The holy martyr and champion of Christ, elesa, who struggled on the island of kythera in 375 AD. Also pronounced Elissa, Elisas,Elisis,Elisin and Elisan.
The Life of the Great Martyr Saint Elissa of kythera, from the original manuscripts, translated from the Greek text
the translated text :
elesa, the praiseworthy and glorious martyr of Christ, was from the renowned Peloponnese region (in Greece), the daughter of a wealthy and proud Greek ruler named Heladius. Her mother, Eugenia, was a devout Christian. She was barren, she prayed to God to grant her the blessing of a child, whom she would dedicate to His grace and guide to the holy Catholic faith.
One day, while she was alone in her home praying, she heard a voice from heaven saying to her, “God has answered your prayer and given you the fruit of your womb.” She didn't tell her husband what had happened, but when she realized she was pregnant, she glorified God and told her relatives and husband everything: that she had asked God to grant her a child, that she had prayed and promised to dedicate the child to Him, that she had heard that heavenly voice from the Lord, and that God had granted her the mercy she had asked for. They all rejoiced with her. When the time came and the baby girl was born, all the relatives and friends were overjoyed. She thanked God and praised Him with tears for the grace and mercy she had received, and said to her husband, “Let us name our daughter, my beloved husband, elesa.” He replied, “As you wish.” He sent her to a priest named Sophronion, who lived there secretly, and baptized her in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, naming her elesa after the voice he heard (or perhaps the voice the priest heard; the pronoun is unclear, possibly referring to the saint's mother, or perhaps the priest also heard the same voice): "God has mercy on you" (Elissan means mercy in Greek, and from this word is derived the name of the saint, elesa, or Elisis, or Elissan). The child's father, being an unbeliever, forgot his previous consent and was angry about her baptism, but he loved her and endured it for her sake.
The girl grew in age and wisdom and became strong in spirit; and as she saw her good mother, she did the same and imitated her in everything, and always obeyed her in everything she advised her to do, and followed all the teachings of the universal (Catholic) Christian faith and she had a great piety in faith in Christ and towards the Mother of God.
She learned various prayers from her mother and recited them day and night. She fasted, gave alms, and secretly sent money to priests to perform masses for her salvation. But she hated her father's religion, or rather his disbelief and atheism, considering him an infidel and an idolater. When she was fourteen, her mother, Eugenia, knew her death was near. So she called to her beloved daughter and said, "My dear daughter elesa, I believe my time is near, and I am not saddened by this, but rather by your departure, for your father is wicked (or an infidel or impious), and will cause you harm at every moment. As for you, my daughter, keep your faith holy, pure, and spotless until the end of your life, as I have humbly taught it to you, for the Lord will make you worthy to be among His own, to receive the crown of eternity in His heavenly kingdom, and to glorify you in the life to come." She hugged her with tears filling her eyes, then she prayed over her and blessed her, and breathed her last.
As for elesa, she grieved deeply and wept bitterly at the loss of her mother's love, companionship, and the joy of her wise counsel. Nevertheless, she gave glory to God and buried her in a Christian manner, for her husband loved her dearly for her virtues, and no one dared speak ill of her, being the first and wealthiest man. Elesa remained the sole mistress of the house, managing the servants and all its affairs. Who can recount her prayers, fasting, almsgiving, and other virtuous deeds which she so admirably performed? Every hour, she entrusted herself to our Lord Jesus Christ and to His perfect Mother, asking Him to grant her a good end in the true faith and to deliver her from her father's unbelief. Then, a year after her mother's death, her father remembered that his daughter elesa had reached marriageable age, for he loved her dearly for her beauty, wisdom, humility, and other virtues. She was renowned throughout the land and more distinguished than all her peers.
One day, her father said to elesa, "My daughter elesa, I see that our gods have blessed you with longevity and beauty, and when I look at you, I feel great joy in my heart. Therefore, I want to relieve you of your troubles so that you may enjoy your life. You must listen to me; if you do, I will honor you and make you worthy of great wealth and honor, such as no one else has ever received. I want to marry you off so that I too may have joy and happiness, and so that you too may be freed from the sorrows of being an orphan. I will give you any of the rulers of the land whom you desire as a husband, and I will give you all that I own. You know that you are the light of my eyes." elesa, the wise servant of God, replied to her father, "Father, I am not ready for marriage at this time, and I beg you to leave this matter to me. God will guide me in due time." He answered her, "Why, my daughter? This is what comforts me, so do not disobey me." And she remained silent. Her father kept repeating the same words to her, urging her to get married, but she did not want to listen. She turned her face silently and prayed in her heart, saying: “To you, Lord Jesus Christ, I surrender my soul, and you, O Christ, manage me as you will, and protect me, so that my soul may be saved, and I may keep my virginity intact, and give me patience to bear the words of my wicked (infidel) father.”
After several days, her father traveled to a distant place. When elesa saw that her father had gone, she said to herself, "This is a time of grace, a time of salvation. You, O Lord, full of mercy and compassion, through the intercession of Your all-pure Mother and all Your saints, and through the prayers of my good mother, which provide help and salvation to those who ask for them in faith, guide me to the path of salvation, deliver me from the hands of my unbelieving father, and keep me under Your care." Then she began to distribute much alms to the poor, orphans, and holy places. She sent one of her most daring servants to a sailor and said to him, "I want you to take me secretly on your ship to the island of kythera, and I will pay you well for your service." He replied, “With pleasure, my lady, I will grant your wish, if you will give me my wages.” Elesa was overjoyed and gladly promised to pay him well. When she awoke, and it was time to set sail, her maids asked her to take them with her. Seeing their desire, she took them. As she left her house to board the ship, she raised her eyes and hands to heaven and prayed, weeping, “You, O Lord, the only Almighty, who said to Abraham, ‘Go forth from your land and your people and go to the land I will show you,’ here I am leaving my homeland and my relatives, my wealth and my worldly glory for Your love. I beg You to guide me so that I may keep my faith unblemished and please You until the end of my life.” After she said that, she went into the ship with the maids, and while sailing, thanks to divine help, a good wind blew, and they arrived at the island of kythera, which was a deserted place suitable for asceticism, because there were no humans there, only beasts and snakes.
When they arrived, the sailors unloaded elesa, her maids, and their provisions. Some of them went for a walk, and as they strolled, a poisonous snake bit one of them. In a short time, his entire body was covered in scales, and after excruciating pain, he died. The others grieved deeply for their lost companion. When the saint heard what had happened, she reassured them, saying, "Do not weep, for I trust in our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God, who is life and resurrection that He will raise him up by His mighty grace." She offered a long prayer to God, made the sign of the holy cross over him, and cried out, "O Lord Jesus Christ, You are the source of life and resurrection of the dead. O Almighty, raise him up, that His holy name may be glorified!" Immediately (O Lord, how great are Your miracles!), the dead man rose and sat up. The others saw the greatness of this event, marveled, glorified God, and thanked the saint. But fearing that they too might suffer the same thing, they took him to the ship and sailed away to the countryside, and when they arrived in their country they told there about the events and the miracle that the saint had performed.
Many days later, her father Heladius returned home from his journey. Finding only one of his servants, he asked her, "Where is my beloved daughter Elsa?" She replied, "My lord, when you departed, a few days later my mistress summoned a sailor from the port and spoke with him privately. The following evening, she left her house with her two other servants. First, she distributed much alms to the poor, and then she fled that night, telling me, 'Stay in your master's house and guard it well until my father returns.' Since then, she has not returned." Her father was deeply saddened and distressed by his daughter's escape. After searching thoroughly throughout the land, he learned what had happened: she had gone to the island of kythera, where she openly preached in the name of Christ and performed miracles.
When Heladius heard that his daughter had become a Christian and gone to live as a hermit, he was furious and swore he would find her by any means necessary and kill her without delay. After searching, he located the sailor who had transported her. After questioning him about his daughter, he learned what had happened and that the man killed by the snake had been resurrected. When Heladius intended to kill the sailor, the sailor replied, "I work transporting people and earn my wages, and that is why I own the ship. I did not convert your daughter to Christianity, nor did I advise her to do so. She requested the ship herself, and if I hadn't gone, someone else would have." Heladius said to him, "Take me quickly to the same place, and I will reward you for your efforts." Once they were ready, Heladius took others with him and paid them to go and search for her.
Finally, he took them all and brought him and his companions down to the same place, and after searching well, he found his daughter elesa there near him, on a high mountain in the southern part of kythera. She was with one of her maids practicing asceticism, while the other maid was a short distance away praying alone.
When Heladius came to his daughter elesa, he said to her, after shedding tears, “My beloved daughter, what have you done to me that you have made me miserable and weary, and fled from our home and grieved me so deeply, and all our relatives are saddened by your departure? Did you not like the place, the country, the riches, the dignity, and the comfort you enjoyed? Did you come to this desolate and wild place to live with the animals? How did you endure all the days you spent here and not die of hunger, nakedness, weariness, and suffering? You who were so beautiful, and now you are disfigured (literally unrecognizable)? But, my daughter, let these follies be forgiven, which you committed as a young woman of your age, and listen to me. Now let us return together to our homeland, and you will be the mistress of our house as before, so that you may act (there) as you please, for you know well that I have no other hope, for you are the light of my eyes; therefore, rise, let us go there.”
