[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Sun Apr 22 05:00:32 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sun Apr 22 2007

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Mark 16:9-20  (3rd Matins Gospel)
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared
first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.
10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and
wept.
11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her,
they did not believe.
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they
walked and went into the country.
13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe
them either.
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He
rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not
believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature.
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will
cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it
will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they
will recover.
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into
heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with
them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3

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Acts 6:1-7
1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying,
there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because
their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.
2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said,
"It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve
tables.
3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good
reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint
over this business;
4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry
of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen,
a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus,
Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,
6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they
laid hands on them.
7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples
multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were
obedient to the faith.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

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Mark 15:43-16:8
43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself
waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to
Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the
centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.
45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to
Joseph.
46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the
linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock,
and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He
was laid.
1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of
James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came
to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3 And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from
the door of the tomb for us?"
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled
away-for it was very large.
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white
robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth,
who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where
they laid Him.
7 But go, tell His disciples-and Peter-that He is going before you
into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.
8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled
and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were
afraid.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

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Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearing Women with the Noble Joseph
Today we commemorate the Holy Myrrh-bearing women Sts Mary Magdalene
(July 22), Mary the wife of Clopas, Joanna (June 27), Salome, mother
of the sons of Zebedee (August 3), Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus
(June 4). Also St Joseph of Arimathea (July 31), and Nicodemus.
The holy right-believing Queen Tamara of Georgia is commemorated twice
during the year: on May 1, the day of her repose, and also on the
Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women.
Synaxis of all Saints of Thessalonica.
St Seraphim Bishop of Phanar (December 4, 1610)
New Martyr Elias Ardunis (January 31, 1686)
New Martyr Demetrius of the Peolponnesos (April 13, 1803)
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Holy Queen Tamara
St. Tamara is commemorated on the Sunday of the Myrrh-beating Women in
addition to her regular commemoration on May 1. In 1166 a daughter,
Tamar, was born to King George III (11551184) and Queen Burdukhan of
Georgia. The king proclaimed that he would share the throne with his
daughter from the day she turned twelve years of age.
The royal court unanimously vowed its allegiance and service to Tamar,
and father and daughter ruled the country together for five years.
After King Georges death in 1184, the nobility recognized the young
Tamar as the sole ruler of all Georgia. Queen Tamar was enthroned as
ruler of all Georgia at the age of eighteen. She is called King in the
Georgian language because her father had no male heir and so she ruled
as a monarch and not as a consort.
At the beginning of her reign, Tamar convened a Church council and
addressed the clergy with wisdom and humility: Judge according to
righteousness, affirming good and condemning evil, she advised. Begin
with meif I sin I should be censured, for the royal crown is sent down
from above as a sign of divine service. Allow neither the wealth of
the nobles nor the poverty of the masses to hinder your work. You by
word and I by deed, you by preaching and I by the law, you by
upbringing and I by education will care for those souls whom God has
entrusted to us, and together we will abide by the law of God, in
order to escape eternal condemnation. You as priests and I as ruler,
you as stewards of good and I as the watchman of that good.
The Church and the royal court chose a suitor for Tamar: Yuri, the son
of Prince Andrei Bogoliubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal (in Georgia Yuri was
known as George the Russian). The handsome George Rusi was a valiant
soldier, and under his command the Georgians returned victorious from
many battles. His marriage to Tamar, however, exposed many of the
coarser sides of his character. He was often drunk and inclined toward
immoral deeds. In the end, Tamars court sent him away from Georgia to
Constantinople, armed with a generous recompense. Many Middle Eastern
rulers were drawn to Queen Tamars beauty and desired to marry her, but
she rejected them all. Finally at the insistence of her court, she
agreed to wed a second time to ensure the preservation of the dynasty.
This time, however, she asked her aunt and nurse Rusudan (the sister
of King George III) to find her a suitor. The man she chose,
Davit-Soslan Bagrationi, was the son of the Ossetian ruler and a
descendant of King George I (10141027).
In 1195 a joint Muslim military campaign against Georgia was planned
under the leadership of Atabeg (a military commander) Abu Bakr of
Persian Azerbaijan. At Queen Tamars command, a call to arms was
issued. The faithful were instructed by Metropolitan Anton of
Chqondidi to celebrate All-night Vigils and Liturgies and to
generously distribute alms so that the poor could rest from their
labors in order to pray. In ten days the army was prepared, and Queen
Tamar addressed the Georgian soldiers for the last time before the
battle began. My brothers! Do not allow your hearts to tremble before
the multitude of enemies, for God is with us. Trust God alone, turn
your hearts to Him in righteousness, and place your every hope in the
Cross of Christ and in the Most Holy Theotokos! she exhorted them.
Having taken off her shoes, Queen Tamar climbed the hill to the
Metekhi Church of the Theotokos (in Tbilisi) and knelt before the icon
of the Most Holy Theotokos. She prayed without ceasing until the good
news arrived: the battle near Shamkori had ended in the unquestionable
victory of the Orthodox Georgian army.
After this initial victory the Georgian army launched into a series of
triumphs over the Turks, and neighboring countries began to regard
Georgia as the protector of the entire Transcaucasus. By the beginning
the 13th century, Georgia was commanding a political authority
recognized by both the Christian West and the Muslim East.
Georgias military successes alarmed the Islamic world. Sultan Rukn
al-Din was certain that a united Muslim force could definitively
decide the issue of power in the region, and he marched on Georgia
around the year 1203, commanding an enormous army.
Having encamped near Basiani, Rukn al-Din sent a messenger to Queen
Tamar with an audacious demand: to surrender without a fight. In
reward for her obedience, the sultan promised to marry her on the
condition that she embrace Islam; if Tamar were to cleave to
Christianity, he would number her among the other unfortunate
concubines in his harem. When the messenger relayed the sultans
demand, a certain nobleman, Zakaria Mkhargrdzelidze, was so outraged
that he slapped him on the face, knocking him unconscious.
At Queen Tamars command, the court generously bestowed gifts upon the
ambassador and sent him away with a Georgian envoy and a letter of
reply. Your proposal takes into consideration your wealth and the
vastness of your armies, but fails to account for divine judgment,
Tamar wrote, while I place my trust not in any army or worldly thing
but in the right hand of the Almighty God and the infinite aid of the
Cross, which you curse. The will of Godand not your ownshall be
fulfilled, and the judgment of Godand not your judgmentshall reign!
The Georgian soldiers were summoned without delay. Queen Tamar prayed
for victory before the Vardzia Icon of the Theotokos, then, barefoot,
led her army to the gates of the city.
Hoping in the Lord and the fervent prayers of Queen Tamar, the
Georgian army marched toward Basiani. The enemy was routed. The
victory at Basiani was an enormous event not only for Georgia, but for
the entire Christian world.
The military victories increased Queen Tamars faith. In the daytime
she shone in all her royal finery and wisely administered the affairs
of the government; during the night, on bended knees, she beseeched
the Lord tearfully to strengthen the Georgian Church. She busied
herself with needlework and distributed her embroidery to the poor.
Once, exhausted from her prayers and needlework, Tamar dozed off and
saw a vision. Entering a luxuriously furnished home, she saw a gold
throne studded with jewels, and she turned to approach it, but was
suddenly stopped by an old man crowned with a halo. Who is more worthy
than I to receive such a glorious throne? Queen Tamar asked him.
He answered her, saying, This throne is intended for your maidservant,
who sewed vestments for twelve priests with her own hands. You are
already the possessor of great treasure in this world. And he pointed
her in a different direction.
Having awakened, Holy Queen Tamar immediately took to her work and
with her own hands sewed vestments for twelve priests.
History has preserved another poignant episode from Queen Tamars life:
Once she was preparing to attend a festal Liturgy in Gelati, and she
fastened precious rubies to the belt around her waist. Soon after she
was told that a beggar outside the monastery tower was asking for
alms, and she ordered her entourage to wait. Having finished dressing,
she went out to the tower but found no one there. Terribly distressed,
she reproached herself for having denied the poor and thus denying
Christ Himself. Immediately she removed her belt, the cause of her
temptation, and presented it as an offering to the Gelati Icon of the
Theotokos.
During Queen Tamars reign a veritable monastic city was carved in the
rocks of Vardzia, and the God-fearing Georgian ruler would labor there
during the Great Fast. The churches of Pitareti, Kvabtakhevi, Betania,
and many others were also built at that time. Holy Queen Tamar
generously endowed the churches and monasteries not only on Georgian
territory but also outside her borders: in Palestine, Cyprus, Mt.
Sinai, the Black Mountains, Greece, Mt. Athos, Petritsoni (Bulgaria),
Macedonia, Thrace, Romania, Isauria and Constantinople. The divinely
guided Queen Tamar abolished the death penalty and all forms of bodily
torture.
A regular, secret observance of a strict ascetic regimefasting, a
stone bed, and litanies chanted in bare feetfinally took its toll on
Queen Tamars health. For a long time she refrained from speaking to
anyone about her condition, but when the pain became unbearable she
finally sought help. The best physicians of the time were unable to
diagnose her illness, and all of Georgia was seized with fear of
disaster. Everyone from the small to the great prayed fervently for
Georgias ruler and defender. The people were prepared to offer not
only their own lives, but even the lives of their children, for the
sake of their beloved ruler.
God sent Tamar a sign when He was ready to receive her into His
Kingdom. Then the pious ruler bade farewell to her court and turned in
prayer to an icon of Christ and the Life-giving Cross: Lord Jesus
Christ! Omnipotent Master of heaven and earth! To Thee I deliver the
nation and people that were entrusted to my care and purchased by Thy
Precious Blood, the children whom Thou didst bestow upon me, and to
Thee I surrender my soul, O Lord!
The burial place of Queen Tamar has remained a mystery to this day.
Some sources claim that her tomb is in Gelati, in a branch of burial
vaults belonging to the Bagrationi dynasty, while others argue that
her holy relics are preserved in a vault at the Holy Cross Monastery
in Jerusalem.
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St Theodore the Sykeote the Bishop of Anastasiopolis
Saint Theodore the Sykeote was born in the mid-sixth century in the
village of Sykeon, not far from the city of Anastasiopolis (in
Galatia, Asia Minor), into a pious family. When his mother Maria
conceived the saint, she had a vision of a bright star overshadowing
her womb. A clairvoyant Elder, whom she consulted, explained that this
was the grace of God being poured forth on the infant in her womb.
When the boy reached the age of six, his mother presented him with a
golden belt, since she intended that her son should become a soldier.
That night the Holy Great Martyr George (April 23) appeared to her in
a dream, and he told her not to consider military service for her son,
because the boy was destined to serve God. The saint's father, Cosmas,
had served as a messenger of the emperor Justinian the Great
(527-565), and he died at an early age. The boy remained in the care
of his mother, and his grandmother Elpis, his aunt Dispenia and his
little sister Vlatta also lived with them.
In school, St Theodore displayed great apptitude in his studies, chief
of which was an uncommon ability for reasoning and wisdom. He was
quiet, mild, he always knew how to calm his comrades, and he did not
permit fights or quarrels among them.
The pious Elder Stephen also lived at his mother's house. Imitating
him, St Theodore at the age of eight began to eat only a small morsel
of bread in the evening during Great Lent. So that his mother should
not force him to take supper with everyone, the boy returned home from
school only toward evening, after he had partaken of the Holy
Mysteries with Elder Stephen. At the request of his mother, the
teacher began to send him home to supper at the end of his lessons. St
Theodore, however, ran to the church of the Great Martyr George, where
the saint appeared to him in the form of a youth, and ushered him into
the church.
When St Theodore turned ten, he fell deathly ill. They brought him to
the church of St John the Baptist and placed him in front of the
altar. The boy was healed by two drops of water that fell from the
face of the Savior in the dome of the temple. At this time the Great
Martyr George began appearing to the boy at night, and also leading
him to his own temple to pray until morning. His mother, fearing the
dangers of the forest at night, urged her son not to go at night.
Once, when the boy had already gone, she angrily followed him to the
church, and she dragged him out by the hair and tied him to his bed.
But that very night the Great Martyr George appeared to her in a
dream, and commanded her not to hinder the child from going to church.
Both Elpis and Dispenia had the same vision. The women then understood
St Theodore's special calling, and they no longer hindered him. Even
his little sister Vlatta began to imitate him.
At twelve years of age, the saint had a dream in which he saw Christ
on the Throne of Glory, Who said to him, "Struggle, Theodore, so that
you may obtain a perfect reward in the Kingdom of Heaven."
>From that time, St Theodore began to intensify his labors. He spent
both the First Week of Great Lent and the Week of the Veneration of
the Cross in complete silence.
The devil considered how to destroy him. He appeared to the saint in
the form of his classmate Gerontius, and urged him to jump off a
precipice, but the Great Martyr George saved the boy.
Another time, the boy went into the desert to obtain the blessing of
the Elder Glycerius. Then there was a terrible drought throughout the
land, and the Elder said, "Child, let us pray to the Lord on bended
knee, asking Him to send rain. Then we shall learn whether our prayers
are pleasing to the Lord." The old man and the boy began to pray, and
immediately it began to rain. Then the Elder said to St Theodore, that
the grace of God was upon him, and he blessed him to become a monk
when the time came.
When he was fourteen, St Theodore left home and lived near the church
of the Great Martyr George. His mother brought him food, but St
Theodore left everything on the stones by the church, and he ate only
a single prosphora each day. Even at such a young age, St Theodore was
granted the gift of healing. Through his prayers a demon-possessed
youth was restored to health.
St Theodore then fled human glory and he withdrew into complete
solitude. Under a large boulder not far from the church of St George,
he dug a cave and persuaded a certain deacon to cover over the
entrance with earth, leaving only a small opening for air. The deacon
brought him bread and water and he told no one,where the monk had
hidden himself.
For two years St Theodore lived in this seclusion and complete quiet.
His relatives mourned for the saint, thinking that he had been
devoured by wild beasts.
The deacon finally revealed the secret, since he was afraid that St
Theodore would perish in the narrow cave, and moreover he pitied the
weeping mother. They took St Theodore out of the cave barely alive.
The mother wanted to take her son home and nurse him back to health,
but the saint remained near the church of St George, and after several
days he was completely well.
News of the youth's exploits reached the local bishop Theodosius, who
ordained him to the diaconate, and later to the holy priesthood,
although the saint was only seventeen years old at the time.
After a certain while St Theodore went to venerate the holy places in
Jerusalem, and there at the Chozeba Lavra near Jordan, he received
monastic tonsure.
When he returned to his native land, he again continued to live near
the church of St George. His grandmother Elpis, his sister Vlatta and
his mother entered a women's monastery on the saint's advice, and his
aunt died in a good confession.
The ascetic life of the young hieromonk attracted to him people
seeking salvation. The saint tonsured the youth Epiphanius, and later
on a pious woman, healed by the saint from her sickness, brought him
her son Philoumenus. Then the virtuous youth John also came to him.
Thus brethren gradually gathered around the monk.
St Theodore continued in his harsh labors. At his request a blacksmith
made him an iron cage without a roof, and so narrow that it was
scarcely possible to stand. In this cage the monk stood in heavy
chains from Holy Pascha until the Nativity of Christ. From the Baptism
of the Lord until Holy Pascha he secluded himself in his cave, from
which he emerged only for church services on Saturdays and Sundays.
Throughout the whole of the forty-day Fast the saint ate only greens,
and bread on Saturdays and Sundays.
