The yard of the Monastery of Saint Patapios at Loutraki, Greece
Pemptousia
Today the
Church celebrates and honours the memory of the blessed Patapios the
Desert-Dweller. This is the title accorded to the saint who lived in
isolation in the desert, leaving behind the turmoil and joys of the
secular life. He was born in Thebes, in Egypt, of devout Christian
parents, by whom he was brought up with great care and concern and from
whom he learned the Scriptures. What Saint Paul wrote to Timothy applies
very well to Saint Patapios: “from childhood you have been acquainted
with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus”. Faith in Christ and in the Scriptures
really do make people wise and save them.
When Saint Patapios came of age, he
renounced his homeland, his wealth, his kin and every kind of worldly
pleasure and vanity and went out into the desert. This was at the time
when the eremitic and monastic way of life was at its peak in this part
of Egypt. Saint Patapios quickly excelled and began to be well known for
his asceticism and virtue, to so great an extent that people flocked to
him to benefit spiritually from his acquaintance and influence. The
same was true, as we see in the Gospels, of the Forerunner and Baptist
John, to whom: “Jerusalem and the whole of Judea, as well as the area
around the Jordan came out”.
Saint Patapios of Thebes
We should take note of this and evaluate
it properly. That is the importance and spiritual benefit conferred
upon a particular place by the presence there of a saintly figure. It is
not and should not be in the turmoil of the world, but in the desert,
alone with God. People went to find him and listen to him, like those
who are thirsty and cannot wait for water to be brought to them, but
rather go themselves to the spring. It is not necessary or needful for
the holy ascetics to come down and find people, but rather people should
know by themselves to go to monasteries, in the way that many people
now go to the Holy Mountain.
The blessed Patapios loved the peace of
the desert so much that he began to be concerned when he saw crowds of
people coming to him and admiring him for his ascetic way of life and
his sanctity. Saints in those days did not allow themselves to think
what other people thought of them: if they did, they would have lost
everything. This is the great power and virtue of the saints, which is
why people admire those who abandon the secular life and conceal
themselves. This is what Saint Patapios did. After living so many years
in the desert of Thebaïda, he left and went to Constantinople, so that
people would lose all trace of him.
The city of Corinth as viewed from the courtyard of the Monastery of Saint Patapios
In Constantinople, Saint Patapios,
directed by God, went and stayed at the shrine of the Mother of God of
Vlakhernai (Blachernae). He remained there, poor and unknown, in harsh
struggle and spiritual contemplation, as he had done in the desert. But a
light cannot be concealed, and the more sanctity is hidden away in
God’s people, the more it is revealed to the world. Saint Patapios, the
humble and poor monk of Vlakhernai managed to become celestial and an
angel on earth. This is why God granted him the grace of performing
miracles. As well as the healing waters of the Life-Receiving Spring in
Vlakhernai, there was also Saint Patapios, curing people’s illnesses.
The holy relics of Saint Patapios are dwelled in the cave of Loutraki Monastery
Of the many miracles and healings of
Saint Patapios, we would mention only one: he healed a woman who was
suffering from breast cancer. This illness, which to this day is not
properly treatable by medical science, was cured by Saint Patapios with
prayer and the grace of Christ. This is why he is the protector and
healer of those faithful women who are suffering from this wretched
ailment. Even now, faithful people go to the convent of Saint Patapios,
on the hill above Loutraki in Attica, to seek the grace of Christ, and
also healing, through the prayers of Saint Patapios. Jesus Christ, the
physician of our souls and bodies, said of His saints, and it is true,
that: “those whose believe in Me will also do the works which I
perform”. Amen.
See also
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