After the saint heard this, she said to him, "Father, you did well to come to me so that I might ask your forgiveness as a father, but it is impossible for me to come with you." Then he said to her sternly, "Do not speak such words; if I had not found you, you would have remained here until you became food for the beasts; but the gods have taken pity on you, and here I have found you; so let us go quickly, or I will take you by force and you will be harmed; but I ask you, what is the reason for your escape with such happiness, and why do you now oppose my opinion to return?" His daughter replied: “I will tell you the truth, Father, and do not be angry with me, because you are of another religion, and I have been a Christian since I was young, since I was baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity. It is not appropriate for me to live with you or with other idol worshippers, and that is why I came to this place. I prefer to live with animals rather than with infidel and pagan humans, who are more ignorant than animals and worship soulless idols, deaf and dumb idols, which they make with their own hands and respect as gods. But I worship and believe in the true God, who created heaven and earth, and all that is seen and unseen, and in His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit, one God in three Persons, in whose name I was baptized. I love Him, and I prefer nothing to His love, not even this life of mine. I have told you the whole truth; forgive me, grant me your pardon, and go. He said to her, “Stop this nonsense and come, let us go. Do not make me angry and furious, lest I beat you severely and torture you terribly, and even kill you in the end.”
Then the blessed elesa replied, "I would rather accept this than go with you into the darkness of idols." Enraged, he seized her by the hair and dragged her to the ground, beating her with sticks until she was wounded. But she cried out, "Have mercy on me, O God!" Seeing her unwavering resolve, Heladius bound her hands behind her back and hung her by her hair from the branches of a carob tree. He subjected her to cruel punishments and severe beatings until she breathed her last, surrendering her blessed soul into God's hands. Then he untied her holy, martyred body and threw it to the ground. But God's grace descended upon her, and she rose and sat, thanking God, saying, "I thank you, Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, for making me worthy to endure various sufferings for your love. Therefore, I beseech you to help me persevere to the end, to deliver me from the hand of my tyrannical, unbelieving father, and to make me worthy of your heavenly kingdom. And If any Christian calls you in my name, I beg you to give him what he asks.”
Upon hearing this, the saint's father was filled with rage. He took a stone to strike her, but the saint fled as he approached her in a furious rage. Then a large rock split open in the mountain, and the saint crossed to the other side (as it seems that this rock still exists today). She knelt down and prayed, while her cruel father ran after her, striking her forehead with a stone and breaking her teeth. Then he drew his sword and beheaded her on August 1st, 375 AD. Thus, the saint received the crown of martyrdom. One of the saint's maidservants stood before her and witnessed what happened; the other was taken by Heladius and put on the ship against her will, and they returned to the Peloponnese, to his land. The first maidservant, who had been hidden opposite and watching, came to the saint's body after the ship sailed, weeping and kissing it with tears. She then reverently buried her in a high place, where she lay, on the mountain above. For this reason, this mountain is still called Mount Saint elesa today.
The saint's servant stayed in that place for forty days, and every night she heard many angelic hymns above her tomb. She saw a heavenly light shining from above the tomb, so she glorified God and blessed the saint for what she had seen. After forty days, a ship carrying Christians arrived at the island. They descended from the mountain, entered the island, and departed, recounting all that had happened to the saint in every city and country the ship passed through. Many Christians heard this news and came to the island to venerate and honor the saint. They also built a small church in her name, where the relics of the holy martyr are kept.
This shrine became a source of miracles for visitors who came to it in faith, because the saint’s name became famous, and many people from the surrounding areas came and celebrated her memory (on the first of August, because on this day her head was cut off) and received many blessings and graces from her, and they gradually settled on this island. Thanks to the saint, and within a few years, the entire island was inhabited by huge crowds, and everyone would gather on the saint’s feast day carrying candles and incense, glorifying her and singing hymns on her feast day.
Blessed are the Christians who come in faith to honor the holy martyr and virgin, elesa. Whatever alms they offer to her holy shrine or in her name, she rewards them. Everyone on this island considers her their protector and patron, and all who come in faith receive what they seek of salvation, grace, and healing. Therefore, we have written her holy testimony for her glory and for the benefit of all Christians.
Through the intercession of your holy martyr, elesa, O Christ our God, deliver our homeland and our world from all danger. Deliver all who glorify you from every threat, need, and sorrow. Save our souls as a good, loving, and merciful God, for to you be all glory, honor, and worship forever. Amen. |
