David of Thessalonica - Dr. Augustine Sokolovski

Poursuivez ici selon votre inspiration...On July 9, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saint David of Thessalonica (+540). The saint's name refers to the place where he lived and performed his exploits in the Greek city of Thessalonica. The saint also bears another historical name: "David the Dendrite." Derived from the Greek word for "dendrite," this name is related to the fact that David lived for three years in an almond tree. In this way, he sought to fulfill his dream of finding himself in paradise with the two great Stylites saints, Simeon and Daniel.

Climbed from the tree by order from above, Saint David lived for seventy years in a solitary cell at the gates of the city. At night, the ascetic's dwelling was illuminated by an astonishing light, so much so that it appeared as if a fire had engulfed it, yet without harming the ascetic.

Over time, the saint became a true spiritual father of his city. One day, the city's inhabitants sent him as their emissary to Emperor Justinian the Great to repeal a law that had already been promulgated. According to the latter, the capital of the administrative region of Illyria was to be transferred to Justiniana Prima, the "ideal Byzantine city," founded by Justinian himself and whose ruins are located in what is now Serbia. David's determination to follow the will of his fellow citizens proved to be a prophecy. In 535, the city effectively became the capital of Illyria, but by 615, just 80 years later, it was completely destroyed by the Avars. Thus, the great city, the new capital and ecclesiastical center, created by the will of the emperor, by the decree of history, lasted only 80 years; that is eighty years, that is, the same amount of time as David himself lived on earth.

The saint died while returning from Constantinople by boat, within sight of the port of Thessaloniki. A fragrance of holiness pervaded the air. This is what the theology of saints calls a particular scent that emanates from the death of ascetics or from their relics afterward. In Dostoevsky's novel, The Brothers Karamazov, Alyosha expected a similar phenomenon on the body of his spiritual master and was terribly discouraged when the fragrance not only failed to manifest itself, but soon the opposite, unpleasant phenomenon began to be observed. It was as if Dostoevsky had prophetically foreseen the total desecration of the saints' relics, which, just forty years after the publication of his novel, the Bolsheviks would commit with them and, in so doing, subject the entire Russian people to a complete atheism of a kind never before seen in the entire history of mankind.

In 1222, the relics of Saint David were stolen and transferred to Pavia, near Milan, to the Church of Saint Peter, historically the resting place of Saints Augustine of Hippo and Severinus Boethius, venerated as a martyr, as few people know. The Lord seemed to grant David's childhood dream of finding himself in the company of two great saints after his death, but, as always by God's will, He did so in a completely different, unexpected, and paradoxical way. Moreover, the basilica is called "Golden Heaven."

In 1978, they were solemnly transferred to Thessalonica and placed in the Monastery of Saint Theodora, in the heart of the city.

"Look at the birds of the air," cries the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6:26). These words are beautiful, but few have truly attempted to follow the melody of the divine voice. Saint David was one of the few who put them into practice to the letter. Listen to God and you will praise him for eternity. This is why the Church, this community of believers traveling the world in search of refuge, calls the holy ascetic: "Pray to God for us, David, Bird of Heaven."