[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sun Aug 5 05:00:15 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sun Aug 5 2007

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John 21:1-14  (10th Matins Gospel)
1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at
the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him,
"We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into
the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the
disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They
answered Him, "No."
6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat,
and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to
draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the
Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his
outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not
far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with
fish.
9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals
there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just
caught."
11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large
fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many,
the net was not broken.
12 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." Yet none of the
disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?"-knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and
likewise the fish.
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples
after He was raised from the dead.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3

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1 Corinthians 4:9-16  (Epistle)
9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men
condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world,
both to angels and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are
weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are
dishonored!
11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly
clothed, and beaten, and homeless.
12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless;
being persecuted, we endure;
13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the
world, the offscouring of all things until now.
14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved
children I warn you.
15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet
you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you
through the gospel.
16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

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Matthew 17:14-23  (Gospel)
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him,
kneeling down to Him and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers
severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation,
how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring
him here to Me."
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child
was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we
not cast it out?"
20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I
say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this
mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing
will be impossible for you.
21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
22 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The
Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men,
23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up. And
they were exceedingly sorrowful.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

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Forefeast of the Transfiguration of our Lord
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Eusignius of Antioch
The Martyr Eusignius was born at Antioch in the mid-third century. For
sixty years he served in the Roman armies of the emperors Diocletian,
Maximian Hercules, Constantius Chlorus, Constantine the Great and his
sons. St Eusignius was a companion of St Basiliscus (March 3 and May
22), and he provided an account of his martyrdom. At the beginning of
the reign of St Constantine the Great, St Eusignius was a witness to
the appearance of the Cross in the sky, a prediction of victory.
St Eusignius retired in his old age from military service and returned
to his own country. There he spent his time in prayer, fasting, and
attending the church of God. So he lived until the reign of Julian the
Apostate (361-363), who yearned for a return to paganism. Through the
denunciation of one of the Antiochian citizens, St Eusignius stood
trial as a Christian before the emperor Julian in the year 362. He
fearlessly accused the emperor of apostasy from Christ, and reproached
him with the example of his relative, Constantine the Great, and he
described in detail how he himself had been an eyewitness to the
appearance of the sign of the Cross in the sky. Julian did not spare
the aged St Eusignius, then 110 years old, but ordered him beheaded.
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Venerable Job of Ushchelsk
St Job the Gorge-Dweller was a monk of the Solovki monastery (his
father was named Patrick Mazovsky). On November 10, 1608 he was
ordained as a hieromonk by Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod. In 1614
St Job was sent to the Mezen frontier, where at the confluence of the
Rivers Ezeg and Vazhka into the River Mezen, he set up a chapel in
honor of the Nativity of Christ. The first monks to gather around him
lived at the homes of their kinsmen, so poor was the monastery. After
Tsar Michael Theodorovich (1613-1645) conferred lands with fishing
rights, the saint built a church and monastic cells.
On August 5, 1628, when all the brethren were off cutting hay, robbers
attacked the monastery. After torturing him to get him to open the
monastery treasury, the robbers beheaded St Job. Finding nothing at
all, they fled. The brethren upon returning buried the body of the
martyr with honor. Local veneration of St Job as a saint of God began
soon after his death, because of numerous miracles (in the seventeenth
century about fifty were known). The first icon was painted in 1658,
and his Life written in the 1660s.
About this time a chapel was built over the relics of the monk. Later,
with the blessing of Archbishop Athanasius of Kholmogorsk it was
rebuilt as a church in honor of his namesake the Righteous Job the
Much-Suffering (May 6). On November 3, 1739 the relics of St Job were
witnessed to by Archbishop Barsanuphius, with in evidence the singing
of a Molieben to the saint. Thus his glorification was accomplished.
In iconography, St Job is depicted in this manner: "Similarly greyed,
a beard like St Alexander of Svir, in the garb of the schemamonk, and
in his hands a scroll upon which is written: "Fear not those who kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul" (Mt. 10:28).
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Hieromartyr Antherus (Antheros) Pope of Rome
Saint Antherus was elected Bishop of Rome in place of St Pontian, and
he too soon accepted suffering and death for Christ (+ 236). His
successor was St Fabian, who as a presbyter fearlessly gave burial to
the bodies of martyrs.
