[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Jan 2 2008

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


-----------------------------
                                      
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no
torment will ever touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their
departure was thought to be affliction,
3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at
peace.
4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is
full of immortality.
5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt
offering he accepted them.
7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run
like sparks through the stubble.
8 They will govern nations and rule other peoples, and the Lord will
reign over them for ever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will
abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect,
and he watches over his holy ones.
Scripture Reading 1 of 8


-----------------------------
                                      
Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-6:3  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
15 But the righteous live for ever, and their reward is with the Lord;
the Most High takes care of them.
16 Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem
from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover
them, and with his arm he will shield them.
17 The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all
creation to repel his enemies;
18 he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial
justice as a helmet;
19 he will take holiness as a invincible shield,
20 and sharpen stern wrath for a sword, and creation will join with
him to fight against the madmen.
21 Shafts of lightening will fly with true aim, and will leap to the
target as a from a well-drawn bow of clouds,
22 and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult; the
water of the sea will rage against them, and rivers will relentlessly
overwhelm them;
23 a mighty wind will rise against them, and like a tempest it will
winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth, and
evil-doing will overturn the thrones of rulers.
1 Listen therefore, O kings, and understand; learn, O judges of the
ends of the earth.
2 Give ear, you that rule over multitudes, and boast of many nations.
3 For your dominion was given you from the Lord, and your sovereignty
from the Most High, who will search out your works and inquire into
your plans.
Scripture Reading 2 of 8


-----------------------------
                                      
Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15  (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
7 But the righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest.
8 For old age is not honored for length of time, nor measured by
number of years;
9 but understanding is gray hair for men, and a blameless life is ripe
old age.
10 There was one who pleased God and was loved by him,
11 He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile
deceive his soul.
12 For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving
desire perverts the innocent mind.
13 Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years;
14 for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took him
quickly from the midst of wickedness.
15 Yet the peoples saw and did not understand, nor take such a thing
to heart, that God's grace and mercy are his elect, and he watches
over his holy ones.
Scripture Reading 3 of 8


-----------------------------
                                      
Matthew 11:27-30  (Matins Gospel)
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 8


-----------------------------
                                      
James 3:11-4:6  (Epistle)
11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same
opening?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?
Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good
conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not
boast and lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual,
demonic.
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil
thing are there.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality and without hypocrisy.
18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make
peace.
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from
your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain.
You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may
spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with
the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend
of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who
dwells in us yearns jealously"?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble."
Scripture Reading 5 of 8


-----------------------------
                                      
Galatians 5:22-6:2  (Epistle, St. Seraphim)
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 6 of 8


-----------------------------
                                      
Mark 8:28-37  (Gospel)
28 So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and
others, one of the prophets."
29 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and
said to Him, "You are the Christ."
30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about
Him.
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many
things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to
rebuke Him.
33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He
rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful
of the things of God, but the things of men."
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also,
He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and
loses his own soul?
37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Scripture Reading 7 of 8


-----------------------------
                                      
Luke 6:17-23  (Gospel, St. Seraphim)
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd
of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and
Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear
Him and be healed of their diseases,
18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they
were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out
from Him and healed them all.
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: Blessed
are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed
are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And
revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is
great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
Scripture Reading 8 of 8



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


Forefeast of the Theophany of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ
The first day of the Forefeast of Theophany falls on January 2. Like
the hymns for the Nativity, many of the Church's hymns of this period
are slightly modified versions of the hymns of Holy Week.
One of the hymns at Matins today says that the coming Feast of
Theophany will be "even more radiant" than the Feast of the Nativity.
_________________________________________________________________
St Sylvester the Pope of Rome
Saint Sylvester, Bishop of Rome (314-335) was born at Rome of
Christian parents named Rufinus and Justa. His father soon died, and
the saint remained in the care of his mother. Sylvester's teacher, the
presbyter Quirinus, gave him a fine education and raised him as a true
Christian.
When he was an adult, Sylvester fulfilled the Lord's command to love
one's neighbor. He often received strangers and travelers, serving
them like a slave in his own home. During a persecution against
Christians, Sylvester did not hesitate to take in the holy confessor
Bishop Timothy of Antioch, who dwelt with him for more than a year,
and who converted many to Christ by his preaching.
Bishop Timothy was arrested and executed on orders of the Prefect
Tarquinius. Sylvester secretly took the body of the saint and buried
it. This came to the attention of Tarquinius, and the saint was
arrested and brought to trial. Tarquinius demanded that he renounce
Christ, threatening him with torture and death. St Sylvester was
however not intimidated, and he remained steadfast in his confession
of faith, and was then thrown into prison. When Tarquinius suddenly
died after the trial, the saint was set free and fearlessly he
evangelized the pagans, converting many to Christianity.
At thirty years of age St Sylvester was ordained as a deacon, and then
presbyter, by Bishop Marcellinus (296-304). After the death of Bishop
Militiades (or Melchiades, 311-314), St Sylvester was chosen Bishop of
Rome. He encouraged his flock to live in a righteous manner, and he
insisted that priests strictly fulfill their duty, and not be involved
with secular businesses.
St Sylvester became renowned as an expert on Holy Scripture and as a
staunch defender of the Christian Faith. During the reign of the
emperor St Constantine the Great, when the period of persecution had
ended for the Church, the Jews arranged a public debate to determine
which faith was true. St Constantine and his mother, the holy Empress
Helen, were present together with a large crowd.
St Sylvester spoke for the Christians, and the Jews had one hundred
and twenty learned rabbis led by Zambres, a magician and sorcerer.
Quoting the sacred books of the Old Testament, St Sylvester
convincingly demonstrated that all the prophets foretold the birth of
Jesus Christ from the all-pure Virgin, and also His voluntary
suffering and death for the redemption of the fallen race of mankind,
and His glorious Resurrection.
The saint was declared the victor in the debate. Then Zambres tried to
resort to sorcery, but the saint obstructed the evil by calling on the
name of the Lord Jesus ChriSt Zambres and the other Jews came to
believe in Jesus Christ, and they asked to be baptized.
St Sylvester guided the Roman Church for more than twenty years,
earning the esteem of his flock. He died peacefully in old age in the
year 335.
_________________________________________________________________
Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov
Saint Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was
born on July 19, 1754. His parents, Isidore and Agathia Moshnin, were
inhabitants of Kursk. Isidore was a merchant. Toward the end of his
life, he began construction of a cathedral in Kursk, but he died
before the completion of the work. His little son Prochorus,the future
Seraphim, remained in the care of his widowed mother, who raised her
son in piety.
After the death of her husband, Agathia Moshnina continued with the
construction of the cathedral. Once she took the seven-year-old
Prochorus there with her, and he fell from the scaffolding around the
seven-storey bell tower. He should have been killed, but the Lord
preserved the life of the future luminary of the Church. The terrified
mother ran to him and found her son unharmed.
Young Prochorus, endowed with an excellent memory, soon mastered
reading and writing. From his childhood he loved to attend church
services, and to read both the Holy Scripture and the Lives of the
Saints with his fellow students. Most of all, he loved to pray or to
read the Holy Gospel in private.
At one point Prochorus fell grievously ill, and his life was in
danger. In a dream the boy saw the Mother of God, promising to visit
and heal him. Soon past the courtyard of the Moshnin home came a
church procession with the Kursk Root Icon of the Sign (November 27).
His mother carried Prochorus in her arms, and he kissed the holy icon,
after which he speedily recovered.
While still in his youth Prochorus made his plans to devote his life
entirely to God and to go to a monastery. His devout mother did not
object to this and she blessed him on his monastic path with a copper
cross, which he wore on his chest for the rest of his life. Prochorus
set off on foot with pilgrims going from Kursk to Kiev to venerate the
Saints of the Caves.
The Elder Dositheus (actually a woman, Daria Tyapkina), whom Prochorus
visited, blessed him to go to the Sarov wilderness monastery, and
there seek his salvation. Returning briefly to his parental home,
Prohkor bid a final farewell to his mother and family. On November 20,
1778 he arrived at Sarov, where the monastery then was headed by a
wise Elder, Father Pachomius. He accepted him and put him under the
spiritual guidance of the Elder Joseph. Under his direction Prochorus
passed through many obediences at the monastery: he was the Elder's
cell-attendant, he toiled at making bread and prosphora, and at
carpentry. He fulfilled all his obediences with zeal and fervor, as
though serving the Lord Himself. By constant work he guarded himself
against despondency (accidie), this being, as he later said, "the most
dangerous temptation for new monks. It is treated by prayer, by
abstaining from idle chatter, by strenuous work, by reading the Word
of God and by patience, since it is engendered by pettiness of soul,
negligence, and idle talk."
With the blessing of Igumen Pachomius, Prochorus abstained from all
food on Wednesdays and Fridays, and went into the forest, where in
complete isolation he practiced the Jesus Prayer. After two years as a
novice, Prochorus fell ill with dropsy, his body became swollen, and
he was beset with suffering. His instructor Father Joseph and the
other Elders were fond of Prochorus, and they provided him care. The
illness dragged on for about three years, and not once did anyone hear
from him a word of complaint. The Elders, fearing for his very life,
wanted to call a doctor for him, but Prochorus asked that this not be
done, saying to Father Pachomius: "I have entrusted myself, holy
Father, to the True Physician of soul and body, our Lord Jesus Christ
and His All-Pure Mother."
He asked that a Molieben be offered for his health. While the others
were praying in church, Prochorus had a vision. The Mother of God
appeared to him accompanied by the holy Apostles Peter and John the
Theologian. Pointing with Her hand towards the sick monk, the Most
Holy Virgin said to St John, "He is one of our kind." Then She touched
the side of the sick man with Her staff, and immediately the fluid
that had swelled up his body began to flow through the incision that
She made. After the Molieben, the brethren found that Prochorus had
been healed, and only a scar remained as evidence of the miracle.
Soon, at the place of the appearance of the Mother of God, an
infirmary church was built for the sick. One of the side chapels was
dedicated to Sts Zosimas and Sabbatius of Solovki (April 17). With his
own hands, St Seraphim made an altar table for the chapel out of
cypress wood, and he always received the Holy Mysteries in this
church.
After eight years as a novice at the Sarov monastery, Prochorus was
tonsured with the name Seraphim, a name reflecting his fiery love for
the Lord and his zealous desire to serve Him. After a year, Seraphim
was ordained as hierodeacon.
Earnest in spirit, he served in the temple each day, incessantly
praying even after the service. The Lord granted him visions during
the church services: he often saw holy angels serving with the
priests. During the Divine Liturgy on Great and Holy Thursday, which
was celebrated by the igumen Father Pachomius and by Father Joseph, St
Seraphim had another vision. After the Little Entrance with the
Gospel, the hierodeacon Seraphim pronounced the words "O Lord, save
the God-fearing, and hear us." Then, he lifted his orarion saying,
"And unto ages of ages." Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright ray of
light.
Looking up, St Seraphim beheld the Lord Jesus Christ, coming through
the western doors of the temple, surrounded by the Bodiless Powers of
Heaven. Reaching the ambo, the Lord blessed all those praying and
entered into His Icon to the right of the royal doors. St Seraphim, in
spiritual rapture after this miraculous vision, was unable to utter a
word, nor to move from the spot. They led him by the hand into the
altar, where he just stood for another three hours, his face having
changed color from the great grace that shone upon him. After the
vision the saint intensified his efforts. He toiled at the monastery
by day, and he spent his nights praying in his forest cell.
In 1793, Hierodeacon Seraphim was ordained to the priesthood, and he
served the Divine Liturgy every day. After the death of the igumen
Father Pachomius, St Seraphim received the blessing of the new
Superior Father Isaiah, to live alone in a remote part of the forest
three and a half miles from the monastery. He named his new home
"Mount Athos," and devoted himself to solitary prayer. He went to the
monastery only on Saturday before the all-night Vigil, and returned to
his forest cell after Sunday's Liturgy, at which he partook of the
Divine Mysteries.
Fr Seraphim spent his time in ascetical struggles. His cell rule of
prayer was based on the rule of St Pachomius for the ancient desert
monasteries. He always carried the Holy Gospels with him, reading the
entire New Testament in the course of a week. He also read the holy
Fathers and the service books. The saint learned many of the Church
hymns by heart, and sang them while working in the forest. Around his
cell he cultivated a garden and set up a beehive. He kept a very
strict fast, eating only once during the entire day, and on Wednesdays
and Fridays he completely abstained from food. On the first Sunday of
the Great Fast he did not partake of food at all until Saturday, when
he received the Holy Mysteries.
The holy Elder was sometimes so absorbed by the unceasing prayer of
the heart that he remained without stirring, neither hearing nor
seeing anything around him. The schemamonk Mark the Silent and the
hierodeacon Alexander, also wilderness-dwellers, would visit him every
now and then. Finding the saint immersed in prayer, they would leave
quietly, so they would not disturb his contemplation.
In the heat of summer the righteous one gathered moss from a swamp as
fertilizer for his garden. Gnats and mosquitoes bit him relentlessly,
but he endured this saying, "The passions are destroyed by suffering
and by afflictions."
His solitude was often disturbed by visits from monks and laymen, who
sought his advice and blessing. With the blessing of the igumen, Fr
Seraphim prohibited women from visiting him, then receiving a sign
that the Lord approved of his desire for complete silence, he banned
all visitors. Through the prayers of the saint, the pathway to his
wilderness cell was blocked by huge branches blown down from ancient
pine trees. Now only the birds and the wild beasts visited him, and he
dwelt with them as Adam did in Paradise. They came at midnight and
waited for him to complete his Rule of prayer. Then he would feed
bears, lynxes, foxes, rabbits, and even wolves with bread from his
hand. St Seraphim also had a bear which would obey him and run errands
for him.
In order to repulse the onslaughts of the Enemy, St Seraphim
intensified his toil and began a new ascetical struggle in imitation
of St Simeon the Stylite (September 1). Each night he climbed up on an
immense rock in the forest, or a smaller one in his cell, resting only
for short periods. He stood or knelt, praying with upraised hands,
"God, be merciful to me, a sinner." He prayed this way for 1,000 days
and nights.
Three robbers in search of money or valuables once came upon him while
he was working in his garden. The robbers demanded money from him.
Though he had an axe in his hands, and could have put up a fight, but
he did not want to do this, recalling the words of the Lord: "Those
who take up the sword will perish by the sword" (Mt. 26: 52). Dropping
his axe to the ground, he said, "Do what you intend." The robbers beat
him severely and left him for dead. They wanted to throw him in the
river, but first they searched the cell for money. They tore the place
apart, but found nothing but icons and a few potatoes, so they left.
The monk, regained consciousness, crawled to his cell, and lay there
all night.
In the morning he reached the monastery with great difficulty. The
brethren were horrified, seeing the ascetic with several wounds to his
head, chest, ribs and back. For eight days he lay there suffering from
his wounds. Doctors called to treat him were amazed that he was still
alive after such a beating.
Fr Seraphim was not cured by any earthly physician: the Queen of
Heaven appeared to him in a vision with the Apostles Peter and John.
Touching the saint's head, the Most Holy Virgin healed him. However,
he was unable to straighten up, and for the rest of his life he had to
walk bent over with the aid of a stick or a small axe. St Seraphim had
to spend about five months at the monastery, and then he returned to
the forest. He forgave his abusers and asked that they not be
punished.
In 1807 the abbot, Father Isaiah, fell asleep in the Lord. St Seraphim
was asked to take his place, but he declined. He lived in silence for
three years, completely cut off from the world except for the monk who
came once a week to bring him food. If the saint encountered a man in
the forest, he fell face down and did not get up until the passerby
had moved on. St Seraphim acquired peace of soul and joy in the Holy
Spirit. The great ascetic once said, "Acquire the spirit of peace, and
a thousand souls will be saved around you."
The new Superior of the monastery, Father Niphon, and the older
brethren of the monastery told Father Seraphim either to come to the
monastery on Sundays for divine services as before, or to move back
into the monastery. He chose the latter course, since it had become
too difficult for him to walk from his forest cell to the monastery.
In the spring of 1810, he returned to the monastery after fifteen
years of living in the wilderness.
Continuing his silence, he shut himself up in his cell, occupying
himself with prayer and reading. He was also permitted to eat meals
and to receive Communion in his cell. There St Seraphim attained the
height of spiritual purity and was granted special gifts of grace by
God: clairvoyance and wonderworking. After five years of solitude, he
opened his door and allowed the monks to enter. He continued his
silence, however, teaching them only by example.
On November 25, 1825 the Mother of God, accompanied by the two holy
hierarchs commemorated on that day (Hieromartyr Clement of Rome, and
St Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria), appeared to the Elder in a vision
and told him to end his seclusion and to devote himself to others. He
received the igumen's blessing to divide his time between life in the
forest, and at the monastery. He did not return to his Far Hermitage,
but went to a cell closer to the monastery. This he called his Near
Hermitage. At that time, he opened the doors of his cell to pilgrims
as well as his fellow-monks.
The Elder saw into the hearts of people, and as a spiritual physician,
he healed their infirmities of soul and body through prayer and by his
grace-filled words. Those coming to St Seraphim felt his great love
and tenderness. No matter what time of the year it was, he would greet
everyone with the words, "Christ is Risen, my joy!" He especially
loved children. Once, a young girl said to her friends, "Father
Seraphim only looks like an old man. He is really a child like us."
The Elder was often seen leaning on his stick and carrying a knapsack
filled with stones. When asked why he did this, the saint humbly
replied,"I am troubling him who troubles me."
In the final period of his earthly life St Seraphim devoted himself to
his spiritual children, the Diveyevo women's monastery. While still a
hierodeacon he had accompanied the late Father Pachomius to the
Diveyevo community to its monastic leader, Mother Alexandra, a great
woman ascetic, and then Father Pachomius blessed St Seraphim to care
always for the "Diveyevo orphans." He was a genuine father for the
sisters, who turned to him with all their spiritual and material
difficulties.
St Seraphim also devoted much effort to the women's monastic community
at Diveyevo. He himself said that he gave them no instructions of his
own, but it was the Queen of Heaven who guided him in matters
pertaining to the monastery. His disciples and spiritual friends
helped the saint to feed and nourish the Diveyevo community. Michael
V. Manturov, healed by the monk from grievous illness, was one of
Diveyvo's benefactors. On the advice of the Elder he took upon himself
the exploit of voluntary poverty. Elena Vasilievna Manturova, one of
the Diveyevo sisters, out of obedience to the Elder, voluntarily
consented to die in place of her brother, who was still needed in this
life.
Nicholas Alexandrovich Motovilov, was also healed by the monk. In
1903, shortly before the glorification of the saint, the remarkable
"Conversation of St Seraphim of Sarov with N. A. Motovilov" was found
and printed. Written by Motovilov after their conversation at the end
of November 1831, the manuscript was hidden in an attic in a heap of
rubbish for almost seventy years. It was found by the author S. A.
Nilus, who was looking for information about St Seraphim's life. This
conversation is a very precious contribution to the spiritual
literature of the Orthodox Church. It grew out of Nicholas Motovilov's
desire to know the aim of the Christian life. It was revealed to St
Seraphim that Motovilov had been seeking an answer to this question
since childhood, without receiving a satisfactory answer. The holy
