[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Aug 15 2007

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Genesis 28:10-17  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because
the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put
it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and
its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending
and descending on it.
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: I am the Lord God of
Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I
will give to you and your descendants.
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall
spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south;
and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be
blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will
bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have
done what I have spoken to you.
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in
this place, and I did not know it.
17 And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none
other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!
Scripture Reading 1 of 6


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Ezekiel 43:27-44:4  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
27 When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and
thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your
peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you, says the Lord
God.
1 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which
faces toward the east, but it was shut.
2 And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be
opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel
has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.
3 As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat
bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the
gateway, and go out the same way.
4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the
temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the
house of the Lord; and I fell on my face.
Scripture Reading 2 of 6


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Proverbs 9:1-11  (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
1 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also
furnished her table.
3 She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places
of the city,
4 Whoever is simple, let him turn in here! As for him who lacks
understanding, she says to him,
5 Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding.
7 He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes
a wicked man only harms himself.
8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a
just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge
of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be
added to you.
Scripture Reading 3 of 6


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Luke 1:39-49, 56  (Matins Gospel)
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with
haste, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that
the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit.
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should
come to me?
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my
ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of
those things which were told her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold,
henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His
name.
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her
house.
Scripture Reading 4 of 6


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Philippians 2:5-11   (Epistle, Theotokos)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be
equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and
became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in
heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
Scripture Reading 5 of 6


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Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28  (Gospel, Theotokos)
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and
a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and
heard His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him
and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve
alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are
worried and troubled about many things.
42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which
will not be taken away from her.
27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman
from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb
that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"
28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word
of God and keep it!"
Scripture Reading 6 of 6



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The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God and
Ever-Virgin Mary
The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary:
After the Ascension of the Lord, the Mother of God remained in the
care of the Apostle John the Theologian, and during his journeys She
lived at the home of his parents, near the Mount of Olives. She was a
source of consolation and edification both for the Apostles and for
all the believers. Conversing with them, She told them about
miraculous events: the Annunciation, the seedless and undefiled
Conception of Christ born of Her, about His early childhood, and about
His earthly life. Like the Apostles, She helped plant and strengthen
the Christian Church by Her presence, Her discourse and Her prayers.
The reverence of the Apostles for the Most Holy Virgin was
extraordinary. After the receiving of the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, the Apostles remained at Jerusalem for about ten years
attending to the salvation of the Jews, and wanting moreover to see
the Mother of God and hear Her holy discourse. Many of the
newly-enlightened in the Faith even came from faraway lands to
Jerusalem, to see and to hear the All-Pure Mother of God.
During the persecution initiated by King Herod against the young
Church of Christ (Acts 12:1-3), the Most Holy Virgin and the Apostle
John the Theologian withdrew to Ephesus in the year 43. The preaching
of the Gospel there had fallen by lot to the Apostle John the
Theologian. The Mother of God was on Cyprus with St Lazarus the
Four-Days-Dead, where he was bishop. She was also on Holy Mount Athos.
St Stephen of the Holy Mountain says that the Mother of God
prophetically spoke of it: "Let this place be my lot, given to me by
my Son and my God. I will be the Patroness of this place and intercede
with God for it."
The respect of ancient Christians for the Mother of God was so great
that they preserved what they could about Her life, what they could
take note of concerning Her sayings and deeds, and they even passed
down to us a description of Her outward appearance.
According to Tradition, based on the words of the Hieromartyrs
Dionysius the Areopagite (October 3), Ignatius the God-Bearer
(December 20), St Ambrose of Milan (December 7) had occasion to write
in his work "On Virgins" concerning the Mother of God: "She was a
Virgin not only in body, but also in soul, humble of heart,
circumspect in word, wise in mind, not overly given to speaking, a
lover of reading and of work, and prudent in speech. Her rule of life
was to offend no one, to intend good for everyone, to respect the
aged, not envy others, avoid bragging, be healthy of mind, and to love
virtue."
When did She ever hurl the least insult in the face of Her parents?
When was She at discord with Her kin? When did She ever puff up with
pride before a modest person, or laugh at the weak, or shun the
destitute? With Her there was nothing of glaring eyes, nothing of
unseemly words, nor of improper conduct. She was modest in the
movement of Her body, Her step was quiet, and Her voice
straightforward; so that Her face was an expression of soul. She was
the personification of purity.
