December
22nd (New Style) • December 9th (Old Style)
Conception
of the Most-holy Theotokos by Saint Anna
The righteous Joachim and
Anna were childless for fifty years of their married life. In their old
age the Archangel Gabriel appeared to each one of them separately, telling
them that God had heard their prayers and that they would give birth to a
daughter, Mary. Then St. Anna conceived by her husband and after nine
months bore a daughter blessed by God and by all generations of men: the
Most-holy Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. (For more details, see September 9.)
Saint
Hannah, Mother of the Prophet Samuel
Hannah was the wife of
Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim or Arimathea (I Samuel 1:1-2). Hannah had
not given birth to any children because she was barren, and this caused
her to weep and grieve bitterly. But the Merciful God showed pity on her
and removed her barrenness because of her ceaseless sighs and prayers.
Hannah bore a son, Samuel, and dedicated him to God from his childhood.
Samuel was a great leader of the nation of Israel and a prophet, who
anointed two kings, Saul and David. St. Hannah sang a hymn of thanksgiving
to God, a hymn wonderful both in its wisdom and its beauty, which is used
even to this day in the services of the Church (I Samuel 2:1).
Venerable
Stephen the New Light
This God-pleaser was born
and brought up in Constantinople in the home of his parents, Zacharias and
Theophano. His father was a priest of the Great Church at the time of
Patriarch Methodius. While carrying him in her womb, his mother fed only
on bread and water, and when the child was born a cross of light shone on
his chest. Because of this and because of his pure and God-pleasing life,
he is called the "New Light." At the age of eighteen Stephen enclosed
himself in a cell near the Church of St. Peter the Apostle, and there he
gave himself up to the ascetic labor of fasting and prayer. Once St. Peter
appeared to him and said: "Peace be to you, my child. You have made a good
beginning. May the Lord strengthen you." Following this, he lived for many
years in a cell by the Church of the Holy Martyr Antipas. This saint also
appeared to him and encouraged him with the words: "Know that I will not
abandon you." Stephen imposed even greater and greater hardships upon
himself. He ate only twice a week and then only unsalted vegetables. This
holy man lived a life of asceticism for fifty-five years for the sake of
Christ's Kingdom and entered into rest in the Lord in the year 829, at the
age of seventy-three.
Saint
Sophronius, Archbishop of Cyprus
Sophronius was born and
brought up in Cyprus. Because of his great spiritual learning and his many
virtues, especially compassion, he was appointed archbishop following St.
Damian. Having faithfully served the Church and pleased God, Sophronius
died peacefully in the sixth century.
Reflection
Fear of God drives all fear
from the hearts of men. In every great hierarch of the Orthodox Church, we
see meekness and fearlessness wonderfully united. St. Nicholas grabbed the
sword of the executioner and pulled it away so that innocent men would not
be beheaded. St. Chrysostom reproached the Empress Eudoxia for her
misdeeds without consideration for the unpleasantness and danger to his
own life, to which he was exposed as a result. And there are many, many
other examples similar to this: Emperor Valentinian the Elder, upon
hearing of Ambrose's stern criticism of him, said: "I knew of your
fearlessness; that is why I helped you to be chosen as bishop. Correct our
faults as the Law of God teaches, and heal our unrighteousness." When
Valentinian the Younger, at the instigation of his mother Justina, an
Arian, ordered that the cathedral church in Milan be yielded to the
heretics, Ambrose shut himself in the church with the faithful and would
not come out for three days. He sent a message to the emperor and empress
that, if they desired his death, he was prepared at any moment "here in
the church to be run through either by the sword or spear." Hearing this,
the emperor and empress withdrew their decree. When a riot occurred in
Thessalonica, at which time about seven thousand people were beheaded by
the decree of Emperor Theodosius the Great, Ambrose became so enraged at
the emperor that, when the emperor visited Milan and wished to enter the
church, the saint forbade him. The emperor said to Ambrose: "Even David
sinned and was not deprived of God's mercy." To this the bishop replied: "As
you have imitated David in sin, imitate him also in repentance." The
emperor was ashamed, turned back and repented bitterly of the sin he had
committed.
Contemplation
Contemplate the
righteousness of the righteous Noah (Genesis 6):
1. How all men were corrupt and wicked;
2. How, amidst universal corruption, Noah alone remained righteous and
lived according to the will of God.
Homily
On Noah
Noah was a just man and
perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9).
To be righteous among the
righteous is a great and praiseworthy deed, but how far greater and more
praiseworthy a deed it is to be righteous among the unrighteous. Noah
lived among men who were filled with unrighteousness and evil; he lived
among them for five hundred years and remained righteous before God: Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). The Most-high
Judge, who looks at all the works of mankind and evaluates them without
prejudice and without error, valued the labors of Noah because, in the
midst of a corrupt and perverse generation, he remained in the
righteousness of God; and God rewarded him with His grace. Assuredly, Noah
endured much misery and bitterness from his evil neighbors. Assuredly, he
was unable to have a friend among them. The greatest satisfaction for a
sinner is to drag a righteous man down into his own mire and to share his
sin with him. But Noah did not allow himself to be dragged down or misled.
Noah favored God's friendship over that of unrighteous men. It was dearer
to him to walk with God without men, than to walk with men without God.
Fear of God, the Creator and Judge, preserved him from the worldwide
corruption; and he was not only righteous but also perfect in his
generations. That is, he did not allow himself, even in the least, to
be contaminated by the common evil, but rather he cleaved to God's
righteousness. The allurement of sin and the ridicule of the sinners:
everything merely served to separate him all the more from them. When the
universal flood befell the human race, God did not abandon his faithful
Noah to perish with the others. Instead, He saved him and glorified him,
making him the progenitor of a new generation of men. Brethren, this
shining example of Noah teaches that each one of us can please God even in
the midst of sinners, if only we want to.
O Righteous and
Long-suffering God, uphold us on the path of Thy righteousness.
December
23rd (New Style) • December 10th (Old Style)
Holy Martyrs
Menas, Hermogenes and Eugraphus
Both Menas and Hermogenes
were born in Athens. They both lived in Byzantium, being held in great
honor by the emperor and the people. Menas was known for his great
learning and eloquence of speech and, although he acted outwardly as a
pagan, he was a convinced Christian in his heart. Hermogenes was Eparch of
Byzantium and acted as a pagan both inwardly and outwardly, but he was
compassionate and performed many good deeds. When a dispute flared up
between the Christians and the pagans in Alexandria, Emperor Maximin
dispatched Menas to calm the disturbance and to root out the Christians
from the city. Menas went and restored peace, but he declared himself a
Christian and converted many pagans to the true Faith by his eloquence and
many miracles. Hearing of this, the emperor sent Hermogenes to punish
Menas and to smother Christianity. Hermogenes brought Menas to trial, cut
off his feet and tongue, gouged out his eyes, and then cast him into
prison. In prison, the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to Menas, healing and
comforting His suffering servant. Seeing Menas miraculously healed,
Hermogenes was baptized. He began to preach the powerful Christian Faith
and was consecrated as Bishop of Alexandria. Then the enraged Maximin went
to Alexandria himself and subjected Menas and Hermogenes to cruel
tortures, which they courageously endured, helped by God's grace.
Beholding the bravery of these soldiers of Christ and the miracles of God
upon them, Eugraphus, secretary and friend of St. Menas, appeared before
the tribunal and cried out to the emperor's face: "I too am a Christian!"
The emperor became enraged, drew his sword and beheaded St. Eugraphus.
Following this, the evil emperor ordered the executioner to behead St.
Menas and St. Hermogenes. Their holy relics, thrown into the sea,
miraculously floated to Constantinople, where the bishop, to whom this was
revealed in a dream, solemnly met them and honorably buried them.
Venerable
Angelina and St. Jovan the Despot
Angelina was the daughter of
the Albanian prince, George Skenderbeg, and the wife of Stefan, Despot of
Serbia, who was the son of Despot George. She endured exile with her
husband and shared with him all the bitterness of life in Serbia as well
as in Albania and Italy. She raised her sons Maxim and Jovan in a truly
Christian spirit. Following the death of her husband, she was tonsured a
nun, devoting herself entirely to prayer, acts of charity and the building
and restoring of holy churches. A faithful wife, an excellent mother and a
perfect Christian, she in truth merited the title "Mother Angelina," as
the people call her even now. Her miracle-working relics, together with
those of her righteous husband Stefan and her devoted sons Maxim and
Jovan, rest in the Monastery of Kru
edol (although some of the relics were destroyed by the Turks). She
entered into rest and took up her habitation in the Immortal Kingdom at
the beginning of the sixteenth century.
Holy Martyr
Gemellus
Gemellus was an honorable
citizen of Ancyra. When Emperor Julian the Apostate came to this city,
Gemellus came before him and openly denounced him for his apostasy. For
this, he was tortured and crucified in the year 361. While in pain on the
Cross, he heard a voice from heaven saying: "Blessed are you, Gemellus!"
Venerable
Thomas Defourkinos (of Bithynia)
Thomas was a great ascetic,
a conqueror of demons, and a seer. Emperor Leo the Wise wrote him a
letter, and he replied without even opening it. He entered into rest in
the Lord in great old age in the ninth century.
Reflection
In innumerable
ways the Living Lord knows when to show mercy and when to chastise, when
to deliver the faithful from temptations, when to turn unbelievers into
believers, and when to punish incorrigible persecutors of the Faith. When
the evil Maximin slew the wonderful martyrs of Christ, Menas, Hermogenes,
and Eugraphus, he boarded a boat with his retinue and set sail from
Alexandria for Byzantium. But suddenly he was blinded, being blind
beforehand in soul and mind, and began to complain to those among his
retinue of invisible hands that were harshly striking him. Shortly after
that he died wickedly, just as he had lived. At the time of St. Ambrose
the following incident occurred: The heretical Empress Justina had
persuaded Euthymius, a landowner from Milan, to somehow seize the bishop,
whom she hated, and to take him somewhere far away into exile. Euthymius
prepared a cart and settled in a house near the church so that he could
more easily catch sight of Ambrose alone and carry him off in the cart.
And precisely on the day when he had arranged and prepared everything to
seize Ambrose, an imperial order arrived that Euthymius immediately be
exiled because of some crime. That day, the soldiers came, bound the
malicious one, and took him off into exile in the very cart that he had
prepared for Ambrose's banishment. On another occasion, an Arian entered
the church where St. Ambrose was celebrating, with the intention of
hearing from his mouth something for which Ambrose could be denounced.
Looking around, this heretic saw God's saint instructing the people and
beheld a shining angel alongside him, whispering words in his ear. Being
greatly frightened by this, he became ashamed of himself, rejected the
heresy and returned to Orthodoxy.
Contemplation
Contemplate the
deluge of the world (Genesis 7):
1. How there was a flood of corruption in the world before the water
flooded the world;
2. How the long-suffering God permitted the flood because of the sins of
mankind, and how the water flooded the entire earth.
Homily
On Abraham
I … am
but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27).
These are the words that the
righteous Abraham spoke of himself. Brethren, ridiculous are those people
who pride themselves on their association with worldly princes and
noblemen and begin to think highly of themselves. Abraham was found worthy
to converse with the Eternal and Almighty King. Nevertheless, he remained
unwavering in his humility, calling himself dust and ashes. Who was
this Abraham, that he was found worthy of so much of God's favor in his
lifetime and praise after his death, from the Apostle (Galatians 3,
Hebrews 11), and even from the Lord Christ Himself (Luke 16:22, John
8:39)? He was a peasant who possessed all the virtues, living always
according to the Law of God, a man with a firm faith in God, a lover of
justice, hospitable, compassionate, courageous, obedient, pure and humble.
However, Abraham is especially glorified for his faith, a powerful faith.
Abraham was one hundred years old when God told him that his wife, barren
until then, would bear a son, and he believed. And even before Sarah had
given birth to Isaac, God said to Abraham: I will make thy seed as the
dust of the earth (Genesis 13:16). Abraham believed and doubted not.
And when an only son was born to Abraham, God commanded him, as a test, to
offer his only son as a sacrifice. Abraham was prepared to do this, had
God not turned him from it at the last moment. How complete was this
wonderful man's faith and obedience to God! Therefore God blessed him and
made him glorious on earth and in heaven. Brethren, blessed are they who,
without hesitation, believe in God and fulfill His holy commandments. The
blessing of God will accompany them in both worlds.
O our Blessed Creator, bless
us sinners also and number us among Thine elect, who have a share with
Abraham in Thy Kingdom.
December
24th (New Style) • December 11th (Old Style)
Venerable
Daniel the Stylite
Daniel was born in the
village of Bethara near the city of Samosata in Mesopotamia of Christian
parents, Elias and Martha. Through her tearful prayers, his barren mother
received him from God, and as an only son he was dedicated to God from
early childhood. Daniel embraced the monastic rank at the age of twelve,
visited Simeon the Stylite, and was blessed by him. Desirous of solitude,
Daniel left the monastery and withdrew to an abandoned pagan temple on the
shore of the Black Sea. There he endured countless assaults from demons,
but he conquered them all by perseverance, prayer and the sign of the
Cross. Afterward he climbed up on a pillar. There he remained until his
death, enduring both heat and cold, and attacks from both men and demons.
Many disciples gathered around his pillar, and he directed them to eternal
life by his example and his words. God rewarded His faithful servant with
abundant grace while in this life, and he performed many miracles
beneficial to men and prophesied future events. People from all parts
crowded beneath his pillar, seeking help and counsel from the saint of
God. Emperors and patriarchs as well as ordinary people came to him.
Emperor Leo the Great brought his foreign guests, princes and nobles, and
showed them St. Daniel on the pillar, saying to them: "Behold, the wonder
in my kingdom!" Daniel foretold the day of his own death, instructed his
disciples as a father to his sons, and took leave of them. At the time of
his death, his disciples beheld angels, prophets, apostles and martyrs
above his pillar. Having lived for eighty years, this holy angelic man
entered into rest and took up his habitation in the Kingdom of Christ in
the year 489.
Venerable
Luke the Stylite
Luke lived in Constantinople
at the time of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. As a soldier, he
participated in the war against the Bulgarians, in which he witnessed the
death of many thousands of people, and from that war he emerged alive and
unharmed. Seeing the finger of God in his deliverance, Luke scorned the
vanity of the world and withdrew to a pillar near Chalcedon. There he
lived a life of asceticism for forty-five years, cleansing his soul of all
sinful desires and thoughts. Pleasing God, he entered into rest sometime
between the years 970 and 980 and took up his habitation in a better life.
Venerable
Nicon the Dry
As a monk in the Monastery
of the Kiev Caves, he was enslaved by the Tartars. He lived for three
years in captivity: shackled, tortured and mocked. When his kinsmen
brought the money to ransom him from his master, he refused, saying: "If
the Lord had wanted me to be free, He would not have delivered me into the
hands of these lawless men." Once he told his master that Christ would
free him in three days. The Tartar thought that this meant that his slave
was going to escape, so he severed his tendons below the knees. However,
on the third day, Nicon was indeed instantly carried to Kiev by an
invisible hand. After a period of time, the Tartar came to Kiev and
recognized Nicon, his former slave. He repented and was baptized. The
former master became the servant and disciple of his former slave. Nicon
was called "the Dry" because of the great austerity of his bodily fasting,
and he was a great clairvoyant and miracle-worker. He entered peacefully
into rest in the Lord on December 11, 1101.
The Holy
Martyr Mirax
Mirax was an Egyptian.
Deceived by a Moslem Emir, he embraced Islam. He later repented and
entered a mosque with a cross. There he declared himself a Christian,
calling upon the Moslems to forsake their falsehood and to accept the
truth. He was tortured and beheaded in about the year 640.
Reflection
The Lord preserveth all
them that love him (Psalm 145:20).
The lives of the saints
confirm this as clearly as the sun. Certain envious priests complained to
Patriarch Anatolius about St. Daniel, slandering him and saying that he
was a magician. In essence, they were envious of the exceedingly young
ascetic, who surpassed them in all the virtues and attracted many people
to himself by his way of life. The patriarch summoned Daniel and examined
him regarding his faith and his way of life. When Daniel told him
everything, the patriarch rose from his seat, embraced him, praised him,
and dismissed him in peace. Several days later, Patriarch Anatolius became
ill, summoned Daniel and asked him to pray to God for his recovery. Daniel
prayed to God, and the patriarch was immediately restored to health. Since
the patriarch wanted to reward Daniel somehow, the young saint begged him
to forgive his slanderers as his reward. To this the patriarch replied: "How
can I not forgive them when they are the authors of so much good, namely,
that I now know you and have received healing through you?" Truly, the
Lord preserves all who love Him, and He turns to their good the evil
that men conceive against them.
While St. Nicon the Dry was
a slave among the Tartars, his master became sick and was at the point of
death. Seeing that he would soon die, he ordered his sons to crucify Nicon
at the head of his grave after his death. St. Nicon, discerning the
future, saw that his cruel master would be baptized and prayed to God for
his restoration to health. Contrary to all expectations, the Tartar
recovered. Thus, by prayer, Nicon saved himself from physical death and
his master from spiritual death.
Contemplation
Contemplate the covenant
that God made with the righteous Noah (Genesis 9):
1. How God blessed Noah and his sons after the flood;
2. How He promised that there would never again be a universal flood;
3. How He established the rainbow as a sign of that covenant.
Homily
On Lot
And Lot … said, I pray
you, brethren, do not so wickedly (Genesis 19:7).
Lot, a righteous man among
the unrighteous, lived in Sodom with his wife and two daughters. The
faithful Abraham asked God: Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with
the wicked? (Genesis 18:23). God answered the faithful Abraham that
not only would He not destroy the righteous, but if there were to be found
ten righteous in that city, he would spare the entire city because of
those ten. However, only one righteous man was found in Sodom-Lot-and he
was a stranger. Just as before the flood there was only one righteous man
in the world, Noah, so before the destruction of Sodom there was only one
righteous man in that city, Lot. Lot was similar to his uncle Abraham in
every virtue, notably in his obedience to God and his hospitality. The
Sodomites hated him as a stranger and even more as a righteous man. Brethren,
do not so wickedly, Lot exhorted them. He called the corrupt people
his brethren in order to calm them and to remind them not to commit evil,
in order to save them. But his brotherly words provoked them to even
greater wrath. Lot was found worthy to have the angels of God visit him
and deliver him from that corrupt city whose sins cried out to God. And
the reprobates attacked the home of Lot to defile the sanctity of
hospitality. Brethren, do not so wickedly, Lot implored them. But
why would these brutes listen to a man if they did not fear God? That is
why the angels of God punished them with blindness: And they smote the
men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and
great (Genesis 19:11). Then the angels led Lot from the city of the
unrighteous and let loose a storm of brimstone and fire upon the city.
Thus, the evil city perished, and the one righteous man in the city was
saved. Better is one righteous man than a thousand sinners (Sirach
16:3).
O righteous God, Who never
abandonest the righteous man, correct our unrighteousness and save us.
December
25th (New Style) • December 12th (Old Style)
Saint
Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Tremithus
The island of Cyprus was
both the birthplace and the place where this glorious saint served the
Church. Spyridon was born of simple parents, farmers, and he remained
simple and humble until his death. He married in his youth and had
children, but when his wife died he devoted himself completely to the
service of God. Because of his exceptional piety, he was chosen as bishop
of the city of Tremithus. Yet even as a bishop he did not change his
simple way of living, handling his livestock and cultivating his land
himself. He used very little of the fruits of his labor for himself;
instead, he distributed a greater share to the needy. He manifested great
miracles by God's power: he brought down rain in time of drought, stopped
the flow of a river, raised several people from the dead, healed Emperor
Constantius of a grave illness, saw and heard angels of God, foresaw
future events, discerned the secrets of men's hearts, converted many to
the true Faith, and did much else. He took part in the First Ecumenical
Council in Nicaea (325), and he brought many heretics back to Orthodoxy by
his simple and clear expositions of the Faith as well as by his mighty
miracles. He was so simply dressed that once, when he wanted to enter the
imperial court at the invitation of the emperor, a soldier, thinking that
he was a beggar, struck him on the face. Meek and guileless, Spyridon
turned the other cheek to him. He glorified God through many miracles, and
was of benefit, not only to many individuals but also to the whole Church
of God. He entered into rest in the Lord in the year 348. His
miracle-working relics rest on the island of Corfu, and even today they
glorify God with many miracles.
Holy
Hieromartyr Alexander, Patriarch of Jerusalem
At first Alexander was the
Bishop of Cappadocia, but during the persecution under Severus in the year
203 he was cast into prison and then exiled. Afterward he accepted the
patriarchal throne of Jerusalem. He founded the famous Jerusalem Library,
which Eusebius used when he wrote his Ecclesiastical History. He was
tortured in various ways during the reign of Decius and thrown to wild
beasts. Remaining alive and untouched by the beasts, he was cast into
prison, where he ended his earthly life and went to the Lord in the year
251.
Holy Martyr
Synesius
As a young reader in Rome,
he boldly preached the truth of Christ and denounced idolaters. For this,
he was tortured and beheaded during the reign of Emperor Aurelian.
Reflection
Absolutely nothing will help
us if we are not lenient toward the weaknesses of men and forgive them.
For how can we hope that God will forgive us if we do not forgive others?
