Abraham of Cyrrhus

Saint Abraham (Cyrrhus, Syria, c. 350–Constantinople, 422) (also known as Abraham of Charres and Abraham the Apostle of Lebanon[1] was a Syrian hermit and bishop of Harran. He was born and educated at Carrhae (modern Harran) in Syria, and preached the Gospel in the valley of Mount Lebanon, where he lived as a hermit. His life was described by Theodoret of Cyr (393-466 A.D.), the Bishop of Cyrrhus, who named him among the other thirty holy men and women in his book "Historia Religiosa" (Religious History).

For other uses, see Abram (disambiguation).
Abraham of Cyrrhus
Saint
Bornc. 350
Cyrrhus
Died422
Constantinople
Venerated inSyriac Orthodox Church
FeastFebruary 14

He spent the first part of his life in the desert of Chalcis where he lived an ascetic life, he tried his body by fasting and still standing and was so exhausted that could not move.[2] But then he left for Lebanon as a merchant and helped the inhabitants of the village where he stayed to pay the taxes with the help of his friends. The name of the village is not known but it is believed to be Aqura- Afka. "It was probably located in Aqura near the river Adonis." [3] He was asked by the villagers to become their tutor and he accepted providing they would build the Christian church. He stayed in this village for three years as a priest and then returned to his ascetic life as a hermit.[4][5]

He was later elected bishop of Harran in Mesopotamia (Carrhae), where he worked vigorously to reduce the existing abuses. He died in Constantinople in 422 after going there to consult with Theodosius II, although some argue that it may have instead occurred in 390 under Theodosius II's predecessor, Theodosius I. His body was transferred back to Harran, to the city of Antioch where he was buried. His feast day is 14 February.

References
  1. AbouZayd, S. Ihidayutha: A Study of the Life of Singleness in the Syrian Orient. From Ignatius of Antioch to Chalcedon 451 A.D. (Oxford, 1993), p. 119
  2. Theodoret "Religious History", p. 120
  3. AbouZayd, p. 304.
  4. AbouZayd, S. Ihidayutha: A Study of the Life of Singleness in the Syrian Orient. From Ignatius of Antioch to Chalcedon 451 A.D. (Oxford, 1993), p.304
  5. Theresa Urbainczyk, "Theodoret of Cyrrhus: The Bishop and the Holy Man", University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2002. p.74
  • Holweck, F. G., A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
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