Orthodox · † 485
Venerable Marcellus, Abbot of the Monastery called the “Unsleeping Ones”
Commemorated: January 11 (December 29, Old Style)
Life
Marcellus was born at Apamea in Syria into a rich and noble family. Left master of a large fortune by his parents’ death, he gave it away, went to Constantinople and joined the monks founded by Alexander, called the Akoimetoi, the “Unsleeping Ones”: their monastery was divided into several choirs that took turns, so that the services went on day and night without a break.
Their community had moved to Gomon, near Constantinople, under Alexander’s successor John, and Marcellus was chosen as its third abbot. Under him the order reached the height of its reputation. He died about 485.
Places
- Place of birth: Apamea
- Place of death: Constantinople
Retold briefly in our own words from: Butler’s Lives of the Saints; the Roman Martyrology (1916).
The commemorations of the day: Ponomar (ponomar.net), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.