October: Day 15: Holy Hieromartyr Lucian

October: Day 15:
Holy Hieromartyr Lucian

(On the Mystery of Holy Communion and our Duty to Partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachen

I. The Holy Hieromartyr Lucian, glorified today by the Church, having become an orphan at the age of twelve, distributed his property to the poor, and began to study the Holy Scriptures under the guidance of Saint Makarios the Confessor. For his strict life and the spread of Christian enlightenment, Saint Lucian was ordained a priest. In this holy rank, Lucian redoubled his labors. He rendered a special service by correcting the text of the Holy Scriptures, having set out the Greek, Syriac, and Hebrew texts in three columns for comparison. Saint Lucian ended his difficult life with a martyr's death. By order of the Emperor Maximian, he was cruelly tortured, and then chained, imprisoned, and starved. Saint Lucian was unable to move from exhaustion, but nevertheless, wishing to be worthy of partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, he lay with his back on the sharp stones of the prison and performed a bloodless sacrifice on the feast of the Theophany on his chest, to prepare himself and other Christian prisoners for death; after which he died.

October: Day 14: Teaching 3: Venerable Nicholas Sviatosha

October: Day 14: Teaching 3:*
Venerable Nicholas Sviatosha
 
(Without Humility or Spiritual Poverty There Is No Salvation)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable One, now glorified, Nicholas Sviatosha, Prince of Chernigov, was the son of David and the grandson of Sviatoslav. He thought how deceptive everything is in this vain life, and that everything earthly flows by, passes by, but future blessings are imperishable and eternal, and the kingdom of heaven, prepared by God for those who love Him, is endless. And, leaving the princedom, and honor, and glory, and power, and counting all this as nothing, he came to the Kiev Caves Monastery and became a monk. This was in the year 1106. He spent three years in the kitchen, working for the brethren; with his own hands he chopped wood for cooking, often even carrying it from the shore on his shoulders, and with great difficulty his brothers, Izyaslav and Vsevolod, kept him from such a thing. However, this true novice asked and prayed that he might work for at least another year in the kitchen for the brethren; after that, they assigned him to the monastery gates, since he was skilled in everything. And he stayed there for three years, never leaving anywhere except the church. From there he was ordered to go and serve at the refectory. Finally, by the will of the abbot and all the brethren, he was forced to have his own cell, which he built himself. And to this day this cell is called Sviatosha, as is the vegetable garden, which he dug with his own hands. Blessed Prince Sviatosha was never idle: he always had needlework in his hands, which he used to earn money for his clothes. On his lips was constantly the Jesus Prayer: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" He always ate the monastery food, and what his brother princes and boyars brought him, he distributed to the poor and the strangers. Thus, the Saint spent more than thirty years in labor and deprivation, without leaving the monastery. When he died, almost all the inhabitants of Kiev flocked to the Kiev Caves Monastery to pay their last respects to the Saint. For the deep humility of the holy prince, the Lord endowed him with the gift of miracles: even the clothes left behind by him exuded healing. Thus, when the brother of the blessed one, Prince Izyaslav, became seriously ill, they put the hair shirt of the Venerable Nicholas on him, and the sick man immediately recovered. There were many other miraculous signs from the relics of the blessed one, which to this day rest in the Kiev Caves.

October: Day 14: Teaching 2: Holy Martyrs Nazarios, Gervasios, Protasios and Celsus

 

October: Day 14: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyrs Nazarios, Gervasios, Protasios and Celsus
 
