[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Thu Feb 21 05:00:12 CST 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Thu Feb 21 2008

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1 John 1:8-2:6  (Epistle)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word
is not in us.
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not
sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
only but also for the whole world.
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in
him. By this we know that we are in Him.
6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He
walked.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2

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Mark 13:31-14:2  (Gospel)
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass
away.
32 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in
heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and
gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded
the doorkeeper to watch.
35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house
is coming-in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster,
or in the morning-
36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!
1 After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might
take Him by trickery and put Him to death.
2 But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the
people."
Scripture Reading 2 of 2

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Venerable Timothy of Symbola in Bithynia
Saint Timothy of Symbola, was of Italian descent. He became a monk at
a young age and pursued asceticism at a monastery called "Symbola," in
Asia Minor near Mount Olympus. At that time Theoctistus was the
archimandrite of the monastery. St Timothy was the disciple of
Theoctistus and also of St Platon of the Studion Monastery (April 5).
Attaining a high degree of spiritual perfection, he received from God
the gift of healing the sick and casting out unclean spirits. He spent
many years as a hermit, roaming the wilderness, the mountains and
forests, both day and night offering up prayer to the Lord God. He
died at a great old age, in the year 795.
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St Eustathius the Archbishop of Antioch
Saint Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch (323-331) was born in Side,
Pamphylia in 324. He was Bishop of Beroea (modern Aleppo), and enjoyed
the love and esteem of the people, and at the request of his flock he
was elevated by the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (325) to
the See of Antioch.
St Eustathius was a learned theologian, and was also distinguished by
his broad knowledge in secular sciences. When the heresy of Arius
began to spread in the East (Arianism denied the consubstantiality of
the Son of God with the Father), St Eustathius struggled zealously for
the purity of the Orthodox Faith through his words and his writings.
The First Ecumenical Council was convened in the year 325 by the holy
God-crowned Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337). The first to
preside over this Council was St Eustathius. The Council condemned the
heretical teachings of Arius and incorporated the Orthodox confession
into the Symbol of Faith (the Nicene Creed).
But the mad Arius, as St Eustathius called him, refused to renounce
his errors. He and those who shared his opinion were excommunicated
from the Church by the Council. Among the bishops who signed the
Nicene Symbol of Faith were some who sympathized with the heresy of
Arius, but signed the Acts of the Council through fear of
excommunication.
After the Council, his enemies plotted against St Eustathius. With
great cunning they gained his consent to convene a local Council at
Antioch. Having bribed a certain profligate woman, they persuaded her
to appear at the Council with an infant at her breast, and falsely
declare that St Eustathius was the father of the infant.
The Arians declared St Eustathius deposed, violating the Apostolic
Rule that accusations against the clergy must be substantiated by two
witnesses. Without a trial he was sent off into exile in Thrace. But
the lie was soon unmasked: the woman repented after falling grievously
ill. She summoned the clergy, and in the presence of many people, she
confessed her sin.
St Constantine the Great died around this time, and his son
Constantius (337-361), who shared the heretical views of Arius and
favored the Arian bishops, succeeded his father on the throne. Even in
exile, St Eustathius struggled for Orthodoxy with the same zeal. He
died in exile, in the city of Philippi or Trajanopolis, in the year
337.
Convened in the year 381 at Constaninople, the Second Ecumenical
Council confirmed the Orthodox Symbol of Faith, which St Eustathius
had so vigorously defended. The Arian heresy was once again
anthematized.
In the year 482 the relics of St Eustathius were reverently
transferred from Philippi to Antioch, to the great joy of the Antioch
people, who had not ceased to honor and love their patriarch.
St Eustathius was esteemed by the great hierarchs of the fourth
century, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Athanasius of Alexandria,
Epiphanius of Cyprus, Anastasius of Sinai, and Jerome of Stridonia.
The renowned church historian Bishop Theodoret of Cyrrhus calls St
Eustathius a pillar of the Church and a man of piety, of equal stature
with St Athanasius of Alexandria and the other bishops at the
forefront of the struggle for Orthodoxy.
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St George the Bishop of Amastris on the Black Sea
Saint George, Bishop of Amastris, was from the city of Kromna, near
the city of Amastris close to the Black Sea. His pious and illustrious
parents Theodore and Migethusa gave him a fine spiritual and secular
education. St George withdrew to the mountains of Syriki in Asia
Minor, where he embraced monasticism and began to lead a strict
ascetic life under the guidance of a hermit.
After the death of his Elder, St George moved to a monastery in
Bonissa, and there continued with his efforts. After the death of the
bishop of the city of Amastris, St George was chosen bishop by the
clergy and the people, and he was consecrated at Constantinople by
Patriarch Tarasius (February 25). Arriving in Amastris, St George
instructed his flock, he adorned several churches, was a defender of
widows and orphans, fed the poor, and in everything he gave example of
a God-pleasing life.
By the power of his prayer he repelled the Saracens who were ravaging
the countryside from the city of Amastris. He also delivered from
death Amastrian merchants wrongfully condemned in the city of
Trebizon.
