On this day, July 7 according to the Julian Calendar (July 20 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Venerable Akakios the Obedient.
Venerable Akakios the Obedient — ‘a youth sincere in nature and wise in mind’ — lived in one of the monasteries of Asia under the obedience of an exceedingly negligent and harsh elder.
The elder beat him relentlessly day and night, but Akakios endured everything in silence and with gratitude, serving his elder faithfully for nine years.
When Akakios died, perhaps from the mistreatment he endured, his elder went to another great saint and told him of the young monk’s death. The great saint did not believe that Akakios was truly dead and went to the tomb himself.
‘Akakios, are you dead?’ he called out. And from the tomb came the reply: ‘Father, how can one who practices obedience die?’
The elder fell to his knees in repentance and thereafter lived in holiness. Saint John Climacus recorded this account in his Ladder of Divine Ascent, where Akakios is held up as a model of perfect obedience.
The memory of Venerable Akakios is commemorated on July 7 according to the Julian Calendar.
May the intercessions of Venerable Akakios the Obedient be with us all.