_-_Luke_of_Steiris_01.jpg)
Saint Luc le Thaumaturge, mosaïque, XIe siècle, Monastère de Hosios Loukas
Saint Luc le jeune
Ermite en Grèce (+ 945)
ou Luc le thaumaturge.
Chargé de garder les
troupeaux familiaux, il menait ainsi une vie retirée, austère et ascétique. A
la mort de son père, il quitta le domicile familial pour entrer dans la vie
monastique. En chemin, les soldats le prirent pour un esclave fugitif. Luc leur
répondit que c'était le Christ qui lui avait demandé de partir ainsi. Ils
crurent à une moquerie, le rouèrent de coups et le ramenèrent dans sa famille.
Il y fut mal reçu et même battu. Il réussit à convaincre sa mère de le laisser
partir et il fut confié à un higoumène d'un monastère d'Athènes et s'installa
sur le mont Ioannitza. Lors de l'invasion bulgare, il se réfugia à Patras puis
à Corinthe et se mit au service d'un vieillard, stylite, à qui il obéit pendant
quinze ans. Revenu à Ioannitza, il en fut chassé par une invasion des Hongrois
et se retira dans une île aride où il rendit paisiblement son âme à Dieu.
Ermite et faiseur de
miracles il vivait seul en Thessalie dans un lieu qui s'appela Sotérion 'lieu
de guérison'. Il voulait devenir religieux mais fut arrêté comme esclave en
fuite et emprisonné quelques temps. Il devint ensuite ermite au Mont Joannitsa
près de Corinthe où il était admiré pour la sainteté de sa vie et les miracles
qu'il faisait et qui lui méritèrent le surnom de thaumaturge.
À Sotérion en Phocide,
l’an 945, saint Luc le Jeune, ermite.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/11428/Saint-Luc-le-jeune.html
Saint Luc le Thaumaturge,
ou saint Luc d' Hellade provenait d' une famille de petits propriétaires
de l' île d' Egine en Grèce qui durent fuir les invasions sarrazines...
Ayant tôt reçu la vocation
monastique, il partit à la recherche de moines dans la région comprise aujourd'
hui entre la Hongrie et la Bulgarie, mais il fut pris pour un esclave fugitif
et molesté. Il fut reconduit à la maison familiale où il fut maltraité.
Il se rendit près d'Athènes
dans une communauté religieuse, mais le supérieur au bout d' un certain temps
lui ordonna de retourner chez lui pour subvenir aux besoins de sa mère
Euphrosyne. Elle accepta finalement la vocation de son fils.
Il mena une vie
érémitique austère sur un mont près de Corinthe, après avoir été obligé de fuir
lors des invasions des païens venus du nord. Il est fêté le 7 février, jour de
sa mort en 955, par le Martyrologium romanum ainsi que par les Eglises
grecque et slaves.
Cette vie illustre l' esprit d' obéissance et de sacrifice par la pérégrination, forcée ( les invasions ) ou acceptée ( la vie monastique ).
SOURCE : http://ut-pupillam-oculi.over-blog.com/article-5555574.html
Saint Luke the Younger
Also
known as
Luke of Aegina
Luke of Mount Joannitsa
Luke of the Soterion
Luke the Thaumaturgus
Luke the Wonder-Worker
Profile
Third of seven children born
to Stephen and Euphrosyne, small land-owning farmers;
the family was forced to flee to Thessaly ahead of Saracen raids on their home
island. In his youth Luke worked the
fields and tended sheep to
help support his family, but when his father died,
the young man followed a call to religious life, gave away all his property to
the poor (which
put him in conflict with his relatives) and left home to pursue his calling.
Settling as a monk in
the area of modern Hungary and Bulgaria,
he was mistaken for a runaway slave and imprisoned for
a while. Eventually released, he found that his family refused to have anything
else to do with him. He briefly joined a monastery in Athens, Greece,
but the superior there received a dream in which Luke’s mother was
calling for help, so he sent the young man home. His mother finally
accepted Luke’s call to religious life, and he became a hermit on Mount
Joannitsa near Corinth, Greece.
He healed so many people by prayer that his hermitage became know as the Soterion (the
place of healing; place of safety), and Luke as as Thaumaturgus (Wonder
worker).
Born
c.950 near
Corinth, Greece of
natural causes
upon his death,
his hermitage was
turned into a chapel
holding his hermitage
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Book of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
spletne
strani v slovenšcini
MLA
Citation
“Saint Luke the
Younger“. CatholicSaints.Info. 16 May 2020. Web. 24 February 2026. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-luke-the-younger/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-luke-the-younger/
St. Luke the Younger
Feastday: February 7
Death: 946
Hermit and wonder-worker
whose solitary hermitage in Thessaly, Greece, became known as the Soterion,
“the place of healing.” Luke tried to
become a religious but was arrested as an escaped slave and imprisoned for a
time. He finally became a hermit on Mount Joannitsa. near Corinth. There he was
revered for his holiness and
miracles, which earned him the surname Thaumaturgus .
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4354
St. Luke the Younger
Born on the Greek island
of Aegina, St. Luke the Younger was the son of farmers and the third of
seven children. Saracen raiders forced his family to leave their homeland for
Thessaly, where St. Luke the Younger worked in the fields and tended sheep.
He was a dutiful child, but his charity often frustrated his parents.
St. Luke the
Younger frequently gave his own food to those who were hungry and even
offered beggars the clothes from his back. When he sowed seeds in his family’s
fields, he sometimes scattered half in the neighboring fields of the poor. His
family’s crops flourished, but his parents still did not approve. After his
father’s death, young Luke decided to become a hermit. The decision angered his
mother, who was hoping for a more traditional secular life for her son. He left
home to find a monastery.
St. Luke the
Younger was captured by tribesmen who mistook him for a runaway slave. He
was imprisoned for a time, and then returned home, where he was ridiculed for
running away. Later, two monks on their way to the Holy Land persuaded Luke’s
mother to allow him to join a monastery in Athens. St. Luke the
Younger had hardly arrived before his superior sent him home, claiming
that his mother had appeared in a vision calling for his help.
Eventually, St. Luke the
Younger’s mother understood her son’s call to religious life and no longer
opposed him. Luke built his hermitage on Mount Joannitsa, near Corinth. His
reputation for holiness, and his numerous miracles inspired people to call him
, meaning “miracle worker.” St. Luke the Younger became so popular that after
his death his cell was turned into an oratory.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-luke-the-younger/
Luke the Younger (AC)
(also known as Luke Thaumaturgus or the Wonder-worker)
Died c. 946. Saint Luke is known to the Greek Church as Luke the Wonderworker.
His parents were farmers or peasant proprietors on the island of Aegina, but
were forced off their land by attacking Saracens. They settled in Thessaly,
Greece. Luke was the third of the seven children of Stephen and Euphrosyne.
Although Luke was a pious and obedient boy generally, he often made them angry
because of his charity to those poorer than himself. In childhood he often gave
his meal away to the hungry, or would strip off his clothes for a beggar. When
sowing seed, for instance, Luke the Wonderworker spread at least half of it
over the fields of the poor instead of over his parents' fields. Later it was
said that one of wonders God worked on Luke's behalf was to make his parents'
crops yield more than anyone else's, even though he had given away half the
seeds. But at the time his mother and father were extremely angry.
After Stephen's death,
Luke left the fields and gave himself for a time to contemplation. When he told
his family that he wanted to enter a monastery, they tried to stop him. But
Luke ran away. Unfortunately, some soldiers caught him and for a time put him
in prison, thinking he was a runaway slave. When he said that he was a servant
of Christ and had undertaken the journey out of devotion, they refused to
believe him. He was shut up in prison and cruelly treated until his identity
was discovered. He was allowed to return home where he was scolded for running
away.
