[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Fri Jul 20 05:00:28 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Fri Jul 20 2007

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Luke 4:22-30  (Matins Gospel)
22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words
which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's
son?"
23 He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me,
'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum,
do also here in Your country.' "
24 Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in
his own country.
25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of
Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and
there was a great famine throughout all the land;
26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the
region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet,
and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were
filled with wrath,
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the
brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw
Him down over the cliff.
30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
Scripture Reading 4 of 6

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James 5:10-20   (Epistle, Prophet)
10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord,
as an example of suffering and patience.
11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the
perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord-that the
Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by
earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your
"No," "No," lest you fall into judgment.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful?
Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the
church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise
him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another,
that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly
that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three
years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth
produced its fruit.
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone
turns him back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way
will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Scripture Reading 5 of 6

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Luke 4:22-30  (Gospel, Prophet)
22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words
which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's
son?"
23 He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me,
'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum,
do also here in Your country.' "
24 Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in
his own country.
25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of
Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and
there was a great famine throughout all the land;
26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the
region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet,
and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were
filled with wrath,
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the
brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw
Him down over the cliff.
30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
Scripture Reading 6 of 6

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Holy, Glorious Prophet Elijah
The Holy Prophet Elijah is one of the greatest of the prophets and the
first dedicated to virginity in the Old Testament. He was born in
Tishba of Gilead into the Levite tribe 900 years before the
Incarnation of the Word of God.
St Epiphanius of Cyprus gives the following account about the birth of
the Prophet Elijah: "When Elijah was born, his father Sobach saw in a
vision angels of God around him. They swaddled him with fire and fed
him with flames." The name Elijah (the Lord's strength) given to the
infant defined his whole life. From the years of his youth he
dedicated himself to the One God, settled in the wilderness and spent
his whole life in strict fasting, meditation and prayer. Called to
prophetic service, which put him in conflict with the Israelite king
Ahab, the prophet became a fiery zealot of true faith and piety.
During this time the Israelite nation had fallen away from the faith
of their Fathers, they abandoned the One God and worshipped pagan
idols, the worship of which was introduced by the impious king
Jereboam. Jezebel, the wife of king Ahab, was devoted to idol worship.
She persuaded her husband to build a temple to the pagan god Baal,
which led many Israelites away from the worship of the true God.
Beholding the ruin of his nation, the Prophet Elijah began to denounce
King Ahab for impiety, and exhorted him to repent and turn to the God
of Israel. The king would not listen to him. The Prophet Elijah then
declared to him, that as punishment there would be neither rain nor
dew upon the ground, and the drought would cease only by his prayer.
Indeed, the word of Elijah was a torch (Eccles. 48: 1) The heavens
were closed for three and a half years, and there was drought and
famine throughout all the land.
During this time of tribulation, the Lord sent him to a cave beyond
the Jordan. There he was miraculously fed by ravens. When the stream
Horath dried up, the Lord sent the Prophet Elijah to Sarephta to a
poor widow, a Sidonian Gentile who suffered together with her
children, awaiting death by starvation. At the request of the prophet,
she prepared him a bread with the last measure of flour and the
remainder of the oil. Through the prayer of the Prophet Elijah, flour
and oil were not depleted in the home of the widow for the duration of
the famine. By the power of his prayer the prophet also performed
another miracle: he raised the dead son of the widow.
After the end of three years of drought the Merciful Lord sent the
prophet to appear before King Ahab, and promised to send rain upon the
earth. The Prophet Elijah told the king to order all of Israel to
gather upon Mount Carmel, and also the priests of Baal. When the
nation had gathered, the Prophet Elijah proposed that two sacrificial
altars be built: one for the priests of Baal, and the other for the
Prophet Elijah who served the True God.
The Prophet Elijah told them to call on their gods to consume the
sacrificial animals with fire, and he would call on his. Whichever was
first to send fire on the sacrifice would be acknowledged as the true
God. The prophets of Baal called out to their idol from morning till
evening, but the heavens were silent. Towards evening the holy Prophet
Elijah built his sacrificial altar from twelve stones, the number of
the tribes of Israel. He placed the sacrifice upon the wood, gave
orders to dig a ditch around the altar and commanded that the
sacrifice and the wood be soaked with water. When the ditch had filled
with water, the prophet turned to God in prayer. Through the prayer of
the prophet fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, the
wood, and even the water. The people fell down to the ground, crying
out: "Truly, the Lord is God!" Then the Prophet Elijah had all the
pagan-priests of Baal put to death, and he began to pray for rain.
