[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Thu Jan 18 05:00:17 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Thu Jan 18 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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James 4:7-5:9
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands,
you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning
and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you
up.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a
brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the
law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a
judge.
12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are
you to judge another?
13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and
such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your
life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then
vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do
this or that."
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him
it is sin.
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming
upon you!
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a
witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped
up treasure in the last days.
4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you
kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached
the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have
fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist
you.
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See
how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting
patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the
Lord is at hand.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.
Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
Scripture Reading 1 of 2

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Mark 11:27-33
27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the
temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.
28 And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these
things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?"
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one
question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do
these things:
30 The baptism of John-was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.
31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From
heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
32 But if we say, 'From men' -they feared the people, for all counted
John to have been a prophet indeed.
33 So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus
answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority
I do these things."
Scripture Reading 2 of 2

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St Athanasius the Great the Archbishop of Alexandria
Saints Athanasius and Cyril were Archbishops of Alexandria. These wise
teachers of truth and defenders of Christ's Church share a joint Feast
in recognition of their dogmatic writings which affirm the truth of
the Orthodox Faith, correctly interpret the Holy Scripture, and
censure the delusions of the heretics.
St Athanasius took part in the First Ecumenical Council when he was
still a deacon. He surpassed everyone there in his zeal to uphold the
teaching that Christ is consubstantial (homoousios) with the Father,
and not merely a creature, as the Arians proclaimed.
This radiant beacon of Orthodoxy spent most of his life in exile from
his See, because of the plotting of his enemies. He returned to his
flock as he was approaching the end of his life. Like an evening star,
he illumined the Orthodox faithful with his words for a little while,
then reposed in 373. He is also commemorated on May 2 (the transfer of
his holy relics).
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St Cyril the Archbishop of Alexandria
Saints Athanasius and Cyril were Archbishops of Alexandria. These wise
teachers of truth and defenders of Christ's Church share a joint Feast
in recognition of their dogmatic writings which affirm the truth of
the Orthodox Faith, correctly interpret the Holy Scripture, and
censure the delusions of the heretics.
St Cyril was the nephew of Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, who
educated him from his youth. He succeeded to his uncle's position in
412, but was deposed through the intrigues of the Nestorian heretics.
He later resumed his See, however.
St Cyril presided at the Third Ecumenical Council in 441, which
censured the Nestorian blasphemy against the Most Holy Theotokos. His
wise words demonstrated the error of their false doctrine.
St Cyril departed to the Lord in the year 444, and is also
commemorated on June 9 (the day of his repose).
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Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda
Saint Athanasius of Synadem and Vologda was a disciple of St Alexander
of Svir (August 30). After the death of his mentor, he established the
Dormition hermitage in the forests of Karelia, not far from the city
of Olonets, on an island of Lake Synadem.
The slander and pettiness of the local inhabitants compelled St
Athanasius to move back to the Svir monastery, where they chose him as
igumen. Later returning to the Dormition hermitage, St Athanasius died
in about the year 1550 in great old age, and was buried on one of the
promontories of Roschinsk island. Afterwards, a church was built over
his grave, named for Sts Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria. The
incorrupt relics of St Athanasius were placed in this church in 1720.
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Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk
Righteous Athanasius of Navolotsk went at the end of the sixteenth
century from the Kargopol region to the Olonets land, where he founded
a monastery 78 versts from what later became the city of Petrozavodsk.
The saint died at a Verkholedsk suburb not far from Shenkursk.
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Venerable Marcian of Cyrrhus in Syria
Saint Marcian of Cyrrhus lived in the desert near the city of Cyrrhus.
He built a small hut and settled in it, passing his time in prayer,
singing Psalms and reading spiritual books. He ate very little food,
just enough to keep him alive. Reports of his holy life attracted to
him many zealous ascetics, and St Marcian established a monastery for
them.
God's blessing rested upon the saint, and he possessed the gift of
wonderworking. Once, a serpent crawled into his cell. The saint made
the Sign of the Cross and the serpent perished, burned up by flames.
