Venerable Dionysius of Olympus

Commemorated on January 24

Saint Dionysius of Olympus was born into a family of poor parents in the village of Platina. When he was an infant, the Cross shone over his crib. Fond of prayer and reading spiritual books from his youth, St Dionysius decided to become a monk after the death of his parents. With this aim he went to Meteora, and then to Mount Athos. There he lived with a pious Elder, the priest Seraphim, and under his guidance he began to lead an ascetic life, keeping a strict fast. During Passion Week he went into the forest, and ate only chestnuts. Soon he was ordained deacon, and then priest.

The exalted life of St Dionysius became known, and many monks came to hear his edifying words. He also guided many lawless people onto the path of salvation, among whom was a robber who intended to rob the saint's cell, but was moved to repentance by the Elder's kind and wise words.

The brethren of the Philotheou monastery lost their igumen and asked St Dionysius to be their head. However, he did not receive enough votes, and dissensions arose. Valuing peace and love most of all, St Dionysius withdrew and went to Verria. Later, he fled to Mount Olympus in order to avoid being consecrated as a bishop.

Here those zealous for monasticism began to flock to him. Dionysius built cells for them and also a church and they spent their time in fasting and prayer. Having attained the spiritual heights, he worked many miracles. Often, through the prayers of the saint, the Lord punished iniquitous people who oppressed the monks of Olympus or broke the commandments of Christ. The holdings of a Turk who had expelled the monks and wrecked their monastery were destroyed by severe drought and by hail. The cattle of a herdsman who had oppressed the monastery were stricken with disease and sickness; because of her impudence, a maiden from one of the villages was subjected to an assault of the devil. They all received healing and deliverance from misfortune through the prayers of St Dionysius, after being led to penitence by his lack of malice.

The saint compiled a Rule for monastic life, and was an example of monastic activity. He built a church on Olympus, and also a monastery dedicated to the Prophet Elias. He left the brethren his final testament about the monastic life based on the Rule of the Holy Mountain.

St Dionysius died in the sixteenth century at an advanced age, and was buried on Olympus, in the church portico of the monastery he founded.
SOURCE:

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

14th Sunday of Luke

January 23

Tone of the week: Tone Two

Second Eothinon

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Second Tone

 

When You descended unto death, O Lord who yourself are immortal Life, then did You mortify Hades by the lightning flash of Your Divinity. Also when You raised the dead from the netherworld, all the Powers of the heavens were crying out: O Giver of life, Christ our God, glory be to You.

Resurrectional Kontakion in the Second Tone

 

You rose from the tomb, O Savior all-powerful, * and Hades beheld the marvel and was struck with fear, * and the dead were rising up, and creation beholds and rejoices with You, * and Adam is also exultant; O my Savior, and the world ever sings Your praise.

Seasonal Kontakion in the First Tone

 

Your birth sanctified a Virgin's womb and properly blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and saved us O Christ our God, give peace to Your commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom You love, as only the loving One.

SOURCE:

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

God in Trinity-A Communion of Persons

From here.

--------------------



ORTHODOX CATECHISM TOPICS

God in Trinity

A Communion of Persons

By: Fr. Anthony Alevizopoulos

PhD. of Theology, PhD. of Philosophy

http://www.egolpion.com/God_Trinity.en.aspx

We Orthodox Christians believe in a Trinitarian God. God is not an isolated being, but communion and love. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit; He is not one Person but three. Between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit there exists a pre-eternal communion of love. This does not imply, however, that we Christians believe in three Gods, but in One. There is but one divine essence and it is indivisible. This is why we speak of one God in Trinity. The unique source of the one divine essence is the Father. He it is who transmits pre-eternally, (icpoai-ωρίως) i.e. without beginning, existence to the Son through pre-eternal generation, and to the Holy Spirit, through pre-eternal procession.

Here we must note that in the Orthodox Church "procession" is contrasted to "sending". The Holy Spirit proceeds pre-eternally from the Father alone. "In time" (temporally) He is sent from the Son for the salvation of man. In other words a distinction is made between the pre-eternal transmission of the divine essence from the Father, and the Divine Economy, i.e. the mystery of man's salvation (John 15,26). The Orthodox Church does not accept the so-called "Filioque", the teaching that the Holy Spirit proceeds "and from the Son".

Our faith in the Triune God is not a man-made discovery, but revelation from God. He who is unap­proachable for man, reveals Himself to man and becomes approachable.

Already in the Old Testament the Triune God appears as the Creator of man and the entire world. He is created not by the Father alone, but from the Father through the Son and is perfected "in the Holy Spirit", with one will and one energy. "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth...and the spirit of God was moving over the face of the water", the Old Testa­ment tells us characteristically, using in Hebrew the word Elohim for God, which is a plural form. And for the creation of man God spoke and said: "let us make man according to our image and likeness" (Gen. 1,26).

We confess that there is only one will and one energy for the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. The Father wills and acts those things which the Son and the Holy Spirit will and act. Many passages in Holy Scrip­ture manifest the unity of will and energy of the divine Persons which make up the One and Trinitarian God. That is why they are characterized as "Lord" (Kyrios), "The Lord God" or even " The Lord Pantocrator" (Almighty). These characteristics are at times attributed to the Father, at other times to the Son and at other times to the Holy Spirit. Thus, the "Lord" whom Isaiah saw (Isaiah 6,1-10) is, according to John 12,36-41, the Son, while according to Acts 28,25-27, the Holy Spirit.

This Trinitarian faith is expressed by Orthodox Christians by the manner in which they baptize and in the way they glorify God: they are baptized "in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" (Mtth. 28,19) and they glorify the Triune God: "glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit". Orthodox Christians then are baptized in the way that they believe and glorify God: in harmony with their Trinitarian faith. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity are not separated, neither are they confused; they exist one in the other (perichoresis); i.e. each one of the divine persons is always within each of the other two. There where the Father is, is also the Son and the Holy Spirit. And wherever the Son is, there also is the Father and the Holy Spirit. Where the Holy Spirit is, there also are the Father and the Son.

As we have mentioned, there is only one source which pre-eternally provides the divine essence: the Father. That which has been revealed to us concerning the distinction of the divine persons is the manner in which the divine essence is imparted: to the Son: through pre-eternal generation; the Father pre-eternally begets the Son; to the Holy Spirit: through pre-eternal procession; the Holy Spirit pre-eternally proceeds from the Father.

This divine revelation of the Triune God was given for man's salvation and not in order to satisfy his curiosity. According to the Christian teaching, man was created according to God's image. Knowing therefore that God is a communion of persons, man delves into the knowledge of his own nature; he realizes that he also is not condemned to isolation, but created for communion and love. If God, who is man's archetype, were not Triune, then man could never realize that which he so deeply desires: communion and love. His entire life would be without any release. This is why we declare that our faith in the Holy Trinity constitutes man's only hope: "we have found true faith in worshipping the Trinity undivided; for the Trinity has saved us" epigrammatically states one of the hymns of the Divine Liturgy.

In regard to this faith, the Orthodox Christian does not try to convince others with logical arguments so that they will accept it. For should he do so, he is obliged to move about in the field of purely human searching and not on the level of God's revelation.

Addressing himself to the Corinthians, St. Paul underlines: "God has revealed [these things] to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God...So also no one comprehends God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed upon us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit. The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one." (I Cor. 2, 10-15).

In unity with the Trinitarian faith the Orthodox Church chants:

"Come, Ο ye peoples, let us worship the Godhead of three Hypostases:

the Son in the Father, with the Holy Spirit; for the Father timelessly begat the Son,

Who is co-eternal and of one throne; and the Holy Spirit was in the Father, glorified with the Son; one Might, one Essence, one Godhead, which we all worship saying:

Holy God,

Who didst create all things through the Son, with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mighty,

through Whom we have known the Father,

and through Whom the Holy Spirit came to the world.

Holy Immortal, the Comforting Spirit,

Who proceedest from the Father and resteth in the Son. Ο Holy Trinity, glory be to Thee

(the Doxastikon of Pentecost Vespers).

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

Its Faith, Worship and Life

Rev. Antonios Alevisopoulos, Th. D. Ph. D

Translated by Rev. Stephen Avramides

ATHENS 2001

St Brihtwald of Wilton

Commemorated on January 22

Saint Brihtwald (Berhtwald) was the last Bishop of Ramsbury, Wiltshire. After his death, the See was transferred to Old Sarum.

Originally a monk of Glastonbury, he was renowned for his visions and prophecies. St Brihtwald died in 1045 and was buried in Glastonbury Abbey.
SOURCE:

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

Virginmartyr Agnes of Rome

Commemorated on January 21

The holy Virgin Martyr Agnes was born at Rome during the third century. Her parents were Christians and they raised her in the Christian Faith. From her youth she devoted herself to God, and dedicated herself to a life of virginity, refusing all other suitors.

When she refused to enter into marriage with the son of the city official Symphronius, one of his associates revealed to him that Agnes was a Christian. The wicked Eparch decided to subject the holy virgin to shame and he ordered that she be stripped and and sent to a brothel for disdaining the pagan gods. But the Lord would not permit the saint to suffer shame. As soon as she was disrobed, long thick hair grew from her head covering her body. An angel was also appointed to guard her. Standing at the door of the brothel, he shone with a heavenly light which blinded anyone who came near her.

The son of the Eparch also came to defile the virgin, but fell down dead before he could touch her. Through the fervent prayer of St Agnes, he was restored to life. Before his father and many other people he proclaimed, "There is one God in the heavens and on earth: the Christian God, and the other gods are but dust and ashes!" After seeing this miracle, 160 men believed in God and were baptized, and then suffered martyrdom.

St Agnes, at the demand of the pagan priests, was given over to torture. They tried to burn her as a witch, but the saint remained unharmed in the fire, praying to God. After this they killed her by stabbing her in the throat. Through her death at the age of thirteen, St Agnes escaped everlasting death and inherited eternal life. The holy virgin martyr was buried by her parents in a field they owned outside of Rome.

