[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Fri Nov 23 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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1 Timothy 4:4-8, 16
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if
it is received with thanksgiving;
5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good
minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the
good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
7 But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself
toward godliness.
8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable
for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that
which is to come.
16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in
doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
Scripture Reading 1 of 4


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Galatians 5:22-6:2  (St. Alexander)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one
another.
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are
spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering
yourself lest you also be tempted.
2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Scripture Reading 2 of 4


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Luke 19:12-28
12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and
said to them, 'Do business till I come.'
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him,
saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'
15 And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom,
he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to
be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by
trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten
minas.'
17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were
faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'
18 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five
minas.'
19 Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'
20 Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have
kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 'For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what
you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'
22 And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you
wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I
did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
23 'Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I
might have collected it with interest?'
24 And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and
give it to him who has ten minas.'
25 ("But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')
26 'For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from
him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
27 'But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign
over them, and slay them before me.' "
28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
Scripture Reading 3 of 4


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Matthew 11:27-30  (St. Alexander)
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows
the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the
Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Scripture Reading 4 of 4



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------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Afterfeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into
the Temple
No information available at this time.
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St Amphilochius the Bishop of Iconium
Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, was born in Caesarea in
Cappadocia, a city which has given the world some of the greatest
Fathers and teachers of the Orthodox Church. He was a first cousin to
St Gregory the Theologian, and a close friend of St Basil the Great.
He was their disciple, follower and of like mind with them.
St Amphilochius toiled hard in the field of Christ. He lived in the
wilderness as a strict ascetic for about forty years, until the time
when the Lord summoned him for hierarchic service. In the year 372 the
Bishop of Iconium died. Angels of the Lord thrice appeared in visions
to St Amphilochius, summoning him to go to Iconium to be the bishop.
The truthfulness of these visions was proven when the angel, appearing
to him the third time, sang together with the saint the angelic song:
"Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth." The heavenly messenger led the
saint to the nearest church, where an assembly of angels consecrated
Amphilochius bishop.
The saint, on the way back to his cell, encountered seven bishops who
were seeking him at the command of God, in order to establish him as
archpastor of Iconium. St Amphilochius told them that he was already
consecrated by the angels.
For many years St Amphilochius tended the flock of Iconium entrusted
to him by the Lord. The prayer of the righteous one was so intense
that he was able to ask the Lord to heal the spiritual and bodily
infirmities of his flock. The wise archpastor, gifted as writer and
preacher, unceasingly taught piety to his flock. A strict Orthodox
theologian, the saint relentlessly confronted the Arian and Eunomian
heresies. He participated in the Second Ecumenical Council (381), and
he headed the struggle against the heresy of Macedonius. Letters and
treatises of St Amphilochius are preserved, which are profoundly
dogmatic and apologetic in content. The holy Bishop Amphilochius of
Iconium departed peacefully to the Lord in the year 394.
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St Gregory the Bishop of Agrigentum
Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum, was born on the island of Sicily,
in the village of Pretorium, not far from the city of Agrigentum, of
the pious parents Chariton and Theodota. The infant Gregory was
baptized by the bishop of Agrigentum, Pataimonus. At ten years of age
the studious boy mastered writing and was able to read, and to sing
church hymns. At twelve years of age St Gregory was given to the
clergy, and he was put under the spiritual guidance of the archdeacon
Donatus. St Gregory spent the next ten years in the Agrigentum church.
Then, however, an angel of the Lord appeared to the holy youth, who
had a fervent desire to visit Jerusalem, and said that God had blessed
his intention.
At Jerusalem St Gregory was presented to Patriarch Macarius (563-574),
who retained the pious youth for service in his own cathedral church,
ordaining him deacon. The soul of St Gregory thirsted for monastic
labors, and the Patriarch gave his blessing, allowing him go to a
monastery on the Mount of Olives. After a year St Gregory departed
this monastery for a desert Elder, who for four years taught him
spiritual wisdom, humility and the principles of monastic life. The
ascetic, foreseeing in St Gregory a future great luminary of the
Church, gave him a blessing to forsake the solitary life.
