The Holy Apostle Ananias
October 1st
He was among the bravest – and also the most determined – of all the saints, and he played a key role in helping St. Paul to begin laying the foundations of the early Church.
His name was Ananias. He was destined to serve as the first Bishop of Damascus – and also to die beneath a volley of stones hurled at him by the enemies of Christianity. His martyrdom occurred in an obscure Palestine city named Eleutheropolis, when this holy apostle (one of The Seventy) refused to stop preaching the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was an agonizing death, of course – but before it took place, St. Ananias managed to fulfill his destiny as the valiant bishop who would baptize Saul (later to become the Apostle Paul) in the faith that had been brought to humanity by the Son of God. (Acts 9: 10-17)
Baptizing the great disciple and evangelist Paul (upon the latter’s arrival in Damascus) was a hugely important service to the Holy Gospel, but this was not the only time when Ananias stepped in to assist his great friend and fellow-Christian. On another occasion in Damascus, after St. Paul had been proclaiming in the synagogue that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and also the Redeemer of the world, a group of angry Jews decided that they had heard enough – and they quickly hatched a plot to kill the great teacher. TAKEN FROM
Led by Ananias, a resourceful group of Christians in Damascus foiled that perfidious plot, however . . . by lowering St. Paul from the top of the city wall in a basket with a rope attached! Once safely outside the city, Paul was able to resume his fiery preaching without fear of reprisal from the enraged denizens of the synagogue. The story of this stouthearted martyr (his name means “God is gracious!”) ended tragically, under the rule of the pagan Roman governor Lucian, but the legacy he left behind was anything but sorrowful. By achieving the baptism of one of Christianity’s most insightful thinkers and writers (the christening occurred around 36 A.D.), St. Ananias helped fulfill God’s holy plan for mankind.
As often happens to those who have been called by God, this noble-hearted teacher and healer of the sick received his most important assignment – the task of restoring Saul’s eyesight and then baptizing him – during a mystical apparition in which the Almighty called upon him to administer the sacrament to this once-brutal oppressor of Christians.
St. Ananias did exactly as instructed by Almighty God, and then later set off from Damascus to evangelize in the region of Eleutheropolis, not far from Jerusalem, where he amazed the local citizenry with many miracles of healing. But he soon ran afoul of the governor, whose worship of pagan idols and growing hatred of Christianity could be seen in a decree he had published throughout the Roman province: “We ordain that if anyone be found who calls upon the name of Christ and worships the Crucified One, he be delivered to cruel tortures. But whoever renounces Christ and offers sacrifice to the immortal gods shall be assured of gifts and honor from us.”
When Lucian learned of the zealous disciple’s growing renown as a Christian preacher, he responded predictably, by commanding him to offer sacrifices to idols. St. Ananias refused, of course – and Lucian called for torture. Harsh methods were immediately applied, but the evangelist would not yield. The more he was punished, the louder he cried out, according to several historians of the period:
“I will not revere false gods, for I worship only the one true God, my Lord Jesus Christ. I have beheld Him with my eyes and conversed with Him with my lips, not only when He walked upon the earth as a man but also after His Ascension into the heavens. For He appeared to me when I was in Damascus and sent me to heal Saul, who by His wondrous wisdom and power He turned to the knowledge of the truth. He has saved us all from the hands of the demons and led us unto His Father, therefore, I worship Him and not the demons, who wish to destroy the whole race of man.”
Frustrated and enraged by such pious rhetoric, the torturers threw up their hands in despair – and then led their victim outside the city walls to be stoned to death. Before the sentence could be carried out, however, the fearless St. Ananias reportedly burst into an eloquent, spontaneous prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Blessed Father! Hear my prayer and count me worthy of a portion with the blessed Apostles in the future life. As you saved Saul by Your Light, so save me from the hands of this impious opponent of the truth, so that his will be not fulfilled in me, so that he may not entangle me in the nets of his cunning.
“Deprive me not of Your heavenly kingdom, which You have prepared for those who love the way of Your Truth that has been shown by You, and for those who keep Your commandments.”
After completing this passionate orison, the great saint expired (around 50 A.D.) in typical Christian fashion . . . while calling on the Lord to forgive his executioners!
The relics of this gentle but lion-hearted martyr were eventually transferred to Constantinople. St. Ananias is often praised for the courage of his faith, but his life was also a shining example of the power of forgiveness. For all those who struggle to forgive past injuries and insults, his final act – praying for his own murderers! – looms as a helpful reminder that with God’s help, even the greatest affronts can be lovingly forgiven.
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O Holy Apostle Ananias, intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.
Kontakion in the Second Tone
Our most fervent advocate in intercession who dost hearken most quickly to them that pray to thee, receive our supplication, O Ananias, and implore Christ, Who alone is glorified in the Saints, to have mercy on us.