In the end, however, Luke got his way. Euphrosyne provided hospitality to two monks on their way between Rome and the Holy Land. They managed to persuade his mother to let him accompany them as far as Athens. There Luke was admitted as a novice in a monastery, but he didn't stay long. One day the superior sent for him and told the young saint that Luke's mother had appeared to him in a vision and that, as she needed him, he must return home to help her. Luke went home once again and was received with joy and surprise. After four months Euphrosyne herself became convinced of her son's calling and no longer opposed his entering religious life. So, age the age of 18, he built himself a hermitage on Mount Joannitsa near Corinth and lived there happily for the rest of his life. Luke is one of the earliest saints to be seen levitating in prayer. He worked so many miracles there that the site was turned into an oratory after his death and became known as Soterion or Sterion (place of healing) and he himself as the Thaumaturgus (the wonder-worker) (Benedictines, Bentley, Walsh).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0207.shtml
The Venerable Luke
the Younger
Today, 7 February on the
Church’s calendar, we commemorate the Venerable Luke the Younger (896-953),
also known as St Luke ‘of Mt Steirion’, ‘of Steiris’, and ‘of Hellas’. He is
perhaps best remembered as the founder of the Monastery of Osios
Loukas (Venerable Luke), on the slopes of ‘the great and godly mount /
Of Helicon’ (Hesiod, ‘Theogony’, Hesiod and Theognis, trans. Dorothea
Wender [Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1976], p. 23) between Delphi and Levadia
near the coast of the Gulf of Corinth in Boeotia, Greece. Born quite close to
Delphi and baptised ‘Stephen’, at a young age (14) St Luke secretly left home
with some monks to join a monastery in Athens—according to this
article from Road to Emmaus, thought to have been ‘the Monastery
of Atheniotissa on
the Acropolis, the formerly pagan Parthenon’, though the Vita of
St Luke on the monastery’s website identifies it as Pantanassa, in Monastiraki.
The great emphasis,
however, of most of the accounts of St Luke’s life that I’ve looked
at—the Prologue,
Bulgakov’s Handbook,
and the RTE article I
mentioned above—is the lesson St Luke soon learned in filial devotion.
According to the latter article,
which gives the fullest account of this incident:
His mother [Euphrosyne],
already a widow, entreated God day and night to bring Luke back to her. Far
from intending to hinder his calling, this pious woman had taught him to value
God’s service above all else, but she had not expected him to leave her at such
a young age and his disappearance brought her to despair. The Lord heard her
prayers and for three continuous nights the abbot of the Athenian monastery was
discomfited by a dream of Stephen’s mother begging for her son’s return.
Finally, the abbot called Stephen to him and curtly sent him home, suggesting
that he pursue a life of quiet somewhere else with the words, ‘Under the
present circumstances it is quite impossible that you fail to return to your
mother. . . Her prayer, it seems, is exceedingly persuasive to God and able to
overpower you own . . . Depart then from us, and from the borders of Attica,
and give yourself back to the person who gave you birth, and from whom, for
three nights now, I have undergone ten thousand harrassments.’
Thanks to God, however,
St Luke’s mother, as was said, had no intention of preventing his tonsure into
the monastic life. After living ‘with her in complete humility and obedience
for four months, and, asking her blessing for his ascetical efforts of
monasticism, he left his parental home, intending to lead a life of a hermit’ (Bulgakov).
It seems he lived in various locations around southern Greece, spending most of
his time—a 7-yr stretch, and then, 10 years later, a 12-yr stretch—in
‘Ioannitzi’, where he was tonsured by some elders on pilgrimage. During his
first seven years there, according to a
brief life of the Saint by Photios Kontoglou, ‘Above all his faith in
God shone, simple, like a tree rooted in his heart.’ St Nicholas
(Velimirović) tells
us, ‘At night he prayed to God and during the day he worked in the garden
and in the field, not for his sake but for the sake of the indigent and the
visitors. However, Luke fed only on bread made of barley.’
In 945, St Luke finally
settled at the present site of the monastery, which, being near the village of
Steiri, earned him the name of ‘Steirites’. According to this
account: ‘Here brethren gathered to the monk, and there emerged a small
monastery, the church of which was dedicated to the Great Martyress Barbara.
Dwelling in the monastery, the monk worked many miracles, healing sicknesses
both of soul and of body.’ Finally, he received the foreknowledge of his coming
repose, and, in Kontoglou’s words,
‘Three months before his falling asleep he went round to all of the villages
and places of asceticism and asked forgiveness of all.’
St Luke went to be with
the Lord on 7 February 953 (there is a discrepancy on this year—I have gone
with Kontoglou and the monastery). His relics were myrrh-gushing and bestowed
grace and healing on all who venerated them, and the Venerable one’s disciples
built a new church over them shortly after his repose. Unfortunately, sometime
in the later Middle Ages they were taken elsewhere and, there being two
different stories of how they came to be there (see the monastery
website), ended up in Venice. Thanks be to God, in 1986 they were correctly
identified and returned to the monastery, where they reside to this day.
I made a pilgrimage to
Osios Loukas in May of 2004, driving there from Athens by myself. The location
of the monastery on the slopes of the mountain, with a view of the distant
gulf, coupled with the beautiful architecture and the absolutely stunning mosaics,
made this the most beautiful monastery I have ever seen. There are some
photos here,
plus links to others. Also, there is a modern edition of a Byzantine Bios
kai Politeia of St Luke here.
Unfortunately, I discovered it rather late in the writing of this post, and
this, coupled with my abysmal knowledge of Ancient Greek, precluded its use in
this post. But those whose skills in that noble language exceed my own may wish
to avail themselves of this source.
SOURCE : http://logismoitouaaron.blogspot.ca/2009/02/his-faith-in-god-shonest-luke-younger.html
Venerable Luke of Hellas
Commemorated on February
7
Saint Luke of Hellas was a native of the Greek village of Kastorion. The son of
poor farmers, the saint from childhood had toiled much, working in the fields
and shepherding the sheep. He was very obedient to his parents and very
temperate in eating. He often gave his own food and clothing to the poor, for
which he suffered reproach from his parents. He once gave away almost all the
seed which was needed for planting in the fields. The Lord rewarded him for his
charity, and the harvest gathered was greater than ever before.
As a child, he prayed fervently and often. His mother saw him more than once
standing not on the ground, but in the air while he prayed.
After the death of his father, he left his mother and went to Athens, where he
entered a monastery. But through the prayers of his mother, who was very
concerned about him, the Lord returned him to his parental home in a miraculous
manner. He spent four months there, then with his mother’s blessing he went to
a solitary place on a mountain called Ioannou (or Ioannitsa). Here there was a
church dedicated to the holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, where he lived an
ascetical life in constant prayer and fasting. He was tonsured there by some
Elders who were on pilgrimage. After this, St Luke redoubled his ascetic
efforts, for which the Lord granted him the gift of foresight.
After a seven years on Ioannou, the saint moved to Corinth because of an
invasion of the Bulgarian armies. Hearing about the exploits of a certain
stylite at Patras, he went to see him, and remained for ten years to serve the
ascetic with humility and obedience. Afterwards, the saint returned again to
his native land and again began to pursue asceticism on Mount Ioannou.
The throngs of people flocking there disturbed his quietude, so with the
blessing of his Elder Theophylactus, St Luke went with his disciple to a still
more remote place at Kalamion. After three years, he settled on the desolate
and arid island of Ampelon because of an invasion of the Turks. Steiris was
another place of his ascetic efforts. Here brethren gathered to the monk, and a
small monastery grew up, the church of which was dedicated to the Great Martyr
Barbara. Dwelling in the monastery, the saint performed many miracles, healing
sicknesses of soul and of body.
Foreseeing his end, the saint confined himself in a cell and for three months
prepared for his departure. When asked where he was to be buried, the monk
replied, “Throw my body into a ravine to be eaten by wild beasts.” When the
brethren begged him to change these instructions, he commanded them to bury his
body on the spot where he lay. Raising his eyes to heaven, he said, “Into Thy
hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!”
St Luke fell asleep in the Lord on February 7, 946. Later, a church was built
over his tomb. Myrrh flowed from his holy relics, and many healings occurred.
SOURCE : http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/02/07/100458-venerable-luke-of-hellas
Life of the Saint
"Saint Luke of Hellas [also known as Osios Loukas O Steiriotis] was a
native of the Greek village of Kastorion. The son of poor farmers, the saint
from childhood had toiled much, working in the fields and shepherding the
sheep. He was very obedient to his parents and very temperate in eating. He
often gave his own food and clothing to the poor, for which he suffered
reproach from his parents. He once gave away almost all the seed which was
needed for planting in the fields. The Lord rewarded him for his charity, and
the harvest gathered was greater than ever before.
As a child, he prayed fervently and often. His mother saw him more than once
standing not on the ground, but in the air while he prayed.
After the death of his father, he left his mother and went to Athens, where he
entered a monastery. But through the prayers of his mother, who was very
concerned about him, the Lord returned him to his parental home in a miraculous
manner. He spent four months there, then with his mother's blessing he went to
a solitary place on a mountain called Ioannou (or Ioannitsa). Here there was a
church dedicated to the holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, where he lived an
ascetical life in constant prayer and fasting. He was tonsured there by some
Elders who were on pilgrimage. After this, St Luke redoubled his ascetic
efforts, for which the Lord granted him the gift of foresight.
After a seven years on Ioannou, the saint moved to Corinth because of an
invasion of the Bulgarian armies. Hearing about the exploits of a certain
stylite at Patras, he went to see him, and remained for ten years to serve the
ascetic with humility and obedience. Afterwards, the saint returned again to
his native land and again began to pursue asceticism on Mount Ioannou.
The throngs of people flocking there disturbed his quietude, so with the
blessing of his Elder Theophylactus, St Luke went with his disciple to a still
more remote place at Kalamion. After three years, he settled on the desolate
and arid island of Ampelon because of an invasion of the Turks. Steiris was
another place of his ascetic efforts. Here brethren gathered to the monk, and a
small monastery grew up, the church of which was dedicated to the Great Martyr
Barbara. Dwelling in the monastery, the saint performed many miracles, healing
sicknesses of soul and of body.
Foreseeing his end, the saint confined himself in a cell and for three months
prepared for his departure. When asked where he was to be buried, the monk
replied, "Throw my body into a ravine to be eaten by wild beasts."
When the brethren begged him to change these instructions, he commanded them to
bury his body on the spot where he lay. Raising his eyes to heaven, he said,
"Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!"
St Luke fell asleep in the Lord on February 7, 946. Later, a church was built
over his tomb. Myrrh flowed from his holy relics, and many healings
occurred."
(http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=100458)
For another researched, annotated life of the Saint, see:
http://logismoitouaaron.blogspot.com/2009/02/his-faith-in-god-shonest-luke-younger.html.
The Relics of the Saint
"Tradition has it that the Hosios’ holy relics had been removed during the
13th century by the Crusaders and had been taken to the Vatican. They later
surfaced in Venice accompanied by the following legend: when the Turks
conquered Boeotia in 1460, a group of monks, carrying the Hosios’ relics, found
refuge on the island of Lefkada. After the island fell to the Turks, the relics
were transported to Bosnia. In July 1463, Bosnia also fell to the turks and
Franciscan monks transported the holy relics to Venice. Much confusion had
already been caused and it was thought that Hosios Loukas’ relics in fact
belonged to St. Luke [the Evangelist] who had also been buried in Thebes [and
whose relics had also been taken to an area outside Venice]. On the 16th of
December 1464, following numerous talks, it was proved that the relics which
had been moved to Italy were in fact those of the monk of the Eastern Church,
Loukas Steiriotis.
On the 11th of October 1986, after 526 years and coordinated efforts by the
Diocese of Thebes and Levadia and local officials, a delegation headed by the
Bishop of Thebes and Levadia Ieronymous [the current Archbishop of Greece], the
ex-bishop Nikodemos, the then abbot of the Monastery Nikodemos and the then
dean and current abbot, Georgios, collected the holy relics and replaced them
in the reliquary of the Katholikon at the Monastery of Hosios Loukas, on the
13th of December 1986."
(http://www.osiosloukas.gr/english_xml/index.html)
SOURCE : http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.ca/2010/02/st-luke-righteous-of-mount-steirion-and.html
Luke the
Younger, Hermit
June 27 is the
commemoration of Saint Luke the Hermit.
“Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Luke the Younger, also Luke of Steiris,
Luke of Steirion, Luke the New of Mount Stirion, Osios Loukas O Steiriotis,
Luke the Wonderworker, Luke Thaumaturgus, or Luke of Hellas (896-953 AD) was a
Byzantine saint of the tenth century AD, who founded the Monastery of Osios
Loukas (Venerable Luke) on the slopes of the “great and godly mount of Helicon”
between Delphi and Levadia, near the coast of the Gulf of Corinth in Boeotia,
Greece. He was also one of the earliest saints to be seen levitating in prayer.
The principal source for Luke’s life is an anonymous Life written by a monk of Hosios Loukas who had been one of Luke’s followers. According to some, he reposed in the year 946; according to others, in 953 AD.
Saint Luke was born in 896 to pious parents who came from Aegina but were forced to settle on the Greek mainland due to Saracen raids. Luke was the third of the seven children of Stephen and Euphrosyne. From his earliest years, he showed a desire for a life of ascesis and contemplation usually only found in seasoned elders. He abstained from all flesh, cheese, eggs, and delicacies, drank only water, and kept a total fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. While herding cattle or tilling the family fields, he would often give away his food and even his clothing to the poor, returning home naked. He once gave away almost all the seed which was needed for planting in the fields. The Lord rewarded him for his charity, and the harvest gathered was greater than ever before.
When his father died, he abandoned farm work to devote himself entirely to prayer, making such progress that he was often witnessed by his mother lifted above the ground while praying.
As a child Luke tried twice to leave home to seek a solitary life of prayer.
The first time, he attempted to withdraw to Thessaly, but was captured by soldiers
lying in wait for escaped slaves and was returned home. The second time he had
more success, meeting two monks journeying from Rome to Jerusalem who took him
to a monastery in Athens where he received the small habit. At this point he
was only fourteen years old (910 AD), and Luke’s mother who was very concerned
for him, prayed for her son’s return. After seeing his mother in a dream,
tearfully calling for her son, the abbot sent him home.
He returned home for four months, and then with his mother’s blessing he set
out again upon the monastic life, going to a solitary place on a mountain
called Ioannou (or Ioannitsa). Here there was a church dedicated to the holy
Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, where he lived an ascetical life in constant
prayer and fasting for seven years. The Life records with suspicious symmetry
that during this time Luke received the great habit from two monks travelling
from Jerusalem to Rome (presumably the same two from whom he had received the
small habit on their outward journey). After this, St Luke redoubled his
ascetic efforts, for which the Lord granted him the gift of foresight.
Luke’s fame spread and a number of miracles are ascribed to him during this period, such as revealing to two brothers the location of their dead father’s buried treasure. Numerous proofs of Luke’s holiness are also given, such as sleeping in a trench to remind himself of death, or being visited in a dream by an angel who let a hook down Luke’s mouth and “drew out a certain fleshly member therefrom”, freeing him from the temptations of the flesh.
After a seven years on Ioannou, the saint moved to Corinth because of an invasion of the Bulgarian emperor Symeon (which Luke had predicted). Hearing about a certain Stylite at Zemena (Gimenes) near Corinth, he went to see him, and remained for ten years to serve the ascetic with humility and obedience.
Afterwards, ca. 927 AD, the saint returned again to Mount Ioannou to build his own community and again pursue asceticism. Often he would be forced to move by the number of visitors who learned of his holiness, and came to him for prayer or a word of counsel or prophecy, no matter how secretly he tried to live. Luke drew so many followers that he found the distractions unbearable and decided to retreat further into the wilderness, with the blessing of his Elder Theophylactus. Three years later, however, Luke was displaced again, this time by a Magyar invasion.
Luke retreated with the local villagers to the nearby island of Ampelon. Once there, Luke found the desert island to be a suitable place to pursue his solitary ascetic life, and stayed for three years, enduring terrible thirsts. His sister would occasionally bring him some bread, but he gave much of it away to the needy or to passing sailors.
Eventually Luke’s disciples persuaded him to leave, and he returned to the mainland and settled for the remainder of his life in the far more amenable environment of the present Hosios Loukas, where he founded his hermitage ca. 946 AD in the area of Stiris (which may be a corruption of Soterion, or place of healing).
Here brethren gathered to the elder, and a small monastery grew up, the church
of which was dedicated to the Great Martyr Barbara. Dwelling in the monastery,
the saint performed many miracles, healing sicknesses of soul and of body.
Saint Luke fell ill in his seventh year at Stirion. Foreseeing his end, the
saint confined himself in a cell and for three months prepared for his departure.
When asked where he was to be buried, the monk replied, “Throw my body into a
ravine to be eaten by wild beasts.” When the brethren begged him to change
these instructions, he commanded them to bury his body on the spot where he
lay. Embracing his disciples, he asked them to pray for him, prophesying that
the place where he died would someday be the site of a great church and
monastery. Then raising his eyes to heaven, he said, “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I
commend my spirit!” and reposed in peace and joy. St Luke fell asleep in the
Lord on February 7, 953.
Myrrh flowed from his holy relics, and many healings occurred. His tomb exuded
a fragrant oil which was collected and burned in a lamp, and many miracles and
healings were wrought at the tomb. The rumour that his relic worked miracles
brought great numbers of believers to the monastery to be healed, and the
original buildings gave way to more monumental structures. As the Saint had
predicted, two churches and a monastery were built there, and the monastery of
Hosios Loukas became a great place of pilgrimage, as it remains to this day.
Troparion of St Luke of Mount Stirion Tone 1
Let us firmly honour Luke the Godbearer with hymns and chants,
the glory of the faithful,
the boast of the righteous,
bright light of Stirion and its true inhabitant;
he brings near to Christ those who cry out in faith:
Glory to Him Who has strengthened thee;
Glory to Him Who has crowned thee;
Glory to Him Who through thee works healings for all.
Kontakion of St Luke of Mount Stirion Tone 8
God in ineffable judgment chose thee before thou wast fashioned according to
His good pleasure;
He took thee from thy mother’s womb,
He sanctified thee as His servant.
As the Lover of mankind,
He guided thee to Himself,
before Whom thou dost now stand rejoicing,
O Luke.
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Luke_the_Younger
“Hermit and wonder-worker whose solitary hermitage in Thessaly, Greece, became
known as the Soterion, “the place of healing.” Luke tried to become a religious
but was arrested as an escaped slave and imprisoned for a time. He finally
became a hermit on Mount Joannitsa near Corinth. There he was revered for his
holiness and miracles, which earned him the surname Thaumaturgus .”
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4354
“Saint Luke of Hellas was a native of the Greek village of Kastorion. The son
of poor farmers, the saint from childhood had toiled much, working in the
fields and shepherding the sheep. He was very obedient to his parents and very
temperate in eating. He often gave his own food and clothing to the poor, for
which he suffered reproach from his parents. He once gave away almost all the
seed which was needed for planting in the fields. The Lord rewarded him for his
charity, and the harvest gathered was greater than ever before.
As a child, he prayed fervently and often. His mother saw him more than once standing not on the ground, but in the air while he prayed.
After the death of his father, he left his mother and went to Athens, where he entered a monastery. But through the prayers of his mother, who was very concerned about him, the Lord returned him to his parental home in a miraculous manner. He spent four months there, then with his mother’s blessing he went to a solitary place on a mountain called Ioannou (or Ioannitsa). Here there was a church dedicated to the holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, where he lived an ascetical life in constant prayer and fasting. He was tonsured there by some Elders who were on pilgrimage. After this, St Luke redoubled his ascetic efforts, for which the Lord granted him the gift of foresight.
After a seven years on Ioannou, the saint moved to Corinth because of an invasion of the Bulgarian armies. Hearing about the exploits of a certain stylite at Patras, he went to see him, and remained for ten years to serve the ascetic with humility and obedience. Afterwards, the saint returned again to his native land and again began to pursue asceticism on Mount Ioannou.