Having left the Elder, St Gregory dwelt for a certain time at
Jerusalem, and then went to Constantinople, where he was received with
love by the brethren of the monastery of the holy Martyrs Sergius and
Bacchus. The ascetic efforts of St Gregory were noticed by Patriarch
Eutychius of Constantinople (552-565), at whose insistence the saint
participated in the Fifth Ecumenical Council (553). At the completion
of the Council St Gregory set off for Rome, to venerate the graves of
the holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
During this time the bishop of Agrigentum died. The elder clergy and
illustrious citizens of Agrigentum journeyed to Rome with a request
for the Pope to determine a successor for their late hierarch from
among a list of candidates they were presenting. The Pope, however,
declined their proposal through divine inspiration, and instead
summoned St Gregory to serve them as bishop.
For a few years St Gregory peacefully guided the flock entrusted to
him by God. He was a defender of the down-trodden, a wise preacher,
and miraculous healer. As archbishop, St Gregory led the life of an
ascetic monk, fervently observing monastic vows. The flock loved their
hierarch and trusted in him. But there were also malicious people who
had resolved to slander him.
While St Gregory was in church, these vicious people secretly led a
bribed harlot into his chambers, and then in front of the crowd which
accompanied the bishop to the doors of his house after services, they
led her out and accused St Gregory of the deadly sin of fornication.
They placed the holy bishop under guard. The people attempted to
defend their bishop, but were unsuccessful. At the trial the harlot
gave false testimony against St Gregory. Just as she pronounced the
words of slander, she went into a fit of frenzied rage. The judges
accused the saint of sorcery. St Gregory was sent for judgment to the
Roman bishop together with a report about his "crimes."
The Pope, after reading the charges, did not want to see the accused,
and gave orders to remand him to prison. The saint endured his
humiliation humbly, dwelling in constant prayer. His prayerful effort
and wonderworking gifts quickly became known through the city and the
surrounding region. Pious Romans began to gather at the prison, whom
the imprisoned saint taught about the righteous life, and he implored
the Lord to heal the sick.
After two years, a clairvoyant Elder named Mark, who had known St
Gregory since youth, came to the Pope. The Elder did not believe the
charges and he persuaded the Pope to convene a Council to decide
Gregory's case. At the invitation of the Pope, many clergy from the
city of Agrigentum came to the Council, together with all those making
accusations against the saint, including the harlot. From
Constantinople three bishops and the imperial dignitary Marcian came
to Rome. Along the way Marcian had fallen grievously ill. On the
advice of many people who had received healing through the prayers of
St Gregory, servants carried the dying man to the prison where the
wonderworking saint languished. Through the prayers of St Gregory the
Lord granted healing to Marcian.
At the Council the slanderers attempted to renew their accusations,
and as their chief proof they presented the deranged harlot to the
judge, declaring that Gregory had bewitched her. But the saint prayed
over her and cast out the devil. The woman came to her senses and told
the Council the whole truth. The slanderers were brought to shame and
judged. Marcian even wanted to execute them, but St Gregory implored
forgiveness for them.
St Gregory returned in honor to his own cathedral, and surrounded by
the love of his flock, he guided the Church until his own peaceful
demise.
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Repose of St Alexander Nevsky
The Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky was born on May 30, 1220 in the city
of Pereslavl-Zalessk. His father Yaroslav II, Theodore in Baptism
(+1246), "a gentle, kindly and genial prince", was the younger son of
Vsevolod III Large Nest (+ 1212), brother of the Holy Prince Yuri
Vsevolodovich (February 4). St Alexander's mother, Theodosia Igorevna,
a Ryazan princess, was Yaroslav's third wife. Their older son was the
Holy Prince Theodore (June 5), who departed to the Lord at age
fifteen. St Alexander was their second son.
His childhood was spent at Pereslavl-Zalessk, where his father was
prince. The princely tonsure of the lad Alexander (a ceremony of
initiation to be soldier) was done in the Savior Transfiguration
Cathedral of Pereslavl by St Simon, Bishop of Suzdal (May 10), one of
the compilers of the Kiev Caves Paterikon (Lives of the Fathers). From
this Elder-hierarch, St Alexander received his first blessing for
military service in the name of God, to defend the Russian Church and
the Russian Land.
