The Venerable Thomas of Malea

Life

This Thomas was at first a military commander, famed for his bravery and wealth. He was very large of body and struck fear into his enemies. But when he came to love Christ more than the world and everything in the world, he left all and withdrew into the wilderness, where he was tonsured a monk and gave himself to asceticism. Saint Elijah the Prophet appeared to him and led him to a mountain called Malea, near the Holy Mountain. There he lived alone and solitary, with God alone, in day-and-night prayer. Although he hid himself from the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hid. When people learned of the holiness of his life, they began coming to him and bringing their sick. And Saint Thomas healed people of every illness and every affliction. And when he presented himself before God (in the tenth century), his relics continued to help all who approached them with faith.