[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Tue Dec 18 05:00:12 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Tue Dec 18 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Hebrews 9:8-10,15-23
8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of
All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still
standing.
9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and
sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service
perfect in regard to the conscience-
10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly
ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the
first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of
the eternal inheritance.
16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the
death of the testator.
17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no
power at all while the testator lives.
18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according
to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet
wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the
people,
20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded
you."
21 Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all
the vessels of the ministry.
22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood,
and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
23 Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the
heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2

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Mark 10:2-12
2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce
his wife?" testing Him.
3 And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"
4 They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce,
and to dismiss her."
5 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of
your heart he wrote you this precept.
6 But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and
female.'
7 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife,
8 'and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer
two, but one flesh.
9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.
10 In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same
matter.
11 So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her.
12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she
commits adultery.
Scripture Reading 2 of 2

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Martyr Sebastian at Rome, and his companions
The Holy Martyr Sebastian was born in the city of Narbonum in Gaul
(modern France), and he received his education at Mediolanum (now
Milan). Under the co-reigning emperors Diocletian and Maximian
(284-305) he occupied the position of head of the imperial guards. St
Sebastian was respected for his authority, and was loved by the
soldiers and those at court. He was a brave man filled with wisdom,
his word was honest, his judgment just, insightful in advice, faithful
in his service and in everything entrusted to him. He was a secret
Christian, not out of fear, but so that he could provide help to the
brethren in a time of persecution.
The noble Christian brothers Marcellinus and Mark had been locked up
in prison, and at first they firmly confessed the true Faith. But
under the influence of the tearful entreaties of their pagan parents
(Tranquillinus and Marcia), and also their own wives and children,
they began to waver in their intent to suffer for Christ. St Sebastian
went to the imperial treasurer, at whose house Marcellinus and Mark
were held in confinement, and addressed the brothers who were on the
verge of yielding to the entreaties of their family.
"O valiant warriors of Christ! Do not cast away your everlasting
crowns of victory because of the tears of your relatives. Do not
remove your feet from the necks of your enemies who lie prostrate
before you, lest they regain their strength and attack you more
fiercely than before. Raise your banner high over every earthly
attachment. If those whom you see weeping knew that there is another
life where there is neither sickness nor death, where there is
unceasing gladness and everything is beautiful, then assuredly they
would wish to enter it with you. Anyone who fears to exchange this
brief earthly life for the unending joys of the heavenly Kingdom is
foolish indeed. For he who rejects eternity wastes the brief time of
his existence, and will be delivered to everlasting torment in Hades."
Then St Sebastian said that if necessary, he would be willing to
endure torment and death in order to show them how to give their lives
for Christ.
So St Sebastian persuaded the brothers to go through with their act of
martyrdom, and his speech stirred everyone present. They saw how his
face shone like that of an angel, and they saw how seven angels
clothed him in a radiant garment, and heard a fair Youth say, "You
shall be with Me always."
Zoe, the wife of the jailer Nicostratus, had lost her ability to speak
six years previously, and she fell down at the feet of St Sebastian,
by her gestures imploring him to heal her. The saint made the Sign of
the Cross over the woman, and she immediately began to speak and she
glorified the Lord Jesus Christ. She said that she had seen an angel
holding an open book in which everything St Sebastian said was
written. Then all who saw the miracle also came to believe in the
Savior of the world. Nicostratus removed the chains from Marcellinus
and Mark and offered to hide them, but the brothers refused.
Mark said, "Let them tear the flesh from our bodies with cruel
torments. They can kill the body, but they cannot conquer the soul
which contends for the Faith." Nicostratus and his wife asked for
Baptism, and St Sebastian advised Nicostratus to serve Christ rather
than the Eparch. He also told him to assemble the prisoners so that
those who believed in Christ could be baptized. Nicostratus then
requested his clerk Claudius to send all the prisoners to his house.
Sebastian spoke to them of Christ, and became convinced that they were
all inclined to be baptized. He summoned the priest Polycarp, who
prepared them for the Mystery, instructing them to fast in preparation
for Baptism that evening.
Then Claudius informed Nicostratus that the Roman eparch Arestius
Chromatus wanted to know why the prisoners were gathered at his house.
Nicostratus told Claudius about the healing of his wife, and Claudius
brought his own sick sons, Symphorian and Felix to St Sebastian. In
the evening the priest Polycarp baptized Tranquillinus with his
relatives and friends, and Nicostratus and all his family, Claudius
and his sons, and also sixteen condemned prisoners. The newly-baptized
numbered 64 in all.
