The Holy Apostle Bartholomew was born at Cana of Galilee and was one of the Twelve Apostles of Christ. After the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, it fell by lot to the holy Apostles Bartholomew and Philip (November 14) to preach the Gospel in Syria and Asia Minor. In their preaching they wandered through various cities, and then met up again. Accompanying the holy Apostle Philip was his sister, the holy virgin Saint Mariamnne.

Traversing the cities of Syria and Myzia, they underwent much hardship and tribulations, they were stoned and they were locked up in prison. In one of the villages they met up with the Apostle John the Theologian, and together they set off to Phrygia. In the city of Hieropolis by the power of their prayers they destroyed an enormous viper, which the pagans worshipped as a god. The holy Apostles Bartholomew and Philip with his sister confirmed their preaching with many miracles.

At Hieropolis there lived a man by the name of Stachys, who had been blind for 40 years. When he received healing, he then believed in Christ and was baptized. News of this spread throughout the city, and a multitude of the people thronged to the house where the apostles were staying. The sick and those beset by demons were released from their infirmities, and many were baptized. The city prefect gave orders to arrest the preachers and throw them in prison, and to burn down the house of Stachys. At the trial pagan priests came forth with the complaint that the strangers were turning people away from the worship of the ancestral gods.

Thinking that perhaps some sort of magic power was hidden away in the clothes of the apostles, the prefect gave orders to strip them. But Saint Mariamne became like a fiery torch before their eyes, and none dared touch her. They sentenced the saints to death. The Apostle Philip was crucified upside down. Suddenly there was an earthquake, and a fissure in the earth swallowed up the prefect of the city, together with the pagan priests and many of the people. Others took fright and rushed to take down the apostles from the crosses. Since the Apostle Bartholomew had not been suspended very high, they soon managed to take him down. The Apostle Philip, however, had died. After making Stachys Bishop of Hieropolis, the Apostle Bartholomew and Saint Mariamne left the city and moved on.

Preaching the Word of God, Mariamne arrived in Lykaonia, where she peacefully died (February 17). The Apostle Bartholomew went to India, where he translated the Gospel of Matthew into their language, and he converted many pagans to Christ. He also visited Greater Armenia (the country between the River Kura and the upper stretches of the Tigrus and Euphrates Rivers), where he worked many miracles and healed the daughter of King Polymios from the demons afflicting her. In gratitude, the king sent gifts to the apostle, who refused to accept them, saying that he sought only the salvation of the souls of mankind.

Then Polymios together with his wife, daughter, and many of those close to them accepted Baptism. And people from more than ten cities of Greater Armenia followed their example. But through the intrigues of the pagan priests, the Apostle Bartholomew was seized by the king’s brother Astiagus in the city of Alban (now the city of Baku), and crucified upside down. But even from the cross he did not cease to proclaim the good news about Christ the Savior. Finally, on orders from Astiagus, they flayed the skin from the Apostle Bartholomew and cut off his head. Believers placed his relics in a leaden coffin and buried him.

In about the year 508 the holy relics of the Apostle Bartholomew were transferred to Mesopotamia, to the city of Dara. When the Persians seized the city in 574, Christians took the relics of the Apostle Bartholomew with them when they fled to the shores of the Black Sea. But since the enemy overtook them there, they were compelled to leave the coffin behind, and the pagans threw it into the sea. By the power of God the coffin miraculously arrived on the island of Lipari. In the ninth century, after the taking of the island by the Arabs, the holy relics were transferred to the Neapolitan city of Beneventum in Italy, and in the tenth century part of the relics were transferred to Rome.

The holy Apostle Bartholomew is mentioned in the Life of Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (April 4). Having received from a certain man part of the relics of the Apostle Bartholomew, Saint Joseph conveyed them to his own monastery near Constantinople, and he built a church in the name of the Apostle Bartholomew, placing in it a portion of the relics. Saint Joseph ardently desired to compose hymns of praise in honor of the saint, and he fervently besought God to grant him the ability to do so.

On the Feast day in memory of the Apostle Bartholomew, Saint Joseph saw him at the altar. He beckoned to Joseph and took the holy Gospel from the altar table and pressed it to his bosom with the words, “May the Lord bless you, and may your song delight the whole world.” And from that time Saint Joseph began to write hymns and canons to adorn not only the Feast day of the Apostle Bartholomew, but also the Feast days of many other saints, composing about 300 canons in all. Saints John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Epiphanius of Cyprus and certain other teachers of the Church regard the Apostle Bartholomew as being the same person as Nathanael (John 1:45-51, 21:2).

Holy Apostle Barnabas of the Seventy was born on the island of Cyprus into the family of the tribe of Levi, and he was named Joseph. He received his education at Jerusalem, being raised with his friend and fellow student Saul (the future Apostle Paul) under the renowned teacher of the Law, Gamaliel. Joseph was pious, he frequented the Temple, he strictly observed the fasts and avoided youthful distractions. During this time period our Lord Jesus Christ began His public ministry. Seeing the Lord and hearing His Divine Words, Joseph believed in Him as the Messiah. Filled with ardent love for the Savior, he followed Him. The Lord chose him to be one of His Seventy Apostles. The other Apostles called him Barnabas, which means “son of consolation.” After the Ascension of the Lord to Heaven, Barnabas sold land belonging to him near Jerusalem and he brought the money to the feet of the Apostles, leaving nothing for himself (Acts 4:36-37).

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem after his conversion and sought to join the followers of Christ, everyone there was afraid of him since he had persecuted the Church only a short while before. Barnabas, however, came with him to the Apostles and reported how the Lord had appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:26-28).

Saint Barnabas went to Antioch to encourage the believers, “Having come and having seen the grace of God, he rejoiced and he urged all to cleave to the Lord with sincerity of heart” (Acts 11:23). Then he went to Tarsus, and brought the Apostle Paul to Antioch, where for about a year they taught the people. It was here that the disciples first began to be called Christians (Acts 11:26). With the onset of famine, and taking along generous alms, Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem. When King Herod killed Saint James the son of Zebedee, and had the Apostle Peter put under guard in prison to please the Jews, Saints Barnabas and Paul and Peter were led out of the prison by an angel of the Lord.

They hid out at the house of Barnabas’ aunt Maria. Later, when the persecution had quieted down, they returned to Antioch, taking with them Maria’s son John, surnamed Mark. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophets and teachers there imposed hands upon Barnabas and Paul, and sent them off to do the work to which the Lord had called them (Acts 13:2-3). Arriving in Seleucia, they sailed off to Cyprus and in the city of Salamis they preached the Word of God in the Jewish synagogues.

On Paphos they came across a sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was close with the proconsul Sergius. Wishing to hear the Word of God, the proconsul invited the saints to come to him. The sorcerer attempted to sway the proconsul from the Faith, but the Apostle Paul denounced the sorcerer, who through his words suddenly fell blind. The proconsul believed in Christ (Acts 13:6-12).

From Paphos Barnabas and Paul set sail for Pergamum of Pamphylia, and then they preached to the Jews and the Gentiles at Pisidian Antioch and throughout all that region. The Jews rioted and expelled Paul and Barnabas. The saints arrived in Iconium, but learning that the Jews wanted to stone them, they withdrew to Lystra and Derben. There the Apostle Paul healed a man, crippled in the legs from birth. The people assumed them to be the gods Zeus and Hermes and wanted to offer them sacrifice. The saints just barely persuaded them not to do this (Acts 14:8-18).

When the question arose whether those converted from the Gentiles should accept circumcision, Barnabas and Paul went to Jerusalem. There they were warmly received by the Apostles and elders. The preachers related “what God had wrought with them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).

After long deliberations the Apostles collectively resolved not to impose any sort of burden upon Gentile Christians except what was necessary: to refrain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood (Acts 15:19-20). Letters were sent with Barnabas and Paul, and they again preached at Antioch, and after a certain while they decided to visit the other cities where they had visited earlier. Saint Barnabas wanted to take Mark along with him, but Saint Paul did not want to, since earlier he had left them. A quarrel arose, and they separated. Paul took Silas with him and went to Syria and Cilicia, while Barnabas took Mark with him to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-41).

Having multiplied the number of believers, Saint Barnabas traveled to Rome, where he was perhaps the first to preach Christ.

Saint Barnabas founded the episcopal see at Mediolanum (now Milan), and upon his return to Cyprus he continued to preach about Christ the Savior. Then the enraged Jews incited the pagans against Barnabas, and they led him out beyond the city and stoned him, and then built a fire to burn the body. Later on, having come upon this spot, Mark took up the unharmed body of Saint Barnabas and buried it in a cave, placing upon the saint’s bosom, in accord with his final wishes, the Gospel of Matthew which he had copied in his own hand.

Saint Barnabas died in about the year 62, at age seventy-six. In time, the burial spot was forgotten, but numerous signs took place at this spot. In the year 448, during the time of the emperor Zeno, Saint Barnabas appeared three times in a dream to Archbishop Anthimus of Cyprus and indicated the place where his relics were buried. Starting to dig at the indicated spot, Christians found the incorrupt body of the saint, and upon his chest was the Holy Gospel.

It was during this time that the Church of Cyprus began to be regarded as Apostolic in origin, and received the right of choosing its head. Thus Saint Barnabas defended Cyprus against the pretensions of the opponent of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the heretic surnamed Knapheios, who had usurped the patriarchal throne at Antioch and tried to gain dominion over the Church of Cyprus.

Saint Barnabas of Vetluga was born in Great Ustiug. Before going off into the wilderness he was a priest in one of the city churches. In 1417 the monk settled at one of the banks of the River Vetluga at Red Hill, where he labored in solitude for 28 years, “toiling for God in psalmody and prayer, he subsisted on grass and acorns.” In the words of the author of his Life, there came also to Saint Barnabas “wild animals, and many bears lived near his cell. He, however, walked among them, as though among cattle, watching after them and delighting with them; rejoicing in the great God that these beasts had become tame for him.”

There was not a single human habitation in the area of Red Hill as far off as 50 versts. Occasionally wilderness people would visit “for a blessing,” and he would predict to them that after his repose on the banks of the River Vetluga “God would multiply the human habitation, and upon the place of his dwelling monks would live.”

According to Tradition, in 1439, before he settled at the River Unzha, Saint Macarius (July 25) came there for instruction and guidance. Saint Barnabas died in old age on June 11, 1445. After the death of the ascetic, at the place of his efforts many monks came to dwell “from various lands” and “after them farmers” and “many people did spread all along this river all the way to the great River Volga.” At Red Hill the monks built two churches, one in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, and the other, over the grave of the monk, dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. They founded a cenobitic monastery, which received as its name “the Varnavinsk wilderness-monastery.” The Life of Saint Barnabas was written in 1639 by a monk of the Varnavinsk monastery, “the most venerable hieromonk Joseph (Dyadkin), who later, in the imperial city of Moscow, was in charge of the directory of book printing.” For the authentication and verification of the miracles, which occurred at the grave of the monk, in that same year of 1639 there was an uncovering of the holy relics under the direction of Patriarch Joasaph.

With the passing of time at the place of the Varnavinsk monastery there arose the district town Varnavin, and the chief church of the monastery became the cathedral church dedicated to the Holy Apostle Barnabas.

Transfer of the Relics of Saint Ephraim of Novy Torg (+ January 28, 1053) took place in the year 1572 under Archbishop Leonid of Novgorod. The Feast day was established under Metropolitan Daniel of Moscow (1584-1587).

According to Tradition, during the iconoclast persecution of Leo III the Isaurian (717-741), an Icon of the Theotokos was slashed by the sword of one of the Emperor’s soldiers. Blood flowed from the Icon into the sea. Shaken by this sign, the repentant sinner fled to Mount Athos. One day he saw the Icon, which had floated from Constantinople, lying on the shore, it was still bleeding and dyeing the water red. He ran toward it and, with fear and trembling, he carried it to the Protaton church. There the Icon stopped bleeding, indicating that the Panagia had forgiven him for desecrating her holy Icon.

Many years later, a certain Elder and his disciple were living in a cave near Karyes. On a Saturday night in 982, the Elder went to attend the All-Night Vigil at Karyes, leaving his disciple behind to read the service in their cell. When it was dark, an unknown monk came to the cell. He said that his name was Gabriel, and the disciple invited him to come in.

Since it was time for the Vigil, the two monks began to pray before the Icon of the Mother of God. When they finished the eighth Ode of the Canon, the disciple began to chant: “My soul magnifies the Lord…” and then he sang the Irmos of Saint Cosmas the Hymnographer (Oct. 14): “More honorable than the Cherubim…” The visitor then chanted the next verse: “For He hath regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden; for behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” Then, instead of singing “More honorable…” the visitor prefaced it with: “It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos, ever blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God.” Then he continued with “More honorable.”

During the singing of this hymn, the Icon was illumined with a heavenly light, and the disciple was moved to tears He asked his guest to write down the new words, but there was no paper. The stranger took a roofing tile and wrote the entire hymn upon it with his finger, as though it were made of wax. The disciple then realized that this was no ordinary monk, but the Archangel Gabriel. The heavenly visitor told him, “Sing the hymn this way, and all of the Orthodox as well.” Then, he disappeared. The light continued to shine forth from the Icon for a long time.

The Eleousa (Merciful) Icon of the Mother of God, before which the hymn “It Is Truly Meet” was first sung, was transferred to the katholikon at Karyes. The tile, with the hymn written on it by the Archangel Gabriel, was taken to Constantinople when Saint Nicholas Chrysoberges (December 16) was Patriarch.

Numerous copies of the “It Is Truly Meet” Icon are revered in Russian churches. At the Galerna Harbor of St. Petersburg a church with five cupolas was built in honor of the “Merciful” Mother of God, and into it they placed a grace-bearing copy of the “Axion Estin” Icon sent from Mount Athos.

The inscription on the scroll held by Christ reads: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

The Axion Estin Icon kept at the High Place in the sanctuary of the Holy Dormition katholikon at Karyes, the capital of Mount Athos. Enthroned on the Igoumen's stone chair, the Icon is an object of great veneration. The church is known as Protaton because it was the first church to be built on the Holy Mountain in 843 by Saint Athanasios the Athonite (July 5) The iconography of the church was done in the XIII century by the renowned iconographer Emmanuel Panselinos.

The Icon takes its name from the hymn we sing after the epiklesis during the Divine Liturgy. The cell where the miracle took place is known today by the name “Axion Estin.” The miracle occurred on June 11, 982 on a Sunday. The miraculous tile on which was the hymn was transcribed was transferred to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and was displayed for veneration by the faithful in the imperial palace Church of Saint Stephen. From that time on, the expanded hymn Axion Estin became part of the Divine Liturgy and other services of the Church.

The Icon is especially honored with festivities and a procession on Bright Monday, and many miracles take place on that day.

The Icon itself is a bit faded, but is now covered by a silver riza. It has been restored recently and is in good condition. There is an inscription: “Μήτηρ Θεού Καρυώτισσα” or “Mother of God Karyotissa (of Karyes).” Originally, it came from Constantinople, and belongs to the Panagia Eleousa type, which was first painted by the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke.

On the one thousand year anniversary of Mount Athos in 1963, the Axion Estin Icon left the Holy Mountain for the first time to be venerated in Athens by thousands of faithful. In 1985 it was brought to Thessaloniki aboard a military ship and received there with the same honors as a Head of State.

On the great and saving day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, as Christ had promised (John 16:7-15). The unlearned fishermen were made wise by divine grace, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ and teaching with authority. Most of them (except for Saint John the Theologian) sealed their labors with their own blood. This was the beginning of the Church's mission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18), which continues even to the present day.

In 1685, the Russian Orthodox Church established an Orthodox mission in Peking (now Beijing). For more than two hundred years, some of the Chinese converted to Christianity, and married Russian spouses.

Because of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, against the foreign powers occupying China, these Chinese Christians were given the choice of renouncing Christianity, or being tortured and killed.

Two hundred and twenty-two members of the Peking Mission, led by their priest, Father Metrophanes Chang (Chang Tzi-tzung) refused to deny Christ, and received incorruptible crowns of glory.

Among these Holy New Martyrs are Saint Metrophanes, his wife Tatiana, his sons John and Isaiah, Isaiah's fiancée Maria; the church school teachers Paul Wang and Ia Wen; and many others.

Valentin Felixovich (Voyno-Yasenetsky), was born on April 14, 1877 in Kerch, and was the third of five children. Valentin's father, Felix Stanislavovich, was a Roman Catholic and a pharmacist by profession. His mother, Maria Dmitrievna, was an Orthodox Christian

According to the mores of that time in Russia concerning the upbringing of children of mixed marriages, Valentin's personality was formed in keeping with Orthodox traditions. His father did not object, nor did he impose his own beliefs on his son. His mother taught him the basic tenets of the Orthodox Church.

In 1889, the Voyno-Yasenetsky family moved to Kiev. There, with God's help, Valentin graduated from two educational institutions: the gymnasium and an art school.

Thinking about choosing a career, he had two options: to become an artist or a doctor. As he was about to enter the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, he changed his mind and decided to devote his energies to medicine. His most important consideration was his desire to alleviate people's suffering. Furthermore, he believed that he would benefit society more as a doctor.

In 1898, Valentin entered the University of Kiev, the Facultet of Medicine. He studied well, as befits a person who has made a deliberate choice regarding his future profession. He graduated from the University in 1903. A promising career lay ahead of him, of which many of his less talented peers could only dream. But to everyone's surprise, he announced that he wanted to become a doctor for the poor.

At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Valentin went to the Far East with other doctors to serve in the activities of the Red Cross detachment. There he headed the Department of Surgery at the hospital of the Kiev Red Cross, and was deployed in Chita. In this position, Valentin acquired a great deal of medical experience.

During the same period, he met and was attracted to a Sister of Mercy, a kind and gentle Christian, Anna Lanskaya. By that time, she had turned down proposals from two doctors, and wanted a life of celibacy. But Valentin managed to win her heart. In 1904, the young couple were married in the local church at Chita. Over a period of time, Anna became a faithful assistant to her husband, not only in family matters, but also in his medical practice.

After the war, Valentin fulfilled his long-standing desire to become a doctor for poor people. In the period from 1905 to 1917 he worked for a year in urban and rural hospitals in different regions of the country: in Simbirsk province, then in Kursk, Saratov, the territory of Ukraine, and finally, in Pereslavl-Zalessky.

In 1908, Valentin arrived in Moscow and got a job in the surgical clinic of P. Dyakonov as a student. In 1916 he wrote, and successfully defended, his doctoral dissertation. The work turned out to be so important and relevant, and its content so deep and elaborate, that one of the scientists in compared it to the singing of a bird. At that time, the University of Warsaw honored Valentin with a special prize.

The first years after the October Revolution were very bloody. During that difficult time, the state had a special need for medical workers. So, despite his commitment to his faith, Valentin was not persecuted.

From 1917 to 1923 he lived in Tashkent, worked in the New City Hospital as a surgeon. He willingly shared his experience with his students, and taught at a medical school (later reorganized into a medical facultet).

In 1919 his beloved wife died from tuberculosis, leaving their four children without a mother's care, which was a severe trial for Doctor Voyno-Yasenetsky, but he never remarried.

In 1920, Valentin accepted an offer to head the department at the Turkestan State University, which had recently opened in Tashkent.

During this period, in addition to his official and family duties, Valentin took an active part in Church life, and attended meetings of the Tashkent brotherhood. Once, after he presented a successful report at the Church congress, Bishop Innocent of Tashkent told him that he wanted him to become a priest. Valentin, who had never thought about following such a path, replied that he would agree, if it was pleasing to God.

In 1921 he was ordained a deacon, and a few days later he was ordained as a priest. Father Valentin was assigned to a church in Tashkent, where he served and pleased God. At the same time, he did not give up his medical practice or his teaching.

In 1923, Father Valentin, moved by zeal and piety, was tonsured as a monk. At first, Bishop Andrew (Ukhtomsky) of Ufa intended to name him Panteleimon, in honor of the Unmercenary Physician; but then, after listening to his sermons, he changed his mind and chose the name of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke. So Father Valentin became Hieromonk Luke.

That same year, the renovationist "Living Church" movement reached Tashkent. For a number of reasons, Bishop Innocent left the city without appointing anyone to replace him. In this difficult time for the clergy and the flock, Father Valentin and Father Michael Andreev made every effort to unite the local clergy, and even took part in the organization of the congress (sanctioned by the Г.П.У).

At the end of May, Hieromonk Luke was secretly consecrated as Bishop of Penjikent, and a few days later, he was arrested because of his support for Patriarch Tikhon. Today the charges against him seem not only far-fetched, but also absurd: the authorities accused him of a counter-revolutionary connection with some Orenburg Cossacks, in cooperation with the British.

Saint Luke languished in the dungeon of the Tashkent GPU for some time, and then he was taken to Moscow. Soon he was allowed to live in a private apartment, but then he was taken into custody again: first in Butyrka prison, and then to Taganskaya. Then the sufferer was sent into exile to Yeniseisk.

In Yeniseisk, he served at home. In addition, he was allowed to operate, and he saved the health of more than one resident. Several times the Saint was transferred from one place to another. But even there he used every opportunity to serve God and to heal people.

After the end of his exile, Bishop Luke returned to Tashkent and served in the local church. But the Soviet authorities were not going to leave the Bishop alone. In May of 1931, he was subjected to another arrest and spent several months in prison, Then he was exiled to Arkhangelsk for a period of three years. At Arkhangelsk was also treating patients.

In 1934, upon his return from prison, he visited the city of Tashkent, and then settled in Andijan. There he performed his duties as a bishop and a doctor. A fever caused some misfortune for him: the loss of his sight. The Saint went to surgery (as a patient), and as a result, he became blind in one eye.

In December 1937, he was arrested again. The Saint was interrogated for several days in a row, demanding that he sign certain protocols prepared in advance by the investigation. He went on a hunger strike, flatly refusing to sign what his Christian conscience could not accept.. A new sentence followed, and a new exile, this time to Siberia.

From 1937 to 1941, the convicted Hierarch lived in the town of Bolshaya Murta, in Krasnoyarsk Territory. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (World War II), he was relocated to Krasnoyarsk and was involved in treating the wounded.

In 1943 the Saint ascended to the Krasnoyarsk Archiepiscopal cathedra, and a year later he was appointed as the Archbishop of Tambov and Michurinsk. During this period, the attitude of the authorities toward the Saint seemed to have changed. In February 1946, he was awarded the Stalin Prize for scientific developments in the field of medicine.

In May 1946, Saint Luke was made Archbishop of Crimea and Simferopol. At this time his eye disease progressed, and in 1958 he became completely blind. However, as eyewitnesses recall, the Saint not only did not lose his courage, nor did he lose the ability to come to church on his own, to venerate shrines, and to participate in the Divine Services.

On May 29/June 11, 1961, the Lord called Saint Luke to His heavenly Kngdom. He was buried in the Simferopol cemetery.

On November 22, 1995, Archbishop Luke of Simferopol and Crimea was numbered among the locally venerated Saints of the Crimea. His relics were transferred to Holy Trinity Cathedral in Simferopol (March 17–20, 1996). At the last Memorial Service, His Eminence Bishop Lazarus, Archbishop of Simferopol and the Crimea noted: "For the first time on the Crimean land there is an event of exceptional importance. The radiant personality of Archbishop Luke seems to us today as a saving beacon, toward which each of us must direct our gaze."

On March 20, 1996, Saint Luke's relics were transferred to Holy Trinity church in Simferopol. A piece was also given to Sagmata Monastery in Greece, and throughout the world, where they continue to work countless miracles.

An estimated 40,000 people participated in the Cross Procession from the grave to the cathedral. In Simferopol and in the Crimean Diocese, the glorification of Saint Luke of Crimea took place on May 24-25, 1996. It is said that an ineffable fragrance emanated from his relics, and his heart was discovered incorrupt – a testament to his great love for Christ and for his neighbor.

In 2000, at the Jubilee Council of Bishops, Saint Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky) was glorified as one of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia for Church-wide veneration. He is commemorated on May 29/June 11 (His blessed repose), as well as on January 25/ February 7, together with the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (Movable Feast), and on December 15/ 28 (Synaxis of the Crimean Saints).

In the park at Simferopol, a monument was placed in honor of Saint Luke. In the bishop's house, where Saint Luke lived and worked from 1946 to 1961, there is a chapel. The Greek faithful, in gratitude for being healed of their ailments, by the prayers of Saint Luke, donated 300 kilograms of silver to make a reliquary for his relics.

The contest (podvig) of Saint Luke was a contest of remaining steadfast in the Orthodox Faith during that troubled time of obvious and hidden rebirths, and it is particularly relevant now. Today many of us will say with hope and love: "Holy Hierarch Luke, pray to God for us!"

This variant of the Spanish Icon (April 8) appeared in Serbia at the end of the VII century. In the XVI century, it was moved to the city of Abul in Spain (hence its name Abul), where it is located today. Tradition has it that in 1870, a blind maiden was healed before this wonderworking Icon in the church of the Holy Martyrs Vincent, Sabinus and Crescentius.

From that time forward, they began to celebrate the Abul Icon on June 11.

Many of the hymns of Pentecost are repeated in the postfestal services of this week, and references to the Holy Spirit, and to fire, abound. In particular, we are reminded of the Unburnt Bush (Exodus 3:2), the zealous Prophet Elias who ascended to Heaven in a chariot of fire, the three youths in the fiery furnace, and the Lord descending on Mt. Sinai in fire (Exodus 19:18).

As we commemorate the Holy Spirit this week, we look forward to the Sunday of All Saints, those righteous men and women of all nations and in every age, who were perfected and sanctified by the same Holy Spirit.

The Hieromartyr Timothy, Bishop of Prusa (Bithynia), received from the Lord the gift of wonderworking because of his purity and sanctity of life. At Prusa he converted many pagans to the faith in Christ. The emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), upon hearing about Saint Timothy, had him locked up in prison, but even there also the saint continued to preach the Gospel. Julian forbade him to teach about Jesus Christ, but the saint continued to spread the Christian Faith. Finally, the emperor gave orders to behead the saint. His holy relics were afterwards transferred to Constantinople.

The Holy Schemamonk Silvanus of the Kiev Caves labored in asceticism in the Far Caves during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. One time, by the power of his prayer, he held fast to the spot robbers, who had come into the monastery garden, and for three days they were not able to move. When they repented, the monk then freed them. The memory of Saint Silvanus is celebrated also on August 28, and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

The Uncovering and Transfer of the Holy Relics of Saint Basil, Bishop of Ryazan (July 3), was done by Archbishop Theodoret of Ryazan (1605-1617). It pleased Divine Providence during the Time of Troubles to glorify Saint Basil. The uncovering of his relics and their transfer into the Ryazan-Dormition (afterwards Nativity) church in the Kremlin of Ryazan-Pereslavl took place on June 10, 1609. This had been the cathedral church from the time of the Ryazan bishop Jonah II (1522-1547). The relics of Saint Basil were placed in a reliquary at the left kleros, beside the iconostasis. A troparion and kontakion were then composed. From that time the name of Saint Basil was “commemorated throughout all the churches of the Ryazan diocese.” People had recourse to him as to “their constant intercessor, a helper in sorrow and peril.” Under Archbishop Moses (1638-1651), a stone crypt was built over the relics of Saint Basil in 1638, and over it was put the Murom Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “the Supplication of Basil.”

