ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY THEN AND NOW: October 2016

October 31, 2016

Holy Martyr Epimachus of Egypt

St. Epimachus the Egyptian (Feast Day - October 31 & March 11)

Verses for October 31

Without cowardice Epimachus looked towards the sword,

For he was invincible having God as a fellow fighter.

Verses for March 11

Blissfully your all-blissful body Epimachus,

Is carried off to the blissful city.

October 30, 2016

Holy Apostles Tertius, Mark, Justus and Artemas of the Seventy

Sts. Tertius, Mark, Justus and Artemas (Feast Day - October 30)

Verses

To Tertius

Having transcribed the words of Paul,

I see you Tertius as a new author.

To Mark

Perceived as a servant of the Apostles,

I in turn see you as a fellow worker Mark.

To Justus, also known as Jesus

Jesus found the salvation of Jesus,

Showing him to be the Savior of those that bear his name.

To Artemas

Artemas partakes of the glory of noetic beings,

Keeping his nous proper for the Lord.

Holy Martyr Eutropia of Alexandria

St. Eutropia of Alexandria (Feast Day - October 30)

Verses

Lit torches go before the bride Eutropia,

As she enters the house of her noetic bridegroom.

Saint Eutropia was a pious Christian woman from Alexandria who lived during a time when the Christians were being persecuted and killed for their faith, probably in the mid-third century. She would often visit these imprisoned holy martyrs and attended to their needs.

October 29, 2016

Holy Virgin Martyr Anastasia the Roman

St. Anastasia the Roman (Feast Day - October 29)

Verses

You endured beheading with a mighty heart,

Offspring of Rome Martyr Anastasia.

On the twenty-ninth Anastasia submitted to a sharp sword.

The Venerable Martyr Anastasia the Roman was born in Rome of well-born parents and left an orphan at the age of three. As an orphan, she was taken into a women's monastery near Rome, where the abbess was one Sophia, a nun of a high level of perfection. She raised Anastasia in fervent faith, in the fear of God and obedience. After seventeen years, Anastasia was known to the Christians as a great ascetic and to the pagans as a rare beauty.

October 28, 2016

Alexandros Papadiamantis and Neo-Barlaamism

By Monk Moses the Athonite

By studying Papadiamantis’ work as a whole, we note that not only did he know to write, to describe, to give an account of the morals of the time, to criticize and to offer solutions, but he, himself, was also endowed with integrity, had chosen to lead a life of piety, of virtue and of honest work and virtuous chatter, a life with a course, a target, a discourse and value. Early on in his life, he had realized the vanity of the mundane and he was not afraid of death, for his faith was warm. He chose to live a simple, spartan, secluded life, quietly, peacefully and calmly. He did not become conceited; he chose to stand by the humble and the despised and he introduced them marvelously into his work.

Feast of the Holy Protection of the Theotokos in Blachernae and OXI Day

While most of the Orthodox Christian world celebrates the Holy Protection, or Agia Skepi, of the Theotokos on October 1st according to ancient custom, Greeks celebrate the Holy Protection on October 28th as a special holiday in order to invite the secular government of Greece to honor the Theotokos for her special protection over the Greek people during World War 2.

October 27, 2016

Fr. John Romanides and Neo-Barlaamism

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Fr. John Romanides attached great importance and weight to the neptic tradition, because there is detected difference, besides dogmas, between the Orthodox tradition and the tradition of the Franco-Latins and Protestants.

Indeed, he found this in the terms "analogia entis" (analogy of being) and "analogia fidei" (analogy of faith) that consist of different ways of experiencing the revelation of God.

Saint Demetrius the New of Basarabov (+ 13th cent.)

