The life of our holy father Trifilius, bishop of Leucippus

Originally from Constantinople, Saint Trifilius received his external education in Berith [Berith in antiquity was a Phoenician harbor, then passed into the hands of the Egyptians, and Antiochus III was taken from the Ptolemies; in 140 BC it was destroyed by the Syrian Diotos Trifon, but under the Roman emperor Augustus the city was rebuilt.

Under successive emperors, Berit was famous for his school of rhetoric, politics, and law.

Now Berit - Beirut, the main city of the Turkish-Asian vilayet (general-governorate) of Syria.], he had as a teacher of piety Saint Spiridon, bishop of Trifiunt [St. Spiridon is known in the history of the Christian church as a participant of the first Ecumenical Council (325), at which a simple but powerful speech led to Christ a skilled in the words of a pagan philosopher.

His relics rest on the island of Corfu. His memory is on December 12.] . St. Trifilius was preordained and ordained bishop by the Lord Himself: not yet clothed with this great title he was revealed in a vision to King Constantius, as already an archbishop, about which the life of St. Spiridon reports the following.

After the death of Constantine the Great, the power over the Greco-Roman state passed to his sons, and, after the division, the eldest of them, named Constantius, after the death of his father, gained control of the East, Asia and Egypt; in 351, defeating

The murderer of his brother Constantius, Magnetius, he united the entire Roman Empire under his rule.

He destroyed pagan temples or gave them to Christians for conversion to the church; several times he issued a law forbidding pagan worship under the threat of death, but his sympathy for the heresy of Arianism greatly increased the ecclesiastical strife of that time: he persecuted the Orthodox bishops, demoted them from the cathedrals and even put them in prison; under him the arians occupied the highest positions in the state.

Constantius died in 361 during a campaign against his cousin Julian, who had been proclaimed emperor by the troops in Gaul, where he himself had appointed him commander-in-chief.

One day he had to visit Antioch [Antioch, the oldest city in Syria, lies by the Orontes River between the mountain ranges of Lebanon and Taurus; founded 300 B.C.E.] and there he suddenly fell so ill that the doctors were unable to cure him.

Then, despairing of the latter, the sick king turned to God, the healer of body and soul, and prayed earnestly for healing, and behold, he saw in a dream an angel who showed him a whole company of saints, and among them two who stood out from the ranks of the others, as if they were their leaders and rulers.

When the king awoke and pondered the vision, he did not know exactly who the bishops were, and indeed how could he know those whose names and birthplace he did not know?

And the king was greatly perplexed, and he sent to all the provinces of his empire, and commanded the bishops of the provinces to be gathered unto him.

Such a decree, or rather the king's request, reached the borders of Cyprus [Cyprus Island lies at the northeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, near the shores of ancient Phoenicia, where Christianity was introduced by the holy apostle Paul on his first evangelical journey] to Spyridon the Triumphant, to whom God had revealed everything that had happened to the king.

And when they were come to Antioch, they went to the king, and found him in the city of Antioch.

St. Spyridon was poorly dressed, had a date-palm staff in his hands, and had on his head a very simple, almost poor, mitre; on his chest he hung a clay vessel, in which, according to the custom of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, he carried the oil of the holy cross.

And when he saw that the bishop stood before him, he understood his sin, and humbled himself, and asked forgiveness, which he received.

As soon as Saint Spyridon had entered the king's presence, he recognized him, recalling his former vision: rising from his seat, the king came and bowed to the servant of God and asked the bishop with tears to pray to the Lord for healing of his illness.

And the angel of God touched the king's head, and he was instantly healed, rejoicing in his healing, which the Lord had given him through the prayers of the holy king. And the king showed great respect to the saint, and spent the whole day with him in merriment, feasting upon his good physician.

And when St. Tryphily saw the glory of the king, the beauty of the palaces, the majestic appearance of the sitting king, the nobles before him, the lavish robes of the servants, and the rich and unusual life of the palace, he said to his disciple, "What do you wonder, brother?

Why do you regard the temporary as something eternal and insignificant and make it a subject of astonishment, while you should reach out for the imperishable and eternal and love the one that is unshakable in heavenly glory?"

Later, after a short time, Saint Trifilius was appointed bishop of the city of Leucippus on the island of Cyprus, but, even as a bishop, he did not interrupt his fellowship with his father and teacher, Saint Spiridon: Saint Trifilius often visited him for his spiritual benefit, as can be seen from the following.

And when they had passed by the mount Penthidactylus, and came to a place called Parymna, which was full of gardens and vineyards for the beauty of the land, St. Triphillius, being amazed at the beauty of the land, desired to have a vineyard of his own in Parymna, and thought long in his heart how he might do it.

St. Spyridon's keen eyes saw this, and penetrating his disciple's mind, he said: "Why, Tryphillius, do you keep thinking about vain things, desiring fields and vineyards that are really of no value and that seduce the hearts of men by their apparent value?

We have an enduring treasure in heaven, a house not made by human hands. Seek it, and enjoy in God's sight the blessings of heaven, which do not pass from one to the other, but remain forever with the one who becomes their possessor".

Such instruction was of great benefit to the soul of St. Tryphily, so that later in life he became, like the apostle Paul, a chosen vessel of Christ, filled with innumerable divine gifts.

The Greek historians Nicéphore and Sozomen report the following about both Saint Trifilia and Saint Spyridon.

One day, for the needs of the church, a meeting of all the bishops of the island was held in Cyprus. At this meeting, Saint Spiridon and Saint Trifilius were present, a man of learning and literacy, for in his youth he had studied a long time in Beroea.

During his sermon, he had to quote the words of Christ to the relaxed man recorded by the Evangelist Mark: "Arise, take up your bed" (Mark 2:11), and St. Tryphillius changed the literal sentence of the Gospel, calling it a bed: "Arise and take up your bed". St. Spyridon, not tolerating the change of Christ's words, said to Tryphillius: "Are you better than the One who said "Other", that you are ashamed of His words?"

And there was nothing to condemn in this deed of St. Spyridon: being an unlettered man, he reproached Tryphillius, who was proud of his eloquence, and taught him humility and meekness.

St. Triphily pleased God with his life, as the hymns composed in his honour by the Church testify: they affirm that St. Triphily had a merciful soul, a pure intention, a good heart and a true faith, an unhypocritical love, outstanding feats of virginity, gracious and repentant tears and fasting, astonished the disembodied - that he went around the surrounding countries, enlightening the darkened with the teaching of Christ, like the rays of the sun.

I'm sorry for your sins.

He went away from here, having shepherded his flock in love and truth, so that there, in heaven, in the company of the hierarchs, Christ, our Savior, might appear before him, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

In the early 12th century, the relics of St. Trifilius were seen on the island of Cyprus by our Russian abbot Daniel, who was traveling through the holy places.] - Condac, 8th voice:

By the treachery of living the purity of virginity, receive Triphilius, the first-begotten of the throne, appeared to you, Leucius, and appeared to you, therefore, the preacher, and the wise teacher.