St. Spyridon once sold a hundred goats to a merchant at an agreed price,
and the saint told the buyer to lay down the money. The buyer, knowing
that Spyridon himself never counted money, handed over enough money for
ninety-nine goats and hid the money for one. Spyridon then counted out a
hundred goats for him. But when the merchant and his servants drove off
the goats, one of them returned bleating. He drove it off, but it returned
again. And so the goat continually returned to the enclosure, not wanting
to go with the other goats. The saint then whispered into the merchant's
ear: "Observe, my son: this animal is not doing this in vain. Did you
perhaps withhold her price?" The merchant became ashamed and acknowledged
his sin. As soon as he paid the amount he had concealed, the goat
immediately joined the other goats.
On another occasion, some thieves entered Spyridon's sheepfold. When they
had seized as many sheep as they wanted, they tried to leave the
sheepfold, but an invisible force nailed them to the ground, and they were
unable to move. At dawn, the bishop came to his sheepfold. Seeing the
thieves, he reproached them mildly and instructed them to strive in the
future to live by their own labors and not by thievery. He then took a
sheep and gave it to them, saying, "Take this for your trouble, so that
your all-night vigil not be in vain," and he dismissed them in peace.
Contemplation
Contemplate Noah's blessing
upon two of his children (Japheth and Shem) and a curse upon the third (Ham)
(Genesis 9):
1. How Ham disclosed his father's nakedness, but Shem and Japheth covered
it;
2. How Noah pronounced a blessing upon Shem and Japheth, but a curse upon
the descendants of Ham.
Homily
On Melchisedek
Thou art a priest forever
after the order of Melchisedek (Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 7:17, 21).
Oh, how many hidden and
faithful servants does the Lord have who serve Him day and night! Oh, how
many shining comets are seen by men to cross the starry heavens, which
appear unexpectedly, glistening, and then are lost in the vastness of the
universe, leaving only tales about them! The righteous Abraham, with his
descendants, is known to us like the starry heavens over our heads, but
Melchisedek is known to us like a shining comet, which suddenly appeared,
was bowed down to us by the starry heavens, and was again hidden in the
unknown. Who is this Melchisedek? The King of Salem … the priest of
the Most-high God (Genesis 14:18). He brought bread and wine to
Abraham; he blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him one-tenth of all that
was his. When Abraham was so greatly blessed by God, how much more blessed
was he who blessed Abraham? Oh, how unfathomable are the depths of God's
providence! A man's thought extends from today until tomorrow, but the
thought of God extends to the very end of time. According to the words of
the Holy Apostle Paul, Melchisedek prefigures the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself (Hebrews 7:10). For while the forefather Abraham was a wonderful
and God-pleasing peasant, this Melchisedek was both a king and priest, as
our Lord is King and Priest. Melchisedek offered Abraham bread and wine,
and our Lord offered His Body and Blood to the entire human race. Abraham
bowed down to Melchisedek and gave him a willing tribute. Abraham's true
descendants, the Christians, bow down to the Lord Jesus and offer Him
their willing sacrifice, a gift in return for a gift, the gift of His Body
and Blood on the Cross. And who shall declare His generation? (Isaiah
53:8). This refers to both Christ and Melchisedek. Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it and was glad (John 8:56). Thus
spoke the Lord to the Jews. How did Abraham see it? He saw it in the
spirit. God revealed it to him, and he also saw the prefiguration of
Christ in this glorious and wonderful Melchisedek, king, priest and
servant of the Most-high God.
O Lord Jesus, bless us also
as Thou didst bless Thy faithful servants, Melchisedek and Abraham.
December
26th (New Style) • December 13th (Old Style)
Holy Martyrs
Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius and Orestes
These five courageous men
shone like five shining stars in the dark days of the Christ-persecuting
Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. St. Eustratius was a Roman commander in
the city of Satalionus; Eugene was his companion in the army; Orestes was
likewise a distinguished soldier; Auxentius was a priest; and Mardarius
was an ordinary citizen who came, like Eustratius, from the town of
Arabrak. The imperial deputies Lysias and Agricolus tortured Auxentius
first since he was a priest. Seeing the innocent suffering of Christians,
Eustratius appeared in front of Lysias and declared that he was also a
Christian. While Eustratius was being tortured, Eugene appeared before the
judge and cried out: "Lysias, I too am a Christian." When Eustratius was
led through the town of Arabrak with the other martyrs, Mardarius saw them
from the roof of his house. He took leave of his wife and two young
children and rushed after the martyrs, shouting into the faces of the
tormentors: "I too am a Christian, like my lord Eustratius." When St.
Orestes was target-practicing in the presence of Lysias, the cross he was
wearing fell from his chest and Lysias realized that he was a Christian,
after which Orestes openly confessed his faith. Orestes was a young and
handsome soldier and towered above all the other soldiers in stature.
Auxentius was beheaded, Eugene and Mardarius died while being tortured,
Orestes expired on a red-hot iron grid, and Eustratius died in a fiery
furnace. St. Blaise (February 11) administered Holy Communion to St.
Eustratius in prison before his death. Their relics were later taken to
Constantinople and buried in the church dedicated to them: The Holy Five
Companions. They were seen alive in that church, and St. Orestes appeared
to St. Dimitri of Rostov (October 28). A beautiful prayer by St.
Eustratius is extant, which is read at the Midnight Service on Saturday: "Most
highly do I magnify Thee, O Lord."
Holy Martyr
Lucy the Virgin
With her mother, Lucy
visited the grave of St. Agatha in Catania, where St. Agatha appeared to
her. Her mother, who had dropsy, was then miraculously healed in the
church. Lucy distributed all her goods to the poor, and this embittered
her betrothed, who accused her of being a Christian before Paschasius the
judge. The wicked judge ordered that she be taken to a brothel in order to
defile her. However, by the power of God she remained immovable, as if
rooted to the earth, and not even a multitude of people was able to move
her from that spot. Then an enraged pagan pierced her throat with a sword
and she gave up her soul to God and took up her habitation in the Kingdom
of Eternity. Lucy suffered in the year 304.