St. Demetrius of Basarabov (Feast Day - October 27)

Saint Demetrius was born at the beginning of the thirteenth century into a peasant family in the village of Basarabov, situated in the region south of the Danube, which, at that time, belonged to the Kingdom of Bulgaria. From his childhood, Demetrius struggled valiantly for virtue, through fasting and prayer. One day, as he was taking out the cows to pasture, he trod on a nest of birds, hidden in the grass, and crushed the little birds in it. His penitence for what he had done as so great that he decided to go barefoot for three winters and summers.

Holy Martyrs Capitolina and Erotheis of Cappadocia

Sts. Capitolina and Erotheis (Feast Day - October 27)

Verses

Servant and mistress are beheaded by the sword,

Servants of the Trinity, the true Lord.

Capitolina (Kapetolina) was a woman of high rank in Cappadocia during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. At around the year 304 she was brought to trial as a Christian, and was asked her name, country, and parentage. She answered, "I am a Christian, my country is the heavenly Jerusalem, my parents are the teachers of Christianity, and chiefly the great Firmilian, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia." When she had resisted all the persuasions and threats used by Zilikinthus, the governor, to induce her to renounce her faith and worship the gods — particularly Serapis — she was sent to prison.

Synaxarion of Saint Nestor the Martyr of Thessaloniki

St. Nestor the Martyr (Feast Day - October 27)

Verses

In cutting off both Lyaios and the brutal indignity of error,

Nestor is cut by the sword.

On the twenty-seventh diligent Nestor was beheaded.

Saint Nestor was very young, at around the time when the hairs of the beard begin to grow, and he had a pleasant and beautiful appearance. He was also well-known to the Holy Glorious Martyr Demetrios.

October 26, 2016

Synaxarion of the Holy and Glorious Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki

On the twenty-sixth of this month [October], we commemorate the holy and most-glorious Great Martyr and Wonderworker Demetrios the Myrrhgusher.

Verses

Lances, my Christ, pierced through Demetrios,

Emulating the passions of your lance-pierced side.

On the twenty-sixth spears pierced the side of Demetrios.

Holy Martyrs Mark, Soterichos and Valentina

Sts. Mark, Soterichos and Valentina (Feast Day - October 24)

Verses

The three contestants have the earth as a memorial,

Crying aloud their renowned pains.

These holy martyrs, having first lived in piety, and proclaimed Christ to all, converting many unbelievers to the Lord, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, were held by the impious Greeks, and suffered many tortures. Their bodies were pierced with nails. Then they were dragged along the ground and mercilessly kicked by men, women and children. Thus they delivered their holy and blessed souls to God.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake at Constantinople in 740

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake in 740 (Feast Day - October 26)

Verses

You shook but balanced again the earth O Word,

For of your wrath pity is greater.

In the twenty fourth year of the reign of Leo the Isaurian, in the year 740, at the ninth indiction, on the twenty-sixth of October, there was such a great and terrible earthquake in Constantinople, so that the upper stories and the more splendid of the other buildings collapsed, and many people were crushed under the ruins and died. And so on the day of the Great Martyr Demetrios we commemorate that terrible threat of the earthquake, going in procession to the Church in Blachernae of our all-pure, holy and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, where we celebrate the divine and sacred Liturgy. At the prayers of the Theotokos may we be delivered from every threat and attain eternal good things, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might to the ages of ages. Amen.

October 25, 2016

Contemporary Theological Movements in Orthodoxy (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

One of the greatest gifts of Christians (clergy, monastics, laity) who are members of the Church is that they consist of an alert conscience, and the greatest offering of the Shepherds of the Church, as the late Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou of Mount Athos Archimandrite George (Kapsanis) writes, is the activation of this alertness of the conscience of the fullness of the Church. This is very important, especially when the people of God today largely leave "dormant and unactivated this gift." Alertness of the Orthodox consciousness is the greatest proof that the members of the Church are alive.

