[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Fri Mar 21 05:00:17 CDT 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Fri Mar 21 2008

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Isaiah 7:1-15  (6th Hour)
1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son
of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son
of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against
it, but could not prevail against it.
2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, Syrias forces are
deployed in Ephraim. So his heart and the heart of his people were
moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and
Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool,
on the highway to the Fullers Field,
4 and say to him: Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be
fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce
anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.
5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil
against you, saying,
6 Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in
its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel
7 thus says the Lord God: It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to
pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is
Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, So that it will
not be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, And the head of Samaria is Remaliahs
son. If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established.
10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
11 Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in
the depth or in the height above.
12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!
13 Then he said, Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for
you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin
shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil
and choose the good.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3

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Genesis 5:32-6:8  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and
Japheth.
1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the
earth, and daughters were born to them,
2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were
beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for
he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty
years.
4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward,
when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore
children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of
renown.
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was
grieved in His heart.
7 So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the
face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the
air, for I am sorry that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

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Proverbs 6:20-7:1  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
20 My son, keep your fathers command, And do not forsake the law of
your mother.
21 Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.
22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep
you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of
instruction are the way of life,
24 To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a
seductress.
25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you
with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And
an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27 Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbors wife; Whoever touches her
shall not be innocent.
30 People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when
he is starving.
31 Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to
give up all the substance of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who
does so destroys his own soul.
33 Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped
away.
34 For jealousy is a husbands fury; Therefore he will not spare in the
day of vengeance.
35 He will accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you
give many gifts.
1 My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