Hieromartyr
Gavril, Patriarch of Serbia
During the terrible period
of Turkish rule over Serbia, this great hierarch traveled to Russia, where
he participated in the Moscow Synod of 1655. Upon returning, he was
accused of high treason. Certain evil Jews also accused him of having
converted several Jews to the Christian Faith. In their accusation, the
Jews cited that he was attempting to convert the Turks. The Jews did this
to enrage the Turkish authorities even more. Brought before the tribunal,
he was condemned and sentenced to embrace Islam. Since Gavril would not
even hear of this, he was, after a period of imprisonment, sentenced to
death and hanged in Brusa in the year 1659. Thus, he departed for his
beloved Christ to receive from Him a double crown, that of a hierarch and
that of a martyr.
Reflection
To give alms out of that
which one needs: this is true almsgiving. Not to sin when one is most
exposed to sinning: this has value before God. When St. Lucy saw her sick
mother miraculously healed, she suggested to her that she use her
possessions as alms for the needy. To this her mother replied that she did
not want to part from her possessions until her death, but she agreed that
after her death her possessions could be used for the good that Lucy
wished. "First, cover my eyes with earth," her mother said, "and then do
what you wish with my possessions." Lucy said: "It is not very pleasing to
God for a person to give to Him that which he cannot take with him to the
grave or which he himself does not need. But if you want to do a
God-pleasing deed, give to Him that which you yourself need. Otherwise,
after death, when you need nothing, you will be offering Him that which
you could not take with you. But while you are still alive and healthy,
give to Christ what you possess, and all of that which you intended for me
begin even now to give to Him." The good mother of the wise daughter
agreed to this. When the torturer Paschasius was attempting to force this
holy virgin to carnal sin, Lucy did not, even in thought, assent to this.
And when the torturer threatened that his men would defile her by force,
saying with a smirk, "When you become defiled, the Holy Spirit will flee
from you," Lucy, full of grace, replied: "The body cannot be defiled
without the consent of the mind." Thus St. Lucy went to her death, having
distributed all her goods beforehand and guarded her young and pure body
from defilement.
Contemplation
Contemplate the fulfillment
of Noah's words upon his descendants (Genesis 9):
1. How the sons of Japheth spread throughout the whole world;
2. How they settled in the tents of Shem, that is, in the Church, in the
spiritual tent of Christ, which began with the Semites, the Jews.
Homily
On Isaac
And the Lord appeared
unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father:
fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee (Genesis 26:24).
Brethren, from time
immemorial, the path upon which the righteous walk has always been
difficult. From time immemorial, they have been hard pressed either by
those who do not believe in God or by those who maintain an incorrect
belief. Abel was hard pressed by his brother Cain; Noah and Lot, by a
completely corrupt generation; and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by the
pagans. However, God does not forsake the righteous to walk the difficult
path alone. This we also see with Isaac: I am the God of Abraham thy
father; fear not. Isaac understood these very meaningful words. By
these words, God encouraged and reminded him. He was saying: "Because of
Abraham, I will bless thee also; and, as I protected Abraham among the
pagans, so in a like manner will I protect thee." And further: "Be
faithful to Me as was Abraham thy father." Isaac followed the example of
his father and did not turn away from God at any time in his life. Isaac
was a farmer and a cattle-breeder as was his father; he was righteous and
meek, avoiding strife with men and doing good for people. We saw
certainly that the Lord was with thee (Genesis 26:28), as his haters
and persecutors finally had to admit. And Isaac was made worthy that God
be called His God: just as God was called the God of Abraham, so later He
was called the God of Isaac.
O Lord, wondrous in Thy
saints, remember our names also along with the names of Thy righteous ones
and saints in Thy Kingdom.
December
27th (New Style) • December 14th (Old Style)
Holy Martyrs
Thyrsus, Leucius and Callinicus
Saints Thyrsus and Leucius
were honorable citizens of Caesarea of Bithynia, the former being baptized
and the latter being a Christian catechumen. Callinicus, however, was a
pagan priest. When Emperor Decius's heir, Cumbricius, began to mercilessly
torture and murder Christians, the fearless Leucius appeared before him
and, reproaching him, said: "Why have you waged war against your own soul,
O Cumbricius?" The enraged judge ordered that he be flogged, tortured and
finally beheaded. The tortured Leucius went to his beheading as joyfully
as if he were going to a wedding. Witnessing the death of the courageous
Leucius, blessed Thyrsus, inflamed with divine zeal like that of Leucius,
also appeared before the judge and reproached him for his evil crimes and
for his unbelief in the One True God. He also was flogged and cast into
prison. The invisible hand of God healed him of his wounds, opened the
prison door and led him out. Thyrsus immediately went to Phileas, the
Bishop of Caesarea, to be baptized by him. After his baptism, he was again
seized and tortured, but he endured the tortures, bearing them as though
in a dream and not in reality. By the power of his prayer, many idols fell
down. The pagan priest Callinicus, upon seeing this, converted to the
Christian Faith, and both he and Thyrsus were condemned to death.
Callinicus was beheaded, and they placed Thyrsus in a wooden coffin to be
sawn in half. However, the power of God would not permit this, and the saw
was unable to cut into the wood. Then St. Thyrsus arose from the coffin
and prayed to God, rendering Him thanks for the tortures, and he
peacefully gave up his soul to his Lord. At the end of the fourth century,
the Emperor Flavian built a church to St. Thyrsus near Constantinople and
placed his holy relics in it. The saint appeared in a vision to Empress
Pulcheria and counseled her to bury the relics of the Forty Martyrs
alongside his.
