Saint Joseph the Betrothed was of the lineage of King David. In his
first marriage, he had four sons and two daughters. After he became a
widower, Saint Joseph led a life of strict temperance. He was chosen to
be the husband and guardian of the Most Holy Theotokos, who had taken a
vow of virginity.
An angel told him of the Incarnation of the Son
of God through her. Saint Joseph was present when the shepherds and the
Magi worshiped the new-born divine Infant. On the orders of the angel,
he fled into Egypt with the Mother of God and the Infant Jesus, saving
them from the wrath of King Herod. He lived in Egypt with the Virgin
Mary and the divine Child, working as a carpenter. Saint Joseph
reputedly died at the age of one hundred.
Saint Joseph is
commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity. If there is no Sunday
between December 25 and January 1, his Feast is moved to December 26.
The Righteous Joseph is also commemorated on the Sunday of the Holy
Forefathers.
TROPARION - TONE 2
Proclaim the wonder, O Joseph, / to David, the ancestor of God: / you
saw a Virgin great with Child, / you gave glory with the shepherds, /
you worshiped with the Magi, / you received the news from the angel. /
Pray to Christ God to save our souls! KONTAKION - TONE 3
Today godly David is filled with joy; / Joseph and James offer praise. /
The glorious crown of their kinship with Christ fills them with great
joy. / They sing praises to the One ineffably born on earth, / and they
cry out: “O Compassionate One, save those who honor You!”
On December 29, the Afterfeast of the Nativity, we commemorate the
14,000 holy infants who were put to death by King Herod in his attempt
to kill the new-born Messiah (Mt. 2:16).
Today there is also a commemoration of all Orthodox Christians who have died from hunger, thirst, the sword, and freezing.
TROPARION - TONE 2
Proclaim the wonder, O Joseph, / to David, the ancestor of God: / you
saw a Virgin great with Child, / you gave glory with the shepherds, /
you worshiped with the Magi, / you received the news from the angel. /
Pray to Christ God to save our souls!
KONTAKION - TONE 3
Today godly David is filled with joy; / Joseph and James offer praise. /
The glorious crown of their kinship with Christ fills them with great
joy. / They sing praises to the One ineffably born on earth, / and they
cry out: “O Compassionate One, save those who honor You!”
On December 28, the Afterfeast of the Nativity Feast, the Orthodox
Church remembers the 20,000 martyrs of Nicomedia who were burned in
their church while celebrating the Nativity of the Lord in 302.
TROPARION - TONE 4
Your Nativity, O Christ our God, / Has shone to the world the Light of
wisdom! / For by it, those who worshipped the stars, / Were taught by a
Star to adore You, / The Sun of Righteousness, / And to know You, the
Orient from on High. / O Lord, glory to You!
KONTAKION - TONE 3
Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, / And the earth
offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! / Angels with shepherds glorify
Him! / The wise men journey with a star! / Since for our sake the
Eternal God was born as a Little Child!
The third day of the Nativity is dedicated to the Protomartyr Saint
Stephen. This is the third day of the three day Winter Pascha.
TROPARION - TONE 4
Your Nativity, O Christ our God, / Has shone to the world the Light of
wisdom! / For by it, those who worshipped the stars, / Were taught by a
Star to adore You, / The Sun of Righteousness, / And to know You, the
Orient from on High. / O Lord, glory to You!
KONTAKION - TONE 3
Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, / And the earth
offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! / Angels with shepherds glorify
Him! / The wise men journey with a star! / Since for our sake the
Eternal God was born as a Little Child!
In the stillness of midnight (Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-15), the
proclamation of the birth of the Savior of the world was heard by three
shepherds watching their flocks by night.
An angel of the Lord
(St Cyprian says this was Gabriel) came before them and said: “Fear not:
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to
all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
Who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). The humble shepherds were the
first to offer worship to Him Who condescended to assume the form of a
humble servant for the salvation of mankind.
The Sunday before the Nativity of the Lord (December 18-24) is known
as the Sunday of the Holy Fathers. On this day the Church commemorates
all those who were well-pleasing to God from all ages, from Adam to
Saint Joseph the Betrothed of the Most Holy Theotokos, those who are
mentioned in the geneology of Luke 3:23-38. The holy prophets and
prophetesses are also remembered today, especially the Prophet Daniel
and the three holy youths (December 17).
The Troparion to the
Prophet Daniel and the three holy youths (“Great are the accomplishments
of faith...) is quite similar to the Troparion for Saint Theodore the
Recruit (February 17, and the first Saturday of Great Lent). The
Kontakion to Saint Theodore, who suffered martyrdom by fire, reminds us
that he also had faith as his breastplate (see I Thessalonians 5:8).
TROPARION - TONE 2
Great are the accomplishments of faith, / for the Three Holy Youths
rejoiced in the flames as though at the waters of rest, / and the
prophet Daniel appeared, / a shepherd to the lions as though they were
sheep. / So by their prayers, O Christ God, save our souls!
KONTAKION - TONE 1
(For when the Sunday before the Nativity falls on December 20-24)
Rejoice, Bethlehem! Prepare yourself, O Ephratha! / The Lamb is on her
way to give birth to the Chief Shepherd she carries in her womb. / The
God-bearing forefathers will rejoice, beholding Him, / and with the
shepherds, they will glorify the Virgin nursing Him.
KONTAKION - TONE 6
(For when the Sunday before the Nativity falls on December 18-19)
/ You did not worship the graven image, / O thrice-blessed ones, / but
armed with the immaterial Essence of God, / you were glorified in a
trial by fire. / From the midst of unbearable flames you called on God,
crying: / Hasten, O compassionate One! / Speedily come to our aid, / for
You are merciful and able to do as You will.
One hundred and twenty men became Christians when they
witnessed the miraculous deliverance of the Great Martyr Anastasia and
Saint Eutychianus from a sinking boat. Saint Theodota appeared and
steered the ship to shore.
These 120 martyrs were baptized by
Saint Eutychianus and Saint Anastasia, then were captured and put to
death for confessing Christ.
December 21 APOLYTIKION OF THE FOREFEAST OF THE NATIVITY Fourth Tone
Be thou ready, Bethlehem, Eden hath opened unto all. Ephratha, prepare
thyself, for now, behold, the Tree of life hath blossomed forth in the
cave from the Holy Virgin. Her womb hath proved a true spiritual
Paradise, wherein the divine and saving Tree is found, and as we eat
thereof we shall all live, and shall not die as did Adam. For Christ is
born now to raise the image that had fallen aforetime.
KONTAKION OF THE FOREFEAST OF THE NATIVITY Second Tone
In Bethlehem now beholding Him in swaddling clothes, that holdeth the
earth within the hollow of His hand, we all offer our prefestal songs to
the Mother that gave Him birth, who rejoiceth maternally to hold in her
bosom the true Son of God.
Before becoming a bishop, Saint Philogonius was a laywer who
defended the poor, the widowed and the orphaned. When his wife died, he
was chosen as Bishop of Antioch.
Distinguished by profound
theological knowledge, Saint Philogonius successfully defended Orthodoxy
against the Arian heresy and by this prevented unrest in the Church.
During
the persecution against Christians under the emperors Maximian
(284-305)and Licinius (311-324), Saint Philogonius proved himself a
confessor of the Orthodox Faith. He died peacefully in about the year
323. Saint John Chrysostom wrote a eulogy for Saint Philogonius in 386.
Saint Gregory, Bishop of Homer (Omirits), the son of Agapius
and Theodota, was filled with the grace of God and possessed gifts of
healing and wonderworking even in his youth. The Providence of God led
him to hierarchical service. While still a deacon at Mediolanum (Milan)
he heard the foretelling of his destiny from a hermit, and then he
received confirmation of these words from another spirit-bearing Elder
who lived an ascetic life in the mountains.
When Gregory went to
this holy schemamonk for guidance, a miracle occurred. As he approached
the mountain, he saw a fiery column in the air. He soon realized that
the fiery column was actually the man of God coming toward him. That
night he saw the Elder standing in the air above the ground. The Elder
revealed to Saint Gregory that he must go to Rome to pray in the church
of Saints Boniface and Aglaida. Then he would go to Alexandria and to
become a bishop. Then he would arrive in the city of Negran in the land
of Homer (in southern Arabia) to proclaim the Gospel.
