Eastern Christianity Saints & Feasts

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 18
SUNDAY OF CHEESEFARE

SAINT LEO I, POPE OF ROME**
Leo was born in Italy of devout parents. At first, he served as archdeacon under Pope Sixtus III and following the death of Sixtus was elevated against his will to the throne of the Pope of Rome. When Attila, with his Huns, drew near to Rome was prepared to destroy and to set fire to the city, Leo came out before him in his episcopal vestments mitigated the wrath of the leader of the Huns and averted the destruction of Rome. As much as Attila allowed himself to be counseled by this holy man so also had he to be afraid of the vision of the Apostles Peter and Paul who stood along side Leo and with flaming swords threatened him. Not only did St. Leo save Rome, but he also contributed much to save the Faith from the heresy of Eutyches and Dioscorus. This heresy consisted in the merging of the divine and human natures of Christ into one and following this, in the denial of the two wills in the person of the Lord Savior. Because of this, the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon 451 A.D.] was convened at which time the Epistle of St. Leo was read. St. Leo had written this epistle and placed it on the tomb of St. Peter, who corrected it. Before his death, Leo spent forty days in fasting and prayer at the tomb of St. Peter, beseeching him to tell him whether his sins are forgiven. The Apostle Peter appeared to him and said that all of his sins are forgiven except the sins of ordaining priests when it is evident how grave a sin it is to ordain one who is unworthy. The saint again fell into prayer until he was told that even those sins were forgiven. He peacefully gave up his soul to the Lord. St. Leo died in the year 461 A.D

SAINT FLAVIAN
Flavian became patriarch of Constantinople following St. Proclus. He was a contemporary of St. Leo the Pope. He fought resolutely against Eutyches and Dioscorus, but did not live to see the Triumph of the Faith at the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon 451 A.D.), for prior to that at a heretical council [Ephesus, 431 A.D.] he was mercilessly beaten trampled upon and died there. Flavian was a faithful soldier of Christ, courageous defender and confessor of the Faith. He died in the year 449 A.D.

Today’s Readings
Romans 13:11-14:4
11: Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed;
12: the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
13: let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.
14: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
1: As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions.
2: One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables.
3: Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him.
4: Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.

Matthew 6:14-21
14: For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you;
15: but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16: "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17: But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18: that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
19: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal,
20: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 19
FIRST DAY OF THE GREAT FAST

THE HOLY APOSTLES ARCHIPPUS, PHILEMON AND APPHIA**
Archippus was one of the Seventy Apostles. The Apostle Paul mentions him in his Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon. "And tell Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you received in the Lord’ " (Colossians 4:17) as well as in his letter to Philemon calling him his fellow soldier in the battle: “To Archippus our fellow soldier” (Philemon 1:2). In the town of Colossae, the center of Christianity was in the home of Philemon. Here Christians gathered for prayer. In writing to Philemon, the Apostle Paul called this “the church at your house” (Philemon 1:2). At that time, the apostles ordained their disciples as bishops; some of them in permanent places and others as missionaries traveling to various places. Philemon was one of the latter. Apphia, Philemon’s wife, hosted and served in the domestic church! At the time of a pagan feast to the goddess Artemis, according to their custom, all the faithful in Colossae, gathered in the home of Philemon for prayer. The pagans, learning of this gathering, rushed and apprehended all the Christians; Philemon, Apphia and Archippus, as leaders. At first, they were whipped and afterwards they were buried up to their waists and they began to stone them. Thus, they killed Philemon and Apphia and, Archippus they removed from the pit barely alive and left him to the amusement of the children. The children pierced him throughout with knives. Thus, this “fellow soldier” in battle ended well in the course of his earthly path.

THE VENERABLE DOSITHEUS
Dositheus was a disciple of the glorious Abba Dorotheus who lived in the cenobitic monastic community of the Venerables Serdius, John and Barsanuphius the Great. Dositheus was a kinsman of a general and came to Jerusalem to visit the Holy Shrines. Once while he was gazing upon the icon of the Dreadful Judgment in a church, a woman clothed in purple attire approached him and began explaining the icon to him. Finally, before parting, she said that if you desire to be saved, you should fast, abstain from meat, and pray to God often. That was the All-Holy Virgin Birthgiver of God [The Theotokos]. The heart of the young Dositheus became inflamed, and he desired the life of a monk. Dorotheus received him as his novice [Iskusenik] and ordered him to completely abandon his will and to obey his spiritual father. For a few days, he gave him as much as he wanted to eat. After a period of time, Dorotheus cut down his rations by one-fourth and after a period of time again, by one-fourth, until Dositheus became accustomed to get by with the least amount of food, always saying to Dositheus: “eating is a habit, and as much as a person is accustomed to eat, that much he will eat.” He was saved and glorified by total obedience. He remained forever an example of monastic obedience and dedication to his spiritual father. This young saint lived in the sixth century.

