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If a man never stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child,
then Stylianos the Hermit was a towering figure of Christianity
who cannot be dwarfed by any of our spiritual giants. He practiced
every day of his lifetime what Jesus preached when He said,
“Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid
them not; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Luke 10.14).
His great concern for children was such that he came to be considered
the patron saint of children, but he did not limit his benevolence
to children alone, as his life story bears out.
Stylianos was born during the seventh century in Adrianopolis in
the province of Paphlagonia into a family which for generations
had known nothing but poverty, a circumstance which was accepted
without complaint and in which the simple, uncomplicated life afforded
them greater time for religious matters. What the family of Stylianos
lacked in material things was more than offset by the wealth of
a deep faith in Jesus Christ and a cheerful commitment to the Messiah
Who never owned anything more than the clothes He wore. Stylianos
was early made aware of this affinity with the Lord and by the time
he had reached maturity had acquired a profound sense of responsibility
to The Saviour.
Determined to serve Jesus Christ to the fullest of his ability,
Stylianos joined the hermits of the desert with a view toward cleansing
his soul through a period of meditation and prayer, as well as through
association with men likewise pledging their lives to Jesus Christ.
Unlike most other hermits, however, he did not withdraw from society
altogether, preferring to go among the people for whatever good
he might do, and then returning to his little cave for rest and
prayerful meditation.
One night while he prayed for guidance in helping others, Stylianos
felt a divine presence and was consumed by the great glory of the
Holy Spirit, emerging from his cave the next day with a spirit of
exultation and serenity he had never known before. In his customary
rounds, wherein he counselled and comforted, he felt compelled to
place his hand on a stricken child, something he had not up to that
time dared to do; he felt the power of the Lord being transferred
to the ailing youngster through his extended arm. The child immediately
recovered, and thenceforth Stylianos was sought after by every suffering
soul for miles around, young and old. His cave became a magnet for
the sick and suffering, many of whom received complete cures not
only through the power in this man but through their own faith as
well, without which a sufferer’s case was hopeless.
It was at this time that Stylianos concerned himself primarily
with children, not just the physically afflicted but also with those
who were in need of spiritual guidance. Families from all walks
of life entrusted to Stylianos the enlightenment of their children,
and he was forced to seek out larger headquarters and to recruit
from the ranks of his hermit friends the assistance needed to tend
to so many. His was probably the first day-care centre in the world,
where mothers could safely leave their children while tending to
other matters of the home.
Stylianos was inadvertently qualified to become the patron saint
of children yet to be born, owing to his miraculous intercession
for a young woman who helped him with children but could bear none
of her own. When the woman conceived, her husband out of sheer joy
spread the word of this miracle, and before long many barren women
came to the great hermit. Those whose faith in Jesus Christ was
genuine became fertile.
The cheerful countenance of Stylianos was his hallmark, because
he seemed always to be smiling. Now and then, however, he would
be challenged by an outraged discreditor of little faith, and only
then would the beaming hermit’s face darken with a scowl.
He was also approached by greedy mercenaries with all manner of
propositions for commercialising his talents and reaping a tidy
fortune, but for these people he always had the same answer: that
he had been paid in advance for his services when the serenity of
the Holy Spirit came upon him. He would smile as they left. He lived
to a ripe old age, and it is said that when he was buried his countenance
still beamed with a faint smile from the light of The Lord.
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