1. Lord, give us Adam’s repentance and Your holy humility.
2. Lord, give me Your humility, may Your love dwell in me and may Your holy fear live in me.
3. What will I render to You, Lord? You, the Merciful One, resurrected my soul from sins, and made me know Your mercy towards me, and my heart was captivated by You, and is drawn to You, my Light, incessantly. What will I render to You, Lord? Oh, Lord, humble my heart so that it will always please You.
4. Lord, grant me the strength to humble myself before Your greatness. Lord, glory befits You in heaven and on earth, but to me, Your little creation, grant Your humble Spirit.
5. Lord, grant us the gift of Your holy humility. Lord, grant us your humble Holy Spirit, just as you came to save people and take them to heaven so that they may see your glory.
6. Most merciful Master, grant us a humble spirit, so that our souls may find peace in You.
Most Holy Mother of the Lord, ask, O Merciful One, for us a humble spirit.
All Saints, you live in heaven, and see the glory of the Lord, and your spirit rejoices - pray that we too may be with you.
My soul is drawn to see the Lord, and misses Him in humility, as unworthy of this good. Merciful Lord, teach us Your humility by the Holy Spirit.
7. Lord, You see how weak the soul is without Your grace and how it has no peace anywhere.
You are our sweetness, our Heavenly Father, give us the strength to love You, give us Your holy fear, as the Cherubim tremble and love You. You, our Light, enlighten the soul to love You insatiably. You take Your grace away from me, because my soul does not always remain in humility, but You see how I grieve, and I ask You, give me the humble Holy Spirit.
8. What shall I render to You, O Lord, who has poured out so much mercy on my soul? I pray to You: let me see my sins and always cry before You, for You love humble souls and give them the grace of the Holy Spirit.
1. Lord, I am a sinner and unworthy of Your mercy, but You, by Your only mercy, save me.
2. Lord, You sought me first and gave me the enjoyment of Your Holy Spirit, and my soul loved You. You see, Lord, my sadness and tears... If You had not attracted me with Your love, then I would not have sought You as I seek, but Your Spirit has made me know You, and my soul rejoices that You are my God and Lord, and I miss You to the point of tears. Merciful Lord, You see my fall and my sorrow, but I humbly ask Your mercy: pour out the grace of Your Holy Spirit on me, a sinner. The memory of her draws my mind to find Your mercy again. Lord, give me Your humble Spirit, so that I will not again lose Your grace and not begin to weep for it, as Adam wept for paradise and God.
1. Love for mankind, Lord, how did You not forget Your sinful servant, but mercifully looked upon me from Your glory, and appeared to me incomprehensibly? I have always offended and saddened You, but You, Lord, for a small conversion, made me know Your great love and immeasurable goodness. Your quiet, gentle gaze attracted my soul. What will I render to You, O Lord, or what praise will I sing to You? Lord, let me love You alone. You created me, You enlightened me with holy baptism, You forgive me my sins and give me to partake of Your most pure body and blood; give me the strength to always abide in You.
2. Lord, grant us complete faith in You through the Holy Spirit.
I thank You, my Lord and Creator, that You have mercifully humbled my soul and opened for me the path that Your Saints walked. You love those who cry, and all the Saints came to You through crying. You love the humble, and with Your grace you teach them love and humility, which our enemies, the demons, fear. You rejoice, Lord, over the humble soul; grant me, O Merciful One, to go to You along the path of Your Saints, through the path of humble weeping that You showed me. Give me, Lord, a humble spirit, so that I will always thank You for giving the Holy Spirit to earth. And I remember Him. He Himself helps me to remember Him.
Oh, Holy Soul. O Great King. What will I, a sinful earth, render to You? You revealed to me an incomprehensible secret. You made me know the Lord, my Creator. You made me know how immensely He loves us.
Lord, You see my illness; You know how sinful and weak I am; help me to endure and be grateful for Your goodness.
1. I pray for Your goodness, Lord, look down on me from the height of Your glory and grant me the strength to glorify You day and night, for my soul has loved You with the Holy Spirit, and I miss You, and tearfully seek You.
Lord, give us the Holy Spirit; With it we will glorify You day and night, for our flesh is weak, but Your Spirit is vigorous, and gives strength to the soul to work easily for You, and confirms the mind in Your love, and rests in You with perfect peace, and it no longer wants to think of anything other than Your love.
2. Lord, Merciful, my weak spirit cannot come to You, and therefore I call You, like King Abgar: come and heal me from the wounds of my sinful thoughts, and I will praise You day and night, and preach You to people, so that all nations may know You, that You, Lord, as before, work miracles, forgive sins, and you sanctify and live.
3. Great is Your mercy. God; and who can worthily thank You for giving the Holy Spirit to earth? Great, O Lord, is Your righteousness. You promised Your Apostles: “I will not leave you orphans”; and we now experience this mercy, and our soul feels that the Lord loves us. Holy soul, do not leave us. When You are with us, the soul hears Your presence and is blissful in God, for You give us the ardent love of God.
4. You are good, Lord. I thank Your mercy: You poured out Your Holy Spirit on me and gave me to taste Your love for me, so sinful, and my soul is drawn to You, the unapproachable Light. Who could know You, if not You, the Merciful One, deign to show Yourself to the soul? And she saw You, and knew her Creator, the good God, and always insatiably wants You, for You, the Merciful One, attracted the soul to You with love, and the soul knew Your love. You see, Lord, how weak and sinful the soul of man is, but You, the Merciful One, give the soul the strength to love You, and the soul fears lest it lose the humility that enemies are trying to take away from it, for then Your grace will leave the soul.
Merciful Lord, how great is Your love for me, a sinner. You have made me know You; You gave me to taste Your grace. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 33:9). You have given me to taste Your goodness and mercy, and my soul is drawn to You day and night insatiably, and cannot forget its beloved Creator, for the Spirit of God gives it the strength to love the Beloved, and the soul does not know satiety, but is drawn to its Heavenly Father.
O my Creator, why did I, Thy little creation, offend You so much; but You did not remember my sins.
Glory to the Lord God that He gave us His only begotten Son for our salvation.
Glory to the Only Begotten Son that He deigned to be born of the Most Pure Virgin, and suffered for our salvation, and gave us His Most Pure Body and Blood for eternal life, and sent us the Holy Spirit to earth.
You have drawn the souls of the saints to You, O Lord, and they flow to You like quiet rivers. The mind of the saints cleaves to You, Lord, and is drawn to You - our Light and joy. The heart of Your saints is established in Your love, O Lord, and cannot forget You even for a minute, even in a dream, for sweet is the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Oh, Lord, let us praise You until our last breath.
1. Gracious Lord, as You Yourself prayed for our enemies, so by Your Holy Spirit teach us to love our enemies and tearfully pray for them.
2. Lord, all nations are the creation of Your hands, turn them from enmity and malice to repentance, so that everyone may know Your love. Lord, You commanded to love our enemies, but it is difficult for us sinners if Your grace is not with us. Lord, pour out Your grace on the earth; let all the peoples of the earth know Your love, know that You love us like a mother, and more than a mother, because even a mother can forget her child, but You never forget, for You love Your creation immensely, and love cannot forget. Merciful Lord, save all nations by the riches of Your mercy.
1. Merciful Lord, teach us all by Your Holy Spirit to live according to Your will, so that in Your Light we all come to know You, the true God, for without Your Light we cannot understand the fullness of Your love. Enlighten us with Your grace, and it will warm our hearts to love You.
2. Oh, Lord, by the power of the grace of the Holy Spirit, grant us to live according to Your holy will.
When grace is with us, then we are strong in spirit; but when we lose it, then we see our weakness; We see that without God we cannot even imagine good things. Merciful God, You know our weakness. I pray to You: give me a humble spirit, for in Your mercy You give the humble soul strength to live according to Your will; You reveal to her all Your secrets; You let her know You, and how endlessly You love us.
3. Lord, I am a sinful man and I do not understand what I should do, but You, O Merciful One, enlighten me as to what I should do.
1. Good Lord, seek mercifully Your creation and show Yourself to people by the Holy Spirit, as You show Yourself to Your servants.
Make glad, O Lord, with the coming of Your Holy Spirit every grieving soul. Grant, Lord, that all people who pray to You come to know the Holy Spirit.
2. Lord, correct us, as a tender mother corrects her little children. Let every soul know the joy of Your coming and the power of Your help. Give coolness to the suffering souls of Your people, and teach us all through the Holy Spirit to know You.
The human soul languishes on earth, Lord, and cannot strengthen its mind in You, because it does not know You and Your grace. Our mind is darkened by earthly cares, and we cannot understand the fullness of Your love. You enlighten us. With your mercy everything is possible. You said in the Holy Gospel that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live; So now do it so that our dead souls will hear Your voice and come to life in joy.
Say, Lord, to the world: “All sins are forgiven,” and they will be forgiven. Sanctify us, Lord, and all will be sanctified by Your Spirit, and all Your peoples will glorify You on earth, and Your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven, for all things are possible for You.
3. O Lord, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to be obedient and self-controlled. Give us the spirit of Adam's repentance and tears for our sins. May we praise and thank You forever. You gave us Your most pure body and blood, so that we could live forever with You, and be where You are, and see Your glory. Lord, let the peoples of the whole earth know how much You love us, and what a wonderful life You give to those who believe in You.
4. O Good Comforter, I tearfully ask You to comfort the sorrowful souls of Your people. Let the nations hear Your sweet voice: “Your sins are forgiven.” Yes, Lord, it is in Your power to work miracles, and there is no greater miracle than to love a sinner in his fall.
5. Lord, turn Your people to You, that they may all know Your love, that they may see Your meek face in the Holy Spirit; may everyone enjoy seeing You while still here on earth, and seeing what You are, may they become like You.
1. Oh, Gracious Lord, grant us Your peace, as You gave peace to the Holy Apostles: “My peace I give to you.” Lord, let us also enjoy Your peace.
2. Merciful Lord, give Your grace to all the peoples of the earth, that they may know You, for without Your Holy Spirit man cannot know You and understand Your love.
Lord, send Your Holy Spirit upon us, for You and all Your things are known only by the Holy Spirit; Which in the beginning You gave to Adam, and then to the holy prophets and then to Christians.
Grant, Lord, to all Your people to understand Your love and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit, may people forget the sorrows of the earth, and may they leave all bad things and cling to You with love, and may they live in peace, doing Your will for Your glory.
3. Oh, Lord, grant us the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we may understand Your glory and live on earth in peace and love, so that there will be no malice, no wars, no enemies, but let love alone reign, and there will be no need for armies or prisons, and it will be easy for everyone to live on earth.
4. I pray to You, Gracious Lord, that all the nations of the earth may know You through the Holy Spirit.
Just as You gave me, a sinner, to know You by Your Holy Spirit, so may the peoples of the earth know You, and may they praise You day and night.
5. O Lord, how can I thank You for this new inscrutable mercy: You reveal Your secrets to the ignorant and sinner. The world is perishing in the shackles of despair, and to me, the last and worst of all, You reveal eternal life. Lord, I cannot do it alone, let the whole world know You.
6. Lord, send Your mercy to the children of the earth whom You love, and let them know You by the Holy Spirit, and teach them to glorify You. I tearfully ask You, hear my prayer, and let everyone know Your glory through the Holy Spirit.
“When you pray for yourself with a deep awareness of your own sinfulness, then even a simple “Lord, have mercy” for others will have great power.”
Lord, send sleep to those who cannot sleep either because they suffer from pain or because of nervous excitement.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Have mercy on everyone and me, the indecent one.
My God, I have pride, because of which help does not come to me from You, but I ask You, enlighten me so that I understand what needs to be done to overcome my weakness.
1. My God, as You have benefited me greatly, so help my brother, who is better than me.
2. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on those who suffer physically and mentally.
3. Glory to You, God - forgive me, my God, my sins, so that I may glorify You as the angels glorify You.
1. My God, I thank You, because of my sins I endure all this. I deserve the worst, but I’m afraid I can’t stand it. I ask You, give me patience and strength to endure everything.
2. I thank you, my God, because I needed this for my salvation.
3. My God, not knowing what You will do, I completely surrender myself to You so that You can make a man out of me.
4. For the sake of Your love, my Christ, I will endure.
My Christ, my Lady Most Holy Theotokos, help me.
My God, I am a weak person and I cannot live like a monk (nun). Send me a person to help me, we got married, I created a good family and lived spiritually.
My God, we wish to have a child. We believe that You care for our good, “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10).
1. My God, my children don’t listen to me. I can't do anything. Take care of them yourself.
2. My Christ! My Most Holy Theotokos! Save our child.
Suppose that someone insulted you with something, big or small, and you began to feel movements of displeasure and irritation with the suggestion to retaliate.
God, come to my help; Lord, seek my help (Ps. 69:2).
And do not stop crying until there is no trace of enemy movements left, and peace is established in the soul
This is the will of God being fulfilled on me, according to which from time immemorial, out of love for me, He laid it down that I should suffer real trouble or sorrow, or loss, or in vain. Blessed be the name of my Most Gracious Lord.
In your prayer you must combine those four actions about which St. Basil the Great: first glorify God, then thank Him for the blessings shown to you, then confess to Him your sins and transgressions of His commandments and, finally, ask Him for what you need, especially in the matter of your salvation.
Lord, my God! I praise and glorify Your ineffable glory and Your immeasurable greatness - I thank You that, by Your sole goodness, having given me existence and making me worthy to be a partaker of the saving blessings of Your incarnate economy, You have repeatedly delivered me, unknown even to me, from the troubles that threatened me and from the hand of my invisible enemies - I confess to You that countless times I have trampled his conscience and fearlessly violated Your holy commandments, being ungrateful for so many of Your blessings. But, my most merciful God, may this ingratitude not overcome Your goodness, despise my sins and indecencies, look at the tears of my contrition and, according to the multitude of Your bounties, help me even now, give me what is necessary for my salvation and direct my whole life to please You, so that Your all-holy name may be glorified by me, the unworthy.
With this last word, you can count by name all your real spiritual, mental and physical needs, and if at this time you are practicing any special virtue, then remember it too and pray that God will help you to succeed in it perfectly: if you are disturbed by the movements of any passion, pray for help not to succumb to it and drive it away; If you suffer any injustice or insult, or any kind of damage or misfortune, do not forget to thank God for it, because this too, being according to the will of God, is always good, and visits you for your good.
God, You, as the Almighty, can do whatever you want, You can help me. You, as the Omniscient and Wise One, know everything most perfectly, and know what is most suitable for the salvation of each of us. God, You, merciful and good, stand before us with indescribable love, always willingly ready from hour to hour and from minute to minute to give us all the help we need to achieve complete victory in the spiritual battle operating in us immediately, as soon as we flow into Your arms with firm hope.
I know and believe that You, our Good Shepherd, walked for three years, looking for the lost sheep, with such a strong voice that came out of Your throat, and walked on paths so difficult and thorny that you shed Your entire blood and gave your life - I believe that You, even now, when this sheep follows You, lovingly turns to You and confidently calls on You for help, immediately You will turn Your eyes to him, You will lift Him up on Your divine shoulders and, bringing him to the host of heavenly Angels, You will arrange a festive celebration for this occasion...
If You, our God, do not cease to search with great diligence and love in order to find, like the gospel coin, a blind and deaf sinner, how can I imagine that You will leave him now, when he, like a lost sheep, cries out and calls for his Shepherd? I hope, God, that You, Who constantly pushes into the heart of man, desiring to enter inside and dine with him, according to the apocalyptic word (see: Apoc. 3:20), communicating to him Your gifts, You will enter like a candle into the heart of every person who opens him to You and calls on You.
1. Lord, turn my thoughts of unbelief into undoubted faith, grant me, instead of grumbling, sincere gratitude for everything, instead of forgetfulness of God, an unceasing deep memory of You, the Omnipresent and All-Containing One, instead of ignorance, clear contemplation or mental processing of all the saving Christian truths, instead of unreasonableness, feelings trained in reasoning about good and evil, instead all blasphemous thoughts - Praise and glorification of God; instead of voluptuousness - all abstinence, fasting and self-mortification, instead of love of glory - humility and thirst for obscurity, instead of love of money - contentment with little and love of poverty; also, instead of anger - meekness, instead of hatred - love, instead of envy - rejoicing, instead of vengeance - forgiveness and peace, instead of gloating - compassion, instead of malice - goodwill.
Decorate my mental strength with unceasing attention, prayer and knowledge of Divine truths, my desirable strength with complete selflessness and renunciation of all self-indulgence, my irritable strength with love; May the light of your mind never darken in me, and the spoken unkind thoughts will not be able to find a place in me. God, as Saint David commands, I will turn away from evil and do good (cf. Ps. 33:15).
2. The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior, whom will I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, from whom shall I fear? Even if a regiment turns against me, my heart will not fear; If battle arises against me, I will trust in Him (Ps. 26:1, 3).
I do not trust in my bow, and my sword will not save me: In God I will boast all the day long, and in His name we will confess forever” (Ps. 43:7, 9).
3. But I will not be afraid of your fear, enemies; I will be confused. The Lord of hosts, I will sanctify Him, and He will be your fear for me. I will trust in Him, and He will be my sanctification. Even if… you are able, you will still be victorious: and even if you take counsel, the Lord will destroy you, and the word that you speak will not abide in you” (Isa. 8:12-14, 9, 10).
4. Arise, O Lord, help me and deliver me for Your name’s sake (Ps. 43:27).
Overcome, my Jesus, those who fight me, take up arms and shield and arise to help me: Let those who seek my soul be ashamed and put to shame, let those who think evil of me turn back and be ashamed” (Ps. 35:1, 2, 4).
5. Lady Theotokos, do not allow me to yield to the enemies and be defeated by them. My guardian angel, with the blood of your wings protect me from the enemy’s arrows and with your sword strike and drive them away from me.
Raise your mind to the Lord crucified for us and cry out to Him from the depths of your soul:
1. Jesus my Lord! My sweetest Jesus! Hasten to help me and do not let my enemy overwhelm me!
2. At the same time, mentally and sensually, if you are nearby, embrace the life-giving cross on which your Lord was crucified for you, often kiss His wounds and say to them with love:
The reddest ulcers, the most holy ulcers, the most pure ulcers! Puncture this accursed and unclean heart of mine and do not allow me to shame and insult you with my uncleanness.
Free me, my Creator and Deliverer, from these enemies of mine, for the glory of Your passion and Your ineffable goodness.
3. When you feel that you are carried away by someone’s beauty, bring to mind that under this attractiveness lies an underworld serpent, ready to kill you or at least injure you, and tell him: Ah, damned serpent! It is you who are standing here as a thief, looking to swallow me! Labor in vain, for the Lord is my helper. Then, turning to God, say:
Blessed are You, my God, who revealed my hidden enemy before me and did not let me be caught by his teeth (Ps. 123:6).”
And then take refuge, as in some kind of saving refuge, in the wounds of Him who was crucified for us, devoting yourself to them, with the thought of how much our Lord endured in His most holy flesh, in order to save you from sin and instill in you an aversion to carnal passions.
1. Help me, Lord my God, help me quickly and do not leave me anymore in this sinful darkness.
2. What else could be expected from me, Lord, so weak and ill-mannered. If it were not for Your immeasurable goodness, Lord, I would not have stopped at this, but would certainly have fallen into something even worse.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. And may Your good Spirit guide me to rightness on earth.
3. Lord, my God! I did this because I am such that nothing else can be expected from me except such sins or something and more, if Your grace does not help me, leaving me with myself. I regret what I have done especially because I do not respond to Your care for me with the correctness of my life, but I keep falling and falling. Forgive me and give me the strength not to offend You anymore and not to deviate from Your will in anything. For I earnestly desire to work for You and please You and to be obedient to You in everything.
1. How sorrowful are you, my soul? And why are you embarrassing me? Trust in God, for we will confess to Him: (You are) the salvation of my face, and my God (Ps. 43:5). Why, O Lord, have you retreated far from me and despised me, who am in sorrow (Ps. 9:22)? Do not forsake me, O Lord my God, do not depart from me (Ps. 37:22). Everyone who works for You knows truly, Lord, that this life, if it is under trial, will be crowned, and if it is in sorrow, it will receive deliverance, and even in decay itself will not pass away by Your mercy. You do not rejoice over our destruction, but after the storm and waves you provide calm, and after crying and tears you pour out joy. Blessed be Thy name forever, O God of Israel!
Bring to memory also Christ the Lord, Who in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, due to immeasurable suffering, felt Himself abandoned by His Heavenly Father, and, feeling yourself in your present situation, existing on the cross, cry out from your heart with His words:
Thy will be done, Lord! Let it be, not as I want, but as You (Matt. 26:39)!
2. Lord my God! Look upon Thy servant, and Thy will be done on me. I know and confess that the truth of Your words is sure and Your promises are not false. And trusting in them, I stand without wavering on Your path.
When you are in difficulty, do not take any step without first lifting your eyes to Christ the Lord crucified on the cross. There you will see written in capital letters how you should behave in the sorrow you encounter. Blame this on yourself, not in letters, but in your actions, namely, when you feel attacks of self-loving self-pity, do not listen to them and do not come down from the cross in cowardice, but resort to prayer and endure with humility, trying to overcome your will and desire with a firm will, that God’s will be done on you. If you leave prayer with such fruit, rejoice and triumph. If you do not achieve this, then your soul will remain fasted, without tasting the food characteristic of it.
3. Lord! I will follow You wherever You go.
4. Lord, enslave all my freedom to love for You. Take for yourself my memory, my mind, my will. Grant me a heart that thinks only of what is Yours, a thought that loves You, a memory that is occupied with You, a mind that thinks of You.
When we think that we can cure ourselves of pride, this is a sign of its extreme degree. The only way to be healed from it is to turn to the Lord and say, together with the prophet David:
May the foot of pride not come upon me (Ps. 35:11).
Tell me, Lord, my end and the number of my days, so that I understand that I am deprived (Ps. 39:5).
Get away from my sight, Satan, father of lies. I don’t even want to listen to you; With all my heart I have always believed and believe in everything that my Mother, the Holy Church, believes in. And this is enough for me. My God, Creator and Deliverer! Hasten to help me and do not let me waver, even the slightest, in the truth of Thy holy faith, but be pleased that I, just as I was born by Thy goodness in this truth, so, remaining in it, end my mortal life for the glory of Thy name.
God! I have many reasons to fear that You will not condemn me and reject me for my sins in Your righteousness, but I have even greater boldness to hope for mercy according to Your infinite mercy, in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer and Savior. Therefore, I beg Your immeasurable goodness, have mercy on me, a poor creature, condemned by my sins, but washed by the priceless blood of Your Son and our God, so that I may glorify You forever. I surrender myself entirely into Your hands - do with me according to Your mercy. You are the only Lord of my life.
Return, you damned one, to your darkness. As an unworthy person, visions and revelations are not appropriate for me. I need only one thing - the immeasurable compassion of my Lord Jesus Christ, the prayers and intercession of our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and all the saints.
Lord, I remember that the Holy Scripture says: Better is a long-suffering man than a strong man, and one who restrains his anger than one who lays down hail (Proverbs 16:32). My God! When will my heart finally be clothed in the weapon of patience! When I finally begin to endure every trouble with a calm heart, may my God rejoice over me! I remember the words of the Apostle James: Blessed is the man who endures temptation (James 1:12). Oh, how beloved are you to me, sorrows that make me like my Lord Jesus, who suffered for me! My Jesus! Grant me at least sometimes to live peacefully among a thousand sorrows, glory for the sake of Your name! Blessed will I be if, even in the midst of the fire of sorrows, I am inflamed with the desire to endure even greater suffering!
Lord, You said with Your most pure lips: An evil man brings forth evil from the evil treasures of his heart (Matthew 12:35). A pure and dispassionate eye dispassionately looks at the deeds of others, and not with deceit. A pure eye cannot see evil (Hab. 1:13). How can I, the damned one, being in the same sin and committing even more serious sins, dare to raise my head to see the mistakes of others and condemn them? Grant me to see my sins and not to wound my brother with condemnation, but to apply a spiritual plaster to my own wounds.
Lord, I know that one remembrance of You and one humble knee-bow to Your glory and honor is incomparably more valuable than all the treasures of the world; I also think that every time, having driven away negligence, we force ourselves to do our due work with diligence, the Angels in heaven are preparing for us a crown of glorious victory; and that for the careless You not only do not have crowns, but little by little you take back from them those gifts that you gave before for your diligent service to You, and finally, you will deprive them of Your Kingdom if they remain in negligence, as in the parable of those who were called to the evening and were too lazy to come, You said, Lord: I tell you that not a single man of those who are called will taste My supper (Luke 14, 24). I know that this is the fate of the careless; to those who are thorough and force themselves without self-pity to do every good deed, You multiply Your grace-filled gifts here and prepare an ever-blessed life in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Grant, O Lord, that Your words may also come true on me: The Kingdom of God is in need, and the needy women delight it (Matthew 11:12).
1. Looking at the four elements - fire, air, water and earth, thinking about their being, strength and action, in great spiritual consolation, cry out to their Supreme Creator, who so arranged them, the great God, the immeasurable Power and the most exalted Action! I rejoice and am glad that You alone are the beginning and cause of every created essence, power and action!
