St. Abraham of Kratia

  Posted on December 24, 2018  by admin  No comments

Born: c. 474 Emesa, Syria

Died: c. 558 Palestine

Venerated: in Christian Church

Feast: December 6

Abraham of Kratia (c. 474 – c. 558) was a Christian monk from Emesa (now Homs) Byzantine Syria. He is recognized as a saint in the Christian church, with a feast day of December 6.

He was born at Emesa in Byzantine Syria. The community there was dispersed shortly later by nomadic raiders. Abraham himself fled to Constantinople. When he was only twenty-six years old, he was made the abbot of the monastery of Kratia in Bithynia. Some ten years later, he secretly left for Palestine seeking a quieter life. He was subsequently made to return to his monastery, where he also was shortly thereafter made the local bishop of Kratia. He served as a bishop for 13 years before he retired about 525, and again left for Palestine, and remained there for the rest of his life, living a life of religious contemplation and having becοme a hermit. He lived in a monastery at the Tower of Eudokia. He died on December 6, which would later be his feast day.