Continued

 

[Edwin1961]

February 19
Continued

Today’s Readings
Genesis 1:1-13
1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2: The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
3: And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4: And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5: God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
6: And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
7: And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so.
8: And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9: And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
10: God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11: And God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And it was so.
12: The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
13: And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Proverbs 1:1-20
1: The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2: That men may know wisdom and instruction, understand words of insight,
3: receive instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity;
4: that prudence may be given to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth –
5: the wise man also may hear and increase in learning, and the man of understanding acquire skill,
6: to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.
7: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8: Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and reject not your mother’s teaching;
9: for they are a fair garland for your head, and pendants for your neck.
10: My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
11: If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us wantonly ambush the innocent;
12: like Sheol let us swallow them alive and whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
13: we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with spoil;
14: throw in your lot among us, we will all have one purse” –
15: my son, do not walk in the way with them, hold back your foot from their paths;
16: for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17: For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird;
18: but these men lie in wait for their own blood, they set an ambush for their own lives.
19: Such are the ways of all who get gain by violence; it takes away the life of its possessors.
20: Wisdom cries aloud in the street; in the markets she raises her voice;

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 20

SAINT LEO, BISHOP OF CATANIA**
Beneath the volcanic Mount Etna in the town of Catania lived Saint Leo, a good shepherd and compassionate teacher of the people. He had great concern for the sick and the poor. His zeal for the Faith was as great as his charity toward the less fortunate. Appearing in Catania was a magician named Heliodorus who deluded the people with various illusions and greatly demoralized the youth. At one time during the Divine Services, Heliodorus entered the church of God and began his obscenities. St. Leo approached him, tied him to one end of his pallium and led him to the market place of the city. Here, Leo ordered that a large fire be built and when the fire was burning, he stood in the middle of the fire and pulled Heliodorus into the fire. Heliodorus was completely consumed and Leo remained alive and unscathed. All who were bewitched by Heliodorus, and who looked upon him as someone divine, were ashamed. The compassionate and the zealous Leo was proclaimed throughout the entire kingdom as a great miracle-worker who, by his shining miracles, helps men. When Leo ended his course, he took up habitation with the Lord and from his relics flowed healing myrrh [Chrism]. He died in the eighth century.

THE HOLY PRIESTLY-MARTYR SADOK
Sadok was a bishop in Persia, following St. Simeon. At one time, St. Simeon appeared to him in a dream and said: “Yesterday, I - today, you!” Sadok interpreted these words to his flock as meaning: Last year I [St. Simeon] suffered, this year you [Sadok] will suffer. Indeed that year the Emperor Sapor arrested him with many of the clergy and people and brought them to trial. Sapor first ordered them to worship fire and sun as divinity. Sadok replied: “We are eagerly prepared to die for our God, but we cannot worship the sun nor fire.” After that, they were tortured and sentenced to death by beheading. Before being beheaded, Sadok uplifted a prayer to God: “Wash us, O Lord, from our sins in our blood!” Sadok, with his priests and faithful gloriously gave up their bodies to death and their souls to the immortal God. They suffered in the year 342 A.D. or 344 A.D.

Today’s Readings
Benesis 1:14-23
14: And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
15: and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
16: And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.
17: And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth,
18: to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19: And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20: And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens.”
21: So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22: And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
23: And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Proverbs 1:20-33
20: Wisdom cries aloud in the street; in the markets she raises her voice;
21: on the top of the walls she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
23: Give heed to my reproof; behold, I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you.
24: Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25: and you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,
26: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you,
27: when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
28: Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29: Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
30: would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof,
31: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices.
32: For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacence of fools destroys them;
33: but he who listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of evil.”

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 21

SAINT ZACHARIAS PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM**
During the reign of the Greek Emperor Heraclius, the Persian Emperor Chozroes attacked Jerusalem in the year 614 A.D. Chozroes pillaged the city, removed the Honorable Cross [of Christ] to Persia and took an enormous number of Christians into bondage, among them was Patriarch Zacharias. The Jews assisted Chozroes in committing evil against the Christians. Among the other Jewish wickedness, this one is mentioned: the Jews purchased from Chozroes 90,000 Christians as their slaves and slew them all. The aged patriarch Zacharias remained in bondage for fourteen years. Many miracles occurred in Persia as a result of the Honorable Cross, so even the Persians said: “The Christian God came to Persia.” Later on, Heraclius forced the Persian emperor to return the Honorable Cross to Jerusalem along with the patriarch and the remaining captives. Emperor Heraclius himself bore the Cross on his shoulders into the Holy City. St. Zacharias spent his remaining days in peace and took up habitation with the Lord in the year 631 A.D. He was succeeded on the throne by Patriarch Modestus and followed by St. Sophronius (March 11).

THE VENERABLE TIMOTHY
Timothy was a recluse in a place called Symbola on the Asiatic side of Mount Olympus. In his youth, Timothy entered a monastery, was tonsured a monk and until old age spent his earthly time in fasting, prayer, vigils and ceaseless labor. He remained pure and chaste throughout his entire life. To the pure and chaste God gives authority over evil spirits and He gave this to Timothy. Though his labors for the salvation of his soul, St. Timothy succeeded to build in himself a beautiful home for the Holy Spirit. This holy man died in the year 795 A.D.

SAINT EUSTATHIUS THE ARCHBISHOP OF ANTIOCH
Eustathius was a great zealot and protector of the Faith. As such, he was especially prominent at the First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea 325 A.D.], where he intellectually and systematically refuted the teaching of Arius. With the other Holy Fathers, Eustathius confessed correctly that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit according to divine Hypostasis [natures]. Following the death of Emperor Constantine, the Arians somehow again gained prevalence and began to bitterly persecute the Faith. St. Eustathius was ousted from his throne and exiled, at first to Thrace and after that to Macedonia. Eustathius suffered much and long until, in the end, he gave up his holy soul to God in the year 345 A.D.

SAINT JOHN III SCHOLASTICUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
As an advocate, John was ordained a priest and after that became patriarch in the year 565 A.D. He complied canons, which were included in the Nomo-Canon. During his time, the divine hymn, The Cherubic Hymn, as well as the prayer before Holy Communion of Thy Mystical Supper were included in the Holy and Divine Liturgy.

Continued

 

[Edwin1961]

February 21
Continued

Today’s Readings
Genesis 1:24-2:3
23: And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24: And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
25: And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28: And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
29: And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
30: And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31: And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
1: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2: And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.
3: So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.

Proverbs 2:1-21
1: My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
2: making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
3: yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
4: if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures;
5: then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
6: For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7: he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8: guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his saints.
9: Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;
10: for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11: discretion will watch over you; understanding will guard you;
12: delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,
13: who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
14: who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil;
15: men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.
16: You will be saved from the loose woman, from the adventuress with her smooth words,
17: who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;
18: for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the shades;
19: none who go to her come back nor do they regain the paths of life.
20: So you will walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21: For the upright will inhabit the land, and men of integrity will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 22

THE HOLY MARTYR MAURICE AND THE SEVENTY SOLDIERS WITH HIM**
During the reign of Emperor Maximian there was a great persecution of Christians. In the Syrian town of Apamsea, Maurice was superior of the local army. The pagans reported him to the emperor as being a Christian and a sower of the Christian Faith among the soldiers. The emperor himself came and conducted an investigation. Along with Maurice seventy Christian soldiers were also brought before the emperor among whom was Photinus, the son of Maurice. Neither the emperor’s flattery nor threats could sway these heroes. To the threats of the emperor, they replied: “O Emperor, there is no fear in the sound and powerful souls of those who love the Lord!” When the emperor ordered and removed their military belts and garments, they said to him: “Our God will clothe us with incorruptible garments and belts and eternal glory!” When the emperor rebuked them because they despised the military honor given to them by him, they replied: “Your honor is without honor, for you have forgotten God Who gave you imperial authority!” Then the emperor commanded and the executioner beheaded Maurice’s son Photinus before his eyes to instill fear in the father and in the others. But, Maurice said: “You have fulfilled our wish O torturer and have sent Photinus, the soldier of Christ before us.” Then the emperor sentenced them to a most inhuman death: they were brought to a muddy place, stripped, bound to trees and rubbed them with honey, in order to be bitten by mosquitoes, wasps and hornets. After ten days under the most painful sufferings, they gave up their souls to God and departed to rejoice eternally with the holy angels in heaven. Christians secretly removed their bodies and honorably buried them. These courageous soldiers of Christ suffered about the year 305 A.D.

THE MANY MARTYRS IN EUGENIUS NEAR CONSTANTINOPLE
During the reign of Emperor Arcadius, the relics of many martyrs of Christ were unearthed, among whom was the Apostle Andronicus and his female assistant Junia. “Great Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners; they are prominent among the apostles and they were in Christ before me.”(Romans 16:7). These relics were discovered according to a revelation from God to a cleric Nicholas Calligraphus. “Their names are known only to God Who has written their names in the Book of Life in the heavens.” In the twelfth century, Emperor Andronicus II built a beautiful church over the relics of the Apostle Andronicus.

THE VENERABLES THALASSIUS AND LIMNAEUS
Both Thalassius and Limnaeus were Syrian ascetics. One of their unique forms of asceticism was “silence.” Following the death of St. Thalassius in 440 A.D., Limnaeus joined St. Maron (February 14) and with him lived a life of mortification on top of a mountain under the open sky.

SAINT PAPIUS OF HIERAPOLIS
Papius was a disciple of the holy apostles and a patristic author. From Papius we have testimony of the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, the four Marys and the brothers of our Lord as well as an incomplete but preserved manuscript: “An Interpretation of the Words of our Lord.”

Continued

 

[Edwin1961]

February 22
Continued

Today’s Readings
Genesis 2:4-19
4: These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5: when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up – for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;
6: but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground –
7: then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
8: And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9: And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10: A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
11: The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12: and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.
13: The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Cush.
14: And the name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15: The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
16: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
17: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
18: Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
19: So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

Proverbs 3:1-18
1: My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
2: for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare will they give you.
3: Let not loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
4: So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.
5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
6: In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
7: Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
8: It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
9: Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce;
10: then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
11: My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,
12: for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
13: Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding,
14: for the gain from it is better than gain from silver and its profit better than gold.
15: She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16: Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
17: Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18: She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 23

THE HOLY PRIESTLY-MARTYR POLYCARP, BISHOP OF SMYRNA**
Polycarp, this great apostolic man, was born a pagan. St. John the Theologian converted him to the Faith of Christ and baptized him. In his childhood, Polycarp became an orphan and according to a vision in a dream Callista, a noble widow, took him as her own son, raised and educated him. From his childhood Polycarp was devout and compassionate. He strove to emulate the life of St. Bucolus, then the Bishop of Smyrna, as well as the holy Apostles John and Paul, whom he knew and heard. St. Bucolus ordained him a presbyter and before his death, Bucolus designated him as his successor in Smyrna. The apostolic bishops, who gathered at the funeral of Bucolus, consecrated Polycarp as bishop. From the very beginning, Polycarp was gifted with the power of working miracles. He expelled an evil spirit from the servant of a prince and through prayer stopped a terrible fire in Smyrna. Upon seeing this, many pagans regarded Polycarp as one of the gods. He brought down rain in times of drought, healed illnesses, discerned, prophesized and so forth. He suffered during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Three days before his death, St. Polycarp prophesized: “In three days, I will be burned in fire for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ!” And on the third day when the soldiers arrested him and brought him to trial, he cried out: “Let this be the will of the Lord my God.” When the judge counseled him to deny Christ and to acknowledge the Roman gods, Polycarp said: “I cannot exchange the better for the worse!” The Jews especially hated Polycarp and endeavored to have Polycarp burned alive. When they placed him bound at the stake, he prayed to God for a long while. He was very old, grey and radiant as an angel. The people witnessed how the flame encircled him but did not touch him. Frightened by such a phenomenon, the pagan judges ordered the executioner to pierce him with a lance through the fire. When he was pierced, so much blood flowed from him that the entire fire was extinguished, and his body remained whole and unburned. At the persuasion of the Jews, the judge ordered Polycarp’s lifeless body be incinerated according to the custom of the Hellenes. So the evil ones burned the dead body of the lifeless one whom they could not burn while alive. St. Polycarp suffered on Great and Holy Saturday in the year 167 A.D.

THE VENERABLE DAMIAN
Damian, a monk of the Monastery of Esphigmenou on Mt. Athos, was a contemporary and companion of the great Cosmos of Zographou. He lived a life of asceticism on Mount Samareia between Esphigmenou and Hilendar. He died peacefully in the year 1280 A.D. When he died, a pleasant and sweet-smelling aroma emitted from his body for forty days.

Continued

 

[Edwin1961]

February 23
Continued

Today’s Readings
Genesis 2:20-3:20
20: The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him.
21: So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh;
22: and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
23: Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
24: Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25: And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.
1: Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" 2: And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3: but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4: But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die.
5: For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
8: And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9: But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10: And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11: He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12: The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
13: Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.”
14: The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
16: To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
17: And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, `You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18: thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19: In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
20: The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
**
Proverbs 3:19-34**
19: The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;
20: by his knowledge the deeps broke forth, and the clouds drop down the dew.
21: My son, keep sound wisdom and discretion; let them not escape from your sight,
22: and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.
23: Then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble.
24: If you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25: Do not be afraid of sudden panic, or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes;
26: for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
27: Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
28: Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it” – when you have it with you.
29: Do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you.
30: Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
31: Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways;
32: for the perverse man is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.
33: The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous.
34: Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he shows favor.

 

[tomaquin88]

Hi brother – no saints for Feb 24, 25, 26 and onwards? I love this forum by the way!

Tom

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 24

THE FIRST & SECOND FINDING OF THE HEAD OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST**
The great and glorious Baptist John was beheaded according to the wish and instigation of the wicked Herodias, the wife of Herod. When John was beheaded, Herodias ordered that his head not be buried with his body for she feared that this awesome prophet, somehow, would resurrect. Therefore, she took his head and buried it deep in the ground in a secluded and dishonorable place. Her maidservant was Johanna, the wife of Chuza a courtier of Herod. The good and devout Johanna could not tolerate that the head of the Man of God remain in this dishonorable place. Secretly she unearthed it, removed it to Jerusalem and buried it on the Mount of Olives. Not knowing of this, King Herod, when he learned of Jesus and how He worked great miracles, became frightened and said: “This is John whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead” (St. Mark 16:16). After a considerable period of time, an eminent landowner believed in Christ, left his position and the vanity of the world and became a monk, taking the name, Innocent. As a monk, he took up abode on the Mount of Olives exactly in the place where the head of the Baptist was buried. Wanting to build himself a cell for himself, he dug deep and discovered an earthen vessel and in it a head, which was mysteriously revealed to him, to be the head of the Baptizer. He reverenced it and reburied it in the same spot. Later, according to God’s Providence, this miracle-working relic [The head of St. John] traveled from place to place, sunk into the darkness of forgetfulness and again was rediscovered. Finally, during the reign of the pious Empress Theodora, the mother of Michael and the wife of Theophilus and at the time of Patriarch Ignatius it was translated to Constantinople. Many miraculous healings occurred from the relic of the Forerunner [Precursor]. It is important and interesting to note that while he was still alive, “John did no miracles” (St. John 10:41), however, his relics have been endowed with miraculous power.

Today’s Readings
Hebrews 1:1-12
1: In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets;
2: but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
3: He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4: having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.
5: For to what angel did God ever say, “Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?
6: And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7: Of the angels he says, “Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.”
8: But of the Son he says, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom.
9: Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades.”
10: And, “Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands;
11: they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment,
12: like a mantle thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end.”

Mark 2:23-3:5
23: One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
24: And the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?”
25: And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:
26: how he entered the house of God, when Abi’athar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
27: And he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath;
28: so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.”
1: Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.
2: And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
3: And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come here.”
4: And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
5: And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

 

[Edwin1961]

FEBRUARY 25
FIRST SUNDAY OF THE GREAT FAST
SAINT TARASIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
His predecessor, Patriarch Paul secretly, relinquished the throne, entered a monastery and received the Schema [The Great Angelic Habit]. Irene and Constantine reigned at the time. By Paul’s counsel, Tarasius, a senator and royal advisor, was chosen as patriarch in the year 783 A.D. He was quickly elevated through the ecclesiastical ranks and became patriarch. A man of great learning and great zeal in the Orthodox Faith, Tarasius accepted this rank reluctantly in order to assist the Church in the struggle against heresies, especially against Iconoclasm. During his tenure, the Seventh Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 783 A.D.} was convened, where Iconoclasm was condemned and the veneration of holy icons was confirmed and restored. Tarasius was very charitable toward orphans and the poor, creating for them shelters and distributed food to them. Toward the powerful, Tarasius was decisive in his defense of faith and morals. When Emperor Constantine banished Maria, his lawful wife and took a kinswoman and lived with her, and sought a blessing for marriage from the patriarch, Tarasius not only refused him a blessing, but first counseled him, after that reproached him, and finally forbid him to receive Holy Communion. Before his death, many saw how Tarasius replied to the demons saying: “I am not guilty of this sin! I am not guilty either of that sin!” Until his weakened tongue could not longer speak, he then began to defend himself with his hands driving away the demons. When he expired, his face lightened up as the sun. This truly great hierarch died in the year 806 A.D. He governed the Church for twenty-two years and four months.

THE VENERABLE PAPHNUTIUS OF KEPHALA
This great saint was a contemporary of St. Anthony the Great. It is said about him that he wore the same cassock for eighty years. St. Anthony greatly respected him and used to say that Paphnutius was a true ascetic who was able to come and to save souls.

Today’s Readings
Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40 Hebrews 12:1
John 1:43-51​

 

[Edwin1961]

FEBRUARY 26

SAINT PORPHYRIUS, BISHOP OF GAZA
This great Arch-shepherd was born of wealthy parents in Thessalonica. From his youth, until age twenty-five, Porphyrius remained in Thessalonica, the town of his birth. After that, he took leave of his parents and worldly life and withdrew to the wilderness of Egypt. Under the guidance of an experienced spiritual father, the young Porphyrius was tonsured a monk and remained there for five years. He then visited the Holy Land in the company of the monk Mark, his faithful companion. In the proximity of Jerusalem, he lived an ascetical life in a cave, again for five years. But then the legs of Porphyrius became weak and he was unable to walk. Nevertheless, crawling on his knees, he continually attended the Divine Services of God. One night, our Lord appeared to him of a vision and cured him of the infirmity in his legs and he became completely whole. When he was elected Bishop of Gaza, Porphyrius accepted this obligation with a heavy heart. In Gaza, he found only two-hundred eighty Christians. All other inhabitants were very fanatical idolaters. Only by his great faith and patience did Porphyrius succeed to convert the inhabitants of Gaza to the Faith of Christ. He personally traveled to Constantinople to see Emperor Arcadius and Patriarch John Chrysostom to seek their support in this unequal struggle with the idolaters. He received the desired support. The idolatrous temples were closed and the idols destroyed and he built a beautiful church with thirty marble columns. Empress Eudoxia especially assisted in the building of this church. Porphyrius lived long enough to see the entire town of Gaza converted to the Christian Faith, but only after his many efforts, sufferings and prayerful tears to god. He died peacefully in the year 421 A.D. He was a miracle-worker both during his life and after his death. Even today, his relics repose in Gaza.

THE HOLY AND GREAT MARTYR PHOTINA THE SAMARITAN
St. Photina was that Samaritan woman whom our Lord met at Jacob’s Well. When He disclosed the secret of her profligate life, she believed in Him at once as that Messiah which was to come, and began spreading the Gospel among the Samaritans, converting many. Later, she and her son Josiah and her five sisters went to Carthage to preach and then to Rome. Another son, Victor, was a soldier and had already come to Emperor Nero’s attention as being a Christian. The Emperor summoned the whole family and with threats and tortures tried to force them to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, when Nero’s daughter Domnina came in contact with Photina (the Lord Himself had given her the name, meaning “resplendent” or “shining with light”), she, too, was converted. The enraged emperor had the heads of the sons and sisters cut off; Photina was held in prison for a few more weeks before being thrown into a well, where she joyously gave her soul to the Lord.

THE HOLY MARTYR JOHN, THE BUILDER [KALPHA]
This saint was born in Galata in Constantinople. By occupation he was an architect, a builder [Kalpha: builder in Greek]. Because of his ardent confession of the Christian Faith, John offended the Turks and they began to pressure him to become a Muslim. “I will not deny my Sweet Jesus Christ,” John bravely replied. “In Him I believe; Him I serve; Him, I confess.” Following grave tortures, the Turks beheaded him on February 26, 1575 A.D. in Constantinople. He suffered honorably for his beloved Christ and took up habitation in the mansions of the Lord.

Today’s Readings
Genesis 3:21-24 Genesis 4:1-7
Proverbs 3:34-35 Proverbs 4:1-22

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 27

THE VENERABLE PROCOPIUS - DECAPOLIT**
This saint was from Decapolis [Ten Cities] surrounding the Sea of Galilea for which he was called “Decapolit.” In his youth, he devoted himself to a life of asceticism and accomplished all prescribed efforts, by which the heart is purified and the spirit elevated to God. When a persecution began by the nefarious Emperor Leo Isaurian regarding icons, Procopius rose up in defense of icons showing that the veneration of icons is not idolatry; for Christians know that honoring icons they do not either bow down or honor lifeless material but rather honor living saints who are depicted on the icons. Because of that, Procopius was arrested, brutally tortured, flogged and scrapped with an iron brush. When the wicked Emperor Leo was slain in the body, [for he had lost his soul earlier], icons were restored in the churches and Procopius returned to his monastery where he spent the remainder of his days in peace. In old age, he was translated into the kingdom of God where he gazes with joy upon the living angels and saints, whose images on icons he honored on earth. He died peacefully in the ninth century.

THE VENERABLE THALELAEUS
Thalelaeus was a Syrian ascetic. At first he resided in the Monastery of St. Sabas the Sanctified near Jerusalem but later he settled in a pagan cemetery known for the apparitions of evil spirits and frightening things. In order to conquer fear within himself through faith in God, Thalelaeus settled in this cemetery where he lived for many years enduring many assaults from evil spirits both day and night. Because of his great faith and love for God, God endowed him with the gift of working miracles by which he did much good for the sick and suffering people. He died about the year 460 A.D.

