Armenian reigned from 813 to 820. The Holy Patriarch Nicephorus ruled the Church of Constantinople from 806 to 815; died in captivity in 828; His memory is celebrated on March 13 and June 2. Theodore Studite is the abbot of the famous Studite monastery, his memory is celebrated on November 11. George Kedrin is a Byzantine writer of the late 11th or early 12th century, author of the so-called. synopis istorion. His work begins from the creation of the world and covers Jewish, Roman and Byzantine history until the accession of Isaac Komnenos to the throne (1057). During the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ in the city of Edes, in Mesopotamia, there was Prince Abgar, stricken with leprosy. Having heard about the healing of all kinds of diseases by Jesus Christ, Abgar sent a letter to Him with the painter Ananias, in which he asked Him to come to Edes and heal him. The Lord replied that He could not come to him, but, after completing His work on earth, He would send one of His disciples to him, who would heal him. After that, the Lord washed His Face and wiped It with a towel. At this time, the Face of the Lord was displayed on this ubrus. Avgar, having accepted and kissed him, felt great relief from his illness. After the Lord’s ascension into heaven, Saint Thaddeus, one of the 70 apostles, came to Abgar and completely healed him of leprosy. The inhabitants of Edes, together with the prince, received baptism from the apostle, and the holy panel was placed in the wall above the main gate of the city, where it remained until 944, when it was transferred from Edes to Constantinople; This transfer is celebrated on August 16th. The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, according to legend, was a painter and, with the permission of the Mother of God, painted several icons of Her (see his life, October 18). His memory is revered on November 13 and January 30. Memory of St. Kirill is celebrated on January 18th. The Eleutherian castle (or chamber) is located in that part of Constantinople where the Seraglio (the palace of the Turkish Sultan) is now located. Samothrace is an island in the Aegean Sea, 5 1/2 miles from the Thracian coast. Saint Theophan died around 818. Saint Theophan left behind a “Chronography”, in which he described the events of the Church from 285 to 813. You might be interested in: