ON THIS DATE: From the Prologue to Ohrid/Ochrid

[尼古拉前执事]

1. SAINT CYRIL AND SAINT METHODIUS EQUAL TO THE APOSTLES

Saints Cyril and Methodius were brothers from Thessalonica of distinguished and wealthy parents, Leo and Maria. The older brother Methodius spent ten years as an officer among the Macedonian Slavs and thus learned the Slavic language. After that Methodius withdrew to Mount Olympus and dedicated himself to the monastic life of asceticism. It was here that Cyril (Constantine) later joined him. When the Khazarite king, Kagan, requested preachers of the Faith of Christ from Emperor Michael III then, by command of the emperor, these two brothers were found and sent among the Khazars. Convincing King Kagan of the Faith of Christ, they baptized him along with a great number of his chief assistants and even a greater number of the people. After a period of time, they returned to Constantinople where they compiled the Slavonic alphabet consisting of thirty-eight letters and proceeded to translate ecclesiastical books from Greek into Slavonic. At the request of Prince Rastislav, they traveled to Moravia where they spread and established the devout Faith and multiplied books and distributed them to the priests to teach the youth. At the request of the pope, Cyril traveled to Rome where he became ill and died on February 14, 867 A.D. Then Methodius returned to Moravia and labored to strengthen the Faith of Christ among the Slavs until his death. Following his death - he died in the Lord on April 6, 885 A.D. - his disciples, THE FIVE FOLLOWERS, with St. Clement, the bishop at the head, crossed the Danube River and descended to the south into Macedonia, where from Ohrid they continued their labor among the Slavs begun by Cyril and Methodius in the north.

1. THE PRIEST-MARTYR MOCIUS [MUCIUS]

Mocius was Roman by birth and a presbyter in Amphipolis, a town in Macedonia. He suffered during the reign of Diocletian. By prayer he destroyed the statue of the god Dionysius which embittered certain pagans against him and others he converted to the Faith. He was beheaded for Christ in the year 295 A.D.

1. SAINT NICODEMUS, THE ARCHBISHOP OF PEC

This great hierarch was a Serb by birth. He lived a life of asceticism on Holy

Mt. Athos and was abbot of Hilendar Monastery. Following the death of Sava III, he was elected as the Archbishop of "All the Serbs and the Coastal Lands" in the year 1317 A.D. Nicodemus crowned King Milutin in the year 1321 A.D. He translated the Jerusalem Typikon into Serbian. [The Typikon is a book containing the rubrics (directions) for the celebration of the Divine Mysteries and other offices of the Orthodox Church.] In the introduction of this book, Nicodemus says: "Almighty God, Who knows our weaknesses, will give us spiritual strength, but only if we first display effort." He sincerely loved the ascetical life and labored to strengthen it throughout the Serbian land. He labored relentlessly to uproot the Bogomil heresy and to strengthen the Orthodox Faith. He died in the Lord in the year 1325 A.D. His miracle-working relics repose in the monastery in Pec.

HYMN OF PRAISE
SAINT CYRIL

The Muslim leaders asked Cyril
What kind of three persons in God, were?
If God is one, from where three persons?
Our God is one, yours is three!
Cyril replies: It is not that way, it is not,
But, as the shining sun which warms at noon,
And light, warmth, its cycle has,
But a pale picture of the Divine Triade, that is,
One in essence and three divine persons
Through Christ, this truth is revealed.
Never, will a mortal man comprehend this
God Himself revealed this; this the Church teaches.

REFLECTION

In the encampment of the Saracens they asked St. Cyril: "How could Christians wage war and at the same time keep the commandment of Christ about praying to God for their enemies?" To that, St. Cyril replied: "If two commandments were written in one law and given to men for fulfilling, which man will be a better follower of the law: the one who fulfills one commandment or the one who fulfills both?" To that, the Saracens replied: "Undoubtedly, he who fulfills both commandments." St. Cyril continued: "Christ our God commands us to pray to God for those who persecute us and even to do good to them; but, He also said to us: greater love cannot be shown in this world than if one lay down his life for his friends." " Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends " ( St. John 15:13 ). That is why we bear the insults which our enemies do to us individually and we pray to God for them; and, as a society, we defend one another and give up our lives, that you would not somehow enslave our brethren, would not enslave their souls with their bodies and would not kill them in body and soul.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the action of God the Holy Spirit upon the apostles:

1. How from the simple, He makes wise;

2. How from the inarticulate, He makes them eloquent.

HOMILY

About the irresistible will of God

"I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it " ( Jeremiah 20:9 ).

If anyone still doubts that God spoke through the prophets, let him read this confession of the great prophet Jeremiah and let him doubt no more. The prophet confesses that he had decided not to speak anymore in the Name of the Lord. Why? Because so few paid attention to his word. If anyone heeded his word the prophet endured " reproach and derision daily " ( Jeremiah 20:8 ). But, when he decided to remain silent, did he, in fact, remain silent? No, he could not: " I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it !" He was so pressed by the irresistible power of the Spirit of God upon him to speak and he had to speak. It is, therefore, not the affair of the prophet whether he is going to speak or not: that is the affair of the All-powerful Spirit of God. The prophet is merely the chosen vessel of the All-powerful Spirit of God. All of Holy Scripture is written thusly - not according to the will of man but according to the will of God, and not according to the mind of man but according to the mind of God.

How does the word of God feel when it enters the prophet from the Spirit of God; this the great Jeremiah explains from his personal experience: " It becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones ." That means, inspiration from the All-powerful Spirit of God. Under such irresistible internal pressure - as under the pressure of fire imprisoned in my bones - wrote the holy man of God. And many of them cried out: " I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it anymore ." Who will go against the Spirit of God without punishment and destruction? Who will withstand Him when He wants to say something or to do something?

Only my brethren, the action of God the Holy Spirit is irresistible!

O All-powerful Spirit of God, direct us irresistibly on the path of salvation.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. SAINT EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP OF CYPRUS

Epiphanius was a Jew by birth and, witnessing the Faith of Christ, was baptized with his sister Callithrope. At age twenty-six, he was tonsured a monk in the monastery of St. Hilarion. Later, he established a separate monastery where he became famous throughout all of Palestine and Egypt because of his asceticism, spiritual wisdom and miracle-working. Fleeing from the glory of men, Epiphanius withdrew to Egypt. Enroute, he met up with the great Paphnutius who predicted that he would become bishop on the island of Cyprus. Indeed, after many years, by the Divine Providence of God, Epiphanius arrived at Cyprus where he, unexpectedly was chosen as bishop. At the age of sixty, he became the bishop of Salamis and, as such, governed the Church of God for fifty-five years. He lived a total of one-hundred fifteen years on this earth and rested from this life so as to live eternally in the kingdom of Christ. Before his death, he was summoned to Constantinople by Emperor Arcadius and his wife Eudoxia to an assembly of bishops which, according to the wish of the emperor and the empress, should have condemned St. John Chrysostom. Arriving in Constantinople, Epiphanius went directly to the palace of the emperor where the emperor and empress detained him for a long while trying to persuade him to declare himself against Chrysostom. The citizens and Chrysostom heard that Epiphanius agreed with the emperor against Chrysostom. That is why Chrysostom wrote him a letter: "Brother Epiphanius, I heard that you advised the emperor that I be exiled; know ye, that you will never see your throne again." To that Epiphanius replied to him: "O suffering John, withstand insults; know ye, that you will never reach the place to which you are exiled." And both prophecies of these saints were quickly fulfilled. Not wanting to agree in anyway with the emperor to the exile of Chrysostom, Epiphanius secretly boarded a boat and departed for Cyprus, but he died on the boat. The emperor banished Chrysostom into exile to Armenia. But, this saint died enroute. St. Epiphanius rested in the year 403 A.D. Among the many works of St. Epiphanius, the most famous is the Medicine Chest [Panarium] in which eighty heresies are listed and refuted.

1. SAINT HERMAN, THE PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Herman was the son of the head imperial senator who was killed by Emperor Constantine Pogonatus. This same evil emperor castrated the senator's son, Herman, and forcibly banished him to a monastery. As a monk, Herman shone like a star by his life and good works. Because of that, he was chosen as the first bishop of Cyzicus and, when Anastatius II was crowned emperor, Herman was elected as patriarch of Constantinople. As patriarch he baptized the ill-reputed Copronymos who, during the time of his baptism, soiled the water with his uncleanliness. Then the patriarch prophesied that this child, when he becomes emperor, will introduce into the Holy Church some impure heresy. And this happened. When Copronymos became emperor, he restored the heresy of the iconoclasts. Leo Isaurian, the father of Copronymos, initiated the persecution of icons and when Patriarch Herman protested, the arrogant Leo cried out: "I am emperor and priest!" He removed Herman from the patriarchal throne and banished him to a monastery where this saint lived for ten more years until the Lord called him to Himself and to the heavenly kingdom in the year 740 A.D.

1. THE HOLY MARTYR PANCRAS

Pancras came to Rome from Phrygia where, as a fourteen-year-old boy, he was tortured and killed for Christ in the year 304 A.D. This saint is greatly revered in the west. In Rome, there exists a church dedicated to him and, in this church, his holy relics repose.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT EPIPHANIUS

Epiphanius , follower of Christ

By bread is fed and water drinks,

By the power of Christ, miracles he performs,

As a thunderer, heresies he destroys,

Soldier of Truth, pillar of Orthodoxy.

At death, such a testament, he leaves:

Vile thirst for money, you extinguish,

The rich man, do not ever envy,

Do not hate and do not slander,

And every heresy you avoid,

All foul thoughts, as serpents, drive away

They, from believers, make unbelievers.

A sober mind you keep, tied to God,

Booty of the devil, a sober man is not.

For me a sinner, you pray to God,

With your whole life, glorify God!

REFLECTION

Saint Clement of Alexandria tells of a horrible custom among the barbarians. He says that when they capture their enemy, they tie him alive to the corpse of a dead man, and leave them both alone that the living and dead decay together. If only it could be said: "Thank God, that this barbarian custom is past!" In essence, it has not passed, rather, it reigns today in full force. Everyone who ties their living spirit to the flesh deadened by barbarian passions is the same as the one who ties a living man to a corpse and leaves them both to decay.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the action of the Holy Spirit on the apostles:

1. How from fishers of fish, He makes them fishermen of men for the kingdom of God;

2. How from shepherds of the irrational flock, He makes them shepherds of the rational flock.

HOMILY

About how men, in prosperity do not listen to the law of God

"I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said: `I will not hear' " ( Jeremiah 22:21 ).

The Lord of Hosts raised this complaint against Jehoiakim, the king of Judah and against the people of Judea. Are not these words in effect even today when they are spoken in the face of our people and almost, with few exceptions, to every one of us individually? When we feel ourselves prosperous, we leave God in the shadows and we render His words to oblivion; but as soon as misfortune encompasses us with its dark wings, we turn to God and cry out to Him for help. In misfortune, the commandments of God seem to us as sweet as honey but in prosperity, they seem as bitter as medicine. Is not then misfortune better than prosperity? Is not misfortune more salvific in which we seek God, than prosperity in which we forget God?

"O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord !" ( Jeremiah 22:29 ), cries out the true prophet of God. Man is the earth; the word of the Lord is life planted into that earth. Will the earth prefer to remain without the living crops and be cursed or will it nurse the crops entrusted to it and be blessed? O how ugly is the bare ravine and the barren field and how beautiful is the cultivated field covered with rich crops! O man, you are the one and the other field. Choose: death or life! Not one-householder values the field at all if it does not bear any kind of crop on it. Will God then be less intelligent than an ordinary householder and give some value to the field that fails to bear fruit from every seed that is sown on it?

What will become of man who, in his prosperity, does not listen to the words of God? " And he shall be buried with the burial of an ass " ( Jeremiah 22:19 ). Thus spoke the prophet to King Jehoiakim and his word was realized. When the Chaldeans captured Jerusalem, they killed Jehoiakim. They dragged his body beyond the gates of the city and left it to the dogs. And that which happens to the asses, so it was with the unheeding king. O man, O earth! Hear in time the word of the Lord that the anger of the Householder does not pour out on you as on a barren field and that your end not be as the end of an ass.

O Long-suffering Lord, save us from the stoniness of heart and darkness of mind; from those two bitter diseases, the miserable consequences of those hours of life which men call prosperous. Save and have mercy on us, the Lord of Hosts!

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR GLYCERIA

Glyceria was the daughter of a Roman governor. Becoming impoverished after her father's death, Glyceria settled in Trajanopolis in Thrace. During the reign of the nefarious Emperor Antoninus, Glyceria was taken to offer sacrifices to the idol of Jupiter [Zeus]. She traced the sign of the cross on her forehead and when the Prefect Sabinus questioned her concerning her lamp, (for all of them carried lamps in their hands), Glyceria pointed to the cross on her forehead and said: "This is my lamp." As a result of her prayer lightning struck the idol and smashed it to pieces. The prefect became angry and ordered her flogged and thrown into prison. The prefect sealed the doors to the prison, determined to starve the virgin to death. However, an angel of God appeared to Glyceria and administered heavenly food to her. After a period of time, when the prefect thought that the virgin must have died from hunger, he opened the doors of the prison and was astonished when he saw her healthy, radiant and joyful. Witnessing this miracle, Laodicius, the jailer confessed Christ the Lord and was immediately beheaded. After that Glyceria was thrown into a fiery furnace but remained unharmed by the fire. Standing in the midst of the fire and, remembering the miracle of the three youths in the Babylonian furnace, Glyceria praised the Lord. Finally, she was thrown to the lions and, praying to God, this holy virgin gave up her soul to the Lord for Whom she bravely endured many tortures. She suffered honorably in the year 177 A.D. A healing oil [myrrh] emitted from her relics which healed the sick of the gravest diseases.

1. THE HOLY MARTYR ALEXANDER

Alexander was a Slav. As an eighteen year old soldier in the army of Emperor Maximilian, he refused the order of the emperor to give honor to the Roman idols and for that which he was handed over to Captain Tiberian, to either counsel Alexander to deny Christ or else torture and kill him. Since all the counseling was in vain, Tiberian took Alexander with him across Macedonia to Constantinople where he traveled for duty. In every town along the way, the young Alexander was cruelly tortured but, in every town, Christians came out before him and begged him for a blessing and they encouraged him in his mortification. Pimenia, his mother, followed after him. During the course of this travel, an angel of God appeared many times to Alexander soothing his pains and encouraging him. In one place, Carasura, the martyr performed a miracle through prayer: when thirst overcame him and the soldiers who escorted him, he brought forth a well of cold water from an arid place. On the shore of the Ergina river, Tiberian ordered the executioner to behead Alexander and to toss his body into the water. When the executioner swung at the martyr's head, he saw radiant angels of God around Alexander and became frightened and his hand dropped. Alexander asked him why his hand dropped and the executioner replied that he sees some radiant young men around him. Yearning death and union with the Lord, Alexander prayed to God to withdraw the angels from him so that the executioner would not be frightened. And thus, the executioner carried out his work in the year 298 A.D. Pimenia removed the body of her son and honorably buried him. Many healings occurred at the grave of the martyr. After death, the martyr appeared to his mother and informed her of her imminent translation to the other world.

1. THE VENERABLES JOHN, EUTHYMIUS, GEORGE AND GABRIEL OF THE MONASTERY IVIRON [MT. ATHOS]

All four venerables were the founders of the famous Iberian [Georgian] monastery on the Holy Mt. Athos. At first, St. John lived a life of asceticism in the Lavra [Monastery] of Athanasius and, after that, founded his monastery, Iviron. John died in the year 998 A.D. Euthymius and George translated the Holy Scripture into the Georgian language. Euthymius died in the year 1029 A.D. and George died in 1066 A.D. Gabriel was found worthy to receive the miracle-performing Icon of the Mother of God which arrived at the monastery by way of the sea.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT GLYCERIA

Glyceria : sacrifice to the gods!

Orders the mindless judge,

Or into the fire, to be consumed you must -

Glyceria ridicules the judge

God is one; "the gods" are demons

Who confuse your mind.

What kind of sacrifice, O mindless man?
One sacrifice, was it not on Golgotha,

Awesome sacrifice, divine and bloody,

That abolished all bloody sacrifices?

One sacrifice, after that sacrifice,

One sacrifice, the Lord seeks from us:

A pure heart; a prayerful altar,

Clean hands; works of mercy,

Faith, hope and charity [love], devout

Such a sacrifice, I endeavor to offer

To the Living God, my Creator;

God, All-holy such a sacrifice desires,

Not a corpse, bloody and dead.

REFLECTION

Concerning the power of death and the power of the Cross of Christ, St. Athanasius writes: "Whose death ever drove out demons? And whose death have the demons been afraid of as the death of Christ? Where the Name of Christ is only invoked, there, every demon is driven out. Who in such a measure tamed spiritual passions in men that the prostitutes live a chaste life and murderers do not use the sword anymore and the fearful become courageous? If not the Faith of Christ? If not the sign of the Cross? And who else has so convinced men in immortality as the Cross of Christ and the resurrection of the Body of Christ? The death of the Sinless One and the Cross of the Lover of men have brought a greater and more lasting victory than all the earthly kings with many multi-millions of armies. Which army was able to defeat a single demon? Meanwhile, only the mention of the Name of the Crucified One on the Cross peels to flight the army of demons. O, if all Christians would know what treasure they have in the Name of Christ, and what kind of weapon they have in the Cross of Christ!

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the action of God the Holy Spirit upon the apostles:

1. How the apostles, led by the Holy Spirit, travel throughout the whole world without means and without friends;

2. How they converted the rich and the poor to the Faith of Christ by their word, life and miracles alone.

HOMILY

About how God uses the unbelievers in order to punish the believers

"Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant " ( Jeremiah 25:9 ).

Is not this a difficult saying? Who can be fed by it? The pagan king, the idolatrous king, the Lord call him His servant. If the servant of God is one who knows the True God and who adheres to the law of God, how then can one be a servant of God who does not know the True God and who does not adhere to the law of God? Truly, the true servant of God is he who knows the True God and who keeps the law of God but when he, to whom God has given the knowledge about Himself and His law, perverts knowing into unknowing and law into lawlessness, then God takes as His servant that ignorant one so as to punish the apostates. For, an apostate from god is worse than a pagan and an apostate from the law of God is lower than an idolater by birth.

Therefore, when Israel , as the ancient Church of God, alienated itself from God and the law of God, God chose Nebuchadrezzar for His servant to punish Israel, the Apostate.

Therefore, when the Christian peoples in Asia and Africa through numerous heresies alienated themselves from God, God took as His servant the Arabs to punish Christians in order to bring them to their senses.

And when the Christian peoples in the Balkans alienated themselves from God and God's law, God invited the Turks as His servants to punish the apostates that by punishment to bring them to their senses.

Whenever the faithful alienate themselves from God, God weaves a whip from the unbelievers to bring the believers to their senses. And, as the faithful consciously and willingly turn away from God, so the unbelievers unconsciously and unwillingly become servants of God; the whip of God.

But God takes the unbelievers only temporarily in His service against the believers. For the land of Nebuchadrezzar, the same Lord says, He will visit it for its lawlessness and " make it perpetual desolations " ( Jeremiah 25:12 ), then will a servant against a servant be found? For God did not take the Babylonians for a servant because of their goodness and faith, rather because of Israel's wickedness and unbelief.

O Righteous Lord, help us by Your Spirit Most-high, to always adhere to You, the One, True God and Your acon saving law.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY MARTYR ISIDORE

During the reign of Decius, Isidore was drafted by force from the island of Chios into military service. From childhood, Isidore adhered to the Faith of Christ and spent his entire life in fasting, prayer and good works. But when in the army Isidore declared himself a Christian, the commander seized him, required of him an answer and counseled him to deny Christ and offer sacrifices to the idols. The saint replied: "Even if you kill my body, you have no authority over my soul. I possess the True, Living God, Jesus Christ Who now lives in me and after my death, He will be with me and I am in Him and will remain in Him and I will never cease to confess His Holy Name as long as my soul is in my body." First, the commander ordered that Isidore be whipped with oxen tails and after that they cut out his tongue. Even without his tongue, Isidore, by the Spirit of God, spoke and confessed the Name of Christ. Meanwhile, the punishment of God came upon the commander and he, suddenly, became mute. Finally, the mute commander gave the sign to behead Isidore. Isidore was elated at this sentence and after praising God went to the scaffold where he was beheaded in the year 251 A.D. His companion, Ammon buried his body and following that also suffered and received the martyr's wreath.

1. THE VENERABLE SERAPION, THE SINDONITE

Sindon means "linen cloth" in which the bodies of the dead were wrapped. Serapion was called the Sindonite because he covered his naked body with a single linen cloth. He carried a Book of the Gospels in his hand. Serapion lived like a bird without a roof and without any worries moving from place to place. He gave his sindon to a needy person who was shivering from the frost and remained completely naked. When someone asked him: "Serapion, who uncovered you?" He pointed to the Holy Gospels and said: "This!" After that he even gave the Book of the Gospels away as a ransom for a man in debt whose lender was threatening him with prison for this debt. Once in Athens, he did not eat anything for four days because he had nothing available and began to cry out from hunger. When the Athenian philosophers asked him why he was crying out so, Serapion replied: "I was indebted to three; two of which I have satisfied but the third one is still tormenting me. The first lender is carnal lust which tormented me from my youth; the second lender is avarice and the third lender is the stomach. Those two have left me, but the third one still torments me." The philosophers gave him a gold coin to purchase bread. He went to a baker, purchased only one loaf of bread, left the gold coin and departed. In his old age, he presented himself peacefully to the Lord in the fifth century.

1. BLESSED ISIDORE, "FOOL FOR CHRIST"

Isidore was a German by descent. Having come to Rostov, he fell in love with the Orthodox Faith and, not only became a communicant of the Orthodox Church, but assumed the difficult life of asceticism as a "Fool for Christ." He walked around completely in rags. Pretending insanity through his madness, he spent the entire day teaching men and at night, he spent in prayer. He spent nights in a hut made of branches which he had built in a muddy terrain. Great and awesome were the miracles which this saint performed both during life and after death. To a merchant, who was thrown from a boat and was drowning in the sea, Isidore appeared walking upon the water and led him to the shore. When the servants of the Prince of Rostov refused Isidore a glass of water that he asked for and drove him away from the door, then all the vessels with wine dried up. When Isidore died in his hut on May 14, 1484 A.D., the whole of Rostov smelled from a wonderful aroma. The merchant whom the Blessed Isidore saved from the sea, erected a church in his honor over the spot where his hut was located.

HYMN OF PRAISE

BLESSED ISIDORE, FOOL FOR CHRIST
Blessed Isidore wrestled with himself

Until passionless, as a withered tree, he became,

But even a withered tree, the bees with honey fill,

And from the dry cliff, a spring sometimes erupts.

The body of the blessed, with the Spirit filled

With the honey of Grace, the heart sweetened.

In the foolish body, the fountain of God's power,

In wretched garments, hidden treasure,

Wonderful Isidore , on the garbage heap lay,

On the streets cried out, leaped and fled,

Without roof and bread and without friends,

But under the watchful eye of his Creator

To vain men, he was an "instruction"

And to those beastly bound to the earth, a reproach;

He, by his life, as though he wanted to say:

Men, to misfortune your cares lead.

He is not fortunate, who from God steals,

But who alone possesses God as a treasure.

REFLECTION

Sin which serves as a scandal to others is a two-fold sin. A wise man strives not to scandalize anyone and does not lead anyone into sin by his sinful example. Saint Ambrose praises such sagacity of the Emperor Valentian who died at an early age citing these examples from his life: "The emperor, hearing that he was talked about throughout Rome as a passionate hunter and a lover of wild beasts - which, in reality he was not - and how this passion was taking the emperor away from his duties of State, immediately ordered that all the wild beasts in his preserve be slain. Again, upon hearing how certain malicious people spread the rumor that he ate lunch early (wanting by this to present him as being gluttonous), the emperor imposed a strict fast on himself both privately and publicly. Before the public lunches he was rarely seen to place a morsel of food in his mouth. And again, when his sisters disputed with a certain man over some property, the emperor, even though he had the right to judge the dispute, directed the case to the open court so that he would not be accused of partiality." Indeed, with great fear, this pious emperor upheld the words of the Lord: " Woe to him who shall offend [scandalize] one of these little ones " ( St. Matthew 18:6 ).

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the action of God the Holy Spirit upon the apostles:

1. How the Holy Spirit leads the apostles through all sorrows and tribulations, filling their hearts with consolation and joy;

2. How the Holy Spirit makes that seed of the Gospel grow and succeed which the apostles sow throughout the world, even where it seems to have been scattered in vain.

HOMILY

About Christ as the Branch of David

In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land " ( Jeremiah 33:15 )."

With these words, the holy Prophet Jeremiah prophesies the coming of the Holy Savior of the world from the lineage of David. The Branch of Righteousness is Jesus Christ Himself. These words could not have referred to anyone else, since, at the time of the coming of the Lord Jesus, a prince from the lineage of David did not sit any longer on the throne at Jerusalem but rather a foreigner, Herod the Idumean. Neither from then until today was there any other prominent branch of David, neither as a worldly ruler nor a spiritual ruler. At the time of the nativity of Christ, there were but a few people from the Tribe of David and they were unknown and impoverished. Among these were numbered the All-Holy Virgin and the righteous elder Joseph, the carpenter. It is clear therefore, that for the past thousand years since this prophecy was spoken, no other majestic branch from the lineage of David appeared, except the Lord Jesus. This becomes more clear from the following words: " As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister to Me " ( Jeremiah 33:22 ). These words could only apply to the spiritual descendants of David through Christ the Lord, i.e., upon Christians, for only the number of Christians (and not the physical descendants of David of whom there are not any at all), for these twenty centuries can be measured with the stars in the heavens and with the sand in the sea.

O my brethren, let us rejoice that even we Christians belong to this countless number of people of God; to the greatest people in the history of the world both as to numbers and as to character. Let us rejoice even more that we belong to this heavenly Branch of David Who, by His Blood redeemed us from foreigners and adopted us and made us heirs and co-heirs of the kingdom eternal. O, All-good Lord, You have redeemed us prodigal sons from the contemptible humiliation and hunger and made us sons of the kingdom.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE VENERABLE PACHOMIUS THE GREAT

Pachomius was born in Egypt and, in his youth, was a pagan. As a soldier, he fought in battle with Emperor Constantine against Maxentius. Following that, he learned of the One God from Christians and witnessing their devout life, Pachomius became baptized and withdrew to the Tabennisi wilderness, to the famous ascetic Palamon with whom he studied the ascetical life for ten years. Then, an angel appeared to him in the habit of a Schema [The Great Angelic Habit of a Monk] over the place called Tabennisiot and gave him a board upon which was written the Monastic Rule [Constitution] for the Cenobitic Life, ordering him to establish such a monastery in that place, prophesying to him that in this monastery many monks will come for the sake of salvation of souls. Heeding the angel of God, Pachomius began to build many cells even though at that place there was not anyone except his brother John and himself. When his brother reproached him for building unnecessary cells, Pachomius simply said to him that he is following the command of God without regard as to who will come to live there and when. But soon, many men gathered at that place moved by the Spirit of God, and began to live a life of asceticism according to the Rule of Pachomius, which he received from the angel. When the number of monks increased, Pachomius gradually established six more monasteries. The number of his disciples amounted to about seven thousand. St. Anthony is considered to be the founder of the hermitical life but St. Pachomius as founder of the monastic cenobitic way of life. The humility, love of labor and abstinence of this holy father was and remains a rare example for the imitation of the vast number of monks. St. Pachomius worked numerous miracles but endured numerous temptations from demons as well as men. He served men as a father or a brother. He inspired many to follow the path to salvation and directed many on the path to truth. He was and remains a great light of the Church and a great witness to the truth and justice of Christ. He died peacefully in the year 348 A.D. in the seventy-fourth year of his earthly life. The Church has included many of his disciples in the ranks of the saints, such as: Theodore, Job, Paphnutius, Pecusius, Athenodorus, Eponymus, Sorus, Psoi, Dionysius, Psentaesis and others.

1. SAINT ACHILLEUS, BISHOP OF LARISSA

Achilleus, this great hierarch and miracle-worker, was born in Cappadocia. He participated in the First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 325 A.D.] at which he shamed the heretics and, by his learning as well as by his sanctity, he commanded great astonishment. Taking a rock, St. Achilleus shouted to the Arians: "If Christ is a creation of God, as you say, then say: `let oil flow from this rock.' " The heretics remained silent and were amazed at such a request from St. Achilleus. Then, again the saint said: "And if the Son of God is equal to the Father, as we believe, let oil flow from this rock." And, indeed oil did flow to the amazement of all. St. Achilleus died peacefully in Larissa in the year 330 A.D. When the Macedonian King Samuel conquered Thessaly he translated the relics of Achilleus to Prespa to an island in a lake which was called and even today is still called Achilleus or Ailus.

1. THE VENERABLE SILVANUS

At first, Silvanus was a comedian; impersonating all and everyone. After that,inflamed with the love of Christ, he became a disciple of St. Pachomius. "I am ready to give my life," St. Silvanus would say "only to receive forgiveness of my sins."

HYMN OF PRAISE
VENERABLE PACHOMIUS THE GREAT

With the Spirit of God, Pachomius burns,
With the angels, Pachomius speaks.
Around him, the monks swarm
All like candles, they stand before God.
One day, the knocker sounded,
The sister of the Abba, the Abba to see
Many years she saw him not,
Let him appear; why does he from her, hide himself?
The doorman to Abba, the message brings.
Abba, to him: greetings, take to her
I, my sister, every good fortune wish you
But to come to see you, I will not,
I, to the world, did bid farewell once
And, in the world, everything I renounced.
My sister, you renounce also,
Hurry sister, yourself, dedicate to God,
Except the grave, what can the world to you give?
With life, Christ will wed you.
Illusionary dreams, worldly pleasures are
Asleep with these dreams, one becomes obese.
But awakened, hungry he feels
And by a long dream, adversarily stolen,
As a hungry lion, he then roars for food,
For true bread, cry out and shout.
Christ hears all who call upon Him
And living bread, to the hungry, He gives.
That is real - the others are daydreams,
Outside Christ, there is no hoping.
The sister heard and began to weep,
The brother's counsel, she quickly obeyed.

REFLECTION

When a tyrant commits violence against the righteous out of greed, then the violence brings about one benefit and one detriment i.e., a detriment to the tyrant and a benefit to the one who violently suffered. Boris Godunov murdered Dimitri, the eight-year old crown prince in order to gain control of the throne without competition. The imperial days of Boris ended quickly and the tyrant was given over to decay and accursedness and Dimitri was proclaimed a saint. After fifteen years of lying in the grave, the body of Dimitri was exhumed and found to be uncorrupt and miracle-working. There were forty-five miraculous healings which occurred over his body. Whose, therefore, is the detriment and whose is the benefit from tyranny? If the tyrant knew, that by his tyranny, he would help his opponent to be included among the saints and that he would prepare defeat and damnation for himself, he would desist from planned violence. But a crooked-thought is the forerunner and companion of tyranny.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the action of God the Holy Spirit upon the apostles:

1. How, by the Holy Spirit, the apostles receive the mystical visions of the other world;

2. How, by the Holy Spirit, the apostles perceive the mysteries in the hearts of men.

HOMILY
About the prophesied and actual destruction of the idols of Egypt

"And the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall burn with fire " ( Jeremiah 43:13 ).

Who will burn them? Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon my servant, said the Lord. This prophecy came true. Nebuchadrezzar conquered Egypt and he destroyed the houses of the false gods by fire; the idols of the Egyptians. He burned them but he did not destroy them forever. For after that came the destruction of Babylon, again according to the prophecy of the holy Prophet Jeremiah and Babylon became and, even until today, remains " heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, without an inhabitant " ( Jeremiah 51:37 ). But, in a tradition which was recorded by St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, there remained the other prophecy of Jeremiah about the final destruction of the idols of Egypt: "All the idols will fall," says this prophecy, "and all that is made by hand will be destroyed at the time when the Virgin Mother comes here with the young Child born in a cave and placed in a manger." And this prophecy was preserved by the pagan priests themselves who, from the time of Jeremiah, introduced the custom of depicting the Virgin as she reclines on a bed and her young Child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.

Nebuchadnezzar, the servant by God's permission, could only have mowed evil but not pluck it out by the roots. But mowed evil, like mowed grass, grows again. When the Lord came to earth, He plucked out evil by the roots. Nebuchadnezzar, the servant, burned the temples and the idols but the temples were also rebuilt and new idols were made for they were not plucked out from the souls of men. When the Lord came and began His reign in the souls of the Egyptians, the temples and idols fell forever. So it is the same with the disobedient Jews who waged battle against God. Nebuchadnezzar, the servant, had taken them into bondage for seventy years and the offended Lord scattered them throughout the entire world where many of them find themselves in dispersion today even after two-thousand years. This scattering of the Jewish people throughout the entire world was clearly prophesied by Jeremiah. And so, time justified the prophet of God in all his words.

O All-seeing Lord, grant us that we adhere to the words of Your true prophet.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE VENERABLE THEODORE THE SANCTIFIED

Theodore was a disciple of St. Pachomius. He was born and raised as a pagan but as a young man came to the knowledge of the True Faith and was baptized. Learning about St. Pachomius, he secretly fled from his parent's home to Pachomius' monastery. St. Pachomius tonsured him a monk and admired him because of his unique zeal and obedience. When his mother arrived to ask him to come home, Theodore did not even want to appear before her but prayed that God would enlighten her with the truth. Indeed, not only did her son not return home, but she herself did not return home. Seeing a convent not far away which was under the spiritual direction of Pachomius' sister, she entered the convent and was tonsured a nun. After a period of time Paphnutius, Theodore's brother, also came to the monastery and was tonsured a monk. In time the bishop of Panopolis called St. Pachomius to establish a monastery for those who desired the monastic life. Pachomius took Theodore with him and entrusted him with the duty of establishing this new monastery. After the death of Pachomius, Theodore became the abbot of all Pachomius' monasteries and lived to a ripe old age. Theodore lived a life pleasing to God, directing the many monks on the road to salvation. He died peacefully and took up habitation in the kingdom of Eternal Light in the year 368 A.D.

1. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MUSA

St. Gregory the Dialogues speaks about her: she was only nine years old when, on two occasions, the All-Holy Birth-giver of God, surrounded by radiant virgins, appeared to her. When Musa expressed her desire to also be in such a radiant company of the Queen of Heaven, the Birth-giver of God said to her that, in one month, she would return to her and take her. She also instructed Musa how to live for these next thirty days. On the twenty-fifth day, Musa took to her bed. On the thirtieth day, the Holy Most-pure One appeared again calling to her in a soft voice to which Musa answered: "Behold, I am coming O Lady, behold I am coming!", and she gave up her spirit. Musa was translated from this life into life eternal in the fifth century.

1. SAINT NICHOLAS MYSTICUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Nicholas was famous because of the unusual severity of his life. When Emperor Leo the Wise married for the fourth time, the patriarch refused him entrance into the church and defrocked the priest who performed the marriage. As a result of that, the emperor deposed the patriarch and banished him to a monastery. The delegates of the Roman Pope Sergius II approved of the emperor's fourth marriage. When the emperor died, Nicholas was again restored to the patriarchal throne and called an assembly in the year 925 A.D., at which a fourth marriage for a Christian, in general, was forbidden. He died in the year 930 A.D. Nicholas is often surnamed Mysticus [The Mystic] and was a member of the emperor's secret council. At first, this saint was a high ranking courtier after which he left the vanity of the world and was tonsured a monk. He died peacefully in the year 930 A.D.

1. THE NEO-MARTYR NICHOLAS

Nicholas was born in Epira. He was tortured by the Turks for the Faith of Christ and beheaded in Trikkala in 1617 A.D. A reliquary containing the head of this martyr is preserved today in one of the Meteora monasteries in Thessaly. He performs many miracles, heals the gravest diseases and is especially known to repel grasshoppers from fields.

1. THE VENERABLE MARTYRS OF THE MONASTERY OF ST. SABAS THE SANCTIFIED

During the reign of Emperor Heraclius, about the year 610 A.D., forty-four monks from the monastery of St. Sabas the Sanctified near Jerusalem suffered for the Faith of Christ. Their heroism and sufferings were recorded by the eyewitness, St. Antiochus (December 24).

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT NICHOLAS, NEO-MARTYR

Nicholas the martyr, for Christ suffered

And by painful patience, overcame the devil;

And to deny his Savior, the hero did not want,

But glorified God as long as he had a voice;

And in his heart, he glorified Him when his voice gave out

And for greater sufferings, from his enemies begged.

Cruel as wolves, the Turks beat him,

Every inhuman suffering, they put him through.
And finally, his holy head, they beheaded.

Into the green grass, the head rolled,

The saint's head, with light radiated;

And a Christian in silk, wraps this head

And in church he brought it, for many, to be a remedy,

The disfigured to heal, the blind and the insane.

On all sides, God punished the unbelievers,

And the faithful Nicholas , eternally glorified.

REFLECTION

When Theodore the Sanctified was in Panopolis with St. Pachomius, his spiritual father, a philosopher came to him and offered to debate with him about the Faith. The philosopher then posed these three questions to Theodore: "Who was not born, but died?" "Who was born and did not die?" "Who died and did not decay?" To these questions, St. Theodore replied: "Adam was not born and died. Enoch was born and did not die. Lot's wife died and did not decay." And the saint added this advice to the philosopher: "Heed our sound advice; depart from these useless questions and scholastic syllogisms; draw near to Christ Whom we are serving and you will receive forgiveness of sins." The philosopher became mute from such a pointed answer and being ashamed, he departed. From this, the enormous difference is clearly seen between a pagan philosopher and a Christian saint. The one [the philosopher] looses himself in abstractions, in cleverly twisted words, in logical provocations and in thoughtful sport while the other [the saint] directed his whole mind on the Living God and on the salvation of his soul. The one is abstract and dead, while the other is practical and alive.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the action of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles:

1. How the Holy Spirit miraculously guides the feet of the apostles to distant lands;

2. How the Holy Spirit assembles them in Jerusalem from distant lands for the burial of the All-holy Birth-giver of God.

HOMILY

About the appearance of the prophet Jeremiah from the other world

"This done, in like manner there appeared a man with gray hairs and exceeding glorious, who was of a wonderful and excellent majesty. Then Onias answered, saying, This is a lover of the brethren, who prays much for the people and for the holy city, to wit, Jeremiah the prophet of God " ( 2 Maccabees 15:13-14 ).

This was the vision which was seen by the courageous Judas Maccabees. The first to appear to him from the other world was Onias the high priest and after that the holy Prophet Jeremiah. Just as Moses and Elijah were seen in glory by the apostles on Mt. Tabor, thus, at one time Judas Maccabees saw the Prophet Jeremiah in glory. Not even before the resurrected Christ did God the Merciful leave men without proof of life after death. In Christian times, however, those proofs are without number and without end. Whoever, even after all of this, doubts in life after death, that one stands under the curse of his sin as under his grave stone. As inanimate things cannot see the light of day, so neither can he see who doubts life which is and to which there is no end.

But, behold with what kind of glory is the Prophet Jeremiah wedded in the other life! " Gray hairs and exceeding glorious. " Around him a certain indescribable dignity, a certain bright aureole, a certain inexpressible pleasure and beauty. He who was dragged and beaten by men to whom he communicated and imparted the will of God and who was a captive in prison and a martyr in a fetid hole and who was ridiculed as folly and was tried as a traitor and finally, as a transgressor, was stoned to death. However, one is the judgment of sinners, another is the judgment of God. The most humiliated among men became wedded with angelic glory before God.

