Порфирий Газский, свт.; Греция; XVI в.; мастер: Тзортзи
(Зорзис) Фука; местонахождение: Греция. Афон, монастырь Дионисиат
Fresco in a monastery of Afon, Greece).
Saint Porphyre de Gaza
Evêque de Gaza, en Palestine (+ 420)
Martyrologe romain
Évêque de Gaza
(353-420)
Saint Porphyre, né à Thessalonique, de parents riches et vertueux, fut élevé dans la piété, dans la crainte de Dieu ainsi que dans les sciences divines et humaines.
Après cinq ans de vie austère dans un couvent, ayant reçu de ses supérieurs l'ordre de partir, à cause de sa santé délabrée, il se rendit en Terre Sainte, et parvint mourant à Jérusalem. Là, dans une vision, près du tombeau du Sauveur, il fut miraculeusement guéri.
Admirons la conduite mystérieuse de la Providence! C'est Dieu Lui-même qui dirigeait Son serviteur vers la Palestine, où la réputation de ses vertus et de son mérite le fit bientôt élever au siège épiscopal de Gaza.
Terrible au paganisme, dont il détruisit les idoles, il eut à subir de cruelles persécutions; mais son zèle et sa charité réussirent peu à peu à convertir un grand nombre d'infidèles.
Parmi les nombreux prodiges au moyen desquels il triompha de l'endurcissement des ennemis de Jésus-Christ, son histoire raconte le suivant: Une sécheresse extraordinaire désolait la contrée. Les prêtres des idoles offraient sans succès sacrifices sur sacrifices à leurs dieux; le fléau devenait intolérable, et la famine avait déjà fait des victimes. Porphyre ordonna des prières spéciales. Un jour de jeûne fut fixé, et on se réunit un soir dans la plus grande église de la ville, où l'assemblée chrétienne chanta durant toute la nuit, dans l'attitude de la pénitence, des invocations à Dieu et aux Saints.
Le lendemain, une procession fut faite hors de la ville, aux tombeaux des martyrs; mais quand elle revint, les païens avaient fermé toutes les portes de la cité. Les chrétiens, tombant à genoux redoublent d'instances près de Dieu. Tout à coup le ciel jusque-là serein se couvre de nuages, et une pluie torrentielle tombe pendant deux jours sur la contrée. A cette vue, les païens ouvrent les portes et s'écrient: "Le Christ a vaincu!" Ce prodige détermina la conversion de plus de deux cents idolâtres.
Tous les nombreux miracles de Porphyre avaient pour but la conversion des âmes. Un jour qu'il traversait la mer sur un navire, une tempête affreuse éclate, le naufrage est inévitable. Mais Porphyre, éclairé de Dieu, déclare au pilote que la tempête cessera dès qu'il aura abjuré l'hérésie d'Arius. Le pilote, étonné de voir un homme qui lisait dans les coeurs, abjura aussitôt l'erreur, et les flots devinrent calmes. Porphyre, en mourant, laissa Gaza entièrement chrétienne.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950.
Après cinq ans de vie austère dans un couvent, ayant reçu de ses supérieurs l’ordre de partir, à cause de sa santé délabrée, il se rendit en Terre sainte, et parvint mourant à Jérusalem. Là, dans une vision près du tombeau du Sauveur, il fut miraculeusement guéri.
Admirons la conduite mystérieuse de la Providence ! C’est Dieu Lui-même qui dirigeait Son serviteur dans la Palestine, où la réputation de ses vertus et de son mérite le fit bientôt élever au siège épiscopal de Gaza.
Terrible au paganisme, dont il détruisit les idoles, il eut à subir de cruelles persécutions ; mais son zèle et sa charité réussirent peu à peu à convertir un grand nombre d’infidèles. Parmi les nombreux prodiges au moyen desquels il triompha de l’endurcissement des ennemis de Jésus-Christ, son histoire raconte le suivant :
Une sécheresse extraordinaire désolait la contrée. Les prêtres des idoles offraient sans succès sacrifices sur sacrifices à leurs dieux, le fléau devenait intolérable, et la famine avait déjà fait des victimes. Saint Porphyre ordonna des prières spéciales. Un jour de jeûne fut fixé, et on se réunit un soir dans la plus grande église de la ville, où l’assemblée chrétienne chanta durant toute la nuit, dans l’attitude de la pénitence, des invocations à Dieu et aux Saints. Le lendemain, une procession fut faite hors de la ville, aux tombeaux des Martyrs ; mais quand elle revint, les païens avaient fermé toutes les portes de la cité. Les Chrétiens, tombant à genoux, redoublent d’instances près de Dieu. Tout à coup le ciel jusque-là serein se couvre de nuages, et une pluie torrentielle tombe pendant deux jours sur la contrée. À cette vue, les païens ouvrent les portes et s’écrient : « Le Christ a vaincu ! » Ce prodige détermina la conversion de plus de deux cents idolâtres.
