[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Sat Mar 24 04:00:19 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sat Mar 24 2007

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Hebrews 9:24-28
24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which
are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us;
25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters
the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-
26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the
world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the
judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who
eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for
salvation.
Scripture Reading 1 of 4

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Hebrews 9:1-7   (Theotokos)
1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine
service and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the
lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the
sanctuary;
3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is
called the Holiest of All,
4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on
all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna,
Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy
seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always
went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not
without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins
committed in ignorance;
Scripture Reading 2 of 4

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Mark 8:27-31
27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea
Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who
do men say that I am?"
28 So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and
others, one of the prophets."
29 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and
said to Him, "You are the Christ."
30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about
Him.
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many
things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Scripture Reading 3 of 4

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Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28  (Theotokos)
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and
a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and
heard His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him
and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve
alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are
worried and troubled about many things.
42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which
will not be taken away from her.
27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman
from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb
that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"
28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word
of God and keep it!"
Scripture Reading 4 of 4

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5th Saturday of Great Lent of the Akathist to the Theotokos
On the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent, the Saturday of the Akathist, we
commemorate the "Laudation of the Virgin" Icon of the Most Holy
Theotokos.
In 625, when the emperor Heraclius was fighting the Persians, the Khan
sent forces to attack Constantinople by land and by sea. Patriarch
Sergius urged the people not to lose heart, but to trust in God.
A procession was made around the city with the Cross of the Lord, the
robe of the Virgin, the Icon of the Savior not made by hands, and the
Hodigitria Icon of the Mother of God. The Patriarch dipped the
Virgin's robe in the sea, and the city's defenders beat back the
Khan's sea forces. The sea became very rough, and many boats sank. The
invaders retreated, and the people of Constantinople gave thanks to
God and to His Most Pure Mother. On two other occasions, in 655 and
705, the Theotokos protected the city from Saracen invaders. A
feastday dedicated to the Laudation of the Virgin was established to
commemorate these victories. The Akathist to the Mother of God is
believed to originate from this period, and its use has spread from
Constantinople to other Orthodox lands.
The icon before which the Akathist was sung was given to the Dionysiou
Monastery on Mt. Athos by Emperor Alexius Comnenos. There, it began to
flow with myrrh. There were at least three wonderworking copies of
this icon in Russia before the Revolution.
This icon shows the Mother of God seated on a throne, and surrounded
by Prophets with scrolls.
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Forefeast of the Annunciation
No information available at this time.
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Venerable Zachariah the Recluse
Saint Zachariah the Recluse of Egypt because of his concern for the
poor and homeless was called "to the outcast." In the printed MENAION
he is known as "our Monastic Father Zachariah," and so he has been
identified erroneously with St Zachariah the Monk.
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St Artemon (Menignus) the Bishop of Seleucia
Saint Artemon, Bishop of Seleucia, was born and lived in Seleucia of
Pisidia (Asia Minor). He was pious and virtuous, therefore when the
holy Apostle Paul (June 29) came to Seleucia, he established St
Artemon as the first bishop of this city, since he was the most
worthy. St Artemon wisely nourished the flock entrusted to him and won
glory as a comforter of the poor and oppressed. St Artemon died in
great old age.
[In the ancient Slavonic Lives of the Saints "Seleucian" was written
as "Seleoukinian" or "Seleunian." However, in several of the Greek
memorials the bishop was also called Solunian (i.e., of Thessalonica).
St Artemon (or Menignus) was listed in the MENAIA as Seleucian or
Solunian. In the second half of the eighteenth century, these two
names were mistakenly applied to various persons.]
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Venerable Zachariah the Ascetic of the Kiev Caves
Saint Zachariah the Faster of the Caves was an ascetic in the Far
Caves in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries. He fasted so strictly
that he ate nothing baked nor boiled, and he consumed only greens once
a day at the setting of the sun. Demons trembled at the mere mention
of his name.
