By Fr. George Dorbarakis
1. Saint Lucian was the son of devout parents. After their death, he distributed all his possessions among the poor and devoted himself to studying the divine Scriptures. In this way, he also converted many Jews and pagans to faith in Christ. He left his own city, however, and went to Nicomedia to strengthen those who, out of fear of martyrdom, were abandoning the faith and to encourage them to persevere in their struggles for martyrdom. Being highly skilled in calligraphy, he left the Church of Nicomedia a book in which he had transcribed the entire Old and New Testaments, arranging the text in three columns on each page. Indeed, he so far transcended the limits of human nature that, when he went into the city, he was visible to some people and invisible to others. The emperor Maximian heard about him and, fearing to meet him face-to-face, spoke with him from behind a curtain. When, however, he recognized Lucian’s steadfastness in the faith of Christ, he condemned him to prolonged starvation. After going many days without eating or drinking anything, Lucian died in prison. The governor then ordered his body to be cast into the sea. At God’s command, a dolphin recovered it and carried it ashore on its back.
2. Saint Lucian is not particularly well known, even among people who are closely connected to the Church. This does not mean, however, that he was not distinguished by gifts from God, and indeed by great ones. His freedom from love of money, his charitable disposition toward the poor, his missionary zeal for those who did not know the faith of Christ, his martyric spirit, his eloquence, and his talent for painting were among the qualities that adorned his life, making him one of the most gifted and gracious people of his time. Yet the quality that truly set his soul and body ablaze and moved him to action was his profound love for God. This was evident from the very beginning in his constant study of Holy Scripture, as well as in his desire to leave the text of the Scriptures to the faithful at a time when copies were certainly not plentiful. “Set ablaze with the love of Christ, O glorious one,” as his Hymnographer observes. This great love for the Lord was the interpretive “key” to his entire life and to his conduct according to the will of God. It also explains his fervent love for his fellow human beings, the fruit of which was his gift of all his possessions, his move to Nicomedia to strengthen the Christians for their spiritual struggles—“You proved mighty against delusion, O blessed one, and became the trainer of many”—and his constant concern that people should come to know Christ.
The result of this twofold great love, for God and for his fellow human beings, was that Lucian not only overcame the fear of death but also lived, even in this present world, like an angel of God. Is this not, according to the Apostle, a mark of the great saint? “I have the desire to depart and be with Christ,” writes Saint Paul. And, as his Hymnographer says, “You were raised to a most glorious height, O wondrous one, and attained the ranks of the angels.” Indeed, it is rare to encounter a case such as that of Saint Lucian, who, even during his earthly life, could sometimes be visible and at other times invisible, like the angels. This recalls what is still said today about the invisible monks of Mount Athos, a report that is credible when confirmed by holy ascetics such as Elder Paisios. Such a phenomenon, therefore, does not belong to the realm of science fiction but falls within the spiritual tradition of the Church, which, as we have emphasized before, stands firmly upon the earth while at the same time having its citizenship in heaven.
Such spiritual heights also lead the Saint’s Hymnographer to portray his being cast into the sea and his miraculous deliverance through a dolphin as an event corresponding to that of the Prophet Jonah. “He who delivered Jonah from the belly of the sea monster and saved him after he had remained there for three days now saves you from the depths of the sea after thirty days, with the sea creatures coming to your aid.” In other words, the same One who saved Jonah from the belly of the sea monster, where he had remained for three days, saves Lucian from the depths of the sea after thirty days, with the help of dolphins. We are inclined to think that this parallel drawn by the Hymnographer is intended to remind us that the believer who lives in love for God and for his fellow human beings is surely saved and raised to new life, since the Lord Himself regarded Jonah as a type of His own Resurrection. Here, then, is a Saint regarded as “unknown,” yet possessing such holiness, so many gifts, and such reach throughout the entire spiritual world!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
