Opening speech by Dmitry Rostovsky

The homeland of the wondrous Spyridon was the island of Cyprus. The son of simple parents and himself simple-minded, humble and virtuous, from childhood he was a shepherd of sheep, and when he came of age, he was legally married and had children. He led a pure and godly life. Imitating David in meekness, Jacob in simplicity of heart, and Abraham in love for strangers. Having lived a few years in marriage, his wife died, and he began to serve God with good deeds even more freely and diligently, spending all his wealth on welcoming strangers and feeding the poor; With this, while living in the world, he pleased God so much that he was awarded the gift of miracles from Him: he healed incurable diseases and cast out demons with one word. For this, Spyridon was appointed bishop of the city of Trimifunt during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great and his son Constantius. And at the episcopal see he continued to perform great and wondrous miracles.

Saving the people of Cyprus from hunger through the prayers of St. Spyridon

Once upon a time on o. Cyprus had no rain and a terrible drought, which was followed by famine, and after famine there was pestilence, and many people died from this famine. The sky was closed, and a second Elijah, or someone like him, was needed, who would open the sky with his prayer (1 Kings Chapter 17): this turned out to be Saint Spyridon, who, seeing the disaster that befell the people, and paternally pitying those perishing from hunger, turned with zeal to prayer to God, and immediately the sky was covered on all sides with clouds and heavy rain fell on the earth, which did not stop for several days; The saint prayed again, and the bucket arrived. The earth was abundantly watered with moisture and gave abundant fruit: the fields yielded a rich harvest, the gardens and vineyards were covered with fruits and, after the famine, there was great abundance in everything, through the prayers of the saint of God Spyridon.

Teaching to a rich grain merchant, revealed through the prayer of Spyridon

Illustration from the book of Demetrius of Rostov "Lives of the Saints"

Spiridon Trimifuntsky

But a few years later, because of human sins, by God’s permission, famine again befell that country, and the rich grain merchants rejoiced at the high prices, having grain collected over several productive years, and, opening their granaries, began to sell it at high prices. There was then a grain merchant in Trimifunt who suffered from an insatiable greed for money and an unquenchable passion for pleasure. Having bought a lot of grain in different places and brought it on ships to Trimifunt, he did not want to sell it at the price that was in the city at that time, but poured it into warehouses to wait for the hunger to worsen and then, selling it at a higher price, get more profit. When hunger became almost universal and intensified from day to day, he began to sell his grain at the highest price. And so, one poor man came to him and, bowing humbly, with tears, begged him to show mercy - to give him some bread so that he, the poor man, would not die of hunger along with his wife and children. But the merciless and greedy rich man did not want to show mercy to the beggar and said:

Go, bring the money, and you will have everything you buy.

The poor man, exhausted from hunger, went to Saint Spyridon and, crying, told him about his poverty and the heartlessness of the rich man.

“Don’t cry,” the saint told him, “go home, for the Holy Spirit tells me that tomorrow your house will be full of bread, and the rich man will beg you and give you bread for free.”

The poor man sighed and went home. As soon as night fell, by the command of God, a heavy rain began to fall, which washed away the barns of the merciless money-lover, and the water carried away all his bread. The grain merchant and his household ran all over the city and begged everyone to help him and not let him go from being a rich man to a beggar, and meanwhile the poor people, seeing the bread carried by the streams along the roads, began to pick it up. The poor man who asked for it from the rich man yesterday also got himself an abundance of bread. Seeing God's obvious punishment upon him, the rich man began to beg the poor man to take as much bread from him for free as he wanted.
So God punished the rich man for his lack of mercy and, according to the saint’s prophecy, delivered the poor man from poverty and hunger.

Second lesson to a rich grain merchant. The miracle of turning gold into a snake

One farmer known to the saint came to the same rich man during the same famine with a request to lend him bread to feed him and promised to return what he had given him with interest when the harvest came. The rich man, besides those washed out by the rain, also had other granaries full of bread; but he, not sufficiently taught by his first loss and not cured of stinginess, turned out to be just as unmerciful towards this poor man, so that he did not even want to listen to him.

Without money,” he said, “you will not receive a single grain from me.”

Then the poor farmer began to cry and went to Saint Spyridon, to whom he told about his misfortune. The saint consoled him and sent him home, and in the morning he himself came to him and brought a whole pile of gold (where he got the gold from - more on that later). He gave this gold to the farmer and said:

Take this gold, brother, to that grain merchant and give it as collateral, and let the merchant lend you as much bread as you now need for food; when the harvest comes and you have a surplus of grain, you buy this pledge and bring it back to me.

The poor farmer took the gold from the hands of the saints and hastily went to the rich man. The selfish rich man was delighted with the gold and immediately gave the poor man as much bread as he needed. Then the famine passed, there was a good harvest, and after the harvest, the farmer gave the grain he had taken with interest to the rich man and, taking the deposit back from him, took it with gratitude to Saint Spyridon. The saint took the gold and headed towards his garden, taking the farmer with him.

Let’s go, he said with me, brother, and together we’ll give this to the One who so generously lent it to us.

Entering the garden, he laid the gold by the fence, raised his eyes to heaven and exclaimed:

My Lord, Jesus Christ, who creates and transforms everything by His will! You, who once turned the rod of Moses into a serpent before the eyes of the king of Egypt (Ex. 7:10), commanded this gold, which You had previously transformed from an animal, to again take on its original form: then this man will know what care You have for us and by doing so will learn what is said in Holy Scripture - that “the Lord does whatever he wants” (Ps. 134:6)!

When he prayed like this, a piece of gold suddenly moved and turned into a snake, which began to wriggle and crawl. Thus, first the snake, through the prayer of the saint, turned into gold, and then, just as miraculously, it again became a snake from gold. At the sight of this miracle, the farmer trembled with fear, fell to the ground and called himself unworthy of the miraculous benefit shown to him. Then the snake crawled into its hole, and the farmer, full of gratitude, returned to his home and was amazed at the greatness of the miracle created by God through the prayers of the saint.

Saving a virtuous husband from slander. The miracle of stopping the flow of water through the prayer of St. Spyridon

One virtuous man, a friend of a saint, by envy evil people, was slandered before the city judge and imprisoned, and then condemned to death without any guilt. Having learned about this, Blessed Spyridon went to save his friend from an undeserved execution. At that time there was a flood in the country and the stream that was on the path of the saint overflowed with water, overflowed its banks and became impassable. The wonderworker recalled how Joshua crossed the flooded Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant on dry ground (Joshua 3:14-17) and, believing in the omnipotence of God, commanded the stream as if it were a servant:

Become! This is what the Lord of the whole world commands you, so that I can cross and the man for whose sake I am hastening may be saved.

As soon as he said this, the stream immediately stopped in its flow and opened a dry path - not only for the saint, but also for everyone who walked with him. Witnesses to the miracle hurried to the judge and informed him of the approach of the saint and what he had done on the way, and the judge immediately freed the condemned man and returned him to the saint unharmed.

Providence of human secret sins. Saving a sinner who was in an illegal cohabitation from the death of her soul

The monk also foresaw the secret sins of people. So, one day, when he was resting from a journey with a stranger, a woman who was in an illegal relationship wanted to wash the saint’s feet, according to local custom. But he, knowing her sin, told her not to touch him. And he said this not because he abhorred the sinner and rejected her: how can a disciple of the Lord, who ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners, abhor sinners? (Matthew 9:11) No, he wanted to make the woman remember her sins and be ashamed of her unclean thoughts and deeds. And when that woman persistently continued to try to touch the saint’s feet and wash them, then the saint, wanting to save her from destruction, rebuked her with love and meekness, reminded her of her sins and encouraged her to repent.

The woman was surprised and horrified that her most apparently secret deeds and thoughts were not hidden from the discerning eyes of the man of God. Shame overwhelmed her and with a contrite heart she fell at the feet of the saint and washed them no longer with water, but with tears, and she herself openly confessed to the sins of which she was convicted. She acted in the same way as the once harlot mentioned in the Gospel, and the saint, imitating the Lord, mercifully said to her: “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48), and also: “Behold, you are healed; sin no more” (John 5.14). And from that time on, that woman completely corrected herself and served as a useful example for many.

The zeal of Saint Spyridon for the Orthodox faith. Victory in the competition of the heretic philosopher and his conversion to the Orthodox faith according to the power of the word of Spyridon of Trimifuntsky

Until now, we have spoken only about the miracles that Saint Spyridon performed during his lifetime; Now we must also talk about his zeal for the Orthodox faith.

During the reign of Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor, in 325 A.D., the 1st Ecumenical Council met in Nicaea to depose the heretic Arius, who wickedly called the Son of God a creature, and not the creator of everything, and to confess Him as Consubstantial with God the Father. Arius in his blasphemy was supported by the bishops of significant churches at that time: Eusebius of Nicomedia, Maris of Chalcedon, Theognius of Nicea and others. The champions of Orthodoxy were men adorned with life and teaching: Alexander, the great among saints, who at that time was still a presbyter and at the same time deputy of Saint Mitrophan, patriarch Tsaregradsky, who was on his sickbed and therefore was not at the council, and the glorious Athanasius, who had not yet been adorned with the priesthood and served as a deacon in the church of Alexandria; these two aroused special indignation and envy among the heretics precisely because they surpassed many in understanding the truths of the faith, without yet being honored with episcopal honor; Saint Spyridon was with them, and the grace that dwelt in him was more useful and stronger in exhorting heretics than the speeches of others, their evidence and eloquence. With the permission of the Tsar, Greek sages called Peripatetics were also present at the council; the wisest of them came to the aid of Arius and was proud of his especially skillful speech, trying to ridicule the teachings of the Orthodox. Blessed Spyridon, an unlearned man who knew only Jesus Christ, “and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), asked the fathers to allow him to enter into competition with this sage, but the holy fathers, knowing that he was a simple man, completely unfamiliar with Greek wisdom , they forbade him to do this. However, Saint Spyridon, knowing what power wisdom from above has and how weak human wisdom is before it, turned to the sage and said:
- Philosopher! In the name of Jesus Christ, listen to what I have to say.

When the philosopher agreed to listen to him, the saint began to talk.

There is one God,” he said, “who created heaven and earth and created man from the earth and arranged everything else, visible and invisible, by His Word and Spirit; and we believe that this Word is the Son of God and God, who, having mercy on us who were lost, was born of the Virgin, lived with people, suffered and died for our salvation and was resurrected and resurrected with Himself the entire human race; we expect that He will come to judge us all with righteous judgment and reward everyone according to their deeds; We believe that He is of one being with the Father, of equal power and honor with Him... So we confess and do not try to explore these mysteries with a curious mind, and you - do not dare to explore how all this can be, for these mysteries are beyond your mind and far exceed all human knowledge.

Then, after a short silence, the saint asked:

Isn’t that how it all seems to you, philosopher?

But the philosopher remained silent, as if he had never had to compete. He could not say anything against the words of the saint, in which some kind of Divine power was visible, in fulfillment of what was said in Holy Scripture: “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20).

Finally he said:

And I think that everything is really as you say.

Then the elder said:

So, go and take the side of the holy faith.

The philosopher, turning to his friends and students, said:

Listen! While the competition with me was carried out through evidence, I set up others against some evidence and, with my art of arguing, reflected everything that was presented to me. But when, instead of evidence from reason, some special power began to emanate from the mouth of this old man, evidence is powerless against it, since a person cannot resist God. If any of you can think the same way as I do, then let him believe in Christ and, together with me, follow this elder, through whose mouth God Himself spoke.”

And the philosopher, having accepted the Orthodox Christian faith, rejoiced that he was defeated in the competition by the saints for his own benefit. All the Orthodox rejoiced, but the heretics suffered great shame.

Death of Saint Spyridon's daughter Irina. The wondrous miracle of Spiridon’s conversation with his dead daughter lying in a coffin

At the end of the council, after the condemnation and excommunication of Arius, everyone who was at the council, as well as Saint Spyridon, went home. At this time, his daughter Irina died; She spent the time of her blooming youth in pure virginity in such a way that she was awarded the Kingdom of Heaven. Meanwhile, one woman came to the saint and, crying, said that she had given his daughter Irina some gold jewelry for safekeeping, and since she soon died, what she had given was missing. Spiridon searched throughout the house to see if the decorations were hidden somewhere, but did not find them. Touched by the woman’s tears, Saint Spyridon, together with his family, approached the tomb of his daughter and, addressing her as if she were alive, exclaimed:

My daughter Irina! Where are the jewelry entrusted to you for safekeeping?

Irina, as if awakening from a sound sleep, answered:

My lord! I hid them in this place in the house.

And she indicated the place.

Then the saint said to her:

Now sleep, my daughter, until the Lord of all awakens you during the general resurrection.

