[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Wed Jun 6 05:00:29 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Jun 6 2007

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

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

Romans 4:13-25
13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to
Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness
of faith.
14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and
the promise made of no effect,
15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there
is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so
that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who
are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who
is the father of us all
17 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations" ) in
the presence of Him whom he believed-God, who gives life to the dead
and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the
father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your
descendants be."
19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body,
already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the
deadness of Sarah's womb.
20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was
strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also
able to perform.
22 And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to
him,
24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised
because of our justification.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2

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

Matthew 7:21-23
21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom
of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many
wonders in Your name?'
23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me,
you who practice lawlessness!'
Scripture Reading 2 of 2

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

Venerable Bessarion the Wonderworker of Egypt
Saint Bessarion, Wonderworker of Egypt was an Egyptian. He was
baptized while still in his youth, and he led a strict life, striving
to preserve the grace given him during Baptism. Seeking to become more
closely acquainted with the monastic life, he journeyed to the holy
places. He was in Jerusalem, he visited St Gerasimus (March 4) in the
Jordanian wilderness, he viewed other desert monasteries, and
assimilated all the rules of monastic life.
Upon his return, he received monastic tonsure and became a disciple of
St Isidore of Pelusium (February 4). St Bessarion took a vow of
silence, and partook of food only once a week. Sometimes he remained
without food or drink for forty days. Once, the saint stood motionless
for forty days and forty nights without food or sleep, immersed in
prayer.
St Bessarion received from God the gift of wonderworking. When his
disciple was very thirsty, he sweetened bitter water. By his prayer
the Lord sent rain upon the earth, and he could cross a river as if on
dry land. With a single word he cast out devils, but he did this
privately to avoid glory.
His humility was so great that once, when a priest ordered someone
from the skete to leave church for having fallen into sin, Bessarion
also went with him saying, "I am a sinner, too." St Bessarion slept
only while standing or sitting. A large portion of his life was spent
under the open sky in prayerful solitude. He peacefully departed to
the Lord in his old age.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Hilarion the New, Abbot of the Dalmatian Monastery
Saint Hilarion the New was born of pious parents, Peter and Theodosia,
who raised him in the virtues and instructed him in Holy Scripture. At
twelve years of age St Hilarion was tonsured as a monk at the
Hesychius monastery near Constantinople, and from there he transferred
to the Dalmatus monastery, where he received the Great Schema and
became a disciple of St Gregory the Dekapolite (November 20).
The monk deeply venerated his God-bearing patron St Hilarion the Great
(October 21), and he strove to imitate his life, so he came to be
called Hilarion the New. At the Dalmatus monastery, he was ordained
presbyter. After the death of the igumen the brethren wanted to elect
St Hilarion to this position, but learning of this, he secretly fled
to Constantinople.
Then the monks of Dalmatus monastery sent a petition to Patriarch
Nicephorus, asking that St Hilarion be assigned as igumen. The
Patriarch summoned the saint and persuaded him to give his assent. St
Hilarion submitted out of holy obedience. For eight years he
peacefully guided the monastery, but in the year 813 the iconoclast
Leo the Armenian (813-820) occupied the imperial throne. The saint
refused to dishonor the holy icons, and he boldly accused the emperor
of heresy, for which he endured many torments. They locked him up in
prison for awhile, and vexed him with hunger and thirst.
The impious Patriarch Theodotus, who replaced the exiled Patriarch
Nicephorus, caused the monk much suffering in demanding that he
abandon Orthodoxy. The monks of the Dalmatus monastery went to the
emperor and asked him to release the saint, promising to submit to the
