Память преподобного отца нашего Илариона Нового

Blessed Hilarion was the son of Peter the Cappadocian 3667, who served at the royal meal, and mother Theodosia, pious and God-fearing people; in his youth he was well taught the Holy Scriptures. When he was 20 years old, he, according to the Gospel word (Matthew 10:37; Luke 14:26), left his father and mother, home and wealth and became a monk in the monastery of Hesychius near Byzantium. Then he came to the Dalmatian monastery 3668, took on a great angelic image here and became a disciple of Saint Gregory Decapolite, who lived here at that time; Saint Hilarion labored in obedience, silence and great humility. He had a job in the monastery garden and worked in this obedience for ten years; Reading the history of the virtuous and godly life of the self-named Venerable Hilarion the Great, he, as far as possible, tried to become like this saint of God by fasting, all-night prayer and all other monastic deeds: that is why he was called Hilarion the New. Having purified and enlightened his soul, like the sun, he received from God power over unclean spirits, so that he could drive them out. The abbot of that monastery made him a priest against his will, when Saint Gregory Dekapolit left from here to other places. A few years later, when the abbot died, the Monk Hilarion, having learned that the brethren wanted to make him abbot, decided to leave here; for this purpose, he secretly left the monastery at night from everyone and went to Byzantium, in the hope of finding his teacher Saint Gregory here, but this latter sailed to Rome and, returning from there, settled on Mount Olympia 3669. Hilarion came to a monastery in Byzantium; The monks of the Dalmatian monastery, having learned about this, began to ask His Holiness Patriarch Nicephorus 3670 to appoint Hilarion as abbot for them, even if against his wishes. The Patriarch informed the Emperor about this: calling Hilarion to them, the Tsar and Patriarch exhorted him to accept the abbess of the Dalmatian monastery. Not daring to resist the royal and patriarchal will, Hilarion accepted the power of abbot and diligently tended the verbal sheep entrusted to him for eight years. Then the scepter of the Greek kingdom was accepted by the bestial torturer Leo the Armenian 3671, who began to confuse the Church of Christ with the iconoclastic heresy 3672, forcing many to his heretical wisdom; those who did not obey him, he either subjected to torture or expelled to distant countries. By his order, the Monk Hilarion was brought from the monastery to the king, who forced him to accept heretical teachings. The good warrior of Christ not only did not obey the heretic emperor, but even boldly denounced him, called him an atheist and a new criminal, and thereby aroused the fierce anger of the king against himself. The wicked king inflicted many wounds and various torments on the blessed one, and then imprisoned him. After some time, again, calling him to himself, torturing him a lot, but achieving nothing, the king gave him to his like-minded Patriarch Theodotus 3673, nicknamed Cassiter, who accepted the throne after being exiled for the piety of His Holiness Nicephorus. This false patriarch Theodotus did the same to the saint as the king did: he imprisoned the saint in a dark prison and tormented him with hunger and thirst for many days, ordering him not to give him either bread or water. The monks, where the monk was abbot, came to the king and prayed to him: - King, return our father to us; For this we promise to obey your will. The king was delighted at this promise and returned their abbot to them. The saint, having come to the monastery, lived here for one year; Having barely had time to rest a little from torment and hunger, the saint again doomed himself to torment, for the king, expecting the fulfillment of the monks’ promise, realized that he had been deceived, 3674 why he sent soldiers to the monastery and punished the monks, and, taking the monk, again imprisoned him; then he sent him to the Phaneev monastery 3675 and there he ordered the saint to be imprisoned in the tightest dungeon. The saint languished in this prison for six months, suffering all sorts of troubles and annoyances from the cruel abbot of that monastery. Then, by royal command, he was again brought to Constantinople: here he was again persuaded by various flattering admonitions to accept the iconoclastic heresy. But since the sufferer of Christ did not listen to the heretics, the king sent him to another monastery called Kikloveeva 3676; Here he stayed for two years and 6 months, languishing in a cramped dungeon and experiencing various torments. From here the saint was again brought to the king and, after a severe beating, he was imprisoned in the city of Protilsky 3677. The evil king, having killed many, himself died fiercely: he was cut to pieces by his own soldiers with swords in the church in the very place where, for the first time, he had desecrated the holy icon of Christ and cast it down; Thus the wicked evilly destroyed his accursed soul. Michael Travl 3678, who accepted the kingdom after him, ordered the release of all the faithful from