At the sight of such a wondrous miracle, fear fell upon all those present. And the saint found it hidden in the place indicated by the deceased and gave it to that woman.

The illness of Constantius, the son of the ruler Constantine the Great, and the miracle of his healing after the touch of St. Spiridon. Teachings to the student Triphyllius

After the death of Constantine the Great, his Empire was divided into two parts. The eastern half went to his eldest son Constantius. While in Antioch, Constantius fell into a serious illness that doctors could not heal. Then the Tsar left the doctors and turned to the Almighty healer of souls and bodies - God - with earnest prayer for his healing. And so, in a vision at night, the Emperor saw an Angel, who showed Him a whole host of bishops, and among them especially two, who, apparently, were the leaders and commanders of the rest; The angel told the King that only these two could heal his illness. Having awakened and reflecting on what he had seen, he could not guess who the two bishops he had seen were: their names and family remained unknown to him, and one of them, moreover, was not yet a bishop.

For a long time the Tsar was at a loss and, finally, on someone’s good advice, he gathered bishops from all the surrounding cities and looked for the two he had seen in a vision, but did not find them. Then he gathered bishops for the second time and now in larger numbers and from more distant regions, but even among them he did not find those whom He had seen. Finally, He ordered the bishops of His entire Empire to gather to Him. The royal order, or better yet, the petition reached both the island of Cyprus and the city of Trimifunt, where Saint Spyridon was bishop, to whom everything had already been revealed by God regarding the Tsar. Saint Spyridon immediately went to the Emperor, taking with him his disciple Triphyllius, with whom he appeared to the Tsar in a vision and who at that time, as was said, was not yet a bishop. Arriving in Antioch, they went to the palace to the King. Spyridon was dressed in poor clothes and had a date staff in his hands, a miter on his head, and a clay vessel hung on his chest, as was the custom among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who usually carried oil from the Holy Cross in this vessel. When the saint entered the palace in this form, one of the palace servants, richly dressed, considered him a beggar, laughed at him and, not allowing him to enter, hit him on the cheek; but the monk, out of his kindness and remembering the words of the Lord (Matthew 5:39), turned him the other cheek; the minister realized that a bishop was standing before him and, recognizing his sin, humbly asked him for forgiveness, which he received.
As soon as the saint entered the Tsar, the latter immediately recognized him, since it was in this very image that he appeared to the Tsar in a vision. Constantius stood up, approached the saint and bowed to him, with tears asking for his prayers to God and begging for the healing of his illness. As soon as the saint touched the head of the King, the latter immediately recovered and was extremely happy about his healing, received through the prayers of the saint. The king showed him great honors and spent the whole day with him in joy, showing great respect to his good doctor.

Triphyllius, meanwhile, was extremely amazed by all the royal pomp, the beauty of the palace, the many nobles standing in front of the King sitting on the throne - and everything had a wonderful appearance and shone with gold - and the skillful service of the servants dressed in light clothes. Spiridon told him:

Why are you so surprised, brother? Does royal greatness and glory really make the King more righteous than others? Doesn't the King die just like the last beggar and be buried? Will He not appear equally with others to the Terrible Judge? Why do you prefer what is destroyed to the unchangeable and marvel at nothingness, when you should first of all seek what is immaterial and eternal, and love the incorruptible heavenly glory?

The monk taught a lot and gave himself, so that he would remember the good deed of God and would himself be kind to his subjects, merciful to those who sin, favorable to those who beg for something, generous to those who ask, and would be a father to everyone - loving and kind, for who reigns differently , he should not be called a king, but rather a tormentor. In conclusion, the saint commanded the Tsar to strictly adhere to and preserve the rules of piety, in no way accepting anything contrary to the Church of God.

The king wanted to thank the saint for his healing through his prayers and offered him a lot of gold, but he refused to accept, saying:

It is not good, King, to pay with hatred for love, for what I did for you is love: in fact, leaving home, crossing such a space by sea, enduring severe cold and winds - isn’t this love? And for all this, should I take in retribution gold, which is the cause of all evil and so easily destroys all truth?

Thus spoke the saint, not wanting to take anything, and only through the most intense requests of the Tsar was he convinced - but only to accept gold from the Tsar, and not to keep it for himself, for he immediately distributed everything he received to those who asked.

In addition, in accordance with the admonitions of this saint, Emperor Constantius exempted priests, deacons and all clergy and church servants from taxes, judging that it was indecent for the servants of the Immortal King to pay tribute to the mortal King.

The miracle of the resurrection of a dead baby and the second resurrection of his mother, who died of joy

Having parted with the Tsar and returning to his home, the saint was received on the road by one Christ-lover into the house. Here a pagan woman who could not speak Greek came to him. She brought her dead son in her arms and, weeping bitterly, laid him near the saint’s music. No one knew her language, but her very tears clearly indicated that she was begging the saint to resurrect her dead child. But the saint, avoiding vain glory, at first refused to perform this miracle; and yet, in his mercy, he was overcome by his mother’s bitter sobs and asked his deacon Artemidotus:

What should we do, brother?

Why are you asking me, father, the deacon answered: what else can you do but call on Christ, the Giver of life, who has fulfilled your prayers so many times? If you healed the King, will you really reject the poor and needy?

Even more prompted by this good advice to show mercy, the saint shed tears and, bending his knees, turned to the Lord with warm prayer. And the Lord, through Elijah and Elisha, restored life to the sons of the widow of Sarepta and the Somanite (1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:35), heard Spyridon’s prayer and returned the spirit of life to the pagan baby, who, having come to life, immediately began to cry. The mother, seeing her child alive, fell dead from joy: not only severe illness and heartfelt sadness kill a person, but sometimes excessive joy also produces the same thing. So, that woman died of joy, and her death plunged the audience - after unexpected joy on the occasion of the resurrection of the baby - into unexpected sadness and tears. Then the saint asked the deacon again:

What should we do?

The deacon repeated his previous advice, and the saint again resorted to prayer. Raising his eyes to heaven and lifting his mind to God, he prayed to Him who breathes the spirit of life into the dead and who changes everything with His sole will. Then he said to the deceased, who was lying on the ground:

Resurrect and get back on your feet!

And she stood up, as if awakened from sleep, and took her living son in her arms.
The saint forbade the woman and everyone present there to tell anyone about the miracle; but Deacon Artemidotus, after the death of the saint, not wanting to keep silent about the greatness and power of God revealed through the great saint of God Spyridon, told the believers about everything that had happened.

The case of the goat bought from St. Spiridon as a dishonest buyer

When the saint returned home, a man came to him who wanted to buy one hundred goats from his herd. The saint told him to leave the set price and then take what he had bought. But he left the cost of ninety-nine goats and hid the cost of one, thinking that this would not be known to the saint, who, in his simplicity of heart, was completely alien to all worldly concerns. When both of them were in the cattle pen, the saint ordered the buyer to take as many goats as he had paid for, and the buyer, separating one hundred goats, drove them out of the fence. But one of them, like a smart and kind slave, knowing that she had not been sold by her master, soon returned and ran into the fence again. The buyer again took her and dragged her along, but she broke free and ran into the pen again. Thus, up to three times she tore herself out of his hands and ran to the fence, and he forcibly took her away, and finally, he threw her on his shoulders and carried her to him, at which she bleated loudly, butted him in the head with her horns, fought and struggled , so that everyone who saw it was surprised. Then Saint Spyridon, realizing what the matter was and not wanting at the same time to expose the dishonest buyer in front of everyone, said to him quietly:

Look, my son, it must be not in vain that the animal does this, not wanting to be taken to you: has he not hidden the due price for him? Is that why it breaks out of your hands and runs towards the fence?

The buyer was ashamed, revealed his sin and asked for forgiveness, and then gave the money and took the goat - and she herself meekly and meekly went to the house of the one who bought her ahead of her new owner.

The righteous anger of Saint Spyridon and the miracle of the deacon’s teaching: numbness and the return of speech to him

On the island of Cyprus there was one village called Friera. Having arrived there on one errand, Saint Spyridon entered the church and ordered one of those who were there, a deacon, to say a short prayer: the saint was tired from the long journey, especially since it was harvest time and there was intense heat. But the deacon began to slowly carry out what was ordered to him and deliberately prolonged the prayer, as if with some pride he uttered exclamations and sang, and clearly boasted of his voice. The saint looked at him angrily, although he was kind by nature, and, reproaching him, said: “Shut up!” - And immediately the deacon became speechless: he lost not only his voice, but also the very gift of speech, and stood as if completely speechless. Everyone present was filled with fear. The news of what had happened quickly spread throughout the village, and all the residents came running to see the miracle and came to see the horror. The deacon fell at the saint’s feet, begging with signs to allow him to speak, and at the same time, the deacon’s friends and relatives begged the bishop for the same thing. But the saint did not immediately condescend to the request, for he was harsh with the proud and vain, and, finally, he forgave the offender, allowed him to speak and returned the gift of speech; at the same time, he, however, imprinted on him the mark of punishment, without returning his language to full clarity, and for the rest of his life he left him weak-voiced, tongue-tied and stuttering, so that he would not be proud of his voice and would not boast of the clarity of speech.

Miracle in the Church - Heavenly Singing

One day Saint Spyridon entered the church in his city for Vespers. It so happened that there was no one in the church except the clergy. But, despite this, he ordered many candles and lamps to be lit and he himself stood before the altar in spiritual tenderness. And when at the appointed time he exclaimed: “Peace to all!” - and there were no people who would give the usual answer to the good wishes of the world proclaimed by the saint; suddenly a great multitude of voices were heard from above, exclaiming: “And to your spirit.” This choir was great and well-structured and sweeter than any human singing. The deacon who pronounced the litanies was horrified, hearing after each litany some wondrous singing from above: “Lord, have mercy!” This singing was heard even by those who were far from the church, many of whom hastily went to it, and, as they approached the church, the wonderful singing filled their ears more and more and delighted their hearts. But when they entered the church, they saw no one except the saint with a few church servants and no longer heard heavenly singing, from which they were in great amazement.

Miracle in the Church - Appearance of “material oil”

At another time, when the saint was also standing in the church for evening singing, there was not enough oil in the lamp and the fire began to go out. The saint grieved over this, fearing that when the lamp went out, the church singing would also be interrupted, and thus the usual church rule would not be fulfilled. But God, fulfilling the desire of those who fear Him, commanded the lamp to overflow with oil, as once the vessel of the widow in the days of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:2-6). The church servants brought vessels, placed them under the lamp and miraculously filled them with oil. - This material oil clearly served as an indication of the abundant grace of God, with which Saint Spyridon was filled and his verbal flock was watered with it.

Teaching to the disciple of Saint Spyridon Trifillius about vanity

On about. Cyprus has a city called Kirina. One day, Saint Spyridon arrived here from Trimifunt on his own business, together with his disciple, Triphyllius, who was then already the Bishop of Leukusia, on the island. Cyprus. When they crossed Mount Pentadactyl and were at a place called Parimna (notable for its beauty and rich vegetation), Triphyllius was seduced by this place and wished to acquire some estate in this area for his church. He thought about this to himself for a long time; but his thoughts did not hide from the perspicacious spiritual eyes of the great father, who said to him:

Why, Triphyllius, do you constantly think about vain things and desire estates and gardens, which in fact have no value and only seem to be something significant, and with their illusory value arouse in the hearts of people the desire to possess them? Our inalienable treasure is in heaven (1 Pet. 1:4), we have a temple not made with hands (2 Cor. 5:4), - strive for them and enjoy them in advance (through the thought of God): they cannot move from one state to another, and whoever once becomes the owner of them receives an inheritance that he will never lose.

These words brought Triphilius great benefit, and subsequently, through his truly Christian life, he achieved that he became a chosen vessel of Christ, like the Apostle Paul, and was awarded countless gifts from God.

So Saint Spyridon, being himself virtuous, directed others to virtue, and those who followed his admonitions and instructions were benefited, and those who rejected them suffered a bad end, as can be seen from the following.

The incident that happened to a woman who sinned by adultery and the repentance of St. Spyridon

One merchant, a resident of the same Trimifunt, sailed to a foreign country to trade and stayed there for twelve months. At this time, his wife fell into adultery and conceived. Returning home, the merchant saw his wife pregnant and realized that she had committed adultery without him. He flew into a rage, began to beat her and, not wanting to live with her, drove her out of his house, and then he went and told Saint Spyridon about everything and asked him for advice. The saint, spiritually lamenting the sin of the woman and the great sorrow of her husband, called his wife and, without asking her whether she had really sinned, since her very pregnancy and the fetus she conceived from iniquity testified to her sin, he directly told her:

Why have you desecrated your husband's bed and dishonored his house?

