Story
The life of this solitary:
It reveals the heart of the Christian aflame with love and zeal, working with power in the Church, whatever his position or role may be.
This father loved the life of solitude and desired to spend his whole life worshipping God without ceasing, far from the troubles and preoccupations of the world. But when he heard that the Arian Emperor Valens was persecuting the Church, he could not stand with his hands folded; rather, after offering up continual and deep prayers, he set off to Constantinople and began to warn the Emperor plainly and frankly more than once, declaring to him that unless he ceased persecuting the orthodox (those of the upright faith) and restored to them the churches he had seized from them and handed over to the Arians, grievous calamities would befall him. But the Emperor scorned him.
He met him once as the Emperor was leaving the city, and he seized the bridle of his horse and began to rebuke him. So the Emperor commanded that he be cast into the nearest marsh, but the Lord delivered him in a miraculous way. And when he repeated his prophecy before him, the Emperor cast him into prison. Then his prophecy was fulfilled, and Valens was killed in the battle of Adrianople. When Theodosius reigned, he released him and honored him.
He wished to take up his solitude once more, but his disciples insisted that he not part from them, so he built for them a monastery called "the Dalmatian," named after one of his disciples, Dalmatius; and it is the oldest monastery in Constantinople.
He took part in the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople.
He reposed in a good old age on the 30th of May