St Fabian loved St Pontius as though he were his own son. St Pontius
distributed with St Fabian all his substance on the needs of the poor.
After the death of the impious Maximian, the new emperor Gordian
(238-244) did not persecute Christians. The emperor Philip (244-249),
together with his son and co-regent Philip, was persuaded by the
conversations and preaching of St Pontius to believe in Christ and to
accept Baptism from St Fabian.
With the permission of the emperors, Sts Pontius and Fabian destroyed
the statue of Jupiter in the pagan temple and built a church on this
place. For four years the Church of Christ dwelt in peace and
tranquility. Then Decius (249-251) ascended the throne, after
organizing a rebellion and murdering the emperor Philip and his son.
And during this time St Fabian, Bishop of Rome (+ 250), accepted death
for Christ. St Pontius left Rome for the city of Cimelum (on the
border of Italy and Gaul) and lived there as a stranger. During the
time of the emperor Valerian (253-259), cruel torturers were sent out
with full authority to seek out and kill Christians. Thus Claudius and
Anubius arrived in the city of Cimelum for this purpose.
St Pontius fearlessly confessed himself a Christian and refused to
offer sacrifice to idols. They shackled him in irons and threw him in
prison. From the very beginning of the torture the saint calmly
admonished the torturers, saying that the Lord would bring the
tortureto naught, and they would see the power of God. As soon as the
servants attempted to tie St Pontius to the rack, it fell to pieces,
and the torturers fell on the ground as though dead.
"Be convinced, O man of little faith, of the power of my Lord," said
St Pontius to Claudius, but on the advice of Anubius he gave St
Pontius over to be eaten by two bears in the circus. The wild beasts,
while not touching the saint, fell instead upon their keepers and
mauled them. The spectators began to shout: "The only God is the
Christian God, in Whom Pontius believes." By order of the torturers a
fire was built, but it burned out and the saint remained alive. Not
even his clothes were burnt. The crowd shouted all the more strongly:
"Great is the God of the Christians!" St Pontius then was sentenced to
beheading by the sword, and his execution took place in the year 257.
The body of St Pontius was given burial by his friend Valerian.
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Hieromartyr Fabian the Pope of Rome
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Pontious at Cimella in France
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Cantidius of Egypt
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Cantidian of Egypt
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Sibelius (Sobel) of Egypt
No information available at this time.
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Righteous Nonna the mother of St Gregory the Theologian
Saint Nonna, the mother of St Gregory the Theologian (January 25,
389), was the daughter of Christians named Philotatos and Gorgonia,
who raised her in Christian piety. St Nonna was also an aunt of St
Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium (November 23).
St Nonna entered into marriage with Gregory of Arianzus (January 1),
the rich landowner of an estate in the Arianzus and Nazianzos
districts. The marriage was advantageous by earthly considerations,
but grievous for the pious soul of Nonna. Her husband Gregory was a
pagan, a follower of the sect of the Supremists (Hypsistarii), who
venerated a supreme god and observed certain Jewish rituals, while at
the same time they worshipped fire.
St Nonna prayed that her spouse would turn to the holy truth. St
Nonna's son, St Gregory the Theologian, wrote about this: "She could
not bear this, being half united to God, because he who was part of
her remained apart from God. She wanted a spiritual union in addition
to the bodily union. Day and night she turned to God with fasting and
many tears, entreating Him to grant salvation to her husband."
Through the prayers of St Nonna, her husband Gregory had a vision in
his sleep. "It seemed to my father," writes St Gregory, "as though he
was singing the following verse of David: 'I was glad when they said
to me, let us go into the house of the Lord' (Ps. 121/122: 1). He had
never done this before, though his wife had often offered her
supplications and prayers for it."
The Psalm was strange to him, but along with its words, the desire
also came to him to go to church. When she heard about this, St Nonna
told her husband that the vision would bring the greatest pleasure if
it were fulfilled.
