On this day died the great Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus. This
holy man came from a village which was near Beth Gabriel, and his
parents were Jews, and they walked in the Law of Moses; now they were
poor, for the father of this saint was a slave, but they were
righteous. And the father of this saint died and left him and one
daughter, and their mother brought them up in the Law of Moses. And his
father left him a donkey, which was a very poor animal, and his mother
advised Saint Epiphanius to sell this donkey, and with the price thereof
to obtain some rest and relief in his wretched life. And as the saint
was journeying along with the donkey, he met a certain man who was a
Christian, and a just man, and whose name was Philotheus; and he stopped
and talked with Epiphanius and wanted to buy that donkey from him. And
at that moment the donkey kicked Epiphanius in his stomach, and he fell
down on the ground, and was very near death, but Saint Philotheus made
the sign of the Cross over the stomach of Saint Epiphanius, saying, “In
the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost,” and Saint
Epiphanius was cured of his pain forthwith, and he rose up as if he hand
never suffered any pain whatsoever. And then Saint Philotheus cried out
over that donkey, saying, “In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ Who was
crucified thou shalt die”; and the donkey fell down and died forthwith.
And when Saint Epiphanius saw these two miracles, he said unto Saint
Philotheus, “Who was this Jesus Who was crucified, and in Whose Name
thou didst perform this miracle?” And Philotheus answered and said unto
him, “This Jesus was the Son of God, Whom the Jews crucified in
Jerusalem”; and this word remained in the heart of Saint Epiphanius.
And in those days there was a certain rich Jew who took Saint Epiphanius
into his house, and brought him up and taught him the Law of Moses. And
when death drew nigh to that Jew, he had no heirs, and he made Saint
Epiphanius heir of all his possessions, and he learned all the Jewish
doctrine and the Law of Moses. And one day he met a certain righteous
and learned monk, whose name was Lucianus, and he was a teacher, and the
grace of God was upon him, and he walked with him on the road. And as
they were journeying together on the road, a certain poor man met them
and he asked the monk to give him alms, and as the monk had no money
with him to give him, he took off the hair cloak, which he was wearing
and gave it to him. And when the poor man took it Saint Epiphanius saw
that white apparel came down from heaven upon the monk; and he marveled
at this and he bowed down at the feet of the monk, and he asked him,
saying, “Who art thou? What is thy Faith?” And the monk made known to
him that he was a Christian; and Saint Epiphanius asked him to make him
a Christian. And the monk took Epiphanius and brought him to the
bishop, who baptized him with Christian baptism, and taught him the Law
of the Christian Faith. And Saint Epiphanius said unto him, “I wish to
become a monk,” and the bishop said unto him, “Thou hast many goods and
possessions; it is not necessary for thee to become a monk.” And Saint
Epiphanius went and brought his sister, and the bishop baptized her with
Christian baptism. And he gave of his possessions to the poor and the
needy, and to the widows and the orphans, and to the churches, and he
purchased very many books. Then he became a monk, and his sister became
a nun, in the monastery of that monk whose name was Julius, and who was
the cause of his being baptized; now at that time he was in his days
sixteen years old. And he found in that monastery Saint Hilarion the
Great, who although young in days was an elder in the spiritual fight,
and he received Saint Epiphanius, and taught him the path of the ascetic
life, and the doctrine of Christian Law. And the grace of God dwelt
upon him, and Hilarion made him strong in all the Law of the Church, and
in the path of the ascetic life in a few days, and then Saint Epiphanius
became perfect in the spiritual fight. And he performed great miracles,
and raised the dead, and cast out demons from men, and he made fountains
of water to appear in dry places where there was no water, and on many
occasions he made rain to fall; and the report of him and of his
virtues, and of his knowledge, was noised abroad. And many men from
among the Jews came to him, to dispute with him, and he showed them
their error, and they believed through him, and he baptized them with
Christian baptism; and he likewise converted very many of the
philosophers and the Greeks, and brought them into the Faith of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And Saint Hilarion, his teacher, prophesied concerning
him and said that he would be made bishop of the city of Cyprus, and he
commanded him to go to the city of Cyprus, and to dwell there in a
certain place wherein he ordered him to abide. And he said unto him,
“They will seek thee to make thee bishop, for it is the Will of God.”