All Her days She was concerned with fasting: She slept only when
necessary, and even then, when Her body was at rest, She was still
alert in spirit, repeating in Her dreams what She had read, or the
implementation of proposed intentions, or those planned yet anew. She
was out of Her house only for church, and then only in the company of
relatives. Otherwise, She seldom appeared outside Her house in the
company of others, and She was Her own best overseer. Others could
protect Her only in body, but She Herself guarded Her character."
According to Tradition, that from the compiler of Church history
Nicephorus Callistus (fourteenth century), the Mother of God "was of
average stature, or as others suggest, slightly more than average; Her
hair golden in appearance; Her eyes bright with pupils like shiny
olives; Her eyebrows strong in character and moderately dark, Her nose
pronounced and Her mouth vibrant bespeaking sweet speech; Her face was
neither round nor angular, but somewhat oblong; the palm of Her hands
and fingers were longish...
In conversation with others She preserved decorum, neither becoming
silly nor agitated, and indeed especially never angry; without
artifice, and direct, She was not overly concerned about Herself, and
far from pampering Herself, She was distinctly full of humility.
Regarding the clothing which She wore, She was satisfied to have
natural colors, which even now is evidenced by Her holy head-covering.
Suffice it to say, a special grace attended all Her actions."
(Nicephoros Callistus borrowed his description from St Epiphanius of
Cyprus (May 12), from the "Letter to Theophilus Concerning Icons."
The circumstances of the Dormition of the Mother of God were known in
the Orthodox Church from apostolic times. Already in the first
century, the Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite wrote about Her
"Falling-Asleep." In the second century, the account of the bodily
ascent of the Most Holy Virgin Mary to Heaven is found in the works of
Meliton, Bishop of Sardis. In the fourth century, St Epiphanius of
Cyprus refers to the tradition about the "Falling Asleep" of the
Mother of God. In the fifth century, St Juvenal, Patriarch of
Jerusalem, told the holy Byzantine Empress Pulcheria: "Although there
is no account of the circumstances of Her death in Holy Scripture, we
know about them from the most ancient and credible Tradition." This
tradition was gathered and expounded in the Church History of
Nicephorus Callistus during the fourteenth century.
At the time of Her blessed Falling Asleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary
was again at Jerusalem. Her fame as the Mother of God had already
spread throughout the land and had aroused many of the envious and the
spiteful against Her. They wanted to make attempts on Her life; but
God preserved Her from enemies.
Day and night She spent her time in prayer. The Most Holy Theotokos
went often to the Holy Sepulchre of the Lord, and here She offered up
fevent prayer. More than once, enemies of the Savior sought to hinder
Her from visiting her holy place, and they asked the High Priest for a
guard to watch over the Grave of the Lord. The Holy Virgin continued
to pray right in front of them, yet unseen by anyone.
In one such visit to Golgotha, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her
and announced Her approaching departure from this life to eternal
life. In pledge of this, the Archangel gave Her a palm branch. With
these heavenly tidings the Mother of God returned to Bethlehem with
the three girls attending Her (Sepphora, Abigail, and Jael). She
summoned Righteous Joseph of Arimathea and other disciples of the
Lord, and told them of Her impending Repose.
The Most Holy Virgin prayed also that the Lord would have the Apostle
John come to Her. The Holy Spirit transported him from Ephesus,
setting him in that very place where the Mother of God lay. After the
prayer, the Most Holy Virgin offered incense, and John heard a voice
from Heaven, closing Her prayer with the word "Amen." The Mother of
God took it that the voice meant the speedy arrival of the Apostles
and the Disciples and the holy Bodiless Powers.
The faithful, whose number by then was impossible to count, gathered
together, says St John of Damascus, like clouds and eagles, to listen
to the Mother of God. Seeing one another, the Disciples rejoiced, but
in their confusion they asked each other why the Lord had gathered
them together in one place. St John the Theologian, greeting them with
tears of joy, said that the time of the Virgin's repose was at hand.
Going in to the Mother of God, they beheld Her lying upon the bed, and
filled with spiritual joy. The Disciples greeted Her, and then they
told her how they had been carried miraculously from their places of
preaching. The Most Holy Virgin Mary glorified God, because He had
heard Her prayer and fulfilled Her heart's desire, and She began
speaking about Her imminent end.
During this conversation the Apostle Paul also appeared in a
miraculous manner together with his disciples Dionysius the
Areopagite, St Hierotheus, St Timothy and others of the Seventy
Apostles. The Holy Spirit had gathered them all together so that they
might be granted the blessing of the All-Pure Virgin Mary, and more
fittingly to see to the burial of the Mother of the Lord. She called
each of them to Herself by name, She blessed them and extolled them
for their faith and the hardships they endured in preaching the Gospel
of Christ. To each She wished eternal bliss, and prayed with them for
the peace and welfare of the whole world.
Then came the third hour (9 A.M.), when the Dormition of the Mother of
God was to occur. A number of candles were burning. The holy Disciples
surrounded her beautifully adorned bed, offering praise to God. She
prayed in anticipation of Her demise and of the arrival of Her
longed-for Son and Lord. Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine
Glory shone forth, before which the blazing candles paled in
comparison. All who it saw took fright. Descending from Heaven was
Christ, the King of Glory, surrounded by hosts of Angels and
Archangels and other Heavenly Powers, together with the souls of the
Forefathers and the Prophets, who had prophesied in ages past
concerning the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
Seeing Her Son, the Mother of God exclaimed: "My soul doth magnify the
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God My Savior, for He hath
regarded the low estate of His Handmaiden" (Luke 1:46-48) and, rising
from Her bed to meet the Lord, She bowed down to Him, and the Lord bid
Her enter into Life Eternal. Without any bodily suffering, as though
in a happy sleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary gave Her soul into the
hands of Her Son and God.
Then began a joyous angelic song. Accompanying the pure soul of the
God-betrothed and with reverent awe for the Queen of Heaven, the
angels exclaimed: "Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed
art Thou among women! For lo, the Queen, God's Maiden comes, lift up
the gates, and with the Ever-Existing One, take up the Mother of
Light; for through Her salvation has come to all the human race. It is
impossible to gaze upon Her, and it is impossible to render Her due
honor" (Stikherion on "Lord, I Have Cried"). The Heavenly gates were
raised, and meeting the soul of the Most Holy Mother of God, the
Cherubim and the Seraphim glorified Her with joy. The face of the
Mother of God was radiant with the glory of Divine virginity, and from
Her body there came a sweet fragrance.
Miraculous was the life of the All-Pure Virgin, and wondrous was Her
Repose, as Holy Church sings: "In Thee, O Queen, the God of all hath
given thee as thy portion the things that are above nature. Just as in
the Birth-Giving He did preserve Thine virginity, so also in the grave
He did preserve Thy body from decay" (Canon 1, Ode 6, Troparion 1).
Kissing the all-pure body with reverence and in awe, the Disciples in
turn were blessed by it and filled with grace and spiritual joy.
Through the great glorification of the Most Holy Theotokos, the
almighty power of God healed the sick, who with faith and love touched
the holy bed.
Bewailing their separation from the Mother of God, the Apostles
prepared to bury Her all-pure body. The holy Apostles Peter, Paul,
James and others of the Twelve Apostles carried the funeral bier upon
their shoulders, and upon it lay the body of the Ever-Virgin Mary. St
John the Theologian went at the head with the resplendent palm-branch
from Paradise. The other saints and a multitude of the faithful
accompanied the funeral bier with candles and censers, singing sacred
songs. This solemn procession went from Sion through Jerusalem to the
Garden of Gethsemane.
With the start of the procession there suddenly appeared over the
all-pure body of the Mother of God and all those accompanying Her a
resplendent circular cloud, like a crown. There was heard the singing
of the Heavenly Powers, glorifying the Mother of God, which echoed
that of the worldly voices. This circle of Heavenly singers and
radiance accompanied the procession to the very place of burial.
Unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, taken aback by the
extraordinarily grand funeral procession and vexed at the honor
accorded the Mother of Jesus, complained of this to the High Priest
and scribes. Burning with envy and vengefulness toward everything that
reminded them of Christ, they sent out their own servants to disrupt
the procession and to set the body of the Mother of God afire.
An angry crowd and soldiers set off against the Christians, but the
circular cloud accompanying the procession descended and surrounded
them like a wall. The pursuers heard the footsteps and the singing,
but could not see any of those accompanying the procession. Indeed,
many of them were struck blind.
The Jewish priest Athonios, out of spite and hatred for the Mother of
Jesus of Nazareth, wanted to topple the funeral bier on which lay the
body of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, but an angel of God invisibly cut
off his hands, which had touched the bier. Seeing such a wonder,
Athonios repented and with faith confessed the majesty of the Mother
of God. He received healing and joined the crowd accompanying the body
of the Mother of God, and he became a zealous follower of Christ.
When the procession reached the Garden of Gethsemane, then amidst the
weeping and the wailing began the last kiss to the all-pure body. Only
towards evening were the Apostles able to place it in the tomb and
seal the entrance to the cave with a large stone.
For three days they did not depart from the place of burial, praying
and chanting Psalms. Through the wise providence of God, the Apostle
Thomas was not to be present at the burial of the Mother of God.
Arriving late on the third day at Gethsemane, he lay down at the tomb
and with bitter tears asked that l he might be permitted to look once
more upon the Mother of God and bid her farewell. The Apostles out of
heartfelt pity for him decided to open the grave and permit him the
comfort of venerating the holy relics of the Ever-Virgin Mary. Having
opened the grave, they found in it only the grave wrappings and were
thus convinced of the bodily ascent of the Most Holy Virgin Mary to
Heaven.
On the evening of the same day, when the Apostles had gathered at a
house to strengthen themselves with food, the Mother of God appeared
to them and said: "Rejoice! I am with you all the days of your lives."
This so gladdened the Apostles and everyone with them, that they took
a portion of the bread, set aside at the meal in memory of the Savior
("the Lord's Portion"), and they exclaimed : "Most Holy Theotokos,
save us". (This marks the beginning of the rite of offering up the
"Panagia" ("All-Holy"), a portion of bread in honor of the Mother of
God, which is done at monasteries to the present day).
The sash of the Mother of God, and Her holy garb, preserved with
reverence and distributed over the face of the earth in pieces, have
worked miracles both in the past and at present. Her numerous icons
everywhere pour forth signs and healings, and Her holy body, taken up
to Heaven, bears witness to our own future life there. Her body was
not left to the vicissitudes of the transitory world, but was
incomparably exalted by its glorious ascent to Heaven.
The Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated
with special solemnity at Gethsemane, the place of Her burial. Nowhere
else is there such sorrow of heart at the separation from the Mother
of God, and nowhere else such joy, because of Her intercession for the
world.
The holy city of Jerusalem is separated from the Mount of Olives by
the valley of Kedron on Josaphat. At the foot of the Mount of Olives
is the Garden of Gethsemane, where olive trees bear fruit even now.
The holy Ancestor-of-God Joachim had himself reposed at 80 years of
age, several years after the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the
Temple (November 21). St Anna, having been left a widow, moved from
Nazareth to Jerusalem, and lived near the Temple. At Jerusalem she
bought two pieces of property: the first at the gates of Gethsemane,
and the second in the valley of Josaphat. At the second locale she
built a tomb for the members of her family, and where also she herself
was buried with Joachim. It was there in the Garden of Gethsemane that
the Savior often prayed with His disciples.
The most-pure body of the Mother of God was buried in the family tomb.
Christians honored the sepulchre of the Mother of God, and they built
a church on this spot. Within the church was preserved the precious
funeral cloth, which covered Her all-pure and fragrant body.
The holy Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem (420-458) testified before the
emperor Marcian (450-457) as to the authenticity of the tradition
about the miraculous ascent of the Mother of God to Heaven, and he
sent to the empress, St Pulcheria (September 10), the grave wrappings
of the Mother of God from Her tomb. St Pulcheria then placed these
grave-wrappings within the Blachernae church.
Accounts have been preserved, that at the end of the seventh century a
church had been built atop the underground church of the Dormition of
the Most Holy Theotokos, and that from its high bell-tower could be
seen the dome of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord. Traces of
this church are no longer to be seen. And in the ninth century near
the subterranean Gethsemane church a monastery was built, in which
more than 30 monks struggled.
Great destruction was done the Church in the year 1009 by the
despoiler of the holy places, Hakim. Radical changes, the traces of
which remain at present, also took place under the crusaders in the
year 1130. During the eleventh to twelfth centuries the piece of
excavated stone, at which the Savior had prayed on the night of His
betrayal disappeared from Jerusalem. This piece of stone had been in
the Gethsemane basilica from the sixth century.