Holy Martyrs
Philemon, Apollonius, Arianus and others
During the reign of
Diocletian, a certain judge Arianus cruelly persecuted the Christians of
Egypt. He seized Apollonius and threatened him with tortures. Apollonius,
afraid of the tortures, bribed a certain well-known pagan musician,
Philemon, to offer sacrifices to the idols in his place, disguised in his
clothes. When Philemon appeared before the idols, the light of the
Christian Faith suddenly shone in his heart, and he made the sign of the
Cross. After he came out of the temple, he began to shout: "I am a
Christian! A servant of Christ the Living God!" Hearing this, the judge
laughed, thinking that Philemon was mocking the Christians. Later,
Philemon endured horrible tortures. Rain fell from heaven and baptized
him. Finally, Philemon and Apollonius were beheaded by Arianus the judge.
Then, because his blind eye was healed in a miraculous manner at
Philemon's grave, Arianus himself became a Christian. Arianus was
condemned to death by Emperor Diocletian and was slain with four soldiers
who likewise declared themselves Christians.
Reflection
There are three types of
praiseworthy zeal: zeal in cleansing oneself of sinful desires and
thoughts, zeal for the truth of the Faith, and zeal for God's justice
among men. All three of these filled the soul of St. Nicholas the
Wonderworker to perfection. He showed zeal in purifying himself throughout
his life, vigilantly guarding over his heart. He especially showed zeal
for the truth of the Faith at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325)
when he entered into a fearful confrontation with Arius. His zeal for
God's justice among men was seen particularly in two notable events, when
on each occasion he saved three innocent men from the punishment of death.
Once, in his absence from the city of Myra, the avaricious commander
Eustathius condemned three men to be beheaded, receiving a bribe for this
from some of their enemies. Informed of this, St. Nicholas returned to
Myra with the greatest haste. The condemned men had already been brought
to the place of execution, and the executioner had already raised the
sword over the innocent men. At that moment, Nicholas grabbed the sword,
pulled it out of the executioner's hand, and freed the condemned men.
Afterward, he rebuked the commander Eustathius and brought him to shame
and repentance. In a similar way, three imperial commanders-Nepotian,
Ursus and Herpylion-were slandered before Eulavius the Eparch of
Constantinople and before the emperor himself. The emperor signed their
death sentence. On the eve of their execution, the three commanders prayed
to God, saying: "O God of Nicholas, deliver us innocent ones from death!"
That night, St. Nicholas appeared to both the emperor and the eparch in a
dream, rebuked them for this injustice, and ordered them to free the three
commanders from prison immediately. The next day, the emperor and eparch
each related to the other the same dream and they immediately freed the
commanders, both from the death sentence and from prison.
Contemplation
Contemplate Abraham's
obedience:
1. How Abraham obeyed God when He ordered him to go out from his country,
his kindred and his father's house (Genesis 12);
2. How He obeyed God when He commanded him to offer his only son as a
sacrifice (Genesis 22).
Homily
On Jacob
For I have seen God face
to face and my life is preserved (Genesis 32:30).
The God of Abraham and Isaac
is also the God of Jacob the faithful, the obedient, the merciful and the
meek. The meek beholder of God, Jacob, can be called the "one who saw God."
For in truth he was meek, and he saw God and spoke with God, and he saw
the angels of God and the ladder from earth to heaven. By his meekness he
defeated Laban his father-in-law, and Esau his brother; by his meekness he
made peace between his wives, Leah and Rachel; for his meekness he was
even dear to pharaoh. Jacob's meekness is a prefiguration of the meekness
of Christ. Blessed are the meek, said the Lord, for they shall
inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). These words were also realized in
Jacob. He inherited the land of his fathers; his descendants were
delivered from Egypt and inherited the Promised Land; through Christ the
Lord, his descendant according to the flesh, he inherited the whole earth,
that is, the Church of God which spread over the entire world. I have
seen God face to face. Jacob saw God in the form of man but not as
true man. And even this vision was only a prefiguring of the true
Incarnation of God as man. And my life is preserved. His soul was
preserved from fear and from every unrighteousness. If Jacob was preserved
by only seeing a vision of God, how much easier is it for us to be
preserved who know God as true man and as the God-man.
O meek Lord, the strength
and glory of the meek, as Thou didst preserve Jacob by Thy vision,
preserve us also by Thy true Body and Blood.
December
28th (New Style) • December 15th (Old Style)
Holy
Hieromartyr Eleutherius
From a good tree comes good
fruit. This wonderful saint had noble and greatly eminent parents.
Eleutherius was born in Rome, where his father was an imperial proconsul.
His mother Anthia heard the Gospel from the great Apostle Paul and was
baptized by him. Having been left a widow early, she entrusted her only
son for study and service to Anicetus the Bishop of Rome. Seeing how
Eleutherius was gifted by God and illumined by the grace of God, the
bishop ordained him a deacon at the age of fifteen, a priest at the age of
eighteen, and a bishop at the age of twenty. Eleutherius's God-given
wisdom made up for what he lacked in years, and this chosen one of God was
appointed Bishop of Illyria with his seat in Valona (Avlona), Albania. The
good shepherd guarded his flock well and increased their number day by
day. Emperor Hadrian, a persecutor of Christians, sent the commander Felix
with soldiers to seize Eleutherius and bring him to Rome. When the raging
Felix arrived in Valona and entered the church, he saw and heard the holy
hierarch of God; suddenly his heart changed, and he became a Christian.
