St.

Ypomoni (Patience) the Righteous

St. Ypomoni, or Ipomoni (Patience) the Righteous, and the Former Byzantine Empress Augusta
e!en Pa!aio!ogos (Icon courtesy of www.eikonografos.com used with permission)
"he #i$e o$ St. Ypomoni (preliminarily translated and summarized from:
http://www.impantokratoros.gr/agiaypomoni.print.el.aspx)

The memory of our Righteous and God-bearing mother Ypomoni is celebrated on March 13th (the day of
her repose) and May 29th (the date of the $a!! o$ %onstantinop!e and the death o$ her son %onstantine
&I Pa!aio!ogos, according to: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Ipomoni_of_outraki)
St. Ypomoni, in the world elen !ragash, and later as the wife of "anuel ## $alaiologos, %elen in &hrist
God 'ugusta and (mpress of the Romans, $alaiologos%, was the daughter of &onstantine !ragash, one of
the many leaders and inheritors of the large Serbian )ingdom of Stefan !usan. She came from royal and
blessed generation. "any of her ancestors were Saints (e.g. Stefan *emania. the Serbian )ing and founder
of the oly "onastery of &hilander on "ount 'thos and St. Symeon the "yrrh-gusher). +onstantine !ragash
assumed the leadership of what is today the ,ulgarian portion of northeast "acedonia, in the area between
the ri-ers '.iou and Strymonos. er birth too) place immediately after the death of the !usan years. er
upbringing. education, and her treatment were greatly influenced by the ,y/antine ideal, because the
Serbs were greatly influenced by ,y/antine culture. They thought of themsel-es as more identifying with
the culture and especially the national consciousness of the ,y/antine (mpire. (motionally and essentially
they were considered ,y/antine, as she was later allowed to become 'ugusta and (mpress due to her birth
in the Serbian homeland. 'bo-e and beyond these, she was raised with the family tradition of the
unsha)eable 0rthodo. faith in God. This faith guided and illumined her, and would inspire her life which
would be full of sorrows and trials. She was about 12 years old when she married "anuel ## $alaiologos
(1324), a few days before becoming (mperor.

St. Ypomoni, $ormer!y Empress e!ena 'ragash (taken from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/!mpress_"elena_#ragash.$%&)

The new life of elen - St. Ypomoni, from the beginning showed itself to be Golgotha. "any times she had
to drin) the cup of insults and debasement by her husband5s side, not only from those of other religions,
but from the &hristians by name of the 6estern nations, in their desperate attempt to find ways to sa-e
the dying (mpire. elen - St. Ypomoni was demonstrated as an outstanding person who gathered many
great -irtues, and spiritual strength. She showed that she had a total sense of her position and
circumstances, and her role and what was re7uired, at all le-els. She lo-ed the people. She was the Great
"other whom anyone could approach. She shared the an.ieties and concerns of her fearful nation and
whate-er she did was accompanied by prayer, her mee)ness, sweetness and consoling words. 6hat was
briefly written about the (mpress by George Gemistos-$lython was -ery characteristic and elo7uent8 %This
9ueen with much humility and perse-erance appeared to address the two ways of life. *either at the time
of testing was she swayed :;<=>?@A=B=A?CD, nor when she was granted rest, but in each case she did what
was re7uired. She Eoined together intelligence and bra-ery, more than any other woman. She was
distinguished for her chastity. She had completely deep righteousness. 6e did not )now her to do e-il to
anyone, either men or women. #nstead we )now that she did much good to many. 6ith what other way can
righteousness be shown in practice, other than to ne-er do your own will or show e-il towards anyone, but
only show good to manyCF She pro-ed worthy of her philosophical and &hrist-lo-ing husband, "anuel. She
pro-ed worthy to wor) ne.t to him for 3G years, in accordance with their martyrdom, in other words,
e-erything was held in agreement, harmony, a co-spirit of &hrist and holiness of struggles. They managed
to honor -irtue with words and deeds. H,y word of teaching the practical, their wor) became prototypes
and icons of applied lo-eF.