But the woman, having lost all shame, dared to clearly lie that she had conceived from no one else, namely from her husband. Those present were indignant at her even more for this lie than for the adultery itself, and said to her:

How can you say that you conceived from your husband when he was away from home for twelve months? Can a conceived fetus remain in the womb for twelve months or even longer?

But she stood her ground and argued that what she conceived was awaiting the return of her father in order to be born with him. Defending this and similar lies and arguing with everyone, she made a fuss and shouted that she had been slandered and offended. Then Saint Spyridon, wanting to bring her to repentance, meekly said to her:

Woman! You have fallen into great sin, and your repentance must be great, for there is still hope for salvation left for you: there is no sin that exceeds God’s mercy. But I see that adultery has produced despair in you, and despair has produced shamelessness, and it would be fair to give you a worthy and swift punishment; and yet, leaving you space and time for repentance, we publicly declare to you: the fruit will not come out of your womb until you tell the truth, without covering up with lies what even a blind man, as they say, can see.

The saint's words soon came true. When the time came for the woman to give birth, she was struck by a severe illness, which caused her great torment and kept the fetus in her womb. But she, having become embittered, did not want to admit her sin, in which she died, without giving birth, a painful death. Having learned about this, the saint of God shed tears, regretting that he had judged the sinner with such a court, and said:

I will no longer pronounce judgment on people if what has been said so much is so quickly coming true on them in practice.

Conversion of the pagan husband of Sophronia to the Christian faith by Saint Spyridon

One woman, named Sophronia, well-behaved and pious, had a pagan husband. She more than once turned to Saint Spyridon and fervently begged him to try to convert her husband to the true faith. Her husband was a neighbor of Saint Spyridon of God and respected him, and sometimes they, like neighbors, even visited each other’s houses. One day many neighbors of the saint and the pagan gathered; there were themselves. And so, suddenly the saint says to one of the servants publicly:

Yonder at the gate stands a messenger sent from the worker tending my flock, with the news that all the cattle, when the worker fell asleep, disappeared, getting lost in the mountains: go tell him that the worker who sent him has already found all the cattle safe in one cave.
The servant went and conveyed the saint’s words to the messenger. Soon after, when those gathered had not yet had time to get up from the table, another messenger came from the shepherd - with the news that the entire herd had been found. Hearing this, the pagan was incredibly surprised that Saint Spyridon knew what was happening behind his eyes as if it were happening nearby; he imagined that the saint was one of the gods, and wanted to do to him what the inhabitants of Lycaonia had once done to the Apostles Barnabas and Paul, that is, to bring sacrificial animals, prepare crowns and make a sacrifice. But the saint said to him:

I am not God, but only a servant of God and a man, like you in everything. And that I know what is happening behind my eyes is given to me by my God, and if you believe in Him, you will know the greatness of His omnipotence and strength.

For her part, the wife of the pagan Sophronia, seizing the time, began to convince her husband to renounce pagan errors and to know the One True God and believe in Him. Finally, by the power of Christ's grace, the pagan was converted to the true faith and enlightened by holy baptism. This is how the “unbelieving man” was saved (1 Cor. 7:14), as St. Apostle Paul.

About the humility of Blessed Spyridon

They also tell about the humility of Blessed Spyridon, how he, being a saint and a great wonderworker, did not hesitate to shepherd dumb sheep and himself followed them. One day, thieves entered the pen at night, stole several sheep and wanted to leave. But God, loving His saint and protecting his meager property, tightly tied the thieves with invisible bonds, so that they could not leave the fence, where they remained in this position, against their will, until the morning. At dawn the saint came to the sheep and, seeing the thieves bound hand and foot by the power of God, with his prayer he untied them and gave them instructions not to covet the things of others, but to feed on the labor of their own hands; then he gave them one ram, so that, as he himself said, “their labor and sleepless night would not be in vain,” and he sent them away in peace.

Hospitality of St. Spyridon and teachings to a wanderer who refused food in the house of the Saint

Saint Simeon Metaphrastus, a description of his life. likened Saint Spyridon to Patriarch Abraham in the virtue of hospitality. “You also need to know how he received strangers,” wrote Sozomen, who was close to monastic circles, citing in his “Church History” an amazing example from the life of the saint.

One day, after the approach of Lent, a wanderer knocked on his house. Seeing that the traveler was very tired, Saint Spyridon said to his daughter: “Wash this man’s feet and offer him something to eat.” But due to fasting, the necessary supplies were not made, for the saint “ate food only on a certain day, and on others he remained without food.” Therefore, the daughter replied that there was no bread or flour in the house. Then Saint Spyridon, apologizing to the guest, ordered his daughter to fry the salted pork meat that was in stock and. Having seated the wanderer at the table, he began to eat, “convincing that man to imitate himself. When the latter, calling himself a Christian, refused, he added: “It is all the less necessary to refuse, for the Word of God has spoken: All things are pure (Titus 1:15).”

A lesson to a selfish merchant

One Trimifuntian merchant had the custom of borrowing money from the saint for trade, and when, upon returning from trips on his business, he brought back what he had borrowed, the saint usually told him to put the money himself in the box from which he took it. He cared so little about the temporary acquisition that he never even inquired whether the debtor was paying correctly! Meanwhile, the merchant had already acted in this way many times, taking out the money himself, with the blessing of the saint, from the ark and again putting the money he brought back into it, and his business prospered. But one day, carried away by greed, he did not put the gold he brought into the box and kept it with himself, and told the saint that he had put it in. He soon became impoverished, since the hidden gold not only did not bring him any profit, but also deprived his trade of success and, like fire, consumed all his property.

Then the merchant again came to the saint and asked him for a loan. The saint sent him to his bedroom to the box so that he could take it himself. He told the merchant:

Go and take it if you put it in."

The merchant went and, not finding any money in the box, returned to the saint empty-handed. The saint told him:

But in the box, my brother, until now there has not been anyone else’s hand except yours. This means that if you had put down the gold then, you could now take it again.

The merchant, ashamed, fell at the feet of the saint and asked for forgiveness. The saint immediately forgave him, but at the same time said, as an edification to him, so that he should not desire the things of others and should not defile his conscience with his deception and lies. Thus, a profit acquired untruthfully is not a profit, but in the end a loss.

The crushing of a pagan idol upon the entry of Saint Spyridon to earth

A council of bishops was once convened in Alexandria: the Patriarch of Alexandria convened all the bishops subordinate to him and wanted, through a common prayer, to overthrow and crush all the pagan idols, of which there were still a lot there. And so, at a time when numerous fervent prayers were offered to God, both conciliar and private, all the idols both in the city and in the surrounding area fell, only one idol, especially revered by the pagans, remained intact in its place.

After the patriarch prayed long and earnestly for the crushing of this idol, one night, when he stood in prayer, some Divine vision appeared to him and he was commanded not to grieve that the idol was not crushed, but rather to send to Cyprus and call from there Spyridon, Bishop of Trimifuntsky, for this is why the idol was left, in order to be crushed by the prayer of this saint. The Patriarch immediately wrote a letter to Saint Spyridon, in which he called him to Alexandria and spoke about his vision, and immediately sent this message to Cyprus. Having received the message, Saint Spyridon boarded a ship and sailed to Alexandria. When the ship stopped at the pier called Naples, and the saint descended to earth, at that very moment the idol in Alexandria with its many altars collapsed, which is why in Alexandria they learned about the arrival of Saint Spyridon. For when the patriarch was informed that the idol had fallen, the patriarch said to the rest of the bishops:

Friends! Spyridon of Trimifuntsky is approaching.

And everyone, having prepared themselves, went out to meet the saint and, having received him with honor, rejoiced at the arrival to them of such a great wonderworker and lamp of the world.

Spyridon's righteous anger and teaching about humility and meekness

Church historians Nikephoros and Sozomen write that Saint Spyridon was extremely concerned about the strict observance of church rites and the preservation of the books of the Holy Scriptures in all their integrity to the last word. One day the following happened. On about. Cyprus was a meeting of bishops from the entire island on church affairs. Among the bishops were Saint Spyridon and the above-mentioned Triphyllius, a man skilled in book wisdom, since in his youth he spent many years in Berita, studying scripture and science.

The gathered fathers asked him to deliver a lesson to the people in the church. When he was teaching, he had to remember the words of Christ spoken by Him to the paralytic: “Arise and take up your bed” (Mark 2:12). Trifillius replaced the word “bed” with the word “bed” and said: “Rise and take your bed.” Hearing this, Saint Spyridon stood up from his place and, unable to bear the change in Christ’s words, said to Trifillius:

Are you better than the one who said “bed” that you are ashamed of the word He used?

Having said this, he left the church in front of everyone. So he acted not out of malice and not because he himself was completely unlearned: having slightly shamed Triphyllius, who boasted of his eloquence, he taught him humility and meekness. Moreover, Saint Spyridon enjoyed (among bishops) great honor, as the eldest in years, glorious in life, first in episcopacy and a great miracle worker, and therefore, out of respect for his person, everyone could respect his words.

A miracle happened to the appearance of Saint Spyridon. Foresight of death, death of Spiridon of Trimifuntsky

Such great grace and mercy of God rested on Saint Spyridon that during the harvest, in the hottest part of the day, his holy head was once covered with cool dew descending from above. This was in the last year of his life. Together with the reapers, he went out to the harvest (for he was humble and worked himself, not proud of the height of his rank), and so, when he was reaping his cornfield, suddenly, in the very heat, his head was watered, as it once was with the fleece of Gideon (Judgment 6:38), and everyone who was with him in the field saw this and marveled. Then the hair on his head suddenly changed: some became yellow, others black, others white, and only God Himself knew what it was for and what it foreshadowed. The saint touched his head with his hand and told those who were with him that the time for the separation of his soul from his body was approaching, and began to teach everyone good deeds, and especially love for God and neighbor.

After several days, Saint Spyridon, during prayer, betrayed his holy and righteous soul to the Lord, Whom he served in righteousness and holiness all his life, and was buried with honor in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Trimifunt. There it was established that his memory should be celebrated annually, and at his tomb numerous miracles are performed to the glory of the wondrous God, glorified in His saints, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom from us be glory, thanksgiving, honor and worship forever. Amen.

Saint Spyridon of Trimythous was born at the end of the 3rd century on the island of Cyprus. Little information has been preserved about his life. It is known that he was a shepherd and had a wife and children. He gave all his funds to the needs of his neighbors and strangers, for this the Lord rewarded him with the gift of miracles: he healed the terminally ill and cast out demons. After the death of his wife, during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337), he was elected bishop of the city of Trimifunt.

In the rank of bishop, the saint did not change his way of life, combining pastoral service with works of mercy. According to church historians, Saint Spyridon in 325 took part in the actions of the First Ecumenical Council.

At the Council, the saint entered into a competition with a Greek philosopher who defended the Aryan heresy. The simple speech of Saint Spyridon showed everyone the weakness of human wisdom before the Wisdom of God: “Listen, philosopher, what I will tell you: we believe that Almighty God out of nothing created heaven, earth, man and the entire visible and invisible world with His Word and Spirit. This Word is the Son of God, Who came down to earth for our sins, was born of the Virgin, lived with people, suffered, died for our salvation and then rose again, atoning for original sin with His suffering, and resurrected the human race with Himself. We believe that He is Consubstantial and Equal in Honor with the Father, and we believe this without any crafty inventions, for it is impossible to comprehend this mystery with the human mind.”

As a result of the conversation, the opponent of Christianity became its zealous defender and received holy Baptism. After a conversation with Saint Spyridon, turning to his friends, the philosopher said: “Listen! While the competition with me was carried out through evidence, I set up others against some evidence and, with my art of argument, reflected everything that was presented to me. But when, instead of proof from reason, some special power began to emanate from the mouth of this old man, evidence became powerless against it, since a person cannot resist God. If any of you can think the same way as I do, then let him believe in Christ and, together with me, follow this old man, through whose mouth God Himself spoke.”

At the same Council, Saint Spyridon presented against the Arians a clear proof of the Unity in the Holy Trinity. He took a brick in his hands and squeezed it: fire instantly came out of it, water flowed down, and the clay remained in the hands of the miracle worker. “Behold, there are three elements, and the plinth (brick) is one,” said St. Spyridon then, “so in the Most Holy Trinity there are Three Persons, and the Divinity is One.”

The saint took care of his flock with great love. Through his prayer, the drought was replaced by abundant life-giving rain, and continuous rains - by bucketfuls. the sick were healed, demons were cast out.

One day a woman came to him with a dead child in her arms, asking for the saint’s intercession. After praying, he brought the baby back to life. The mother, shocked by joy, fell lifeless. But the prayer of the saint of God restored life to the mother.

