[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Jan 23 2008

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Hebrews 10:1-8  (Epistle)
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the
very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which
they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the
worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of
sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take
away sins.
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and
offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come- In the volume of the book it is
written of Me- To do Your will, O God.' "
8 Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and
offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which
are offered according to the law),
Scripture Reading 1 of 2


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Mark 8:30-34  (Gospel)
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.
Scripture Reading 2 of 2



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Hieromartyr Clement the Bishop of Ancyra
The Hieromartyr Clement was born in the Galatian city of Ancyra in the
year 258, of a pagan father and a Christian mother. He lost his father
when he was an infant, and his mother when he was twelve. She
predicted a martyr's death for him because of his belief in Christ.
A woman named Sophia adopted him and raised him in the fear of God.
During a terrible famine in Galatia several pagans turned out their
own children, not having the means to feed them. Sophia took in these
unfortunates, and fed and clothed them. St Clement assisted her in
this. He taught the children and prepared them for Baptism. Many of
them died as martyrs for Christ.
St Clement was made a reader, and later a deacon. When he was eighteen
he was ordained to the holy priesthood, and at age twenty he was
consecrated Bishop of Ancyra. Soon afterwards the persecution against
Christians under Diocletian (284-305) broke out.
Bishop Clement was denounced as a Christian and arrested. Dometian,
the governor of Galatia, tried to make the saint worship the pagan
gods, but St Clement firmly confessed his faith and valiantly
withstood all the tortures.
They suspended him on a tree, and raked his body with sharp iron
instruments so that his entrails could be seen. They smashed his mouth
with stones, and they turned him on a wheel and burned him over a low
fire. The Lord preserved His sufferer and healed his lacerated body.
Then Dometian sent the saint to Rome to the emperor Diocletian
himself, with a report that Bishop Clement had been fiercely tortured,
but had proven unyielding. Diocletian, seeing the martyr completely
healthy, did not believe the report and subjected him to even crueler
tortures, and then had him locked up in prison.
Many of the pagans, seeing the bravery of the saint and the miraculous
healing of his wounds, believed in Christ. People flocked to St
Clement in prison for guidance, healing and Baptism, so that the
prison was literally transformed into a church. When word of this
reached the emperor, many of these new Christians were executed.
Diocletian, struck by the amazing endurance of St Clement, sent him to
Nicomedia to his co-emperor Maximian. On the ship, the saint was
joined by his disciple Agathangelus, who had avoided being executed
with the other confessors, and who now wanted to suffer and die for
Christ with Bishop Clement.
The emperor Maximian in turn sent Sts Clement and Agathangelus to the
governor Agrippina, who subjected them to such inhuman torments, that
even the pagan on-lookers felt pity for the martyrs and they began to
pelt the torturers with stones.
Having been set free, the saints healed an inhabitant of the city
through the laying on of hands and they baptized and instructed
people, thronging to them in multitudes. Arrested again on orders of
Maximian, they were sent home to Ancyra, where the ruler Cyrenius had
them tortured. Then they were sent to the city of Amasea to the
proconsul Dometius, known for his great cruelty.
In Amasea, the martyrs were thrown into hot lime. They spent a whole
day in it and remained unharmed. They flayed them, beat them with iron
rods, set them on red-hot beds, and poured sulfur on their bodies. All
this failed to harm the saints, and they were sent to Tarsus for new
tortures. In the wilderness along the way St Clement had a revelation
that he would suffer a total of twenty-eight years for Christ. Then
having endured a multitude of tortures, the saints were locked up in
prison.
St Agathangelus was beheaded with the sword on November 5. The
Christians of Ancyra freed St Clement from prison and took him to a
cave church. There, after celebrating Liturgy, the saint announced to
the faithful the impending end of the persecution and his own
martyrdom. On January 23, the holy hierarch was killed by soldiers
from the city, who stormed the church. The saint was beheaded as he
stood before the altar and offered the Bloodless Sacrifice. Two
deacons, Christopher and Chariton, were beheaded with him, but no one
else was harmed.
