[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sat May 12 2007

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


-----------------------------
                                      
Acts 15:35-41
35 Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching
the word of the Lord, with many others also.
36 Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us now go back and
visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of
the Lord, and see how they are doing."
37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.
38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who
had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the
work.
39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one
another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;
40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren
to the grace of God.
41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2


-----------------------------
                                      
John 10:27-38
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither
shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no
one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
30 I and My Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
32 Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My
Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?"
33 The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone
You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself
God."
34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You
are gods" '?
35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the
Scripture cannot be broken),
36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the
world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that
you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.
Scripture Reading 2 of 2



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


St Epiphanius the Bishop of Cyprus
Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, "a last relic of ancient piety,"
as St. Jerome calls him, lived during the fourth century in Phoenicia.
The Roman empress Honoria was his sister. He was of Jewish descent,
and in his youth he received a fine education. He was converted to
Christianity after seeing how a certain monk named Lucian gave away
his clothing to a poor person. Struck by the monk's compassion,
Epiphanius asked to be instructed in Christianity.
He was baptized and became a disciple of St. Hilarion the Great
(October 21). Entering the monastery, he progressed in the monastic
life under the guidance of the experienced Elder Hilarion, and he
occupied himself with copying Greek books.
Because of his ascetic struggles and virtues, St. Epiphanius was
granted the gift of wonderworking. In order to avoid human glory, he
left the monastery and went into the Spanidrion desert. Robbers caught
him there and held him captive for three months. By speaking of
repentance, the saint brought one of the robbers to faith in the true
God. When they released the holy ascetic, the robber also went with
him. St. Epiphanius took him to his monastery and baptized him with
the name John. From that time, he became a faithful disciple of St.
Epiphanius, and he carefully documented the life and miracles of his
instructor.
Reports of the righteous life of St. Epiphanius spread far beyond the
monastery. The saint went a second time into the desert with his
disciple John. Even in the wilderness disciples started to come to
him, so he established a new monastery for them.
After a certain time, St. Epiphanius made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to
venerate its holy shrines, and then returned to the Spanidrion
monastery. The people of Lycia sent the monk Polybios to St.
Epiphanius asking him to take the place of their dead archpastor. When
he learned of this intention, the clairvoyant ascetic secretly went
into the Pathysian desert to the great ascetic St. Hilarion (October
21), under whose guidance he had learned asceticism in his youth.
The saints spent two months in prayer, and then Hilarion sent St.
Epiphanius to Salamis. Bishops were gathered there to choose a new
archpastor to replace one who recently died. The Lord revealed to the
eldest of them, Bishop Papius, that St. Epiphanius should be chosen
bishop. When Epiphanius arrived, St. Papius led him into the church,
where in obedience to the will of the participants of the Council,
Epiphanius agreed to be their bishop. St. Epiphanius was consecrated
as Bishop of Salamis in 367.
St. Epiphanius won renown because of his great zeal for the Faith, his
love and charity toward the poor, and his simplicity of character. He
suffered much from the slander and enmity of some of his clergy.
Because of the purity of his life, St. Epiphanius was permitted to see
the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Gifts at Divine Liturgy. Once,
when the saint was celebrating the Mystery, he did not see this
vision. He then became suspicious of one of the clergy and quietly
said to him, "Depart, my son, for you are unworthy to participate in
the celebration of the Mystery today."
At this point, the writings of his disciple John break off, because he
became sick and died. The further record of the life of St. Epiphanius
was continued by another of his disciples, Polybios (afterwards bishop
of city of Rinocyreia).
Through the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia and the Patriarch
Theophilos of Alexandria, towards the end of his life St. Epiphanius
was summoned to Constantinople to participate in the Synod of the Oak,
which was convened to judge the great saint, John Chrysostom
(September 14 and November 13). Once he realized that he was being
manipulated by Chrysostom's enemies, St. Epiphanius left
Constantinople, unwilling to take part in an unlawful council.