Through his prayer the heavens opened and an abundant rain fell,
soaking the parched earth.
King Ahab acknowledged his error and repented of his sins, but his
wife Jezebel threatened to kill the prophet of God. The Prophet Elijah
fled into the Kingdom of Judea and, grieving over his failure to
eradicate idol worship, he asked God to let him die. An angel of the
Lord came before him, strengthened him with food and commanded him to
go upon a long journey. The Prophet Elijah traveled for forty days and
nights and, having arrived at Mount Horeb, he settled in a cave.
The Lord told him that the next day Elijah would stand in His
presence.There was a strong wind that crushed the rocks of the
mountain, then an earthquake, and a fire, but the Lord was not in
them. The Lord was in "a gentle breeze" (3 Kings 19: 12). He revealed
to the prophet, that He would preserve seven thousand faithful
servants who had not worshipped Baal.
Later, the Lord commanded Elijah to anoint Elisha into prophetic
service. Because of his fiery zeal for the Glory of God the Prophet
Elijah was taken up alive into Heaven in a fiery chariot. The Prophet
Elisha received Elijah's mantle, and a double portion of his prophetic
spirit.
According to the Tradition of Holy Church, the Prophet Elijah will be
the Forerunner of the Dread Second Coming of Christ. He will proclaim
the truth of Christ, urge all to repentance, and will be slain by the
Antichrist. This will be a sign of the end of the world.
The life of the holy Prophet Elijah is recorded in the Old Testament
books (3 Kings; 4 Kings; Sirach/Ecclesiastes 48: 1-15; 1 Maccabees 2:
58). At the time of the Transfiguration, the Prophet Elijah conversed
with the Savior upon Mount Tabor (Mt. 17: 3; Mark 9: 4; Luke. 9: 30).
Orthodox Christians of all times, and in all places, have venerated
the Prophet Elijah for centuries. The first church in Russia, built at
Kiev under Prince Igor, was named for the Prophet Elijah. After her
Baptism St Olga (July 14) built a temple of the holy Prophet Elijah in
his native region, at the village of Vibuta.
In iconography the Prophet Elijah is depicted ascending to Heaven in a
fiery chariot, surrounded with flames, and harnessed to four winged
horses. We pray to him for deliverance from drought, and to ask for
seasonable weather.
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Repose of the Venerable Abramius of Galich or Chukhom Lake,
and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh
Saint Abraham of Galich (Chukhloma Lake), lived and pursued asceticism
at the monastery of St Sergius of Radonezh during the fourteenth
century. After long years as a novice, he was deemed worthy of the
priesthood. Yearning after the perfection of silence, he asked for the
blessing of St Sergius, and in the year 1350 settled in the Galich
countryside, inhabited by foreign tribes of people.
Having settled in a remote place, St Abraham had a revelation to go up
a mountain, where he found an icon of the Mother of God shining with
an indescribable light. The appearance of the holy icon became known
to Prince Demetrius of Galich, who entreated the monk to bring it to
the city. St Abraham came with the icon to Galich, where he was met by
the Prince and a throng of clergy. Numerous healings were worked
through the icon of the Mother of God.
Prince Demetrius gave the monk the means to build a church and
monastery near Chukhlomsk Lake, at the place of the appearance of the
icon of the Mother of God. The church was built and dedicated in honor
of the Dormition of the Most Theotokos. The newly built monastery of
St Abraham became a source of spiritual enlightenment for the local
foreign peoples. When the monastery was built up, he established in
his place as head his disciple Porphyrius, and he himself withdrew 30
versts away in search of a solitary place, but there also disciples
found him.
Still another monastery was established with a temple in honor of the
Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God, called "the great Abraham
wilderness monastery." St Abraham twice withdrew to a quiet place,
after which there gathered about him anew the disquieters. Thus two
more monasteries were founded. One was named in honor of the Synaxis
of the Most Holy Theotokos, of which St Abraham made Porphyrius the
igumen. The other was dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy
Theotokos, where St Abraham finished his earthly life. He died in 1375
A year before his death, he appointed his disciple Innocent to govern
the monastery. St Abraham was an enlightener of the Galich land,
having founded four monasteries dedicated to the Mother of God, who
granted him Her icon at the beginning of his ascetical exploits.