Many miracles occurred at the grave of St Agnes. Her holy and grace-filled relics rest in the church built in her honor, along the Via Nomentana.

Troparion - Tone 4
Your lamb Agnes,
calls out to You, O Jesus, in a loud voice:
"I love You, my Bridegroom,
and in seeking You, I endure suffering.
In baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You,
and I died so that I might live with You.
Accept me as a pure sacrifice,
for I have offered myself in love."
Through her prayers save our souls, since You are merciful.
SOURCE:

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

The Holy Martyrs Inna, Pinna and Rimma-Disciples of the Apostle Andrew, in Scythia

           Martyr Rimma

Martyr Inna
Commemorated on January 20

The Holy Martyrs Inna, Pinna and Rimma were Slavs from northern Scythia (modern Bulgaria), and they were disciples of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. They preached the Gospel of Christ and they baptized many barbarians who converted to the true Faith. They were seized by the local chieftain, but they would not deny Christ, nor would they offer sacrifice to idols.

It was wintertime, and the rivers were so frozen that not only people, but also horses with carts could travel on the ice. The chieftain had the saints tied to logs on the ice, and gradually lowered them into the freezing water. When the ice reached their necks, they surrendered their blessed souls to the Lord.

Troparion - Tone 4

Your lambs Inna, Pinna and Rimma,
call out to You, O Jesus, in a loud voice:
"I love You, my Bridegroom,
and in seeking You, I endure suffering.
In baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You,
and I died so that I might live with You.
Accept me as a pure sacrifice,
for I have offered myself in love."
Through their prayers save our souls, since You are merciful.

SOURCE:

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

Venerable Macarius the Deacon of the Kiev Caves

Commemorated on January 19

Saint Macarius the Deacon lived in the Far Caves of Kiev, and is commemorated on January 19 because of his namesake, St Macarius of Egypt. St Macarius lived during the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, and was distinguished by his lack of covetousness. He possessed great fervor for the temple of God and he continuously labored in reading Holy Scripture and in fasting.

According to Tradition, he was frequently ill as a child, and his parents vowed that they would offer their son to the Monastery of the Caves if he were made healthy. By his mildness and humility he earned the love of the brethren, who taught him to read and to write. Because of his piety of life he was ordained as a deacon. The Lord also granted him the gift of wonderworking.

St Macarius of the Far Caves is also commemorated on August 28. There is a general commemoration of all the wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
SOURCE:

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

St Ephraim the Lesser

Commemorated on January 18

Today little is known about the life of venerable Ephraim the Lesser, the great 11th-century writer, translator, philosopher, and defender of the Georgian Church. His work Reminiscences and other sources, however, provide us with the means to speculate about the major periods of his life and labors.

In 1027, when King Bagrat IV (1027–1072) ascended the Georgian throne, many noblemen of the Tao region in southern Georgia relocated to Greece. Among them was the honorable Vache, son of Karichi, whom scholars believe was Ephraim’s father.

After receiving a Greek education in Constantinople, Ephraim settled in the Black Mountains near Antioch and began his labors there. His achievements in Georgian theological and philosophical writing are immeasurable. The number of his works is almost one hundred, and the subjects cover nearly every branch of theological inquiry. Ephraim even developed his own theory of translation, which later formed the foundation for written composition in the Georgian language. His theory consists of three essential points:

1. A composition must be translated from the original, that is, from the language in which it was first written. 2. The translation must carry the same literal meaning as the original, but accuracy in this regard must not violate the nature of the language into which the text is being translated. 3. A section of commentary that examines all relevant historical, grammatical, and literary issues should be included with the translated text.

Ephraim translated five of the works of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, The Ascetic Rules of St. Basil the Great, the writings of St. Ephraim the Syrian, commentaries on the Epistles and Psalms, and many other important patristic writings.

Among Ephraim the Lesser’s original works, his most significant is An Explanation of the Reasons for the Conversion of Georgia, a compilation of existing essays and his own commentaries on the nation’s conversion.

In the second half of the 11th century, the monks of Antioch and the Black Mountains began to deny the independence of the Georgian Church. Among other claims, they argued that none of the Apostles had preached the Christian Faith in Georgia. It became necessary to prove that the Georgian Church was indeed autocephalous, and members of the nation’s elite accordingly called upon Ephraim to settle this issue. Ephraim studied many patristic writings in the original Greek, gathered the ancient sources, and succeeded in fully securing the independent existence of the Georgian Church.

St. Ephraim wrote the following about the Apostles’ preaching: “Know that from the time the Apostles were preaching, according to the Prophet David: Their voice was heard through all the earth, and their words resounded in every village (c.f. Ps. 18:4). In Georgia, Andrew the First-called preached the Gospel in Avazgia (now Abkhazeti), and from there he journeyed to Ossetia (now Shida Kartli). Bartholomew also preached in Georgia, in the Kartli region.”

St. Ephraim never left the Black Mountains. In 1091 he was enthroned as the abbot of Kastana Monastery (The precise location of Kastana is unknown, but according to modern archaeologists, it was probably in the Black Mountains. For a full discussion of the subject see: Wachtang Z. Djobadze, Materials for the study of Georgian monasteries in the Western environs of Antioch on the Orontes (Louvain: Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, 1976), pp. 101–3)

Our holy father Ephraim reposed in the Lord around the year 1101. He is included in a list of the departed compiled by the Council of Ruisi-Urbnisi in 1103, and the year of his death has been approximated from the information given in this source.

Ephraim was canonized by the Orthodox Church of Georgia because of his God-pleasing life and the many commendable works he performed on behalf of the Church and his nation.
SOURCE:

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

Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero

Commemorated on January 17

Saint Anthony of Black Lake founded the Mother of God monastery at Black Lake [Chernoezero] in the Novgorod area, not far from the city of Chernopovets. The monastery was on an island of the Schirsk countryside. The monastery twice suffered complete destruction: in 1581, from the Lithuanians; and in 1682, from the Swedes. The monastery was closed in 1764.




SOURCE:

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

12th Sunday of Luke

January 16

Tone of the week: Tone One

First Eothinon

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the First Tone

 

The stone had been secured with a seal by the Judeans, * and a guard of soldiers was watching Your immaculate body. * You rose on the third day, O Lord * and Savior, granting life unto the world. * For this reason were the powers of heaven crying out to You, O Life-giver: * Glory to Your resurrection, O Christ; * glory to Your eternal rule; * glory to Your dispensation, only One who loves mankind.

Resurrectional Kontakion in the First Tone

 

You arose from the sepulcher in glory as God, and with yourself resurrected the world. And mortal nature extolled You as God, and death was obliterated, and Adam is dancing, O Master; and Eve, now redeemed from the bonds, rejoices crying out: O Christ, You are He who grants resurrection to all.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

 

You appeared to the world today, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us. With fuller understanding we sing to You: "You came, You were made manifest, the unapproachable light."

SOURCE:


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

Searching for the Truth

From here.
----------------

Searching for the Truth

By: Fr. Anthony Alevizopoulos
PhD. of Theology, PhD. of Philosophy

http://www.egolpion.com/searching_truth.en.aspx

 The problem of where the truth lies has occupied mankind down through the ages; it is a problem that is always contemporary and of its very nature leads man to seek an answer. The Philosophers, especially the ancient Greeks, posed the question: "What is the truth?" and most men have searched for it rationally. Some said that truth is an Idea, a "principle of all things", the "prime mover unmoved" and called it God.

But this "God", the God of the philosophers, cannot redeem. He touches only man's rational faculty, and not man as a whole; no one can come into personal commu­nion with him since he is not a person, but something impersonal; an universal Mind that acts blindly, or is so distant and so transcendental that he has no interest in man or in the world.

 There can be no doubt that anyone with a good disposition, upon observing creation and using his human potential, can discover evidence of God's existence. However, he will discover only the concept of God, but not God Himself, salvific truth.

Others, down through the ages, have created world idols and a multitude of deities. They established "divine" laws and rules and created systems of worship of human provenance. All these, however, are simply expressions of man himself; they do not transcend the created realm, created reality; they do not, in other words, reveal the one true God Who transcends the created world.

 Again, still others believe that man is by nature God. It remains simply for him to understand "his true self"; nothing need change save his stance vis-a-vis his God-self, rejecting any thought that might differentiate him from his own divinity and recognize the existence of a God outside and beyond him.

 In the final analysis, such an approach to God cannot satisfy man. It leads to an infinite loneliness which is contrary to human nature. By nature, man seeks warmth, love, communion with others and not only with himself; Without these things, he cannot exist. That is why he continuously seeks them. He is not satisfied with man-made concepts concerning God. He desires to rise above created reality, above creation and seek the meaning of life in communion with the uncreated and eternal God.

Christian Truth

 This void which is created in man who seeks saving truth is filled by the Church. The Christian does not seek man-made truth: rational truth, an idea or some cosmic Mind, called God.

He seeks truth which transcends human limits and all of creation. Moreover, he seeks God who can enter into personal communion with him, into a communion of love, i.e. he seeks God who is a Person.

For the Christian, the knowledge of God has a different significance. It is not simply an object of rational approaching or an impersonal delving into a Principle of the Universe which excludes every personal relationship. Christian knowledge of God is an event of personal communion between God and man, a commu­nion related to man's entire existence and not relegated simply to his rational faculty.

"Knowledge" therefore, according to the Christian concept, is not the product of rational activity, separated from love; indeed in the Holy Scriptures the term is used to express the consummation of interpersonal commu­nion within marriage (Gen. 4,1). Such a communion does not abrogate man's person within some sort of "cosmic" principle; rather it protects it! Through this communion mortal man transcends the condition of creatureliness, that is, his createdness, and participates in the life of the uncreated and eternal God.

Man, however, cannot realize this transcendence through his own abilities and potential, which out of necessity are limited to the realm of created reality. Man's very nature is an insurmountable hindrance which makes his passing over or "ascent" to, and approaching God impossible. An ontological abyss, i.e. an impassable chasm related to God's and man's essence, separates man from God. Man cannot transcend this abyss.

But that which man cannot do, God does out of love for His creature: He "descends" or rather "condescends" i.e. He adapts to man's condition, transcends the abyss, reveals Himself to His creature and offers him the possibility of a real communion of love and life.

Christian knowledge of truth, i.e. eternal life, is and remains the great gift of our affectionate Heavenly Father. It is not the result of our human endeavours. That which God offers us is not conditioned by our strivings. It is the fruit of God's freedom and love. This gift is offered freely and ought to be accepted always with gratitude. No one can force the donor to offer his gifts.

Moreover, God does not violate man's will. He lets him make his own free choice. He allows him to respond with his love to God's love or to reject that love. Such a choice does not belong to man's rational domain, i.e. a rational turning towards God on man's part is not enough. Man must participate in totality. What is needed is tangible proof of man's holistic turning toward God that includes his struggle for spiri­tual catharsis, the carrying out of God's commandment. Without this basic presupposition it is impossible to find God:

"For perverse thoughts separate men from God, and when his power is tested, it convicts the foolish; because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin. For a holy and disci­plined spirit will flee from deceit, and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness." (Wisdom of Solomon 1,3-5).

The free exercise of the divine virtues leads man away from autonomy. It functions within the realm of God's love. Man, through his obedience and through the carrying out of God's commandments humbles his body and his mind, recognizing that by himself he can neither embark nor continue upon the path of the true knowl­edge of God. His entire life becomes a cry unto God. God then condescends and offers to man the grace of the knowledge of Himself. Man becomes a partaker in this grace, which is God's gift, and which is called uncreated divine energy. Of course grace is not identical with God's essence. God' essence remains unapproachable and incomprehensible for man. Grace however, springs from God' essence which is its source. Hence it is not created but uncreated. This is why God's condescension signifies for man true knowledge of God, eternal life and salvation. This is the Christian concept concerning the knowledge of God.

For the faithful to reach this saving knowledge it is necessary that he "bow his head", that he submit in love to the merciful Lord. It is for this reason that the priest-celebrant of the divine services, after the command "bow your heads unto the Lord", prays:

"O Lord our God, Who didst bow the heavens and come down for the salvation of the race of men, look upon Thy servants and upon Thine inheritance. For unto Thee, the fearful and man-befriending Judge, have Thy servants inclined their heads and bowed their necks, looking for succour not from men, but abiding Thy mercy and awaiting Thy salvation..."

With the Christian concept of truth and its "knowl­edge", man's life acquires a deeper, a true meaning and eternal destiny. It sufficeth that man consider the "knowledge" of God as the most precious treasure in his life, and that he seek it out properly. Then will God's grace touch him and desire for God will become so great that nothing can stand between him and God or separate him from God's love:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8, 35-39).

This is the path that the holy martyrs of our Church followed; Thus the hymn of the Church states:

"Neither tribulation, nor distress, nor famine, nor persecution, nor whip, nor anger of beasts, nor sword, nor fire, can threaten you, all-laudable Martyrs, with separation from God; for you have escaped nature in disdaining death by your yearning for Him and struggl­ing as if in bodies foreign to you...".

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
Its Faith, Worship and Life

Rev. Antonios Alevisopoulos, Th. D. Ph. D

Translated by Rev. Stephen Avramides
ATHENS 2001

St Ita the Hermitess of Killeady

Commemorated on January 15

Saint Ita, "the Foster Mother of the Irish Saints," was born in the fifth century. She, like many of the Irish saints, was of the nobility. Her parents were devout Christians who lived in County Waterford. She founded a school and convent at Kiledy (Cille Ide) which still bears her name near Newcastle West in Co. Limerick. A holy well still marks the site of her church.

When she decided to settle in Kileedy, a local chieftain offered her a grant of land for the support of the convent. St Ita accepted four icons, which she cultivated. The convent became known as a training ground for young boys, many of whom became famous churchmen. She received St Brendan the Voyager (May 16) when he was only a year old, and kept him until he was six. She also cared for her nephew St Mochaemhoch (March 13) in his infancy. She called him "Pulcherius," because he was such a handsome child.

Many people sought her spiritual counsels, and she also seems to have practiced medicine to some degree. Her life was spent in repentance and asceticism.

St Ita once told St Brendan that the three things most displeasing to God are: A face that hates mankind, a will that clings to the love of evil, and placing one's entire trust in riches (Compare Proverbs 6:16-19).

The three things most pleasing to God are: The firm belief of a pure heart in God, the simple religious life, and liberality with charity.

St Ita fell asleep in the Lord in 570. Her Feast Day is a local holiday in the district, and her name is a popular one for Irish girls.
SOURCE:


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

St Kentigern, first Bishop of Glasgow, Scotland

Commemorated on January 14

Saint Kentigern was from Lothian (in Scotland), and may have been of royal blood. He left home at an early age and was brought up by a hermit named Servan (July 1) on the Firth of Forth. It was St Servan who gave him the name Mungo (or dear friend).

St Kentigern Mungo labored in Strathclyde, and founded a monastery where the city of Glasgow stands today. He was made a bishop, taking Glasgow for his See.

Driven from Scotland by the enmity of a local ruler, St Kentigern went to Wales and founded the monastery of St Asaph. Eventually, he returned to Scotland and resumed his missionary work, baptizing many people.

In 584 he met St Columba (June 9), and exchanged croziers with him. St Kentigern was a strict ascetic who traveled everywhere on foot. It is believed that he died in Glasgow around 612 at the age of eighty-five. A Gothic cathedral was built over his shrine in the thirteenth century.
SOURCE:

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

St James the Bishop of Nisibis

Commemorated on January 13

Saint James, Bishop of Nisibis, was the son of prince Gefal (Armenia) and received a fine upbringing. From the time of his youth he loved solitude, and for a long time he lived in the mountains around about the city of Niziba (on the border of the Persian and Roman Empires), where he carried out strict ascetic exploits: he lived under the open sky, fed himself with tree fruits and greens, and dressed himself in goat-skins. The monk passed all this time in prayerful conversations with God.

During a persecution by the emperor Maximian (284-305)he was glorified by a courageous confession of faith. Because of his strict and pious life the inhabitants of Nisibis chose him as their bishop (no later than the year 314). St James was glorified by his ardent zeal for the Orthodox Faith, by great miracles and by the gift of clairvoyance. By his prayers Nisibis was saved from an invasion by Sapor, the emperor of Persia.

St James, among the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, was one of the prominent defenders of the Orthodox Faith. A wise and educated pastor, he constructed a public school at Nisibis, in which he himself was an instructor. He made a strong impression on the hearts of his listeners by the high morality of his life.

St Gregory, bishop of great Armenia, turned to him with a request to write about the faith, and the Nisibis pastor sent to him by way of reply a detailed Discourse (18 Chapters): about the faith, about love, fasting, prayer, spiritual warfare, the resurrection of the dead, the duties of pastors, about circumcision against the Jews, about the choice of foods, about Christ as the Son of God, and so on. His composition distinguishes itself by its persuasive clear exposition and warmth.

St James died peacefully in about the year 350.
SOURCE:


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

Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk

Commemorated on January 12

Saint Martinian of White Lake, in the world Michael, was born in the year 1370 in the village of Berezniko, not far from the Cyrilov monastery. At age thirteen he left his parents and went secretly to St Cyril of White Lake (June 9), whom many described as a great ascetic.

The young Martinian began zealously to imitate his teacher, with whom he dwelt in complete obedience. At the monastery he studied reading and writing, and with the blessing of St Cyril, he occupied himself with the copying of books. In time Martinian was ordained deacon and then hieromonk.

After the death of St Cyril (+ 1427), Martinian withdrew to a deserted island on Lake Vozha. Several monks gradually gathered around him. St Martinian established for them the church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and introduced a general Rule for the inhabitants. Yielding to the persistent requests of the brethren of Therapon monastery, he consented to become igumen of the monastery and brought it into an improved condition.

St Martinian gave spiritual support to Great Prince Basil in the difficulties of his time, when his first-cousin Demetrius Shemyaka illicitly sought the Moscow throne. He was always an advocate of truth and justice. Afterwards, upon the entreaty of the Great Prince, the saint accepted the governance of the monastery of St Sergius of Radonezh.

In 1455, St Martinian returned to the Therapon monastery. In his last years he was grievously ill and not able to walk, so the brethren carried him to church. He died at age 85. His relics were uncovered in the year 1514, and this event is celebrated on October 7.
SOURCE:

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

Icon of the Mother of God of Elets

Commemorated on January 11

The Elets Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1060. It received its name because it appeared in a cathedral church dedicated to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. in the city of Elets, Orlov province. January 11 was appointed as the feastday of this icon.
SOURCE:

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

Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda

Commemorated on January 10

Saint Paul of Obnora, a famed disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh, was born at Moscow in the year 1317. From his youth he distinguished himself by his piety and kindliness towards the poor and suffering. His rich parents prepared him for a secular life, but at twenty-two years of age he secretly left his parental home and received tonsure at the Nativity monastery on the Volga (in the Yaroslav diocese).

From there Paul transferred to the Holy Trinity monastery to St Sergius of Radonezh, spending several years with him as his disciple, obeying the holy Elder in all things. With the blessing of St Sergius, he settled a short distance from the monastery in a separate cell, where he spent fifteen years as a hermit. Having asked the blessing of St Sergius to go off into the wilderness for a quiet and solitary life, St Paul wandered about for a long while, seeking a place of solitude. He wandered a great deal in the wilderness. He spent time with St Abraham of Chukhloma (July 20) and finally, he remained in the Komel forest.

At the Gryazovitsa River, in the hollow of an old linden tree, the monk built a small cell and dwelt there for three years in complete silence, "not giving his body rest, that he might receive future rest." Then he moved on to the River Nurma, where he built a hut and dug a well, spending his days in vigil and prayer.

Five days out of the week he went without food, and only on Saturday and Sunday did he partake of some bread and water. The news about the hermit spread abroad, and those wishing spiritual guidance began coming to him. Despite his love for the solitary life, St Paul never refused anyone spiritual consolation and guidance. He was also visited by St Sergius of Nurma (October 7), who sought solitude with the blessing of St Sergius of Radonezh, and who also spent his ascetic life in these places.

With the blessing of St Sergius and the agreement of Metropolitan Photius, St Paul built the Holy Trinity church in 1414, around which a monastery sprang up (later called the Monastery of St Paul of Obnora). Having written a strict monastic Rule for the brethren, St Paul entrusted the guidance of the new monastery to his disciple Alexis, while he himself continued as before to live in a solitary cell on a hill. He remained a responsive and good counselor for anyone needing his help. St Paul died at 112 years of age. His final words were, "Brethren, have love one for another and keep to the rule of the monastic community."

The Life of the saint was written in about the year 1546, and his glorification occurred in 1547.
SOURCE:

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

Orthodox Bishop Artemije to the Holy Synod...

From here.

---------------------- 

A R T E M I J E
The retired Bishop of Ras-Prizren
September 13^th, 2010
Shishatovac Monastery

TO THE HOLY ARCHIERATICAL SYNOD
OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
BELGRADE

Surprised, shocked and deeply wounded by its contents, and the slanders and threats contained in the latest Act of the Holy Archieratical Synod, No. 924, dated August 26^th 2010, we are compelled to answer it, according to our duty and our sense of conscience.

For the last few years, even though We expressed our disagreement, We have been tolerant of and accepting of many of your non-canonical and anti-constitutional decisions and deeds. The reason for that was that We were convinced then that, both for the Church and the people, instead of spreading and hardening the conflict within the Church, it was better that We endure your aggression, initially, with small acts but over time the aggression has grown bigger and harder, against the archieratical right and the authority of the Diocese of Ras-Prizren.

Must we remind you of the issue of Our lawsuit filed in Strasbourg, concerning the damage inflicted during the events of March 17^th 2004, and its forced withdrawal, the issue of the Memorandum (March 2005), the reception of the “reconstructed” edifices in 2008 and 2009, the question of Visoki Decani Monastery and the schism created by its administration, the issue of Our right to judge and promote our clerics… In the end, albeit not agreeing with it, We accepted the anti-canonical and non-constitutional extortion of Our Diocese from Us and our expulsion from Kosovo and Metohija.

We acted in such a manner in order to maintain peace, concord and unity within the Serbian Orthodox Church. We hoped for peace and harmony. Did Our tolerance towards you bring peace to the Church? No! Only chaos has been created. By your actions, only irreparable damage was brought to the Diocese of Ras-Prizren. You have chased away its monastics, you have exposed them to harassment, blackmail, threats of legal action both ecclesiastical and secular. You contest their right to a filial relationship with Us, their spiritual father.

You cooperate with illegitimate Albanian institutions, hence assisting the creation of a secessionist entity within the Serb Kosovo and Metohija. You have already received praise from our adversaries. 

Liturgical order has been destroyed and chaos has been introduced to the Diocese of Ras-Prizren.

Besides all this, you are pressurising the whole Serbian Orthodox Church, abandoning Sacred Canons and the Holy Tradition, toward the path of abominable Union with Papacy. What does the speech of His Holiness in Vienna these days look like?

We have no more justifiable reasons to accept things with which We do not agree. We have no such right, and the question is if We have ever really had it!? As Ras-Prizren Bishop, we must not, we do not want to, and we cannot cooperate in the dismantling of St. Sava’s Serbian Orthodox Church.

Fathers and brethren, with this address to You as members of the Holy Archieratical Synod, let it be considered and known that we address at the same time to the Holy Archieratical Assembly of Hierarchs, to the Primates of all the Local Orthodox Churches and their Hierarchs, to the Priests and Monastics, as well as to all the Orthodox people around the globe. The basic reason for that is the latest act of Yours, which We mentioned in the beginning.

You have intended to impose on Us a new punishment, showing thus that you are still not satisfied by all those declared and implemented punishments, all of them without real canonical background.

All are aware, even outside of the boundaries of Ras-Prizren Diocese, and even outside Serbia, what really hides in the deeper background regarding the motive as to why You removed us from Kosovo and Metohija, even forbidding Us to dwell there in any of the monasteries that We had built or reconstructed there, at least in a retired status, which you non-canonically and anti-constitutionally imposed on Us.

Such intentions of Yours towards Us suffice to show to many  who needs to fear whom and why, as well which side is canonically rightful and which one is not.

It is also publicly known that We, in order to keep the peace in the Serbian Orthodox Church, complied with Your decisions, emphasizing every time that Our compliance did not mean that We also agreed  with those decisions. We could not agree that in a completely oppressive way, You extort from Us the Diocese of Ras-Prizren, entrusted to Us by God, and that You give it over to the hands of the second and the third bridegroom, albeit We are still alive. Truly wise Church Fathers called such actions “fornication” from which one can expect only foul offspring. Who can be proud today of the offspring that multiplied like weeds from such an unholy union? Only the adversaries, and they are many, not only from the outside, but from the inside as well! But, let the initiators and perpetrators of the infernal plan of Our deprivation of the Diocese, and our removal from Kosovo and Metohija think about it more!

The malice continued to spread. In this chain non-canonical actions from Your side, not only that you deprived us of our Bishop’s throne, and expelled Us from Kosovo and Metohija, but you have scattered our flock, too. And the flock knows it shepherd. The flock is sensible and thus it has self-determined to follow its shepherd. It will not accept the imposed foreign shepherd who wants to keep the flock in fear, under threat and punishment.

Do We have the right to renounce Our own flock, which does not renounce Us? What answer shall We give to Christ the Saviour, Who invested Us to be the shepherd of the reasonable flock, and to Whom we gave an oath of faithfulness for life?

Bearing all this in mind, my dear Brethren in Christ, we declare and penitently acknowledge that We did not do well when we emphasized and declared that We “comply with your decisions, but We do not agree with them”. Our “compliance” towards You obviously did not bring peace to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which was so much desired from Our side. On the contrary!

After all that, we are indebted to officially withdraw all Our statements on the “compliance” given so far, for We see that We will have to give answers to  the Lord for them. In the other world We will not answer to You, but to Him Who taught us through all the Apostles, Martyrs, Teachers and the Saints of His Church, that one should pay obedience to God more than to men.

We have the feeling that by complying with Your decisions, preceded by specific blackmails, threats and horrible pressures, of which every successive one was harsher than the previous one, We have acted mistakenly against Our Diocese, which goes by the name of Ras-Prizren; against that entrusted to Us namely the spiritual flock, that is against Our life-long duty toward the Most High Lord to stand steadfastly on guard spiritually, in accordance to the church canons and the Archieratical oath We gave.

Hence, We rightfully demand that You give Us back the extorted seat of the Ras-Prizren Bishop, by which act You would bring back the canonical order and peace to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

On the contrary, We publicly declare by this that from now in future We deliver Us from the sense of guilt for the previous “compliances”, for We are, in the Church and toward God a life-long canonical Hierarch of the Ras-Prizren Diocese. In that sense, We will not submit to any future non-canonical decisions of Yours, bearing in mind that all the previous ones were brought about by the diktat of  non-ecclesiastical, political and inimical factors.

Undeniable testimonies and events which speak on behalf of what We say are well known to everybody, and the impartial historians will give their final judgment on that, and even before them it will be done by the general awareness of the rightful God’s people.

If there is awareness among you on how none of you  under any circumstances, would allow  someone to extort or endanger in any way  the Diocese entrusted to you by God, if that awareness  prevails in you, my brother Hierarchs, and that the other Hierarchs violate your rights which have been strictly guaranteed by the church canons, then you would understand Us and the justification for everything We have said here. If there is no such awareness, then there will only be hypocritical talk of love among us, and the efforts in reestablishing peace and order in our Church will be in vain.

In such a context, if, God forbid, a SCHISM happens in the Serbian Orthodox Church, be ready to receive and suffer the responsibility for it, and all the consequences which will come out of it.

No one either talks of schism or endeavours to create it except the members of the Holy Archieratical Synod, since February 11^th, 2010 until today. The people see and recognize that truth. It cannot be buried or hushed up, nor can the responsibility be shifted to someone else.

We, in the virtue of canonical Bishop of Ras-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija, remain steadfastly loyal to the Hierarch of us all – Lord Jesus Christ, Who summoned Us to a life-long Archieratical service in the canonical unity with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Sincerely devoted in the Lord to the Holy Archieratical Synod,

Bishop of Ras-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija

+ARTEMIJ

Sunday after Epiphany

January 09

Tone of the week: Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Eleventh Eothinon

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

 

You descended from on high, O compassionate One, and condescended to be buried for three days, so that from the passions You might set us free. Our life and resurrection, O Lord, glory be to You.

Resurrectional Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

 

When You had risen from the grave, You also raised those who had died and resurrected Adam; and now Eve is celebrating in Your Resurrection, and the ends of the world keep festival, for Your rising from the dead, O Most-Merciful.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

 

You appeared to the world today, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us. With fuller understanding we sing to You: "You came, You were made manifest, the unapproachable light."

SOURCE:

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

St Emilian the Confessor, Bishop of Cyzicus

Commemorated on January 8

Saint Emilian was a zealous defender of the holy icons during the reign of Emperor Leo the Armenian. He suffered torture and martyrdom in the year 820. His main feast is August 8.




SOURCE:


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