[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Tue Jul 17 05:00:17 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Tue Jul 17 2007

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1 Corinthians 10:5-12
5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies
were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should
not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written,
"The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."
8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one
day twenty-three thousand fell;
9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were
destroyed by serpents;
10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed
by the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2

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Matthew 16:6-12
6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and the Sadducees."
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have
taken no bread."
8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith,
why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?
9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five
thousand and how many baskets you took up?
10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large
baskets you took up?
11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you
concerning bread?-but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.
12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the
leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Scripture Reading 2 of 2

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Greatmartyr Marina (Margaret) of Antioch in Pisidia
The Holy Great Martyr Marina was born in Asia Minor, in the city of
Antioch of Pisidia (southern Asia Minor), into the family of a pagan
priest. In infancy she lost her mother, and her father gave her into
the care of a nursemaid, who raised Marina in the Orthodox Faith. Upon
learning that his daughter had become a Christian, the father angrily
disowned her. During the time of the persecution against Christians
under the emperor Diocletian (284-305), when she was fifteen years
old, St Marina was arrested and locked up in prison. With firm trust
in the will of God and His help, the young prisoner prepared for her
impending fate.
The governor Olymbrios, charmed with the beautiful girl, tried to
persuade her to renounce the Christian Faith and become his wife. But
the saint, unswayed, refused his offers. The vexed governor gave the
holy martyr over to torture. Having beaten her fiercely, they fastened
the saint with nails to a board and tore at her body with tridents.
The governor himself, unable to bear the horror of these tortures, hid
his face in his hands. But the holy martyr remained unyielding. Thrown
for the night into prison, she was granted heavenly aid and healed of
her wounds. They stripped her and tied her to a tree, then burned the
martyr with fire. Barely alive, the martyr prayed: "Lord, You have
granted me to go through fire for Your Name, grant me also to go
through the water of holy Baptism."
Hearing the word "water", the governor gave orders to drown the saint
in a large cauldron. The martyr besought the Lord that this manner of
execution should become for her holy Baptism. When they plunged her
into the water, there suddenly shone a light, and a snow-white dove
came down from Heaven, bearing in its beak a golden crown. The fetters
put upon St Marina came apart by themselves. The martyr stood up in
the fount of Baptism glorifying the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. St Marina emerged from the fount completely healed,
without any trace of burns. Amazed at this miracle, the people
glorified the True God, and many came to believe. This brought the
governor into a rage, and he gave orders to kill anyone who might
confess the Name of Christ. 15,000 Christians perished there, and the
holy Martyr Marina was beheaded. The sufferings of the Great Martyr
Marina were described by an eyewitness of the event, named Theotimos.
Up until the taking of Constantinople by Western crusaders in the year
1204, the relics of the Great Martyr Marina were in the Panteponteia
monastery. According to other sources, they were located in Antioch
until the year 908 and from there transferred to Italy. Now they are
in Athens, in a church dedicated to the holy Virgin Martyr. Her
venerable hand was transferred to Mount Athos, to the Batopedi
monastery.
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Venerable Irenarchus the Abbot of Solovki
Saint Irenarchus of Solovki accepted tonsure at the Solovki monastery,
and in his monastic life he zealously imitated the Monks Zosimus
(April 17) and Sabbatius (September 27). In 1614, after the death of
the igumen Anthony, Irenarchus became his successor. During these
times the Solovki monastery held tremendous significance in the
defense of Northern Russia from the Swedes and the Danes. The new
igumen did much to fortify the monastery. Under the Monk Irenarchus
there was constructed a stone wall with turrets, deep ditches dug, and
with stones spread out.
Concerned about the external dangers to the monastery, the monk also
devoted much attention to fortifying it inwardly and spiritually. Very
humble and meek, constantly immersed in thoughts of God, he was
zealous for supporting in the monks a true monastic spirit. Under the
spiritual guidance of St Irenarchus at the Solovki monastery there
matured many worthy ascetics. With the blessing of the igumen and
under his assistant, St Eleazar (January 13), a friend and co-ascetic
of the venerable Irenarchus, founded a skete monastery on Anzersk
Island.
In an imperial document to the Solovki monastery in the year 1621, the
monks were bidden "to live according to the rules of the holy
Fathers... and in full obedience to their igumen (Irenarchus) and the
elders".
The last two years of the monk's life were spent in silent prayer, and
he reposed on July 17, 1628.
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Translation of the relics of the Venerable Lazarus of Mt.
Galerius Near Ephesus
Saint Lazarus the Wonderworker of Mt Galesius near Ephesus was born in
Lydia, in the city of Magnesium. An educated young man who loved God,
Lazarus became a monk at the monastery of St Sava, the founder of
great ascetic piety in Palestine. He spent ten years within the walls
of the monastery, winning the love and respect of the brethren for his
intense monastic struggles.
Ordained to the holy priesthood by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St
Lazarus returned to his native country and settled near Ephesus, on
desolate Mount Galesius. Here he saw a wondrous vision: a fiery
pillar, rising up to the heavens, was encircled by angels singing,
"Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered."
On the place where the saint beheld this vision, he built a church in