2. Looking at the sky and the celestial bodies of light: the sun, moon and stars, and thinking that they received their light and their splendor from God, exclaim:
Light, more than any brighter light, from Which all light, material and immaterial, was created. Wonderful Light, the first object of joy for the Angels and the rapture of the blessed, into the steady contemplation of Which the eyes of the Cherubim are immersed in amazement and in comparison with Which all sensual lights seem like deep darkness! I glorify and exalt You, True Light, who enlightens every person coming into the world! Grant me to always behold You intelligently, so that my heart may rejoice with complete joy!
3. Also, looking at trees, grass and other various plants, and in vain with the mind, how they live, feed, grow and reflect from themselves what is similar to themselves, and that it is not from themselves that they have life and everything else that is in them, but from the creative Spirit, Whom you do not see and Who alone gives them life, so you can cry:
This is where true life is, from Which, in Which and by Which everything lives, is nourished and multiplies! O life-giving Delight of my heart!
In the same way, when looking at irrational animals, you can ascend your mind to God, who gave them feelings and the strength to move from place to place, and say:
O first Mover of all kinds, Who, setting everything in motion, remains motionless within Himself! How I rejoice and rejoice in this Your mobility and Your steadfast identity!
4. Looking at yourself or at other people and thinking that you alone have been given a high position, that you alone of all living creatures on earth are gifted with reason and serve as the point of unity and union of material and immaterial creatures, move to glorify and give thanks to your Creator and God and say:
O immaterial Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Soul! May you be blessed forever! How much must I always thank You, not only for the fact that You created me from the earth and made me king over all unearthly creatures, not only for the fact that You naturally honored me with Your image, mind, word, living body, but most of all for the fact that you gave me the power, by my free will, to become like You through virtues, so that through this I could eternally have You in myself and bliss in You!
5. I now turn to each of the five senses in particular and tell you: seeing the beauty and beauty of creatures, separate with your mind what you see from their spiritual meaning, which you do not see, and, thinking that all this beautiful beauty, externally visible, is the work of the invisible and most beautiful creative Spirit, in Whom is the cause of all such external beauty, say, being filled with joy:
Behold the abundant flows from the uncreated source! Behold the all-irrigating rain from the boundless sea of all good things! How joyful I am in the depths of my heart, thinking about the indescribable beauty of my Creator, the beginning and reason of all created beauty! I am filled with what spiritual sweetness when I keep in my mind the thought of the unspeakable and unthinkable beauty of my God, in which is the beginning of all beauty!
6. When you hear any pleasant voice or harmony of such voices and singing, turn your mind to God and say:
Harmony of harmonies, my Lord! How I rejoice over Your boundless perfections, which all, concentrated in You in supernatural harmony and then reflected in the hosts of Angels in heaven and in countless creatures under heaven, form one unimaginably harmonious symphony!
When my time comes, Lord, for me to hear with the ears of my heart Your sweetest voice, saying: My peace I give to you - peace from passions! For Your voice is sweet, as the bride sings in the Song of Songs” (Song 2:14)!
7. If you happen to smell some ointment or some color of incense, move your thoughts from this external fragrance to the hidden fragrance of the Holy Spirit and say:
Behold the smell of this all-fragrant color and of this inexhaustible world, which was poured out on all the creations of God, as it is sung in the Song of Songs: I am the flower of the field and the flower of the field (Song. 2, 1) and also: Thy name poured out as myrrh (ibid., 1, 2). Behold the spread of the source fragrance, which richly exudes its divine rest on everything, from the highest pure Angels to the last creatures, and everything is fragrant.” So Isaac once, smelling the stench of his Jacob, said: Behold the stench of my son, like the stench of the fields, so bless the Lord (Gen. 27:27).
8. Again, when you eat or drink, think that it is God who gives everything edible a taste that is pleasant to us and, enjoying Him alone, say:
Rejoice, my soul, that while outside of God there is no satisfaction for you, there is no sweetness and consolation, you, having known Him and clinging to Him, can find all pleasure in Him alone, as David invites you to this, saying: taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 33:9), and as Solomon confirms the truth of this, saying: his fruit is sweet in the throat mine (Song. 2, 3).
9. Also, when you stretch out your hands to do some work, bring to mind that God, who has given you the strength and ability to act, is the first reason for every movement, but you are nothing more than a living instrument in His hands, and, ascending to Him in thought, say:
What joy do I experience within myself, the highest God of all, thinking that without You I cannot do any work, and that You are the first and initial Actor in every task!
10. And when you see in others kindness or wisdom, or truth, or any other virtues, then in this case, separating the invisible from this visible, say to your God:
O rich treasure of every virtue! How great is the joy for me to know and see that all good comes from You alone and that all our good in comparison with Your divine perfections is nothing! I thank you, my God, for this and for every other good that you do to my neighbor, but remember, our Benefactor, both my own poverty and my great insufficiency in all virtue.
11. And I will say in general, whenever you feel something attractive and pleasing in God’s creations, do not focus your attention on them alone, but, passing them, turn your thoughts to God and say:
If Your creations, my God, are so beautiful, so joyful and delightful, how immeasurably beautiful, how immeasurably joyful and how immeasurably sweet are You Yourself, the Creator of all!
If you do this, my beloved, then you can, through your five senses, learn the knowledge of God, always ascending with your mind from creatures to the Creator, so that the existence and well-being of everything created will be for you a book of Theology, and you, while still in this sensory world, will become a participant in the knowledge characteristic of the supermundane world. For, truly, the whole world and all nature is nothing more than a certain organ, in which, under appearance, the Organizer and Artist of everything invisibly resides, acting and visibly manifesting His artistry, or in the visible and material, presenting to the gaze of rational creatures His invisible and immaterial perfections and actions.
1. As a man who has sinned, You, as a generous God, have mercy on me.
2. Lord Father and God of my life, do not let my eyes be lifted up and turn away lust from me.
1. Oh, Heavenly Beast! When will the time come for me to be completely devoured by You, not by any other fire, but by the fire of Your love? When, O uncreated Love, O Bread of Life! When will I begin to live alone with You, for You alone and in You alone? When, O my Life, red Life, sweet and eternal Life, Manna from heaven, when, turning away from every other earthly waste, will I begin to lust after You alone and feed on You alone? When will this happen, O my all-satisfying Sweetness, O my supreme good! Oh, my Lord, most exalted and all-gracious! Pluck this poor heart of mine from the bonds of every addiction and every unkind inclination, decorate it with Your holy virtues and fill it with such good disposition that I can do everything with all sincerity only for the sole purpose of pleasing You!
Then I will finally achieve the point that, having opened my heart to You, no longer unworthy of You, I will call on You and force You into it with love; You, my Lord, having entered inside, will begin, without encountering resistance, to perform there all the effects that you usually perform in souls devoted to You.
2. I am not worthy, my Lord, to receive You, for I have angered You so many times with my sins, and have not yet mourned all such wicked deeds of mine. I am not worthy, my Lord, to receive You, for I have not yet cleansed myself of dispositions and predilections for that which is not pleasing to You. I am not worthy, my Lord, to receive You, for I have not yet surrendered with all sincerity to love for You, to Your will and obedience to You. O my God, omnipotent and immeasurably good! You Yourself, in Your all-generous love for mankind, deign me to receive You, flowing to You with faith.
1. After communion of the Holy Mysteries, immediately enter the recesses of your heart and, having worshiped the Lord there with reverent humility, mentally extend the following conversation to Him:
You see, my all-merciful Lord, how easily I fall into sins to my own detriment and what power the passion that fights me has over me, and how powerless I am to free myself from it. Help me and strengthen my powerless efforts, or even better, take my weapons and with them, instead of me, completely defeat this frantic enemy of mine.
After this, finally, turning to the Heavenly Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and ours, together with Him in these Mysteries, who descended into you with His good pleasure, and to the Holy Spirit, who by His grace aroused you and prepared you to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord and, upon receiving them, now abundantly overshadows you, worship this One God, glorified in the Holy Trinity and beneficial to us, and, Having given reverent thanks to Him for the great mercy towards you, at this moment revealed as a certain gift, offer an unshakable decision, readiness and impulses to fight your sin, in the hope of overcoming it with the power of the One Trinitarian God.
2. Oh, how wonderful is the gift of Holy Communion! The Almighty God has set His heart on me, His least creation! What do you want from me, O King of Glory? What do you expect from me, who is nothing more than dust and dust? I see well, my God, in the light of Your immeasurable love, that You have one desire for this, which most shows the lordship of Your love for me, namely, that You deign to give me all of Yourself for food and drink for no other reason than to take all of me into Yourself, not because You need me, but because I have an extreme need for You; for in this way You live in me, and I in You; and through this loving union I become like You Yourself - and I will say this in human terms: through the union of my earthly heart with Your heavenly heart, a single divine heart is created in me.
3. Almighty King of heaven and earth! Who created You to bring You into my unworthy heart, when I am damned, and poor, and blind, and naked? No one, of course, is like Your immeasurable love for me. O uncreated love! O sweetest love! What do you want from me, who have become impoverished in the end? Nothing, as I understand and see, except my love for You; nothing except that no other fire should burn on the altar of my heart except the fire of my love for You, which would consume every other love and every other desire except the desire to bring all of me to You as a burnt offering and into the stench of fragrance. You have never desired or sought anything else from me, and now You do not seek or desire anything else. Take heed, O Lord, now to the vows of my heart! I combine my desire with Your desire, and how You gave all of Yourself to me, and I surrender all of myself to You, that I may be wholly in You.
I know, Lord, that this cannot happen if there is not complete self-sacrifice in me, if any trace of self-love remains in me, if sympathy and disposition for any of my wills or thoughts, or for my self-indulgent customs are hidden in me; That’s why I want and strive from now on to resist myself in everything that my soul desires that is displeasing to You, and to force myself to do everything that is pleasing to You, even if everything in me and outside of me rebels against it. I myself am not able to succeed in this, but since from now on You are with me, I boldly hope that You Yourself will accomplish in me everything that is right. I strive and search, and may my heart be one with Your heart; and I hope that this will be done to me by Your grace. I strive and seek not to see or hear anything, not to think about anything and not to sympathize with anything, except for what Your will, determined by Your commandments, will lead and indicate, and I hope that this will be the action of Your power in me.
I strive and seek not to leave my attention from the heart in which You are, and there, constantly looking to You, to be warmed by the rays of light emanating from You; and I hope that this will be the touch and embrace of Your hands. I strive and search, so that from now on You will be my only light, strength and joy; and I hope that this will be Your saving influence on my inner being. This is what I pray for and will continue to pray unceasingly. O most merciful Lord! Be it for me, be it.
As soon as you wake up in the morning and pray a little, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,” the first thing you should do is to imprison yourself, as if in some place or disgrace, in your own heart. Having established yourself here, then raise yourself to the consciousness and feeling that that enemy of yours and that passionate attraction with which you are at that time in a struggle are already standing at your back, ready to immediately attack you, and as a result, restore within yourself the determination to either win or die, but not to give in; Realize also that at your right hand, invisibly standing before you is your victorious Archangel, our Lord Jesus Christ, with His Most Holy Mother, and many holy Angels, with Archangel Michael at their head, ready to help you, and as a result, be inspired by good faith.
Now the prince of the underworld, the devil, with his hordes of demons, will rise up against you and begin to kindle a passionate attraction in you, persuading you with various flattering promises for your self-indulgence to stop fighting this passion and submit to it, assuring that it will be better and more peaceful this way. But listen to yourself - at the same time, you should hear from the right hand of the country a warning and inspiring voice, which your guardian angel on behalf of all who are on your right hand will not fail to instill in you, saying: “Now you have to fight with your passion and your other enemies. Do not be afraid and do not be afraid and do not run away from the battlefield from this fear. For the Lord Jesus Himself, your Archangel, stands nearby, surrounded by the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds of the Bodiless and all the hosts of holy angels, ready to fight for you against your enemies and not allow them to overcome you and defeat you, as promised: the Lord will fight for you (Ex. 14:14).
Therefore, stand firm, force yourself not to give in and strain in every possible way to endure this test that has come upon you, crying from the depths of your heart: do not betray me into the souls of those who suffer (Ps. 26:12). Call on your Lord, on the Lady Theotokos, on all the Angels and saints. Help will come and you will win, for it is written: I am writing to you, young men, encouraged and zealous warriors, because you have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:13). Even though you are weak and bound by bad habits and your enemies are strong and numerous, but much greater help is ready for you from the One who created you and redeemed you, and God is your Defender in this battle incomparably stronger than anyone, as it is written: The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is mighty in battle (Ps. 23:8), Who, moreover, has a greater desire to save you than your enemy to destroy you. So, fight and never be burdened by labor from this battle. For through this labor, self-needing and merciless, despite the pain, tearing oneself away from vicious habits, victory is acquired and a great treasure is acquired with which the Kingdom of Heaven is bought and for the sake of which the soul is forever united with God.