In 1227 Prince Yaroslav, at the request of the people of Novgorod, was
sent by his brother Yuri, the Great Prince of Vladimir, to rule as
prince in Novgorod the Great. He took with him his sons, Sts Theodore
and Alexander. Dissatisfied with the Vladimir princes, the people of
Novgorod soon invited St Michael of Chernigov (September 20), and in
February 1229 Yaroslav with his sons departed to Pereslavl. The matter
ended peacefully: in 1230 Yaroslav with his sons returned to Novgorod,
and St Michael's daughter Theodosia was betrothed to St Theodore, the
elder brother of St Alexander. After the death of the bridegroom in
1233 the young princess went to a monastery and became famous in
monastic exploits as the nun St Euphrosyne of Suzdal (September 25).
>From his early years St Alexander went along on his father's
campaigns. In 1235 he participated in a battle at the River Emajogi
(in present-day Estonia), where the forces of Yaroslav totally routed
the Germans. In the following year Yaroslav went to Kiev, "settling"
his son, St Alexander, to rule independently as prince at Novgorod. In
1239 St Alexander entered into marriage, taking as wife the daughter
of the Polotsian prince Briacheslav. Some histories relate that the
day the princess was baptized was the Name Day of her saintly spouse,
and she was named Alexandra. His father, Yaroslav, blessed them at
betrothal with the holy wonderworking icon of the Theodore Mother of
God (the father was named Theodore in Baptism). Afterwards, St
Alexander constantly prayed before this icon. Later, it was taken from
the Gorodetsk Monastery, where he died, by his brother Basil of
Kostroma (+1276), and transferred to Kostroma.
A very troublesome time had begun in Russian history: from the East
came the Mongol Horde destroying everything in their path; from the
West came the forces of the Teutonic Knights, which blasphemously and
with the blessing of the Roman Pope, called itself "Cross-bearers" by
wearing the Cross of the Lord. In this terrible hour the Providence of
God raised up for the salvation of Russia holy Prince Alexander, a
great warrior, man of prayer, ascetic and upholder of the Land of
Russia. "Without the command of God there would not have been his
prince."
Abetted by the invasion of Batu, by the ruin of Russian cities, by the
dismay and grief of the nation, by the destruction of its finest sons
and leaders, a horde of crusaders made incursions into the borders of
Russia. First were the Swedes. "A king of Roman faith from the
midnight land," Sweden, in 1240 gathered a great armed force and sent
them to the Neva on many ships under the command of his son-in-law,
Yarl (Prince) Birger. The haughty Swede sent his messengers to
Novgorod to say to St Alexander: "Fight me if you have the courage,
for I am already here and I am taking your land captive."
St Alexander, then not yet twenty years old, prayed a long time in the
church of St Sophia, the Wisdom of God. He recited the Psalm of David,
saying: "Judge, O Lord, those who injure me, fight against those who
fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help
me" (Ps. 34/35). Archbishop Spyridon blessed the holy prince and his
army for the battle. Leaving the church, St Alexander exhorted his
troops with words of faith: "The power of God is not in numbers, but
in truth." With a smaller force, trusting in the Holy Trinity, the
prince hastened towards the enemy to await help from his father, not
knowing whether the enemy would attack, nor when.
But there was a miraculous omen: at dawn on July 15 the warrior
Pelgui, in Baptism Philip, saw a boat, and on it were the Holy Martyrs
Boris and Gleb, in royal purple attire. Boris said: "Brother Gleb, let
us help our kinsman Alexander." When Pelgui reported the vision to the
prince, St Alexander commanded that no one should speak about the
miracle. Emboldened by this, he urged the army to fight valiantly
against the Swedes.
"There was a great slaughter of the Latins, and a countless multitude
was killed, and their leader was left with a mark upon his face from a
sharp spear." An angel of God invisibly helped the Orthodox army: when
morning came, on the opposite bank of the River Izhora, where the army
of St Alexander was unable to proceed, was a multitude of the slain
enemy. Because of this victory at the River Neva on July 15, 1240, the
nation called the saint Alexander Nevsky.
