[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sat Jan 12 05:00:17 CST 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sat Jan 12 2008

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Ephesians 6:10-17  (Epistle, Saturday After)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on
the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God;
Scripture Reading 1 of 4

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Ephesians 1:16-23  (Epistle)
16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know
what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who
believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and
seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which
is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over
all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Scripture Reading 2 of 4

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Matthew 4:1-11  (Gospel, Saturday After)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was
hungry.
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of
God, command that these stones become bread."
4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the
pinnacle of the temple,
6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.
For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and,
'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot
against a stone.' "
7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the
LORD your God.' "
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and
showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will
fall down and worship me."
10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written,
'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to
Him.
Scripture Reading 3 of 4

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Luke 12:32-40  (Gospel)
32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to
give you the kingdom.
33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags
which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail,
where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he
will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may
open to him immediately.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will
find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and
have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third
watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour
the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house
to be broken into.
40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an
hour you do not expect.
Scripture Reading 4 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 sixth day of the Afterfeast of Theophany falls on January 12.
Divine grace shines forth so that we might be freed from the power of
the devil, and cleansed of our sins in Baptism.
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Martyr Tatiana of Rome, and those who suffered with Her
The Holy Virgin Martyr Tatiana was born into an illustrious Roman
family, and her father was elected consul three times. He was secretly
a Christian and raised his daughter to be devoted to God and the
Church. When she reached the age of maturity, Tatiana decided to
remain a virgin, betrothing herself to Christ. Disdaining earthly
riches, she sought instead the imperishable wealth of Heaven. She was
made a deaconess in one of the Roman churches and served God in
fasting and prayer, tending the sick and helping the needy.
When Rome was ruled by the sixteen-year-old Alexander Severus
(222-235), all power was concentrated in the hands of the regent
Ulpian, an evil enemy and persecutor of Christians. Christian blood
flowed like water. Tatiana was also arrested, and they brought her
into the temple of Apollo to force her to offer sacrifice to the idol.
The saint began praying, and suddenly there was an earthquake. The
idol was smashed into pieces, and part of the temple collapsed and
fell down on the pagan priests and many pagans. The demon inhabiting
the idol fled screeching from that place. Those present saw its shadow
flying through the air.
Then they tore holy virgin's eyes out with hooks, but she bravely
endured everything, praying for her tormentors that the Lord would
open their spiritual eyes. And the Lord heard the prayer of His
servant. The executioners saw four angels encircle the saint and beat
her tormentors. A voice was heard from the heavens speaking to the
holy virgin. Eight men believed in Christ and fell on their knees
before St Tatiana, begging them to forgive them their sin against her.
For confessing themselves Christians they were tortured and executed,
receiving Baptism by blood.
The next day St Tatiana was brought before the wicked judge. Seeing
her completely healed of all her wounds, they stripped her and beat
her, and slashed her body with razors. A wondrous fragrance then
filled the air. Then she was stretched out on the ground and beaten
for so long that the servants had to be replaced several times. The
torturers became exhausted and said that an invisible power was
beating them with iron rods. Indeed, the angels warded off the blows
directed at her and turned them upon the tormentors, causing nine of
them to fall dead. They then threw the saint in prison, where she
prayed all night and sang praises to the Lord with the angels.
A new morning began, and they took St Tatiana to the tribunal once
more. The torturers beheld with astonishment that after such terrible
torments she appeared completely healthy and even more radiant and
beautiful than before. They began to urge her to offer sacrifice to
the goddess Diana. The saint seemed agreeable, and they took her to
the heathen temple. St Tatiana made the Sign of the Cross and began to
pray. Suddenly, there was a crash of deafening thunder, and lightning
struck the idol, the sacrificial offerings and the pagan priests.
Once again, the martyr was fiercely tortured. She was hung up and
scraped with iron claws, and her breasts were cut off. That night,
angels appeared to her in prison and healed her wounds as before. On
the following day, they took St Tatiana to the circus and loosed a
hungry lion on her. The beast did not harm the saint, but meekly
licked her feet.