Tous les nombreux miracles de saint Porphyre avaient pour but la conversion des âmes. Un jour qu’il traversait la mer sur un navire, une tempête affreuse éclate, le naufrage est inévitable. Mais saint Porphyre, éclairé de Dieu, déclare au pilote que la tempête cessera dès qu’il aura abjuré l’hérésie d’Arius. Le pilote, étonné de voir un homme qui lisait dans les cœurs, abjura aussitôt l’erreur, et les flots devinrent calmes.
Saint Porphyre est l’un des envoyés de Jésus-Christ dans lesquels s’est le mieux vérifiée la promesse du Sauveur à Ses Apôtres : « Des miracles étonnants seront opérés par la Foi de Mes disciples ; en Mon Nom, ils chasseront les démons, parleront les langues, guériront les malades… »
Saint Porphyre s’endormit dans la paix du Christ l’an 420, tandis que saint Boniface Ier était pape et Théodose II le Jeune empereur romain, laissant Gaza presque entièrement chrétienne.
SOURCE : http://www.cassicia.com/FR/Vie-de-saint-Porphyre-eveque-de-Gaza-Fete-le-26-fevrier-Il-meurt-l-an-420-laissant-Gaza-presque-entierement-chretienne-apres-la-conversion-des-infideles-et-des-Ariens-No_1234.htm
Saint Porphyre, évêque de Gaza en Palestine, et sainte Irène, vierge. 420.
26 février.
Anna Lampadaridi, La conversion de Gaza au
christianisme. La Vie de S. Porphyre par Marc le Diacre (BHG 1570).
Édition critique, traduction, commentaire
Bruxelles, Société des Bollandistes (« Subsidia Hagiographica », 95), 2016
La Vie de l’évêque Porphyre de Gaza
(v. 347‑420 selon une chronologie traditionnelle assez incertaine) compte
parmi les textes hagiographiques grecs les plus estimables, sinon les plus
remarquables, du ve siècle. Pour cette raison, il a retenu
l’attention et suscité les interrogations d’érudits du passé comme Adolf
Harnack, Gaetano De Sanctis, Gustave Bardy, ou plus récemment avec Franck
Trombley, Christoph Markschies ou Giulia Sfameni Gasparro. Ce récit édifiant
aux allures de merveilleux offre un témoignage exceptionnel sur l’histoire de
la ville de Gaza, de la province de Palestine et, plus largement, de la
christianisation de la moitié orientale du monde romain sous le règne de
l’empereur Arcadius (395‑408), fils aîné de Théodose Ier. Le texte, long
d’environ 16 000 mots répartis en près de 105 courts chapitres
ou paragraphes – soit une quarantaine de pages in-quarto –,
bénéficiait jusque-là d’une édition établie, traduite et commentée par les
hellénistes et historiens Henri Grégoire (1881‑1964) et Marc-Antoine Kugener
(1873‑1941), parue aux Belles Lettres en 1930. Les deux savants avaient
qualifié ce texte de « roman historique » en raison de libertés
prises avec la vérité et d’emprunts à l’Histoire Philothée de Théodoret de
Cyr composée vers 443‑444. Ils avaient alors proposé de considérer l’œuvre
comme un texte remanié au milieu du vie siècle à partir d’un fond
jugé vraisemblable. Néanmoins, quatre-vingts ans plus tard, la thèse de la
pieuse fiction emporte de plus en plus l’adhésion des spécialistes de
l’Antiquité tardive, et le présent livre vient apporter une contribution
importante aux débats anciens et actuels sur la valeur qu’il faut ou non
accorder à la Vie de Porphyre.
