By Fr. George Dorbarakis
1. Saint Abercius became bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia during the reign of Marcus Antoninus, and he performed many miracles and healings. For example, when wine, oil, and yet another substance were placed together in a vessel, through his prayer he caused this mixture to remain unmixed, that is, each substance to remain what it was. On another occasion, he commanded a demon to transport an enormous stone from Rome to Phrygia. He placed this stone as a pillar over his tomb. Again, he prayed, and hot waters emerged from the depths of the earth. Having lived the remainder of his life in holiness and righteousness, he departed to the Lord.
2. It is well known that the hymnographer of each saint whose feast is celebrated employs encomiastic language in order to proclaim the saint’s holiness, sometimes going so far as to use elaborate expressions and images. His intention, however, is to reveal the saint in the various dimensions of his life and work, so that he may be rightly honored by the faithful people; that is, through the saint, God Himself may ultimately be glorified, for “God is wondrous in His saints.” We find this same reality in the Service of Saint Abercius, the hierarch, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and wonderworker. His Hymnographer cannot help but stand in awe before his great and holy personality, and therefore is “compelled” to borrow images and phrases from the Supplicatory Canons and the Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos, which he records in such a way that they are only subtly suggested. For example, just as the Lord is called “the One who wills mercy” in the Supplicatory Canons, so, too, in the fourth ode of the Saint’s Matins Canon, we read: “Knowing the Lord to be the One who wills mercy, O God-bearer…” Just as in the Akathist Hymn where the Theotokos’s childbirth is described as “strange,” extraordinary, and as prompting withdrawal from the world: “Having beheld a strange birth, let us become strangers to the world,” so, too, in the sixth ode: “Having appeared as a stranger to the world, O most holy one, you performed strange and awesome miracles.” Again, just as in the Akathist Hymn the poet acknowledges the inadequacy of his hymns to praise the Lord properly: “For even if we offered You hymns equal in number to the grains of sand, O holy King, we would accomplish nothing worthy of You,” so, too, in the concluding stanza of the Kontakion: “How great is the abundance of Your grace! There is no number to Your glory.”
The reason for this “borrowing,” as we have said, is the great holiness of the hierarch Abercius, for whom the Hymnographer devotes not just one hymn in order precisely to proclaim his priesthood! And this is remarkable: he emphasizes his priesthood, which one might say is self-evident. He was a bishop. Why emphasize it? “You were revealed as a hierarch, clothed in the august anointing, O Father, in a divine manner, and perfecting all through grace, O most holy one.” That is to say: You were revealed as a hierarch, O most holy Father, having the sacred and august anointing (of the Holy Spirit) “in a divine manner,” and leading all to perfection through the grace of God. The crucial points in this hymn are, on the one hand, that through his episcopal ministry the Saint led the faithful to God, thus showing that this is the principal work of a priest, and especially of a bishop — not merely social and charitable work — and, on the other hand, that his priesthood came about “in a divine manner,” that is, it was the work of God and was according to His will. The Hymnographer’s observation is therefore especially significant at this point, because what matters in the case of priests is not only their ordination by human beings, but also by God. What we mean is that, as the Fathers often testify, someone may be a priest, but not always according to the will of God. For a person may have entered the sacred clergy for various other reasons, but not out of love for Him. Saint Abercius, then, was a hierarch according to the will of God, and this is precisely why he had such an influence on his faithful people and beyond. He teaches us that those who wish to become priests must ask themselves whether the Lord also wills them to be His priests, while those who are already priests must very frequently ask themselves whether we truly remain within the will of God and whether we carry out our work in the manner that pleases Him.
Today, our poet also leads us, almost imperceptibly, to consider other matters. In the seventh ode of the Saint’s Canon, for example, we read: “Having proved yourself exalted in visions, activities, and powers, O most holy one, you became the guide of a humble people.” We have the impression that in these verses we encounter yet another great truth: Saint Abercius became a bishop, and therefore a leader and guide, because he had attained the heights of the vision of God, which was expressed through his continual working of miracles. It is well known that the vision of God requires an exceedingly rigorous spiritual struggle, so that the human heart may be purified and the light of God may then shine within it. Vision (or theoria) means precisely the beholding of the light of God. Such was Saint Abercius. How “fortunate,” indeed, were the people of Hierapolis to have such a Saint as their shepherd! How did it happen that they received such a leader? The Hymnographer gives the answer: the Saint’s appointment to that episcopal see was no accident. God willed that this people should be shepherded and guided by a great saint because they were humble. In other words, the people’s humility was what “attracted” the grace of God, manifested in this instance through the appointment 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 us, gives a people leaders who correspond to the heart of that people. If, then, we have outstanding leaders, whether ecclesiastical or political —for this applies to every kind of leadership — it is because the people possess the qualities necessary to have them. The same applies in the negative sense: if there are leaders who suffer and are “deficient,” it is because the people themselves suffer and are “deficient.” Saint Abercius truly gives us many opportunities for reflection and for learning from his example.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
