Our Venerable Father Athanasius the Wonderworker, Hieromonk of the Monastery of Traianou
Life
Athanasius the Wonderworker was a Byzantine monastic saint of the tenth century, a hieromonk (priest-monk) of the Monastery of Traianou in Bithynia, in Asia Minor. He is venerated as a wonderworker and is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on June 3 (June 16 on the civil calendar). His repose is generally dated to about the year 933.
According to the synaxarion, Athanasius came from Cibyrrha in Asia Minor and was of parents ordinary in both lineage and means. Renouncing the world, he withdrew into the wilderness with few possessions and learned the spiritual virtues from experienced monks before entering the Monastery of Traianou, where he received the Great Schema and was ordained a priest.
Timeline 2 moments
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10th centuryEntered the Monastery of TraianouComing from Cibyrrha in Asia Minor, Athanasius withdrew to the monastic life and entered the Monastery of Traianou in Bithynia, where he received the Great Schema and was ordained a priest.
c. 933ReposeAthanasius reposed in advanced old age; by tradition the apostles Andrew and John attended his death, as witnessed by the monk Kosmas. He is venerated as a wonderworker.
Contributions & Legacy
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Monastic Life and Labors
At the Monastery of Traianou, Athanasius gave himself to the celebration of the divine services, to the copying of manuscripts as a calligrapher, and to daily fasting until nightfall. The synaxarion remembers him for strict obedience and regular confession, through which he is said to have attained dispassion. He lived in close seclusion, by tradition neither going out nor seeing or speaking with others except on Saturdays and Sundays.
His long labor of copying books is said to have weakened his eyesight; after he prayed for its restoration, the account relates that he continued writing for twenty-eight years and more. The synaxarion records that the books he produced and the money he earned from this handiwork he gave entirely to the poor over those years, distributing in all some nine hundred florins.
Repose and Veneration
Athanasius is said to have departed this life in advanced old age. By tradition, the apostles Andrew and John attended his repose, a vision witnessed by the monk Kosmas. He is remembered for working innumerable miracles both during his life and after his death, and so is venerated as a wonderworker; his repose is dated to about 933.
The details of his life are preserved in the synaxarion tradition rather than in a fuller biography, and the surviving accounts are brief. As with many obscure Byzantine monastic saints, the hagiographical particulars are traditional and should be received as such.