And Saint Epiphanius departed to Cyprus, and he dwelt in the place
wherein his teacher Hilarion had ordered him to dwell. Now at the time
when the Bishop of Cyprus died, Saint Epiphanius came into the city to
buy food, and he had two monks with him. And there was in that city an
aged bishop, a righteous man, and our Lord Jesus Christ spoke unto him,
saying, “Go to the market and thou shalt meet a monk with two bunches of
grapes in his hand which he is going to buy, and his name is ‘Epiphanius’;
make him Bishop of Cyprus, for he is suitable for this office.” And the
aged bishop rose and went to the market, and he found Saint Epiphanius,
and there were two bunches of grapes in his hand, and there were two
monks with him, and he asked him his name, and he answered and said unto
him, “My name is Epiphanius.” And the aged bishop said unto him, “Cast
these grapes from thy hands.” And Saint Epiphanius knew that the
prophecy of Abba Hilarion his teacher was fulfilled, and he cast the
grapes down, and he went with him to the church. And the bishop made
him a deacon, and three days later he made him a priest, and on the
seventh day he made him a bishop. After this that aged bishop wished to
gladden the heart of Bishop Epiphanius, and he told the people and made
to understand concerning the vision, which he had seen concerning him,
and they rejoiced in him with great joy. And this Saint Epiphanius
followed a right course of action in his diocese, which was well
pleasing to God, and he wrote many Discourses (or, Homilies) and many
books wherein will be found profitable doctrine. When he heard of a man
in whom there was no mercy, he used to rebuke him and teach him
frequently until he changed his nature and became merciful. And when
this Saint Epiphanius heard that Abba John, Bishop of the city of
Jerusalem, was a man without pity, he made an excuse, and borrowed from
him the gold and silver vessels which he used at his table and out of
which he ate, and Abba John gave them to him, and Saint Epiphanius sold
them, and gave [the price of] them to the poor and needy. And when Abba
John asked him for them and he would not give back any of them, he
seized Saint Epiphanius by the hem of his garment, in the Church of the
Sepulcher of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Saint Epiphanius prayed to God,
and He made blind the eyes of Abba John forthwith. And his eyes being
blind, Abba John begged and prayed him with tears to teach him, and to
open his eyes, and Saint Epiphanius prayed and entreated God on his
behalf, and God opened one of them. And then Epiphanius told Abba John
how he had sold the vessels of his table, and how he had given [the
price of] them to the poor. And the Empress Eudoxia having sent a
message to Saint Epiphanius to come to her, and to help her to break and
to drive out Saint John, the Mouth of God (i.e. Chrysostom), he went to
the city of Constantinople wishing to make peace between them; but the
empress would not listen to him, and she would not submit to Saint
Epiphanius in respect of Saint John, the Mouth of Gold. And the empress
answered and said unto Saint Epiphanius, “If I cannot cast down John,
the Mouth of Gold, from his office, I will open the houses of idols and
shut the churches”; and Saint Epiphanius went forth from her presence
sad and sorrowful, and wondering what he should do. And the servants of
the empress made it known in the city of Constantinople, saying,
“Behold, Epiphanius hath deposed John, the Mouth of Gold.” When Saint
John heard this report he sent a letter unto Saint Epiphanius, saying,
“Why hast thou done this unjust thing against me; know thou that thou
shalt never reach the throne of thy diocese?” And Saint Epiphanius sent
a reply to his letter, saying, “I have written nothing concerning thee,
and I am not in agreement with the empress against thee, and as for
thyself thou shalt [not] return from exile.” After this Saint
Epiphanius wanted to return to the throne of his diocese, and he went
forth from the city of Constantinople to depart to the city of Cyprus,
and God willed to make him to die on the ship before he reached the
throne of his diocese, even as God had revealed to John, the Mouth of
Gold; and John, the Mouth of Gold, also died on his journey, even as He
had made Epiphanius to see. And the saint knew the time of his death,
and he rose up and prayed, and he gave his disciples commands and
informed them that they should become bishops, and after that he
embraced them, and he lay down and died in peace. Salutation to
Epiphanius. Salutation to Abba Lucianus, Bishop of Degno.
Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen.
