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Hierarch7th century

Modestos of Jerusalem

died c. 634

Also known as Modestos the Patriarch

Patriarch of Jerusalem invoked for the health of livestock.

December 18New Calendar
Feast Day
December 31Old Calendar
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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Modestos, Archbishop of Jerusalem

Come to them for
Animals / Livestock
Farming / Crops

Life

Modestos was a seventh-century archbishop of Jerusalem, commemorated on December 18, who governed the Church of the Holy City in the difficult years after the Persian sack of Jerusalem and the captivity of its patriarch. By tradition he was born into a Christian family at Sebasteia in Cappadocia, in Asia Minor, and from his youth was drawn to the monastic life. He received monastic tonsure and in time became superior of the Monastery of Saint Theodosius the Great in Palestine.

In 614 the armies of the Persian ruler Chosroes overran Syria and Palestine, killing many Christians and destroying churches. Patriarch Zacharias of Jerusalem was carried off into captivity together with a multitude of the faithful and with the Cross of the Lord. In his absence Modestos was appointed to govern the Jerusalem Church as locum tenens of the patriarchal throne. With the help of Patriarch John the Merciful of Alexandria he set about restoring the devastated shrines of the city, among them the Tomb of the Lord, and he saw to the burial of the monks slain at the Monastery of Saint Sabbas.

After some fourteen years Patriarch Zacharias returned from captivity, bringing back the Cross of the Lord; and after his death Modestos was raised to the patriarchal throne in his own right. By the reckoning of his life he reposed at an advanced age in the year 634. He is venerated across the Orthodox world, and in popular devotion he is especially known as a protector and healer of animals, invoked for the health of livestock.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide
KontakionTone 4

You were a venerable Hierarch,
and by your angelic life, you served Christ in Zion.
Therefore, we glorify you, O Father Módestos, adornment of Patriarchs.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 4

O divinely wise Módestos,
you lived a holy life, clothed in Hierarchal garments,
you rejoice, O most blessed shepherd of Jerusalem.
Now standing before Christ, you illumine the ends of the earth with miracles,
be a helper to those who beseech you to pray for all of us, O Father.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline4 momentsReadHide
  1. 614Persian sack of JerusalemThe forces of Chosroes overran Palestine and carried Patriarch Zacharias and the Cross of the Lord into captivity.
  2. after 614Locum tenens of JerusalemModestos governed the Jerusalem Church and restored its shrines, aided by John the Merciful of Alexandria.
  3. c. 632Patriarch of JerusalemAfter the return and death of Patriarch Zacharias, Modestos was raised to the patriarchal throne.
  4. c. 634ReposeModestos reposed at an advanced age; his feast is kept on December 18.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributionsReadHide

Governance During the Persian Crisis

The defining work of Modestos's episcopate was the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the catastrophe of 614. The Persian conquest had left the holy sites of the city ruined and its leading clergy and people deported. As locum tenens during the long captivity of Patriarch Zacharias, Modestos bore responsibility for the practical restoration of Christian life in the Holy Land.

His life records that the restoration was carried out with the material assistance of Saint John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria, who was renowned for his generosity. Among the shrines repaired was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Tomb of the Lord itself. Modestos is also remembered for gathering and burying the monks who had been killed at the Lavra of Saint Sabbas during the invasion.

Protector and Healer of Animals

Modestos is widely venerated as a patron and healer of animals, and a blessing for livestock is associated with his feast. The tradition rests on an account of a poor widow whose oxen, her sole livelihood, fell gravely ill. By the telling, she first appealed to the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, who appeared to her in a dream and said that the grace to heal animals had not been granted to them but had been given by God to Modestos, the great bishop of Jerusalem.

In the same tradition Modestos directed that a cross be fashioned of iron, dipped in oil during the Divine Liturgy, and used to anoint the animals in the name of Christ, whereupon the oxen recovered. From this and similar accounts arose the custom of invoking him for the protection of livestock; a prayer for ailing or endangered animals attributed to Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite is recited by priests in connection with his commemoration.

Companions4 figuresShowHide
The patriarch carried into Persian captivity in 614, for whom Modestos governed as locum tenens.
Saint ZachariasPatriarch of Jerusalem
Aided the restoration of Jerusalem's shrines after the Persian invasion.
Saint John the MercifulPatriarch of Alexandria
In the tradition of the widow's oxen, they directed her to seek the healing of animals from Modestos.
Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damianof Asia
Founder of the Palestinian monastery of which Modestos became superior.
Venerable Theodosiusthe Cenobiarch
Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Fellow protector of flocks and herdsmen, invoked for the health of animals
Martyr Mamasof Caesarea

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Sources: Synaxarion