bonds and imprisonment. The Monk Hilarion, along with the others, was released from prison, but he did not go to his monastery, since the iconoclastic heresy had not yet ceased, and the episcopal thrones were occupied by heretics, false teachers and false shepherds, but he stayed with one faithful and pious woman, who gave him a secluded place on her estate, built a cell with a garden and supplied him with everything he needed. At this time, the Monk Theodore of Studium returned from captivity and departed to the Lord, having also suffered much suffering from heretics for his orthodoxy; His holy soul, lifted up by the Angels to heaven, was seen by the Monk Hilarion, as it is also said in the life of Theodore. On the day when Saint Theodore of Studium reposed, blessed Hilarion, walking through his garden, doing work and singing the psalms of David, suddenly heard some wonderful voices in the air and felt some wonderful fragrance; Surprised, he stopped, looking where it all came from; looking up, he saw many Angels in white robes, shining with bright faces and heading towards someone with chants. Seeing all this, blessed Hilarion fell to the ground in great fear and heard a voice saying: “This is the soul of Theodore, abbot of the Studite monastery, who suffered until he bled for the holy icons and was very courageous in his suffering, and now has died and is solemnly ascending to heaven, greeted by the heavenly powers. Having been granted such a wonderful vision, the Monk Hilarion was filled with great consolation and spiritual joy; For many days he rejoiced in his soul and his face shone with joy like the face of an Angel. The monk stayed with that woman for over seven years. When, after Michael Travlus, his son Theophilus 3679 ascended the kingdom, he gathered all the confessors and again began to force them, following the example of the previous evil kings, to iconoclasm, and cruelly tortured those who did not obey him. At this time, the Monk Hilarion was also taken and brought to the king; forced to iconoclasm, he did not submit to the royal command and again exposed him as an evil criminal who trampled on the true dogmas of the faith; for this the saint received one hundred and seventy blows on the back and was imprisoned on the island of Afusia 3680. A significant relief for the saint was that he was not kept here in prison or in chains, but lived in a cell, albeit a very cramped one. He lived in this cell until Theophilus’s death. When this wicked king died, Queen Theodora gathered all the confessors to the capital city, restored the Orthodox faith and ordered that holy icons be brought into the churches; Then the Monk Hilarion was also released. He again accepted the abbess in his Dalmatian monastery and became famous for his miracles. Having lived here for three years and having guided his disciples in a soul-saving manner, he departed to the Lord 3681. His honest and holy soul, just like the soul of Theodore, which he saw, was carried to heaven by the Angels and in the face of the holy confessors now stands before the throne of glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one God in the Trinity, to whom glory is given forever. Amen. The fences of your life-giving pasture, you pastorally preserved the flock unharmed, and you appeared with the height of your great deeds, the new Hilarion, receiving much torment and sorrow through piety. Thus, in the all-joyful belly of the mountainous Zion, pray for us, Reverend. Cappadocia is a region of Asia Minor. The Dalmatian monastery was founded by Saint Isaac himself. (see his life under May 30) on behalf of Abbot Dalmat - the successor of Isaac - who ruled the monastery for 55 years. Olympus is a mountain in the Asia Minor region of Mysia, on the border between Phrygia and Bithynia. Here, by the way, there was a monastery “in Symbols,” famous for the strict ascetic life of its inhabitants. Nikephoros I was patriarch from 806 to 815. Leo V the Armenian reigned from 813 to 820. The founder of the iconoclastic heresy is considered to be Constantine, Bishop of Nicholas, who lived in the 8th century. Unwisely confusing icon veneration with idolatry, the iconoclasts wanted to eradicate it from the Orthodox Church by cruel and persistent persecution of icon veneration. The most ardent defenders of this heresy were the emperors: Leo the Isaurian (reigned from 717 to 741) and Constantine Copronymus (from 741 to 775). This heresy was condemned at the VII Ecumenical Council, which took place in 787 in Nicaea. Theodotus I Cassiter was patriarch from 815 to 821. The monks obviously made a promise to obey the emperor in general in all his orders; Of course, they could not carry out orders contrary to the Orthodox faith. The monastery of Faneev was located between Byzantium and Pontus. The location of this monastery is unknown. The Protylian city, or rather the Protylian camp; his whereabouts are unknown. Michael the 2nd Travl (tongue-tied) reigned from 820 to 829 Theophilus reigned from 829 to 842 The island of Afusia, or Ophiussa, was located in the Gulf of Pasa Limani, near Constantinople The death of St. Hilarion followed in 845. You might be interested in: