Overview

First published in Venice in 1803, Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain's New Eclogion is one of the great hagiographical treasures of the Orthodox Church. Drawing from the manuscript collections of Mount Athos, Saint Nicodemus carefully selected and edited lives of saints spanning the entire history of Christian holiness, preserving texts that had long remained hidden within Athonite libraries. The word Eclogion means ""selection,"" and this work represents a deliberate gathering of spiritual treasures. With the same pastoral care and theological precision that shaped his work on the Philokalia and the Pedalion, Saint Nicodemus presents these lives not merely as historical accounts, but as instruments of spiritual transformation. The collection unfolds in three parts. The first presents saints of the early centuries-martyrs, confessors, and desert ascetics who established the foundations of Christian sanctity. The second turns to the Byzantine era, highlighting hierarchs, hymnographers, and monastic fathers who defended Orthodoxy and cultivated the spiritual life of the Church. The third part focuses on later Byzantine and Athonite saints, demonstrating the uninterrupted continuity of holiness through the centuries. For Saint Nicodemus, hagiography serves a soteriological purpose. The lives of the saints are not simply records of the past, but living icons of Christ, calling readers to repentance, vigilance, humility, and divine love. Through their struggles, miracles, and perseverance, the saints reveal the practical path of union with God. New Eclogion stands within the great tradition of Orthodox hagiography alongside the Synaxarion and Menologion, yet bears the distinctive Athonite imprint of Saint Nicodemus: scholarly care joined to pastoral concern. This edition offers modern readers access to a foundational work of Athonite spirituality and an enduring witness to the transforming power of divine grace.

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