Saint Dius (also Dios) was a monastic ascetic of the late fourth and early fifth centuries, born in Antioch in Syria and later established at Constantinople, where he founded a monastery. The synaxarion remembers him for severe fasting and unceasing prayer and counts him among the wonderworkers. His feast is kept on July 19.
According to the traditional account preserved in the synaxarion, Dius came to Constantinople in obedience to a vision and settled in a solitary place outside the city. He was later ordained priest and installed as abbot (igumen) of a monastery built there, and the surrounding people came to him for counsel and for healing of body and soul.
Timeline 4 moments
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late 4th centuryBirth in AntiochDius was born in Antioch in Syria, at the end of the fourth century, into a devout Christian family, and from his youth practiced extreme asceticism through fasting, vigil, and unceasing prayer.
early 5th centuryTo ConstantinopleBy tradition, in obedience to a vision he travelled to Constantinople and settled in a solitary place beyond the city, contending with the spirits said to trouble that place.
406-425Monastery and ordinationEmperor Theodosius the Younger came to him for a blessing; the emperor funded the building of a monastery, and Patriarch Atticus of Constantinople (406-425) ordained him to the priesthood and made him abbot.
c. 430ReposeSaint Dius reposed in old age and was buried in his monastery.
Contributions & Legacy
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Life and Monastic Foundation
Saint Dius was born in Antioch in Syria toward the end of the fourth century, into a pious Christian family, and from youth gave himself to severe asceticism, eating little and not every day and keeping constant vigil and prayer. The synaxarion relates that the Lord commanded him in a vision to go to Constantinople, there to serve both God and the people, and that he settled in a solitary place beyond the city which others feared to inhabit.
Emperor Theodosius the Younger is said to have come to him for a blessing together with Patriarch Atticus of Constantinople (406-425). The emperor funded the construction of a monastery, and the Patriarch ordained Dius to the priesthood and installed him as abbot (igumen). The people of the area came to him for counsel and guidance, and whatever was offered to him he distributed to the poor, the homeless, and the sick.
Miracles and Traditions
Traditional Accounts: The synaxarion relates that Dius drove his staff into the ground, praying that it might grow if God approved his remaining there, and that the staff took root and in time became an immense oak which stood long after his death. It further recounts that at his prayer a spring of pure water issued for the monastery and that he raised up a man who had drowned. By the same tradition, during a grave illness in old age he appeared to die, and Patriarch Atticus together with Alexander of Alexandria attended his funeral; he then unexpectedly revived, declaring that the Lord had granted him another fifteen years of life. These are accounts handed down in the hagiographic tradition rather than independently documented events.