Eleutherius baptized Felix and departed for Rome with him, returning
joyfully as if he were going to a feast and not to trial and torture. The
emperor subjected the noble Eleutherius to harsh torture: flogging,
roasting on an iron bed, boiling in pitch, and burning in a fiery furnace.
But Eleutherius was delivered from all these deadly tortures by God's
power. Seeing all this, Caribus the Roman eparch declared that he also was
a Christian. Caribus was tortured and then beheaded, and so was Blessed
Felix. Finally, the imperial executioners cut off the honorable head of
St. Eleutherius. When his mother, the holy Anthia, came and stood over the
dead body of her son, she also was beheaded. Their bodies were translated
to Valona, where even today St. Eleutherius glorifies the name of Christ
by his many miracles. He suffered during the reign of Hadrian in the year
120.
Saint
Stephen the Confessor of Sourozh
Stephen was born in
Cappadocia and educated in Constantinople under the Patriarch, St.
Germanus. He withdrew into solitude and lived hidden from the world. An
angel appeared to St. Germanus and ordered him to appoint Stephen bishop
of the town of Sourozh (now Sudak in the Crimea), and the patriarch did
so. The zealous Stephen converted many to Christianity. He suffered
bitterly under Emperor Leo the Isaurian for the sake of icons. He
prophesied to the emperor his impending death. Following this wicked
emperor's evil death, Stephen was returned to his diocese, where he fed
his God-pleasing flock and died peacefully at the end of the eighth
century.
Venerable
Paul of Latros
Paul was born in Pergamum.
He lived a life of asceticism on a mountain called Latros in Asia Minor.
Glorified because of his asceticism and many miracles, he entered
peacefully into rest in old age and took up his habitation with the Lord
in the year 950.
Venerable
Pardus the Hermit
In his youth Pardus was a
cart-driver, but because of an unintentional sin, he left the world and
withdrew to the desert to live in asceticism. He lived in Palestine in the
sixth century.
Reflection
For unintentional murder,
the earthly court frees the murderer. The Church, however, imposes a
penance on someone who commits murder unintentionally: a penance much
lighter than that for a voluntary murder, but does not leave him without a
penance. If a priest kills unintentionally, the Church places him under a
lifelong suspension of priestly functions. Christians with sensitive souls
and keen consciences impose upon themselves a more difficult penance than
the Church would impose. St. Pardus once came to Jericho as a cart-driver.
Leaving his mules in front of an inn, he entered it. At that moment, a
child fell under the mule, and the mule trampled the child with its hooves
and killed it. When Pardus saw the bloody and dead child killed by his
mule, he was so crushed in heart that he felt himself intentionally
responsible for the child's death. And this man of conscience imposed the
harshest penance upon himself. He abandoned his trade, left the world and,
even though he was relatively young, withdrew to the harsh wilderness,
where he undertook a life of difficult asceticism consisting of physical
and spiritual labor and repentance. With many tears, he offered repentance
to God for the murder of the child. He desired to pay for the life of the
child with his own life, and he prayed to God that He would somehow make
this possible. He teased a lion so that the lion would tear him apart, but
the lion fled from him. He lay on the narrow path on which the lion walked
so that he would be killed by the beast, but the lion leapt over him and
would not touch him. Seeing, therefore, that it was God's will for him to
live and not perish, he was at peace with himself but remained a contrite
penitent until his death. Is not this a sensitive, man-loving and
God-fearing soul? Is not this the refined and sharpened conscience of a
true Christian?
Contemplation
Contemplate the powerful
faith of Abraham (Genesis 15):
1. How God promised the childless and aged Abraham many descendants;
2. How God promised him as many descendants as the stars in the heavens;
3. How Abraham believed God, despite everything, and how God counted this
for righteousness.
Homily
On Joseph
And Joseph left his
garment in her hand, and fled outdoors (Genesis 39:12).
The innocent and chaste
Joseph endured two great and difficult temptations and overcame them: the
temptation of wicked envy on the part of his blood brothers, and the
temptation of adulterous passion from the Egyptian temptress. Jealousy
sold him as a slave, and the passion of adultery drove the innocent one to
prison. In both cases he returned good for evil: he gave food to his
hungry brothers and preserved the life, throne and people of frightened
Pharaoh. His brothers thought to slay him, but God saved him; the
adulterous woman thought to destroy him, but God saved him. Out of slavery
and imprisonment, God crowned him with glory and unlimited authority. And
him whom his evil brothers could have killed with one stroke and whom
Potiphar's powerful wife could have crushed in an instant, God made the
unlimited master over the lives of millions of people and the only
nourisher of his starving brothers. Such is the wondrous mercy of God
toward the righteous. Thus does the Lord know how to save and glorify the
innocent and the chaste. In the greatness of the destiny of Joseph, we see
the greatness of God's mercy. There is one eye that never sleeps, my
brethren. Let us cling to God and not fear anyone. Let us be innocent and
chaste and not fear evil, or slander, or prison, or ridicule, or
misfortune. On the contrary, let us rejoice when all of this befalls us
because of our innocence and chastity; let us rejoice and await with faith
the revelation of God's wonders toward us. Let us, in every storm, await
the thunder of God's justice-and afterward the calm.
O mysterious Lord, Who
secretly but vigilantly accompanies the righteous in slavery and in
prison, and manifests Thy mercy in Thine own time, help us to be innocent
and chaste.