So, every day in the morning, in the name of God, begin the struggle with your enemies, with the weapon of non-reliance on yourself and daring hope in God, prayer and merciless forcing yourself to perform appropriate labors and spiritual deeds, especially with the weapon of mental-heart prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! This name is terrible, like a two-edged sword, when rotated in the heart, it strikes and drives away demons and passions. Therefore, John Climacus said: “In the name of the Lord Jesus, scourge your adversaries.” We will talk about this prayer below in a special chapter. With this weapon, I say, defeat that enemy, that passion and that evil attraction that is fighting, in the order that I indicated in the 13th chapter, namely, first by resisting the passion, then by hating it and, finally, by deeds of virtue that is contrary to it, doing all this, let’s say, in a prayerful atmosphere. By acting in this way, you will do a work pleasing to your God, who, with all the triumphant Church in Heaven, stands invisibly and looks at your struggle.
Such struggle is difficult and tedious, but grieve and do not give up, thinking that, on the one hand, we have a duty to work and please our God, on the other, that, as was said above, we inevitably need to struggle if we want to live, because as soon as we stop fighting, we will immediately be struck to death. Let not the enemy seduce you with the suggestion: “Just give in for an hour.” Let it be for an hour. But who will you become if you retreat from life according to God and indulge in the world and its pleasures and carnal pleasures? It’s scary to become an apostate, not only for an hour, but also for an instant. Besides, is it common for this to happen for an hour? Wouldn’t it be even worse if hour after hour, and then days after days and years after years, flows by in this godless life? What next?
If the Lord has mercy on you and allows you to wake up again, to emerge from this devil’s snare and awaken from the sleep of sin, you will still have to enter into the struggle from which you will now run away, seeking a preferential life, with the only difference that then it will be incomparably harder, sharper and more painful for you, and also less successful.
If the Lord leaves you in the hands of your will and your enemies, what then? I won’t repeat it, I’ll just say: remember, for who doesn’t know this? After living in the tormenting bonds of evil passions, sometimes in the intoxication of sensuality, but always without true joys, the hour of death will suddenly befall, a terribly painful state of the soul, which even the word of God could not depict, but only said: then they will cry: mountains, fall on us (Rev. 6:16). This cry, having begun at the hour of death, will silently continue throughout the entire time after death until the end of the world and will be heard at the moment of the Last Judgment, and is always useless. Don’t be so crazy as to deliberately throw yourself into eternal hellish torment, running away from momentary ascetic labors and struggles. But as a reasonable and, I will say, prudent person, it is better now to endure the short labors and pains of spiritual warfare, so that, having defeated those who fight, you will receive a crown and be in unity with God both here and there - in the Kingdom of Heaven.
1. My sweetest Savior and God! I have not done anything good or pleasing before You, but, as a diligent doer of sin, I am a worthy son of hell. So if I am to be given over to eternal torment, then this is due to me in fairness. If only You were not saddened by me, but looked at me with a joyful face. Then for me hell will become a bright paradise.
2. I thank You, my Christ, for the good that You have given me and for the evil from which I suffer. Glory to Thee, glory to Thee, my God!
3. Glory to the wisdom and knowledge of God, who arranges the healing of our soul in many ways. Glory and praise always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
4. O my Jesus, sweet love! Before I saw You, You saw me.
O light of my soul! Before I knew You, You made me know Yourself. And before I loved, You loved me.
O life and my sweet breath, I was in darkness, and Your sweet voice woke me up and called me. I saw You when You knew me. Your knowledge is contemplation of You. O my joy and spiritual joy! O heavenly zeal! O love that burns and does not burn!
5. My sweetest Savior and God! I have not done anything good or pleasing before You, but, as a diligent doer of sin, I am a worthy son of hell. So if I am to be given over to eternal torment, then this is due to me in fairness. If only You were not saddened by me, but looked at me with a joyful face. Then for me hell will become a bright paradise.
1. If you see that temptations and sorrows are strangling you from everywhere, then rejoice. Don't be sad, don't complain, don't be discouraged. Encourage yourself, for joy and comfort will come to you.
Say: “Take courage, my soul. This is only a temptation, a trial, a tribulation, and then for many days you will have peace, and joy, and grace.” Speak:
I thank You, my Christ, for You have spread me through sorrow, and, punishing, You have punished me, and You have brought my soul to rest.
Do not despair when you fall, but when you rise, bring repentance with zeal, saying:
Forgive me, my Christ, I am human and weak.
1. Lord, as You were transformed before Your disciples, be transformed in my soul too! Tame the passions, calm my heart! Give prayer to the one praying and restrain my uncontrollable mind.
2. My soul thirsts for You, my God! When will I come and see Your holy face? (Ps. 41:3).
My God, I ask You to heal me, so that I may bless You and glorify You. But, if You know that something else is useful for my salvation, Your will be done.
1. When you hug the icon (of the Mother of God, as if alive, and kiss it passionately with tears.
My Most Holy Mother, save me, for I will perish if You leave me!
- Lord, my God, have mercy on me for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother and all Your saints!
2. Mom! My sweet Mommy! May my soul come forth into Thy hands, and through them may it be given to its Creator, Thy Only Begotten Son. We don’t want anything else, our sweet Mother, than to give up the ghost during the kindling of divine zeal in that fiery love, when our soul burns, and the mind stops, and a fragrant breath blows in a subtle breath, and it is covered in darkness, when the feelings freeze and the desired reigns, zeal, love and life, always sweet Jesus.
3. My sweet Mommy, help me, teach me how to be saved! Intercede, my Mother, before Your Son, so that He may instruct me how I should fulfill His will and what to ask Him for. So that He would open my spiritual eyes, which are closed, so that I do not see Him, while He sees me every moment, and I constantly grieve Him.
1. Open, my sweet breath, Jesus, my Savior, pour out the rain of your divine Spirit and pour out the water of your comforting grace on the soul of my (spiritual) son. And comfort and heal his heart, delighting it with the sweetness of Your divine and ineffable pleasure, which tongue cannot speak of. Send, my Light-Giver Jesus, the dawn of enlightenment of Your divine knowledge and illuminate the soul of my son with the light of Your divine radiance, so that he may rejoice and leap like a deer, and forget sorrows and all worldly things. To her, my sweetest fragrance, to her, my most fragrant breath, to her, my beloved Christ, have pity on Your creation and do not allow him to suffer beyond his strength.
2. Give, O Christ, my sweet breath, my life, give Thy grace to Thy servant and deliver him from the enemies who surrounded him, and scatter everything, and miraculously transform it into cloudlessness and silence, as Thy all-seeing and divine power usually does. For You are help and strength, mercy and compassion, and we send up glory to You now and to endless ages.
3. My God, my God! Look once upon Your servant (name), True Light, and open Your heavens again, and rain down a drop of Your divine grace. Enlighten the eyes of her soul and show mercy to her. Oh my God! My God, who sees the secrets of our soul! Delight our heart, which has been grieved by the evil one and which has forgotten Your love.
Lord Jesus Christ, sweetest Father, God and Lord of mercy and Creator of all creation, look upon my humility and forgive all my sins, which I have committed throughout my entire life, even to this day and hour, and send Your Most Holy and Comforting Spirit, so that He will teach me, enlighten me, cover me, not to sin, but with a pure soul and with my heart to honor and worship, glorify, thank and love with all my soul and heart You, my sweetest Savior and Benefactor God, worthy of all love and worship. To her, Good Father Without Beginning, Son Without Beginning and Most Holy Soul, grant me the enlightenment of divine and spiritual knowledge, so that contemplating Your sweet grace, with it I will bear the burden of this nightly vigil of mine and give my pure prayers and thanksgivings to You, with the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and all the saints. Amen.
A layman, if he wants to live righteously, must constantly pray in his soul and, when sitting at work, say:
Lord, Lord, do not turn Your Face away from me and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me!
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!
Most Holy Theotokos, save my weak soul!
Cross of Christ, save me by Your power!
All saints, intercede for me, a sinner!
With such prayers, it is appropriate for ascetics to do their handicraft, and not only for ascetics, but also for all Christian monks, so that, working with their hands, two things can be done - sensual * and mental, we say: bodily and mental handicraft in truth and chastity.
Remember, Lord, those who rise up against me, those who hate and offend me
Master, Lord Almighty, behold, I commend my children into Your hands! Observe them, O Lover of Mankind, O Good One! To her, Lord, Heavenly Father, and Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son and Holy Soul. God our father, praised and glorified is Your name forever. Amen. Be, O Lord, Thy mercy upon those who live in this monastery, keep them under Thy roof, cover them from all evil lust, drive away from them every enemy and adversary, open the ears and eyes of their hearts, grant tenderness and humility to their hearts.”
All-sung to the Lady Theotokos, Ever-Virgin Mary and all-compassionate Mother of God, Pure Mother of God, enlighten us! O Who gave birth to the unapproachable Light, have mercy on these Your servants and guide them to salvation!
1. Carefully cut off evil thoughts. If those who are fighting with you strongly take up arms against you, then, standing up and raising your eyes and hands to heaven, say earnestly with humility: “
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak” (Ps. 6:3); You, Lord, are strong (see Ps. 88:9), and this is Your feat. You fight for us and win, Lord.
And if you do this without laziness, you will definitely learn from experience that they are defeated by the power of the Most High.
2. We must carefully cut off evil thoughts in every possible way; the great victor against them is to put forward diligent prayer to God, as the holy fathers betrayed - in various ways, but identical in essence. For one said, having received it from David, to pray like this:
Those who cast me out have now devoured me (Ps. 16:11), O my joy, deliver me from those who have despised me” (Ps. 31:7).
Another of the same psalms says this:
God, come to my help (Ps. 69:2)
The other is again from the same psalms:
Judge, O Lord, those who offend me and rebuke those who fight me” (see Ps. 34:1),
- and other things from the psalm.
3. Also call for help those whom you hear about in the Scriptures as having labored in chastity and purity. If you are strongly attacked by abuse, then immediately get up and stretch out your eyes and hands to heaven, pray like this:
You are strong, Lord, and this is Your feat, You fight and win in this, Lord, for us.
And cry out to the Almighty for help with humble words:
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak” (Ps. 6:3).
This is the tradition of the saints. And if you continue in such struggles, then you will learn by experience that by the grace of God, your enemies are decisively defeated.
Get away from me, Satan! I will worship the Lord my God and serve Him alone (see Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8). Your blasphemy will return to your head, and the Lord will attribute it to you. Get away from me. May God, who created me in His image and likeness, abolish you.
If even after this he annoys you, shamelessly, transfer your thought to some other subject, Divine or human (if it is not beyond what is appropriate).
God! God! Forgive our sins, have mercy on us who fall to Your mercy! Deliver us from sudden and unexpected death and grant us permission to end the days of our life in joy and hope in Your holy mercy; bless us to foreknow the hour of our death and meet it fearlessly and calmly, preparing ourselves with sincere repentance, confession and communion of your Divine Mysteries, and when we appear before your impersonal court, have mercy on us, God, have mercy on us!
1. Lord! You know better than I how it is necessary, and glory to You, Lord, that you have granted me, a sinner, to endure at least a little for my sins!
2. Lord! I have sinned a lot and am worthy of eternal torment, but You, out of Your boundless love, do not want me to suffer forever, and subject me to temporary punishment so that I come to my senses, repent and cope. How great is Your mercy! Increase my patience, grant me such grace that I will endure my illness complacently out of love for You! I would rather have my illness intensify than for it to stop and for me to begin sinning again and be subjected to eternal torment. Let my illness continue and intensify as You please, just deliver me from eternal torment!
When you feel that the illness is weakening and you are beginning to recover, then with all your soul pray to the Lord God, that upon returning you to health, He will deign to keep you from all sin and give you a firm memory of those feelings and thoughts that you had during your illness.
1. Lord! I won’t even die first, save me, overwhelmed by unclean passions! Keep me from a drunken and unchaste life! Save me by Your omnipotent grace! Save me, whether I want it or not, the damned one wants to be saved!
2. Most merciful, eternal God, good Heavenly Father! I confess all my sins before You and know that I am worthy of all punishments. I did not glorify You, Lord, worthily, taking advantage of my health, I sinned a lot, unrighteously using Your gifts, becoming attached to the world, often forgot about You, working for the body, destroying my soul. But I pray to You, God, in the name of Christ my Savior, Your Only Begotten Son, forgive me my sins for the sake of Your goodness and do not punish me according to Your righteousness, so that in the future I will always walk according to Your commandments, please You and, holyly taking advantage of all Your good deeds, always glorify Your great goodness.
So always push at the doors of His mercy, and He, as a Lover of mankind, will open them and show His mercy to you. But see, do not relax in prayer, but always force yourself to it, and the Lord, seeing your effort and sorrow, and that you do not want to leave Him, will help and suddenly change your state of mind.
By the power of Your Honest and Life-giving Cross, O Lord, preserve us and save us!
Lord, rest the soul of Your departed servant (name) and comfort those who grieve for him.
O Lady Theotokos, my strong deliverer, I thank the many-wretched one for Your innumerable mercies poured out on my misery.
God and Father, Creator and Preserver of all creatures! Bless my poor children with your Holy Spirit, may He kindle in them the true fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom and direct prudence, according to which whoever acts, his praise abides forever. Bless them with true knowledge of You, keep them from all trouble. And make sure that they continue to the end in true saving faith and in all godliness. Grant them a believing, obedient, humble heart, wisdom and intelligence. Plant in their hearts love for Your Divine Word, so that they may be reverent in prayer and worship, true in words, faithful in deeds, diligent in work, meek, and kind to all people. Keep them from all the temptations of the evil world. Be their protector in every danger, so that they do not suffer sudden destruction. May they always give you honor, praise and glory.
Father Macarius advised Orthodox women who could not bear a child to pray at home like this:
Remember, O Lord who loves mankind, the baby who died in my womb from unknown actions; baptize him, O Lord, in the sea of Your bounties and save him with Your ineffable grace!
Lord... help me, I am exhausted from a difficult physical illness, and my mental and physical strength is exhausted, and I am afraid so as not to grumble about my unbearable illness and not to sin in this before You, my Creator.
God! Remember me in Your Kingdom! Remember all my friends and enemies. We are all human: weakness and infirmity are a part of our heart and mind. That is why, Lord, forgive us all, have mercy and save us, for there is only One Sinless and Incomprehensibly Good and Merciful. Amen. Thank God for everything! Glory to the Queen of Heaven about everything.
Grant me, Lord, to see my sins! For pride darkens our spiritual eyes, and because of this we, like the blind, constantly stumble.
Lord, Lord, look down from on high and see weakness and badness, help and save your sinful servant through fate.
God, what is my love for people compared to Your highest mercy. I'm not sure. that he is capable of love at all. I'm not confident in my abilities. I, insignificant, feel that I will let You down. Strengthen me, O God. Teach me Your love.
Always pray before starting any work. Speak:
My God, give me strength and enlightenment
- and after that start your own business; and at the end say:
Thank God.
The elder’s prayer, which he wrote with great pain and many tears, dedicating it to tormented Russia.
“Glory to Christ Golgotha! Oh, Divine Golgotha, sanctified by the Blood of Christ! Please tell us. How many thousands of sinners have you cleansed with the grace of Christ, repentance and tears and brought into the bridal chamber of Paradise! O Christ the King, with Your ineffable love and grace You filled all the heavenly palaces with repentant sinners.
Here too, down below, you have mercy and save everyone. And whoever can adequately thank You, even if he has the mind of an angel! Sinners, hurry up! Holy Golgotha is open, and Christ is blessed. Fall down to Him and kiss His holy feet!
Only He. being well-born. Can Heal Your Ulcers! Oh, we will be happy when the multi-compassionate Christ will honor us with great humility. with the fear of God and hot tears, wash His most pure feet and kiss them with love. Then the gracious Christ will deign to wash away our sins and open to us the doors of Paradise, where in great joy, together with the Archangels and Angels, Cherubim and Seraphim and with all the saints, we will forever glorify the Savior of the world, the Sweetest Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity.
Lord, generous and merciful, long-suffering and abundantly merciful, inspire prayer and listen to the voice of my prayer, create a sign for good with me, guide me on Your path to walk in Your truth, make my heart glad in fearing Your Holy Name; Thou art great before and works wonders, Thou art the One God and there is none like Thee in God, Lord, strong in mercy and good in strength to help and comfort and save all who trust in Thy Name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen
Help, Lord, give me understanding of what to do. Arrange it yourself for our good.
May Your mercy be upon me, O Lord, that I may not perish completely. Most Holy Theotokos, save me, sinner and weak.
1. God, our Savior, do not hide from me the secret of the ways of Your salvation.
2. Lord, I am weak. You know this. With fear I seek ways to You.
Don't despise me; do not depart from me in my fall; come closer to me, insignificant but thirsty. Dwell in me and You Yourself do in me everything that You commanded us; make me Yours forever and ever in unshakable love.
3. In difficult times of failure in all my efforts to harmonize my life manifestations with the teaching of the gospel, I used to pray like this:
“Come, and You Yourself do Thy will in Me: Your commandments do not fit into my narrow heart, and my cramped mind does not comprehend their content... If You do not wish to move inside me, then I will inevitably go into darkness... You, I know, do not act with violence, but I pray to You: enter my house with authority and regenerate all of me - turn the hellish darkness of my pride into Your humble love; Transform my perverted nature with light, so that not a single passion remains in me that could hinder the coming of Your Father with You (cf. John 14:21-23); create from me the abode of that holy life, which You Yourself allowed me to partially see... Yes, Lord, I beg You, do not deprive me of this sign of Your goodness.”
Before every good undertaking: ask for the grace of the Holy Spirit: for without Me you cannot do anything (John 15:5). We must always try to walk in humility, according to the commandments of the Lord.
Lord help me! Lord, strengthen my weakness and turn my eyes away from vanity and everything unprofitable.
Crush and humble your feelings: truly this day has been spent in complete oblivion about God, and in any case, say to yourself:
Do not forget me, Lord, who forgets You!
and sigh about the insufficiency of your faith and love for God. Remember how you spent the day and how you angered God and offended your neighbor... and then repent to God for the whole day, saying the words
Lord, forgive and help!
Before going to your confessor, you must say to yourself before God:
Lord, help me to sincerely repent
bearing in mind that without the grace of the Holy Spirit, we will not be able to repent as we should.
Since we cannot be properly reconciled without God’s help, and without spiritual peace our soul will perish, we must, if necessary, ask God for gracious help to restore spiritual peace; and in order to achieve this, you must certainly pray for the offender to the God of peace with the following words:
Lord, save and have mercy on Your servant (name of the rivers) and his saint. have mercy on me with your prayers!
After such a prayer, the offender himself will come to you first and ask you for forgiveness, and then, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, mutual peace of mind will be restored, and St. Our guardian angels rejoice, but demons envy and cry.
Lord, save us from such destruction, through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother, but save us through our destinies, directing us to the path of repentance.
Before prayer, you need to tune yourself to reverence, i.e. think about who we are and Who is the One with whom we want to talk? We are earth and ashes. And He is the Creator of heaven and earth, before Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim tremble... Such a comparison will cause a feeling of contrition of spirit; then cry to the Lord: alas, I am a sinner! And then tell yourself:
Lord, bless me to bring You prayers and supplications to Your mercy for my insignificance.
When despondency and hardness of heart attack us, preventing us from praying, then, in order to drive away such a state, we must say to ourselves:
Lord, I have neither tenderness, nor zeal, nor contrition to pray to You properly!
After such contrition of the heart, by the grace of God a godly prayer will appear, because... God will not despise a contrite and humble heart; He will not leave it without help.
When praying in church or in a cell, you need to dress yourself from head to toe, as it were, with a robe of guilt before God, and impute yourself to a babbling child and then say to God: “Lord, bless me to offer prayers and supplications to Your Compassion for my unworthiness and for all my relatives, both living and deceased (name of the rivers), for whom You died on the cross”; and then read the prayers slowly, as if in the ear of the Holy Spirit. We must also pray about prayer itself. In the same way, turn to God before reading Holy Scripture. And when you approach the Holy Chalice for Communion, then do not think anything about your sins, but just say to yourself (mentally): “Lord, I am not worthy of Your sweet Communion, but I believe that You will merit me”; and then open the doors of your mouth wide, with reverent attention and living faith that Christ Himself communes you invisibly to people, but in reality it is so, although visible by a priestly or bishop's hand. Moreover, after Holy Communion one must kiss the upper edge of the Holy Chalice, as if the very rib of Christ, from which the Holy Blood flowed.
Whether you are washing linen, or anything else, or cleaning any object, say to yourself (mentally): Lord, cleanse the filth of my soul! Also, when you begin to drink or eat after the usual prayer, think about how the Lord our God tasted our bile and ocet for the sake of salvation, and offers us all good things! In this way you will humble your proud thoughts and sigh and thank the Lord who suffered for us! As you lie down on your bed or crib, say to yourself mentally: Our Lord and God did not have anywhere to lay our heads, but He gave us every comfort. When you wake up during sleep, cross yourself, and when you get up from your sleep, say to yourself: Glory to You, who showed us the light! As you begin to put on your shoes, say in your mind: Lord bless, Lord help! When putting on the clothes that are characteristic of you, say to yourself (mentally): Lord, enlighten the robe of my soul and save me! When you start to wash yourself, be sure to cross yourself to drive away the enemy’s actions through the watery nature that comes.
As you begin to remove the hair from your head, remember how the Roman soldiers tormented our Savior for His pure hair when they led Him to be crucified, and then say: Glory to Your Passion, Lord! If you see a beautiful object worthy of our Creator and Provider of His creation, glorify the Creator of all! Before leaving your room, read mentally: It is worthy to eat... until the end, and also, when you come back, read the same prayer. When leaving a room (or cell) you grab the door handle, read the prayer mentally: Doors of Mercy... to the end. So, always, with every visible object, switch (mentally) to the invisible name of God. Here, in part, only examples are given; whoever with diligence undertakes to fulfill them, the grace of the Holy Spirit will teach him how to relate to every (without exception) subject and do everything for the glory of God, with appropriate thoughts and feelings, i.e. movements of the soul: either glorifying, or grateful, or repentant, or self-deprecating; This kind of movement of the soul is already prayer, as St. Basil the Great.
Thus, by acting in this way, a person is in a state of unceasing prayer, according to the word of St. Apostle Paul, and therefore in unity with God, Who said: “He who is not with Me is against Me.”
Outward decency should be expressed approximately in the following forms: starting in the evening, for example, before lying down on your bed, you should think about how the day was spent - what you saw and what you heard, and perhaps condemned someone in absentia. If you don’t remember anything like that, it doesn’t mean that nothing like that happened, but it means that due to absent-mindedness everything was forgotten; then repent to God not only for the sins you have noticed, saying mentally: “Lord, forgive and help” (that is, forgive me for sinning so much and angering You, and help so that this does not happen), but if everything is forgotten, out of absent-mindedness, then repent to God for what is forgotten, saying either in words or mentally: “I forgot You, Lord, (three times) woe is me, woe is me.” And then tell God: “Do not forget me, Lord, who forgets You”... And this must be said slowly, in the tone of prayer, for it is in such a tone that a contrite heart and a humble spirit lie, God will not humiliate it, that is, He will not leave it without help.
Then, before lying down on your bed, say to yourself: “Our Lord and God had no place to lay our heads, but He has granted us every comfort,” and then cross your bed in three places and then yourself with the words: “Protect me, Lord, from all evil,” and then: “Lord, Thy will be done on me.” But if you are bothered by thoughts while lying on your bed, then you must constantly mentally say a short prayer: “Lord, have mercy,” until you fall asleep. If you wake up during sleep, cross yourself, surrendering yourself to the will of God. And when, upon awakening, you see the light of day, say to yourself: “Glory to You, who showed us the light.” Then, as you begin to put on your shoes and get dressed, say to yourself mentally: “Lord, bless, Lord, have mercy.” Starting to wash yourself, cross yourself and then say to yourself: “Lord, cleanse the filth of my soul.” By doing this, we will do everything according to the covenant of St. Apostle - for the glory of God. While washing dishes or laundry, say: “Lord, cleanse the filth of my soul,” and your thought or mind will always be in God.
When leaving the cell, opening the door, you must read: “Open the doors of mercy for us, blessed Mother of God...” to the end. And also, when you take on any small object, be sure to call on God for help, at least mentally: “Lord, bless, Lord, help.” This must be done in all cases of activity for two reasons: the first is that the Lord forbade any undertaking without His blessing, saying: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), and the second reason that prompts us to call on the name of God is that without His grace nothing can be successful for us and the end of any such undertaking will be sad and even sinful. Whether you are walking on level ground or uneven ground, always call on God for help verbally or mentally:
"Lord, have mercy." Keep in mind the purpose for which you cry out to the Lord like this, that is, so that the path you are walking on passes safely, and so it will be.
