ON THIS DATE: From the Prologue to Ohrid/Ochrid

[Justin Kissel]

1. THE VENERABLE THEODORE TRIHINOS

Theodore was a citizen of Constantinople and the son of wealthy parents. As a young man he left his parent's home and riches and entered a hermetical monastery in Thrace. Here, he imposed upon himself a most rigorous life of mortification. He slept on stones in order to sleep less. He traveled everywhere bareheaded and clothed himself in one garment made of "goat's hair," for which he was called Trihinos [Greek] Kostret [Serbian] for goat's hair. Because of his great self-mortification for the sake of the salvation of his soul, God bestowed upon him the great gift of miracle-working both during his lifetime and after death. He died peacefully about the year 400 A.D. His body was shown to be flowing with oil [Chrism].

1. THE VENERABLE ANASTASIUS OF MOUNT SINAI

Anastasius was the abbot of Mt. Sinai. In the beginning he was a monk for an extended period of time under the glorious Abbot John of the Ladder. After John's death, he then became abbot. Besides being a great ascetic, Anastasius was an eloquent author of the lives of the saints as well as instructional writings. He led a bitter struggle against the heretics, the so called Acephalites [Akefalita - Headless Ones], who denied the decisions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon, 451 A.D.]. He died in an old age in the year 685 A.D. and took up habitation with the Lord Whom he faithfully served.

1. BLESSED ANASTASIUS SINAITES, PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH

While a monk on Mt. Sinai, Anastasius was elected patriarch of Antioch during the reign of Emperor Justinian. He was elevated to this rank by virtue of his charity, chaste life, great spiritual learning and a staunch faith. The Emperor Justinian fell into the heresy of Docetism [this heresy taught that Christ's sufferings were apparent and not real], which Eutychius the Patriarch of Constantinople and this Blessed Anastasius sharply rebelled against. The emperor banished Eutychius and also wanted to banish Anastasius but he was unable to find any reproach in his life. However, when Justinian died, repenting beforehand and re-instating Eutychius to the throne, then his successor Justin succeeded in banishing Anastasius on the basis of some spurious calumnies. Anastasius remained in exile for twenty-three years and was re-instated to the throne of Antioch during the reign of Maurice. He governed the Church of God for six years and ended his earthly sojourn in the year 599 A.D.

1. BLESSED GREGORY, PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH

Gregory was an Armenian by birth. He was abbot of the Pharanite Monastery below Mt. Sinai. When Blessed Anastasius was banished from his throne Gregory, against his will, was installed as patriarch of Antioch. Blessed Patriarch Sophronius also writes very favorably about him in his "Spiritual Meadow." Gregory was especially distinguished by his very great compassion, especially toward sinners. He died in the Lord in the year 593 A.D.

1. THE HOLY APOSTLE ZACCHAEUS

At first, Zacchaeus was a tax collector and a sinner. When our Lord saw him in Jericho in a tree and entered his home, Zacchaeus was brought to repentance. "He (Jesus) came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed the sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, Who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him: Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.' And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.' But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." And Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house because this man is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost" (St. Luke 19: 1-10). Later on, Zacchaeus followed the Apostle Peter who appointed him bishop of Caesarea in Palestine where he faithfully served the Gospel and died peacefully.(*)

1. THE VENERABLE ATHANASIUS OF METEORA

Athanasius was born in 1310 A.D. He lived the ascetical life on Athos, the Holy Mountain. He founded the famous Meteora Monastery in Thessaly. He possessed the great "gift of discernment" and miracle-working.

(*) Philaret mentions Gabriel the Child in his Lives of the Saints, which a certain Jew, Schutko, lured to an isolated place and there crucified him. Gabriel was born in the village Zvjerka near the town of Zabludov. He was only six years old. His parents, Peter and Anastasia Gavdjev, were absent from home that day. After thirty years, Gabriel's body was discovered incorrupt. He suffered in the year 1684 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT ANASTASIUS

Anastasius, the God-bearing father,

Upon himself assumed prayerful labor and fasting,

Mortification he maintained, long and persistent,

Until, with the spirit, he learned the mysteries.

Then, his honey-mouth he opened:

Christ is, says he, the rock of salvation.

Do not insanely say: He was a long time ago,

Where is He now in order to speak to me?

The Good News, his Covenant Holy,

Who is able to resist it?

It speaks to you in place of Christ Himself,

That is His All-Pure Mouth!

Again, you speak: I desire to see Him!

Look with your whole mind and heart

At Holy Communion, from wine and bread,

There, in the flesh is He; what else do you need?

Repent, O brother, repent of your sins,

A thousand deaths around you stand!

To your spiritual father, your sins confess,

After that, drink His Blood and eat His Body.

Only repent. If you begin with repentance

You will live with justice and shining hope.

Repent, O brother, repent of your sins,

A thousand deaths, around you stand!

REFLECTION

St. Anastasius of Sinai teaches: "To every Christian is given an angel [Guardian Angel] from God to guard him all his life unless someone through evil deeds drives him away. But as the snake drives away bees and evil smell drives away pigeons, thus our sins drive away the guardian angel of our life: drunkenness, adultery, anger and so forth. The angel of every faithful man leads him to every good deed, while the demons exert to scandalize the faithful ones and to deprive them of the Kingdom of Heaven." The angels are close to men and that they take care of men, the whole of Holy Scripture attests to this, but especially the New Testament. Besides this, there exists in the Orthodox Church numerous traditions of saintly men and women, who witness to that which St. Athanasius confirms, i.e. that is that each one of us in this world is accompanied by a gentle and mighty [herald] messenger of God, a soldier of the King of Heaven, the angel of light. Who, except an insane person drives a good friend away from himself? In truth, only the insane and the extremely ignorant, drive away their best friend, their guardian angel by their sins.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How He, as the Almighty Victor over death, does not seek revenge on His enemies who tortured and crucified Him, but leaving them to themselves, He sustains His frightened friends;

2. How He even today as in all times, innocent and meek, does not hurry to seek revenge on the unfaithful but hurries to the aid of the faithful.

HOMILY

About the one and only foundation of salvation

"For no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11).

The Jews say, " the foundation is Moses." The Muslims say, " the foundation is Mohammed." The short-sighted naturalists say, " the foundation is nature." We ask: Did Moses resurrect from the dead? Did Mohammed ascend into heaven? Does nature bestow the Holy Spirit the Comforter? Moses did not resurrect. Mohammed did not ascend into heaven. Nature, not only does not bestow the Holy Spirit the Comforter to men, but breathes hatred against man and growls at him and bares its talons.

One cannot be the foundation of the world who is conceived in sin; who himself sinned; who wandered and sought counsel in women; who, by someone else's power, performed certain works; who crumbled in the grave and whose name leads to confusion in regard to the way, the truth and the life. Mohammed and Moses were conceived in sin and they committed sins; they sought counsel from women; with the power of others they performed deeds; in the grave they lay decomposed; their names lead men to confusion about the way, the truth and the life.

That is why, brethren, we have no where to turn in history and to seek another such foundation except the Lord Jesus Christ Who was conceived without sin; Who did not commit any sin; Who did not wander and Who did not seek counsel from anyone; Who by His own power performed mighty deeds; Who did not decay in the grave; and Whose Name does not lead men into confusion regarding the way, the truth and the life.

The apostle does not say that Christ laid down some foundation but that He Himself is that established foundation. He is All-justice, that is why He is the foundation of every justice. He is All-truth, that is why He is the foundation of every truth. He is All-wisdom, that is why He is the foundation of every wisdom. He is All-power, that is why He is the foundation of every power. He is All-good, that is why He is the foundation of every good. He is All-life, that is why He is the foundation of life in both worlds, in this and in the next. O resurrected Lord, You are the foundation of our salvation and eternal life.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[Justin Kissel]

1. SAINT CONSTANTINE AND EMPRESS HELENA

Constantine's parents were Emperor Constantius Chlorus and the Empress Helena. Chlorus had other children by another wife, but from Helena he had only Constantine. After his coronation Constantine fought three great battles: one, against Maxentius, a Roman tyrant; the second, against the Scythians on the Danube and the third, against the Byzantines. Before the battle with Maxentius, while Constantine was greatly concerned and in doubt about his success, a brilliant Cross appeared to him in the sky during the day, completely adorned with stars and written on the Cross were these words: "By this Sign Conquer." Astonished, the emperor ordered a large cross to be forged similar to the one that appeared to him and that it be carried before the army. By the power of the Cross he achieved a glorious victory over the enemy who was superior in members. Maxentius was drowned in the Tiber river. Immediately after that, Constantine issued the famous Edict of Milan in the year 313 A.D. to halt the persecution of Christians. Defeating the Byzantines, Constantine built a beautiful capital on the Bosphorus which from that time on was called Constantinople. Before that, however, Constantine succumbed to the dreaded disease of leprosy. As a cure, the pagan priests and physicians counseled him to bathe in the blood of slaughtered children. However, he rejected that. Then the Apostles Peter and Paul appeared to him and told him to seek out Bishop Sylvester who will cure him of this dreaded disease. The bishop instructed him in the Christian Faith, baptized him and the disease of leprosy vanished from the emperor's body. When a discord began in the Church because of the mutinous heretic Arius, the emperor convened the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, 325. A.D., where the heresy was condemned and Orthodoxy confirmed. St. Helena, the pious mother of the emperor, was very zealous for the Faith of Christ. She visited Jerusalem, discovered the Honorable Cross of the Lord, built the Church of the Resurrection on Golgotha and many other churches throughout the Holy Land. This holy woman presented herself to the Lord in her eightieth year in 327 A.D. Emperor Constantine outlived his mother by ten years. He died in Nicomedia in his sixty-fifth year in 337 A.D. His body was interred in the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Constantinople.

1. THE VENERABLE MARTYR PACHOMIUS

Pachomius was born in Little Russia. The Tartars captured him in his youth and sold him to a Turkish furrier as a slave. He spent twenty-seven years in slavery in the town of Usaki in Asia Minor. He was forced to become a Muslim. He went to Mt. Athos, was tonsured a monk and spent twelve years in the monastery of St. Paul. He decided to suffer for Christ. His spiritual father, the Elder Joseph, accompanied him to Usaki where Pachomius presented himself to his former master as a Christian in the monastic habit. The Turks subjected him to tortures, threw him into prison and beheaded him on the Feast Day of the Ascension, May 8, 1730 A.D. Many miracles occurred from his blood and relics. Pachomius was buried on the island of Patmos in the Church of St. John the Theologian. Thus this Little Russian peasant became a martyr and wreath-bearer in the kingdom of Christ.

HYMN OF PRAISE
SAINT CONSTANTINE

To Constantine, the shining Cross appeared,

Constantine saw it and glorified God.

From the Son of God, that sign was,

There is none more beautiful, than this sign.

The sign of suffering, and temporary misery

But also, the sign of final victory.

With this sign, the doer of miracles,

Constantine started out and everywhere conquered.

In the midst of pagan Rome, the Cross-persecuter,

The Cross on high he raised, the glory of the Savior.

Which for three centuries was fractured and cursed,

That, now for Rome, became great and holy!

For three centuries, the Cross was spat upon,

In the blood of the saints, the earth was bathed.

Empires and emperors, arrogant and odious,

Similar to a weak reed, were destroyed one by one,

And the sign of the Cross, upright remained

Miraculously and gloriously shone to the world.

Constantine recognized it and raised it even higher,

That is why, in the calendar, his name is written in red.

REFLECTION

We see that vice is something shameful and sinful in that it always hides and always takes upon itself the appearance of good works. St. John Chrysostom beautifully says: "Vice does not have its own particular face, but borrows the face of good works." This is why the Savior said: "they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (St. Matthew 7:15). Call a liar, a liar; a thief, a thief; a murderer, a murderer; an adulterer, an adulterer; a slanderer, a slanderer and you will infuriate them. However, call a man whatever you want: honest, honorable, unselfish, truthful, just, conscientious and you will make him light up with joy and please him. Again, according to Chrysostom, I quote: "good works are something natural in man while vice is something unnatural and false." If a man is even caught in a vice, he quickly justifies his vice by some good works; he clothes it in the garments of good works. Indeed, vice does not posses its own particular face. The same is true of the devil, the father of vices!

CONTEMPLATION
To contemplate God the Holy Spirit as the Inspirer of justice, peace and joy:

1. How He inspired with justice, peace and joy all the lovers of Christ's justice;

2. How He inspired and, even today inspires, with justice, peace and joy all the sufferers for Christ's justice.

HOMILY
About the children of God

"The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16).

He who has the Spirit of God in himself - only he has the witness that he is the child of God. Without the Spirit of God there is no such witness. Not even the entire universe can give this witness. The universe, alone, without the Spirit of God - what else does it witness to us other than that we are its slaves, its victims, which it unmercifully swallows? In essence, the pagans thought that also. The opponents of God today, do they not think likewise? They do think so. For indeed, it is difficult to take that thought away from man who did not recognize the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Witness of Heaven. The same apostle says: "For you have not received the spirit of bondage" (Romans 8:15). What is this spirit of bondage? It is every other spirit except the Spirit of God, Who Christ the Lord sends to those who love Him. The spirit of bondage is the spirit of materialism, the spirit of fortune-telling, the spirit of naturalism, the spirit of pessimism, the spirit of despair, the spirit of vice. Only the Spirit of God is the All Holy Spirit of adoption and freedom.

O what happiness, O what peace, O what joy when the Spirit of God cuddles in the cleansed heart of man as a sparrow does in its nest! Then our hope opens hundreds of doors in the prison of the universe and our embrace, wider than the universe, stretches out to the One Who is greater and more merciful than the universe. To Whom? To the Father! And then we cry out: "Abba, Father!" (Romans 8:15).

The witness of God, which comes through the eyes, can even lead us to doubt that we are the children of God. But, the witness which comes to us from the heart, from the Spirit of God, does not leave even the slightest doubt. God witnesses about God. What kind of doubt can there be? God the Holy Spirit caresses us in the heart of our very being. Can there be any kind of doubt there? No; for then we know and feel completely confident that God is the Father and we, the children of God. No one's servants, no one's slaves, rather the children of God.

O Lord God, Holy Spirit come abide in us and remain with us as a Witness of the Trinity and the Kingdom, as a Witness of the immortal Paradise.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE VENERABLE THEODORE OF SYKEON

Theodore was born in the village of Sykeon in Galatia for which he was surnamed, the Sykeote. As a child of ten years, he surrendered himself to strict fasting and in all-night vigils after the model of Stephen, an elder who lived in his house. His mother Maria was a wealthy widow and intended to dedicate her son to the military profession. St. George appeared to her in a dream and informed her that Theodore was destined for the service of the King of Heaven and not a king of the earth. St. George appeared to Theodore many times either to instruct him or to save him from certain dangers in which the evil demons placed him. He had several visions of the All-Holy Mother of God. Theodore's life of mortification, by his ascetical severity, surpassed the living ascetics of his time. He mortified his body through hunger, thirst, iron chains and by standing at prayer all night. He did all of this in order to bind his soul with love for God and to make his soul the complete master over his body. In response to Theodore's love, the merciful Lord responded with love. God bestowed upon him great power over evil spirits and over all diseases and afflictions of mankind. He was famous throughout as a wonder-working healer. Because of his purity and devotion, he was consecrated bishop of Anastasiopolis against his will. He remained for eleven years at his episcopal duty and then implored God to free him from this service in order to, again, dedicate himself to his beloved asceticism. After that, he returned to his monastery where, in his old age, he rendered his soul to his Lord, for Whom he willingly suffered much. He died at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Heraclius about the year 613 A.D.

1. THE HOLY MARTYR LEONIDES

Leonides was the father of Origen. He suffered for Christ in Alexandria in the year 202 A.D. He was condemned to death by an edict of the emperor but, before that, all of his property was confiscated. Origen wrote to his father in prison: "Father, do not concern yourself over us and do not avoid martyrdom because of us," i.e., because of his children.

1. THE VENERABLE MONK VITALIS

During the time of the Alexandrian Patriarch John the Merciful, a young monk appeared who, as soon as he arrived, complied a list of all the prostitutes in Alexandria. The mortification (asceticism) of this young monk was exceptional and unique. During the day he would offer himself for hire to do the most difficult jobs and at night, he would enter the houses of ill repute, gave the earned amount of money to some prostitute and close himself in the room with her the entire night. As soon as they were locked up, Vitalis would beg the woman to lie down and sleep and he would spend the entire night in a corner of the room in prayer to God for that sinner. Thus, he would save the woman from sinning at least one night. The second night, he would go to a second, the third night to a third and so on until he had visited them all, and then, he again returned to the one with whom he started. By his counseling, many of the sinners abandoned their sullied trade. Some of them married, others entered convents and still others turned to a respectable work and income. Vitalis forbid all of these women to reveal the reason why he was visiting them. Because of this, Vitalis became a scandal for all of Alexandria. The men began to scold him, spit upon him and to openly beat him on the streets. He bore all patiently, making known his good works to God and concealing them from men. When he died, everything about him became known. Many miracles of healing occurred over his grave. People from different places began to bring their sick to his grave. Spat upon by men, he was and remained glorified by the Omniscient God.

HYMN OF PRAISE
SAINT VITALIS

Vitalis, a monk, in a city large
With prayer in his heart, hurries to his labor,
And the sinful populace pretends to be just,
And scorn the monk and upon his head spat.
The monk wipes his face, endures and remains silent,
Does not respond, neither at anyone, become angry
Then, a certain young man and an aged pervert
Approached Vitalis and struck him.
And the young man, to him, said: shameless monk
How long will you torment our patience?
"Why did you strike me?," Vitalis said,
You will be struck - so that the entire city will assemble
And much time did not pass and the young man went insane
That, he judged the man of God without God.
And the youth howled; the entire city became frightened,
Vitalis, peacefully presented himself to God
Then, to the grave of the saint, the insane one came
And at the grave, for himself, found healing.

And the young man related the most recent tale
And to glorious Vitalis, he gave thanks.

REFLECTION

At the time of the First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 325 A.D.], the quarreling clerics wrote accusations one against the other and presented them to the emperor. Emperor Constantine received all of these accusations and not opening them, burned them over a flaming candle. To the amazement of those around him, the emperor said: "If I would see with my own eyes a bishop, a priest or a monk in a sinful act, I would cover him with my cloak, so that no one would ever see his sin." Thus, this great Christian emperor embarrassed the scandalmongers and sealed their mouths. Our Faith prohibits us to be spies of the sins of others and stresses that we be merciless judges of our own sins. The sick person in the hospital is concerned with his own particular malady so that he has neither the will nor the time to question others who are ill or to mock their illness. Are we not all in this world as patients in a hospital? Does not our own common sense underline that we look at our own illness and not at another's illness? Let no one think that they will be cured of their illness in the other world. This world is merely a hospital and a place for healing and, in that world, there is no hospital; there is only a mansion or only a prison.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How by His resurrection, He justified the faith and hope of mankind in immortality;

2. How by His resurrection, He destroyed the fear of death in the faithful.

HOMILY
About the power of God in the weakness of men

"For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

There are no contradictions in Holy Scripture and even in these words there are no contradictions even though they sound like it. The physical is governed by sound and the spiritual by thought. For physical man, there are contradictions everywhere for he is afraid of obstacles and flees from a shadow if this shadow seems to be an obstacle for him. The spiritual man is like a knight who likes to overcome obstacles. For the spiritual man, hidden in these words of Scripture, is the entire teaching about salvation.

"For when I am weak, then I am strong." That is, when I am cognizant of my nothingness and the omnipotence of God, then I am strong. When I know that I, of myself alone, cannot do any good neither for myself nor for others and when I totally entrust myself in the power and mercy of God, then I am strong. When I sense that I am as a drowning person in this world and that I am not in the position to grab on to the extended hand of God, to hold on to it by my own strength, rather cry out to God that He with His hand grab hold of my hand and pull me out of the depths of sinful abyss, then I am strong. When I see that I am weak and that I am a hollow reed amidst the tempest of winds and floods; a reed which God is able to fill with His Almighty Grace and when I pray with faith for God's Grace, then I am strong.

O, my weak brethren, let us entrust ourselves to the power of God that we, in our nothingness, may be strong. Relying on man you are weak but relying on God you are strong. Adhere to God and all the power of God will be with you. Confess your weaknesses before God and God will send you His All-powerful Grace. This is confirmed for you by the apostle through his example and through his experience: "For when I am weak, then I am strong." In truth there is no contradiction in the Holy Scripture. Physical man speaks about contradiction in terms of the sound of the word, but spiritual man enters into the meaning and shatters the illusion of contradiction through experience.

O resurrected Lord, have mercy on our weakness and fill us with Your Omnipotent Grace.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. SAINT GEORGE, THE HOLY AND GREAT MARTYR

This glorious and victorious saint was born in Cappadocia the son of wealthy and virtuous parents. His father suffered for Christ and his mother then moved to Palestine. When George grew up, he entered the military, where in his twentieth year, attained the rank of a Tribune and as such was in the service of the Emperor Diocletian. When Diocletian began the terrible persecution against Christians, George came before him and courageously confessed that he is a Christian. The emperor had him thrown into prison and ordered that his feet be placed in a stockade of wooden hobbles and that a heavy stone be placed on his chest. After that, the emperor commanded that George be tied to a wheel under which was a board with large nails and he was to be rotated until his entire body became as one bloody wound. After that, they buried him in a pit with only his head showing above the ground and there they left him for three days and three nights. Then George was given a deadly poison to drink by some magician. But, through all of these sufferings, George continuously prayed to God and God healed him instantly and saved him from death to the great astonishment of the people. When he resurrected a dead man through his prayer, many then accepted the Faith of Christ. Among these also was Alexandra, the wife of the Emperor Athanasius, the chief pagan priest and the farmers: Glycerius, Valerius, Donatus and Therinus. Finally the emperor ordered George and his wife Alexandra beheaded. Blessed Alexandra died on the scaffold before being beheaded. St. George was beheaded in the year 303 A.D. The miracles which have occurred over the grave of St. George are without number. Numerous are his appearances, either in dreams or openly, to those who have invoked him and implored his help from that time until today. Enflamed with love for Christ the Lord, it was not difficult for this saintly George to leave all for the sake of this love: rank, wealth, imperial honor, his friends and the entire world. For this love, the Lord rewarded him with the wealth of unfading glory in heaven and on earth and eternal life in His kingdom. In addition, the Lord bestowed upon him the power and authority to assist all those in miseries and difficulties who honor him and call upon his name.

1. THE HOLY NEO-MARTYR LAZARUS

This neo-martyr Lazarus was a Bulgarian by birth from Gabrovo. As a young man he left the place of his birth and went to Anatolia. Lazarus tended sheep in the village of Soma. As a Christian, Lazarus provoked the wrath of the Turks against himself and was cast into prison by a certain Aga. After prolonged tortures from inhuman tormentors, which Lazarus heroically endured out of love for Christ, this young martyr was killed on April 23, 1802, in his twenty-eighth year. The Lord received him into His eternal courts and glorified him in heaven and on earth. Countless miracles have occurred over the relics of St. Lazarus.

HYMN OF PRAISE
SAINT GEORGE THE GREAT MARTYR

Saint George on a tall horse
Saved the maiden from the dragon,
On his lance, the sign of the Cross,
Holy weapon, invincible,
With that weapon, the dragon he slayed,
The spared maiden, to the father he returned,
With his goodness, he indebted God Himself
With a wreath of glory, God repaid him.
Saint George with a hero's heart,
All wealth, he distributed to the poor,
Rejected the honor and glory of the world
For the sake of the Name of Christ, the Victor,
Sufferings he embraced; sufferings willingly,
His body crushed for the salvation of the soul,
With his goodness, he indebted God Himself,
With a wreath of glory, God repaid him.
George, the Saint and Victor-bearer
Even now walks with the cross on his lance,
Justice he defends, injustice he punishes,
Whoever invokes him with faith and tears,
Whoever prays to him with a repenting soul,
George, the Saint flies to his aid.
With his goodness, he indebted God Himself,
With a wreath of glory, God repaid him

REFLECTION

During a certain uprising in Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Constantine, some embittered men broke off the nose and ears of the statue of the emperor in the city. Many adulators quickly came to the emperor and with great disgust relayed to the emperor how rebels broke the nose and ears from his statues and they asked the emperor to punish the transgressors with the most severe punishment. The great emperor felt his nose and ears with his hands and said to the flatterers: "I feel that my nose and ears are whole and undamaged!" The flatterers were ashamed and withdrew. With every royal generosity we all need to endure insults from others. Yet, with particular caution listen to accusations against other people, which our flatterers bring to us. We should always confess before God and before ourselves, that we, by our sins, deserved even greater insults than those which are perpetrated against us.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How His resurrection is the beginning of the new and bright day in the history of mankind;

2. How His resurrection is my peace, my strength and the resurrection of my soul while I am still in the body.

HOMILY

About stirring up pure minds

"This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; through them by way of reminder I am trying to stir up your sincere disposition" (2 St. Peter 3:1 ).

Do you see brethren, the goal with which the Apostle Peter writes in his epistle? To stir up in people their pure minds! The apostle considers this as the main thing. And truly, it is the main thing. For if in every man the dormant pure mind would be awakened, there would not be a single human soul left on earth who would not have believed in Christ the Lord; who would not have confessed Him as the crucified and resurrected Savior of the world; and who would not have contritely turned to repentance for sins committed by the inducement of an impure mind.

Nothing distances us more from the Good News [Gospel] than an impure mind. What makes the human mind of man impure? Sin makes the human mind impure as milk when you pour in poison; it all becomes poisonous, so the human mind when impure sin enters into it, it all becomes impure. Every sin is impure; every sin makes the mind of man impure, muddy and poisonous. All knowledge which an impure mind possesses is impure as a muddied and soiled image of an object in a muddied and soiled mirror. " To the pure all things are pure " ( Titus 1:15 ), said Paul, the other chief apostle. While Adam had a pure mind in Paradise, all of his knowledge about the Creator and created things was clear and true. Sin darkened his mind and the minds of his descendants. That paradisaical, pure mind of the sinless man is not dead rather is dormant in men under sin. It is necessary only to awaken it and then it will unerringly lead man back to Christ. That is why the apostle takes the responsibility to awaken in men that original pure, clear, discerning mind given to him by God.

O, my brethren, let us assist the holy apostle in awakening of men; He who was crucified upside down on the cross because of His preaching, let us help him in as much as it concerns us, and to awaken in every one of us, our own pure mind. If every one of us does this, we will see that all of us have one mind. For a pure mind is one while an impure mind is legion!

O resurrected Lord, You awaken in us a pure mind through the prayers of Your Holy Apostle Peter.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

Umm the last few are messed up and somehow the O.C. sate jumped to May, while the new style date was correct, yet the Ohrod info came from the wrong MAY O.C. date. Please excuse our error.

1. THE HOLY MARTYR SABAS THE SOLDIER [STRATELATES]

This glorious Sabas lived in Rome during the reign of Emperor Aurelian and held the rank of commander. By ancestry, he was of a Gothic tribe. He often visited Christians in prison and assisted them from his own estate. Because of his extreme chastity and fasting, God had given him authority over unclean spirits. When Sabas was accused of being a Christian, he courageously stood before the emperor, threw down his military belt and openly confessed Christ the Lord. Sabas was tortured in various ways: flogged, scrapped with irons and burned with candles. He did not succumb to these deadly tortures but appeared alive and healthy. His military companions, seeing that God was obviously helping him, embraced the Faith of Christ. Those seventy in number were immediately beheaded by order of the emperor. Christ the Lord Himself appeared in a great light to St. Sabas in prison and encouraged His martyr. After that, he was condemned to death by drowning. Sabas was thrown into a deep river where he gave up his soul to God in the year 272 A.D. His soul went to the Lord to Whom he remained faithful through many tortures.

1. THE VENERABLE ELIZABETH

In her early years, Elizabeth entered the monastic state in the Monastery of St. Cosmas and St. Damian in Constantinople and took upon herself the heavy burden of self-mortification for the sake of Christ the God and for the sake of her soul. She considered herself a bride of Christ and considered this world as though it did not exist. Out of her great love for God, emanated her great compassion toward people, especially toward the sick and the suffering. With the gift that God had bestowed upon her, she cured various diseases and afflictions of the people. During her nightly prayers, she was seen totally encompassed by a heavenly light. Following her death, her relics possessed the power of healing and a great number of the sick and suffering gathered at her grave throughout the ages. She died peacefully and entered into the eternal joy of her Lord in the year 540 A.D.

1. THE HOLY MARTYRS EUSEBIUS, NEON, LEONTIUS AND LONGINUS

These four were military companions of St. George. Witnessing the courageous endurance and miracles of St. George, these wonderful soldiers became Christians for which they were beheaded.

1. THE HOLY MARTYR PASICRATES AND VALENTINE

When the judge urged Pasicrates and the martyr's brother Papianus, who had fallen away from Christ because of the fear of torture, to offer sacrifice to the idols, Pasicrates placed his hand in the fire and cried out: "The body is mortal and is consumed by fire but the soul is immortal and does not feel the visible sufferings!" However, his mother sustained and encouraged him to endure to the end. He was beheaded with Valentine and both took up habitation in the kingdom of Christ about the year 288 A.D.

1. VENERABLE THOMAS, "FOOL FOR CHRIST"

Whenever he was in the city of Antioch on business for the monastery, Thomas always pretended insanity for the sake of Christ. A certain Anastasius did not want to give him alms that Thomas sought for the monastery but struck him with his fist. Thomas then prophesied: "From now on neither will I receive anything from Anastasius, neither will Anastasius be able to give me anything." After a day, Anastasius died and Thomas, prior to his return to the monastery, also died. Thus the prophecy of this holy man was fulfilled. St. Thomas died in Daphni near Antioch at the time of Patriarch Domnus (546 - 560 A.D.).

1. THE NEO-MARTYRS LUKE AND NICHOLAS

This wonderful young man Luke, a tailor by trade, suffered martyrdom for Christ in 1564 A.D. Nicholas suffered martyrdom in the year 1776 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT THOMAS THE DISCERNER

Saint Thomas pretends to be deranged

For the sake of Christ, his Savior,

And God, he glorifies in his heart,

The only One, the Creator of the world,

God's name is in his heart,

Have mercy upon me O Good God!

By this, he nourishes his soul:

Have mercy upon me O Good God!

Holy Thomas is not concerned

What the world about him will say,

Let the world rant, let it threaten,

The true judgment, God will pronounce.

Whoever pleased the world

Before God was found to be false,

And Thomas smiled

At the world which pretends to be important.

O you shadow, above the water,

Why do you pretend to be so important?

All reality is in the Lord

When yourself, you consider as nothing,

With that, you will glorify Him.

REFLECTION

In exhorting Christians to attend church for prayer, St. John Chrysostom says: "If someone delivers to subjugated citizens a royal decree, the citizens do not question the life of the messenger, as to whether he is rich or poor or righteous or sinful but all listen attentively to that which he is reading. If someone did not hear, he asks one who has heard. When you have such a great awe of earthly rulers, how much more should you have heed us priests here, where the Creator of the Heavenly Powers speaks through us sinners?" Indeed, what is Holy Scripture but a Grammata [Letter] of the Heavenly King! Why is it that the unique and saving Grammata does not interest us every day and every hour, when the least authority in the country and their trivial orders do interest us? St. Anthony said: "Whatever you do have justification for this in Holy Scripture." But how can you have justification in Holy Scripture if you are not familiar with Holy Scripture?

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How His resurrection drives away from us every confusion, gloom and melancholy;

2. How His resurrection instills serenity, courage and goodwill into the souls of men.

HOMILY

About the vanity of everything in comparison with Christ

"I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ " ( Philippians 3:8 ).

The apostle who writes this had worldly knowledge; he had wealth and friends, he had youth and health. He had all the requisites of worldly success among his people. Paul says, " I left all ." For the sake of Christ Jesus my Lord, I left all. Before the sages of this world he became a fool; before the rich he became as a beggar; before his friends, he becomes an enemy. He exhausted his youth and health by voluntary sufferings and afflictions. With one stroke he closed for himself all prospects for worldly success. Why did you do this O Holy Apostle Paul? Because, " I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ ."

Brethren, did the Apostle Paul deceive himself leaving everything as rubbish and did he gain something greater in gaining Christ? Twenty centuries are witnessing that the holy apostle did not deceive himself and, that in gaining Christ, he received incomparably more and better than that which he abandoned and sacrificed. He received wisdom above all worldly knowledge and riches unperishable and incorruptible; he gained friends in the form of true angels of God; and eternal youth without disease and aging; and divine success, which lasts without change, in eternal life. All of this he gained in gaining Christ. All of this he received leaving all that the world offers to its favorites.

Indeed, brethren, Christ is better than the world. There are no words which could express His superiority over the world. The world deceives its favorites but Christ rewards His favorites truthfully. The world gives little and takes all. The world offers decay and takes away life. Christ, however, seeks little and gives all. He seeks that we discard decay and He gives us eternal life. Brethren, Christ is our one and only true friend.

O resurrected Lord Christ, help us to renounce rubbish, to renounce decay and grant us eternal life.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST MARK

Mark was a traveling companion and assistant to the Apostle Peter who, in his first epistle calls him his son, " The chosen one at Babylon sends you his greeting as does Mark, my son" (1 Peter 5:13 ), not according to the flesh but a son according to the spirit. While Mark was in Rome with Peter, the faithful begged him to write down for them the saving teaching of the Lord Jesus, His miracles and His life. Thus, Mark wrote the Holy Gospel which the Apostle Peter himself saw and attested to its truthfulness. Mark was appointed a bishop by the Apostle Peter and was sent to Egypt to preach. As so, St. Mark was the first preacher of the Good News [Gospel] in Egypt and was the first bishop in Egypt. Egypt was entirely oppressed by the thick darkness of paganism, idolatry, soothsaying and malice. With the help of God, St. Mark succeeded to sow the seed of the teaching of Christ throughout Libiya, Ammonicia and Pentopolis. From Pentopolis, St. Mark came to Alexandria where the Spirit of God led him. In Alexandria, he succeeded in establishing the Church of God and installed bishops, priests and deacons and to firmly strengthen them all in the honorable Faith. Mark confirmed his preaching through many and great miracles. When the heathens raised accusations against Mark, as a destroyer of their idolatrous faith, and when the mayor of the city began to search for Mark, he again fled to Pentopolis where he continued to strengthen his earlier work. After two years, Mark again returned to Alexandria to the great joy of all the faithful, whose number was greatly multiplied. On this occasion, the pagans seized Mark, bound him tightly and began to drag him over the cobblestone pavement crying out: "Let us drag the ox to the pen." Wounded and bloodied throughout, they cast Mark into prison where, at first, a heavenly angel appeared to him encouraging and strengthening him. After that, the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to him and said: "Peace be to you Mark, my Evangelist!" To that Mark replied: "Peace be to you also my Lord Jesus Christ!" The next day the vicious men brought Mark out of prison and again dragged him throughout the streets with the same cry: "Let us drag the ox to the pen." Completely exhausted and worn out, Mark uttered: "Into Your hands O Lord, I give up my spirit." Mark expired and his soul was translated into a better world. His holy relics were honorably buried by Christians and, through the centuries, his relics give healing to people from all of their afflictions, pains and diseases.

1. SAINT ANIANUS, THE SECOND BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA

When Mark stepped out of the boat on dry land in Alexandria, the sandal on one foot became torn. Then, he saw a cobbler to whom he gave his sandal for repairs. In mending the sandal, the cobbler pierced himself with the needle in his left hand and blood began to flow and the cobbler screamed in pain. Then the apostle of God mixed some dust with his spittle and anointed the wounded hand and suddenly the hand became whole again. Astonished at this miracle, the cobbler invited Mark to his home. Hearing Mark's homily, Anianus [for that was the cobbler's name] was baptized; he and his entire household. Anianus displayed so much virtue and so much zeal for the work of God that St. Mark consecrated him bishop. This holy man was the second bishop of the Church in Alexandria.

HYMN OF PRAISE
THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST MARK

The Evangelist Mark , to Egypt he flew
As a bee with honey. And Egypt experienced
The sweetness of Christ's honey; the sweetness of living knowledge,
And the people began to be amazed at Christ:
How He, in His divine concern, became incarnated
How He, humbled Himself for man's salvation,
And how He resurrected in glory and power.
Through the thick darkness, until now, we walked!
The Egyptians said: "And now for us, the sun rises,"
Let us rejoice O people in this shiny day!
But his wonderful crop, Mark watered with his blood,
And because of that, all the idols collapsed.
And Egypt, the land of the pharaohs, was baptized
Became the field of God; the Apostolic Church.

REFLECTION

The devil quickly finds work for idle hands and an angel quickly finds work for diligent hands. In this world of constant movement and constant change man, whether he wants to or not, must always be busy, be it either good works or evil works. The idle man, actually is not lazy. He is a diligent worker of the devil. An idle body and an idle soul is the most suitable field for the devil's plowing and sowing. St. Anthony the Great said: "The body needs to be subdued and immersed in prolonged labors." St. Ephrem the Syrian teaches: "Teach yourself to work, so that you will not have to learn to beg." All of the other Holy Fathers, without exception, speak about the necessity of work for the salvation of the soul of man. The apostles and all the saints give to us an example of continuous and concentrated spiritual and physical labor. That the idle man, by his idleness, does not extend his life on earth but shortens it, is clearly shown by the longevity of many saints, the greatest laborers among the laborers in the world.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How His resurrection incites us and strengthens us for every good work; physical and spiritual;

2. How His resurrection enlightens our every good work with the light of hope in the Living God, Who counts our works, measures them and preserves them for the Day of Judgment.

HOMILY

About the apostles' love for labors

"Nor did we eat food received free from everyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked so as not to burden any of you" (2 Thessalonians 3:8 ).

First fulfill then teach. All the apostles and all of the saints of God adhered to this rule. Thus, the Apostle Paul, even before he spoke the command: "If anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10 ), declares for himself and for his assistants in preaching that they did not eat anyone's bread for free, rather by effort and labor earned their bread. " Night and day we worked !" Behold the true laborers! Behold the honey-bearing bees of Christ! Daily and nightly toil: where is their time for sin? Daily and nightly toil: where is their room for sin? Daily and nightly toil: where can the devil weave his nest of passions? Daily and nightly toil: where is their cause for scandal?

In certain Egyptian and Palestinian monasteries, there lived about ten thousand monks. They all lived off the labor of their hands: from weaving beehives, baskets, door mats and from other types of handiwork. Daily and nightly toil and daily and nightly prayer. When a monk sold his beehives in town for a higher price than the price which the abbot designated, for that, the monk experienced punishment. For the ascetics it was not a matter of enrichment but only for the most essential nourishment and the simplest clothing. In this, the ascetics were and are the true followers of the great apostle.

O, my brethren, let us flee from slothfulness [idleness] as from a cave of wild beasts. If by some chance we fall into a cave of wild beasts, let us quickly flee from it, before the wild beasts totally seal off the entrance. The cave is the dwelling place where the slothful man seeks rest. The wild beasts are evil spirits who, in such a dwelling place, feel more at home there than near their king in Hades. O Lord, Who are wonderful in all the works of Your creation, awaken us from slothfulness and encourage us to nightly and daily labor by Your encouraging Holy Spirit.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[Justin Kissel]

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR BASIL, BISHOP OF AMASEA

Licinius, brother-in-law of Constantine to whose sister he was married, pretended to be a Christian before the great emperor. When he received authority from the emperor, to govern the entire east, he, at first secretly, and later openly, began to persecute Christians and to strengthen idolatry. His wife grieved much about this, but was unable to dissuade her husband from this shamefulness. Giving himself over to idolatry, Licinius also succumbed to infinite passions without restraint but, most of all to infidelity toward his wife. During the assault of these unclean passions, Licinius wanted to defile the virgin Glaphyra who was in the service of the Empress. Glaphyra complained to the empress and the empress secretly sent her away from the imperial court of Nicomedia to the Province of Pontus. The virgin Glaphyra arrived at the town of Amasea and there was cordially received by Bishop Basil and other Christians. Glaphyra was elated that God had saved her virginity and, concerning this, she wrote to the empress. The empress also rejoiced and forwarded money to the church in Amasea. However, a letter of Glaphyra which was directed to the empress, fell into the hands of the emperor's eunuch who showed it to Emperor Licinius. The emperor, learning where Glaphyra was staying, immediately ordered that she and the bishop be brought back to Nicomedia. In the meantime, Glaphyra died and the soldiers brought Basil back to Nicomedia, alone and bound. Following tortures and imprisonment this blessed man was beheaded and tossed into the sea in the year 322 A.D. Through a vision of an angel of God his clergy found his body near the town of Sinope. They removed his body with the aid of a fisherman's net and translated it to Amasea where they honorably buried it in the church which he, by his efforts, had built. The Emperor Constantine raised up an army against Licinius, defeated, captured him and banished him into exile to Gaul where he ended his god-hating life.