Helléniste de formation, Anna Lampadaridi a consacré à
la question de l’authenticité du récit hagiographique une thèse de philologie
byzantine dirigée par le professeur Bernard Flusin de l’université
Paris-Sorbonne, et a choisi de prendre le problème à sa racine en proposant
d’établir une nouvelle édition du texte âprement et longuement discuté depuis
la publication de Grégoire et Kugener. Il en résulte un travail minutieux dans
son exigence scientifique, soigné dans sa démarche philologique et mesuré dans
ses commentaires historiques. Il est bien naturel que la version remaniée de
cette thèse trouve sa place dans la prestigieuse série des Subsidia
Hagiographica publiée à Bruxelles par la Société des Pères bollandistes
dont plusieurs membres illustres (Hippolyte Delehaye, Paul Peeters, François
Halkin, Michel van Esbroeck) avaient consacré leur talent et leur science à ce
texte controversé. Tandis que l’édition publiée en 1930 reposait sur la
collation de quatre manuscrits (bibliothèque bodléienne,
Baroccianus 238 ; bibliothèque nationale de Vienne, Historicus
Graecus 3 et Supplementum Graecum 50 ; bibliothèque patriarcale de
Jérusalem, Saint-Sépulcre 1), A. Lampadaridi offre au public savant un
texte établi à partir de tous les témoins repérés de la tradition directe,
c’est-à-dire six manuscrits byzantins datés des xe-xie siècles et
décrits avec soin aux p. 38‑43, dont deux manuscrits inconnus de Grégoire
et Kugener (bibliothèque patriarcale d’Istanbul, Sainte-Trinité 95 ;
bibliothèque vaticane, Ottobonianus Graecus 92). Par souci de ne rien négliger
pour éditer au mieux le texte, l’éditrice a également utilisé un manuscrit
supplémentaire (Parisinus Graecus 1452 du xe siècle) dans lequel
la Vie figure en une version condensée. Il était indispensable pour
l’établissement et l’histoire du texte de ne pas omettre l’apport des deux
abrégés grecs (Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca, nos 1571‑1572) ni celui
des deux versions médiévales connues en géorgien et en slavon. Ce travail
consciencieux permet d’améliorer la précédente édition jusqu’à présent seule
disponible et traduite dans les principales langues des études classiques.
Souvent de belle taille et néanmoins très lisible,
l’apparat critique de la nouvelle édition permet facilement de comparer le
texte actuel avec l’édition de Grégoire et Kugener et de mesurer le travail
d’ecdotique accompli et le talent philologique déployé par
A. Lampadaridi : près de 160 corrections ont ainsi été apportées
à l’édition de la Vie de Porphyre parue en 1930. Certes, le texte
n’est pas radicalement modifié dans sa structure ni dans son récit, mais il
s’en trouve amélioré sur de nombreux de points de détail : des particules
sont suppléées, des articles supprimés ou des mots rétablis ; des
corrections orthographiques nombreuses sont introduites ; des révisions de
l’accentuation autrefois défectueuse sont proposées à bon escient ; la
modification du nombre plutôt que du genre de rares mots ainsi que de la
terminaison de certains verbes ou de la désinence de quelques noms propres ou
communs est justifiée ; des coquilles laissées par Grégoire et Kugener se
trouvent corrigées dans l’actuelle édition ; enfin, de manière plus
exceptionnelle, l’éditrice propose le remplacement d’un mot par un autre mot,
le plus souvent proche sur le plan sémantique. Sur la centaine de petits
chapitres qui subdivisent le texte hagiographique, des corrections sensibles
ont été apportées, entre autres, aux paragraphes 7, 13, 20, 23, 38, 70,
88, 98 et 103. Le texte rédigé en grec ancien, ou plutôt en grec protobyzantin
au regard de l’influence lexicale du latin tardif ressortissant au domaine
administratif et militaire, de certaines évolutions morphologiques et de
caractéristiques syntaxiques (cf. p. 50‑56), est accompagné d’une
traduction précise et claire en langue française qui met ce récit à la
disposition d’un vaste lectorat.
En raison de sa nature hagiographique, la Vie de
Porphyre pourrait retenir l’attention de tous ceux intéressés par la
question du modèle de sainteté épiscopale dans l’Antiquité tardive et de la
construction d’un culte à l’échelle d’une ville. Mais le texte se dérobe à un
tel examen en raison de sa nature singulière : Porphyre n’est pas un saint
à l’efficacité durable dans la mesure où sa mémoire n’est matérialisée par
aucune relique, sa sainteté n’accomplit pas de miracles posthumes, son tombeau
ne suscite aucun culte particulier (cf. p. 68). Son nom est certes
mentionné dans des calendriers liturgiques en géorgien, syriaque, grec et
arménien, mais il s’agit d’une figure fantomatique. L’intérêt du texte porte avant
tout sur l’histoire chrétienne et merveilleuse d’un évêché palestinien, ce qui
justifie le choix de l’éditrice de reléguer dans le titre la Vie de
Porphyre en seconde position au profit de la notion plus générale de
christianisation de Gaza. La ville est en effet la véritable protagoniste de
l’histoire qu’on peut rappeler en quelques lignes : notable de
Thessalonique devenu ascète en Égypte puis en Palestine, Porphyre est ordonné
prêtre puis évêque contre sa volonté par le patriarche de Jérusalem (§ 1‑16).
Il accomplit des miracles en faveur de la petite communauté chrétienne de Gaza
harcelée par la population païenne (§ 17‑32), ce qui le décide à se rendre
auprès du couple impérial à Constantinople pour obtenir des subsides et une
autorisation de détruire les sanctuaires et d’extirper le paganisme (§ 33‑57),
ce qui est fait au retour avec l’appui de l’armée (§ 58‑74) avant que ne
soient érigée une cathédrale (§ 75‑79 et 92‑94), accomplis divers miracles
(§ 80‑91) et réprimée une révolte de païens qui se convertissent avant la
mort de l’évêque (§ 95‑103).
Le récit hagiographique est beau, sans doute trop au
regard de ses invraisemblances historiques, en particulier l’évocation du
recours à la force sur ordre de l’empereur Arcadius pour détruire tous les
sanctuaires païens d’une cité prospère et fidèle à son autorité. À lire les
quelque deux cents notes érudites qui éclairent le texte et l’accompagnent sur
une quarantaine de pages, on comprend qu’il faut prendre avec précaution une
source d’une historicité douteuse que l’opinion avertie considère désormais
comme une fable. La part de l’invention n’est pas négligeable dans cette
biographie : hier comme aujourd’hui, éditeurs et lecteurs de la Vie
de Porphyre ont relevé des poncifs hagiographiques multiples, des récits
miraculeux convenus, des contradictions narratives flagrantes, des toponymes
aux origines fantaisistes et des impossibilités chronologiques. Malgré ses
incohérences soulignées et expliquées par son éditrice, la Vie de Porphyre livre
un superbe témoignage littéraire sur la construction de la mémoire religieuse
d’une ville devenue chrétienne sur le tard avec force et éclat.
Référence électronique
Sylvain Destephen, « Anna Lampadaridi, La
conversion de Gaza au christianisme. La Vie de S. Porphyre par Marc le
Diacre (BHG 1570). Édition critique, traduction, commentaire », Revue
de l’histoire des religions [En ligne], 3 | 2017, mis en ligne
le 01 septembre 2017, consulté le 25 février 2021. URL :
http://journals.openedition.org/rhr/8773 ; DOI :
https://doi.org/10.4000/rhr.8773
Also known as
Porphyry
Profile
Born to wealth. Hermit in
the desert of Skete, Egypt. Hermit in Palestine on
the bank of the Jordan River. Ordained as
a priest in Jerusalem.
Reluctant bishop of
Gaza, he took to this assignment with great zeal and devotion. He converted almost
all of his diocese,
and nearly eliminated paganism in
it.
Born
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MLA Citation
“Saint Porphyrius of Gaza“. CatholicSaints.Info.
23 May 2020. Web. 25 February 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-porphyrius-of-gaza/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-porphyrius-of-gaza/
Bishop of Gaza in Palestine, b. at Thessalonica about 347; d. at Gaza, 26 February, 420. After five years in the Egyptian desert of Scete he lived five years in a cave near the Jordan. In spite of his impaired health, he frequently visited the scene of the Resurrection. Here he met the Asiatic Mark, at a later date a deacon of his church and his biographer. To effect the sale of the property still owned by Porphyrius in his native city, Mark set out for Thessalonica and, upon his return, the proceeds were distributed among the monasteries of Egypt and among the necessitous in and around Jerusalem. In 392 Porphyrius wasordained to the priesthood, and the relic of the Holy Cross was intrusted to his care. In 395 he became Bishop of Gaza, a stronghold of paganism, with an insignificant Christian community. The attitude of the pagan population was hostile so that the bishop appealed to the emperor for protection and pleaded repeatedly for the destruction of pagan temples. He finally obtained an imperial rescript ordering the destruction of pagan sanctuaries at Gaza. A Christian church was erected on the site of the temple of Marnas. In 415 Porphyrius attended the Council of Diospolis. The "Vita S. Porphyrii" of Mark the Deacon, formerly known only in a Latin translation, was published in 1874 by M. Haupt in its original Greek text; a new edition was issued in 1895 by the Bonn Philological Society.
(also known as Porphyrius)
Born in Thessalonica, Macedonia, in 353; died at Gaza in 420.