During this period services of thanksgiving to Saint Basil were served in the Ryazan churches. The first solemn celebration of the transfer of the relics of the saint took place on June 10, 1645 under Archbishop Moses. Especially fervent in veneration of the Ryazan hierarch was Archbishop Misael (1651-1655). By his command, in 1653, an inscription was made on a large silver vessel for the blessing of water, “This cup is from Ryazan-Pereslavl, in the cathedral church of the Dormition and the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb, and our Father among the saints Basil, Bishop of Ryazan, Wonderworker”.

In 1655 Saint Basil was depicted upon a silver cross together with Saint John the Forerunner and Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow. In 1712 during the time of Metropolitan Stephen Yavorsky, a stone chapel was constructed over the original burial place of Saint Basil, at the Borisoglebsk church , through the zeal of the clerk Nikḗtas Altukhov. In the years 1722-1723 under Tsar Peter I a formal investigation of the saint was conducted, after which Saint Basil was depicted upon an icon together with other Russian saints. Metropolitan Demetrius (Sechenov) of Novgorod, during his time as Bishop of Ryazan (1752-1757) compiled the service to Saint Basil, “having in mind first of all the writing of the troparion, kontakion and canon”.

Through his efforts a new crypt was constructed over the relics of Saint Basil, containing a reliquary with an icon of the saint. In 1782 the reliquary was elegantly adorned by the Archbishop of Ryazan and Zaraisk, Simon (Lagova) (1778-1804). In 1810 under the Ryazan and Zaraisk archbishop Theophylakt (Rusanov), a decree of the Holy Synod was promulgated concerning the celebration of Saint Basil on the Sunday of All Saints. On October 4, 1836 a new memorial was unveiled at the spot of the uncovering of the relics of Saint Basil. It was set up through the zeal of the churchwarden of the Borisoglebsk church, Simeon Panov. In 1871, Archbishop Alexis (Rzhanitsky, 1867-1876) served the Divine Liturgy at the Borisoglebsk church on the Feast day of Saint Basil, July 3, for the first time.

Under Archbishop Palladius (Raev, 1876-1882) the Holy Synod in 1881 appointed the following days for commemoration of Saint Basil: July 3, the day of his blessed repose, and June 10, the day of the transfer of his holy relics. Even today, Saint Basil is especially venerated in the Ryazan lands. In each temple of the Ryazan diocese there is his icon. In the majority of the churches, moreover, is found a mural of the saint sailing along on the water on his mantiya with the Murom Icon of the Mother of God in hand. In the cathedral church each Wednesday evening an Akathist is sung to him.

Saint John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk and All Siberia, the Wonderwonder, in the world was named John Maximovitch, and he was born in the city of Nezhino in 1651. His father Maxim Vasil’evich and mother Euphrosynē had seven sons, of which John was the eldest. Upon his completion of the Kiev-Mogilyansk College (afterwards the Kiev Spiritual Academy), the future hierarch emerged from it as a teacher of the Latin language. Thereafter, in 1680, he accepted monasticism at the Kiev Caves monastery and became absorbed in inner spiritual activity. With the general consent of the brethren, the young monk was given the obedience of preaching. From this period he demonstrated an exceptional eloquence. He attached a special significance to inner religious knowledge. The chief theme of his life can be defined at a stroke as, “How ought man to conform his will with the will of God?” He developed this theme both in his preachings, and in his subsequent missionary service. In answer to it appeared the work, published towards the end of his long ascetic life, and entitled “Heliotropion” or “Sunflower,” or “Conforming the Human Will to the Divine Will.” Of the many works of the holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, this work gives a very thorough answer to this great question of Christian soteriology.

In 1688 they sent him on a mission to Moscow. There he was appointed by Patriarch Joachim (1674-1690) as vicar of the Briansk-Svensk monastery, which was then under the Kiev Caves Lavra.

Saint Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov, in 1695 shortly before his own death (February 5) appointed Hieromonk John as Archimandrite of the Chernigov Eletsk monastery, and designated him as his successor as bishop. (Saint John revered the memory of Saint Theodosius, believing in the power of his prayerful intercession before the Lord. Because of his faith, he received healing from a serious illness through the prayers of Saint Theodosius. At the very height of the sickness, Saint Theodosius appeared to him and said, “Serve tomorrow, you will be well.” On the following day Saint John, completely well and to the amazement of everyone, served the Divine Liturgy. This miracle of Saint John’s healing marked the beginning of the veneration of Saint Theodosius as a grace-bearing saint of God.)

On January 10, 1697 Patriarch Adrian of Moscow and All Rus (1690-1700) consecrated Archimandrite John as Bishop of Chernigov, in the Dormition cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Upon entering into the administration of the diocese, Bishop John created a Collegium near the archbishop’s cathedral, similar to the Kiev Academy, which the saint intended should serve as an “Athens at Chernigov,” a school of pious enlightenment.

In view of its high level of theological education and training, Saint John’s school received wide renown. In essence, this was the first seminary in Russia. Seminaries on the model of this one began opening in other dioceses of the Russian Church.

The saint also later opened a printing press, at which he and his successors published many works of spiritual and moral content.

The life of Saint John was illumined by lofty virtues, and especially humility. It is reflected also in his works, “The Moral-Didactic Reflector” (Chernigov, 1703 and 1707); “The Alphabet, with Rhymes Added” (1705); “The Virgin Mother of God” (1707); “The Theatre, or Moral-Didactic Disgrace” (1708); “Excursus on Psalm 50” (Chernigov, 1708); “Excursus on the “Our Father” and “The Eight Gospel Beatitudes” (1709); “The Royal Way of the Cross” (Chernigov, 1709); “Thoughts on God to the Benefit of Right-Belief” (1710 and 1711); “Synaxarion Commemoration on the Victory of Poltava” (1710); “The Pilgrim” (in manuscript); “Spiritual Thoughts” (Moscow, 1782).

At Chernigov in 1714 the saint also first published his chief work, written in the Latin language. It was a peculiarity of the graduates of the Kiev school was that they wrote their works in classical Latin. Professor I. A. Maximovich in 1888 translated the “Heliotropion” into the modern Russian language and published it at first in parts in the “Chernigov Diocesan Newsletter”, and later on in a separate book (Kiev, 1896). With his name is connected also “The Latin-Greek-Russian Lexicon.”

Saint John was known to have connections with Mount Athos. He had a special interest in the fate of Russian inhabitants on the Holy Mountain, and sent them substantial material aid during these difficult years. His archbishopal grammota to the Russian monastery of Saint Panteleimon has been preserved, and it testifies to his concern for those on Mount Athos.

On August 14, 1711, after his elevation to the dignity of metropolitan, Saint John arrived at the see of Tobolsk and All Siberia. The saint concerned himself constantly with the enlightening of his diocese. There he continued with his work, started at Chernigov. He improved the school which had been opened by his predecessor, the renowned missionary Metropolitan Philotheus (Leschinsky, + 1727), and he continued the apostolic preaching among the pagans of Siberia, converting many thousands to Christ. In 1714 Saint John set off to Peking to head a mission with Archimandrite Hilarion (Lezhaisky). At Tobolsk he again undertook publishing activity, using the printing press he set up at Chernigov. To this time belongs also the publication by Metropolitan John of the “Heliotropion” in the Slavonic-Russian language (1714), so that the Siberians could also understand it.

The chronicler describes the life of the saint in Siberia: “He was quiet and unpretentious, graciously considerate, sympathetic to the poor, and merciful.” He often helped people secretly, and sometimes in the garb of a simple monk, he would bring generous alms to the homes of the needy saying, “Accept this in the Name of Jesus Christ.” His home at Tobolsk was always open to all those in need of help or a word of comfort. Even on the day he died, June 10, 1715, after Divine Liturgy Saint John had set up a dining-hall at his home for the clergy and the impoverished, and he himself served at table. Later on, having taken his leave of everyone, the saint withdrew to his chambers. When the church bells rang for Vespers, he died at prayer on his knees. The saint was buried in the chapel of Saint John Chrysostom at the Tobolsk Dormition-Sophia cathedral.

Saint John has long been venerated in Siberia. In light of numerous miracles and the longstanding local veneration of Saint John, in 1916 the Church established the all-Russian celebration of the saint on June 10, the day of repose.

Saint John’s memory is fervently kept by Siberians and by all the believing Russian people. He at present rests in the Tobolsk cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God. The service to him was republished, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I, by Metropolitan Bartholomew (Gorodtsov) in 1947 at the city of Novosibirsk.

The Holy Martyrs Alexander and Antonina the Virgin. Saint Antonina was from the city of Krodamos (Asia Minor). She was arrested for being a Christian, and was brought before the governor Festus. He urged her to worship the pagan gods, promising to make her a priestess of the goddess Artemis. But the saint bravely confessed Christ, and she urged the governor to renounce the worship of demons in the form of idols. Festus gave orders to strike the saint on the face and lock her up in prison.

The martyr spent all her time at prayer, she ate and drank nothing, but then she heard the voice of God, “Antonina, fortify yourself with food and be brave, for I am with you.” When they led her before the governor again, the martyr continued to stand up for the Christian Faith and to denounce the pagans.

The governor decided to give the holy virgin over for defilement by soldiers, but the Lord inspired one of them, Saint Alexander, to save the holy virgin. He sought permission to go in to her on the pretext that he might be able to convince her to obey the governor’s will. Saint Alexander then suggested that she put on his military attire and flee. Saint Antonina was afraid, but the Lord ordered her to agree.

No one recognized her dressed as a soldier, and she walked out of prison. The soldiers sent by Festus found Saint Alexander alone in the cell. He would not respond to the questions of the governor, and so he was tortured and mercilessly beaten. Through the inspiration of the Lord Jesus Christ, Saint Antonina also came to stand before Festus.

Soldiers cut off their hands, then they smeared them with pitch and threw them into a pit where a fire was burning. When the fire went out, they threw snakes into the pit, so that Christians would not be able to gather up the bones of the martyrs. Returning home, Festus became numb, and was able neither to eat nor to drink. He died after seven days of terrible torment.

Sts Alexander and Antonina were martyred on May 3, 313. In the Prologue their memory is listed under June 10. The relics of the saints were transferred to Constantinople and placed in the Maximov monastery.

Saint Kanides was born during the reign of Emperor Theodosios the Great (ca. 379). He was the son of godly parents, Theodotos and Theophano, who lived in Cappadocia. According to Tradition, the Saint’s mother did not eat any fatty foods during the nine months when she was pregnant; and even when the saint was still a child, she was careful about what she ate.

When he was yet a small child, he became attracted to the solitary life, and at the age of seven he went to a mountain where he lived in a cave, fasting and praying. It is said that he ate only one meal of uncooked vegetables per week. Because of the great dampness of this cave, all the hair of his head and his beard fell out.

After living an ascetical and righteous life, he reposed in peace at the age of seventy-three, in the year 460.

Saint Theophanes of Antioch was the son of pagans. At a youthful age he entered into marriage, but after three years his wife died. Saint Theophanes then came to believe in Christ and accepted Baptism. He gave up everything and began to live beyond the city in a manner of self-denial. He zealously taught the keeping of the commandments of God to everyone who came to him. He exhorted people to lead a pure and chaste life, and he condemned the debauchery of the people of Antioch. When Saint Theophanes learned about a certain profligate woman, Pansemne, who was caught up in the snares of the devil, he wanted to save her. Knowing how difficult it would be to fulfill such an intention, and conscious of his own infirmity, Saint Theophanes prayed and he besought the Lord to help him save the sinful woman.

Finally, the saint dressed up in fine clothing, took along much gold and then went to Pansemne. The monk gave her the gold and he asked her to forsake the dissolute life to marry him. Pansemne happily consented and gave him her word to become his wife. The sole condition which Saint Theophanes set for Pansemne was that she should accept Baptism. Because of the attractive marriage offer, Pansemne consented. In preparing her to accept Baptism, Saint Theophanes instructed her in the Christian Faith. He explained that the truth of God does not tolerate sin and corruption, but that the love of God is gracious to those that repent.

Having accepted Baptism, Saint Pansemne by the grace of God was completely reborn as a person. She distributed all the riches that she had acquired through profligacy, and she settled into a hut beside the cell of the monk and began to live the life of an ascetic. After 22 months she died on the very same day as the monk (+ 369).

Saint Bassianus, Bishop of Lodi,¹ was a friend of Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (December 7, 397). Bassianus's father ruled the territory of Syracuse (Sicily) and was preparing his son to succeed him. He sent him to Rome to receive an education. Saint Bassianus had heard about Christians even in his childhood, and he wanted to know them and to become acquainted with the Christian Faith. The presbyter Gordian revealed to him the essence of Christ's teaching, and the young man wished to be baptized. During his Baptism Saint Bassianus saw an Angel at the font holding a garment, which he was to put on. The Saint made bold to ask who he was and where he came from. The Angel replied that he had been sent long ago to help him fulfill his holy intention to know Christ, and then he became invisible.

Saint Bassianus started leading a strict life, eating little food, and spending his nights in prayer. His servants were amazed at such abstinence and guessed that their master had become a Christian. They reported this to Saint Bassianus's father, who ordered him to be returned to Syracuse. Praying in the church of Saint John the Theologian, Bassianus had a vision in which the Apostle commanded him to depart from Rome. He distributed his property to the poor and, together with a faithful Christian slave, he went to Ravenna, to his relative, the Hierarch Ursus.

Bishop Ursus settled him in a secluded place outside the city, in the church dedicated to the Hieromartyr Apollinarius. Saint Bassianus apidly grew spiritually, and soon became renowned for working miracles. At this time, the judge of Ravenna was slandered and sentenced to death. On the way to his execution, he prayed to Saint Bassianus for help.

Bishop Ursus settled him in a secluded place outside the city, in the church dedicated to the Hieromartyr Apollinarius. Saint Bassianus apidly grew spiritually, and soon became renowned for working miracles. At this time, the judge of Ravenna was slandered and sentenced to death. On the way to his execution, he prayed to Saint Bassianus for help. When the executioner raised the sword above his head, the sword was suddenly knocked from his hands and flew to the side. This was repeated three times. The same thing happened to the other executioner. The Emperor was informed about what had occurred, and he he released the judge, who said that he had been saved by the intercession of Saint Bassianus.

