The blessed hieromonk Constantius was a Russian by birth. Serving as a priest at the Russian imperial embassy in Constantinople, he spent his life quietly and peacefully. At that time, during the reign of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, hostile actions arose between Turkey and Russia. On this occasion, the Russian embassy left the hostile Porte, but Hieromonk Constantius, as alien to political unrest and relations that created a gap between strong powers, did not want to leave the East. Knowing, meanwhile, that Holy Mount Athos was always aloof from military upheavals, he went there and settled in the Lavra of St. Athanasius. While hostilities continued, he, in the form of a simple wanderer, visited Jerusalem and other holy places, and then again returned to the Holy Mountain in anticipation of the end of the war and the longed-for peace.
“At that time I also knew him,” says the compiler of this life, Hieromonk Jonah, a student of St. Akaki Kavsokalivita, - since he served the Liturgy with him in the monastery and at the burial of the Art bishop Neophytos, who loved him very much. Constantius was a wise and virtuous man: while talking to him, we often talked about Russia, and especially about our church needs and other spiritual subjects.”
When, by the grace of God, the war between Turkey and Russia ended and peace continued to prevail, then Hieromonk Constantius left the Holy Mountain for Constantinople to continue to occupy the priestly position at the embassy church. The Messenger received him with love and treated him with respect and respect. But a few days after this, God knows for what reason, displeasure arose between the envoy and Hieromonk Constantius. No one knew positively about the reasons for the unpleasant relationship between them, and if at one time they spoke about it, they spoke guessingly and differently.
Perhaps out of fear and fear of bad consequences for himself from his highest government, and perhaps in order to expose the envoy to strict liability and royal wrath, Hieromonk Constantius decided on an extraordinary act: he secretly disappeared from the embassy and, appearing at the Sultan’s palace, in the Turkish Supreme Divan, announced that he wanted to personally introduce himself to the Sultan, so that before him and in the sight of all Muslims he would renounce Christ and confess Mohammed as the true prophet of the great Allah. One can imagine how great the triumph of the infidels was! At the request of the unfortunate Constantius, he was presented to the Sultan, and - alas! - out loud to everyone, he renounced his Lord and faith in Him and recognized Islam as saving, and Mohammed as a great prophet. The Sultan showered him with favors, and honors poured in on him.
But a few days passed when the poor outcast came to his senses: the all-good Lord, not wanting the sinner to die, but to turn and live for him (Ezek. 33:11), touched his apostate heart with His grace, and Constantius’s thought was suddenly illuminated by Divine light: he deeply felt his terrible fall and with all his strength understood from what height and into what abyss of destruction he had fallen, the unfortunate one. For a long time, bitterly, extremely bitterly, he cried about his misfortune and, like the repentant Peter, cried out for mercy. Finally, despising shame and fear, he tied an old scarf around his head and, in a tattered duckweed, appeared at the Sultan's palace. There, in that very place and in the presence of the same courtiers of the Sultan, he threw on the floor the Turkish dress with which they had dressed him in the moments of his retreat, trampled, trampled on it and loudly cursed Mohammed and his teaching, and cursed all his followers.
This act of the repentant Constantius infuriated all the Turks: without any trial or interrogation, they seized him and cut off his head in the palace square, at the very time when he, cursing Mohammed, confessed Christ as the one true God. Thus he joyfully accepted the crown of martyrdom. May the Lord God save us through his prayers. Amen.
Saint Constantius suffered in 1743, on December 26th.
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St. Simon the Myrrh-Streaming, Simonopetra (Athos) († 1257)
The Monk Simon demonstrated the holiness and special dignity of his ascetic life by the wondrous deeds and miracles that he performed both during his life and after death, and especially by the sharpening of the world, like the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. But where he came from, who his parents were, how he was raised and, finally, where he laid down the beginnings of his monastic exploits, there is no historical information about this, or even local tradition. As for his wonderful life on Holy Mount Athos, the following narrative will show this.
Remembering the old saying that without obedience it is impossible to be saved, the Monk Simon first of all tried to ensure that he was not only a faithful guide to salvation and a bright example of perfect asceticism, but also a strict judge in relation to his weaknesses. As a result, like a deer thirsting for the life-giving streams of a source, he walked through all the monasteries and hermitages of the Holy Mountain in the hope of finding the desired leader. At each meeting with monks of experienced life, the stranger entered into detailed questions and judgments about the monastic virtues; and finally, in a multitude of them, he found the sought-after elder, perfect in all respects of asceticism. The only rule for all his actions, after subtly revealing to the elder all the circumstances of his past life, he set unconditional obedience to everything that the elder commanded him, he decided to carry out exactly and without any reflection each of his fatherly words - as if these words came not from the lips of the elder, but from God Himself.
Such obedience of the student pleased the teacher, although he often scolded the student and even beat him.
The monk was so deeply imbued with a sense of the importance and necessity of unconditional obedience to the elder, and not to his own will. With this way of thinking about a virtuous life, the Monk Simon soon became famous throughout the Mountain, so that those equal in age revered him, and his elders loved him, because both of them at his young age saw the mind of an old man, in his exploits inimitable patience, in his mind - perfection, in his words - edification, strict prudence and, finally, sincere love for everyone, which constitutes the crown of all virtues. Finally, the elder, having become convinced by constant experiences of Simon’s truly unconditional obedience, completely changed in his behavior with him, so that, with fatherly attentiveness to him, he treated him like a novice, and treated him like a brother, and even in some cases asked for his advice and reasoning. Simon was extremely upset by this and decided to leave the elder, under the pretext that he was looking for complete silence.
Saint Simon searched for a long time along the Holy Mountain for such a hidden desert, where no one could know or find him, until finally, with God’s help, he found, at will, a deserted rock and with it a cave on the southern side of the Holy Mountain, where the monastery of Simonopeter now exists, founded, as we will see below, by this same venerable one.
Upon entering the cave, knowing that he had to fight against invisible enemies, he, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, put on spiritual armor, kissed the cross, prayer, faith, patience, fasting and everything that destroys demonic intrigues and elevates a person to angelic purity and infantile dispassion. It is difficult to imagine the fortress and secret networks of Satan’s entrapment and warfare against Saint Simon, who, however, royally advanced and trampled his pride and overthrew all his intrigues. Of the many such cases, let us imagine the following.