19-е

The Holy Prophet Joel, son of Bethuel, from the tribe of Reuben, lived, as is supposed, under the Judah kings Ahaz and Hezekiah. And through his lips the Lord warned His chosen, beloved people, who had so often plunged into wickedness, and, threatening them with the captivity of Babylon, at the same time appealed to Israel to “turn to Him with all their hearts in fasting, weeping and mourning, for He is good and merciful, long-suffering and abounding in mercy, and regrets the disaster.” The prophet Joel also predicted the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon, and the destruction of the Babylonian kingdom itself. Especially important for Christians was Joel’s prophecy about the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and on Christians in general in his following words: “And you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, and there is no other, and My people will not be put to shame forever. And it shall come to pass after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. And also on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit” (Joel 2:27–29). “And I will show signs in heaven and on earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun and moon will darken, and the stars will lose their shine. And the Lord will roar from Zion and give His voice from Jerusalem; Heaven and earth will tremble, but the Lord will be a defense for His people and a defense for the children of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, on My holy mountain; and Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will no longer pass through it... And Judah and Jerusalem will live forever - from generation to generation. I will wash away their blood, which I have not yet washed away, and the Lord will dwell in Zion." The Divinely inspired Joel concludes his prophecy about the future eternal world. St. torment. Huara (Vara) and with him seven Christian teachers, blessed Cleopatra and her son John Uar was a warrior, the leader of a detachment in Egypt at the beginning of the 4th century, and belonged to the number of Christians who secretly professed their faith. During the persecution of Christians during the reign of Maximian Herculius, when many Christians were martyred in Egypt, others languished in prison, awaiting torture, Uar. bribing the guards, he visited the prisoners at night, provided them with all kinds of help, consoled and strengthened them. One day, having found new prisoners in prison (these were seven Christian teachers captured in the desert where they were hiding), Uar looked after them with special zeal, freed them from their shackles, delivered them food, which they had been deprived of for 8 days, and in the midst of a conversation with them he was caught by guards who had come to take the martyrs to present them for trial. -What are you doing here? - they asked War, - are you no longer deceived by the fables of these crazy Christians? Don’t you know that for this you can lose your military rank and even be subjected to torture and death? “You won’t want to inform on me,” the head of the detachment answered the soldiers, “but if they did, then I am ready to suffer along with these martyrs, because I myself am a Christian.” The soldiers did not answer, but, taking six confessors (the seventh lay in dying exhaustion and soon died in prison), they led them to trial. Following them, Uar came to the trial, and the judge asked: where is the seventh prisoner? - He answered: He is already standing before Christ, and instead of him I have come to share the fate of Christ’s confessors... Angered to the point of rage by the discovery that even the bravest and most reliable leader had been seduced into an insane faith in Christ, and attributing this to the influence of Christian teachers, the judge subjected them to torture and then, sending them back to prison, ordered Uar to be mercilessly tortured, so that amid the torture, after his innards were knocked out with gnarled sticks and fell to the ground, the martyr died. “The next day, six Christian teachers were beheaded and buried by Christians. - The body of Uar, thrown out outside the city to be devoured by beasts, was secretly taken at night by one pious Christian widow named Cleopatra, and kept it temporarily in her house. At the end of the persecution in 312, this woman, originally from Palestine, the widow of a military leader who died in Egypt, asked permission from the government to transport the remains of her husband to her homeland and, under the guise of them, transported the relics of St. much Huara, to whom she treated with reverent faith. There she placed them in her family cave in the village of Edre 262 and prayed every day at the relics of Uar, whose torment she witnessed in Egypt. The blessing of God apparently resided in the house of a pious Christian woman; Her only son John successfully reached adulthood and was preparing to enter the royal service. “Meanwhile, a zealous admirer of the holy martyr had a desire to build a church in his honor. God helped her to accomplish this pious deed; the church was completed through her efforts; The bishop and the clergy were invited to its consecration, and a large crowd gathered. The relics of St. were transferred into it with triumph. Huara. Filled with joy, having waited for the fulfillment of her cherished desire, Cleopatra, during the liturgy in the newly consecrated church, earnestly prayed to the martyr so that he would intercede with God everything that would be most useful and salutary for her and for her son. At the end of the Divine service, Cleopatra offered refreshments to the clergy, people, beggars and wanderers who had gathered to honor the martyr, and she and her son cordially served everyone