The inhabitants of the city, believing that the prayers of Saint Bassianus were powerful before God, asked Bishop Ursus to ordain him to the dignity of presbyter. After the repose of the bishop of the city of Lodi the presbyter Clement of the cathedral church had a revelation – to choose Saint Bassianus as Bishop of Lodi The consecration was performed by Saint Ambrose of Milan, and Bishop Ursus of Ravenna.

Saint Bassianus taught people not only by his words, but also by his example, showing his flock the model of a virtuous life. In Lodi he built a beautiful church in honor of the Holy Apostles. Saint Bassianus often exchanged letters with Saint Ambrose of Milan, and he was present at the blessed repose of that Saint, and buried his body.

Saint Bassianus reposed peacefully in the year 409, after serving in the rank of Bishop for 35 years.

In the West, Saint Bassianus is commemorated on January 19.

¹ Lavdia; in Liguria, northern Italy.

Basil: Bishop +1295. April 12, May 21, July 3, Sunday of all Saints.

Boris: (Roman in Baptism), prince and passion-bearer. Commemorated on May 2 (translation of relics) and July 24 (+ 1015).

Constantine (Yaroslav Svyatoslavich of Murom), prince & wonderworker. Commemorated on May 21 (+ 1129).

Febronia (Euphrosynē in monasticism). June 25, 1228.

Gleb: (David in Baptism), prince and passion-bearer. Commemorated on May 2 (translation of relics), July 24, September 5 (martyrdom).

Metropolitan Jonah of Kiev & Moscow (+ 1461), Wonderworker. March 31, May 27 (translation of relics in 1472), June 15.

Juliana of Lazarevo January 2.

Michael of Murom, prince. He was the son of Constantine of Murom. Commemorated on May 21.

Peter (David in monasticism), prince & wonderworker. Commemorated on June 25 (+ 1228).

Roman Olegovich, prince & martyr. Commemorated on July 19 (+ 1270).

Theodore of Murom, prince and wonderworker, the son of Constantine of Murom. May 21.

Andrew, Igumen of Raphael (Tobolsk). He is commemorated on May 14 (+ 1820)

Anthony, Metropolitan of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on March 27. (+ 1740)

Arethas of Valaam & Verkhoturye. He is commemorated on May 15 (+ 1910)

Barlaam, Archbishop of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on December 27 (+ 1802)

Barlaam, desert-dweller of Chikoysk. He is commemorated on October 5 (+ 1846)

Basil of Mangazea. He is commemorated on March 22 (+1602), May 10 (Translation of his relics in 1670), May 23 (All Saints of Rostov and of Yaroslavl).

Cosmas of Verkhoturye. He is commemorated on November 1 (+ 1706)

Daniel of Achinsk. He is commemorated on April 15 (+ 1843)

Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov. He is commemorated on October 28 (+1709) and on September 21 (The uncovering of his relics in 1752)

Domna of Tomsk, Eldress, fool-for-Christ. She is commemorated on December 16 (+ 1872)

Gerasimus, Bishop of Astrakhan and Enotaeva. He is commemorated on June 24 (+1880)

Herman of Alaska. He is commemorated on December 13 (+ 1837) and on July 27/Aug. 9 (His Glorification in 1970)

Innocent, first Bishop of Irkutsk. He is commemorated on November 26 (+ 1731) and on February 9 (The uncovering of his relics in 1805)

Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of Alaska & Siberia. He is commemorated on March 31 (+ 1879), on Sept. 23 /Oct. 6 (His glorification in 1977), and on the Sunday before August 26 (All Saints of Moscow)

John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk, wonderworker. He is commemorated on June 10 (+ 1715)

John of Verkhoturye, fool-for-Christ. He is commemorated on April 16 (+ 1701)

Macarius of Altai. He is commemorated on May 16 (+ 1847)

Meletius, Bishop of Kharkov. He is commemorated on February 12 (+ 1840)

Meletius, Bishop of Ryazan. He is commemorated on January 14 (+ 1900)

Misael of Abalatsk, Hieromonk. He is commemorated on December 17 (+ 1797)

Nectarius, Archbishop of Tobolsk. (+ 1666)

Peter, Metropolitan of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on March 4 (+ 1820)

Philaret, Metropolitan of Kiev. He is commemorated on December 2 (+ 1857)

Philotheus, Metropoltian of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on May 31 (+ 1727)

Simeon, Metropolitan of Smolensk. He is commemorated on January 4 (+ 1699)

Simeon of Verkhoturye. He is commemorated on September 12 (The transfer of his relics in 1704), and on December 18 (His glorification in 1694)

Sinesius of Irkutsk. He is commemorated on May 10 (+ 1787)

Sophronius, Bishop & wonderworker of Smolensk. He is commemorated on March 30 (+ 1771) and on June 30 (His glorification in 1918)

Stephen of Omsk. He is commemorated on June 30 (+ 1876)

Theodore Kuzmich, Elder of Tomsk. He is commemorated on January 20 (+ 1864)

Saint Neaniskos lived in the time of Maximius, the ruler of Alexandria. During the persecution of the Church by Emperor Diocletian (284-304), a female slave denounced the most wise and handsome athlete of Christ. The ruler tortured him for seven days in various ways, trying to make him deny Christ. When the tyrant saw that he was unable to do so, he ordered him to be put to death.

As he was led to the place of execution, he noticed the slave girl who betrayed him in the crowd that had followed him. Then Saint Neaniskos made signs for her to approach him, and when she came near he gave her his gold ring as a token of his gratitude; because by her complaint he would now draw near to Christ, Whom he had desired for so long, and he would inherit everlasting life. When they arrived at the place of execution, he prayed for a time, and then they beheaded him.

On the day after every Great Feast, the Orthodox Church honors the one through whom the Feast is made possible. On the day following the Nativity of the Lord, for example, we celebrate the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos (December 26). On the day after Theophany, we commemorate Saint John the Baptist (January 7), and so on.

Today we honor the all-Holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, Who descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost in the form of fiery tongues in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to send the Comforter to His disciples (JN 14:16). That same Holy Spirit remains within the Church throughout the ages, guiding it “into all truth” (JN 16:13).

One of the hymns at Vespers on Saturday evening tells us that the Holy Spirit “provides all things. He gushes forth prophecy, He perfects the priesthood, … He holds together the whole institution of the Church.”

At Vespers on the day of Pentecost, we hear that the Holy Spirit is “the Fountain of goodness, through Whom the Father is known, and the Son is glorified.” He is “the living Fountain of spiritual gifts” Who “purifies us from our sins.” It is by the Holy Spirit that “the prophets, divine Apostles, and martyrs are crowned.” He is the source of life and of sanctification.

In the services of this day, we sing the same hymns as on Pentecost, except the Canon of the Holy Spirit, which is sung at Compline. The Vigil is not prescribed for the eve of today’s feast. We sing the Great Doxology at Matins, but not the Polyeleos. The Irmos of the Ninth Ode (“Hail, O Queen, glory of mothers and virgins…”) is sung in place of the Song of the Theotokos (“My soul magnifies the Lord…”).

At the Liturgy, the priest or deacon chants the Entrance Verse (“Be exalted in Thy strength, O Lord. We will sing and praise Thy power.”) as on the day of Pentecost. “Holy God” replaces “As many as have been baptized….” The dismissal of Pentecost is also used.

This whole week is fast-free, and the Leave-taking of Pentecost occurs on Saturday.

Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, a distinguished champion of Orthodoxy and a great teacher of the Church, came from an illustrious and pious Christian family. He studied the secular sciences, including philosophy, but most of all he strove to acquire knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the truths of the Christian Faith. In his youth Cyril entered the monastery of Macarius in the Nitreia hills, where he stayed for six years. Theophilus (385-412), the Patriarch of Alexandria, ordained him as a deacon, numbered him among the clergy and entrusted him to preach.

Upon the death of Patriarch Theophilus, Cyril was unanimously chosen to the patriarchal throne of the Alexandrian Church. He led the struggle against the spread of the Novatian heresy in Alexandria, which taught that any Christian who had fallen away from the Church during a time of persecution, could not be received back into it.

Cyril, seeing the futility of admonishing the heretics, sought their expulsion from Alexandria. The Jews appeared a greater danger for the Church, repeatedly causing riots, accompanied by the brutal killing of Christians. The saint long contended with them. In order to wipe out the remnants of paganism, the saint cast out devils from an ancient pagan temple and built a church on the spot, and the relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John were transferred into it. A more difficult struggle awaited the saint with the emergence of the Nestorian heresy.

Nestorius, a presbyter of the Antiochian Church, was chosen in 428 to the see of Constantinople and there he was able to spread his heretical teaching against the dogma about the uncommingled union of two natures in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nestorius called the Mother of God not the Theotokos, but rather Christotokos or “Birth-giver of Christ,” implying that she gave birth not to God, but only to the man Christ. The holy Patriarch Cyril repeatedly wrote to Nestorius and pointed out his error, but Nestorius continued to persevere in it. Then the saint sent out epistles against Nestorianism to the clergy of Constantinople and to the holy emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), denouncing the heresy. Cyril wrote also to other Churches, to Pope Celestine and to the other Patriarchs, and even to monks of several monasteries, warning of the emergence of a dangerous heresy.

Nestorius started an open persecution against the Orthodox. In his presence one of his partisans, Bishop Dorotheus, pronounced an anathema against anyone who would call the Most Holy Virgin Mary the Theotokos.

Nestorius hated Cyril and brought out against him every kind of slander and fabrication, calling him a heretic. The saint continued to defend Orthodoxy with all his powers. The situation became so aggravated, that it became necessary to call an Ecumenical Council, which convened in the city of Ephesus in the year 431. At the Council 200 bishops arrived from all the Christian Churches. Nestorius, awaiting the arrival of Bishop John of Antioch and other Syrian bishops, did not agree to the opening of the Council. But the Fathers of the Council began the sessions with Cyril presiding. Having examined the teaching of Nestorius, the Council condemned him as a heretic. Nestorius did not submit to the Council, and Bishop John opened a “robber council”, which decreed Cyril a heretic. The unrest increased. By order of the emperor, Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria and Archbishop Memnon of Ephesus were locked in prison, and Nestorius was deposed.

Soon Saints Cyril and Memnon were freed, and the sessions of the Council continued. Nestorius, not submitting himself to the determinations of the Council, was deprived of priestly rank. By order of the emperor he was sent to the faraway place Sasim in the Libyan wilderness, where he died in grievous torments. His tongue, having blasphemed the Mother of God, was overtaken by punishment — in it there developed worms. Even Bishop John of Antioch and the remaining Syrian bishops signed the decrees of the Council of Ephesus.

Cyril guided the Alexandrian Church for 32 years, and towards the end of his life the flock was cleansed of heretics. Gently and cautiously Cyril approached anyone, who by their own simpleness and lack of knowledge, fell into false wisdom. There was a certain Elder, an ascetic of profound life, who incorrectly considered the Old Testament Priest Melchizedek to be the Son of God. Cyril prayed for the Lord to reveal to the Elder the correct way to view the righteous one. After three days the Elder came to Cyril and said that the Lord had revealed to him that Melchizedek was a mere man.

Cyril learned to overcome his prejudice against the memory of the great John Chrysostom (November 13). Theophilus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and uncle of Cyril, was an antagonist of John, and presided in a council in judgment of him. Cyril thus found himself in a circle antagonistic to John Chrysostom, and involuntarily acquired a prejudice against him. Isidore of Pelusium (February 4) repeatedly wrote to Cyril and urged him to include the name of the great Father of the Church into the diptychs of the saints, but Cyril would not agree.

Once in a dream he saw a wondrous temple, in which the Mother of God was surrounded by a host of angels and saints, in whose number was John Chrysostom. When Cyril wanted to approach the All-Holy Lady and venerate her, John Chrysostom would not let him. The Theotokos asked John to forgive Cyril for having sinned against him through ignorance. Seeing that John hesitated, the Mother of God said, “Forgive him for my sake, since he has labored much for my honor, and has glorified me among the people calling me Theotokos.” John answered, “By your intercession, Lady, I do forgive him,” and then he embraced Cyril with love.

Cyril repented that he had maintained anger against the great saint of God. Having convened all the Egyptian bishops, he celebrated a solemn feast in honor of John Chrysostom.

Cyril died in the year 444, leaving behind many works. In particular, the following ought to be mentioned: commentaries On the Gospel of Luke, On the Gospel of John, On the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and to the Hebrews; also an Apologia in Defense of Christianity against the Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Of vast significance are his Five Books against Nestorius; a work on the Most Holy Trinity under the title Thesaurus, written against Arius and Eunomios. Also two dogmatic compositions on the Most Holy Trinity, distinguished by a precise exposition of the Orthodox teaching on the Procession of the Holy Spirit. Cyril wrote Against Anthropomorphism for several Egyptians, who through ignorance depicted God in human form. Among Cyril’s works are also the Discussions, among which is the moving and edifying Discourse on the Exodus of the Soul, inserted in the Slavonic “Following Psalter”.

Today we commemorate the repose of this great Father of the Church. He is also remembered on January 18, the date of his flight from Alexandria.

Saint Cyril, Igoumen of White Lake, (in the world Cosmas) was born in Moscow of pious parents. In his youth he was left an orphan and lived with his kinsman, the boyar (nobleman) Timothy Vasil’evich Vel’yaminov, in the surroundings of the court of the Great Prince Demetrius Donskoy (1363-1389). Secular life bored the youth. Knowing that Timothy would never consent to Cosmas to become a monk, Saint Stephen of Makhra (July 14), clothed him in the riasson and named him Cyril, leaving the rest to God's will.

Saint Stephen went to see Timothy, who was delighted by his visit. He met his guest at the door, asking for his blessing. The Saint replied, "Cyril, who entreats God for you, blesses you." The boyar asked who this Cyril was. Saint Stephen said, "Cosmas, your former kinsman, but now a monk laboring for the Lord, and praying for you."