Appearing before the eparch Chromatus, Nicostratus told him how St
Sebastian had converted them to Christianity and healed many from
sickness. The words of Nicostratus persuaded the eparch. He summoned
St Sebastian and the presbyter Polycarp, and was enlightened by them,
and became a believer in Christ. Nicostratus and Chromatus, his son
Tiburtius and all his household accepted holy Baptism. The number of
the newly-enlightened increased to 1400. Upon becoming a Christian,
Chromatus resigned his office of eparch.
During this time the Bishop of Rome was St Gaius (August 11). He
blessed Chromatus to go to his estates in southern Italy with the
priest Polycarp. Christians unable to endure martyrdom also went with
them. Father Polycarp went to strengthen the newly-converted in the
Faith.
Tiburtius, the son of Chromatus, desired to accept martyrdom and he
remained in Rome with St Sebastian. Of those remaining, St Gaius
ordained Tranquillinus as a presbyter, and his sons Marcellinus and
Mark were ordained deacons. Nicostratus, his wife Zoe and brother
Castorius, and Claudius, his son Symphorian and brother Victorinus
also remained in Rome. They gathered for divine services at the court
of the emperor together with a secret Christian named Castulus, but
soon the time came for them to suffer for the Faith.
The pagans arrested St Zoe first, praying at the grave of the Apostle
Peter. At the trial she bravely confessed her faith in Christ. She
died, hung by her hair over the foul smoke from a great fire of dung.
Her body then was thrown into the River Tiber. Appearing in a vision
to St Sebastian, she told him about her death.
The priest Tranquillinus was the next to suffer: pagans pelted him
with stones at the grave of the holy Apostle Peter, and his body was
also thrown into the Tiber.
Sts Nicostratus, Castorius, Claudius, Victorinus ,and Symphorian were
seized at the riverbank, when they were searching for the bodies of
the martyrs. They were led to the eparch, and the saints refused his
command to offer sacrifice to idols. They tied stones to the necks of
the martyrs and then drowned them in the sea.
The false Christian Torquatus betrayed St Tiburtius. When the saint
refused to sacrifice to the idols, the judge ordered Tiburtius to walk
barefoot on red-hot coals, but the Lord preserved him. Tiburtius
walked through the burning coals without feeling the heat. The
torturers then beheaded St Tiburtius, and his body was buried by
unknown Christians.
Torquatus also betrayed the holy Deacons Marcellinus and Mark, and St
Castulus (March 26). After torture, they threw Castulus into a pit and
buried him alive, but Marcellinus and Mark had their feet nailed to
the same tree stump. They stood all night in prayer, and in the
morning they were stabbed with spears.
St Sebastian was the last one to be tortured. The emperor Diocletian
personally interrogated him, and seeing the determination of the holy
martyr, he ordered him taken out of the city, tied to a tree and shot
with arrows. Irene, the wife of St Castulus, went at night in order to
bury St Sebastian, but found him alive and took him to her home.
St Sebastian soon recovered from his wounds. Christians urged him to
leave Rome, but he refused. Coming near a pagan temple, the saint saw
the emperors approaching and he publicly denounced them for their
impiety. Diocletian ordered the holy martyr to be taken to the Circus
Maximus to be executed. They clubbed St Sebastian to death, and cast
his body into the sewer. The holy martyr appeared to a pious woman
named Lucina in a vision, and told her to take his body and bury it in
the catacombs. This she did with the help of her slaves. Today his
basilica stands on the site of his tomb.
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Martyr Nicostratus at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Zoe at Rome
Saint Zoe is mentioned in the account of St Sebastian's martyrdom. She
was the wife of the jailer Nicostratus, and was unable to speak for
six years. She fell down at the feet of St Sebastian, by her gestures
imploring him to heal her. The saint made the Sign of the Cross over
the woman, and she immediately began to speak and to glorify the Lord
Jesus Christ. She said that she had seen an angel holding an open book
in which everything St Sebastian said was written. Then all who saw
the miracle also came to believe in Christ, the Savior of the world.
Nicostratus and his wife asked for Baptism, and St Sebastian advised
Nicostratus to serve Christ rather than the Eparch. He also told him
to assemble the prisoners so that those who believed in Christ could
be baptized. Nicostratus then requested his clerk Claudius to send all
the prisoners to his house. Sebastian spoke to them of Christ, and
became convinced of their desire to be baptized. He summoned the
priest Polycarp, who prepared them and told them to fast until their
Baptism that evening.