The Teutonic Knights remained a dangerous enemy. In a lightning-quick
campaign in 1241 St Alexander recaptured the ancient Russian fortress
of Kopore, expelling the knights. But in 1242, the Germans succeeded
capturing Pskov. The enemy boasted of "subjecting all the Slavic
nation." St Alexander, setting forth in a winter campaign, liberated
Pskov, that ancient home of the Holy Trinity, and in spring of the
year 1242 fought a decisive battle against the Teutonic Order. On the
ice of Lake Chud both armies clashed on April 5, 1242. Raising his
hands towards the heavens, St Alexander prayed: "Judge me, O God, and
judge my strife with a boastful nation and grant help to me, O God, as
to Moses of old against Amalek, and to my great-grandfather Yaroslav
the Wise against accursed Svyatopolk."
By his prayer, by the help of God, and by military might the Crusaders
were completely destroyed. There was a terrible slaughter, and there
was such a crashing of striking spears and swords that it seemed as
though the frozen lake were in motion and not solid ice, since it was
covered with blood. When they turned to flee, the enemy was pursued
and slashed by Alexander's army "as if they sped through the air, and
there was nowhere for the enemy to flee." Later, they led a multitude
of captives behind the holy prince, marching in disgrace.
Contemporaries clearly understood the universal historical
significance of the Great Battle of the Ice, and the name of St
Alexander was celebrated throughout Holy Russia, "through all the
lands, from the Egyptian Sea to Mount Ararat, from both sides of the
Varangian Sea to Great Rome."
The western boundaries of the Russian land were safely secured, and it
was time to guard Russia from the East. In 1242 St Alexander Nevsky
and his father Yaroslav journeyed to the Horde. Metropolitan Cyril
blessed them for this new service of many hardships: it was necessary
to turn the Tatars from enemies and plunderers into honorable allies,
and this required "the meekness of an angel and the wisdom of a
snake."
The Lord crowned the holy mission of the defenders of the Russian land
with success, but this required years of hardship and sacrifice.
Prince Yaroslav passed from this life. Having made an alliance with
Khan Batu, he was required, however, to travel to faraway Mongolia, to
the capital of all the nomadic empire. The situation of Batu himself
being precarious, he sought the support of the Russian princes,
wishing to break with his own Golden Horde from faraway Mongolia. And
there in turn, they trusted neither Batu nor the Russians.
Prince Yaroslav was poisoned. He died in agony, surviving the Holy
Martyr Michael of Chernigov, whose relative he nearly became, by only
ten days. Since his father bequeathed him an alliance with the Golden
Horde, it was necessary for St Alexander Nevsky to hold fast to it in
order to avert a new devastation of Russia. Sartak, the son of Batu,
had accepted Christianity, and was in charge of Russian affairs with
the Horde. He became his friend, and like a brother to him. Vowing his
support, St Alexander allowed Batu to launch a campaign against
Mongolia, to become the chief power in all the Great Steppes, and to
raise up the Tatar Christian leader, Khan Munke (most of his Tatar
Christians were Nestorians) on the throne in Mongolia.
Not all the Russian princes possessed the wisdom of St Alexander
Nevsky. Many hoped for European help in the struggle against the
Mongol Yoke. St Michael of Chernigov, Prince Daniel of Galich, and
Andrew, St Alexander's brother, conducted negotiations with the Roman
Pope. But St Alexander well knew the fate of Constantinople, seized
and devastated by Crusaders in the year 1204. His own personal
experience taught him not to trust the West. The alliance of Daniel of
Galich with the Pope, giving him nothing in return, was a betrayal of
Orthodoxy, a unia with Rome. St Alexander did not want this to happen
to his Church.
When ambassadors of the Roman Pope appeared in 1248 to seduce him
also, he wrote in answer that the Russians were faithful to the Church
of Christ and to the belief of the Seven Ecumenical Councils: "These
we know very well, but we do not accept your teaching." Catholicism
was unsuitable for the Russian Church, and a unia signified a
rejection of Orthodoxy, a rejection of the source of spiritual life, a
rejection of the historical future foreordained by God, and the
dooming of itself to spiritual death.
In the year 1252 many Russian cities rose up against the Tatar Yoke,
supporting Andrew Yaroslavich. The situation was very risky. Again
there arose a threat to the very existence of Russia. St Alexander had
to journey to the Horde once more, in order to prevent a punitive
Tatar incursion on the Russian lands. Defeated, Andrew fled to the
Swedes seeking the help of those very robbers whom his great brother
had crushed with the help of God at the Neva.
