“I am not worthy to live on the land of my God.
His wife, Aglaida, was a God-fearing woman, loving her husband and generous with alms. Grieving over her barrenness, she often turned to God with this prayer:
"Lord, remember me, Your unworthy servant, and deliver me from my barrenness, that I may become a mother. Grant us a son who will be both a joy in life and a support in our old age."
The Lord, in His mercy, heard her prayer: to the great joy of her husband, she gave birth to a son, named Alexis at holy baptism.
At the age of six, Saint Alexis began his education and, having quickly mastered the secular sciences common to his time, he became particularly proficient in Holy Scripture and the ecclesiastical books. The boy developed into a prudent and pious youth. Having realized the vanity of fleeting worldly goods, he resolved to renounce them in order to obtain eternal blessings. Therefore, he even began wearing a sharp hair shirt to mortify his flesh. When Alexis reached adulthood, Euthymianus said to his wife:
- Let's marry our son.
These words made Aglaida very happy, and she, falling at her husband’s feet, said:
- May God bless your intention, so that I can see the marriage of my son and his children; this great joy will encourage me to be even more generous to the poor and needy.
After this, they betrothed Alexius to a maiden of royal lineage, and then the sacrament of marriage was performed in the Church of St. Boniface, and the entire day and night passed in joy and jubilation. At the end of the celebration, Saint Alexius, with his father's blessing, entered the bride's room and found her seated in a chair. Taking his gold ring, he wrapped it and his precious belt in porphyry cloth and gave it to the bride with the words:
– Preserve this, and may the Lord be above us, facilitating with His grace the emergence in us of a new, truly Christian life.
Having said this, he retired to his room. Here, Saint Alexis exchanged his rich clothes for poor ones and secretly left the house and the city, taking with him some gold and precious stones from his own possessions. Arriving at the sea, he found a ship sailing to Laodicea , which he boarded after paying the required fare. During the journey, Saint Alexis prayed to God thus:
“God,” he said, “who has saved me from the day of my birth, save me now from the vain worldly life and make me worthy at Your Last Judgment to stand on Your right side with all who have pleased You.”
Upon the ship's arrival, Saint Alexis disembarked, where he met travelers heading to Mesopotamia . He joined them and traveled with them to Edessa , where the Icon of Christ Not Made by Hands, sent by Him during His earthly life to Abgar, Prince of Edessa, was kept . Upon seeing the icon, Saint Alexis rejoiced greatly and, selling all the valuables he had taken from his house, distributed the proceeds to the poor. He himself dressed in rags and began to live on alms. The saint's residence was the porch of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, and his life was strictly ascetic: he fasted constantly, eating only a little bread. He even drank water in extremely moderate quantities; every Sunday, Saint Alexis received the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ and always distributed all his alms to the elderly poor. He walked with his head constantly bowed, his mind lifted to God, constantly meditating on Him. From such a harsh life, the saint's entire body withered, the beauty of his face faded, his eyes sank, and his vision weakened.
At dawn, when Saint Alexis had already left the house, the parents came to the bride's room and, to their surprise, found her alone, sitting in sorrow with a sad face. They began searching for their son everywhere and, finding him nowhere, wept bitterly; thus their joy turned to grief. The saint's mother, entering her room, closed the windows, spread sackcloth over him, and, sprinkling him with ashes, threw herself upon him with sobs, praying and saying:
“I will not get up and leave my seclusion until I find out what happened to my only son, why and where he went.
The bride, standing next to her, also spoke with tears:
“And I will not leave you, but, like a desert-loving and faithful dove, with a sad song searching through the mountains and valleys for her lost husband, I will patiently wait for news about my husband - where he is and what way of life he has chosen for himself.
The father was also greatly grieved; he sent his servants everywhere in search of his son. Some of them even came to Edessa; seeing Saint Alexius, they did not recognize him, but took him for a beggar and gave him alms. Saint Alexius recognized them and thanked God for allowing him to accept alms from his servants. The servants, returning, told their master that they had not found his son, although they had searched everywhere.
Saint Alexis lived in Edessa at the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos for seventeen years and earned God's love through his life. During this time, a revelation about him was made to the sexton of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos: he saw Her holy icon, speaking to him:
– Bring into My Church a man of God, worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven; his prayer ascends to God like fragrant incense, and the Holy Spirit rests upon him like a crown on a king’s head.
After the vision, the sexton searched for a man of such a righteous life and, unable to find one, turned in prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, asking Her help in fulfilling his command. Again in the vision, he heard a voice from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, stating that the man of God was the beggar sitting at the gate of the church porch. The sexton, finding Saint Alexis, brought him into the church to stay, and many, having learned of the righteous life of the man of God, began to venerate him. He, however, shunning human glory, secretly left the city. Arriving at a seaport, he boarded a ship sailing to Cilicia , thinking to himself, "I will go to Cilicia, where no one knows me, and I will live at the Church of the Holy Apostle Paul." During the voyage, by God's will, a storm suddenly arose at sea, and the ship, tossed about by the waves for many days, unexpectedly arrived in Rome. After disembarking from the ship, Saint Alexis said to himself:
“As the Lord my God lives, I will not be a burden to anyone, but I will go as a stranger to my father’s house.”
On his way to him, he encountered his father, returning home from the palace, accompanied by many servants. Bowing to the ground before him, Saint Alexis said:
"Servant of God, have mercy on me, a beggar and a poor man: allow me to settle in some corner of your courtyard and feed on the crumbs that fall from your table; the Lord will bless your days and grant you the Kingdom of Heaven, and if you have any of your relatives who are wandering somewhere, He will return them to you healthy."
At the beggar's words about wandering, Euthymian immediately remembered his beloved son Alexis, shed tears, and graciously granted his request, allowing him to live in the courtyard of his house. He said to his servants:
"Which of you wants to serve this beggar? If he pleases him, I swear he will receive complete freedom and a reward from me. Arrange for him a small room near the door of the house so that I can see him more often; let his food be served to him from my table, and none of you shall insult him."
After this, Saint Alexis began to live at the door of his father's house. Euthymian sent him food from his table every day, but he distributed it to the poor, while he himself ate only bread and drank only water, and only enough to avoid dying of hunger or thirst. He spent all nights awake in prayer, and every Sunday he received Holy Communion in the church. And the patience of the man of God was astonishing! He endured many troubles and griefs, especially late in the evening, from his father's servants, some of whom pulled his hair, others slapped him, others poured slop on his head, and generally mocked him in the most cruel manner. He endured everything in silence, knowing that their treatment of him was at the instigation of the devil, and he armed himself with prayer against his wiles, overcoming them with patience. Another circumstance spurred him to great patience: opposite his room stood the window of his fiancée's room. Like Ruth, she refused to go to her father's house, but sat grieving with her mother-in-law. The saint often heard the sobbing and lamentations of his mother and fiancée: the one over the loss of her son, the other her husband. Their tears filled his heart with pity, but his love for God overcame his carnal love for his fiancée and parents. This patience in the face of almost unbearable sorrows for God's sake even consoled him. Thus Saint Alexis lived in his parents' house for seventeen years, and no one recognized him, but everyone considered him a beggar without shelter. The slaves mocked the one who was the master of the house, the son and heir, as a stranger and a stranger. When the Lord wished to call him from this temporal life, in which he had experienced so much poverty and deprivation, to eternal life, He revealed to him the day and hour of his death. Saint Alexis then asked his servant for ink, a charter, and a cane. He wrote down his entire life, and to convince his parents that he was truly their son, he mentioned certain circumstances of his life known only to them. He also wrote about what he said to his bride on the night he left home, and how he gave her his ring and belt. He concluded his letter with the following words:
"I beg you, my dear parents and my honorable bride, do not be offended that I, in leaving you, have caused you such great sorrow. My heart was grieved by your grief; I have often prayed to the Lord to grant you patience and make you worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. I hope that He, in His mercy, will grant my prayer, for out of love for Him I have chosen such a difficult life, not changing it for the sake of your tears, since it is better for every Christian to obey their Maker and Creator more than their parents. I believe that the greater the sorrow I have caused you, the greater the joy you will receive in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Having written this, he prayed until his death.
One day, when Pope was celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostles, at the end of the service a wonderful voice was heard from the altar:
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” ( Matthew 11:28 ). Those present in the temple fell to the ground in great terror, crying out:
- Lord, have mercy!
Then the voice was heard again:
– Look for a man of God who is already departing to another life; let him pray for the city: his prayer will be very beneficial for you.
They searched throughout Rome for such a man and knew not what to do, since they could not find him. Therefore, gathering again with the Pope and the Tsar from Thursday evening to Friday in the cathedral church, they celebrated an all-night vigil there, praying to Christ to show them His saint. On Friday morning, Saint Alexis departed to the Lord. Meanwhile, in the church, just as the first time, a voice from the altar was again heard during the service:
– Look for the man of God in the house of Euthymian.
After this, the king turning to the latter, said:
- Why didn’t you, having such a treasure in your house, tell us about it?
Euphemianus answered:
– God is my witness that I know nothing.
And, calling the chief servant, he asked him:
– Do you know of any of your companions who is virtuous and pleasing to God?
“I don’t know,” he said, “there is not a single virtuous one; everyone lives in a way that is not pleasing to God.”
The Tsar and the Pope decided to go to Euphemianus's house themselves to seek the man of God. Euphemianus, going ahead, prepared to receive the Pope and the Tsar with their nobles and arranged a festive welcome for them. Euphemianus's grieving wife, hearing the commotion and chatter in the courtyard and house from her room, asked:
- What does it mean?
She was very surprised when she learned of the arrival of the Tsar and the Pope and the reason for their visit. The bride was also perplexed, seeing from her room the Tsar and the Pope walking with a multitude of people, and tried to explain this sight to herself.