But in spite of the destruction and the changes, the overall original
cruciform (cross-shaped) plan of the church has been preserved. At the
entrance to the church along the sides of the iron gates stand four
marble columns. To enter the church, it is necessary to go down a
stairway of 48 steps. At the 23rd step on the right side is a chapel
in honor of the holy Ancestors-of-God Joachim and Anna together with
their graves, and on the left side opposite, the chapel of St Joseph
the Betrothed with his grave. The right chapel belongs to the Orthodox
Church, and the left to the Armenian Church (since 1814).
The church of the Dormition of the Theotokos has the following
dimensions: in length it is 48 arshin, and in breadth 8 arshin [1
arshin = 28 inches]. At an earlier time the church had also windows
beside the doors. The whole temple was adorned with a multitude of
lampadas and offerings. Two small entrances lead into the
burial-chamber of the Mother of God. One enters through the western
doors, and exits at the northern doors. The burial-chamber of the
All-Pure Virgin Mary is veiled with precious curtains. The burial
place was hewn out of stone in the manner of the ancient Jewish graves
and is very similar to the Sepulchre of the Lord. Beyond the
burial-chamber is the altar of the church, in which Divine Liturgy is
celebrated each day in the Greek language.
The olive woods on the eastern and northern sides of the temple was
acquired from the Turks by the Orthodox during the seventh and eighth
centuries. The Catholics acquired the olive woods on the east and
south sides in 1803, and the Armenians on the west side in 1821.
On August 12, at Little Gethsemane, at the second hour of the night,
the head of the Gethsemane church celebrates Divine Liturgy. With the
end of Liturgy, at the fourth hour of the morning, he serves a short
Molieben before the resplendent burial shroud, lifts it in his hands
and solemnly carries it beyond the church to Gethsemane proper where
the holy sepulchre of the Mother of God is situated. All the members
of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, with the head of the
Mission presiding, participate each year in the procession (called the
"Litania") with the holy burial shroud of the Mother of God..
The rite of the Burial of the Mother of God at Gethsemane begins
customarily on the morning of August 14. A multitude of people with
hierarchs and clergy at the head set off from the Jerusalem
Patriarchate (nearby the Church of the Resurrection of Christ) in
sorrowful procession. Along the narrow alley-ways of the Holy City the
funeral procession makes its way to Gethsemane. Toward the front of
the procession an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is
carried. Along the way, pilgrims meet the icon, kissing the image of
the All-Pure Virgin Mary and lift children of various ages to the
icon. After the clergy, in two rows walk the black-robed monks and
nuns of the Holy City: Greeks, Roumanians, Arabs, Russians. The
procession, going along for about two hours, concludes with
Lamentations at the Gethsemane church. In front the altar, beyond the
burial chamber of the Mother of God, is a raised-up spot, upon which
rests the burial shroud of the Most Holy Mother of God among fragrant
flowers and myrtle, with precious coverings.
"O marvelous wonder! The Fount of Life is placed in the grave, and the
grave doth become the ladder to Heaven..." Here at the grave of the
All-Pure Virgin, these words strike deep with their original sense and
grief is dispelled by joy: "Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with
Thee, granting the world, through Thee, great mercy!"
Numerous pilgrims, having kissed the icon of the Dormition of the Most
Holy Theotokos, following an ancient custom, then stoop down and go
beneath it.
On the day of the Leave-taking of the feast (August 23), another
solemn procession is made. On the return path, the holy burial shroud
is carried by clergy led by the Archimandrite of Gethsemane.
There is an article in the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate", 1979,
No. 3 regarding the rite of the litany and Feast of the Dormition of
the Mother of God in the Holy Land.
Today flowers are blessed in church, and people keep them in their
homes. During times of family strife or illness, the flower petals are
placed in the censer with the incense, and the whole house is censed.
See the Prayer at the Sanctification of any Fragrant Herbage.
_________________________________________________________________
St Macarius the Roman
Saint Macarius the Roman was born at the end of the fifteenth century
into a wealthy family of Rome. His parents raised him in piety and
gave him an excellent education. He might have expected a successful
career in public service, but he did not desire honors or earthly
glory. Instead, he focused on how to save his soul.
