Venerable
Venerable Zosimas of Babylon
† кон. VI в.
Also known as: Зосима, епископ Вавилона Египетского, Свт. Зосима, еп. Вавилона Египетского, Зосим Вавилонский
An ascetic from Cilicia who lived on Mount Sinai, in Egypt and in Palestine and became bishop of Babylon in Egypt (modern Cairo); in old age he returned to Sinai, where he died in the late 6th century.
St Zosimas was born in Cilicia in Asia Minor. As a young man he became a monk on Mount Sinai, later seeking greater solitude in Libya; he also lived in Egypt and Palestine. John Moschus's Spiritual Meadow preserves three stories about him: an elder's prophecy that he would become a bishop, his raising of his disciple John who had been bitten by a snake, and a repentant robber whom he guided.
Sent on an errand to Alexandria, he was consecrated bishop of Babylon in Egypt (on the site of modern Cairo) by Patriarch Apollinarius of Alexandria (551–c. 568). In deep old age he left his see and withdrew to Sinai, where he died at the end of the 6th century. Greek calendars do not list him on 4 June, and some scholars identify him with a St Zosimas commemorated on 24 January. The Russian Church keeps his feast on 4 June (17 June, new style).