Whether you are starting any small task, the smallest thing, be sure to call on the name of God to help you and never forget God by calling on His name, for whoever forgets God will not see Him in the future life, but will go to the enemy of God and the enemy of our salvation to the bottom of hell. And the Holy Scripture says: “let sinners return to hell and all... who forget God” (Ps. 9:18).
As you begin to read the Holy Scriptures, say mentally to God: “Lord, bless me to read the Divine words for Your glory and for the salvation of my soul and the souls of those whom I ever remember... for whom You died on the cross.” And then read slowly, with the fear of God. Do you begin to pray, first say mentally: “Lord, bless me to bring my prayers and supplications to Your Compassion for my insignificance and for all my relatives and friends, both living and deceased (reading the names), for whom You died on the cross.” And then read the prayers slowly, as if in the ear of the Holy Spirit, and if there is no time, cut the prayers by half or as much as you can. Then, if you look at fire anywhere, say to yourself mentally: “Lord, deliver me from eternal fire”...
And so, in all cases and seemingly small matters, call on the name of God to help the work you are starting.
Remember, prayer is a gift, not my property; one must earn this gift not only through prayer alone, but also through other virtues: humility, simplicity, patience, simplicity; and without these virtues, although someone prays, thinking that he has allegedly acquired prayer, he is deceived: this is not prayer, but a mask of prayer!
Prayer is needed or needed mainly so that a person knows his dependence on God. Church prayer is higher than home prayer. However, the first does not exclude the second (home). The 100 prostrations required at home cannot be compared with one church word: “Lord have mercy”! And so that the mind does not become distracted while standing in the church of prayer, one must mentally repeat within oneself what is being sung or read there, and not just listen with one’s ears and enjoy the way they sing, but understand what is being sung. And if you can’t hear the reading, silently read the prayer briefly: Lord have mercy! And therefore, knowing the importance of church prayer, every Christian (Orthodox) soul, if it cannot be in the Holy Church during the celebration of divine services and especially the Holy Liturgy, should, at the hour of its celebration, stand for a short prayer with a living consciousness of what is currently happening in the Holy Church in the face of the faithful children of God who are there, from whom you are, sigh to God and thank Him for the salvation of the entire human race and in particular you, unworthy of His great and rich mercy.
You must pray with contrition of spirit and a humble heart, aware of your weakness and powerlessness. The words of the prayer must be pronounced in a plaintive tone, as beggars ask for alms, and with the words of the prayer, do not seek the gift of prayer or pleasure, but say the words of the prayer so that the Lord God Himself will drive away from you that passion or sinful habit with which you often struggle: either anger, or rancor, or vain thoughts, or blasphemous thoughts, or carnal lusts, or distraction of the mind, or hardening of the heart, or laziness, or drowsiness, or ignorance, or oblivion, or any other sinful passions. And you also need to say the words of prayer so that the Lord God will forgive your sins and save your soul, which is the message of fate. The end of everything in prayer is surrendering oneself to the will of God. Whoever surrenders to the will of God, God, as it were, carries him in His arms, and whoever only asks God in his prayer for something useful and saving, He gives him what he asks for, but does not carry it in his arms.
Irmos: The Divine veil / slow-tongued darkness, / the intricate God-written law: / for he shook off the mud from the mind of the wise, / sees the Being / and learns the Spirit to understand, / praising with divine songs.
Chorus: Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Who fed Israel with manna in the desert of old, / and fill my soul, O Master, with the Spirit of the All-Holy One, / so that I may serve Thee in a godly manner.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
With Your disembodied servants, boldly, I chant Ti and I, / this earth and ashes, / the singing of the thrice-holy voice, / the Trinity and the Blessed One.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Our souls are always overwhelmed by storms of destructive passions and spirits, /to You, the All-Blessed Paraclete,/ as I entrust my salvation to God.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
We are darkened by the disorder of all kinds of lawless thoughts, / this destructive, I pray to Thee, to deliver me from this illness.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
With the depth of unreason and fierce negligence we are drowning in poor slumber, / to You, the All-Pure One, I cry: / deliver me from the sowing aphids of my soul.
Glory: Conceived in the womb of a virgin, Whose Father gave birth to from the womb before the ages, / enslaved by the wombs of voluptuousness, by Your strong power free me.
And now: Thou art the only earth that is truly holy, as having given birth to the Divine Life of all;/ Show the fruitful land my soul to Thy Son, O Theotokos.
Irmos: Open the wombs of the unsatisfied bonds, / the unbearable annoyance of the blessed, / one prayer of the ancient prophetess Anna, / bearing a broken spirit, / to the Mighty One and the God of Minds.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Of Thy goodness, O Holy Trinity, there is great knowledge, / the renewal of that which was created in Thy Divine image, / Whose incarnation is more wonderful from Thee than words, / Thou hast shown Thee a Divine dwelling.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
With the gifts of Thy saints and the thoughts of sacred reverence, O Lord, / adorn my mind, / so that in the silence of the soul and the holy dispensation / I sing and glorify Thee, the Divine Paraclete.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Secret carnal movements, / born in me from proud passion / and most desecrating my accursed soul, / destroy from here, Lord, pray.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
With the bridle and bridle of Divine fear, O Master,/ draw up my cold-free soul’s aspirations,/ as if with great reverence and sober thought/ I sing and glorify Thee, O Divine Comforter.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Having been corrupted by many fornications, of course,/ I flow to You, the Most Bright Sun, by faith:/ Will you please to enlighten my spiritual eyes with your divine light,/ Divine Paraclete.
Glory: Like the Nourisher of all, O Lady, / to revive my soul, which had been killed by foul passions, O Pure One, / by Thy divine visitation.
And now: The life-giving commandments of Your Son, O Most Pure One, / show me the diligent and hasty workman, / having destroyed fierce laziness and deep slumber from my soul.
Also say these verses:
Save Thy servant from troubles, O Good Comforter, / as the evil spirits of the devil vehemently and incessantly attack me / with nasty thoughts and dreams.
Look with Compassion, O All-Sung Mother of God, / on the hard petrification of my heart / and enlighten the darkness of my soul.
Similar to: Seeking the Highest Life, the Source of the ever-flowing Divine gifts, / the All-Holy Spirit, / as the Father is Consubstantial, / and the Son is Co-essential, / in songs we will faithfully sing and magnify / and as we will worship God with faith.
I bow to You, Master Comforter God:/ have mercy and save those who worship You/ and those who confess God to You.
Irmos: To the King of kings, / Jacob Jacob, / One, the Word, who came / from the Guilty Father, Thy Spirit, equally powerful, / You truly sent to the apostles / as a Benefactor, singing: / Glory to Your power, Lord.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Make me worthy to hear, O Lord, then Thy much-desired calling, who calls all Thy saints into the heavenly bride.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
You, the Holy Trinity, condemned the evil-doer by deception and saved him, and you glorified him;/ and strengthen my heart, weakened by sorrow, from above with Your strength and arouse my thoughts.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
With divine fear, nail the wisdom of my damned flesh, and with the memory of future torment, frighten my soul.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Divinely grant me boldness,/ having destroyed the badness implanted in me by sin,/ and enlighten me with Your grace.
All-Singing Mother of God,/ enrich my soul, humbled by the Divine gift,/ humble the heights of majesty.
Glory: The sacred dwelling of Your Son, Mother of God, / show my soul, / having driven away its countless defilements.
And now: Strength is perishing from spiritual disorder, All-Singing One, / through Thy prayers strengthen me in Divine passion and love.
Irmos: Decisive cleansing of sins,/ receive the fire-inspired dew of the Spirit,/ O children of the light-like church!/ Now from Zion has come the Law,/ the tongue-like, fire-like grace of the Spirit.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Being captivated by the captivity of cruel sins, / free me from these graces, Most Good One, / and embrace chastity with divine love.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Illuminate with Your Divine grace, Paraclete, / my soul darkened by passions / and the deep darkness of unreason that comes from it.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Fearlessly, I anger You all day long / with bad deeds and words, O Most Good One, / but I pray to You: / deliver me from this wickedness.
Glory: The One who gave birth to all the wisdom of the Source, / by the transgression of the divine commandments, / made my soul foolish at all, the All-Singing One.
And now: Destroy, O Pure One, from my soul / the evil thoughts that constantly chill me / and enrich me with God-pleasing teachings.
Irmos: Purification for us, O Christ, / and salvation, O Master, you shone forth from the Virgin, / yea, like Perseus the prophet from the beast of the sea to Jonah, / from aphids you snatched away / all the fallen Adam of all people.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
I was grieved by my accursed soul through the bitter passions of the flesh/ and in those, like in the last abysses, I take it out, my Savior, we drown, I pray to you:/ with the streams of the Life-Giving One, who is with You, the Source, revive me.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
The essence of all Your sacraments is truly worthy of great silence:/ for they are trinified in the One Being/ and united, remaining unconfounded./ But, Beginningless Trinity,/ save me the mortal creation of Your hands.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
The whole Son, we believe, is essential in the Father and the Spirit: / from Him, like from the One Beginning, both shine coeternally / and abide about themselves in their life-giving hypostases.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Youth’s vile attacks/ armed yourself with all sorts of nasty things against me,/ with which you have defiled my entire soul and belly,/ but, Most Blessed Paraclete,/ heal me with the fruits of repentance.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
I have fallen into misfortunes that are fierce in my mind, / and I am perplexed everywhere, / and I am falling into various troubles, / and like a boat in the sea, I am overwhelmed, / but, O Most Blessed Comforter, / from the fierceness of this overwhelming, I pray to Thee, quickly snatch me away.
Glory: I fell through a cruel fall, / having broken my vows to Your Son, / but, as the source of generosity and compassion in the present abyss, the All-Immaculate One, I pray to You: / make Him merciful to me.
And now: Destroying slander against me / my invisible enemies, O Virgin, always drive away from my soul by Thy invincible and Divine power / and give me all spiritual armor and reason against them.
Also say these verses:
Save Thy servant from troubles, O Good Comforter, / as the evil spirits of the devil vehemently and incessantly attack me / with nasty thoughts and dreams.
Look with Compassion, O All-Sung Mother of God, / on the hard petrification of my heart / and enlighten the darkness of my soul.
Similar to: Seeking the Highest Life, Light and Consolation, / Hope and Delight, All-Holy Soul, / Those who know God, the Father and the Son, / grant them Thy gifts / and grant them remission of sins.
Irmos: The organ song, consonant with the noise, / honors the golden-made soulless idol; / The comforter’s luminous grace honors, / crying out: / Blessed are you, the One Trinity, Equivalent, Without Beginning.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Having freed me from all malice and bad morals, O Savior, / by the gift of the Divine Paraclete by the all saints, enriched me, singing: / Fathers God, blessed art thou.
Soften my hardest heart of every iron and stone, O Savior, / so that with true tenderness I cry, we may be saved: / God of the fathers, blessed art thou.
With the Father Without Beginning, the Son and the Spirit are co-essential, / in One Being, and Three Persons, theologically, we sing: / God of the fathers, blessed art thou.
We are slavishly conquered by the evil custom of sin, / To you, the Master of all, falling down, I pray: / deliver me from this nasty work.
By Thy mighty power/ by sin, deign to strengthen my soul, weakened by sin,/ so that I may cry, we may be saved:/ God of the fathers, blessed art thou.
Glory: With Divine reason and warm repentance, O God-gracious One,/ will you please enlighten my mind and soul, fiercely darkened by sin, so that I may sing to You and the Archangel:/ Rejoice, Lady.
And now: My lawless and partial movements of the flesh, the Mother of God, / having killed of course, / plant the grace of the Paraclete in my soul, / so that I always glorify You, the Most Holy One, more radiantly.
Irmos: Loosens the bonds and irrigates the flame / the three-bright image of God, the youths sing, / and bless the only Savior and All-Giver, / as the Benefactor, / all created creatures.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Leave me free from the destructive kindling of lawless thoughts, my Jesus, / so that with a pure heart I glorify Thee.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
With Thy disembodied servants/ We sing Thee to the Most High and Omnipotent Trinity/ and exalt Thy servants with rings.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
By expelling the destructive attacks of my invisible enemies from my soul, / will you instill Thy grace in it, Paraclete.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Make the petitions that I ask of You through prayer, / to be fulfilled with vigor, through action, and through fear, / and through love, to me, the Comforter.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
More than the harlot and Esau, having transgressed, I resort to Your bounty:/ Do not cast me away from Your grace, O Most Holy Paraclete.
Let us bless the Father and the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.
This man, who loves sin more than all others, O All-Singing One, / I come running to You: / save me, Thy unworthy servant.
And now: Show me the wisdom of the truth of the Divine Guardian, O All-Singing One, / guiding me with fear and love.
