[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Tue Jan 8 05:00:14 CST 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Tue Jan 8 2008

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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2 Timothy 2:20-26  (Epistle, Monday)
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver,
but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a
vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for
every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love,
peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate
strife.
24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all,
able to teach, patient,
25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps
will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the
devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
Scripture Reading 1 of 4

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2 Timothy 3:16-4:4  (Epistle)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every
good work.
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who
will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but
according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they
will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables.
Scripture Reading 2 of 4

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Luke 19:37-44  (Gospel, Monday)
37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of
Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and
praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
38 saying: " 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher,
rebuke Your disciples."
40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should
keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day,
the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your
eyes.
43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an
embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and
they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not
know the time of your visitation.
45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who
bought and sold in it,
46 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,'
but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "
47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the
scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,
48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very
attentive to hear Him.
Scripture Reading 3 of 4

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------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Afterfeast of the Theophany of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ
The second day of the Afterfeast of Theophany falls on January 8. At
Vespers we repeat a hymn which has already been sung at Compline for
Theophany. In the hymn St John wonders in whose name he should baptize
Christ. Should he baptize Him in the name of the Father? The Lord
Jesus Christ already bears Him in Himself. Of the Son? He Himself is
the incarnate Son of God. Of the Holy Spirit? Christ Himself sends the
Spirit.
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Venerable George the Chozebite, Abbot
Saint George the Chozebite was born on the island of Cyprus toward the
end of the sixth century. After the death of his parents, he went to
Palestine to worship at the holy places. Here he entered into the
monastic community of Chozeba between the River Jordan and Jerusalem,
and he later became head of this monastery. St George presented the
monks example in fasting, vigil and physical efforts. Having lived as
an angel upon the earth, he died in peace.
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Venerable Domnica of Constantinople
Saint Domnica came from Carthage to Constantinople in the time of the
holy Emperor Theodosius the Great. Here she was baptized by Patriarch
Nectarius and entered a women's monastery.
Through strict and prolonged ascetic effort she attained to high
spiritual perfection. The saint healed the sick, demonstrated power
over the natural elements, and predicted the future. By her miracles
the saint moved inhabitants of the capital towards concerns about life
eternal and the soul. Adorned by virtues, the saint departed this life
a spotless virgin in her old age.
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St Emilian the Confessor, Bishop of Cyzicus
Saint Emilian was a zealous defender of the holy icons during the
reign of Emperor Leo the Armenian. He suffered torture and martyrdom
in the year 820. His main feast is August 8.
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Venerable Gregory the Wonderworker of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Gregory was tonsured at the Kiev Caves monastery in the time of
St Theodosius (May 3). The saint devoted much time to reading books,
which were his sole possession. He had the ability to bring thieves to
their senses. Several times robbers broke in on him in his cell or in
the garden, but the saint reasoned with them, the thieves repented,
and began to lead honest lives.
Once, when the monk went to the Dnieper River for water, some servants
of Prince Rostislav caught sight of the Elder and rudely began making
fun of him. The saint answered them, "Children, when you should be
asking for everyone's prayers, you are displeasing God. Weep, for
disaster approaches. Repent and ask God to be merciful to you on the
Day of Judgment. All you will find death in the water with your
prince." By orders of the enraged Prince Rostislav, the monk was bound
hand and foot, and he was drowned in the Dnieper with a stone around
his neck. Still, his prediction came true. Rostislav did not return
from the campaign. In that same year of 1093 the twenty-year-old
prince drowned in sight of his brother, Vladimir Monomakh, trying to
save himself as he fled from the Polovetsians.
Several sources identify St Gregory with St Gregory, a composer of
Canons in honor of the holy Prince Vladimir, St Theodosius, and the
holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb. But St Gregory, compiler of canons, lived
later and died in about the year 1120. St Gregory the Wonderworker
died in 1093 and was buried in the Near Caves. His memory is
celebrated also on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great
Lent.
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Venerable Gregory the Recluse, of the Kiev Caves
Saint Gregory, Hermit of the Caves, lived during the fourteenth
century. In the "Lives of the Saints Whose Relics lie in the Cave of
St Theodosius," it says that uncooked grass served as St Gregory's
food all his life. He gave this grass to those coming to him, and the
sick were healed. He is also commemorated on August 28 and on the
second Sunday of Great Lent.
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Hieromartyr Isidore and 72 Others at Yuriev, Estonia
Saint Isidore was priest of St Nicholas church in the city of Yuriev
(Derpto, at present Taru in Estonia). According to the terms of a
treaty concluded in 1463 between the Moscow Great Prince Ivan III and
the Livonian knights, the latter were obligated to extend every
protection to the Orthodox at Derpto. But the Livonian knights (who
were German Catholics) broke the treaty and tried to force the
Orthodox to become Roman Catholics.
The priest Isidore bravely stood forth in defense of Orthodoxy,
preferring to accept a martyr's crown rather than submit to the
Catholics. The Latin bishop and the Roman Catholic nobles of Yuriev
had been told that St Isidore and the Orthodox population of the city
had spoken against the faith and customs of the Germans.
When St Isidore and seventy-two of his parishioners went to bless the
waters of the River Omovzha (or Emaiyga, now Emajogi) for the Feast of
Theophany, they were arrested and brought before the Latin bishop
Andrew and the civil judges of the city. Pressure was brought on them
to convert to Catholicism, but the saint and his flock refused to
renounce Christ or the Orthodox Faith. Enraged by this, the
authorities had them thrown into prison.
St Isidore encouraged his flock to prepare themselves for death, and
not to fear torture. He partook of the reserved Gifts he carried with
him, then communed all the men, women, and children with the Holy and
Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ.
Then the bishop and the judges summoned the Orthodox to appear before
them once more, demanding that they convert to Catholicism. When they
refused to do so, they were dragged back to the river and pushed
through the hole in the ice that they had cut to bless the water. So
they all suffered and died for Christ, Who bestowed on them crowns of
unfading glory.
During the spring floods, the incorrupt bodies of the holy martyrs,
including the fully-vested body of the hieromartyr Isidore, were found
by Russian merchants journeying along the river bank. They buried the
saints around the church of St Nicholas.
Although people began to venerate these saints shortly after their
death, they were not officially glorified by the Church until 1897.
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72 Martyrs at Yuriev, Estonia
These holy martyrs and their priest St Isidore were put to death by
German Catholics in 1472.
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St Paisius of Uglich
Saint Paisius of Uglich was igumen of the Protection monastery, near
Uglich. He was born in the Tver district near the city of Kashin, and
he was a nephew of St Macarius of Kalyazin (March 17).
St Paisius entered his uncle's monastery after the death of his
parents, when he was just an eleven-year-old child. Under his uncle's
guidance, St Paisius led a monastic life of obedience, fasting and
prayer, and he was put to work copying soul-saving books.
"A man wondrous of spirit, famed teacher of holiness and most
astounding wonderworker, he founded (in 1464) the cenobitic Protection
monastery three versts from Uglich at the wish of Prince Andrew, and
he was chosen igumen." St Paisius was also "founder and organizer of
the holy Nikolsky Grekhozaruchnya monastery in 1489.
Struggling at the Protection monastery, St Paisius lived into old age
and died on June 6, 1504. His relics, glorified by miracles, rest
beneath a crypt in the Protection monastery.
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St Carterius of Caesarea in Cappadocia
Saint Carterius lived during the reign of Diocletian, and was a
teacher in Caesarea of Cappadocia. He stood before a statue of Serapis
and prayed to Christ, and the idol shattered to pieces. The procurator
Urbanus ordered St Carterius to be tortured and then beheaded. Some,
however, say he was killed with a spear.
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Martyr Theophilus the Deacon, in Libya
Saint Theophilus the deacon suffered with St Helladius. After
confessing Christ before the governor of Libya, they were tortured and
slain.
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Martyr Helladius, in Libya
Saint Helladius suffered with St Theophilus the deacon. After
confessing Christ before the governor of Libya, they were tortured and
slain.
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Martyr Julian at Antinoe in Egypt
The Holy Martyr Julian was born in the Egyptian city of Antinoe, and
to satisfy his parents he entered into marriage with the noble and
rich maiden, Basilissa. Though married, the spouses remained virginal.
Upon the death of their parents they built two monasteries: one for
men, and one for women. They themselves became monastics and headed
these monasteries.
In the year 313, during the reign of Diocletian, St Julian suffered
cruelly for his faith in Christ. By his bravery he converted Celsius,
the son of his torturer the hegemon Marcian, and his wife, Marionilla.
Having resurrected a dead pagan, the saint also converted him. The
converts received Baptism from the priest Anthony. In Baptism the
pagan was named Anastasius (i.e. "Resurrected"). After being locked in
prison, they all received the crown of martyrdom, won through
beheading by the sword. Also with them were twenty soldiers and seven
youths
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Martyr Basilissa at Antinoe in Egypt
Saint Basilissa suffered martyrdom with St Julian in 313.
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Martyr Marcionilla at Antinoe in Egypt
Saint Marcionilla was the wife of the hegemon Marcian, who was
converted by St Julian the martyr.
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Martyr Celsus at Antinoe in Egypt
Saint Celsus was the son of Sts Marcian and Marcionilla. He suffered
martyrdom with St Julian in 313.
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Martyr Anthony at Antinoe in Egypt
Saint Anthony was a priest, who baptized the converts martyred with St
Julian in 313.
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Martyr Anastasius at Antinoe in Egypt
Saint Anastasius was one of the converts martyred with St Julian.
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Martyred 7 Children at Antinoe in Egypt
These holy martyrs suffered with St Julian in the fourth century.
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Martyred 20 Soldiers at Antinoe in Egypt
These holy martyrs suffered with St Julian in 313.
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Venerable Elias the Hermit, of Egypt
Saint Elias the Egyptian became a monk and pursued asceticism for
seventy-five years on a desolate mountain in a cave. He died in the
fourth century at the age of 110.
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Martyr Abo the Perfumer, of Tibilisi, Georgia
In the 8th century a Saracen army tyrannized Kartli as a first step
towards overturning the Georgian nation. The invaders were certain
that the best way to conquer Georgia was to uproot the Christian
Faith. The Georgian people were alarmed, and the clergy and the best
sons of Kartli sought desperately for a resolution to this calamity.
Much blood was shed in 766 when theMuslim invaders crushed an uprising
in the eastern region of Kakheti.
In 772, Caliph Al Mansur (754775), dissatisfied with the provincial
governor of Kartli, Duke Nerse, summoned him to Baghdad. Nerse spent
the following three years in captivity. During that time he became
acquainted with a seventeen-year-old perfumer named Abo, and when he
was released he brought Abo back with him to Georgia. Abo was amazed
at the great piety of the Georgian people, and he began to learn the
Georgian language, attend the divine services, and speak with local
priests. Abo sought with all his heart to become a Christian, and he
was eventually baptized in Khazaria, while in the company of Duke
Nerse.
Later, Abo accompanied the duke to Abkhazeti, to escape the Saracen
raids. Discovering an entire population of Christians praising Jesus
Christ with one heart and mouth, Abo gave great thanks to God for the
opportunity to visit this area. Nerse later returned to Kartli, but
Abo remained at the request of the Abkhaz king, who feared that the
Saracens would torture Abo for his devout faith in Christ. Soon,
however, Abo became restless and told the king, Let me go, and I will
freely declare my Christian Faith to those who hate Christ!
Abo labored in Tbilisi for three years, preaching the Christian Faith.
Then his own former countrymen betrayed and captured him, but he was
released soon after at the request of the duke Stepanoz.
A new emir was appointed to rule in Tbilisi, and when the Christians
heard that he was plotting to capture Abo, they begged him to conceal
his identity. But Abo simply rejoiced and told them, I am prepared not
only to be tortured for Christ, but to die forHis sake as well. As
predicted, the emirs servants captured Abo and brought him before a
judge. The judge tried in vain to entice Abo to return to the faith of
his ancestors. Then, in a rage, he ordered that Abo be cast into
prison and that his hands and feet be fettered in chains. But his
suffering for Christ filled the blessed Abo with even greater love,
and he asked his Christian brothers and sisters to sell his clothes
and use the money earned to buy candles and incense for local
churches.
On the day of his execution Abo washed his face, anointed it with holy
oil, partook of the Holy Gifts, and prepared for his death as though
preparing for a feast. Weep not, but rejoice, for I am going to my
Lord. Pray for me, and may the peace of God protect you, he cheerfully
told the faithful Christians who surrounded him in his last hours.
When his time had come, St. Abo placed his arms on his breast in the
form of a cross and joyously bowed his head beneath the sword. The
executioners swung their swords three times in hopes of frightening
Abo into denying Christ, but the blessed Abo stood unyielding until
his last breath. Finally, convinced that all their efforts and cunning
were in vain, the executioners were given a sign and they beheaded the
holy Abo. Defeated and ashamed, Abos godless executioners tossed his
body, his garments, and the earth that had been soaked with his blood
into a sack, dragged it outside the city, and burned it near the
Mtkvari River. Then they wrapped his ashes in sheepskin and cast them
into the river.
In the evening a sign was given from above. Next to the Metekhi Cliff,
by the bridge, a shining star hung over the river with its bright
light reflecting in the water where the remains of the saint rested.
Later, a chapel was built in honor of St. Abo on the left bank of the
Mtkvari.
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St Gregory the Bishop of Bulgaria
No information available at this time.
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Venerable Gregory of Ochrid
Saint Gregory was a faithful teacher and shepherd of Christ's flock.
An inscription in the church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Ochrid
refers to him as "Gregory the Wise."
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