Saint
Gregory felt himself unworthy of this, and wished to remain with the
ascetic as his disciple. So that Gregory should have no doubts of the
veracity of his words, the Elder revealed that he knew a secret about
him. In a vision, Gregory had seen the First-Ranked Apostles Peter and
Paul, and they had placed a bishop’s omophorion upon him.
Saint
Gregory stayed a short time in Carthage (North Africa) serving as a
deacon, then arrived in Rome. He went to the church of Saints Boniface
and Aglaida, then to the tomb of Saint Peter. There he was granted a
vision of the holy Apostle, who told him to walk the path of virtue and
to live according to God’s will. That night he saw the Apostle Paul in a
dream bringing to him a cup filled with oil, foretelling that he should
receive the grace of the priesthood and the episcopacy.
During
this time the armies of the Ethiopian emperor Elesbaan (October 24)
vanquished the Himyarite king Dunaan, who was of Jewish background. The
city of Negran was liberated, and Christianity restored in the land of
Homer. But all the clergy had been cruelly exterminated by Dunaan, and
therefore Elesbaan sent emissaries to the Patriarch of Alexandria asking
him to send a bishop to Negran, and clergy for the churches. While he
was praying, the holy Apostle Mark appeared to the patriarch, bidding
him to find a deacon named Gregory, who was to be ordained to the
priesthood, consecrated as a bishop, and then to be sent to Elesbaan.
The patriarch did this. During the service a miracle took place. Saint
Gregory’s face shone with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and from his
vestments came a sweet fragrance like myrrh or incense, filling the
whole church with the scent.
Arriving in Homer, Saint Gregory
began to set the Church in order, preaching to both pagans and Jews.
After three years Elesbaan returned to Ethiopia, leaving the noble
Abramius behind as King of Homer. Saint Gregory crowned and anointed
Abramius as king. Soon he issued a decree that all his subjects be
baptized. Then certain prominent Jews turned to the emperor saying that
it was better for people to believe willingly rather than under
compulsion. They requested that he should permit a debate on faith to be
held between them and the Christians, vowing that if the Christians
proved victorious in this debate, the Jews would then accept Baptism.
The
Jews were given forty days to prepare for the debate, which lasted for
several days. Saint Gregory refuted all the arguments of the head of the
Hebrew elder, Rabbi Ervan, using only texts from the Old Testament. In a
vision Ervan beheld the holy Prophet Moses, who worshipped the Lord
Jesus Christ. The prophet told Ervan that Ervan was in opposition to the
truth and would be defeated.
By the grace of God Christian truth
prevailed in the debate, but Ervan would not acknowledge his defeat. He
made a last desperate attempt. He said, “If you want me to believe in
your Christ, and to acknowledge that yours is the true God, then show
Him to me, bishop!” The saint replied: “Your request is impertinent. It
is not with man that you contend now, but with God. However, the Lord
can do what you have asked in order to convince you.
Everyone
waited to see what would happen. Saint Gregory, having steadfast faith
in God and trusting in Him, began to pray aloud. He recalled the mystery
of the Incarnation of God the Word, the miracles of His earthly life,
the Three-day Resurrection and the Ascension into Heaven, and he invoked
the power of the Life-Creating Cross. “Show Thyself to these people, O
Lord,” he prayed, “and glorify Thy holy Name!”
When he finished
the prayer, the earth quaked, and in the east the heavens were opened,
and in a radiant cloud of light the Lord Jesus Christ came down on
earth, and the Voice of the Lord was heard: “Through the prayers of
Bishop Gregory, He Whom your fathers put to death will heal you.”
Like
Saul, who was struck blind by the Heavenly light on the road to
Damascus, the Jews were struck blind. Then they believed in Christ and
they implored the holy bishop to heal them. Upon receiving holy Baptism,
all of them were healed. Rabbi Ervan received the Christian name Leo
(meaning “lion”).
After this most extraordinary miracle, Saint
Gregory guided the flock of Homer for another thirty years. He reposed
in the year 552 and was buried in a crypt in the cathedral of Afar.
Saint Michael the Confessor was born at Jerusalem into a
family of zealous Christians and at an early age devoted himself to
monastic life. After the death of his father, his mother and sisters
went to a monastery, and Saint Michael was ordained as a priest. He was
famed as a strong preacher, and therefore the Jerusalem Patriarch Thomas
I took him under his wing and advanced him in the calling of
“synkellos” (dealing in matters of church governance).
At this
time there reigned the Iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820).
The patriarch sent Saint Michael to him, together with the holy brothers
Saints Theodore (December 27) and Theophanes (October 11), with the
hope that they might persuade the emperor to cease his persecution
against the Orthodox. The emperor subjected Saint Michael to beatings
and sent him off into exile.
Later having returned from exile,
the monk again suffered for the veneration of holy icons under the
emperor Theophilus (829-842). The companions of Saint Michael, Saints
Theodore and Theophanes, were subjected to horrible torments: upon their
faces was put red-hot brands with an inscription slandering them. They
received the title “the Branded.” Again condemned, Saint Michael was
sent with his disciple Job to the Pabeida monastery.
After the
death of Theophilus, the empress Theodora (842-855) restored the
veneration of holy icons, and ordered the return of Christians banished
by the Iconoclasts. She made the offer that Saint Michael might occupy
the patriarchal throne in place of the deposed iconoclast, Grammatikos.
But the holy martyr declined this. Thus upon the patriarchal throne
entered Saint Methodius.
Saint Michael the Confessor to the end
of his days toiled in the position of “synkellos.” He died peacefully in
about the year 845.
The holy New Martyr Paisius was igumen of the Annunciation monastery
in Trnava near Cacak, Serbia. After the collapse of Karageorge’s revolt
in 1813, the Turks began a reign of terror against the Serbs. Disease
also swept the area because of the many bodies left unburied. The people
attempted another revolt under Hadj-Prodan Gligorijevic, and the monks
of Trnava became involved in it. The rebellion took place on the Feast
of the Cross (September 14), but it was crushed by the Turks. Many
people were captured, and some were executed on the spot as a warning to
others.
Some of the prisoners were sent to Suleiman Pasha in
Belgrade, among whom were Saints Paisius and Avakum. The holy deacon
Avakum sang “God is with us” (from Compline) in the prison cell, while
Saint Paisius prayed. The Turks offered to free anyone who would convert
to Islam. Some of the prisoners agreed to this, but the majority
refused to deny Christ, and so they were put to death.
Saint
Paisius was taken from prison and forced to carry a stake to the place
of execution. He was impaled, and the stake was set into the ground. The
holy martyr exclaimed, “Glory to God.” Then the vizier clapped his
hands to signal his soldiers to draw their swords and begin killing some
of the other prisoners. Forty-eight people were killed, and their
bodies were raised up on posts. After suffering for some time, Saint
Paisius surrendered his soul to God, thereby obtaining the crown of
martyrdom on December 17, 1814.
TROPARION - TONE 4
As true soldiers of Christ, / you shone forth with meekness and humility
/ and for Christ you suffered courageously, / O Holy Martyrs Paisius
and Avakum, / but your deaths proclaim to all / that it is better to die
for Christ and for one’s country / than without Christ to gain the
whole world.
KONTAKION - TONE 3
In this world you lived like angels / and by your lives fulfilled the
Gospel. / You laid down your souls for faith and country, / in death you
showed yourselves to be stronger than your tormentors, / therefore we
celebrate your memory, / O holy venerable martyrs Paisius and Avakum.
Saint Pardus the Hermit, a Roman, was involved in his youth
with the teamster’s craft. Once, when he traveled to Jericho, a boy
accidentally fell under the legs of his camels. The camels trampled the
boy to death. Shaken by this occurrence, Pardus became a monk and
withdrew to Mount Arion.
Thinking himself as a murderer, and
deserving of death, Saint Pardus entered the den of a lion. He poked the
wild beast and prodded it with a spear so that the lion would tear him
apart, but the creature would not touch the hermit. Saint Pardus then
took off his clothes and lay down upon the path that the lion would take
for water. But even here, the lion merely leaped over the hermit. And
the Elder then understood that he had been forgiven by the Lord.
Returning to his mountain, Saint Pardus dwelt there in fasting and
prayer until the end of his days. He died in the sixth century.
Saint Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev (in the
world John), was born November 13, 1631 into the family of the lower
city priest Ananias. His father, famed for his piety and reading, was
one of three candidates for the Patriarchal throne, together with the
future Patriarch Nikon (1652-1658).
John entered a monastery in
1653. In 1655, he became founder and builder of the Phlorischev
wilderness monastery not far from the city of Gorokhovetsa. In his
monastic struggles, the saint wrestled with fleshly passions. When he
fell down in exhaustion before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
beseeching Her help, the Mother of God shielded him with gracious power
and calmed his spirit.
Once, when Saint Hilarion was serving
Vespers together with a hierodeacon, robbers burst into the church. They
killed the deacon and started to set Saint Hilarion on fire, asking him
where the monastery treasure was hid. They did not believe that there
was no gold in the monastery. Overcome by the pain, Saint Hilarion
turned to the wonderworking icon and said, “O All-Pure Virgin Mary,
Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ! If they injure me with the fire, I
shall no longer have the ability to glorify Thy Son and Thee.” Suddenly
the robbers heard the shouts of people searching for them, and they
fled.
Another time, Saint Hilarion in passing by the church heard
a voice: “I shall glorify thee throughout all the land.” He trembled,
and going into the vestibule, he found no people there. On the portico
he found only the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. The ascetic fell
down before the image with tears and confessed his unworthiness.
Later
on, when the saint had begun the construction of a stone church, he was
very sad that concerns about the construction and disagreements among
the workers were distracting him from prayer. While serving in church
with the brethren, he was preoccupied by these thoughts and began to
regret undertaking the work. With tears he besought the Mother of God
not to abandon him and to deliver him from these worries.
When he
finished his prayer, Saint Hilarion remained alone in church and began
again to think about the construction. And so he fell asleep. In a dream
the Mother of God appeared to him and said, “Transfer My icon, named
the Vladimir, from this hot church and put it in the newly-built stone
church, and I shall be your Helper there”.
Saint Hilarion awoke
and ordered the large bell to be rung. The monks immediately assembled.
All went to the hot church and, having prayed before the icon, solemnly
transferred it from the portico into the temple. After serving the all
night Vigil, Divine Liturgy and a Molieben, the saint told the brethren
of his vision. Then in procession they transferred the icon to the
church under construction, where they set it in the midst of the woods.
From that time the construction went successfully and was soon
completed. The saint wanted to dedicate the temple in honor of the icon,
but he it was revealed to him in a vision that the temple was to be
consecrated in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
In
the wilderness monastery he maintained a very strict community rule. In
1694, the saint sent a letter to the Phlorischev monastery in which he
reminisced about his own monastic Rule at this monastery: “Under me, a
sinner, no one possessed anything of his own, but all was shared in
common. Many of you may remember that former cenobitic community. And
you also remember that I consigned to the fire those possessions which
would destroy that cenobitic community.”
On December 11, 1681,
the saint was consecrated as Archbishop of Suzdal and Yuriev, and in
1682 he was elevated to the dignity of Metropolitan and remained on the
Suzda’ cathedra until February 1705. The saint died peacefully on
December 14, 1707 and was buried in the Suzdal cathedral in honor of the
Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. The saint was known for his
unceasing concern for the poor. After his death they found only three
coins.
The wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God of
Vladimir-Phlorischev (August 26) was painted by the renowned
iconographer John Chirov in 1464 at Nizhni Novgorod in fulfillment of a
vow of John Vetoshnikov.
The Hieromartyr Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, was a
disciple of the great teacher and writer of the Church, Clement of
Alexandria. At the beginning of the third century he was chosen bishop
of Flavia, Cappadocia. He was arrested during the reign of the emperor
Septimus Severus (193-211) and spent three years in prison.
After
his release from prison he went to Jerusalem to venerate the holy
places, and was told to remain there through a divine revelation. In 212
he was chosen as coadministrator with the elderly Patriarch Narcissus,
an unusually rare occurrence in the ancient Church. Following the death
of Saint Narcissus (August 7), Saint Alexander succeeded him and
governed the Church of Jerusalem for thirty-eight years, working for the
enlightenment of Christians. He also established the first library of
Christian theological works at Jerusalem.
Saint Alexander was
arrested during the persecution of the Church under the emperor Decius
(249-251). The holy martyr was sent to Cappadocia, where he suffered
many tortures. He was condemned to be eaten by wild beasts, but they did
not harm him. Saint Alexander was cast into prison, where he
surrendered his soul to God.
The hieromartyr Alexander is also commemorated on May 16.
Saints Stephen and Angelina were the parents of Saint John of
Serbia. The life of the Serbian ruler Stephen Brankovich and his family
was filled with instability and misfortune. After Serbia was seized in
1457 by the Turks, the then Serbian ruler’s middle son, Stephen (October
9), distinguished by a meek disposition and fine knowledge of Holy
Scripture, went to the capital of Turkey after his sister had been given
to Sultan Murat in marriage. Learning that the Turks had burned the
Mileshevsk monastery with fanatic cruelty, Saint Stephen rose up to
defend Serbia from oppression.
When he married Angelina (July
30), the daughter of the Prince of Albania, the Turks threatened Saint
Stephen and his family with punishment. With his wife and three children
he was forced to hide first in Albania, and then in Italy, where he
died.
Saint Angelina transferred the incorrupt relics of her
spouse to Kupinovo. At the end of the fifteenth century a son of the
Righteous Stephen and Angelina, Saint John, became ruler of Serbia. The
incorrupt relics of Saint John and his parents were afterwards glorified
by many miracles.
The Holy Prophetess Hannah dwelt in marriage with Elkanah, but she
was childless. Elkanah took to himself another wife, Phennena, who bore
him children. Hannah grieved strongly over her misfortune, and every day
she prayed for an end to her barrenness, and vowed to dedicate her
child to God.
Once, as she prayed fervently in the Temple, the
priest Heli thought that she was drunk, and he began to reproach her.
But the saint poured out her grief, and after she received a blessing,
she returned home. After this Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son,
whom she named Samuel (which means “Asked from God”).
When the
child reached the age of boyhood, the mother herself presented him to
the priest Heli, and Samuel remained with him to serve before the
Tabernacle (1 Kings/1 Samuel 2: 1-21).
This
Saint was from the Thebaid of Egypt and struggled many years in the
wilderness. He departed for Constantinople, and having performed many
miracles and healings, he reposed in peace in a mountain cave on the
Gulf of Corinth, where his holy relics are found incorrupt to the
present day.
Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
In
thee the image was preserved with exactness, O Father; for taking up
thy cross, thou didst follow Christ, and by thy deeds thou didst teach
us to overlook the flesh, for it passeth away, but to attend to the
soul since it is immortal. Wherefore, O righteous Patapius, thy spirit
rejoiceth with the Angels.
We do not know when Saint Paul lived. There is only a short
Life which says that he was the son of wealthy parents. He left secular
life upon reaching maturity.
The appellation “Obedient” was
bestowed upon the monk for his deep humility, and for the complete
renunciation of his own will. Once, the monk stirred boiling tar with
his hand, and received not the slightest burn from it. Some of the
brethren regarded him as a God-bearing ascetic, but others became
suspicious of him.
After fervent prayer, the monks received a
unique vision proving that their brother was a true ascetic. By night
they were all transported to Paradise and they conversed with Saint
Paul, who permitted them to take a flower or twig with them as a
remembrance. Awakening from sleep, they found in their hands the flowers
and twigs from Paradise. After this Saint Paul went to Jerusalem, and
then to Cyprus.
Having led a solitary life, he ended his life on
Mount Paregoros [Mount Solace]. Before his death the voice of God said
to him, “Ascend the mountain, Paul, and accept the end of life.”
This Saint lived during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great, and
reposed in 330, As a young man, he desired to espouse the solitary life.
He made a pilgrimage to the holy city Jerusalem, where he found a place
to withdraw to devote himself to prayer. It was made known to him,
however, that this was not the will of God for him, but that he should
return to his homeland to be a cause of salvation for many. He returned
to Myra, and was ordained bishop. He became known for his abundant
mercy, providing for the poor and needy, and delivering those who had
been unjustly accused. No less was he known for his zeal for the truth.
He was present at the First Ecumenical Council of the 318 Fathers at
Nicaea in 325; upon hearing the blasphemies that Arius brazenly uttered
against the Son of God, Saint Nicholas struck him on the face. Since the
canons of the Church forbid the clergy to strike any man at all, his
fellow bishops were in perplexity what disciplinary action was to be
taken against this hierarch whom all revered. In the night our Lord
Jesus Christ and our Lady Theotokos appeared to certain of the bishops,
informing them that no action was to be taken against him, since he had
acted not out of passion, but extreme love and piety. The Dismissal Hymn
for holy hierarchs, The truth of things hath revealed thee to thy flock
... was written originally for Saint Nicholas. He is the patron of all
travellers, and of sea-farers in particular; he is one of the best known
and best loved Saints of all time.
APOLYTIKION OF NICHOLAS THE WONDERWORKER Fourth Tone
A model of faith and the image of gentleness, the example of your life
has shown you forth to your sheep-fold to be a master of temperance. You
obtained thus through being lowly, gifts from on high, and riches
through poverty. Nicholas, our father and priest of priests, intercede
with Christ our God that He may save our souls. KONTAKION OF NICHOLAS THE WONDERWORKER Third Tone
Saintly One, (St. Nicholas) in Myra you proved yourself a priest; for in
fulfilling the Gospel of Christ, venerable One, you laid down your life
for your people and saved the innocent from death. For this you were
sanctified as One learned in divine grace.
The Holy Monastic Martyrs of Karyes were martyred by the
Latins who came with fire and sword onto Mount Athos during the reign of
the Byzantine Emperor Michael Paleologos (1259-1282), an apostate from
Orthodoxy.
Bursting in upon the Karyes monastery, the Latins
burned and devastated the Church of the Protaton [the only basilica on
the Holy Mountain, built in 965], “leaving no one alive.” The Protos of
the Holy Mountain, who had denounced the Latin rationalizing as heresy,
was after much torture hanged before the Protaton at the place called
Chalkhos. Those hidden in caves around Karyes were cut down with swords.
See October 10.
The Damascene Icon of the Mother of God, by ancient
tradition, was painted by Saint John of Damascus in gratitude to the
Theotokos for the miraculous healing of his right hand, cut off through
the perfidy of Emperor Leo the Isaurian. This icon is also known as “Of
the Three Hands” Icon of the Mother of God (June 28, and July 12).
In
the ninth century in the time of the Iconoclasts, Saint John of
Damascus (December 4) was zealous in his veneration of holy icons.
Because of this, he was slandered by the emperor and iconoclast Leo III
the Isaurian (717-740), who informed the Damascus caliph that Saint John
was committing treasonous acts against him. The caliph gave orders to
cut off the hand of the monk and take it to the marketplace. Towards
evening Saint John, having asked the caliph for the cut-off hand, put it
to its joint and fell to the ground before the icon of the Mother of
God. The monk begged Our Lady to heal the hand, which had written in
defense of Orthodoxy. After long prayer he fell asleep and saw in a
dream that the All-Pure Mother of God had turned to him promising him
quick healing.
Before this the Mother of God bid him toil without
fail with this hand. Having awakened from sleep, Saint John saw that
his hand was unharmed. In thankfulness for this healing Saint John
placed on the icon a hand fashioned of silver, from which the icon
received its name “Of Three Hands.” (Some iconographers, in their
ignorance, have mistakenly depicted the Most Holy Theotokos with three
arms and three hands.) According to Tradition, Saint John wrote a hymn
of thanksgiving to the Mother of God: “All of creation rejoices in You, O
Full of Grace,” which appears in place of the hymn “It is Truly Meet”
in the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.
Saint John Damascene
received monasticism at the monastery of Saint Sava the Sanctified and
there bestowed his wonderworking icon. The Lavra presented the icon “Of
Three Hands” in blessing to Saint Sava, Archbishop of Serbia (+ 1237,
January 12). During an invasion of Serbia by the Turks, some Christians
who wanted to protect the icon, entrusted it to the safekeeping of the
Mother of God Herself. They placed it upon a donkey, which without a
driver proceeded to Athos and stopped in front of the Hilandar
monastery. The monks put the icon in the monastery’s cathedral church
(katholikon). During a time of discord over the choice of igumen, the
Mother of God deigned to head the monastery Herself, and from that time
Her holy icon has occupied the igumen’s place in the temple. At the
Hilandar monastery there is chosen only a vicar, and from the holy icon
the monks take a blessing for every obedience.
Saint Porphyrios (Bairaktaris) was born in 1907 with the name Evangelos in Evoia, Greece, in the small village of Agios Ioannis (Saint
John). As a child he tended to the sheep in the hills, and it is there
that he first read the life of Saint John the Hut-Dweller (Commemorated
January 15th) which planted the desire of monasticism in his heart. The
spark lit by Saint John was fanned when at the age of seven he overheard
a conversation about the divine beauty of the Holy Mountain. Eventually
he stowed away on a boat to Thessalonica, hoping from there to reach
Mount Athos.
On the evening after his arrival, a group of monks
gathered at the harbor to take the boat to Mount Athos. One of them
noticed the young Porphyrios and asked him where he was going.
Porphyrios told the monk that he was going to the Holy Mountain, but
lied about the reason as to why. The monk, seeing through this, told
Porphyrios to tell any inquirers that he was his nephew and that his
mother had passed away, for otherwise he would not be allowed on the
mountain since he was still a child.
The monk, whose name was
Panteleimon, became his spiritual father and brought him to
Kavsokalyvia, a small skete where Panteleimon lived with his brother,
the Priest Ioannikos, as fellow monastics. The young Porphyrios loved to
carry out the virtue of obedience to his elders, at times being tested
by them without even knowing it. When he was fourteen, his elder asked
Porphyrios what he was planning to do with his life. The young man told
him that he wished to stay on the Mountain. Two or three years later,
Porphyrios was tonsured with the name Nikitas.
Once, being obedient to one of his elders against the wishes of the
other, Porphyrios went out on a rainy day to collect snails. After hours
of filling his sack, and burdened by the wind and cold, Porphyrios
found himself suddenly caught in a rockslide and was buried up to his
knees. Crying out to the Theotokos he was miraculously delivered, but
having suffered badly he developed pleurisy and had to leave Mount Athos
to seek medical treatment. The elder who told him to collect the snails
profusely apologized, and personally saw Porphyrios off of Mount Athos,
kissing him on the forehead in tears.
Porphyrios returned to the village of Agios Ioannis
in Evoia where he reunited with his family. He stayed at the monastery
of Saint Haralambos, which was near the village Avlonari, until he
recovered. his good reputation as a faithful and obedient monk quickly
spread and thus caught the attention of the Bishop Fostinis of Kymi. He
began to visit Porphyrios frequently, and with the aid of Archbishop
Porphyrios III of Sinai (from whom Porphyrios was given his final name),
ordained the young monk a deacon and then a priest. Two years later he
was made a confessor and would at times hear confessions for multiple
days at a time without sleep or food.
His next major ministry was
serving as the Chaplain at the Polyclinic Hospital in Athens for roughly
33 years (1940-1973). It was through the well-known Professor of Canon
Law, Amilkas Alivizatos, that Porphyrios was assigned to the Church of
Saint Gerasimos which was associated with the hospital. During this time
he helped many patients spiritually by acting as their father
confessor. In addition to his hospital duties, he helped to renew the
Church of Saint Nicholas in Kallisia, often having recourse to it during
the night to pray by himself or with family.
However, Porphyrios had still been unable to fulfill another dream he
shared with his family: founding a monastery. After years of searching,
he bought some land upon the top of a hill in Milesi where he later
founded The Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration. He remained there for
many years before returning to his old cell on Mount Athos where he
spent his last years. He departed this life on December 2nd, 1991.
Porphyrios was declared a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on June
27th, 2013.
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Commemorated on December 31
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