I miracoli di guarigione nell'agiografia medio-bizantina: il caso della Vita Eustratii hegumeni in monte Olympo (BHG 645)

This article examines the healing miracles contained in the Vita Eustratii hegumeni in monte Olympo (BHG 645), a middle-Byzantine hagiographical work composed around the year 900 and preserved in the tenth-century ms. Jerusalem, Library of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Hagios Sabas 242. After a brief overview of the text, its manuscript tradition, and its historical context, the study focuses on the structure and narrative function of the miraculous cures attributed to Eustratios of Agauros. Particular attention is devoted to the distinction between miracles performed during the saint’s lifetime and the more numerous posthumous healings associated with his relics. The analysis suggests that the Vita organizes the healing narratives into a coherent thematic sequence. The first group of miracles, especially the episodes involving the resurrection of two young people, displays careful narrative construction, internal parallels, and biblical reminiscences, whereas the post mortem miracles adopt a more schematic and repetitive structure. The paper also investigates the typology of illnesses described in the text, the therapeutic practices associated with the saint’s intervention, and the relationship between healing, sin, exorcism, and repentance. Finally, the article argues that, unlike other Byzantine hagiographical works influenced by medical literature, the Vita Eustratii shows little interest in technical medical terminology or clinical observation. Its primary concern is rather the spiritual and edifying value of miraculous healing, presented as a visible manifestation of divine grace operating through the saint.