Then Claudius informed Nicostratus that the Roman eparch Arestius
Chromatus wanted to know why the prisoners were gathered at his house.
Nicostratus told Claudius about the healing of his wife, and Claudius
brought his own sick sons, Symphorian and Felix to St Sebastian. In
the evening the priest Polycarp baptized Tranquillinus with his
relatives and friends, and Nicostratus and all his family, Claudius
and his sons, and also sixteen condemned prisoners. The newly-baptized
numbered sixty-four in all.
Nicostratus, his wife Zoe and brother Castorius, and Claudius, his son
Symphorian and brother Victorinus remained in Rome with St Sebastian,
refusing to move to a safer place. They gathered for divine services
at the court of the emperor together with a secret Christian named
Castulus, but soon the time came for them to suffer for the Faith.
The pagans arrested St Zoe first, while she was praying at the grave
of the Apostle Peter. At the trial she bravely confessed her faith in
Christ. She died, hung by her hair over the foul smoke from a great
fire of dung. Her body then was thrown into the River Tiber. Appearing
in a vision to St Sebastian, she told him about her death.
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Martyr Castorius at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Tranquillinus at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Marcellinus at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Mark at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Claudius at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Symphorian at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Victorinus at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Tiburtius at Rome
No information available at this time
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Martyr Castulus at Rome
No information available at this time
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Venerable Sebastian the Abbot of Pshekhonye Monastery,
Vologda
Saint Sebastian of Sokhota, Poshekhonye, founded a monastery in honor
of the Transfiguration of the Lord, located at the River Sokhota, 90
versts from the city of Romanov (now Tutaev) in the Yaroslav district.
The monks of the monastery themselves cultivated the soil and ate
through the work of their own hands. The founder of the monastery
taught the ascetics this by his own example and guidance. St Sebastian
reposed about the year 1500.
The Transfiguration monastery on the River Sokhota was later annexed
to the Cherepovets Ascension monastery, and in 1764 closed down. In
the mid-nineteenth century a stone church was built over the relics of
St Sebastian. The saint is also commemorated on February 26.
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Righteous Simeon the Wonderworker of Verkhoturye
Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye was a nobleman, but he concealed his
origin and led the life of a beggar. He walked through the villages
and for free sewed half-coats and other clothes, primarily for the
poor. While doing this he deliberately failed to sew something, either
a glove, or a scarf, for which he endured abuse from his customers.
The ascetic wandered much, but most often he lived at a churchyard of
the village of Merkushinsk not far from the city of Verkhoturye (on
the outskirts of Perm). St Simeon loved nature in the Urals, and while
joyfully contemplated its majestic beauty, he would raise up a
thoughtful glance towards the Creator of the world. In his free time,
the saint loved to go fishing in the tranquility of solitude. This
reminded him of the disciples of Christ, whose work he continued,
guiding the local people in the true Faith. His conversations were a
seed of grace, from which gradually grew the abundant fruits of the
Spirit in the Urals and in Siberia, where the saint is especially
revered.
St Simeon of Verkhoturye died in 1642, when he was 35 years of age. He
was buried in the Merkushinsk graveyard by the church of the Archangel
Michael.
On September 12, 1704, with the blessing of Metropolitan Philotheus of
Tobolsk, the holy relics of St Simeon were transferred from the church
of the Archangel Michael to the Verkhoturye monastery in the name of
St Nicholas.
St Simeon worked many miracles after his death. He frequently appeared
to the sick in dreams and healed them, and he brought to their senses
those fallen into the disease of drunkenness. A peculiarity of the
saint's appearances was that with the healing of bodily infirmities,
he also gave instruction and guidance for the soul.
The memory of St Simeon of Verkhoturye is celebrated also on December
18, on the day of his glorification (1694).
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St Modestus the Archbishop of Jerusalem
Saint Modestus, Archbishop of Jerusalem, was born into a Christian
family in Cappadocian Sebasteia (Asia Minor). From his youth he felt a
strong attraction towards strict monastic life. St Modestus accepted
monastic tonsure. Afterwards, he became head of the monastery of St
Theodosius the Great in Palestine. At this time (the year 614),
military forces of the Persian ruler Chosroes fell upon Syria and
Palestine, killing ninety thousand Christians and destroying Christian
churches. Patriarch Zacharias of Jerusalem and a multitude of
Christians were taken into captivity, along with the Cross of the
Lord. St Modestus was entrusted to govern the Jerusalem Church
temporarily as locum tenens of the patriarchal cathedra.
