The great defender of the Orthodox Faith against the Iconoclasts, our
righteous Father John of Damascus (See Dec. 4), was slandered to the
Caliph of Damascus by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian (reigned
717-741). Saint John was accused of sedition and his right hand was cut
off. Having asked for the severed hand, Saint John passed the night in
great pain, praying for the aid of the most holy Theotokos. Awaking from
sleep, he found that his hand had been miraculously restored, with only
a red scar about the wrist where it had been severed, as a testimony to
the wonderous healing. In thanksgiving, he had a silver hand attached
to the icon to commemorate this great miracle. On becoming a monk in the
lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified in the Holy Land, John brought the
icon with him. There it remained until the thirteenth century, when it
was given to Saint Sabbas of Serbia (see Jan. 14), who brought it to
Serbia, where it remained for a time. Later, it was miraculously
transported by an unguided donkey that carried it to the Serbian
Monastery of Hilandar on the Holy Mountain, Athos, where it remains to
this day. APOLYTIKION OF SYNAXIS OF THE ICON OF MOST HOLY LADY THEOTOKOS
Fourth Tone
From the Palestine, godly-minded Sabbas brought unto us thy ven'rable
icon, which is known as Of the Three Hands, O all-holy Bride of God.
Wherefore, since the monks of Hilandar now possess it as their boast,
they send up hymns of praise and thanksgiving, while crying out with
fervour: Rejoice, thou who art full of grace.
KONTAKIONOF SYNAXIS OF THE ICON OF MOST HOLY LADY THEOTOKOS
Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Come, let us worship the famed icon of the Queen of all called: Of the
Three Hands, for the fearful marvel which it wrought; and with fervent
faith and longing, come, let us cry out: O pure Maiden, keep thy
monastery and thy flock from all dangers, tribulations, and adversities,
for we cry to thee: Rejoice, thou help and defence of all.
Having examined the history of Georgia and the hagiographical
treasures attesting to the faith of the Georgian nation, we become
convinced that Heavenly Georgia— the legion of Georgian saints,
extolling the Lord in the Heavenly Kingdom with a single voice—is
infinitely glorious. It is unknown how many cleansed themselves of their
earthly sins in merciless warfare with the enemy of Christ, or how many
purified their souls in unheated cells through prayer, fasting, and
ascetic labors.
To God alone are known the names of those
ascetics, forgotten by history, who by their humble labors tirelessly
forged the future of the Georgian Church and people.
St. George of
the Holy Mountain wrote: “From the time we recognized the one true God,
we have never renounced Him, nor have our people ever yielded to
heresy.”
A decree of the Church Council of Ruisi-Urbnisi states:
“We will not depart from thee, the Catholic Church which bore us in
holiness, nor will we betray thee, our pride—Orthodoxy—to which we have
always been faithful, for we have been granted the honor to know thee,
the witness of the Truth Itself!” This relationship to Orthodoxy is the
cornerstone of the life of every Georgian believer.
It is
impossible to count the names of all those Christians who have been
raised up from the earthly Church in Georgia to the heavens, let alone
to describe all the godly deeds they have performed. For this reason
December 11 has been set aside for the commemoration not only of the
saints whose Lives are known to us but also of the nearly three hundred
more whose names, but not stories, have been preserved as well.
Most
Georgian people bear the name of a saint who is commemorated on this
day, and they entreat the saint to intercede before the Lord in their
behalf.
The first Friday of the Apostles’ Fast.
In Slavonic practice,
Saint Barlaam is commemorated during the Proskomedia along with the
venerable and God-bearing Fathers who shone forth in asceticism (sixth
particle).
Saint Barlaam is also commemorated on November 6 and February 10.
This Martyr was from Rome and lived in virginity, having Christ alone as
her Bridegroom. Of her own accord she courageously presented herself to
the pagans as a Christian, and was tortured to death, according to
some, in the reign of Valerian (253-260). Her holy relics were then
taken to Sicily, where they immediately became a source of great
miracles.
APOLYTIKION OF MARTYR AGRIPPINA Fourth Tone
O Lord Jesus, unto Thee Thy lamb doth cry with a great voice: O my
Bridegroom, Thee I love; and seeking Thee, I now contest, and with Thy
baptism am crucified and buried. I suffer for Thy sake, that I may reign
with Thee; for Thy sake I die, that I may live in Thee: accept me
offered out of longing to Thee as a spotless sacrifice. Lord, save our
souls through her intercessions, since Thou art great in mercy.
Saints Julius the presbyter and Julian the Deacon, brothers
by birth, were natives of Myrmidonia. For his virtuous life Saint Julius
was ordained to the priesthood, and his brother as a deacon. Inspired
with zeal for the spreading of the Christian Faith, the holy brothers
received permission for the building of churches and set off preaching
to remote sections East and West within the Roman Empire, where pagan
temples still existed and where offering of sacrifice to idols was still
made. Visiting several lands, they converted many pagans to
Christianity, persuading them not only by word, but also by numerous
miracles. At Constantinople they turned to the pious emperor Theodosius
the Younger (408-450) requesting permission to build churches upon the
sites of pagan temples.
Having received the blessing of the
patriarch and the permission of the emperor, the holy brothers built
many churches. The people considered it their duty to assist them in
this matter. Once, some people went past a church under construction.
Fearing that they would be talked into taking part in this work, they
engaged in a deception, in order to get away. One of them feigned being
dead, and when Saint Julius invited them to take part in the work, they
excused themselves, saying that they had to bury a dead person. The
saint asked, “You’re not lying, are you?” The passers-by persisted in
their ruse. Then Saint Julian said to them, “Let it be according to your
words.” Having continued on farther, they discovered that the one
pretending to be dead really was dead. After this, no one else dared to
lie to the holy brothers.
Foreseeing his own impending end, Saint
Julius set off in search of a place to build his one hundredth church,
which he believed would be his last. Reaching Lake Mukoros, he saw a
beautiful island. Because of the huge quantity of snakes on it, no one
was able to settle there. Saint Julius decided to build a church upon
this island. Having prayed, he sailed off to the island on his mantle as
though on a boat, and set up a cross on it. In the Name of God, the
holy ascetic ordered all the snakes to gather together and leave the
island. All the venomous vipers slithered into the lake and
re-established themselves upon Mount Kamunkin.
On the island Saint
Julius built a church in honor of the holy Twelve Apostles. At this
time his brother, Saint Julian, finished construction on a church near
the city of Gaudiana and decided to build a crypt for his brother Julius
by the church. Saint Julius paid his brother a visit and advised him to
hurry with the construction of the crypt, prophetically foretelling
that he would lie in it. Indeed, Saint Julian the Deacon soon died and
was buried in the crypt built by him. Saint Julius the Presbyter
reverently buried his brother and returned to the island, where he soon
died and was buried in the church of the Twelve Apostles he had built.
From his grave many of the sick received healing. The blessed end of the
holy brothers occurred after the first half of the fifth century.
Saint Leucius the Confessor was born in the city of
Alexandria of pious parents named Eudykius and Euphrosyne. They gave
their son the name Eutropius. The mother died when the lad was 11 years
old, and his father took monastic tonsure at the monastery of Saint
Hermias, taking along his son with him to the monastery. The boy was
raised under the spiritual guidance of the Igumen Nicetas and also
experienced monastic elders. The boy showed himself to be very capable,
and assiduously he studied Holy Scripture. Eutropius grew up into a
quiet, meek and obedient lad. When he reached age 18, the Igumen Nicetas
died.
The brethren of the monastery unanimously chose Eutropius
as Igumen, even though he was not yet tonsured into monasticism.
Reckoning himself unworthy to guide monks when he was not a monk
himself, Eutropius refused. For seven years the monastery of Saint
Hermias remained without a head. During these years Eutropius,
struggling at monastic labors, attained to an high degree of spiritual
life.
One time Eutropius set off on the feast of the Dormition of
the Mother of God to visit all the churches of the Dormition around the
city of Alexandria. At the celebrations Hellius, Bishop of Heliopolis,
presided together with his clergy. At the same time he visited the
monastery headed by the Igumen Theodore. It was at this monastery that
both father and son then remained. By night the father Eudykios had a
revelation about his own approaching end, and also that his son would
become a bishop and enlighten with the light of the Christian Faith the
city and region of Brundisium (now Brindisi in Calabria-Apuleia) in
Italy.
And in this same vision a new name for Eutropius was
revealed: Leucius, meaning “the Spirit of the Lord is come upon him.”
And it was on the feast of the Dormition in the church of the Mother of
God that Bishop Hellius heard a voice from Heaven, blessing Leucius for
archpastoral service, and he directed the archdeacon to enquire of those
praying who it was that bore this name. Then with love he blessed Saint
Leucius and his father.
The monks of the Hermias monastery
earnestly besought the bishop to install Saint Leucius as Igumen of the
monastery. Although the ascetic initially refused, considering himself
unworthy, he then submitted himself to the bishop and was ordained to
the priesthood and was made Igumen.
From this time Saint Leucius
intensified his efforts, and God granted him the grace of working
miracles, and casting out demons. Once a devil assumed the form of an
immense serpent, and killed many in the nearby villages. The holy
ascetic hastened to come to the aid of the villagers and he delivered
them from the power of the devil. Seeing this, about three thousand
pagans in the vicinity accepted Baptism.
During this period the
Philip, Bishop of Alexandria, died a martyr, and Saint Leucius was
chosen in his place. Seeing that Saint Leucius was converting many
pagans to Christianity, the eparch Saturninus decided to kill him.
Wishing to defend their archpastor, some of the Christians wanted to
kill the eparch. Learning of this, the saint forbade them to cause the
eparch any harm. Saint Leucius told his flock that the Lord had
commanded him to go to a pagan land and to enlighten with the light of
the Christian Faith the city of Brundisium and its surrounding region.
The
holy archpastor established a worthy bishop in his place, and he then
took with him the deacons Eusebius and Dionysius and five students, and
they hastened onto a ship sailing for Italy. Along the way they were
joined by the priests Leon and Sabinus. On their journey to Brundisium
the saint met up with the tribune Armaleon and his 67 soldiers, all whom
he converted to Christianity. In the city he began to preach to the
people about Jesus Christ. The head of the city, named Antiochus,
learned that the tribune Armaleon had converted to Christianity, and so
he summoned him and questioned him about the Christian teaching for a
long time. Learning about Saint Leucius, the governor wished to meet
him.
At the meeting the governor said: “If you want us to believe
in the God that you preach, beseech Him to send down rain upon our
land, which we have not seen for two years already.” The saint summoned
his clergy and all the newly-baptized Christians, and made fervent
supplication. Then rain poured down in abundance, soaking the parched
earth. Seeing this miracle, Antiochus and all the city of Brundisium
(27,000 people) accepted Baptism. In memory of this event, a church was
built in honor of the Mother of God, and at the place where the people
were baptized, a second church in honor of Saint John the Baptist.
Soon the saint fell ill, and it was revealed to him in a vision that he
would die of the sickness. Summoning his spiritual son Antiochus, Saint
Leucius gave final instructions to bury him at the place where the ship
carrying him from Alexandria had landed. Antiochus fulfilled the request
of the archpastor and built a church dedicated to Saint Leucius. The
relics of the saint were transferred to it, and numerous miracles
occurred there.
Pior was a hermit in Nitria. Inflamed with love for God, Pior renounced the world at an early age and withdrew into the Egyptian desert, where he heroically lived a life of asceticism. It is said that he never sat at the table to eat but always ate standing and working. When asked why he did this, St. Pior replied: "I do not want to concern myself with eating as an occupation but rather as something marginal". When they called him to a council to judge a brother who had committed a sin, Pior arrived carrying a sack of sand on his back and a small bag of sand on his chest. Asked what it meant, the saint replied: "The sack of sand on my back represents my sins, which I do not see, and the bag of sand on my chest represents the sins of my brother, whom I have to judge." All the brethren were then ashamed and cried out: "This is the path of salvation!" Pior lived to be a hundred years old and reposed in the Lord in the fourth century.
Hieromartyr Tigrius the Presbyter and the Martyr Eutropius
the Reader were contemporaries of Saint John Chrysostom (November 13)
and were among his clergy. The holy presbyter Tigrius was a mild and
kindly pastor, and Saint Eutropius was distinguished for his prudence
and purity of life. When Saint John Chrysostom was banished from
Constantinople in 404, Saint Tigrius and the reader Eutropius were
arrested as his partisans and were accused of setting fire to churches
and buildings belonging to the opponents of Saint John Chrysostom.
Saint
Tigrius was put to torture, beaten with leather and banished to
Mesopotamia, where he was imprisoned and died. Saint Eutropius was
flogged, suspended, struck with iron rods, and thrown into prison. When
the torments were repeated, he died. His body, which had been thrown to
the dogs, was taken by night and buried by Christians. As they took his
body for burial, angelic singing was heard in the sky above them.
Saint Michael the first Metropolitan of Kiev, according to the
Joakimov chronicle, was a Syrian by birth, but according to other
chronicles, he was a Bulgarian or Serb. In the year 989, he arrived at
Korsun with other clergy for holy Prince Vladimir (July 15), not long
after Vladimir’s Baptism (988).
As first metropolitan of the
Russian Church his service was difficult, but grace-filled. He zealously
made the rounds of the newly-enlightened Russian Land, preaching the
Holy Gospel, baptizing and teaching the newly-illumined people, founding
the first churches and religious schools.
In Rostov he
established the first wooden church in honor of the Dormition of the
Most Holy Theotokos and installed Theodore the Greek there as bishop.
Saint Michael was a wise and gentle, but also strict hierarch. The
Russian Church has preserved the memory of the saint’s praiseworthy
deeds. In the Synodikon of the Novgorod and Kiev Sophia cathedrals he is
rightfully called the initiator.
Saint Michael died on June 15,
992 and was buried in the Desyatin-Tithe church of the Most Holy
Theotokos in Kiev. In about the year 1103, under the Igumen Saint
Theoctistus (afterwards Bishop of Chernigov, August 5), his relics were
transferred to the Antoniev Cave, and on October 1, 1730 into the Great
Church of the Caves. Thus his memory was celebrated on September 30, and
also July 15, the day of his repose.
Formerly, his memory was
celebrated on September 2, along with Saints Anthony and Theodosius of
the Caves. There is a trace of this earlier celebration in the service
to Saint Michael. In the second verse of the “Praises” we sing: “Having
begun the new year, we offer you our first songs, O blessed one, for you
were the beginning of the hierarchy in the Russian land.”
Saint Michael is also commemorated on September 30.
Alexandra was a wealthy landowner in several provinces of Russia. She was widowed at an early age, so she went to a monastery in Kiev and began zealously to lead the ascetic life. The Mother of God appeared to her in a vision, saying she was destined to found a new monastery. After a prolonged time, she found the place chosen by the Mother of God. It was not far from the men's monastery of Sarov. Under their guidance, she began her ascetic life in a cell next to the church. She used her great wealth for the construction and renovation of churches. She also provide for orphans, widows, and the poor. She struggled in the most difficult physical labor. She even cleaned the cattle shed and washed clothes. The peasants recalled her great humility and secret good works. Novices began to join her, and a small community was formed. They received wanderers and practiced unceasingly the Jesus Prayer. Her clothing had many patches and her eyes never dried from her tears. People flowed to her to listen to her instructions, advice, and receive her blessing. St. Seraphim of Sarov always spoke about her with profound respect. After her death, he saw her at the throne of God. She died in 1789. Shortly before her death, she was tonsured into the great angelic schema. Many miracles and healings were wrought by Mother Alexandra after her death, and her portrait began to be venerated as wonder working.
Luke was greatly influenced by his father who was a pious Roman Catholic. He was also influenced by the Holy Bible and the monastery of the Kiev Caves. His mother was an Orthodox Christian. Luke had a desire to help the poor, so he attended medical school in Kiev, and finished in the early twentieth century. During the Russo-Japonese War, her went to the Far East as a surgeon. He met his future wife Anna, and they had four children. The family would entertain a nun once a month, and they attended church regularly. Luke would not operate on a patient until he had prayed before an icon of the Theotokos, and signed the patient with iodine in the sign of the cross. When an official of the Communist Party removed the icon, Luke refused to do surgery. He was imprisoned, tortured, and exiled for eleven years in Siberia and other locales. He was also burdened with heretics and schismatic individuals. Luke reopened many churches that had been closed by the Communists, wrote deeply theological works, supported the faithful, and drew many to Orthodoxy. He also saved thousands, especially injured soldiers. His research techniques were important to fellow surgeons fifty years later. Luke died peacefully in 1961. Miraculously, a huge flock of doves followed the funeral procession from the church to the cemetery. When Luke's relics were in uncovered in 1996, forty thousand people took part. It is said that an indescribable aroma arose from the relics. The Patriarchate of Russia glorified Luke as a saint. Many miracles occur throughout the world through St. Luke's prayers.
The Holy Schemamonk Silvanus of the Kiev Caves labored in
asceticism in the Far Caves during the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries. One time, by the power of his prayer, he held fast to the
spot robbers, who had come into the monastery garden, and for three days
they were not able to move. When they repented, the monk then freed
them. The memory of Saint Silvanus is celebrated also on August 28, and
on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
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 OF CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA
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 OF CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA
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.
Contra-Zelensky Roundup
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The post Contra-Z...
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[image: St Athanasius of Oryol]
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Longtime readers will know I enjoy Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov's books and
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The Catacomb Church (1991)
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The text below is excerpted from the 2011 book "In the Catacombs" by S.V.
Shumilo:
"Remaining in a position without rights, the Catacomb Church – as in t...
Εσύ ετοίμασες την Φάτνη σου;
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*Άκουε ουρανέ και ενωτίζου η γη· ιδού γαρ ο Υιός και Λόγος του Θεού και
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*Ηλιαχτίδα..*
Αναρωτηθήκαμε ποτέ, γιατί άραγε ο...
Ascension and Judgment in the Triumphal Entry
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One of the key features of the Gospels is the many prophecies of Christ
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I am back and rested after spending 15 days in the U.K. While I
always enjoy coming home, the truth of the matter is that I was not quite
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Exceptions
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There seems to be a common school of thought that and exception to a canon
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A Tale of Two Linguists
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The Second Vatican Council declared the Latin language to be one of the
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Christmas: the Eternal embraces the Finite
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*The following is a Christmas-season meditation by Susan Anne, who will be
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Leo XIV Has Cancer
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ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery Tuesday that confirmed that he
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The truth drew hatred…
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“Seest Thou what suffer those who censure, O Word of God, the faults of
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Moving Day
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June 28
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