By Fr. George Dorbarakis
It is known that the hymnographer of each celebrated saint, in order to highlight his holiness, uses encomiums, sometimes reaching even to sophisticated expressions and images. However, his disposition is to reveal the saint in the various dimensions of his life and work, so that he may be properly honored by the faithful people, that is, through the saint, God himself may ultimately be glorified. For “God is wondrous in His saints.” We also see this reality in the Service of the Holy Hierarch, Equal to the Apostles and Wonderworker Abercius. His hymnographer cannot help but be amazed before his great and holy personality, which is why he is “forced” to borrow images and phrases from the Supplicatory Canons and the Salutations of the Most Holy Theotokos, which he records, however, in a way that is merely implied. For example: as the Lord is characterized in the Supplicatory Canon as “desiring mercy,” so too in the fourth ode of the Matins of the Saint: “Knowing the Lord as desiring mercy, O God-bearer;” as in the Salutations the birth of the Theotokos is characterized as “strange,” paradoxical, which motivates us to distance ourselves from the world: “seeing a strange birth, we are alienated from the world,” so too in the sixth ode: “Having appeared as a stranger to the world, most holy one, you performed strange and fearful wonders;” as in the Salutations again the poet recognizes the inadequacy of his hymns to properly praise the Lord: “For even if we offer you odes in proportion to the sand, holy King, we accomplish nothing worthy,” so too in the oikos of the Kontakion: “How great is your wealth of grace! And your glory is innumerable.”
The reason for this “borrowing,” as we have said, is the great holiness of Hierarch Abercius, to whom the hymnographer even dedicates more than one hymn, in order to precisely highlight his priesthood! And it is paradoxical: he emphasizes his priesthood, which one would say is something self-evident. He was a high priest. Why emphasize it? “You were shown to be a hierarch, anointed with august anointing, Father, theurgically, and perfecting all in grace, most sacred one.” The crucial points in the hymn are, on the one hand, that with his high priesthood the Saint led the faithful to God, thus showing that this is the main work of a priest, and indeed a high priest - not just a social and philanthropic work - and on the other hand, that his priesthood was done "theurgically," that is, it was the work of God, it was by His will. So the hymnographer's remark is particularly important at this point, because for priests it is not only their ordination by people that matters, but also by God. We want to say, as the Fathers often testify, that someone can be a priest, but not always by the will of God. For he may have entered the holy priesthood for various other reasons, but not out of love for Him. So Saint Abercius was a high priest by the will of God, which is precisely why he had such an impact on the faithful and not only his people. And it teaches us that those who want to become priests must ask themselves whether the Lord wants them as His priests, while those who are already priests must very often ask themselves whether we are truly in God's will and whether we are carrying out our work in a way that pleases Him.
Our poet today, almost imperceptibly, also puts us into other reflections. In the seventh ode of the Saint's canon, for example, we read: "Having been proven, most holy one, elevated in the visions of God and in marvelous actions and powers, you guided a humble people." We have the impression that in these verses we are faced with another great truth: Saint Abercius became a bishop and therefore the first and guide, having reached the height of the vision of God, which was expressed in his constant miracles. It is known that the vision of God requires a very hard spiritual struggle, so that the human heart is purified and the light of God can then shine there. "Theoria" means precisely the vision of the light of God. Such a saint was Saint Abercius. What “luck” did the people of Hierapolis have, to have such a Saint as their shepherd? How did it happen that they acquired such a leader? The hymnographer gives the answer: the Saint’s placement in that diocese was not accidental. God wanted it to be shepherded, to be guided by a great saint, because this people was humble. In other words, the humility of the people was what “magnetized” God’s grace, manifested in this case by the placement of Saint Abercius as their bishop. For “God gives grace to the humble.” And it is indeed a great truth that God, as the word of God teaches, gives as leaders of the people those who correspond to the heart of the people. In other words, if we have leaders, ecclesiastical or even political – this applies to any leadership – who are great, it is because the people have the conditions to have them. Correspondingly, it is also true from a negative perspective: if there are leaders who suffer and are “deficient,” it is because the people suffer and are “deficient.” Saint Abercius gives us many opportunities for reflection and exemplary behavior.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
