This highly-venerated icon of the Annunciation was discovered
in the ruins of the ancient church of Saint John the Baptist on January
30, 1823.
An elderly man, Michael Polyzoes, had a dream shortly
before the Feast of the Annunciation in 1821, in which the Mother of God
appeared to him in shining white garments. She instructed him to dig in
the field of Anthony Doxaras outside the city, where he would find her
icon. She also told him to build a church on the site, since there had
once been one there. The Queen of Heaven also promised to help him
accomplish these tasks.
Upon awakening, he crossed himself and
tried to go back to sleep, believing that his dream had been a
temptation from the devil. Before falling asleep, Michael saw the
Theotokos once again, and noticed that the room was flooded by a gentle
white light. Her head was surrounded by divine light, and her face
displayed ineffable grace and sweetness. Speaking to the old man she
said, “Why are you afraid? Your fear comes from unbelief. Listen! I am
Panagia (the all-holy one). I want you to dig in the field of Anthony
Doxaras where my icon is buried. I ask you to do this as a favor, old
man. You will build a church there and I will help you.” Then she
disappeared.
The next morning, Michael went into the village and
told the priest what had happened to him during the night. The priest
also thought the dream was a temptation, so he urged Michael to come for
Confession and Communion. The old man, however, was not convinced that
his visions were mere dreams or demonic temptations. He told the
inhabitants of the village of his experience. Some laughed at him, but
only two believed his words.
The two men went with him to the
field one night and dug in many places, but they found nothing. Then
they dug in another place and found the remains of an old wall. Finding
nothing but bricks, they had to give up their search in the morning so
the Turks would not find out what they were doing.
Anthony
Doxaras, the owner of the field, found the bricks and tried to use them
to build an oven. The mortar would not adhere to the bricks, so whenever
they tried to build one section of the oven, it collapsed. The workers
were convinced that God was showing them that the bricks from the
ancient church were not to be used for an oven.
Saint Pelagia
(July 23), an eighty-year-old nun, had several dreams in June of 1822 in
which the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to her. Saint Pelagia was living
in the women’s monastery of the Dormition on Mt. Kechrovounios, about
an hour’s journey from the village. She had lived in the monastery from a
young age, and was known for her great virtue and piety.
The
Theotokos appeared to her in a dream and ordered her to go to Stamatelos
Kangades (a prominent man of the village), and tell him to uncover the
church of Saint John the Baptist in the field of Anthony Doxaras.
Terrified
by the vision, Pelagia attributed the dream to her imagination, and she
began to pray. She was afraid to tell anyone about her dream, but the
following week, the Theotokos appeared to her again, reminding her of
her instructions. Still, the nun remained silent and told no one of her
vision. The Theotokos appeared a third time, this time with a severe
manner. She chastised the nun for her unbelief, saying, “Go and do as I
told you. Be obedient.”
Saint Pelagia woke up in fear and
trembling. As she opened her eyes, she saw the same mysterious Woman she
had seen while asleep. With a great effort she asked, “Who are you,
Lady? Why are you angry with me, and why do you order me to do these
things?”
The Woman raised her hand and said, “Proclaim, O earth,
glad tidings of great joy” (Megalynarion of the Ninth Ode of the Canon
for Matins of the Annunciation).
Understanding at last, the aged
nun joyfully exclaimed, “Praise, O heavens, the glory of God” (The next
line of the Megalynarion).
At once, she informed the Abbess of her
visions, and she also told Stamatelos Kangades. Mr. Kangades, who had
been designated by the Theotokos to carry out the excavation of the
church, informed Bishop Gabriel of these events. The bishop had already
heard of the dream of Michael Polyzoes, and realized that the account of
the nun Pelagia agreed with his vision. Bishop Gabriel wrote to all the
churches on the island of Tinos, urging them to cooperate in finding
the church and the icon.
Excavations began in September of 1822
under the supervision of Mr. Kangades. The foundations of the church of
Saint John, destroyed by Arabs in 1200, were uncovered. An old well was
found near the church, but not the holy icon. The money ran out, and so
the effort was abandoned.
Once again the Mother of God appeared
to Saint Pelagia, urging that the excavations continue. Bishop Gabriel
sent out an appeal for donations to build a new church on the
foundations of the old church of Saint John the Baptist. The new church
was built, and was dedicated to Saint John and to the Life-Giving
Fountain.
