A robber of Thessaly who, pierced to the heart with repentance for his crimes, lived out his days in extreme penance in the wilderness and reposed in holiness; myrrh flowed from his relics.
Feast Day
May 6
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The Righteous Barbarus the Myrrh-gusher, the former Robber of Thessaly
Life
Righteous Barbarus the Myrrh-gusher was, by tradition, a robber active in Thessaly who underwent a profound conversion, renounced his former life of plunder, and spent his remaining years in extreme ascetic penance in the wilderness. He is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on May 6.
After his death he came to be venerated as a myroblyte saint — one from whose relics a fragrant, healing liquid is said to flow. A curative myrrh was reported to issue from his grave, and his relics are kept at the monastery of Kellios in Thessaly, near the city of Larissa.
Timeline 5 moments
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9th centuryLife as a robberBy tradition Barbarus was a robber active in Thessaly before his conversion.
9th centuryConversion and absolutionHe renounced his crimes, abandoned his stolen treasures, and sought a priest's absolution.
9th centuryTwelve years of penanceHe lived for twelve years naked in the woods, considering himself unworthy of human status.
9th centuryDeathHe was shot with arrows by merchants and reposed.
May 6CommemorationHe is commemorated annually on May 6; myrrh is reported to flow from his grave, and his relics rest at the monastery of Kellios near Larissa.
Contributions & Legacy
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Conversion and Penance
According to the synaxarion, Barbarus had lived as a robber before a spiritual conversion turned him decisively from his crimes. He abandoned the treasures he had stolen and sought out a priest for absolution, marking a complete break with his former manner of life.
He then undertook a penance of remarkable severity. The account relates that he lived for twelve years naked and without clothing in the woods, regarding himself as unworthy even of being counted among human beings. This self-abasement was the form his repentance took for the remainder of his life.
Death
Barbarus met a violent end. The synaxarion records that he was shot with arrows by merchants and so, in its phrasing, yielded up his spirit to God. He is numbered among the saints commemorated on May 6, a date he shares with the distinct Martyr Barbarus the Soldier and his companions in Morea.
Relics & Shrines
The relics of Barbarus are reported to be located at the monastery of Kellios in Thessaly, near the city of Larissa. After his death a curative myrrh is said to have begun to issue from his grave, which healed various maladies — the phenomenon that gives him the epithet 'the Myrrh-gusher.'
Myroblyte Veneration
Barbarus is counted among the myroblyte saints, those from whose relics or burial place an aromatic, healing liquid is said to flow. Such fluid, described as very much like myrrh and known as the Oil of Saints, is held by the faithful to cure bodily and spiritual ailments not by any power of its own but through the intercession of the saint. The same tradition of myrrh-flowing relics is associated with other figures such as Nicholas of Myra and Walpurga of Eichstaett.
