Commemorated on August 3
Saint Dalmatus had served in the army of the holy emperor Theodosius the Great (379-395) and gained his notice. He left the world somewhere between the years 381-383, and went with his son Faustus to the monastery of St Isaac near Constantinople. St Isaac (May 30) tonsured father and son into monasticism, and they both began to lead a strict ascetic life.
Once during Great Lent St Dalmatus did not eat any food for the forty days. Later he regained his strength and was found worthy of a divine vision.
When St Isaac was approaching the end of his earthly life, he named St Dalmatus as igumen of the monastery, which later became known as the Dalmatian Monastery.
St Dalmatus showed himself a zealous proponent of the Orthodox Faith at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431), which condemned the heresy of Nestorius.
After the Council the holy Fathers elevated St Dalmatus as archimandrite of the Dalmatian monastery, where he died at the age of ninety (after 446).
St Faustus, like his father, was a great ascetic and particularly excelled at fasting. After the death of his father, Faustus became igumen of the monastery.
Troparion - Tone 4
O God of our Fathers,
always always act with kindness towards us;
take not Your mercy from us,
but guide our lives in peace
through the prayers of Venerable Isaac, Dalmátus, and Faustus.
Kontakion - Tone 2
Through asceticism you shone like lights in the world
and by your faith you overthrew heresies.
We praise you with hymns, Isaac, Dalmátus, and Faustus,
as servants of Christ who are praying for us all.
SOURCE:
SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2009(with 2008's link here also):
All other sources I have seen on Dalmatius give his year of death as 440.
ReplyDeleteI get most of these from the OCA website and on occasion other readers have notified of errors they have found. Thank you for pointing it out!
ReplyDeleteHow did you come to know enough about St. Dalmatius that you were able to pick out this error?
I am writing a thesis on the Formula of Reunion, a short creedal statement that reunited the Church in 433, following a brief schism resulting from the Council of Ephesus. So I'm learning a lot about the Church in the fifth century.
ReplyDeleteDalmatius played an important role in bringing down Nestorius. Likewise, his predecessor Isaac had helped to get John Chrysostom deposed, and his successor Eutyches destroyed Flavian. (All three archimandrites were aided in their efforts by a Bishop of Alexandria and a member of the imperial family.) The fourth canon of Chalcedon put an end to these monastic rebellions by clearly subordinating the monasteries to the bishops.
I am currently reading "Justinian the Saint-The Emperor and Saint" by Asterios Gerostergios. Reading this and other works dealing with Church history which elaborate at points about dogma and theology fascinates me.
ReplyDeletePlease do inform me when you have completed your thesis.
The fourth canon of Chalcedon put an end to these monastic rebellions by clearly subordinating the monasteries to the bishops
Interestingly though, throughout the Church's history, there have always arisen those charismatic personalities which rattled the cage of established and entrenced hierchal power vested in the bishops and presbyters. Usually these personalities have arisen from within the monastic order. A good example is St. Symeon the New Theologian and to push the example further, of course we can cite St. John the Baptist and even our Lord Himself.
I completed my thesis in December and it was accepted two weeks ago, so I am now a graduate of St. Vlad's!
ReplyDeleteA good source on monasticism in this period is Wandering, Begging Monks by Daniel Caner.
God grant you Many Years! My friend Stephen Osburn is currently studying at St. Vlad's!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendation and please keep me posted on your further developments!
In Christ,
Sophocles
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI just looked over your profile. Excalibur is my all time favorite movie. And listen to this, though I would not consider Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" one of my favorites, get this, I am about to watch it in just a little bit as it is next on my "recently bought movie" list!