St Alexander became the ruling Great Prince of All Rus: Vladimir, Kiev
and Novgorod. A great responsibility before God and history lay upon
his shoulders. In 1253, he repelled a new German incursion against
Pskov; in 1254 he made a treaty with Norway concerning peacetime
borders; in 1256 he went on a campaign to the Finnish land. The
chronicler called it "the dark campaign," because the Russian army
went along through the polar night, "going to impassable places,
unable to see neither day nor night". Into the darkness of paganism St
Alexander brought the light of Gospel preaching and Orthodox culture.
All the coastal region was enlightened and opened up by the Russians.
In 1256 Khan Batu died, and soon his son Sartak was poisoned, the one
who was like a brother to Alexander Nevsky. The holy prince journeyed
a third time to Sarai in order to confirm peaceful relations of Rus
and the Horde with the new Khan, Berke. Although the successor to Batu
had accepted Islam, he needed the alliance with Orthodox Rus. In 1261,
by the diligent efforts of St Alexander and Metropolitan Cyril, a
diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was established at Sarai, the
capital of the Golden Horde.
There followed an epoch of great Christianization of the pagan East,
and St Alexander Nevsky prophetically speculated about the historical
vocation of Rus. The holy prince used every possibility to uplift his
native land and the ease its allotted cross. In 1262 by his decree in
many of the cities the Tatar collectors of tribute and the
conscription of soldiers were stopped. They waited for a Tatar
reprisal. But the great intercessor of the nation again journeyed to
the Horde and he wisely directed the event into quite another channel.
Having been dismissed for the uprising of the Russians, Khan Berke
ceased to send tribute to Mongolia and proclaimed the Golden Horde an
independent entity, making it a veritable shield for Russia from the
East. In this great uniting of the Russian and Tatar lands and peoples
the future multi-national Russian State was matured and strengthened.
Later, within the bounds of the Russian Church, was encompassed nearly
the entire legacy of Ghenghis Khan to the coasts of the Pacific Ocean.
This diplomatic journey of St Alexander Nevsky to Sarai was his fourth
and last. The future of Rus was rescued, his duty before God was
fulfilled. But his power was wholly devoted, and his life put to the
service of the Russian Church. On the return journey from the Horde St
Alexander fell deathly ill. Unable to reach Vladimir, in a monastery
at Gorodets the prince-ascetic gave up his spirit to the Lord on
November 14, 1263, completing his difficult earthly path by receiving
the monastic schema with the name of Alexis.
Metropoltan Cyril, the spiritual Father and companion of the holy
prince, said in the funeral eulogy: "Know, my child, that already the
sun has set for the land of Suzdal. There will be no greater prince in
the Russian land." They took his holy body to Vladimir, the journey
lasted nine days, and the body remained undecayed.
On November 23, before his burial at the Nativity Monastery in
Vladimir, there was manifest by God "a wondrous miracle and worthy of
memory." When the body of St Alexander was placed in the crypt, the
steward Sebastian and Metropolitan Cyril wanted to take his hand, in
order to put in it the spiritual gramota (document of absolution). The
holy prince, as though alive, reached out his hand and took the
document from the hand of the Metropolitan. "Because of their terror,
and they were barely able to stumble from his tomb. Who would not be
astonished at this, since he was dead and the body was brought from
far away in the winter time."
Thus did God glorify the saintly Soldier-Prince Alexander Nevsky. The
universal Church glorification of St Alexander Nevsky took place under
Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Cathedral in 1547. The Canon to
the saint was compiled at that time by the monk Michael of Vladimir.
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St Metrophanes (in schema Macarius) the Bishop of Voronezh
St Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh, in the world Michael, was born
November 8, 1623. Since the saint's book of commemorations begins with
persons of priestly rank, it is assumed that he was born into a
priestly family. We know from St Metrophanes' will that he "was born
of pious parents and was raised by them in the incorrupt piety of the
Eastern Church, in the Orthodox Faith."
Until he was forty, the saint lived in the world. He was married, had
a son John, and served as a parish priest. The place of Father
Michael's pastoral activity was the village of Sidorovo, situated at
the River Molokhta, a tributary of the Teza flowing to the Klyazma,
not far from the city of Shui (now Vladimir district).
After his wife died, Father Michael received monastic tonsure with the
name Metrophanes in the Zolotnikovskaya Dormition Monastery in 1663.
