ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 20th of December
SAINT PAUL OF LATROS, ABBOT
This holy 10th century hermit is commemorated on [December 20], 15, and 21. The son of a centurion named Antiochus, who had fallen in battle with the Saracens, he chose the monastery cell in his early youth. This was met with the approval of his mother Eudoxia and his older brother Basil (Basilius). His birthplace was Elea, not far from Pergamus (now Bergma) in Mysia.
Initially, Saint Paul, like his brother, seems to have lived in the Laura of Saint Elias. Afterwards, he moved to the mountains, into the area of Latros, to the Corya monastery. After the death of its local abbot Peter, he moved into the desert. Without wanting to, Saint Paul became the head of a so-called Laura, i.e. a number of other hermits who, under his leadership, underwent spiritual exercises together.
His strict penitential life (although he carefully concealed it from people's eyes), had gradually become known. He did not seem to have any physical needs. His life was spent in constant works of love and penance. At one point he even wanted to sell himself into slavery because he had nothing left to comfort or help the needy. His blessed death took place on December 15, 956. The Greeks celebrate his feast day on December 21.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875, pp. 743-44)
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Paul may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org
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