Saint
Gerasimus the New Ascetic of Cephalonia
Venerable Gerasimus the New Ascetic of Cephalonia
New Calendar October 20 Old Calendar November 2
Why they are a saint
Venerable Gerasimus the New Ascetic of Cephalonia is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on October 20. Venerated as a monastic saint, honored for a life of prayer and asceticism; little else about his life has come down to us.
Limited historical information is available about this saint.
Life
Saint Gerasimos was born in Trikkala in the Peloponnese, became a monk on Zakynthos and a schemamonk on Mount Athos. He went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Sinai, Antioch, Damascus and Egypt, and served as a lamp-lighter at the Holy Sepulchre; Patriarch Germanus of Jerusalem ordained him deacon and priest.
After forty days in solitude by the Jordan, he lived as a hermit on Zakynthos for five years and then on Cephalonia, first in a cave. At Omala he restored a church and founded a women's monastery, where he lived in toil and vigil for thirty years and was granted the gift of healing the sick and casting out unclean spirits. He fell asleep in the Lord on August 15, 1579, at 71. Two years later his relics were found fragrant and incorrupt; August 16 commemorates their uncovering in 1581.
Sources: OCA Lives of the Saints. Retold in our own words.
Traditional patronage
The cited source names no specific patronage.
Patronage / why chosen as patron
Orthodox Christians usually take Gerasimus the New Ascetic of Cephalonia as a patron when they bear the name Gerasimus at baptism, or were born or baptized near the feast on October 20. As a monastic, he is also asked for help in prayer, fasting, and repentance.
Prayer
O holy Gerasimus the New Ascetic of Cephalonia, pray to God for us.
A short general prayer to a saint, not a liturgical text. No public-domain troparion for this saint is included.