As they were taking the lion back to its cage, it killed one of the
torturers. They threw Tatiana into a fire, but the fire did not harm
the martyr. The pagans, thinking that she was a sorceress, cut her
hair to take away her magical powers, then locked her up in the temple
of Zeus.
On the third day, pagan priests came to the temple intending to offer
sacrifice to Zeus. They beheld the idol on the floor, shattered to
pieces, and the holy martyr Tatiana joyously praising the Lord Jesus
Christ. The judge then condemned the valiant sufferer to be beheaded
with a sword. Her father was also executed with her, because he had
raised her to love Christ.
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St Sava I, First Archbishop of Serbia
Saint Sava, First Archbishop of Serbia, in the world Rostislav
(Rastko), was a son of the Serbian king Stephen Nemanya and Anna,
daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Romanus. From his early years he
fervently attended church services and had a special love for icons.
At seventeen years of age, Rostislav met a monk from Mount Athos,
secretly left his father's house and set off for the St Panteleimon
monastery. (By divine Providence in 1169, the year of the saint's
birth, the ancient monastery of the Great Martyr and healer
Panteleimon was given to Russian monks.)
Knowing that his son was on Athos, his father mobilized his retainers
headed by a faithful voevod and wrote to the governor of the district
which included Athos, saying that if his son were not returned to him,
he would go to war against the Greeks. When they arrived at the
monastery, the voevod was ordered not to take his eyes off Rostislav.
During the evening services, when the soldiers had fallen asleep under
the influence of wine, Rostislav received monastic tonsure (in 1186)
and sent to his parents his worldly clothes, his hair and a letter. St
Sava sought to persuade his powerful parents to accept monasticism.
The monk's father (in monasticism Simeon. He is commemorated on
February 13) and his son pursued asceticism at the Vatopedi monastery.
On Athos they established the Serbian Hilandar monastery, and this
monastery received its name by imperial grant. At Hilandar monastery,
St Sava was ordained to the diaconate and then presbyter. His mother
Anna became a nun with the name Anastasia (June 21).
For his holy life and virtuous deeds on Mount Athos, the monk was made
an archimandrite at Thessalonica. At Nicea in the year 1219 on the
Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Ecumenical
Patriarch Germanus consecrated Archimandrite Sava as Archbishop of
Serbia. The saint petitioned the Byzantine Emperor to grant permission
for Serbian bishops to elect their own Archbishop in future. This was
a very important consideration in a time of frequent wars between the
eastern and western powers.
Having returned to the Holy Mountain from Nicea, the saint visited all
the monasteries for the last time. He made prostrations in all the
churches and, calling to mind the blessed lives of the wilderness
Fathers, he made his farewells to the ascetics with deep remorse,
"leaving the Holy Mountain, as if from Paradise."
Saddened by his separation from the Holy Mountain, the saint went
along the path from Athos just barely moving. The Most Holy Theotokos
spoke to the saint in a dream, "Having My Patronage, why do you remain
sorrowful?" These words roused him from despondency, changing his
sorrow into joy. In memory of this appearance, the saint commissioned
large icons of the Savior and of the Mother of God at Thessalonica,
and put them in a church.
In Serbia, the activity of the Hierarch in organizing the work of his
native Church was accompanied by numerous signs and miracles. During
the Liturgy and the all-night Vigil, when the saint came to cense the
grave of his father the monk Simeon, the holy relics exuded fragrant
myrrh.
Being in charge of negotiations with the Hungarian King Vladislav, who
had declared war on Serbia, the holy bishop not only brought about the
desired peace for his country, but he also brought the Hungarian
monarch to Orthodoxy. Thus he facilitated the start of the historical
existence of the autonomous Serbian Church, St Sava contributed also
to strengthening the Serbian state. In order to insure the
independence of the Serbian state, Archbishop Sava crowned his
powerful brother Stephen as king. Upon the death of Stephen, his
eldest son Radislav was crowned king, and St Sava set off to the Holy
Land "to worship at the holy tomb of Christ and fearsome Golgotha."
When he returned to his native land, the saint blessed and crowned
Vladislav as king. To further strengthen the Serbian throne, he
betrothed him to the daughter of the Bulgarian prince Asan. The holy
hierarch visited churches all across Serbia, he reformed monastic
rules on the model of Athos and Palestine, and he established and
consecrated many churches, strengthening the Orthodox in their faith.