At first, the boyar was very angry, and spoke harshly to Saint Stephen, who left the house. Timothy's wife reproached him for offending the Elder. The boyar repented and sent someone to ask him to return. Both men asked forgiveness of one another, and Timothy agreed to let Cosmas fulfill his heart's desire. Saint Stephen rejoiced, and told Cyril the good news. He gave away all his possessions to the poor, keeping nothing for himself.

Before returning to Makhra, Igoumen Stephen brought the new monk to Simonov Monastery, which had been established in a new place by Archimandrite Theodore (November 28), the nephew of Saint Sergius. He accepted Cyril into the Monastery and then tonsured him.

Cyril fulfilled his monastic obediences under the supervision of Elder Michael, who later became the Bishop of Smolensk. By night the Elder read the Psalter, and Cyril bowed and made prostrations, but at the first ringing of the bell, he went to the church for Matins.

He asked the Elder permission to partake of food every second or third day. The experienced Elder did not permit this, but blessed him instead to eat with the brethren, only not to the extent of satiety. Cyril fulfilled his obedience in the bakery: he carried water, chopped firewood, and distributed bread. When Saint Sergius of Radonezh came to the Simonov monastery to see his nephew Theodore, he would seek Cyril in the bakery and converse with him about spiritual matters before seeing anyone else.

After a while, Cyril was transferred from the bakery to the kitchen. He gazed into the burning fire and told himself, “Have patience, Cyril, so that by this fire you might save yourself from the eternal fire." Cyril toiled for nine years in the kitchen and God granted him such a tender heart that he was not able to eat the bread he baked without tears, and all the brethren regarded him not as a man, but as an Angel of God.

Fleeing the glory of man, he began to behave as a fool-for-Christ. As punishment for transgressing against propriety, the Superior of the monastery placed him on bread and water for forty days. Cyril underwent this punishment with joy. But the Saint could not conceal his spirituality, and the experienced Superior discovered that Cyril was not behaving as a fool out of pride, but out of humility. Against his will, they compelled him to accept ordination to the priesthood. When he was not serving in church, Cyril occupied himself with heavy work. When Theodore was made Archbishop of Rostov, the brethren chose Cyril as Archimandrite of the monastery in 1388.

Wealthy and important people began to visit the monk to hear his counsels. This disturbed the Saint's humble spirit. Despite the entreaties of the brethren, he would not remain as Igoumen, but secluded himself in his former cell. Even here he was disturbed by frequent visitors, and he went to the old Simonov Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

Saint Cyril’s soul yearned for solitude, and he asked the Mother of God to show him a place conducive for salvation. One night he was reading an Akathist in his cell before the Hodēgḗtria icon of the Mother of God, and had just reached the eighth Kontakion, “Seeing the strange Nativity, let us become strangers to the world and transport our minds to Heaven.” Then he heard a voice say, “Go to White Lake (Belozersk), where I have prepared a place for you.”

There at the desolate and sparsely populated White Lake, he found the place which he had seen in the vision. Saint Cyril and his companion Saint Therapon of White Lake and Mozhaisk (May 27), set up a cross and dug a cell in the ground near Mount Myaura at Siversk Lake.

Saint Therapon soon went to another place, and Saint Cyril remained where he was. However, he was not able to live in his underground cell for even one year.

Once Cyril, troubled by a strange dream, lay down to sleep under a pine tree, but just as he closed his eyes, he heard a voice cry, “Run, Cyril!” Cyril barely managed to jump away as the pine tree came crashing down. From this pine tree, the ascetic fashioned a cross.

Another time, Cyril nearly perished from flames and smoke when he was clearing the forest, but God preserved His Saint. A certain peasant attempted to burn down the monk's cell, but try as he might, he did not succeed. Then he repented with tears, and confessed his sin to Cyril, who tonsured him into monasticism.

Two monks whom Cyril loved, Zebediah and Dionysios, came to him from Simonov monastery, and then Nathanael, who afterward was steward of the monastery. Many began to come to him seeking to be tonsured. The holy Elder perceived that his time of silence was ended. In the year 1397 he constructed a temple in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God.

When the number of brethren had multiplied, the monk gave the monastery a Rule of cenobitic life, which he sanctified by the example of his own life. Thus, no one could talk in church, and no one could leave before the end of services. They also came to venerate the Gospel according to seniority. At meals they sat at their own place, and there was silence. From the trapeza, each went quietly to his own cell. No one was able to receive either letters or gifts without having shown them to Cyril, nor did anyone write a letter without his blessing.

Money was kept in the monastery treasury, and no one had any personal possessions. They went to the trapeza even to drink water. The cells were not locked, and nothing was kept in them but icons and books. In the final years of Saint Cyril’s life, the boyar Roman decided to give the monastery a village and sent the deed. Cyril knew that if the monastery came to possess a village, the brethren would become concerned about the land and settlements would disrupt the monastic solitude, so he refused the gift.

The Lord rewarded His Saint with the gift of clairvoyance and healing. A certain Theodore desired to enter the monastery, but the Enemy of mankind instilled in him such hatred for Cyril that he could not look at him, nor listen to the sound of his voice. He approached Cyril’s cell and, seeing his grey hair, he was not able to say a word from shame. The Saint said to him, “Don’t be sad, my brother, for all are mistaken about me. You alone know the truth and my unworthiness. I am actually a worthless sinner.” Then Cyril blessed Theodore, promising that he would not be troubled by such thoughts in the future. From that time Theodore lived at peace in the monastery.

Once, there was no wine for the Divine Liturgy, and the priest told the Saint about this. Cyril ordered a monk to bring him the empty wine vessel, and when he opened it, it was full of wine. During a time of famine Cyril distributed bread to all the needy and he did not stop, even though the normal reserves hardly sufficed for the brethren. Despite this, the more that bread was distributed, the more it increased. The monks then realized that God would provide for their needs, through the prayers of Saint Cyril.

The Saint calmed a storm on the lake which threatened the fishermen. He predicted that none of the brethren would die until after his death, despite a plague that would rage. Then many would follow after him.

The Saint served his final Divine Liturgy on the day of Pentecost. After giving final instructions to the brethren to preserve love among themselves,¹ Saint Cyril reposed in the ninetieth year of his life on June 9, 1427 on the Feast day of his namesake Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Within a year after the Saint's death, more than thirty of the fifty-three brethren reposed. He often appeared to the survivors in dreams, offering advice and guidance.

Saint Cyril loved spiritual enlightenment and he instilled this love in his disciples. In 1635 there were more than two thousand books in the monastery, including sixteen “of the Wonderworker Cyril.” Three of his letters to Russian princes survive down to our time. They are remarkable specimens of his spiritual instruction, love, peace, and consolation.

The veneration of the holy ascetic began not later than 1447-1448. The Life of Saint Cyril was commissioned by Metropolitan Theodosios and Great Prince Basil the Dark. It was written by the Athonite monk Pakhomios the Logothete, who dwelt at the Cyrilov monastery in 1462 and met with many eyewitnesses and disciples of Saint Cyril. He learned the most from Martinian (January 12), who had lived with the Saint from his youth.

¹ In the Icon of Saint Cyril, his words appear on the scroll in his hand: "Preserve love among yourselves."

Saint Alexander, Hegoumen of Kushta Monastery in Vologda, was born about the year 1371, and his name in the world was Alexei. He was tonsured at the Savior-Stone (Spaso-Kamen) monastery by Hegoumen Dionysios of the Holy Mountain, who brought the Athonite Rule to the monastery. Later, he became the Archbishop of Rostov. Here Saint Alexander went through all the phases of obedience and strict fasting, and was ordained as a Hieromonk. He was constantly at work or at prayer. The brethren looked upon him as upon an angel of God, and this troubled Saint Alexander. He left the monastery secretly by night and came to the River Syazhem, where there was a thick forest and lake. Here he built a cell and lived his life in prayer and austere abstinence. Little by little, people started coming to him.

Saint Alexander went from this place to the shore of Lake Kuben, at the mouth of the River Kushta. At that time Saint Euthymios (April 11) was living there. Saint Alexander offered to exchange cells with him, and Saint Euthymios agreed to this. When they parted, he gave Saint Alexander his cross as a blessing. The quiet wilderness was very dear to Saint Alexander. Going to the lake, he immersed the cross in the water and prayed to God, asking that he might gather in this place those who were zealous for the way of the Cross. After some time, a certain Elder came to Saint Alexander, with whom he dwelt for five years. When a third brother arrived, Saint Alexander decided to build a church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The saint journeyed to Rostov to see his former Hegoumen, Archbishop Dionysios (1418-1425), who blessed the construction of the temple.

One day, Tatars came when Prince Demetrios of Zaozersk was away, and five of them galloped up to the Kushta monastery. Saint Alexander met them calmly and he blessed them with the cross. The Tatars fell down as if they were dead; and they lay senseless for several hours, after which Saint Alexander roused them from their torpor in the name of the Life-creating Trinity.

When Prince Demetrios reposed, his widow, Princess Maria, who had great respect for Saint Alexander, offered a village for the support of the monastery in remembrance of her husband. Once she came to the monastery and went into the church, where Saint Alexander was reading the Psalter, while insects attacked his bare chest. The monk was distressed by her visit and said, “It is not necessary, O Princess, for you to observe our misery.” The princess humbly asked for pardon. The monk blessed her, but said, “Feed your poverty at home.” When she reached her home, the princess fell sick and asked him to pray for the recovery of her health. Saint Alexander foresaw her end and said, “Let her prepare for that life.” Princess Maria died twenty days later.

Wheat was gathered on the floor of the monastery; and a certain peasant decided to steal a sack, but he was not able to lift it. The saint happened upon him and said, “My son, it is in vain that you try to lift what is beyond your strength.” The astounded thief threw himself at the feet of the venerable one, asking his forgiveness, but Saint Alexander ordered him to add more wheat to the sack. After admonishing him not to steal from others in future, he blessed him to take the sack and to go with God. The peasant easily carried the burden which was blessed, and thanked the generous Elder.

Sensing that the time of his death was near, Saint Alexander said to those dwelling with him, “I am growing weak, but I urge you to endure in this place, preserving humility and mutual love.” On Sunday he served the Divine Liturgy, and partook of the Holy Mysteries. Then he prayed on his knees for himself and for his monastery, and at age of sixty-eight, he peacefully surrendered his soul to the Lord on June 9, 1439.

According to Saint Alexander’s last instructions in his will, his body was placed at the south side of the altar. A year afterward, a Rowan-berry tree grew up over his grave. Once, on the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, a peasant child broke off a branch from this tree and suddenly his hand began to hurt. His parents prayed and brought their son to the saint’s grave, and he was healed. From that time people began to pick berries from this tree for healing purposes. His disciples built a heated church in honor of Saint Nicholas over the saint’s grave and it was dedicated on the anniversary of his repose. Many of the sick who were brought to the church said that they saw Saint Alexander and Saint Nicholas praying together, or censing the temple. Many of the sick received healing at Saint Alexander’s grave.

During the time of the Persian king Saphor II (ca. 330 A.D.), a priest by the name of Paul was living near the village of Aza. He was wealthy and a lover of money, and he had with him five women who had consecrated their virginity to God. Saints Thekla, Mariamne, Martha, Maria, and Ennatha were adorned with the splendor of virtues. They were wealthy, and they entrusted their Spiritual Father with all their money. The greedy man prayed and chanted the Psalms with them, but he kept their money for himself.

When they learned that the priest Paul was rich, the Persians threatened to kill him and the five virgins if he did not deny Christ and give them some of his treasure. Since he preferred earthly riches, he accepted the Persian religion. The holy virgins said that they would rather suffer torture and death than deny Christ. Paul beheaded the women with a sword when they refused to follow his treacherous example. He did not enjoy his wealth for very long, however. The Persians drowned him the following evening in order to obtain all of the money. The holy virgins received their incorruptible crowns of glory from Christ in the year 346.

The five Virgin Martyrs are also commemorated on September 26.

Saint Columba (or Colum Cille, "the dove of the Church") was of noble birth, a member of the powerful Ui Néill clan, which traced its descent to Niall of the Nine Hostages, who died around the year 450. His parents were Fedelmid mac Ferguso and Eithne. Although it is difficult to determine the date of Saint Columba's birth with any degree of certainty, it is believed that he was born in County Donegal on December 7, 521.

His parents may have been pagans, and named their son Crimthann. He was brought up by a foster-father, according to the custom of that time, a priest named Cruithnechan. We do not know what happened in Saint Columba's life from the time he completed his studies until his departure from Ireland in 563. He may have been baptized with the name Colum, which later became Columba (dove). Some sources state that after being ordained as a priest, Saint Columba preached in Ireland, and established monasteries at Derry and Durrow. It is said that he also founded one hundred churches.

Adomnan says (I: 7) that the Saint left Ireland two years after the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne (561), supposedly for causing the deaths of so many men. Adomnan does not explain why the Saint blamed himself. However, in a different Life of Saint Columba it is stated that there was a dispute between Saints Columba and Finnian of Moville (September 10), concerning the ownership of a copy of Saint Jerome’s Latin Vulgate version of the Bible (some sources say it was a Psalter). The dispute involved the ownership of the copy. Saint Finnian claimed that the copy was his, since he owned the original manuscript. Saint Columba maintained that the copy was his, since he had copied the original. The High King Diarmait mac Cerbaill, who was a pagan, decided in favor of Finnian. He said, "To every cow belongs her calf, therefore to every book belongs its copy."

The Saint is said to have been so angry that he stirred up his relatives of the Uí Néill clan to make war against the High King. The Battle of Cúl Dreimhne led to the loss of many Christian lives. In his remorse, Saint Columba decided that he must gain as many souls for Christ as had been slain on the battlefield.

