“The Honorable Forerunner is Gentle, Lovely, Exceedingly Beautiful”

Venerable Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis would say about Saint John the Forerunner, while pointing to his icons:

“The Honorable Forerunner is not so stern and fierce! He is gentle, lovely, exceedingly beautiful.”

And when he was asked whether he had seen him, he replied:

“I have seen him; that is why I tell you that he is gentle. Indeed, he told me that he would be my protector in this life and the guarantor of my salvation!”

Source: From the book Taught by God published by the Metropolis of Veria, Naoussa and Campania in 2023, which contains the file for the canonization of Venerable Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.

 

Synaxarion of Venerable John the Russian and the New Confessor

Synaxarion

By Monk Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

On the twenty-seventh day of the same month [May], we commemorate the Venerable John the Russian, the New Confessor, whose divine relic, having been brought from Asia Minor, is preserved incorrupt in New Prokopi on the island of Euboea.

Verses

The captive appeared full of graces,
Having taken captive the ruler of darkness.
On the twenty-seventh John was taken from here unto God.

This man lived in the eighteenth century, having been born in a certain village of what is called Little Russia, from pious parents, by whom he was raised in a God-loving manner in piety and honorable morals. Having reached manhood, he entered military service during the reign in Russia of Peter the Great, who, having undertaken war against the Turks, was defeated, and very many of the soldiers became captives to the neighboring Tatars, among whom was also John. Having been sold to a certain Ottoman cavalry commander, he was led by him to a certain town whose name was Prokopion, situated a day’s journey from Caesarea in Cappadocia.

Hymns to our Venerable Fathers Barsanuphios and John (Venerable Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis)

On the sixth day of the same month [February], the commemoration of Venerable Barsanuphios the Great Elder and of Venerable John, called the Prophet, his disciple.

Verses

From the earth was formed the body of Barsanuphius.
And he returned to the earth, to his own mother.
It is just, O John, at the same time
To place you here, the beloved teacher.
On the sixth, the divine spirit of Barsanuphius was lifted from the earth.

Apolytikion. 
Tone Plagal First. "Ton synanarchon Logon."

Having lived a life equal to the angels, O Father Barsanuphios, together with John, you appeared as radiant stars of asceticism and guides of monastics toward the better path. Being full of divine light, you unceasingly intercede that our souls may be shown mercy.

Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Parthenios of Chios

Synaxarion

By Monk Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

On the 8th of this month [December], we commemorate Venerable Parthenios of Chios.

Verses

Living in asceticism, Parthenios, in these latter years,
You manifested the grace of the ancient Venerables.
On the eighth the spirit of Parthenios was lifted from the earth.

He was from the island of Chios, born in the year 1815, in a village called Dafnonas, to pious parents named Michael and Antonia, surnamed Frankoskoufis or Menis. His birth and his later progress in Christ were foretold to his parents by Saint Makarios of Corinth, who said this to them while they greatly desired to bear a male child, since they had only daughters.

Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis as a Model for our Lives

 

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Gerasimos the Mikragiannanitis was born in Droviani of Epirus in 1903 to pious parents. He was diligent, intelligent, and possessed a strong memory, which helped him progress in his studies and develop his gift for hymnography. He received his basic education in Piraeus and Athens, where he also met Saint Nektarios, Bishop of Pentapolis.

On August 15, 1923, he went to the Holy Mountain, specifically to the Cell of the Honorable Forerunner (Timiou Prodromou) in Little Saint Anna’s, where he submitted himself to Elder Meletios Ioannidis. On October 20, 1924, he was tonsured a monk. However, after five years his Elder left the Holy Mountain, and he remained alone. At that time, the presence of God became more palpable in his life. His only consolation was prayer and study. After about twenty years, he gained a small brotherhood of good fathers. Of course, during all the years he lived alone, he visited and sought counsel from experienced Elders, especially Elder Kallinikos the Spiritual Father, who lived in Katounakia. To him he showed the first Canon he had composed, and the Elder told him: “The Canon is excellent, but I tell you one thing: humility, humble-mindedness. Be careful, lest the devil wage war against you.”

The Oikos to Venerable David the Dendrite of Thessaloniki

Fresco in the Cemetery Church of Saint Nicholas in Vevi of Florina, c. 1460

By St. Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

The Oikos

From youth, wise one, with unwavering desire, you followed Christ, laboring diligently in the life-bearing commandments and divine precepts, appearing a proven laborer with utmost zeal, and with a heart inflamed by divine eros; for you renounced all worldly pursuits, and were seen competing with Angels in your steadfast self-control and every other virtue of a prudent ascetic discipline; and even further, being exalted to the Lord, you ascended a tree and entered into the shade of high contemplations, having been wholly purified, and you were divinized in the theurgic union. Therefore, Thessaloniki rejoices in you, and celebrates your memory crying out: O David, most genuine servant of God. From the divine gifts with which you have been enriched, grant us, O Venerable One, a share.

Ὁ Οἶκος

Ἀπὸ νεότητος σοφέ, ἀπεριτρέπτῳ πόθῳ, κατηκολούθησας Χριστῷ, τῶν ζωοφόρων ἐντολῶν, καὶ θείων προσταγμάτων, ἐργάτης δόκιμος φανείς, ὁλοτρόπῳ, σπουδῇ, καὶ φλεγομένῃ θείῳ ἔρωτι καρδίᾳ• πᾶσαν γὰρ ἠρνήσω του κόσμου προσπάθειαν, καὶ πρὸς Ἀγγέλους ἁμιλλωμένους ὤφθης συντόνῳ ἐγκρατείᾳ καὶ πάσῃ ἄλλῃ ἀρετῇ ἀσκητικῆς ἐμφρόνως ἀγωγῆς• καὶ ἔτι μεταρσιούμενος Κυρίῳ, ἐπὶ δένδρου ἀνῆλθες, καὶ πρὸς γνόφον ὑψηλῶν θεωριῶν εἰσῆλθες, ὅλος καθαρθείς, καὶ θεουργικῇ ἑνώσει ἐθεώθης, καὶ θείων χαρισμάτων ἐπληρώθης. Διὸ Θεσσαλονίκη ἐν σοὶ ἀγαλλιᾶται, καὶ τὴν σὴν ἑορτάζουσα μνήμην κραυγάζει, Δαβὶδ Θεοῦ θεράπων γνησιώτατε. Ἐκ τῶν θείων δωρεῶν ὧν κατετρύφησας, καὶ ἡμῖν μετάδος Ὅσιε. 

 

The Swan Song of Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

On Saturday, December 7th 1991, the Venerable Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis, Hymnographer of the Great Church of Christ, reposed in the Lord. As a small memorial to his revered memory, we present his "Swan Song", which he included in his last offering to the Most Holy Mother of God, in his famous Theotokarian, the book that contains hymns and spiritual odes to the overseer of the Holy Mountain and the Mother of all Christians.

But O All-Praiseworthy Lady, please accept, with great maternal favor and sympathy and condescension, as your Son and our God accepted the two mites of the widow, these humble chants of mine, which on my knees in great reverence I offer to your Theometoric majesty, “as acceptable gifts and a perfect offering,” and in the fearful hour of death, help me, your unworthy and sinful supplicant, at the impartial judgment seat of your philanthropic Son and our God, to present me uncondemned through your maternal boldness, as you promised, O good-loving Lady, and make all who chant them with reverence worthy of the heavenly kingdom. Amen.

Accept graciously, I beseech you, beloved brethren in Christ, the present Theotokarion, and chant the canons therein with faith and reverence to our Lady Theotokos, that she may deliver you from temptations and dangers and all sin, and at the end may she make you worthy, through her maternal intercession, for the kingdom of heaven; which has been made possible for us all by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ; to whom be glory and dominion and worship with His eternal Father, and His All-holy and consubstantial Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. 

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

Hymns to Saint Methodia of Kimolos

 

By Monk Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

 

Apolytikion
1st Tone. Tis Erimou Politis.
The offspring of Kimolos, the treasure of virtue, and truly the co-dweller of the Venerables from past ages, the revered Venerable Methodia, let us faithful honor with hymns, imitating the God-loving deeds of her life, crying out: glory to Him Who gave you might, glory to Him Who crowned you, glory to Him Who has numbered you, O Mother, in the choir of the Saints.

Kontakion
Tone 4. Epephanis Simeron.
Your blameless conduct, made the light of your virtue, run throughout the island of Kimolos, mystically making it bright, O Methodia, God-possessed Venerable One.

Oikos
Brought forth from pious roots, as a beautiful offspring yielding for Christ fruits of righteousness, faith, hope, affection and the rest O Venerable One, by your virtuous life, holy excellence, study of the divinely enlightening Scriptures, the life in Christ, you chose above all else to fall to the ground and blossom forth in prudence; wherefore you were delivered from the bonds of marriage, and were more perfectly bound to Christ, following Him with all your heart. Now therefore intercede on behalf of the island that brought you forth and those who honor you, O Methodia, God-possessed Venerable One.

Synaxarion
On the fifth of this month, we commemorate the Venerable Methodia of Kimolos.

Verses
Pursuing a venerable life of asceticism,
You venerably attracted Christ O Methodia.
On the fifth of October the heart of Methodia was thereupon joined.

Through her holy intercessions, Christ God, have mercy upon and save us. Amen.

Megalynarion
Rejoice godlike Methodia, who did imitate, the life of the Venerables; rejoice the offspring and boast of Kimolos, from every affliction, she does keep from harm.

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

Oikos to Saint Isaac the Syrian

Oikos

You have shone to be, an angel in asceticism, all-blessed Isaac the God-bearer, and with your angelic voice, you have given to us words of salvation, unto a better life, which leads us to cry out:

Rejoice, the star of Syria;
Rejoice, the lamp of silence.

Rejoice, you who surpassed the earthly mindset;
Rejoice, you who partook in heavenly illumination.

Rejoice, God-formed pillar, of sacred hesychasts;
Rejoice, honey-flowing mouth, of spiritual teachings.

Rejoice, for you were filled with God-given wisdom;
Rejoice, for you were released from wicked passions.

Rejoice, most fervent servant of Christ;
Rejoice, our teacher divinely inspired.

Rejoice, wise Isaac the God-bearer;
Rejoice, our guide in divine discourse.

Rejoice, divinely-wise Father.

Source: Composed by St. Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis. Commissioned by St. Paisios the Athonite. For Matins on September 28th. Translated by John Sanidopoulos. 

The First Chapel Dedicated to Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis is Consecrated

On the morning of Tuesday the 12th of March 2024, the first chapel dedicated to Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis the Hymnographer was consecrated on the grounds of the Monastery of Panagia Dobra in Beroea.

According to the ritual of consecration, Matins took place in the katholikon of the Monastery, and from there a procession took place with the relics of martyrs (and the right arm of Saint Gerasimos) to the chapel. The consecration was presided over by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Beroea, Naoussa and Campania, who was a spiritual child of Saint Gerasimos. Metropolitan Panteleimon, as the head of the monastic brotherhood and being the place where he resides, chose this monastery for the chapel, it being the 49th consecration of his pastorate. Then the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated with five other Hierarchs, and in the presence of a large crowd and local monastics, including some from Mount Athos, specifically from the Skete of Little Saint Anna where Saint Gerasimos lived as a monastic.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, a memorial service was held for the 202nd anniversary of the Battle of Dobra (March 12, 1822) and the hanging of the abbot Gerasimos.

A Stunning Revelation About Saint John the Baptist to Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

Hut of the Honorable Forerunner at the Skete of Little Saint Anna on Mount Athos

By Elder Theoklitos Dionysiatis (1916–2006)

The late Elder Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis (1905–1991), this divinely inspired Hymnographer of the Great Church of Christ, the modern boast of the Athonite State, at the beginning of his monastic life and journey, had suffered indescribably.

By God's grace, he was prematurely abandoned by his own elder, the hieromonk Meletios, because he wanted to join the Zealot movement in Athens.

He thus remained "by himself and most alone" - as Saint Symeon the New Theologian says - for some years to be an ascetic in the harsh and uninviting wilderness of Little Saint Anna, all alone, "alone with God." With truly divine courage, with an indomitable spirit and with divine help felt within him, he remained resolutely in the impoverished Hut of the Honorable Forerunner....

The First Festal Celebration of Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis in his Chapels in Beroea and Naousa

The Feast of Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis in Beroea

On the evening of Wednesday, December 6, the first feast of Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis the Hymnographer was celebrated in the Monastery of Panagia Dobra in Beroea with splendor and enthusiasm, after the recent inscription of the Saint in the Hagiologion of the Orthodox Church.

Events began with a prayer in the Chapel of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer, which is located on the grounds of the Monastery and will be consecrated soon.

Afterwards, the sacred relic of the right hand of the new Saint was transported in a procession to the katholikon of the Monastery, where the Festal Great Vespers, Festal Matins and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy were celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimonos of Beroea, Naousa and Campania, with the participation of the monastic brotherhoods of the Metropolis and a multitude of pious believers.

The First Parish Church of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer Established in Congo

The first parish church in honor of the newly-canonized Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis the Hymnographer had its foundations blessed on his first feast day since his canonization, December 7th 2023. This took place in Kenge, which is the capital of Kwango Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On the day of the feast of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer, Metropolitan Theodosios of Kinshasa accompanied by his Chancellor the Archimandrite Gerasimos Belesi, who years ago received his name in honor of the Holy Elder Gerasimos the Hymnographer, arrived in the city of Kenge.

In this city recently, Voluntary Homeless Ministry based in Thessaloniki, with the support of its president Ms. Kyriaki Fragou, bought the plot of land in order to build a church in honor of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer.

Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis Resource Page

St. Gerasimos the Hymnographer (Feast Day - December 7)

Verses

Rejoicing with the Saints, hymnographer of the Saints,
Gerasimos, adorner of the Holy Mountain.

 

Life and Veneration

 

Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

 

Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis as a Model for our Lives

 

How the Greatest and Most Prolific Hymnographer of the Orthodox Church in the 20th Century Received His Talent 

 

A Stunning Revelation About Saint John the Baptist to Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

 

“The Honorable Forerunner is Gentle, Lovely, Exceedingly Beautiful” 

Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis Explains His Process In Composing Orthodox Hymns

 

Elder Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis and Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah I Have Been Canonized By the Ecumenical Patriarchate

 

The First Parish Church of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer Established in Congo

 

The First Festal Celebration of Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis in his Chapels in Beroea and Naousa

 

The First Chapel Dedicated to Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis is Consecrated

Writings and Compositions

 

The Swan Song of Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis 

 

Synaxarion of Saint Nicholas Cabasilas

 

Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Parthenios of Chios 

 

Synaxarion of Saint Lydia of Philippi  

Synaxarion of the Holy Venerable Martyrs Olympia and Euphrosyne of Karyes

 

Synaxarion of the Translation of the Relics of Saint Nektarios the Wonderworker

 

Synaxarion of the Finding of the Relics of the Venerable Neophytos the Recluse of Cyprus  

Synaxis of Panagia Glykophilousa at Philotheou Monastery

 

The Sacred Icon of the Panagia in Plikati of Konitsa  

 

The Service of Small Vespers to Saint Isaac the Syrian  

Hymns to Saint Methodia of Kimolos

 

 

Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

 

By Haralambos Bousias

On the 7th of this month [December], we commemorate our Venerable and God-bearing Father Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis, Hymnographer of the Great Church of Christ.

Verses

Rejoicing with the Saints, hymnographer of the Saints,
Gerasimos, adorner of the Holy Mountain.

Synaxarion

The most-venerable and shining new luminary of hymnography, the divinely-inspired hymn writer of the sacred accomplishments of the Saints, a city-founder in the desert of Athos, an inhabitant of the Skete of Little Saint Anna who dwelled together with virtue and divine wisdom, our bright father Gerasimos, who put into practice the shining ray of his theology, and in the end his soul was completely pure. In the world he was known as Anastasios-Athanasios Graikas and born in Droviani in the province of Delvino of Northern Epirus on the 5th of September in the year of salvation 1905. His most pious mother instilled deeply in his heart the teachings of the faith and an ecclesiastical consciousness. He received a comprehensive education in Droviani and Athens with the finest diligence. A monk-lover by nature, he was nourished at a young age by divine eros, and knowing the futility of the temporal he fled to Athos, where he was distinguished for his obedience, prayer and humility. He began his repentance in the Skete of Little Saint Anna and submitted himself to Meletios, the Elder of the Cell of the Honorable Forerunner, like metal to a coppersmith, becoming a useful vessel of the All-Holy Spirit. Later he submitted himself to the most venerable Abimelech. He richly received the divine gift of hymnography after he beheld a theophany brighter than the sun which showed him to be an equal to the hymnographers who shined of old. With his Elder Abimelech he settled in the Hut of the Dormition of the Theotokos, beyond the Cave of Saints Dionysios the Rhetor and Metrophanes. He took care to renovate this Hut and he built a most-solemn cave temple in the place of asceticism of the above-mentioned Venerables. An excellent theologian and defender of the Greek language, he called the ecclesiastical Greek language the "language of the angels", and composed numerous Sacred Services, Supplicatory Canons, Salutation Prayers, Encomia, Encomium Discourses and Synaxaria to cover liturgical needs. He slept the sleep of the righteous on the 7th of December in the year of our salvation 1991 and was buried next to the Hut of his ascetical battles awaiting the common resurrection of the dead. The compassionate Lord received his blessed soul and put it in a place of respite, where he celebrates with the Angels and is found worthy to be a most genuine friend of His, unceasingly interceding to Him on behalf of those who honor his most revered memory.

The Sacred Icon of the Panagia in Plikati of Konitsa

By Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

On the 16th of February in Konitsa, an annual synaxis is held in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary, whose icon was found in the village of Plikati (of Konitsa).

Verses

The Divine Icon of the Pure Theotokos, located in Plikati,
Has been glorified with miracles.
On the 16th I honor the glory of the Icon of the Mother of God.

This miraculous icon of the Theotokos is located in the village of Plikati, which is near Konitsa in Epirus. It had been hidden for a long time, unknown when, somewhere in the forest, and it was revealed like this, as we will show below.

About two hundred years ago, residents of the village grazed their sheep in a wooded area, which they call Petsilepi and is located south of the village of Aetomilitsa, formerly Dentsiko.

The shepherds saw for consecutive nights a light shining in the opposite forest, which created a lot of fear for them and they suspected that there was a lair of criminals.

Elder Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis and Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah I Have Been Canonized By the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Today, the 10th of January 2023, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate made the decision to register Elder Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis and Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah I in the list of saints of the Orthodox Church.