Saint Spyridon of Trimythous

When he was of marriageable age, he took a wife by whom he had two children, namely: a daughter named Irene, and a so Irène Daughter of Saint Spyridon. n whose name is unknown. His house was open to the poor and to pilgrims; he received them cordially, gave them food, served them at the table, washed their feet, and rendered them the most humble services with more affection than servants render to those from whom they expect a reward. An admirable example of his gentleness is reported: thieves having come at night to his sheepfold to steal some animal, found themselves miraculously bound and as if nailed down, having their hands tied behind their backs and their feet so immobile that they could not change their position. Finding them in this state in the morning, Spiridion understood well what the cause was. He reproved them for their ill will and threatened them with the judgments of God if they continued their brigandage; but he set them free and even gave them a sheep, telling them with a smile that it was for the trouble they had taken to watch all night around his sheepfold.

Tremithus, Trémithonte Episcopal see of Saint Spyridon. today Nicosia, or Leucosia, one of the principal cities of the island of Cyprus, having lost its bishop, cast its eyes upon our Saint, whose merit was becoming known everywhere, to raise him to this episcopal see. He only escaped his dear solitude, where he tasted the sweetness of a private life, with great difficulty to expose himself to the dangers of the prelacy; but he could not resist the orders of divine Providence, and he was obliged to submit to the election of the people, because God willed it and commanded it of him. Although he did not bring to this office a mind cultivated by profane sciences, he nonetheless fulfilled all its functions perfectly; for God, who never fails to give those He raises to dignities the talents necessary to discharge them well, filled him with the science of the Saints. No one could resist the spirit that spoke in him, because he ordered nothing of which he did not provide living examples in his actions. His life was an effective sermon, which led the most debauched to the love of mortification; and the power he seemed to have over nature by the grace of miracles gave him a marvelous one over the hearts of men. All the afflicted had in him a prompt and sure refuge. Having learned that a very virtuous man and friend of his had been unjustly condemned to death, he left immediately to save his life; but, having found on his path a river that he had to cross and which was overflowing, he commanded it to split and leave him free passage. At his word, the waves separated, and this wonder made so much noise in the city before he arrived there that the judge, being terrified by it, set free the one he had resolved to destroy unjustly. Those who accompanied him passed with him in the midst of the waves, which, to obey the man of God, remained suspended like strong walls at their sides. Another time he opened the fountains of heaven to make an abundant rain fall, which the earth needed after a long drought; thus we can say that he was the Joshua and the Elijah of his time, since in effect he commanded with surprising authority the waters that are above the heavens and those that are upon the earth. But, if he was an Elijah, he found his Ahab in the person of Maximin, who, after having had his right eye put out and his left hamstring cut, condemned him to work in the mines with many other servants of Jesus C hrist, Maximin Persecuting emperor. upon whom he had exercised the same cruelty.

The persecution having ceased, and the Church enjoying complete peace under the reign of Constantine the Constantin le Grand Roman emperor whose conversion ended Christian persecutions. Great, Pop e Saint Sylvest saint Sylvestre 33rd pope of the Catholic Church, known for having baptized Constantine. er assembled the General Council of N Concile général de Nicée Ecumenical council of 325 in which Leontius participated. icaea against the erro rs of Arius Heretic whose doctrine denied the divinity of Christ. Arius. Our Saint was present and was among the three hundred and eighteen bishops who composed it, and to whom this pious emperor provided the necessary funds to make the journey. Many people of quality, not only the faithful but also idolaters, and even some philosophers, came out of curiosity to see such a famous assembly. The philosophers discussed their religion there, and there was one among them who attacked our holy mysteries with such subtlety and eloquence that he embarrassed all the bishops with his sophisms. Spiridion, seeing that the truth had difficulty defending itself against falsehood in the face of such a cunning adversary, offered to debate him. At first, it was feared that the good cause might run the risk of being lost, being defended by such an unskilled advocate. But the knowledge of his eminent piety outweighed this distrust. The Fathers believed that this new David, with the sword that God placed in his mouth, that is to say with his word, could easily defeat this proud Goliath, who relied only on the strength of his sophisms and his captious eloquence. They knew he was an apostolic man, and they did not doubt that he could confound, as the Apostles had done, human science by the foolishness of the cross. He was therefore permitted to enter into discussion with this philosopher. He addressed him and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to listen to him. The tone of his voice had something supernatural, and a celestial light shone from his eyes, which astonished this proud sophist and filled him with as much respect for this venerable old man as he had had contempt for the other bishops. He simply recited to him the confession of faith of the Church, just as he would have taught it to a small child; and, after finishing it, he added: "Does it not seem to you, O philosopher, that everything I have just told you is true?" The sophist remained for some time stunned and unable to answer; but, immediately after, by a miracle of grace that had operated in his soul as Spiridion spoke to him, he cried out that in the future he would have no other belief than that; and, turning to his disciples and all his listeners who had admired him before, he said to them: "When the force of reasoning was used against me, I defended myself by the rules of my art; but, since instead of human reasons a purely celestial virtue has been opposed to my subtleties, and the simplicity of the word of God has been used to reveal to me the ineffable mysteries of the true religion, I am not ashamed to admit that I am defeated, and I advise all those who have heard me not to resist the truth, but to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow the doctrine of this old man who spoke like other men, and who, nevertheless, uttered only divine words." Gregory of Cyzicus, a very learned and eloquent man, but infected with the heresy of Arius, was so terrified by this miracle that he renounced his error and retur Grégoire de Cizique Heretic converted by Spyridon. ned to the orthodox belief he had abandoned. Thus, the pagans lost the victory when they believed they were on the point of triumphing. And the vanity of their advocate, so gloriously confounded, also confounded their insolence and silenced their impiety. All the prelates of the Council revered Spiridion as a heavenly man. Constantine, who was present, paid him great honors, kissed a thousand times the wound of the eye he had lost in the persecution, and urgently recommended himself to his prayers. But, amidst these accolades, he remained always lowly in his own eyes, and attributed to God alone all the advantage and all the glory of his triumph.