Born into a wealthy home, Porphyry at the age of 25 left Thessalonica for Egypt, where he entered the famous desert monastery of Skete. Five years later he went to Palestine to visit its holy places, and settled in a cave near the Jordan River for another five years before. At this time he developed a serious illness and decided to spend his last days in Jerusalem, where he could daily visit the sites of our Lord's Passion. He practiced great austerities and after a period became so ill that he could only with difficulty, leaning on a stick, visit the shrines that he loved.
About this time he met a former friend of his called Mark, who, seeing his weakness and with what difficulty he walked, offered his arm, but Porphryry refused it. He had come to Palestine, he said, to seek pardon for his sins, and it was not right that he should be eased by anyone. "Rather let me undergo labor and inconvenience, that God, beholding it, may have compassion on me."
Thus he lived and suffered, each day receiving the Sacrament and visiting some spot made sacred by our Lord, and happy despite his pain, except for one thing: he still retained his wealth, and the thought of it troubled him. One day, therefore, he commissioned his friend Mark to return to Thessalonica and act on his behalf, giving him instructions to sell his property. Mark set out, and three months later returned with the assets to the value of 4,500 pieces of gold. Porphyry embraced him with joy, and Mark was delighted to find that his friend had fully recovered from his sickness.
When asked how he had been cured, Porphyry replied: "Forty days ago, being in extreme pain, I made a shift to reach Mount Calvary, where, fainting away, I felt such a blinding trance that I thought I saw our Savior on the Cross, and the good thief hanging beside Him. I said: 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' whereupon He ordered the thief to come to my assistance, and he, raising me off the ground on which I lay, bade me go to Christ. I ran to Him, and He, coming off His Cross, said to me: 'Take this wood (meaning the Cross) into your custody.' In obedience I carried it on my shoulders, and then I awoke and have been free from pain ever since."
The dream appears to have come true, for in course of time (about age 40) he was ordained priest and the bishop of Jerusalem committed to him the care of the Cross. But first, having distributed his wealth among the poor of Palestine and become impoverished, he learned to make shoes and earned his living as a cobbler.
In his later life he was sent for by the archbishop of Caesarea and, on appearing before him, found that without his knowledge he had been made a bishop in 396. And, as bishop of Gaza, he returned to Palestine, where he continued his simple lifestyle and remained the guardian of the Cross.
Most people in Gaza were still heathen and openly resented Porphyry's initial success in evangelizing their neighbors; therefore, he was harassed by the pagans of his see. The year of his consecration was also marked by a drought in Gaza. Pagans blamed the Christians for bringing this new man into their midst, and locked the saint out of the city. It is said that this happened when Porphyry and his supporters were processing around the boundaries of the city asking God to send rain. At that moment the rain began to fall, and grateful citizens again opened the gates to let in their bishop.
But other sources say that the conversion or expulsion of nearly every pagan by the time of his death was not so easy. They report that Porphyry applied to Emperor Arcadius, who gave him permission and the imperial troops needed to demolish a temple to Marnas, which had been a cause of great trouble to the Christians in Gaza. Other pagan temples and idols were destroyed as well. Riots resulted, his house was pillaged, and his life was threatened. The people of Gaza were at length brought to Christianity only by Porphyry's patient teaching.
On the site of the razed temple to Marnas, Porphyry built a large church, which was consecrated in 408. By the time of his death, his see was free of paganism. His friend, Mark, who had become his deacon, wrote his biography. Another biography, however, seems to deny that Porphyry appealed to force.
Mark's biography is a valuable document for its picture of the last days of paganism around the eastern Mediterranean; it is also a witness to the reverence given at Jerusalem at the end of the 4th century to what purported to be a large piece of the wood of Christ's Cross (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Gill, White).
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Porphyry, Bishop
At the age of twenty-five, Porphyry, a rich citizen of
Thessalonica, left the world for one of the great religious houses in the
desert of Scete. Here he remained five years, and then
finding himself drawn to a more solitary life passed into Palestine, where he
spent a similar period in the severest penance, till ill health obliged him to
moderate his austerities. He then made his home in Jerusalem, and in spite of
his ailments visited the Holy Places every day; thinking, says his biographer,
so little of his sickness, that he seemed to be afflicted in another body, and
not his own. About this time God put it into his heart to sell all he had and
give to the poor, and then in reward of the sacrifice restored him by a miracle
to perfect health. In 393 he was ordained priest, and entrusted with the care
of the relics of the True Cross; three years later, in spite of all the
resistance his humility could make, he was consecrated Bishop of Gaza. That
city was a hot-bed of paganism, and Porphyry found in it an ample scope for his
apostolic zeal. His labors and the miracles which attended them effected the
conversion of many; and an imperial edict for the destruction of the temples,
obtained through the influence of Saint John Chrysostom, greatly strengthened
his hands. When Saint Porphyry first went to Gaza, he found there one temple
more splendid than the rest, in honor of the chief god. When the edict went
forth to destroy all traces of heathen worship, Saint Porphyry determined to
put Satan to special shame where he had received special honor. A Christian
church was built upon the site, and its approach was paved with the marbles of
the heathen temple. Thus every worshiper of Jesus Christ trod the relics of
idolatry and superstition under foot each time he went to assist at the Holy
Mass. He lived to see his diocese for the most part clear of idolatry, and died
A.D. 420.
Reflection – All superstitious searching into secret
things is forbidden by the first commandment, equally with the worship of any
false god. Let us ask Saint Porphyry for a great zeal in keeping this
commandment, lest we be led away, as so many are, by a curious and prying mind.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-porphyry-bishop/
February 26
St. Porphyrius, Bishop of Gaza, Confessor
From his life, written with great accuracy by his faithful disciple Mark. See Fleury, t. 5. Tillemont, t. 10. Chatelain, p. 777. In the king’s library at Paris is a Greek MS. life of St. Porphyrius, (abridged from that of Mark,) which has never been translated.
A.D. 420.
PORPHYRIUS, a native of Thessalonica in Macedonia, was of a noble and wealthy family. The desire of renouncing the world made him leave his friends and country at twenty-five years of age, in 378, to pass into Egypt, where he consecrated himself to God in a famous monastery in the desert of Sceté. After five years spent there in the penitential exercises of a monastic life, he went into Palestine to visit the holy places of Jerusalem. After this he took up his abode in a cave near the Jordan, where he passed other five years in great austerity, till he fell sick, when a complication of disorders obliged him to leave that place and return to Jerusalem. There he never failed daily to visit devoutly all the holy places, leaning on a staff, for he was too weak to stand upright. It happened about the same time that Mark, an Asiatic, and the author of his life, came to Jerusalem with the same intent, where he made some stay. He was much edified at the devotion with which Porphyrius continually visited the place of our Lord’s resurrection, and the other oratories. And seeing him one day labour with great pain in getting up the stairs in the chapel built by Constantine, he ran to him to offer him his assistance, which Porphyrius refused, saying: “It is not just that I who am come hither to beg pardon for my sins, should be eased by any one: rather let me undergo some labour and inconvenience, that God, beholding it, may have compassion on me.” He in this condition never omitted his usual visits of piety to the holy places, and daily partook of the mystical table, that is, of the holy sacrament. And as to his distemper, so much did he contemn it, that he seemed to be sick in another’s body and not in his own. His confidence in God always supported him. The only thing which afflicted him was, that his fortune had not been sold before this for the use of the poor. This he commissioned Mark to do for him, who accordingly set out for Thessalonica, and in three months’ time returned to Jerusalem with money and effects to the value of four thousand five hundred pieces of gold. When the blessed man saw him, he embraced him, with tears of joy for his safe and speedy return. But Porphyrius was now so well recovered, that Mark scarcely knew him to be the same person: for his body had no signs of its former decay, and his face looked full, fresh, and coloured with a healthy red. He, perceiving his friend’s amazement at his healthy looks, said to him with a smile: “Be not surprised, Mark, to see me in perfect health and strength, but admire the unspeakable goodness of Christ, who can easily cure what is despaired of by men.” Mark asked him by what means he had recovered. He replied: “Forty days ago, being in extreme pain, I made a shift to reach Mount Calvary, where, fainting away, I fell into a kind of trance or ecstacy, during which I seemed to see our Saviour on the cross, and the good thief in the same condition near him. I said to Christ, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom: whereupon he ordered the thief to come to my assistance, who, raising me off the ground on which I lay, bade me go to Christ. I ran to him, and he, coming off his cross, said to me: Take this wood (meaning his cross) into thy custody. In obedience to him, methought I laid it on my shoulders, and carried it some way. I awaked soon after, and have been free from pain ever since, and without the least appearance of my having ever ailed anything.” Mark was so edified with the holy man’s discourse and good example, that he became more penetrated with esteem and affection for him than ever, which made him desirous of living always with him in order to his own improvement; for he seemed to have attained to a perfect mastery over all his passions: he was endued at the same time with a divine prudence, an eminent spirit of prayer, and the gift of tears. Being also well versed in the holy scriptures and spiritual knowledge, and no stranger to profane learning, he confounded all the infidels and heretics who attempted to dispute with him. As to the money and effects which Mark had brought him, he distributed all among the necessitous in Palestine and Egypt, so that, in a very short time, he had reduced himself to the necessity of labouring for his daily food. He therefore learned to make shoes and dress leather, while Mark, being well skilled in writing, got a handsome livelihood by copying books, and had some to spare. He therefore desired the saint to partake of his earnings. But Porphyrius replied, in the words of St. Paul: He that doth not work let him not eat. He led this laborious and penitential life till he was forty years of age, when the bishop of Jerusalem ordained him priest, though much against his will, and committed to him the keeping of the holy cross: this was in 393.
