|
Icons of St. Robert, i.e.,
Rupert, Bishop of
Salzburg, Apostle to Austria (+ 710)
St.
Robert (Rupert) was Bishop of Worms under Childeric of the Franks. A
true Saint,
he kept long vigils and wore out his body with fasting, gave generously
to the poor, in whom he saw Christ, and was a great preacher. For his
fearless stand for the truth of Christ, he was driven from Worms by
barbarous men, but hearing of his miracles Duke Theodo invited him to
what is now Austria, and hearing him renounced the idols and was
baptized in the majestic name of the Triune God. Then many others too
were baptized there, and a monastery for men was established (St.
Peter's) and a monastery for woman (where his niece, St. Erentrudis,
dwelt), following the holy rule of St. Benedict. St. Robert laboured
from the Danube areas to the lower borders of Pannonia (Hungary). This
mission is similar to that of St. Gregory the Great in England; a
formerly Christian area (St. Martin of Tours himself came from the
Burgenland) had reverted to paganism. The Saint may also have had ties
to Ireland, since Salzburg soon became a hub of Celtic Orthodox
missionary activity. O Holy Father Robert, pray to God for us!
Top Icon: At the St. Spyridon
Serbian Orthodox Skyte, Geilnau, Germany. The Skyte has all rights to
this image. By the hand of
Alexander Stolyarov.
Next
Icon: of unknown provenance.
Final
Icon: by the hand of Mother Justina, Greek Old Calendarist convent of
St. Elizabeth, Etna, California, with permission. Inscriptions are in
German and quite difficult to read; I think that St. Robert is the
Saint in the right margin (Sts. Boniface and Robert are the two saints
in the margins flanking the deisis).
|
