By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite
On this same day, the commemoration of our Venerable Father Abramius and Maria, His Niece.
Verses For Abramius
Having mortified every member of his body, Abramius,
At his death, dwells with the bodiless Angels.
Verses For Maria
Having abandoned the lovers of the flesh, Maria,
You mystically embrace the Lover of souls.
This Saint Abramius was the son of Christian parents. Having taken a wife in marriage against his will, he abandoned everything of the world out of longing for Christ and withdrew into the desert. He shut himself inside a small hut and practiced every form of hardship and ascetic discipline.
After spending fifty years in asceticism, he was ordained a priest and afterward became a bishop and shepherd, against his will, of a village called Tainia, which lies in Lampsacus on the Hellespont, that is, by the Sea of Marmara. For the salvation of the people of Tainia, the blessed man endured many hardships and temptations on numerous occasions, for the inhabitants there were sunk in the delusion of idolatry.
After he had enlightened them through faith in Christ, by the grace of God, he burned with longing for stillness, secretly departed, and returned to his former place of solitude. There, although he was greatly tempted by the demons, he remained superior to their temptations and was preserved from them.
When his brother according to the flesh died, he left behind a little girl of seven years. Therefore, the Venerable One took this child, whose name was Maria, and gave her a small cell outside his own cell so that she might live in stillness. Through the window, he instructed her and encouraged her in the spiritual struggles of ascetic life.
When she reached the age of twenty, it happened that she fell into fornication with a man. Having consequently fallen into despair, she secretly fled and went to a brothel, where she lived together with other women who were prostitutes.
Saint Abramius, having put on the appearance of a soldier and mounted a horse, went and found her, while she did not recognize him and he remained unrecognized. By his own persuasion, he therefore delivered her from that place and brought her back from her downfall to her former little cell.
The blessed woman showed such great repentance that, after a few years, she was deemed worthy to perform great miracles.
Having completed his course with such an ascetic and apostolic life, Venerable Abramius reposed in peace. A short time later, his blessed niece also reposed.
(See the Greek Life of this Venerable One in Saint Ephraim, beginning: “My brethren, I wish to relate to you a good and perfect way of life”; and the simpler account in the Paradise.)1
Notes:
1. My own unworthiness composed a panegyric in honor of this Saint Abramius. A complete service, however, was composed by the most reverend teacher, Kyr Christophoros Prodromites. Anyone wishing to celebrate the Saint should seek out these works. His Life was also written by the Translator, beginning: “Men who love virtue.” It is preserved in the Great Lavra, in the Monastery of Iveron, and in other places.
Having forsaken the pleasures of this perishable life in hope of the things to come, O God-bearing Abramius, you lived a holy life on earth and received a sacred anointing. Therefore, as a mystagogue, you enlightened those who cry out: Glory to Him who granted you strength; glory to Him who crowned you; glory to Him who through you works healings for all.
You appeared on earth in the flesh as an Angel, and through ascetic struggle you became like a tree that had been planted and grew well, nourished by the waters of self-control. You washed away defilement with the stream of your tears. Therefore, you were revealed as a vessel of the divine Spirit, O Abramius.
Oikos
Having disregarded corruptible things, you received incorruption. From infancy, O wise one, you hated the pleasurable delights of the body, longing for chastity. Therefore, you fled the bridal chamber and the world, renounced the glory of a spouse, and withdrew from your parents, yearning for the love of God alone and truly loving Him with all your soul and mind. Therefore, you were revealed as a vessel of the divine Spirit, O Abramius.