VENERABLE TITUS OF THE CAVES IN KIEV
Titus was a presbyter and had a sincere Christian love for Deacon Evgarius as a brother for a brother. As much as their love in the beginning was true, later it became a mutual blood-feud and hatred sown by the devil. They hated each other so much that when one was censing in the church, the other turned around and walked out of the church. Titus attempted many times to reconcile with his opponent but in vain. Titus became ill and everyone thought that he was going to die. He begged them to bring Evgarius to him in order to forgive him. Forcefully, they dragged Evgarius to the bedside of Titus, but Evgarius broke free and fled saying that he will not forgive Titus either in this world or the other world. As soon as he said this, he fell to the ground and died. Titus arose from his bed healthy and related how the demons were hovering around him until he forgave Evgarius and when he forgave him, the demons fled and attached Evgarius and angels of God surrounded Titus. He died in the year 1190 A.D.

THE VENERABLE STEPHEN
At first, Stephen was a palace clerk of Emperor Maurice. After that he resigned his palace duties and, driven by love for Christ, Stephen built a hospice of charity for the aged in Constantinople. He died peacefully in the year 614 A.D.

THE HOLY MARTYR JULIAN
Julian suffered severely from gout so much so that he was neither able to stand nor walk. Because of his faith in Christ, he was brought on a pallet before the judge. He was burned alive at the stake in Alexandria with his disciple Cronyon during the reign of Emperor Decius.

Today’s Readings
Genesis 4:8-15
Proverbs 5:1-15

 

[Edwin1961]

**FEBRUARY 28

SAINT BASIL THE CONFESSOR**
Basil was a companion and co-suffer with St. Procopius Decapolit. Basil faithfully followed his teacher Procopius both in peaceful times and in time of persecution. He suffered many hardships from the iconoclasts and when the iconoclasts were defeated, Basil according to God’s Providence, returned together with Procopius to his monastery where in fasting and prayer he lived a long life of asceticism. He died peacefully in the year 747 A.D.

THE PRIEST-MARTYR NESTOR
Nestor was the bishop of Magydos in Pamphylia. He was distinguished by his great meekness. During the reign of Decius, he was brought to trial and cruelly tortured for Christ. Before his death, he saw in a vision, a sacrificial lamb, which he interpreted as a sign of his impending sacrifice. He was tortured by the Eparch [governor] Publius and in the end was crucified in Perga, the capital of the province, in the year 250 A.D.

THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR PROTERIUS
This saint was a presbyter in Alexandria at the same time when Dioscorus the heretic was patriarch of Alexandria. Dioscorus was one of the leaders of the Monophysite heresy, which taught that there was one nature in Christ [Human] and not two natures [Human and Divine]. Marcian and Plucheria also reigned at that time as emperor and empress. This holy and devout man Proterius stood up against Dioscorus for which he endured many miseries. Then the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon, 451 A.D.] was convened at which the Monophysite heresy was condemned, Dioscorus removed from the patriarchal throne and banished into exile. Proterius, this true-believing man, was elected in his place. He governed the Church with zeal and love; a true follower of Christ. However, the followers of Dioscorus did not cease to create a disturbance in Alexandria. At the time of one such bloody disturbance, Proterius left the city with the intention of staying away temporarily. Along the way, the Prophet Isaiah appeared to him in a vision and said: “Return to the city, I am waiting to take you.” Proterius returned to Alexandria and entered the church. Upon hearing about this, the enraged heretics rushed into the church, seized the patriarch and stabbed him throughout with knives. Six other Christians were also slain with Proterius. Thus, Proterius this wonderful shepherd of Christ’s flock, received the martyr’s wreath for the Truth of Orthodoxy in the year 457 A.D.

Today’s Readings
Genesis 4:16-26
Proverbs 5:15-23 Proverbs 6:1-3

 

[Edwin1961]

**MARCH 1

THE VENERABLE MARTYR EUDOXIA**
The venerable martyr Eudoxia lived in the Phoenician city of Heliopolis during the reign of Trajan. Eudoxia was a great debaucher at first. After that she was a penitent, ascetic, and finally a martyr. Through her debauchery she amassed a great fortune. The change in her life came about inadvertently through God’s Providence and a certain elder, the monk Herman. Coming into the city on assignment, he resided at the home of a Christian whose house was adjacent to that of Eudoxia. In the evening and according to monastic tradition, he began to recite the Psalter and to read a chapter on the dreadful judgment. Eudoxia heard him and attentively eavesdropped on his words to the end. Fear and terror overcame her, and she remained awake until dawn. At daybreak, she sent her servant to beseech the monk to come to her. Herman came and a lengthy conversation took place between them about faith and salvation in general. As a result of the conversation, Eudoxia petitioned the local bishop to baptize her. Following her baptism, Eudoxia bequeathed her entire estate to the Church to be distributed among the poor. She dismissed her servants and slaves and withdrew to a convent. Thus, Eudoxia resolved to dedicate herself to the monastic life, obedience, patience, long vigils, prayer and fasting. After thirteen months, Eudoxia was elected abbess. Eudoxia lived in the convent for fifty-six years and was found worthy before God. He endowed her with much grace so that she raised even the dead. When the persecution of Christians began under Prince Vincent, St. Eudoxia was beheaded. Eudoxia is a glorious example of how a vessel of impurity can be purified, sanctified and filled with the Grace of the Holy Spirit, the precious odor of heaven.

