Commemorated on September 28
Chariton was a distinguished and devout citizen of the city of Iconium. Imbued with the spirit of his compatriot, St. Thecla, Chartion openly confessed the name of Christ. When a bitter persecution of Christians began during the reign of Emperor Aurelian, Chariton was immediately brought before the eparch. The judge ordered him to worship the gods, but Chariton replied: “All your gods are demons, and were cast from the heavens into to the nethermost hell. ”
Chariton clearly proclaimed his faith in the One Living God, the Creator of All, and the Lord Jesus, the Savior of mankind. The eparch ordered that he be tortured and beaten, until his whole body was like one great wound. When Aurelian’s evil deeds caught up with him, and he died an evil death, Chariton was freed from torture and prison.
He then set out for Jerusalem. On the way he was seized by robbers, but escaped from them by God’s providence. Chariton not wanting to return to Iconium again, withdrew to the wilderness of the Pharan, where he founded a monastery and gathered monks. He established a rule for for the monastery and then, to avoid the praise of men, withdrew to another wilderness near Jericho. There he founded another monastery called the Monastery of Chariton.
Finally, he founded a third monastery, Souka, which the Greeks called the Old Lavra. Chariton died at a great old age, and took up his abode in the glory of his Lord on September 28, 350. His relics repose in his first monastery. The composition of the rite of monastic tonsure is attributed to Saint Chariton.
Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion β Tone 8
By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, / and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. / By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! / Our Father Chariton, pray to Christ God to save our souls!
Kontakion β Tone 2
You delighted in the monastic life, divinely-wise one / and conquered the bodily passions; / you increased in faith, blossoming as the tree of life in the midst of Paradise, / most blessed and holy Chariton!