St. Isaac of Dalmatia
St. Isaac deserves the recognition of having a cathedral named for him, especially in a city as glorious as St. Petersburg. He was from a period that is renowned for its religious leaders and martyrs. It is perhaps because of this that not many people are knowledgeable about St. Isaac. He was a man renowned for his faith in God and his ability to speak to the hearts and souls of his parishioners. Unfortunately, this amazing ability did not translate to his dealings with Emperor Valens, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Emperor Valens was a firm believer in Arianism and, as a result of his inflexible standpoint, the Catholic Church (the other predominant power of the time) was severely at odds with the empire. The Catholic Church perceived Arianism as a heresy because Arian beliefs were strictly at odds with the beliefs of the Church. Because of this controversy, attention was drawn away from the real dilemma within the Roman Empire: that of the Visigoths to the north. The Visigoths had been moving consistently closer and closer to the Empire because of the Huns to the Far East. On their way toward the far reaches of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths had been wreaking havoc along the Danube River. To the clergy, such as St. Isaac, the situation was deplorable. Not only was the Emperor taking part in heretical acts and closing more and more churches every day, but he was also ignoring the plight of his subjects in regards to the Visigoths in order to sin.
St. Isaac took himself to the Emperor twice to speak with him. St. Isaac felt it his job to inform the Emperor that what he was doing was wrong and that he was going to suffer greatly for his actions. However, the Emperor wanted to have nothing to do with the Catholic Church and sent Isaac away. The second time Isaac had the same success rate, however, this time, on his way out the door, Isaac predicted the death of Emperor Valens.
Isaac predicted that if Valens didn’t die by the hand of a Goth sword, then he would “die in flames” (Poulos), especially if Valens did not reopen the churches. Without a second thought, Valens ignored Isaac’s warnings and had him jailed. Soon after Valens headed off to war with the Goths. The Romans lost this battle and, following a hasty retreat into a barn, Valens died in a fire.
Upon the defeated soldiers’ return to Rome, they were hastily reminded of Isaac’s dire warning and respected him all the more. The new emperor, Theodosius, was not so hasty to ignore Isaac’s warnings and not only set Isaac free from his prison, but reopened all the churches closed by Valens and outlawed Arianism.
Following his release, Isaac longed to be free of the limelight and once again entered the monastic life. He adopted the title of abbot in the Dalmatian Monastery. It was there that he lived out the rest of his days. He died on May 30, 383 A.D.
The day he died is now known as his feast day. Consequently, this is also the day that Peter I, commonly known as Peter the Great, was born. It is for this reason that St. Isaac was declared the patron saint of Peter the Great and the Romanov family. This is also why Peter decided to build a church in honor of the saint.