Ascetic Life
Julian dwelt in the region of Osrhoene in Mesopotamia, near the city of Edessa, first inhabiting a cabin at the edge of the desert and later a damp cavern. He lived near the River Euphrates in a discipline of severe fasting and unceasing prayer.
According to the tradition, his rule of life was rigorous: he ate only once a week, taking bread made of millet with a little salt, and drank only enough water to sustain life. He and his community rose at midnight to chant psalms, after which they dispersed into the desert in pairs. It is related that he passed forty years as a hermit without once seeing a woman's face.
Over time his disciples are said to have numbered around one hundred. With his disciple Asterius he is reported to have made a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai.
The Death of Julian the Apostate
During the Persian campaign of the emperor Julian the Apostate in 363, the hermit is said to have spent ten days in continuous prayer, fearing the emperor's return and the danger it posed to the Church. According to the account, after three days he heard a voice from Heaven announcing that the emperor was dead, and he rejoiced that divine providence had delivered the Church from persecution.
The emperor's death occurred as the revelation had foretold. This prophecy is the detail for which Julian is chiefly remembered in the synaxarion.
Opposition to Arianism
Though a solitary by vocation, Julian emerged from the desert to defend the Nicene faith against Arianism. When the Arian emperor Valens rose to power, Julian was summoned to Antioch to strengthen the resistance of the faithful and to confound the heretics there before returning to his cell.
According to tradition, as he passed through the city of Cyrus his prayers were connected with the illness and death of the Arian bishop Asterius.
Church on Mount Sinai
Julian is also credited with facilitating the construction of a church on Mount Sinai commemorating the Prophet Moses' reception of the tablets of the Law. By the account, the church was erected at the very location where Moses is said to have stood when he received them.
Legacy and Reputation
Julian was held in high honor by prominent figures of the early Church. Saint John Chrysostom praised him as 'a wonderful man' and delivered a panegyric in his memory, and the historian Theodoret enlarged upon his merits. Saint Jerome esteemed him as nearly the equal of Saint Antony the Great and Paul the First Hermit.
He died around 377–378. He is commonly identified with the Saint Julian commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on October 18, and feast days associated with him also include January 14 and, in the Greek Church, January 24.
