Died Thessaloniki | Name Elias Enna | |
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Venerated in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy | ||
Saint Elias of Enna, born John Rachites (Greek: Ἰωάννης Ῥαχίτης; 822/823 in Enna – August 17, 903 in Thessaloniki), is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Elias is also known as Saint Elias the Younger, or Junior, to distinguish him from the biblical prophet Elijah. He lived a very adventurous life during the ninth century and was the protagonist of repeated ups and downs. He is commemorated on Aug. 17.
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Biography
Because of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, John forced to abandon the town, which was conquered by the Saracens in 859, despite its strength as a military stronghold. The Arabs still managed to imprison Elias, who was taken to Ifriqiya to be sold as a slave. After managing to regain his freedom, Elias decided to preach the Gospel, putting more times to risk his own life, and arrived in Palestine, he received the monastic habit from the Patriarch of Jerusalem. After three years in a monastery of Sinai, Brother Elias undertaken an adventurous travel series, going first to Alexandria in Egypt, and Persia, Antioch and again to Africa. After 878 Syracuse also fell into Arab hands. Elias returned to the island, where he met his elderly mother in Palermo. At Taormina he met Daniel, his new disciple. Going north, Elias lived in Calabria, where in the year 884, in the "Valley of Salt" and precisely on Mount Aulinas (now Mount Saint Elias near Palmi), he founded a monastery later named after him. subsequent Arab invasions forced Elias to repair to Patras in Greece, and then at Santa Caterina in Aspromonte.
Elias then went on a pilgrimage to Rome. The adventures, the wonders and the work of evangelization that Elias had undertaken on three continents extended his fame to Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise invited him to visit. Elias, however, now seventy, though he had begun the journey to Constantinople, fell ill and died at Thessaloniki. The most faithful friend and companion, the monk Daniel, buried him in the monastery of Monte Aulinas, at Palmi, founded by the saint.
Places of worship dedicated to the saint
In Italy the following churches are dedicated to him: