You have overcome those on earth, most blessed Triphon the honourable, and with courage you approached the tribunal, fighting bravely even unto blood. Martyr, you brought down the proud and received the victor’s crown. Pray to Christ our God for us; do not cease, passion-bearer, to save our souls.
Sticheron at “Lord, I have cried”, Tone 2
The Russian Orthodox Church holds Saint Martyr Triphon in the highest regard, even though he lived far away in Asia Minor and won his crown of martyrdom in the distant third century. His story begins in the village of Kampasad, near the city of Apamea in Phrygia, where he was born into a Christian family. His devout parents worked the land and lacked the means to school their son, yet they secured what mattered most: from childhood, they instilled in him a deep love for the Gospel virtues.
Triphon spent his days tending geese and other farm birds. But even as a boy, God granted him the gift to heal and to work miracles, healing people and animals alike. His character truly matched his saintly name: ‘tryphe’ in Greek means “delight” or “sweetness”.
Once, young Triphon saved his fellow villagers from the threat of famine. Through his prayers, he drove out the swarms of pests and vermin that were ravaging the crops and ruining the harvest.
The Lord’s gift of healing in this faithful youth became a powerful witness — by it, he brought many pagans to embrace the Orthodox faith. Many who witnessed God's power at work through Triphon's actions came forward for baptism. Saint Triphon became famous for one deed above all: he cast out a demon that had possessed the daughter of the Emperor Gordian. No learned doctor or conjurer could bring her relief. At last the demon itself roared that only Triphon could cast it out. The emperor immediately sent messengers across his realm. They brought the seventeen-year-old youth to Rome, and there, by the strength of his prayer, he forced the demon to leave. It admitted, on the spot, that as a servant of the devil, it and its kind were powerless against Christians. On hearing this, many gave up idol-worship and put their faith in Christ. The grateful emperor showered Triphon with rewards, which the saint handed out freely to the poor on his way home.
The Passion of Saint Triphon
Triphon suffered for Christ while still a boy — he was only seventeen.
When the fierce persecutor of Christians, Emperor Decius Trajan, took the throne, Aquilinus, Prefect of the East, received word of Saint Triphon as a dangerous troublemaker spreading Christianity. Orders went out: bring this man in. Learning that soldiers were hunting him, Triphon gave himself up of his own accord and stood calm and upright before the court in Nicaea — the city we now know as Iznik in Turkey.
In the courtroom, he brushed aside honeyed words and harsh threats with the same kind of disdain, refusing to abandon his faith. Seeing words failed, Aquilinus ordered brutal tortures. The executioners devised fresh cruelties, each more vicious than the last. Yet, through it all, the Lord did not abandon His chosen servant, helping him bear unimaginable pain. On and on, the young Christian prayed. Again and again, he repeated the words of the great first martyr, Archdeacon Stephen: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). The crowd watched in awe. Suddenly, an angel stood before the saint, bearing a glorious crown. The torturers trembled. Aquilinus, however, only grew more enraged and ordered the executioner to behead the saint. But even as the executioner raised his blade, the saint commended his spirit to God.
The Christians of Nicaea wished to bury the martyr in their city, the scene of his martyrdom. But Triphon came to them in a dream, telling them he wished for his body to rest in his homeland. And so it was. In time, his relics were moved, first to Constantinople, and later to Rome.
To this day, gardeners and farmers look to Saint Triphon as their protector in Heaven. When storms threaten or pests descend, people still call on him for help.
In Russia, his veneration has a long and deep-rooted history. Icons often show him mounted on horseback, a falcon perched on his arm — an image that owes much to an old Moscow legend.
Painting: “The Appearance of Martyr Triphon to the Falconer Triphon Patrikeev”
During Ivan the Terrible's reign, the tsar's falconer, Triphon Patrikeev, lost his master's prized goshawk while hunting near Naprudnoye village. The tsar flew into a rage: find the bird within three days, Patrikeev was told, or die. For three whole days the falconer rode through forests and fields; nothing. Weary at last, and broken by worry, he prayed with all his heart to his heavenly protector, Martyr Triphon. Nodding off by the water’s edge, he saw the saint in a dream — mounted on a white horse, holding the lost goshawk on his arm. When Patrikeev awoke, there was the bird, perched right beside him. The goshawk was returned, and in gratitude, a small church soon rose in the saint’s honour at the site of his appearance. Today, it is one of Moscow’s oldest surviving churches.
This well-loved tale appears in Alexei Tolstoy’s novel Prince Serebrenniy. Over time, Saint Triphon became known as a helper for those who had lost something dear, and a friend to hunters and fishermen.
The Church of the Martyr Triphon at Naprudnoye (15th–16th centuries), Moscow, stands where Saint Triphon appeared to Patrikeev
Today, many monasteries on Mount Athos — Xenophontos, Kostamonitou, Pantokrator — safeguard his relics. In Meteora, a reliquary holds one of his feet. More relics remain in the city of Kotor, Montenegro.
A portion of Saint Triphon’s relics came to Russia from Kotor in 1803. A Moscow merchant named Triphon Dobryakov made the request. Deeply religious, Dobryakov hosted Archimandrite Stefan (Vukotic), visiting from Montenegro, and asked him to seek relics of his heavenly patron, Saint Triphon, from there. The merchant received three silver reliquaries, and, in 1812 — a year of great trial for Russia — Dobryakov gave them to Emperor Alexander I. The emperor passed them on to the metropolitan, and today these relics rest in the icon of Saint Triphon in the Church of the Icon of the Sign of the Mother of God near Krestovaya Zastava. Another fragment resides in the Trinity Cathedral of Danilov Monastery.
Icons holding relics of Martyr Triphon are found in Moscow's Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Roshcha and the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo. Further portions are kept at the Holy Trinity Kitaev Monastery in Kyiv and in the Church of the Korsun Icon of the Mother of God in Korsun village, Oryol Region.
Wonder-working image of Saint Triphon in the Moscow Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign” in Pereyaslavskaya Sloboda
Russian Orthodox believers often turn to Saint Martyr Triphon. They ask his protection against pests ruining crops, gardens, or homes, and seek his aid in driving out evil spirits. It is common, too, to seek his help in matters of family life, choosing a trade, finding one’s path or profession, and especially when looking for work. This last custom began with Archimandrite Ioann (Krestyankin), who advised his spiritual children to seek Saint Triphon’s prayers in such matters. Father Ioann himself had been ordained a priest in a church where a part of the martyr’s relics lay, and during his ministry, saw with his own eyes the many times the saint came to people’s aid.
Holy Martyr Triphon, pray to God for us!
O holy Martyr Triphon! Receive this small prayer of ours, brought to you from loving and grateful hearts; offer up to the Lord God your earnest prayers on our behalf, though we are unworthy: heal the sick, comfort the sorrowful, enlighten those who have gone astray, help those in distress. Ask God, the generous giver, to send all that we need, both for our bodies and the salvation of our souls. Above all, shield us from wicked spirits. Remembering the powerful help you give, we praise God who sent us such a defender, healer, and worker of wonders, singing: Alleluia!
13th Kontakion of the Akathist to Martyr Triphon
Prepared by the team of obitel-minsk.ru
Photographs from the internet
Sources:
1. The Lives of the Saints in Russian, based on the Menologion of Saint Dimitry of Rostov / 12 volumes. Moscow: “Kovcheg”, 2010. ]
2. The Menaion for February. Kyiv: Printing House of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, 1893.
3. Saint Triphon the Martyr: A Holy Simpleton and a Ready Helper | Moscow Sretensky Monastery (monastery.ru)