The throngs of people flocking there disturbed his quietude, so with the blessing of his Elder Theophylactus, St Luke went with his disciple to a still more remote place at Kalamion. After three years, he settled on the desolate and arid island of Ampelon because of an invasion of the Turks. Steiris was another place of his ascetic efforts. Here brethren gathered to the monk, and a small monastery grew up, the church of which was dedicated to the Great Martyr Barbara. Dwelling in the monastery, the saint performed many miracles, healing sicknesses of soul and of body.
Foreseeing his end, the saint confined himself in a cell and for three months prepared for his departure. When asked where he was to be buried, the monk replied, “Throw my body into a ravine to be eaten by wild beasts.” When the brethren begged him to change these instructions, he commanded them to bury his body on the spot where he lay. Raising his eyes to heaven, he said, “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!”
St Luke fell asleep in the Lord on February 7, 946. Later, a church was built over his tomb. Myrrh flowed from his holy relics, and many healings occurred.”
http://oca.org/saints/lives/2013/02/07/100458-venerable-luke-of-hellas
“The tomb of Hosios Lukas in the crypt. Several other important members of the
community are buried here. The church of Hosios Lukas is lower than the church
of the Virgin, which forced the monks to build a crypt under the church to
elevate the floor of the church to make it even with that of the church of the
Virgin and also to support it. When the monks rededicated the first church to
the Virgin, they dedicated the crypt to Saint Barbara.” (http://www.osiosloukas.gr/english_xml/index.html, http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/medieval/hlukas/crypt.htm)
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_of_Steiris
http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com.au/2010/02/st-luke-righteous-of-mount-steirion-and.html
SOURCE : https://citydesert.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/luke-the-younger-hermit/
San Luca il Giovane Eremita
Festa: 7 febbraio
m. 955
Eremita nella Focile. Si
costruì una cella sul monte Joannitza, nei pressi di Corinto, ove condusse una
vita eremitica di grande austerità, unità però anche ad opere di carità. La sua
fama non tardò a diffondersi ed i numerosi miracoli attribuiti alla sua intercessione
gli meritarono il titolo di “Thaumaturgus”.
Martirologio
Romano: A Stiri nella Focide, in Grecia, san Luca il Giovane, eremita.
San Luca il Giovane proveniva da una famiglia di piccoli proprietari dell’isola greca di Egina, costretta a trasferirsi in Tessaglia dalle incursioni saracene. Terzo dei sette figli di Stefano ed Eufrosina, sin dalla più tenera età si dedicò al lavoro nei campi ed alla morte del padre iniziò invece una vita totalmente dedita alla preghiera. Era sua consueta abitudine donare tutto ciò che possedeva ai poveri e ciò lo mise presto in conflitto con i suoi parenti. Dovette allora lasciare la casa ed iniziò a peregrinare in cerca di un monastero. Si stabilì come eremita nella pericolosa regione al confine tra l’Ungheria e la Bulgaria e qui fu catturato da feroci predoni che lo scambiarono per uno schiavo fuggiasco. Infine rilasciato, Luca poté far ritorno a casa, ove però venne maltrattato ed ingiuriato per il modo in cui se ne era andato.
Dopo un certo periodo entrò allora in un monastero presso Atene, ma il suo superiore lo inviò nuovamente a casa quando Eufrosina gli apparve in sogno dicendogli che aveva bisogno del figlio. Lo accolse infatti con grande gioia e non senza sorpresa, ma ben presto si persuase della reale vocazione di Luca alla vita religiosa. Questi si costruì una cella sul monte Joannitza, nei pressi di Corinto, ove condusse una vita eremitica di grande austerità, unità però anche ad opere di carità. La sua fama non tardò a diffondersi ed i numerosi miracoli attribuiti alla sua intercessione gli meritarono il titolo di “Thaumaturgus”.
Il nuovo Martyrologium Romanum, che lo commemora al 7 febbraio, colloca la sua morte nel 955, correggendo così la data precedentemente accettata del 946. In seguito la sua cella fu trasformata in oratorio e denominata “Soterion”, cioè “luogo di salvezza”.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
