ISIDORE OF CHIOS

On May 27 (14), the Church honors the memory of the martyr Isidore of Chios. Saint Isidore is one of the most revered saints of Christian antiquity. The martyr suffered for Christ on the island of Chios. This island, in modern Greece, is located just a few kilometers from the former glory of Greek civilization - Asia Minor.

The saint was a Roman soldier. Lord Jesus was much loved and popular in the ranks of the Roman army. Until now this seems inexplicable and paradoxical. After all, the Roman soldiers, those who were recruited, or, like Isidore, himself volunteered to join the army, chose the Great Sufferer as their ideal.

It is important that this attitude was facilitated by the representation that took place at that time. According to it, to those who have participated in suffering, and, at the same time, were not guilty, a truth was revealed that was inaccessible to ordinary people or even deities. According to the Romans, faith itself was divine and resided in a person’s right palm. If a person lied about something, she left him forever. The custom of swearing with the right hand is also associated with this tradition.

The name “Isidore” is of Egyptian origin. It is derived from the name of two Egyptian deities - Isis and Horus. Apparently, the saint came from a family of pagans. This means that he came to faith at a conscious age. The practice of “simply baptizing” adults did not exist in the Church of that time. Conversion to faith and conscious baptism made the early Christians true missionaries and preachers. The Ancient World lived by the ideal of philosophers; conviction, not by inheritance, but by choice, was considered a great thing.

Like Saint Mauritius, who half a century after Isidore suffered for Christ in Helvetia, in what is now Switzerland, the saint was a Christian Egyptian who served in the army. The Empire sent its soldiers to various countries. Thus, Christian warriors, by the great predestination of God, became apostles after the apostles.

In the Egyptian tradition, Isidore is revered as a martyr-soldier who, like George, Menas, Mercury, and many others, served in the ranks of the Roman Army, and, at the same time, was inspired by the ideal of the Great Sufferer - the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be a great feat to restore the names of all the ancient soldiers mentioned among the martyrs in the monthly books.

According to his life, Isidore’s duties included the distribution of salaries among the military. As part of the Roman fleet, Isidore arrived on the island of Chios. Here, out of envy, he was handed over by his colleague Lucius to the commander Numerius, on the charge of being a Christian. This was the time of Emperor Decius (249–251), whose short reign was marked by bloody persecution.

Isidore was interrogated. He answered skillfully and boldly; he categorically refused to renounce his faith. For his Christian profession he was beheaded with a sword. Seeing the saint’s suffering, many others came to faith, according to his life. Like Isidore, they were beheaded by the sword. The holy body of the saint was placed by his friend and colleague Ammonius in one of the wells. From the work of St. Gregory of Tours “On the Glory of the Martyrs” (573–594) we learn that, through the prayers of Isidore, many healings flowed from the well.

The life of Saint Marcian, priest and accountant of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, indicates that in 457-460 he transferred a particle of the relics of Isidore to the church of Saint Irene in Constantinople. After the Crusade of 1125, the Venetians, as was their custom, transferred, or, in fact, stole, the remaining part of the relics to Venice. There a chapel in St. Mark’s Cathedral was dedicated to Isidore. Thus, the apostle founder of the Alexandrian Church and the Egyptian warrior-martyr had their relics placed under the arches of the cathedral of one of the capitals of the world at that time. His veneration was truly universal.

In honor and memory of the saint, churches and chapels were erected throughout the Mediterranean and the Roman Empire in different centuries, starting from the place of his martyrdom on the island of Chios, to Constantinople, Alexandria and even Venice.

At the same time, the veneration of Saint Isidore on the island of Chios, which became his homeland, did not stop at all. With his beneficial intercession, the martyr provided healing to the suffering, helped sailors, and protected them from epidemics and pestilence in all centuries of Christian history. For us, who have reached the end times, it is important not to forget about the veneration of the great saints of the Ancient Church. Remember that the saints are with those who remember them.