Saint Chariton the Confessor | |
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 ARussian Orthodoxicon of St. Chariton | |
| Born | Iconium,Phrygia |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church,Roman Catholic Church |
| Majorshrine | Sille, Konya |
| Feast | September 28 |
| Patronage | Konya (Iconium) |
Chariton the Confessor (Greek: Χαρίτων; mid-3rd century,Iconium,Asia Minor –c. 350,Judaean desert) was an early Christian monk. He is venerated as asaint by both the Western and Eastern Churches. His remembrance day is September 28.[1]
We know about hisvita from the 6th-century "Life of Chariton", written by an anonymous monk, which holds elements supported by modern archaeological excavations.[2]
Chariton was a native ofIconium in theByzantine province ofLycaonia. Under the reign ofEmperor Aurelian (270–275) he was tortured during a persecution against Christians.[3] Released from prison after Aurelian's death, he regretted not having died as a martyr.[4]
After his release in 275, during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other holy places, Chariton was abducted by bandits and brought to a cave in the Pharan Valley (upperWadi Qelt). The traditional account states that his abductors died by drinking wine that was poisoned by a snake.[3][4] Chariton decided to remain a hermit in the cave after this miraculous death of his abductors.[4] There he built a church and established a monastery,[5] the first one of thelavra type.[6]
Later he moved to theMount of Temptation nearJericho, where he established the lavra of Douka on the ruins of the Hasmonean and Herodian Dok Fortress.[6]
After that, in about 345, he moved on to establish a third monastery in the Valley of Tekoa, named the Souka and later known as the Old Lavra.[6][4][7] At an even later date, apparently after theMuslim conquest when the remains of Chariton were translated to the Old Lavra from the laura of Pharan, it became known as the monastery of Chariton, this name being preserved until this day in the Arabic name of thewadi (valley of a seasonal stream),Wadi Khureitun.[6][7]
In all three locations his fame let Christians flock to learn from him, disturbing his solitude, which was the reason for him repeatedly moving on.[2] At Souka he eventually relocated to a cave on a cliff near the centre of the lavra, known as the "Hanging Cave of Chariton" and whose remains have been discovered by Israeli archaeologistYizhar Hirschfeld.[2]
The importance of Chariton lays mainly in the fact that he established by his own example the rules for monastic life in the Judaean desert, in the context of lavra-type monasteries.[2][8] These rules became the main traits of monastic rule everywhere, based onasceticism and solitude: he lived in silence, only ate certain types of food and only after sundown, performed manual work, spent the night in an alternation of sleep andpsalmody, prayed at fixed hours, stayed in his cell, and controlled his thoughts.[2]
If Chariton is considered to be the founder of monasticism in the Judaean desert,[9] his almost-contemporary Hilarion (c. 291–371), ananchorite who followed the example of his Egyptian mentor,Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), retreating to the wilderness in thecoastal area near Gaza, is considered by his biographerJerome to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism altogether.[10]
According to tradition, Chariton was the one to compile the "Office of the MonasticTonsure".[4]
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