Often the monk saw angels, with which he deserved to live in Heaven.
The identification of St Zachariah, Faster of Caves, with Zachariah
the son of John of Kiev, who had given all his inheritance for the
adornment of the Caves temple and became a monk at the monastery, is
unfounded.
Before his death, John had transferred his property to his friend
Sergius. This was when the igumen was St Nikon (March 23). Zachariah
was five years old at the time. At age fifteen, i.e., not later than
the year 1098, he obtained his inheritance from Sergius, in order to
give it to the monastery. However, St Zachariah the Faster of the
Caves lived approximately 200 years later.
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Martyr Stephen of Kazan
The Holy Martyr Stephen of Kazan was a Tatar. For more than twenty
years, he suffered from a weakness of the legs. After the capture of
Kazan by Ivan the Terrible (1552), he believed in Christ and received
healing. The saint was baptized by Archpriest Menignus of the Moscow
cathedral, who had brought a letter from Metropolitan Macarius to the
Russian army.
After the Russian army withdrew from Kazan, the Tatars chopped the
martyr Stephen into pieces, scattered his body and plundered his
house, because he remained faithful to Christ.
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Martyr Peter of Kazan
The Holy Martyr Peter of Kazan was a newly-baptized Tatar who suffered
because he converted to Christianity from Islam.
After the Russian army left Kazan, the inhabitants dragged Peter from
his home by force, and addressed him by his former Moslem name, hoping
that he would deny Christ. But to all flattery and persuasion St Peter
answered, "My father and mother is God Who is glorified in Trinity:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If you believe in the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit, then you are my family. I was named Peter in holy
Baptism, and I will not answer to the name by which you address me."
Seeing that he would remain steadfast in the Faith, his family had him
tortured. He endured fierce torments, but he did not cease to confess
the Name of Christ, saying, "I am a Christian." The holy martyr was
buried in Kazan on the site where the church of the Resurrection of
Christ later stood, at the Zhitny-Grain marketplace.
For the Lives of the holy martyrs Stephen and Peter of Kazan see:
"Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate," 1977, No. 9, p. 79-80.
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St James the Confessor the Bishop of Catania
No information available at this time.
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Icon of the Mother of God of "the Uncut Mount"
"The Uncut," or "Clouded Mountain" Icon of the Mother of God: About
250-300 years ago this icon was in one of the men's monasteries of
Tver and was presented by the Superior to Cosmas Volchaninov in
gratitude for his fine work in the monastery church. This icon was
passed on from generation to generation, but a certain impious
grandson of Cosmas removed it and placed the icon in an attic.
His bride endured many insults from her husband and his relatives. In
despair over her marriage she resolved to commit suicide in a deserted
bath-house. On the way there a monk appeared to her and said, "Where
are you going, unhappy one? Go back, pray to the Theotokos of The
Clouded Mountain, and you will live in peace."
The agitated young wife returned home and revealed everything, not
concealing her interrupted intention. They searched for the monk, but
they did not find him, and no one had seen him but her. This took
place on the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation to the Most Holy
Theotokos.
They found the icon in the attic, cleaned off the dirt and set it up
in the house in a place of honor. In the evening, the parish priest
served the all-night Vigil before the icon. From that time, Vigil was
served in the house every year on this day.
For more than 150 years the icon was in the Volchaninov family.
Katherine, daughter of Basil, the last of the Volchaninov line,
married George Ivanovich Konyaev, taking with her the icon of the
Mother of God as a precious inheritance. Moliebens and all-night
vigils were served in the Konyaev house on March 24 and November 7
(perhaps this was the day when the icon was transferred from the
monastery to the house of Cosmas Volchaninov).
In 1863 near a cemetery church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of
God it was decided to build a chapel in honor of St Tikhon and St
Macarius of Kalyazin. The then owner of the icon, George Konyaev (who
died in 1868 at the age of 97) wanted to donate the icon of the
Theotokos to the church. He asked the clergy to build another chapel
for the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God of the "Clouded
Mountain."
He also said, "I feel the very best place for it is the temple of the
Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, since the place on which the
church was built, in former times was called a Mount, since it was the
highest place in the city. The inhabitants took their possessions to
the Mount and saved themselves from ruin during a flood. Let the icon,
The Clouded Mountain, remain on this mountain with your blessing, and
let all who are buried here be veiled with Her mercy." On July 15,
1866 the icon was transferred into the new chapel, which was
consecrated by Bishop Anthony of Staritsk the following day.
On the icon the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted standing on a
semi-circular elevation, a mountain; on Her left arm, the Divine
Infant blesses with His right hand. Upon the head of the Mother of God
is a crown, and in Her hand a mountain, on which are seen above
churches with cupolas and crosses.
This icon should not be confused with the "Stone of the Mountain not
cut by Hands" Icon on the iconostasis of the cathedral of the
Transfiguration at Solovki. The latter depicts the Theotokos in
half-length, holding Her Son in Her left hand. In Her right hand, She
holds a ladder and a stone with the image of Christ's head (the King
of Kings). Instead of the usual stars on her head and shoulders are
the heads of angels. The title of the icon is derived from Daniel
2:44-45.
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