In the Synodikon of the monastery the entry for St Metrophanes begins
with the words: "Origin of the black clergy Metrophanes of Sidorovo."
After three years of monastic life the hieromonk Metrophanes was
chosen igumen of the St Cosmas of Yakrom (February 18) monastery. He
guided the monastery for ten years, showing himself zealous as its
head. By his efforts a church was built here in honor of the Icon of
the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands (August 16).
Patriarch Joachim (1674-1690), learning about the deep piety of St
Metrophanes, raised him in 1675 to the rank of archimandrite of the
Makariev-Unzha monastery. Under the supervision of the saint, a stone
church was built there in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy
Theotokos, together with a trapeza and bell-tower.
At the Moscow Council of 1681-1682 among the number of measures taken
for the struggle against the old ritualist schism, and with the goal
of improving Christian enlightenment among the Orthodox populace, it
was resolved to increase the number of dioceses, and to open up new
cathedrals at Voronezh, Tambov, Kholmogor and Great Ustiug. St
Metrophanes was summoned to the capital and on April 2, 1682 was
consecrated Bishop of Voronezh by Patriarch Joachim and sixteen
archpastors.
The beginning of St Metrophanes' tenure as bishop coincided with a
dispute over the imperial succession, and a Church schism. Upon his
arrival at Voronezh the saint first of all sent an encyclical to the
pastors of his diocese, in which he urged his pastors to moral
improvement. "Venerable priests of God Most High," he wrote, "leaders
of the flock of Christ! You ought to possess clear eyes of the mind,
illumined by the light of reason, in order to lead others on the
correct path. In the words of the Lord, you must be the light
yourselves: 'you are the light of the world' (Mt. 5:14). When Christ
the Savior entrusted His flock to the Apostle Peter, He said to him
three times: 'feed my sheep.' This is because pastors care for their
flock in three ways: by the words of teaching, by prayer and the power
of the Holy Mysteries, and by their way of life. You must also act by
all three methods: teach the people, set an example of a righteous
life, and pray for them. Strengthen them by the Holy Mysteries; above
all enlighten the unbelievers by holy Baptism, and try to lead sinners
to repentance. Take care of the sick, so that they do not depart from
this life without receiving Holy Communion and Holy Unction."
St Metrophanes began his archpastoral activity with the building of a
new cathedral church in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy
Theotokos, replacing an old wooden temple. In 1692 the cathedral with
chapels in honor of St Michael and St Nicholas was consecrated. In the
twenty years that St Metrophanes was bishop, the number of churches
increased from 182 to 239, and two monasteries were founded: the
Korotoyaksk Ascension and the Bitiugsk Trinity monasteries. And in the
existing monasteries, he concerned himself with eradicating the
unseemly behavior and disorder, emphasizing a strict life according to
the monastic rule.
The first Bishop of Voronezh eagerly concerned himself with the needs
of his flock. He consoled both the poor and the wealthy, was a
defender of widows and orphans, and an advocate of the wronged. His
home served as a hostel for strangers and a hospice for the sick. The
saint prayed not only for the living, but also for dead Christians,
and particularly for soldiers fallen for the Fatherland, inscribing
their names in the cathedral's memorial list. Remembering them at
Proskomedia [priest's preparation of the gifts before Liturgy], St
Metrophanes said: "If this is a righteous soul, then there is a
greater portion of worthiness. If he is a sinner, however, then there
is a connection with God's mercy."
There was a great friendship between St Metrophanes and St Pitirim,
Bishop of Tambov (July 28). They not only kept up a correspondence,
but also met for spiritual talks. The founding of the Tregulyaev
monastery of St John the Forerunner was connected with the friendship
of the bishops. On September 15, 1688 St Metrophanes visited St
Pitirim. Three of them (the priest Basil was with them) took a stroll
together to the Tambov archpastor's place of solitary prayer, and
there they chose the place for the future monastery.
St Metrophanes, an intensely patriotic man, by his own moral
authority, kind-heartedness and prayers, contributed to the reforms of
Peter I, the necessity and purpose of which he well understood. With
the building of a fleet at Voronezh for a campaign against Azov, St
Metrophanes urged the nation to fully support Peter I. This was
particularly important, since many regarded the construction of a
fleet as useless. The saint did not limit himself only to advice to
the Tsar, but rendered also material support to the state treasury,
which needed money for the construction of the fleet, and he provided
all the means, aware that they would go for the benefit of the nation.
The saint's patriotic feelings were combined in his soul with
unflinching faith and strict Orthodox conviction, on account of which
he did not fear incurring the Tsar's wrath. The saint refused to go to
court to see Peter I, since there were statues of pagan gods there,
and although disgrace threatened the saint for disobeying the imperial
will, he remained uncompromising. Peter gave orders to remove the
statues and from that time was filled with greater respect for the
bishop.
St Metrophanes died in 1703 in extreme old age, taking the schema with
the name Macarius before his death. The funeral took place on December
4, conducted according to the saint's monastic, not priestly rank.
This became the established practice for the burial of a bishop. Tsar
Peter I himself carried the coffin from the cathedral to the tomb.
Taking leave, he said: "I no longer have a holy Elder such as he.
Memory eternal to him."
One of the remarkable memorials of the life and activity of St
Metrophanes is his Spiritual Testament. In it he says: "By divine
destiny I have arrived at old age and now I have exhausted my natural
strength. Therefore I declare this my final writing ... When my sinful
soul is released from its union with the flesh, I entrust it to God
Who created it, that it might find favor as the work of His hands. My
sinful bones I grant to the mother of all (the earth), in expectation
of the resurrection of the dead." Further on, addressing pastors and
the flocks, the saint says: "The simple sinner give answer to God for
his soul alone, but priests can come to torment for many, in
neglecting the sheep, from which they gather milk and wool... For
everyone the rule of wise men is: do work, preserve a balance, and you
will be rich. Drink temperately, eat little, and you will be healthy.
Do good, shun evil, and you will be saved."
The commemoration of St Metrophanes was established in 1832. On August
7, we celebrate the translation of his holy relics.
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Martyr Sisinius the Bishop of Cyzicus
The Holy Martyr Sisinius, Bishop of Cyzicus, who participated in the
First Ecumenical Council, suffered for Christ during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305) under Governor Alexander of Cyzicus. After many
terrible torments the martyr was beheaded.
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Martyr Theodore of Antioch
The Holy Martyr Theodore of Antioch, a fifteen-year-old youth, was
condemned to fierce torments by the emperor Julian the Apostate
(361-363). Because he was responsible for the translation of the
relics of St Babylas (September 4) from Daphne to Antioch, he was
arrested and tortured. The executioners were dismayed that the saint
could rejoice during the torture, and didn't seem to feel any pain.
They reported this miracle to the emperor, and he gave orders to
release the saint.
St Theodore later said that when they were tormenting him, an angel
appeared and relieved his suffering. When the angel left after the
torture, the saint began to feel the pain. The holy Martyr Theodore
lived to old age and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord.
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Venerable Anthony of Iezerul-Vilcea Skete
Saint Anthony the Hesychast was born in the sub-Carpathian Mountains
of Vilcea county in Romania, and he loved Christ from his early
childhood. He knew many ascetics who lived as hesychasts, and they had
a profound effect upon his life. He received the monastic tonsure at
the Iezerul Skete, where he lived for several years as a young man.
In 1690, after he had gained experience in the ascetical life, the
igumen blessed him to live as a solitary on Mt Iezerul. There he lived
in a small cave, glorifying God and struggling against demons. Only
real hesychasts know what great temptations and trials face those who
wish to live as solitaries.
St Anthony labored for three years digging a chapel out of the
cliffside with his own hands. He would work during the day, and keep
vigil by night. When the chapel was finished, it was consecrated by
Bishop Hilarion of Rimnicu Vilcea. St Anthony prayed there
unceasingly, reading the daily services and making hundreds of
prostrations. A hieromonk from the Skete would come from time to time
to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Feast Days and during the fasts.
St Anthony's holy life became known throughout the region, and many of
the clergy and laity flocked to him for spiritual advice or
consolation in sorrows. He received them with love, gave them the help
they needed, and sent them home in peace. Through his influence, a
genuine spiritual revival took place in sub-Carpathian Oltenia.
St Anthony fell asleep in the Lord in 1714 after twenty-five years of
spiritual struggles. His disciples mourned him, and buried him beside
his small chapel. The faithful still go there to light candles and to
pray, seeking his blessing and assistance.
St Anthony the Hesychast was glorified by the Orthodox Church of
Romania in 1992.
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Hieromartyr Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia
Archimandrite Gregory (Peradze) was born August 31, 1899, in the
village of Bakurtsikhe, in the Sighnaghi district of Kakheti. His
father, Roman Peradze, was a priest.
In 1918 Gregory completed his studies at the theological school and
seminary in Tbilisi and enrolled in the philosophy department at
Tbilisi University. Three years later, in 1921, he began to teach at
the university, but theGeorgian Church soon sent him to Germany to
study theology. From1922 to 1925Gregory studied theology and eastern
languages at the University of Berlin, and in 1925 he transferred to
the philosophy department at theUniversity of Bonn, where he received
a doctoral degree in philosophy for his dissertation The Monastic Life
inGeorgia from ItsOrigins to 1064.Gregory continued to attend lectures
in theology at the University of Louvain until 1927.
In 1927 Gregory moved to England to continue his career in academia,
and there he became acquainted with the old patristic manuscripts that
were preserved in the library collections of the British Museum and
Oxford University. In July of that year Gregory was named an associate
professor at the University of Bonn, and he returned there to lecture
on the history of Georgian and Armenian literature. In 1931 Gregory
was tonsured a monk, ordained a priest, and appointed dean of the
Georgian church in Paris. A year later he was invited to Oxford to
lecture on Georgian history.
A new period in St. Gregorys life began later in 1932, when the
Metropolitan of all Poland, Dionysius Waledinsky, invited him to be a
professor of Patrology and the chair of Orthodox Theology at Warsaw
University. He often delivered lectures at academic conferences and in
academic centers throughout Europe. He sought tirelessly for ancient
Georgian manuscripts and historical documents on the Georgian Church.
His searches took him to Syria, Palestine, Greece, Bulgaria, Austria,
Romania, Italy and England. As a result of his labors, many long-lost
Georgian manuscripts surfaced again.
Humility and industriousness characterized the Hieromartyr Gregory
throughout his life. In difficult moments he often repeated the words
of St. John Chrysostom: Glory be to God for all things!
In the 1920s, as the Red Army was securing its occupation of Georgia,
the nations treasures were carried away to France for safekeeping.
Later, in the 1940s, Georgian society was unaware that, due to St.
Gregorys efforts alone, many treasures of Georgian national culture
were spared confiscation by the Nazis in Paris. Risking execution at
the hands of a firing squad, St. Gregory wrote in the official
documentation presented to the Nazis that these items were of no
particular value but were precious to the Georgians as part of their
national consciousness.
Nor did most of Georgian society know that, in Paris, Archimandrite
Gregory had founded a Georgian church in honor of the holy
Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino and a parish journal called _Jvari Vazisa_,
or The Cross of Vines.
In May of 1942 St. Gregory was arrested by the Gestapo. The priceless
Georgian manuscripts he had preserved and many sacred objects that had
been crafted by ancient Georgian masters and collected by St. Gregory
during his travels (in hopes of returning them to Georgia) disappeared
after his apartment was searched.
Archimandrite Gregory was arrested for sheltering and aiding Jews and
other victims of the fascist persecutions. He was incarcerated at
Pawiak Prison in Warsaw, and deported to Auschwitz at the beginning of
November.
In the camp an inmate killed a German officer. The guards drove
everyone out of the barracks absolutely naked, forcing them to stay in
the below-freezing temperatures until someone confessed. St. Gregory
decided to take the blame for the murder, thus saving innocent
prisoners from freezing to death. The guards let loose the dogs on the
martyr, poured gasoline over him, and lit him on fire. Then they said,
Poles, go warm yourselves around him, your intercessor.
According to the official German documentation, Gregory Peradze died
on December 6, 1942 [November 23, old style], at 4:45 in the
afternoon. (According to another account, the martyr entered the gas
chamber in place of a Jewish man with a large family. This was
reported by a former prisoner, who, after being liberated, visited
Metropolitan Dionysius and gave him St. Gregorys cross.) In the end,
like Christ Himself, Archimandrite Gregory died for having taken upon
himself the sin of another.
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