1. SAINT JOANNICIUS OF DEVICH

Joannicius was a Serb from Zeta. As a young man he was overwhelmed with love for Christ. He left his home and family and withdrew to the region of Ibar at the mouth of the Black river into a narrow cave in which, according to tradition, before him, St. Peter of Korish lived a life of asceticism. When his fame began to spread among the people, he fled to Drenica and hid in the thick forest of Devich. Here St. Joannicius spent years in solitude, in silence and in prayer. According to tradition, the Serbian Prince George Brankovich brought his mentally ill daughter to him whom the saint healed. Out of gratitude, George built a monastery on this spot, known today by the name of Devich. The holy and wonder-working relics of Joannicius repose in this monastery. In this monastery, more recently, the nun Euphemia, the famous and God-pleasing hermitess lived a life of asceticism in Devich. The nun Euphemia is better known in the area of Kossovo by the name: The Blessed Stojna. She died in the Lord in the year 1895 A.D.

1. SAINT STEPHEN THE BISHOP OF PERM

Stephen was a Russian by birth. From an early age he was devoted to prayer and pious thoughts. As a young man, Stephen went to Rostov where he was tonsured a monk in the monastery of St. Gregory the Theologian. Learning about the Land of Perm, completely overrun with the weeds of heathenism, Stephen desired to become a missionary in this land. He immediately dedicated himself to the studying of the language of the Perms and when he mastered the language, he composed an alphabet and translated the ecclesiastical books into that language. With the blessing of the Metropolitan of Moscow, Stephen, as a presbyter, started out on his apostolic mission and with apostolic zeal began to preach the Gospel in this dense darkness of the heathenism of Perm. Having baptized a few souls, he endeavored to build a church in Perm dedicated to the Holy Annunciation. When the Church of God flourished in Perm, he was consecrated as its bishop. Undergoing every hardship, affliction, maliciousness and humiliation, he succeeded to dispel the darkness among the heathens of Perm and to illuminate them with the Light of Christ. In his old age he returned to Moscow once more but, there ended his earthly life and took up habitation with the Lord in the year 1396 AD.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT BASIL OF AMASEA

In the dungeon, Basil languishes

For the honorable Cross and the Faith of Christ;

Psalms he chants and to God he gives thanks,

Because of justice, He granted him suffering

The Emperor's Tribune to Basil speaks:

Listen old man, to you the emperor a message is sending

(Emperor) Licinius, the protector of the gods,

That you, sacrifice to the gods, offer,

And, Christ the man to dismiss,

If you do not, an evil death awaits you.

Basil radiates from joy,

And to the Tribune, he wonderfully responds:

Go tell your nefarious emperor:

Even if your entire kingdom to me you gave,

And take away my resurrected Christ,

You will take more than you give.

Traitor of Christ the Savior,

Me, a traitor also, do you want to make?

O Giver of death; of death I am not afraid,

Of Christ the Life-giver, I am a servant.

REFLECTION

The saints are alive and their God-given power does not diminish in time. St. Joannicius of Devich works miracles today even as he did during his life on earth, some five-hundred years ago. A certain Milosh from Hercegovina prepared to travel to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to the holy shrines. As he was about ready to depart on his way, St. Joannicius appeared to him in a dream and told him not to go to Jerusalem. Rather than go to Jerusalem, it would be better for you to go to Devich, explained the saint, and there, to restore my church and place it in order. Milosh obeyed the saint and arrived at the neglected Devich, cleaned it, placed it in order and again, made it possible to sing praises to God. At Devich, Milosh was tonsured a monk and remained there until the end of his life. During the First World War and the Austrian occupation, a Hungarian officer with a detachment of soldiers came to Devich. The officer ushered Damaskin, the abbot of the monastery, before the reliquary of St. Joannicius and asked him what was under the slab? "Holiness," replied the abbot. "What kind of holiness?", the officer laughed. "Some things are hidden under there." He then ordered the soldiers to strike the slab with pick axes and to overturn it. While this was being done, the officer was seized with pain around his waist. He lay down in bed and before evening of the same day, he died. The frightened soldiers left there work undone and fled the monastery.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How His Resurrection is a great light which dispels the darkness of our doubt, ignorance and despair relative to life after death;

2. How His Resurrection is a great light, which illuminates the path on which we must travel in this world in order to arrive to the other world.

HOMILY

About Christ as the confirmation of all good

"For the son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not "yes" and "no," but "yes" has been in him" (2 Corinthians 1:19).

Christ is not light and darkness but only light. Christ is not truth and falsehood, but only truth. Neither is Christ life and death, He is only life. Neither is He strength and weakness. He is only strength. Neither is He love and hate. He is only love. He is the "yes" for every good and in Him there is no vacillating between "yes" and "no." His teaching is all pure, all truth, all light and all loving of mankind. His path is accurately hewn and He does not permit swerving neither to the left or to the right. Not even a shadow of sin can pause on His teaching nor find a place on His path. His person is the incarnation of good and all that is good is in Him and all that is sin, falsehood, malicious and unjust is outside of Him.

Such teaching, such a path and such a person of Christ, the apostles of God preached: the teaching meant the confirmation of good and the revelation of the infinite treasury of good; the path which leads to the realization and eternal enjoyment of this good; the Person, Who in Himself, contains all good and complete confirmation of good.

Brethren, let us also adhere to this unique Person, this unique path and this unique teaching.

Almighty Lord, help us by the power of Your Holy Spirit, so that our insignificant life on earth would become a confirmation of good and not the denial of good.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.