[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sat Aug 25 2007

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1 Corinthians 2:6-9
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the
wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to
nothing.
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written:
Scripture Reading 1 of 2


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Matthew 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in
His talk.
16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in
truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person
of men.
17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to
Caesar, or not?
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test
Me, you hypocrites?
19 Show Me the tax money. So they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"
21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render
therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the
things that are God's."
22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and
went their way.
Scripture Reading 2 of 2



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Return of the Relics of the Apostle Bartholomew from
Anastasiopolis to Lipari
The Transfer of the Relics of the Apostle Bartholomew took place at
the end of the sixth century. His apostolic activity and martyr's end
are remembered by the Church on June 11. The Apostle Bartholomew
suffered for Christ in Armenian Albanus (now Baku) in the year 71,
where his holy relics were. Numerous miracles occurred from the relics
of the holy Apostle, and many of the unbelieving were converted to
Christ. Under the emperor Anastasius (491-518) the relics of the
Apostle Bartholomew were transferred into the newly constructed city
of Anastasiopolis (or Dura) and remained there until the end of the
sixth century.
When the city of Anastasiopolis was captured by the Persian emperor
Chozroes, Christians took up the chest with the relics of the Apostle
Bartholomew and fled with it to the shores of the Black Sea. Having
overtaken them, pagan priests threw the chest with the relics of the
Apostle Bartholomew into the sea. Four other chests containing the
relics of the holy Martyrs Papian, Lucian, Gregory and Acacius were
also thrown into the sea.
By the power of God the chests did not sink into the depths of the
sea, but miraculously floated upon the waves and reached Italy. The
chest with the relics of the Apostle Bartholomew came to land at the
island of Lipari, and the remaining chests continued their journey and
came to land at various places in Italy. The chest with the relics of
the Martyr Papian halted at Sicily, the Martyr Lucian at Messina, the
Martyr Gregory at Calabria, and the Martyr Acacius at Askalon.
The arrival of the relics of the holy Apostle Bartholomew was revealed
to Bishop Agathon of the island of Lipari, who went with clergy to the
shores of the sea, took the chest from the waters and solemnly
transferred it to church.
Myrrh flowed from the relics of the Apostle Bartholomew, healing
people of various illnesses. The holy relics remained in the church of
the island of Lipari until the middle of the ninth century when the
island was captured by pagans. Christian merchants took up the holy
relics of the Apostle Bartholomew and transferred them to the city of
Beneventum, near Naples, where they were received with great
veneration and placed in the main church of the city.
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Apostle Titus of the Seventy and Bishop of Crete
Saint Titus, Apostle of the Seventy was a native of the island of
Crete, the son of an illustrious pagan. In his youth he studied
Hellenistic philosophy and the ancient poets. Preoccupied by the
sciences, Titus led a virtuous life, not devoting himself to the vices
and passions characteristic of the majority of pagans. He preserved
his virginity, as the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer (December
20) testifies of him.
For such a manner of life the Lord did not leave him without His help.
At age twenty St Titus heard a voice in a dream, suggesting that he
abandon Hellenistic wisdom, which could not provide salvation for his
soul, but rather to seek that which would save him. After this dream,
St Titus waited yet another year, since it was not actually a command,
but it did guide him to familiarize himself with the teachings of the
prophets of God. The first that he happened to read was the Book of
the Prophet Isaiah. Having opened it to the 47th Chapter, he was
struck by the words, speaking as it were about his own spiritual
condition.
When news reached Crete about the appearance of a Great Prophet in
Palestine, and about the great miracles He worked, the governor of the
island of Crete (an uncle of Titus) sent him there. This Prophet was
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, incarnate of the Most Holy Virgin Mary
Who came into the world for the redemption of the race of mankind from
the oppression of ancestral sin.
At Jerusalem, St Titus saw the Lord. He heard His preaching and
believed in Him. He witnessed the sufferingand death of the Savior on
the Cross, His glorious Resurrection and Ascension to Heaven. On the
day of Pentecost the future apostlle heard how the Twelve Apostles,
after the descentof the Holy Spirit, spoke in various languages, among
which was the Cretan language (Acts 2: 11).
St Titus accepted Baptism from the Apostle Paul and became his closest
disciple. He accompanied St Paul on his missionary journeys,
fulfilling the tasks entrusted to him. He was involved in establishing
new churches, and was with Paul in Jerusalem.
St Titus was numbered among the Seventy Apostles and was made Bishop
of Crete by the Apostle Paul. Around the year 65, not long before his
second imprisonment, the Apostle Paul sent a pastoral epistle to his
son in the Faith (Tit. 1: 4).
When the Apostle Paul was taken like a criminal to Rome to stand trial
before Caesar, St Titus left his flock in Cretefor a time and went to
Rome to be of service to his spiritual Father. After St Paul's death
by martyrdom, Titus returned to Gortyna, the chief city of Crete.
St Titus peacefully guided his flock and toiled at enlightening the
pagans with the light of faith in Christ. He was granted the gift of
wonderworking by the Lord. During one of the pagan feasts in honor of
the goddess Diana, Titus preached to a crowd of pagans.
When he saw that they would not listen to him, he prayed to the Lord,
so that the Lord Himself would show to the mistaken people the
falseness of idols. By the prayer of St Titus, the idol of Diana fell
down and shattered before the eyes of all. Another time St Titus
prayed that the Lord would not permit the completion of a temple of
Zeus, and it collapsed.
By such miracles St Titus brought many to faith in Christ. After
bringing the light of faith to the surrounding regions, St Titus died
peacefully at the age of 97. At the time of his death, his face shone
like the sun.
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St Barses the Confessor
Saint Barses and Eulogius, Bishops of Edessa, and Protogenes the
Confessor, Bishop of Carrhae, suffered from the Arians in the second
half of the fourth century. The emperor Valentius (364-378), wishing
to propagate the Arian heresy, fiercely persecuted the Orthodox.
In the city of Edessa he removed St Barses, a champion for Orthodoxy,
from the bishop's throne. He sent him for confinement on the island of
Arad. The Orthodox population there received the exiled saint with
great honor. They banished him farther, to the Egyptian city of
Oxyrhynchos, but there also the warm welcome was repeated. Then St
Barses was banished to the very frontier of the imperial realm, to the
faraway city of Thenon where, exhausted by his exiles, he died.
At Edessa the emperor Valentius placed an Arian pseudo-bishop upon the
episcopal cathedra. Lupus, both by name and by deed showed himself to
be like a wolf, scattering the sheep of Christ's flock. The Orthodox
population of Edessa, both clergy and laity, ceased to attend their
church, which had been seized by the Arians. They gathered outside the
city and celebrated the divine services in an open area.
After he learned of this, the emperor ordered the eparch Modestus to
kill all the Orthodox who met for divine services outside the city.
The eparch pitied the city, and he informed the Orthodox that they
should not attend divine services. The Orthodox, fervent with the
desire to receive a martyr's crown for Christ, went as one to the
place where they usually gathered for prayer.
Eparch Modestus, obeying his orders, went there with his armed
soldiers. Along the way he saw a woman who hastened to the services
with her small child, so as not to deprive him of the martyr's crown.
Shaken, Modestus turned back with his soldiers. Appearing before the
emperor Valentius, he urged him to cancel the decree to kill all the
Orthodox and to apply it only to the clergy.
They led persons of spiritual rank to the emperor, and in the lead the
oldest presbyter Eulogius. The emperor urged them to enter into
communion with the pseudo-bishop Lupus, but none of them agreed. After
this they sent eighty men of clerical rank in chains to prison in
Thrace. The Orthodox met them along the way, revering them as
confessors, and furnished them all the necessities. Learning of this,
the emperor ordered the martyrs to be taken two by two, and to
disperse them to remote areas.
The holy presbyters Eulogius and Protogenes were sent to the Thebaid
city of Antinoe in Egypt. There by their preaching they converted many
idol-worshippers to Christ and baptized them. When the emperor
Valentius perished and was succeeded on the throne by the holy emperor
Theodosius (379-395). The Orthodox confessors remaining alive after
the persecution were returned from exile. The holy presbyters Eulogius
and Protogenes returned to Edessa. In place of the dead and banished
St Barses, presbyter Eulogius was elevated to Bishop of Edessa, and
the holy presbyter Protogenes was made bishop in the Mesopotamian city
of Carrhae. Both saints guided their flocks until their death, which
occurred at the end of the fourth century.
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St Eulogius the Bishop of Edessa, and Confessor
Saint Barses and Eulogius, Bishops of Edessa, and Protogenes the
Confessor, Bishop of Carrhae, suffered from the Arians in the second
half of the fourth century. The emperor Valentius (364-378), wishing
to propagate the Arian heresy, fiercely persecuted the Orthodox.
In the city of Edessa he removed St Barses, a champion for Orthodoxy,
from the bishop's throne. He sent him for confinement on the island of
Arad. The Orthodox population there received the exiled saint with
great honor. They banished him farther, to the Egyptian city of
Oxyrhynchos, but there also the warm welcome was repeated. Then St
Barses was banished to the very frontier of the imperial realm, to the
faraway city of Thenon where, exhausted by his exiles, he died.
At Edessa the emperor Valentius placed an Arian pseudo-bishop upon the
episcopal cathedra. Lupus, both by name and by deed showed himself to
be like a wolf, scattering the sheep of Christ's flock. The Orthodox
population of Edessa, both clergy and laity, ceased to attend their
church, which had been seized by the Arians. They gathered outside the
city and celebrated the divine services in an open area.
After he learned of this, the emperor ordered the eparch Modestus to
kill all the Orthodox who met for divine services outside the city.
The eparch pitied the city, and he informed the Orthodox that they
should not attend divine services. The Orthodox, fervent with the
desire to receive a martyr's crown for Christ, went as one to the
place where they usually gathered for prayer.
Eparch Modestus, obeying his orders, went there with his armed
soldiers. Along the way he saw a woman who hastened to the services
with her small child, so as not to deprive him of the martyr's crown.
Shaken, Modestus turned back with his soldiers. Appearing before the
emperor Valentius, he urged him to cancel the decree to kill all the
Orthodox and to apply it only to the clergy.
They led persons of spiritual rank to the emperor, and in the lead the
oldest presbyter Eulogius. The emperor urged them to enter into
communion with the pseudo-bishop Lupus, but none of them agreed. After
this they sent eighty men of clerical rank in chains to prison in
Thrace. The Orthodox met them along the way, revering them as
confessors, and furnished them all the necessities. Learning of this,
the emperor ordered the martyrs to be taken two by two, and to
disperse them to remote areas.
The holy presbyters Eulogius and Protogenes were sent to the Thebaid
city of Antinoe in Egypt. There by their preaching they converted many
idol-worshippers to Christ and baptized them. When the emperor
Valentius perished and was succeeded on the throne by the holy emperor
Theodosius (379-395). The Orthodox confessors remaining alive after
the persecution were returned from exile. The holy presbyters Eulogius
and Protogenes returned to Edessa. In place of the dead and banished
St Barses, presbyter Eulogius was elevated to Bishop of Edessa, and
the holy presbyter Protogenes was made bishop in the Mesopotamian city
of Carrhae. Both saints guided their flocks until their death, which
occurred at the end of the fourth century.
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St Protogenes the Bishop of Carrhae and Confessor
Saint Barses and Eulogius, Bishops of Edessa, and Protogenes the
Confessor, Bishop of Carrhae, suffered from the Arians in the second
half of the fourth century. The emperor Valentius (364-378), wishing
to propagate the Arian heresy, fiercely persecuted the Orthodox.
In the city of Edessa he removed St Barses, a champion for Orthodoxy,
from the bishop's throne. He sent him for confinement on the island of
Arad. The Orthodox population there received the exiled saint with
great honor. They banished him farther, to the Egyptian city of
Oxyrhynchos, but there also the warm welcome was repeated. Then St
Barses was banished to the very frontier of the imperial realm, to the
faraway city of Thenon where, exhausted by his exiles, he died.