Once, rushing to save his friend, slandered and sentenced to death, the saint was stopped on his way by a stream that unexpectedly overflowed from a flood. The saint ordered the stream: “Stand up!” This is what the Lord of the whole world commands you, so that I can cross and the husband for whose sake I am hastening may be saved.” The will of the saint was fulfilled. and he safely crossed to the other side. The judge, warned about the miracle that had occurred, met Saint Spyridon with honor and released his friend.

Such a case is also known from the life of the saint. One day he entered an empty church, ordered the lamps and candles to be lit, and began the Divine Service. Having proclaimed “Peace to all,” he and the deacon heard in response from above a great multitude of voices shouting: “And to your spirit.” This choir was great and sweeter than any human singing. At each litany, an invisible choir sang “Lord, have mercy.” Attracted by the singing coming from the church, people nearby hurried to her. As they approached the church, wonderful singing filled their ears more and more and delighted their hearts. But when they entered the church, they saw no one except the bishop with a few church servants, and they no longer heard heavenly singing. from which they came to great amazement.

Saint Simeon Metaphrastus, a description of his life. likened Saint Spyridon to Patriarch Abraham in the virtue of hospitality. “You also need to know how he received strangers,” wrote Sozomen, who was close to monastic circles, citing in his “Church History” an amazing example from the life of the saint. One day, after the approach of Lent, a wanderer knocked on his house. Seeing that the traveler was very tired, Saint Spyridon said to his daughter: “Wash this man’s feet and offer him something to eat.”

But due to fasting, the necessary supplies were not made, for the saint “ate food only on a certain day, and on others he remained without food.” Therefore, the daughter replied that there was no bread or flour in the house. Then Saint Spyridon, apologizing to the guest, ordered his daughter to fry the salted pork meat that was in stock and. Having seated the wanderer at the table, he began to eat, “convincing that man to imitate himself. When the latter, calling himself a Christian, refused, he added: “It is all the less necessary to refuse, for the Word of God has spoken: All things are pure (Titus 1:15).”

Another story, reported by Sozomen, is also very characteristic of the saint: the saint had the custom of distributing one part of the harvest to the poor, and giving the other part to the needy as a loan. He himself did not personally give anything, but simply showed the entrance to the storeroom, where everyone could take as much as they needed and then return it in the same way, without checking or reporting.

There is also a well-known story by Socrates Scholasticus about how thieves decided to steal the sheep of Saint Spyridon: in the dead of night they climbed into a sheepfold, but immediately found themselves tied up by an invisible force. When morning came, the saint came to the herd and, seeing the bound robbers, prayed, untied them and for a long time persuaded them to leave their lawless path and earn food by honest labor. Then, giving them a sheep each and sending them away, he said kindly: “Let it not be in vain that you kept watch.”

Saint Spyridon is often compared to the prophet Elijah, for also through his prayer, during droughts that often threatened the island of Cyprus, it rained: “We see Spyridon, the great wonderworker, equal to the angel. Once upon a time the country suffered greatly from lack of rain and drought: there was a famine and an ulcer, and many people died, but through the prayers of the saint rain came down from heaven to earth: the people, having been delivered from the disaster, were grateful to the cry: Rejoice, thou who art like the great prophet and the rain, the one who takes away hunger and sickness, you have brought down in good time.”

The entire life of the saint amazes with its amazing simplicity and power of miracles. given to him by the Lord. According to the word of the saint, the dead awakened, the elements were tamed, and idols were crushed. When the Patriarch convened a Council in Alexandria for the sake of crushing idols and temples, through the prayers of the fathers of the Council, all the idols fell, except one, the most revered. It was revealed to the Patriarch in a vision that this idol remained in order to be crushed by Saint Spyridon of Trimythous. Summoned by the Council, the saint boarded the ship, and at the moment when the ship landed on the shore and the saint set foot on land, the idol in Alexandria with all the altars was thrown into dust, which announced to the patriarch and all the bishops the approach of St. Spyridon.

Saint Spyridon lived his earthly life in righteousness and holiness and in prayer gave up his soul to the Lord (c. 348). In the history of the Church, Saint Spyridon is venerated together with Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra.

His relics rest on the island of Corfu in the church named after him (except for the right hand, which is in Rome).

Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimifunt (Salamin), a miracle worker, was born around 270 on the island of Cyprus, in a village called Askia (Assia) not far from Trimifunt (Trimitus). No reliable information has been preserved about Spiridon’s childhood and youth, or about his parents; it is only known that they were simple peasants, and the future Saint himself tended sheep and goats as a child (he is usually depicted on icons in a shepherd’s cap woven from willow twigs). He did not receive any education, but by nature he had a sound mind, a bright and kind soul. Brought up in Christian piety, the virtuous and gentle Spiridon led a pure, godly life; His extraordinary kindness and spiritual responsiveness attracted many people to him: the homeless found shelter with him, and wanderers found food and rest; for every person, regardless of age and social status, he was an inexhaustible source of benefits. He provided assistance in various everyday needs, but most of all he cared about the healing of sinful ulcers. His distinctive features were touching simplicity, humility, sincerity and meekness; he was a true embodiment of love. The grace of God that rested on him and his natural intelligence developed in him a wisdom before which the greatest philosophers of that time were lost.

While still young, he married an honest, chaste girl, and they had a daughter, Irina, whom Saint Spyridon himself baptized. Family life did not last long, soon his wife died, however, even after this difficult loss the Saint did not become despondent, but continued serving the Lord even more diligently with his good deeds. Throughout his life, “he clearly showed that by living in the world, as a family, through deeds of mercy and love, complete devotion to the Lord and His Holy Church, one can achieve holiness and be saved.”

After the death of the local priest, the clergy and all the inhabitants of Trimifunt and surrounding villages unanimously elected Spyridon as the first bishop of Trimifunt, convincing him to become the shepherd of their souls, and to take care of the verbal flock. The saint’s lifestyle did not change after this: from early childhood he was accustomed to being content with little, and in the high rank of bishop, not proud of his influential position, he showed the local residents an example of a virtuous life, out of great humility continuing to feed himself by the labor of his hands. For the constant memory of God and good deeds, the Lord did not leave His faithful servant without mercy: He generously rewarded this true champion of the faith with the gift of clairvoyance and miracle-working. Saint Spyridon healed the terminally ill, healed not only physical but also mental ailments of people, cast out demons and even raised the dead. The Saint’s special gift was power over the forces of nature - through his prayer the sky opened and life-giving rain poured down, thunderclouds dissipated, and the water stream stopped its flow. He was a caring and loving father for his flock, he knew how to sympathize with everyone in their sorrows and sorrows, combining pastoral service with works of mercy.

Here are just some testimonies of miracles performed by the Lord through the prayers of Saint Spyridon.

Once upon a time, there was a long drought in Cyprus, after which there came a famine that claimed many lives. It was hard for Saint Spyridon to see the suffering of people and, like the great prophet Elijah, the Saint turned to God with fervent prayer. The sky was immediately covered with clouds on all sides, but what is most surprising is that so that no one would think that the rain came naturally, the clouds stood in one place for a long time, the rain did not begin until the Saint turned to the Lord again. And He did not despise the prayers of His servant: along with the tears that flowed from the eyes of Saint Spyridon, it began to rain. The land, filled with moisture, gave a bountiful harvest, and the inhabitants were saved.

The Saint's kindness was combined with fair severity towards unworthy people. A few years later, famine struck the country again. Some traders, in pursuit of profit, held grain in expecting higher prices. A peasant came to one of them: a drought had left him without a harvest, and the whole family suffered greatly from hunger. The poor man asked to lend him grain at interest, but the merchant was inexorable. An exhausted and despairing man went to Saint Spyridon and told about his grief. The saint consoled him: “Don’t worry, soon your house will be full of bread, and the one who today dooms your family to inevitable death will tomorrow beg you to take grain from him without payment.” Thinking that the Saint said this only to console him, the poor man left in sorrow. But it happened as the Saint predicted - at night, by the will of God, heavy rain came and washed away the barn of the greedy grain merchant, streams of water carried away all his grain. In the morning, the confused rich man rushed to everyone, including yesterday’s petitioner, with a request to take as much as anyone wanted, just to help save the remaining grain. Many of those in need came and collected wheat that had been carried along the roads by the streams, and that peasant also collected enough for himself.

So the Lord punished the rich man for greed, and delivered the poor man from poverty and hunger. But this lesson did not serve the merchant well; he was not taught enough by the loss and was not cured of stinginess.

Soon after the flood, another peasant began to ask him for a loan of bread, promising to return it a hundredfold after the harvest, but the merchant demanded a large deposit from him, which the poor man did not have. This man also went to Bishop Spyridon for help. The Bishop ordered not to lose heart and hope for God’s help. The next day, the Saint himself came to the house of the unfortunate man, brought gold and said: “Give this to the merchant and take the grain from him, and when you reap the harvest and you have a surplus of grain, redeem this pledge and bring it to me.” The poor man did just that. He sowed the grain, reaped the harvest, which, through the prayers of the Trimifuntsky miracle worker, turned out to be unusually rich, bought the gold and brought it to his benefactor. Spyridon took the gold and invited the peasant to go into the garden to thank the One who took pity on him and so generously lent him. Entering the garden, Vladika placed the gold near a crack in the fence and began to pray: “My Lord, Jesus Christ! By His will he creates and transforms everything! Commanded this gold, which You had previously transformed from an animal, to again take on its original form.” When he prayed like this, a piece of gold suddenly moved and turned into a snake, which, writhing, crawled into its hole. For the sake of the needs of his neighbor, through his petition Saint Spyridon transformed the snake into gold, and then made it out of gold again into a snake. At the sight of this miracle, the peasant fell to his knees, praising the Lord and Saint Spyridon.

Envious people slandered one of Bishop Spiridon's friends; without any guilt, he was imprisoned and sentenced to death. Having learned about this, the Saint hastened to help him. At that time there were heavy rains - the river on the path of the Saint overflowed, and there was no crossing over it. Remembering how Joshua crossed the flooded Jordan, Saint Spyridon, with firm faith in the omnipotence of God, ordered the water stream to part. The river stopped in its flow, a passage was formed, which remained until the Saint and all his companions, “as if on dry land,” crossed to the other bank. Then the river flowed again in its usual way. The witnesses to this miracle hurried to the judge and told him about the approach of the Saint and what he had done along the way. The judge received Saint Spyridon with honor and immediately released his innocent friend.

The outstanding Byzantine hagiographer of the 10th century, Simeon Metaphrastus, likened Saint Spyridon to Patriarch Abraham in the virtue of hospitality and cited the following story from the life of the Saint.

Once during Great Lent, a wanderer came to the house of Bishop Spiridon. Seeing that the traveler was very tired and hungry, the Saint ordered his daughter to wash the guest’s feet and feed him. But since the Saint himself was a very strict faster and during the days of Pentecost he ate food only on a certain day, and on others he went without food, there were no necessary supplies in the house. Irina said that there was no bread or flour in the house. Then Saint Spyridon ordered her to fry the salted pork meat that was kept in reserve for the end of Lent. The saint saw that the weakened traveler needed to gain strength before the road. Having seated the guest at the table, the Saint blessed the meal, but the traveler refused to eat meat during Lent, saying that he was a Christian. Then Bishop Spyridon remarked: “All the less necessary to refuse, for the Word of God said: “For the pure, all things are pure.”

For the purity of his heart, already here on earth, Saint Spyridon was honored to behold the heavenly angels. They served the Saint in the temple of God.

Bishop Spiridon came to the church for Vespers; It so happened that there was no one in the temple except the clergy, but Vladyka ordered many candles and lamps to be lit, and he himself stood in front of the altar in spiritual tenderness. The service began and when Bishop Spyridon exclaimed: “Peace to all!”, and there was no one in the church to give the due answer, suddenly a great many voices were heard from above: “And to your spirit!”, and after each petition of the litany, a wondrous singing was heard from above: “Lord , have mercy!” This choir was great and well-structured, sweeter than any human singing. Wonderful sounds were heard by people who were far from the church. The wonderful singing delighted their hearts, but when they entered the temple, they saw no one except Bishop Spyridon with a few church servants.

One day, when Saint Spyridon was standing in church during a service, the oil in the lamp ran out, and the flame began to fade. The saint was upset that the lamp would go out and the orderly order of worship would be disrupted, but the Lord consoled him: the lamp was miraculously filled with oil, which flowed to the ground, sparkling with fiery streams. Church servants brought vessels, placed them under the miraculous lamp and collected the abundantly poured oil. Immediately after the completion of the service, the flow of oil stopped, but the oil given by the Lord was still enough to illuminate the temple for a long time.

