Saint Porphyrios, bishop of Gazi
Celebration date: 26/02
Saint Porphyrios was born in Thessaloniki to rich and pious parents. After abandoning both parents and wealth, during the reigns of Arcadius and Honorius, he left for Egypt, which was then a great monastic center, and became a monk in a hermitage. After a five-year stay, he came to Jerusalem and preached the Gospel of Christ to the Jews and the Greeks. There he became seriously ill from cirrhosis of the liver, but despite his illness he did not fail to visit the Church of the Resurrection and the other holy pilgrimages every day, causing the admiration of the other pilgrims. Among them was Marcus, the later biographer of Porphyry, who had also gone on pilgrimage from Asia to Jerusalem, and from then on they were linked for life. Markos proved to be his loyal and useful partner, he even took it upon himself to settle a serious pending matter that Porphyrios had left in Thessaloniki, namely the division of his family property with his now adult siblings. During Mark’s absence in Thessaloniki, Saint Porphyry’s health was miraculously restored, following a vision of the crucifixion of the Lord and the grateful robber. Marcus conducted the affair in the best manner, and returned with his share of the property, amounting to 4,400 coins, and with a multitude of silver vessels and valuable garments, which he soon sold and distributed to the poor and to the monasteries of Jerusalem and Egypt, which were very poor.
There he was ordained, in the year 392 AD, Elder by the Patriarch of Jerusalem John II (386 – 417 AD). After the death of the Bishop of Gazi, Aeneios, in 395 AD, he was elected Bishop of Gazi and ordained by the Bishop of Caesarea, Ioannis. There, after performing many miracles, he also led many idolaters and heretics to the true knowledge of God.
In order for the Saint to protect his flock from the injustices of the Gentiles and the lords, he did not hesitate to go to Constantinople and ask for the assistance of the emperors Arcadius (395-408 AD) and Eudoxias. There he also met Saint John Chrysostom (see November 13), who recommended him to Amantius the Cubicular and to the kings and warmly supported his request to make known to the kings the tyranny of the political rulers who were oppressing the people. Despite his initial reactions, the king was convinced and granted Saint Porphyrios a royal decree limiting the activity of pagans and other heretics and with royal sponsorship he erected churches where pagan temples were previously located. And the Saint succeeded in demolishing the Marneion, the famous temple of the Gazans, which had been founded by the emperor Hadrian in the year 129 AD. In its place, a surrounding temple was rebuilt with the sponsorship of Empress Eudoxia, who sent the Antiochian architect Rufinus to Gaza for this purpose. This temple, which was called Eudoxian, had 32 large columns of Karystine marble and its inauguration took place on Easter 407 AD.
In the following years, Saint Porphyrios worked for the establishment of his Episcopate. Markos’ biographer saves his philanthropic and missionary activity in vivid colors. In the year 415 AD took part in the Synod of Diospolis, under the presidency of the Patriarch of Jerusalem John II. This Synod dealt with the theologian Pelagius, who had taken refuge in Jerusalem near John, after the conflict he had in Africa with Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (honored on June 15) over the issues of original sin and divine grace. In this Synod, Pelagius was acquitted, after accepting the basic teaching, that divine Grace is necessary for man’s salvation.
The Saint rested in the year 420 AD. after a short illness, at the age of 72, “he fought the good fight against the idolaters until the day of his sleep”.