At Edessa the emperor Valentius placed an Arian pseudo-bishop upon the
episcopal cathedra. Lupus, both by name and by deed showed himself to
be like a wolf, scattering the sheep of Christ's flock. The Orthodox
population of Edessa, both clergy and laity, ceased to attend their
church, which had been seized by the Arians. They gathered outside the
city and celebrated the divine services in an open area.
After he learned of this, the emperor ordered the eparch Modestus to
kill all the Orthodox who met for divine services outside the city.
The eparch pitied the city, and he informed the Orthodox that they
should not attend divine services. The Orthodox, fervent with the
desire to receive a martyr's crown for Christ, went as one to the
place where they usually gathered for prayer.
Eparch Modestus, obeying his orders, went there with his armed
soldiers. Along the way he saw a woman who hastened to the services
with her small child, so as not to deprive him of the martyr's crown.
Shaken, Modestus turned back with his soldiers. Appearing before the
emperor Valentius, he urged him to cancel the decree to kill all the
Orthodox and to apply it only to the clergy.
They led persons of spiritual rank to the emperor, and in the lead the
oldest presbyter Eulogius. The emperor urged them to enter into
communion with the pseudo-bishop Lupus, but none of them agreed. After
this they sent eighty men of clerical rank in chains to prison in
Thrace. The Orthodox met them along the way, revering them as
confessors, and furnished them all the necessities. Learning of this,
the emperor ordered the martyrs to be taken two by two, and to
disperse them to remote areas.
The holy presbyters Eulogius and Protogenes were sent to the Thebaid
city of Antinoe in Egypt. There by their preaching they converted many
idol-worshippers to Christ and baptized them. When the emperor
Valentius perished and was succeeded on the throne by the holy emperor
Theodosius (379-395). The Orthodox confessors remaining alive after
the persecution were returned from exile. The holy presbyters Eulogius
and Protogenes returned to Edessa. In place of the dead and banished
St Barses, presbyter Eulogius was elevated to Bishop of Edessa, and
the holy presbyter Protogenes was made bishop in the Mesopotamian city
of Carrhae. Both saints guided their flocks until their death, which
occurred at the end of the fourth century.
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St Menas the Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Menas, Patriarch of Constantinople (536-552), was at first a
presbyter at Constantinople and supervisor there of the Home of St
Sampson the Hospitable for the poor and needy during the reign of St
Justinian I (527-565). After the removal of the heretic Anthimus
(535-536), the holy presbyter Menas was raised to the patriarchal
throne of Constantinople as one worthy to be bishop, because of his
profound virtue and firm confession of Orthodoxy.
Agapitus, the Bishop of Rome (535-536), participated in the
consecration of St Menas. He had come to Constantinople in order to
depose the heretic Anthimus. During the patriarchate of St Menas a
miracle occurred at Constantinople, which was known to the whole city.
A certain Jewish child went with other children to church and he
partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. At home, he told his father
about this. In a terrible rage, he seized the child and threw him into
a red-hot oven (the father was a glass-blower). He said nothing to his
wife. For three days, the mother tearfully searched for her son,
calling loudly for him. On the third day, he emerged from the red-hot
oven. When she pulled the child out, she found that he was unharmed.
The boy said that a most radiant Lady had come to him, cooling the
fire and bringing him water and food. This incident became known to St
Menas and the emperor Justinian I. The boy and his mother received
Baptism, but the father of the child was obdurate and did not wish to
repent, in spite of the great miracle that he had seen. Then the
emperor ordered that the father be tried as a child-killer, and
sentenced him to death.
The holy Patriarch Menas ruled the Church of Constantinople for
sixteen years. During his patriarchate at Constantinople, the famous
church of Hagia Sophia, the Wisdom of God, was consecrated. The saint
died peacefully in the year 552.
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New Hieromartyr Vladimir (Moschanskii) of Tver
No information available at this time.
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St John the Cappadocian, Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint John the Cappadocian, Patriarch of Constantinople, occupied the
patriarchal throne from 518-520. The holy Patriarch Photius (857-867)
termed him "a habitation of virtues."
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St Epiphanius, Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Epiphanius, Patriarch of Constantinople, occupied the cathedra
from 520 to 535. He died peacefully in the year 535.
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