In 325, Emperor Constantine the Great convened the First Ecumenical Council in the city of Nicaea, the purpose of which was to determine the fundamental truths of the Orthodox faith and condemn the heresy of Arius. The main dogma of Christianity is the truth about the Holy Trinity given through Divine Revelation. The doctrine of Arius, who did not recognize the full Divinity of the Savior, undermined the basis of the Christian teaching about the trinity of the Godhead. The convening of the Ecumenical Council was a huge event in the life of the Church. For the first time, representatives of all Local Churches met to discuss the most important church affairs. Saint Spyridon also set off on his journey. Tradition has preserved some amazing stories about what happened to him during this journey.

Elder Barsanuphius of Optina loved to tell an incident from the life of the Saint: “When Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimifuntsky, was going to the Ecumenical Council, he happened to stop for the night in one hotel. The monk accompanying him, entering him, asked: “Father, I can’t understand why our horse doesn’t eat the cabbage that I bought from our owner. The cabbage is good, fit for a man, but the horse doesn’t eat it?” “Because,” said the Saint, “the horse feels the unbearable stench emanating from the cabbage for the reason that our owner is infected with the passion of stinginess.” A person who is not enlightened in spirit does not notice this, but saints have the gift of God to recognize passions.”

Another night, when Saint Spyridon stopped for the night, the Arians killed the Saint’s horses - they cut off their heads. The saint ordered the driver to put the heads of the horses to their bodies, prayed earnestly, and soon the horses were healthy. But the driver was either in a hurry or was careless - those he met were surprised to see on the road a black horse with a white head and a white horse with a black one.

Twelve Arian bishops, fearing that at the Council Saint Spyridon would convince Emperor Constantine of the superiority of the Orthodox faith over the Arian faith, to which the emperor leaned, persuaded him to issue a decree prohibiting ship captains from taking Bishop Spyridon on board. After the Arians sailed, Saint Spyridon went down to the seashore, took off his monastic cape, laid half of it on the water, and attached the other half to his staff as a sail, and, standing on this structure, surrendered to the mercy of the waves and winds. He reached Nicaea before his opponents. Imagine their amazement when they saw the Saint at the Council.

Three hundred and eighteen God-bearing fathers were present at the Council in Nicaea, including Saints Nicholas of Myra and Spyridon of Trimythous. Greek philosophers were also present there. The wisest of them, Eulogius, took the side of Arius. The philosopher had the gift of eloquence, and there was not a single question to which he would not find a clever answer in defense of heresy. Saint Spyridon, seeing that the philosopher was boasting of his knowledge and directing it against the Orthodox faith, began to ask the holy fathers to allow him to enter into a dispute with Eulogius. But the holy fathers, knowing that he was a simple man and unsophisticated in the sciences, forbade him. However, the Bishop of Trimifuntsky, believing in the power of the wisdom of God, turned to the sage: “Philosopher! In the name of Jesus Christ, listen to what I tell you. There is One God, who created heaven and earth, and created man from the earth, and created everything else, visible and invisible, by His Word and Spirit. And we believe that the Word is the Son of God and God, who, having mercy on us, the lost, was born of the Virgin, lived with people, suffered, and died for our salvation, and was resurrected, and resurrected the entire human race with Himself. We believe that He will come to judge us all with righteous judgment and will reward everyone according to his deeds; we believe that He is of one Being with the Father, of equal power and honor with Him... So we confess and do not try to explore these mysteries with a curious mind, and you do not dare to explore how all this can be, for these mysteries are above your mind and far away exceed all human knowledge."

The simple words of the gracious old man turned out to be more convincing than the learned philosophies of the philosopher. Shocked to the depths of his soul, Eulogius could not object to Saint Spyridon. Finally he said: “You are right, old man. I accept your words and admit my mistake. While the competition was conducted through evidence, I reflected them with the art of arguing, but when, instead of evidence, a special force began to emanate from your lips, evidence became powerless against it. I can no longer resist God.” Then the philosopher turned to his friends and students: “If any of you thinks the same way as me, then we will believe in Christ and follow this old man, through whose mouth God Himself speaks.” Subsequently, Eulogius renounced heresy and accepted holy Baptism.

At the same Council, a miracle was revealed that affected not the mind, but primarily the hearts of those wavering in the faith.

Saint Spyridon showed figurative proof of Unity in the Holy Trinity. Having made the sign of the cross, he took the plinth, an ordinary clay brick, in his right hand and squeezed it: “In the name of the Father!”, and at that moment, to the amazement of all those present, fire burst out of the plinth upward. The saint continued: “and the Son!”, water flowed down, “and the Holy Spirit!”, and, opening his palm, showed the dry clay remaining on it, from which the plinth was fashioned. “Here are three elements, but one plinth,” the saint said then. “So in the Most Holy Trinity there are Three Persons, but the Divinity is One.”

With such a wonderful proof, Bishop Spyridon explained to the Arians the Unity of the Three Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity professed by the Orthodox. Everyone understood a simple idea: just as three natures are united in simple matter - fire, water and earth, so in God three Hypostases are united: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The victory of Orthodoxy was undoubted. Most of the Arians present returned to the confession of Orthodoxy.

At the end of the Council in Nicaea, where Saint Spyridon clearly showed the power of God to those gathered, he began to be exalted and revered throughout the Orthodox world. However, modest and humble, he returned to Cyprus to continue his pastoral duties. Sad news awaited the Saint in his hometown - his beloved daughter Irina died. Saint Spyridon was very attached to her; after the death of her mother, Irina diligently looked after Spyridon, helping him in everything. From a young age, she inherited her father's piety and learned the rules of Christian piety that her parents instilled in her. Shortly before the girl’s sudden death, one woman gave her valuable gold jewelry for safekeeping, which Irina safely hid in the house and did not have time to return to the owner. The saint was at the Council in Nicaea at that time and knew nothing about it. When the owner of the jewelry came to him and with tears began to ask him to return the gold, Vladyka, sincerely wanting to help her, carefully searched the whole house, but did not find someone else’s treasure. Bishop Spiridon considered this loss his own misfortune. He and his family went to his daughter’s grave. The saint read a prayer and, bending over the grave, addressed the dead Irina as if she were alive: “My daughter! Where is the jewelry given to you for safekeeping?” At that very moment a voice from the depths of the grave answered: “My lord! I hid them in our house." And she pointed out the place where the treasure was hidden. Then the Saint said to her: “Now sleep, my daughter, until the Lord awakens you during the general resurrection.” Awe and amazement gripped everyone present at such an amazing event. Returning home, Saint Spyridon found hidden jewelry in the indicated place and gave it to its owner.

After the death of Constantine the Great, his empire was divided into two parts, the eastern part of the empire was ruled by his eldest son Constantius. While in the city of Antioch, the emperor fell seriously ill, and the best doctors were unable to heal him. Then Constantius turned to God, the True Physician of souls and bodies, with a prayer for his healing. And then one day in a subtle dream he saw an Angel who showed him a whole host of bishops, and among them two who were capable of defeating his illness. The king gathered bishops from all the surrounding cities, but did not find among them those whom the Angel showed him in a dream. For the second time he gathered bishops from more distant regions, but again the ones he had seen in his dream were not there. Constantius decided to invite bishops from all over the empire. The royal invitation also reached Cyprus. God revealed everything about the emperor’s illness to Bishop Spyridon, and the Bishop and his disciple Triphyllius went to Constantius.

Upon arrival in Antioch, they went to the royal palace. Saint Spyridon was very poorly dressed, in his hand he had a date staff, on his head was the simplest, almost beggarly, miter, on his chest hung an earthen vessel in which, according to the custom of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, he carried oil from the Holy Cross. One of the guards mistook Bishop Spiridon for a beggar and did not allow them to enter; he even hit the Bishop on the cheek. The saint, remembering the words of the Lord and wanting to bring some sense to the offender, turned the other cheek to him. Then the minister realized that the Saint was standing before him, and with contrition he admitted his guilt.

As soon as Saint Spyridon and the disciple who accompanied him entered the royal chambers, Constantius immediately recognized them - it was in this image that the Angel showed his healers to the emperor. Emperor Constantius hurried to meet his saviors and, bowing his head, humbly asked for help. Having prayed to the Lord, Saint Spyridon put his hand on the emperor’s head. The saint had only to touch Constantius, and the terrible pain that had tormented the emperor for a long time instantly passed away. All the dignitaries and servants of the emperor who were in the hall witnessed this miracle.

Spyridon's student, Trifillius, was extremely amazed by the luxury and splendor of the royal palace, the number and attire of the nobles who were there. He was also delighted by the appearance of the emperor, dressed in luxurious robes decorated with gold and precious stones. Spiridon, noticing this, said to Trifillius: “Why are you so surprised, brother? Does royal greatness and glory really make a king more righteous? Doesn't the king die just like the last beggar and be buried? Will he not appear equally with others at the Last Judgment? Why do you prefer what is destroyed to the unchangeable and marvel at nothingness? First of all, one should seek what is immaterial and eternal, and love the incorruptible Heavenly glory.”

Having healed the emperor from a physical illness, the saint began to heal his spiritual ailments. Saint Spyridon taught Constantius a lot, asking him to always remember the blessings of God, to be generous to those who ask, merciful to those who sin, a loving and kind father to all his subjects. The saint commanded the king to strictly observe the rules of piety and not to do anything contrary to the Church of God. The Emperor sincerely loved his benefactor and, at the request of the Saint, freed priests, deacons, and all clergy and church servants from taxes, judging that it was indecent for the servants of the Heavenly King to pay tribute to the earthly king.

Saint Spyridon possessed the gift of non-covetousness and sacrifice, rare at all times. Constantius, in gratitude for his healing, spent a long time persuading the Saint to accept the gift of gold, but Spyridon refused: “It is not good to pay with hatred for love,” he said, “for what I did for you is love. I left home, sailed for a long time by sea, endured severe cold and winds to heal you. Isn't this love? And you give me gold, the cause of all evil.” Only the king’s intense requests convinced him to accept the gift of gold. But, as soon as he left the palace, Saint Spyridon distributed all the money to the needy. Having learned with what ease the holy Elder parted with his entire fortune, Constantius realized that this was another lesson of admonition for him. He ordered to give food and clothing to the poor, widows and orphans, so that “everyone would be completely satisfied with his generosity,” and to release Christians who had fallen into slavery.

On his way home, Saint Spyridon stopped at the house of a stranger; here a pagan woman, who could not speak Greek, came to him with a dead child in her arms. Weeping inconsolably, she laid the body of her son at the feet of the Saint. No one knew her language, but her very tears indicated that she was begging to resurrect the child. Saint Spyridon, avoiding vain glory, at first refused to help, but was overcome by the bitter sobs of his mother. He asked his deacon Artemidorus: “What should we do, brother?” “Why are you asking me, father? - answered the deacon. “If you healed the king, will you really reject this unfortunate woman?” The Holy Elder, kneeling down, turned to the Lord, and his prayer was heard - the Lord brought the baby back to life. The mother, shocked by this miracle, fell dead. Sometimes excessive joy can be harmful to health. Saddened by the death of the woman, the humble Elder again asked the deacon: “What should we do now, brother?” The deacon repeated his previous advice, and the saint again resorted to prayer. Then he said to the deceased: “Rise up and get back on your feet!” And the woman stood up, as if awakening from sleep. Through the prayers of Saint Spyridon, the Lord brought her back to life. The Bishop forbade everyone present to talk about what they had seen, and only after the death of the Saint, not wanting to remain silent about the power and greatness of God, Artemidor told the believers about this miracle.

Church historians wrote that Saint Spyridon was extremely concerned about the strict observance of church rites and the preservation, to the last word, of the books of the Holy Scriptures in all their integrity. The saint strictly rebuked priests who in their sermons inaccurately used the words of the Gospel and other inspired books.

Once a disciple of Saint Triphyllius, “the most eloquent of his age,” who by that time had been appointed bishop of the city of Leukusia and was famous for his learning, delivered a sermon in the church. In his sermon, he mentioned the words of Christ spoken to the paralytic: “Arise, take up your bed.” But Triphyllius said this: “Arise, take up your bed.” Not tolerating the inaccuracy of the Gospel text, Saint Spyridon was indignant and said: “Are you really better than Christ, who said “bed”, that you are ashamed of the word He used?” Following this, he openly left the temple.

Saint Spyridon gave this lesson in humility and meekness to his disciple for the spiritual benefit of Trifillius, so that he would not become proud of the talent of eloquence given to him.

One day, Bishops Spyridon and Trifillius passed through an area called Parimna, which was distinguished by its extraordinary natural beauty and abundance of vineyards. Triphyllius, amazed by this splendor, wanted to purchase some estate here for his church. He thought about this to himself for a long time, but his desire did not hide from the perspicacious spiritual eyes of Saint Spyridon, and he turned to his student: “Why, Triphyllius, do you constantly think about vanity? You want an estate that really has no value. Our treasures are in Heaven, we have a house not made with hands, eternal - strive for them and enjoy them in advance (through the thought of God): they cannot move from one state to another, and whoever one day becomes the owner of them will receive an inheritance that will never again will lose." These words brought great benefit to Trifillius. Thus Saint Spyridon gradually raised his disciple to spiritual perfection.