At night, when the ascetic read, a heavenly light shone for him. The
monk also worked many other miracles on behalf of the brethren. He
died in peace about the year 388.
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Venerable Schemamonk Cyril, the Father of St Sergius of
Radonezh
Saint Cyril and his wife Maria were the parents of St Sergius of
Radonezh (September 25). They belonged to the nobility, but more
importantly, they were devout and faithful Christians who were adorned
with every virtue.
When the child in Maria's womb cried out three times in church during
Liturgy, people were astonished. Although frightened at first, Maria
came to see this event as a sign from God that her child would become
a chosen vessel of divine grace. She and her husband agreed that if
the child was a boy, they would bring him to church and dedicate him
to God. This child, the second of their three sons, was born around
1314. He was named Bartholomew at his baptism.
Because of civil strife, St Cyril moved his family from Rostov to
Radonezh when Bartholomew was still a boy.
Later, when their son expressed a desire to enter the monastic life,
Sts Cyril and Maria asked him to wait and take care of them until they
passed away, because his brothers Stephen and Peter were both married
and had their own family responsibilities. The young Bartholomew
obeyed his parents, and did everything he could to please them. They
later decided to retire to separate monasteries, and departed to the
Lord after a few years. It is believed that Sts Cyril and Maria both
reposed in 1337.
Forty days after burying his parents, Bartholomew settled their
estate, giving his share to his brother Peter. He then went to the
monastery when he was twenty-three years old, and was tonsured on
October 7 with the name Sergius (in honor of the martyr St Sergius who
is commemorated on that day). As everyone knows, St Sergius of
Radonezh became one of Russia's greatest and most revered saints.
St Cyril was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 1992. He is
also commemorated on September 28, and on July 6 (Synaxis of the
Saints of Radonezh).
Saint Cyril was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 1992. He
is also commemorated on September 28, and on July 6 (Synaxis of the
Saints of Radonezh).
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Venerable Schema-Nun Maria, the Mother of St Sergius of
Radonezh
Saint Maria and her husband Cyril were the parents of St Sergius of
Radonezh (September 25). They belonged to the nobility, but more
importantly, they were devout and faithful Christians who were adorned
with every virtue.
When the child in her womb cried out three times in church during
Liturgy, people were astonished. Although frightened at first, Maria
came to see this event as a sign from God that her child would become
a chosen vessel of divine grace. She and her husband agreed that if
the child was a boy, they would bring him to church and dedicate him
to God. This child, the second of their three sons, was born around
1314. He was named Bartholomew at his baptism.
Because of civil strife, the family moved from Rostov to Radonezh when
Bartholomew was still a boy.
Later, when their son expressed a desire to enter the monastic life,
Sts Cyril and Maria asked him to wait and take care of them until they
passed away, because his brothers Stephen and Peter were both married
and had their own family responsibilities. The young Bartholomew
obeyed his parents, and did everything he could to please them. They
later decided to retire to separate monasteries, and departed to the
Lord after a few years. It is believed that Sts Cyril and Maria both
reposed in 1337.
Forty days after burying his parents, Bartholomew settled their
estate, giving his share to his brother Peter. He then went to the
monastery when he was twenty-three years old, and was tonsured on
October 7 with the name Sergius (in honor of the martyr St Sergius who
is commemorated on that day). As everyone knows, St Sergius of
Radonezh became one of Russia's greatest and most revered saints.
St Maria was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 1992. She
is also commemorated on September 28, and on July 6 (Synaxis of the
Saints of Radonezh).
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St Joachim I, Patriarch of Trnovo and Bulgaria
No information available at this time.
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St Maximus, the Archbishop of Serbia
No information available at this time.
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St Maximus the New
Saint Maximus the New was the son of King Stephen of Serbia (December
10). He became a monk at Manasija, but had to flee into a mountainous
region of Romania because of the Moslems. He was consecrated as
Metropolitan of Wallachia. After a life of great spiritual endeavors,
he fell asleep in the Lord on January 18, 1516 in a monastery he had
founded.
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