As he was sailing home on a ship, the saint sensed the approach of
death, and he gave his disciples final instructions: to keep the
commandments of God, and to preserve the mind from impure thoughts. He
died two days later. The people of Salamis met the body of their
archpastor with carriages, and on May 12, 403 they buried him in a new
church which he himself had built.
The Seventh Ecumenical Council named St. Epiphanius as a Father and
Teacher of the Church. In the writings of St. Epiphanius, the PANARIUM
and the ANCHORATUS are refutations of Arianism and other heresies. In
his other works are found valuable church traditions, and directives
for the Greek translation of the Bible.
In his zeal to preserve the purity of the Orthodox Faith, St.
Epiphanius could sometimes be rash and tactless. In spite of any
impetuous mistakes he may have made, we must admire St. Epiphanius for
his dedication in defending Orthodoxy against false teachings. After
all, one of the bishop's primary responsibilities is to protect his
flock from those who might lead them astray.
We also honor St. Epiphanius for his deep spirituality, and for his
almsgiving. No one surpassed him in his tenderness and charity to the
poor, and he gave vast sums of money to those in need.
_________________________________________________________________
St Germanus the Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, was born at
Constantinople in the seventh century. His father, a prominent
senator, was killed by order of the emperor Constantine Pogonatos
(668-685). The young Germanus was emasculated and sent to a monastery,
where he studied Holy Scripture.
Because of the sanctity of his life, Germanus was made bishop in the
city of Cyzicus. St Germanus rose up in defense of the Orthodox Faith
against the iconoclast heretics. He was later made Patriarch of
Constantinople. St Germanus continued to stand up against the
iconoclasts and to their spokesman, the heretical emperor Leo III the
Isaurian (717-741), but the contest was unequal. He was forced to put
his omophorion upon the altar table in the sanctuary, and to resign
the archpastoral throne. Then the enraged emperor, who accused the
Patriarch of heresy the day before, sent soldiers, who beat the saint
and threw him out of the patriarchal residence. St Germanus was
Patriarch for fourteen years and five months.
He went to a monastery, where he spent the remaining days of his life.
The holy Patriarch Germanus died in the year 740, at age ninety-five,
and was buried in the Chora monastery in Constantinople. Afterwards,
his relics were transferred to France.
At the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), the name of Patriarch
Germanus was included in the diptychs of the saints. He wrote a
"Meditation on Church Matters or Commentary on the Liturgy;" also an
explanation of the difficult passages of Holy Scripture, and another
work on the rewards of the righteous after death.
His important work on the various heresies that had arisen since
apostolic times, and on the church councils that took place during the
reign of the emperor Leo the Iconoclast, provides a wealth of
historical information. There are also three letters from the
Patriarch about the veneration of icons, which were read at the
Seventh Ecumenical Council.
His other works include hymns in praise of the saints, discourses on
the Feasts of the Entry into the Temple, the Annunciation and the
Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, and on the restoration of the
church in honor of the Placing of the Venerable Zone of the Most Holy
Theotokos.
_________________________________________________________________
Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
The Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, was
glorified on May 12, 1913.
The memory of Patriarch Hermogenes as a holy martyr was passed on from
generation to generation for three centuries, and people increasingly
regarded him as an intercessor and supplicant for the Russian land
before the Throne of the Almighty.
During terrible years of national hardship, the nation turned to the
memory of the heroic Patriarch. The Russian people came to his tomb
with their personal tribulations, sicknesses and infirmities,
reverently asking the help of St Hermogenes, and the All-Merciful Lord
rewarded their faith.
Believers from all ends of Russia began to flock to Moscow for the
glorification of the hieromartyr Hermogenes 300 years after his death.
Pilgrims hastened to venerate the relics of the holy Patriarch, in the
Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin, where panikhidas were served
almost without interruption.
On the eve of the glorification there was a procession with an icon of
St Hermogenes, and after it a grave cover, on which the saint was
depicted full-length in mantiya and holding a staff. Beside the icon
of the Patriarch they carried an icon of St Dionysius of Radonezh, his
fellow-struggler in spiritual and patriotic deeds for the liberation
of the Russian land from Polish-Lithuanian usurpers.
On the bell tower of Ivan the Great hung a tremendous banner,
"Rejoice, Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Great Intercessor of the Russian
land." A hundred thousand candles blazed in the hands of believers. At
the end of the procession, they began to chant the Paschal Canon and a
Canon to St Hermogenes, at the shrine where the relics of the
Patriarch rested.
The all-night Vigil took place under the open skies at all the Kremlin
squares. On this night a number of healings occurred through the
prayers of St Hermogenes. For example, a certain sick person came to
the Dormition Cathedral on crutches, and was healed as he approached
the shrine with the relics of the saint. Another sick person was
healed, who had suffered from terrible crippling disease. They brought
him to the reliquary of the hieromartyr Hermogenes on a stretcher,
where he was completely cured. These and other similar healings,
witnessed by a multitude of the faithful, were remarkable proofs of
the holiness of the new Russian wonderworker.
On Sunday May 12, Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Dormition
Cathedral. Presiding at the celebration of the solemn glorification of
the new saint was His Beatitude Gregorios, Patriarch of Antioch. At
the finish of Liturgy in all the churches of Moscow, Moliebens were
served to St Hermogenes and a procession made to the Moscow Kremlin,
in which more than twenty hierarchs took part. They accompanied the
procession singing, "O Holy Hierarch Father Hermogenes, pray unto God
for us." From this day the liturgical veneration of St Hermogenes
began. Thus, the wish of the faithful Russian people was fulfilled.
Through their prayers the Russian Orthodox Church received a heavenly
patron.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Church established the commemoration of
the hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus for
February 17, the day of his repose (his life and works are found under
this day), and May 12, the day of his glorification.
Great is the national significance of St Hermogenes, a tireless
struggler for the purity of Orthodoxy and the unity of the Russian
land. His ecclesial and civil activity during several centuries serves
as an outstanding example of his ardent faith and love for the Russian
people.
The ecclesial activity of the archpastor is characterized by an
attentive and strict regard for church services. Under him were
published a GOSPEL, a MENAION for September (1607), October (1609),
November (1610), and for the first twelve days of December. The "Great
Primary Rule" was printed in 1610. St Hermogenes did not merely give
his blessing for this book, but carefully oversaw the accuracy of the
text. With the blessing of St Hermogenes the Service to the holy
Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30) also was translated from
Greek into the Russian language, and his Feast began to be celebrated
in the Dormition Cathedral.
Under the supervision of the Archpastor, new presses were made for
printing service books, and a new print shop was built. This was
damaged during the 1611 conflagration, when Moscow was burned by the
Poles. Concerned about the order of divine services, St Hermogenes
compiled a "Letter to all the People, Especially Priests and Deacons,
on the Improvement of Church Singing." The "Letter" chastizes the
clergy for performing Church services not according to the Typikon,
for unnecessary talking, and lay people for their irreverent attitude
toward the divine services.
The literary activity of the first hierarch of the Russian Church is
widely known. He wrote "An Account of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of
God and the Service to this Icon (1594);" "A Letter to Patriarch Job,
Containing an Account of the Kazan Martyrs" (1591), a collection of
articles in which questions about divine services (1598) are examined;
there are patriotic documents and appeals, directed to the Russian
nation (1606-1613), and other works.
His contemporaries speak of Patriarch Hermogenes as a man of
outstanding intellect and erudition, "a Master of great reason and
thought," "very remarkable," "very accomplished in wisdom and refined
in learning," "ever concerning himself about divine literature, and
all the books about the Old Law and the New Grace, and pursuing to the
end various Church rules and principles of law." St Hermogenes spent a
lot of time in monastery libraries, especially in the library of the
Moscow Chudov monastery, where he copied precious historical accounts
from ancient manuscripts.