Later, through the prayers of his mentor, Saint Triphyllius, for his godly life, was honored with countless gifts from God. The great saint of God, Spyridon of Trimifuntsky, being himself virtuous, directed others to virtue.

Saint Spyridon was a model of Christian charity. The story told by Sozomen is typical of the Saint. Saint Spyridon had a custom: from the harvest he distributed one part to the poor, and the other to lend to the needy. He himself did not personally give anything, but simply showed the entrance to the storeroom, where everyone could take as much as they needed and then return it in the same way, without checking or reporting.

The Holy Elder became famous not only as a miracle worker, but also as a man of extraordinary wisdom.

One day a peasant came to Bishop Spyridon and, complaining about the poor harvest, asked for some grain for sowing. The Bishop told the petitioner to go into the barn himself and take the required amount. “Won’t you come with me to see how much I take from you so that you know how much to demand back from me?” - asked the peasant. “I just know that you will take as much as you need, and return as much as you can,” the Saint calmly answered. The petitioner was very surprised by the Saint’s answer, but when he entered the barn, he simply physically could not take more than he really needed - the excess grain spilled out of his hands.

One Trimifuntian merchant used to borrow money from the Saint for trade, and when he returned it, the Bishop usually told him to put the money himself in the box from which he took it, never checking whether the debtor was paying correctly. This went on for quite a long time, and the merchant’s business flourished; it was profitable for him to borrow from Bishop Spiridon - after all, the responsive shepherd, when lending money, never charged interest. But one day the merchant, blinded by greed, did not put the money in the box, but kept it for himself. However, the hidden gold coins did not benefit him; the merchant went completely bankrupt and again came to ask for a loan. The bishop listened to the guest and said: “Go, my child, and take the money where you put it.” The merchant went to the box, but, of course, found nothing in it. “If you returned the money,” said Saint Spyridon, “then it would lie in the place where you put it, and if you kept it for yourself, then why look for it in the box now? After all, no one touched him except you.” The greedy merchant deceived himself more than Saint Spyridon - the holy Elder had nothing more to lend him. The saint began to affectionately admonish the lost one not to desire the good of others, but to earn money by honest labor and help the poor. The merchant was ashamed, repented, fell at the feet of the Lord and was immediately forgiven.

Once a man came to Saint Spyridon, wishing to buy one hundred goats from his herd. The merchant decided to take advantage of the Lord’s gullibility and innocence. He left only the payment for ninety-nine in the house, hoping that the deception would not be noticed. As was his custom, Saint Spyridon did not count the money and went with the buyer to the herd. When they entered the pen, the shrewd shepherd ordered the buyer to take as many goats as he had paid for. Having counted one hundred goats, the new owner drove them out of the fence, but one goat ran back. The buyer forcibly dragged her along, but she broke free and ran into the pen again. The magnanimous Saint did not want to openly expose the dishonest buyer and quietly asked: “My son, it must not be in vain that the animal behaves this way. Maybe you forgot to pay for it? Better go up to the house and check how much money you left there.” The merchant realized that the deception he had committed was known to the Lord. He repented, asked for forgiveness and gave the missing money. But the goat no longer resisted and meekly followed her new owner.

There is also a well-known story by Socrates Scholasticus about how thieves decided to steal the sheep of St. Spyridon. In the dead of night, they climbed into the sheepfold, but God, loving His saint and protecting his meager property, tightly bound the kidnappers with invisible bonds, so that they could not leave the fence and remained there against their will all night. When morning came, the Saint came to the sheep and, seeing the thieves bound by the power of God, turned to the Lord in prayer, asking to free them; and a new miracle happened - invisible fetters fell from the captives. “There is no need, my children, to covet other people’s goods,” St. Spyridon admonished the attackers. - You see how the Lord punished you for your dishonorable act. Try to earn your living by honest labor in the future.” The kindly Lord forgave the thieves and, letting them go in peace, with an amazing sense of humor, suggested: “Take one lamb from my flock, so that no one will say that you stayed awake at night in vain and came to no avail to the person from whom it is better to ask and receive for free, than to steal."

The wise Spyridon always knew how to reason with a sinner, so he did not indulge the rich merchant’s vice of profit and did not give him an extra goat for free, but he healed the vice of the poor who tried to steal his sheep with love and mercy. He not only forgave them, but also generously rewarded them. With his deeds and miracles, the Saint sought to awaken everyone’s conscience, instill in the heart love for one’s neighbor, and strengthen faith in the Lord. Those who followed the instructions of Saint Spyridon benefited them, and those who rejected them faced a bad end.

Saint Spyridon had not only the grace of working miracles, but also the gift of prophecy, he saw the sins of people and tried to bring the sinner to repentance.

One day the Saint came to visit his friend Probatius. This pious man, imitating the Great Teacher Christ, poured water into a basin and prepared to wash the feet of Saint Spyridon. Local residents, having learned that he was staying with Probatius, hurried to their beloved Bishop for a blessing. Each of those who came sought to wash his feet, and especially one unmarried woman who was secretly in illegal cohabitation. Spyridon, knowing this (the wise Elder was given from above to see the secret sins of people), forbade the harlot to touch himself. And he did this not because he abhorred the sinner and rejected her - the disciple of the Lord knew that the Teacher Himself did not disdain tax collectors, sinners and harlots. Saint Spyridon wanted to make the woman remember her sins and be ashamed of her unclean deeds. And since the woman persistently tried to touch his feet and wash them, the Saint, with meekness and love, rebuked her and encouraged her to be ashamed and repent. The woman was horrified that her most secret deeds and thoughts were not hidden from Saint Spyridon. She was overcome by shame, with a contrite heart she fell at the feet of the Saint and washed them not with water, but with tears. She spent the rest of her life in chastity and purity, and her life served as an instructive example for many.

Foreseeing the secret sins of people, the Saint called them to repentance and correction. Those who did not heed the voice of conscience and the words of the Saint suffered God's punishment. The memoirs contain countless examples of the accuracy of his predictions, as a result of which he even refrained from pronouncing them, so that he would not be considered the cause of the disasters he sagaciously foresaw.

One merchant, a resident of Trimifunt, went on a long trip on his trading business. He was away for more than a year, and when he returned, he discovered that his wife had cheated on him and was expecting a child. With tears in his eyes, the deceived husband came to the Saint and told him about his shame. Saint Spyridon called the woman who had sinned to him and sternly asked: “Why did you desecrate your husband’s bed and dishonor his house?” But the woman, having lost all shame, dared to lie to the Saint that she conceived from her husband, and the child was waiting for her father to be born with him. Defending this lie, the woman began to shout that she had been slandered and offended. Having a loving heart, the Saint was at the same time strict when he saw unrepentance and persistence in sin. He said to the woman: “You have fallen into great sin, and your repentance must be great. I see that your adultery has led you to despair, and despair has led you to shamelessness. It would be fair to give you a quick punishment, but we need to give you time to repent. Sin has no such power that can surpass God's love for mankind. The Lord is ready to support all those who fall, but for this you must repent. Remember, the child will not be born until you tell the truth.” But the reckless harlot continued to boldly insist on her innocence.

The Saint's words soon came true. When the time came to give birth, an unknown force held the fetus in the womb. The woman, despite the fact that she was experiencing terrible torment, did not want to admit her sin. Without repentance, in sin and shame, she died without giving birth, a painful death. Having learned about this, the compassionate Bishop shed tears, regretting that he had judged the sinner with such a court, and said: “I will no longer pronounce judgment on people if what I said comes true so quickly...”

Since then, the townspeople began to treat the words of the Lord with even greater trepidation.

One day on a very hot day, Saint Spyridon arrived in the village of Erythra. He entered the temple and ordered one of the deacons to say a short prayer. Since Vladyka was tired from the long journey and the heat, he asked the deacon not to delay the service. However, the ambitious deacon began to deliberately slowly utter exclamations and sing. He was clearly boasting about his voice. The God-wise Spyridon saw the deacon’s destructive passion - vanity and, wanting to humble the proud man, the Bishop - usually kind and meek - angrily exclaimed: “Shut up, creator of disobedience!” And the deacon immediately became speechless. The people present in the temple were amazed by the power of the Saint’s words. While Bishop Spiridon himself finished reading the prayer, the news of what had happened quickly spread throughout the village and the deacon’s friends and relatives hurried to the church. They began to beg the Wonderworker to spare the offender from punishment, and the deacon himself, falling to his knees and shedding tears, begged the Saint for forgiveness with signs. The Saint did not immediately fulfill the request; he was harsh with the vain. After fatherly instruction and prayerful intercession before the Lord, the Vladyka forgave the deacon and mitigated the severe punishment - he restored his ability to speak. However, Saint Spyridon did not consider it useful to heal the mute completely, since the euphonious voice could become the cause of a new temptation. Throughout his life, the deacon retained traces of punishment: he spoke in a hoarse voice and stuttered a little, but his tongue-tiedness did not weaken, but strengthened his faith. He never boasted before people again.

Saint Spyridon had the gift of seeing what was happening at a distant distance and reading the thoughts of his interlocutors. In the city of Constantiana (Salamin) there lived a well-behaved and pious woman named Sophronia. Her husband, Olympus Paleur, was an idolater and very zealously professed polytheism, but at the same time did not forbid his wife to profess Orthodoxy. Moreover, Olympus loved to meet and talk with Saint Spyridon. Sophronia more than once unsuccessfully persuaded her husband to renounce pagan errors, to know the One True God and to believe in Him.

One day Sophronia invited Bishop Spyridon, who was in Constantian at that time, to a dinner party. The pious housewife turned to the Saint with a request to convert her husband to the true faith. She knew how many miracles the Saint performed to save the “lost sheep.” At the end of dinner, the Vladyka turned to one of the servants and said loudly: “There is a boy at the gate who was sent by my careless worker. I entrusted him with my sheep, but he fell fast asleep and, while no one was looking after the herd, the flock left the pasture and got lost in the mountains. When the worker woke up and discovered the loss, he sent a boy to me with the news of the trouble that had happened. Go, thank the boy, give me the reward for his work and tell him that the worker who sent him has already found all the sheep safe in one of the caves.” The servant went downstairs, where the young messenger excitedly told him about the missing sheep. The boy was calmed down and sent on his way back, but before the guests had time to get up from the table, another messenger arrived with the message that all the sheep had been found. Everything happened according to the word of Saint Spyridon. Olympus and everyone present were incredibly surprised that the Lord knew about what had happened as if it was happening before his eyes. The pagan decided that Saint Spyridon was one of the gods, and wanted to bring sacrificial animals, prepare crowns and make a sacrifice. But the Saint told him: “I am not God, but only a servant of God. I am a person similar to you in everything. And what I know about what is happening behind my eyes is given to me by my God, and if you believe in Him, then you will know the greatness of His omnipotence and strength.”

Soon, through the prayers of Saint Spyridon, by the power of the grace of Christ, the pagan was converted to the true faith and enlightened by the saints of Baptism.

A Council of Bishops was convened in Alexandria to destroy idols and temples, of which there were a great many everywhere, through common prayer. Through the prayers of the fathers who arrived at the Council, all the idols fell, except one, the most revered. It was revealed to the Patriarch of Alexandria in a vision that this idol remained in order to be crushed by Bishop Spyridon of Trimythous. The Patriarch immediately sent a letter to Saint Spyridon, in which he spoke about his vision and asked the Saint to come. The saint immediately set off and arrived at the port of Alexandria, called the New City. At the very moment the Saint set foot on earth, the idol in Alexandria with all the altars was thrown into dust, which announced to the Patriarch and all the bishops the approach of Saint Spyridon.

Seeing this miracle, the bishops and all the people hastened to meet the Saint, and not only the Orthodox were strengthened in the faith, but many Greeks were also baptized.

Saint Spyridon was both a Christian sage, and a minister of the Church, and a healer of people. The entire life of the Saint amazes with the amazing simplicity and power of miracles given to him by the Lord; always and in everything he was an example of true piety for his compatriots. But no matter how righteous a person is, according to God’s immutable decree, the end of his earthly life is inevitable. The saint reached the age of 80, and the Lord revealed to him with a wondrous sign that the day of his death was approaching: during the summer harvest, Saint Spyridon and his friends were gathering the harvest and, although the weather was clear, several drops like dew suddenly fell and watered the Saint’s head. The Lord’s hair immediately changed color: some of it turned out to be black, another became white, and the third became yellow. Bishop Spiridon's friends, who helped him on the field, were amazed at such a strange phenomenon and a miraculous change in his appearance. The saint touched his head with his hand and said that the time for the separation of his soul from his body was approaching - thanks to insight from above, he learned about the hour when the Heavenly Father would call him to the Eternal Abodes. After several days, Saint Spyridon, during prayer, gave up his holy and righteous soul to the Lord. The last words of the Saint were about love for God and neighbors. The exact year of his death is not known. It is generally accepted that the Saint rested in the Lord in 348.

