Saint Eumenius, Bishop of Gortyna

Life

From his youth he wholeheartedly followed Christ, having freed himself from two heavy burdens: the burden of wealth and the burden of the flesh. He freed himself from the first burden by distributing all his possessions to the destitute and the poor, and from the second by great fasting. And thus he first healed himself, and then began to give healing to others. Dispassionate and filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Eumenius shone with a light that could not be hidden. For as it is written, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14), so neither could holy Eumenius be hidden from the world. People saw him and chose him as bishop of Gortyna. As bishop he governed the flock of Christ as a good shepherd. "He was a father to orphans, wealth to the poor, comfort to the sorrowful, a healer of the sick, and a wondrous wonderworker." By prayer he worked many miracles: he slew a venomous serpent, cast out demons, and healed many of the sick; and that not only in his own place but also in Rome and in the Thebaid. In the Thebaid he obtained rain from God by prayer in a time of drought; and there at last he ended his earthly life and passed into the eternal dwellings of his Lord. He lived and labored in the seventh century.

From the Hymn of Praise

Ariadne, a maiden most worthy,Honorably served her master,But God more than man.A slave in body but not in soul,