History as retold by Patriarch John the Merciful, Alexandria “One captive from Cyprus,” he said, “was in Persia in a difficult prisoner. His parents, who lived in Cyprus, were informed that he had already died, so they mourned him as if he were dead. Three times a year they began to celebrate his memory, making offerings to the church for his soul, for the performance of the Divine service. After four years, their son escaped from captivity and returned home. When his parents saw him, they were surprised, thinking that he had risen from the dead. Rejoicing at his release, they told him that they commemorated him three times a year, on the day of Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost. He heard this, remembered and said: In those days a certain majestic man came to me in prison with a lamp, the chains fell from my feet, and I was free, and walked around the city all day long, unnoticed by anyone. The rest of the days, like a prisoner, I again arrived in chains.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru