Christopher of Trebizond

Saint Christopher of Trebizond was the head of the Soumela Monastery on Mount Mela in the second half of the seventh century (641–668).[1] He is sometimes called Saint Christopher of Gazara.[2]

Born in a village called Gazara in Trebizond in the region of Pontus, Anatolia,[1] according to Eastern Orthodox tradition Christopher was a simple illiterate farmer, whose life changed dramatically when the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared to him while he was plowing a field. She instructed him to leave his farm, travel to Mount Mela, and become a priest, to revive her imperial home, ordering him "Thus leave the oxen and plow in the field. Show yourself before the bishop and reveal to him all that I have told you and say to him that he is to ordain you to the priesthood."[3] When Christopher protested that he was unworthy of the priesthood, as he could not read or write, Mary breathed into his mouth, granting him these gifts. He was ordained as a priest and later served as the abbot of the Soumela Monastery, where he is credited with preserving the Gospel Book of Saint Christopher.[1]

The Eastern Orthodox church celebrates his feast day on 18 August.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Lives of the Monastery Builders of Soumela, a translation from the Greek of "The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church" (Holy Apostles Convent, Colorado), 1991
  2. 1 2 Saint Christopher of Gazara, Orthodox Church in America, accessed 18 July 2026
  3. ↑ Saint Christopher of Trebizond, Pontos World, accessed 18 July 2026


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