St. Evphimi the Great (Euthymius)
Venerable Evphimi the Great was born in the city of Melitina in Armenia, near the river Euphrates. His parents, Pavel and Dionisiya, were noble and pious Christians. For a long time, they had no children, but at last, through fervent prayer, a son was born to them, whose birth was preceded by a divine vision foretelling his great future.
The father of Venerable Evphimi soon departed this life, and his mother, fulfilling her vow to dedicate her son to God, entrusted his upbringing to her brother, the presbyter Evdoksy. He, in turn, presented the boy to Otry, bishop of the Melitina church, who lovingly took him under his care. Seeing his virtuous conduct, the bishop soon ordained him a reader. Later, Saint Evphimi took monastic vows and was ordained to the rank of presbyter. At the same time, he was entrusted with the administration of all the city’s monasteries. The venerable Evphimi frequently visited the monastery of Saint Polievkt, and during the days of Great Lent, he would withdraw into the wilderness. The burden of managing the monasteries weighed heavily upon the ascetic, who sought solitude, and in the thirtieth year of his life, he secretly left the city and set out for Jerusalem. There, after venerating the holy places, he withdrew to the Pharan Lavra. Finding an abandoned solitary hut outside the monastery, he settled there, sustaining himself by weaving baskets. Nearby, Venerable Feoktist lived in ascetic labor. Both shared one desire for God, one will, and one aim. Usually, after the feast of Theophany, they would withdraw into the Kutilliya desert (not far from Ierikho). On one occasion, however, they remained there, choosing an impassable place in the mountains and dwelling in a cave. Yet soon the Lord revealed their solitude for the benefit of many: shepherds, driving their flocks, discovered their cave and told the village. People seeking spiritual benefit began gathering to the hermits. A monastic community gradually formed; several monks came from the Pharan monastery, among them Marin and Luka. Venerable Evphimi entrusted the governance of the newly founded monastery to his friend Feoktist, while he himself became the spiritual father of the brethren. He instructed them, saying: “Know that those who wish to lead a monastic life must have no will of their own, but must always abide in obedience and humility, keeping in mind the remembrance of death, fearing Judgment and the eternal fire, and desiring the Heavenly Kingdom.”
To the young monks, the venerable father commanded that they unite inward contemplation of God with bodily labor. “If laypeople,” he said, “labor much to provide for themselves and their families, and beyond this give alms and make offerings to God, how much more ought we, monks, to labor, lest we fall into idleness and become dependent on the labors of others.” The abba required that the monks observe silence in church during divine services and at the common table. He did not allow young monks who wished to fast more than the rest of the brethren to follow their own will but instructed them to partake of the common meal with restraint, without indulging in excess.
During those years, Venerable Evphimi converted and baptized many Arabs, among whom was the military commander Aspevet with his son Terevon, whom Venerable Evphimi healed of an illness. Aspevet received in baptism the name Petr and later became a bishop among the Arabs.
The fame of the miracles worked by Venerable Evphimi spread swiftly. People from all around began to gather, bringing with them the sick, who received healing. Unable to endure the noise and glory of the people, the venerable one secretly left the monastery, taking only his closest disciple Dometian with him. He withdrew into the Ruv desert and settled on the high mountain Marda, near the Dead Sea. Seeking further solitude, the venerable father ventured deeper into the Zif desert and dwelled in a cave where, in times past, Saint King David had hidden from the persecutions of King Saul. There, Venerable Evphimi founded a monastery, and within the very cave of David, he established a church. During this time, Venerable Evphimi turned many desert monks away from the Manichean heresy, performed miracles, and healed the sick and those possessed by demons.
The visitors who came to the saint disturbed the peace of the hermit, who loved silence, and he decided to return to the monastery of Saint Feoktist, which he had left. On the way, he chose a secluded place on a mountain and settled there. Later, his holy body was buried in that place.
Blessed Feoktist, together with the brethren, went out to meet Venerable Evphimi and implored him to return to the monastery, but the venerable one refused. However, he promised to come to the monastery on Sundays for the common divine service.
Venerable Evphimi did not desire to have anyone dwelling near him, nor to establish a coenobium or a lavra, but the Lord appeared to him in a vision and commanded him not to turn away those who came to him for the salvation of their souls. After some time, brethren once again gathered around him, and he established a lavra following the model of the Pharan Lavra. In the year 429, when Venerable Evphimi was fifty-two years old, Juvenaliy, Patriarch of Jerusalem, consecrated the church of the lavra and ordained presbyters and deacons for the monastery.
At first, the lavra was poor, but the venerable father firmly placed his trust in God, who is able to provide all that is necessary for men. Once, about four hundred travelers—Armenians from Jerusalem—came to the lavra, weary and hungry. Seeing them, Venerable Evphimi called for the steward and commanded him to feed the strangers. The steward replied that the monastery had no such quantity of provisions. However, the venerable one insisted. When the steward entered the storeroom, he found it filled with loaves of bread. The same occurred with the wine and oil. The travelers ate to the glory of God, were satisfied, and afterward, there remained enough provisions for the brethren for three months. Thus did the Lord work a miracle, according to the faith of Saint Evphimi.
On one occasion, one of the monks refused to fulfill the obedience assigned to him. Though the venerable father summoned him and urged him to obey, the monk stubbornly resisted. Then Venerable Evphimi cried out with a loud voice, “Thou shalt see what befalls those who are disobedient!” The monk immediately fell to the ground in a fit of demonic possession. The brethren began to plead with the abba on his behalf, and Venerable Evphimi healed the disobedient one, who, coming to his senses, begged for forgiveness and promised to mend his ways. “Obedience,” said Saint Evphimi, “is a great virtue. The Lord loveth obedience more than sacrifice, and disobedience leadeth unto death.”
Two brothers in the monastery of Saint Evphimi found the strictness of monastic life burdensome and decided to flee. Perceiving their intention in spirit, the venerable father summoned them and long entreated them to abandon their ruinous intent. He said, “Ye must not heed thoughts that instill sorrow and hatred toward the place where we dwell and inspire a desire to go elsewhere. Let not the monk think that, by moving to another place, he shall attain something better, for a good deed is not accomplished by a place but by steadfast will and faith. Even a tree that is oft transplanted beareth no fruit.”
In the year 431, the Third Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus against the heresy of Nestorius. Venerable Evphimi rejoiced at the triumph of Orthodoxy but grieved for Ioann, the Archbishop of Antioch, who, though himself Orthodox, defended Nestorius.
In the year 451, the Fourth Ecumenical Council was convened in Halkidon against the heresy of Dioskor, who, in opposition to Nestorius, asserted that in the Lord Isus Khristos there was but one nature—the divine, which in the Incarnation had absorbed the human nature (the so-called Monophysite heresy).
Venerable Evphimi accepted the confession of the Halkidon Council and recognized it as Orthodox. News of this quickly spread among the monks and desert-dwellers, and many who had previously held erroneous beliefs followed the example of Saint Evphimi and accepted the confession of the Halkidon Council.
For his ascetic life and firm confession of the Orthodox faith, Saint Evphimi was given the title “the Great.” Burdened by his interactions with the world, the holy abba withdrew for a time into the inner desert. After his return to the lavra, some of the brethren beheld how, when he celebrated the Divine Liturgy, fire descended from heaven and surrounded him. The venerable father himself revealed to several monks that he often saw an Angel serving with him during the Holy Liturgy. He had the gift of foresight, perceiving the inner movements of the soul and discerning the thoughts of men. When the monks partook of the Holy Mysteries, it was revealed to him who approached worthily and who partook unto their own condemnation.
When Venerable Evphimi was eighty-two years old, Blessed Savva (the future Savva the Sanctified, commemorated on December 5), then still a youth, came to him. The elder received him with love and sent him to the monastery of Venerable Feoktist. He foretold that the monk Savva would shine forth in the monastic life.
When the saint reached ninety years of age, his companion and friend, Venerable Feoktist, fell gravely ill. Venerable Evphimi went to visit him, remained in the monastery, bade him farewell, and was present at his repose. Having committed his body to burial, he returned to the lavra.
The time of his departure was revealed to Venerable Evphimi by the special mercy of God. On the feast day of Venerable Antoniy the Great, January 17, Venerable Evphimi gave his blessing for an all-night vigil to be held. Summoning the presbyters to the altar, he told them that he would no longer serve a single vigil with them, for the Lord was calling him from this temporal life. All were filled with great sorrow, but the venerable father commanded the brethren to gather before him in the morning.
He then began to instruct them, saying: “If ye love me, keep my commandments, acquire love, which is the bond of perfection. No virtue is possible without love and humility. The Lord Himself, out of love for us, humbled Himself and became Man, even as we are. Therefore, we must ceaselessly offer praises unto Him, especially we who have renounced the turbulent world. Never forsake the church services; diligently preserve the traditions and monastic rules. If any brother struggles against impure thoughts, instruct and admonish him without ceasing, that the devil may not drag him into ruin.
I also give unto you another commandment: let the gates of this monastery never be closed to strangers, and whatever ye have, offer it to those in need; and as far as ye are able, aid those who suffer in tribulation.” Then, having given his final instructions regarding the guidance of the brethren, the venerable one promised that he would remain in spirit with all those who desired to labor in asceticism within his monastery until the end of time.
Dismissing all, Venerable Evphimi kept only his disciple Dometian near him. Remaining with him inside the altar for three days, he reposed in the Lord on January 20, in the year 473, at the age of ninety-seven.
Monks from monasteries and deserts flocked in great numbers to the burial of the holy abba, among whom was Saint Gerasim. Also present was Patriarch Anastasiy with his clergy, as well as the Nitrian monks Martiriy and Iliy, who would later become Patriarchs of Jerusalem, just as Venerable Evphimi had foretold.
Blessed Dometian did not leave his teacher’s tomb for six days. On the seventh day, he beheld his abba, who joyfully proclaimed to his beloved disciple: “Come, my child, to the rest prepared for thee, for I have besought the Master Christ that thou mayest be with me.” Having related this vision to the brethren, Saint Dometian entered the church and, rejoicing, gave up his spirit unto the Lord. He was buried beside Saint Evphimi.
The relics of Venerable Evphimi the Great remained in his monastery in Palestine. In the twelfth century, they were seen by the Russian pilgrim, Abbot Daniil.