The elder Gregory went to the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, where
he made known his conversion to Christ. He was baptized, ordained
presbyter, and then Bishop of Nazianzos devoting himself totally to
the Church. At the same time as his consecration as bishop, his wife
St Nonna was made a deaconness. With the same zeal with which she had
raised her children, she now occupied herself in performing works of
charity.
"She knew," says St Gregory the Theologian, "one thing to be truly
noble: to be pious and to know from where we have come and where we
are going; and that there is one innate and trusty wealth: to use
one's substance on God and on the poor, especially the impoverished
kin.
One woman may be distinguished for frugality, and another for piety,
while she, difficult as it is to combine both qualities, excelled all
others in both of them. In each she attained the height of perfection,
and both were combined in her. She did not permit one duty to
interfere with the other, but rather each supported the other.
What time and place of prayer ever eluded her? She was drawn to this
each day before anything else, and she had complete faith that her
prayers would be answered. Although greatly moved by the sorrows of
strangers, she never yielded to grief to the extent that she allowed
any sound of woe to escape her lips before the Eucharist, or a tear to
fall from her eye, or for any trace of mourning to remain on a Feast
day, though she repeatedly endured many sorrows. She subjected every
human thing to God.
Her final years brought St Nonna many sorrows. In the year 368 her
younger son Caesarios died, a young man of brilliant expectations; and
in the following year, her daughter died. The brave old woman bore
these losses submitting to the will of God.
In the year 370 Bishop Gregory, then already an old man, participated
in the consecration of St Basil the Great as Bishop of Caesarea. St
Nonna, who was somewhat younger than her husband, was also ready to
enter into the next life, but through the prayers of her beloved son
her time on earth was prolonged.
"My mother," wrote her son, " was always strong and vigorous, and free
from sickness all her life, but then she became ill. Because of much
distress... caused by her inability to eat, her life was in danger for
many days, and no cure could be found. How then did God sustain her?
He did not send down manna, as for Israel of old; He did not split
open a rock, in order to provide water for the thirsty people; not did
He send food by ravens, as with Elias, nor did He feed her..., as He
once fed Daniel, who felt hunger in the pit. But how?"
It seemed to her that I, her favorite son (not even in dreams did she
prefer anyone else), had appeared to her suddenly by night with a
basket of the whitest bread. Then I blessed these loaves with the Sign
of the Cross, as is my custom, and I gave her to eat, and with this
her strength increased."
St Nonna believed the vision was real. She became stronger, and more
like her old self.
St Gregory visited her early the next morning and, as usual, asked
what sort of night she had, and if she required anything. She replied,
"My son, you have fed me and now you ask about my health. I am well."
At this moment her maids made signs to me that I should not contradict
her, but to accept her words so that the actual truth should not
distress her."
Early in the year 374 the hundred-year-old St Gregory the Elder
reposed. After this, St Nonna almost never emerged from the church.
Soon after his death, she died at prayer in the temple on August 5,
374.
St Nonna was a model wife and mother, a remarkable woman who devoted
her life to God and the Church without neglecting her other
responsibilities. Because of her spiritual, social, and domestic
concerns, St Nonna would be a most fitting patron for Orthodox women's
organizations.
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St Theoctistus, Bishop of Chernigov
Saint Theoctistus, Bishop of Chernigov, before assuming the episcopal
office, pursued an ascetic life at the Kiev Caves monastery. He was
one of the great Elders, healing St Nikita, the future Bishop of
Novgorod (January 31), by his prayers.
In the year 1103 St Theoctistus was made igumen of the Kiev Caves
monastery. In the year 1108 he built a stone trapeza (dining hall)
through the generosity of the pious prince Gleb Vseslavich. St
Theoctistus particularly insisted that the name of St Theodosius (May
3) be included in the Synodikon of the saints of all Russia.
On February 11, 1110, there was a heavenly apparition at the Caves
monastery. A pillar of fire appeared, stretching from the ground to
the sky, and lightning lighted up all the earth, At the first hour of
the night, there was a crash of thunder. The fiery pillar stood over
the stone trapeza so that its cross was not visible. Later, it
proceeded to the church and settled over the grave of St Theodosius,
and then, turning to the East, it disappeared.