During his journey to Nicaea, his daughter died without having returned a rich jewel that a woman had given her for safekeeping. Some time after his return to Cyprus, this woman came to ask him for it. The Saint searched the whole house for it; but, unable to find it, he went, followed by several people, to his daughter's tomb; and, speaking to her as if she were full of life, he said to her : "Ir Irène Daughter of Saint Spyridon. ene, where have you put the deposit that was entrusted to you?" As if the deceased had only been asleep, she answered him distinctly: "My father, I put it in such a place in the house, and you will find it there." They went there, and indeed found it. This miracle was immediately followed by another: for, as if Spiridion were the master of life and death, he then said to his daughter: "Sleep then, Irene, until the universal resurrection," and immediately she rested again in the Lord.

While he was governing his church in peace, he was obliged to leave it to come and see Emperor Cons tantius, Constance Roman emperor who exiled Eusebius for his opposition to Arianism. who had succeeded his father, Constantine. This prince, having fallen into an illness that the physicians judged incurable according to their art, had recourse to God through prayer; and, after having invoked Him with great fervor, he had a vision during the night, in which an angel showed him several bishops, and, among others, pointed out two from whom he could hope for his healing; but as neither the names of these prelates nor their dioceses had been told to him, all he could do was to call to the court the bishops most renowned for holiness. Spyridon, as one of the most famous, was summoned with the others. He was not surprised by this order, because God had revealed the emperor's vision to him. He therefore went to Antioch in Coele- Antioche de Célésyrie Ancient city where Saint Publia and her community resided. Syria, where Constantius was; but he presented himself at the palace gate in such poor attire that the guards refused him entry. One of them even went further and dealt him a great slap on the cheek. This injury did not disturb Spyridon; he remembered the counsel of the Gospel, and immediately presented his left cheek to the one who had struck him on the right. This practice, so unusual, touched this unfortunate man with admiration; he believed that this poor clothing undoubtedly hid a heavenly man, since he had shown no human resentment for the greatest affront one can offer a man. He therefore inquired who he was, and, having learned that he was a bishop, he threw himself at his feet and asked for his forgiveness. The ease with which he obtained it was, in a way, a severe punishment for his fault; for he felt so much shame for having offended a man so worthy of respect that a rigorous chastisement would have been more bearable to him. As soon as the emperor caught sight of Spyridon, he recognized that it was the one the angel had shown him in the same attire in which he saw him. He rose from his chair, and, notwithstanding the splendor of his purple, he went to meet him with profound humility, showing thereby the difference between a king who holds this dignity only for a time, and a Saint, who is forever the favorite of the King of kings. He wept at his feet, begged him to have pity on him, and bowed his head so that the bishop might touch it with his hand; Spyridon did so, and at the same time the emperor recovered perfect health. This miracle drew him the applause of the entire court. Nothing was spoken of but Spyridon; everyone vied to praise his virtue and to enjoy his conversation.

