Today's Saint: Honor to Whom Honor Is Due

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Saturday, November 8, 2003 we celebrate:

Synaxis of Michael and Gabriel the Chief Commanders and the Other Bodiless Hosts

Through the intercessions of our Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel and the other Bodiless Hosts, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Synaxis of Michael and Gabriel the Chief Commanders and the Other Bodiless Hosts

Apolytikion: Fourth Tone

O Commanders of the Heavenly Host, we the unworthy beseech you, that through your entreaties you will fortify us, guarding us in the shelter of the wings of your ethereal glory, even as we fervently bow before you crying: "Deliver us from all danger, as Commanders of the Powers on high! "

Kontakion: Second Tone

Chief Commanders of God; ministers of divine glory; guides for men and leadership of the Incorporeal; as Chief Commanders of the Incorporeal, plead for our welfare and for great mercy.

Reading:

All the Angels, according to the Apostle Paul, are ministering spirits, - sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation - (Heb. 1:14). God set them as overseers of every nation and people, and guides to that which is profitable (Deut. 32:8); and while one Angel is appointed to oversee each nation as a whole, one is also appointed to protect each Christian individually. He commands them to guard them that hope on Him, that nothing should harm them, neither should any evil draw nigh to their dwelling (Ps. 90:10-12). In the Heavens they always behold the face of God, sending up to Him the thrice-holy hymn and interceding with Him in our behalf, seeing they rejoice over one sinner that repents (Esaias 6:2-3; Matt. 18:10; Luke 15:7). In a word, they have seved God in so many ways for our benefit, that the pages of Holy Scripture are filled with the histories thereof. It is for these reasons that the Orthodox Catholic Church, wisely honouring these divine minsters, our protectors and guardians, celebrates today the present Synaxis that is, our coming together in assembly for their common feast to chant their praises, especially for the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, who are mentioned in the Scriptures by name. The name Michael means "Who is like God?" and Gabriel means "God is mighty." The number of Angels is not defined in the divine Scriptures, where Daniel says that thousands of thousands ministered before Him, and ten thousands of ten thousands attended upon Him -(Dan. 7:10). But all of them are divided into inine orders which are called Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim, Dominions, Powers, Authorities, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Sunday, November 9, 2003 we celebrate:

7th Sunday of Luke

Holy Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius

Holy Mother Matrona

Holy Mother Theoctiste of Lesbos

Through the intercessions of our Holy Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius, and our Holy Mothers Matrona and Theoctiste, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius

Kontakion: Second Tone

The martyric pair contested with great steadfastness and dashed to the earth the boasting of the enemy and were made to shine with the grace of the uncreated Trinity, and now with the angelic Hosts the glorious Martyrs pray to God for us.

Reading:

During the persectuion of Diocletian and Maximian, about the year 290, Saints Onesiphorus and Porphyries were betrayed as Christians to the persecutors. After many torments through which they stood fast in confessing their faith, they were bound by the feet to wild horses and dragged to death.

Holy Mother Matrona

Apolytikion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone (tone 8)

The image of God, was faithfully preserved in you, O Mother. For you took up the Cross and followed Christ. By Your actions you taught us to look beyond the flesh for it passes, rather to be concerned about the soul which is immortal. Wherefore, O Holy Matrona, your soul rejoices with the angels.

Kontakion: Second Tone

While dwelling 'midst men, with fasting thou didst waste thy flesh, and thou didst devote thyself unto unceasing prayers; thus, Matrona, thou didst piously serve the Master in Whose behalf thou forsookest all things, O Saint, and broughtest thy life to its end righteously.

Reading:

Saint Matrona was from Perga in Pamphylia, and lived in the fifth century; she was wedded to a husband and bore him a daughter. After her husband's death, she entrusted her daughter to a certain woman she knew, and then passed her life in asceticism in Constantinople, living almost one hundred years.

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Monday, November 10, 2003, we celebrate the memory of:
Holy Apostles of the Seventy: Olympas, Rodionos, Erastos, Sosipatros, Kovartos and Orestos
Holy Martyr Orestes
Holy Father Arsenius of Cappadocia
Our Holy Father Gregory, Bishop of Assa

Through the intercessions of our Holy Apostles of the Seventy, our Holy Martyr Orestes, our Holy Father Arsenius and our Holy Father Gregory, Bishop of Assa, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Apostles of the Seventy: Olympas, Rodionos, Erastos, Sosipatros, Kovartos and Orestos

Apolytikion: Third Tone

O Holy Apostles, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls, forgiveness of sins.

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

The most solemn festival of the Apostles hath this day appeared to us and manifestly doth bestow divine forgiveness of trespasses on all that faithfully keep their memorial.

Reading:

Of these Saints, Olympas and Rodion became disciples of Peter, the chief Apostle, and came to Rome, where they were beheaded by Nero. The others reposed in peace, having become bishops: Sosipater of Iconium, Quartus of Beirut, and Erastus of Paneas, or Paneias (which was also called Caesarea of Philippi); Saint Erastus had been chamberlain of the city of Corinth (Rom.16:23).

Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA

Holy Martyr Orestes

Apolytikion: Fourth Tone

Thy Martyr, O Lord in his courageous contest for Thee received the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

Kontakion: Second Tone

Thine invincibility in contest, O Martyr, was accepted and rewarded by Christ, the Prize-bestower; and He hath granted thee the crown of life and the divine power to work healings, O Orestes, since He is the Friend of man.

Reading:

Saint Orestes was from Tyana of Cappadocia. During the persecution of Diocletian, this Martyr's ankles were pierced with long nails; being bound to a wild horse and violently dragged by it, he gave up his spirit in the year 289.

Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA


All readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
All kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Tuesday, November 11, 2003 we celebrate:

Tuesday of the 8th Week

Holy Martyr Menas

Holy Martyr Victor and Stephanie

Our Righteous Father Theodore the Confessor and Stydite

Through the intercessions of our Holy Martyrs Menas, Victor and Stephanie, our Father Theodore, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Martyr Menas

Kontakion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [tone 8]

As godly-minded athletes and Martyrs who strove for piety, the Church doth honour and glorify this day the godly contests and travails of Menas the prizewinner, noble Victor, brave Vincent, and valiant Stephanie, and lovingly doth cry out and glorify Christ, the Friend of man.

Reading:

Saint Menas, who had Egypt as his fatherland, contested in Cotyaeion of Phrygia in 296 during the reign of Diocletian and Maximian. A soldier distinguished for his valour in war, h renounced his rank and withdrew to devote himself to ascetical struggles and prayer in the mountains. Filled with zeal and more than human courage, he presented himself in the mids of a pagan festival in Cotyaeion and declared himself to be a Christian. After terrible torments which he endured with astonishing courage, he was beheaded. His martyrium in Egypt became a place of universal pilgrimage; evidence of ancient journeys to his shrine have been found as far away as Ireland. The glory and refuge of the Christians of Egypt, he has been revealed to be a worker of great miracles and a swift defender for all who call on him with faith; besides all else, he is also invoked for help in finding lost objects.

Holy Martyr Victor and Stephanie

Kontakion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [tone 8]

As godly-minded athletes and Martyrs who strove for piety, the Church doth honour and glorify this day the godly contests and travails of Menas the prizewinner, noble Victor, brave Vincent, and valiant Stephanie, and lovingly doth cry out and glorify Christ, the Friend of man.

Reading:

Saints Victor and Stephanie contested in Damascus in 160, during the reign of Antoninus Pius. The pagans arrested Saint Victor as a Christian and cut off his fingers, put out his eyes, and beheaded him. As Saint Stephanie, the wife of a certain soldier, and a Christian, saw Vic-tor's nobility in his sufferings, she loudly cried out to call him blessed and to say that she saw two crowns prepared, one for him, and one for herself. She also was taken, and was tied to two palm trees which had been bowed down; when they were released, she was torn asunder.

Our Righteous Father Theodore the Confessor and Stydite

Kontakion: Second Tone

Ascetic in truth and equal to the Angel's life, thy life was made bright with contests and martyric trials; and the holy Angels' companion was thou, Theodore, blest of God; now together with them, O Saint, thou ceaselessly prayest Christ in our behalf.

Reading:

Saint Theodore the Studite was born in Constantinople in 759; his pious parents were named Photinus and Theoctiste. He assumed the monastic habit in his youth, at the monastery called Sakkoudion, and became abbot there in 794. About the year 784 he was ordained deacon, and later presbyter by the most holy Patriarch Tarasius. On joining the brotherhood 0£ the Monastery of Studium (which was named after its founder Studius, a Roman consul), the Saint received the surname "Studite." He proved to be a fervent zealot for the traditions of the Fathers and contested even unto death for the sake of his reverence for the holy icons. He endured three exiles because of his pious zeal. During the third one, to which he was condemned by the Iconoclast autocrat, Leo the Armenian, he endured courageously - being beaten and bound and led from one dark dungeon to another for seven whole years. Finally he was recalled from exile by Michael the Stutterer. Receiving thus a small respite from his labours of long endurance, he reposed in the Lord on November 11, 826, a Sunday, while his disciples, who stood round about him, chanted the 118th Psalm. Some say that after receiving the immaculate Mysteries, he himself began chanting this psalm. And on reaching the verse, ' I will never forget Thy statutes, for in them hast Thou quickened me" (Ps. 118:93), he gave up his spirit, having lived for sixty-seven years. In addition to his other sacred writings, he composed, with the collaboration of his brother Joseph, almost the whole of the compunctionate book of the Triodion (see also July 14).

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Wednesday, November 12, 2003 we celebrate:

Wednesday of the 8th Week

Our Holy Father John the Merciful, Archbishop of Alexandria

Our Righteous Father Nilus the Ascetic

Through the intercessions of our Holy Fathers John and Nilus, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Our Holy Father John the Merciful, Archbishop of Alexandria

Kontakion: Second Tone

Thy riches and wealth didst thou disperse unto the poor; thou now hast received the Heavens' riches in return. For this cause, O all-wise John, we all honour thee with our songs of praise as we keep thy memorial, O namesake of almsgiving and of mercy.

Reading:

Saint John was born in 555 on the island of Cyprus in the city of Amathus; his father, Epiphanius, was a ruler of Cyprus. The Saint was consecrated Archbishop of Alexandria in 608. A man of exemplary uprightness, in his zeal for Orthodoxy he strove mightily to fight the many heresies among the Christians in Egypt; but above all, he was famous for his singular generosity, humility, and sympathy towards all, especially the poor. His mercy was so great that the report of it reached the Persian invaders of Jerusalem, who desired to see him because of it. Saint John reposed in 619, at the age of sixty-four.