With the help of Patriarch John the Merciful of Alexandria (November
12), St Modestus set about restoring devastated Christian shrines,
among which was the Sepulchre of the Lord. He reverently buried the
murdered monks from the monastery of St Sava the Sanctified.
After fourteen years, Patriarch Zacharias returned from captivity with
the Cross of the Lord, and after his death St Modestus became
Patriarch of Jerusalem. St Modestus died at age 97 in the year 634.
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St Florus the Bishop of Amisus
Saint Florus, Bishop of Amisus, was the son of the Christians Florus
and Euphemia, who provided him a fine education. He entered courtly
service for the Byzantine Emperor and was elevated to the rank of
patrician; he was also married and had children. After his wife and
children died from smallpox, he left the world and withdrew to the
outskirts of Constantinople, where he led a solitary and pious life.
Later on he was chosen Bishop of Amisus (in Asia Minor). St Florus
wisely guided his flock and died peacefully at the beginning of the
seventh century.
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St Michael the Confessor at Constantinople
Saint Michael the Confessor was born at Jerusalem into a family of
zealous Christians and at an early age devoted himself to monastic
life. After the death of his father, his mother and sisters went to a
monastery, and St Michael was ordained as a priest. He was famed as a
strong preacher, and therefore the Jerusalem Patriarch Thomas I took
him under his wing and advanced him in the calling of "synkellos"
(dealing in matters of church governance).
At this time there reigned the Iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian
(813-820). The patriarch sent St Michael to him, together with the
holy brothers Sts Theodore (December 27) and Theophanes (October 11),
with the hope that they might persuade the emperor to cease his
persecution against the Orthodox. The emperor subjected St Michael to
beatings and sent him off into exile.
Later having returned from exile, the monk again suffered for the
veneration of holy icons under the emperor Theophilus (829-842). The
companions of St Michael, Sts Theodore and Theophanes, were subjected
to horrible torments: upon their faces was put red-hot brands with an
inscription slandering them. They received the title "the Branded."
Again condemned, St Michael was sent with his disciple Job to the
Pabeida monastery.
After the death of Theophilus, the empress Theodora (842-855) restored
the veneration of holy icons, and ordered the return of Christians
banished by the Iconoclasts. She made the offer that St Michael might
occupy the patriarchal throne in place of the deposed iconoclast,
Grammatikos. But the holy martyr declined this. Thus upon the
patriarchal throne entered St Methodius.
St Michael the Confessor to the end of his days toiled in the position
of "synkellos." He died peacefully in about the year 845.
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New Hieromartyr Archbishop Thaddeus of Tver
The New Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky) was the Archbishop of Tver. He
was executed in 1937.
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Venerable Daniel the Hesychast
Saint Daniel the Hesychast, the great wonderworker and instructor of
monastics, was born in Moldavia at the beginning of the fifteenth
century. He was baptized with the name Dumitru. When he was sixteen,
he became a monk of the monastery of St Nicholas at Radauti and
received the name David. His spiritual Father was St Leontius of
Radauti (July 1). After many years of ascetical struggles, he became a
chosen vessel of the Spirit and was ordained to the holy priesthood.
He lived for some years at the monastery of St Laurence in the Civoul
de Sus district. There he fulfilled his obediences during the day, and
at night he kept vigil, prayed, and wove baskets. He received the
Great Schema and the new name Daniel. He obtained the igumen's
blessing to live in the wilderness in solitude, where he devoted
himself to spiritual struggles. Around 1450, he lived near the Neamts
Monastery by Secu creek for fourteen years. In time, people discovered
where he lived and came to visit him. Longing for solitude, he moved
to northern Moldavia and chiseled out a cell for himself in the face
of a cliff near Putna creek. Next to it, he carved out a small chapel
for prayer.
After his spiritual child St Stephen the Great (July 2) built the
Putna Monastery, which was consecrated in 1470, St Daniel moved near
the Voronets Monastery. Here too, he carved a small cell out of the
rock under Soim (Falcon) Cliff and lived a God-pleasing life for the
next twenty years. He guided many disciples in the principles of the
spiritual life, and he also had the gift of healing the sick of their
physical infirmities.
In 1488, when he was over eighty years old, St Daniel went to live at
the Voronets Monastery, where he was chosen to be the igumen.
St Daniel was a great ascetic and wonderworker, wise and clairvoyant.
People from near and far visited him seeking his spiritual advice, or
to confess their sins. He died in 1496 and was buried at the Voronet
Monastery, where people continue to venerate his tomb.
St Daniel was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1992.
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