(Qualities of the First Christians)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Martyrs Nazarios, Gervasios, Protasios and Celsus, remembered today by the Holy Church, suffered during the reign of Nero (in the first century). Nazarios was born in Rome and received a pious Christian upbringing under the guidance of his mother, then was baptized by Bishop Linus. Upon reaching adulthood, Nazarios received from his parents his share of the estate and retired to Milan. Here he began to engage in charitable work, distributing alms to the poor and rendering various services to imprisoned Christians. At that time, the Emperor Nero raised a persecution of Christians; among those persecuted were the holy brothers Gervasios and Protasios. The parents of Gervasios and Protasios were Christians and suffered for the faith; their sons struggled in fasting and prayer for ten years, fearlessly confessed the faith, were persecuted by the Roman government and were imprisoned in Milan. Nazarios, who often visited them in prison, loved them and consoled them with conversation. The prefect was informed that Nazarios was visiting Christian prisoners, access to whom was prohibited. Nazarios was placed under guard and brought to the prefect's court. For his resolute refusal to recognize the pagan gods and honor them with sacrifices and worship, Nazarios was subjected to cruel torture and was expelled from the city. The exile withdrew to Gaul (present-day France) and there preached the Christian faith. In the city of Chemilly, he baptized the son of a Christian woman, named Celsus, and supervised his upbringing. When Celsus came of age, he became Nazarios' companion in the work of preaching. The mayor of Chemilly, a zealous pagan, imprisoned Celsus and Nazarios and only at the request of his wife released them. From Chemilly, Nazarius and Celsius went to preach in the city of Trier and there converted many to Christianity. The pagan authorities, dissatisfied with the success of the Christian preaching, sent the holy preachers to Rome for the emperor's judgment. Celsus and Nazarios were given to be eaten by wild animals, but they did not touch them. The Saints were thrown into the sea, but they did not drown and walked on the waters of the sea as if on dry land. This miracle amazed the pagans, the Christian faith acquired new followers, and saved the holy confessors from further torture. Celsus and Nazarios were released and again withdrew to Milan. But in Milan, the pagan authorities again subjected them to torture and imprisoned them in the same dungeon where Gervasios and Protasios were imprisoned. The prefect wrote to Nero asking what he should do with the imprisoned Christians. The emperor, learning that they were still alive, became very angry and ordered their immediate execution. The relics of all four holy martyrs were kept under cover until Bishop Ambrose (fourth century) transferred them to the Church of the Holy Apostles. When their relics were taken out of the ground, many sick people were healed; thus the blind man Severus, having touched the garments of the Holy Martyrs, was immediately healed of his illness.

October: Day 14: Teaching 1: Venerable Paraskeva

October: Day 14: Teaching 1:
Venerable Paraskeva
 
(The Great Significance of the Temple of God for Christians)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Paraskeva, whose memory is celebrated today, lived in the 11th century. She was a Serbian Slav and was brought up in a God-fearing family. Once "in the temple" she was struck by the words of the Gospel: "Whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself" (Mark 8:34), and from that time on she began to give everything to the poor and live for God. She often showed her zeal to serve her neighbor, as best she could, like a child, by giving her rich dress to a beggar she met, and in exchange for it she took and put on rags. She was reprimanded for this at home, but, prompted by pity and love, she again gave everything to the poor.

October: Day 13: Holy Martyrs Karpos and Papylos

October: Day 13:
Holy Martyrs Karpos and Papylos

(The Fight Against the Clergy of the Church)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. One of the most severe persecutions against Christians in the first centuries of Christianity was the persecution of the Roman Emperor Decius, 250 years after the birth of Christ. The main attention of the tormentors was then directed at the shepherds of the Church, and therefore at that time many, many Christian bishops and clergymen in general suffered. Then the outstanding primates of the main churches ended their lives as martyrs: the Roman bishop Fabian, the Antiochian bishop Babylas, the Jerusalem bishop Alexander. Then the Bishop of the Church at Thyatira in Asia Minor, Karpos, with the deacon Papylos and others, who are remembered today, died as martyrs. What did not the furious torturers do to the holy presbyters Karpos and Papylos: they led them naked in chains through the city, with iron chains on their necks, and drove them from city to city, tied to fast horses, and beat them with thorny rods, and burned their bodies with candles, sprinkling the wounds with salt; in a word, the torturer Valerius, by order of Decius, tried in every possible way to turn the martyrs away from Christianity; but the pillars of the church in Asia Minor proved unshakable. Karpos and Papylos were finally beheaded with the sword.