In the seventeenth century they called the Chronicle by His Holiness
Patriarch Hermogenes the "Resurrection Chronicle." In the collected
works of the saint and his archpastoral documents there are many
quotations from Holy Scripture, and examples taken from history, which
testify to his profound knowledge of the Word of God and his
familiarity with the Church literature of his time.
Patriarch Hermogenes incorporated his research in his preaching and
teaching. The saint's contemporaries regard the Archpastor as "a man
of reverence," "purity of life," "a true shepherd of the flock of
Christ," and "a sincere upholder of the Christian faith".
These qualities of St Hermogenes were quite especially apparent during
the Time of Troubles, when the Russian land was overwhelmed by
internal chaos, and worsened by Polish-Lithuanian intrigue. During
this dark period, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church selflessly
protected the Russian realm, by word and by deed defending the
Orthodox Faith from Latinism, and also national unity from internal
and external enemies. In saving his native land, St Hermogenes won the
crown of a martyrdom, becoming a heavenly intercessor for Russia
before the Throne of the Holy Trinity.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius'
Monastery
St Dionysius of Radonezh, in the world David Zobninovsky, was born
about 1570 in the city of Rzhev. A novice, and then head of the
Staritsky Dormition monastery, during the Time of Troubles he was the
foremost helper of St Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow.
>From 1611, St Dionysius was archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergiev
Lavra. Under his administration, a house and hospice for the injured
and those left homeless during the Polish-Lithuanian incursion was
opened near the monastery. During a famine, he told the brethren of
the Lavra to eat oat bread and water, leaving the wheat and the rye
bread for the sick. In 1611-1612, he and the steward of the
Trinity-Sergiev monastery, the monk Abraham Palitsyn (+ 1625), wrote
letters asking the people of Nizhni-Novgorod and other cities to send
fighting men and money to liberate Moscow from the Poles. He also
wrote to Prince Demetrius Pozharsky and to all the military people,
urging them to hasten the campaign for Moscow.
His monastic training helped St Dionysius to maintain his own inner
light undiminished during the terrible years of this evil time. The
saint achieved a high degree of spiritual pefection through unceasing
prayer, which gave him the gift of working miracles. He carefully
concealed his spiritual life from other people, who might suffer harm
from a superficial knowledge of it.
"Do not ask a monk about things concerning his monastic life," said St
Dionysius, "since for us monks, it is a great misfortune to reveal
such secrets to laymen. It is written that what is done in secret
should not be known, even by your own left hand. We must hide
ourselves, so that what we do remains unknown, lest the devil lead us
into all manner of negligence and indolence."
We can only measure his spiritual development, and the knowledge of
God which he attained, by those things which became apparent when
circumstances compelled St Dionysius to take an active part in the
life of the world around him.
One such circumstance was his involvement in the revision of the
service books. In 1616 St Dionysius spoke of work on correction of the
Book of Needs by comparing it with the ancient Slavonic manuscripts
and various Greek editions.
During their work, investigators discovered discrepancies in other
books edited in the period between patriarchs (1612-1619). People did
not understand what the editors were doing, so they accused St
Dionysius and the others of heresy at a Council of 1618.
Deposed from his priestly rank and excommunicated from the Church, he
was imprisoned in the Novospassky (New Monastery of the
Transfiguration of the Savior) monastery, where they wanted to kill
him by starvation. The intervention of Patriarch Philaretos of Moscow
and Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem (1619-1633) won his release in
1619, and he was cleared of the charges against him.
St Dionysius was known for his strict observance of the monastery
Rule, for sharing in monastery tasks and in the rebuilding of the
monastery after the siege of the Lavra. The Life and Canon to the
saint was composed by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery steward Simon
Azaryn and augmented by the priest John Nasedka, a coworker of St
Dionysius when he was correcting the service books.