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Martyr Agathangelus
Saint Agathangelus was a disciple of St Clement (see below).
Sts Clement and Agathangelus were denounced as Christians and sent to
the governor Agrippina, who subjected them to such inhuman torments,
that even the pagan on-lookers felt pity for the martyrs and they
began to pelt the torturers with stones.
Having been set free, the saints healed an inhabitant of the city
through the laying on of hands and they baptized and instructed
people, thronging to them in multitudes. Arrested again on orders of
Maximian, they were sent home to Ancyra, where the ruler Cyrenius had
them tortured. Then they were sent to the city of Amasea to the
proconsul Dometius, known for his great cruelty.
In Amasea, the martyrs were thrown into hot lime. They spent a whole
day in it and remained unharmed. They flayed them, beat them with iron
rods, set them on red-hot beds, and poured sulfur on their bodies. All
this failed to harm the saints, and they were sent to Tarsus for new
tortures. In the wilderness along the way St Clement had a revelation
that he would suffer a total of twenty-eight years for Christ. Then
having endured a multitude of tortures, the saints were locked up in
prison.
St Agathangelus was beheaded with the sword on November 5. The
Christians of Ancyra freed St Clement from prison and took him to a
cave church. There, after celebrating Liturgy, the saint announced to
the faithful the impending end of the persecution and his own
martyrdom. On January 23, the holy hierarch was killed by soldiers
from the city, who stormed the church. The saint was beheaded as he
stood before the altar and offered the Bloodless Sacrifice. Two
deacons, Christopher and Chariton, were beheaded with him, but no one
else was harmed.
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Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma
Saint Gennadius of Kostroma and Liubimograd, in the world Gregory, was
born in the city of Mogilev into a rich family. He early displayed
love for the church, and his frequent visits to monasteries evoked the
dismay of his parents. Gregory, however, was firmly resolved to devote
himself to God, and changing into tattered clothing, he secretly left
his parental home and journeyed to Moscow.
He visited the holy places in Moscow, but he did not find it suitable
in spirit and so set out to the Novgorod region. The destiny of the
future ascetic was decided by an encounter with St Alexander of Svir
(August 30). With his blessing, Gregory went to the Vologda forest to
St Cornelius of Komel (May 19), and was tonsured by him with the name
Gennadius. Together with St Cornelius, Gennadius moved on to the
Kostroma forest. Here, on the shores of Lake Sura, in about the year
1529, there emerged the monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord,
afterwards called "the Gennadiev monastery". Having become igumen, St
Gennadius did not slacken his monastic efforts, and together with the
brethren he went out to the monastery tasks: he chopped wood, carried
firewood, made candles and baked prosphora. He also wore heavy chains.
One of his favorite tasks was the painting of icons, with which he
adorned his new monastery.
For his holy life St Gennadius received from the Lord the gift of
clairvoyance and wonderworking. Journeying to Moscow on monastic
affairs, at the house of the nobleman Roman Zakharin, the saint
predicted to his daughter Anastasia that she would become Tsaritsa.
Indeed, Tsar Ivan the Terrible chose her as his wife.
The Life of St Gennadius was written by his disciple, Iguman Alexis,
between the years 1584-1587. In it was inserted his spiritual
testament, dictated by St Gennadius himself. In it he commands the
monks to observe the monastery Rule, to toil constantly, to be at
peace with everyone, and to preserve the books collected at the
monastery, while striving to understand their meaning. He said,
"Strive towards the light, and shun the darkness."
St Gennadius died on January 23, 1565, and was glorified by the Church
on August 19, 1646.
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Translation of the relics of St Theoctistus the Archbishop of
Novgorod
The main Feast of St Theoctistus is December 23. He was glorified in
1664, because of the miraculous healings which took place at his
relics. In 1786, the relics of the saint were transferred to Yuriev,
where Archimandrite Photius built a chapel in his honor at the local
cathedral.
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Venerable Mausimas the Syrian
Saint Mausimas the Syrian lived in Syria, near the city of Cyrrhus. He
voluntarily embraced poverty and devoted his life to the service of
his neighbor. The doors of his hut were always open to anyone who had
need of him.
In his hut there were two vessels: one with bread, and the other with
oil. Anyone in need came to him and received the food from his hand.
These vessels never became empty. The saint died at the end of the
fourth century.
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Venerable Salamanes the Silent of the Euphrates
Saint Salamanes the Silent was a native of the city of Kapersana, near
the River Euphrates. Having found a cave near the banks of the river,
he lived there as a hermit in silence and asceticism.
Learning of his exalted life, the Bishop of Kapersana wanted to ordain
him to the holy priesthood, but the hesychast would not answer him
with even a single word. The holy ascetic did not break his silence,
conversing with the Lord alone. The Orthodox Church venerates him as
the first saint to have taken upon himself the exploit of silence,
which he continued to his very end (+ ca. 400).
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St Paulinus the Merciful the Bishop of Nola
Saint Paulinus the Merciful, Bishop of Nola, was descended from an
aristocratic and wealthy family of Bordeaux (France). By virtue of his
extensive education and upbringing, the twenty-year-old youth was
chosen to become a Roman senator, later he became consul and finally,
governor of the region of Campagna in Italy.
At twenty-five years of age, he and his wife were converted to Christ
and were baptized. After this he completely changed his manner of
life. He disposed of all his property, and distributed the money to
the needy, for which he endured the scorn of his friends and servants.
Not having children of their own, the pious couple adopted poor
orphans and raised them in the fear of God. In his searchings for a
secluded life, St Paulinus went to the Spanish city of Barcelona.
News of his ascetic life spread about, and in 393 they asked him to be
ordained as a priest. Soon he left Spain and went on to the city of
Nola in Italy, where he was elected bishop.
When the Vandal barbarians invaded Italy and carried off many people
to Africa in captivity, St Paulinus used church funds to ransom the
captives. However, he did not have enough money to ransom the son of a
certain poor widow from slavery in the household of the Prince of the
Vandals. So, he volunteered to take his place. Dressed as a slave, St
Paulinus began to serve the Vandal prince as a gardener.
Soon his identity was revealed to the ruler, King Riga, in a dream.
Not only did he receive his own freedom, but he also won the release
of all the other prisoners from Campania, and returned home with them.
St Paulinus is known both as a builder of churches and as a Christian
poet. Among his many virtues, his love for mankind and his compassion
for the poor and needy deserve special mention. He died at
seventy-eight years of age on June 22, 431. Thirty-two of his poems
and fifty-one of his letters survive. They contain various moral
discourses filled with deep piety.
His relics are in Rome, in the church of the holy Apostle Bartholomew.
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Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical
Council
The Sixth Ecumenical Council was convened by the emperor Constantine
Pogonatos (668-685) at Constantinople in the year 681 to combat the
Monothelite heresy. At it 171 holy Fathers were present, who affirmed
the doctrine of two wills in Jesus Christ, the divine and the human.
This Council was followed by another Council in the year 691, called
the Council of Trullo. This Council addressed certain practical
matters, and 102 canons were promulgated.
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Synaxis of the Saints of Kostroma
The saints of Kostroma include St Abramius of Galich, or Chukhloma
Lake (July 20) St Adrian of Monza (May 5) St Alexander of Galich,
abbot of Voche (March 27) St Barnabas abbot of Verluga (June 11) St
Cyril of New Lake (February 4, November 7) St Cyril of White Lake
(June 9) St Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal (June 26, October 15) St
Gennadius, abbot of Kostroma (August 19) St Gregory, abbot of Pelshme,
wonderworker of Vologda (September 30) St James of Brileev (April 11)
St James of Galich Monastery (April 4, May 30) St James of
Zheleznoborovsk (April 11, May 5) St Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow
(March 31, May 27, June 15) St Macarius, abbot of Zheltovod and Unzha
(July 25) St Macarius of Pisma Monastery (January 10) St Metrophanes,
bishop of Voronezh (August 7, September 4, November 23) St Pachomius,
abbot of Nerekhta (March 21, May 15) St Paisius, abbot of Galich (May
23) St Paul of Obnora (January 10, October 7) St Therapon of Monza
(May 27, December 1).