To this blessed couple God graced eight children. Irom the si. boys, two of them ascended the (mperorJs
throne, Kohn L### and &onstantine M#. The final legendary (mperor. Theodore, !emetrios and Thomas
became leaders of "ystra, and 'ndroni)os of Thessaloni)i. The two girls, howe-er, passed away at a young
age. The mother who had so many children and who lo-ed them so much, nurtured them with the streams
of faith and the sweet teaching of our 0rthodo. &hurch, ta)ing them to holy shrines and sacred
"onasteries of the +ingdom, and sought prayers for them by the holy ascetics and (lders. She raised them
Hin the law of the Nord from youthF, and ne-er Hceased with tears of prayer and lo-e to instill the law in
each oneF. 6ith patience and persistence, with care and prayer she shaped their characters, and together
ga-e them HlifeF and Hgood lifeF. #n this way, she managed, among others, to end 24 years of conflict
between the members of the #mperial Iamily, which had e.tinguished the (mpire. 'ny differences of
opinion or conflicts that occured (after the death of "anuel), were o-ercome silently with the prestige of
her motherly inter-ention and her prayer.
er lo-e towards the "onasteries was special. There she felt rest, her soul would rest, and she drew
strength and courage for what would follow. This she imparted to her whole family. er husband, who
ceded the throne to his first-born son Kohn, two months before his death ("ay O2th 1POG), he enrolled in
the $antocrator "onastery in &onstantinople, where he was tonsured a mon) with the name "atthew. She,
after the death of her husband became a nun (1POG) in the "onastery of Nady "artha, with the name
Ypomoni ($atience). 'nd three from their children became mon)s, Theodore and 'ndroni)os (mon)
')a)ios) in the $antocrator "onastery, and !emetrios ("on) !a-id) in !idymoteicho. Iurther, as long as
they were in their homeland, together with her father she built the oly "onastery of $anagia
$amma)aristos in $ogano-o of the city of !emetro-grand in southeast Ser-ia.
"he church o$ the (onastery o$ St. Patapios, #outra)i, *here the Re!ics o$ St. Ypomoni are
treasured (taken from: http://www.analogion.net/Ieres'ones/I'_(siou%atapiououtrakiou.htmQ for more information a)out *t.
%atapios, see: http://full+of+grace+and+truth.)logspot.com/,--.//,/miracle+of+st+patapios+of+the)es.html.)
#n &onstantinople she was associated with the oly "onastery of the $recious Iorerunner of $etra, where
the oly Relic of St. $atapios the Righteous 6onderwor)er was )ept, to which St. Ypomoni showed a
special re-erence. The "onastery was founded by the fellow ascetic of St. $atapios in (gypt, Lara the
Righteous, outside of the Roman gate before PG4 '!. 6ith St. YpomoniJs help she founded in the "onastery
a female old-age home with the name HThe hope of the hopelessF. er re-erence towards St. $atapios was
re-ealed by the fact that the iconographer of the ca-e of St. $atapios on the Geraneia "ountain of &orinth
considered it essential to depict St. Ypomoni ne.t to the body of the Saint. St. Ypomoni was a bright and
illumined person, endowed with many talents, which she HtradedF with wisdom and prudence and gained
much, manged with -irtue, asceticism and endurance to reach a hard to scale measure of -irtue.

"he o!y S)u!! o$ St. Ypomoni, treasured at the (onastery o$ St. Patapios, #outra)i (taken from:
http://www.rel.gr/photo/displayimage.php0al)um123pos14,)

' meaningful physiognomy of her time, Gennadios Scholarios, the first (cumenical $atriarch after the Sac)
of &onstantinople, in his $aramytheti)o Nogo to +ing &onstantine &#, H't the dormition of his mother St.
YpomoniF, he offers the following characteristically8 HThis blessed 9ueen when she was -isited by someone
wise, he would lea-e ama/ed from her uni7ue wisdom. 6hen she met some ascetic, he would lea-e, after
the meeting, shamed by his poor -irtue, ashamed by her -irtue. 6hen she met someone intelligent, he
would be struc) by her greater intelligence. 6hen she would meet with a legislator, they became more
Eust :<R?S=TAUTVA=R?WCD. 6hen she spo)e with some lawyer, they belie-ed that they had before them the
Rule of Naw in practice. 6hen someone bra-e would meet her, they would feel defeated, feeling ama/ed
by her patience, wisdom and strength of character. 6hen she was approached by some philanthropist, they
were struc) by her greater and percei-able feeling of philanthropy. 6hen she met some friend of
amusements, they would gain wisdom, and coming to )now their humility before her, repented. 6hen she
met some /ealot of piety, they would gain greater /eal. (-ery one suffering, after meeting with her
recei-ed some relief of their pain. (-ery arrogant person berated his great self-lo-e. 'nd in general there
was no one who who came into contact with her and did not become better.F
St. Ypomoni (http://www.immspartis.gr/0page_id1.45.)

