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Saint of
the Day Archives
September
September 30, 2008
Hieromartyr Gregory the Bishop of Greater Armenia,
Equal of the Apostles and Enlightener of Armenia
The Hieromartyr
Gregory, Enlightener of Great Armenia, was born in the year 257. He was
descended from the line of the Parthian Arsakid emperors. The father of St
Gregory, Anak, in striving after the Armenian throne, had murdered his
kinsman, the emperor Kursar, in consequence of which all the line of Anak
was marked for destruction.
A certain kinsman saved Gregory: he carried off the infant from Armenia to
Caesarea Cappadocia and raised him in the Christian Faith. At maturity,
Gregory married, had two sons, but soon was left a widower. Gregory raised
his sons in piety. One of them -- Orthanes, afterwards became a priest, and
the other -- Arostanes, accepted monasticism and went off into the
wilderness.
In order to atone for the sin of his father, who had murdered the father of
Tiridates, Gregory entered into the service of the latter and was a faithful
servant to him. Tiridates loved Gregory like a friend, but he was intolerant
of the Christian confession of faith. After ascending the Armenian throne,
he began to demand that St Gregory renounce the Christian Faith.
The steadfastness of the saint embittered Tiridates, and he gave his
faithful servant over to cruel tortures: they suspended the sufferer head
downwards with a stone about his neck, for several days they choked him with
a stinking smoke, they beat and ridiculed him, and forced him to walk in
iron sandals inset with nails.
At the time of these sufferings St Gregory sang Psalms. In prison the Lord
healed all his wounds. When Gregory again stood before the emperor cheerful
and unharmed, he was astonished and gave orders to repeat the torments. St
Gregory endured them, not wavering, with all his former determination and
bearing. They then poured hot tin over him and threw him into a pit filled
with vipers. The Lord, however, saved His chosen one: the snakes did him no
harm.
Some pious women fed him with bread, secretly lowering it into the pit. A
holy angel, appeared to the martyr, strengthening and encouraging him. St
Gregory remained in the pit for fourteen years. During this time the emperor
Tiridates executed the holy virgin St Rhipsime, the aged abbess Gaiana and
another 35 virgins from one of the monasteries of Asia Minor. As punishment
for this horrible deed, the king's face became disfigured.
St Gregory was released from the pit, and buried the relics of the holy
virgins with honor. Then he began to preach to the people, urging them to
turn away from the darkness of idolatry and toward Christ. The people came
to believe in Christ, and wished to build a large church. When it was
completed, St Gregory had the relics of the holy nuns brought into it. Then
he brought King Tiridates there before the bodies of the saints whom he had
slain. He repented, and immediately his face was made whole once more.
Soon all of Armenia was converted to Christ. The temples of the idols were
destroyed, and churches for the worship of the true God were built. St
Gregory ordained priests, established schools, founded monasteries, and
provided for the good order of the Church.
St Gregory went into the wilderness, where he departed to the Lord. His son
Aristanes was made a bishop in Cappadocia, and was one of the 318 holy
Fathers at the Council of Nicea.
September 29, 2008
Martyr Dada of Persia
The Martyrs
Dadas, Gabeddas and Kazdoa accepted death for Christ under the Persian
emperor Sapor. Dadas was chief steward under Sapor, and Sts Gabeddas and
Kazdoa were the cruel emperor's own children.
Not knowing that St Dadas was a Christian, the emperor appointed him as
governor of one of the Persian districts. When it was discovered, he was
stripped of all honors, sent to the court of the cruel torturer Andromelik
and was condemned to be burned. Approaching the stake, St Dadas shielded
himself with the Sign of the Cross, and the fire went out.
Seeing this miracle, the emperor's stunned son Gabeddas believed in Christ
and in the hearing of all, confessed his faith. The judge reported this to
the emperor, and he commanded St Gabeddas to be fiercely tortured. But in
all the sufferings divine strength preserved the saint.
An angel of the Lord comforted him, and each time the Lord restored health
and strength to him. Beholding the miraculous healing of the holy martyr,
many prisoners in the prison with him became Christians, even the sorcerer
Gargal, and thus accepted martyrdom. The emperor's daughter Kazdoa, sister
of the Martyr Gabeddas, secretly visited him in prison and brought him
water.
Another time Kazdoa saw her brother when the torturers tortured him anew.
The holy martyr was hung on a cross, and a volley of arrows shot at him, but
the arrows bounced off and struck the archers. Seeing his sister, he
prevailed upon her to believe in Christ. St Kazdoa confessed herself a
Christian, and by the command of her father the emperor Sapor, she was
cruelly beaten and thrown into prison where her brother languished.
Suffering from her wounds, St Kazdoa asked her brother to pray for her. St
Gabeddas, having said the prayer, assured his sister that she would suffer
no more. On the following day during new tortures St Gabeddas, saw two
presbyters Dadias and Abdi, asked them to bring oil and water, since he
deeply wanted to receive holy Baptism.
At this moment a cloud overshadowed the martyr, from which poured out water
and oil, and a voice was heard: "Servant of God, you have already received
Baptism." The face of the martyr became radiant, and in the air was the
fragrance of perfume. The torturer commanded the saint to be pierced with
spears, and after several hours he died with prayer on his lips.
His body was cut into three parts, but the priests Dadias, Abdi and the
deacon Armazates took the holy relics and buried them reverently. The body
of the holy Martyr Dadas, whom they also tortured for a long time and cut in
parts, was also secretly buried by Christians.
At midnight the Martyr Gabeddas appeared to the priest Dadias, gave him a
vessel with oil and sent him to the martyr Kazdoa to anoint her with oil and
give her the Holy Mysteries. The priest did this and, at the very last, said
to the holy martyr: "Sleep, sister, until the coming of the Lord," and St
Kazdoa departed to the Lord. The mother of the holy martyr prepared her for
burial and with joy buried her with the Martyr Gabeddas.
September 26, 2008
Repose of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the
Theologian
The Holy,
Glorious All-laudable Apostle and Evangelist, Virgin, and Beloved Friend of
Christ, John the Theologian was the son of Zebedee and Salome, a daughter of
St Joseph the Betrothed. He was called by our Lord Jesus Christ to be one of
His Apostles at the same time as his elder brother James. This took place at
Lake Gennesareth (i.e. the Sea of Galilee). Leaving behind their father,
both brothers followed the Lord.
The Apostle John was especially loved by the Savior for his sacrificial love
and his virginal purity. After his calling, the Apostle John did not part
from the Lord, and he was one of the three apostles who were particularly
close to Him. St John the Theologian was present when the Lord restored the
daughter of Jairus to life, and he was a witness to the Transfiguration of
the Lord on Mount Tabor.
During the Last Supper, he reclined next to the Lord, and laid his head upon
His breast. He also asked the name of the Savior's betrayer. The Apostle
John followed after the Lord when they led Him bound from the Garden of
Gethsemane to the court of the iniquitous High Priests Annas and Caiphas. He
was there in the courtyard of the High Priest during the interrogations of
his Teacher and he resolutely followed after him on the way to Golgotha,
grieving with all his heart.
At the foot of the Cross he stood with the Mother of God and heard the words
of the Crucified Lord addressed to Her from the Cross: "Woman, behold Thy
son." Then the Lord said to him, "Behold thy Mother" (John 19:26-27). From
that moment the Apostle John, like a loving son, concerned himself over the
Most Holy Virgin Mary, and he served Her until Her Dormition.
After the Dormition of the Mother of God the Apostle John went to Ephesus
and other cities of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel, taking with him his own
disciple Prochorus. They boarded a ship, which floundered during a terrible
tempest. All the travellers were cast up upon dry ground, and only the
Apostle John remained in the depths of the sea. Prochorus wept bitterly,
bereft of his spiritual father and guide, and he went on towards Ephesus
alone.
On the fourteenth day of his journey he stood at the shore of the sea and
saw that the waves had cast a man ashore. Going up to him, he recognized the
Apostle John, whom the Lord had preserved alive for fourteen days in the
sea. Teacher and disciple went to Ephesus, where the Apostle John preached
incessantly to the pagans about Christ. His preaching was accompanied by
such numerous and great miracles, that the number of believers increased
with each day.
