By St. John Moschos
The Spiritual Meadow
(Chapter 145)
The Spiritual Meadow
(Chapter 145)
Life of Blessed Gennadios the Patriarch of Constantinople,
and of the Reader Charisios
We arrived at the temple of Alexandria, in the cenobium of Salama, and met two old presbyters there who told us that they were presbyters of the Church of Constantinople. Also, they told us about the blessed Gennadios, Patriarch of Constantinople.
They told us how he had been greatly troubled by a cleric called Charisios, who lived a wicked life and whom he summoned in an attempt to admonish him. Having not benefited by admonishment, he ordered that he be chastised in a paternal and ecclesiastical manner.
Realizing that the cleric received no benefit from this (for he indulged in murder and sorcery), the patriarch sent for an apocrisiarius, and said to him, "Tell Saint Eleutherios (for it was here* that Charisios was a Reader): Your soldier, Saint Eleutherios, sins greatly, therefore either correct him or cut him off."
The apocrisiarius went to the oratory of the Holy Martyr Eleutherios, stood before the altar, and stretched out his hands in prayer towards the apse, saying to the martyr: "Holy Martyr of Christ, Patriarch Gennadios sends a message to you through me a sinner. Your soldier sins greatly, therefore either correct him or cut him off."
The next day the worker of wickedness was found dead, and all were astonished and glorified God.
Notes:
* Though we are not specifically told which Saint Eleutherios this church was dedicated to, since there were about five different possibilities, we do know that at this time on December 15th there was a synaxis in honor of Saint Eleutherios, Bishop of Illyricum, in a martyrium dedicated to him near Xerolofou in Constantinople.
They told us how he had been greatly troubled by a cleric called Charisios, who lived a wicked life and whom he summoned in an attempt to admonish him. Having not benefited by admonishment, he ordered that he be chastised in a paternal and ecclesiastical manner.
Realizing that the cleric received no benefit from this (for he indulged in murder and sorcery), the patriarch sent for an apocrisiarius, and said to him, "Tell Saint Eleutherios (for it was here* that Charisios was a Reader): Your soldier, Saint Eleutherios, sins greatly, therefore either correct him or cut him off."
The apocrisiarius went to the oratory of the Holy Martyr Eleutherios, stood before the altar, and stretched out his hands in prayer towards the apse, saying to the martyr: "Holy Martyr of Christ, Patriarch Gennadios sends a message to you through me a sinner. Your soldier sins greatly, therefore either correct him or cut him off."
The next day the worker of wickedness was found dead, and all were astonished and glorified God.
Notes:
* Though we are not specifically told which Saint Eleutherios this church was dedicated to, since there were about five different possibilities, we do know that at this time on December 15th there was a synaxis in honor of Saint Eleutherios, Bishop of Illyricum, in a martyrium dedicated to him near Xerolofou in Constantinople.
