Euthymius of Melitene

Euthymius of Melitene

Euthymius von Melitene also Euthymius the Great (* 377 in Melitene in what is now Turkey, † January 20, 473 near Jerusalem ) is one of the greatest ascetics of the Judean mountain desert. He was one of the fathers of monasticism and was buried like a king. His feast on January 20th is celebrated throughout the Eastern Church .

Life

He was the son of pious parents; their names were Paul and Dionysia. His name "Bringer of joy" (Greek Ευθύμιος) explains the Vita with this story: the mother is said to have been sterile and received Euthymius with a prophecy from the angel. He predicted that with his birth all superstition would be abolished and peace would break in for the church. After his father died, his mother, on the advice of her brother Eudoxios, placed him in the care of Bishop Otreius of Melitene , who baptized him and appointed him lecturer, and ordained presbyter when he reached canonical age . The hagiographer Kyrillos of Skythopolis sees a connection between the prophecy and the simultaneous inauguration of the emperor Theodosius II. At the same time, Euthymios was given the supervision of the monasteries in Melitene. The mother was also accepted into the service of the Church.

Euthymius went to Jerusalem between 406 and 411 and first settled at the hermitage of Theoktistos († 467) near Pharan. He left the management of the emerging monk colony to Theoktistus, after whom the monastery that was later built was named. Euthymius moved to a Laura in Marda (near Salfit ) around 415 , 15 km east of Jerusalem, and lived there as a hermit, where the monastery named after him was built until around 420/28. Here Sabas (* 439) was his student. He converted nomadic Arabs to the Christian faith. In 425, the Parembolai diocese was established for them. The Vita reports numerous miracles: he healed, he fed 400 Armenians with very little bread, he made it rain; during the mass his head was bathed in divine light.

Representations

The ascetic cycles of the Byzantine churches portray him as one of the great fathers of monasticism. Mostly he is depicted as an old man, bald with a beard over his hips. He is often depicted on icons and in church paintings together with Antonius Abbas .

See also

• List of monasteries

literature

• Alexios G. Savvides, Benjamin Hendrickx (Eds.): Encyclopaedic Prosopographical Lexicon of Byzantine History and Civilization . Vol. 2: Baanes-Eznik of Kolb . Brepols Publishers, Turnhout 2008, ISBN 978-2-503-52377-4 , pp. 444-445.
• Ekkart Sauser :  Euthymios the Great. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 14, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-073-5 , Sp. 964-966.