When the Pope, the Tsar and the nobles had sat down and silence had fallen, the slave who served Saint Alexis said to Euphemianus:
"My lord, is not the beggar you entrusted to me a man of God? I am a witness to his great and wondrous deeds: he fasts constantly, only taking a little bread and water at the end of the day; he spends all night in prayer and receives the Holy Mysteries of Christ every Sunday; he meekly and joyfully endures the beatings and insults inflicted upon him by certain slaves.
Hearing this, Euphemianus immediately hurried to the beggar's dwelling and, calling him three times through the window, received no answer. Then he entered the dwelling, where he found the man of God lying dead, his head covered, the document folded in his right hand. Euphemianus uncovered his face and saw that it shone like the face of an angel. When he wanted to take the document and read it, he was unable to do so, because his hand would not let go. Returning quickly to the Emperor and Pope, he said:
– We have already found the one we were looking for dead; he is holding the charter in his hand and will not give it to us.
The Tsar and the Patriarch, having ordered a precious bier prepared and covered with rich fabrics, brought out the honorable body of the man of God and reverently laid it upon it. Then, kneeling, they kissed the sacred remains and spoke to him as if he were alive:
“We beg you, servant of Christ, give us this charter, so that by what is written in it we may know who you are.
After this, the Pope and the Tsar took the charter from the saint's hand without hindrance and handed it to the Aetia, the charter of the great church , for reading. Amidst the profound silence of those around him, he began to read it. When he reached the passage about the parents and the bride, and the ring and girdle given to her, Euphemian recognized the deceased as his son Alexis. He fell upon his chest and, embracing and kissing him, spoke with tears:
Woe is me, my beloved son! What have you done to us? Why have you caused us such grief? Woe is me, my son! Having been with us for so many years and hearing the lamentations of your parents, you have not revealed yourself, nor consoled us, despite our old age, in the great sorrow you have caused. Woe is me! My son, my love, the consolation of my soul, I do not know what to do now: mourn your death or rejoice at your return.
Thus Euthymian wept inconsolably, tormenting his gray hair.
Aglaida, hearing her husband's sobbing and learning that the dead beggar was her son, opened the doors of her cell; in torn clothes, with tear-filled eyes raised to heaven and tearing out her loose hair, she walked among the crowd of people, saying:
– Give me the way so that I can see my hope, to embrace my beloved son.
Approaching the bed, she bent over the body of her son, hugged him and kissed him with the words:
"Woe is me, my lord! My sweet child, what have you done? Why have you brought us such great sorrow? Woe is me, light of my eyes! How have you not revealed yourself, living with us for so many years? How have you not taken pity on us, constantly hearing our bitter lamentations for you?"
The bride, who had lived thirty-four years without a groom and wore black clothes as a sign of grief, also fell upon the honest body; wetting it with streams of tears and kissing it with love; she sobbed bitterly and inconsolably, saying:
- Woe is me, woe is me!
Her sobbing and sorrowful complaints brought tears to those present, and everyone cried along with the bride and mother.
The king and the pope commanded that the bier with the honest body of the man of God be carried and placed in the middle of the city so that everyone could see it and touch it, and when this was done, they said to the people:
- Behold, we have found the one your faith was looking for.
And all of Rome gathered; all touched the saint, kissing him. All the sick were healed: the blind received their sight, lepers were cleansed, demons left those possessed by them—in a word, no matter what their illness, everyone received complete healing from the relics of God's saint. Witnessing such miracles, the emperor and the patriarch wished to carry the bier themselves to the church, to receive the grace of touching the saint's body. The parents and bride accompanied them, weeping; so many people gathered, eager to touch the precious body, that it was impossible to carry the bier due to the crowd. To force the crowd to retreat and make way for the church, the emperor ordered silver and gold to be thrown into the crowd, but no one paid attention; all were eager only to see and touch the man of God. The Pope then exhorted the people, asking them to desist and promising not to bury the precious body until everyone had kissed it and received grace through its touch. With difficulty, the people, convinced, desisted slightly and allowed the holy body to be brought to the cathedral church, where it remained for a full week, allowing anyone who wished to venerate it. Throughout that week, the weeping parents and bride stood at the bier of Saint Alexis. The Tsar ordered a marble tomb to be made, adorned with gold and emeralds, into which the man of God was laid. Immediately, fragrant myrrh flowed from the holy body, filling the reliquary. All anointed themselves with this myrrh for the healing of all ailments, and they buried the precious remains of Saint Alexis with honor, glorifying God.
Saint Alexius reposed on the seventeenth day of March, in the year 5919 from the creation of the world, and 411 from the incarnation of God the Word, when Honorius reigned in Rome under Pope Innocent, and Theodosius the Younger reigned in Constantinople, and over them all reigned our Lord Jesus Christ, who always reigned with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Dmitrij_Rostovskij/zhitija-svjatykh/248#note1968_return