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St James the Confessor the Bishop of Catania
Saint James, Bishop and Confessor,was inclined toward the ascetic life
from his early years. St James left the world and entered the Studite
monastery, where he was tonsured. He led a strict life, full of works,
fasting and prayer. Pious and well-versed in Holy Scripture, St James
was elevated to the bishop's throne of Catania (Sicily).
During the reign of the iconoclast emperor Constantine V Copronymos
(741-775), St James was repeatedly urged not to venerate the holy
icons. They exhausted him in prison, starved him, and beat him, but he
bravely endured all these torments. St James died in exile.
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St Cyril the Bishop of Catania
Saint Cyril was born in Antioch. He was a disciple of the Apostle
Peter (June 29, January 16), who installed him as Bishop of Catania in
Sicily. St Cyril wisely guided his flock; he was pious, and the Lord
granted him the gift of wonderworking. By his prayer the bitter water
in a certain spring lost its bitterness and became drinkable. This
miracle converted many pagans to Christianity. St Cyril died in old
age and was buried in Sicily.
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St Thomas the Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Thomas, Patriarch of Constantinople, was at first a deacon, and
later under the holy Patriarch John IV the Faster (582-595) he was
made "sakellarios" [sacristan] in the Great Church (Hagia Sophia).
After the death of holy Patriarch Cyriacus (595-606), St Thomas was
elevated to the Patriarchal throne in 607. The saint concerned himself
in every possible way about the spiritual needs of his flock.
During the patriarchate of St Thomas, an ominous portent appeared in
the land of Galatia (Asia Minor). The heavy crosses which were carried
during church processions began to shake and to strike against each
other. The clairvoyant Elder, St Theodore Sykeotes (April 22),
explained the meaning of this portent. He said that discords and
disasters awaited the Church, and the state was in danger of barbarian
invasion. Hearing this, the saint became terrified and asked St
Theodore to pray that God would take his soul before these predictions
were fulfilled.
After the death of the holy Patriarch Thomas in 610, disorders started
in the Church. St Thomas's successor, Patriarch Sergius (610-638),
fell into the Monothelite heresy. Through God's dispensation, war
broke out with Persia, which proved grievous for Byzantium. The Greek
regions of Asia Minor were completely devastated, Jerusalem fell, and
the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord was captured and taken to Persia.
Thus, all the misfortunes portended by the miracle during the church
procession came to pass.
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Venerable Seraphim of Virits
Basil Muraviev (the future St Seraphim) was born in 1865 in the town
of Cheremovsky in the Yaroslavl province. His parents, Nicholas and
Chione, were peasants. When Basil was ten years old, his father died,
and he was left to care for his ailing mother and his sister Olga.
A kind neighbor took Basil with him to St Petersburg, and found him a
job as a store clerk. The boy had a secret desire to become a monk, so
one day he went to the St Alexander Nevsky Lavra to speak to one of
the Elders about this. The Elder advised him to remain in the world
and raise a family, then after their children had grown, he and his
wife were to serve God in the monastic life.
Basil accepted these words as the will of God, and so he lived his
life as the Elder had directed. Returning to the store, Basil
continued to work and send money home to his family. When he was
twenty-four years old, Basil married his wife Olga.
He started his own business as a furrier, and became very wealthy. He
had a son, Nicholas and a daughter, Olga. After their daughter's
death, Basil and his wife agreed to live together as brother and
sister from that time forward.
When he was around thirty, Basil gave away most of his wealth,
donating money to various monasteries. When Nicholas was grown, Basil
and Olga went to monasteries to serve God. Olga was tonsured in 1919
with the name Christina, and lived in the Resurrection-New Divyevo
Monastery in St Petersburg. Later, she was tonsured into the schema
and was given the name Seraphima. She died in 1945.
We do not know where Basil received monastic tonsure (some say it was
on Mt Athos), nor the new name he was given at that time.
In 1927, he arrived at the St Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where he became
Father Confessor to the monks. There he was tonsured into the schema
with the name Seraphim. Soon it became apparent that St Seraphim had
received from God the gifts of clairvoyance and healing, and many
people came to him seeking his help and advice.
Bishop Alexei (Shimansky) of Novgorod came to the Elder in 1927 to ask
if he should leave Russia, since many bishops and priests were facing
arrest and execution under the Communist yoke. Before the bishop could
utter a word, St Seraphim said, "Many now wish to leave Russia, but
there is nothing to fear. You are needed here. You will become
Patriarch and will rule for twenty-five years."
A time of trial came for the Lavra. Monks were arrested, exiled, and
sent to labor camps. Many of them were executed. Beginning in 1929,
the Elder was arrested fourteen times. He continued his priestly
ministry in the prison camps, where he strengthened and encouraged his
fellow-prisoners.
In 1933, the Elder returned from the camps and settled in Vyritsa.
This was a very beautiful place with forests and a river, and it was
known for its healthy climate. St Seraphim's health had deteriorated
in the prison camps, and he had been beaten many times.
A wooden church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
had been built in Vyritsa in 1913 to commemorate the three hundredth
anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The upper church has two altars:
one dedicated to the Kazan Icon, the other to St Nicholas. The lower
church was dedicated to St Seraphim of Sarov.
After he had recovered somewhat, Fr Seraphim began to receive visitors
who came seeking advice and comfort from him. Many of those afflicted
with illness received healing by his prayers. The authorities soon
noticed the great numbers of people who came to him. His cell was
searched many times, usually at night. Once, the police came to arrest
the Elder, but a doctor told them that Fr Seraphim would not survive
the trip because of his many infirmities. They decided to leave him
alone, and so the Lord preserved the life of His servant.
The Germans entered Vyritsa in September of 1941, but no one was
harmed, and there was no looting. During the War, Fr Seraphim became
weak and now served only rarely in the chapel of St Seraphim. Starting
in 1945, Fr Alexei Kibardin began serving in the Kazan church.
By the spring of 1949, St Seraphim was very weak and had to remain in
bed. Still, he permitted visitors to come to him as before.
Shortly before his death, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to St
Seraphim and told him to receive Holy Communion every day. Fr Alexei
Kibardin would bring him Communion at 2 AM, but once he overslept and
did not come until 4 AM. He apologized to the Elder for his tardiness,
and noticed that there was a certain radiance around the saint. The
Elder said, "Father, do not worry. The holy angels have already
brought me Communion." Seeing his face, Fr Alexei knew that this was
absolutely true!
The Elder told Fr Alexei to go to Moscow and inform Patriarch Alexei I
that he would depart to the Lord in two weeks. When Fr Alexei relayed
the message, the Patriarch turned to the holy icons and crossed
himself. When he turned around again, tears were streaming down his
cheeks. "I have been Patriarch for four years," he said. "Twenty-one
years remain to me. This is what the holy Elder told me." Patriarch
Alexei died in 1970, just as St Seraphim foretold.
St Seraphim departed to the Lord on March 21, 1949 (April 3 N.S.). In
the hours before his death, he asked that the Akathists to the Most
Holy Theotokos, to St Seraphim of Sarov, and to St Nicholas be read.
For a week after his blessed repose, a sweet fragrance permeated
Vyritsa.
St Seraphim was buried in the cemetery next to the church of the Kazan
Icon in Vyritsa. Great throngs of people came for the funeral, and
Vyritsa became a place of pilgrimage.
The schemamonk St Seraphim was glorified by the Church of Russia in
August of 2000.
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St Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis in Lower Egypt
No information available at this time.
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