St Dionysius reposed on May 12, 1633 and was buried in the
Trinity-Sergiev Lavra.
_________________________________________________________________
St Sabinus the Archbishop of Cyprus
Saint Sabinus, Bishop of Cyprus, was born in the Phoenician city of
Lycia. Hearing of the renowned ascetic, St Epiphanius of Cyprus,
Sabinus went to him and received monastic tonsure. For five years he
lived in asceticism with St Epiphanius in the wilderness. Afterwards,
he wrote about the life and deeds of St Epiphanius.
When St Epiphanius was elevated to the See of Cyprus, he ordained St
Sabinus to the holy priesthood. After the death of his bishop and
spiritual guide, St Sabinus became his successor. The wise archpastor
zealously defended the Church from heretics. He died in the mid-fifth
century.
_________________________________________________________________
St Polybius the Bishop in Cyprus
Saint Polybius was a disciple of St Epiphanius of Cyprus. He
accompanied him on all his journeys and he wrote about the life and
miracles of his teacher.
St Polybius accompanied St Epiphanius when he was returning from
Constantinople, unwilling to take part in the council condemning St
John Chrysostom. As he was dying, St Epiphanius told St Polybius, "Go
to Egypt, and after my death I shall concern myself about you." St
Polybius obeyed his teacher's order with humility and, not waiting for
the burial of the body, he went to Egypt, where he was made bishop of
the city of Rinocyria.
For his virtuous ascetic life, St Polybius was granted the gift of
wonderworking. Once, through his prayer, the Lord sent rain during a
drought and provided an abundant harvest in the fields. St Polybius
reposed in the fifth century at an advanced age.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr John the Wallachian of Romania
Saint John was born into a poor family in Oltenia during the time of
Prince Matthew Basarab.
In 1659, when he was fifteen years old, a band of Turks was attacking
the Olt Valley from Ardeal and seizing many young people as slaves,
including St John. The Turks sorted the slaves once they had crossed
the Danube, and St John became the property of an evil soldier. The
captives endured hunger, thirst, beatings, and fell prey to the
unclean desires of their masters.
One day the soldier who owned him tried to force John into a loathsome
act, but he resisted. The young man struck the soldier, killing him.
Other soldiers bound St John with chains and brought him to
Constantinople. The journey took several months, and the Turks
subjected him to torture along the way.
St John was given to the wife of the Turk he had killed to be her
slave. The woman was attracted to John and tried to seduce him. She
also pressured him to abandon Christ and convert to Islam.
The courageous youth told her, "I would rather die for Christ than
become a Turk and marry you."
St John was thrown into prison and suffered horrible tortures, but he
remained firm and unwavering in his confession of Christ. He was
hanged on May 12, 1662, thereby receiving the crown of martyrdom.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Pancratius
The Holy Martyr Pancratius was a native of Phrygia, but lived in Rome
with his uncle Dionysius after his parents died. They heard Bishop
Cornelius preach, and were later baptized.
The fourteen-year-old youth suffered martyrdom at Rome during the
persecution under Diocletian (284-305). He was buried on the Via
Aurelia, and a church was built over his grave. The Aurelian gate is
known today as the Porta St Pancrazio.
St Gregory Dialogus (March 12) venerated St Pancratius, who was
beheaded near the site of his monastery, and had a silver reliquary
made for the martyr's head. After St Gregory became bishop, the
reliquary was placed in his cathedral on the Lateran hill. The
reliquary was returned to the church of St Pancratius in the twentieth
century.
When St Augustine of Canterbury (May 26) arrived in Britain, he
transformed a pagan temple into a Christian church, dedicating it to
St Pancratius. St Augustine built another church in honor of St
Pancratius outside London. This church, which contains an old altar
stone, is now called "Old St Pancras."
The holy martyr Pancratius is especially venerated by the Western
Church, where he is known as St Pancras.
_________________________________________________________________