Our Righteous Father Nilus the Ascetic

Apolytikion: Fourth Tone

With the rivers of your tears, you have made the barren desert fertile. Through sighs of sorrow from deep within you, your labors have borne fruit a hundred-fold. By your miracles you have become a light, shining upon the world. O Nilus, our Holy Father, pray to Christ our God, to save our souls.

Kontakion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [Tone 8]

By thine unsleeping prayer, O Father Nilus blest of God, thou didst most keenly cut away all the material that enkindleth the revolts of the body's passions; and since thou possessest boldness with the Lord of all, from all dangers that can be do thou deliver me that I may cry to thee: Rejoice, O universal Father.

Reading:

Saint Nilus, who had Constantinople as his homeland, was a disciple of Saint John Chrysos-tom. He had formerly been an eparch of the city, then became an ascetic on Mount Sinai. He wrote epistles and various ascetical works, and reposed about 451.

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Thursday, November 13, 2003 we celebrate:

Our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Through the intercessions of our Holy Father St. John Chrysostom, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Apolytikion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [tone 8]

The grace of your words illuminated the universe like a shining beacon. It amassed treasures of munificence in the world. It demonstrated the greatness of humility, teaching us by your own words; therefore, O Father John Chrysostom, intercede to Christ the Logos for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion: Plagal of the Second Tone [Tone 6]

You received divine grace from Heaven, and by your own lips taught all to worship the One God in Trinity. All-blessed, venerable John Chrysostom, deservedly, we praise you for you are a teacher clearly revealing things divine.

Reading:

This greatest and most beloved of all Christian orators was born in Antioch the Great in the year 344 or 347; his pious parents were called Secundus and Anthusa. After his mother was widowed at the age of twenty, she devoted herself to bringing up John and his elder sister in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. John received his literary training under Anthragathius the philosopher, and Libanius the sophist, who was the greatest Greek scholar and rhetorician of his day. Libanius was a pagan, and when asked before his death whom he wished to have for his successor, he said, "John, had not the Christians stolen him from us." With such a training, and with such gifts as he had by nature, John had before him a brilliant career as a rhetorician. But through the good example of his godly mother Anthusa and of the holy Bishop Meletius of Antioch (see Feb. 12), by whom he was ordained reader about the year 370, he chose instead to dedicate himself to God. From the years 374 to 381 he lived the monastic life in the hermitages that were near Antioch. His extreme asceticism undermined his health, compelling him to return to Antioch, where Saint Meletius ordained him deacon about the year 381. Saint Meletius was called to Constantinople later that year to preside over the Second Ecumenical Council, during which he fell asleep in the Lord. In 386 Bishop Flavian ordained John presbyter of the Church of Antioch. Upon his elevation to the priesthood his career as a public preacher began, and his exceptional oratorical gifts were made manifest through his many sermons and commentaries. They are distinguished by their eloquence and the remarkable ease with which rich imagery and scriptural allusions are multiplied; by their depth of insight into the meaning of Scripture and the workings of God's providence; and, not least of all, by their earnestness and moral force, which issue from the heart of a blameless and guileless man who lived first what he preached to others. Because of his fame, he was chosen to succeed Saint Nectarius as Patriarch of Constantinople. He was taken away by stealth, to avoid the opposition of the people, and consecrated Patriarch of Constantinople on Februaryy 28, 398, by Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who was to prove his mortal enemy.

At that time the Emperor of the East was Arcadius, who had had Saint Arsenius the Great as his tutor (see May 8); Arcadius was a man of weak character, and much under the influence of his wife Eudoxia. The zealous and upright Chrysostom's unsparing censures of the lax morals in the imperial city stung the vain Eudoxia; through Theophilus' plottings and her collaboration, Saint John was banished to Pontus in 403. The people were in an uproar, and the following night an earthquake shook the city; this so frightened the Empress Eudoxia that she begged Arcadius to call Chrysostom back. While his return was triumphant, his reconciliation with the Empress did not last long. When she had a silver statue of herself erected in the forum before the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Saint Sophia) in September of 403, and had it dedicated with much unseemly revelry, Saint John thundered against her, and she could not forgive him. In June of 404 he was exiled to Cucusus, on the borders of Cilicia and Armenia. From here he exchanged letters with Pope Innocent of Rome, who sent bishops and priests to Constantinople requesting that a council be held. Saint John's enemies, dreading his return, prevailed upon the Emperor to see an insult in this, and had John taken to a more remote place of banishment called Pityus near the Caucasus. The journey was filled with bitter sufferings for the aged bishop, both because of the harshness of the elements and the cruelty of one of his 310 guards. He did not reach Pityus, but gave up his soul to the Lord near Comana in Pontus, at the chapel of the Martyr Basiliscus (see May 22), who had appeared to him shortly before, foretelling the day of his death, which came to pass on September 14, 407. His last words were 'Glory be to God for all things." His holy relics were brought from Comana to Constantinople thirty-one years later by the Emperor Theodosius the Younger and Saint Pulcheria his sister, the children of Arcadius and Eudoxia, with fervent supplications that the sin of their parents against him be forgiven; this return of his holy relics is celebrated on January 27.

Saint John was surnamed Chrysostom ("Golden-mouth") because of his eloquence. He made exhaustive commentaries on the divine Scriptures and was the author of more works than any other Church Father, leaving us complete commentaries on the Book of Genesis, the Gospels of Saints Matthew and John, the Acts, and all the Epistles of Saint Paul. His extant works are 1,447 sermons and 240 epistles. Twenty-two teachers of the Church have written homilies of praise in his honour. Besides his feasts today and on January 2 7, he is celebrated as one of the Three Hierarchs on January 30, together with Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory the Theologian.

It should be noted that, because September 14 is the Exaltation of the Cross, the Saint's memory has been transferred to this day.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA



Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Friday, November 14, 2003 we celebrate:

Holy Glorious and All-Famed Philip the Apostle
Holy Great New Martyr Constantine of Hydra
Our Righteous Father Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessolonica

Through the intercessions of our Holy Fathers Philip the Apostle and Gregory Palamas, and our Holy Martyr Hyrda, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Glorious and All-Famed Philip the Apostle

Apolytikion: Third Tone

O Holy Apostle Philip, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.

Kontakion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [tone 8]

Your disciple and friend, emulator of Your passion, the divinely eloquent Philip, proclaimed You to the world as God. By his entreaties, and through the Theotokos, keep Your Church from lawless enemies, O most merciful.

Reading:

This Apostle, one of the Twelve, was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and was a compatriot of Andrew and Peter. He was instructed in the teachings of the Law, and devoted himself to the study of the prophetic books. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus called him to the dignity of apostleship, he immediately sought out and found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of Whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1.45). Having preached Jesus the God-man throughout many parts of Asia Minor, and having suffered many things for His Name's sake, he was finally crucified upside down in Hierapolis of Phrygia.

Our Righteous Father Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessolonica

Apolytikion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [tone 8]

The guide of Orthodox beliefs, and sacred teacher of true religion and of dignity, the luminary of the world, the God-inspired adornment of the episcopate, O Gregory the wise, through your instructions you have illumined all, O harp of the Spirit. Intercede with Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikia courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA


Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Saturday, November 15, 2003 we celebrate:

Saturday of the 8th Week

Thomas, Archbishop of Constantinople

Holy Martyrs and Confessors Gouria, Shamuna and Habib

Through the intercessions of our Holy Father Thomas and our Holy Martyrs and Confessors: Gouria, Shamuna and Habib, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Martyrs and Confessors Gouria, Shamuna and Habib

Kontakion: Second Tone

O yoke-mate of Paul, together with him, thou didst preach the tidings to us of saving grace bestowed of God, O Apostle Titus, blest and elect revealer of mysteries; for which cause we cry out to thee: Cease not to entreat Christ God for all of us.

Reading:

Of these most illustrious Martyrs of the city of Edessa in Syria, Guria and Shamuna con-tested during the reign of Diocletian, in 288; after many tortures, they were cast into prison, then beheaded. Saint Habib, a deacon, contested in the days of Licinius, in the year 316, and was burned alive; he was buried with Saints Guria and Shamuna. The three have one common feast, and it is always together that they are portrayed in icons and invoked by the faithful. On account of a renowned miracle they worked, they are invoked for help in marital difficulties. A certain Goth had come with the Roman army to Edessa and was quartered in the house of a pious widow named Sophia. The Goth asked Sophia for the hand of her daughter, Euphemia; after resisting for a long time, Sophia at last agreed. When it was time for the army to return home, Sophia made the Goth vow by the power in the holy Martyrs Shamuna, Guria, and Habib, to keep Euphemia as the apple of his eye. As he was nearing his home, however, the treacherous man revealed to Euphemia that he already had a wife. Euphemia was com-pelled to serve the Goths wife, who dealt with her mercilessly. After extreme sufferings, which included being sealed alive in a tomb and left there to die, Euphemia was miraculously conveyed to Edessa, to the very shrine of the holy Martyrs whose surety they had taken, and was reunited with her mother through their holy prayers.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Sunday, November 16, 2003 we celebrate:

Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew

Through the intercessions of our Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew

Apolytikion: Third Tone

O Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

When thou dist cast away the publican's balance and wast united to the yoke of uprightness, then didst thou prove a merchant of great excellence, one that gathered in the wealth of the wisdom of Heaven; for this cause, the word of truth thou didst herald, O Matthew, and didst arouse the souls of sluggish men by signifying the dread day of reckoning.

Reading:

This Apostle, who was also called Levi, was the son of Alphaeus and had Galilee as his homeland. A publican before being called by Christ, he became one of the Twelve Apostles, and an Evangelist. While still in Palestine, he wrote his Gospel first in Hebrew, being also the first of all to write the Gospel. When he is depicted in icons, there is portrayed next to him the likeness of a man, one of the symbolic living creatures mentioned by Ezekiel (1.10), which, as Saint Irenaeus writes, is a symbol of our Saviour's Incarnation.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

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On Monday, November 17, 2003 we celebrate:

Monday of the 9th Week

Our Righteous Father Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea

Gennadius and Maximus, Archbishops of Constantinople

Through the intercessions of our Holy Fathers Gregory, Gennadius and Maximus, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Our Righteous Father Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea

Kontakion: Second Tone

Since thou hadst received the power to work miracles, thou dravest from men diseases, O wise Gregory, and with fearful signs thou madest the demons tremble; hence, thou art called Wonderworker, O man of God; for thou hast received thy surname from thy works.

Reading:

Saint Gregory was born in Neocaesarea of Pontus to parents who were not Christians. He studied in Athens, in Alexandria, in Beirut, and finally for five years in Caesarea of Palestine under Origen, by whom he was also instructed in the Faith of Christ. Then, in the year 240, he became bishop of his own city, wherein he found only seventeen Christians. By the time the Saint reposed about the year 265, there were only seventeen unbelievers left there. Virtually the whole duration of his episcopacy was a time of continual, marvellous wonders worked by him. Because of this, he received the surname "Wonderworker"; even the enemies of the truth called him a second Moses (see Saint Basil the Great's On the Holy Spirit, ch. 29).

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Tuesday, November 18, 2003 we celebrate:

Tuesday of the 9th Week

Holy New Martyr Anastasius of Paramythia

Holy Martyr Romanus

Zaccheus the Deacon

Through the intercessions of our Holy Martyrs Anastasius, Romanus, and Zaccheus the Deacon, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Martyr Romanus

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

O all-lauded Romanus, since the Church hath thee as a bright, majestic star, she is now guided by the light of thy great contests, and she doth praise and glorify thine all-luminous memory.

Reading:

Saint Romanus, who was from Antioch, lived during the reign of Maximian. He presented himself before Asclepiades the Eparch, and rebuked him, saying, "The idols are not gods; even a little child could tell you that." Then the Saint asked that a child be brought in from the mar-ket, that he might be the judge of the matter at hand. Therefore, when the child was asked, "Which God must we worship?" he replied, "Christ." The child was beaten mercilessly and beheaded at the command of the tyrant. As for Saint Romanus, his tongue was cut out, and then he was cast into prison, where he was strangled in the year 305.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA


Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Wednesday, November 19, 2003 we celebrate:

Wednesday of the 9th Week

Holy Obadiach the Prophet

Holy Martrys Barlaam and Heliodorus

Holy Martyrs Anthimus, Thallelaius, Christopher and Euphemia

Through the intercessions of our Holy Prophet Obadiach and our Holy Martyrs Barlaam, Heliodorus, Anthimus, Thallelaius, Christopher, and Euphemia, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen

Holy Obadiach the Prophet

Apolytikion: Third Tone

As we celebrate the memory of Thy Prophet Obadiach, O Lord, through him we beseech Thee to save our souls.

Kontakion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone (tone 8)

As a divinely-chosen Prophet, thou foretoldest things far off, that on Mount Sion salvation should come to pass, for Heaven's myst'ries shone on thee; as thou dwellest in Heaven with the Prophets, rejoicing in Christ whom ye foretold, entreat Him, O Abdias, to save us, who honour thee with love.

Reading:

The Divine Scriptures do not tell us with any certainty when the Prophet Abdias lived nor what was his homeland. Thus, some say that he is that Abdias who was Ahab's steward, who, because of Jezebel's wrath, hid one hundred prophets in a cave and fed them with bread and water (III Kings 18:4), and that he later became a disciple of Elias the Prophet about 903 B.C. But others surmise from the words of the same prophetical book that he is somewhat later than Joel (celebrated on Oct. 19). He is also called Obdiu, or Abdiu, or Obadiah; his name means "servant of God." His book of prophecy, which consists of only one chapter, is ranked fourth among the minor Prophets.

Holy Martrys Barlaam and Heliodorus

Kontakion: Third Tone

Weak with age, yet thou didst slay him that is ancient in evil when thou didst present to Christ thy burnt right hand and sweet incense; for thou barest bitter tortures with great endurance, casting down the fleshless foe with thy fleshly suff'rings. Now thou standest at the right hand of thy Creator, O valiant martyr Barlaam.

Reading:

Saint Barlaam, who was from a certain village near Antioch in Syria, was advanced in years and a husbandman by occupation. Because of his confession of Christ, he was brought before the judge, who had him scourged with whips and then scraped with iron claws. Since this could not break his constancy, he was forcibly haled to the idols' temple, and live coals with incense were placed in his right hand. The judge thought that he would cast them down because of the pain, thus seeming to have offered a sacrifice of incense to the idols. But Saint Barlaam stood unmoving until his hand was thoroughly burned by the coals; he fell to the ground, and so gave up his soul into the hands of the Lord. He contested in martyrdom dur-ing the reign of Diocletian (284-305). Saint Basil the Great and Saint John Chrysostom both gave homilies in his honour.

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Thursday, November 20, 2003 we celebrate:

Thursday of the 9th Week

Our Righteous Father Gregory Decapolite

Our Holy Father Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople

Forefeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple

Through the intercessions of our Holy Fathers Gregory and Proclus and the Most Holy Theotokos, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Our Righteous Father Gregory Decapolite

Kontakion: Third Tone

The Church knoweth thee to be a shining sun that enlight'neth all men with the rays of cures and with the beauty of virtue. Hence, O truly blessed Father, Christ's faithful servant, we all celebrate thy venerable memorial, O wise Gregory most righteous; and we now honour thy valiant struggles for Christ.

Reading:

Saint Gregory who was from Irenopolis of the Decapolis of Asia Minor, was the son of Sergius and Mary. He became a monk as a young man, and after struggling for many years in virtue and prayer under obedience to a wise spiritual father, he was informed by revelation that it was the will of God for him to live, like the Patriarch Abraham, with no certain dwelling, moving from place to place. His journeyings took him to Ephesus, Constantinople, Corinth, Rome, Sicily, Thessalonica, and again to Constantinople, where, after many labours in defence of Orthodoxy against Iconoclasm, he reposed in peace in the first half of the ninth century. He had two disciples, one of whom was Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (see Apr. 3), who wrote the Menaion service for Saint Gregory, his father in Christ.