He lived in an age when the Christian West was shaken by the
Protestant Reformation. While others around him were pursuing luxury
and lascivious pleasures, he studied the Holy Scriptures and the
writings of the Fathers. St Macarius was grieved to see so many
darkened by sin and worldly vanity, and was disturbed by the
rebellions and conflicts within the Western Church. With tears, he
asked God to show him the path of salvation, and his prayer did not go
unanswered. He came to realize that he would find the safe harbor of
salvation in the Orthodox Church.
St Macarius left Rome secretly, and set out for Russia without money,
and wearing an old garment. After many sufferings on his journey, he
arrived in Novgorod, where he rejoiced to see so many churches and
monasteries. One of these monasteries had been founded three centuries
before by his fellow countryman, St Anthony the Roman (August 3).
St Macarius came to the banks of the River Svir, where St Alexander of
Svir (April 17 and August 30) had founded the monastery of the Holy
Trinity. St Alexander received Macarius into the Orthodox Church and
tonsured him as a monk. Macarius, however longed for the solitary
life. He moved to an island on the River Lezna, forty-five miles from
Novgorod, where he engaged in ascetical struggles and unceasing
prayer.
The winters were very cold, and the summers were hot and humid. The
marshy area was also a breeding ground for mosquitos, which tormented
the saint. St Macarius survived on berries, roots, and herbs.
Sometimes bears would come to him for food, and they allowed him to
pet them.
Such a great lamp of the spiritual life could not remain hidden for
long. One rainy night someone knocked on his door and asked him to
open it. Several people, who seemed to be hunters, entered his cell.
Astonished by his appearance, and the divine light shining from his
face, the men asked for his blessing. They told him they had come to
the forest to hunt, and only by the prayers of the saint did God
permit them to find him.
"It is not my sinful prayers," he told them, "but the grace of God
which led you here."
After feeding them, he spoke and prayed with them, then showed them
the way out of the marsh. St Macarius was concerned that his peace
would be disturbed, now that his dwelling place was known. His fears
were justified, because many people sought him out to ask for his
advice and prayers.
The holy ascetic decided to move even farther into the wilderness,
choosing an elevated place on the left bank of the Lezna. Even here,
however, he was not able to conceal himself for very long. Sometimes a
pillar of fire would rise up into the sky at night above his place of
refuge. During the day, the grace of God was made manifest by a
fragrant cloud of smoke. Drawn by these signs, the local inhabitants
of the region were able to find him once more.
Some of his visitors begged St Macarius to permit them to live near
him and to be guided by his counsels. Seeing that this was the Lord's
will, he did not refuse them. He blessed them to build cells, and this
was the foundation of his monastery.
In 1540, they built a wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the
Most Holy Theotokos. St Macarius was ordained to the holy priesthood
by Bishop Macarius of Novgorod, who later became Metropolitan of All
Russia. The hierarch also appointed St Macarius as igumen of the
monastery.
St Macarius was an example to the others, and was given the gifts of
clairvoyance and wonderworking from God. He wore himself out with his
labors and vigils, encouraging others not to become faint-hearted in
their own struggles.
After several years, he entrusted the monastery to one of his
disciples, and returned to the island where he had first lived. There
he fell asleep in the Lord on August 15, 1550. His disciples buried
him outside on the left side of the Dormition church which he had
founded.
The Hermitage of St Macarius was never a prosperous monastery with
many monks, but it was distinguished by the high level of spiritual
life. In the seventeenth century, many of the monasteries near
Novgorod were plundered by Swedish invaders. The Hermitage of St
Macarius was also burned in 1615, and some of the monks were put to
the sword.
By the eighteenth century, the monastery had become a dependency of
the St Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St Petersburg. The Empress Catherine
closed it in 1764, just as she had closed other monasteries, and it
was designated as a parish church. Although pilgrims still came to
venerate the saint's relics and to celebrate his Feast Day, the
buildings soon fell into ruin.
In the mid-nineteenth century, some benefactors restored the two
churches and the miraculous healing spring which the saint himself had
dug. About this time an old priest was living there, and he celebrated
the church services until his death. In 1894, the monastery began to
function once more under the noted missionary Hieromonk Arsenius, who
introduced the Athonite Typikon. The monastery was destroyed by the
Soviets in 1932.
St Macarius the Roman is commemorated on August 15 (the date of his
repose), and also on January 19 (his nameday).
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Icon of Sophia, the Wisdom of God
No information available at this time.
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Icon of the Mother of God, the Enlightener of Minds
No information available at this time.
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