He was not content with having restored the health of the body to this prince; he spared nothing to procure that of the soul as well. He knew that he favored the Eusebians, defenders of the errors of Arius. He pointed out to him that, to acknowledge the grace that God had granted him through his intercession, he should show great zeal for the purity of the faith and never permit the slightest thing to be done against the honor of the Church. He also exhorted him to clemency, mercy, gentleness, and charity toward his subjects, of whom he should consider himself the father and guardian. Constantius offered him large sums of gold; but the Saint made this wise remonstrance to him: "It is not thus, Sire, that Your Majesty should reward me; you will permit me to tell you that you wish to pay me poorly for the zeal I have shown in serving you. I have left my home and crossed the sea, on which I have endured the rigor of winter and the violence of the winds; and, to reward me for the pains I have taken willingly for you, you wish me to receive gold, which is the source of all evils and a metal capable of corrupting the most just. I would condemn myself if I had committed this fault." However, the prince pressed him so hard that Spyridon, seeing well that he would greatly displease him if he persisted in refusing his gift, accepted it, but he did not leave the palace without having distributed this large sum, showing by this conduct that a bishop, to preserve his freedom, must not receive gifts nor possess riches. When the emperor learned this, he exclaimed: "I am not surprised that this man, who thus despises the goods of the earth, performs such great miracles." Furthermore, the words of the Saint made such an impression on his mind that he gave great alms to the poor and became the protector of widows and orphans. However, he did not persevere in these good sentiments; for, having finally allowed himself to be corrupted by the Arians, he became the persecutor of the Church and of all the orthodox bishops.

Sozomen, in Book I, Chapter XI of his Ecclesiastical History, reports yet another example of the admirable zeal of our Saint and his inviolable fidelity to preserving the text of Scripture in its purity. Triphyll ius, Bishop of Ledra on th Triphylle, évêque de Lèdre Bishop of Ledra and disciple of Spyridon. e island of Cyprus—whom Saint Jerome, in his Treatise on Ecclesiastical Writers, admits to have been the most eloquent man of his century—was haranguing an assembly of prelates and explaining that passage from Chapter II of Saint Mark, where Our Lord says to the paralytic: 'Take up your bed and walk.' Instead of 'sôre,' as it appeared in the Greek text, which we would translate literally into our language as 'bed of rest,' he said 'saïm,' which means 'low bed,' which is almost the same thing. Saint Spiridion could not tolerate this change, however slight it might appear; and, after reproaching him that he was not more enlightened than the Evangelist to thus change the word of God, he left the assembly, thereby teaching the respect one must have for the sacred Text, and that it must be cited with modesty and not according to the refinements of human eloquence. Triphyllius had long taught civil law in the city of Berytus; but, having learned of the miracles and the innocent life of this great Saint, who was but a shepherd and a man without letters, he had not blushed to become his disciple, a quality he preferred even to that of a doctor of law. Baronius did not fail to report this fact in his Annals for the year 325.

In addition to the miracles we have reported of this holy man, there are still so many in the history of his life that it is impossible for us to recount them here. He raised the dead, discovered the secrets of consciences, foresaw future things, and knew of absent ones. One day, having entered the church of a village called Erythre, not far from Constantia in Cyprus, to offer his prayer, he ordered his deacon to give a public reading. The latter read slowly and with emphasis because, believing he had a beautiful voice, he took vanity in being heard. The Saint, penetrating the depths of his heart, told him to be silent, and he immediately became mute. The inhabitants begged him insistently to heal him; he did so, but in such a way that thereafter this deacon had only a weak, hoarse, and stuttering voice, and never again let himself fall into the temerity of glorifying himself for a talent he had received only from the sole benevolence of God.

The Patriarch of Alexandria had assembled a synod of th e bishops Alexandrie Place of refuge and study during the persecution. of his jurisdiction, where it was decided to offer continuous prayers for the destruction of the idols that were still in great number in the city. The prelates began to pray and obtained from God what they asked, except for the overthrow of a statue that Providence reserved for Saint Spiridion. Indeed, the Patriarch, praying one night in the church, had a vision in which it was made known to him that this idol would only be overthrown by the Bishop of Tremithus. He wrote to him and begged him to go to Alexandria to perform this wonder. The Saint, who never missed an opportunity to work for the glory of the Church, embarked immediately to go there; and, as soon as he arrived, he began to pray, and at that very hour the statue and several temples fell to the ground and were reduced to powder.

When he saw that he was near death, he gathered as many of his diocesans as he could and predicted to them several things that were to happen after his death; then he gave them beautiful instructions on the duties of true Christians and the virtues they must practice. Finally, after having particularly recommended charity to them, he rendered his soul while praising this queen of virtues which he had practiced so well throughout his life. This was on December 14, around the middle of the 4th century. His memory is marked in all Latin martyrologies, and the Greeks speak of him with great honor.

He is represented: 1st, seated, blessing; 2nd, standing, holding a closed book. — He can also be represented: 1st, causing rain to fall on the parched earth; 2nd, questioning a dead woman to know in what place she had hidden a rich deposit that had been entrusted to her and which was being sought in vain.

This account is by Father Giry. — Cf. Metaphrastes, Surius, Dem Celliler.