Gregory of Dekapolis
Gregory of Dekapolis | |
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Died | 20 November 842 or earlier Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) |
Venerated in |
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Feast | November 20[1][2] |
Saint Gregory of Dekapolis or Gregory Dekapolites (
Life
Gregory was born in the late 8th century at
According to his hagiography, he began his elementary schooling at age eight, but fled his home to the mountains when his parents wanted to marry him (ca. 815/6). There he encountered the former bishop of Irenopolis, who had been forced to abandon his see due to his opposition to the renewed adoption of Iconoclasm. After receiving his blessing, and on the advice of his mother, he entered the monastery where his brother was already a monk. Soon, however, he fell out with his pro-iconoclast abbot, and abandoned the monastery for that of his maternal uncle, Symeon.[4][5] He remained at his uncle's monastery for 14 years, after which he asked permission to retire to a cave as a hermit (ca. 830). There he reportedly experienced a vision of the Tabor light, as well as an appearance by a woman who miraculously cured him of sexual desire by means of some sort of operation, a possible allusion to Gregory being a eunuch.[5]
In ca. 832/3, after receiving a "divine command", he began his wanderings across the Byzantine world. He went first to
A few years later, possibly ca. 836/7, he went on—accompanied by Joseph, according to the latter's hagiography—to
Hagiography and veneration
The hagiography describing his life is attributed to the contemporary monk and writer
As a historical work, his hagiography is a poor source about contemporary events, but "provides much evidence on administrative and legal practice" in contemporary Byzantium.[4] Images of Gregory are rare, and he is depicted "as a monk with a trim round white beard".[4] His feast day in the Eastern Orthodox Church is on November 20.[10]
References
- ^ a b Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ὅσιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Δεκαπολίτης. 20 Νοεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
- ^ a b Venerable Gregory Decapolite. OCA - Lives of the Saints. Retrieved: 17 September 2014.
- ^ "Roman Martyrology November, in English".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kazhdan & Ševčenko 1991, p. 880.
- ^ a b c d Winkelmann et al. 2000, p. 96.
- ^ a b Winkelmann et al. 2000, pp. 96–97.
- ^ a b Winkelmann et al. 2000, p. 97.
- ^ Winkelmann et al. 2000, pp. 97–98.
- ^ Sahas 2009, pp. 614–616.
- ^ Winkelmann et al. 2000, p. 98.
Sources
- Kazhdan, Alexander; Ševčenko, Nancy Patterson (1991). "Gregory of Dekapolis". In ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- Sahas, Daniel J. (2009). "Gregory Dekapolites". In Thomas, David; Roggema, Barbara (eds.). Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 1 (600-900). Leiden and Boston: BRILL. pp. 614–617. ISBN 978-90-04-16975-3.
- Winkelmann, Friedhelm; Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; et al. (2000). "Gregorios Dekapolites (#2486)". Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit: I. Abteilung (641–867), 2. Band: Georgios (#2183) – Leon (#4270) (in German). Walter de Gruyter. pp. 96–99. ISBN 3-11-016672-0.
- Venerable Gregory Decapolite. OCA - Lives of the Saints. Retrieved: 17 September 2014.
- Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ὅσιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Δεκαπολίτης. 20 Νοεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
Further reading
- Dvornik, Francis, ed. (1926). La vie de saint Grégoire le Décapolite et les Slaves macédoniens au IXe siècle (in French). Paris: Champion.
- Makris, Georgios; Chrontz, Michael, eds. (1997). Ignatios Diakonos und die Vita des heiligen Gregorios Dekapolites. Byzantinisches Archiv (in German). Vol. 17. Stuttgart and Leipzig: Teubner. ISBN 9783815477403.
- Sahas, D.J. (1986). "What an infidel saw that a faithful did not. Gregory Dekapolites (d. 842) and Islam". Greek Orthodox Theological Review. 31: 50–62.