"This was not a pillar of fire, but rather an angelic face," wrote St
Nestor the Chronicler, "because an angel appears thus when there is a
pillar of fire, a flaming, as says the Prophet David: Who makes His
angels spirits and His servants flames of fire" (Ps. 103 : 4).
In the year 1113, St Theoctistus was consecrated Bishop of Chernigov.
The Hieromartyr Monk Kuksha (August 27), enlightening the Vyatichi at
this time, belonging to the Chernigov diocese. On May 2, 1115 St
Theoctistus participated in the transfer of the relics of holy Princes
Boris and Gleb to Vyshgorod, and later in Chernigov near his cathedral
he consecrated a church in the name of the holy Princes Boris and
Gleb, built in the year 1120 by Prince David of Chernigov. And to the
noble Prince Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb the saint made a sermon on
the day of their memory. On August 6, 1123, the Feast of the
Transfiguration, St Theoctistus died, and because of the feastday, his
memory is kept on August 5.
On one of the lists of the Saints it is said, that he was buried at
the Caves monastery. St Theoctistus is also commemorated on September
28, when he is remembered in the 9th ode of the Canon of the Synaxis
of the Monastic Fathers of the Near Caves.
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Martyr Pontius
The Martyr Pontius lived during the third century, the son of the
pagan Roman senator Marcus and his wife Julia. While with child, Julia
had gone with her husband to the temple of Jupiter. The devil,
inhabiting the temple, shouted through the lips of the pagan priest
that the boy in Julia's womb would destroy Jupiter and his pagan
temple. When the boy was born, his mother wanted to kill him out of
fear of the prediction, but his father opposed this and the child was
left to live. He was named Pontius, and he grew up sharp of mind and
eager for study.
On his way to the pagan school Pontius happened to go past a house,
where Christians were attending the morning services. Hearing the
words of the Psalm which the Christians were singing: "the idols of
the heathen are silver and gold, the works of men's hands" (Ps.
114/115: 4 and Ps. 134 /135: 15 ). Pontius became very interested in
this verse and he paused at the gate.
St Pontian, who was celebrating the service, invited Pontius and his
companion Valerian to come in. After the service, the bishop talked
for a long while with the youths, revealing to them the Gospel
teachings, and after a certain while he baptized them. St Pontius, in
turn, converted his father to Christ, whom St Pontian also baptized,
together with his whole household.
After the death of his father, St Pontius, then 20 years old, was
appointed by the emperor Alexander Severus (222-235) as a senator, to
take the place of his deceased father. In the Senate and the
surroundings of the emperor, St Pontius enjoyed universal esteem for
his good nature, sound sense and fairness. Under the successor to the
emperor Alexander Severus, Maximian (235-238), St Pontian finished his
life as a martyr.
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St Oswald, king and martyr
Saint Oswald was born around 605, the second of the seven sons of the
Anglo-Saxon king Aethelfrith, who was the first ruler to unite the
provinces of Bernicia and Deira into the kingdom of Northumbria.
King Edwin of Deira refused to accept the Bernician control of both
provinces, so he attempted a coup while Aethelfrith was away in the
north. Edwin was defeated and driven into exile. When Aethelfrith was
killed later, Edwin became King of Northumbria.
Oswald's mother Acha (Edwin's sister) fled to Ireland (then called
Scotland) with her children. It is believed that during his seventeen
years of exile, St Oswald received Christian baptism at Iona and also
learned the Gaelic language.
Edwin was killed in 633 while fighting King Penda of Mercia and King
Caedwalla of Cwynedd (North Wales). Eanfrith, Oswald's older brother,
returned to paganism and was killed in battle against Caedwalla. Now
Oswald had to lead the struggle against the Britons.
In 634 Oswald assembled an army and prepared to meet the forces of
Penda and Caedwalla at Heavenfield (Hefenfelth) near the Roman Wall
seven miles north of Hexham. On the eve of the battle, St Oswald set
up a great wooden cross on the field. With his own hands, the king
steadied the cross while his men filled in the hole which had been dug
to receive it. Although only a few of his men were Christians, Oswald
ordered the army to kneel and pray to the true and living God to grant
them victory.