Our Holy Father Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

On this day, thy ven'rable departure from us, O wise Proclus blest of God, is celebrated fittingly with joy by her that in very truth is the most honoured of cities in all the world.

Reading:

Saint Proclus lived during the reign of Saint Theodosius the Younger. A disciple and scribe of Saint John Chrysostom, he was ordained Bishop of Cyzicus about the year 426, but because the people there unlawfully elected another bishop before his arrival, he remained in Constantinople. In 429, Nestorius, who had been Archbishop of Constantinople for about a year, and had already begun his blasphemous teaching that it is wrong to call the holy Virgin "Theotokos," invited Bishop Proclus to give a sermon on one of the feasts of our Lady, which he did, openly defending in Nestorius' presence the name "Theotokos," that is, "Mother of God." Saint Proclus was elevated to the throne of Archbishop of Constantinople in 434. It was he who persuaded Emperor Theodosius the Younger and his holy sister Pulcheria to have the most sacred relics of his godly teacher Saint John Chrysostom brought back from Comana, and triumphantly received them upon their return to the imperial city (see Jan. 27 and Nov. 13). He reposed in peace in 447.

Forefeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

The whole world is filled today with joy and gladness on the Theotokos's auspicious and resplendent feast, whereon with great voice it crieth out: The heavenly tabernacle is she in truth.

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

Today, Friday, November 21, 2003, we celebrate the
Entry of the Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos into the Temple.

Through the intercessions of the Most Pure Theotokos, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Entry of the Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos into the Temple

Apolytikion: Fourth Tone

Today is the prelude of God's pleasure and the proclamation of man's salvation. The Virgin is clearly made manifest in the temple of God and foretells Christ to all. Let us also cry out to her with mighty voice, "Hail, fulfillment of the Creator's dispensation. "

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

Today, the most pure temple of the Savior, the precious bridal chamber and Virgin, the sacred treasure of God, enters the house of the Lord, bringing the grace of the Divine Spirit. The Angels of God praise her. She is the heavenly tabernacle.

Reading:

According to the tradition of the Church, the Theotokos was brought to the Temple at three years of age, where she was consecrated to God and spent her days until she was fourteen or fifteen years old; and then, as a mature maiden, by the common counsel of the priests (since her parents had reposed some three years before), she was betrothed to Joseph.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Saturday, November 22, 2003 we celebrate:

Saturday of the 9th Week

Beginning of the Afterfeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos

Ss. Philemon and Archippus the Apostles, Martyr Apphia, and St. Onesimus, disciple of St. Paul

Holy Martyr Cecilia and Those with Her

Through the intercessions of the Most Pure Theotokos, of the Holy Apostles Philemon and Archippus, and the Holy Martyrs Apphia, Cecilia, and Onesimus, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Ss. Philemon and Archippus the Apostles, Martyr Apphia, and St. Onesimus, disciple of St. Paul

Apolytikion: Third Tone

O Holy Apostles, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls, forgiveness of sins.

Kontakion: Second Tone

We praise Christ's Apostles as bright stars illumining the ends of the world, glorious Philemon, Onesimus, Archippus, and with them, wise Apphia, crying: Pray unceasingly in behalf of us all.

Reading:

The Holy Martyrs Cecilia, Valerian, and Tiburtius. Philemon, who was from Colossae, a city of Phrygia, was a man both wealthy and noble; Apphia was his wife. Archippus became Bishop of the Church in Colossae. All three were disciples of the Apostle Paul. Onesimus, who was formerly an unbeliever and slave of Philemon, stole certain of his vessels and fled to Rome. However, on finding him there, the Apostle Paul guided him onto the path of virtue and the knowledge of the truth, and sent him back to his master Philemon, to whom he wrote an epistle (this is one of the fourteen epistles of Saint Paul). In this epistle, Paul commended Onesimus to his master and reconciled the two. Onesimus was later made a bishop; in Greece he is honoured as the patron Saint of the imprisoned. All these Saints received their end by martyrdom, when they were stoned to death by the idolaters. Saint Onesimus is also commemorated on February 15.

Holy Martyr Cecilia and Those with Her

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

In godly wise let us, the hosts of the faithful, sing hymns to her wedded to Christ of her own will, Cecilia, whose pure heart with virtues was adorned; for she wholly put to shame the conceit of Almacius, and she shone bright as the sun amidst them that pursued her and then appeared to those upon the earth as a divine staff that strengthened the holy Faith.

Reading:

Saint Cecilia was of an illustrious Roman family. On being betrothed to Valerian, she drew him to the Faith of Christ, and he in turn drew his own brother Tiburtius to the same. They contested in martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian, in the year 288.

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Sunday, November 23, 2003 we celebrate:

9th Sunday of Luke

Our Holy Father Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium

St. Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum

Through the intercessions of Our Holy Father Amphilochius and Gregory, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Our Holy Father Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium

Kontakion: Second Tone

O thunder divine, thou husbandman of faithful men, the Spirit's clear trump, O axe that hewest heresies, Hierarch Amphilochius, thou great servant of God the Trinity, ever with the Angels on high cease not interceding for us all, O Saint.