And yet behold how heaven calls one, whom the earth called false, a traitor and a transgressor! " Lover of the brethren " this is how heaven called him. "Lover of the brethren " who prays much for the people. Finally, see how the saints in heaven pray to God for us! Not sleeping, they are praying for us while we are asleep; not eating, they are praying for us while we are eating and have over-eaten; not sinning, they are praying for us while we are sinning. O brethren, let us be ashamed before so many of our sincere friends. Let us be ashamed, let us be ashamed of so many prayers for us by the saints and let us join with their prayers. O Lord All-wonderful, forgive us our sinful slothfulness and dullness.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY APOSTLE ANDRONICUS

Andronicus was one of the Seventy Apostles. He was a kinsman of St. Paul, as Paul himself writes: " Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners; they are prominent among the apostles and they were in Christ before me " ( Romans 16:7 ). Paul also mentions St. Junia, assistant of Andronicus. Andronicus was installed as bishop in Pannonia, but did not remain in one place, rather preached the Gospel throughout Pannonia. With St. Junia, he succeeded in converting many to Christ and destroyed many idolatrous temples. They both possessed the power of Grace to work miracles through which they drove out demons from men and healed every type of disease and illness. They both suffered for Christ and thus received the two-fold wreath: the apostolic wreath and the martyr's wreath. Their holy relics were discovered in the regions of Eugenius (February 22).

1. THE HOLY MARTYR SOLOCHON

Solochon was an Egyptian by birth and a Roman soldier under Commander Campanus during the reign of the nefarious Emperor Maximian. When the directive from the emperor was handed down that all the soldiers must offer up sacrifices to the idols, Solochon declared himself a Christian. Two of his companions also declared themselves Christians: Pamphamir and Pamphylon. The commander ordered that they be flogged and cruelly tortured from which Saints Pamphamir and Pamphylon died. Solochon remained alive and was subjected to new tortures. The commander ordered the soldiers to open his mouth with a sword and to pour the sacrifices of the idols into his mouth. The martyr broke the iron sword with his teeth and did not consume the foul sacrifice of the idols. Finally, they pierced a quill through both ears and left him to die. The Christians removed the martyr and brought him to the home of a widow where he gradually, by food and drink, became a little stronger and, again, continued to counsel the faithful to be persistent in their faith and in their sufferings for the Faith. Following that, he gave thanks to God, completed his earthly life and presented himself to the Lord in the kingdom of heaven in the year 298 A.D.

1. SAINT STEPHEN, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Stephen was the son of Emperor Basil the Macedonian and brother of Emperor Leo the Wise. He succeeded to the patriarchal throne after Photius and governed the Church of God from 889-893 A.D. He died peacefully and presented himself to the Lord Whom he greatly loved.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE APOSTLES ANDRONICUS AND SAINT JUNIA

The Apostle Andronicus , a kinsman of St. Paul,

A preacher of peace and spiritual health,

For Christ burned, a flaming love

And throughout the world, carried the illuminating teaching;

Without much clothing, without pay and care,

Only rich in the power of the Divine Spirit.

With St. Junia , all tortures he shared

Until, throughout Pannonia, the cross he carried!

There, darkness vanished where the honorable Cross glowed,

Separated the wheat without chaff and straw.

Awakened men from animalistic sleep.

And the gift of God's adoption, embraced

As weak reeds, the idols they destroyed,

Discord and odius vices, they abandoned,

When the heart begins to sob, the mouth sang:

We are Your children, O Heavenly Father!

The light from Your apostle, we now receive,

Forgive us, that slaves to the idols we were.

REFLECTION

Following a terrible earthquake in Antioch, St. John Chrysostom spoke to the people: "Great are the fruits of an earthquake. Behold the Man-loving Lord Who quakes the city and strengthens the soul, Who sways the foundation and strengthens the thoughts, Who shows the weakness of the city and makes the will of the people powerful! Turn your attention to His love for mankind: He sways for a while - and strengthens forever; earthquake - for two days, but the devotion should remain for all times; you were sorrowful for a short time - but strengthened forever. A mother, wanting to wean her child from of the habit of frequent crying, strongly rocks its little crib not in order to harm it, but to frighten it. Precisely, thus the Lord of all, Who holds the universe in His hands shakes it, not in order to destroy it, but rather to bring back those men to salvation who live lawlessly." Behold this is how the Holy Fathers, the pillars of the Universal Church, knew how to explain God's love for man, both assaults in the same way as good works, and misfortune the same way as fortune. Let us who are slow to give thanks to God be ashamed when He gives and quick in our murmuring toward him when He takes away.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the action of God the Holy Spirit upon the holy martyrs for the Faith:

1. How the Holy Spirit gives them wisdom to speak before judges;

2. How the Holy Spirit gives them courage to die on the scaffold.

HOMILY

About the Holy Spirit the Comforter

"But the Comforter the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you " ( St. John 14:26 ).

What practical meaning do these words have, if not that it is necessary that we pray daily that the Holy Spirit be sent to us just as we pray every day for our daily bread? God is willing to send us the Holy Spirit every day but He seeks that we pray daily for the Holy Spirit. For as, in regard to bread which is, at one time abundant and at another time scarce, so it is also in regard to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to us and departs from us, according to our zealousness and our slothfulness in prayer, according to our good deeds and our patience. That is the reason why the Church established that morning services begin with an invocation of the Holy Spirit: " O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Come!" , and after that comes the prayer: " give us our daily bread !" Why? Because, without the Holy Spirit, we do not even know how to use bread as it should be used for our salvation.

"He shall teach you all things ." That is : every day and every night, according to the conditions and circumstances in which you will find yourself in, He will direct you, counsel you, teach you what you should think, what you should say and what you should do. For that reason, implore from God only the Holy Spirit and all else He Himself will bring with Him all that you will need at that particular moment. When the Holy Spirit shall descend upon you, you will know all, understand all and you will be capable of all that is necessary.

"And bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said to you ." That is : do not be afraid that you will forget my teaching and my words. The Holy Spirit also knows all that I know so when He will be present in you all My teaching will be present in you, together with Him.

O Lord, Holy Spirit deign to descend upon us not according to our merits but according to the merits of the Lord Jesus and according to Your infinite goodness.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.