MARTIN OF TOURS

Saint Martin of Tours was a contemporary of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and Saint Spyridon of Trimythous. Augustine of Hippo was inspired by his example, and the reformer Martin Luther was named in his honor. As the greatest theologian of the 17th century, Bishop Cornelius Jansenius, wrote, true reformation is the reformation of the inner man. Saint Martin was such a reformer in the era of the Golden Age of the Church Fathers.

On October 25, the Russian Orthodox Church and other Churches that follow the Julian calendar commemorate Saint Martin of Tours (316–397). Traditionally, bishops whom the Church has glorified as saints are called “holy hierarchs.” Martin is referred to as such in our humble prayer to God, asking for his intercession.

2 In the person of Saint Martin, the Church venerates a repentant Roman soldier, ascetic, saint, man of integrity, and miracle worker. Thanks to his mercy toward the poor, persecuted, and oppressed, Martin entered the memory of God’s people with the name “the Merciful.” The saint is mentioned in the Orthodox liturgical calendar under this name.

3 It is believed that it was Martin who founded the first monastery on the territory of modern France and preached extensively in Gaul and beyond. He was a true patriarch, that is, the father of the believing people of God of his time, for Gaul, as France was then called, and for many other territories of the West.

4 There is a belief that Martin was the first non-martyr saint to be canonized in the Early Church. Saint Martin, whose image is comparable to that of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Orthodox East, was one of the most revered saints of Christian antiquity. With the Christianization of Europe, the veneration of Saint Martin spread far beyond Gaul. It became very widespread, for example, in Germany. More and more churches were built in his honor. According to available information, in France alone, 237 settlements and about 3,600 churches are named after Saint Martin. Many customs, folk and social traditions are associated with the name of the saint. His memory is celebrated in the Western Church on November 11. Like Yuri’s Day in Russia, in some lands, servants could transfer to other masters on St. Martin’s Day. This same day was the day of the beginning of the Christmas fast, which once existed in the Western Christian tradition.

5 Interestingly, the word “chaplain” owes its origin to the veneration of Martin. This was the original name given to priests, the keepers of the “cappa” – the mantle of St. Martin. There is also a special pilgrimage route dedicated to the saint, which begins at his birthplace in modern-day Hungary, passes through the places of his deeds, miracles, and sermons—in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, and Poland—and ends in the city of Tours in France. The veneration of Saint Martin was extremely great. He is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated saints in history. Moreover, this veneration extends not only to Western Christianity, but also to the entire Universal Church.

6 As a spontaneous reaction to such great glory of one of the saints, the question arises as to why some saints are revered more than others. The answer to this question is revealed in biblical teaching, according to which immortal man, created in the image of God, who has attained godlikeness in holiness, lives and continues to live forever. He remains a living, thinking, loving personality. Therefore, many saints chose to glorify God, day and night. It was as if they wanted to distance themselves from the veneration of people and, after the death of the body, preserve the humility that enlivened their souls in their earthly life. As it is said in the book of Revelation: “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are now before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple, and He who sits on the throne will dwell among them” (Rev. 7: 14-15). These saints, who loved the glory of God above all else, laid their invisible hands on, St. Martin, and entrusted him with interceding for the people. These great saints, and above all the holy hierarchs and holy ascetics, contemporaries of Martin himself, preferred to remain unknown. Martin was a companion of Ambrose of Milan (340–397) and Paulinus of Nola (354–431) and many others who spoke and mentioned him in their works.

7 After his death, Saint Martin was not only greatly revered but also suffered in a very apocalyptic way. His relics were partially destroyed by Protestant iconoclasts in the 16th century, and the ancient church dedicated to him in Tours was destroyed during the French Revolution of 1789. Like the future new martyrs, great saints, and shrines of the Russian Church, Saint Martin and his veneration were prophetically attacked by the revolutionaries.

8 “Our citizenship is in heaven, from where we await our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body so that it will be conformed to His glorious body, by the power with which He acts and subdues all things to Himself,” writes the Apostle Paul (Philippians 3:20-21). The memory of the saint has also suffered in recent times. As a result of secularization of the state and society in the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a noticeable decline in the people’s memory of him. Once one of the most revered saints, he suddenly found himself forgotten at the turn of the second and third millennia. As if with the approach of the Second Coming of the Lord, in these last days of the world, Martin the Merciful appeased God in a special way, begging Him to consign him to oblivion so that, in the words of the Apostle Paul, he might await the Parousia of the Lord with all the saints in Heaven.