Orthodox icon of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer, Αγ. Γεράσιμος ο Υμνογράφος
Commemorated: July 12
According to the abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregory, Archimandrite George, Elder Gerasimos was "a humble monk, eager for the kingdom of heaven, transcending the flesh and the things of the flesh, prayerful, gentle, sweet, affable, God-loving and philanthropic, instructive, forgiving, easygoing, vigilant with the eye of his soul, strict with himself and condescending to his fellow men."
He was born in Droviani, Northern Epirus, in 1903 AD (and not in 1905 AD, as mistakenly written in the archives) and his secular name was Anastasios - Athanasios Grekas. From his father, Ioannis, he inherited his strictness towards himself, and from his mother, Athina, his deep, sincere, and unhypocritical religious devotion. He frequented the church in his village and the chapels in the mountains. He excelled in his studies because he was intelligent and had a good memory. He received his basic education in Piraeus and Athens, where he also met Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis (see November 9). He left Piraeus by ship for Mount Athos on August 15, 1923 AD.After five years, his Elder departed for the world and he remained alone in the desert. The presence of God became more noticeable to him then. His only consolation was prayer and study. He studied constantly, insatiably, carefully. After twenty years, he acquired a small group of good fathers. The blessed Elder taught both through silence and through his words. He considered silence to be "the mother of the wisest concepts." His words were always thoughtful, beautiful, instructive, and soul-nourishing. His guests were captivated by their conversations with him. He used to say: "Saint Gregory Palamas says that the only thing that Almighty God cannot do is to unite with unclean man. He is incapable of this.
"However, it was his hymnography that brought him fame and recognition everywhere. This is how he describes the beginning of his work around 1926 AD: "When I composed the first canon to the Virgin Mary, my late Elder saw it; he knew a little about letters. He said it was very beautiful. I took it to Kallinikos in Katounakia. He had been a recluse for forty years, praying silently, with divine inspiration, and I consulted him. He knew few letters, but he had great experience and the grace of God. After all, 'ask your elders and they will tell you'. Kallinikos says, "The rule is excellent, but I tell you one thing: humility, modesty. Be careful that the devil does not fight you." He writes hymns after careful study and much prayer. He says again: "Everything I do, I owe to prayer. Before work, I will say a fervent prayer, improvised, but very warm, which acts and works and brings whatever good results it brings. Prayer is everything. Let us not rely on external wisdom, on measures. It is a cold word. This cold word must become alive. And it will only become alive through prayer." His rich hymnographic work is estimated at more than 2,000 sacred services. Many have written about him and his work, and many have honored and awarded him for it, this great Hymnographer of the Great Church of Christ.
In fact, on June 25, 1963, during the patriarchate of Athenagoras, the Ecumenical Patriarchate awarded Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis for his contribution to the celebrations for the millennium of Mount Athos, while on December 28, 1968 AD, the Academy of Athens honored him with a silver medal.
As his subordinates recount, he had begged the Virgin Mary to keep him sane until the end so as not to tire anyone. Indeed, he remained lucid until his last breath. He said three times, "Saint Nektarios, help me," and then he passed away. A sweetness was painted on his face; you would have thought he was sleeping peacefully. He passed away on December 7, 1991 AD. His biographer, Elder Theoklitos Dionysiatis, describes him as a modest and excellent hymnographer, a rare personality and a true man of God. Archimandrite George Chrysostomou says that the Elder was a prominent figure of Mount Athos monasticism, a leading, famous, charismatic, and unique figure. He departed with the name of the miracle-working Saint Nektarios on his lips, to whom he had composed one of his most beautiful sacred services.
On January 10, 2023 AD, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to include Saint Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis in the Synaxarion of the Orthodox Church.
