Zeno the Hermit

Zeno the Hermit (338-416) was a disciple of Saint Basil the Great and a hermit, venerated by the Orthodox Church and the Byzantine Catholic Churches, with a commemoration on 30 January. He was born around 339 in Pontus, in a distinguished Christian family. From early on he devoted himself to the study of letters and sciences and became known for his virtues, perfect education, good conduct and distinguished parents.

When the emperor Valens came to the throne, in 364, he summoned him to the palace and offered him a great position. Zeno accepted and spent his early adulthood in the emperor's service; when there was a vacancy for royal postman, he offered his services. The post demanded complete trust, and the one holding it had to be fit and incorruptible. Working among the soldiers sent out to deliver imperial edicts, he was close to the Church Fathers, the ascetics and the simple people. On his journeys he stayed in monasteries and hermitages, glorifying God. A mission to Bishop Basil of Caesarea decided the course of his life: he was captivated by Basil's eloquence, preaching and humble, ascetic life.

At the death of the emperor, in 378, he abandoned his post and sought the hermit's life; near Antioch he settled in a cave, far from society, where he lived some forty years, known for his humility and holiness. His bed was a heap of grass on stones, his dress rags; he ate bread that a friend brought every two days, and he fetched the water himself from far away. When the Isaurians invaded and killed many ascetics, Zeno blinded them by his prayer and they missed the door of his cell. He died in 416 at the age of 78, leaving a reputation as a holy hermit throughout the Byzantine Empire. In Greece he was declared in 1968 protector of postal workers by the Greek Post Office, which keeps a holiday for them on 10 February.