On January 30, 1823 workers were leveling the ground
inside the church in preparation for laying a new stone floor. About
noon one of the workers, Emmanuel Matsos, struck a piece of wood with
his pickaxe, splitting it down the middle. He looked at one piece of the
board and saw that it was burned on one side, while the other side
showed traces of paint. As he brushed off the dirt with his hand, he saw
that it was an icon. Joining the two pieces of wood together, he
crossed himself and venerated the icon.
He called the other
workers, who also came and venerated the icon. When the icon was
cleaned, it was shown to be an icon of the Annunciation. The split was
in the middle of the icon, between the Theotokos and the Archangel
Gabriel. Neither figure was damaged, and this was regarded as a miracle.
That same day, the icon was given to Bishop Gabriel, who kissed
it and cried out, “Great art Thou, O Lord, and wondrous are Thy works.”
After
the finding of the icon, the inabitants of Tinos were filled with zeal
to build a magnificent church in honor of the Theotokos. People offered
their money and their own labor to help build the church of the
Evangelistria (She who received the Good News).
The new church was
completed in 1823, and was consecrated by Bishop Gabriel. Saint Pelagia
of Tinos fell asleep in the Lord on April 28, 1834. Her Feast Day,
however, is on July 23.
The Tinos Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
continues to be venerated as one of Greece’s holiest treasures.
Innumerable miracles of healing and deliverance from danger have not
ceased since the time the icon was found.
Saint Joseph, Archbishop of Thessalonica, was brother of
Saint Theodore the Studite (November 11), and together they pursued a
life of asceticism under the guidance of Saint Platon (April 5) in the
monastery at Sakkudion, Bithynia.
Because of his ascetic life,
Saint Joseph was unanimously chosen archbishop of the city of
Thessalonica. He and his brother opposed the unlawful marriage of the
emperor Constantine VI (780-797), for which he was tortured then
banished to a barren island. The emperor Michael Rangabes (811-813)
freed Saint Joseph from imprisonment.
Under the emperor Leo V the
Armenian (813-820) the holy hierarch and his brother Saint Theodore
suffered once more for their veneration of holy icons. Though they
subjected him to torture, he remained steadfast in his faith. The
iconoclast emperor ordered him to sign the iconoclast confession of
faith, and when he refused they threw him into an even more foul prison.
Under the emperor Michael the Stammerer (820-829) Saint Joseph
was set free, together with other monks who had suffered for their
veneration of icons. He spent his final years at the Studion Monastery,
where he died in 830.
Saint Joseph is renowned as a hymnographer.
He composed triodia for Holy Week, several stikhera of the LENTEN
TRIODION, a Canon for the Sunday of Prodigal Son (which is filled with
the spirit of profound repentance), and other hymns. He wrote several
sermons for feastdays, of which the best known is the Sermon on the
Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.
Saint Gerasimus, Bishop of Great Perm and Ust’Vymsk, was the
third bishop of the newly-enlightened Zyryani people, and he was a
worthy successor to Saint Stephen, the Enlightener of Perm (April 26).
He was elevated to the See of Perm sometime after 1416, and participated
in many Church councils: one in 1438 to condemn the Unia and
Metropolitan Isidore, and one in 1441, which defined the selection of
the Metropolitan of All Rus by a Council of Russian pastors.
The
saint assiduously cared for his newly-established flock, which suffered
raids from Novgorodians, particularly from the pagan Vogulians. He went
to their camps urging them to cease the pillaging of villages of the
defenseless Christians of Perm. He was murdered by a Vogulian servant
during one of his journeys through Perm in 1441 (according to Tradition,
he was strangled with his omophorion). He was buried in the cathedral
church of the first bishops of Perm, which later became the Annunciation
church in the village of Ust’Vyma, northeast of the city of Yarenga, at
the River Vychegda.
The celebration of his memory was
established in 1607. On January 29 there is a general commemoration of
the three Perm Hierarchs: Gerasimus, Pitirim, and Jonah.
Saint Mausimas the Syrian lived in Syria, near the city of
Cyrrhus. He voluntarily embraced poverty and devoted his life to the
service of his neighbor. The doors of his hut were always open to anyone
who had need of him.
In his hut there were two vessels: one with
bread, and the other with oil. Anyone in need came to him and received
the food from his hand. These vessels never became empty. The saint died
at the end of the fourth century.
These holy martyrs of Christ were of 377 Christians who were captured
in Thrace by the Bulgars, and who were slain in various ways.
TROPARION - TONE 4
Your holy martyrs, O Lord, / Through their sufferings have received
an incorruptible crown from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they
laid low their adversaries, / And shattered the powerless boldness of
demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!
This saint was the Prosmonarios (the keeper of a church, one who waits for and receives those who come to worship)
at Vatopaidi Monastery on the Holy Mountain during the fourteenth
century, and he was sent to the Monastery’s metochion (representation
church) at Euboia. There he became very sick and so he prayed before the
icon of the Mother of God, asking her to let him return to his
monastery so that he might die there. Then he heard the voice of the
Most Holy Theotokos telling him to return to his monastery, and to be
prepared for death at any moment. Saint Neophytos immediately became
well, and went back to Vatopaidi.
A year later, after receiving
the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he heard again the voice of the Most Holy
Theotokos coming from the mouth of her holy icon, telling him that it
was time for him to fall asleep. He became ill once more and, after
asking forgiveness from the brethren, he surrendered his soul to the
Lord.
The Holy New Martyr Zachariah was from the Peloponnesos in
Greece. He renounced Christ to become a Moslem, then went to ancient
Patras and worked there as a furrier. He had a book, THE SALVATION OF
SINNERS, which he often read. The book moved him to repentence, and he
wept bitterly for the great evil he had done.
Saint Zachariah met
a certain Elder and told him of his sin. After praying and fasting for
twenty days, he returned to the Elder and confessed all the sins he had
committed during his life. When he asked the Elder’s blessing to seek
martyrdom, the holy man tried to discourage him. He warned that he might
not be killed swiftly, but only after much torture. He also pointed out
the danger that Zachariah would betray Christ a second time under the
torments he would endure. The saint, aflame with zeal for martyrdom,
said he was prepared to suffer myriad punishments for the sake of
Christ.
The Elder read the prayers of absolution and chrismated
the saint (as is done when apostates from the Faith are received back
into the Church), then administered the Holy Mysteries to him. Then he
blessed Zachariah to go back to the Moslems and declare his faith in
Christ. On his way, the saint asked forgiveness from each Christian he
met.
The holy martyr went to the judge’s house and said that he
had been deceived when he accepted their religion, but now he had come
to his senses and returned to Christ. Saint Zachariah was thrown into
prison, where he was beaten three times a day.
Finally, the saint
died by being stretched out on a rack. Christians asked for his body so
they might bury it, but the Moslems refused. They said, “He is neither
one of you, nor one of us, for he denied both religions. Therefore, he
is unworthy of burial.” His body was dragged through the streets and
thrown into a dry well, landing on its knees in an upright position.
Christians saw a radiant light over the well the next night, and
hastened to venerate the saint. The Turks filled the well with dirt and
debris to prevent such gatherings in the future.
By shedding his
blood, the holy New Martyr Zachariah washed away the sin of his denial
of Christ and received an unfading crown of glory in the year 1782.
Saint Maximus the New was the son of King Stephen of Serbia
(December 10). He became a monk at Manasija, but had to flee into a
mountainous region of Romania because of the Moslems. He was consecrated
as Metropolitan of Wallachia. After a life of great spiritual
endeavors, he fell asleep in the Lord on January 18, 1516 in a monastery
he had founded.
Saint Barlaam of Keretsk served during the sixteenth century
as a priest in the Keretsk area of the Kolsk peninsula on the White Sea.
He was venerated as the patron of White Sea industrial workers and
sea-farers. He was glorified by posthumous miracles, saving those in
danger of drowning.
Saint Theosebia the Deaconess was the sister of Saints Basil
the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Peter, Bishop of Sebaste. She was a
virgin and served the Holy Church as a deaconess, caring for the sick,
distributing food to vagrants, raising orphans and preparing women for
holy Baptism.