St George died peacefully in the midst of his flock on March 3, 805
during the reign of the emperor Nicephorus I (802-811).
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Icon of the Mother of God "Kozelshchansk"
The Kozelshchansk Icon of the Mother of God was glorified in the late
nineteenth century, though it is older than that. This icon is of
Italian origin and was brought to Russia by one of Empress Elizabeth's
(1741-1761) maids of honor, who was Italian. The owner of the icon
married a records clerk of the Zaporozhsky-Cossack army, Siromakh. So,
the icon went to the Ukraine with them.
During the nineteenth century it belonged to the family of Count
Vladimir Kapnist, and was one of their sacred possessions. The icon
was in the village of Kozelschina, Poltava governance. During
Cheesefare Week in the year 1880, Maria, the daughter of V. I.
Kapnist, dislocated some bones in her foot. The local doctor said the
problem was not serious. Dr. Grube, a noted surgeon in Kharkov, agreed
with the diagnosis, and he applied a plaster cast to Maria's foot. He
also prescribed hot baths and iron supplements. To lessen the
discomfort of the foot while walking, a special shoe was made with
metal bands that went around the girl's leg. Lent passed, but the girl
did not feel any relief.
After Pascha, Maria's other foot became twisted. Then both shoulders
and her left hip became dislocated, and she developed pain in her
spine. The doctor advised Count Kapnist to take his daughter
immediately to the Caucasus for the curative mineral waters and
mountain air. The journey to the Caucasus and the curative treatments
caused even greater affliction. The girl lost all feeling in her hands
and feet, and did not even feel pinches.
Because of the advanced degree of the illness, and since therapy was
not helping, they were compelled to return home.
In the month of October, the father journeyed with his sick daughter
to Moscow. Here he consulted specialists, who declared that they could
do nothing for Maria.
The parents and the sick girl began to despair. However, an unexpected
opportunity for help from a foreign professor presented itself. Since
it would be some while before his arrival in Moscow, the sick girl
asked to return home. The Count sent her back to the village, and his
wife promised to bring their daughter back to Moscow when he received
news of the the professor's arrival. On February 21, 1881, they
received a telegram saying that the professor had arrived in Moscow.
On the day before the appointment, Maria's mother suggested that she
pray before the family icon of the Mother of God. She said to her
daughter, "Masha [a diminutive form of Maria], tomorrow we go to
Moscow. Take the icon, let us clean its cover and pray to the Most
Holy Theotokos that your infirmity be cured."
The girl, who had no confidence in earthly physicians, placed all her
hope in God. This icon had long been known as wonderworking. According
to Tradition, young women would pray before it to have a happy family.
It was also the custom to clean the cover of the icon, and the one
praying would wipe it with cotton or linen.
Pressing the holy icon to her bosom, the sick girl, with the help of
her mother, cleaned it and poured out all her sorrow and despair of
soul to the Mother of God. All at once, she felt the strength return
to her body and she cried out loudly, "Mama! Mama! I can feel my legs!
I can feel my hands!" She tore off the metal braces and bandages and
began to walk about the room, while continuing to hold the icon of the
Mother of God in her hands.
The parish priest was summoned at once and celebrated a service of
Thanksgiving before the icon. The joyous event quickly became known
throughout all the surrounding villages. The Countess and Maria went
to Moscow and took with them the holy icon of the Mother of God. News
of the healing quickly spread about Moscow and people began to throng
to the hotel, and then to the church, where they had brought the icon.
The icon continued to work several more healings. When the family
returned home to Kozelschina, people had already heard about the
miracles of the Kozelschansk icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, and
many came to venerate the icon. It was no longer possible to keep the
icon at home, so by the order of Archbishop John of Poltava, the icon
was transferred to a temporary chapel on April 23, 1881. Every day
from early morning, services of Thanksgiving and Akathists were served
before the icon.
In 1882 a chapel was built on the grounds of the estate, and then a
church. decision of the Holy Synod on March 1, 1885 a women's
monastery was established, and on February 17, 1891 it was dedicated
to the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.
At present, the Kozelschansk Icon is in the Krasnogorsk Protection
women's monastery (Kiev diocese). In the lower left corner of the icon
is a table with a cup and a spoon. It is believed that this symbolizes
the Mother of God as a "bowl for mixing the wine of joy" (Akathist,
Ikos 11). A Service and an Akathist have been composed for the
Kozelschansk Icon.
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St John "Scholasticus", Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint John Scholasticus, Patriarch of Constantinople, was born in
Sirimion near Antioch, and studied law. He was ordained a priest
because of his great holiness and piety. Later he was elevated to the
patriarchal throne, where he spent the years 565 to 577.
While still a presbyter, he compiled a collection of Church Rules in
Fifty Chapters, and later during his time as patriarch he made a Codex
of civil laws relating to the Church. From these collections was
compiled the Nomocanon (i.e. "Law-canon"), used in church
administration. St John also composed the "Cherubic Hymn", and "Of Thy
Mystical Supper."
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St Zachariah, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Saint Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem, lived from the end of the
sixth to the early seventh centuries. He became Patriarch of Jerusalem
in 609. In the year 614 the Persian emperor Chosroes fell upon
Jerusalem, looted it, and led many Christians into captivity,
including St Zacharias.
Chosroes also captured the Life-Creating Cross of Christ. During the
invasion, as many as 90,000 Christians perished. Afterwards Chosroes
was compelled to sue for peace with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
(610-641). The Cross of the Lord was returned to Jerusalem. The
Christian captives who remained alive also were returned, among them
Patriarch Zacharias, who died peacefully in the year 633.
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