The saint changed nothing in his austere penitential
life, feeding only upon roots and the coarsest bread, and not eating till after
sunset, except on Sundays and holidays, when he eat at noon, and added a little
oil and cheese; and on account of a great weakness of stomach, he mingled a
very small quantity of wine in the water he drank. This was his method of
living till his death. Being elected bishop of Gaza, in 396, John, the
metropolitan and archbishop of Cæsarea, wrote to the patriarch of Jerusalem to
desire him to send over Porphyrius, that he might consult him on certain difficult
passages of scripture. He was sent accordingly, but charged to be back in seven
days. Porphyrius, receiving this order, seemed at first disturbed, but said:
“God’s will be done.”
That evening he called Mark, and said to him: “Brother Mark, let us go and venerate the holy places and the sacred cross, for it will be long before we shall do it again.” Mark asked him why he said so. He answered: Our Saviour had appeared to him the night before, and said: “Give up the treasure of the cross which you have in custody, for I will marry you to a wife, poor indeed and despicable, but of great piety and virtue. Take care to adorn her well; for, however contemptible she may appear, she is my sister.” “This,” said he, “Christ signified to me last night: and I fear, in consequence, my being charged with the sins of others, whilst I labour to expiate my own; but the will of God must be obeyed.” When they had venerated the holy places and the sacred cross, and Porphyrius had prayed long before it, and with many tears, he shut up the cross in its golden case, and delivered the keys to the bishop; and having obtained his blessing, he and his disciple Mark set out the next day, with three others, among whom was one Barochas, a person whom the saint had found lying in the street almost dead, and had taken care of, cured, and instructed; who ever after served him with Mark. They arrived the next day, which was Saturday, at Cæsarea. The archbishop obliged them to sup with him. After spiritual discourses they took a little sleep, and then rose to assist at the night service. Next morning the archbishop bid the Gazæans lay hold on St. Porphyrius, and, while they held him, ordained him bishop. The holy man wept bitterly, and was inconsolable for being promoted to a dignity he judged himself so unfit for. The Gazæans, however, performed their part in endeavouring to comfort him; and, having assisted at the Sunday office, and stayed one day more at Cæsarea, they set out for Gaza, lay at Diospolis, and, late on Wednesday night, arrived at Gaza, much harassed and fatigued. For the heathens living in the villages near Gaza, having notice of their coming, had so damaged the roads in several places, and clogged them with thorns and logs of wood, that they were scarcely passable. They also contrived to raise such a smoke and stench, that the holy men were in danger of being blinded or suffocated.
There happened that year a very great drought, which the pagans ascribe to the coming of the new Christian bishop, saying that their god Marnas had foretold Porphyrius would bring public calamities and disasters on their city. In Gaza stood a famous temple of that idol which the emperor Theodosius the Elder had commanded to be shut up, but not demolished, on account of its beautiful structure. The governor afterwards had permitted the heathens to open it again. As no rain fell the two first months after St. Porphyrius’s arrival, the idolaters, in great affliction, assembled in this temple to offer sacrifices, and make supplications to this god Marnas, whom they called the Lord of rains. These they repeated for seven days, going also to a place of prayer out of the town but seeing all their endeavours ineffectual, they lost all hopes of a supply of what they so much wanted. A dearth ensuing, the Christians, to the number of two hundred and eighty, women and children included, after a day’s fast, and watching the following night in prayer, by the order of their holy bishop, went out in procession to St. Timothy’s church, in which lay the relics of the holy martyr St. Meuris, and of the confessor St. Thees, singing hymns of divine praise. But at their return to the city they found the gates shut against them, which the heathens refused to open. In this situation the Christians and St. Porphyrius above the rest, addressed almighty God with redoubled fervour for the blessing so much wanted; when in a short time, the clouds gathering, as at the prayers of Elias, there fell such a quantity of rain that the heathens opened their gates, and joining them, cried out: “Christ alone is God: He alone has overcome.” They accompanied the Christians to the church to thank God for the benefit received, which was attended with the conversion of one hundred and seventy-six persons, whom the saint instructed, baptized, and confirmed, as he did one hundred and five more before the end of that year. The miraculous preservation of the life of a pagan woman in labour, who had been despaired of, occasioned the conversion of that family and others, to the number of sixty-four.