imperial will. After they returned to the monastery, however, St
Hilarion and the monks continued to venerate the holy icons. The
enraged emperor again threw the monk into prison. He gave the saint
over to torture with all the means at his disposal, hoping to change
his mind.
The wrath of God soon overtook the wicked emperor. He was cut down by
his own soldiers in church at the very spot where he had once thrown
down a holy icon. The new emperor Michael II (820-829) freed St
Hilarion from his imprisonment, and the saint settled into a monastic
cell. Upon the death of St Theodore the Studite (November 11), who
also suffered for the holy icons, St Hilarion beheld holy angels
taking the soul of St Theodore to Heaven.
Under the iconoclast emperor Theophilus (829-842), St Hilarion was
again put under guard and beaten terribly, then they confined him on
the island of Aphousia.
After the death of Theophilus, the holy empress St Theodora (842-855)
gave orders to recall the confessors from exile. St Hilarion returned
to the Dalmatus monastery, again agreeing to be igumen. He departed
peacefully in the year 845.
_________________________________________________________________
St Jonah the Bishop of Perm
Saint Jonah, Bishop of Great Perm, was successor to St Pitirim, Bishop
of Perm (August 19), who was murdered by the Vogulani in 1455. In the
year 1462 St Jonah converted the inhabitants of Great Perm to Christ.
He journeyed throughout his extensive diocese to spread and
consolidate the Christian Faith. The saint reposed on June 6, 1470 and
was buried at Ust-Vym at the Annunciation cathedral.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Paisius the Abbot of Uglich
Saint Paisius of Uglich was igumen of the Protection monastery, near
Uglich. He was born in the Tver district near the city of Kashin, and
he was a nephew of St Macarius of Kalyazin (March 17).
St Paisius entered his uncle's monastery after the death of his
parents, when he was just an eleven-year-old child. Under his uncle's
guidance, St Paisius led a monastic life of obedience, fasting and
prayer, and he was put to work copying soul-saving books.
"A man wondrous of spirit, famed teacher of holiness and most
astounding wonderworker, he founded (in 1464) the cenobitic Protection
monastery three versts from Uglich at the wish of Prince Andrew, and
he was chosen igumen." St Paisius was also "founder and organizer of
the holy Nikolsky Grekhozaruchnya monastery in 1489.
Struggling at the Protection monastery, St Paisius lived into old age
and died on June 6, 1504. His relics, glorified by miracles, rest
beneath a crypt in the Protection monastery.
St Paisius is also commemorated on January 8.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Jonah the Abbot of Klimetzk
Saint Jonah of Klimets, in the world John, became a monk, and founded
the Klimets Trinity monastery in fulfillment of a vow.
In 1490 he had been caught by a storm on Lake Onega. When there was no
hope for survival, John cried out to the Lord, entreating Him to
preserve his life so he might repent and serve God. The boat was
thrown onto a sandbar by the waves. There he heard the voice of the
Lord commanding him to found a monastery in honor of the Life-Creating
Trinity.
He miraculously discovered a holy icon on a juniper tree. The saint
fulfilled the will of the Lord and built a monastery with two
churches, one dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity and the other in
honor of St Nicholas, protector of those who sail and those who
travel.
Refusing the rank of igumen, St Jonah remained a simple monk at the
monastery. He died on June 6, 1534. A church was built over his
relics, and was dedicated to Sts Zachariah and Elizabeth.
_________________________________________________________________
Virginmartyr Archelais Beheaded at Salerno
The Holy Virgin Martyrs Archelais, Thekla and Susanna sought salvation
in a small monastery near Rome. During the persecution by Diocletian
(284-305), the holy virgins dressed themselves in men's clothing, cut
their hair and went to the Italian province of Campagna. Settling in a
remote area, they continued to pursue an ascetical life of fasting and
prayer. They received the gift of healing from God, and treated the
local inhabitants, converting many pagans to Christ.
When the governor of the district heard about them, he had them
brought to Salerno. He threatened St Archelais with torture and death
if she did not offer sacrifice to idols. With firm hope in the Lord,
the saint refused to submit to the command, and she denounced the
folly of worshipping soulless statues. Then the governor ordered the
saint to be torn apart by hungry lions, but the beasts meekly lay at
her feet. In a rage the governor ordered the lions to be killed, and
locked the holy virgins in prison.
In the morning, having suspended St Archelais, the torturers began to
rake her with iron utensils and pour hot tar on the wounds. The saint
prayed even more loudly, and suddenly a light shone over her and a
voice was heard, "Fear not, for I am with you."
The saint was defended by the power of God. When they wanted to crush
her with an immense stone, an angel pushed it to the other side, and
it crushed the torturers instead. A judge ordered soldiers to behead
the holy virgins, but the soldiers did not dare to put their hands
upon the saints. Then Sts Archelais, Thekla and Susanna said to the
soldiers, "If you do not fulfill the command, you shall have no
respect from us." The holy martyrs were beheaded in 293.
In the nineteenth century, St Susanna appeared to a disciple of Elder
Boniface saying, "We must pray to God with the soul, the mind, and the
heart." She is described as a maiden of untold beauty, with a soft,
pleasant voice.
_________________________________________________________________
Virginmartyr Thekla Beheaded at Salerno
The Holy Virgin Martyrs Thekla, Archelais, and Susanna sought
salvation in a small monastery near Rome. During the persecution by
Diocletian (284-305), the holy virgins dressed themselves in men's
clothing, cut their hair and went to the Italian province of Campagna.
Settling in a remote area, they continued to pursue an ascetical life
of fasting and prayer. They received the gift of healing from God, and
treated the local inhabitants, converting many pagans to Christ.
When the governor of the district heard about them, he had them
brought to Salerno. He threatened St Archelais with torture and death
if she did not offer sacrifice to idols. With firm hope in the Lord,
the saint refused to submit to the command, and she denounced the
folly of worshipping soulless statues. Then the governor ordered the
saint to be torn apart by hungry lions, but the beasts meekly lay at
her feet. In a rage the governor ordered the lions to be killed, and
locked the holy virgins in prison.
In the morning, having suspended St Archelais, the torturers began to
rake her with iron utensils and pour hot tar on the wounds. The saint
prayed even more loudly, and suddenly a light shone over her and a
voice was heard, "Fear not, for I am with you."
The saint was defended by the power of God. When they wanted to crush
her with an immense stone, an angel pushed it to the other side, and
it crushed the torturers instead. A judge ordered soldiers to behead
the holy virgins, but the soldiers did not dare to put their hands
upon the saints. Then Sts Archelais, Thekla and Susanna said to the
soldiers, "If you do not fulfill the command, you shall have no
respect from us." The holy martyrs were beheaded in 293.
_________________________________________________________________
Virginmartyr Susanna Beheaded at Salerno
The Holy Virgin Martyrs Susanna, Archelais, and Thekla sought
salvation in a small monastery near Rome. During the persecution by
Diocletian (284-305), the holy virgins dressed themselves in men's
clothing, cut their hair and went to the Italian province of Campagna.
Settling in a remote area, they continued to pursue an ascetical life
of fasting and prayer. They received the gift of healing from God, and
treated the local inhabitants, converting many pagans to Christ.
When the governor of the district heard about them, he had them
brought to Salerno. He threatened St Archelais with torture and death
if she did not offer sacrifice to idols. With firm hope in the Lord,
the saint refused to submit to the command, and she denounced the
folly of worshipping soulless statues. Then the governor ordered the
saint to be torn apart by hungry lions, but the beasts meekly lay at
her feet. In a rage the governor ordered the lions to be killed, and
locked the holy virgins in prison.
In the morning, having suspended St Archelais, the torturers began to
rake her with iron utensils and pour hot tar on the wounds. The saint
prayed even more loudly, and suddenly a light shone over her and a
voice was heard, "Fear not, for I am with you."
The saint was defended by the power of God. When they wanted to crush
her with an immense stone, an angel pushed it to the other side, and
it crushed the torturers instead. A judge ordered soldiers to behead
the holy virgins, but the soldiers did not dare to put their hands
upon the saints. Then Sts Archelais, Thekla and Susanna said to the
soldiers, "If you do not fulfill the command, you shall have no
respect from us." The holy martyrs were beheaded in 293.
In the nineteenth century, St Susanna appeared to a disciple of Elder
Boniface saying, "We must pray to God with the soul, the mind, and the
heart." She is described as a maiden of untold beauty, with a soft,
pleasant voice.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Bessarion the New
No information on the life of this saint is available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
Icon of the Mother of God of Pimen
The Pimen Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought to Moscow from
Constantinople in 1381 by Metropolitan Pimen. Many miracles took place
before this icon, which flowed with a fragrant healing myrrh.
The Pimen Icon was kept in the altar of the Dormition Cathedral in the
Kremlin.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Gelasius
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________