By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Saint Gregory was from the Isaurian Decapolis, the son of Sergios and Makaria, during the time of the impious iconoclasts. At the age of eight he began his education in the sacred writings. And when he finished these studies, he spent all his time in the churches. At the height of his adolescence, his parents began to prepare him for marriage. However, he secretly left, and because of the then prevailing heresy of the iconoclasts, he traveled from place to place, embracing the martyrs and treasuring for himself the benefit that arose from his encounter with them. Living with great restraint and difficult asceticism, he fought many attacks, even those of demons, which is why he emerged as a great miracle worker. Gregory also went to Asia and reached Byzantium, having the desire to achieve his martyric confession for Christ. From there he sailed to Rome, and after going around the entire West and astonishing many with the miracles and signs he performed, he returned to Byzantium. Then he proceeded to Olympus and climbed the mountain. And his body there was so dried up from asceticism that those who knew him recognized him only by his voice. So he descended from the mountain again and came to Thessaloniki. From there he went to Byzantium, where, after finding Symeon the Confessor and God-bearer imprisoned for the sake of the holy icons, he entreated him for a long time and venerated him, and reposed in peace, having previously healed many and various diseases of people.
Saint Joseph the Hymnographer is this time the composer of the Canon of Saint Gregory the Decapolite. He uses many images and poetic figures in order to highlight Gregory's childhood venerableness, to the point where it is difficult what to choose first. However, the Saint's life in Christ resembles, for our Hymnographer, that fruitful vine, from which comes a very fine wine, which when the believer drinks, bring delight to his heart. "You have shown yourself to be a fruitful vine, venerable one, offering the most excellent and greatest virtues, pouring forth the spiritual wine of salvation, Father, delighting the hearts of the faithful." Elsewhere, Saint Joseph points out that Saint Gregory, an ascetic from a young age, avoided being led into marriage, but eventually married, had children, and these children of his made him a child of God. What does he mean? He married chastity, he says, and had children with her, namely the virtues. “To yourself, blessed one, I will betroth a chaste wife, from whom all virtues were born to you, all-laudable one, making you a child of God." Indeed, the Fathers of the Church point out to us that chastity according to Christ is the easiest path that leads the believer to Heaven without deviations.
Our ecclesiastical poet borrows words from Saint Gregory the Theologian, who in turn uses the example of the Old Testament patriarch Moses, to present the Saint as having ascended to the mountain of virtues and consequently entered the “luminous darkness,” “the darkness of the theoria” of God. Moses ascended Mount Sinai and “saw” God. Saint Gregory the Theologian also ascended to the spiritual Sinai and was initiated into the things of the Spirit of God. The same goes for Saint Gregory the Decapolite: through the exercise of virtues, he also reached the theoria of God. “Ascending the mountain of virtues, venerable one, you entered the darkness of theoria, and you understood, as much as you could, He who is incomprehensible in terms of His nature, and became, Father, full of illumination."
Throughout this process of the Saint’s ascent through virtues to the vision of God, the Hymnographer records theoptic experiences of the venerable ascetic. We know from the ascetic tradition of our saints that as long as one practices asceticism “lawfully,” that is, within the framework of the Church, with humility and love, God reveals Himself and strengthens the practitioner of asceticism. Thus, Venerable Gregory received light like the Apostle Paul, while he was an ascetic in a cave (“Long dwelling in a cave, you shine with heavenly illumination as Paul did”); in his sleep, an angel once appeared to him, giving him a flaming sword, to remove the passions from his heart (“for in the night while you slept, an angel appeared to you, handing you a flaming sword to cut off the passions of your heart”); he heard angelic hymns while he was still in his mortal body (“you heard the angelic hymnody, Gregory, while still dwelling in your mortal body”); he received a visit from the Most Holy Theotokos herself, who strengthened him when he was suffering demonic attacks (“beset by the attacks of demons, O Father, the Heavenly Gate, the immaculate Mother of Christ, gave you wings and with mighty strength acted against them”).
However, we said that Venerable Gregory dedicated himself to God from a young age. He turned completely to Him and with this turning of his, with his eros for God, he was able, with His help, to overcome the youthful burning of the flesh. “By divine eros, the eros of the flesh withers.” For this reason, its presentation is considered particularly relevant in our time. In an era like ours, that is, in which carnal love and the provocations of earthly pleasures are in the daily routine, the example of Venerable Gregory is very helpful. He was also young. He too received various temptations, especially on the subjects of the pleasures of the body. However, he was able to emerge victorious, because he understood what was known as a method since ancient times: “A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.” That is, carnal pleasure is confronted when one puts spiritual pleasure in its place. Illicit, eros of the flesh outside the will of God is confronted when divine eros enters its place. This certainly requires bravery of soul, but it is the only path that leads, especially the young, to the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. “Restraining the pleasures of the body, with bravery of mind, from a young age, Father, you became a vessel of the Spirit, most clearly receiving His energies and being recognized as godlike."
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
