Onuphrius the Great, prince of Persia ( Greek Ονούφριο ) - an early Christian saint , Egyptian ascetic of the 4th century . It is honored as the Venerable in the Orthodox (commemorated June 12 according to the Julian calendar ), Catholic (commemorated June 12 ), and ancient Eastern churches .
| Holy Onuphrius the Great | |
|---|---|
 greek orthodox icon | |
| Birth | about 320 years Persia |
| Death | 4th century Thebaid Desert in Egypt |
| Revered | in the Orthodox , Catholic and Old Eastern churches |
| In the face | reverend |
| Day of Remembrance | in the Orthodox Church: June 25 ( June 12, old style); in the Catholic Church: June 12 |
| Asceticism | asceticism |
There is an Orthodox tradition to consecrate cemetery churches in his honor [1] .
Life Story
The life of St. Onuphrius is known from the words of the Monk Paphnutius , who met him in the desert before his death and buried him. By the time he met Pafnuti, Onuphrius lived in the wilderness all alone for 60 years.
Some versions of the life report that Onuphrius the Great was born about 320 years in Persia and was the son of the Persian king, who, according to the suggestion of an angel, gave him to a monastery during his infancy [2] . He received upbringing in the Thevaitic monastery of Eriti, near Hermipol, where he learned from the elders about hermits and wanted to imitate them. He secretly left the monastery and came to the Thebaid desert ( Egypt ) where he met a hermit who became his teacher. For several years, the elder taught Onuphrius the struggle against the “devilish temptations,” and then, convinced of the strength of the spirit of his disciple, left him alone. Every year a teacher came to Onufry and died on one of his visits.
Onuphrius told Paphnutius about the miracles that accompanied his life in the desert:
After thirty years, God gave me more abundant nourishment, for near my cave I found a date palm , which had twelve branches; each branch apart from others bore its fruits, one in one month, the other in the other, until all twelve months were completed. In addition, at the command of God, the source of living water flowed near me. And now, for another thirty years, I have been striving with such riches, sometimes getting bread from an angel, sometimes tasting date fruits with desert roots, which, according to God's arrangement, seem sweeter to me than honey ...
- Dimitri Rostovsky . Lives of the Saints (June 12)
Onuphrius also said that angels who take communion to him and other deserts on Saturdays and Sundays are to him. The saints spent the night in prayer, and in the morning Onuphrius died, bequeathing Paphnutius to tell other desert devotees about his life. Paphnutia wrapped the body of Onuphrius in the lining of his clothes and buried his body in a stone coffin.
Holy Onuphrius in Akeldam
The Orthodox tradition that Onufry the Great came, settled and spent three years (according to other sources for several years) in fasting and prayer in Akeldam in Jerusalem is preserved, mainly in the Jerusalem Orthodox Church . [3] The traditional version of the life of St. Onuphrius does not mention anything about it (see Dimitry of Rostov. Life of the Monk Our Father Onuphrius the Great ). Most likely, he visited Akeldam in the first half of his life, after being removed from the monastery of Eriti [1] .
The essence of his feat in Akeldam various sources explain somewhat differently. Some people briefly report that he "Ömolil to Akeldam from God" [3] , others say that he "begged from God all who were buried in Akeldam" [1] . One way or another, but the prayer feat of the famous Egyptian hermit was not forgotten, and subsequently the Orthodox Greek monastery of Onuphrius the Great was founded and operates here [3] . From here originates the Orthodox tradition of the consecration of cemetery churches in honor of St. Onuphrius the Great [1] .
See also
- Akeldama
- Monastery of Onuphrius the Great (Akeldam)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 The Angel of the Tombs or the story of the destroyed shrine. Archived January 30, 2009. Library of the official website of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovki stauropegic monastery
- ↑ Rev. Onuphrius, Great Desert Bride, Prince of Persia
- ↑ 1 2 3 Holy Land: A Historical Guide to Memorial Places of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon / Ed. M. V. Bibikov. M., 2000. - p. 80-81
Literature
- Voitenko A. A. "The Coptic Life of St. Onuphrius the Great and Egyptian monasticism at the end of the 4th century." // Culture of Egypt and the Mediterranean countries in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Collection of articles devoted to T. N. Savelyev. M., 2009.
- Voitenko A. A. Text and image: Coptic iconography of sv. Onuphrius the Great. // Intellectual traditions in the past and present (research and translation) / Comp. and total ed. M.S. Petrova. - Moscow: IVI RAS , 2012. - P. 8-35. ISBN 978-5-94067-358-3
- Johannes Glötzner: Onuphrius - Patron der Stadt München and der Hermaphroditen, München 2008, ISBN 3-936431-16-7 .
Links
- The Angel of the Tombs or the story of a shrine destroyed. Library of the official website of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovki stauropegic monastery