Translation of the Relics of the Venerable Maximus the Confessor

The Venerable Maximus the Confessor was born in 580 in Constantinople, into a family of pious Christians. After receiving a thorough education he entered the state service and became first secretary to the Emperor Heraclius (610–641). At this time the heresy of the Monothelites spread, with which the autocrat himself sympathised. Maximus left the imperial court and became a monk in the monastery of Chrysopolis, near Chalcedon. The father, distinguished by his piety, was soon chosen superior of the monastery. In 633, by God’s will, the saint went to Africa and preached fervently, first in Alexandria and then in Carthage. The Venerable Maximus faithfully defended the Orthodox faith, for which he was cruelly persecuted. The blessed one was exiled several times. At last the saint’s tongue and right hand were cut off, so that he could confess the truth neither by word nor by pen, and he was exiled to western Georgia, where the power of speech and of writing was miraculously restored to him. The Venerable Maximus foresaw the approach of his end and commended his soul to the Lord in peace on 13 August 662 (see the reading for that day). The blessed one was buried in the city of Tsageri. Miracles took place at his grave. On 21 January the Church commemorates the uncovering of the Venerable Maximus’s incorrupt relics.