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Chariton the Confessor (Greek: Χαρίτων; mid-3rd century, Iconium,
/ref> Released from prison after Aurelian's death, he regretted not having died as a martyr.
After that he moved on to establish a third monastery in the Valley of Tekoa, named the Souka and later known as the Old Lavra. The valley is a
"Laura"
The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Via www.newadvent.org. Accessed 2 Jul. 2019 These rules became the main traits of monastic rule everywhere, based on asceticism and solitude: he lived in silence, only ate certain types of food and only after sundown, performed manual work, spent the night in an alternation of sleep and
_Russian_Orthodox_Ecclesiastical_Mission_in_Jerusalem
:_"Skete_of_Saint_Chariton_-_Fara".html" ;"title="Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem"> Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem
: "Skete of Saint Chariton - Fara"">Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem"> Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem
: "Skete of Saint Chariton - Fara" about the rebuilt monastic site in Pharan Valley, its history and rediscovery {{DEFAULTSORT:Chariton 4th-century Christian saints 3rd-century births 4th-century deaths
Chariton the Confessor (Greek: Χαρίτων; mid-3rd century, Iconium, Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
– c. 350, Judaean desert
The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( he, מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה, Midbar Yehuda}, both ''Desert of Judah'' or ''Judaean Desert''; ar, صحراء يهودا, Sahraa' Yahuda) is a desert in Palestine and Israel that lies east of Jerusa ...
) was a Christian saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...
. His remembrance day is September 28.
Life
Sources
We know about his ''vita'' from the 6th-century "Life of Chariton", written by an anonymous monk, which holds elements supported by modern archaeological excavations.Early life
Chariton was a native of Iconium in theByzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
province of Lycaonia
Lycaonia (; el, Λυκαονία, ''Lykaonia''; tr, Likaonya) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by ...
. Under the reign of Emperor Aurelian
Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited th ...
(270-275) he was tortured and came close to become a martyr during a persecution against Christians."Venerable Chariton the Confessor, Abbot of Palestine", Orthodox Church in America/ref> Released from prison after Aurelian's death, he regretted not having died as a martyr.
Pharan near Jerusalem
After his release in 275, during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other holy places, Chariton was abducted by bandits and brought to a cave in the Pharan Valley (upperWadi Qelt
Wadi Qelt ( ar, وادي القلط; Qelt is also spelled Qilt and Kelt, sometimes with the Arabic article, el- or al-), in Hebrew Nahal Prat ( he, נחל פרת), formerly Naḥal Faran (Pharan brook), is a valley, riverine gulch or strea ...
). The traditional account states that his abductors died by drinking wine that was poisoned by a snake. Chariton decided to remain a hermit in the cave after this miraculous death of his abductors. There he built a church and established a monastery, the first one of the lavra
A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern ...
type.
Douka near Jericho
Later he moved to theMount of Temptation
Mount of Temptation, in Palestinian Arabic ( ar, جبل لقرنطل), is a mountain over the town of Jericho in the Judean Desert, in the West Bank. Ancient Christian tradition identifies it as the location of the temptation of Jesus describe ...
near Jericho, where he established the lavra of Douka on the ruins of the Hasmonean and Herodian
Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...
Dok Fortress.
Souka (Old Lavra at Tekoa)
After that he moved on to establish a third monastery in the Valley of Tekoa, named the Souka and later known as the Old Lavra. The valley is a wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water ...
later named in Arabic after him, Wadi Khureitun
Wadi Khureitun or Nahal Tekoa is a wadi in a deep ravine in the Judaean Desert in the West Bank, west of the Dead Sea, springing near Tekoa.
Name
The Hebrew name, Nahal Tekoa ("Tekoa Stream"), and the English name used in some Christian contexts, ...
.
In all three locations his fame let Christians flock to learn from him, disturbing his solitude, which was the reason for him repeatedly moving on. At Souka he eventually relocated to a cave on a cliff near the centre of the lavra, known as the "Hanging Cave of Chariton" and whose remains have been discovered by Israeli archaeologist Yizhar Hirschfeld.
Legacy
The importance of Chariton lays mainly in the fact that he established by his own example the rules for monastic life in the Judaean desert, in the context of lavra-type monasteries.Butler, Richard Urban"Laura"
The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Via www.newadvent.org. Accessed 2 Jul. 2019 These rules became the main traits of monastic rule everywhere, based on asceticism and solitude: he lived in silence, only ate certain types of food and only after sundown, performed manual work, spent the night in an alternation of sleep and
psalmody
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
, prayed at fixed hours, stayed in his cell, and controlled his thoughts.
According to tradition, he was the one to compile the "Office of the Monastic Tonsure
Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...
".
See also
*Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The is a collection of the wisdom of some of the ea ...
and Desert Mothers
Desert Mothers is a neologism, coined in feminist theology in analogy to Desert Fathers, for the ''ammas'' or female Christian ascetics living in the desert of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. They typically lived in ...
, early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD
*Euthymius the Great
Euthymius the Great (377 – 20 January 473) was an abbot in Palestine. He is venerated in both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Euthymius' ''vita'' was written by Cyril of Skythopolis, who describes him as the founder of several ...
(377–473), founder of monasteries in Palestine and saint
*Hilarion
Hilarion the Great (291–371) was an anchorite who spent most of his life in the desert according to the example of Anthony the Great (c. 251–356). While St Anthony is considered to have established Christian monasticism in the Egyptian de ...
(271–371), anchorite and saint considered by some to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism
*Pachomius the Great
Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, ...
(c. 292–348), Egyptian saint generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism
*Paul of Thebes
Paul of Thebes (; , ''Paûlos ho Thēbaîos''; ; c. 227 – c. 341), commonly known as Paul the First Hermit or Paul the Anchorite, was an Egyptian saint regarded as the first Christian hermit, who was claimed to have lived alone in the deser ...
(c. 226/7 – c. 341), known as "Paul, the First Hermit", who preceded both Anthony and Chariton
*Theodosius the Cenobiarch
Theodosius the Cenobiarch ( 423–529 AD) was a monk, abbot, and saint who was a founder and organizer of the cenobitic way of monastic life. His feast day is on January 11.Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ὅσιος Θεοδόσιος ὁ Κοιν ...
(c. 423–529), monk and saint, traditionally credited with organizing the cenobitic way of life in the Judaean desert
*Sabbas the Sanctified
SabasPatrich (1995). (439–532), in Church parlance Saint Sabas or Sabbas the Sanctified ( el, Σάββας ο Ηγιασμένος), was a Cappadocian Greeks, Cappadocian Greek monk, priest and saint, who was born in Cappadocia and lived mainly ...
(439–532), monk and saint, founded several monasteries in Palestine
References
Bibliography
* Leah Di Segni: ''The Life of Chariton'', in: ''Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook'' (Studies in Antiquity and Christianity), Vincent L. Wimbush, Minneapolis 1990, , p. 393–421. * Shehadeh, Raja: ''Palestinian Walks'', pp. 136–7. Profile Books (2008),External links
_Russian_Orthodox_Ecclesiastical_Mission_in_Jerusalem
:_"Skete_of_Saint_Chariton_-_Fara".html" ;"title="Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem"> Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem
: "Skete of Saint Chariton - Fara"">Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem"> Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem
: "Skete of Saint Chariton - Fara" about the rebuilt monastic site in Pharan Valley, its history and rediscovery {{DEFAULTSORT:Chariton 4th-century Christian saints 3rd-century births 4th-century deaths