Saint Spyridon was buried in Trimifunt. The relics of the Saint were placed in a marble sarcophagus in the Church of the Holy Apostles. And after many years the body of the Saint remained incorrupt and fragrant. In the 7th century, probably in 691, due to the invasion of Cyprus by Arab troops, the relics of the Saint were transferred to Constantinople; initially they were kept in the monastery of the Mother of God Delighted, next to the monastery of Christ the Lover of Mankind, then in the temple of the Mother of God Hodegetria. In the last years before the capture of Constantinople, the holy relics rested in the cathedral church of the Holy Apostles, where the relics of Saints John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian and other saints also rested. Russian pilgrims of the 14th and 15th centuries, Stefan Novgorodets (1350), Deacon Ignatius (1389), Deacon Alexander (1391-1395) and Hierodeacon Zosima of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, who visited Constantinople, Athos and Palestine in 1419-1422, saw and kissed relics of Saint Spyridon.

In 1453, after the fall of the Byzantine capital, the Greek priest George Kaloheret (Kalokheretis) saved the sacred relics from the Turks. He hid the remains of Saint Spyridon and the righteous Queen Theodora in bags and secretly transported them first to Serbia, and then in 1456 to the island of Corfu (Greek name - Kerkyra). According to other sources, the relics were saved by the priest Gregory Polyevktos, who brought them to the Greek city of Parimisya in the Epirus region, and later transferred the sacred remains to his compatriot priest George Kaloheretis already in Kerkyra in 1460.

George Kaloheretis bequeathed the relics of St. Spyridon to his sons Luke and Philip. Then the holy relics were inherited by Philip's daughter, Asimia, who married Stamatius (Stamatellos) Voulgaris.

The descendants of the Voulgaris family preserved the holy relics until 1925, when the shrine was transferred to the church authorities of Kerkyra. Initially, the relics of the Saint were kept in the church of St. Athanasius, then they were repeatedly transferred from church to church. On December 4, 1577, the Venetian authorities allocated a plot of land in the center of Kerkyra (the main city of the island of the same name) to the Voulgaris family specifically for the construction of a temple in honor of St. Spyridon. Construction lasted twenty years, but already in 1590, after the consecration of the new temple, the relics of the Saint were transferred here from the Church of St. Nicholas in Garitsa.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian “pedestrian” pilgrim Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky left memories of his stay in Cyprus and his visit to Trimifunt (Trimitus), he also described in detail his impressions of Christian traditions in Corfu and the veneration of the relics of St. Spyridon.

The relics were complete, except for the right hand (right hand), which, unknown when and for what reasons, was separated from the body27. As for the honest right hand, according to the testimony of Christodoulus Voulgaris (the great archpriest of Corfu, who lived in the 17th century), in the period from 1592 to 1605, it was delivered from Constantinople to Rome to Pope Clement VIII, who handed over the shrine to Cardinal Cesare Baronio. The cardinal, a renowned church historian, placed the holy right hand in the Church of Our Lady of Santa Maria in Vallicella in Rome. This is evidenced by a corresponding entry in the church archive. Greek historian L.S. Vrokinis, referring to Christodoulus Vulgaris, wrote that the right hand was in the temple of the Mother of God in a cone-shaped gilded repository of non-Byzantine work, about half a meter high.

In November 1984, after lengthy negotiations and many efforts, the long journey of the Holy Right Hand came to an end. On the eve of the feast of St. Spyridon, the Roman Church handed over this shrine to the Church of Corfu. Metropolitan Timothy (Trivisas) of Kerkyra, Paxia and the Diapontine Islands personally traveled to Rome and brought the right hand to the island, adding to the priceless treasure.

Much evidence from church historians has been preserved about the life of the miracle-working saint Spyridon. The first life of the Saint was written in iambic verse by his spiritual son Saint Triphyllius, Bishop of Leukusia of Cyprus; it was lost; a later version has reached us, in which Triphyllius’ text is included in parts. The life compiled by Saint Triphyllius is mentioned by Bishop Theodore of Paphos, who also compiled the life of Saint Spyridon. About the life of Saint Spyridon, evidence from church historians of the 4th-5th centuries has been preserved: Nikephoros Callistus, Socrates Scholasticus, Sozomen and Rufinus, processed in the 10th century by the outstanding Byzantine hagiographer Blessed Simeon Metaphrastus. The canon to Saint Spyridon was written in the first half of the 9th century by the Monk Theophan the Confessor, Bishop of Nicaea. In the Slavic service Menaions the name of St. Spyridon of Trimifunt has been found since the 11th century. The translation of the service to the Saint, compiled by Theophan of Palestine in the first half of the 9th century, dates back to this time.

In Russia, the life of St. Spyridon was well known from the “Great Chetiya-Minaia” by Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow (16th century). Metropolitan Macarius took the works of Theodore of Papa as the basis for the life of the Saint. At the end of the 17th century, Saint Demetrius of Rostov, using the works of Nicephorus Callistus, Socrates, Sozomen, reworked the life of Spyridon of Trimifuntsky "The Great Four Mena".

The veneration of Saint Spyridon of Trimythous in Rus' is the same as that of Nicholas of Myra, whose help is resorted to in various everyday needs. Through the prayers of Father Spyridon, people were saved from starvation and heresies were crushed. At the First Ecumenical Council, the saint showed the unity of the Most Holy Trinity. The life of Spiridon of Trimifuntsky tells about the incidents of his wonderful help during earthly life and after dormition.

Life of Saint Spyridon of Trimythous

Infancy and adolescence

Spyridon of Trimifuntsky was born on the island of Cyprus around 270 into a family of simple peasants. From an early age he did not waste time on idle amusements. His life is distinguished by unceasing service to God through prayer, work, love and help to others. Spiridon worked as a shepherd, harvesting bread.

The saint did not have wealth, but he always helped those in need, gave them shelter and food, and helped the poor with money. In the “Cheti-Menaia” of St. Dmitry of Rostov, the saint is compared with the Old Testament saints David, Jacob and Abraham. The life story is characterized by special meekness, kindness of heart and love for strangers. The pious Spyridon, by the grace of God, received the gift of clairvoyance and miracle-working.

The saint always helped the needy and the poor

Serving as a Bishop

Spiridon of Trimifuntsky had a wife and daughter. But the family's life suddenly changed. Soon his wife went to the Lord, then his daughter Irina, whom her father himself baptized. The saint, who trusted in the Lord, did not despair because of his loss and continued his service to God.

At a time when the throne of the empire was occupied by Emperor Constantine the Great, Spyridon of Trimifuntsky was elected bishop. The rank he received did not change the priest. He combined pastoral service, becoming a shepherd of “verbal sheep,” with works of mercy and ordinary labor for food. Knowing the secret sins of people, the saint called on them to repent and correct themselves. The Lord punished those who neglected his words and their conscience.

In 325, the emperor ordered the First Ecumenical Council to be convened so that the fathers would determine the fundamental truths of Christianity and condemn the Arian heresy. While at the Council, the saint, who had no special education, with his own words silenced the scientists who defended Arianism, showing that human wisdom is nothing before the Wisdom of God. Then the saint showed confirmation of the unity and inseparability of the Holy Trinity. Taking a brick in his hand, he squeezed it. A flame of fire burst out from above, and water flowed from below. Only clay remained in the palm. At the same time, the father noted that just as with three elements there is one brick, so in the Holy Trinity there are Three Persons, but the Divinity is One.

People were saved from starvation by the prayers of Father Spyridon

The saint showed great concern for the flock entrusted to him by the Lord. Through his prayers, people were saved from drought, and instead of torrential destructive rains, warm, dry weather came. The sick received healing, demons trembled and were expelled from people. The biography of the saint contains numerous evidence of his miraculous help, a full description of which was outlined by Saint Dmitry of Rostov.

The end of the earthly journey

The Lord revealed to the saint the date and time of his death. The saint prepared for the transition to eternity by beginning the sacraments. Even before his departure to the Lord, the saint did not cease to instruct people in love for Christ and their neighbors. The earthly journey of Spyridon of Trimifuntsky ended around 348. He was buried in the temple in Trimifunt.

The relics of the saint are kept on the island of Corfu, the miracle of which scientists cannot explain. They remain soft and maintain the temperature of a healthy person - 36.6 ° C. Clothes and shoes on the relics gradually wear out, which is why they are periodically changed. The whole point is that the saint continues to walk the earth and help people. Sometimes the shrine containing the relics cannot be opened. This means that at this time the priest went to help the people calling on him.

Video “Life of Spiridon of Trimifuntsky”

This video presents a brief biography of the saint.

Bishop's lifetime miracles

Saint Spyridon, the Trimifuntsky Wonderworker, performed many miracles during his earthly life, a brief description of which is difficult to compile. History has preserved numerous evidence of healings and salvation from hunger. Here are just a few of them:

1. Irina, the saint’s pious daughter, was kind and meek. One lady asked Irina to keep her jewelry. When the girl suddenly died, the owner of the treasure was worried because no one knew where Irina hid her valuables. Then Saint Spyridon called to his deceased daughter, and her answer was heard from the grave. She told us exactly where the data for storing the valuables was, and it was found there.
2. One day there was a drought on the island of Cyprus. Plants and animals died from lack of rain, people died of hunger. Through the prayers of Father Spyridon, the Lord granted peaceful rain, and the earth gave a rich harvest.
3. When Father Spyridon's friend was slandered out of envy, he was sentenced to death. The saint hurried to his aid. But the stream, which overflowed in a large stream, blocked Father’s path. Following the example of Joshua, the saint prayed, after which the stream stopped and opened a dry path for the priest and those walking with him. Having learned about this, the judge released the convict.
4. Saint Spyridon saved Emperor Constantius from a fatal disease.
5. Through the prayers of the saint, the Lord brought the dead baby back to life.

Spyridon of Trimifuntsky is revered as a wonderworker

What does a saint help with and how to ask for help

Memorial Day of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky December 12 (December 25 BC). There is an opinion that people pray to the saint for material well-being and money. Orthodox people know that they do not ask God and His saints for money. The Lord helps those in need, people receive help in solving material problems, but the love of money is a sin.

People resort to the help of the saint in various everyday needs: in case of problems at work or housing difficulties.

In financial need, people gain the opportunity to change the current situation. Father Spyridon helps everyone with any problems and illnesses.

How to pray - a person decides according to the call of his soul. You can read an akathist to the saint, prayers, sing a troparion, and at the same time talk about the current situation in your own words. The main thing is that a person asks with unfeigned faith, without pride, and what is asked is intended for a good and not an evil deed.

People resort to the help of the saint in various everyday needs

Miracles through prayers

Saint Spyridon of Trimifuntsky saves from hunger, material need, helps solve housing problems, and heals from illnesses. The miracles performed by Saint Spyridon through the prayers of believers are even greater than the miracles performed by him during his lifetime.

1. At the end of 1948, a woman arrived in Kerkyra with her 11-year-old son, who could not speak from birth. She dreamed that Father Spiridon would heal her child. When the shrine containing the holy relics was carried over the youth, he, by the grace of God, began to speak.
2. In 1861, in a Greek family, an 8-year-old boy was stricken with typhoid fever. A telegram was sent to relatives in Kerkyra so that they would go to the saint’s temple and ask for the opening of the shrine with the relics. At the moment the cancer was opened, the child’s body began to convulse and he began to grow stronger and recover.
3. In 2002 B. Elena, after many unsuccessful attempts to exchange an apartment and performing a prayer service for water, St. Spyridon managed to resolve the housing issue.

The miracle worker turns a snake into gold. The saint stops the pouring rain. Saint Spyridon resurrects his daughter.

Prayer to Saint Spyridon of Trimifuntsky

Oh, blessed Saint Spyridon, great servant of Christ and glorious miracle worker! Standing in heaven before the Throne of God with the faces of angels, look with your merciful eye at the people (name) who are standing here and asking for your mighty help. Beg the mercy of God, the Lover of Mankind, not to judge us for our iniquities, but to deal with us according to His mercy! Ask us from Christ and our God for a peaceful and serene life, mental and physical health, earthly prosperity and all abundance and prosperity in everything, and may we not turn the good things given to us from the generous God into evil, but into His glory and the glorification of your intercession ! Deliver everyone who comes to God with undoubted faith from all mental and physical troubles, from all yearnings and the devil’s slander! Be a comforter to the sad, a physician to the sick, a helper in times of adversity, a protector to the naked, a protector to widows, a protector to the orphans, a nourisher to the infant, a strengthener to the old, a guide to the wandering, a helmsman to the sailors, and intercede to all who require your strong help, whatever is useful for salvation! For if we are instructed and observed by your prayers, we will achieve eternal peace and together with you we will glorify God, glorified in the Trinity of Saints, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Saint Spyridon of Trimifunt served God with all his holy, righteous life. He left us an example of true trust in the Creator, defense of Holy Orthodoxy, love for neighbors.

