Память во святых отца нашего Доната епископа

Saint Donatus lived during the reign of the pious Emperor Theodosius the Great 2842 and was a bishop in the city of Euria, located in ancient Epirus 2843. Near this city there was a place called Soria, where there was a source of water; if anyone drank water from this source, he immediately died in severe torment. Holy Bishop Donatus, having learned about this, went to that source with his clergy. When he was already near the source, strong thunder was heard and a large and terrible snake came out of the source. The serpent headed towards the saint of God and tried to hit with its tail the legs of the mule on which the saint was riding. Then Bishop Donatus hit the approaching serpent with a whip on the ridge with which he was driving his mule, and immediately the serpent died. The clergy and people who were with the bishop, seeing such a miracle, collected firewood and, having built a large fire, burned the snake on it so that its corpse would not rot and would not poison the air with poison, especially since that snake was very large; but still no one dared to drink the water from that source. Then Saint Donatus, having prayed, blessed the source and first he himself drew water and drank it, and then he commanded everyone to drink it without fear. All the people, after this, drank the water without doing any harm to themselves and, having glorified God, returned to their homes. One day Saint Donatus happened to be in a rocky and waterless place, and he, seeing that the people around him were exhausted from thirst due to the intense heat, dug a small ditch with his own hands and prayed to God for the sending of water. Immediately a spring of water flowed, and to this day flows abundant water. Another time, Saint Donatus brought down water from heaven through his prayer. During a time of lack of rain and a severe drought, he prayed to the Lord, and immediately a heavy rain fell, which nourished the earth, so that that year there was a bountiful harvest of fruits, through the prayers of the saint. It happened that the daughter of Emperor Theodosius became very ill, being tormented by an unclean spirit. The king and queen were in great sadness due to the illness of their daughter, since she was their only daughter. At this time they learned that Bishop Donatus was performing miracles. The emperor immediately sent a command to Epirus that all the bishops of that country should come to him to bless him. When the bishops of Epirus arrived in Constantinople in 2844, the king received them with honor and kindness and asked: “Which of you is Bishop Donatus, who killed the snake with a scourge, brought water out of the rocky soil and asked God for rain from heaven?” The king was pointed to Saint Donatus. The king kissed him and led him to the queen, and they both, falling at the feet of the saint, begged him to help them, saying: - God's servant! Show us mercy: we have one daughter, and she is suffering cruelly, tormented by a demon. We mourn her greatly; They brought many doctors and priests to her, and no one could help her. Therefore, having heard about the great grace of God that dwells in you, we dared to ask you to come here so that you could cast out the demon from our daughter through your prayers, effective before God. If you heal our daughter, you will receive half of her property. The saint responded to the request of the king and queen in this way: -Where is the girl? Show it to me. Donatus was brought to the young woman. Immediately the demon, unable to tolerate the presence of the saint of God, cried out and, throwing the girl to the ground, came out of her; from that time on, the young woman became healthy. The king and queen were very happy about their daughter’s recovery and offered the saint great gifts, but he did not want to take anything that was offered to him. Seeing the good behavior and good faith of the imperial couple, he prayed to them to be given one place in his bishopric, located near a village called Omphalia, so that he could build a church on that place. The king immediately fulfilled the saint’s request and secured his gift with his royal charter. While the saint was in Constantinople, it happened that a certain man died here who had a creditor to whom he did not repay the debt. When he was carried to burial, his creditor, having a receipt from the deceased, held the coffin and did not allow the deceased to be buried until the debt, which amounted to two hundred gold coins, was repaid to him. Saint Donatus, who was at that time near the house of this deceased, hearing screams and loud noise coming from a large crowd of people, said to the bishops who arrived with him: “Let’s go and ask the lender to allow him to bury the body of his deceased debtor.” But the bishops did not agree to go. Then Donat went alone. When the widow of the deceased saw the saint, she fell at his feet and prayed to him with tears: “Have mercy on me, man of God, since I have fallen into double trouble: I have lost my husband and I cannot bury his body, because the lender is preventing me from doing this.” Persuade him, holy man, to allow me to bury the body of the deceased. – Is it really known for certain that your husband owes this man? - My lord! A few days before, my husband told me that he had already paid off his debt, but only the receipt remained with the lender. Then the saint of Christ said to the lender: - Allow me, child, to bury the body of the deceased; your debt will be repaid to you later. But the lender, being a cruel and unjust man, not only did not listen to the saint, but also scolded him. Then the holy bishop, approaching the bed on which the deceased lay, and touching the dead man with his hand, loudly called out to him: Immediately the dead man came to life and, opening his eyes, said: “Get up and tell us what to do with your creditor, who does not allow you to be buried, saying that you have not repaid him the debt for which he has your receipt.” The dead man stood up and sat down, to the great horror of everyone present at this amazing spectacle. Looking menacingly at his lender, the dead man began to reproach him for his deception and caught him in a lie, saying when and at what place he gave him two hundred zlotins of debt. The lender, not knowing what to answer, stood trembling and was silent, as if mute. The revived man demanded his receipt from the lender. Having received it, he tore it while sitting on his bed. Then, looking at the saint, he said to him: “You did well, O righteous one, to awaken me to expose this sinner; now tell me to go back to sleep. “Go to rest in peace, child, for you will get your receipt back.” And immediately that husband again fell asleep in the sleep of death. Everyone who saw this amazing miracle and heard about it from others glorified God with great joy, marveling at the power of the virtue of the saint of God. During Saint Donatus' stay in Constantinople, there was a lack of rain, and as a result there was a great drought. At the request of the king, the saint went out of the city and performed lithium 2845, begging God to send the rain necessary for the parched land. Immediately after Donatus’ prayer, such a great rain fell that all the people said: Emperor Theodosius feared for the holy Bishop Donatus, lest he should become very wet, standing in such great rain, for he was wearing only a robe. When Saint Donatus returned to the royal palace after the litiya, everyone saw that the clothes on him were completely dry and did not have the slightest trace of moisture, for not a single drop of rain touched them. Everyone was very amazed at this miracle. The emperor rejoiced greatly, seeing the glorious deeds of the holy saint of God, and thanked God for sending such a lamp to the world, this wonderful miracle worker, during his reign. After numerous conversations with the saint and upon receiving his blessing, the king released him to his flock. At the same time, Theodosius gave Saint Donatus a lot of money for the construction and decoration of a new church, which the saint wanted to build on the above-mentioned place, requested from the king. Returning to his bishopric, Blessed Donatus, using the royal gift, built a beautiful church, where he prepared a place for his burial. Having reached a very old age, he departed to the Lord 2846 in order to stand before Him in the host of holy hierarchs and eternally glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit - the One God, glorified in the Trinity by all the saints forever. Amen. Theodosius I the Great, Roman Emperor, reigned from 379 to 395. The Greeks originally used the word “Epirus” to designate the mainland (land) in general, as opposed to the islands; in particular, this name was used by the inhabitants of the western Greek islands (the Ionian and Adriatic seas) to call the opposite coast of Hellas, before entering the Strait of Corinth. Subsequently, the borders of Epirus narrowed, and the name Epirus began to denote the region adjacent to Illyria in the north, Thessaly in the east, and Aetolia and Acarnania in the south. Constantinople is the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople was founded with the name “Byzantium” by the Megarians in 658 BC on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara. The dominant position at sea and favorable historical conditions created Byzantium a remarkable center of both commercial and cultural life in general. In church history, Constantinople is known as the site of several Ecumenical and many local councils. Litiya is a public prayer, usually performed either in the vestibule of the church or outside it (in squares, fields). The death of Saint Donatus followed around 387. You might be interested in: