Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Venerable Pimen the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves

Commemorated on September 28

Saint Pimen the Much-ailing attained the Kingdom of Heaven by enduring grievous illness. This Russian ascetic was both born and grew up sickly, but his illness preserved him from illness of the soul.

For a long time he besought his parents to send him to the Kiev Caves monastery. When they brought their son to the famed monastery, they then began to pray for him to be healthy. But the sufferer himself, conscious of the high value of suffering, instead asked the Lord both for the continuation of his sickness, and also his tonsuring into monasticism.

One night, radiant angels appeared in the guise of monks, and tonsured him. They told him that he would receive his health only on the day of his death. Several of the brethren heard the sound of singing, and coming to St Pimen, they found him attired in monastic garb. In his hand he held a lit candle, and his tonsured hair could be seen at the crypt of St Theodosius. St Pimen spent many years in sickness, so that those attending to him could not tolerate it. They often left him without food and water for two or three days at a time, but he endured everything with joy.

Compassionate towards the brethren, St Pimen healed a certain crippled brother, who promised to serve him until death if he were healed. But after a while the brother grew lax in his service, and his former ailment overtook him. St Pimen again healed him with the advice, that both the sick and those attending the sick receive equal reward.

St Pimen spent twenty years in grievous sufferings. One day, as the angels had predicted, he became healthy. In church, the monk took leave of all the brethren and partook of the Holy Mysteries. Then, having bowed down before the grave of Abba Anthony, St Pimen indicated the place for his burial, and he himself carried his bed there.

Pointing to those buried there, one after the other of the monks, and he predicted that the brethren would find one buried in the schema to be without it, since this monk had led a life unworthy of it. Another monk, who had been buried without the schema, would be found clothed in it after death, since he had greatly desired it during his life, and he was worthy.

Then St Pimen lay down upon his bed and fell asleep in the Lord. The brethren buried him with great honor, glorifying God.

After the death of St Pimen, the brethren were persuaded of the truth of his words. On the day of St Pimen’s repose, three fiery columns appeared over the trapeza, and moved atop the church. A similar event was described in the chronicles under February 11, 1110 (See the August 5 commemoration of St Theoctistus of Chernigov), therefore the day of demise of St Pimen is surmised as also occurring on February 11, 1110.

The relics of St Pimen rest in the Antoniev Cave.

A second commemoration of the saint is made on September 28, the Synaxis of the Monks of the Near Caves.

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Monday, September 26, 2016

Arrival of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Georgia

Commemorated on September 26

The Iveron Icon of the Mother of God (which is preserved on Mt. Athos) was kept in the home of a certain pious widow, who lived near Nicea. During the reign of the emperor Theophilus, the Iconoclasts came to the house of this Christian, and one of the soldiers struck the image of the Mother of God with a spear. Blood flowed from the place where it was struck.

The widow, fearing its destruction, promised the imperial soldiers money and implored them not to touch the icon until morning. When the soldiers departed, the woman and her son (later an Athonite monk), sent the holy icon away upon the sea to preserve it. The icon, standing upright upon the water, floated to Athos.

For several days, the Athonite monks had seen a fiery pillar on the sea rising up to the heavens. They came down to the shore and found the holy image, standing upon the waters. After a Molieben of thanksgiving, a pious monk of the Iveron monastery, St Gabriel (July 12), had a dream in which the Mother of God appeared to him and gave him instructions. So he walked across the water, and taking up the holy icon, he placed it in the church.

On the following day, however, the icon was found not within the church, but on the gates of the monastery. This was repeated several times, until the Most Holy Theotokos revealed to St Gabriel Her will, saying that She did not want the icon to be guarded by the monks, but rather She intended to be their Protectress. After this, the icon was installed on the monastery gates. Therefore this icon came to be called “Portaitissa” or “Gate-Keeper” (October 13). This comes from the Akathist to the Mother of God: “Rejoice, O Blessed Gate-Keeper who opens the gates of Paradise to the righteous.”

There is a tradition that the Mother of God promised St Gabriel that the grace and mercy of Her Son toward the monks would continue as long as the Icon remained at the monastery. It is also believed that the disappearance of the Iveron Icon from Mt. Athos would be a sign of the end of the world.

The Iveron Icon is also commemorated on February 12, March 31, October 13 (Its arrival in Moscow in 1648), and Bright Tuesday (Commemorating the appearance of the Icon in a pillar of fire at Mt. Athos and its recovery by St Gabriel).

On September 26, 1989, a copy of this famous icon arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia from the Iveron Monastery on mt. Athos. This copy had been painted by the monks on Mt. Athos as a symbol of love and gratitude to the Georgian people.

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Saturday, September 24, 2016

St Vladislav of Serbia

Commemorated on September 24

Holy King Vladislav of Serbia was the son of holy King Stephen, and he reigned for seven years. He was noted for his virtue and charity towards the poor, the vagrant and the misfortunate, and he built a monastery at Milesheva, where he died in 1239 and was buried.








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Sunday, September 18, 2016

Venerable Euphrosyne of Suzdal

Commemorated on September 18

Saint Euphrosyne of Suzdal was born in 1212. Although she was a princess, she entered a women’s monastery in Suzdal, where she was tonsured with the name Euphrosyne, in honor of St Euphrosyne of Alexandria (September 25).

After her death on September 25, 1250, many miracles took place at her grave. Believers were healed of various infirmities, and their prayers were answered.

On September 18, 1698, with the blessing of Patriarch Adrian, Metropolitan Hilarion of Suzdal glorified the nun Euphrosyne as a saint.

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Friday, September 16, 2016

Icon of the Mother of God Support of Humble

Commemorated on September 16

The Icon of the Mother of God, “Support of the Humble”, appeared in 1420 at Stony Lake near Pskov. That same year, on September 16, it was transferred to Pskov and placed in the cathedral church. Today’s celebration was established in memory of the transfer of this wonderworking icon.







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Thursday, September 15, 2016

Venerable Joseph, Abbot of Alaverdi, Georgia

Commemorated on September 15

Blessed Abba Joseph of Alaverdi was a disciple and companion of St. John of Zedazeni, who in the 6th century arrived in Georgia with twelve Syrian ascetics to spread the Christian Faith.

With the blessing of his teacher, Fr. Joseph settled in the village of Alaverdi in eastern Georgia. According to tradition, he carried with him a cross formed from the wood of the Life-giving Cross of our Savior.

At that time the region around Alaverdi was deserted and barren. One day the Lord sent a nobleman to hunt in the valley where the pious hermit dwelt among the wild animals. Seeing the saint, the nobleman guessed immediately that before him stood a holy man. He bowed before him, kissed him, and humbly asked what had brought him to this deserted place.

With the help of God, St. Joseph aroused in the nobleman a divine love and an unquenchable desire for the Truth. The nobleman vowed to erect a church in the Alaverdi Wilderness, and he laid the foundations of Alaverdi Monastery in fulfillment of this vow.
Venerable Joseph was overjoyed at the accomplishment of this God-pleasing work.

Soon the people began to hear stories about the holy elder who was laboring in Alaverdi. Crowds of the faithful flocked there to see him with their own eyes and hear the blessed Joseph’s preaching. As a result of his unceasing efforts, unbelief was uprooted, and the divine services of the Church were firmly established in that region. Many of the faithful were so drawn to Abba Joseph’s holy life, boundless love, and miracles that they left the world to join in his labors.

Gradually the number of hermits increased, and a large community was formed. Fr. Joseph was the first abbot of this brotherhood. Utterly exhausted from a life of God-pleasing ascesis and labors, St. Joseph sensed the approach of death and prepared to stand before the Lord God. He gathered his disciples, blessed them, instructed them for the last time, appointed a new abbot, and peacefully departed to the Lord.
With great honor Fr. Joseph’s disciples buried him at the Alaverdi Church. Many miracles have since occurred over the grave of the venerable elder.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Repose of St John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Commemorated on September 14

Saint John Chrysostom died on September 14, 407, but because of the feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord, the commemoration of the saint was transferred to November 13. On January 27 we commemorate the transfer of the holy relics of St John Chrysostom from Comana to Constantinople, and on January 30, the Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs.








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Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Venerable Hierotheus the Younger of Iveron of Mt Athos



Saint Hierotheus was born in 1686 in Greece. Desiring to comprehend Divine wisdom as it is in the sciences and also as it is in monastic life, the pious youth, displaying great ability and diligence, studied Latin and Greek philosophy.

After the death of his parents, and wanting to continue his education, St Hierotheus first of all visited Mount Athos, which was famous for its many male teachers. At first he was the disciple of a certain hermit near the cell of St Artemius (October 20), and then he joined the brethren of the Iveron monastery, where he received the monastic tonsure.

St Hierotheus soon journeyed to Constantinople on monastery business, and from there to Valachia, where the Lord directed him to continue his interrupted education. Having been instructed by a certain Cypriot monk, St Hierotheus by his good manners merited the favor of Metropolitan Auxentius of Sofia, and was ordained deacon.

After completing his education in Venice, St Hierotheus returned to the Holy Mountain. He settled near the Iveron monastery in the Khaga wilderness. According to the testimony of his contemporaries, he led a very strict hermit’s life; with the constant Jesus Prayer the monk discovered deep love for neighbor and joy-creating sorrow. On the intercession of the igumen of the Iveron monastery St Hierotheus was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan James of Neocaesarea, who lived there in retirement.

At the request of the inhabitants of Skopelo, who had no priest, the self-denying ascetic forsook his solitude. He celebrated the services and preached for eight years, together with his Athonite disciples the hieromonk Meletius and the monks Joasaph and Simeon.

Foreseeing his own impending end, St Hierotheus with three disciples withdrew to the island of Yura, where those banished for life were usually sent. There after a short illness he departed to the Lord in the year 1745. His disciples buried him on that island, and after three years his venerable head was transferred to the Iveron monastery. Many sick and those afflicted with bodily suffering were healed by prayers to the saint.

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Saturday, September 10, 2016

Sts Peter and Paul, Bishops of Nicea



Saints Peter and Paul were bishops at Nicea. St Peter defended the Orthodox Faith against the iconoclasts during the reign of Leo the Isaurian (813-820) and endured suffering for this. He died no earlier than the year 823.

Four Letters of St Theodore the Studite to St Peter are known, written between the years 816-823. No account about the life of St Paul of Nicea has been preserved. His name is first mentioned in the so-called “Petrine” Greek Prologue of the eleventh century.

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Friday, September 09, 2016

Venerable Theophanes the Confessor and Faster of Mt. Diabenos



Saint Theophanes, Confessor and Faster, was born into a family of pagans. In his youth Theophanes came to believe in Christ, was baptized and secretly left his pagan parents to go to Mount Dabis to an Elder, who had lived there in asceticism for seventy-five years.

The ascetic taught the young man to read the Scriptures, and instructed him in the rules of monastic life. Five years later the Elder died, and St Theophanes spent the next 58 years in his cave in solitude. Then he came down from the mountain and began to preach Christ among the pagans, and he converted many to Christianity.

By order of the Roman emperors Carlus (282-283) and his sons Numerian and Carlinus (283-284), St Theophanes was seized and subjected to torture. The holy confessor bravely endured his sufferings and was released alive. Having returned to the mountain, St Theophanes lived there for another seventeen years and died in peace.

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Wednesday, September 07, 2016

Martyr Eupsychius of Caesarea, in Cappadocia



The Holy Martyr Eupsychius was born in Caesaria, Cappadocia. In one of the Synaxaria he is called the son of a senator Dionysius. During a time of a persecution against Christians under Hadrian, he was arrested and tortured. After the torture they threw him into prison, where he was healed of his wounds by an angel.

When they set the martyr free, he distributed all his property to the poor. He gave away a certain portion even to his enemies, who had reported him and given him over to torture. Under a new governor, St Eupsychius was again arrested. They hung him up and cut his body with iron hooks, and then they cut off his head with a sword. The martyr died under the emperor Hadrian (117-138).

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Monday, September 05, 2016

Martyrs Juventinus and Maximus the Soldiers at Antioch



The martyred soldiers Juventinus and Maximus suffered during the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate, whom they served as bodyguards. Once, while he was at Antioch, Julian decided to defile the food of the Christians by sprinkling all the food in the marketplaces with blood offered to idols. Sts Juventinus and Maximus openly condemned the emperor’s course of action and they boldly denounced him for his apostasy from the Christian Faith. After merciless beatings they were both put to death on orders of the impious emperor.

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Sunday, September 04, 2016

Martyr Babylas and the 84 martyred Children with him of Nicomedia

Commemorated on September 4

The Martyr Babylas and 84 disciples with him suffered in the city of Nicomedia for confessing Christianity during the reign of the emperor Maximian (284-305). The emperor, who was then in Nicomedia, renewed the persecution against Christians.

Like many other believers, St Babylas was denounced as someone who was instructing children in Christian piety. When Babylas was brought before the emperor, and after his confession of faith in the true God, he was given over to many torments.

During his sufferings the holy martyr cried to God, “I thank You, O Lord, that You have made me, who am old and infirm, to be young and strong.” After being pelted with stones, he was clapped in irons and they took him to prison.

Then the saint ‘s young disciples were brought before the emperor. Neither flattery nor promise of gifts were able to alter the Christian convictions of the children. Two of them, Ammonias and Donatus, firmly declared, “We are Christians, and we will not offer sacrifice to deaf and dumb devils.”

The emperor flew into a rage over the unexpected and firm rebuke from the children. At first, he ordered them to be whipped, and later to be put to death by beheading, together with their teacher. On the way to execution, the holy Martyr Babylas quoted Isaiah, “Behold, I and the children which God has given me” (Isaiah 8:18). With spiritual rejoicing, first St Babylas, and then his 84 disciples, received the crown of martyrdom.

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Thursday, September 01, 2016

Martyr Callista with her brothers Evodus and Hermogenes with other Christians at Nicomedia

Commemorated on September 1

The Holy Martyrs Callista and her brothers Evodus and Hermogenes, with other Christians of Nicomedia, were brought to trial before the pagan governor for confessing their faith in Christ. Refusing to offer sacrifice to idols, they were cut down by the sword.









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