[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Sun Feb 18 05:00:17 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sun Feb 18 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Mark 16:9-20  (3rd Matins Gospel)
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared
first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.
10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and
wept.
11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her,
they did not believe.
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they
walked and went into the country.
13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe
them either.
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He
rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not
believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature.
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will
cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it
will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they
will recover.
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into
heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with
them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3

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Romans 13:11-14:4
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake
out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first
believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast
off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and
drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over
doubtful things.
2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only
vegetables.
3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him
who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands
or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make
him stand.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

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Matthew 6:14-21
14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses.
16 Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad
countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to
men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father
who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you openly.
19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

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------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Sunday of Cheesefare Explusion of Adam from Paradise
As we begin the Great Fast, the Church reminds us of Adam's expulsion
from Paradise. God commanded Adam to fast (Gen. 2:16), but he did not
obey. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of
Eden and lost the life of blessedness, knowledge of God, and communion
with Him, for which they were created. Both they and their descendents
became heirs of death and corruption.
Let us consider the benefits of fasting, the consequences of
disobedience, and recall our fallen state. Today we are invited to
cleanse ourselves of evil through fasting and obedience to God. Our
fasting should not be a negative thing, a mere abstention from certain
foods. It is an opportunity to free ourselves from the sinful desires
and urges of our fallen nature, and to nourish our souls with prayer,
repentance, to participate in church services, and partake of the
life-giving Mysteries of Christ.
At Forgiveness Vespers we sing: "Let us begin the time of fasting in
light, preparing ourselves for spiritual efforts. Let us purify our
soul, let us purify our body. As we abstain from food, let us abstain
from all passion and enjoy the virtues of the spirit."
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St Leo the Great the Pope of Rome
Saint Leo I the Great, Pope of Rome (440-461), received a fine and
diverse education, which opened for him the possibility of an
excellent worldly career. He yearned for the spiritual life, however,
and so he chose the path of becoming an archdeacon under holy Pope
Sixtus III (432-440), after whose death St Leo was chosen as Bishop of
Rome in September 440.
These were difficult times for the Church, when heretics assaulted
Orthodoxy with their false teachings. St Leo combined pastoral
solicitude and goodness with an unshakable firmness in the confession
of the Faith. He was in particular one of the basic defenders of
Orthodoxy against the heresies of Eutyches and Dioscorus, who taught
that there was only one nature in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was also a
defender against the heresy of Nestorius.
He exerted all his influence to put an end to the unrest by the
heretics in the Church, and by his letters to the holy emperors
Theodosius II (408-450) and Marcian (450-457), he actively promoted
the convening of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, at Chalcedon in 451,
to condemn the heresy of the Monophysites.
At the Council at Chalcedon, at which 630 bishops were present, a
letter of St Leo to the deceased St Flavian, Patriarch of
Constantinople (447-449) was read. St Flavian had suffered for
Orthodoxy under the "Robber Council" of Ephesus in the year 449. In
the letter of St Leo the Orthodox teaching about the two natures [the
divine and the human] in the Lord Jesus Christ was set forth. All the
bishops present at the Council were in agreement with this teaching,
and so the heretics Eutyches and Dioscorus were excommunicated from
the Church.
St Leo was also a defender of his country against the incursions of
barbarians. In 452, by the persuasive power of his words, he stopped
Attila the Hun from pillaging Italy. Again in the year 455, when the
leader of the Vandals [a Germanic tribe], Henzerich, turned towards
Rome, he persuaded him not to pillage the city, burn buildings, nor to
spill blood.
He knew the time of his death beforehand, and he prepared himself,
with forty days of fasting and prayer, to pass from this world into
eternity.
He died in the year 461 and was buried at Rome. His literary and
theological legacy is comprised of 96 sermons and 143 letters, of
which the best known is his Epistleto St Flavian.
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Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom
Saint Cosmas of Yakhrom was the servant of a certain nobleman, whom he
comforted during his prolonged illness by reading him books. And so,
travelling from city to city, they happened to stop at the River
Yakhroma. Here in the woods an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy
Theotokos appeared to Cosmas, and he heard a voice commanding him to
become a monk and to build a monastery. His sick master then received
healing from the icon, and Cosmas went to Kiev, where he was tonsured
in the Monastery of the Caves. Then with the icon of the Mother of
God, and on an inspiration from above, he again went to Yakhrom, 40
versts from the city of Vladimir, constructing a temple in honor of
the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos with the help of some good
Christians.
Brethren began to gather around the monk, and a monastery was formed.