Despite the fact that in Orthodoxy material wealth is not considered the true goal of a person and it is not customary to ask and pray for it, among those whom the Church considers saints, there is one who is often approached with requests for material help and stability.
Spyridon of Trimifuntsky is often asked to help with matters at work, with money, with solving housing difficulties and other worldly matters.
But after getting acquainted with his life, one comes to the understanding that Saint Spyridon is asked in many other cases, because in Christianity he is revered on an equal basis with his contemporary -

It must be remembered that icons or saints do not “specialize” in any specific areas. It will be right when a person turns with faith in the power of God, and not in the power of this icon, this saint or prayer.
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THE LIFE AND MIRACLES OF SAINT SPYRIDON OF TRIMIFUNTS

Saint Spyridon was born around 270 AD. e. in Cyprus in a village near Trimifunt (Trimitus), so he was called the Trimifunt Wonderworker.
Since childhood, Spiridon was a shepherd; he led a righteous and God-pleasing life. He was like the Old Testament righteous: like the prophet David - with his meekness, Jacob - with his kindness, Abraham - with his love for strangers. Therefore, on the icons Bishop Spyridon of Trimifuntsky is depicted not wearing the bishop’s miter; on his head he has the usual shepherd’s hat.

The saint did not have any wealth, but still tried to give shelter and food to those in need. His unusual kindness and warmth attracted a variety of people to him.
After the death of Bishop Trimifunt, Spyridon was unanimously elected as the first priest of the city. But even being in such a high rank, the saint always showed an example of humility - he, like an ordinary person, worked to earn his own food.
For his many virtues, the Lord endowed Spiridon with the gift of insight and healing people. Saint Spyridon treated patients who were hopeless for conventional medicine, but first of all, he tried to save people from mental illnesses, and also cast out demons.
By God's grace, the Saint was able to control the forces of nature - once, through his prayer, during an unusual dry spell that happened in Cyprus and claimed many lives from hunger, the sky became cloudy and life-giving rain began to fall.
Several years passed, a shortage of bread hit the country again, merchants raised grain prices, making huge profits. One poor man turned to a rich merchant, begging him to give him grain at interest, but this rich man was especially greedy and did not want to help. The peasant decided to tell his misfortune to Spiridon, who consoled him:

“Don’t cry, soon your house will be full of bread, and tomorrow this rich man will beg you to take his bread for free.”

And then at night, by God’s will, a downpour occurred, destroying the barn of the greedy merchant, and a lot of grain was carried away by the streams of water.
The next day, the desperate rich man ran around and asked everyone to take as much bread as they needed, he already wanted to at least save what was left. Many people collected grain carried away by streams of water along the roads, and this peasant also collected wheat for his family.

Soon, another poor man again asked for help from this merchant, promising to return the grain with interest after he received the harvest, but the rich man demanded a huge, exorbitant deposit from him. This man also turned to Bishop Spyridon, begging for help. On the morning of the next day, the saint himself brought gold to the poor man and told him that he needed to give this gold to the merchant, take wheat from him, sow the grain, and after the harvest he had to redeem this deposit and bring it for Spiridon.
That’s exactly what happened - the poor man took the gold, received grain, sowed it, reaped a rich harvest, bought back the bullion and brought it to the saint. Taking this gold, Reverend Spiridon and the peasant went to the rich man. Approaching his garden, the saint lowered the gold onto the ground near the fence and said a prayer from his lips:

“My Lord, Jesus Christ! By His will he creates and transforms everything! Commanded this gold, which You had previously transformed from an animal, to again take on its original form.”

During the prayer, the gold began to move and then transformed into a writhing snake.
For the sake of the needs of his neighbor, Saint Spyridon first turned the viper into gold, and then turned it back into a snake. Both the merchant and the peasant saw this miracle, they immediately fell to their knees, glorifying the Lord God, whose power was shown by Spyridon of Trimythous.

Once a friend of Bishop Spyridon was slandered. He, innocent, was put in prison, where he awaited a death sentence. When the saint was notified of this, he immediately rushed to help. But on the path of Saint Spyridon there was a wide river, which overflowed greatly, and in addition, heavy rains destroyed the crossing over it.
Like Joshua crossing the flooded Jordan, Saint Spyridon ordered the waters to part.
The flow of the river, as if by order, stopped, and a passage was formed, which remained dry, along which Spiridon and his companions, “ by land", crossed to the opposite bank. Then the waters closed again and the river flowed again as usual. Witnesses to this told the judge about what miracle happened with the help of the saint. The judge received Spiridon with honors, listened and freed his innocent friend.

One day Spyridon of Trimifuntsky came to the temple to serve Vespers. Then there was no one in the church except the clergy, Vladyka stood in front of the altar, and a large number of candles were lit. During the service, Bishop Spyridon exclaimed:

"Peace to all!".

There was no one to answer, but suddenly a voice was heard from above:

“And to your spirit!”

After each petition, the litany was heard from above, as if a large multitude of voices were singing:

"Lord have mercy!".

Witnesses of this were people who entered the temple to look at the singers, but saw in it only Saint Spyridon and some church servants.
It is believed that the Heavenly Angels themselves served with Saint Spyridon in this service.

In 325, on the initiative of Emperor Constantine the Great, the First Ecumenical Council was convened, which took place in Nicaea. At the Council, three hundred and eighteen holy fathers met together for the first time, among whom were Bishops Spyridon of Trimythous and His Holiness Nicholas of Myra (Nicholas the Wonderworker). At this Council, important church matters were discussed; in particular, it was necessary to determine one’s attitude towards the then gaining Arian teaching, in defense of which very intelligent speakers and philosophers spoke out.
After the speech of Spiridon, who in simple words explained his thoughts about Christ, even the most experienced Arian philosopher Eulogius admitted that from the lips of the saint he felt a special power, against which any evidence was powerless. Later Eulogius renounced this heresy and accepted Baptism.

Speaking at the Council, Bishop Spyridon personally demonstrated the Unity in the Holy Trinity, which Arius opposed. Coming out in front of everyone and crossing himself, he said

"In the name of the Father"

he squeezed the brick (plinth) that was in his hand and at that moment fire burst out of the stone. The saint continued:

"and the Son!"

— water flowed from my hand. After the words

"and the Holy Spirit!"

Spiridon opened his hand and everyone saw dry clay on it - the remains of a brick.

“Here are three elements, and there is only one plinth. So in the Most Holy Trinity there are Three Persons, but the Divinity is One.”

- this is how Saint Spyridon explained to the Arians the Unity of the Three Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity.
IN simple brick Three substances are united together - fire, water and earth. There is also one God, whose three Persons we know: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Seeing such arguments from the saint, some Arians again returned to the profession of Orthodoxy.

After the Council in Nicaea, the glory of Spyridon of Trimifuntsky spread throughout the entire Orthodox world. They began to especially respect and honor him, but the humble shepherd returned to his home in Cyprus to continue to modestly fulfill his duties.

When Constantine the Great died, his son Constantius, who was very seriously ill, became emperor. The best doctors were invited, but no one was able to heal him.
And then one day, in a dream, the emperor saw two priests who were able to defeat the disease. After a long search, Constantius finally saw those whom the Angel pointed out to him in a dream - these were Saints Spyridon and his disciple Triphyllius.
As soon as they entered the emperor’s chambers, he recognized them, stood up and went to meet them, which was then the highest manifestation of honor. After Constantius humbly bowed and asked for the help of Saint Spyridon, he prayed to the Lord and laid his hand on the king’s head. Just a simple touch healed the emperor; the pain that had tormented him for many years passed instantly and without a trace. Numerous courtiers who were present witnessed this event.
After the emperor was freed from illness, Saint Spyridon began to heal his spiritual ailments. He often talked with him for a long time, explained to Constantius the essence of faith, about the need to fight temptations and not do things that contradict God’s commandments. He said that every Christian should have humility and mercy, and even more so a king who rules entire nations. As a result of this communication, Constantius became very attached to the saint and, at his request, exempted all ministers of the Church from taxes. The king also wanted to generously gift his savior, but Spiridon did not want to accept the gifts, saying:

“It is not good to pay hate for love, for what I did for you is love. I left home, sailed for a long time by sea, endured severe cold and winds to heal you. Isn't this love? And you give me gold, the cause of all evil.”

Still, the emperor persuaded the saint to take the money, which Saint Spyridon immediately, as soon as he left the palace, gave to the poor. Constantius learned of this act and realized that he had been given another lesson in the mercy and generosity of a poor man who had so easily given up a large fortune.

Returning home, Saint Spyridon met a woman whose child had recently died. She was a pagan and did not know Greek at all, but it was clear that she was very sad and would really like her baby to be alive. Spyridon, seeing her suffering, asked his deacon Artemidor:
— What should we do, brother?
— Why are you asking me, father?- the deacon said in response to him. — If you healed the king, will you really reject this unfortunate woman?
Saint Spyridon, on his knees, began to pray to the Lord, and He heard him - the child came to life. Seeing this miracle, his mother fell dead, her heart could not stand it.
Again the holy Monk Spyridon asked the same question to Artemidorus and again received the same answer. Again the elder turned to God with prayers, then he said to the deceased:

“Rise up and get back on your feet!”

As if awakening from a dream, without understanding anything, the woman opened her eyes and stood up. Everyone who saw this miracle was instructed, due to the modesty of the saint, to remain silent about it. Artemidorus told this story to people only after the death of the saint.

One day, Spyridon of Trimifuntsky and his student Triphyllius found themselves in Parimna, in one very beautiful place. Trifillius was delighted with nature and decided to purchase an estate for the church. The student’s thoughts were revealed to Saint Spyridon, and he said:

“Why, Triphyllius, do you constantly think about vanity? You want an estate that really has no value. Our treasures are in Heaven, we have a house not made by hands, eternal - strive for them and enjoy them in advance (through the thought of God): they cannot move from one state to another, and whoever one day becomes the owner of them will receive an inheritance that will never again will lose."

Thus, the saint's instructions gradually increased spiritual level his student. The teaching was beneficial. The disciple of Spyridon of Trimythus, Saint Triphyllius, received many gifts from the Lord in his righteous life.

The world reveres Saint Spyridon as a wise man with a prophetic gift; he saw the sinful deeds of people and tried to help them repent of them. And whoever lied to the saint was punished by the Lord himself.

One man spent a whole year on a long business trip, and when he returned, he found out that his wife had cheated on him and was even expecting a child. He told Spyridon about this, who summoned the harlot to his place and began to convict her. The woman replied that she had been lied to and that in fact the child was her husband’s. Of course, this lie was revealed to Spiridon, and he told her:

“You have fallen into great sin, and your repentance must also be great. I see that your adultery has led you to despair, and despair has led you to shamelessness. It would be fair to give you a quick punishment, but we need to give you time to repent. Sin has no such power that can surpass God's love for mankind. The Lord is ready to support all those who fall, but for this you must repent. Remember, the child will not be born until you tell the truth.”

When the time came for the baby to appear, some force prevented the birth. This woman was in pain, but still did not admit her sin, so she died in sin, without repentance. The Bishop, having learned about such a death, felt very sorry for this sinner, he said:

“I will no longer pronounce judgment on people if what I say comes true so quickly...”

For everyone who heard about Spyridon of Trimythous and knew the saint, he was a pure example of piety, simplicity and modesty. His earthly life ended at the age of about 80 during prayer. The exact date of the saint's repose is unknown, but it is believed that it happened in 348.

His relics rest on the island of Corfu in the church named after him, and his right hand is in the Church of Our Lady of Santa Maria in Rome.

For so many centuries, the saint’s body did not succumb to decay, and the temperature was always 36.6 degrees.
There is a shrine in Moscow - the shoe of Spyridon of Trimifuntsky, which was brought from the island of Corfu. It is noticed that this shoe is wearing out, as if the miracle worker still walks and helps people, performs holy miracles. There is no scientific explanation for this fact.

Spiridon's slipper is located in the Intercession Church of the Danilov Monastery.

THE GREATNESS OF REVEREND SPYRIDON

We magnify you, Holy Hierarch Father Spyridon, and honor your holy memory, for you pray for us to Christ our God.

VIDEO