Having finished his work in his native land, the saint appointed the
hieromonk Arsenius as his successor, consecrating him bishop and
giving his blessing to all.
He then set off on a journey of no return, desiring "to end his days
as a wanderer in a foreign land." He passed through Palestine, Syria
and Persia, Babylon, Egypt and Anatolia, everywhere visiting the holy
places, conversing with great ascetics, and collecting the holy relics
of saints. The saint finished his wanderings at Trnovo in Bulgaria at
the home of his kinsman Asan, where with spiritual joy he gave up his
soul to the Lord (+ 1237).
At the time of transfer of the holy relics of St Sava to Serbia in
1237, there were so many healings that the Bulgarians began to
complain about Asan, "because he had given up such a treasure." In the
saint's own country, his venerable relics were placed in the Church of
Mileshevo, bestowing healing on all who approached with faith. The
inhabitants of Trnovo continued to receive healing from the remnants
of the saint's coffin, which Asan ordered to be gathered together and
placed in a newly built sarcophagus.
The legacy of St Sava lives on in the Orthodox Church traditions of
the Slavic nations. He is associated with the introduction of the
Jerusalem Typikon as the basis for Slavic Monastic Rules. The Serbian
Hilandar monastery on Mt. Athos lives by the Typikon of St Sava to
this day. Editions of The Rudder (a collection of church canons) of St
Sava, with commentary by Alexis Aristines, are the most widely
disseminated in the Russian Church. In 1270 the first copy of The
Rudder of St Sava was sent from Bulgaria to Metropolitan Cyril of
Kiev. From this was copied one of the most ancient of the Russian
Rudders, the Ryazan Rudder of 1284. It in turn was the source for a
printed Rudder published in 1653, and since that time often reprinted
by the Russian Church. Such was the legacy of St Sava to the canonical
treasury of Orthodoxy.
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Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk
Saint Martinian of White Lake, in the world Michael, was born in the
year 1370 in the village of Berezniko, not far from the Cyrilov
monastery. At age thirteen he left his parents and went secretly to St
Cyril of White Lake (June 9), whom many described as a great ascetic.
The young Martinian began zealously to imitate his teacher, with whom
he dwelt in complete obedience. At the monastery he studied reading
and writing, and with the blessing of St Cyril, he occupied himself
with the copying of books. In time Martinian was ordained deacon and
then hieromonk.
After the death of St Cyril (+ 1427), Martinian withdrew to a deserted
island on Lake Vozha. Several monks gradually gathered around him. St
Martinian established for them the church of the Transfiguration of
the Lord and introduced a general Rule for the inhabitants. Yielding
to the persistent requests of the brethren of Therapon monastery, he
consented to become igumen of the monastery and brought it into an
improved condition.
St Martinian gave spiritual support to Great Prince Basil in the
difficulties of his time, when his first-cousin Demetrius Shemyaka
illicitly sought the Moscow throne. He was always an advocate of truth
and justice. Afterwards, upon the entreaty of the Great Prince, the
saint accepted the governance of the monastery of St Sergius of
Radonezh.
In 1455, St Martinian returned to the Therapon monastery. In his last
years he was grievously ill and not able to walk, so the brethren
carried him to church. He died at age 85. His relics were uncovered in
the year 1514, and this event is celebrated on October 7.
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Martyr Mertius of Mauretania
The Holy Martyr Mertius was a soldier. He suffered for Christ in
Africa during the reign of Diocletian (284-305). The emperor demanded
that he offer sacrifice to idols, and when he refused, gave him over
to torture. The saint suffered fierce torments, not making a sound. He
was thrown into prison, where he died from hunger and his wounds.
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Martyr Peter Apselamus of Palestine
The Holy Martyr Peter Apselamos was a native of the village of Aneia
in Palestine. During the fourth century persecution against Christians
he was arrested and brought to Severus, the governor of Palestine. In
vain did the judge and the people urge him to escape torture by
sacrificing to the pagan gods.
