The following is translated from the website of the Archdiocese of Tripoli. The original can be found here. A more detailed life of the Hieromartyr can be found here.
Nablus (30.11.2009)—Yesterday, at the Orthodox Church of Jacob’s Well in Nablus the beatification of the martyr Philomenos and the placing of his name in the Synaxarion of saints of the Orthodox Church was officially announced by the Holy Synod. His Beatitude the Patriarch presided at the Divine Liturgy, along with the bishops of the patriarchal see of Jerusalem and a number of bishops from the Church of Cyprus, in addition to a delegation from the Russian Church. The relics of the saint are preserved in the church in which he was martyred.
During the Divine Liturgy, the decision of the Holy Synod to place the martyr Archimandrite Philoumenos in the Synaxarion was officially announced. His annual commemoration will be
November 29, the anniversary of his martyrdom.
The Hieromartyr Archimandrite Philoumenos was the abbot of the Monastery of Jacob’s Well in Nablus. On November 29, 1979, as he stood in the church praying vespers a group of extremist Jewish settlers entered the church and brutally killed him using sharp objects. He fell, spilling his blood in the church where he had served and where he had prayed. It has been forty years since his martyrdom and his relics have been a place of reverence and humility for visitors to the Holy Land.
The hieromartyr was born in Cyprus and went to the Holy Land while he was still young. He served a number of monasteries and churches and he became a monk and was ordained deacon then priest. The last place in which he served was the Monastery of Jacob’s Well in Nablus, where he became a martyr.
His holy relics are a source of grace and blessings and have healed many people of their illnesses. His body gushes myrrh and those who enter into the church smell myrrh coming from the body of the holy martyr.
A special service has been composed for the Hieromartyr Philoumenos and an icon has been written of him.
Yesterday was a historical day in Nablus and thousands of believers and pilgrims attended and were blessed with the relics of the saint and his icon as they took part in this great celebration for the Church.
من این متن خوندم و همه را فهمیدم.
ReplyDeleteمرسی از لطفت
Samn!: Thank you for this wonderful and inspiring post. I understand that St. Philoumenos was under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, not Antioch? We should be honored to celebrate his sacrifice in the AOCNA also, as one so brave as to defend the Holy Temple and the Name of the Lord. His tropar is moving and inspiring. Is his icon available anywhere?
ReplyDeleteThanks, in Christ. Subdeacon Bob
Subdeacon Bob,
ReplyDeleteYes, St. Philoumenos was a priest of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as that is the Church in Palestine... This blog, though it mostly talks about events in Antioch, is at least intended to discuss events in all the Arabic-speaking churches...
I do not know about icons of St. Philoumenos. I have only seen images that have been posted online.
More to the point about why I posted about St. Philoumenos, other than that the source here was translated from Arabic and his being a priest of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, St. Philoumenos, though Cypriot by birth, was a great friend of the Palestinians, in a Church that has long struggled with tensions between Greek clergy and Arab laity. He learned Arabic and was able to lovingly minister to his Arab flock, who often feel neglected by the Greek priests-- sometimes to the point of being tempted to become Catholics.
ReplyDeleteSamn!: Having served in a parish of about 99% first and second generation Palestinians,mostly from Ramallah, I can understand how the sacrifice of St. Philoumenos resonates with them. I also understand their frustration with the idea of "settlers" and with the failure of Americans to comprehend or react to the injustice being served upon their families back home. Thank you again for bringing us this post.
ReplyDeleteSubdeacon Bob