God granted her to not li-e through the last tragic moments of the (mpire. e called her close to im on
"arch 13th 1PG4, ha-ing li-ed 3G years as (mpress and OG years as a humble nun. er ser-ant Kohn
(-geni)os, the brother of St. "ar) 'rchbishop of (phesus, in his $aramytheti)o Nogo to &onstantine
$alaiologos at the dormition of his "other, St. Ypomoni, wrote8 's for your eternal Nady "other, e-erything
as long as she li-ed was e.cellent, faith, wor)s, generation, the way life, word and e-erything together
was pure and worthy of di-ine honor, and as she li-ed as a parta)er of di-ine $ro-idence, thus she ended.F
The Holy NadyF as she is named by George Irant/es, is Eoined with the thought of her monastic name
(Ypomoni) with the way she confronted the good and also the many problems in her whole life. $atience in
life, deed and monastic name. H#n patience she possessed her soulF% (taken from:
http://www.impantokratoros.gr/agiaypomoni.print.el.aspx)

Icon o$ St. Ypomoni (taken from: http://)p/.)logger.com/_ptz$67n89tc/*#:p-e6oc2I/88888888;9</"-%'=I!'%;w/s/:--+h/>,5,59!
>,5,52/>,5,59!>,5,52?>,5,59!>,5,522>,5,59!>,5,52/>,5,;ypomoni.@pg)
A recent mirac!e o$ the Saint
%"any are the appearances of St. Ypomoni in the last few years to the faithful and also to non-&hristians.
The following miraculous appearance in-ol-ed the healing of a sic) man.

St. Ypomoni appeared as a nun to a ta.i dri-er from 'thens. She stopped his ta.i, and sought to be dri-en
to Noutra)i. The ta.i dri-er had s)in cancer on his hands and was e.periencing a great lac) of faith. 0n the
way, the nun, who wore a cowl with a red cross as)ed him8

%6hy are you sadC%

'nd he did not hesitate to confess the whole truth. 'fter she as)ed him if he wanted her ma)e the sign of
the &ross on him so that he would become well, and he agreed. #n a short time howe-er, he started to get
sleepy, and he as)ed the nun if they could stop for a little so that they wouldn5t be )illed. They had arri-ed
close to the destination, and it would be easy for her to find another ta.t. e stopped on the side of the
road and fell asleep. 6hen he wo)e up he noticed that his hands were better, but the nun had
disappeared. e as)ed people in the area if they saw a nun near there, but no one had seen her. e
therefore returned to his ta.i and reali/ed that it had been some Saint who had then disappeared. e
headed right away to his doctor and related what had happened. 't that instant his eyes fell on an icon
which was hanging in the doctor5s office, and he fell from his chair and cried8

%That was her.%

The icon was of St. Ypomoni. Thus he learned who it was that healed him and softened his unbelief. The
cowl with the red cross showed her origin before becoming (mpress of ,y/antium, and with this monastic
schema her life ended. Nater it became )nown that the day when the miracle occured was "arch 13th, the
day when the Saint celebrates.% (taken from: http://www.impantokratoros.gr/agiaypomoni.print.el.aspx)

Icon o$ St. Ypomoni (taken from: http://www.thehtm.org/catalog/product_info.php0
c%ath1,4_5-_/--3products_id16443os9sid1:-5?5d5,.d/)-/6-d6-d..2ffa:.f2e6)

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Apo!yti)ion o$ St. Ypomoni the Righteous : P!aga! o$ the ;st "one
(these hymns <e!o* are amateur trans!ations)
_he no)le =ueen let us hymn, `pomoni the aighteous, the pious dobe who flew from the worldcs disarray
towards the dwlling place of heaben, in unending lobe, asceticism and humility, crying, shatter, )y your
prayers, the shackles of the lawless, ( =ueen.
=-40>23-4. 56-7 ,.. ?9. AM XYPHWFIV.
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ZMC PNOFWfGDGC V\ FDZHBC PC gEhGCZTV NGQ IBHB]\ WBCGhBED^C
NGZGYEHDP]DGDGC, ZGYPQC^DPV\ SBOGT\ GCPEdMWRDVWPC, YK[V NHFhBCZP\.
iGTHBQ\, jRZPH YGCP]dMWP.
@onta)ion in the P!aga! o$ the Fourth "one
;earing the name of &odly+strengthened %atience, and the most+honored of the &odly+wise rulers, who
shone as a star in ;yzantium and )lazing among the choirs of the monastics, with the rays of humility let
us praise her, crying out ferbently: "ail, ( most+praised 'other.
ABC8./4>D3-4.
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ZGWPTBC, XYBWBCR, GLFYM\, PC[eVC SGDQOTUVC NeHG\ YPHTUBkBC.
(http://www.impantokratoros.gr/agiaypomoni.print.el.aspx)
(ega!ynarion
"ail archetype of patience, pillar of a)stinence, unassaila)le of birtues, ( wall and treasury of lobe,
`pomoni, glorify the horn of pious rulers.
"hrough the prayers o$ our o!y Fathers, #ord Eesus %hrist our Fod, haGe
mercy on us and saGe usH AmenH