Elder told him that the aim of the Christian life is the acquisition
of the Holy Spirit, and went on to explain the great benefits of
prayer and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.
Motovilov asked the saint how we can know if the Holy Spirit is with
us or not. St Seraphim spoke at length about how people come to be in
the Spirit of God, and how we can recognize His presence in us, but
Motovilov wanted to understand this better. Then Father Seraphim took
him by the shoulders and said, "We are both in the Spirit of God now,
my son. Why don't you look at me?"
Motovilov replied, "I cannot look, Father, for your eyes are flashing
like lightning, and your face is brighter than the sun."
St Seraphim told him, "Don't be alarmed, friend of God. Now you
yourself have become as bright as I am. You are in the fulness of the
Spirit of God yourself, otherwise you would not be able to see me like
this."
Then St Seraphim promised Motovilov that God would allow him to retain
this experience in his memory all his life. "It is not given for you
alone to understand," he said, "but through you it is for the whole
world."
Everyone knew and esteemed St Seraphim as a great ascetic and
wonderworker. A year and ten months before his end, on the Feast of
the Annunciation, St Seraphim was granted to behold the Queen of
Heaven once more in the company of St John the Baptist, the Apostle
John the Theologian and twelve Virgin Martyrs (Sts Barbara, Katherine,
Thekla, Marina, Irene, Eupraxia, Pelagia, Dorothea, Makrina, Justina,
Juliana, and Anysia). The Most Holy Virgin conversed at length with
the monk, entrusting the Diveyevo sisters to him. Concluding the
conversation, She said to him: "Soon, My dear one, you shall be with
us." The Diveyevo nun Eupraxia was present during this visit of the
Mother of God, because the saint had invited her.
In the last year of St Seraphim's life, one of those healed by him saw
him standing in the air during prayer. The saint strictly forbade this
to be mentioned until after his death.
St Seraphim became noticeably weaker and he spoke much about his
approaching end. During this time they often saw him sitting by his
coffin, which he had placed in the ante-room of his cell, and which he
had prepared for himself.
The saint himself had marked the place where finally they would bury
him, near the altar of the Dormition cathedral. On January 1, 1833
Father Seraphim came to the church of Sts Zosimas and Sabbatius one
last time for Liturgy and he received the Holy Mysteries, after which
he blessed the brethren and bid them farewell, saying: "Save your
souls. Do not be despondent, but watchful. Today crowns are being
prepared for us."
On January 2, Father Paul, the saint's cell-attendant, left his own
cell at six in the morning to attend the early Liturgy. He noticed the
smell of smoke coming from the Elder's cell. St Seraphim would often
leave candles burning in his cell, and Father Paul was concerned that
they could start a fire.
"While I am alive," he once said, "there will be no fire, but when I
die, my death shall be revealed by a fire." When they opened the door,
it appeared that books and other things were smoldering. St Seraphim
was found kneeling before an icon of the Mother of God with his arms
crossed on his chest. His pure soul was taken by the angels at the
time of prayer, and had flown off to the Throne of the Almighty God,
Whose faithful servant St Seraphim had been all his life.
St Seraphim has promised to intercede for those who remember his
parents, Isidore and Agathia.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Sylvester of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Sylvester of the Caves lived during the twelfth century and was
igumen of the Mikhailovsk Vydubitsk monastery at Kiev. He continued
the work of St Nestor the Chronicler (October 27) and he wrote nine
Lives of the holy saints of the Kiev Caves. In the service to the
Fathers venerated in the Near Caves, St Sylvester is called blessed
and endowed with "a miraculous gift to ward off demonic suggestions
(Ode 9 of the Canon). St Sylvester was buried in the Near Caves, and
his memory is celebrated on September 28, and on the second Sunday of
Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Righteous Juliana of Lazarevo, Murom
Righteous Juliana of Lazarevo and Murom presents an astonishing
example of a self-denying Russian Christian woman. She was the
daughter of the nobleman Justin Nediurev. From her early years she
lived devoutly, kept the fasts strictly and set aside much time for
prayer. Early on having become orphaned, she was given over into the
care of relatives, who did not take to her and laughed at her. Juliana
bore everything with patience and without complaint. Her love for
people was expressed by nursing the sick and sewing clothing for the
poor.
The pious and virtuous life of the maiden attracted the attention of
the Lazarevo village owner, Yurii Osoryin, who soon married her. The
husband's parents loved their gentle daughter-in-law and left the
running of the household in her hands. Domestic concerns did not
disrupt the spiritual efforts of Juliana. She always found time for
prayer and she was always prepared to feed the orphaned and clothe the
poor. During a harsh famine, she herself remained without food, having
given away her last morsel to someone begging. When an epidemic
started after the famine, Juliana devoted herself completely to the
nursing of the sick.
Righteous Juliana had six sons and a daughter. After the death of two
of her sons she decided to withdraw to a monastery, but her husband
persuaded her to remain in the world, and to continue to raise their
children. On the testimony of Juliana's son, Kallistrat Osoryin, who
wrote her Life, at this time she became all the more demanding towards
herself: she intensified her fasting and prayer, slept not more than
two hours at night, and then laying her head upon a board.
Upon the death of her husband, Juliana distributed to the poor her
portion of the inheritance. Living in extreme poverty, she was none
the less vivacious, cordial, and in everything she thanked the Lord.
The saint was vouchsafed a visitation by St Nicholas the Wonderworker
and guidance by the Mother of God in church. When Righteous Juliana
fell asleep in the Lord, she was then buried beside her husband at the
church of St Lazarus. Here also her daughter, the schemanun Theodosia
was buried. In 1614 the relics of Righteous Juliana were uncovered,
exuding a fragrant myrrh, from which many received healing.
_________________________________________________________________
Hieromartyr Theogenes the Bishop of Parium on the Hellespont
The Hieromartyr Theogenes was bishop of the Asia Minor city of Parion
at the beginning of the fourth century. During the reign of the
emperor Licinius (311-324), a coruler with Constantine the Great, the
tribune Zalinkinthius demanded that he give up the priesthood, to
renounce Christ and to enlist in military service.
When he refused, St Theogenes was mercilessly beaten with rods and
thrown into prison, where he was not allowed any food. Then they
sentenced him to be drowned in the sea. Before his execution, the
saint requested time to pray. As he prayed, an extraordinary light
shone on him. The sailors and some of the soldiers who were ordered to
drown the saint were struck by the light and were converted to ChriSt
Other soldiers hastened to cast him into the sea.
St Theogenes received the unfading crown of martyrdom around the year
320. His body was later taken from the water by Christians and buried
at the city walls. At this spot, numerous healings occurred.
_________________________________________________________________
New Martyr Theologia
St George (Zorzes) was from Georgia, and was sold into slavery when he
was young. His master, a Muslim from the Greek island of Mytilene,
forced him to embrace Islam and renamed him Sali. After his master
died, George remained on the island and opened a small shop. In 1770,
when he was seventy years old, he appeared before the authorities and
announced that he was an Orthodox Christian. The kadi thought that
George had lost his mind, since his declaration would lead to his
death.
The next day George was questioned again, and then he was beaten. He
endured his torments with silence, but would not be turned from his
confession of faith. After more torture, the holy martyr was hanged on
January 2, 1770, receiving a crown of glory from the Savior Christ.
_________________________________________________________________
New Martyr George of Iberia
St George (Zorzes) was from Georgia, and was sold into slavery when he
was young. His master, a Muslim from the Greek island of Mytilene,
forced him to embrace Islam and renamed him Sali. After his master
died, George remained on the island and opened a small shop. In 1770,
when he was seventy years old, he appeared before the authorities and
announced that he was an Orthodox Christian. The kadi thought that
George had lost his mind, since his declaration would lead to his
death.
The next day George was questioned again, and then he was beaten. He
endured his torments with silence, but would not be turned from his
confession of faith. After more torture, the holy martyr was hanged on
January 2, 1770, receiving a crown of glory from the Savior Christ.
_________________________________________________________________