Living in such manner, he received from the Lord the power over wild
animals. Bears and wolves came up to him and took food from his hand.
Through the saint's prayers, those afflicted with leprosy were healed,
and demons were cast out from whole districts. In the nearby village
of Magatia, when locusts threatened the crops, people turned to St
Theodore for help. He sent them to church. After Divine Liturgy, which
he served, the villagers returned home and learned that during the
service all the locusts had died.
When the military commander Mauricius was returning to Constantinople
by way of Galatia after a Persian war, the monk predicted that he
would become emperor. The prediction came true, and the emperor
Mauricius (582-602) fulfilled the saint's request: he sent bread to
the monastery each year for the multitude of people being fed there.
The small temple of St George could not accommodate all those who
wanted to pray in it. Then through the efforts of the saint a
beautiful new church was built. During this while the Bishop of
Anastasiopolis happened to die. The people of the city requested
Metropolitan Paul of Ancyra to install St Theodore as their bishop.
So that the saint would not resist, the messengers of the Metropolitan
and the people of Anastasiopolis dragged him out of his cell by force
and carried him into the city.
As bishop, St Theodore toiled much for the welfare of the Church, but
his soul yearned for solitary communion with God. After several years
he went to venerate the holy places in Jerusalem. And there,
concealing his identity, he settled at the Lavra of St Sava, where he
lived in solitude from the Nativity of Christ until Pascha. Then the
Great Martyr George led him to return to Anastasiopolis.
Secret enemies tried to poison the saint, but the Mother of God gave
him three small pieces of grain. The saint ate them and remained
unharmed. St Theodore felt weighed down with the burden of being a
bishop and he asked Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople (595-606) for
a release to return to his own monastery and celebrate the services
there.
Theodore's sanctity was so evident that when he celebrated the
Eucharist, the grace of the Holy Spirit appeared as a radiant purple
light, overshadowed the Holy Gifts. One time, when the saint elevated
the discus with the holy Lamb and proclaimed "Holy things are for the
holy," the holy Lamb floated up in the air, and then settled again
upon the discus.
The Orthodox Church venerated St Theodore as a saint, even while he
was still alive.
In one of the cities of Galatia, a terrible event occurred: during a
church procession the wooden crosses being carried began to strike
each other by themselves, with the result that Patriarch Thomas
(607-610, March 21) summoned St Theodore, asking him the meaning of
this terrible portent. Having the gift of foresight, St Theodore
explained that this indicated coming misfortunes for the Church of God
(he was prophetically indicating the future heresy of the
Iconoclasts). In his grief the holy Patriarch Thomas begged the saint
to pray that he would soon die, so that he would not witness the
coming woe.
In the year 610 the holy Patriarch Thomas reposed, having asked the
blessing of St Theodore. St Theodore also departed to the Lord.
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Translation of the relics of the Blessed Vsevolod, in Holy
Baptism Gabriel, the Prince of Pskov
The Transfer of the Relics of Holy Prince Vsevolod-Gabriel of Pskov
(1834): See February 11.
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Apostle Nathaniel of the Seventy
The Holy Apostles Nathaniel, Luke and Clement of the Seventy: See June
11, October 18 and September 10.
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Apostle and Evangelist Luke of the Seventy
The Holy Apostles Nathaniel, Luke and Clement of the Seventy: See June
11, October 18 and September 10.
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Apostle Clement of the Seventy
The Holy Apostles Nathaniel, Luke and Clement of the Seventy: See June
11, October 18 and September 10.
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Venerable Vitalius of Gaza
Saint Vitalius, a monk of the monastery of St Seridus, arrived in
Alexandria when St John the Merciful (November 12) was wasPatriarch of
Alexandria.
