[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sat Oct 27 05:00:13 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sat Oct 27 2007

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2 Corinthians 5:1-10
1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we
have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our
habitation which is from heaven,
3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.
4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we
want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be
swallowed up by life.
5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has
given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the
body we are absent from the Lord.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the
body and to be present with the Lord.
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well
pleasing to Him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that
each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he
has done, whether good or bad.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2

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Luke 8:16-21
16 No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it
under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see
the light.
17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything
hidden that will not be known and come to light.
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will
be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will
be taken from him.
19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach
Him because of the crowd.
20 And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your
brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."
21 But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are
these who hear the word of God and do it."
Scripture Reading 2 of 2

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Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica
The Holy Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica suffered in the year 306 in the
city of Thessalonica together with the Great Martyr Demetrius of
Thessalonica (October 26).
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Venerable Nestor the Chronicler of the Kiev Caves
Saint Nestor the Chronicler, of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves was born at
Kiev in 1050. He came to St Theodosius (May 3) as a young man, and
became a novice. St Nestor took monastic tonsure under the successor
to St Theodosius, the igumen Stephen, and under him was ordained a
hierodeacon.
Concerning his lofty spiritual life it says that, with a number of
other monastic Fathers he participated in the casting out of a devil
from Nikita the Hermit (January 31), who had become fascinated by the
Hebrew wisdom of the Old Testament. St Nestor deeply appreciated true
knowledge, along with humility and penitence. "Great is the benefit of
book learning," he said, "for books point out and teach us the way to
repentance, since from the words of books we discover wisdom and
temperance. This is the stream, watering the universe, from which
springs wisdom. In books is a boundless depth, by them we are
comforted in sorrows, and they are a bridle for moderation. If you
enter diligently into the books of wisdom, then you shall discover
great benefit for your soul. Therefore, the one who reads books
converses with God or the saints."
In the monastery St Nestor had the obedience of being the chronicler.
In the 1080s he wrote the "Account about the Life and Martyrdom of the
Blessed Passion Bearers Boris and Gleb" in connection with the
transfer of the relics of the saints to Vyshgorod in the year 1072
(May 2). In the 1080s St Nestor also compiled the Life of the Monk
Theodosius of the Kiev Caves. And in 1091, on the eve of the patronal
Feast of the Kiev Caves Monastery, he was entrusted by Igumen John to
dig up the holy relics of St Theodosius (August 14) for transfer to
the church.
The chief work in the life of St Nestor was compiling in the years
1112-1113 The Russian Primary Chronicle. "Here is the account of years
past, how the Russian land came to be, who was the first prince at
Kiev and how the Russian land is arrayed." The very first line written
by St Nestor set forth his purpose. St Nestor used an extraordinarily
wide circle of sources: prior Russian chronicles and sayings,
monastery records, the Byzantine Chronicles of John Malalos and George
Amartolos, various historical collections, the accounts of the
boyar-Elder Ivan Vyshatich and of tradesmen and soldiers, of
journeymen and of those who knew. He drew them together with a unified
and strict ecclesiastical point of view. This permitted him to write
his history of Russia as an inclusive part of world history, the
history of the salvation of the human race.
The monk-patriot describes the history of the Russian Church in its
significant moments. He speaks about the first mention of the Russian
nation in historical sources in the year 866, in the time of St
Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople. He tells of the creation of the
Slavonic alphabet and writing by Sts Cyril and Methodius; and of the
Baptism of St Olga at Constantinople. The Chronicle of St Nestor has
preserved for us an account of the first Orthodox church in Kiev
(under the year 945), and of the holy Varangian Martyrs (under the
year 983), of the "testing of the faiths" by St Vladimir (in 986) and
the Baptism of Rus (in 988).
We are indebted to the first Russian Church historian for details
about the first Metropolitans of the Russian Church, about the
emergence of the Kiev Caves monastery, and about its founders and
ascetics. The times in which St Nestor lived were not easy for the
Russian land and the Russian Church. Rus lay torn asunder by princely
feuds; the Polovetsian nomads of the steppes lay waste to both city
and village with plundering raids. They led many Russian people into
slavery, and burned churches and monasteries. St Nestor was an
eyewitness to the devastation of the Kiev Caves monastery in the year
1096. In the Chronicle a theologically thought out patriotic history
is presented. The spiritual depth, historical fidelity and patriotism
of the The Russian Primary Chronicle establish it in the ranks of the
significant creations of world literature.
St Nestor died around the year 1114, having left to the other monastic
chroniclers of the Kiev Caves the continuation of his great work. His
successors in the writing of the Chronicles were: Igumen Sylvester,
who added contemporary accounts to the The Russian Primary Chronicle;
Igumen Moses Vydubitsky brought it up to the year 1200; and finally,
Igumen Laurence, who in the year 1377 wrote the most ancient of the
surviving manuscripts that preserve the Chronicle of St Nestor (this
copy is known as the "Lavrentian Chronicle"). The hagiographic
tradition of the Kiev Caves ascetics was continued by St Simon, Bishop
of Vladimir (May 10), the compiler of the Kiev Caves Paterikon.
