Drawn to the study of Holy Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers from an early age, and raised with a monastic bearing at the feet of a local hermit whose way of life he admired, Saint Niphon was a bright light of the Church as well as a rod of correction for the erring during the aftermath of the false union that emerged from the Council of Florence. Though he longed for hesychia, he and his elder were frequently sent out to teach and confirm the people in the Faith that had been handed down to them. The combination of his personal piety and his ability to rightly divide the truth, Saint Niphon was eventually consecrated a Bishop. Despite his commitments he saw prayer for the world as his first responsibility and the firm foundation on which the rest of his ministry would be built, so he withdrew to the Holy Mountain, eventually settling in the Monastery of Dionysiou. Because of his reputation as the teacher of Athos, he was summoned to the imperial city to take part in a meeting of the Holy Synod. When the Patriarch died near the start of the meeting, Saint Niphon was unanimously elected to succeed him. Jealous that he had no claim to the holy Hierarch and seeing this as his chance to topple a a strong adversary, Satan sent envious men to oppose and impede the work of the new Ecumenical Patriarch. But despite slavery to the Turks and the word of the evil one, the Church flowered as in the springtime of a new martyrdom, guided along by the steady hand, clear teaching, and patient endurance of the Saint. Suffering repeated humiliations, depositions, and exiles at the hands of both political supporters and adversaries, the Saint turned everything to prayer and even hid himself by entering his former Monastery again as a simple novice. But such a light cannot be hidden under a bushel, and by the grace of God he was revealed so that he could continue profiting the Church with his God-inspired teachings until his blessed falling asleep.
Category: 16th Century (+)
Indicates saints who died in the 16th Century.
Nicanor the Wonderworker of Mount Callistratus
Born to childless parents after a vision of the Great Martyr Means, Saint Nicanor was raised in piety and in the love of Holy Scriptures. His ged parents having departed this life, the Saint quickly gave all of his possessions to the poor and became a monastic. After being made a Deacon, he heard a voice telling him to retire to Mount Callistratus where he would find hesychia. He found a high and inaccessible cave where he gave himself to unceasing prayer and extreme fasting. Hoping to impede his progress, the Devil assailed the Holy Ascetic with endless trials, but he overcame through the Name of Christ and the sign of Cross. The light of Christ shining through him was so bright that it could not be hidden, and he was soon surrounded by disciples who helped him to build a monastery and several dependencies that were renowned for their careful attention to the Typikon of Mar Sabas.
Basil the Blessed, Fool for Christ and Wonderworker of Moscow
An ascetic from his early childhood, Saint Basil the Blessed took upon himself the peculiar ascesis of a Fool for Christ which, by God’s grace, experienced a flowering in 16th Century Russia. The most famous of these ascetics in that land, many of the most characteristic behaviors associated with that way of life were present in the life of the saint. For example, when passing the dwellings of those who lives in repentance and holiness, he cast stones at the corners of the houses. He explained that, because demons were not welcome in such homes, they congregated outside searching for a way in. Pelted by the Saint’s prayers symbolized by the rocks, they were driven away from those homes.
Stephen of Komel
When he was a child, Saint Stephen was so enamored of the ascetic life that he left his home in secret to become a monk. Having made steady progress, he wanted to find a place suitable for the eremetic life. He found it in the forrest on the banks of Lake Komel. Like many deserted places, he found the spot infested by demons who put him to trial. The Saint, however, saw them off through the spiritual discipline of fasting. By God’s grace, he was also protected from attacks by wild beasts that the demons stirred up against him when they realized they could not themselves come near him because of his humility.