4th century
A monk born at Caesarea who founded a monastery at Magnesia and was glorified by God with the gift of wonders.
Our Venerable Father Onesimus the Wonderworker of Magnesia
Onesimus, known as the Wonderworker of Magnesia, was a monastic saint of the early Byzantine period. According to the surviving record, he was born at Caesarea in Palestine at the beginning of the fourth century and entered upon the monastic life at a monastery in Ephesus before founding his own community at Magnesia, where he remained for the rest of his life.
He is remembered chiefly as a wonderworker, the tradition crediting him with many miracles. The historical record preserved in English sources is brief, and few particulars of his ascetic labors or the circumstances of his repose survive. He is commemorated on July 14, and should not be confused with the Apostle Onesimus of the Seventy.
By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
O our holy father Onesimus, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).
Onesimus is venerated as a venerable monastic father and wonderworker, his feast kept on July 14. The hymnography appointed for his commemoration addresses him as a holy father whose ascetic discipline and yearning for God were accompanied by a reputation for working miracles. Beyond this commemorative tradition, the surviving sources record little of his life in detail.
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