During this time there had begun a persecution of Christians under the
emperor Nero (56-68). They took the Apostle John for trial at Rome. St John
was sentenced to death for his confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
but the Lord preserved His chosen one. The apostle drank a cup of deadly
poison, but he remained alive. Later, he emerged unharmed from a cauldron of
boiling oil into which he had been thrown on orders from the torturer.
After this, they sent the Apostle John off to imprisonment to the island of
Patmos, where he spent many years. Proceeding along on his way to the place
of exile, St John worked many miracles. On the island of Patmos, his
preaching and miracles attracted to him all the inhabitants of the island,
and he enlightened them with the light of the Gospel. He cast out many
devils from the pagan temples, and he healed a great multitude of the sick.
Sorcerers with demonic powers showed great hostility to the preaching of the
holy apostle. He especially frightened the chief sorcerer of them all, named
Kinops, who boasted that they would destroy the apostle. But the great John,
by the grace of God acting through him, destroyed all the demonic artifices
to which Kinops resorted, and the haughty sorcerer perished in the depths of
the sea.
The Apostle John withdrew with his disciple Prochorus to a desolate height,
where he imposed upon himself a three-day fast. As St John prayed the earth
quaked and thunder rumbled. Prochorus fell to the ground in fright. The
Apostle John lifted him up and told him to write down what he was about to
say. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the
Lord, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev 1:8),
proclaimed the Spirit of God through the Apostle John. Thus in about the
year 67 the Book of Revelation was written, known also as the "Apocalypse,"
of the holy Apostle John the Theologian. In this Book were predictions of
the tribulations of the Church and of the end of the world.
After his prolonged exile, the Apostle John received his freedom and
returned to Ephesus, where he continued with his activity, instructing
Christians to guard against false teachers and their erroneous teachings. In
the year 95, the Apostle John wrote his Gospel at Ephesus. He called for all
Christians to love the Lord and one another, and by this to fulfill the
commands of Christ. The Church calls St John the "Apostle of Love", since he
constantly taught that without love man cannot come near to God.
In his three Epistles, St John speaks of the significance of love for God
and for neighbor. Already in his old age, he learned of a youth who had
strayed from the true path to follow the leader of a band of robbers, so St
John went out into the wilderness to seek him. Seeing the holy Elder, the
guilty one tried to hide himself, but the Apostle John ran after him and
besought him to stop. He promised to take the sins of the youth upon
himself, if only he would repent and not bring ruin upon his soul. Shaken by
the intense love of the holy Elder, the youth actually did repent and turn
his life around.
St John when he was more than a hundred years old. he far outlived the other
eyewitnesses of the Lord, and for a long time he remained the only remaining
eyewitness of the earthly life of the Savior.
When it was time for the departure of the Apostle John, he went out beyond
the city limits of Ephesus with the families of his disciples. He bade them
prepare for him a cross-shaped grave, in which he lay, telling his disciples
that they should cover him over with the soil. The disciples tearfully
kissed their beloved teacher, but not wanting to be disobedient, they
fulfilled his bidding. They covered the face of the saint with a cloth and
filled in the grave. Learning of this, other disciples of St John came to
the place of his burial. When they opened the grave, they found it empty.
Each year from the grave of the holy Apostle John on May 8 came forth a fine
dust, which believers gathered up and were healed of sicknesses by it.
Therefore, the Church also celebrates the memory of the holy Apostle John
the Theologian on May 8.
The Lord bestowed on His beloved disciple John and John's brother James the
name "Sons of Thunder" as an awesome messenger in its cleansing power of the
heavenly fire. And precisely by this the Savior pointed out the flaming,
fiery, sacrificial character of Christian love, the preacher of which was
the Apostle John the Theologian. The eagle, symbol of the lofty heights of
his theological thought, is the iconographic symbol of the Evangelist John
the Theologian. The appellation "Theologian" is bestown by Holy Church only
to St John among the immediate disciples and Apostles of Christ, as being
the seer of the mysterious Judgments of God.
September 25, 2008
Repose of the Venerable Sergius, Abbot and
Wonderworker of Radonezh
Saint Sergius of
Radonezh was born in the village of Varnitsa, near Rostov, on May 3, 1314.
His parents were the pious and illustrious nobles Cyril and Maria (September
28). The Lord chose him while still in his mother's womb. In the Life of St
Sergius it is reported that even before the birth of her son, St Maria and
those praying heard the thrice-repeated cry of the infant at the Divine
Liturgy: before the reading of the Holy Gospel, during the Cherubic hymn,
and when the priest pronounced: "Holy Things are for the Holy."
God gave Cyril and Maria a son whom they named Bartholomew. From his very
first days of life the infant amazed everyone by his fasting. On Wednesdays
and Fridays he would not accept milk from his mother, and on other days, if
Maria used oil in the food, the infant also refused the milk of his mother.
Noticing this, Maria refrained altogether from food with oil.
At the age of seven, Bartholomew was sent to study together with his two
brothers: his older brother Stephen, and his younger brother Peter. His
brothers learned successfully, but Bartholomew fell behind in his studies,
even though the teacher gave him much special attention. The parents scolded
the child, the teacher chastised him, and his classmates made fun of his
lack of comprehension. Finally, Bartholomew besought the Lord with tears to
grant him the ability to read.
Once, his father sent Bartholomew out after the horses in the field. Along
the way he met an angel sent by God under the appearance of a monk. The
Elder stood at prayer beneath an oak in a field. Bartholomew approached him,
and bowing, waited for the Elder to finish praying. The monk blessed him,
gave him a kiss and asked what he wanted.
Bartholomew answered, "With all my soul I want to learn reading and writing.
Holy Father, pray for me to God, that He may help me to become literate."
The monk fulfilled Bartholomew's request, offering up his prayer to God. In
blessing the child he said to him: "Henceforth, my child, God gives you to
understand reading and writing, and in this you will surpass your brothers
and peers" (See the famous M. Nesterov painting "Vision of Bartholomew").
Then the Elder took a vessel and gave Bartholomew a piece of prosphora."Take,
child, and eat," said he."This is given to you as a sign of the grace of
God, and for the understanding of Holy Scripture." The Elder wanted to
leave, but Bartholomew asked him to visit at the home of his parents. His
parents received their guest with joy and offered him their hospitality.
The Elder replied that it was proper to partake of spiritual nourishment
first, and he bade their son to read the Psalter. Bartholomew began to read,
and his parents were amazed at the change that had occured with their son.
In parting, the Elder prophetically said of St Sergius, "Your son shall be
great before God and the people. He shall become a chosen habitation of the
Holy Spirit."
After this the holy child read without difficulty and understood the
contents of books. He became immersed in prayer with a special fervor, not
missing a single church service. Already in childhood he imposed upon
himself a strict fast. He ate nothing on Wednesdays and Fridays, and on the
other days he sustained himself on bread and water.
About the year 1328, the parents of St Sergius moved from Rostov to Radonezh.
When their older sons married, Cyril and Maria received the monastic schema
shortly before their death at the Khot'kov monastery of the Protection of
the Most Holy Theotokos, not far from Radonezh.
Later on, the older brother Stephen was widowed and became a monk at this
monastery. Having buried his parents, Bartholomew and his brother Stephen
withdrew into the forest (12 versts from Radonezh) to live in the
wilderness. At first they made cells, and then a small church, and with the
blessing of Metropolitan Theognostus, it was consecrated in the name of the
Most Holy Trinity. But soon, unable to bear the difficulties of life in the
wilderness, Stephen left his brother and went on to the Moscow Theophany
monastery, where he became close to St Alexis, afterwards Metropolitan of
Moscow. (February 12).
On October 7,1337 Bartholomew was tonsured by Igumen Metrophanes, taking the
name of the holy Martyr Sergius (October 7), and he started to build a new
habitation to the glory of the Life-Creating Trinity. Suffering temptations
and demonic apparitions, St Sergius advanced from strength to strength.
Gradually he became known to other monks seeking his guidance. St Sergius
accepted all with love, and soon a brotherhood of twelve monks were gathered
in the small monastery.
Their experienced spiritual guide distinguished himself by an extraordinary
love for work. With his own hands he built several cells, he carried water,
he chopped wood, baked bread, sewed clothing, prepared food for the brethren
and humbly took on other tasks. St Sergius combined the heavy work with
prayer, vigil and fasting.
The brethren were amazed that with such severe exertion the health of their
guide did not deteriorate, but rather became all the more hearty. It was not
without difficulty that they implored St Sergius to accept the position of
igumen of the monastery.
In 1354 Bishop Athanasius of Volyn ordained the saint a hieromonk and
elevated him to the rank of igumen. Just as before, monastic obediences were
strictly fulfilled at the monastery. With the expansion of the monastery,
its needs also grew. Often the monks had only scant food, but through the
prayers of St Sergius unknown people provided the necessities.
Reports of the exploits of St Sergius became known even at Constantinople,
and Patriarch Philotheus sent to the monk a cross, a "paraman" (monastic
clothing, a four-cornered cloth tied with cords to the chest and worn
beneath other garb, and adorned with symbols of the Lord's Passion) and
schema-robe in blessing for new deeds, and a grammota of blessing, in which
the Patriarch counselled the chosen of God to organize a cenobitic
monastery. The monk set off with the patriarchal missive to St Alexis, and
received from him the counsel to introduce a strict manner of cenobitic
life. The monks began to grumble at the strictness of the monastic Rule, and
St Sergius was compelled to forsake the monastery. At the River Kirzhach he
founded a monastery in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Matters at the former monastery went quickly into disarray, and the
remaining monks recoursed to St Alexis that he should get the saint to
return.
St Sergius unquestioningly obeyed the holy hierarch, and left in place of
himself at the Kirzhachsk monastery his disciple, St Roman.
Already during his lifetime St Sergius had been vouchsafed the gift of
wonderworking. He raised a lad, at a point when the despairing father had
given up on his only son as lost. Reports about the miracles worked by St
Sergius began quickly to spread about, and the sick began to come to him,
both from the surrounding villages and also from remote places. And no one
left from St without receiving healing of infirmities and edifying counsel.
Everyone gave glory for St Sergius, and reverenced him on an equal with the
ancient holy Fathers. But human glory did not hold allure for the great
ascetic, and as before he remained the example of monastic humility.
One time St Stephen, Bishop of Perm (April 27), who deeply revered St
Sergius, was on journey from his diocese to Moscow. The roadway passed eight
versts distant from the Sergiev monastery. Intending to visit the monastery
on his return trip, the saint stopped, and having recited a prayer, he bowed
to St Sergius with the words: "Peace be to thee, spiritual brother." At this
instant St Sergius was sitting in the trapeza for a meal with the brethren.
In reply to the blessing of the holy hierarch, St Sergius rose up, recited a
prayer, and made a return blessing to St Stephen. Certain of the disciples,
astonished at the extraordinary action of St Sergius, hastened off to the
indicated place, and became convinced of the veracity of the vision.
Gradually the monks began to witness also other similar actions. Once,
during Liturgy, an angel of the Lord served with the saint, but St Sergius
in his humility forbade anyone to tell about this until after his death.
St Sergius was connected with St Alexis by close bonds of spiritual
friendship and brotherly love. St Alexis in his declining years summoned St
Sergius to him and besought him to accept to be Russian Metropolitan, but St
Sergius humbly declined to be primate.
The Russian Land at this time suffered under the Mongol-Tatar Yoke. Having
gathered an army, Great-prince Demetrius Ioannovich of the Don went to
monastery of St Sergius to ask blessing in the pending struggle. St Sergius
gave blessing to two monks of his monastery to render help to the
great-prince: the Schemamonk Andrei [Oslyaba] and the Schemamonk Alexander [Peresvet],
and he predicted the victory for prince Demetrius. The prophecy of St
Sergius was fulfilled: on September 8, 1380, on the feastday of the Nativity
of the Most Holy Theotokos, Russian soldiers gained a total victory over the
Tatar hordes at Kulikovo Pole (Kulikovo Field), and set in place the
beginning of the liberation of the Russian Land from the Mongol Yoke. During
the fighting St Sergius and the brethren stood at prayer and besought God to
grant victory to the Russian forces.
For his angelic manner of life St Sergius was granted an heavenly vision by
God. One time by night Abba Sergius was reading the rule of prayer beneath
an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Having completed the reading of the
canon to the Mother of God, he sat down to rest, but suddenly he said to his
disciple, St Mikhei (May 6), that there awaited them a wondrous visitation.
After a moment the Mother of God appeared accompanied by the holy Apostles
Peter and John the Theologian. Due to the extraordinary bright light St
Sergius fell down, but the Most Holy Theotokos touched Her hands to him, and
in blessing him promised always to be Protectress of his holy monastery.
Having reached old age, and foreseeing his own end six months beforehand, St
Sergius summoned the brethren to him and designated his disciple St Nikon
(November 17), who was experienced in the spiritual life and obedience, to
be igumen. In tranquil solitude St Sergius fell asleep in the Lord on
September 25, 1392. On the night before, the great saint of God summoned the
brethren a final time to give them his final instruction: "Brethren, be
attentive to yourselves. Have first the fear of God, purity of soul and
unhypocritical love...."
September 24, 2008
Martyr Peter the Aleut
Saint Peter the
Aleut is mentioned in the Life of St Herman of Alaska (December 13). Simeon
Yanovsky (who ended his life as the schemamonk Sergius in the St Tikhon of
Kaluga Monastery), has left the following account:
"On another occasion I was relating to him how the Spanish in California had
imprisoned fourteen Aleuts, and how the Jesuits (actually Franciscans) were
forcing all of them to accept the Catholic Faith. But the Aleuts would not
agree under any circumstances, saying, 'We are Christians.' The Jesuits
argued, 'That's not true, you are heretics and schismatics. If you do not
agree to accept our faith then we will torture all of you to death.' Then
the Aleuts were placed in prisons two to a cell. That evening, the Jesuits
came to the prison with lanterns and lighted candles. Again they tried to
persuade two Aleuts in the cell to accept the Catholic Faith. 'We are
Christians,' the Aleuts replied, 'and we will not change our Faith.' Then
the Jesuits began to torture them, at first the one while his companion was
a witness. They cut off one of the joints of his feet, and then the other
joint. Then they cut the first joint on the fingers of his hands, and then
the other joint. Then they cut off his feet, and his hands. The blood
flowed, but the martyr endured all and firmly repeated one thing: "I am a
Christian.' He died in such suffering, due to a loss of blood. The Jesuit
also promised to torture his comrade to death the next day.
But that night an order was received from Monterey stating that the
imprisoned Aleuts were to be released immediately, and sent there under
escort. Therefore, in the morning all were sent to Monterey with the
exception of the dead Aleut. This was related to me by a witness, the same
Aleut who had escaped torture, and who was the friend of the martyred Aleut.
I reported this incident to the authorities in St Petersburg. When I
finished my story, Father Herman asked, 'What was the name of the martyred
Aleut?' I answered, 'Peter. I do not remember his family name.' The Elder
stood reverently before an icon, made the Sign of the Cross and said, "Holy
New Martyr Peter, pray to God for usl"
We know very little about St Peter, except that he was from Kodiak, and was
arrested and put to death by the Spaniards in California because he refused
to convert to Catholicism. The circumstances of his martyrdom recall the
torture of St James the Persian (November 27).
Both in his sufferings and in his steadfast confession of the Faith, St
Peter is the equal of the martyrs of old, and also of the New Martyrs who
have shone forth in more recent times. Now he rejoices with them in the
heavenly Kingdom, glorifying God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
throughout all ages.
September 23, 2008
St Xanthippe Disciple of the Apostles, who died in
Spain
The Monastic
Women Xanthippe and Polyxene were sisters by birth and they lived in Spain
in the time of the holy Apostles. They were among the first to hear the
divine teaching of Christ the Savior from the holy Apostle Paul, when he
preached in their land.
St Xanthippe and her husband Probus accepted Christianity, but St Polyxene
was still a pagan when a certain man became entranced with her extraordinary
beauty and forcibly carried her off to Greece on a ship. The Lord preserved
her unharmed. On the voyage, the saint heard the preaching of the holy
Apostle Peter and believed in Christ.
When she arrived in Greece, St Polyxene turned to the Christians for
protection and defense and they hid her in the city of Patra in Achaia,
where she formally accepted Christianity and was baptized by the holy
Apostle Andrew the First-Called himself.
She became a witness to his miracles, and how he patiently and humbly
endured his sufferings and death. She stood at the cross upon which they
crucified the holy Apostle Andrew. After his martyric death, St Polyxene
returned to Spain, where she and her older sister Xanthippe converted many
pagans to Christ. St Polyxene toiled for about forty years preaching the
Gospel in Spain. St Xanthippe shared in her sister's work and preached in
the populous city of Toledo.
St Polyxene reposed in about the year 109, having preserved her virginity to
the end of her earthly life.
September 22, 2008
St Peter the Tax-Collector
Saint Peter,
Former Tax-Collector, was the chief collector of taxes in Africa in the
service of the emperor Justinian (527-565). He was a cruel and merciless
man.
One day he threw a morsel of bread to a beggar who annoyed him by
incessantly begging alms. In a vision Peter saw himself as dead and how the
holy Angels weighed his deeds on the scale of the righteous judgment of God.
On the side of good deeds nothing was placed except a morsel of bread,
thrown at the beggar, but this prevented the opposite side from being pulled
down by his vicious deeds.
Peter pondered the meaning of the dream, and thought that if one loaf of
bread, thrown involontarily, was of such help to him, then he might receive
much more help for good deeds performed with compassion and from the heart.
He repented and completely changed his life. He liberally distributed alms
to the needy, and fed and clothed many.
On day, in a dream, Peter saw Jesus Christ. The Lord was dressed in clothes
which the saint once gave to a beggar. Peter then distributed his substance
to the poor and ordered his slave to sell him into slavery and to give the
money to the poor. The slave reluctantly carried out the orders of his
master.
For many years St Peter worked diligently and humbly for his master. One day
he was recognized by tradesmen to whom he had been known earlier. They told
the master who his servant was. Having overheard this conversation, the
saint quickly fled from the city. In departing, he worked a miracle: the
gatekeeper, a deaf-mute slave, was ordered by St Peter to open the gates in
the name of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled the command, and at once received his
hearing and speech. He rushed around everywhere to tell his master and added
moreover, that when the saint commanded him to open the gates, fire came
forth from his mouth touching his face, after which he began to hear and
speak. Everyone went to look for Peter, but the search proved in vain. The
saint hid and remained hidden until his death.
The Life of St Peter was passed along by St John the Merciful, Patriarch of
Alexandria (November 12), who in turn knew it from a man personally
acquainted with the saint.
September 19, 2008
Martyr Zosimas the Hermit of Cilicia
The Martyr
Zosimas the Desert Dweller lived during the fourth century. Once, while
hunting, Dometian, the governor of Sicily, saw the Elder calmly and amiably
conversing with the beasts around him.
Seeing the hunters, the beasts fled. They then interrogated the Elder,
asking who he was and why he lived in the wilderness. The Elder answered
that he was a Christian called Zosimas, and that he could not live in the
city with the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, he lived alone
among the wild animals.
Then Dometian said threateningly: "If you worship the Nazarene, I shall
subject you to fierce tortures at Nazareth, and you will renounce Christ."
When asked what kind of magic he used to tame wild beasts, St Zosimas
replied, "I am a Christian." At Nazareth the tortures began. They tied the
Elder head downwards, with a large stone around his neck, and they began to
lacerate his body with iron hooks.
The torturers taunted the sufferer: "If the beasts do listen to you, tell
one of them to come here, and then we will believe in your God." The holy
martyr turned to God in prayer, and suddenly a huge lion came forth.
Everyone fled in terror, and the lion went up to the Elder, and began to
lift the stone around the martyr's neck with its paw in order to ease the
suffering of the saint. The governor implored the martyr to keep the lion
calm, and he gave orders to untie the saint, and to bring him to the
emperor, but St Zosimas was already dead, having given up his pure soul to
God.
September 18, 2008
Greatmartyr
and Prince Bidzina of Georgia
In the 17th
century the Persian aggressors razed churches, monasteries, and fortresses
and drove out thousands of Georgian families to resettle them in remote
provinces of Persia. The deserted territories were settled by Turkic tribes
from Central Asia. In the chronicle The Life of Kartli it is written:
“The name of Christ was not allowed to be uttered, except in a handful of
mountainous regions: Tusheti, Pshavi, and Khevsureti.”
But the All-merciful Lord aroused a strong desire in the valiant prince
Bidzina Choloqashvili of Kakheti and, together with Shalva and his uncle
Elizbar, princes of Aragvi and Ksani provinces, he led a struggle to
liberate Kakheti from the Tatars. (The Persian governor of Kakheti, Salim
Khan (1656–1664), had been encouraging the Tatar tribesmen to profane the
Christian churches.)
Fearing that the enemy, who had already conquered Kakheti, would soon move
in and also dominate Kartli, the princes Bidzina, Shalva, and Elizbar united
the forces of those two regions in preparation for the attack.
After much deliberation, Bidzina announced his intention to his
father-in-law, Prince Zaal of Aragvi. Zaal’s soul was spiritually pained by
the countless misfortunes and injustices his country had suffered, and he
quickly pledged his support for the effort. He agreed to participate in the
insurrection anonymously, while the Ksani rulers Shalva and Elizbar would
command the armies.
On the moonless night of September 15, 1659, the feast of the Alaverdi
Church (The feast of St. Joseph of Alaverdi) the united army of all eastern
Georgia assembled and crossed over the mountains, past the village of
Akhmeta, and launched a surprise attack on the Persians from Bakhtrioni
Fortress and Alaverdi Church. The invader’s armies were so utterly crushed
that their leader, Salim Khan, the Persian governor of Kakheti, barely
succeeded in escaping from the avengers, after he had abandoned his family
and army.
The victorious Georgian army offered prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord God
and Great-martyr George, the protector of the Georgian people, who had
appeared visibly to all during the battle, riding his white horse like a
flash of lightning and leading the Georgians to victory.
The joy was great but short lived. The furious Shah Abbas II (1642–1667)
ordered King Vakhtang V of Kartli (1658–1675) to deliver to him those who
had instigated the insurrection.
Certain that they would receive no mercy from the shah, Georgia’s heroic
liberators nevertheless set out for Persia without complaint. The shah
received them with respect and generously bestowed gifts upon them, but then
demanded that they renounce the Christian Faith. Neither bribery nor
flattery would break their will, so the shah ordered his servants to arrest
and torture them, strip off their clothing, and cast them, bound, under the
blazing sun. Tormented by thirst and insect stings, the martyrs were
periodically tempted to renounce Christ, but with God’s help they resisted
every temptation.
Finally the enraged Salim Khan, the vassal of Shah Abbas, ordered the
beheading of Elizbar and Shalva, hoping by this to break Bidzina’s resolve.
But his efforts were in vain. “There is nothing sweeter than death for
Christ’s sake!” Bidzina proclaimed.
The Ksani princes calmly bowed their heads, but the undersized executioners
could not reach the stately princes with their swords. So the shah’s
henchmen hacked each of the princes in two at the shins, then decapitated
them after they had fallen to an accessible height.
But even the murder of his companions would not cause St. Bidzina’s will to
waver. So the enemies resolved to break his will by mockery. They draped the
bound prince in a chadar (the veil worn by Muslim women), seated him on a
donkey, and paraded him through the streets. Then they began to butcher him
alive. One by one they cut off his fingers and toes, then they chopped off
his hands and feet, then his arms and legs, until only his head remained
unharmed. It was clear from the movement of his lips that the holy martyr
was praying.
Then one of the persecutors pierced his heart with a spear. This happened in
the year 1661. The mutilated bodies of the holy martyrs remained under the
open sky for one day, and no one was permitted to go near them. During the
night they were illumined by a brilliant light.
Then a group of Christians secretly buried the saints’ remains. Several
years later St. Shalva’s wife Ketevan and son David sent several of the
faithful to Persia to bring back their relics. Crowds of believers gathered
at the Kartli border to meet the holy relics and accompany them with hymns
of rejoicing to their final resting place at the Ikorta Church of the
Archangels.
September 17, 2008
Martyr Sophia and her three daughters at Rome
The Holy Martyrs
Saint Sophia and her Daughters Faith, Hope and Love were born in Italy.
Their mother was a pious Christian widow who named her daughters for the
three Christian virtues. Faith was twelve, Hope was ten, and Love was nine.
St Sophia raised them in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. St Sophia and
her daughters did not hide their faith in Christ, but openly confessed it
before everyone.
An official named Antiochus denounced them to the emperor Hadrian (117-138),
who ordered that they be brought to Rome. Realizing that they would be taken
before the emperor, the holy virgins prayed fervently to the Lord Jesus
Christ, asking that He give them the strength not to fear torture and death.
When the holy virgins and their mother came before the emperor, everyone
present was amazed at their composure. They looked as though they had been
brought to some happy festival, rather than to torture. Summoning each of
the sisters in turn, Hadrian urged them to offer sacrifice to the goddess
Artemis. The young girls remained unyielding.
Then the emperor ordered them to be tortured. They burned the holy virgins
over an iron grating, then threw them into a red-hot oven, and finally into
a cauldron with boiling tar, but the Lord preserved them.
The youngest child, Love, was tied to a wheel and they beat her with rods
until her body was covered all over with bloody welts. After undergoing
unspeakable torments, the holy virgins glorified their Heavenly Bridegroom
and remained steadfast in the Faith.
They subjected St Sophia to another grievous torture: the mother was forced
to watch the suffering of her daughters. She displayed adamant courage, and
urged her daughters to endure their torments for the sake of the Heavenly
Bridegroom. All three maidens were beheaded, and joyfully bent their necks
beneath the sword.
In order to intensify St Sophia's inner suffering, the emperor permitted her
to take the bodies of her daughters. She placed their remains in coffins and
loaded them on a wagon. She drove beyond the city limits and reverently
buried them on a high hill. St Sophia sat there by the graves of her
daughters for three days, and finally she gave up her soul to the Lord. Even
though she did not suffer for Christ in the flesh, she was not deprived of a
martyr's crown. Instead, she suffered in her heart. Believers buried her
body there beside her daughters.
The relics of the holy martyrs have rested at El'zasa, in the church of Esho
since the year 777.
September 16, 2008
Greatmartyr Euphemia the All-praised
The Holy Great
Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised was the daughter of Christians, the senator
Philophronos and Theodosia. She suffered for Christ in the year 304 in the
city of Chalcedon, on the banks of the Bosphorus opposite Constantinople.
The Chalcedon governor Priscus circulated an order to all the inhabitants of
Chalcedon and its surroundings to appear at a pagan festival to worship and
offer sacrifice to an idol of Ares, threatening grave torments for anyone
who failed to appear. During this impious festival, 49 Christians were
hidden in one house, where they secretly attended services to the True God.
The young maiden Euphemia was also among those praying there. Soon the
hiding place of the Christians was discovered, and they were brought before
Priscus to answer for themselves. For nineteen days the martyrs were
subjected to various tortures and torments, but none of them wavered in
their faith nor consented to offer sacrifice to the idol. The governor,
beside himself with rage and not knowing any other way of forcing the
Christians to abandon their faith, sent them for trial to the emperor
Diocletian. He kept the youngest, the virgin Euphemia, hoping that she would
not remain strong if she were all alone.
St Euphemia, separated from her brethren in faith, fervently prayed the Lord
Jesus Christ, that He strengthen her in her impending ordeal. Priscus at
first urged the saint to recant, promising her earthly blessings, but then
he gave the order to torture her.
The martyr was tied to a wheel with sharp knives, which cut her body. The
saint prayed aloud, and as it happened, the wheel stopped by itself and
would not move even with all the efforts of the executioners. An angel of
the Lord, came down from Heaven, removed Euphemia from the wheel and healed
her of her wounds. The saint gave thanks unto the Lord with gladness.
Not perceiving the miracle that had occurred, the torturer ordered the
soldiers Victor and Sosthenes to take the saint to a red-hot oven. But the
soldiers, seeing two fearsome angels in the midst of the flames, refused to
carry out the order of the governor and became believers in the God Whom
Euphemia worshipped. Boldly proclaiming that they too were Christians,
Victor and Sosthenes bravely went to suffering. They were sent to be eaten
by wild beasts. During their execution, they cried out for mercy to God,
asking that the Lord would receive them into the Heavenly Kingdom. A
heavenly Voice answered their cries, and they entered into eternal life. The
beasts, however, did not even touch their bodies.
St Euphemia, cast into the fire by other soldiers, remained unharmed. With
the help of God she emerged unharmed after many other tortures and torments.
Ascribing this to sorcery, the governor gave orders to dig out a new pit,
and filling it with knives, he had it covered over with earth and grass, so
that the martyr would not notice the preparation for her execution.
Here also St Euphemia remained safe, easily passing over the pit. Finally,
they sentenced her to be devoured by wild beasts at the circus. Before
execution the saint began to implore that the Lord deem her worthy to die a
violent death. But none of the beasts, set loose at her in the arena,
attacked her. Finally, one of the she-bears gave her a small wound on the
leg, from which came blood, and immediately the holy Great Martyr Euphemia
died. During this time there was an earthquake, and both the guards and the
spectators ran in terror, so that the parents of the saint were able to take
up her body and reverently bury it not far from Chalcedon.
A majestic church was afterwards built over the grave of the Great Martyr
Euphemia. At this temple the sessions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council took
place in the year 451. At that time, the holy Great Martyr Euphemia
confirmed the Orthodox confession in a miraculous manner, and exposed the
Monophysite heresy. Details of this miracle are related under July 11.
With the taking of Chalcedon by the Persians in the year 617, the relics of
the holy Great Martyr Euphemia were transferred to Constantinople (in about
the year 620). During the Iconoclast heresy, the reliquary with the relics
of St Euphemia appears to have been thrown into the sea. Pious sailors
recovered them. They were afterwards taken to the Island of Lemnos, and in
the year 796 they were returned to Constantinople.
September 15, 2008
Martyr Porphyrius the Actor
The Holy Martyr
Porphyrius suffered during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363).
Porphyrius was an actor and on the emperor's birthday he was performing a
role at the theater, where he was supposed to mock the mystery of holy
Baptism.
During the play Porphyrius was immersed in water and said: "The servant of
God, Porphyrius, is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit." Through divine grace, he emerged from the water and
confessed himself a Christian. Julian ordered him to be tortured, and after
the torments, to be beheaded. This took place in the city of Ephesus in the
year 361.
September 12, 2008
Martyr Julian of Galatia
The Holy Martyr
Julian lived during the fourth century not far from the ancient city of
Ancyra. A report was made to the governor of the district of Galatia that
the Presbyter Julian was hiding in a certain cave with forty others of the
same persuasion, and that he was celebrating divine services there. They
arrested St Julian and demanded that he reveal where the remaining
Christians were hidden, but he refused.
The pagans ordered the holy priest to offer sacrifice to their gods, but he
would not consent to this, either. Then they stripped him and placed him on
a red-hot iron grate. The martyr signed himself with the Sign of the Cross,
and an angel of the Lord cooled the flame. St Julian remained unharmed.
When the governor asked who he was and how he had quenched the fire, the
martyr said: "I am a servant of God." The torturers brought forth an old
woman, the mother of the saint, and they threatened her that if she did not
persuade her son to offer sacrifice to idols, then they would torture her.
The brave woman answered that if they defiled her body against her will,
this would not make her guilty of sin before God. On the contrary, it would
constitute an act of martyrdom.
The humiliated torturers sent the old woman away, but they condemned St
Julian to death. In his prayer the saint gave fervent thanks to God and
asked that he be given strength to endure the sufferings. St Julian also
asked a special grace from God: that those who take earth from the place of
his burial be granted forgiveness of sins and deliverance from passions, and
that harmful insects and birds might not descend upon their fields.
Commending himself to God with the words: "Lord, accept my spirit in peace!"
the martyr bent his neck beneath the sword, and a Voice summoned the martyr
to the Heavenly Kingdom. This Voice was heard also by those Christians who
had hidden themselves in the cave. Emboldened, they come forth to the place
of St Julian's sufferings, but they found him already dead. They all
confessed themselves to be Christians, and they were arrested and brought to
the governor, who ordered them beheaded.
September 11, 2008
Venerable Theodora of Alexandria
Saint Theodora
of Alexandria and her husband lived in Alexandria. Love and harmony ruled in
their family, and this was hateful to the Enemy of salvation. Goaded on by
the devil, a certain rich man was captivated by the youthful beauty of
Theodora and began with all his abilities to lead her into adultery, but for
a long time he was unsuccessful. Then he bribed a woman of loose morals, who
led the unassuming Theodora astray by saying that a secret sin, which the
sun does not see, is also unknown to God.
Theodora betrayed her husband, but soon came to her senses and realizing the
seriousness of her fall, she became furious with herself, slapping herself
on the face and tearing at her hair. Her conscience gave her no peace, and
Theodora went to a renowned abbess and told her about her transgression. The
abbess, seeing the repentance of the young woman, spoke to her of God's
forgiveness and reminded her of the the sinful woman in the Gospel, who
washed the feet of Christ with her tears and received from Him forgiveness
of her sins. In hope of the mercy of God, Theodora said: "I believe my God,
and from now on, I shall not commit such a sin, and I will strive to atone
for my deed."
At that moment St Theodora resolved to go off to a monastery to purify
herself by labor and by prayer. She left her home secretly, and dressing
herself in men's clothes, she went to a men's monastery, since she feared
that her husband would find her in a women's monastery.
The igumen of the monastery, in order to test the resolve of the newcomer,
would not even bless her to enter the courtyard. St Theodora spent the night
at the gates. In the morning, she fell down at the knees of the igumen, and
said her name was Theodore from Alexandria, and entreated him to let her
remain at the monastery for repentance and monastic labors. Seeing the
sincere intent of the newcomer, the igumen consented.
Even the experienced monks were amazed at Theodora's all-night prayers on
bended knee, her humility, endurance and self-denial. The saint labored at
the monastery for eight years. Her body, once defiled by adultery, now
became a vessel of the grace of God and a receptacle of the Holy Spirit.
Once, the saint was sent to Alexandria to buy provisions. After blessing her
for the journey, the igumen indicated that in case of a delay, she should
stay over at the Enata monastery, which was on the way. Also staying at the
guest house of the Enata monastery was the daughter of its igumen. She had
come to visit with her father. Attracted by the comeliness of the young
monk, she tried to seduce the monk Theodore into the sin of fornication, not
knowing that it was a woman standing before her. Meeting with refusal, she
committed sin with another guest and became pregnant. Meanwhile, the saint
bought the food and returned to her own monastery.
After a certain while the father of the shameless girl, realizing that a
transgression had occurred, began to question his daughter about the father
of the child. The girl indicated that it was the monk Theodore. The father
at once reported it to the Superior of the monastery where St Theodora
labored in asceticism. The igumen summoned the saint and repeated the
accusation. The saint firmly replied: "As God is my witness, I did not do
this." The igumen, knowing of Theodore's purity and holiness of life, did
not believe the accusation.
When the girl gave birth, the Enata monks brought the infant to the
monastery where the ascetic lived, and began to reproach its monks for an
unchaste life. But this time even the igumen believed the slanderous
accusation and became angry at the innocent Theodore. They entrusted the
infant into the care of the saint and threw her out of the monastery in
disgrace.
The saint humbly submitted to this new trial, seeing in it the expiation of
her former sin. She settled with the child not far from the monastery in a
hut. Shepherds, out of pity, gave her milk for the infant, and the saint
herself ate only wild vegetables.
Bearing her misfortune, the holy ascetic spent seven years in banishment.
Finally, at the request of the monks, the igumen allowed her to return to
the monastery with the child, and in seclusion she spent two years
instructing the child.
The igumen of the monastery received a revelation from God that the sin of
the monk Theodore was forgiven. The grace of God dwelt upon the monk
Theodore, and soon all the monks began to witness to the signs worked
through the prayers of the saint.
Once, during a drought, all the wells dried up. The igumen said to the
brethren that only Theodore would be able to reverse the misfortune. Having
summoned the saint, the igumen bade her to bring forth water, and the water
in the well did not dry up afterwards. The humble Theodore said that the
miracle was worked through the prayer and faith of the igumen.
Before her death, St Theodora shut herself in her cell with the child and
instructed him to love God above all things. She told him to obey the igumen
and the brethren, to preserve tranquility, to be meek and without malice, to
avoid obscenity and silliness, to love non-covetousness, and not to neglect
their communal prayer. After this, she prayed and, for the last time, she
asked the Lord to forgive her sins. The child also prayed together with her.
Soon the words of prayer faded from the lips of the ascetic, and she
peacefully departed to a better world.
The Lord revealed to the igumen the spiritual accomplishments of the saint,
and also her secret. The igumen, in order to remove any dishonor from the
deceased, in the presence of the igumen and brethren of the Enata monastery,
told of his vision and uncovered the bosom of the saint as proof.
The Enata igumen and brethren shrank back in terror at their great
transgression. Falling down before the body of the saint, with tears they
asked forgiveness of St Theodora. News of StTheodora reached her former
husband. He received monastic tonsure at this same monastery where his wife
had been. And the child, raised by the nun, also followed in the footsteps
of his foster-mother. Afterwards, he became igumen of this very monastery.
September 10, 2008
Martyr Menodora at Nicomedia
The Holy Virgins
Menodora, Nymphodora, and Metrodora (305-311), were sisters from Bithynia
(Asia Minor). Distinguished for their special piety, they wanted to preserve
their virginity and avoid worldly associations. They chose a solitary place
for themselves in the wilderness and spent their lives in deeds of fasting
and prayer.
Reports of the holy life of the virgins soon spread, since healings of the
sick began to occur through their prayers. The Bithynia region was governed
at that time by a man named Frontonus, who ordered that the sisters be
arrested and brought before him.
At first he tried to persuade them to renounce Christ, promising great
honors and rewards. But the holy sisters steadfastly confessed their faith
before him, rejecting all his suggestions. They told him that they did not
value the temporal things of this world, and that they were prepared to die
for their Heavenly Bridegroom, for death would be their gateway to eternal
life.
Flying into a rage, the governor took out his wrath on St Menodora, the
eldest sister. She was stripped of her clothes and beaten by four men, while
a herald urged her to offer sacrifice to the gods. The saint bravely endured
the torments and cried out, "Sacrifice? Can't you see that I am offering
myself as a sacrifice to my God?" Then they renewed their torments with even
greater severity. Then the martyr cried out, " Lord Jesus Christ, joy of my
heart, my hope, receive my soul in peace." With these words she gave up her
soul to God, and went to her Heavenly Bridegroom.
Four days later, they brought the two younger sisters Metrodora and
Nymphodora to the court. They showed them the battered body of their older
sister to frighten them. The virgins wept over her, but remained steadfast.
Then St Metrodora was tortured. She died, crying out to her beloved Lord
Jesus Christ with her last breath. Then they turned to the third sister,
Nymphodora. Before her lay the bruised bodies of her sisters. Frontonus
hoped that this sight would intimidate the young virgin.
Pretending that he was charmed by her youth and beauty, he urged her to
worship the pagan gods, promising great rewards and honors. St Nymphodora
scoffed at his words, and shared the fate of her older sisters. She was
tortured and beaten to death with iron rods.
The bodies of the holy martyrs were to be burned in a fire, but a heavy rain
extinguished the blazing fire, and lightning struck down Frontonus and his
servant. Christians took up the bodies of the holy sisters and reverently
buried them at the so-called Warm Springs at Pythias (Bithynia).
Part of the relics of the holy martyrs are preserved on Mt. Athos in the
Protection cathedral of the St Panteleimon Russian monastery, and the hand
of St Metrodora is on the Holy Mountain in the monastery of the Pantocrator.
September 9, 2008
Blessed Nicetas the Hidden of Constantinople
Saint Nicetas
the Hidden lived at Constantinople and occupied the position of "chartolarium"
("letter-writer"). They call him "the Hidden," because living in the world
amid the bustle of the city, with secret exploits of faith, he attained
spiritual perfection and was a great saint of God. His saintly life was
revealed through unusual circumstances.
Two friends, a certain priest and the deacon Sozon, had quarreled. The
priest died, and the deacon grieved that they had not been able to be
reconciled. He told an experienced Elder of the sin that tormented his
conscience. He gave Sozon a letter and ordered him to give it to the first
person whom he would meet at midnight at the temple of Hagia Sophia, the
Wisdom of God.
St Nicetas the Chartolarian appeared before him. Having read the letter, he
began weeping and said, that it made him responsible for this, and that it
was beyond his strength, but with the prayers of the Elder who had sent
Sozon, he would strive to accomplish this. Making a prostration before the
church doors, St Nicetas said: "Lord, open to us the doors of Thy mercy,"and
the doors of the temple flew open by themselves. Leaving the deacon at the
threshold, St Nicetas began to pray, and Sozon saw that he shone with a
strange light.
Afterwards they went from the church, and the doors again closed.
Approaching the church of the Blachernae Mother of God, St Nicetas again
began praying and again the doors opened in front of them. In the church
there shone a light, and from the altar came two rows of priests, among whom
Deacon Sozon recognized his dead friend. St Nicetas quietly said: "Father,
speak to your brother, and cease the enmity between you."
Immediately the priest and Deacon Sozon greeted each other. They embraced
one another with love and were reconciled. The priest went back, and the
doors closed by themselves. St Nicetas said to the deacon: "Brother Sozon,
save your soul both for your sake, and for my benefit. To the Father who
sent you, say that the purity of his holy prayers and his trust in God made
possible the return of the dead."
After these words St Nicetas became invisible to Sozon. Having returned to
his spiritual Father and Elder, the deacon thanked him with tears, that
through his prayers, the great hidden saint of God Nicetas the Chartolarian
had removed the sin from both the living and the dead.
September 8, 2008
The Nativity of our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God
and Ever-Virgin Mary
The Nativity of
Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary: The Most Holy Virgin Mary
was born at a time when people had reached such a degree of moral decay that
it seemed altogether impossible to restore them. People often said that God
must come into the world to restore faith and not permit the ruin of
mankind.
The Son of God chose to take on human nature for the salvation of mankind,
and chose as His Mother the All-Pure Virgin Mary, who alone was worthy to
give birth to the Source of purity and holiness.
The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary is
celebrated by the Church as a day of universal joy. Within the context of
the Old and the New Testaments, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary was born on
this radiant day, having been chosen before the ages by Divine Providence to
bring about the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. She is
revealed as the Mother of the Savior of the World, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Most Holy Virgin Mary was born in the small city of Galilee, Nazareth.
Her parents were Righteous Joachim of the tribe of the Prophet-King David,
and Anna from the tribe of the First Priest Aaron. The couple was without
child, since St Anna was barren.
Having reached old age, Joachim and Anna did not lose hope in God's mercy.
They had strong faith that for God everything is possible, and that He would
be able to overcome the barrenness of Anna even in her old age, as He had
once overcame the barrenness of Sarah, spouse of the Patriarch Abraham. Sts
Joachim and Anna vowed to dedicate the child which the Lord might give them,
to the service of God in the Temple.
Childlessness was considered among the Hebrew nation as a Divine punishment
for sin, and therefore the righteous Sts Joachim and Anna had to endure
abuse from their own countrymen. On one of the feastdays at the Temple in
Jerusalem the elderly Joachim brought his sacrifice to offer to God, but the
High Priest would not accept it, considering him to be unworthy since he was
childless.
St Joachim in deep grief went into the wilderness, and there he prayed with
tears to the Lord for a child. St Anna wept bitterly when she learned what
had happened at the Jerusalem Temple. Never once did she complain against
the Lord, but rather she prayed to ask God's mercy on her family.
The Lord fulfilled her petitions when the pious couple had attained to
extreme old age and prepared themselves by virtuous life for a sublime
calling: to be the parents of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the future Mother
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Archangel Gabriel brought Joachim and Anna the joyous message that their
prayers were heard by God, and of them would be born a most blessed daughter
Mary, through Whom would come the Salvation of all the World.
The Most Holy Virgin Mary surpassed in purity and virtue not only all
mankind, but also the angels. She was manifest as the living Temple of God,
so the Church sings in its festal hymns: "the East Gate... bringing Christ
into the world for the salvation of our souls" (2nd Stikhera on "Lord, I
Have Cried", Tone 6).
The Nativity of the Theotokos marks the change of the times when the great
and comforting promises of God for the salvation of the human race from
slavery to the devil are about to be fulfilled. This event has brought to
earth the grace of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of Truth, piety, virtue and
everlasting life. The Theotokos is revealed to all of us by grace as a
merciful Intercessor and Mother, to Whom we have recourse with filial
devotion.
September 5, 2008
Prophet Zachariah the father of St John the Baptist
The Holy Prophet
Zachariah and the Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet,
Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. They were descended from the
lineage of Aaron: St Zachariah, son of Barach, was a priest in the Jerusalem
Temple, and St Elizabeth was the sister of St Anna, the mother of the Most
Holy Theotokos. The righteous spouses, "walking in all the commandments of
the Lord (Luke 1:6), suffered barrenness, which in those times was
considered a punishment from God.
Once, during his turn of priestly service in the Temple, St Zachariah was
told by an angel that his aged wife would bear him a son, who "will be great
in the sight of the Lord" (Luke 1:15) and "will go before Him in the spirit
and power of Elias" (Luke 1:17).
Zachariah doubted that this prediction would come true, and for his weakness
of faith he was punished by becoming mute. When Elizabeth gave birth to a
son, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she announced that his name
was John, although no one in their family had this name.
They asked Zachariah and he also wrote the name John down on a tablet.
Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and inspired by the Holy
Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.
When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he
decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the
surrounding area, hoping that the new-born Messiah would be among them.
Herod knew about John's unusual birth and he wanted to kill him, fearing
that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the
infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth,
when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and
immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their
pursuers.
In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the
Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the
whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy
prophet, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (MT 23: 35).
Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and St John, preserved by the
Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation
of Israel.
On the Greek calendar, Sts Zachariah and Elizabeth are also commemorated on
June 24, the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist.
September 3, 2008
Hieromartyr Anthimus the Bishop of Nicomedia
The Hieromartyr
Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, and those with him suffered during the
persecution against Christians under the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and
Maximian (305-311). The persecution became particularly intense after a fire
at the imperial court at Nicomedia. The pagans accused the Christians of
setting the fire and reacted against them with terrible ferocity.
In Nicomedia alone, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, as many as twenty
thousand Christians were burned inside a church. However, this monstrous
inhumanity did not frighten the Christians, who firmly confessed their faith
and endured martyrdom for Christ.
Sts Dorotheus, Mardonius, Migdonius, Peter, Indes and Gorgonius died during
this period. One of them was beheaded by the sword, others perished by
burning, or being buried alive, or by drowning in the sea. The soldier Zeno
boldly denounced the emperor Maximian, for which he was stoned, and then
beheaded.
Then the holy Virgin Martyr Domna, a former pagan priestess, perished at the
hands of the pagans, and also St Euthymius, because of their concern that
the bodies of the holy martyrs should be buried. Bishop Anthimus, who headed
the Church of Nicomedia, hid himself in a village not far from Nicomedia at
the request of his flock. From there he sent letters to the Christians,
urging them to cleave firmly to the holy Faith and not to fear tortures.
One of his letters, sent with Deacon Theophilus, was intercepted and given
to the emperor Maximian. Theophilus was interrogated and died under torture,
without revealing to his torturers the whereabouts of Bishop Anthimus. After
a while Maximian managed to learn where St Anthimus was, and sent a
detachment of soldiers after him.
The bishop met them along the way, but the soldiers did not recognize the
saint. He invited them to join him and provided a meal, after which he
revealed that he was the one they sought. The soldiers did not know what to
do. They wanted to leave him and tell the emperor that they had not found
him. Bishop Anthimus was not one to tolerate a lie, and so he would not
consent to this.
The soldiers came to believe in Christ and received holy Baptism. The saint
ordered them to carry out the emperor's instructions. When Bishop Anthimus
was brought before the emperor, the emperor ordered that the instruments of
execution be brought out and placed before him. "Do you think, emperor, to
frighten me with these tools of execution?" asked the saint. "No indeed, you
cannot frighten one who wishes to die for Christ! Execution is frightening
only for the cowardly, for whom the present life is most precious." The
emperor then directed that the saint be fiercely tortured and beheaded by
the sword.
Bishop Anthimus joyfully glorified God with his last breath, and received
the crown of martyrdom. (See December 28 for another account of the
Nicomedian martyrs.)
September 2, 2008
Martyr Mamas of Caesarea in Cappadocia
The Holy Great
Martyr Mamas was born in Paphlagonia, Asia Minor in the third century of
pious and illustrious parents, the Christians Theodotus and Rufina. The
parents of the saint were arrested by the pagans for their open confession
of their faith and locked up in prison in Caesarea in Cappadocia.
Knowing his own bodily weakness, Theodotus prayed that the Lord would take
him before being subjected to tortures. The Lord heard his prayer and he
died in prison. St Rufina died also after him, after giving birth to a
premature son. She entrusted him to God, beseeching Him to be the Protector
and Defender of the orphaned infant.
God heard the dying prayer of St Rufina: a rich Christian widow named Ammia
reverently buried the bodies of Sts Theodotus and Rufina, and she took the
boy into her own home and raised him as her own son. St Mamas grew up in the
Christian Faith. His foster mother concerned herself with the developing of
his natural abilities, and early on she sent him off to study his grammar.
The boy learned easily and willingly. He was not of an age of mature
judgment but distinguished himself by maturity of mind and of heart. By
means of prudent conversations and personal example young Mamas converted
many of his own peers to Christianity.
The governor, Democritus, was informed of this, and the fifteen-year-old
Mamas was arrested and brought to trial. In deference to his illustrious
parentage, Democritus decided not to subject him to torture, but instead
sent him off to the emperor Aurelian (270-275). The emperor tried at first
kindly, but then with threats to turn St Mamas back to the pagan faith, but
all in vain. The saint bravely confessed himself a Christian and pointed out
the madness of the pagans in their worship of lifeless idols.
Infuriated, the emperor subjected the youth to cruel tortures. They tried to
drown the saint, but an angel of the Lord saved St Mamas and bade him live
on a high mountain in the wilderness, not far from Caesarea. Bowing to the
will of God, the saint built a small church there and began to lead a life
of strict temperance, in exploits of fasting and prayer.
Soon he received a remarkable power over the forces of nature: wild beasts
inhabiting the surrounding wilderness gathered at his abode and listened to
the reading of the Holy Gospel. St Mamas nourished himself on the milk of
wild goats and deer.
The saint did not ignore the needs of his neighbors. Preparing cheese from
this milk, he gave it away freely to the poor. Soon the fame of St Mamas's
life spread throughout all of Caesarea.
The governor sent a detachment of soldiers to arrest him. When they
encountered St Mamas on the mountain, the soldiers did not recognize him,
and mistook him for a simple shepherd. The saint then invited them to his
dwelling, gave them a drink of milk and then told them his name, knowing
that death for Christ awaited him. The servant of God told the servant of
the Emperor to go on ahead of him into Caesaria, promising that he would
soon follow. The soldiers waited for him at the gates of the city, and St
Mamas, accompanied by a lion, met them there.
Surrendering himself into the hands of the torturers, St Mamas was brought
to trial under a deputy governor named Alexander, who subjected him to
intense and prolonged tortures. They did not break the saint's will,
however. He was strengthened by the words addressed to him from above: "Be
strong and take courage, Mamas."
When they threw St Mamas to the wild beasts, these creatures would not touch
him. Finally, one of the pagan priests struck him with a trident. Mortally
wounded, St Mamas went out beyond the city limits. There, in a small stone
cave, he gave up his spirit to God, Who in the hearing of all summoned the
holy Martyr Mamas into His heavenly habitation. He was buried by believers
at the place of his death.
Christians soon began to receive help from him in their afflictions and
sorrows. St Basil the Great speaks thus about the holy Martyr Mamas in a
sermon to the people: "Remember the holy martyr, you who live here and have
him as a helper. You who call on his name have been helped by him. Those in
error he has guided into life. Those whom he has healed of infirmity, those
whose children were dead he has restored to life, those whose life he has
prolonged: let us all come together as one, and praise the martyr!"
September 1, 2008
St Simeon Stylites, the Elder
Saint Simeon the
Stylite was born in the Cappadocian village of Sisan of Christian parents,
Sisotian and Martha. At thirteen years of age he began to tend his father's
flock of sheep. He devoted himself attentively and with love to this, his
first obedience.
Once, after he heard the Beatitudes in church, he was struck by their
profundity. Not trusting to his own immature judgment, he turned therefore
with his questions to an experienced Elder. The Elder readily explained to
the boy the meaning of what he had heard. The seed fell on good soil, and it
strengthened his resolve to serve God.
When Simeon was eighteen, he received monastic tonsure and devoted himself
to feats of the strictest abstinence and unceasing prayer. His zeal, beyond
the strength of the other monastic brethren, so alarmed the igumen that he
told Simeon that to either moderate his ascetic deeds or leave the
monastery.
St Simeon then withdrew from the monastery and lived in an empty well in the
nearby mountains, where he was able to carry out his austere struggles
unhindered. After some time, angels appeared in a dream to the igumen, who
commanded him to bring back Simeon to the monastery.
The monk, however, did not long remain at the monastery. After a short while
he settled into a stony cave, situated not far from the village of Galanissa,
and he dwelt there for three years, all the while perfecting himself in
monastic feats. Once, he decided to spent the entire forty days of Great
Lent without food or drink. With the help of God, the monk endured this
strict fast. From that time he abstained from food completely during the
entire period of the Great Lent, even from bread and water. For twenty days
he prayed while standing, and for twenty days while sitting, so as not to
permit the corporeal powers to relax.
A whole crowd of people began to throng to the place of his efforts, wanting
to receive healing from sickness and to hear a word of Christian
edification. Shunning worldly glory and striving again to find his lost
solitude, the monk chose a previously unknown mode of asceticism. He went up
a pillar six to eight feet high, and settled upon it in a little cell,
devoting himself to intense prayer and fasting.
Reports of St Simeon reached the highest church hierarchy and the imperial
court. Patriarch Domninos II (441-448) of Antioch visited the monk,
celebrated Divine Liturgy on the pillar and communed the ascetic with the
Holy Mysteries.
Elders living in the desert heard about St Simeon, who had chosen a new and
strange form of ascetic striving. Wanting to test the new ascetic and
determine whether his extreme ascetic feats were pleasing to God, they sent
messengers to him, who in the name of these desert fathers were to bid St
Simeon to come down from the pillar.
In the case of disobedience they were to forcibly drag him to the ground.
But if he was willing to submit, they were to leave him on his pillar. St
Simeon displayed complete obedience and deep Christian humility. The monks
told him to stay where he was, asking God to be his helper.
St Simeon endured many temptations, and he invariably gained the victory
over them. He relied not on his own weak powers, but on the Lord Himself,
Who always came to help him. The monk gradually increased the height of the
pillar on which he stood. His final pillar was 80 feet in height. Around him
a double wall was raised, which hindered the unruly crowd of people from
coming too close and disturbing his prayerful concentration.
Women, in general, were not permitted beyond the wall. The saint did not
make an exception even for his own mother, who after long and unsuccessful
searches finally succeeded in finding her lost son. He would not see her,
saying, "If we are worthy, we shall see one another in the life to come." St
Martha submitted to this, remaining at the foot of the pillar in silence and
prayer, where she finally died. St Simeon asked that her coffin be brought
to him. He reverently bid farewell to his dead mother, and a joyful smile
appeared on her face.
St Simeon spent 80 years in arduous monastic feats, 47 years of which he
stood upon the pillar. God granted him to accomplish in such unusual
conditions an indeed apostolic service. Many pagans accepted Baptism, struck
by the moral staunchness and bodily strength which the Lord bestowed upon
His servant.
The first one to learn of the death of the saint was his close disciple
Anthony. Concerned that his teacher had not appeared to the people for three
days, he went up on the pillar and found the dead body stooped over at
prayer. Patriarch Martyrius of Antioch performed the funeral before a huge
throng of clergy and people. They buried him near his pillar. At the place
of his ascetic deeds, Anthony established a monastery, upon which rested the
special blessing of St Simeon.
We pray to St Simeon for the return to the Church of those who have forsaken
Her, or have been separated from Her.
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