during the refreshments. “Meanwhile, in the evening, when the joyful festival ended, the young man John suddenly fell ill, an incomprehensible illness quickly developed and, after tossing about for several hours in a feverish fever, Cleopatra’s son died at midnight... Struck by unexpected, inconsolable grief, the mother rushed to the church of St. War and, falling at the tomb of the martyr, desperately cried out to him: “pleaser of God! Could I have expected such grief for all my zeal for you... Why didn’t you ask the Lord not to deprive me of my only son! Why was all my hope taken from me... who will now be my support in old age? Whoever puts my body in a coffin... Give me back my son, just as Elisha once raised the son of a Somanite wife, or take my soul at this hour...” Amid the tormenting suffering, the orphaned mother became exhausted and fell into slight oblivion. Then St. appeared to her. much Uar and her son John in brilliant clothes, illuminated by a wonderful light. - Why are you crying out to me? - the martyr said to Cleopatra: - I know and appreciate your veneration and always pray to God for your relatives, among whom you placed me - and for your son I prayed to the Lord to number him among His saints, and behold, he is called to bliss. Isn’t this the saving fate that you asked God for him? If you want, then take your son and give him to serve the king of the earth instead of standing before the King of Heaven. “No, don’t return me to a world full of untruths and iniquities,” John begged the martyr and, turning to his mother, said: “Why are you grieving, my mother?” If you love me, then rejoice at my happiness and do not distract me from heavenly bliss for the sake of earthly misery... With such a wonderful vision, God consoled His pious servant in sorrow, and, filled with joy and joy, she solemnly buried the body of her son at the tomb of the martyr, “conducting him to the grave, not as a dead man, but as a bridegroom into the bridal chamber”... Cleopatra spent the rest of her life in a secluded cell at the church of St. much Huara, devoting himself to prayer and charity and in calm anticipation of eternal union with his son. Having renounced everything earthly, anticipating in spirit a different life, consoled by the frequent appearances to her of her son and martyr Huar, she died peacefully and joyfully seven years after the death of John (October 327) and was buried next to her son in the church of St. Huara. In the Moscow Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin, in the chapel of St. Martyr Huar, built in his honor under Ivan the Terrible, there is a local icon of St. Huara, to which mothers come with faith to pray for the healing of their children from illness. The beneficent Providence of God, according to His always wise will, sometimes turns human errors into an instrument of human salvation. Thus, other people, having fallen into error and realizing it by the grace of God, become the most zealous, the most energetic denouncers of that error, the evil consequences of which they themselves have experienced and, without experiencing them, perhaps they would not have found in themselves the strength to refute them and to defend the truth with which they amaze, when, as if to atone for their deviation from the truth, they begin in general enlightenment and edification openly and convincingly preach it and attract numerous followers with them, protecting them from the danger of falling into previously insufficiently exposed and refuted errors. So, following in the footsteps of the first example in this regard - St. Apostle Paul, many also labored, and among them is Saint Leontius the philosopher, remembered today by the Church, “Byzantine by birth, scholastic or lawyer by office, who, by cunning, was lured into the Nestorian sect, but realizing his error, refused his secular position and in the Lavra of St. Savva 263 has since led an ascetic life - in fasting, prayer and studying the mysteries of the Holy Faith" 264. Having finally understood for himself all the purity of Orthodoxy and all the destruction of deviating from it in the form of heresies, Leonty used all his strength and all his extensive knowledge to denounce modern errors both in writing and orally. A monument to the activity to which he devoted himself remained his numerous writings denouncing various heretical teachings (about them, see the book “Teaching of the Historical Fathers of the Church” Philar., Archbishop of Chernig., § 247). St. Leontius died peacefully no later than 624. Transfer of the relics of St. John of Rylsky Transfer of the relics of St. John of Rylsky - from Sredets to Ternov by the Bulgarian Tsar Asen II in 1238. See his “Life” on August 18th. †Saint Cleopatra the Ascetic The daughter of a pious and wealthy Palestinian house, Cleopatra was given in marriage to a military commander 265. He died in the royal service in Egypt, leaving a young son, John. For the widow's mother, there was only one consolation left - a son. She raised him with all tender love and prayed for him. When Uar (Var), the chief of the Egyptian military hundred, was martyred and tortured for freely confessing the name of Christ, and his body was thrown among the corpses of animals, Cleopatra, looking at the exploits of the martyr without fear and with love, secretly with her servants hid the holy body in her house, where she reverently laid it in a cave under her bedroom. This was during the persecution of Maximin Herculius in 310. Under Constantine the persecution ended. Pious Cleopatra, returning to her homeland, reverently took with her the relics of the martyr, and this cost her many worries. She placed the relics in the family cave “in her settlement of Edre” 266. Every day she