A great celebration for Greece and Orthodoxy is February 10, a day that honors Saint Charalambos.
With thousands of people celebrating their name today, it is worth mentioning both the life of the Saint and the famous miracle that he is said to have done for Filiatra in World War II.
The life of the saint
According to ekklhsiaonline, Saint Charalambos the Hieromartyr and miracle worker, was born in Magnesia in 90 AD. about and martyred in the years of the great persecutions of Christianity.
This Magnesia was probably in Thessaly. Its ruins are still preserved near the village called “Milies”.
He was born to devout Christian parents who kept their faith at the risk of their own lives during the difficult times of persecution.
Saint Charalambos lived his whole life in Magnesia. There as a young man, he was a shining example of prudent living. Later his faith in Christ became stronger.
So he dedicated himself to the service of Christ and became a priest in 130 AD.
From this position, he undertook the struggle on the one hand to spread the Christian faith and on the other hand to sanctify the faithful with the sacraments.
In front of Christians and pagans, he began strong Christian preaching.
Saint Charalambos lived during the reign of Septimius Severus (193 – 211 AD).
When the year 198 AD Severus unleashed a fierce persecution against the Christians, the governor of Magnesia Lucianos, arrested the Saint, who was in old age, and asked him to deny his faith.
When he refused, Lucian ordered the horrible torture of the old priest to begin.
Finally, he ordered his beheading.
According to the life of the Saint he was 113 years old.
The miracle of Filiatra
As reported on ekklisiaonline, In 1943, the German General Staff in Tripoli ordered the German Commander of the Filiatra, Kontau, to burn the Filiatra, kill the city’s nobles, and arrest 1,500 of its inhabitants to be sent to German camps as the rebels sabotaged .
Kontau in turn ordered his troops to advance the next day at 6:00 p.m. in its execution.
As soon as he was informed of this, the priest Theodoros Kotsakis, from Filiatra, tried unsuccessfully to mediate with the conquerors. Leaving the German administration idle, the priest warned the Filiatrians of Tripoli to pray at night to Agios Charalambos, patron saint of Filiatra, to lay his hands on.
Saint Charalambos is reported to have appeared at night in Kontau while he was sleeping. He presented himself as a respectable, majestic, priestly elder whom the German Commander had never seen in his life. The old man gently asked him not to carry out the horrible order.
Impressed by the dream, he woke up. After a while he fell asleep again, without being affected. But the Saint reappeared saying the same words, adding that he would take care not to punish himself for obedience.
The Commander woke up again and this time the elder’s words haunted his mind. However, it was impossible for him not to carry out the order, as he knew that his own exemplary punishment would follow. So he decided to go back to sleep, when for the third time, Saint Charalambos visited him, advising him: “I told you not to be afraid. I will take care and you will not be punished. “I will take care of you and all your men and you will return to your homes without any harm to anyone.”
At first the Commander wanted to refuse the order of the Saint, but in the end he bent down, because then that night, according to him, he heard in his sleep the cries of tortured people in his yard. Then living figures approached, resembling women, beating their breasts in misery. They mourned and cursed for the slaughter of their children.
He woke up scared. He went to speak, but he remained alone, still seeing the holy figure, the elder of his dream.
When he met, he began to think about the evil that was about to happen. He closed his eyes again. And Saint Charalambos, appeared again threatening. In a loud and compelling voice she said to him: “Watch out! The city will not burn down and the inhabitants will not be arrested. They are innocent. Do you hear that? ”
Then he got up and at dawn called his boss in Tripoli who had also seen Saint Charalambos in his dream as described by his officer on the phone. Finally he announced: “Write. I suspend the destruction of the city. Come before me immediately at noon tomorrow. “
The revocation of the decision was announced at dawn. Officer Kontau sought to find the image of the Saint he had seen. When he was taken to the church of Panagia, he recognized the icon of Saint Charalambos, which he saw in his dream.
It is said that as soon as he saw the image he covered his face with his hands and when he took it down, he made his cross, saying prayers in German. He then asked the priests to tell him who the elder was.
The German officer and all the men of that guard returned safely to Germany when the war ended. The officer kept alive the memory of the miracle, thanking the Saint.
Ekklisiaonline
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
