[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Wed Feb 28 05:00:17 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Feb 28 2007

----------------------------------------------------
------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------

Isaiah 5:16-25  (6th Hour)
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is
holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.
17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places
of the fat ones strangers shall eat.
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if
with a cart rope;
19 That say, Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see
it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,
That we may know it.
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness
for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet
for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their
own sight!
22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing
intoxicating drink,
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the
righteous man!
24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes
the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will
ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of
hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of I
25 Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He
has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the
hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the
streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is
stretched out still.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3

-----------------------------

Genesis 4:16-26  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the
land of Nod on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he
built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his
sonEnoch.
18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot
Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah,
and the name of the second was Zillah.
20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents
and have livestock.
21 His brothers name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who
play the harp and flute.
22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every
craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Then Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for
wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him
Seth, For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom
Cain killed.
26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him
Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

-----------------------------

Proverbs 5:15-6:4  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
15 Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own
well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the
streets?
17 Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your
youth.
19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at
all times; And always be enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And
be embraced in the arms of a seductress?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders
all his paths.
22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the
cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his
folly he shall go astray.
1 My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken
hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the
words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; For you have come into the
hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend.
4 Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

----------------------------------------------------
------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------

Venerable Basil the Confessor, companion of the Venerable
Procopius at Decapolis
Saint Basil the Confessor was a monk and suffered during the reign of
the iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian (717-741). When a persecution
started against those who venerated holy icons, St Basil and his
companion St Procopius of Decapolis (February 27) were subjected to
much torture and locked up in prison. Here both martyrs languished for
a long while, until the death of the impious emperor.
When the holy Confessors Basil and Procopius were set free along with
other venerators of holy icons, they continued in their monastic
struggles, instructing many in the Orthodox Faith and the virtuous
life. St Basil died peacefully in the year 750.
_________________________________________________________________
Blessed Nicholas Salos of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ
Blessed Nicholas of Pskov lived the life of a holy fool for more than
three decades. Long before his death he acquired the grace of the Holy
Spirit and was granted the gifts of wonderworking and of prophecy. The
Pskov people of his time called him Mikula [Mikola, Nikola] the Fool.
Even during his lifetime they revered him as a saint, even calling him
Mikula the saintly.
In February 1570, after a devastating campaign against Novgorod, Tsar
Ivan the Terrible moved against Pskov, suspecting the inhabitants of
treason. As the Pskov Chronicler relates, "the Tsar came ... with
great fierceness, like a roaring lion, to tear apart innocent people
and to shed much blood."
On the first Saturday of Great Lent, the whole city prayed to be
delivered from the Tsar's wrath. Hearing the peal of the bell for
Matins in Pskov, the Tsar's heart was softened when he read the
inscription on the fifteenth century wonderworking Liubyatov
Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God (March 19) in the Monastery of St
Nicholas (the Tsar's army was at Lubyatov). "Be tender of heart," he
said to his soldiers. "Blunt your swords upon the stones, and let
there be an end to killing."
All the inhabitants of Pskov came out upon the streets, and each
family knelt at the gate of their house, bearing bread and salt to the
meet the Tsar. On one of the streets Blessed Nicholas ran toward the
Tsar astride a stick as though riding a horse, and cried out:
"Ivanushko, Ivanushko, eat our bread and salt, and not Christian
blood."
The Tsar gave orders to capture the holy fool, but he disappeared.
Though he had forbidden his men to kill, Ivan still intended to sack
the city. The Tsar attended a Molieben at the Trinity cathedral, and
he venerated the relics of holy Prince Vsevolod-Gabriel (February 11),
and expressed his wish to receive the blessing of the holy fool
Nicholas. The saint instructed the Tsar "by many terrible sayings," to
stop the killing and not to plunder the holy churches of God. But Ivan
did not heed him and gave orders to remove the bell from the Trinity
cathedral. Then, as the saint prophesied, the Tsar's finest horse fell
dead.
The blessed one invited the Tsar to visit his cell under the
belltower. When the Tsar arrived at the cell of the saint, he said,
"Hush, come in and have a drink of water from us, there is no reason
you should shun it." Then the holy fool offered the Tsar a piece of
raw meat.
"I am a Christian and do not eat meat during Lent", said Ivan to him.
"But you drink human blood," the saint replied.
Frightened by the fulfillment of the saint's prophecy and denounced
for his wicked deeds, Ivan the Terrible ordered a stop to the looting
and fled from the city. The Oprichniki, witnessing this, wrote: "The
mighty tyrant ... departed beaten and shamed, driven off as though by
an enemy. Thus did a worthless beggar terrify and drive off the Tsar
with his multitude of a thousand soldiers."
Blessed Nicholas died on February 28, 1576 and was buried in the
Trinity cathedral of the city he had saved. Such honors were granted
only to the Pskov princes, and later on, to bishops.
The local veneration of the saint began five years after his death. In
the year 1581, during a siege of Pskov by the soldiers of the Polish
king Stephen Bathory, the Mother of God appeared to the blacksmith
Dorotheus together with a number of Pskov saints praying for the city.
Among these was Blessed Nicholas (the account about the
Pskov-Protection Icon of the Mother of God is found under October 1).
At the Trinity cathedral they still venerate the relics of Blessed
Nicholas of Pskov, who was "a holy fool in the flesh, and by assuming
this holy folly he became a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem"
(Troparion). He also "transformed the Tsar's wild thoughts into mercy"
(Kontakion).
_________________________________________________________________
Hieromartyr Proterius the Patriarch of Alexandria
The Hieromartyr Proterius, Patriarch of Alexandria, and those with
him. The priest Proterius lived in Alexandria during the patriarchal
tenure of Dioscorus (444-451), an adherent of the Monophysite heresy
of Eutyches. Proterius fearlessly denounced the heretics and confessed
the Orthodox Faith.
In 451 at the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, the heresy of
Eutyches was condemned and the teaching of Christ as Perfect God and
Perfect Man, existing in these two natures "unconfusedly" and
"indivisibly" [and "immutably" and "inseparably"] was set forth. The
heretic Dioscorus was deposed and exiled, and Proterius, distinguished
for his strict and virtuous life, was placed upon the patriarchal
throne of Alexandria.
However, many supporters of Dioscorus remained in Alexandria.
Rebelling against the election of Proterius, they rioted and burned
the soldiers who were sent out to pacify them. The pious emperor
Marcian (450-457) deprived the Alexandrians of all the privileges they
were accustomed to, and sent new and reinforced detachments of
soldiers. The inhabitants of the city then quieted down and begged
Patriarch Proterius to intercede with the emperor to restore their
former privileges to them. The kindly saint consented and readily
obtained their request.
After the death of Marcian the heretics again raised their heads.
Presbyter Menignus ("the Cat"), himself striving for the patriarchal
dignity, and taking advantage of the absence of the prefect of the
city, was at the head of the rioters. St Proterius decided to leave
Alexandria, but that night he saw in a dream the holy Prophet Isaiah,
who said to him, "Return to the city, I am waiting to take you." The
saint realized that this was a prediction of his martyric end. He
returned to Alexandria and concealed himself in a baptistry.
The insolent heretics broke into this refuge and killed the Patriarch
and six men who were with him. The fact that it was Holy Saturday and
the Canon of Pascha was being sung did not stop them. In their insane
hatred they tied a rope to the body of the murdered Patriarch, and
dragged it through the streets. They beat and lacerated it, and
finally they burned it, scattering the ashes to the wind.
The Orthodox reported this to the holy Emperor Leo (457-474) and St
Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople (July 3). An army arrived at
Alexandria, the rebellion was crushed, and Menignus was brought to
trial and exiled.
Regarding the death of the Hieromartyr Proterius, four Thracian
bishops of his time wrote: "We consider His Holiness Proterius to be
in the ranks and choir of the saints, and we beseech God to be
compassionate and merciful to us through his prayers."
_________________________________________________________________
Hieromartyr Nestor the Bishop of Magydos in Pamphylia
The Hieromartyr Nestor, Bishop of Magydos in Pamphylia During a
persecution against Christians under the emperor Decius (249-251), he
was arrested while praying in his home. He learned of the suffering
awaiting him through a peculiar vision. He saw a lamb prepared for
sacrifice.
The ruler of the city of Magydos sent him for trial to Perge. On the
way there St Nestor was strengthened in spirit when he heard a Voice
from Heaven, after which an earthquake occurred. After cruel tortures
at Perge the hieromartyr was crucified in the year 250.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Marana of Syria
Saints Marana and Kyra, sisters by birth, lived during the fourth
century in the city of Veria (or Berea) in Syria. Their parents were
illustrious and rich, but the sisters left home and departed the city
when they had reached maturity.
Having cleared off a small plot of land, the holy virgins sealed up
the entrance to their refuge with rocks and clay, leaving only a
narrow opening through which food was passed to them. Their little hut
had no roof, and so they were exposed to the elements.
On their bodies they wore heavy iron chains and patiently endured
hunger. During a three year period, they ate food only once every
forty days. Their former servants came to them, wanting to join their
ascetic life. The saints put them in a separate hut next to their own
enclosure and they spoke to them through a window, exhorting them to
deeds of prayer and fasting.
The life of the holy ascetics Marana and Kyra was described by Bishop
Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his RELIGIOSA HISTORIA. Out of respect for his
hierarchical dignity, the holy virgins allowed him into their
dwelling. Theodoret conversed with them and persuaded them to remove
the heavy chains they wore under their clothing. Kyra, who was weak in
body, was always stooped under their weight and was unable to sit
upright. Once he left, however, they resumed wearing the chains.
So they lived in asceticism for forty years. They disturbed their
solitude only to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to pray at the
Sepulchre of the Lord. During their journey (which took twenty days)
they ate no food until they had prayed at the Holy Places. On the way
back, they also went without eating. They did the same thing at
another time, when they journeyed to the grave of the Protomartyr
Thekla (September 24) at Seleucia, Isauria.
Sts Marana and Kyra died in about the year 450. Their ascetical life
equalled that of the great male ascetics of the desert, and they
received the same crown of victory from Christ the Savior.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Kyra of Syria
Saints Marana and Kyra, sisters by birth, lived during the fourth
century in the city of Veria (or Berea) in Syria. Their parents were
illustrious and rich, but the sisters left home and departed the city
when they had reached maturity.
Having cleared off a small plot of land, the holy virgins sealed up
the entrance to their refuge with rocks and clay, leaving only a
narrow opening through which food was passed to them. Their little hut
had no roof, and so they were exposed to the elements.
On their bodies they wore heavy iron chains and patiently endured
hunger. During a three year period, they ate food only once every
forty days. Their former servants came to them, wanting to join their
ascetic life. The saints put them in a separate hut next to their own
enclosure and they spoke to them through a window, exhorting them to
deeds of prayer and fasting.
The life of the holy ascetics Marana and Kyra was described by Bishop
Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his RELIGIOSA HISTORIA. Out of respect for his
hierarchical dignity, the holy virgins allowed him into their
dwelling. Theodoret conversed with them and persuaded them to remove
the heavy chains they wore under their clothing. Kyra, who was weak in
body, was always stooped under their weight and was unable to sit
upright. Once he left, however, they resumed wearing the chains.
So they lived in asceticism for forty years. They disturbed their
solitude only to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to pray at the
Sepulchre of the Lord. During their journey (which took twenty days)
they ate no food until they had prayed at the Holy Places. On the way
back, they also went without eating. They did the same thing at
another time, when they journeyed to the grave of the Protomartyr
Thekla (September 24) at Seleucia, Isauria.
Sts Marana and Kyra died in about the year 450. Their ascetical life
equalled that of the great male ascetics of the desert, and they
received the same crown of victory from Christ the Savior.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Domnica (Domnina) of Syria
Saint Domnica (Domnina) was a Syrian nun, and a companion of Sts
Marana and Kyra.
_________________________________________________________________