"Let us now kneel down and pray to the omnipotent and only true God,
that He will mercifully defend us from our proud enemy," he told them,
"for He knows that we fight in a just war in defense of our lives and
our country."
A modern replica of this cross now stands on the site, near the church
of St Oswald.
The night before the battle, King Oswald had a vision of St Columba of
Iona (June 9), who stretched his cloak over the sleeping soldiers and
promised that the Saxon army would defeat Caedwalla the next day.
Following the battle, Oswald established his supremacy in Northumbria
and his right to the title of Bretwalda (High King of England). He was
godfather to King Cynegils of Wessex at his baptism, and married his
daughter of in 635. By 637, Oswald's authority was recognized by
almost everyone.
For the next five years Britain was blessed with a rare period of
stability. While governing his earthly realm, St Oswald also labored
to attain a heavenly crown and to bring his people into the Kingdom of
God. Turning to the Celtic monks of Iona, rather than the Roman clergy
at Canterbury, Oswald invited missionaries to proclaim the Gospel to
his subjects. The first bishop sent to lead the mission proved
unsuitable, for he alienated many people by his harshness. The bishop
was recalled, and an ideal candidate was found to replace him.
St Aidan (August 31) was consecrated bishop and sent to Northumbria to
take charge of the mission. King Oswald gave him the island of
Lindisfarne near the royal residence of Bamburg for his episcopal see.
St Aidan also founded the famous monastery on Lindisfarne.
Since Bishop Aidan was not yet fluent in the Anglo-Saxon tongue, St
Oswald would accompany him on his missionary journeys. The king
translated the bishop's words and explained the Word of God to his
subjects, playing an active role in the evangelization of his kingdom.
People flocked to receive baptism, drawn partly by Aidan's preaching,
and partly by King Oswald's example of godliness and virtue.
St Oswald was a devout and sincere Christian who was often seen
sitting with his hands resting palms upwards on his knees in a gesture
of prayer. He granted land and money for the establishment of
monasteries, and he was famous for his generosity to the poor.
One year, after attending the services of Pascha, King Oswald sat down
to a meal with Bishop Aidan. Just as the bishop was about to bless the
food, a servant came in and informed the king that a great number of
needy folk were outside begging for alms. The king ordered that his
own food be served to the poor on silver platters, and that the silver
serving dishes be broken up and distributed to them.There is a
charming illustration of this incident in the thirteenth century
Berthold Missal in New York's Pierpont Morgan Library (Morgan MS 710,
fol. 101v). Aidan, deeply moved by St Oswald's charity, took him by
the right hand and said, "May this hand never perish." According to
tradition, St Oswald's hand remained incorrupt for centuries after his
death. St Bede (May 27) says that the hand was kept in the church of
St Peter at Bamburgh, where it was venerated by all. The present
location of the hand, if it still survives, is not known.
St Oswald was killed in battle against the superior forces of King
Penda on August 5, 642 at a place called Maserfield. He was only
thirty-eight years old. Before his death, St Oswald prayed for the
souls of his soldiers.This has become almost proverbial: "'O God, be
merciful to their souls,' said Oswald when he fell."
Some identify the battle site with Oswestry (Oswald's tree, or cross)
in Shropshire, but this seems an unlikely place for a battle between
Mercians and Northumbrians. Others believe that Lichfield is the
probable site. Lichfield means "field of the body," and was founded by
Oswald's brother Oswy. The city was an archbishopric for seventeen
years under Offa, who had a particular veneration for St Oswald.
Following the Battle of Maserfield, St Oswald's body was dismembered,
and his head and arms were displayed on poles. Many miraculous
healings took place at the site of the battle. This is not surprising,
for during his lifetime St Oswald always helped the sick and the
needy. Pilgrims took earth from the place where St Oswald fell, and
many sick people were healed by mixing some of the dust with water and
drinking it.
A year after his death, St Oswald's arms were brought to Bamburgh by
Oswy, and his head was brought to Lindisfarne. There the
grief-stricken Bishop Aidan interred it in the monastery church.
According to William of Malmesbury (twelfth century), St Oswald is the
first English saint whose relics worked miracles. Portions of his
relics were distributed to several churches in England in in Europe.
