Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Leontios of Achaia

Synaxarion

By Saint Nikephoros of Chios

On the 11th of December, we commemorate our Venerable Father Leontios of Achaia.
 

Verses

Do not be amazed at the life of Leontios,
For though in the flesh, he lived the life of angels.
On the eleventh, the heart of Leontios passed in peace to the heavens.

This fresh shoot of the Lord’s vine had as his homeland a certain city of the Peloponnese called Monemvasia, and his parents were eminent and God-loving people. His father, named Andrew, had been entrusted with the governance of all the Peloponnese by the pious Emperor Andronikos, who then held the scepter of the Roman Empire. Having thus sprouted from such a noble and deeply rooted lineage, and possessing such beginnings, he naturally bore a corresponding ascent as fruit, and he was immediately given over to the study of sacred letters. Perceiving their sweetness, he longed to grasp all knowledge and to reach its highest summit. Therefore, through keenness of mind and purity of life, and over a long period of time, he became well-versed in his studies and in many languages.

He was then sent to the Queen of Cities, both in order that he might be further trained by philosophizing together with the philosophers there, and that by frequenting the royal household he might become accustomed to all matters concerning them. Yet appearing great in philosophy, prudence, and virtue, he was admired by all, embraced and highly honored by the Emperor.

But when his father fell gravely ill and died in Christ, he returned to his homeland, yielding in all things to his mother, by whose command he also associated with a wife. She, Theodora by name, after being freed from worldly cares, withdrew to a reverent way of life, where she spent the remainder of her days in a manner pleasing to God; and having foreseen her own end, she departed to the Lord.

For these reasons, the son also — who from infancy had longed for this way — set himself toward it, leaving wife and children in an evangelical manner (for he was the father of three children). And finding a holy man, a most exact trainer in the monastic life, called Mennides, who guided those under him toward the heavenly way of life, the blessed one enrolled himself among them. Taking up the name Leontios (for he had been previously called Leon), he soon surpassed all his fellow athletes in his labors, enslaving and weariedly subduing the flesh, looking only to the enjoyment of the heavenly citizenship.

From there he went to the holy mountain of Athos, and imitating the way of life of the monks living there, he poured out among them many spiritual labors, showing complete obedience to all and utmost humility. But because of the honor bestowed upon him by all on account of his virtue, he withdrew again from that place, and for a long time dwelt alone in the inaccessible deserts of the Peloponnese, always beseeching God to reveal to him a place where he might dwell and serve Him and be pleasing to Him.

It was revealed to him that he should go northward, to the mountain called Klokos of the Elder, above Aigion, in the province commonly called Vostitza. There he spent a long time, freezing in winter and burning in summer, and he trampled down all the dark phalanxes of the demons, having Christ as his mighty strength. Thus he drove himself toward dispassion, lifted his mind to divine heights, and was enriched with the gift of miracles, healing the lame and the crippled.

Because of this, the two brother-kings, Thomas and Demetrios, greatly marveled at the man’s virtue and bestowed honor upon him. They built for him a holy sanctuary dedicated to the Archangel Michael, and they fortified many other great dwellings with foundations from their own resources. Not only this, but they also placed upon the holy altar portions of the sacred relics of the holy Passion of the Savior—the crown of thorns, the precious wood, the sponge, and even His cloak—along with a lock of hair of the Forerunner, the hand of Arethas, and the skull of Stephen the New.

The saint, having become the cause of salvation for many, and having stirred up many to zeal and imitation of his pure life, reached the seventy-fifth year of his age. After beholding angels radiant with light, he entrusted his spirit in peace into the hand of God.

His sacred relic, in which he had struggled even while alive, was laid in a cave that continually exudes healings for those who approach it in faith. When his disciple — who was in all things his imitator — Joachim, president of Old Patras, together with the whole brotherhood, once gathered to translate his relics, an earthquake occurred, and the cave was split open. They were in no way able to approach the bier, being struck with amazement at the marvel. Through his most acceptable prayers, O Lord, may we be delivered from the plots and harm of our visible and invisible enemies.

Through his intercessions, Christ God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Apolytikion.
Plagal of the 4th Tone. Ton monaston.
Having cast aside the thorn-bearing deceit of earthly cares, and taking up the cross of the Lord upon your shoulders, Father Leontios, you now behold the ineffable beauties most clearly, with the choirs of the venerables; the standard of praxis, the unfailing rule of theoria; and now intercede with the Savior that our souls may be shown mercy.

Kontakion.
Plagal of the 4th Tone. Ti Ypermacho.
Having approached the chalice of wisdom, all-wise one, and having mystically partaken of the divine nectar, you became an inexhaustible stream of divine grace; pouring forth the sweetest fountain of ambrosia to those who in faith and longing perform your memorials and cry out to you: Rejoice, Father Leontios.

Megalynarion
Let us, the faithful, hymn Leontios in songs, the glorious offspring of the Dorians, the radiant pillar of all Achaia, and the fellow-celebrant with the heavenly hosts.