The life of the holy father of our Tikhon the miracle worker, Bishop of Amafonta

Saint Tikhon was born on the island of Cyprus in the city of Amafonte [Amafonte - now the city of Limassol on the island of Cyprus] to pious Christian parents. From an early age, he was raised by his parents in Christian piety, he was taught by them to read the sacred books, for which he was accepted into the clergy and was awarded the position of church reader.

When Bishop Memnon died, then, according to the common wish of the Amafonte Christians, St. Tikhon was elected in his place and ordained by St. Epiphanius, archbishop of Cyprus [St. Epiphanius - archbishop of the island of Cyprus, - died in 403 from R. C.; this saint shone with the power of godly teaching and the gift of miracles and prophecy. - Memory of him 12 May.]

At that time there were still many pagans on the island of Cyprus, who adhered to ancient idolatry. The Saint of Christ, Tikhon, undertook a great work, turning the inhabitants of Amafunt away from pagan misconceptions and bringing them to the knowledge of Christ-God; in this great work the Lord prospered him, for, having wrested the great worded flock from the power of the devil, the saint led him into the fence of the Orthodox Catholic Church, turning goats into Christ's sheep.

And he destroyed the temples of the idols, and the dwelling-places of the demons, and destroyed them. And when he had governed the flock that the Lord had given him, he died in a good old age. For his many miracles, which he wrought, not only in life, but also in death, he was called the Wonderer.

Of the many miracles of St. Tikhon, only two instances of his miraculous power have survived to our time. The first miracle that St. Tikhon performed as a youth was the following.

The father of St. Tikhon, who supported his family by baking and selling bread, sent his son to sell bread, and St. Tikhon gave free bread to the poor. When his father learned of this, he was saddened and became angry with his son and began to curse him for this. The godly boy said to his father, "Why are you sad, father, as if you had lost something? I gave bread to God on loan, and it is written, 'He who gives to God will receive back double.'

"If you don't believe me, let's go to the barn and see for yourself how God pays his creditors.

And when he had opened the door, behold, the house was empty, and full of pure corn. And when his father saw it, he was astonished, and fell on his knees, and gave thanks.

In one vineyard, the gardeners cut off the dry branches from the vineyard and threw them away as unsuitable, but St. Tikhon gathered these branches and planted them in his garden.

As he planted, he prayed to God to give the branches of the vine the following four qualities: first, that the dry branches should take hold of the ground, take root, and grow; second, that the branches of the vine should abound with berries; third, that the berries should be sweet and healthy; and fourth, that the grapes should ripen and ripen faster than all others.

When St. Tikhon went out in the morning to the garden, he saw that his prayer was heard: the dry branches were taken into the ground and sprouted; and when they began to grow in the same summer, they were quite unusual and unnaturally very fruitful, and even at a time when the fruits in other vineyards ripened, the berries in St. Tikhon's vineyards were quite ripe, pleasant in taste and very useful for health.

This grape had such miraculous power not only during the life of St. Tikhon, but also after his death, it was fruitful and every year its fruits ripened earlier than in other vineyards, so that on June 16 - the day of the memory of St. Tikhon - the sacrament of the Eucharist was performed on the wine pressed from this grape at the liturgy.

The service of St. Tikhon is related in addition to the fact that he prophesied and announced to others the time of his death [Song 7, verse 2 and song 8, verse 1]. For such the holiness of this miracle worker Tikhon, may our God be glorified, now and forever and ever.

A desert dweller, an angel and a miracle worker appeared to you, the god-bearer of our father Typhon. By fasting, vigil, prayer, receive the heavenly gifts, heal the sick, and the souls of those who come to you by faith. Glory to Him who gave you strength, glory to the crowned body, glory to Him who works through you all healing.

In the fasting of the holy God-loving stay, the Comforter's power from the heights was received, the idol to bring down the delights, people to save, demons to drive away, ailments to heal: for this reason we honor as the friend of God, Tychone the Blessed.

On the same day the memory of the reverend Tikhon Medinsky (Kaluzhsky).