Narrating the events connected with the lives of the holy saints of
God, St Simon often quotes, among other sources, from the Chronicle of
St Nestor.
St Nestor was buried in the Near Caves of St Anthony. The Church also
honors his memory in the Synaxis of the holy Fathers of the Near Caves
commemorated September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent when
is celebrated the Synaxis of all the Fathers of the Kiev Caves. His
works have been published many times, including in English as "The
Russian Primary Chronicle".
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Uncovering of the relics of St Andrew the Prince of Smolensk
The Uncovering of the relics of Saint Andrew, Prince of Smolensk at
Pereslavl occurred in the year 1539 through the involvement of St
Daniel of Pereslavl (April 7).
The holy Prince Andrew was the son of the Smolensk prince Theodore
Fominsky. While still in his youth, he was grieved by the disputes of
his brothers, and he left his native city going as a simple wanderer
to Pereslavl Zalessk. In humility and meekness he spent thirty years
as church warden at the church of St Nicholas, near which he is
buried. After his death they discovered a princely ring, a gold chain
and an inscription with the words, "I am Andrew, one of the Smolensk
princes."
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Martyr Capitolina of Cappadocia
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Erotheis of Cappadocia
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Mark on the Isle of Thasos
No information available at this time.
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Martyrs with the St Mark on the isle of Thasos
No information available at this time.
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St Demetrius the New the Metropolitan of Bucharest
No information available at this time.
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Icon of the Mother of God of "the Sign"
The main commemoration of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Of the
Sign" is November 27.
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St Demetrius of Basarbovo
No information available at this time.
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St Nestor (not the Chronicler) of the Far Kiev Caves
Saint Nestor (not the Chronicler) of the Kiev Caves, is to be
distinguished from St Nestor the Chronicler, who lived as an ascetic
in the Far Caves. His memory is celebrated October 27 it seems,
because he was named for the St Nestor of Thessalonica.
The name of St Nestor (not the Chronicler) is mentioned in the General
Service to the Monastics of the Far Caves: "The Word of God,
understood by man, instructed you not by written wisdom, O holy
Nestor, but from on high; you beheld it through the prayers of the
angel, and you foresaw your death. May we also be made partakers with
you, we pray, in honoring your memory." His memory is celebrated also
on August 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
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Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo
The holy hierarch Alexander (Alexi Okropiridze in the world) was born
in 1824, in the village of Disevi in the Gori district, to the family
of the village priest. Growing up around the church, he received his
primary education at Gori Theological School and later continued his
education at Tbilisi Seminary.
Having completed his course of study at the seminary in 1845, he was
tonsured a monk at the Tbilisi Monastery of the Transfiguration and
given the new name Alexander. From Tbilisi the young monk Alexander
traveled to the theological academy in Kazan to continue his studies.
He graduated with honors and returned to his homeland. Hieromonk
Alexander taught the Holy Scriptures, Latin, moral theology, and
archaeology at Tbilisi Seminary until July 27, 1851.
Then, at the order of the Holy Synod, he was appointed dean of the
theological school in Abkhazeti on September 21, 1851. He was also
entrusted with overseeing monastic life in the Abkhazeti diocese and
with supervising the instruction at Kutaisi Theological School.
Alexander considered a broadening of the network of theological
institutions most essential to the strengthening of the Christian
Faith in his country. From the very beginning of his labors in
Abkhazeti, he exerted an enormous amount of effort to improve the
Ilori Theological School in Ochamchire. At first Alexander was active
as a pedagogue, then from February 29, 1856, as an archimandrite, and
from March 4, 1862, as a bishop. He was as beloved throughout all of
Georgian society as he was by the local population, and many called
him the Second Apostle to Abkhazeti.
Alexanders pastoral activity coincided with a difficult period in
Georgian history. The divine services were no longer being celebrated
in the Georgian language, and as a result many of the people began to
drift away from the Church. Many Georgian churches and monasteries,
considered cultural and academic centers from ancient times, were
deserted. (By this time Georgia had been incorporated into the Russian
Empire, and the tsarist government had initiated a policy of forced
Russification.) The Georgian language was no longer being taught in
schools, and the poorest families could not afford to educate their
children.
The learned and erudite Bishop Alexander considered the revival of
spiritual life and learning, firmly rooted in the national
consciousness, the principle means by which to reinvigorate the
national spirit and encourage cultural advance.
Alexanders efforts on behalf of the revival of the churches and
monasteries in Abkhazeti are, among his many labors, most worthy of
note. Through his efforts alone two churches were restored in Sokhumi.
Outside of Abkhazeti, Alexander renewed the magnificent monasteries of
Shio-Mgvime, Zedazeni, Davit-Gareji, and Shemokmedi. He restored Jvari
Church, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Disevi Church, and many other
churches in Guria-Samegrelo, Atchara, and Imereti. He devoted special
attention to the Shio-Mgvime Monastery and the surrounding area, which
had been devastated by that time.
Owing to St. Alexanders generous financial contributions, a diocesan
school for women was founded in Tbilisi in 1878.
By his initiative and personal contributions, a great number of
spiritual and historical books, textbooks and collections of sacred
hymns were published. Not a single God-pleasing project was undertaken
without Alexanders support.
St. Alexander spent the remainder of his days at the Shio-Mgvime
Monastery, which he himself had restored. Only onceon September 9,
1907, the day his spiritual son St. Ilia the Righteous was buried did
he step outside the monastery walls. The eighty-three year-old
Alexander outlived the great son of Georgia by two months and fell
asleep in the Lord on October 27 of the same year. St. Alexander is
buried at Shio-Mgvime Monastery.
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