When he was sixty years old, undertook an extraordinary task: he wrote
down from memory the names of all the prostitutes of Alexandria and he
began to pray for them. He worked from morning to evening, earning
twelve copper coins each day. In the evening the saint bought a single
bean, which he ate after sunset. Then he would give the rest of the
money to one of the harlots, whom he visited at night and said, "I beg
you, take this money and do not sin with anyone tonight." Then he
stayed with the harlot in her room. While she slept, the Elder spent
the whole night at prayer, reading the Psalms, and quietly left in the
morning.
He did this each day, visiting all the harlots in turn, and he made
them promise to keep the purpose of his visit secret. The people of
Alexandria, not knowing the truth, became indignant over the the
monk's behavior, and they reviled him. However, he meekly endured
their scorn, and he only asked that they not judge others.
The holy prayers of St Vitalius saved many fallen women. Some of them
went to a monastery, others got married, and others found respectable
work. But they were forbidden to tell anyone the reason why they had
changed their life, and thereby stop the abuse heaped upon St
Vitalius. They were bound by an oath they had made to the saint. When
of the woman began to break her oath and stood up to defend the saint,
she fell into a demonic frenzy. After this, the people of Alexandria
had no doubt concerning the sinfulness of the monk.
Certain of the clergy, scandalized by the behavior of St Vitalius,
reported him to the holy Patriarch John the Merciful. But the
Patriarch did not believe the informers and he said, "Cease to judge,
especially monks. Don't you know what happened at the First Council of
Nicea? Some of the bishops and the clergy brought letters of
denunciation against each other to the emperor St Constantine the
Great (May 21). He commanded that a burning candle be brought, and not
even reading the letters, he burned them and said, "If I had seen with
my own eyes a bishop sinning, or a priest, or a monk, then I would
have veiled such with his garb, so that no one might see his sin."
Thus the wise hierarch shamed the calumniators.
St Vitalius continued on with his difficult exploit: appearing himself
before people under the guise of a sinner and a prodigal, he led the
prodigal to repentance.
One time, emerging from an house of ill repute, the monk encountered a
young man going there -- a prodigal fellow, who with an insult struck
him on the cheek and cried out, that the monk was a disgrace to the
Name of Christ. The monk answered him: "Believe me, that after me,
humble man that I be, thou also shalt receive such a blow on the
cheek, that will have all Alexandria thronging to thine cry".
A certain while afterwards St Vitalius settled into a small cell and
in it at night he died. At that very hour a terrifying demon appeared
before the youth who had struck the saint, and the demon struck the
youth on the cheek and cried out: "Here is a knock from St Vitalius."
The youth went into a demonic madness. In a frenzy he thrashed about
on the ground, tore the clothing from himself and howled so loudly,
that a multitude of people gathered.
When the youth finally came to his senses after several hours, he then
rushed off to the cell of the monk, calling out: "Have mercy on me, O
servant of God, for I have sinned against thee." At the door of the
cell he came fully to his senses and he told those gathered there
about his former encounter with St Vitalius. Then the youth knocked on
the door of the cell, but he received no answer. When they broke in
the door, they then saw, that the monk was dead, on his knees before
an icon. In his hand was a scroll with the words: "Men of Alexandria,
judge not beforehand, til cometh the Lord, the Righteous Judge".
At this moment there came up the demon-possessed woman, punished by
the monk for wanting to violate the secret of his exploit. Having
touched the body of the saint, she was healed and told the people
about everything that had happened with her.
When the women who had been saved by St Vitalius learned about his
death, they gathered together and told everyone about the virtues and
mercy of the saint.
St John the Merciful also rejoiced, in that he had not believed the
calumniators, and that a righteous man had not been condemned. And
then together with the throng of repentant women, converted by St
Vitalius, the holy Patriarch solemnly conveyed his remains throughout
all the city and gave them reverent burial. And from that time many of
the Alexandria people made themselves a promise to judge no one.
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Hieromartyr Sava (Trlajic) of Serbia
No information available at this time.
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Hieromartyr Platon the Newmartyr of Banjaluka
No information available at this time.
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Hieromartyr Platon, Bishop of Banja Luka
No information available at this time.
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