Adomnan also mentions the Synod of Teltown in County Meath (III:3) which met in 562, one year after the battle, and one year before Saint Columba left Ireland. He declares that "Saint Columba was excommunicated for some trivial and quite excusable offenses by a Synod which, as eventually became known, had acted wrongly. The Saint himself came to the assembly that had been convoked against him."

When Saint Brendan of Birr (November 29) saw Saint Columba approaching at a distance, after the Synod had excommunicated him in absentia, he ran out to meet him, kissing him with reverence. When the members of the Synod saw this they criticized him, saying, "Why did you get up to kiss a man who has been excommunicated?” Saint Brendan replied, “If you had seen what the Lord has deigned to reveal to me today, concerning this chosen one whom you refuse to honor, you would never have excommunicated him. For God does not excommunicate in accordance with your erroneous judgement, but instead, He glorifies him more and more."

Then they became incensed and said that they should like to know just how God had glorified Saint Columba, whom they had excommunicated, as they asserted, with good reason. Saint Brendan replied, "I saw a very bright column of light going before the man of God, whom you despise, and holy angels as his companions traveling over the plain." After hearing this, the Synod dropped the charges and honored Saint Columba with much reverence.

In 563, Saint Columba left Ireland, saying that he wished to be a pilgrim for Christ. Taking twelve companions with him, the Saint settled on the island of Iona, off the southwestern coast of Mull. He prayed that God would permit him to live there for thirty years more, and then call him to the heavenly Kingdom. It is not known whether the island was inhabited when they arrived, but there is archaeological evidence of prehistoric occupation.

After building cells and a chapel, the monks began a period of missionary activity, proclaiming the Gospel, making converts, and founding churches. They sailed to other islands, and even went inland in their labors to bring people to Christ. As a result, Iona became an important center of Christianity for northern England and Scotland. By 574, Abbot Columba had at least one dependency on the island of Hinba. There were others on the various islands, all under the authority of Iona. Saint Columba also maintained ties with his churches in Ireland and people in other places.

There is an account of Saint Columba anointing Aedan mac Gabrain in 574 to succeed King Conall as the King of Dalriada, just as King Saul and King David had been anointed by Samuel. Some regard this as the first time in European history that Christian ritual was used to consecrate a King. There is much debate on the significance of this event, although Saint Columba did have a special relationship with the ruling dynasty of Dalriada.

Adomnan has not written a Saint's Life according to the traditional pattern. Rather than presenting a continuous narrative from birth to death, he describes Saint Columba's prophetic revelations in Book I; his miracles of power in Book II; and his visions of angels in Book III.

In Book III:22, Adomnan relates how Saint Columba beheld the angels who had come to receive his soul in the thirtieth year after his arrival on Iona. Suddenly he raised his eyes to Heaven, and he was filled with great joy and gladness. Then, a moment later, his joy had turned to sorrow. Two monks stood outside his hut when this occurred, and they asked him about it. He told them to go in peace, and not to ask him to tell them the cause of his gladness, nor of his sorrow. They fell to the ground with profuse tears and begged him to reveal what he had been told.

Seeing their distress, the holy Elder said, "Because I love you, I do not wish to grieve you. First, you must promise not to betray to anyone, as long as I am alive, the mystery that you seek to know."

After they had given their word, Saint Columba said that day was exactly thirty years since he had begun to live "in pilgrimage in Britain." He had asked God to call him to Heaven at the end of thirty years. That is why he seemed so glad. He had seen the angels who had been sent to separate his soul from his body, but now they seemed to be delayed. They were waiting on a rock across the Sound from Iona. It was as if they wished to accomplish their task, but they were not permitted to come any closer. Soon they would return to Heaven. Even though he desired to go with them, the prayers of many churches had caused this change in plans. "Even though I do not wish it, I must remain in this flesh four years longer. This sorrowful delay is the cause of my great distress today."

Then the holy Abbot predicted that at the end of four years, he would die suddenly, and without pain, when the angels would come for him again, and he would depart to the Lord. That is precisely what happened.

In April of 597, on the radiant Feast of Christ's Resurrection, Saint Columba was longing to depart from this life in order to be with Him. God would have granted his wish right then, but he did not want to turn the paschal joy of his disciples into sorrow, and so his death was delayed for the sake of the monks.

In May, as the brethren were working on the western side of Iona, Saint Columba was taken there in a cart, for he was then an old man of seventy-five. He began to speak to them of his approaching death, so that they would be prepared. When he told them how his death had been merely postponed in April, they became very sorrowful. The Saint tried to console them as much as he could. Then he looked toward the east and blessed the island, and those who dwelt there. A few days later, during the Sunday liturgy, Saint Columba looked up and his face became suffused with joy and exultation. Only he could see the angel hovering over them inside the church. Then the angel passed right through the roof of the church, leaving no trace of his passing.

When the monks noticed the Elder looking upward they asked him why he seemed so happy. He told them that an angel had been sent to recover a loan, and had been watching and blessing them during the service.

None of the monks understood what sort of loan the angel had been sent to recover, but Saint Columba was referring to his soul, which the angel would take sometime between the following Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

At the end of the week, on Saturday, Saint Columba and his servant Diarmait went to bless the nearest barn. The venerable Elder said that he was glad to know that the monks would have enough bread to last for a year, in case he had to "go away somewhere." Diarmait was saddened by his words and said, "Father, this year you have made us sad too often by speaking frequently about your passing."

Saint Columba said that he would speak more plainly about his departure if Diarmait promised not to tell anyone until after he had reposed. When Diarmait had given his word, the Saint explained that the Sabbath is a day of rest, and on this Saturday he would go the way of his fathers. "I shall go to the Lord when He calls me, in the middle of this night. The Lord Himself has revealed this to me."

At these words, Diarmait began to weep. Then they started back to the monastery, but Saint Columba had to stop and rest when they reached the halfway point. Later, a cross was set up on that spot and set in a millstone. Then a white horse, which used to carry pails of milk to the monastery, came and placed its head on the Saint's bosom. Tears fell from its eyes, and the horse mourned like a person. Diarmait would have driven the horse away, but the Elder stopped him saying, "Leave him alone! Let him who loves us pour out the tears of bitterest mourning here at my breast. Behold, though you have a man's rational soul, you would not know of my departure if I hadn't told you just now. According to His will, the Creator has revealed to this brute and unreasoning animal that his master is going away." Then he blessed the horse as it turned away.

When he returned to the monastery, Saint Columba went to his hut to copy some Psalms. He copied as far as Psalm 33/34:10: "The rich have become poor and hungry; but those who seek the Lord diligently shall not want any good thing." Then he said, "Here at the end of the page I must stop. Let Baithene write what follows."

When he finished writing, Saint Columba went to church for Vespers, and then he returned to his lodging and rested on his bed. Instead of a bed of straw, he always slept upon bare rock, with a stone for his pillow. Then he gave his last instructions to Diarmait, commanding the brethren to love one another, and to follow the example of the Holy Fathers. He continued, "God, Who strengthens the good, will help you, and I, dwelling with Him, shall intercede for you."

When the bell rang for the Midnight Office, Saint Columba hastened to the church before the others, and then he knelt before the altar in prayer. Diarmait, following at a distance, saw the church filled with angelic light around the Saint. As he reached the door, the light vanished, although some of the brethren had seen it as well. Diarmait entered the church and called out in a tearful voice, "Father, where are you?"

The lamps carried by the brethren had not yet been brought into the church. Feeling his way in the dark, Diarmait found the Elder lying before the altar. Raising him a little, he sat by his side and cradled his head on his bosom. The other monks related that before Saint Cuthbert's soul had left his body, he opened his eyes and looked about with joy and gladness upon his face, for he saw angels coming to meet him. Diarmait held up the Saint's right hand to bless the monks. The venerable Father, as much as he could, also moved his hand to bless the brethren, though he was unable to speak. Then at once his soul departed.

Two men had separate visions of the Saint's soul being carried to Heaven by angels. Lugaid mac Tailchain, "a just man and a sage," told a man named Fergnae of his vision. Although Lugaid had never been to Iona, he saw it, in the Spirit, bathed in a bright light. He beheld the radiance of countless angels who had been sent to carry the Saint's soul to Heaven, accompanied by the sweetest songs of the angelic hosts.

Another soldier of Christ, Ernene moccu Fir Roide had a vision at the same hour. When he was an old man, he related it to Adomnan, who was then a young man. Ernene and some other men were fishing in the River Finn, when suddenly, the entire sky lit up. Looking toward the east, they saw a fiery pillar rising upwards and lighting the area like the summer sun at Noon. When the pillar passed out of sight, the darkness returned once more.

After Saint Columba's blessed repose, the Matins hymns were chanted, and his body was carried from the church to his lodging. For three days and nights, the funeral rites were performed in a manner befitting one of his honor and rank. His holy relics were wrapped in linen and placed in the grave with due reverence, from which he shall rise in bright, and everlasting light.

The following miracle is mentioned in Book I:1. In the year 634, at Heavenfield in Northumbria, on the eve of a battle, Saint Columba appeared to Saint Oswald (August 5), revealing his name to the King. He promised to help Saint Oswald, ordering him to march on his enemy Cadwallon that night. He said that the enemy would be put to flight, and that Cadwallon would be delivered into King Oswald's hands. Abbot Failbe, Adomnan's predecessor, told him of this vision, swearing that he had the story from the lips of Saint Oswald himself.

The great Georgian hymnographer, philosopher, and orator Saint John of Shavta labored in the 12th and 13th centuries, during the reign of the holy queen Tamar. Few details of his life have been preserved, but we know that he received his education at Gelati Academy, where he studied theology, ancient and Arabic history, philosophy, and literature. He was later tonsured a monk and labored at Vardzia Monastery.

When the Georgian army under the command of Queen Tamar’s husband, Davit Soslan, entered into battle [The Battle of Basiani (ca. 1203)] with the sultan Rukn al-Din, Queen Tamar journeyed to Odzrkhe Monastery to pray for help. Catholicos Tevdore of Kartli and many hierarchs and monastics accompanied her there. Among them, Saint John of Shavta stood out as a wise theologian and philosopher and a brilliant hymnographer.

During the Liturgy at Odzrkhe Monastery a miracle occurred: endowed by God with the gift of prophecy, Saint Eulogius the Fool for-Christ fell to his knees, lifted his hands to the heavens and cried out: “Glory to God! Almighty Christ!…Do not fear the Persians, but rather depart in peace, for the mercy of God has descended upon the house of Tamar!”

Eulogius’s words were clearly a divine revelation. Saint John of Shavta turned to Queen Tamar, rejoicing, “Your Highness! The Almighty has made known to us our victory in the war from the lips of a fool-for-Christ!” Eulogius confided his secret to Saint John: disguised as a fool, he had been concealing his God-given gift. But now it seemed that the gift would become apparent to all, so Eulogius quickly disappeared out of sight to escape the people’s attention.

Saint John of Shavta composed his “Hymns to the Theotokos of Vardzia” in thanksgiving for Georgia’s victory in the Battle of Basiani. He is also recognized as the composer of “Abdul-Messiah,” (Abdul-Messiah: servant of Christ) a famous ode to the holy queen Tamar.

Our Holy Father John of Shavta lived to an advanced age and was canonized soon after his repose.

Saint David of Gareji was Syrian by birth. The future ascetic became a disciple of Saint John of Zedazeni and journeyed with him to Georgia. Saint David and his spiritual son Lucian settled on a mountain above Tbilisi, the capital of Kartli.

At that time Kartli was constantly under threat of the Persian fire-worshippers. Saint David would spend entire days in prayer, beseeching the Lord for forgiveness of the sins of those who dwelt in the city. When he was finished praying for the day, he would stand on the mountain and bless the whole city. Once a week Saints David and Lucian would go down into the city to preach. A church dedicated to Saint David was later built on the mountain where he labored.

Saint David’s authority and popularity alarmed the fire-worshippers, and they accused him of adultery, in an attempt to discredit him in the eyes of the people. As a “witness” they summoned a certain expectant prostitute, who accused him of being the child’s father. Hoping in God, the holy father touched his staff to the prostitute’s womb and ordered the unborn child to declare the truth. From out of the womb the infant uttered the name of his true father.

Outraged at this slander, the bystanders savagely stoned the woman to death. Saint David pleaded with them to stop, but he was unable to placate the furious crowd. Deeply disturbed by these events, Saint David departed the region with his disciple Lucian.

The holy fathers settled in a small cave in the wilderness and began to spend all their time in prayer. They ate nothing but herbs and the bark of trees. When the herbs withered from the summer heat, the Lord sent them deer. Lucian milked them and brought the milk to Saint David, and when the elder made the sign of the Cross over the milk it was miraculously transformed into cheese.

Shaken by the holy father’s miracle, Lucian told him, “Even if my body rots and wastes away from hunger and thirst, I will not permit myself to fret over the things of this temporal life.”

The fathers kept a strict fast on Wednesdays and Fridays—they ate nothing, and even the deer did not come to them on those days.

A frightful serpent inhabited a cave not far from where they lived and attacked all the animals around it. But at Saint David’s command the serpent deserted that place.

Once local hunters were tracking the fathers’ deer, and they caught sight of Lucian milking them as they stood there quietly, as though they were sheep. The hunters paid great respect to Saint David and, having returned to their homes, reported what they had seen.

Soon the Gareji wilderness filled with people who longed to draw nearer to Christ. A monastery was founded there, and for centuries it stood fast as a center and cornerstone of faith and learning in Georgia.

After some time Saint David set off on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He entrusted Lucian to fulfill his responsibilities at the monastery and took some of the other brothers with him. When the pilgrims were approaching the place called the “Ridge of Grace,” from which the holy city of Jerusalem becomes visible, Saint David fell to his knees and glorified God with tears. Judging himself unworthy to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, he was satisfied to gaze upon the city from afar.