THE VENERABLE AGAPIUS
He was a novice under the spiritual direction of a priest in the Vatopedi Monastery on Mt. Athos. Captured by pirates, Agapius was sold as a slave in Magnesia. After twelve years, he was miraculously freed through the help of the All-Holy Mother of God and returned to Vatopedi. He baptized his former master and became his spiritual father. Agapius continued the remainder of his life in asceticism in Vatopedi and died peacefully in the Lord.

THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR, ANTONINA
Antonina was born in Nicaea. Because of her faith in Christ, she was arrested and brutally tortured. Finally, she was sewn in a sack and drowned in a lake in the year 302 A.D. God saved her soul and continuously glorified her among the angels in heaven
and among the faithful on earth.

Our Holy Father David, Enlightener of Wales

Today’s Readings
Genesis 5:1-24
Proverbs 6:3-20

 

[Edwin1961]

**MARCH 2

THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR THEODOTUS, BISHOP OF KYRENIA ON THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS**Because of his wisdom and kindness, Theodotus was elected to the episcopacy and governed the Church of God with love and zeal. When the persecution of Christians began during the reign of the wicked Emperor Licinius, this godly man was brought to trial and put through many tortures. When the torturer Sabinus advised him to deny Christ and to bow down before pagan idols and to worship them, Theodotus replied, “If you knew the goodness of my God in Whom I hope, that because of these temporary sufferings, will make me worthy of eternal life, you also would wish to suffer in the same manner as I.” The torturers began to strike his body with nails, and he prayed to God with gratitude. Thinking his end was near, Theodotus counseled and taught the Christians who were assembled around him. By the Providence of God, the Emperor Constantine at that time proclaimed freedom to Christians and ordered that all who were sentenced be released for the sake of Christ. And so, this saint was freed and returned to his prior position in Kyrenia. Astortured as he was, Theodotus lived for several more years. After that, he found repose in the Lord, Whom he faithfully served and for Whom he suffered. In the year 302 A.D. his earthly life ended and was translated to the mansions of our Lord.

THE HOLY MARTYR TROADIUS
As a young man he suffered for Christ. Gregory of Neo-Caesarea saw in a vision how bravely Troadius withstood his tortures for Christ until the time he was killed. He saw his soul, which was separated from the body, joyfully hurrying toward heaven. St. Troadius suffered and was glorified in the third century.

THE FOUR-HUNDRED AND FORTY MARTYRS
They were killed by the Lombards in Italy about the year 579 A.D. St. Gregory Dialogues writes about them. In one place, forty of them were beheaded. At another place, four-hundred of them were also beheaded, all because they refused to eat of the sacrifices of the idols. Additionally, these four-hundred refused to dance around the heads of the goats offered to the demons as a sacrifice by the pagans, as was the custom of the Lombards.

THE VENERABLE AGATHON
Agathon was a great Egyptian ascetic who practiced extreme asceticism in the fifth century. He was a contemporary of St. Macarius and a disciple of St. Lot [Egyptian Ascetic]. He labored and tried to fulfill all the commandments of our Lord. One of the brethren complimented him on a small knife with which he used to cut brushwood used for making baskets. Upon hearing this compliment, the saint joyfully handed over the knife to that brother as a gift. St. Agathon also said, “It would be very satisfying for me if I could assume unto myself the body of a leper and give him mine.” Is this not perfect love?

THE MARTYR EUTHALIA
This holy Euthalia was a virgin from Sicily. She had a mother of the same name and a brother named Sermilianus. All were unbaptized pagans. Her mother Euthalia suffered from an issue of blood. The holy martyrs, Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus (May 10), appeared to her in a dream and told her that she would be healed only if she became baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Euthalia professed her faith in Christ, was baptized, and indeed recovered. Upon seeing this miracle, evenEuthalia’s daughter was baptized. After that, Sermilianus began to mock and ridicule his mother and sister because of their faith in Christ. He threatened them. The mother became frightened and fled her home. Then the brother began to persecute his sister. His sister was not frightened, for Christ was more dear to her than her brother. She said to Sermilianus, “I am a Christian and I am not afraid of death.” The wicked brother then sent a servant to defile her. When the servant attacked St. Euthalia, he lost his eyesight. The evil brother saw this miracle but still remained hard of heart. Just as Cain pursued Abel, Sermilianus pursued his sister, caught her and beheaded her. Thus, the holy virgin Euthalia was wedded with the wreath of eternal glory. By this example, the words of the Lord Christ were fulfilled: that He brought a sword among men, which causes variances between relations in blood, but not between relations in faith. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law” (St. Matthew 10:34,35).