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St John
Archimandrite John (Basil Maisuradze in the world) was born in the
town of Tskhinvali in Samachablo around 1882. He was raised in a
peasant family and taught to perform all kinds of handiwork. Basil was
barely in his teens when he helped Fr. Spiridon (Ketiladze), the main
priest at Betania Monastery, to restore the monastery between 1894 and
1896.
>From his youth Basil was eager to enter the monastic life, and in
1903, according to Gods will, he moved to the Skete of St. John the
Theologian at Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. Among the brothers he was
distinguished for his simplicity and obedience. He was tonsured a monk
and named John in honor of St. John the Theologian, whom he revered
deeply and sought to emulate.
The monk John was soon ordained to the priesthood. Throughout his life
the holy father dedicated himself to serving God and his brothers in
Christ in hopes that his own life might be fruitful for them.
Fr. John remained on Mt. Athos for seventeen years. Then, due to the
increasingly troubling circumstances there, he left the Holy Mountain
with the other Georgian monks sometime between 1920 and 1921. He
settled at Armazi Monastery outside of Mtskheta, where the Bolsheviks
had left just one monk to labor in solitude. Once a band of armed
Chekists broke into the monastery, led both Fr. John and the other
monk away, and shot them in the back.
Believing them to be dead, they tossed them in a nearby gorge. A group
of people later discovered Fr. Johns nearly lifeless body and brought
it to Samtavro Monastery in Mtskheta. The other monk suffered only
minor injuries and returned to the monastery on his own.
When his health had been restored, Fr. John went to Betania Monastery,
where his first spiritual father was still laboring. He was appointed
abbot shortly thereafter. Accustomed to hard work from his childhood,
he skillfully administered the agricultural labors of the monastery.
When visitors came to the monastery seeking advice or solace, Fr. John
welcomed them warmly, spreading a festal meal before them. He enjoyed
spending time with his guests, especially with children.
It is said that he always had candy or a special treat to give to the
little ones. The children loved him so much that on the feast of St.
John the Theologian, while he was sprinkling the church with holy
water, they skipped around him and tried to tousle his hair. The
childrens parents were ashamed, but Fr. John cheerfully assured them
that it was fitting to be so joyous on a feast day.
Truly Fr. John was endowed with a deep love for young people, and he
was also blessed with the divine gifts of prophecy and wonder-working.
Once a certain Irakli Ghudushauri, a student at Moscow Theological
Seminary, visited him at the monastery. Fr. John received him with
exceptional warmth, blessing him with tears of rejoicing. This student
would later become Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the beloved shepherd
who continues to lead the flock of the Georgian faithful to this very
day.
Fr. John disciplined himself severely. He worked hard all day and
slept on a single piece of wood. He would spend entire nights praying.
Many wondered when he rested and where he had acquired such a
seemingly infinite supply of energy.
Occasionally thieves would steal food or domestic animals from the
monastery. But the monastery also had many protectors, even within the
Soviet government. A group of Christians who worked for the government
while secretly practicing their faith supported Fr. John and Fr.
George (Mkheidze) (see below), explaining and justifying them to the
government as guardians of a national cultural monument.
Many of the miracles performed by Fr. John are known to us today,
though he was wary of receiving honor for his deeds. Frs. John and
George healed the deaf, and many of the terminally ill were brought to
them for healing. After spending several days in the monastery, the
infirm would miraculously be cleansed of their diseases. Fr. John bore
the heaviest workload in the monastery. He sympathized deeply with Fr.
George, who was ailing physically and unfit for strenuous labor. But
Fr. John departed this life before Fr. George. Fr. John became ill and
reposed in 1957, at the age of seventy-five. He was buried at Betania
Monastery.