"I will spare myself by remaining faithful to the truth and refusing
to offer sacrifice to lifeless idols," the saint replied. "Whoever
offers sacrifice to false gods will perish."
Severus was enraged, and ordered the holy martyr to be tortured
without mercy. Finally, he was crucified during the reign of Maximian,
while our Lord Jesus Christ was reigning unto the ages of ages.
In some Lives of the Saints he is listed twice: on January 12 as the
martyr Peter Apselamos, and on January 13 as Peter of Aneia, because
it was mistakenly assumed that they were different persons.
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Venerable Eupraxia of Tabenna, in Egypt
Saint Eupraxia the Elder was the mother of St Eupraxia, maiden of
Tabennisi (July 25). She was the wife of the pious senator Antigonus,
who was related to the emperor Theodosius the Great (379-395).
Following the birth of their daughter, the couple decided to live from
that time forward as brother and sister. They distributed alms to the
poor, hoping to inherit the heavenly Kingdom.
After she was widowed, St Eupraxia devoted herself completely to the
service of the Lord. After visiting several monastic establishments
and bestowing liberal alms, she came to the Tabennisi monastery in
Egypt, where the abbess was the nun Theodula, known for her strict
rule.
Deeply moved by the pure way of monastic life, St Eupraxia came often
to this monastery and always brought her eight-year-old daughter with
her. The virtues and prayers of her parents bestowed a particular
grace of God upon the child, who desired to dedicate herself to God.
To her mother's great joy, the abbess Theodula kept the younger
Eupraxia at the convent and blessed her to receive monastic tonsure.
St Eupraxia the elder continued her works of charity, and increased
her fasting and prayer. Abbess Theodula, possessing the gift of
clairvoyance, told her of her impending end. Learning of her imminent
death, Eupraxia gave thanks to the Lord for His great mercy towards
her. She bid farewell to the sisters of the convent and to her
daughter. She left her with these parting words: "Love the Lord Jesus
Christ, and respect the sisters. Never dare to think that they are
below you and should serve you. Be poor in your thoughts in order to
profit by spiritual treasures. Also remember your father and me, and
pray for the salvation of our souls." After three days the saint
surrendered her soul to the Lord (+ 393) and was buried at the
monastery, where her daughter continued her ascetic struggles.
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Icon of the Mother of God of the Akathist
The "Akathist" Icon of the Mother of God is on the iconostasis of the
Hilandar monastery's katholikon. It is known as the "Akathist" Icon
because, during a fire at the katholikon in 1837 an Akathist was being
read before the icon, and it remained unharmed, to the joy of the
monks.
This icon should not be confused with the Zographou Icon "Of the
Akathist" (October 10).
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Icon of the Mother of God the "Milkgiver"
The "Milk-Giver" Icon of the Mother of God was originally located at
the Lavra of St Sava the Sanctified near Jerusalem. Before his death,
the holy founder of the Lavra foretold that a royal pilgrim having the
same name as himself would visit the Lavra. St Sava told the brethren
to give the wonderworking icon to that pilgrim as a blessing.
In the thirteenth century, St Sava of Serbia visited the Lavra. As he
approached the reliquary of St Sava the Sanctified, the saint's staff
fell at his feet. The brethren asked the visitor his name, and he told
them he was Archbishop Sava of Serbia. Obeying the instructions of
their founder, the monks gave St Sava his staff, the "Milk-Giver"
Icon, and the Icon "Of the Three Hands" (June 28 & July 12).
The holy archbishop took the icon to Hilandar on Mount Athos and put
it on the right side of the iconostasis in the church of St Sava at
the kellion of Karyes, which is attached to Hilandar. The icon was
later named Typikonissa, since the Rule (Typikon) of St Sava was
preserved there.
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Icon of the Mother of God, the "Priestly"
The "Priestly" Icon of the Mother of God stands in the katholikon of
Hilandar Monastery by a column of the left kliros. A certain heretical
priest, having declared himself Orthodox, acted at the Hilandar
monastery with evil purpose, but he was punished. During the
procession for the blessing of water he took this icon but stumbled,
fell into the sea and drowned. Since that time the cross procession is
always done with this icon, and invariably a priest carries it, so it
was called "Priestly" by the Serbs.
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