Sunday, June 30, 2013

Apostle Thomas

Commemorated on June 30

The Synaxis of the Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ appears to be an ancient Feast. The Church honors each of the Twelve Apostles on separate dates during the year, and has established a general commemoration for all of them on the day after the commemoration of the Glorious and First-Ranked among the Apostles Peter and Paul.
The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Thomas is also commemorated on October 6 and
on the Sunday after Pascha.
For lists of the Apostles’ names, see: Mt.10:2, Mark 3:14, Luke 6:12, Acts 1:13, 26.

TROPARION-TONE 4

First-enthroned of the apostles, / teachers of the universe: / Entreat the Master of all / to grant peace to the world, / and to our souls great mercy!

KONTAKION- TONE 2

 Today Christ the Rock glorifies with highest honor / The rock of Faith and leader of the Apostles, / Together with Paul and the company of the twelve, / Whose memory we celebrate with eagerness of faith, / Giving glory to the one who gave glory to them!

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Saturday, June 29, 2013

The Saturday of Souls


Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
Only Creator who out of the depths of wisdom lovingly govern all things and upon all bestow what is accordingly best for them, give rest to the souls of Your servants, for they have placed their hope in You, our Author and Maker and God.


Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
Give rest, O Christ, among the Saints to the souls of Your servants, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no grieving, but life everlasting.


SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Friday, June 28, 2013

Venerable Xenophon the Abbot of Robeika, Novgorod



Saint Xenophon of Robeika was a student of St. Barlaam of Khutyn (+ 1192, November 6). He was the head of the Khutyn monastery after the igumen Isidore (+1243). Resigning as igumen, St. Xenophon founded the Trinity Monastery on the banks of the Robeika River (not far from Novgorod). Here he reposed blessedly on June 28, 1262.


SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Venerable Serapion of Kozhe Lake



Saint Serapion of Kozhe Lake was brought to Moscow among the Kazan Tatar captives in the year 1551. They called him Murza (Tatar-prince) Turtas Gravirovich. He was baptized with the name Sergius and lived in the home of the Moscow boyar Zachariah Plescheev. Sergius accepted the Christian Faith so sincerely, that he decided to devote himself entirely to God. In 1560, on a desolate island of Kozhe Lake, he encountered the hermit Niphon and stayed to live with him. At the fervent request of Sergius, Niphon tonsured him into monasticism with the name Serapion. In 1584, after the death of the monk Niphon, St Serapion set off for Moscow and asked Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (1584-1598) for a land deed for a monastery. After his return to the monastery, St Serapion and the brethren made a clearing in the forest and built two churches; one in honor of the Holy Theophany, and the other in honor of St Nicholas. Patriarch Job (+ 1607) provided St Serapion with antimensia for the altars. In 1608, when St Serapion had become old, he made his disciple Abramius the igumen in place of himself. St Serapion died in 1611 and was buried at a church of the Kozhe Lake monastery. In 1613 the monk Bogolep of Kozhe Lake wrote an account of the founding of the monastery and about its initial construction under St Serapion. He compiled also a Life of St Serapion.

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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Leavetaking of the Nativity of the Forerunner John the Baptist


June 25


Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
 
O Prophet and Forerunner of the presence of Christ, we who fervently honor you cannot worthily praise you. For by your revered and glorious birth the barrenness of your mother and the muteness of your father were unbound, and the incarnation of the Son of God is proclaimed to the world.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
 
She that once was barren doth today bring forth Christ's Forerunner, John, the culmination and the crown of all the Prophets. For when he, in River Jordan, laid his hand on Him Whom the Prophets preached aforetime, he was revealed as God the Word's fore-chosen Prophet, His mighty preacher, and His Forerunner in grace.



SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Monday, June 24, 2013

Monday of the Holy Spirit


Reading:
 
As it is the custom of the Church, on the day after every great Feast, to honour those through whom it came to pass our Lady on the day after the Lord's Nativity, Joachim and Anna after our Lady's Nativity, the holy Baptist the day after Theophany, and so forth, on this day we honour our God the All-holy Spirit, the Comforter promised by our Saviour to His disciples (John 14:16), Who descended upon them at holy Pentecost and guided them "into all truth" (ibid. 16:13), and through them, us.

Rest from labour.


Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
When the Most High came down and confounded tongues of men (Babel), He divided the Nations. When He dispensed the Tongues of Fire, He called all to unity, and with one voice we glorify the Most Holy Spirit.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Holy Pentecost


Reading:
 
After the Saviour's Ascension into the Heavens, the eleven Apostles and the rest of His disciples, the God-loving women who followed after Him from the beginning, His Mother, the most holy Virgin Mary, and His brethren-all together about 120 souls returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. Entering into the house where they gathered, they went into the upper room, and there they persevered in prayer and supplication, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, as their Divine Teacher had promised them. In the meanwhile, they chose Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas among the Apostles.

Thus, on this day, the seventh Sunday of Pascha, the tenth day after the Ascension and the fiftieth day after Pascha, at the third hour of the day from the rising of the sun, there suddenly came a sound from Heaven, as when a mighty wind blows, and it filled the whole house where the Apostles and the rest with them were gathered. Immediately after the sound, there appeared tongues of fire that divided and rested upon the head of each one. Filled with the Spirit, all those present began speaking not in their native tongue, but in other tongues and dialects, as the Holy Spirit instructed them.

The multitudes that had come together from various places for the feast, most of whom were Jews by race and religion, were called Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and so forth, according to the places where they dwelt. Though they spoke many different tongues, they were present in Jerusalem by divine dispensation. When they heard that sound that came down from Heaven to the place where the disciples of Christ were gathered, all ran together to learn what had taken place. But they were confounded when they came and heard the Apostles speaking in their own tongues. Marvelling at this, they said one to another, "Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" But others, because of their foolishness and excess of evil, mocked the wonder and said that the Apostles were drunken.