prayed at the relics of the martyr and decided to build a church to the martyr. Meanwhile, the son came of age, raised by the watchful love of his mother; he was a wonderful young man, kind, obedient, ready for anything good. The loving mother took care of enlisting him in military service. At the request of the mother and for the merits of the father, the son was accepted with the rank of officer, and a military belt was sent for him. The mother was very happy about her son’s happiness, but said: “Let my dear son, together with me, transfer the holy relics to the new church and then he will go to service.” The bishop and the clergy were invited to the consecration of the church, and many people gathered. When the consecration took place and the relics were transferred to the church, during the liturgy the mother fervently begged the martyr to ask the Lord for her son that which would please the holy will of God, good and wise; Moreover, she said, I don’t dare ask for anything, the Lord knows what is good for us. A rich meal was prepared for the guests of the new church. Christian love did more: the mother herself served at the table, and the son, by her will, also served; “You and I will eat after,” she told her son. At the end of dinner, the son felt a headache and went to bed. His mother got ready to eat with him, but it turned out that he was on fire. The mother became alarmed and remained at the bedside of her sick son. By midnight the son died. The mother wept inconsolably over the loss of her only son, her only joy; in the agitation of her soul she grumbled at the martyr for his coldness towards her fate. Exhausted by mental suffering, she fell into a light sleep. The martyr and her son appear to her, both in brilliant military attire and in a wonderful light. The martyr says to his mother: “You are in vain complaining about me. I know and appreciate all the deeds of your pious love - both those that you did in Egypt and those that you did here. I prayed and pray for you. Through my prayer, the Lord forgave the sins of your relatives who rest in your family cave. For your son, I asked the Lord that he is now with me in the rank of warriors of the King of Heaven, close to His throne. Isn’t this the good will of God that you wanted for your son? If you want, the son can enter the service of the king of the earth. Choose, but don’t be deceived.” The son asked the martyr not to return him to a world full of sins and troubles, even if his mother wanted it. Cleopatra, seeing her son in such unprecedented glory, said: “Take me with you.” The saint answered: “We’ll take it when the time comes.” And both became invisible. Having come to her senses, Cleopatra found her heart full of joy and joy. She told the vision to the priests, and the body of her son was placed near the relics of the martyr. Now the blessed one realized that she still needed to work on herself for the Lord; those in heaven speak no lies. And she doubled her efforts. She distributed her property to the poor and began to live only for sincere piety. The Apostolic decrees prescribed: “let every widow be meek, silent, quiet, kind, not angry, not talkative, not bilingual, not eager to interfere in other people’s affairs... Just as the wise Judith, known for her chastity, begged God night and day for Israel (Judith. 9:1), so a widow like her constantly lifts up to God prayer for the Church... her eyes are spotless, her ears are clear, her hands are not dirty, her feet are calm, and her lips say what is right... She is self-controlled, reverent, bashful - she sings psalms, prays, reads the sacred, fasts” 267. This is how blessed Cleopatra lived. She prayed day and night and fasted. Otherwise, she was now leading a life dedicated to God. The contemporary Palestinian Bishop Eusebius wrote about this life: “There are two kinds of life in the Church of God. One flows above nature and ordinary life, does not care about marriage, or about the birth of children, or about earthly happiness, completely and in everything separates from ordinary life, devotes himself to serving God, out of complete love for heavenly things; those who choose this life appear to be dead to mortal life; they remain on earth in body, but in spirit they are in heaven” 268. During such a life of the Monk Cleopatra, her son and martyr often appeared to her from heaven. She spent seven years in the exploits of a high spiritual life and peacefully moved to the martyr and her son. Her body was placed near the relics of the martyr. This was no later than 327. Edra, Edrin, Draa are 7 miles southwest of Bokra and almost 8 miles from the north. edge of Lake Gennesaret. Why is Leonty called the Jerusalem monk? “Uch. about the Father Ts." Filar., archbishop. Chernig. – § 247. About her Metaphrastus in Chet-Minea Oct. 19 are. Surium 19 Oct. Vershinsky mesyaslov, pp. 167, 316–358. Metaphrastus: “laid it in her village of Edre, near Mount Tabor.” There is an error or inaccuracy here. If Cleopatra’s estate was near Tabor, then it was called Endor, which lay between Nain and Tabor, 5 miles from the first. If it was Edrai, then this place is not near Tabor. Edra, Edrin, Draa, in ancient times the property of the half-tribe of Manasseh, 7 miles southwest of Bokra and almost 8 miles from the northern edge of Lake Gennesaret, in the 4th century. was the seat of the episcopal see. Rosenmüller bibl. Alterth. 2, 287. Allioli bibl. Erdkunde 2, 272–273. Le Quien Or. chr. 3.713–775. This probably means Edra, not Endor, since it further refers to a local bishop who was not in Endor. Decree Apost., book. 3, chap. 5 and 7, pp. 105, 109, 110. Kazan 1864 Eusebii caesar. Demonstratio euangelica lib. 1, cap. 8, p. 2930. Coloniae 1688. Eusebius was Bishop of Caesarea from 315.