Память святого Григория, патриарха Антиохийского

The Monk Gregory was the abbot of a monastery called Paran and located between Mount Sinai and Raif. By God's special providence, he was miraculously predicted by God as a person worthy of the patriarchal throne. This is how it is narrated in the Limonar of His Holiness Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Abba George, an Armenian, a student of Abba Sergius, told us the following: “Since Abba Gregory, who was the abbot of the Lavra of Faran, repeatedly asked me to bring him to Abba Sergius, I went with him to the elder, who was at that time in the desert near the Dead Sea 2677. The elder, seeing him, greeted him and received him very kindly. He brought water, washed his feet and talked with him all day about the salvation of his soul, and the next day he released him. When Abba Gregory left Abba Sergius, I asked the elder: “Do you know, father, that I was tempted; because I brought many bishops, presbyters, and other fathers to you and you did not wash the feet of any of them, only Abba Gregory? To these words the elder answered me: “I don’t know who Gregory is, but I know that I received the patriarch into my cave, for I saw that he was wearing an omophorion 2678 and holding the Gospel in his hands. It was Abba Sergius who spoke about Abba Gregory in a prophetic spirit, because after five years, according to the destinies of God, Abba Gregory was installed as patriarch in the city of Antioch” 2679. About Abba Gregory, Patriarch of Antioch, some of the elders reported that he especially had the following virtues: almsgiving, unforgettable malice, repentance, humility. He also had great compassion for those who sinned, and acquired many other virtues. His Holiness Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives the following testimony about him: – Such a man as the Patriarch of Antioch, Blessed Gregory, is worthy of being canonized as a saint and venerable: he was taken to the patriarchate against his will and led a holy life in Christ our Lord, to Him be glory forever. Amen. The Dead Sea is a salty, asphalt sea in the south of Palestine, formed in the Siddim Valley after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Its length is 70 versts, width 25. It is deeper in the north and shallower in the south. Its level is at 1200 feet. below the Mediterranean Sea. The abundance of bitterly salty particles in the water of this sea means that neither in the sea itself nor in its surroundings there is any life, there are no fish, no birds, no plants. Attempts to penetrate to the middle of the lake were unsuccessful, and for many, fatal. The water of the Dead Sea is particularly dense; it is difficult to immerse yourself in it; waves hit the rocky shores like fragments of stones. Omophorion (Greek “shoulder” and “burden”) – amice, part of the bishop’s vestment. The omophorion is a long and wide cloth, with images of a cross, worn on top of other bishop's clothes and falling down with one end in front and the other at the back. In a symbolic sense, the omophorion signifies the lost sheep, which the Good Shepherd placed on His shoulders (Luke 15:4–7). Saint Gregory I ruled the See of Antioch from 573 to 596. You might be interested in: