Saint Pelagia of Antioch Resource Page

St. Pelagia the Former Courtesan (Feast Day - October 8)

Verses

Being washed of disgrace and abandoning the foolish,
You have attained refuge in Heaven, Pelagia.
On the eighth Pelagia fled a life in a sea of troubles. 

 

Synaxarion of Venerable Pelagia, Who Was Formerly A Courtesan

 

The Life of Saint Pelagia of Antioch, the Nun Who Was Once a Courtesan

  

Saint Pelagia of Antioch: A Repentant Courtesan

 

October: Day 8: Teaching 1: Venerable Pelagia of Antioch 

 

On the Repentance of the Anonymous Harlot of Antioch (St. John Chrysostom) 

 

The Tomb of Saint Pelagia of Antioch on the Mount of Olives

 

Saint Pelagia the Harlot, A Living Embodiment of the Goddess Aphrodite

 

Three Holy Responses to Sexual Immorality: Pelagia the Virgin, Pelagia the Courtesan and Thais the Harlot

 

Saint Nonnus, Bishop of Heliopolis (+ 471)  

 

 

The Tomb of Saint Pelagia of Antioch on the Mount of Olives

Near to the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, there is a singular tomb that the three local religions curiously attribute to three different women. For the Jews, it is the prophetess Huldah, mentioned in the Old Testament in the time of King Josiah. For the Muslims, it is the tomb of Rabi'a al Adawiyya, one of the earliest Sufi mystics of the 7th century who was the first to set forth the doctrine of divine love. According to Christian tradition, however, which is the oldest of the traditions and the only one directly connecting the person to the Mount of Olives, here is buried Pelagia, a former prostitute and actress and dancer from Antioch, who converted to Christianity by the Bishop of Edessa, then secretly went to Jerusalem dressed in men's clothing, to live as an ascetic monk on the Mount of Olives until her death, when her true identity was discovered. It has been said that the tension of polemical dispute regarding the identity of the holy woman made it possible for three religions to share the site. In addition, a shared ritual of repentance and belief in the holiness of the tomb appealed to people of all religious identities.

Synaxarion of Venerable Pelagia, Who Was Formerly A Courtesan

On the 8th day of this month, we commemorate our 

Venerable Mother Pelagia, Who Was Formerly A Courtesan

Verses

Being washed of disgrace and abandoning the foolish,
You have attained refuge in Heaven, Pelagia.
On the eighth Pelagia fled a life in a sea of troubles.

She was from the city of Antioch, who devoted and occupied herself with dances and the theaters, and was a public prostitute of that city. By such a diabolical and shameful occupation she gathered immeasurable wealth. At one point she was catechized by Bishop Nonnus,* who was a holy man, and she fervently repented for her former wicked actions, and was baptized. Immediately she turned away from all the good and delightful things of this world, and considered them to be as dung. Having dressed herself in a garment made of hair, which was made from goat's hair, she transformed herself by taking on the form of a man, and went to the Mount of Olives, without anyone knowing. There the renowned one shut herself within a cell, and spent the rest of her life in asceticism and pleasing God. The blessed one then reposed in peace.

 

* Commemorated on November 10.

 

October: Day 8: Teaching 1: Venerable Pelagia of Antioch

October: Day 8: Teaching 1:
Venerable Pelagia of Antioch
 
(The Benefit of Reflecting on the Future Judgment)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Venerable Pelagia, whose memory is celebrated today, was at first a famous dancer in Antioch and led a life full of lawlessness. She was brought to repentance and the Christian faith by the Holy Bishop Nonnus, who converted 30,000 Arabs to Christ. One day, when the Holy bishop was teaching the people in the temple, speaking about the terrible judgment and retribution, it happened that Pelagia entered the temple. The teaching had such an effect on her that she was struck with the fear of God and could not hold back her tears. She came to Saint Nonnus, fell at his feet and tearfully asked to be baptized, calling herself a sea of sins and an abyss of impiety. Bishop Nonnus, seeing the complete repentance of the sinner, baptized her. Two days after the baptism, the devil appeared to Saint Pelagia at night and woke her up, saying: “Was it not I who enriched you so? How have you been offended by me? I beg you, do not make me the laughing stock of Christians.” But the Saint made a prayer with the sign of the cross, and the devil disappeared and did not appear again. Then Saint Pelagia gave all her property to Saint Nonnus for complete control. He ordered that the property be distributed to the poor, saying at the same time: “Let what was collected by evil be squandered wisely.” Saint Pelagia dressed in the hair shirt and cassock of Saint Nonnus, withdrew to Jerusalem and with the male name Pelagius lived in seclusion. Here she died in 457.

Homily on the Third Sunday of Luke (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Third Sunday of Luke

On the Miraculous Resurrection of the Son of the Widow of Nain

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1963)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Beloved brothers and sisters! In today's Gospel reading we heard the wondrous story of the miraculous resurrection of the dead son of the widow of Nain by our Lord Jesus Christ. Among the many miracles performed by the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly life and recorded by the Evangelists, we are especially amazed by those in which the dead were resurrected by one word of the Savior. So it was in the present case.

The Lord Jesus Christ, accompanied by a large crowd of people, was approaching a city called Nain. At that time, a dead young man, the only son of a widowed mother, was being carried out of the city gates. The mother was grieving greatly. Many people were following the coffin with her. And behold, the Lord, seeing the grief of the mother, took pity on her and said: "Do not weep" (Luke 7:13). And then He came to the bier, touched it and commanded the dead man: "Young man, I say to you, arise" (Luke 7:14)! And the young man immediately arose, sat up and began to speak, and the Lord Jesus Christ gave him back to his mother.

October: Day 7: Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus

 

October: Day 7:
Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus
 
(On Why Christians Should Always Rejoice in the Lord)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, distinguished warriors whose memory is celebrated today, were favorites of the Emperor Maximian and enjoyed great respect at the Roman court. Despite the general respect for them as "wise in counsel and brave in war," Maximian, a hater of Christians, having learned that they also belonged to the believers in Christ, first used all efforts to turn them away from the true faith, but, having failed to influence them either with promises or threats, sent them to Antiochus, the governor of one of the Syrian regions, with orders to persuade Sergius and Bacchus to renounce Christ or to subject them to the most severe tortures and death. The Christians joyfully made their way, not at all fearing torture.

Homily One on the Third Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

 Homily One on the Third Sunday of Luke*

By St. John of Kronstadt

Today the Gospel of Luke was read about the resurrection by the Lord of the only son of a widow from the city of Nain, who wept bitterly for his loss out of great sorrow. The Lover of mankind took pity on her and said to her, "Weep not." And He came and touched the bier; – at this the bearers of the bier stopped, and the Lord said to the dead man, "Young man, I say to you, Rise up." And - Oh, the miracle! - the dead man arose and sat up and began to speak; and Jesus gave him to his mother. Then fear came upon them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited his people" (Luke 7:11–16). Here ends today's Gospel. A short reading, but how much there is in it that is instructive and edifying! What a wonderful, striking and inspiring story! The youth was resurrected from the dead by the word of the Life-giver and was handed over alive to his bitterly weeping mother, who unexpectedly received her priceless treasure, the support of her old age, the light and joy of her eyes. What a divine power, conquering death, which had held humanity so firmly in its terrible bonds for many thousands of years! What divine mercy, which returned to the mother's love the tenderly beloved child! This miracle of the resurrection of the youth, my brethren, was accomplished in the image of the future resurrection of all the dead and for the confirmation of our faith and our hope for the general resurrection.

October: Day 6: Holy Apostle Thomas

October: Day 6:
Holy Apostle Thomas
 
(On Doubt in Matters of Faith)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Apostle Thomas, whose memory is celebrated today, nicknamed Didymus (the twin), a Galilean by birth, was one of the Twelve Apostles. When, after the resurrection of the Lord, Thomas was told that Jesus Christ was risen, Thomas did not believe it and said that he would not believe until he himself saw the Savior and touched His wounds. Eight days after the resurrection, the Lord, appearing to the disciples through closed doors, said to Thomas: “Look at My hands and put your fingers into My wounds, and do not remain in unbelief, but believe.” Thomas was ashamed of his unbelief and joyfully exclaimed: “You are my Lord and my God!” Then the Savior said to him: “You believed when you saw; but blessed are those who, not seeing, believe.”

Homily One for the Third Sunday of Luke (St. Luke of Simferopol)

On the Resurrection of the Son of the Widow of Nain

Luke 7:11-16

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on October 22, 1944)

You heard today in the Gospel reading about how our Lord Jesus Christ miraculously resurrected the dead son of a widow from the Palestinian city of Nain. You know that the Lord also resurrected Jairus' daughter, and Lazarus, who had been in the grave for four days. Unbelievers laugh at our belief in the resurrection of the dead, considering it a fable, a legend. But it is strange that at the same time they naively believe that it is possible to resurrect the dead by scientific means.

In Tashkent, they once seriously believed that it was possible to resurrect a boy who had died two years ago, whose corpse was soaked in nitric acid... We, Christians, do not believe in such miracles of science, but we believe that everything is possible for God. And so we hear with fear and delight the story of how the corpse of the only son of an unfortunate widow was carried out of the gates of the small town of Nain, how the Lord Jesus Christ, taking pity on her, stopped those carrying the coffin and said: "Young man! I say to you, get up." And the dead man got up and sat up, looking around in amazement.

Hymns to Saint Methodia of Kimolos

 

By Monk Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

 

Apolytikion
1st Tone. Tis Erimou Politis.
The offspring of Kimolos, the treasure of virtue, and truly the co-dweller of the Venerables from past ages, the revered Venerable Methodia, let us faithful honor with hymns, imitating the God-loving deeds of her life, crying out: glory to Him Who gave you might, glory to Him Who crowned you, glory to Him Who has numbered you, O Mother, in the choir of the Saints.

Kontakion
Tone 4. Epephanis Simeron.
Your blameless conduct, made the light of your virtue, run throughout the island of Kimolos, mystically making it bright, O Methodia, God-possessed Venerable One.

Oikos
Brought forth from pious roots, as a beautiful offspring yielding for Christ fruits of righteousness, faith, hope, affection and the rest O Venerable One, by your virtuous life, holy excellence, study of the divinely enlightening Scriptures, the life in Christ, you chose above all else to fall to the ground and blossom forth in prudence; wherefore you were delivered from the bonds of marriage, and were more perfectly bound to Christ, following Him with all your heart. Now therefore intercede on behalf of the island that brought you forth and those who honor you, O Methodia, God-possessed Venerable One.

Synaxarion
On the fifth of this month, we commemorate the Venerable Methodia of Kimolos.

Verses
Pursuing a venerable life of asceticism,
You venerably attracted Christ O Methodia.
On the fifth of October the heart of Methodia was thereupon joined.

Through her holy intercessions, Christ God, have mercy upon and save us. Amen.

Megalynarion
Rejoice godlike Methodia, who did imitate, the life of the Venerables; rejoice the offspring and boast of Kimolos, from every affliction, she does keep from harm.

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

Homily on the Commemoration of the Saints of Moscow Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Commemoration of the Saints of Moscow 

Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1962)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Holy Church blesses the memory of the first hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, who shone with deeds of piety and wise management of the flock of Christ – Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes. These hierarchs ruled the Church at different times, but all of them, thanks to their zeal for the salvation of the souls entrusted to them, had one and the same spirit of Christ's love for their neighbors, the readiness to lay down their very souls for their neighbors.

The first to rule the Church was the Holy Metropolitan Peter – from 1308 to 1326. He came from pious parents and was originally from the Volyn region. Having felt a strong attraction to monastic life since childhood, the future saint entered a monastery at the age of twelve, where he devoted himself to the feats of fasting and prayer, for which he deservedly enjoyed universal respect and love. For his pious life and ascetic zeal, he was soon elevated to the rank of abbot, and he became the head of the monastery he founded on the banks of the Rata River. Subsequently, Saint Peter was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' and governed the Church well until the day of his death.

October: Day 5: Teaching 1: Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia

October: Day 5: Teaching 1:
Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia
 
(On the True Teachers of Faith, Whom Christians Must Obey According to the Apostolic Commandment)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. We celebrate today the memory of three Russian saints: Peter, Alexy and Jonah, the Metropolitans of Moscow and All Russia and Wonderworkers, who during their lives taught faith and piety to their vast flock and contributed to the prosperity of their fatherland, not fearing for this purpose either labors, or dangers, or even death itself, and after death praying unceasingly for it, we must say that these were true teachers of faith and piety, true shepherds, ready to lay down (and some of them, such as Saint Philip, did lay down) their souls for their flock.

October: Day 4: Teaching 1: Discovery of the Relics of Saints Gurias and Barsanuphius of Kazan

October: Day 4: Teaching 1:
Discovery of the Relics of Saints Gurias and Barsanuphius of Kazan
 
(A Christian is a Wanderer on the Way to Heaven)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today we celebrate the Discovery of the Holy Relics of our Holy Fathers Gurias and Barsanuphius of Kazan.

Saint Gurias was the Archbishop of Kazan. He came from a boyar family from the city of Radonezh, the birthplace of Saint Sergius, and served Prince Penkov. He was very modest and pious, for which the prince and princess loved him. His comrades, out of envy, slandered him for a grave and vile crime concerning the honor of the princess. The prince, without investigating the case and believing the slander, imprisoned him in an underground dungeon. While in prison, the Saint glorified God, saying: "Without punishment my soul could have remained unhealed," and wrote small, very useful books for children. Two years later, the Lord Himself freed him, and he retired to the Volokolamsk Monastery, where he became the abbot. Tsar Ivan the Terrible respected Gurias, and in 1555 appointed him Archbishop of the newly conquered Kazan kingdom. Here Saint Gurias served as bishop for nine years and converted many Mohammedans and pagans to Christ. Two years before his death, due to his health being ruined by prison life, he retired and took the schema.

Divine Justice According to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite

 

This speech was delivered on October 3, 2022 in the Senate Hall of the Old Parliament in Athens, to the members of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors.

The Metropolitan structured his speech into three sections. The first section referred to laws and justice according to Aristotle and Plato. The second section analyzed the theological system of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, and the third section made a special statement about divine justice in Saint Dionysius the Areopagite.

The whole theological system of Saint Dionysius is that God as Light sends His rays to creation, then all creation is attracted by God in different ways and this is how divine justice is expressed, according to God's will.

He concluded that there is a difference between human and divine justice, that those of us who judge cannot absolutely approach divine justice, but we should move between human and divine justice, that is, to be a little above human justice and to seek divine justice.

October: Day 3: Teaching 1: Holy Martyr Dionysius the Areopagite

 

October: Day 3: Teaching 1:
Holy Martyr Dionysius the Areopagite
 
(Who Will Inherit Eternal Life?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, whose memory is celebrated today, was born in the city of Athens. Having received an education in the best Athenian school, Dionysius was not satisfied with the knowledge he had acquired and went to Egypt to study the wisdom of their priests and especially astronomy. While there, he saw an unusual eclipse of the sun that accompanied the death of the Savior and said: "God Himself is probably suffering." Upon returning to Athens, he was elected to the highest judicial seat - the Areopagus, which is why he is called "Areopagite." When the Apostle Paul visited Athens, he appeared before the Areopagus and began to preach Christ crucified, and told Dionysius about the God unknown to him, the Savior of the world. Dionysius was baptized, quickly began to succeed in the knowledge of the true God and was appointed Bishop of Athens. He was honored to be at the death of the Mother of God, and then went to preach in different countries. Having entered Gaul, he was beheaded with the sword in the city of Paris.

The Great Dionysios (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Since the works of Saint Dionysios the Areopagite appeared in the 6th century AD until today, Orthodox Tradition has adopted them completely and has integrated them into her entire tradition. She believes that these famous writings were written by Saint Dionysios the Areopagite and somehow, as similarly happened with other texts, they were found later and presented to the Church after many years.

Since then they made a great impression. Saint Dionysios was considered a very great theologian. Leontios of Byzantium used them. Saint Maximos the Confessor interpreted them, he also refuted the first arguments that were formulated then against their authorship. They were accepted by the later Fathers, such as Saint Anastasios the Sinaite, Saint John the Damascene, Saint Theodore the Studite, Saint Niketas Stethatos, all the Philokalic Fathers, especially Saint Gregory Palamas. Saint Symeon the New Theologian was influenced by them, even if he makes no mention of it. Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite used them, etc.

Venerable Christophoros Papoulakos in the Hagiologion of the Church

 

Venerable Christophoros Papoulakos in the Hagiologion of the Church

August 30, 2024

By Dr. Haralambos M. Bousias

Saint Christophoros, the wandering preacher of piety, was a modern missionary, a preacher of the gospel of love with an unenslaved phronema, who fought to the death for the truth, for Orthodoxy, for the ancestral traditions. He was a spiritual revolutionary, who participated in the great preparation of the nation for the overthrow of the long-standing Ottoman tyranny and then reacted strongly both to the effects of the Bavarian rule on the Greek Orthodox spirit and on the ancestrally received way of life, as well as against agnosticism and secularization, plagues that threaten to this day to change the spirit of our Orthodox Tradition.

October: Day 1: Teaching 6: Venerable Romanos the Melodist

October: Day 1: Teaching 6:
Venerable Romanos the Melodist
 
(Where Does True Enlightenment Come From?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Remembered today by the Church, Venerable Romanos was a clergyman of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and lived in the 5th century. Distinguished by his deep piety, Romanos observed strict fasts, prayed often, and led a most austere life. Romanos's ascetic life and obedience endeared him to Patriarch Euthymios; but other clergymen did not like the Patriarch's love and affection for Romanos and envied him. Moreover, Romanos was not as skilled in reading and singing as the other clergy of Hagia Sophia. Once, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, Emperor Anastasios was listening to the service in Hagia Sophia; the clergy, wanting to mock Romanos, forced him to go out onto the pulpit and sing in the presence of the emperor, which Romanos could not do. After the service, the Venerable One wept for a long time and prayed before the icon of the Mother of God. That same night the Mother of God appeared to him in a vision and gave him a scroll with the command to eat it; having done so, he received the gift of skillful reading and singing. The next time he came to the temple, he went up to the ambo and, when it was his turn, he chanted the hymn: “Today, the Virgin bears Him who is transcendent, and the earth presents the cave to Him who is beyond reach. Angels, along with shepherds glorify Him. The Magi make their way to Him by a star. For a new child has been born for us, the God before all ages.” All those present in the temple listened to Romanos’s singing with amazement, and the Patriarch asked him where he had learned this wondrous hymn. Romanos related how the Mother of God had appeared to him in a miraculous vision and imparted to him the gift of singing. Then the clergy were ashamed of their previous behavior toward the Venerable One and asked his forgiveness for all the offenses and insults they had caused him.

October: Day 1: Teaching 1: Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos

 

October: Day 1: Teaching 1:
Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos
 
(To What Should This Truth Encourage Us, That the Most Holy Mother of God Is Our Glorious Intercessor and Advocate Before God?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today, brethren, we celebrate the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The beginning of this celebration is undoubtedly known to you. Once upon a time, the Saracens, a strong and warlike people, invaded the Greek Empire and threatened its very capital. The inhabitants of Constantinople, terrified by the imminent danger and seeing their own impotence to repel the adversaries, turned to God with prayers for help, and the Lord showed it to them. Once, when the all-night vigil was being held in the Blachernae Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, blessed Andrew and his holy disciple Epiphanios were honored with a miraculous vision. They saw the vault of the church open and they saw in the air that the Mother of God with a host of prophets, apostles and other saints, kneeling before God praying for the Christian world and overshadowing it with her honorable omophorion. This vision filled the people of Constantinople with joy, inspired their warriors with courage, and was accompanied by a victory over the Saracens. In memory of this event and to constantly remind Christians of the protection of the Mother of God, the Holy Church established the annual celebration of Her honorable protection on this day.