Venerable
Venerable Patapius of Thebes (of Constantinople)
IV—VII вв. (датировка спорна)
Venerable Patapius of Thebes — an Egyptian desert hermit who later settled by the walls of Constantinople near the Blachernae church, renowned for gifts of healing (blindness, dropsy, demonic possession); the exact century of his life (4th-5th c. or 7th c.) remains a matter of scholarly dispute.
Venerable Patapius of Thebes (also called Patapius the Constantinopolitan) was born in Thebes, Upper Egypt (modern Luxor), to a devout and prosperous Christian family. HONEST DATING NOTE: the exact period of his life is disputed: most Russian hagiographic tradition places him in the 7th century, though some sources — noting that his cell stood "near" the Blachernae church, built in the 5th century — argue for an earlier date, the 4th–5th centuries.
On reaching maturity he renounced the world and withdrew into the Egyptian desert, where for many years he practiced fasting and prayer and acquired gifts of discernment and wonderworking. Seeking to escape the crowds who came to him for guidance, he secretly left Egypt and settled in Constantinople, building a cell by the city wall near the Blachernae church.
Solitude eluded him there too: the sick began to throng to him, and God granted him the gift of healing. Recorded miracles include restoring sight to a blind boy, curing a nobleman of dropsy by tracing the sign of the Cross and anointing him with oil, and casting a demon out of a tormented youth. He reposed peacefully and was buried in the church of St. John the Forerunner.
His feast is kept December 8/21, and also on the Tuesday of Bright Week, commemorating the 1904 discovery of his relics near Loutraki, Greece.