Saint Averkios, Equal-to-the-Apostles: Bishop, Wonderworker, Missionary

The post commemorates Saint Averkios, Equal-to-the-Apostles and Wonderworker, Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia Salutaris during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the second century. It recounts that he grieved for the idol-worshippers and prayed for their conversion. During a festival for Apollo, prompted by a divine vision, he entered the pagan temple by night and overthrew the statues with his staff.

When townspeople sought to kill him, he walked into the marketplace and cast demons out of three afflicted youths before the crowd. The miracle led the people of Hierapolis to ask for teaching, and he baptized hundreds. He also healed the blind mother of the provincial proconsul Publius.

His reputation reached Rome, where he traveled and cured the emperor's daughter of a severe affliction. Beyond Hierapolis, he made missionary journeys across Syria, Cilicia, and Mesopotamia, converting multitudes, defending the Church against false teachers, and strengthening believers. For his apostolic zeal, widespread travels, and numerous miracles, tradition honors him with the title Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Before his peaceful repose around 167 or 186 AD, he composed his own Christian epitaph, which was carved onto his tombstone. The post includes image descriptions showing a fresco detail of a praying bishop and Greek and Church Slavonic inscriptions naming the saint.