Reading:

Saint Amphilochius, who was born in Cappadocia, shone forth in asceticism and divine knowledge even from his youth. He was consecrated Bishop of Iconium in 341, he struggled courageously against the blasphemies of Eunomius, Macedonius the enemy of the Holy Spir and the followers of Arius. He was present at the Second Ecumenical Council of the 150 Fathers, which took place in Constantinople, convoked during the reign of Theodosius d Great in the year 381. In 383 Amphilochius wished to persuade the Emperor Theodosius to forbid the Arians from gathering in Constantinople and to commit the churches to the Orthodox, but the Emperor was reluctant to do such a thing. The next time that Amphilochius entered the palace, he addressed Theodosius with proper honour, but slighted his young so Arcadius in his presence. Theodosius was indignant, and said the dishonour shown to his so was equally an insult to himself. To this Saint Amphilochius answered that as he would not suffer an insult to his son, so he ought to believe that God is wroth with those who blasphem His Only-begotten. Saint Theodosius understood and admired Amphilochius' ingenious device, and he issued the desired edict in September of the same year. Saint Amphilochius, hav ing reached deep old age, reposed in peace about the year 395. Saint Basil the Great wrot many letters to Saint Amphilochius, his friend and Fellow champion of the Faith, and at hi request wrote his treatise On the Holy Spirit, which besides demonstrating the divinity of th Holy Spirit and His equality with the Father and the Son, defends the Church's unwritten ancient traditions, such as making the sign of the Cross, turning towards the East in prayer, no kneeling on Sunday, and so forth.

St. Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

With the Holy Spirit's rays, which shine a great light, doth the Church illuminate the way of them that celebrate thy joyous falling-asleep today, O righteous Father, supremely-blest Gregory.

Reading:

Saint Gregory, the son of pious parents named Chariton and Theodora, was born in Agri gentum, a city of Sicily, and was great in virtue from his childhood. He was baptized, brought up, and tonsured reader by Bishop Potamion during the reign of Justinian II, in the sevend century. At the age of eighteen he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he was ordained dea con by Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem. He travelled to Constantinople, and then to Rome where he was consecrated Bishop of his native Agrigentum. As Bishop of Agrigentum he worked many miracles and shone brilliantly in virtue, but also suffered many great temptation; from the priests Sabine and Crescentius, who so envied him that they slandered him to the Pope as a fornicator and had him cast into prison for two and a half years. In the end, however, he vindicated himself by casting the demon out of the woman who had falsely accused him of committing sin with her. Saint Gregory reposed in peace in deep old age

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Monday, November 24, 2003 we celebrate:

Monday of the 10th Week

Our Holy Father Clement, Pope of Rome

Holy Hieromartyr Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria

Through the intercessions of Our Holy Father Clement and our Holy Hieromartyr Peter, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Our Holy Father Clement, Pope of Rome

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

O divine unshakeable towers of Christ's Church, pillars of true piety who are most mighty and divine: Clement and Peter, ye all-acclaimed, by your entreaties, protect and guard all of us.

Reading:

Saint Clement was instructed in the Faith of Christ by the Apostle Peter. He became Bishop of Rome in the year 91, the third after the death of the Apostles. He died as a martyr about the year 100 during the reign of Trajan.

Holy Hieromartyr Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

O divine unshakeable towers of Christ's Church, pillars of true piety who are most mighty and divine: Clement and Peter, ye all-acclaimed, by your entreaties, protect and guard all of us.

Reading:

Saint Peter illustriously occupied the throne of Alexandria for twelve years, and, as Eusebius says, "was a divine example of a bishop on account of the excellence of his life and his study of the sacred Scriptures" (see Eusebius, Eccl. Hist., Book VII, 3 2; Book VIII 11, 13; and Book IX, 6). He excommunicated Arius for his sympathy with the Meletian schism. When Arius learned that Saint Peter had been imprisoned, he sent many priests and deacons to him, asking that he receive him back into the communion of the Church before his martyrdom. When the ambas-sadors of Arius, who had not, like Saint Peter, perceived the ruin he would engender, were astonished at the vehemence with which Saint Peter refused to receive Arius again, he revealed to them a dread vision he had seen, in which the Master Christ had appeared to him as a child wearing a garment torn from head to foot. When Saint Peter asked the Lord who rent His gar-ment, the Lord answered that it was Arius, and that he must not be received back into com-munion. The holy hieromartyr Peter was beheaded during the reign of Maximinus in the year 312; he is called the "Seal of the Martyrs," because he was the last Bishop of Alexandria to suffer martyrdom under the pagan Emperors. His successors to the throne of Alexandria, Saints Alexander and Athanasius the Great, brought to final victory the battle against Arius' heresy which Saint Peter had begun.

Readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Tuesday, November 25, 2003 we celebrate:

Holy Great Martyr Catherine the All-Wise

Holy Great Martyr Mercurius

Leavetaking of the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos

Through the intercessions of Our Holy Martyrs Catherine and Mercurius and the Most Pure Theotokos, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Great Martyr Catherine the All-Wise

Apolytikion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [tone 8]

Let us praise the most auspicious bride of Christ, the divine Katherine, protectress of Sinai, our aid and our help. For, she brilliantly silenced the eloquence of the impious by the sword of the spirit, and now, crowned as a martyr, she asks great mercy for all.

Kontakion: Second Tone

O friends of martyrs, now divinely raise up a renewed chorus, praising the all-wise Katherine. For, she proclaimed Christ in the arena, trampled on the serpent, and spat upon the knowledge of the orators.

