[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sun Aug 26 05:00:15 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sun Aug 26 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Mark 16:1-8  (2nd Matins Gospel)
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 1 of 3

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1 Corinthians 16:13-24
13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done with love.
15 I urge you, brethren-you know the household of Stephanas, that it
is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to
the ministry of the saints-
16 that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors
with us.
17 I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus,
for what was lacking on your part they supplied.
18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such
men.
19 The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you
heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
20 All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 The salutation with my own hand-Paul's.
22 If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.
O Lord, come!
23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

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Matthew 21:33-42
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a
vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a
tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the
vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and
stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did
likewise to them.
37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will
respect my son.'
38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves,
'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to
those vinedressers?
41 They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and
lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the
fruits in their seasons."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

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Martyr Adrian of Nicomedia
The Martyrs Adrian and Natalia were married in their youth for one
year prior to their martyrdom, and lived in Nicomedia during the time
of the emperor Maximian (305-311). The emperor promised a reward to
whomever would inform on Christians to bring them to trial. Then the
denunciations began, and twenty-three Christians were captured in a
cave near Nicomedia.
They were tortured, urged to worship idols, and then brought before
the Praetor, in order to record their names and responses. Adrian, the
head of the praetorium, watched as these people suffered with such
courage for their faith. Seeing how firmly and fearlessly they
confessed Christ, asked: "What rewards do you expect from your God for
your suffering?" The martyrs replied: "Such rewards as we are not able
to describe, nor can your mind comprehend." St Adrian told the
scribes,"Write my name down also, for I am a Christian and I die
gladly for Christ God."
The scribes reported this to the emperor, who summoned St Adrian and
asked: "Really, have you gone mad, that you want to die? Come, cross
out your name from the lists and offer sacrifice to the gods, asking
their forgiveness."
St Adrian answered: "I have not lost my mind, but rather have I found
it." Maximian then ordered Adrian to be thrown into prison. His wife,
St Natalia, knowing that her husband was to suffer for Christ,
rejoiced, since she herself was secretly a Christian.
She hastened to the prison and encouraged her husband saying: "You are
blessed, my lord, because you have believed in Christ. You have
obtained a great treasure. Do not regret anything earthly, neither
beauty, nor youth (Adrian was then 28 years of age), nor riches.
Everything worldly is dust and ashes. Only faith and good deeds are
pleasing to God."
On the pledge of the other martyrs, they released St Adrian from
prison to tell his wife about the day of his execution. At first St
Natalia thought that he had renounced Christ and thus had been set
free, and she did not want to let him into the house. The saint
persuaded his wife that he had not fled from martyrdom, but rather had
come to give her the news of the day of his execution.
They tortured St Adrian cruelly. The emperor advised the saint to have
pity on himself and call on the gods, but the martyr answered: "Let
your gods say what blessings they promise me, and then I shall worship
them, but if they cannot do this, then why should I worship them?" St
Natalia did not cease to encourage her husband. She asked him also to
pray to God for her, that they would not force her into marriage with
a pagan after his death.
The executioner ordered the hands and the legs of the saints to be
broken on the anvil. St Natalia, fearing that her husband would
hesitate on seeing the sufferings of the other martyrs, asked the
executioner to begin with him, and permit her to put his hands and
legs on the anvil herself.
They wanted to burn the bodies of the saints, but a storm arose and
the fire went out. Many of the executioners even were struck by
lightning. St Natalia took the hand of her husband and kept it at
home. Soon an army commander asked the emperor's approval to wed St
Natalia, who was both young and rich. But she hid herself away in
Byzantium. St Adrian appeared to her in a dream and said that she
would soon be at rest in the Lord. The martyr, worn out by her former
sufferings, in fact soon fell asleep in the Lord.
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Martyr Natalia of Nicomedia
The Martyrs Adrian and Natalia were married in their youth for one
year prior to their martyrdom, and lived in Nicomedia during the time
of the emperor Maximian (305-311). The emperor promised a reward to
whomever would inform on Christians to bring them to trial. Then the
denunciations began, and twenty-three Christians were captured in a
cave near Nicomedia.
They were tortured, urged to worship idols, and then brought before
the Praetor, in order to record their names and responses. Adrian, the
head of the praetorium, watched as these people suffered with such
courage for their faith. Seeing how firmly and fearlessly they
confessed Christ, asked: "What rewards do you expect from your God for
your suffering?" The martyrs replied: "Such rewards as we are not able
to describe, nor can your mind comprehend." St Adrian told the
scribes,"Write my name down also, for I am a Christian and I die
gladly for Christ God."
The scribes reported this to the emperor, who summoned St Adrian and
asked: "Really, have you gone mad, that you want to die? Come, cross
out your name from the lists and offer sacrifice to the gods, asking
their forgiveness."
St Adrian answered: "I have not lost my mind, but rather have I found
it." Maximian then ordered Adrian to be thrown into prison. His wife,
St Natalia, knowing that her husband was to suffer for Christ,
rejoiced, since she herself was secretly a Christian.
She hastened to the prison and encouraged her husband saying: "You are
blessed, my lord, because you have believed in Christ. You have
obtained a great treasure. Do not regret anything earthly, neither
beauty, nor youth (Adrian was then 28 years of age), nor riches.
Everything worldly is dust and ashes. Only faith and good deeds are
pleasing to God."
On the pledge of the other martyrs, they released St Adrian from
prison to tell his wife about the day of his execution. At first St
Natalia thought that he had renounced Christ and thus had been set
free, and she did not want to let him into the house. The saint
persuaded his wife that he had not fled from martyrdom, but rather had
come to give her the news of the day of his execution.
They tortured St Adrian cruelly. The emperor advised the saint to have
pity on himself and call on the gods, but the martyr answered: "Let
your gods say what blessings they promise me, and then I shall worship
them, but if they cannot do this, then why should I worship them?" St
Natalia did not cease to encourage her husband. She asked him also to
pray to God for her, that they would not force her into marriage with
a pagan after his death.
The executioner ordered the hands and the legs of the saints to be
broken on the anvil. St Natalia, fearing that her husband would
hesitate on seeing the sufferings of the other martyrs, asked the
executioner to begin with him, and permit her to put his hands and
legs on the anvil herself.
They wanted to burn the bodies of the saints, but a storm arose and
the fire went out. Many of the executioners even were struck by
lightning. St Natalia took the hand of her husband and kept it at
home. Soon an army commander asked the emperor's approval to wed St
Natalia, who was both young and rich. But she hid herself away in
Byzantium. St Adrian appeared to her in a dream and said that she
would soon be at rest in the Lord. The martyr, worn out by her former
sufferings, in fact soon fell asleep in the Lord.
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33 Martyred Companions of Natalia and Adrian, of Nicomedia
The Martyrs Adrian and Natalia were married in their youth for one
year prior to their martyrdom, and lived in Nicomedia during the time
of the emperor Maximian (305-311). The emperor promised a reward to
whomever would inform on Christians to bring them to trial. Then the
denunciations began, and twenty-three Christians were captured in a
cave near Nicomedia.
They were tortured, urged to worship idols, and then brought before
the Praetor, in order to record their names and responses. Adrian, the
head of the praetorium, watched as these people suffered with such
courage for their faith. Seeing how firmly and fearlessly they
confessed Christ, asked: "What rewards do you expect from your God for
your suffering?" The martyrs replied: "Such rewards as we are not able
to describe, nor can your mind comprehend." St Adrian told the
scribes,"Write my name down also, for I am a Christian and I die
gladly for Christ God."
The scribes reported this to the emperor, who summoned St Adrian and
asked: "Really, have you gone mad, that you want to die? Come, cross
out your name from the lists and offer sacrifice to the gods, asking
their forgiveness."
St Adrian answered: "I have not lost my mind, but rather have I found
it." Maximian then ordered Adrian to be thrown into prison. His wife,
St Natalia, knowing that her husband was to suffer for Christ,
rejoiced, since she herself was secretly a Christian.
She hastened to the prison and encouraged her husband saying: "You are
blessed, my lord, because you have believed in Christ. You have
obtained a great treasure. Do not regret anything earthly, neither
beauty, nor youth (Adrian was then 28 years of age), nor riches.
Everything worldly is dust and ashes. Only faith and good deeds are
pleasing to God."
On the pledge of the other martyrs, they released St Adrian from
prison to tell his wife about the day of his execution. At first St
Natalia thought that he had renounced Christ and thus had been set
free, and she did not want to let him into the house. The saint
persuaded his wife that he had not fled from martyrdom, but rather had
come to give her the news of the day of his execution.
They tortured St Adrian cruelly. The emperor advised the saint to have
pity on himself and call on the gods, but the martyr answered, "Let
your gods say what blessings they promise me, and then I shall worship
them, but if they cannot do this, then why should I worship them?" St
Natalia did not cease to encourage her husband. She asked him also to
pray to God for her, that they would not force her into marriage with
a pagan after his death.
The executioner ordered the hands and the legs of the saints to be
broken on the anvil. St Natalia, fearing that her husband would
hesitate on seeing the sufferings of the other martyrs, asked the
executioner to begin with him, and permit her to put his hands and
legs on the anvil herself.
They wanted to burn the bodies of the saints, but a storm arose and
the fire went out. Many of the executioners even were struck by
lightning. St Natalia took the hand of her husband and kept it at
home. Soon an army commander asked the emperor's approval to wed St
Natalia, who was both young and rich. But she hid herself away in
Byzantium. St Adrian appeared to her in a dream and said that she
would soon be at rest in the Lord. The martyr, worn out by her former
sufferings, in fact soon fell asleep in the Lord.
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Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam
Saint Adrian of Andrusov (in the world the nobleman Andrew
Zavalushin), was the owner of a rich estate (Andreevschina), 9 versts
from the monastery of St Alexander of Svir (August 30). He
accidentally encountered St Alexander of Svir during a stag hunt in
1493, and after this he went often to him for guidance, and supplied
bread for the ascetics.
Forsaking his estate, he took monastic tonsure at the Valaamo
monastery with the name Adrian. Several years later, with the blessing
of St Alexander of Svir, St Adrian settled in a solitary place on the
peninsula of Lake Ladoga. There he built a church in honor of St
Nicholas the Wonderworker. Opposite the settlement of monks in the
deep forest was an island, Sala (the Thicket), where there was a gang
of robbers under the leadership of Ondrusa as their ataman.
Encountering the monks, the ataman demanded that they get off his
land. St Adrian, knowing that he did not have money to buy the place,
promised the ataman to intercede for him before God. The robber
laughed at the monk, but he entreated him so long and so humbly, that
the ataman softened and said, "Live."
This ataman was soon taken captive by another gang, hidden not far
from the stoney Cape of Storozhev. The hapless fellow knew that after
suffering, torture death awaited him, and he bitterly repented of his
former life. Suddenly, he saw St Adrian before him. He said, "You are
freed through the mercy of the Lord, for Whose sake you were asked to
show mercy to the wilderness brethren," and he vanished.
The ataman saw himself without fetters at the shore, and with no one
around. Astonished, he rushed to the monastery of St Adrian and found
all the ascetics chanting Psalms. It seemed that St Adrian had not
left the monastery. The robber fell at the knees of the saint and
begged to be accepted as one of the brethren. He finished his life in
repentance at the monastery. The robber of another gang also repented.
Through the prayers of St Adrian, he was tonsured with the name
Cyprian. Afterwards, at the place of a tributary, he built a monastery
and was glorified by miracles.
The monastery of St Adrian received an endowment from Tsar Ivan the
Terrible (1533-1584). In August 1549, St Adrian was godfather for
Anna, daughter of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. When the saint was returning
from Moscow to the monastery, robbers killed him near the village of
Obzha, hoping to find money. The brethren waited for a long time for
their Superior, and two years later, he appeared one night in a vision
to a few Elders and told them of his death. On another day, May 17,
the brethren found his incorrupt body in a swamp and committed it to
burial in the wall of his church in honor of St Nicholas.
The memory of St Adrian, having received the martyr's crown, has come
to be celebrated twice: on the day of the finding and transfer of his
relics (May 17), and on the day of his repose, which he shares with
his namesake, the holy Martyr Adrian.
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Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and
the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist
Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate together with
His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, upon
seeing this image, exclaimed, "Henceforth, all generations shall call
Me blessed. The grace of both My Son and Me shall be with this icon."
In the year 1131, the icon was sent from Constantinople to Rus to holy
Prince Mstislav (April 15) and was installed in the Devichi monastery
in Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal of the
Apostles Princess Olga.
The son of George Dolgoruky, St Andrew Bogoliubsky, brought the icon
to the city of Vladimir in 1155 and installed it in the renowned
Dormition cathedral which he built. At this time the icon received its
name of "the Vladimir Icon." The icon was first brought to Moscow in
the year 1395. Thus, the blessing of the Mother of God established the
spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus via Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow.
The festal celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
occurs several times during the year (21 May, 23 June and 26 August).
The most solemn celebration occurs on August 26, the Feast established
in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon upon its Transfer from
Vladimir to Moscow.
In the year 1395, the fearsome conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak)
reached the Ryazan frontier, took the city of Elets and advancing
towards Moscow he came near the banks of the River Don. Great Prince
Basil Dimitrievich went with an army to Kolomna and halted at the
banks of the River Oka. He prayed to the holy Hierarchs of Moscow and
St Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland, and he wrote to the
Metropolitan of Moscow St Cyprian (September 16), that the pending
Dormition Fast should be devoted to zealous prayers for mercy and
repentance.
Clergy were sent to Vladimir, where the famed wonderworking Vladimir
Icon was. After Divine Liturgy and a Molieben on the feast of the
Dormition, they clergy took the icon and brought it to Moscow. Along
the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling:
"O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!" At that same hour, when
the people of Moscow were meeting the Vladimir Icon on Kuchkov Field,
Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a
great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with
golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance,
was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of
Russia.
Awakening in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The
experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the
great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his
troops to retreat. In memory of this miraculous deliverance of the
Russian Land from Tamerlane, they built the monastery of the Meeting
on Kuchkov Field, where the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon took place.
On August 26, the all-Russian celebration in honor of the Meeting of
the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was established.
Very important events in Russian Church history have occurred before
the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and elevation of
St Jonah, advocate of an Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), and of
St Job, first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589), and of His
Holiness Patriarch St Tikhon (1917). The enthronement of His Holiness
Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, occurred on a day of
celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on May
21 (O.S.), 1971.
The historical days of 21 May, 23 June and 26 August, connected with
this holy icon, have become memorable days for the Russian Orthodox
Church.
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Icon of the Mother of God "Virgin of Tenderness" of the Pskov
Caves
The Pskov Caves Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, named the
"Tenderness" (1542), is famous particularly for the defense of Pskov
and the Pskov Caves monastery from the army of Stephen Bathory in
1581. Its celebration is also on May 21, June 23 and October 7.
The Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God is of the Eleousa (Umilenie)
type.
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St Adrian of Uglich
Saint Adrian of Uglich was one of the first ten disciples of St
Paisius of Uglich (June 6), for whom he was the closest
cell-attendant, disciple and co-ascetic. Together with St Paisius, St
Adrian was accounted woryour of a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos in
1472. St Paisius was in one of the cells together with St Cassian of
Uglich (October 2), and Sts Gerasimus and Adrian.
They were singing an Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. Suddenly,
throughout all the monastery there shone an extraordinary light, and
the monks heard a voice calling them to come out of the cell. The
ascetics came out in fear and in confusion, and an angel showed them
the Mother of God, sitting on an airy throne and holding the Divine
Infant in Her arms. The ascetics fell frightened to the ground, but
the angel raised them up and related to St Paisius the command of the
Mother of God to build on this place a church in honor of the
Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The vision ended, and the monks
spent the whole night in vigil and praise.
In 1482, St Adrian participated in the building of the stone church in
honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos at the place
indicated by the angel. Afterwards, an icon of the Protection of the
Most Holy Mother of God was found. In 1489, St Adrian assisted St
Paisius in building a monastery dedicated to St Nicholas, near the
Grekhova stream, on the right bank of the Volga.
As an experienced and virtuous Elder, St Adrian was put there as its
Superior and was made a hieromonk. He was at the funeral of St Paisius
on June 6, 1504 and later, according to his last wishes, he was
himself buried near the grave. The memory of St Adrian is celebrated
on August 26 (because of his namesake, the holy Martyr Adrian), and
also on Cheesefare Saturday.
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Venerable Joasaph, son of St. Abenner the king
No information available at this time.
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