honor of the Resurrection of Christ and took upon himself the feat of
pillar-dwelling. Monks soon began to flock to the great ascetic,
thirsting for spiritual nourishment by the divinely-inspired words and
blessed example of the saint, and a monastery was established there.
Having received a revelation about the day of his death, the saint
told the brethren. Through the tearful prayers of all the monks, the
Lord prolonged the earthly life of St Lazarus for another fifteen
years.
St Lazarus died at 72 years of age, in the year 1053. The brethren
buried the body of the saint at the pillar upon which he had struggled
in asceticism. He was glorified by many miracles after his death.
St Lazarus is also commemorated on November 7.
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Venerable Leonid of Ustnedumsk
Saint Leonid of Ustnedumsk lived in the Poshekhonsk district of
Vologda, and he was a farmer by occupation. At age fifty, he saw the
Mother of God in a dream, Who directed him to go to the River Dvina to
the Morzhevsk Nikolaev hermitage. He was to take from there the
Hodigitria Icon of the Mother of God, and build a church for it at the
River Luz and Mount Turin.
St Leonid decided not to follow the advice of this vision, thinking it
simply a dream, and considering himself unworthy. He went to the Kozhe
Lake monastery, accepting monastic tonsure there and spending about
three years at work and ascetical efforts. From there he transferred
to the Solovki monastery and labored there in the bakery.
The miraculous vision was repeated, and St Leonid was advised not to
oppose God's will. The venerable one then set off to the Morzhevsk
hermitage, and after a year he told Igumen Cornelius (1599-1623) about
the command of the Mother of God. Having received from the abbot both
a blessing and the Hodigitria icon, the monk reached the River Luz
near Mount Turin, 80 versts from the city of Ustiug, and he built
himself a hut from brushwood. The local people, fearing that their
land would be taken from them for the saint's monastery, compelled him
to resettle up the river in a marshy wilderness spot.
At 30 versts from the city of Lalsk, the Elder constructed a cell and
set about building a monastery. For draining the marshes, the ascetic
dug three canals, about 2 kilometers in length, from the River Luz to
Black Lake, and from Black Lake to Holy Lake, and from there to the
Black Rivulet. During this time of heavy work he was bitten by a
poisonous snake. Entrusting himself to the will of God, St Leonid
decided not to seek medical treatment, nor did he think of the
consequences. He went to sleep and woke up healthy. In gratitude to
the Lord for His mercy, he called the canal the "Nedumaya Reka"
("Unplanned River"), and his monastery the "Ustnedumsk" ("the mouth of
the Nedumaya") monastery.
With the blessing of the Metropolitan Philaret of Rostov (afterwards
the Patriarch of All-Russia, 1619-1633), St Leonid was ordained
hieromonk in 1608. In the newly-built church in honor of the Entrance
of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, Hieromonk Leonid installed
the Hodigitria icon, as the Mother of God commanded him. Because of
his difficult labors on the frontier, called the "Luzsk Permtsa",
which means "the pocket-land of the wild Permians", it is fitting that
St Leonid is venerated as one of the first enlighteners of these
remote lands.
The monk had many struggles with the severe and inhospitable forces of
nature. Although his canal-system had drained the marsh, in times of
floodings the River Luz engulfed the monastery. Towards the end of his
life the tireless workler undertook construction on a point of land at
Black Lake. At the new site a church was built and consecrated in
1652. St Leonid died at age 100, on July 17, 1654. He was buried at
the monastery church, where for a long time his coarse and heavy
hair-shirt was preserved, a reminder of the ascetic toils of the holy
saint.
There is a Troparion to St Leonid, and his holy icons are in churches
at the places of his struggles.
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Icon of the Mother of God of Sviatogorsk
The Sviatogorsk Icon of the Mother of God is from the Sviatogorsky
Monastery in the province of Pskov. In the year 1563, during the time
of Ivan the Terrible, in the environs of Pskov a "Tenderness" Icon of
the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to a fifteen-year-old shepherd and
fool named Timothy, not far from the stream Lugovitsa. This icon was
thereafter situated in the Voronicha parish church of St George. The
voice from the icon said that after six years the grace of God would
shine forth upon this hill.
In 1569 to this same youth upon the Sinicha hill, there appeared a
Hodigitria icon of the Mother of God upon a pine tree. Timothy spent
forty days at this place in fasting and prayer. The miraculous voice
from the icon commanded that the clergy and the people should come to
the Sinicha heights with the Tenderness icon on the Friday following
the Sunday of All Saints.
When the church procession reached the hill and began the Molieben, a
light suddenly shone during the reading of the Gospel. The air was
filled with fragrance and everyone saw upon the pine tree the
Hodigitria icon. Both holy icons, the Hodgitria and the Tenderness,
were put into the church of the Great Martyr George. From them many
miraculous signs and healings took place, about which reports were
made to Tsar Ivan IV. Through his decree, upon the Sinicha Hill,
called from that time the "Svyata" ("Holy"), a chapel was built, into
which were transferred the wonderworking icons. But soon, on the Feast
of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, when a church procession
with icons went to Holy Hill, the chapel suddenly burned that night.
The fire destroyed everything else inside, but the holy things
remained unharmed.
On this sacred spot they built a stone church in honor of the
Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the altar of which stood on the
place where the Hodigitria icon had appeared. Both glorified icons
were placed into the lower tier of the iconostas: the Hodigitria on
the right side (a chapel in honor of which was built in 1770), and the
Tenderness on the left (a chapel was built in 1776).
In that same year of 1569 on Holy Hill was founded the Sviatogorsk
("Holy Hill") Dormition monastery.
Every year, on the first Friday of the Peter and Paul Fast, the icons
are conveyed to the Trinity cathedral of the city of Pskov. On the
following Sunday a processionis made with them along the inner walls
of the city.
The celebration in honor of the Tenderness icon is March 19, and on
the ninth Friday after Pascha. The Hodigitria icon is commemorated on
July 17, and on the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos
(October 1).
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