SAINT EUMENES OF CRETE

On the grave of the great Greek writer and true theologian, Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957), who died on the day commemorating the most revered Greek saint, the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, is written: “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.” These words could be the motto of the Greek writer’s great compatriot, Saint Eumenes, whose traces in human history, but not in the Communion of Saints, have been lost. All that is known is that he was not afraid of heretical rulers and foreign invaders, completely renounced all property, and performed miracles with such freedom that it seemed as if the elements had no power over him.

1 On October 1, the Russian, Serbian, Georgian, Jerusalem, Polish Orthodox Churches, and Mount Athos, which adhere to the Julian calendar in their worship, honor the memory of Saint Eumenes of Crete. The saint was bishop of the ancient ecclesiastical metropolis of Crete, the city of Gortyna, the ruins of which are located 46 km south of the modern capital of the island, Heraklion, at the foot of Mount Ida. Therefore, Eumenes is often called Saint Eumenes of Gortyna. In Greek mythology, it was here that Zeus, transformed into a white bull, carried Europa, whom he had abducted. There are many other legends and ancient historical accounts associated with this city. All of them emphasize the exceptional importance of Gortyna in ancient times.

2 Sadly, the exact time of Saint Eumenes’ life is unknown. In 824, the bishop of the city, Saint Cyril, was martyred by Arab conquerors in Gortyna. The ecclesiastical metropolis ceased to exist, and the city itself was reduced to ruins. Saint Eumenes lived before this tragic moment. Another similar date is 752. At that time, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V, who ruled from 741 to 775, was a successful ruler but a heretic iconoclast, whom his opponents nicknamed Copronymus, meaning literally “Dung-Named", transferred Crete from the jurisdiction of the Roman bishop, where it had been until then, to the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople. The Pope opposed iconoclasm, while the Patriarch supported the heretics, and thus Constantine punished the Orthodox. Perhaps it was this event that prompted Eumenes’ trip to Rome, where he sought the support of the Orthodox and performed great miracles for the benefit of the local inhabitants.

3 Another similar journey of St. Eumenes was his pilgrimage to Egypt. The reasons for such a distant and dangerous journey are unknown. If we assume that Eumenes lived in the first half of the eighth century, then by that time Egypt was under Arab rule, and in ecclesiastical terms it had separated and was under the rule of the Monophysite Copts. The Orthodox Greek See of Alexandria, a small flock of Orthodox Egyptians loyal to the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451), was widowed, the Greek Patriarch was in exile, and the fate of the faithful was unclear. The hagiography says that Eumenes was “exiled” to Thebaid. Since this region, centered in modern Luxor, like the rest of Egypt, was under the rule of the Arab conquerors, the Byzantine emperor simply could not exile him there. It is possible that Eumenes fled to Egypt, was taken prisoner, or inspired by the example of Maximus the Confessor (580-662), tried to persuade the monks who remained there, who, as a rule, were close to the Monophysites, to stay Orthodox. In this context, it becomes clear why the hagiography mentions his polemic with the Monothelites, i.e., heretics who, like the Monophysites, denied the human nature of Christ the Savior and claimed that Jesus did not have a true human will.

4 After his death, the saint’s body was returned to Gortyna. Even during his lifetime, his name was associated with many miracles and signs. For example, his life mentions the expulsion of a huge monster, a “dragon.” In hagiography, this is a kind of semantic topos, indicating the saint’s special power over the forces of evil. After all, in the Book of Apocalypse (chapter 12) the devil himself is called a dragon. Evidence of the special stature of Saint Eumenes is the considerable veneration he received, as well as a liturgical service composed for him in ancient times, which has been preserved in our liturgical Menaion. The menologion refer to him as a “confessor of the faith” and “miracle worker.”