Saint Abraham (

Cyrrhus, Syria Cyrrhus (; el, Κύρρος ''Kyrrhos'') is a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Coricium, Corice, Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri ( ar, نبي هوري), and Khoro ...

, 350–

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, 422) (also known as Abraames, Abraham of Charres and Abraham the Apostle of Lebanon was a

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Harran Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border cr ...

Life

Abraham was born and educated at Carrhae (modern Harran) in Syria, and preached the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

in the valley of

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

, where he lived as a

. 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). He spent the first part of his life in the desert of

Chalcis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

where he lived an ascetic life, he tried his body by fasting and still standing and was so exhausted that could not move. 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 Afqa ( ar, افقا; also spelled ''Afka'') is a village and municipality located in the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, northeast of Beirut in Lebanon. It has an average elevation of 1,200 meters above sea level and a total la ...

''. "It was probably located in ''Aqura'' near the river Adonis." 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.Theresa Urbainczyk, "Theodoret of Cyrrhus: The Bishop and the Holy Man", University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2002. p.74 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 Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after ...

, although some argue that it may have instead occurred in 390 under Theodosius II's predecessor,

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

. His body was transferred back to Harran, to the city of Antioch where he was buried. His feast day is 14 February. According to

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

References

External links

* * Holweck, F. G., ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
Abraham at ''Patron Saints Index''St. Patrick's Church list of 14 February saints
{{Authority control 350s births 422 deaths Mesopotamian saints Maronite saints 4th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 4th-century Mesopotamian bishops 5th-century Mesopotamian bishops People from Harran

Life

See also

References

External links