Then he stood at the city gates and prayed fervently while his companions entered the Holy City and venerated the holy places. Returning, Saint David took with him three stones from the “Ridge of Grace.” That night an angel appeared to the patriarch of Jerusalem and informed him that a certain pious man named David, who was visiting from afar, had taken with him all the holiness of Jerusalem.

The angel proceeded to tell him that the venerable one had marched through the city of Nablus, clothed in tatters and bearing on his shoulders an old sack in which he carried the three holy stones. The patriarch sent messengers after the stranger with a request that he return two of the stones and take only one for himself. Saint David returned the two stones, but he declined the patriarch’s invitation to visit him. He took the third stone back with him to the monastery, and to this day it has been full of the grace of miraculous healing.

After Saint David brought the miraculous stone from Jerusalem, the number of brothers at the monastery doubled. The venerable father ministered to all of them and encouraged them. He also visited the cells of the elder hermits to offer his solace. In accordance with his will, a monastery in the name of Saint John the Baptist was founded in the place called “Mravalmta” (the Rolling Mountains).

The Lord God informed Saint David of his imminent departure to the Kingdom of Heaven. Then he gathered the fathers of the wilderness and instructed them for the last time not to fall into confusion, but to be firm and ceaselessly entreat the Lord for the salvation of their souls.

He received Holy Communion, lifted up his hands to the Lord, and gave up his spirit.

Saint David’s holy relics have worked many miracles: approaching them, those blind from birth have received their sight. To this day, believers have been healed of every spiritual and bodily affliction at his grave.

In the Church’s annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is “the last and great day.” It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end—the achievement and fulfillment—of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the “birthday” of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.

This double meaning and double joy is revealed to us, first of all, in the very name of the feast. Pentecost in Greek means fifty, and in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number fifty symbolizes both the fulness of time and that which is beyond time: the Kingdom of God itself. It symbolizes the fulness of time by its first component: 49, which is the fulness of seven (7 x 7): the number of time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second component: 49 + 1, this one being the new day, the “day without evening” of God’s eternal Kingdom. With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of redemption has been completed, the fulness revealed, all gifts bestowed: it belongs to us now to “appropriate” these gifts, to be that which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His Kingdom.

THE VIGIL OF PENTECOST

The all-night Vigil service begins with a solemn invitation:

“Let us celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit,
The appointed day of promise, and the fulfillment of hope,
The mystery which is as great as it is precious.”

In the coming of the Spirit, the very essence of the Church is revealed:

“The Holy Spirit provides all,
Overflows with prophecy, fulfills the priesthood,
Has taught wisdom to illiterates, has revealed fishermen as theologians,
He brings together the whole council of the Church.”

In the three readings of the Old Testament (Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29; Joel 2:23-32; Ezekiel 36:24-28) we hear the prophecies concerning the Holy Spirit. We are taught that the entire history of mankind was directed towards the day on which God “would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.” This day has come! All hope, all promises, all expectations have been fulfilled. At the end of the Aposticha hymns, for the first time since Easter, we sing the hymn: “O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth…,” the one with which we inaugurate all our services, all prayers, which is, as it were, the life-breath of the Church, and whose coming to us, whose “descent” upon us in this festal Vigil, is indeed the very experience of the Holy Spirit “coming and abiding in us.”

Having reached its climax, the Vigil continues as an explosion of joy and light for “verily the light of the Comforter has come and illumined the world.” In the Gospel reading (John 20:19-23) the feast is interpreted to us as the feast of the Church, of her divine nature, power and authority. The Lord sends His disciples into the world, as He Himself was sent by His Father. Later, in the antiphons of the Liturgy, we proclaim the universality of the apostles’ preaching, the cosmical significance of the feast, the sanctification of the whole world, the true manifestation of God’s Kingdom.

THE VESPERS OF PENTECOST

The liturgical peculiarity of Pentecost is a very special Vespers of the day itself. Usually this service follows immediately the Divine Liturgy, is “added” to it as its own fulfillment. The service begins as a solemn “summing up” of the entire celebration, as its liturgical synthesis. We hold flowers in our hands symbolizing the joy of the eternal spring, inaugurated by the coming of the Holy Spirit. After the festal Entrance, this joy reaches its climax in the singing of the Great Prokeimenon:

“Who is so great a God as our God?”

Then, having reached this climax, we are invited to kneel. This is our first kneeling since Easter. It signifies that after these fifty days of Paschal joy and fulness, of experiencing the Kingdom of God, the Church now is about to begin her pilgrimage through time and history. It is evening again, and the night approaches, during which temptations and failures await us, when, more than anything else, we need Divine help, that presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who has already revealed to us the joyful End, who now will help us in our effort towards fulfillment and salvation.

All this is revealed in the three prayers which the celebrant reads now as we all kneel and listen to him. In the first prayer, we bring to God our repentance, our increased appeal for forgiveness of sins, the first condition for entering into the Kingdom of God.

In the second prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us, to teach us to pray and to follow the true path in the dark and difficult night of our earthly existence. Finally, in the third prayer, we remember all those who have achieved their earthly journey, but who are united with us in the eternal God of Love.

The joy of Easter has been completed and we again have to wait for the dawn of the Eternal Day. Yet, knowing our weakness, humbling ourselves by kneeling, we also know the joy and the power of the Holy Spirit who has come. We know that God is with us, that in Him is our victory.

Thus is completed the feast of Pentecost and we enter “the ordinary time” of the year. Yet, every Sunday now will be called “after Pentecost”—and this means that it is from the power and light of these fifty days that we shall receive our own power, the Divine help in our daily struggle. At Pentecost we decorate our churches with flowers and green branches—for the Church “never grows old, but is always young.” It is an evergreen, ever-living Tree of grace and life, of joy and comfort. For the Holy Spirit—“the Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life—comes and abides in us, and cleanses us from all impurity,” and fills our life with meaning, love, faith and hope.

Father Alexander Schmemann (1974)

The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates suffered for Christ in Heraklea on February 8, 319. At the time of his sufferings the holy Great Martyr Theodore ordered his servant Varus to bury his body on the estate of his parents in Euchaita. The transfer of the relics of the Great Martyr Theodore took place on June 8, 319.

On this day we also recall a miracle of the icon of the Great Martyr Theodore in a church dedicated to him at a place called Karsat, near Damascus. A group of Saracens had turned this church into their residence. There was a fresco on the wall depicting Theodore. One of the Saracens shot an arrow into the icon of the Great Martyr. From the saint’s face, where the arrow had stuck into the wall, blood flowed before the eyes of everyone. A short while later, the Saracens who had settled in the church killed each other. Accounts of this miracle are given by Saints [or, “by the holy Fathers”] Anastasius of Mt. Sinai (April 20) and John of Damascus (December 4).

The great wonderworker Saint Theodore, who was a Greek by birth, was the first Bishop of Rostov. He was consecrated as a bishop in the year 991 or 992. At that time, most of the Rostov territory was still pagan, and Saint Theodore worked tirelessly to proclaim the Gospel to the people of that area.

The inhabitants subjected the hierarch to many insults, and they even drove him away on one occasion. Then Saint Theodore moved to Suzdal, where he brought many souls to Christ. He fell asleep in the Lord at Suzdal in 1023, resting from his fruitful apostolic labors. His holy relics are in Suzdal's Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos Cathedral.

Portions of his holy relics are also kept in two other churches at Suzdal: that of the Kazan Icon, and that of Saints Constantine and Helen.

Saint Theodore is also commemorated at the Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov and Yaroslavl (May 23), and at the Synaxis of the Saints of Vladimir (June 23).

Today's saint should not be confused with Saint Theodore of Rostov (November 28), who reposed in 1395, and was the nephew of Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25).

The holy Princes Basil and Constantine Vsevolodovich of Yaroslavl.

In their youth they lost their father, Vsevolod, who fell in battle with the Tatars (Mongols). Saint Basil, the elder brother, succeeded to the throne. As prince, he had to face a multitude of concerns, tasks and sorrows. The city and the villages were devastated from the invasion of the Tatars, many households remained without shelter and food, and he had to concern himself about everything and about everyone. Besides this, it was necessary to gain the good will of the Tatar Khan, and the holy prince more than once journeyed for this reason to the Horde. He suffered also a family misfortune, the loss of his only son.

All his tribulations the holy prince suffered without complaint, and he ruled the princedom, like a true Christian. He did not enter into disputes with other princes, he concerned himself with the unfortunate among his subjects, and he built churches. But soon his life, filled with many sorrows, exhausted the strength of the prince, and he took sick and died in the year 1249.

After him holy Prince Constantine succeeded to the throne. He strove to imitate his brother, but to his great dismay, everywhere he saw pillage and murdering done by the Tatars. In 1257 the Tatars fell upon Yaroslavl itself. The prince came out to fight the enemy, but here in this battle he gave up his life for his country. In the year 1501 the incorrupt relics of the holy princes were uncovered and now rest in the Yaroslav cathedral.

Saint Ephraim, Patriarch of Antioch, a Syrian, was a military general under the emperors Anastasius (491-518) and Justin (518-527). The saint was distinguished for his virtue, piety, and compassion for all the destitute.

In the year 526 the Lord punished Antioch for Christians falling into the heresies of Nestorius and Eutyches: an earthquake destroyed this magnificent city. A large number of the inhabitants perished. Patriarch Euphrasios was crushed beneath a fallen column.

The emperor summoned Ephraim to oversee the restoration of the ruined city. Among the workers was a bishop who left his see for unknown reasons. He predicted to Ephraim his election to the patriarchal throne and asked him not to abandon deeds of charity, and to struggle firmly against the heretics. In the year 527 Ephraim was indeed elected to the patriarchal throne. He governed his flock firmly and wisely by the example of his life. He also defended it against heretical teachings through his sermons and letters.

The following event gives some idea of his faith. Near Herakleia was a stylite practicing asceticism, who had fallen into heresy. Learning about the ascetic, Ephraim went to him and urged him to be reunited to the Orthodox Church. The stylite was not agreeable. He decided to frighten the patriarch and he offered to kindle a large bonfire, so that they both might enter the fire. The bonfire was set, but the stylite did not dare to go into it. The patriarch prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ to show that his was the correct faith and, removing his omophorion, he put it in the bonfire. After three hours the firewood was consumed, but the omophorion of the saint was taken out unharmed. The stylite was converted from his heresy and reunited to the Church.

Ephraim fell asleep in the Lord in the year 545 AD.

Among his labors, Ephraim defended the teaching of the Orthodox Church on the union of two natures, the divine and the human, in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Saint Zosimus of Phoenicia was born in the Syrian village of Synda, near the city of Tyre. He accepted monasticism and was zealous in his fasting, prayer, labors and other virtues. The monk received from God the gift of clairvoyance. When he was at Caesarea, he foresaw the terrible earthquake which destroyed Antioch in the year 526.

Once, the patrician Arkesilaos visited the monk. During this time a messenger informed Arkesilaos that his wife had punctured her eye with a needle and was in terrible pain. But the monk put his guest at ease and said that the holy Bishop John the Chozebite (October 3) had healed his wife.

Zosimus attained such a degree of spiritual accomplishment that wild beasts were submissive to him. Once on the way to Caesarea a hungry lion pounced upon the monk’s donkey, and dragged it away to eat it. Finding the beast, the monk said, “Friend, I have not the strength to carry the load because of old age. You carry it, and then return into the wilderness and again be fierce according to your nature.” The lion meekly carried the load to Caesarea, then the monk set him free.

The Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God became the first wonderworking Icon revealed by the Most Pure Theotokos during the Tatar-Mongol yoke. It was brought to Russia (probably from Kiev) almost immediately after Batu's invasions. In this way, the Icon of the Mother of God visited the Russian land and consoled the Orthodox people in their sorrow. It is significant that this is an icon of the "Tenderness" type, filled with her maternal care and concern.¹

The Yaroslavl Icon was brought to that city by the holy right-believing Princes Basil and Constantine (July 3), and the lower church in the temple of the Prophet Elias was consecrated in honor of the wonderworking Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God.

In addition to this Icon, there are two more Yaroslavl Icons: the Yaroslavl-Kazan (June 8) and the Yaroslavl-Caves (see May 14).

¹ Similarly, during the First World War, the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God (March 2) appeared on the very day that Tsar Nicholas II abdicated in 1917.

This holy icon belonged to Saint Cyril of White Lake (June 9), and he kept it in his cell.

Saint Cyril was living at the Simonov Monastery, but his soul yearned for solitude, and he asked the Mother of God to show him a place conducive for salvation. One night he was reading an Akathist in his cell before the Hodēgḗtria icon of the Mother of God, and had just reached the eighth Kontakion, “Seeing the strange Nativity, let us become strangers to the world and transport our minds to heaven.” Then he heard a voice say, “Go to White Lake (Belozersk), where I have prepared a place for you.”

He left the Simonov Monastery and at the desolate and sparsely populated White Lake, he found the place which he had seen in the vision. Saint Cyril and his companion Saint Therapon of White Lake and Mozhaisk (May 27), set up a cross and dug a cell in the ground near Mount Myaura at Siversk Lake.

The White Lake Icon is also commemorated on July 28.

Saint Tevdore was a simple priest who labored in the 16th century in the village of Kvelta. At that time the Ottoman Empire and Persia were locked in a bitter feud over control of the Near East. At the beginning of 1609 the Ottomans conquered first the city of Baghdadi, then part of Samtskhe in southern Georgia. In June of that year they launched an attack on eastern Georgia.

At that time the Georgian ruler was the young King Luarsab II. When the Ottomans penetrated Kartli, the king was absent, abiding in his summer residence, Tskhireti Castle. But the Ottomans knew the location of his castle, and they also knew that his troops were small in number. They plotted to lay siege to the castle, capture the king, and ultimately annex all of Georgia.

The Ottomans quickly crossed the Trialeti mountain range and advanced into Manglisi, pillaging the lands and laying waste to the people as they went. Miraculously, the Manglisi Church of the Most Holy Mother of God remained unharmed. One chronicler wrote: “A dense fog surrounded the church and village, concealing it from the enemy.”