The heathens perceiving their number decrease, grew
very troublesome to the Christians, whom they excluded from commerce and all
public offices, and injured them all manner of ways. St. Porphyrius, to screen
himself and his flock from their outrages and vexations had recourse to the
emperor’s protection. On this errand he sent Mark, his disciple, to
Constantinople, and went afterwards himself in company with John, his
metropolitan archbishop of Cæsarea. Here they applied themselves to St. John
Chrysostom, who joyfully received them, and recommended them to the eunuch
Amantius, who had great credit with the empress, and was a zealous servant of
God. Amantius having introduced them to the empress, she received them with
great distinction, assured them of her protection, and begged their prayers for
her safe delivery, a favour she received a few days after. She desired them in
another visit to sign her and her newborn son, Theodosius the Younger, with the
sign of the cross, which they did. The young prince was baptized with great
solemnity, and on that occasion the empress obtained from the emperor all that
the bishops had requested, and in particular that the temples of Gaza should be
demolished; an imperial edict being drawn up for this purpose and delivered to
Cynegius, a virtuous patrician, and one full of zeal, to see it executed. They
stayed at Constantinople during the feast of Easter, and at their departure the
emperor and empress bestowed on them great presents. When they landed in
Palestine, near Gaza, the Christians came out to meet them with a cross carried
before them, singing hymns. In the place called Tetramphodos, or Four-ways-end,
stood a marble statue of Venus, on a marble altar, which was in great
reputation for giving oracles to young women about the choice of husbands, but
had often grossly deceived them, engaging them in most unhappy marriages; so
that many heathens detested its lying impostures. As the two bishops, with the
procession of the Christians, and the cross borne before them, passed through
that square, this idol fell down of itself, and was broken to pieces, whereupon
thirty-two men and seven women were converted.
Ten days after arrived Cynegius, having with him a
consular man, and a duke, or general, with a strong guard of soldiers, besides
the civil magistrates of the country. He assembled the citizens and read to
them the emperor’s edict, commanding their idols and temples to be destroyed,
which was accordingly executed, and no less than eight public temples in the
city were burnt; namely, those of the Sun, Venus, Apollo, Proserpine, Hecate,
the Hierion, or of the priests, Tycheon, or of Fortune, and of Marnion of
Marnos, their Jupiter. The Marnion, in which men had been often sacrificed,
burned for many days. After this, the private houses and courts were all
searched; the idols were every where burned or thrown into the common sewers,
and all books of magic and superstition were cast into the flames. Many
idolaters desired baptism; but the saint took a long time to make trial of
them, and to prepare them for that sacrament by daily instructions. On the spot
where the temple of Marnas had stood, was built the church of Eudoxia in the
figure of a cross. She sent for this purpose, precious pillars and rich marble
from Constantinople. Of the marble taken out of the Marnion, St. Porphyrius
made steps and a road to the church, that it might be trampled upon by men,
dogs, swine, and other beasts; whence many heathens would never walk thereon.
Before he would suffer the church to be begun he proclaimed a fast, and the
next morning being attended by his clergy and all the Christians in the city,
they went in a body to the place from the church Irene, singing the Venite
exultemus Domino, and other psalms, and answering to every verse Alleluia, Barochas
carrying a cross before them. They all set to work, carrying stones and other
materials, and digging the foundations according to the plan marked out and
directed by Rufinus, a celebrated architect, singing psalms and saying prayers
during their work. It was begun in 403, when thirty high pillars arrived from
Constantinople, two of which, called Carostiæ, shone like emeralds when placed
in the church. It was five years building, and when finished in 408, the holy
bishop performed the consecration of it on Easter-day with the greatest pomp
and solemnity. His alms to the poor on that occasion seemed boundless, though
they were always exceedingly great. The good bishop spent the remainder of his
life in the zealous discharge of all pastoral duties; and though he lived to
see the city clear for the most part of the remains of paganism, superstition,
and idolatry, he had always enough to suffer from such as continued obstinate
in their errors. Falling sick, he made his pious will, in which he recommended
all his dear flock to God. He died in 420, being about sixty years of age, on
the 26th of February, on which day both the Greeks and Latins make mention of
him. The pious author of his life concludes it, saying: “He is now in the
paradise of delight, interceding for us with all the saints, by whose prayers
may God have mercy on us.”
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
II: February. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/porphyry.asp
