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Mar Elias
Mar. Elias, also known as Elijah, is commemorated in the Byzantine
Church on July 20th. It is a feast that dates back to the fourth
century, but has special significance for people of the Byzantine
Slavonic and Hungarian heritage because the renowned Icon of Maria Povch first shed tears on the Feast of
Mar. Elias in the year 1715.
Elias is a prophet of the Old Testament who lived in the ninth
century before the Corning of Jesus Christ.
The Troparion of his feast calls him "a pillar of prophets, and
the second Forerunner of the coming of Christ." Because, as
Scripture tells us, he was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot, the
Jewish people felt that he did not die as mortals do, and that
some day he would return to earth to "restore the tribes of
Israel." (Ecclus. 48: 10) Indeed, some people considered that
Jesus Christ was actually the returned Elias.
Icons depicting Elias usually show him in a chariot drawn by fiery
horses heading heavenward and his cloak or mantle falling
earthward into the outstretched arms of Elisha his companion and
disciple, signifying the transfer of his power and authority of a
prophet.
His many miracles can easily be rendered in symbols:
rain ending a seven year drought; fire from heaven consuming his
water drenched altar with its offering of a bull while the altar
of the pagan priests, dry and ready, could not be ignited by
incessant prayers to the pagan god Baal. There was also the widow
of Sarephath whose two containers of oil and meal he kept
repeatedly full through prayer, and then raised her son from a
sudden death. On one occasion Elias, in order to cross the River
Jordan, struck the waters with his cloak; the waters parted and he
and Elisha were able to cross to the other side. At another time,
while in hiding from persecutors, he hid by the Brook of Cherith
and there, was miraculously fed by ravens.
To learn more details about these miraculous events we suggest you
read Kings I, and Kings II of the Old Testament.
Elias was one of the greatest and most remarkable prophets of the
Old Testament. Of his origin, not much is known, except that he
was a Thesbite. He appeared on the historical scene during the
reign of Achab (9 cent. B.C.). He delivered to that impious king
the message of Yahweh: Israel would be punished by a long drought
and Achab’s house would fall. He then lived to see the tragic end
of Achab. Next we hear of Elias in connection with Ochozias,
Achab’s son and successor, to whom he predicted that the injuries
received in a fall would be fatal. The end of the earthly life of
Elias came mysteriously. As he was conversing with Eliseus on the
hills of Moah, "a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both
asunder, and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven" ( Kings.
2:11) Jews, Christians and Moslems pay high honor to Elias;
Carmelite monks cherish the belief that their order was in some
sense founded by him. Together with Moses, he appeared at Christ’s
transfiguration.
The veneration of Elias dates back to apostolic times. In the
fourth century, the feast was already generally known. Mar. John Chrysostom,
Mar. Ambrose and Mar. Augustine have testified to his
greatness, a fact which alone would prove the antiquity of this
feast.
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