Saint Luarsab had received no warning of the attack, and the enemy was just minutes from his castle.

In the village of Kvelta, not far from Manglisi, the Turks captured the priest Tevdore, a man sincere before God and devoted to his king and motherland. Fr. Tevdore was unable to escape to the woods with the other villagers, so he locked the doors to the church and concealed its sacred treasures. When the Ottoman Turks found Fr. Tevdore, they commanded him to lead them to Tskhireti Castle and threatened to kill him if he refused.

Hoping to deceive them, Tevdore led the Ottomans along a narrow, rocky mountain path away from Tskhireti Castle. Many horses and soldiers fell from the path to their deaths.

But after some time the Ottomans realized that the priest had led them in the wrong direction. Embittered and hungry for revenge, they beheaded Fr. Tevdore.

As a result of Saint Tevdore’s great sacrifice, Saint Luarsab had time to strengthen his fortifications, assemble his armies, and finally annihilate the enemy.

Today we remember all pious and Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and also recall the dread Day of Judgment. May Christ our God be merciful to them, and to us.

Two Epistles (Acts 28:1-31, I Thess. 4:13-17) and two Gospels (JN 21:14-25, JN 5:24-30) are appointed to be read at Liturgy. The readings from Acts and the Gospel of Saint John, which began on Pascha, now come to an end. The book of Acts does not end, as might be expected, with the death of Saints Peter and Paul, but remains open-ended.

In his article “With all the Saints,” Father Justin Popovich says that the Lives of the Saints are nothing less than a “continuation of the Acts of the Apostles.” Just as the book of Acts describes the works of Christ which the Apostles accomplished through Christ, Who was dwelling in them and working through them, the saints also preach the same Gospel, live the same life, manifest the same righteousness, love, and power from on High. As we prepare for the Sunday of All Saints, we are reminded that each of us is called to a life of holiness.

On this seventh Saturday of Pascha, Saint John Chrysostom’s “Homily on Patience and Gratitude” is appointed to be read in church. It is also prescribed to be read at the funeral service of an Orthodox Christian.

The Holy Martyr Theodotus lived in Ancyra of Galatia in the third century. He was distinguished by his kindliness and concern. At the height of the persecution under Diocletian (284-305) he provided Christians with everything they needed, and gave them shelter in his home. There they secretly celebrated church services.

Saint Theodotus visited the Christian captives in prison, paid their bail, and reverently buried the bodies of martyrs who had been thrown to the wild beasts. Once he buried the bodies of seven holy women martyrs, who were drowned in the sea (May 18). This was reported to the governor.

After refusing to offer sacrifice to idols, and denouncing the folly of paganism, Saint Theodotus confessed Christ as God, for which they subjected him to terrible tortures and beheaded him with a sword. They wanted to burn the holy martyr’s body, but could not do so because of a storm which had arisen, so they gave his holy relics to a certain Christian for burial.

Saint Theodotus is also commemorated on May 18.

Saint Marcellinus was Pope of Rome during the height of the persecution against Christians under Diocletian and Maximian (284-305), when 17,000 men were martyred a single month. During this time Saint Marcellinus was also arrested. Afraid of the fierce tortures, he burned incense and offered sacrifice to idols. The emperor called him his friend and clothed him in splendid robes. Although he had encouraged others to undergo torture for Christ, he gave in to cowardice. He wept bitterly, filled with remorse.

During this time, a Synod of 180 bishops and presbyters met at the city of Sinuessa (in Campania). Saint Marcellinus appeared at the assembly in penitential sackcloth, his head sprinkled with ashes. He confessed his sin before the delegates and asked them to judge him. The Fathers of the Council said, “Judge yourself! From your lips this sin came forth, from your lips let judgment be pronounced. We know that even Saint Peter denied Christ out of fear, but he wept bitterly for his sin, and received forgiveness from the Lord.”

Then Marcellinus pronounced sentence upon himself, “I strip myself of the priestly dignity, of which I am unworthy. After death, do not bury my body, but instead throw it to the dogs. Cursed be the one who dares to bury it.”

Upon his return to Rome Marcellinus went to the emperor, threw down the fine clothing given him, and said that he regretted his renunciation of Christ. The enraged emperor had him tortured, and sentenced him to death.

Saint Marcellinus prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who mercifully receives sinners who repent, then willingly placed his head beneath the sword. The holy martyrs Claudius, Cyrinus and Antoninus were beheaded with him.

The body of Saint Marcellinus lay for thirty-six days along the wayside. Appearing in a vision to the new bishop Marcellus, the holy Apostle Peter said, “Why have you not buried the body of Marcellinus?”

“I fear his curse,” replied Saint Marcellus.

“Perhaps you do not remember,” said the Apostle Peter, “that it is written: ‘He that humbles himself shall be exalted.’ Therefore, go bury his body with reverence.”

Fulfilling the command of the Apostle Peter, Saint Marcellus buried the body of Saint Marcellinus in a crypt, built for the burial of the bodies of martyrs by the illustrious Priscilla, along the Via Salaria.

Saint Sisinius the deacon suffered at Rome along with the hieromartyr Marcellinus, Bishop of Rome, the holy deacon Cyriacus; also Smaragdus, Largus, Apronian, Saturninus, Crescentian, Papias and Maurus and the holy women martyrs Priscilla, Lucy and the Emperor’s daughter Artemia during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian (284-305) and their successors, Galerius (305-311) and Maxentius (305-312).

The emperor Maximian, ruler of the Western Roman Empire, deprived all Christians of military rank and sent them into penal servitude.

A certain rich Christian, Thrason, sent food and clothing to the prisoners through the Christians Sisinius, Cyriacus, Smaragdus and Largus. Marcellus thanked Thrason for his generosity, and ordained Sisinius and Cyriacus as deacons.

While rendering aid to the captives, Sisinius and Cyriacus also were arrested and condemned to harsh labor. They fulfilled not only their own work quota, but worked also for the dying captive Saturninus. Therefore, Maximian sent Sisinius to Laodicius, the governor of the district.

They locked the saint in prison. The head of the prison, Apronian, summoned Sisinius for interrogation but, seeing his face shine with a heavenly light, he believed in Christ and was baptized. Later, he went with Sisinius to Marcellus and received Chrismation. Marcellus served the Liturgy, and they partook of the Holy Mysteries.

On June 7, Saints Sisinius and Saturninus were brought before Laodicius in the company of Apronian. Apronian confessed that he was a Christian, and was beheaded. Saints Sisinius and Saturninus were thrown into prison. Then Laodicius gave orders to bring them to a pagan temple to offer sacrifice. Saturninus said, “If only the Lord would turn the pagan idols into dust!”

At that very moment the tripods, on which incense burned before the idols, melted. Seeing this miracle, the soldiers Papias and Maurus confessed Christ. After prolonged tortures Sisinius and Saturninus were beheaded, and Papias and Maurus were locked up in prison, where they prayed to receive illumination by holy Baptism. The Lord fulfilled their desire. Leaving the prison without being noticed, they received Baptism from Marcellus and returned to the prison.

At the trial they again confessed themselves Christians and died under terrible tortures. Their holy bodies were buried by the priest John and Thrason.

Saints Cyriacus, Smaragdus, Largus and other Christian prisoners continued to languish at hard labor.

Diocletian’s daughter Artemia suffered from demonic oppression. Having learned that the prisoner Cyriacus could heal infirmities and cast out devils, the emperor summoned him to the sick girl. In gratitude for the healing of his daughter, the emperor freed Cyriacus, Smaragdus and Largus. Soon the emperor sent Cyriacus to Persia to heal the daughter of the Persian emperor.

Upon his return to Rome, Cyriacus was arrested on orders of the emperor Galerius, the son-in-law of Diocletian, who had abdicated and retired as emperor. Galerius was very annoyed at his predecessor because his daughter Artemia had converted to Christianity. He gave orders to drag Cyriacus behind his chariot stripped, bloodied, and in chains, to be shamed and ridiculed by the crowds.

Marcellus denounced the emperor openly before everyone for his cruelty toward innocent Christians. The emperor ordered the holy bishop to be beaten with rods, and dealt severely with him. Saints Cyriacus, Smaragdus, Largus, and another prisoner, Crescentian, died under torture. And at this time the emperor’s daughter Artemia and another twenty-one prisoners were also executed with Cyriacus.

Marcellus was secretly freed by Roman clergy. Exhuming the bodies of the holy martyrs Cyriacus, Smaragdus and Largus, they reburied them on the estates of two Christian women, Priscilla and Lucy, on the outskirts of Rome, after they had transformed Lucy’s house into a church.

Ascending the throne, Maxentius gave orders to destroy the church and turn it into a stockyard, and he sentenced the holy bishop to herd the cattle. Exhausted by hunger and cold, and wearied by the tortures of the soldiers, Marcellus became ill and died in the year 310.

The holy women martyrs Kyriake, Kaleria (Valeria), and Mary lived in Palestinian Caesarea during the persecution under Diocletian (284-305). Having received instruction in the Christian Faith, they abandoned paganism, settled in a solitary place and spent their lives in prayer, beseeching the Lord that the persecution against Christians would come to an end, and that the Faith of Christ would shine throughout all the world.

The governor tried to force them to worship idols, but they bravely confessed their faith in Christ. For this reason, they were tortured and received the crown of martyrdom.

There is very little information about Saint Zēnaίda, except that she was born in 284, in Caesarea of Palestine, and that she was found worthy of the charism of working miracles. She ended the course of her life with a martyric death.

The Byzantine Synaxarion mentions that Saint Zēnaίda's veneration was widespread in Constantinople, where her Synaxis took place on June 6, at a church dedicated to her in the Basilisk district.

There are a number of hagiographic sources which mention the name of Saint Zēnaίda. Among them, a Neapolitan calendar of the IX century (June 7); a printed Greek Menaion (Venice, 1591; and the Synaxaristes of Saint Νikόdēmos of the Holy Mountain.

In the Roman Martyrology of Cardinal Caesar Baronius, Zēnaίda is mistakenly listed under June 5 with the martyrs Valeria, Kyriakḗ, and Maria.

Abba Daniel lived in the sixth century, becoming a monk at Sketis when he was a young boy. He was taken prisoner when Sketis was attacked by barbarians, who held him captive for two years. Saint Daniel was was bought by a devout Christian, but then he was recaptured. After six months, while attempting to escape, he struck one of his captors with a stone and killed him, and then he made his escape and returned to Sketis. The sin of murder was a heavy burden on his conscience. Uncertain about what he ought to do, he went to Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria, and asked for his advice.

The Patriarch heard his Confession, but did not give him a penance. Still his conscience continued to trouble him, and he went to Rome to see the Pope. The Pope gave him the same reply as the Patriarch had done. Disappointed, Abba Daniel visited the other Patriarchs in turn, going to Constantinople, Antioch and Jerusalem, confessing to each of them and asking for advice. He found no peace, however. So he returned home to Alexandria and surrendered himself to the civil authorities as a murderer, and was thrown into prison. At his trial before the governor, Daniel told him all that had happened, and begged to be executed, so that his soul might be saved from the eternal fire. The governor was astonished by his story, and said to him, "Go your way, Father, and pray to God for me, and I wish you had killed seven more!"

Still dissatisfied with this, Daniel resolved to take a leper into his cell and care for him until he died, and then he would find another. He did as he had resolved, and in this way brought peace to his conscience.

Once, as Abba Daniel and Abba Ammon were walking together, Abba Ammon said, "When will we sit in our own cell, Father?" Abba Daniel replied, "Who can separate us from God? God is in the cell, and God is also outside of it."

He became so renowned for his virtues that he was named Igoumen of Sketis and he was revered throughout Egypt as "a new Abraham, and the host of Christ." He visited Saint Anastasia the Patrician (March 10) on the day of her death. She had disguised herself as a eunuch and lived in a men's monastery eighteen miles from Sketis. Saint Daniel discovered that she was a woman when he prepared her body for burial.

Abba Daniel encountered saints who wished to remain hidden, such as the Mark the Fool of Alexandria, or the nun at the Ermopoleos Monastery of Abba Jeremiah. She feigned drunkenness, earning the contempt of the other nuns. Saint Daniel and his disciple sought shelter in the monastery, and at night they saw that nun lifting her arms to Heaven, weeping copiously, and making prostrations. The following night they had the Igoumeness watch with them so she could see how that despised nun spent her nights. When her holy life became known, she left the monastery so that she would not be praised by the other nuns.

Saint Daniel is also mentioned in the Life of Saint Thomais, who was killed by her father-in-law because she wished to preserve her chastity (April 13 in Slavic usage, April 14 in Greek usage), in the Life of Saint Eulogios the Hospitable (April 27), in the Life of Saints Andronikos and Athanasia (October 9), as well as in the Life of Abba Doula.

Saint Potamiani (Potamiaίnē) lived at the end of the III century in Alexandria during the reign of Emperor Maximian (286 – 305). She was a slave, but also a Christian; that is to say, her soul was free through Jesus Christ. She was purchased from her former master by another man, who was also a pagan. Since Potamiani was very beautiful in appearance, he believed that it was his right to enjoy her body. But her stubborn resistance surprised and angered him. For the first time he was refused by a female slave. Therefore, he asked her to speak. She concealed nothing from him and said: "I am a Christian and I value my honor far more than my life. My only possession is my Faith and my purity. I will not deny either. Kill me, and I will not complain, but do not touch me, or I shall kill myself. For our holy Faith prohibits suicide, except when death remains the only way of protecting our honor from brutal violence."

Then the pagan master handed her over to the prefect, who ordered that she be placed into a cauldron of boiling tar. With spiritual joy, Saint Potamiani heard her sentence, for in this way she would preserve her most precious possessions – her virginity and her Christian Faith. Those who watched her horrible torments were astonished by her endurance and composure. Thus, she surrendered her pure and clean¹ soul to God.

¹ John 15:3.