Reading:

Saint Catherine, who was from Alexandria, was the daughter of Constas (or Cestus). She was an exceedingly beautiful maiden, most chaste, and illustrious in wealth, lineage, and learning. By her steadfast understanding, she utterly vanquished the passionate and unbridled soul of Maximinus, the tyrant of Alexandria; and by her eloquence, she stopped the mouths of the so-called philosophers who had been gathered to dispute with her. She was crowned with the crown of martyrdom in the year 305. Her holy relics were taken by Angels to the holy mountain of Sinai, where they were discovered many years later; the famous monastery of Saint Catherine was originally dedicated to the Holy Transfiguration of the Lord and the Burning Bush, but later was dedicated to Saint Catherine. According to the ancient usage, Saints Catherine and Mercurius were celebrated on the 24th of this month, whereas the holy Hieromartyrs Clement of Rome and Peter of Alexandria were celebrated on the 25th. The dates of the feasts of these Saints were interchanged at the request of the Church and Monastery of Mount Sinai, so that the festival of Saint Catherine, their patron, might be celebrated more festively together with the Apodosis of the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos. The Slavic Churches, however, commemorate these Saints on their original dates.

Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA

Holy Great Martyr Mercurius

Apolytikion: Fourth Tone

Thy Martyr, O Lord in his courageous contest for Thee received the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

Kontakion: Second Tone

O wise one, thou wast initiated solemnly in matters divine, O all-renowned Mercurius, and becamest an acceptable sacrifice when eagerly thou didst drink the cup of Christ God; and now thou dost ceaselessly pray for us all.

Reading:

Saint Mercurius came from Cappadocia, and was the son of Gordian, a Scythian. A young man, and a soldier of high rank, he refused to offer sacrifice to the idols, and after torments was beheaded during the reign of Valerian (253-260).

Both readings courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Leavetaking of the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos

Apolytikion: Fourth Tone

Today is the prelude of God's pleasure and the proclamation of man's salvation. The Virgin is clearly made manifest in the temple of God and foretells Christ to all. Let us also cry out to her with mighty voice, "Hail, fulfillment of the Creator's dispensation."

Kontakion: Fourth Tone

Today, the most pure temple of the Savior, the precious bridal chamber and Virgin, the sacred treasure of God, enters the house of the Lord, bringing the grace of the Divine Spirit. The Angels of God praise her. She is the heavenly tabernacle.

Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/search.asp

On Wednesday, November 26, 2003 we celebrate:

Wednesday of the 10th Week

Our Righteous Father Alypius the Stylite

St. Nicon Metanoeite

St. Stylianus of Paphlagonia

Through the intercessions of the Holy Alypius, Nicon and Stylianus, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Our Righteous Father Alypius the Stylite

Apolytikion: First Tone

Thou becamest a pillar of patience and didst emulate the Forefathers, O righteous one: Job in his sufferings, Joseph in temptations, and the life of the bodiless while in the body, O Alypius, our righteous Father, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion: Plagal of the Fourth Tone [tone 8]

Today the Church doth glorify and hymn thee, O Alypius, as a foundation of virtues and comeliness of the ascetics and the monks. By thy prayers, as the namesake of true freedom from sorrow, free from their grievous sins all them that praise and honour thy struggles and deeds of excellence.

St. Nicon Metanoeite

Kontakion: Second Tone

Emulating the life of the Angels, thou didst esteem the world's delights as dross, while showing us the paths of repentance, O righteous and God-bearing Nicon. Wherefore, as we now celebrate thy memorial, we honour thee; for thou in truth art a fountain of healings.

Reading:

Saint Nicon, the son of a certain noble, was from Armenia. Forsaking his parents and home-land, he passed throughout the parts of the East, crying to all men, "Repent ye," because of which he received this name. Finally, he came to Lacedaemonia of the Peloponnesus, where he built a church in honour of Christ our Saviour. After having dwelt there many years in solitude, and having converted many from paganism, he departed to the Lord about the end of the ninth century.

Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakia courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery,
Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/

 

[MariaRegina]

Happy Thanksgiving

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On Thursday, November 27, 2003 we celebrate:

Thursday of the 10th Week

Holy Great Martyr James the Persian

Our Righteous Father Nathaniel

Through the intercessions of our Holy Martyr James and Our Righteous Father Nathaniel, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Holy Great Martyr James the Persian

Kontakion: Second Tone

O stout-hearted James, persuaded by thy noble wife, and fearing the dread tribunal, thou didst scorn all fear of the Persians with their profane decrees, and thou wast shown forth to be a most wondrous martyr of Christ, when all of thy body was pruned like a vine.

Reading:

This Saint was from the city of Bythlaba and was of noble birth; he was the closest and most honoured friend of Isdiger (or Yazdegerd) I, King of Persia (reigned 399-420). Though a Christian from his youth, James renounced Christ because he was allured by the King's friendship and flatteries. When his mother and his wife learned of this, they declared to him by letter that they would have nothing more to do with him, since he had preferred a glory that is temporal to the love of Christ. Wounded in soul by these words and coming to himself, the Saint wept over his error, and repudiated the worship of the idols. Therefore, becoming exceedingly wroth, the King-this was Bahram (or Varahran) V (reigned 421-438), Isdiger's son and successor--condemned him to a most bitter death, the likes of which not even a brute beast was ever condemned to: that is, his body was dismembered at every joint of his arms and legs. And so, when he had been cut asunder limb by limb to his very hips and shoulders, the courageous Martyr was finally beheaded, in the year 421.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Note: Permission has been received to reproduce this copyrighted material here. All texts used are reproduced with permission from Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. The selections are taken from their Great Horologion. You may visit them at http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/