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Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Athanasius the
Abbot of Brest-Litovsk
The Monastic Martyr Athanasius of Bretsk (Uncovering and Transfer of
Relics 1649): The martyric death of the holy Passion-bearer
Athanasius, igumen of Bretsk, occured on September 5, 1648. For eight
months the body of the sufferer for Orthodoxy lay in the ground
without a church funeral. On May 1, 1649 a boy pointed out to the
brethren of the Simeonov monastery the place of the igumen's burial.
The ground in which the martyr was buried belonged at the time to the
Jesuits, and therefore they had to go to work secretly. At night the
monks dug up the incorrupt body of the igumen and immediately took it
off to another place. In the morning, they brought it to their
monastery, where after several days, on May 8, they buried him with
honor at the right kleiros (choir) in the main church of the monastery
dedicated to St Simeon the Stylite.
The earthly life of the monastic martyr Athanasius had come to an end,
but the remembrance of him remained always alive and sacred among the
Orthodox inhabitants of the west Russian frontier. The profound
veneration of believers here for his holy name. His incorrupt relics,
placed in a copper reliquary, were glorified by grace-filled gifts of
wonderworking, and attracted a vast number of believers.
On November 8, 1815 at the time of a fire at the Bretsk Simeonov
monastery, the wooden monastery church burned, and the copper
reliquary, in which the relics of the martyr were kept, melted in the
flames. The day following the fire, an unharmed portion of the relics
were found by the priest Samuel of Lisovsk and placed by the pious
inhabitants of the city of Bretsk beneath the altar of the monastery
trapeza church. In the year 1823, with the blessing of Archbishop
Anatolius of Minsk, the holy relics were placed in a wooden vessel by
the head of the monastery and put in church for veneration.
Thus, it pleased God to preserve a portion of the relics of the holy
Martyr Athanasius.
Rising up before us is this great champion of Orthodoxy, with his
great faith and love of neighbor. Deeply religious, inexorably devoted
to the faith of the holy Fathers, he became bold and expressed by word
and by deed his priestly indignation against the oppression of
Orthodox Christians by the haughty Uniates. With fervent faith in his
calling by God, he entered into the struggle for his oppressed
brethren. "I am not a prophet, but only a servant of God my Creator,
sent because of the times, in order to speak the truth to everyone. He
has sent me, so that I might proclaim beforehand the destruction of
the accursed Unia." Such were the words of the fervent, unyielding and
inspired struggler for Orthodoxy, who deeply believed in the
victorious power of the true Faith.
St Athanasius saw the complete affirmation of Orthodoxy and the final
and total undoing of the Unia as his single goal. He dedicated his
whole life to this end. Having submitted to the will of God, he had no
thought of danger, nor did he consider the obstacles, in fulfilling
his holy duty. St Athanasius used His daring, spiritually-inspired
speeches and writings, his published grievances, and voluntary folly
in Christ for the attainment of his sacred goal: the affirmation of
Orthodoxy in the ancient Russian land.
Having repudiated the Unia, he was inspired with a deep sense of pity
and love towards those who had become the victims of Uniate
proselitism. The righteousness and sincerity of St Athanasius in
relation to those nearby defined the course of all his deeds. By his
existence in the solitary life, surrounded by open and hidden enemies,
the holy ascetic remained a steadfast defender and pillar of
Orthodoxy. He constantly repeated his prediction: "The Unia will die
out, but Orthodoxy will flourish."
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Icon of the Mother of God "Chukhloma" from Galich
The Chukhloma Icon of the Mother of God of Galich appeared in the year
1350 to St Abraham of Galich, who came there from the north for
ascetical labors with the blessing of St Sergius of Radonezh. On the
wild shores of the Galich lake near the large mountain, hidden in the
dense forest, he turned with prayer to the Mother of God, asking Her
blessing for his endeavors. After completing his prayer the saint sat
down to rest, and suddenly a bright light appeared on the nearby
mountainside and he heard a voice: "Abraham, come up the mountain,
where there is an icon of My Mother."
The monk went up the mountain where the light shone, and indeed found
an icon of the Mother of God with the Infant on a tree. With
tenderness and in gratitude to God, the holy ascetic took the revealed
icon and, strengthened by prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos, he built
a chapel at that place, in which he put the icon.
After a certain time the Galich prince Demetrius Feodorovich, learned
about the Elder's trip, and asked him to bring the icon. St Abraham
rowed across the Galich lake in a boat and, accompanied by clergy and
a throng of people, he took the wonderworking icon to the cathedral
church of the city of Galich.
