Saint Christopher

St. Christopher …. A Giant Saint?

Having lived in the 2nd/3rd century, what we know about him is based on stories, traditions and legends that have been passed on, so that nothing is certain about his life and death. However, according to historical sources, one cannot deny the existence of a martyr referred to as St. Christopher. In fact it is believed that he might have been named Reprobus or Offerus, but he ended up with the name Christopher from the Greek meaning Christ-Bearer!

According to these traditions it is believed that Christopher/ Reprobus even as a child had an impressive stature, being tall and robust, hence the reference to a ‘giant.’ As he grew into a young strong man with an impressive stature, he went in search of a purpose that was worthy of his allegiance. His decision, that as a soldier he would serve the greatest king, led him to enter the service of his local ruler. But he noticed that this ruler whom he believed to be strong and powerful  expressed fear at the mention of the word ‘devil’. Chistopher concluded that the devil was therefore more powerful than his ruler. He set out to serve the devil! He joined a company of a gang of bandits, whose leader called himself ‘Devil.’ But when this leader showed fear when he saw a Cross  Christopher concluded that the Cross was even more powerful than the ‘Devil’.
Christopher set out in search of the meaning of the Cross.

Eventually, he met a hermit who introduced him to Christ, the King of Kings. He embraced Christianity and he was baptized. But Christopher, being a big man and always hungry, could not find himself abiding by the suggestion of the hermit to spend his life fasting besides prayer. Instead, he decided that he would please Christ by helping travellers cross a torrentus river where people risked drowning in the crossings.

One day a child asked Christopher to help him cross the river. Without hesitation, he hoisted the child on his shoulder and started carrying him across. It was with great effort that Christopher managed to carry the child to safety because the child seemed to get heavier as he trudged across the river that suddenly rose to a threatening level. When Christopher asked the child how come he was so heavy, the child changed countenance and revealed that He was Christ Himself, so that when Christopher was carrying Him he was also carrying the weight of the whole world.

After this experience, it is believed that Christopher travelled to evangelize, reaching up to Lycia (present-day Turkey). It was here that around 251AD Chistopher was martyred when he refused to offer sacrifice to the Emperor Decius.

St. Christopher, the Giant Saint and Christ-Bearer according to tradition is venerated as one of the 14 Auxiliary Saints – Holy Helpers.