When her brother, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, was in
exile for three years, Saint Theosebia was with him and she shared in
all the tribulations of a life of wandering. Saint Theosebia died in
385, and Saint Gregory the Theologian praised her in a eulogy.
The third day of the Afterfeast of Theophany falls on January 9. The
hymns of this period invite us to purify our minds in order to see
Christ.
TROPARION TONE 4
Of old, the river Jordan / turned back before Elisha’s mantle at
Elijah’s ascension. / The waters were parted in two / and the waterway
became a dry path. / This is truly a symbol of baptism / by which we
pass through this mortal life. / Christ has appeared in the Jordan to
sanctify the waters!
KONTAKION TONE 4
Today the Lord enters the Jordan and cries out to John: / “Do not be
afraid to baptize me. / For I have come to save Adam, the first-formed
man.”
Saint George lived about the beginning of the ninth century in
Palestine, in a certain monastery called Hozeva, which lies in a great
ravine between Jerusalem and Jericho.
APOLYTIKION OF GEORGE OF HOZEVA
First tone
Thou didst prove to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh,
and a wonderworker, O George, our God-bearing Father. By fasting, vigil,
and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick
and the souls of them that have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to
Him that hath given thee strength. Glory to Him that hath crowned thee.
Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through thee.
Saint Pachomius is commemorated on the Saturday after
Theophany. He founded a monastery dedicated to the Transfiguration of
the Lord near Lake Keno, and tonsured Saint Anthony of Siya (December 7)
as a monk in 1508. He did not entrust Saint Anthony to one of the other
monks, but he himself took him under his wing and trained him in
asceticism and in the spiritual life. Saint Anthony possessed every
virtue and resisted every temptation, purified his mind and soul from
the passions, and freed himself from worldly attachments.
When the
time came for Saint Anthony to leave the monastery and live in
solitude, Saint Pachomius blessed him to follow this path saying, “May
the Lord bless you, my child. May the Lord’s will be done.”
Saint
Pachomius was a great ascetic and a clairvoyant Elder, a good and
faithful servant who entered into the joy of his Lord in 1515.
Saint Macarius was born in Thessalonica during the reign of
Emperor Manuel II Paleologos, and went to Vatopedi Monastery on Mt.
Athos when he was young. Later, he went to Constantinople and became
igumen of the Monastery of the Pantocrator, and chaplain to the Emperor.
New Martyr Romanus of Karpenisi was born in Karpenisi in
central Greece. He was a monk on Mt. Athos for a time, and suffered for
Christ at Constantinople, beheaded by the Turks in the year 1694. His
relics were taken by ship to England.
Holy Apostle Philip of the Seventy, one of the 7 Deacons is not to be
confused with Saint Philip one of the Twelve Apostles (November 14).
This Philip was born in Palestine, was married and had four daughters
who had the gift of prophecy.
After the Descent of the Holy
Spirit, the Twelve Apostles made Philip a deacon in the Church of
Jerusalem. Along with the other six deacons, they appointed him to deal
with the offerings of the faithful and attend to the concerns of the
widowed, the orphaned and the needy. The eldest among the seven deacons
was the holy Archdeacon Stephen. When the persection of Christians
began, the Jews stoned the Protomartyr Stephen. The Apostle Philip left
Jerusalem and settled in Samaria. There he successfully preached
Christianity. Among the disciple’s converts was the noted magician
Simon, who “after being baptized, continued with Philip.” (Acts 8:9-13)
At
the command of an angel of the Lord, Saint Philip set out upon the road
connecting Jerusalem with Gaza. There he met an official of the empress
of Ethiopia, whom also he converted to Christianity (Acts 8:26-39).
The
holy Apostle Philip tirelessly preached the Word of God in many of the
lands of the Near East adjoining Palestine. At Jerusalem the Apostles
made him a bishop and sent him to Tralles in Asia Minor, where he also
baptized many. Saint Philip died in old age. He is also commemorated on
October 11.
TROPARION TONE 3
Holy apostle Philip of the Seventy; / entreat the merciful God / to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.
KONTAKION TONE 4
The Church ever sees you as a shining star, O apostle Philip, / Your
miracles have manifested great enlightenment. / Therefore we cry out to
Christ: / “Save those who with faith honor Your apostle, O Most Merciful
One.”
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