Today’s Readings
Genesis 5:32 Genesis 6:1-8
Proverbs 6:20-35 Proverbs 7:1

 

[Edwin1961]

MARCH 3
SECOND ALL SOULS SATURDAY

THE HOLY MARTYRS, EUTROPIUS, CLEONICUS AND BASILLISCUS
They were companions of St. Theodore Tiro. When the righteous Theodore gloriously died, they remained behind in prison, and for a long time they were not sentenced due to a change in the emperor’s deputy in the city of Amasea. When the new governor arrived, more inhuman than his predecessor, he ordered that these three be brought before him. All three were youths. Eutropius and Cleonicus wereblood brothers, and Basilliscus was a kinsman of St. Theodore. All three were like blood brothers in brotherly love. As such, they said before the governor, “As the Holy Trinity is undivided, so also are we by our faith undivided and in love inseparable.” In vain was all the flattery on the part of the governor and in vain were his attempts to bribe Eutropius. First of all, the deputy invited Eutropius to dine with him. Eutropius refused, quoting from the Psalms, “Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked” (Psalm 1:1). After that, the deputy offered him a large amount of money, one hundred-fifty litres of silver, which Eutropius also refused and reminded the governor that because of silver, Judas lost his soul. After all attempts at interrogation and torture, the first two were sentenced to be crucified, and Basilliscus was sentenced to be beheaded. And so it was, two brothers crucified on two crosses for which they gave thanks to Christ that He made them worthy of the same death by which He Himself died. The third, Basilliscus, was beheaded. They all entered the Kingdom of Joy where St. Theodore, their commander, awaited them and who before them was glorified by Christ the Lord and Victor. They suffered honorably in the year 308 A.D.

SAINT PIAMA THE EGYPTIAN
For the sake of Christ, Piama did not wish to marry; she dedicated herself to a life of asceticism in the home of her mother. She ate very little food, and that, every other day. She spent most of her time in prayer and contemplation. Piama possessed the “Gift of Discernment.” She died peacefully, wedding her soul to the Lord about the year 377 A.D.

THE UNKNOWN MAIDEN
Coming from a wealthy home in Alexandria, she had a good father who suffered much and came to an evil end, and an evil mother who lived well, died peacefully and was buried with honors. Perplexed as to whether she should live according to the example of her father or her mother, this maiden had a vision which revealed to her the conditions of her mother and her father in the other world. She saw her father in the Kingdom of God and her mother in darkness and in torment. This vision helped themaiden to decide that she would dedicate her whole life to God and, like her father, would adhere to the commandments of God, without considering all the adversities and the misfortunes which she would have to endure. She was faithful to the will of God to the end and, with the help of God, was made worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven where she was reunited with her God-loving father.

Today’s Readings
Hebrews 3:12-16
Mark 1:35-45

 

[Edwin1961]

**MARCH 4
SECOND SUNDAY OF THE GREAT FAST
SUNDAY OF ST. GREGORY PALAMAS

THE VENERABLE GERASIMUS**
This remarkable and famous saint first learned about the ascetical lifein the Egyptian Thebaid. He then went to the Jordan and there founded a community in which there were seventy monks. This community still exists today. He instituted a special Constitution [Rule] for his monastery by which the monks spent five days in their cells weaving baskets, reeds and rush mats. They were never allowed to light a fire in their cells. For five days they ate only a little dry bread and dates. The monks were required to keep their cells open so that when they went out, anyone could enter and remove whatever he needed from their cells. On Saturdays and Sundays they gathered in the monastic church. They had a common meal with a few vegetables and a little wine to the glory of God. Each monk would then bring in and place before the feet of the abbot that which he had made during the past five days. Each monk had only one robe. St. Gerasimus was an example to all. During the Great Lenten Fast he did not eat anything except what he received in Holy Communion. On one occasion, he saw a lion roaring from pain because there was a thorn in his paw. Gerasimus drew near to the lion, crossed himself, and removed the thorn in the animal’s paw. The lion became so tame that he returned with Gerasimus to the monastery and remained there until the elder’s death. When Gerasimus died, the lion succumbed from sorrow for him. Gerasimus attended the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon, 451 A.D.] during the reign of Marcian and Plucheria. Even though in the beginning, Gerasimus leaned toward the Monophysite heresy of Eutyches and Dioscorus, he was a great defender and champion of Orthodoxy at the Council. St. Euthymius dissuaded him from this heresy. Of all of the disciples of Gerasimus, the most famous was St. Cyriacus the Recluse. St. Gerasimus died in the year 475 A.D., and was translated into the eternal joy of his Lord.

THE HOLY MARTYRS PAUL AND JULIANA
Paul and Juliana were brother and sister from Ptolemais in Phoenicia. They were brutally tortured for the sake of Christ by the Emperor Aurelius and were finally beheaded. Before their martyrdom many of their miracles were manifested, and were witnessed by many pagans. Through these miracles, many of the pagans were converted to the Faith. Several of these were beheaded and received their wreaths in the year 273 A.D.

SAINT JAMES THE FASTER
He lived in the sixth century. He was so perfected in pleasing God that Jamescured the most gravely ill through his prayers. But the enemy of mankind lured him into great temptations. At one time, an immoral woman was sent to him by some scoffers. She misrepresented herself to James, pretending to be crying yet all the while luring him into sin. Seeing that he was going to yield to sin, James placed his left hand into the fire and held it there for some time until it was scorched. Seeing this, the woman was filled with fear and terror, repented and amended her life. On another occasion, James did not flee from his temptation, but rather he succumbs to a maiden, who was brought as alunatic by her parents to be cured of her insanity. He, indeed, healed her and after that, sinned with her. Then in order to conceal his sin he killed her and threw her into a river. As is common, the steps from adultery to murder are not too distant. James lived for ten years after that as a penitent in an open grave. At thattime there was a great drought which caused both people and live-stock to suffer. As a result of his prayers, rain fell; James knew that God had forgiven him. Here is an example, similar to that of David, of how twisted is the demon of evil; how by God’s permission, the greatest spiritual giants can be overthrown, and through sincere and contrite penance, God, according to His mercy, forgives even the greatest sins and does not punish those when they punish themselves.
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Today’s Readings:**
Hebrews 1:10-14 Hebrews 2:1-3
Mark 2:1-12/