Then Peter stood up with the eleven, and raising his voice, spoke to all the people, proving that that which had taken place was not drunkenness, but the fulfilment of God's promise that had been spoken by the Prophet Joel: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that I shall pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28), and he preached Jesus of Nazareth unto them, proving in many ways that He is Christ the Lord, Whom the Jews crucified but God raised from the dead. On hearing Peter's teaching, many were smitten with compunction and received the word. Thus, they were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added to the Faith of Christ.

Such, therefore, are the reasons for today's feast: the coming of the All-holy Spirit into the world, the completion of the Lord Jesus Christ's promise, and the fulfilment of the hope of the sacred disciples, which we celebrate today. This is the final feast of the great mystery and dispensation of God's incarnation. On this last, and great, and saving day of Pentecost, the Apostles of the Saviour, who were unlearned fishermen, made wise now of a sudden by the Holy Spirit, clearly and with divine authority spoke the heavenly doctrines. They became heralds of the truth and teachers of the whole world. On this day they were ordained and began their apostleship, of which the salvation of those three thousand souls in one day was the comely and marvellous first fruit.

Some erroneously hold that Pentecost is the "birthday of the Church." But this is not true, for the teaching of the holy Fathers is that the Church existed before all other things. In the second vision of The Shepherd of Hermas we read: "Now brethren, a revelation was made unto me in my sleep by a youth of exceeding fair form, who said to me, 'Whom thinkest thou the aged woman, from whom thou receivedst the book, to be?' I say, 'The Sibyl.' 'Thou art wrong,' saith he, 'she is not.' 'Who then is she?' I say. 'The Church,' saith he. I said unto him, 'Wherefore then is she aged?' 'Because,' saith he, 'she was created before all things; therefore is she aged, and for her sake the world was framed."' Saint Gregory the Theologian also speaks of "the Church of Christ ... both before Christ and after Christ" (PG 35:1108-9). Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus writes, "The Catholic Church, which exists from the ages, is revealed most clearly in the incarnate advent of Christ" (PG 42:640). Saint John Damascene observes, "The Holy Catholic Church of God, therefore, is the assembly of the holy Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs who have been from the very beginning, to whom were added all the nations who believed with one accord" (PG 96, 1357c). According to Saint Gregory the Theologian, "The Prophets established the Church, the Apostles conjoined it, and the Evangelists set it in order" (PG 35, 589 A). The Church existed from the creation of the Angels, for the Angels came into existence before the creation of the world, and they have always been members of the Church. Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, says in his second epistle to the Corinthians, the Church "was created before the sun and moon"; and a little further on, "The Church existeth not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning" (II Cor. 14).

That which came to pass at Pentecost, then, was the ordination of the Apostles, the commencement of the apostolic preaching to the nations, and the inauguration of the priesthood of the new Israel. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that "Our Lord Jesus Christ herein ordained the instructors and teachers of the world and the stewards of His divine Mysteries ... showing together with the dignity of Apostleship, the incomparable glory of the authority given them ... Revealing them to be splendid with the great dignity of the Apostleship and showing them forth as both stewards and priests of the divine altars . . . they became fit to initiate others through the enlightening guidance of the Holy Spirit" (PG 74, 708-712). Saint Gregory Palamas says, "Now, therefore ... the Holy Spirit descended ... showing the Disciples to be supernal luminaries ... and the distributed grace of the Divine Spirit came through the ordination of the Apostles upon their successors" (Homily 24, 10). And Saint Sophronius, Bishop of Jerusalem, writes, "After the visitation of the Comforter, the Apostles became high priests" (PG 87, 3981B). Therefore, together with the baptism of the Holy Spirit which came upon them who were present in the upper chamber, which the Lord had foretold as recorded in the Acts, "ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence" (Acts 1:5), the Apostles were also appointed and raised to the high priestly rank, according to Saint John Chrysostom (PG 60, 21). On this day commenced the celebration of the Holy Eucharist by which we become "partakers of the Divine Nature" (II Peter 1:4). For before Pentecost, it is said of the Apostles and disciples only that they abode in "prayer and supplication" (Acts 1:14); it is only after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they persevered in the "breaking of bread,"that is, the communion of the Holy Mysteries-"and in prayer" (Acts 2:42).

The feast of holy Pentecost, therefore, determined the beginning of the priesthood of grace, not the beginning of the Church. Henceforth, the Apostles proclaimed the good tidings "in country and town," preaching and baptizing and appointing shepherds, imparting the priesthood to them whom they judged were worthy to minister, as Saint Clement writes in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (I Cor. 42).

All foods are allowed during the week following Pentecost.


Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
When the Most High came down and confounded tongues of men (Babel), He divided the Nations. When He dispensed the Tongues of Fire, He called all to unity, and with one voice we glorify the Most Holy Spirit.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Venerable Anastasia of Serbia

Commemorated on June 22

TROPARION- TONE 4

 Abundant in virtue, and adorned with meekness and piety, / you shone forth through the purity of your life; / therefore, you were granted the grace to be the mother of our people’s Luminary. / Thus, we cry aloud to you: “Rejoice, O venerable mother Anastasija!”

KONTAKION - TONE 4

Having been blessed by marriage, and living a life of sobriety, / you humbly taught your children to love God above all else. / As you now stand before Him, / intercede for us who cry aloud to you: / “Rejoice, O venerable mother Anastasija!”



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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Friday, June 21, 2013

The Apodosis of the Feast of the Holy Ascension


Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
 
O Christ our God, You ascended in Glory and gladdened Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Your blessing assured them that You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.


Kontakion in the Plagal of the Second Tone
 
O Christ our God, upon fulfilling Your dispensation for our sake, You ascended in Glory, uniting the earthly with the heavenly. You were never separate but remained inseparable, and cried out to those who love You, "I am with you and no one is against you."




SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

St Nahum of Ochrid, the Disciple of St Cyril and Methodius, Equals of the Apostles

Commemorated on June 20

Saint Naum of Ochrid, a Bulgarian by descent, was one of the disciples of the holy Equals of the Apostles Cyril and Methodius (May 11), and he accompanied St Clement of Okhrid (July 27) when he preached the Gospel in Bulgaria. When St Clement set off to the southwestern regions, St Naum remained in the then capital city of Plisk. Afterwards St Naum succeeded St Clement in a monastery on the shores of Lake Okhrida, where he labored for ten years.

St Naum reposed on December 23, 910, and his relics were glorified by numerous miracles, especially healings of spiritual infirmities. The memory of the saint is also celebrated on December 23.



SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Thaddeus (Jude) the Apostle & Brother of Our Lord


June 19


Reading:
 
The Apostle Jude was of the choir of the Twelve, and by Luke was called Jude, the brother of James the Brother of God (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13), and therefore also a kinsman of the Lord according to His humanity. But by Matthew (10:3), he is called Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddeus (he is not the Thaddeus who healed the suffering of Abgar, as Eusebius says in his Eccl. Hist., 1:13; see Aug. 21). Saint Jude preached in Mesopotamia, Arabia, Idumea, and Syria, and, it is said, completed the path of his divine apostleship by martyrdom in Beirut in the year 80. Written after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, his is the last of the Catholic (General) Epistles to the believing Jews in the Diaspora. His name (a variant of Judah) means "Praise."

Apolytikion in the First Tone
 
We know thee as a kinsman of Christ and we laud thee with sacred hymns and songs as a most steadfast Martyr who trampled on error and who courageously kept the Faith. As we celebrate today thy holy remembrance, we receive forgiveness of our sins and transgressions, O Jude, through thy holy prayers.

Kontakion in the First Tone
 
Sprung from a noble root, thou art risen before us, a branch bestowed by God, ever feeding the whole world upon the fruits of thy words, O eyewitness of God the Lord, O thou brother of our God, and Christ's all-wise herald, who hast taught the Lord's pure Orthodox Faith to all men, initiate of His grace.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Leontius, Hypatius, & Theodulus the Martyrs of Syria

June 18


Reading:
 
This Martyr was from Greece. Being of great bodily stature and strength, he was an illustrious soldier in the Roman legions who had won many victories, and was known for his prudence and sobriety of mind. When it was learned that he gave grain to the poor from the imperial stores, and was moreover a Christian, Hadrian the Governor of Phoenicia sent Hypatius, a tribune, and Theodulus, a soldier, to arrest him. Saint Leontius converted them on the way to Tripolis in Phoenicia, where Hypatius and Theodulus were tormented and beheaded by Hadrian for their confession of Christ. Then Hadrian with many flatteries and many torments strove to turn Leontius from Christ. All his attempts failing, he had Leontius put to such tortures that he died in the midst of them, under Vespasian in the year 73.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
 
Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received the prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
 
Thou didst wholly put to shame the tyrants' wicked opinions and didst mightily rebuke the Greeks' ungodly religion; with the doctrines of true rev'rence, thou madest shine forth godly knowledge for all men, O wise Leontius, thou most godly-minded Martyr; wherefore with longing we keep thy mem'ry today.

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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Monday, June 17, 2013

Isaurus the Holy Martyr & his Companions of Athens

June 17


Reading:
 
The holy Martyr Isaurus, a deacon, and Basil and Innocent were from Athens. In the reign of Numerian (283-284), they came to Apollonia (most likely, the city in Illyricum); there encountering Felix, Peregrinus, and Hermias hidden in a cave, they strengthened them in their Faith. Betrayed to Tripontius the Proconsul, all but Isaurus and Innocent were beheaded; these last two Tripontius gave over to his son, Apollonius, who tormented them, and then had them beheaded.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
 
Thy Martyrs, O Lord, in their courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since they possessed Thy strength, they cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by their prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Sunday, June 16, 2013

St Kaikhosro the Georgian

Commemorated on June 16

The life of St. Kaikhosro the Georgian has been passed down to our century in the works of Archbishop Timote (Gabashvili), a famous Church figure and historian of the 18th century.

In a passage describing the frescoes and commemoration books of the Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem, Bishop Timote writes that an image of St. Kaikhosro the Georgian is among the sacred
frescoes.

According to the commemoration books of the Holy Cross Monastery, St. Kaikhosro the Georgian was tortured to death by Shah Abbas I in 1612 for his pious veneration of the holy icons.





SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Holy Prophet Elisseus (Elisha)


June 14


Reading:
 
The Prophet Elisseus, the son of Saphat, was from the town of Abel-me-oul and had been a husbandman. In the year 908 B.C., at God's command, the Prophet Elias anointed him to be Prophet in his stead. This happened while Elisseus was plowing his land, having twelve oxen under yoke. Straightway, Elisseus slew the oxen and cooked them, using the wooden plough and the other instruments of husbandry as firewood; then he gave the oxen as food to the people. Bidding farewell to his parents, he followed Elias and served him until the latter was taken up as it were into Heaven (see July 20). When Elisseus received his teacher's mantle and the grace of his prophetic spirit twofold, he demonstrated whose disciple he was through the miracles he wrought and through all that is related of him in the Fourth Book of Kings. He departed full of days and was buried in Samaria, about the year 839 B.C. But even after his death God glorified him; for after the passage of a year, when some Israelites were carrying a dead man for burial and suddenly saw a band of Moabites, they cast the dead man on the grave of the Prophet. No sooner had the dead man touched the Prophet's bones, than he came to life and stood on his feet (IV Kings 13:20-21). Mentioning this, Jesus the Son of Sirach says, "He did wonders in his life, and at his death his works were marvelous" (Ecclus. 48:14). It is because of such marvels that the faithful have reverence for the relics of the Saints (see also Jan. 16). His name means "God is savior."

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
 
The incarnate Angel, the Cornerstone of the Prophets, the second Forerunner of the Coming of Christ, the glorious Elias (Elijah), who from above, sent down to Elisha the grace to dispel sickness and cleanse lepers, abounds therefore in healing for those who honor him.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
 
A prophet of God didst thou become when worthily thou hadst been vouchsafed a double portion of God's grace as Elias' true companion, O Elisseus, divinely-blest; and with him, thou unceasingly entreatest Christ God in behalf of us all.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Venerable Sava the Abbot of Moscow

Commemorated on June 13

Saint Sava of Moscow succeeded St Andronicus as the igumen of the monastery of the Savior, dedicated to the Icon of Christ Not-Made-By Hands (August 16) in 1395. He died in 1410.









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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Venerable Onuphrius the Great

Commemorated on June 12

St Paphnutius, who led an ascetical life in the Thebaid desert in Egypt, has left us an account of St Onuphrius the Great and the Lives of other fourth century hermits: Timothy the Desert Dweller, the abbas Andrew, Charalampus, Theophilus, and others.

It occurred to St Paphnutius to go to the inner desert in order to see if there were a monk who labored for the Lord more than he did. He took a little bread and water and went into the most remote part of the desert. After four days he reached a cave and found in it the body of an Elder who had been dead for several years. Having buried the hermit, St Paphnutius went on farther. After several more days he found another cave, and from the marks in the sand he realized that the cave was inhabited. At sundown he saw a herd of buffalo and walking among them a man. This man was naked, but was covered with long hair as if with clothing. This was Abba Timothy the Desert-Dweller.

Seeing a fellow man, Abba Timothy thought that he was seeing an apparition, and he began to pray. St Paphnutius finally convinced the hermit that he was actually a living man and a fellow Christian. Abba Timothy prepared food and water for him. He related that he had been living in the desert for thirty years, and that St Paphnutius was the first man he had seen. In his youth, Timothy had lived in a cenobitic monastery, but he wanted to live alone. Abba Timothy left his monastery and went to live near a city, sustaining himself by the work of his own hands (he was a weaver). Once a woman came to him with an order and he fell into sin with her. Having come to his senses, the fallen monk went far into the desert, where he patiently endured tribulation and sickness. When he was at the point of dying from hunger, he received healing in a miraculous manner.

From that time Abba Timothy had lived peacefully in complete solitude, eating dates from the trees, and quenching his thirst with water from a spring. St Paphnutius besought the Elder that he might remain with him in the wilderness. But he was told that he would be unable to bear the demonic temptations which beset desert-dwellers. Instead, he supplied him with dates and water, and blessed him to go on his way.
Having rested at a desert monastery, St Paphnutius undertook a second journey into the innermost desert, hoping to find another holy ascetic who would profit his soul. He went on for seventeen days, until his supply of bread and water was exhausted. St Paphnutius collapsed twice from weakness, and an angel strengthened him.

On the seventeenth day St Paphnutius reached a hilly place and sat down to rest. Here he caught sight of a man approaching him, who was covered from head to foot with white hair and girded his loins with leaves of desert plants. The sight of the Elder frightened Abba Paphnutius, and he jumped up and fled up the hill. The Elder sat down at the foot of the hill. Lifting his head, he saw St Paphnutius, and called him to come down. This was the great desert-dweller, Abba Onuphrius. At the request of St Paphnutius, he told him about himself.

St Onuphrius had lived in complete isolation in the wilds of the wilderness for sixty years. In his youth he had been raised at the Eratus monastery near the city of Hermopolis. Having learned from the holy Fathers about the hardships and lofty life of the desert-dwellers, to whom the Lord sent help through His angels, St Onuphrius longed to imitate their exploits. He secretly left the monastery one night and saw a brilliant ray of light before him. St Onuphrius became frightened and decided to go back, but the voice of his Guardian Angel told him to go into the desert to serve the Lord.

After walking six or seven miles, he saw a cave. At that moment the ray of light vanished. In the cave was an old man. St Onuphrius stayed with him to learn of his manner of life and his struggle with demonic temptations. When the Elder was convinced that St Onuphrius had been enlightened somewhat, he then led him to another cave and left him there alone to struggle for the Lord. The Elder visited him once a year, until he fell asleep in the Lord.

At the request of St Paphnutius, Abba Onuphrius told him of his labors and ascetic feats, and of how the Lord had cared for him. Near the cave where he lived was a date-palm tree and a spring of pure water issued forth. Twelve different branches of the palm tree bore fruit each month in succession, and so the monk endured neither hunger nor thirst. The shade of the palm tree sheltered him from the noonday heat. An angel brought Holy Communion to the saint each Saturday and Sunday, and to the other desert-dwellers as well.

The monks conversed until evening, when Abba Paphnutius noticed a loaf of white bread lying between them, and also a vessel of water. After eating, he Elders spent the night in prayer. After the singing of the morning hymns, St Paphnutius saw that the face of the venerable Onuphrius had become transformed, and that frightened him. St Onuphrius said, “God, Who is Merciful to all, has sent you to me so that you might bury my body. Today I shall finish my earthly course and depart to my Christ, to live forever in eternal rest.” St Onuphrius then asked Abba Paphnutius to remember him to all the brethren, and to all Christians.