St Cosmas was chosen as igumen. During this time, word of the monk's
ascetic struggles reached even the Great Prince. St Cosmas died at an
advanced old age on February 18, 1492, and was buried in the monastery
he founded. His memory is celebrated also on October 14, the day that
the Yakhrom Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated.
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St Agapitus the Confessor the Bishop of Synnada in Phrygia
Martyrs Agapitus, Victor, Dorotheus, Theodulus and Agrippa St Agapitus
was born of Christian parents in Cappadocia during the reign of the
emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (284-305). From his youth
he yearned for the monastic life and so he entered a monastery, where
he struggled in fasting, prayer, and service to all the brethren of
the monastery.
The Lord granted St Agapitus the gift of wonderworking. The emperor,
Licinius (311-324), learned that St Agapitus was endowed with great
physical strength, and he commanded the saint to be conscripted into
military service against his wishes.
During the persecution against the Christians initiated by Licinius,
St Agapitus was was wounded by a spear, but remained alive. After the
death of the emperor Licinius, he obtained his freedom from military
service in the following manner.
The holy Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) heard that St
Agapitus had healed people by his prayers. The emperor sent him a sick
servant, who also received healing. The emperor wanted to reward St
Agapitus, who instead asked only that he be permitted to resign from
military service and return to his monastery. Permission was granted,
and he joyfully returned to the monastery.
Soon after this, the Bishop of Sinaus in Bithynia summoned St Agapitus
and ordained him to the holy priesthood. After the death of the
bishop, St Agapitus was unanimously chosen by the clergy and all the
people to the See of Sinaus. The new hierarch wisely governed his
flock, guiding it in the Orthodox faith and virtuous life. Through his
prayers, numerous miracles occurred. The saint died in peace.
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St Flavian the Confessor the Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Flavian the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople, occupied the
patriarchal throne of Constantinople under the holy Emperor Theodosius
the Younger (408-450) and his sister the holy Empress Pulcheria
(September 10).
At first he was a presbyter and caretaker of church-vessels in the
cathedral. He became Patriarch after the death of holy Patriarch
Proclus (November 20). During this time, various disturbances and
heresies threatened church unity.
In the year 448, St Flavian convened a local Council at Constantinople
to examine the heresy of Eutyches, which admitted only one nature (the
divine) in the Lord Jesus Christ. Persisting in his error, the heretic
Eutyches was excommunicated from the Church and deprived of dignity,
but Eutyches had a powerful patron in the person of Chrysathios, a
eunuch close to the emperor.
Through intrigue Chrysathios brought Bishop Dioscorus of Alexandria
over to the side of Eutyches, and obtained permission from the emperor
to convene a church council at Ephesus, afterwards known as the
"Robber Council."
Dioscorus presided at this council, gaining the acquittal of Eutyches
and the condemnation of Patriarch Flavian by threats and force. St
Flavian was fiercely beaten up during the sessions of this council by
impudent monks led by a certain Barsumas.
Even the impious president of the Robber Council, the heretic
Dioscorus, took part in these beatings. After this heavy chains were
put upon St Flavian, and he was sentenced to banishment at Ephesus.
The Lord, however, ended his further suffering, by sending him his
death (+ August 449). The holy Empress Pulcheria withdrew from the
imperial court. Soon the intrigues of Chrysathios were revealed. The
emperor dismissed him, and restored his sister St Pulcheria. Through
her efforts, the relics of holy Patriarch Flavian were reverently
transferred from Ephesus to Constantinople.
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St Nicholas the Katholikos of Georgia
No information available at this time.
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St Theodore (Komogovin) of Serbia
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Victor of Phrygia
Martyrs Agapitus, Victor, Dorotheus, Theodulus and Agrippa. St
Agapitus was born of Christian parents in Cappadocia during the reign
of the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). From his
youth he yearned for the monastic life and so he entered a monastery,
where he struggled in fasting, prayer, and service to all the brethren
of the monastery.
The Lord granted St Agapitus the gift of wonderworking. The emperor,
Licinius (311-324), learned that St Agapitus was endowed with great
physical strength, and he commanded the saint to be conscripted into
military service against his wishes.
During the persecution against the Christians initiated by Licinius,
St Agapitus was was wounded by a spear, but remained alive. After the
death of the emperor Licinius, he obtained his freedom from military
service in the following manner.
The holy Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) heard that St
Agapitus had healed people by his prayers. The emperor sent him a sick
servant, who also received healing. The emperor wanted to reward St
Agapitus, who instead asked only that he be permitted to resign from
military service and return to his monastery. Permission was granted,
and he joyfully returned to the monastery.
Soon after this, the Bishop of Sinaus in Bithynia summoned St Agapitus
and ordained him to the holy priesthood. After the death of the
bishop, St Agapitus was unanimously chosen by the clergy and all the
people to the See of Sinaus. The new hierarch wisely governed his
flock, guiding it in the Orthodox faith and virtuous life. Through his
prayers, numerous miracles occurred. The saint died in peace.
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Martyr Dorotheus of Phrygia
Martyrs Agapitus, Victor, Dorotheus, Theodulus and Agrippa. St
Agapitus was born of Christian parents in Cappadocia during the reign
of the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). From his
youth he yearned for the monastic life and so he entered a monastery,
where he struggled in fasting, prayer, and service to all the brethren
of the monastery.
The Lord granted St Agapitus the gift of wonderworking. The emperor,
Licinius (311-324), learned that St Agapitus was endowed with great
physical strength, and he commanded the saint to be conscripted into
military service against his wishes.
During the persecution against the Christians initiated by Licinius,
St Agapitus was was wounded by a spear, but remained alive. After the
death of the emperor Licinius, he obtained his freedom from military
service in the following manner.
The holy Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) heard that St
Agapitus had healed people by his prayers. The emperor sent him a sick
servant, who also received healing. The emperor wanted to reward St
Agapitus, who instead asked only that he be permitted to resign from
military service and return to his monastery. Permission was granted,
and he joyfully returned to the monastery.
Soon after this, the Bishop of Sinaus in Bithynia summoned St Agapitus
and ordained him to the holy priesthood. After the death of the
bishop, St Agapitus was unanimously chosen by the clergy and all the
people to the See of Sinaus. The new hierarch wisely governed his
flock, guiding it in the Orthodox faith and virtuous life. Through his
prayers, numerous miracles occurred. The saint died in peace.
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Martyr Theodulus of Phrygia
Martyrs Agapitus, Victor, Dorotheus, Theodulus and Agrippa. St
Agapitus was born of Christian parents in Cappadocia during the reign
of the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). From his
youth he yearned for the monastic life and so he entered a monastery,
where he struggled in fasting, prayer, and service to all the brethren
of the monastery.
The Lord granted St Agapitus the gift of wonderworking. The emperor,
Licinius (311-324), learned that St Agapitus was endowed with great
physical strength, and he commanded the saint to be conscripted into
military service against his wishes.
During the persecution against the Christians initiated by Licinius,
St Agapitus was was wounded by a spear, but remained alive. After the
death of the emperor Licinius, he obtained his freedom from military
service in the following manner.
The holy Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) heard that St
Agapitus had healed people by his prayers. The emperor sent him a sick
servant, who also received healing. The emperor wanted to reward St
Agapitus, who instead asked only that he be permitted to resign from
military service and return to his monastery. Permission was granted,
and he joyfully returned to the monastery.
Soon after this, the Bishop of Sinaus in Bithynia summoned St Agapitus
and ordained him to the holy priesthood. After the death of the
bishop, St Agapitus was unanimously chosen by the clergy and all the
people to the See of Sinaus. The new hierarch wisely governed his
flock, guiding it in the Orthodox faith and virtuous life. Through his
prayers, numerous miracles occurred. The saint died in peace.
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Martyr Agrippa of Phrygia
Martyrs Agapitus, Victor, Dorotheus, Theodulus and Agrippa. St
Agapitus was born of Christian parents in Cappadocia during the reign
of the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). From his
youth he yearned for the monastic life and so he entered a monastery,
where he struggled in fasting, prayer, and service to all the brethren
of the monastery.
The Lord granted St Agapitus the gift of wonderworking. The emperor,
Licinius (311-324), learned that St Agapitus was endowed with great
physical strength, and he commanded the saint to be conscripted into
military service against his wishes.
During the persecution against the Christians initiated by Licinius,
St Agapitus was was wounded by a spear, but remained alive. After the
death of the emperor Licinius, he obtained his freedom from military
service in the following manner.
The holy Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) heard that St
Agapitus had healed people by his prayers. The emperor sent him a sick
servant, who also received healing. The emperor wanted to reward St
Agapitus, who instead asked only that he be permitted to resign from
military service and return to his monastery. Permission was granted,
and he joyfully returned to the monastery.
Soon after this, the Bishop of Sinaus in Bithynia summoned St Agapitus
and ordained him to the holy priesthood. After the death of the
bishop, St Agapitus was unanimously chosen by the clergy and all the
people to the See of Sinaus. The new hierarch wisely governed his
flock, guiding it in the Orthodox faith and virtuous life. Through his
prayers, numerous miracles occurred. The saint died in peace.
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St. Colman of Lindesfarne
No information available at this time.
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