Our holy Father Euthymius was from the town of Tao in Georgia . He
was the son of pious, noble and wealthy parents. When his father
renounced the temporal and perishable splendor and glory of this world,
preferring poverty in Christ which leads to heavenly riches, he donned
the angelic schema of a monk, changed his name to John, and moved to
Constantinople. Euthymius, who was still quite small, stayed with his
grandfather (though some sources say that Euthymius was left with John’s
brother-in-law) a man renowned in glory and in virtue, who raised the
child in the instruction and admonition of the Lord. After a little
time had passed, he took Euthymius with him, and they went to
Constantinople looking for John. When he found him, he urged him with
many words and tears to come back to his country. Not only was John not
persuaded by this, he tried in every way to keep his son with him,
thereby causing the boy’s grandfather great sadness.
Since they
quarreled a great deal about this, and because John tried to take his
son and his father would not allow him to do this, the Emperor
Nikephorus Phokas (r. 963-969) learned of it, and commanded that both
men appear before him and bring Euthymius with them. After the three
presented themselves to the Emperor and he had heard the argument they
had about the youth, the sovereign decreed that neither of them should
take him by force. They were to leave it to God to decide what to do
with him. He also told them to let the youth go to whomever he freely
chose to go. He ran at once into his father’s arms, though he had never
seen or known him until that moment. This action evoked wonder and tears
in all those who were present.
The blessed John received his son
as if from the hands of God and soon clothed him in the monastic
schema, then gave him to teachers in order to be educated. The good
Thymus, having a sharp mind, much fervor and diligence, soon learned
worldly wisdom and also the inner wisdom of God from his instructors. So
he appeared as a river of the teachings of the Spirit. After this, he
fell gravely ill, but he recovered through the care and help of the Most
Holy Lady Theotokos. He excelled in virtue, wisdom, and grace, and in
many other wondrous things from which it was apparent to all what sort
of prodigy he would become.
The blessed one despised the glory of
men as something contrary to the glory of God, so he left and went to
Mount Athos with his father John. After meeting St Athanasius (July 5),
they desired to live with him in the holy Lavra. The divine Athanasius,
seeing with the clear-sighted eye of his soul the grace of the Holy
Spirit dwelling in Euthymius, urged him to receive the dignity of the
priesthood. At first he did not wish to do so, saying that he was not
worthy of it. Finally, he obeyed the words of the holy Athanasius and
was ordained as a priest. From that time he began to add struggles upon
struggles, abstinence on top of abstinence, and greatly increased all
the virtues that he had. As a result, he became a vessel of the All-Holy
Spirit, and translated all the Holy Scriptures into the Georgian
language. He also wrote many books filled with his teachings on morality
and virtue. St George of Mount Athos (May 13 & June 27), the author
of the Life of St Euthymius, says that the saint translated the Holy
Scriptures, and more than fifty other works, into the Georgian language.
He also rebuilt many churches and hospitals, and adorned the Holy
Mountain with hermitages.
With what words can one describe
worthily the kindness which he showed toward all or his incomparable
humility when for fourteen years he cared for the great Athanasius and
his father who were ill? Once these two had gone to the Lord, the
blessed Euthymius was given the protection of the Holy Lavra, and not
just the Lavra, but all of the Holy Mountain . In this he was willing
and quick in his dual healing of the souls and bodies of the brethren.
His divine mouth always spouted forth rivers of wisdom and instruction
to the glory of God. Since he was overcome by the love of extreme
tranquility, he made his cousin George the igumen of the Lavra.
Euthymius remained alone, pleasing God night and day. No one knew of his
spiritual struggles and their fruits, because he strove to accomplish
them in secret, so that no one should know of them but God, Who wished
to reveal the many accomplishments by which His servant shone forth.
Once
there was a drought on the Holy Mountain, and all the Fathers were
immeasurably sad because of the lack of water, so they begged the saint
to pray to God about this. The blessed one was persuaded only with great
difficulty. He climbed to the chapel of the Prophet Elias, which is
near the Holy Monastery of Iveron, praying with tears to the
All-Merciful God, offering to Him the rational and bloodless Sacrifice.
Immediately, so much rain fell that the ground was saturated. Everybody
glorified God, Who glorifies those who glorify Him.
It is
customary for the monks on the Holy Mountain to ascend to the summit of
the mountain during the all-radiant Feast of the Transfiguration of the
Savior (August 6), and to serve the all-night Vigil. The next day they
celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and then came back down. Once, when this
Great Feast had arrived, Euthymius ascended the mountain with many
others just when it time for the Divine Liturgy to be celebrated. With
one voice they all begged him to serve the Divine Liturgy and he
fulfilled their request with great humility.
He came to the
exclamation where the priest says, “Singing the triumphant hymn,
shouting, proclaiming, and saying....” Suddenly a blinding light flashed
about all of them and the earth quaked, and everyone fell face down
upon the ground. Only the blessed Euthymius remained standing motionless
before the altar, appearing as a pillar of fire. This wondrous event
made him even more renowned everywhere.
When the Archbishop of
Cyprus departed unto the Lord, the Emperor Basil II (976-1025) sent
envoys with letters, fervently entreating Euthymius to accept the
position. The saint would not even consent to hear the whole message,
saying that he was not worthy of the appointment. Indeed, he said, he
felt more worthy to be shepherded than to shepherd others. So Euthymius,
in a God-pleasing manner, remained alone in stillness and quiet both
day and night. In his heart was rooted humility, the mother of all
virtues.
Meanwhile, the apostate devil, who always bears malice
and works against all good and God-pleasing works, could not tolerate
seeing the saint’s virtues. He progressed each day and was very pleasing
to God, and everything he did was for the glory of Christ God.
The
devil grieved out of envy and malice. So, when he found a man who, by
his dress, appeared to be a monk, but had a defiled and unclean heart.
Since he was such a suitable dwelling place for the devil, he entered
into him and persuaded him to kill the saint. He whispered into his
ears, just as he had whispered to Eve of old, “If you kill this
Euthymius, I give you my word that you will receive great favor.”
The
wretched one was willing to commit this act of murder. He got his knife
ready and he climbed to the tower where the saint had his cell. Seeing
that the man was completely dominated by the devil, and that he held a
knife in his hand, the saint’s disciple closed the door to the cell and
would not let him in. The murderer, not finding the saint in order to
satisfy the rage which overcame him, immediately wounded the disciple
and left that place amidst wild cries and shouts. He encountered another
disciple of the saint and attacked him in the same manner. He went a
little farther, and then fell face down on the ground. After confessing
his sin and revealing all the words that the devil had spoken to him, he
violently gave up his foul soul. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, the
saint recognized that the accident which had befallen his disciples
occurred with the devil’s collaboration. Quickly he descended from the
tower, hastening to perfect his disciples with the Great monastic
schema. Shortly after he tonsured them, they both departed unto the
Lord.
The devil could not stand to see the saint’s
accomplishments which he performed for the glory of God. Therefore, he
incited a gardener to slay the saint. The man had the knife ready, and
approached the saint, stabbing him in the abdomen, but the saint
remained unharmed. The edge of the knife bent like wax, and the hand
that struck the saint withered and remained unmoving. Falling at the
saint’s feet, the gardener confessed the demon’s plan, and he pleaded
earnestly with Euthymius for forgiveness and healing. Being
compassionate, the saint entreated God on his behalf, and so the
gardener received both spiritual and bodily health.
What words
suffice to recount the virtues of the saint, the sympathy he had for
all, his compassion, his cheerfulness, his lack of anger, his
tranquility, his all-night vigils, his ceaseless prayer, and his
humility, the poor quality of his food and clothing which inured his
body to hardship? He also wore heavy iron chains on his body. To put it
plainly, he was truly an angel in an earthly body, an unwavering beacon
to the world, reflecting in his own person the word of life.
Because
there are scandals everywhere, and the earth is the principal place for
scandal, some troubles also occurred on the Holy Mountain . Because of
this, the Fathers pleaded with the saint to go to Constantinople to ask
for an imperial decree to put an end to the scandals, and to restore
peace on Mount Athos. Heeding their words, the blessed one went to
Constantinople. The whole Senate and the nobility received him with
great courtesy and much reverence. At once, his request was granted.
One
day, as the blessed one was riding a mule through Constantinople . He
and another monk were going to the section of the city called Platia for
some necessities. A beggar sat in the road asking for alms. Seeing him,
the saint felt compassion and was about to give him something. The mule
he was riding became startled when it saw the beggar, and it became
wild. Violently carrying the saint away, the mule galloped off and did
not halt until it had thrown the saint to the ground and crushed him.
Some Christians ran and picked him up, bringing him back to the home
where he was staying. A few days later, on May 13, 1028 he received the
Holy Mysteries, and then gave his holy soul into the hands of God.
During the burial of his holy body, many healings and miracles took
place. These were seen as proof of his holiness and boldness before God,
and they were performed for the glory of the Lord.
Later, his
holy relics were moved to the Holy Mountain , and were buried in the
venerable monastery of the honorable, glorious prophet, Forerunner, and
Baptist John. Later, the monastery was renamed the Iveron (Georgian)
Monastery which had been rebuilt by the blessed Euthymius to the glory
of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one Godhead, to Whom is
due glory, honor and worship, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Amen.
Source-Oca.org
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