St Paphnutius wanted to remain there after the death of Abba Onuphrius. However, the holy ascetic told him that it was not God’s will for him to stay there, he was to return to his own monastery instead and tell everyone about the virtuous lives of the desert-dwellers. Having then blessed Abba Paphnutius and bid him farewell, St Onuphrius prayed with tears and sighs, and then he lay down upon the earth, uttering his final words, “Into Thy hands, my God, I commend my spirit,” and died.

St Paphnutius wept and tore off a portion of his garment, and with it covered the body of the great ascetic. He placed it in the crevice of a large rock, which was hollow like a grave, and covered it over with a multitude of small stones. Then he began to pray that the Lord would permit him to remain in that place until the end of his life. Suddenly, the cave fell in, the palm tree withered, and the spring of water dried up. Realising that he had not been given a blessing to remain, St Paphnutius set out on his return journey.

After four days Abba Paphnutius reached a cave, where he met an ascetic, who had lived in the desert for more than 60 years. Except for the two other Elders, with whom he labored, this monk had seen no one in all that time. Each week these three had gone on their solitary paths into the wilderness, and on Saturday and Sunday they gathered for psalmody, and ate the bread which an angel brought them. Since it was Saturday, they had gathered together. After eating the bread provided by the angel, they spent the whole night at prayer. As he was leaving, St Paphnutius asked the names of the Elders, but they said, “God, Who knows everything, also knows our names. Remember us, that we may see one another in God’s heavenly habitations.”

Continuing on his way, St Paphnutius came upon an oasis which impressed him with its beauty and abundance of fruit-bearing trees. Four youths inhabiting this place came to him from out of the wilderness. The youths told Abba Paphnutius that in their childhood they had lived in the city of Oxyrhynchus (Upper Thebaid) and they had studied together. They had burned with the desire to devote their lives to God. Making their plans to go off into the desert, the young men left the city and after several days’ journey, they reached this place.

A man radiant with heavenly glory met them and led them to a desert Elder. “We have lived here six years already,” said the youths. “Our Elder dwelt here one year and then he died. Now we live here alone, we eat the fruit of the trees, and we have water from a spring.” The youths gave him their names, they were Sts John, Andrew, Heraklemon and Theophilus (Dec. 2).

The youths struggled separately the whole week long, but on Saturday and Sunday they gathered at the oasis and offered up common prayer. On these days an angel would appear and commune them with the Holy Mysteries. This time however, for Abba Paphnutius’ sake, they did not go off into the desert, but spent the whole week together at prayer. On the following Saturday and Sunday St Paphnutius together with the youths was granted to receive the Holy Mysteries from the hands of the angel and to hear these words, “Receive the Imperishable Food, unending bliss and life eternal, the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, our God.”

St Paphnutius made bold to ask the angel for permission to remain in the desert to the end of his days. The angel replied that God had decreed another path for him. He was to return to Egypt and tell the Christians of the life of the desert-dwellers.

Having bid farewell to the youths, St Paphnutius reached the edge of the wilderness after a three day journey. Here he found a small skete, and the brethren received him with love. Abba Paphnutius related everything that he had learned about the holy Fathers whom he had encountered in the desert. The brethren wrote a detailed account of what St Paphnutius said, and deposited it in the church, where all who wished to do so could read it. St Paphnutius gave thanks to God, Who had granted him to learn about the exalted lives of the hermits of the Thebaid, and he returned to his own monastery.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Barnabas the Holy Apostle


June 11


Reading:
 
Saint Barnabas, one of the Seventy, was from Cyprus, of the tribe of Levi, and a fellow disciple with Paul under Gamaliel. He was called Joses, but was renamed Barnabas, which means "son of consolation," perhaps to distinguish him from the Joses called Barsabas and surnamed Justus (Acts 1:23). Saint Barnabas had a field, which he sold and brought the money to the Apostles (Acts 4:36-37). Before the conversion of Saul to Paul, it was Barnabas who was the leader of the Seventy Apostles, the first in preaching and chief spokesman. After Saul's vision on the road to Damascus, it was Barnabas who joined him to the Apostles when the others, because of Saul's reputation as a persecutor of the Church, still feared him (Acts 9:26-27); again it was Saint Barnabas who conscripted Paul as a preacher, bringing him from Tarsus to Antioch after the stoning of Stephen, to assist in spreading the Gospel (Acts 11:25-26). Saint Barnabas preached the Gospel in many places, traveled together with Paul, and finally was stoned to death by the Jews in his native Cyprus. During the reign of Zeno, in the year 478, his sacred relics were found, having on his chest the Gospel according to Matthew written in Greek by Barnabas' own hand. This Gospel was brought to Zeno. Because of this the Church of Cyprus received the right of autonomy, and its archbishop was given the privilege, like the emperor, of signing his decrees and encyclicals in vermilion.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
 
O Holy Apostles, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
 
To thy Lord, O Barnabas, thou wast a genuine servant; and among the Seventy Apostles, thou wast the foremost; and with Paul, thou shonest brightly in thy wise preaching, making known unto all men Christ Jesus, the Saviour. For this cause, we celebrate thy divine memorial with hymns and spiritual songs.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Monday, June 10, 2013

Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan

Commemorated on June 10

The Uncovering and Transfer of the Holy Relics of Saint Basil, Bishop of Ryazan (July 3), was done by Archbishop Theodoret of Ryazan (1605-1617). It pleased Divine Providence during the Time of Troubles to glorify St Basil. The uncovering of his relics and their transfer into the Ryazan-Dormition (afterwards Nativity) church in the Kremlin of Ryazan-Pereslavl took place on July 10, 1609. This had been the cathedral church from the time of the Ryazan bishop Jonah II (1522-1547). The relics of St Basil were placed in a reliquary at the left kleros, beside the iconostasis. A troparion and kontakion were then composed. From that time the name of St Basil was “commemorated throughout all the churches of the Ryazan diocese.” People had recourse to him as to “their constant intercessor, a helper in sorrow and peril.” Under Archbishop Moses (1638-1651), a stone crypt was built over the relics of St Basil in 1638, and over it was put the Murom Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “the Supplication of Basil.”

During this period services of thanksgiving to St Basil were served in the Ryazan churches. The first solemn celebration of the transfer of the relics of the saint took place on June 10, 1645 under Archbishop Moses. Especially fervent in veneration of the Ryazan hierarch was Archbishop Misael (1651-1655). By his command, in 1653, an inscription was made on a large silver vessel for the blessing of water, “This cup is from Ryazan-Pereslavl, in the cathedral church of the Dormition and the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb, and our Father among the saints Basil, Bishop of Ryazan, Wonderworker”.

In 1655 St Basil was depicted upon a silver cross together with St John the Forerunner and St Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow. In 1712 during the time of Metropolitan Stephen Yavorsky, a stone chapel was constructed over the original burial place of St Basil, at the Borisoglebsk church , through the zeal of the clerk Nikita Altukhov. In the years 1722-1723 under Tsar Peter I a formal investigation of the saint was conducted, after which St Basil was depicted upon an icon together with other Russian saints. Metropolitan Demetrius (Sechenov) of Novgorod, during his time as Bishop of Ryazan (1752-1757) compiled the service to St Basil, “having in mind first of all the writing of the troparion, kontakion and canon”.

Through his efforts a new crypt was constructed over the relics of St Basil, containing a reliquary with an icon of the saint. In 1782 the reliquary was elegantly adorned by the Archbishop of Ryazan and Zaraisk, Simon (Lagova) (1778-1804). In 1810 under the Ryazan and Zaraisk archbishop Theophylakt (Rusanov), a decree of the Holy Synod was promulgated concerning the celebration of St Basil on the Sunday of All Saints. On October 4, 1836 a new memorial was unveiled at the spot of the uncovering of the relics of St Basil. It was set up through the zeal of the churchwarden of the Borisoglebsk church, Simeon Panov. In 1871, Archbishop Alexis (Rzhanitsky, 1867-1876) served the Divine Liturgy at the Borisoglebsk church on the Feast day of St Basil, July 3, for the first time.

Under Archbishop Palladius (Raev, 1876-1882) the Holy Synod in 1881 appointed the following days for commemoration of St Basil: July 3, the day of his blessed repose, and June 10, the day of the transfer of his holy relics. Even today, St Basil is especially venerated in the Ryazan lands. In each temple of the Ryazan diocese there is his icon. In the majority of the churches, moreover, is found a mural of the saint sailing along on the water on his mantiya with the Murom Icon of the Mother of God in hand. In the cathedral church each Wednesday evening an Akathist is sung to him.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Sunday, June 09, 2013

Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria


June 9


Reading:
 
On this day we commemorate Saint Cyril's falling asleep. On January 18 we commemorate the occasion of the Saint's restoration to his see in Alexandria after he had suffered a brief exile because of the machinations of the Nestorians. Shortly thereafter the Third Ecumenical Council was convoked in Ephesus and the blasphemous doctrine of Nestorius was condemned. See January 18 for Saint Cyril's life and works.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
You are a guide of Orthodoxy, a teacher of piety and modesty, a luminary of the world, the God inspired pride of monastics. O wise Cyril, you have enlightened everyone by your teachings. You are the harp of the Spirit. Intercede to Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
 
Thou with the power of Christ Saviour's divine words didst rend asunder all the webs of the heresies and didst enrich the Church by cutting down the tares of profane Nestorius, O our blest Father Cyril; wherefore, in Christ's presence now with the choirs of the Angels thou intercedest fervently with Him to grant forgiveness of failings to all of us.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Saturday, June 08, 2013

Removal of the Relics of Theodore the Commander


June 8


Reading:
 
The holy Martyr Theodore was from Euchaita of Galatia and dwelt in Heraclea of Pontus. He was a renowned commander in the military, and the report came to the Emperor Licinius that he was a Christian and abominated the idols. Licinius therefore sent certain men to him from Nicomedia, to honor him and ask him to appear before him. Through them, however, Saint Theodore sent back a message that it was necessary for various reasons, that Licinius come to Heraclea. Licinius, seeing in this a hope of turning Saint Theodore away from Christ did as was asked of him.

When the Emperor came to Heraclea, Saint Theodore met him with honor, and the Emperor in turn gave Theodore his hand, believing that through him he would be able to draw the Christians to the worship of his idols. Seated upon his throne in the midst of the people, he publicly bade Theodore offer sacrifice to the gods. But Theodore asked that the emperor entrust him with the most venerable of his gods, those of gold and silver, that he might take them home and himself attend upon them that evening, promising that the following day he would honor them in public. The Emperor, filled with joy at these tidings, gave command that Theodore's request be fulfilled.

When the Saint had taken the idols home, he broke them in pieces and distributed the gold and silver to the poor by night. The next day a centurion named Maxentius told Licinius that he had seen a pauper pass by carrying the head of Artemis. Saint Theodore, far from repenting of this, confessed Christ boldly. Licinius, in an uncontainable fury, had the Saint put to many torments, then crucified. While upon the cross, the holy Martyr was further tormented -- his privy parts were cut off, he was shot with arrows, his eyes were put out, and he was left on the cross to die. The next day Licinius sent men to take his corpse and cast it into the sea; but they found the Saint alive and perfectly whole. Through this, many believed in Christ. Seeing his own men turning to Christ, and the city in an uproar, Licinius had Theodore beheaded, about the year 320. The Saint's holy relics were returned to his ancestral home on June 8.

The Great Martyr Theodore is also commemorated on February 8.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
 
In truth enlisted with the King of the Heavens, thou didst become for Him a noble commander, O trophy-bearer and Great Martyr Theodore. With the weaponry of faith didst thou arm thyself wisely and didst utterly destroy all the hordes of the demons, as a triumphant athlete of the Lord; wherefore we ever do faithfully call thee blest.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
 
As Christ the Saviour's mighty athlete and victor, and a provider of the gifts come from Heaven, thou always swiftly helpest with thy prayers to God all those who seek refuge in thy divinely-graced temple and who flee with fervent faith to thy holy protection. Wherefore we cry to thee: Deliver us from every danger, O thrice-blessed Theodore.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Friday, June 07, 2013

Hieromartyr Marcellinus the Pope of Rome and with him the Holy Martyrs Claudius, Cyrinus and Antoninus and Hieromartyr Marcellus the Bishop of Rome



The Hieromartyr Marcellinus, Bishop of Rome, and with him the Holy Martyrs Claudius, Cyrinus and Antoninus.

St Marcellinus was Bishop of Rome during the height of the persecution against Christians under Diocletian and Maximian (284-305), when 17,000 men were martyred a single month. During this time St Marcellinus was also arrested. Arfaid of the fierce tortures, he burned incense and offered sacrifice to idols. The emperor called him his friend and clothed him in splendid robes. Although he had encouraged others to undergo torture for Christ, he gave in to cowardice. He wept bitterly, filled with remorse.

During this time, a Synod of 180 bishops and presbyters met at the city of Sinuessa (in Campania). St Marcellinus appeared at the assembly in penitential sackcloth, his head sprinkled with ashes. He confessed his sin before the delegates and asked them to judge him. The Fathers of the Council said, “Judge yourself! From your lips this sin came forth, from your lips let judgment be pronounced. We know that even St Peter denied Christ out of fear, but he wept bitterly for his sin, and received forgiveness from the Lord.”

Then Marcellinus pronounced sentence upon himself, “I strip myself of the priestly dignity, of which I am unworthy. After death, do not bury my body, but instead throw it to the dogs. Cursed be the one who dares to bury it.”

Upon his return to Rome Marcellinus went to the emperor, threw down the fine clothing given him, and said that he regretted his renunciation of Christ. The enraged emperor had him tortured, and sentenced him to death.

St Marcellinus prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who mercifully receives sinners who repent, then willingly placed his head beneath the sword. The holy martyrs Claudius, Cyrinus and Antoninus were beheaded with him.

The body of St Marcellinus lay for thirty-six days along the wayside. Appearing in a vision to the new bishop Marcellus, the holy Apostle Peter said, “Why have you not buried the body of Marcellinus?”

“I fear his curse,” replied St Marcellus.

“Perhaps you do not remember,” said the Apostle Peter, “that it is written: ‘He that humbles himself shall be exalted.’ Therefore, go bury his body with reverence.”

Fulfilling the command of the Apostle Peter, St Marcellus buried the body of St Marcellinus in a crypt, built for the burial of the bodies of martyrs by the illustrious Priscilla, along the Via Salaria. 

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Thursday, June 06, 2013

Hilarion the New of Dalmation Monastery

June 6


Reading:
 
Saint Hilarion, the fervent zealot for the veneration of the holy icons, was born in 775 and had Cappadocia as his homeland. About 806-811 he became Abbot of the Monastery of Dalmatus (see May 30), but was exiled by the Emperor Leo the Armenian, and later again by Theophilus; he was set free by the pious Empress Theodora, and again became Abbot of the Monastery of Dalmatus from 843 to 845, until the time of his repose.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
 
The image of God, was faithfully preserved in you, O Father. For you took up the Cross and followed Christ. By Your actions you taught us to look beyond the flesh for it passes, rather to be concerned about the soul which is immortal. Wherefore, O Holy Hilarion, your soul rejoices with the angels.

Kontakion in the First Tone
 
Though cast into the fire, thou wast not burnt, O righteous Hilarion, wise Father most godly of spirit; for thou hadst the dew of Christ God refreshing thee mightily. Since thou hast accomplished struggles far above nature, thou, O valiant athlete, dost rejoice with the righteous; with them now remember us.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Icon of the Mother of God of Igor

Commemorated on June 5

The Igor Icon of the Mother of God.

The holy Passion-Bearer and Great Prince of Kiev Igor Ol’govich (September 19, 1147), prayed before this icon during the last moments of his life. It was in the chapel of St John the Theologian in the Dormition cathedral of the Kiev Caves Lavra. This icon was of old Greek origin, and had an inscription saying that it belonged to St Igor.







SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm

Commemorated on June 4

The holy New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm was an outspoken critic of the Communist decree which ordered the separation of Church and State. Upon reading the Moscow Overland Assembly’s instructions on the matter, Archbishop Andronicus ordered his archdeacon to anathematize the Communists. The Archbishop was arrested, shot by two members of the Perm CHEKA, then buried on the road from Perm to Motoviliha.

Bishop Theophanes, an assistant to Archbishop Andronicus, was also arrested about this time. He was then drowned in the River Kama. When they learned of the execution of the Perm bishops, the Moscow Church Assembly sent a special commission, headed by Bishop Basil of Chernigov, to investigate their murder. The Communists, however, took steps to conceal the facts from the investigators.

As the members of the commission were on their way back to Moscow, their train was attacked by Red soldiers somewhere between Perm and Viatka. Bishop Basil and the others were killed, and their bodies were thrown from the coach. The bodies were buried by peasants, but were later dug up and burned by the Communists when pilgrims began flocking to the graves.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Monday, June 03, 2013

Lucillian of Byzantium, 4 martyred Youths & Paula the Virgin

June 3


Reading:
 
Formerly a priest of the idols near Nicomedia, the Saint came to the Christian Faith in his old age; this was during the reign of Aurelian (270-275). Lucillian was brought before Silvan the Count; when he refused to return to the service of the idols, his jaw was broken, he was beaten with rods, and hanged upside down, then imprisoned with four Christian children, Claudius, Hypatius, Paul, and Dionysius. All of them were brought out again before Silvan, and remaining constant in their faith, were cast into a raging furnace. Preserved unharmed, they were sent to Byzantium, where the children were beheaded, and Lucillian was crucified. The virgin Paula, a Christian, buried their holy relics. For this, she was taken before the Count, and refusing to sacrifice to the idols, was stripped naked and mercilessly thrashed; after other torments, she was beheaded, in 270. There was a church in their honor in Constantinople.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
 
Let all of us entreat Christ the Lord's holy Martyrs, for they make supplication for our souls' salvation; with faith and with longing, therefore, let us draw nigh unto them, for they overflow with the divine grace of healings, and they drive away the ranks of demons in terror, as guardians of the Faith.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)

Saturday, June 01, 2013

Martyr Justin the Philosopher and those with him at Rome

Commemorated on June 1

The Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher was born around 114 at Sychem, an ancient city of Samaria. Justin’s parents were pagan Greeks. From his childhood the saint displayed intelligence, love for knowledge and a fervent devotion to the knowledge of Truth. When he came of age he studied the various schools of Greek philosophy: the Stoics, the Peripatetics, the Pythagoreans, the Platonists, and he concluded that none of these pagan teachings revealed the way to knowledge of the true God.

Once, when he was strolling in a solitary place beyond the city and pondering about where to seek the way to the knowledge of Truth, he met an old man. In the ensuing conversation he revealed to Justin the essential nature of the Christian teaching and advised him to seek the answers to all the questions of life in the books of Holy Scripture. “But before anything else,” said the holy Elder, “pray diligently to God, so that He might open to you the doors of Light. No one is able to comprehend Truth, unless he is granted understanding from God Himself, Who reveals it to each one who seeks Him in prayer and in love.”

In his thirtieth year, Justin accepted holy Baptism (between the years 133 and 137). From this time St Justin devoted his talents and vast philosophical knowledge to preaching the Gospel among the pagans. He began to journey throughout the Roman Empire, sowing the seeds of faith. “Whosoever is able to proclaim Truth and does not proclaim it will be condemned by God,” he wrote.

Justin opened a school of Christian philosophy. St Justin subsequently defended the truth of Christian teaching, persuasively confuting pagan sophistry (in a debate with the Cynic philosopher Crescentius) and heretical distortions of Christianity. He also spoke out against the teachings of the Gnostic Marcian.

In the year 155, when the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) started a persecution against Christians, St Justin personally gave him an Apology in defense of two Christians innocently condemned to execution, Ptolemy and Lucias. The name of the third remains unknown.

In the Apology he demonstrated the falseness of the slander against Christians accused unjustly for merely having the name of Christians. The Apology had such a favorable effect upon the emperor that he ceased the persecution. St Justin journeyed, by decision of the emperor, to Asia Minor where they were persecuting Christians with particular severity. He proclaimed the joyous message of the imperial edict throughout the surrounding cities and countryside.

The debate of St Justin with the Rabbi Trypho took place at Ephesus. The Orthodox philosopher demonstrated the truth of the Christian teaching of faith on the basis of the Old Testament prophetic writings. St Justin gave an account of this debate in his work Dialogue with Trypho the Jew.

A second Apology of Saint Justin was addressed to the Roman Senate. It was written in the year 161, soon after Marcus Aurelius (161-180) ascended the throne.

When he returned to Italy, St Justin, like the Apostles, preached the Gospel everywhere, converting many to the Christian Faith. When the saint arrived at Rome, the envious Crescentius, whom Justin always defeated in debate, brought many false accusations against him before the Roman court. St Justin was put under guard, subjected to torture and suffered martyrdom in 165. The relics of St Justin the Philosopher rest in Rome.

In addition to the above-mentioned works, the following are also attributed to the holy martyr Justin the Philosopher:

1) An Address to the Greeks

2) A Hortatory Address to the Greeks

3) On the Sole Government of God

St John of Damascus preserved a significant part of St Justin’s "On the Resurrection", which has not survived. The church historian Eusebius asserts that St Justin wrote books entitled:

The Singer

Denunciation of all Existing Heresies and

Against Marcian

In the Russian Church the memory of the martyr is particularly glorified in temples of his name. He is invoked by those who seek help in their studies.

The holy martyrs Justin, Chariton, Euelpistus, Hierax, Peonus, Valerian, Justus and the martyr Charito suffered with St Justin the Philosopher in the year 166. They were brought to Rome and thrown into prison. The saints bravely confessed their faith in Christ before the court of the prefect Rusticus. Rusticus asked St Justin, whether he really thought that after undergoing tortures he would go to heaven and receive a reward from God. Saint Justin answered, “Not only do I think this, but I know and am fully assured of it.”

The prefect proposed to all the Christian prisoners that they offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. When they refused he issued a sentence of death, and the saints were beheaded.

TROPARION - TONE 4

O Justin, teacher of divine knowledge, / You shone with the radiance of true philosophy. / You were wisely armed against the enemy. / Confessing the truth you contended alongside the martyrs, / With them, ever entreat Christ our God to save our souls!

KONTAKION TONE 2

The whole Church of God is adorned with the wisdom of your divine words, O Justin; / the world is enlightened by the radiance of your life. / By the shedding of your blood, you have received a crown. / As you stand before Christ with the angels, pray unceasingly for us all!

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2012(with 2011's link here also and further, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)