On this day a large number of the sick were healed by this icon. When
St Abraham told about the appearance of the icon, the Prince offered
money to build a monastery. Soon a church was built in honor of the
Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, around which a monastery grew.
St Abraham founded several more monasteries, the last being founded
was the Chukhloma, not far from the city of Chukhloma, from the name
of this monastery the ascetic was named "of Chukhloma," and the
wonderworking icon became known as the Chukhloma Icon of Galich.
The icon is also commemorated on May 28, July 4, and August 15.
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Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia
Saint Ilia, called the Uncrowned King of Georgia, the Father of the
Nation and the Righteous, belonged to the noble family Chavchavadze.
He was born on October 27, 1837, in the village of Qvareli in Kakheti.
He received his primary education at home: his mother instructed him
in reading and writing, prayer and the law of God. When he was eight
years old, Ilia was sent to study with Archdeacon Nikoloz Sepashvili
of Qvareli. The years he spent there left an indelible impression on
this holy mans life.
Ilia continued his education at a Tbilisi boarding school, and later
at the court gymnasium (high school). His parents died at a young age,
and the orphaned children were entrusted to the care of their aunt
Macrina.
In 1857 Ilia enrolled in the law school at St. Petersburg University.
There he read a great deal and struggled to improve himself as an
individual. He was fascinated by Georgian history and spent much of
his time in the St. Petersburg archives in search of old Georgian
texts. His academic achievements were outstanding, but he was
uninterested in receiving an official diploma from the school of law.
In his fourth year he dropped out of the program and returned to
Georgia.
Ilia was certain that a nation that forgets its own history is like a
beggar who knows neither his past nor where he is going. For this
reason he sought to inspire his fellow countrymen with the past
glories of their nation and the loyalty of their forefathers to the
Christian Faith and the Georgian nation.
The restoration of national independence and the autocephaly of the
Georgian Church were the chief objectives toward which St. Ilia strove
in every aspect of his life. As a means by which to achieve these
goals, Ilia took up the work of a historian: he conducted intensive
research and exposed those who had falsified history and dishonored
the Georgian nation.
This great philosopher, writer, and historian often repeated the
statement A nation whose language is corrupted can no longer exist as
a nation. He cared deeply about the Georgian language and fought to
ensure that it remained the primary language taught in schools.
Ilia inspired many with his patriotic zeal, and he founded the Society
for the Propagation of Literacy among the Georgians. He established a
depository of Georgian manuscripts and antiquities. In addition he
initiated a movement to document oral folk traditions and helped to
found the Georgian Agrarian Bank.
Ilia the Righteous was often heard declaring, We, the Georgian people,
have inherited three divine gifts from our ancestors: our motherland,
our language and our faith. If we fail to protect these gifts, what
merit will we have as men?
But Ilias righteous deeds were an affront and threat to those who
adhered to the new atheist ideology, so they plotted to kill him. On
August 30, 1907, Ilia Chavchavadze and his wife, Olga (Guramishvili),
had just set off from Tbilisi for Saguramo when their carriage stopped
abruptly outside of Mtskheta, near Tsitsamuri Forest.
They were awaited by a band of militant social democrats who attacked
them and shot Ilia to death.
The Military Court of the Caucasus sentenced Ilia Chavchavadzes
murderers to death by hanging. But Ilias wife Olga requested that the
governor-general pardon her husbands murderers. She asserted that, if
Ilia had survived, he would have done the same, since the killers were
simply his unlucky brothers gone astray.
Indeed, Ilia had forgiven his murderers offense long before, in his
prophetic poem Prayer: _Our Father Who art in Heaven! With tenderness
I stand before Thee on my knees; I ask for neither wealth nor glory; I
wont debase my holy prayer with earthly matters. I would wish for my
soul to rest in heaven, My heart to be radiant with love heralded by
Thee, I would wish to be able to ask forgiveness of mine enemies, Even
if they pierce me in the heart: Forgive them, Lord, for they know not
what they do!_
In 1987 the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church considered the
deeds of Ilia Chavchavadze before God and his country and decreed him
worthy to be numbered among the saints. He was joyously canonized as
St. Ilia the Righteous.
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Righteous Martyr Maria (Skobtsova)
No information available at this time.
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Priestmartyr Demetrius (Klepinine)
No information available at this time.
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Priestmartyr Alexei (Medvedkov)
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Salome the Georgian
No information available at this time.
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