Fr. George (Mkheidze) was born in the village of Skhvava in the Racha
region around 1877. He received a military educationa highly esteemed
commodity among the Georgian aristocracybut instead of pursuing a
military career in defense of the Russian empire, he dedicated himself
to Georgias national liberation movement. At one point the pious and
learned George worked for St. Ilia the Righteous as his personal
secretary. He often met St. Ilias spiritual father, the holy hierarch
Alexandre (Okropiridze), and the holy hieromartyr Nazar (Lezhava), and
he was acquainted with other important spiritual leaders of the time
as well.
Desiring to sacrifice his life to God, George was tonsured into
monasticism by the holy hieromartyr Nazar. His rare character combined
a noblemans deportment with a monks humble asceticism. Fr. George was
ordained a priest and soon after elevated to the rank of
archimandrite.
Filled with divine love and patriotic sentiment, the holy father
willingly endured the heavy burdens and spiritual tribulations
afflicting his country at that time.
In 1924, while Fr. George was laboring at Khirsa Monastery in Kakheti
in eastern Georgia, an armed Chekist mob broke into the monastery. The
perpetrators beat him, cut off his hair, shaved his beard, and
threatened to take his life. He sought refuge with his family, but to
no availhis brothers, who were atheists, shaved off his beard while he
was sleeping. (One of Fr. Georges brothers later committed suicide,
and the other, together with his wife, was shot to death by the
Chekists.) In the same year, Fr. George visited Betania Monastery and
was introduced to Fr. John (Maisuradze), with whom he would labor for
the remainder of his life.
Fr. Georges health was poor, and he was able to perform only the
lightest of tasks around the monastery. He tended the vegetable garden
and took responsibility for raising the bees. He was extremely
generous. At times he would give all the monasterys food to the needy,
assuring Fr. John that God Himself would provide their daily bread.
Tall, thin, and with an upright posture, Fr. George was strict in both
appearance and demeanor. He spoke very little with other people, and
children did not play with him as they did with Fr. John. Knowing his
character, they tried to please him by reciting prayers and behaving
themselves. Fr. George did not like to leave the monastery, but it was
often necessary for him to travel to Tbilisi to visit his spiritual
children among whom were many secret Christians who worked for the
government.
Fr. George was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and healing, but he
was careful to hide them. When constrained to reveal them, he would
pass them off as though they were nothing extraordinary. Once a
certain pilgrim arrived at the monastery and was surprised to discover
that Fr. George knew him by name. Sensing his great amazement, Fr.
George told the pilgrim that he had attended his baptism some thirty
years earlier, thus concealing his God-given gift. Fr. George knew in
advance when his nephew was bringing his sisters, whom he had not seen
in forty-eight years, to visit him at the monastery during Great Lent.
Enlightened with this foreknowledge, Fr. George prepared fish and a
festal meal in honor of the occasion.
The prayers of Fr. George and Fr. John healed the formers nephew, who
was afflicted by a deadly strain of meningitis. They restored hearing
to a deaf child and healed many others of their bodily infirmities.
In 1957, when Fr. John reposed in the Lord, Fr. George was tonsured
into the great schema. He was given the name John in honor of his
newly departed spiritual brother. Fr. George-John now bore full
responsibility for the affairs of the monastery. His health
deteriorated further under the weight of this heavy yoke. His
spiritual children began to come from the city to care for him.
Once a twenty-year-old girl arrived at the monastery, complaining of
incessant headaches. She had been told that the water from Betania
Monastery would heal her. She remained there for one week and was
miraculously healed. When she left to return home, Fr. George-John
walked five miles to see her off, in spite of his physical frailty.
The Theotokos appeared to Fr. George-John in a vision and relieved his
terrible physical pain. The protomartyr Thekla also appeared to him,
presenting him with a bunch of grapes. Several days before his repose,
the holy father was in the city when an angel appeared to him and
announced his imminent repose. The angel told him to return to the
monastery to prepare for his departure from this world.
St. George-John (Mkheidze) reposed in 1960. He was buried at Betania
Monastery, next to Fr. John (Maisuradze). These venerable fathers were
canonized on September 18, 2003, at a council of the Holy Synod under
the spiritual leadership of His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch
of All Georgia. Frs. John and George-John have been lovingly deemed
one soul in two bodies.
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