October 24, 2016

Holy New Martyrs Isidore and his Two Children, Newly-Revealed in 1953

Sts. Isidore, Irene and George the Newly-Revealed Martyrs
(Feast Day - October 18)

In the spring of 1953, a priest began to appear to the villagers of Vali in Crete while they slept. Among them was a grocer and chanter named Demetrios, who saw in his sleep a priest that told him to go dig at a specific place on the grounds of the old primary school, in order to "remove" him from there. The priest revealed to him that he was a priest and with his two children, Irene and George, was slaughtered by the Saracens, during the initial raids on the island by the Turks (prior to the 1650's). Demetrios asked him what his name was, and the priest said it was Papa-Tsiteris. After writing the name on a shoe carton, he fell asleep again.

Synaxarion of Holy Martyr Sebastiane of Heraclea

St. Sebastiane the Martyr (Feast Day - October 24)

Verses

The beheading of Sebastiane gushed forth milk,

For she did not approach the sword as flesh and blood.

Sebastiane (Sebastiana, Sevestiane, Sebastiani) lived and struggled in Marcianopolis (modern-day Devnya, Bulgaria), during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96). Having been baptized by the Apostle Paul, in the year 81 she continued to proclaim the good news of Christ. Due to her missionary work as a Christian, she was slandered before Governor Sergius. Therefore, she was made to give an accounting before him. She boldly confessed that she believed in Christ and that she was taught and received baptism by the Apostle Paul. She also added that she was prepared to die for Christ.

October 23, 2016

Synaxis of the Holy Fathers of Crete Who Participated in Ecumenical Synods

Holy Fathers of Crete Who Participated in Ecumenical Synods
(Feast Day - Sunday Between October 18 and 24)

For all the Holy God-bearing Fathers who participated in Ecumenical Synods, at the initiative of Father Chrysostomos Papadakis and the foresight of Metropolitan Cyril of Gortyna and Arkadia, their Service and Supplicatory Canon was drafted and published with the approval of the Holy Eparchial Synod. This renowned Hierarch also erected a Temple to them in the year 2000 in Livadiotis (en route from Moires to Pompia) which he was unable to inaugurate. The memory of all the Holy Fathers of Crete who participated in all the Holy Ecumenical Synods was set to be celebrated on the Sunday after the Sunday in which is celebrated the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod in the month of October.

October 22, 2016

Saint Abercius of Hierapolis, the Equal to the Apostles and Wonderworker

St. Abercius of Hierapolis the Wonderworker (Feast Day - October 22)

Verses

Throwing to the ground mortal law Abercius,

You gave the place to God, belonging to God by nature.

On the twenty-second Abercius departed the earth.

Saint Abercius (also spelled Averkios) succeded Papias as Bishop of Hieropolis (now Pamoukkale) in Phrygia Salutaris and flourished during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180) who, although a reputed philosopher, was a fierce persecutor of Christians. To discover the Christians of his empire, he would order all his subjects to join in celebrations that honored pagan deities, and to offer sacrifices to their idols.

October 21, 2016

Saint Philotheos the Hagiorite (+ 1610)

Saint Philotheos of Dionysiou (Feast Day - October 21)

Verses

Philotheos lived as a friend of God,

Finding endless life with the friends of God.

Saint Philotheos was born in 1526 in Chrysopolis (near modern Kavala in northern Greece). His parents came from Elateia in Asia Minor, and emigrated to Chrysopolis out of fear of the Hagarenes, where they bore two sons, one of whom was named Theophilos. When they were very young, their father died, leaving them to the care of their mother Eudokia. One day, however, her two children were captured by the Turks to be raised as Turks, leaving Eudokia in great pain. After some time, having heard nothing of the fate of her sons, to bring herself some comfort and hope, she enclosed herself in a nearby convent and dedicated her life to the Lord.

Holy Martyrs Gaios, Dasios and Zotikos of Nicomedia

Sts. Gaios, Dasios and Zotikos (Feast Day - October 21)

Verses

In water the three men died bitterly,

On high they drink a torrent of sweet luxuries.

These Holy Martyrs were from Nicomedia in Bithynia. One day when the pagans were celebrating an imperial festival, with divine zeal in their hearts these men went into the temples and threw down the idols they found there. They were immediately arrested for this and brought before the judge on charges of sacrilege.

October 20, 2016

Saint Gerasimos the New Ascetic of Kefallonia (+ 1579)

St. Gerasimos of Kefallonia (Feast Day - October 20 & August 16)

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite

Verses

Gerasimos gained a beautiful crown,

At the right hand of the Lord above.

The newly-appeared Venerable Gerasimos was born in 1509, in the village of Trikala, in the Peloponnese, which is known as the Morea. His parents, Demetrios and Kali, came from the Notaras family and, from a young age, he was given to learning sacred letters, which became for him a second nature. When he reached a mature age, he left his homeland and went to Zakynthos, and from there traveled throughout the whole of Greece. From Thessaly he went to the Black Sea, Constantinople, Propontis and Chalcedon. He finally arrived at the Holy Mountain of Athos, where, like a bee, he gathered the nectar from the various flowers of virtue he observed in the ascetic fathers. He left that place and went to Jerusalem, where he settled, and Patriarch Germanos I (1537-1579) ordained him first Sub-deacon, then Deacon, and then Presbyter. For a year he served at the Holy Sepulchre as a lamp-lighter, and then a further twelve years at the Patriarchate. At one time he went into the Jordan desert, where he spent forty days fasting, in imitation of the Lord (Matt. 4:1), and returned to his duties at the Patriarchate.

Saint Matrona of Chios the Wonderworker

St. Matrona of Chios (Feast Day - October 20)

Verses

Leaving the world completely non-worldly,

Now bride Matrona you stand before the Bridegroom.

Saint Matrona was born with the name Maria in the village of Volissos in Chios sometime in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Her parents, Leon and Anna, were pious towards God, devout in character, highly respected by all and wealthy. Maria was the youngest of seven children. From her youth, she showed to have much knowledge and love for God, causing her to despise all transitory pleasures and attachments to the world. When the time came for her parents to arrange her marriage, she refused because she wanted to remain a virgin. To avoid this marriage, she left Volissos and went to an area overlooking the village, called Katavasis. Here she began her spiritual struggle by fasting and prayer. Soon other nuns joined her. Her parents searched everywhere to find her. After locating her, they convinced her to return home. Maria complied with her parents' wishes, except for one — she refused to wed. Her parents, seeing that she still desired to lead a monastic life, gave her their consent to pursue her ambition.

Miracles of Saint Artemios the Great Martyr (1 - 5)

In the seventh century an Anonymous author compiled a number of miracles of Saint Artemios, whose healing activities were predominantly centered in the Church of Saint John the Forerunner in Constantinople and who "specialized" in healing hernias and diseases affecting the genitals of mostly male patients. Below are five examples of many:

October 19, 2016

St. Justin Popovich on Sacrifice and the Holy Canons

"I will sacrifice myself in order to save the Canons of the Church, but in the case of saving one person, I will sacrifice all the Canons."

- St. Justin Popovich

Holy Martyr Sadoth and the 120 Martyrs With Him

St. Sadoth and his companions (Feast Days - October 19, February 20, April 6)

Verses for October 19

To Sadoth

The head of the divine Sadoth was cut off by the sword,

Now he stands before the throne of God Sabaoth.

To the 120 Martyrs

Ten times ten Martyrs are martyred together,

And with ten times two they die wounded by the sword.

Verses for February 20

Eight together with Sadok the Bishop are brought,

With twelve times ten Martyrs to the sword.

Verses for April 6

If you number the Persians burned in the fire,
You will find that you have four times thirty.

The Wonderworking Sarcophagus of Saint Luke the Evangelist

The wonderworking sarcophagus of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke is located in Thebes of Boetia. Though some sources say Saint Luke died here in peace in his eighties, other sources say he was crucified here to an olive tree and died a martyric death.