Martyred at Jacob's Well, 16/29 November,
1979
It has been ten years since this martyr and Sign of Our Times perished at the hands of Jewish terrorists at Jacob's Well, near the city of Samaria, now called Nabuls (Neapoils). By God's Grace, I am closer to my elder today than at the time of his martyrdom, when we had been separated for some months. In fact, I was in America, with his blessing, at the time.
Otherwise i might have been
with him when he was "perfected" by martyrdom. Faithless as I am, I
might have denied Our Lord had I been tortured as he was, the holy three fingers
of his right hand, with which he made the Sign of the Cross, being chopped to
bits in an attempt to make him deny the Holy Trinity. Little did his
satanically-inspired tormentors know how great were his faith and love for
Christ, and with what kind of man they were dealing.
And what kind of man was this, newly-elected by God, chosen to renew the
consecration of the soil of Palestine with his bitted? Born to the pious Cypriot
family of Hasapis, he and his twin brother Erachios entered the ancient
monastery, of Stavrovouni, founded by the Empress St. Helen. The brothers left
after the turmoil arising from the introduction of the new calendar after the
Second World War.
Father Phikmmenos used to tell me about his years in Bethlehem, where the
bishop disapproved of education for monks lest they be tempted to the
priesthood. But because of his zeal for the neglected souls of the Palestinian
faithful, Father Philoumenos studied to become fluent in Arabic, both literary
and conversational, chanting the Holy Gospel more easily than many Arabs, and
preaching the Orthodox faith not only in their language but in his Orthodox
manner of life. What a good shepherd he was, more worthy than some of the
episcopate!
Yet the policies and needs of the patriarchate saw Father
Philoumenos assigned to other positions. Whenever Palestinian faithful were
scandalized by some unworthy priest, whenever Orthodox neglect or European money
drove the faithful to wonder whether they would not receive better pastoral care
from Uniates, it was Father Philoumenos that the Patriarch of Jerusalem sent as
the true defender of the Faith, a man of more than blameless life, a man from
whom no one could even imagine any immodest or improper word, a man whose faith
and integrity were a model for all.
It happened at times that the Patriarchate in difficult circumstances was
forced to appoint poor local Patestinian priests with no priestly training and
little education. Father Philoumenos was a model of correction. The services
would be clone properly and exactly, with appropriate respect, devotion and fear
of God. There was no nonsense; the martyr-to be showed fear of God in the quiet,
reverential way in which he approached the Holy Table, and the careless or
erring priest received firm and clear correction so that the error would never
happen again.
Three things were most remarkable about the blessed martyr. The first
might have been partly from nature, but assuredly aided by Grace: this was his
soft sweet voice, which I can still hear today. The second was a meticulous
fidelity to small things, but specifically to the Divine Service. He never
omitted one word of any day's service. When we were alone in some remote
monastery, particularly for Matins, he slowly and carefully chanted each word of
every psalm and canon.
Not even at the Monastery of St. Sabba was the reading
done so well. But when there were pilgrims for the Divine Liturgy and vespers,
he made the usual abridgements lest the service be too long and some be tempted
to leave. Later on, privately, he would read every word that had not been
chanted in the church. Those who stayed with him for some time saw the copies of
the menaion, horologion, synaxarion, etc. and noticed that the markers were
always in place and the volumes never dusty, which earned the Divine Promise, Well
done thou good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over little
things, I will set thee over great things Enter thou into the joy of the Lord
(Matt. 25:21).
Third, and as unobtrusive, almost secret, was his humility. What a
perfect patriarch he would have made, and were the election by the Palestinian
faith fill he might well have been. Instead, God gave him an eternal crown and
throne among the elders who offer incense before the throne of the Lamb (Rev.
5:8).
His humility was so simple and unaffected that we not see it. We all knew
that this hieromonk did everything well. For all his strict rule of prayer, he
was the perfect pastor, always at the disposal of whoever came to him. With what
energy and zeal did he visit the small outlying villages, using his own personal
funds to try to save the faithful from being seduced from the True Faith by the
wealth, power and education of the West. There was only one Father Philoumenos,
but so many rich seducers of the poor faithful. Yet now he bas been glorified by
God so that he who has eyes can see where the truth lies, and follow virtue and
truth.
One painful example will never leave my memory. Once, and only once, we
had a disagreement over a question of ecclesiastical policy about which we both
had strong feelings. There was a somewhat heated discussion, but then it was
time for night prayers and retirement. Immediately the next morning, before I
could make my way to church, this holy old man, older than my earthly father,
was on his knees asking my forgiveness for any ill will he might have caused,
and commenting, 'There is no place for nationalism in the Church. All are one in
Christ."
Let me state that if I had not known the New Hieromartyr Philoumenos, I
might have lost my faith. I was troubled, as so many are, that the Truth is so
badly served. Every error thrives. We clergy are rarely good shepherds, and
those seeking God are not many, while heretics and cultists draw throngs, no
matter how evil their lives or teachings. Only by keeping the image of Fr.
Philoumenos before my eyes do I persevere.
The glorious martyrdom of this servant of God came to pass in
November,1979. The week before, a group of fanatical Zionists came to the
monastery at Jacob's Well, claiming it as a Jewish holy place and demanding that
all crosses and icons be removed. Of course, our father pointed out that the
floor upon which they were standing had been built by Emperor Constantine before
331 A.D. and had served as an Orthodox Christian holy place for sixteen
centuries before the Israeli State was created, and had been in Samaritan hands
eight centuries before that, (The rest of the original church had been destroyed
by the invasion of the Shah Khosran Parvis in the seventh century, at which time
the Jews had massacred all the Christians of Jerusalem.)
The group left with
threats, insults and obscenities of the kind which local Christians suffer
regularly. After a few days, on November 16/29, during a torrential downpour, a
group broke into the monastery; the saint had already put on his epitrachelion
for Vespers. The piecemeal chopping of the three fingers with which he made the
Sign of the Cross showed that he was tortured in an attempt to make him deny his
Orthodox Christian Faith. His face was cloven in the form of the Cross. The
church and holy things were all defiled. No one was ever arrested.
His body was buried on Mt. Zion, and when it was exhumed after four
years, as is customary, It was found to be substantially incorrupt. It is
preserved in the seminary chapel. His official glorification by the Patriarchate
of Jerusalem might well provoke further violence. But in the case of martyrs, no
official or public ceremony by hierarchs is necessary for the veneration of the
saint, since no doubt can be entertained about the circumstances of his death
Moreover, the state of his relics and their veneration in the seminary chapel of
the Patriarchate clearly show the Church’s desire to glorify the martyr.
However, we hope that the Church of Cyprus might begin public glorification of
its son until such time as pressures are removed from the Patriarchate of
Jerusalem. Our martyred father used to say, "Our Saviour Himself founded
the Church of Jerusalem, and that is why it has never gone astray, nor ever
will, for he Himself is guiding it."
Monk Yeghia Yenovkian Paradise Monastery, Ellisville,
Mississippi
Tribute to a New Martyr - Our Holy Father Philoumenos of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre
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