All the Saints of Antioch
where the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26)
A Brief Survey of many the Saints of Antioch
by Monk Elia Khalife
There were thousands of saints who originated from
Antioch. For example, of the apostles and disciples: Sts. Peter and Paul
the Apostles, the founders and patron saints of the Patriarchal See of
Antioch; St. Quartos the Apostle, one of the Seventy, the founder and
patron of the Archdiocese of Beirut; St. John Mark the Evangelist, the
founder and patron of the Archdiocese of Byblos; and St. Sila or Silouan
the Apostle, one of the Seventy, the founder and patron saint of the
Archdiocese of Botrys.
We also have St. Ignatius the Theophoros, St. Peter’s disciple, who
wrote the Seven Letters to the Churches, and according to tradition was
the child who was held on the Lord’s knee.
There is also St. John Chrysostom, St. John of Damascus, Sts. Romanos
and Cosmas the Melodists, St. Maximos the Confessor from southern Syria,
Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, St. Andrew of Damascus (Bishop of Crete), St.
Sophronios (Patriarch of Jerusalem), and Sts. Peter and John of
Damascus. Cyprus remained attached to Antioch until the 3rd Ecumenical
Council (Ephesus, 431); St. Barnabas the Apostle who assisted St. Paul,
was also from that island, and, of course, Sts. Spiridon and Epiphanius.
Among the women saints we have St. Thekla the first woman martyr and St.
Nona the Apostle to the Georgians in the 4th century; Georgia remained
attached to Antioch until the 10th century. Sts. Marana, Kyra, and
Domnina the ascetics, mentioned by Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his “History
of the Monks” in the 5th century, along with other great ascetics, like
Sts. Maron, Aphrahat, Simeon and Daniel the Stylites.
Of special interest to the West is that few bishops of Rome, before the
schism, were originally from Syria. St. Margaret of Antioch, a 3rd
century martyr, was venerated in Britain for hundreds of years and still
has very many churches dedicated to her in England and Scotland. St.
Theodore of Tarsus was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 7th century
and was instrumental in organizing the Church in England.
We also have contemporary saints such as St. Joseph of Damascus who
played an important role in revivifying the Church and also took part in
the modern translation of the Bible into Arabic. He was martyred on July
10, 1860, and canonized by the Antiochian Synod in 1993. Also, St.
Raphael Hawawini, a Syrian who became the Bishop of Brooklyn (+1915) and
who was canonised in the United States in 2000. There are other
contemporary martyrs as well, such as Father Nicolas Khashi and Father
Habib Khashi, a father and son, who died in Syria.
Other collected material on new righteous has been offered to the Holy
Synod for possible canonization. For example, during the First World
War, Patriarch Gregorios IV was given the title “Father of the Poor”
because he sold many things belonging to the patriarchate to buy wheat
and flour for the hungry, both Christian and Muslim. He was so loved
that, when he died, there was a fight between the Christians and Muslims
over who would bury him. The Muslims insisted on reading prayers and
doing a service over him, and only then would they let the Christians
take his body for a Christian burial. His life has been collected and we
are awaiting a decision by the Holy Synod.
The Antiochian patrimony is a very rich one, and a great treasury of
grace for the entire world.