Today St Oswald's head is in Durham Cathedral in St Cuthbert's coffin,
but the rest of his relics seem to have been lost.
In December of 1069 a clergyman named Earnan had a vision of Sts
Cuthbert (March 20) and Oswald. He described the king as being clad in
a scarlet cloak, tall in stature, with a thin beard and boyish face.
This is recorded by the historian Simeon of Durham.
In the Middle Ages, devotion to St Oswald spread from Britain to
Spain, Italy, and Germany. Unfortunately, the fame of this most
Christian king is somewhat obscured today, and his popularity
diminished after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Before that, the Danish
invaders destroyed many Anglo-Saxon political and legal institutions,
as well as written records and oral traditions which had been
preserved in the monasteries.
Though King Alfred the Great and even William the Conquerer were
anxious to link themselves with St Oswald, the kings who reigned after
the Conquest were less inclined to associate themselves to St Oswald's
reputation as king. For three centuries the Norman kings of England
spoke French, which became the language of the court, and they showed
little interest in English history.
There were significant changes to the monastic culture after the
Conquest as well. A number of monks were brought over from France, and
they began to populate the English monasteries. By this time the
English Church had become more solidly allied with Rome, and the old
Celtic traditions began to disappear.
St Oswald deserves to be better known, but he has not been completely
forgotten. There are over sixty churches dedicated to him in England,
and his name is also associated with several place names and holy
wells.
St Oswald is also commemorated on June 20 (the Transfer of his
Relics).
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St John Jacob the Chozebite
Saint John the Chozebite, the son of Maxim and Catherine Jacob, was
born July 23, 1913 in the Horodistea district of Moldavia. He was
named for the holy prophet Elias (July 20). In 1914, his father died
in the war, and his mother succumbed to a disease, leaving Elias as an
orphan. His grandmother Maria raised him until he was eleven. She was
a nun, so she was able to educate him in spiritual matters. She died
in 1924, so young Elias went to live with other relatives. He had a
great love for Christ and His Church, and longed for the monastic
life.
He entered Neamts Monastery on August 15, 1933 when he was twenty
years old. Here his soul was nourished by the beauty of the services,
the experienced spiritual instructors, and the silence of the
mountains. The young monk loved prayer, vigils, spiritual reading, and
solitude, and soon he surpassed many experienced monks in obedience,
humility, and patience. Seeing his great love for spiritual books, the
igumen made him the monastery's librarian. Elias gave comfort to many
of the brethren by recommending specific books for each one to read.
Then he would advise them to read the book carefully, make their
confession, and not miss the services if they wanted to find peace.
His spiritual efforts attracted the notice of Archimandrite Valerie
Moglan, who recommended that Elias be permitted to receive monastic
tonsure. He was tonsured on April 8, 1936 and received the name John.
>From that time, the young monk intensified his spiritual efforts,
conquering the temptations of the demons, and progressing on the path
of salvation.
St John made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with two other monks in
1936, and they decided to remain there. The monk Damascene fell ill,
however, and had to be taken back to Romania by the monk Claudius
after eight months.
At first, St John lived in Bethlehem near St Sava's Monastery.
Romanian monks had lived at St Sava's since the sixteenth century, and
John struggled there for almost ten years. He was made librarian of
the monastery, and he fulfilled this obedience for about seven years.
In 1945 St John longed for the peace and solitude of the desert, and
so he went to live as a hermit. He was ordained as a priest in 1947,
and became igumen of the Romanian Skete of St John the Baptist by the
Jordan. Pilgrims often came to him for Confession, Communion, and
consolation. In his free time he composed religious poems and hymns.
After five years, he and his disciple went into the desert of Chozeba
near Jehrico. Here they lived in asceticism for eight years in the
cave where, according to Tradition, St Anna had prayed.
St John Jacob died on August 5, 1960 at the age of forty-seven and was
buried in his cave. On August 8, 1980 his relics were found incorrupt
and fragrant. They now rest in the St George the Chozebite Monastery.
In 1968 and 1970, St John's book SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT was published
in two volumes, with the blessing of Patriarch Benedict of Jerusalem.
St John Jacob was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1992.
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Martyr Christos of Preveza
No information available at this time.
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