Irmos: Rejoice, O Queen, / mother-virgin Glory, for every kindly, gracious mouth / cannot speak, / It is worthy to sing to You, / but the mind is astounded to understand every Thy Nativity, / In the same way, we glorify You accordingly.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
My Savior, Enlightenment and Protector, / do not deny me from Your Divine joy / Thy Most Pure Mother with holy prayers.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
With the Heavenly Powers and I, with fear, fall on my face, / worship, earthly, and cry out to Thee in love: All-Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Save me, who sings, worships and glorifies / the power of Your unapproachable glory.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Teach me the goodness of morals, and the punishment of the law, and the wisdom of Divine dogmas, so that I may sing to Thee, O Divine Paraclete, in a manner pleasing to God.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
All the righteous and those who have pleased You/ may be considered worthy of the joyful holiday,/ and together with them I sing to You, O Most Holy Comforter.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
The insurance of my soul, and various evils,/ and having destroyed all its badness,/ adorn it with a crown of virtues, O Holy Paraclete.
Glory: O All-Immaculate Virgin, / heal my accursed soul, corrupted by all sorts of fornications, / with your holy prayers.
And now: O Divine Intercessor to God and man, / bring this thin prayer of mine / to the Divine Paraclete, I pray to Thee, All-Holy Mother of God.
Also say these verses:
Save Thy servant from troubles, O Good Comforter, / as the evil spirits of the devil vehemently and incessantly attack me / with nasty thoughts and dreams.
Look with Compassion, O All-Sung Mother of God, / on the hard petrification of my heart / and enlighten the darkness of my soul.
And these troparia:
It is truly worthy to magnify You, the God of the Word,/ Whom the Cherubim tremble and are terrified of/ and glorify the Heavenly Powers/ of the Virgin who was immutably incarnate/ Christ, the Giver of Life and Lord.
It is truly worthy to extol Thee with praise, the All-Blessed One, and the All-Most Holy One, and the Preserver of our life, / with the Father and the Son, who reigns from the beginning, visible and invisible, / from the One Father, the Spirit of God emanating, / great and terrible, to glorify with fear.
Glory: We sing of You with all the divine hymns, / Father and Son and Divine Spirit, / Tripartite Power, / One Kingdom and Dominion.
And now: Lady, Mother of the Deliverer,/ accept the prayers of Your indecent servants,/ to them reward the deliverance of sins/ and a pleasant correction for a godly life.
Accept, O Lord, Most Good Paraclete, the One Holy and Worshiped Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, this evil prayer, which you deigned to bring to You from a sinful and condemned man, and forgive me my sins, voluntary and involuntary, cleanse me from my secrets and from strangers have mercy on Your servant. Be kind to me, a sinner and an indecent one, and visit the infirmities of my soul with Your grace and heal its contrition.
Have mercy on me, Master, Paraclete, God, have mercy on me, sanctify my soul and body, enlighten my mind and mind, cleanse my spiritual conscience from all filth, unclean thoughts, evil intentions and blasphemous understandings and from all exaltation, pride and arrogance, arrogance and insolence, and satanic vacillation, and from all Pharisee hypocrisy and contempt, and from all my stingy and evil customs, deliver me to the end, for the glory of Your name, and grant me sincere repentance, contrition of my heart and humility, meekness and quietness and all Christian reverence, reason and spiritual skill, with all prudence, thanksgiving and patience perfect.
To her, God, for the glory of Your name, hear me, a sinner, praying to You, and grant me in the rest of my damned life to sincerely repent of my iniquities, with all humility, chastity and true self-restraint, giving up to me all doubt, double-mindedness and insensibility, and keep me, O Master, in all things. pious and Orthodox confession of the Christian faith, may I be vouchsafed all the days of my life without a doubt to sing to Thee, bless, glorify and say: Holy God, Father Without Beginning; Holy Mighty, His Co-Eternal Son; Holy Immortal, Holy Soul, proceed from the Father and abide and rest in the Son; All-Holy Trinity, glory to Thee. Glory to Thee, Holy Trinity, Consubstantial, Life-giving and Indivisible, for the sake of all, glory to Thee.
Glory to Thee, Mother of God, refuge of the faithful, and deliverance from those who suffer from cruel things, and Divine consolation to my souls; my all-condemned soul, O God-gracious one, wounded by the shooting of a warrior, I entrust to your omnipotent intercession, guard, cover and save unharmed from the demonic machinations, so that I cry to You: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.
Irmos: Ancient Israel, passing through the raised sea with wet feet, when they saw the proud Pharaoh being immersed, joyfully cried out: let us drink to the Lord, who created the glorious miracles.
Chorus: Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
Let us always cry, Lord, hear us and deliver us from the offended, taming the waves of Your wrath, do not let us be swallowed up by the wicked, let us not cry: where is Christ, their God? working for Him in vain.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Because Christ has boldness, we pray a lot from the troubles of life, and deliver us from the snares of the enemy, lightening the burden of our sins with your prayers, Simeon the God-Bearer and Holy Savvo, pray to Christ.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
With the storm of passionate thoughts, we run to the haven of your prayers, deliver from the drowning of the sinful those who sing in your memory, fathers, with faith in the heart and joy of the soul.
Glory: To You, Lord, we confess that we have sinned and are lawless, the priests and the people, all together, we have evaded our many iniquities and strong sins, through the prayers of the saints Do not turn yourselves away from us for our sins.
And now: I will not keep silent from the cry of Your majesty most clearly: even though You, O Young Lady, were always standing before You, Your Son prayed for me, no matter how much storm and severe troubles delivered me?
Irmos: The Lord, the Creator of all, and the Creator God, the created one, the Passionless One, having become impoverished, united Himself, and Easter, for whom He would die, He Himself, preferred to Himself: eat, - cry, “My body, and be strong in faith.”
Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
To Jesus: Lord, Thou art Creator of all, Thy hand has created and created all things; goodness, unchanging and unsearchable in generosity.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Drawing down the glory, as if from a net, torn away, to the Divine height with humility light, reverence, exalted, the lamps of light appeared, our hearts with their prayers to Enlighten Christ.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Darkened by the darkness of heresy before the sun, the faith of the Trinity enlightened the Serbian country, and we, because of the sin of uncleanness, come to Christ now through our prayers, Simeon and Savvo, try to wash yourself.
Glory: People of law and grace, we have become like those without the law, men of blood and flattery, and the path of Thy wrath now, by marching, O Lord, by prayers Thou shalt not destroy us thy saints through our iniquities.
And now: I confess the True Mother of God, Lady, Ty, who consumed the power of death: as if she were quickening, you raised me from the bonds of hell to life, into the earth of the current.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, even now.
Sedalen, voice 4:
Six-winged and many-eyed, invisible and incomprehensible to all, the Lord, by the mercy of mercy, deigned to be seen by us to be flesh, knowing our weakness, as if clothed in nudes, Have mercy on the many who have sinned, Your servants who sing to You, O Lord.
Irmos: Your mind was amazed at me, having heard the glorious commands of Your observation, but I was strengthened by the love of Your descent, for You did not turn away from my poverty.
Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
Our hearts will accept Your fear, arrange Your judgment, but not through Your wrath, O Long-suffering One, rather show Your mercy to us through your generosity and meekness, More humane.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
To the King of kings, the One of Heaven, Who was the zealot of His Kingdom, having left the kingdom of earth, and followed. Please pray to Christ, who reigns in us, to consume our sins to the end and set our souls free.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
When, at the trial, with your prayers you have delivered the fire of hell, you have freed the strangling sorrow, you try to open the entrance to heaven and show the heirs the present joy, Savvo and Simeon, singing you.
Glory: With the multitude of ancient iniquities under Noah you drowned those who were, with the natural sin of sodomites you set fire to sodomites, Lord, with the prayers of your saints such an unclean morality deliver our souls and save us.
And now: As Thy uttered, according to my worth, I can achieve immeasurable generosity, O Lady! Is my soul always insulted, like the water that has passed away? But, oh, Your providence and good deeds, the insanely damned one destroyed him!
Irmos: From night we send up a song to You: send down Your mercy on us, O Lord, for You are our God, and You know no other.
Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
Out of the night of my evil deeds, out of the darkness of fierce sin for the sake of despondency, psalmically, light to the Giver, O God, my God, to You in the morning and to enlighten my soul, I pray, incline your ear Yours to my prayer.
And having left the heights of nobility and gold-girts, nature deigned to live in the desert, for the whole world is overwhelming, and we desire only God.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Run away from sin and be touched by tears, but groan with repentance, honor us with your prayers, so as to avoid future illness, when a tear is not accepted and there will be groaning offensively.
Glory: It is not to us, Lord, it is not to us that the cup of Thy wrath has been poured out, for we, Thy people of Christ's name, even though we have sinned, have not served another God, by the prayers of the saints Yours.
And now: By what gift will I bring You thanks, for having already enjoyed Your gifts and Your immeasurable goodness? Moreover, I glorify, sing songs and magnify Your ineffable mercy towards me.
Irmos: I cried with all my heart, Lord, overcome evil deeds, lift up, I pray, riddled of aphids, I remembered You, O Savior, and my heart rejoiced.
Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
The axe, even at the root, cutting death, draw near, threatening the barren tree with burning, tremble, my soul, and you, my heart, shake, bring the fruits of repentance, crying out: have mercy on me, Lord, and save me.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Without remembering evil, in the image of God we are angry, for us, reverence, beseech Him, despise sins and bring us to repentance: for the Giver of life does not want the death of sinners.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Since the heavenly ranks of the Lord Christ are coming, with them, reverends, pray at the right time to give your life, to multiply the fruits of the virtues, Savvo and Simeon, who sing to your memory.
Glory: To Yours, Lord, I am convinced of Your mercy, incline Your ear to our prayer, keep our people in the faith and strengthen the Church with Your power, forgive us everything sins through the prayers of Your saints.
And now: The storms of life have overwhelmed me, like the bees of a honeycomb, O Virgin, and those who contain my heart are wounded by the arrows of sorrows: but may I find Thee a helper, and a persecutor, and deliverer, all-pure.
Irmos: Thy grace has appeared upon us, O Savior, and the light of Thy Cross has risen upon the world: blessed art thou, O Lord, God our father.
Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
With Your Divine glance, O Lord, look upon us, Your people, with your compassion, and heed the prayers of Your servants, O Lover of mankind, and deliver us from the sin of murderous death, and the opposite occurrence, and any torment.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Нетле́нную сла́ву прия́сте на небесе́х, на земли́ же па́мять ва́шу ублажа́ем, Симео́не и Са́вво достохва́льнии, о́в бо мѵропода́телен, другíй же чи́ст и благоуха́нен, о́ба ко Христу́ моли́твами на́с спаси́те.
Unfading glory have ye received in heaven, but on earth we glorify your memory, O Simon and Savvei, most worthy in the martyrdom, while the other is pure and fragrant; both of you pray to Christ for us by your intercessions.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
When the thrones are set and the books of deeds are opened, the fate of the goats will be delivered, the sinners will be delivered, and the sheep will be counted among the saints of the sheep, O Reverends, Christ the King. singing to your memory.
Glory: God is merciful and generous, God is jealous and punishing, You have much mercy, but also much condemnation, You do not look at their faces, You judge everyone by his deeds, through prayers do not deliver Your saints over to Your righteous judgment.
And now: I have seen with Your merciful eye, and visited embitterment, even imam, and fierce misfortunes, and harm, and troubles, and delivered me from temptations with immeasurable mercy Yours.
Irmos: The king sometimes threatens the young men, the furnace is prepared, and the innocent are commanded to be cast, confessing the most glorified God, Whom all creation will bless in eyelids.
Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
The body is evil, the soul is resistant, having an extremely pure life, having led a life of fornication to everyone, I have set up a dwelling place for myself as a demon, even if they are ready to kill me, they are learning to come to You, Lord, I come running: into Your hand is the breath of all creation.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
You surprised many, having followed Christ in the Gospel, and by forgiving and humility you were richly enriched in the desert, blessed Simeon and Saint Savvo, holy-spirited duo, the Trinity now pray for us.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
All that is on earth, having left all, to the King, Christ, diligently follow, therefore in the heavens of the highest Jerusalem, the citizens of you have worthily settled in, even those who honor you earnestly, even if you have what you ask for, accept it into your protection.
Glory: The sword shining from heaven, drunk with blood, and the flying sickle, as seen by the prophet, is Your wrath, O Lord, against those who sin and until retribution is irreversible death, For He is Merciful and Compassionate, turn away Your saints from us with the prayers.
And now: Rejoice, O fiery throne of the Lord; Rejoice, Divine and manna-receiving hand; Rejoice, golden lamp, unquenchable light; Rejoice, glory to the virgins and adornment and praise to the mothers.
Irmos: Wanderings, Master, and immortal meals in a high place, with high minds, faithful ones, come, let us enjoy the rise of the Word, having learned from the Word, Whom we magnify.
Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.
You, Master, have mercifully united my wandering commandments by transgression, by accepting the flesh, and you have accepted the immortal meal of your accomplice, and You have planted faith in the Word: I sing of Your immeasurable mercy.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Confessing many sins, desecrating the heart and lips, revealing the depth of lawlessness, and darkening the air with uncleanliness, to You, Lord, purifier of these, we cry: Yours We are creatures, have great mercy on us for the sake of Thy mercy.
Reverend Fathers Simeon and Savvo, pray to God for us.
Who does not marvel and who does not glorify Your long-suffering, Master: despise iniquity, and, transgressing unrighteousness, overcome wickedness, and, turning away all our sins, have mercy, and not be angry guide, who will utter Your bounties?
Glory: Who is God, as You are our God, Whose heaven and angels are terrified and the earth and men are shaken, the depths are troubled, and hell is corrupted, all creation is in fear who changes, who will utter Your mighty powers?
And now: Accept my poor prayer and do not despise my crying, tears, and groaning; but intercede for me, as the Good One, and fulfill forgiveness: you can do everything, as the Almighty Lord God Mother, if only my accursed humility is possible.
Oh, sacred head, glorious miracle worker, Saint Savvo of Christ, First See of the Serbian land, guardian and enlightener, trustworthy representative of all Christians before the Lord! We bow down to you and pray: let us be partakers of your love for God and neighbor, even during your lifetime your holy soul will be filled with speed. Illuminate us with the truth, enlighten our mind and heart with the light of Divine teaching, teach us to faithfully imitate you, to love God and our neighbor and the commandments of the Lord to commit sinlessly, so that we too may be your children, not just in name, but in all our life. Pray, holy bishop, for the holy Orthodox Church and your fatherland on earth, which always honors you with love.
Look kindly upon every soul of your faithful admirers, those who seek your mercy and help, be a healer to all of us in illness, a comforter in sorrows, a visitor in sorrows, helper in troubles and needs, in the hour of death, merciful patron and protector, so that with the help of the prayers of your saints, we sinners may also be granted certain salvation and the Kingdom Inherit Christ. To her, Holiness of God, do not disgrace our trust, which we place firmly in you, but show us your powerful intercession, so that we may glorify and sing the wondrous God in our saints, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Irmos: I will open my lips, and they will be filled with the Spirit, and I will vomit a word to the Queen Mother, and I will appear, brightly triumphant, and I will sing, rejoicing, those miracles.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Open my mouth, O Lady, and grant me the spirit of wisdom and fear of God, so that in the voice of praise I may sing of Your greatness and mercy, which You have shown to us, the Mother of God. you are.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Where will I begin, and what first thing will I glorify You, Mother of God? Is it about him, as through Your Christmas you delivered our nature from hell and eternal death, or as even now you deliver us from all evils and cruel circumstances?
Glory: You have raised fallen humanity into the depths of the delights of the devil, O Lady, to the mountain of true knowledge of God. Now you have not allowed us to fall into heretical error.
And now: All-blessed Maiden, Pure Dove, strengthen us to lead a pure life, and grant us eternal bliss.
Irmos: Thy hymns, Mother of God, living and unenvious Source, the face of Thy body, spiritually established, in Thy divine glory, the crowns of glory of the Lord.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thy hymn-speakers, who know the true Mother of God and denounce Thy Son as the Head of the Church, do not deprive Thy Mother of Thy favor, but the believers are against this with reason, and Do like-minded things with us, Lady.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The true Bridegroom of the Church is Your Son, Mother of God, we were only invited to the feast of faith. For this reason, Lady, do you hate the Latin wisdom of the pope, who call themselves the grooms of the Church, and thereby put Christ to shame.
Glory: The True Bridegroom, Christ, and His disciples, His friends, did not shave the hair of His head; In the lie of Latinity, the wife laid down the law to cut off her hair, and thus, O Lady, she was created in opposition to Your Son.
And now: Thy Son, Mother of God, offer yourself once as a sacrifice to God the Father; The madness of the Latins, not understanding this, on a single altar on a single day they offer this sacrifice several times over, and as if they were crucifying Christ a second time, and the mystery of redemption they create things that are ineffective.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, even now.
Sedalen to the Mother of God
The sun-lit chariot of David, the purple-sent bed of Solomon, the scroll of God-written Isaiah, and the animated tabernacle of Moses, and the Adamantine wall of Ammos, You were, O lamp. the gold-plated Zechariah, the Mount of Daniel, the yellow-white daughter of Avvakum, and the excellent catechumen of the prophets. Pray to Your Son and God to grant forgiveness of sins to those who reverently worship Your divine image.
Irmos: Seated in glory on the Throne of the Divine in a light cloud, the Divine Jesus came, with an imperishable Hand and calling for salvation: glory, O Christ, to Thy power.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You destroyed the evil advice of the Latins against your lot, who sometimes found it, O Mother of God, and with the cold you created it for them, but for the sake of piety, for the sake of those who suffered from them Thy servants, thou hast granted crowns of glory.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The monastery of Zograf is brightly triumphant today, and the celebration is more honorable to your icon, the Mother of God, you exposed the error of the Latins, and you foretold their invasion you are.
Glory: Not only the monastery of Zografskaya, but the whole mountain And Fonskaya glorifies Thee, Mother of God, as you did not allow the Latin wise to lift up their horn, and Orthodoxy is in it to this day You kept it intact.
And now: Like a ship in the abyss, so the Church of Your Son, O Lady, is in turmoil, a storm of various heresies, but guide it into the quiet haven of eternal salvation, Your many-powerful prayers to God.
Irmos: Everyone was terrified of Your Divine glory: For You, the unartificed Virgin, had in your womb God above all, and You gave birth to the Flightless Son, to all who sang Your praises, world giver.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The priest was horrified when he heard a voice from heaven, strengthening the passion-bearers of Zograf, and promising them a reward in heaven, both without repenting, but like asps of deafness, uncorrected by remaining in their error.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You don’t know what kind of spirit you are, Latina! Even though you preach the Gospel of Christ, why do you kill and burn those who do not listen to you, servants of the Mother of God? Christ did not command His disciples to do such things.
Glory: Hear, Latin, and be ashamed! Even if your teaching were right, and your zeal for the faith of Christ was pleasing to God, the Queen of Heaven, through Her icon, would not have called you enemies of Her Son.
And now: Falling before Thy holy icon, O Virgin, I cry out to Thee from my contrite heart: do not allow us to fall into the snare of heretics, O Lady of the All-Merciful, but in Orthodoxy until the end strengthen us in the life of our being.
Irmos: This divine and all-honorable celebration, God of God, Mother of God, come, let us clasp our hands, from Her we glorify the God who was born.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Archangel Gabriel will announce to You a secret, hidden from time immemorial: now You, Mother of God, have received from God a gift to foretell the invasion of enemies, and from the cruelty of those faithful slaves Yours to protect.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
I humbly pray to You, the All-Good Forerunner: proclaim to me the inevitable hour of death and the terrible judgment of Your Son, so that in this way I may refrain from sinful deeds, such as I am always deceived by custom.
Glory: Rejoice, Most Blessed Virgin, who bestowed Her earthly lot in a dwelling upon the monk; Rejoice, you who clearly proclaimed your love for this place; Rejoice, you who promised to protect those who struggle in this Mountain; Rejoice, you who never depart from your promise.
And now: Rejoice, O all-generous giver of all gifts to Thy servant; Rejoice, in battles, in illnesses and labors, their most merciful comforter; Rejoice, thou who arranging a prosperous life here, and an all-blessed life there for all eternity.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
The monastery of Zografskaya and the entire Mount Athos, having escaped from the invasion of the heretical and bloodthirsty Latins, gratefully cry out to Ti, the Mother of God: Rejoice, shelter, broadest of clouds, from the heat the wrath of God who protects us and delivers us from all troubles.
When the monks of Zografstia saw the icon of the Mother of God, miraculously coming to them, and not being burned in the fire, kissing it with love, and placing it in the Church of the Assumption, joyfully crying out: Rejoice, Lady, protecting and protecting our abodes, delivering us from fire and all troubles.
Irmos: Having not served the creation of God, more than the Creator, but having bravely overcome the fiery rebuke, I rejoice, singing: O venerable father, Lord and God, blessed art thou.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us in the cave of temptations and scorched troubles, irrigate us, O Mother of God, with the streams of Your bounty, let our enemies be put to shame, and let them understand that we are Your servants We are, and our faith is pure and immaculate.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us Like Mount Athos and the entire Eastern Church, from the flattery and violence of the popes, having been delivered by You, the Mother of God, they cry out with gratitude to You: Blessed are You in wives, one All-Immaculate Lady.
Glory: Orthodoxy, people gather today, and celebrate the Most Holy Mother of God, glorifying Her holy icon, whose presence foretells the enemy, and delivers from all evils crying: Blessed be God our father.
And now: To our Creator and Savior, Christ God, accept Your Most Pure Mother’s prayer, which He offers to You for us, sinners, and deliver us from all troubles and slander. enemies, let us joyfully call to You: Blessed be God our father.
Irmos: The pious youths in the cave The Nativity of the Theotokos saved is, then what was formed, now in action, the whole universe raises to sing to You: Sing to the Lord, do ye, and exalt Him in all the time.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Sing, monks of Athos, bless the monastery of Zograf, the Good Lady, the All-Merciful Intercessor, who covers the Orthodox people with Her protection, but covers all the plans of the heretics destructive.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Although sometimes the priest would captivate the entire Mount Athos with the sword, and convert all the monks to his destructive heresy, but through Your intercession, O Lady, the Lord will erase their pride, Moreover, we extol You forever.
Glory: Almighty Lord, who dwells in Your womb, a pillar of confirmation to the faithful, showing You, to whom we resort, we are freed from adversity, the temptations of heresies, and we are delivered from all troubles, Moreover, we sing in agreement and extol You, O Pure One, forever.
And now: Passion-bearers of the Zograf monastery, you have strengthened yourself, Lady, by suffering for piety; with them, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls, may we bless and extol You in all respects eyelids.
Irmos: Let every earth-born leap, let us be enlightened by the Spirit, let the nature of disembodied minds triumph, honoring the sacred triumph of the Mother of God, and let it cry out: Rejoice, All-Blessed One Mother of God, Pure Ever-Virgin.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Come, children of Orthodoxy, let us rejoice spiritually, today the bright holiday of the wonderful icon of the Most Pure Mother of God has come, on which Orthodoxy is established, but error The Latin minds are clearly exposed.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The council was angry against us God-fighting Latins, like Ahithophel against David, but through your prayers, Mother of God, you destroyed this, and you overthrew their fortress.
Glory: A great refuge for the desperate, a quiet refuge for the overwhelmed - You are, Mother of God, and protect us from all evils and cruel circumstances, so that we who worship the holy icon Yours, we diligently magnify You.
And now: Receive, O Most Pure Young Lady, this song that I bring to You, bestowing grace on You to those who hope, ask Your Son for peace to the churches, grant to Orthodox Christians victory over the ungodly, and every language magnifies You Orthodoxy.
Irmos: I will open my lips, and they will be filled with the Spirit, and I will vomit a word to the Queen Mother, and I will appear, brightly triumphant, and I will sing, rejoicing, those miracles.
Special chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Have mercy on me, a sinner, a perishing one, Most Holy Theotokos, and in place of sorrow, grant the world joy - rejoice - sing praises, All-Holy Lady.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Calm my soul's ferocity, since I have been attacked by many sorrows and sorrows, and from these, O Lady, save me, a sinner, so that I may not perish, the evil sufferer.
Glory: You are my fortress, and affirmation, and protection from enemies. For this reason, I am not afraid of the enemy’s repression, but I sing to You and glorify You, O All-Glorious One.
And now: Misfortunes, misfortunes, and many sorrows have come upon us and burdened us, deliver us, O Lady of the Mother of God, and from these evils and joys beholden me.
Irmos: Thy hymns, Mother of God, living and unenvious Source, the face of Thy body, spiritually established, in Thy divine glory, the crowns of glory of the Lord.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
You are the Warm Representative and the Merciful Intercessor, deliver me, All-Singing One, from the misfortunes that have come upon me, for you, O Lady, deliver deliverance to the fallen.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Deliver me, O Most Pure One, from these misfortunes, and troubles, and the reproaches of the devil, and despondency, and take away all passions from me, O Most Pure One, that I may ever glorify Thee.
Glory. Behold, I flow to You, Most Pure One, do not despise my illness and sighing, but look upon me in my present sorrow, and turn this sorrow of mine into joy, O God-ignorant One.
And now. See, O Lady, my misfortune and sorrow, as an evil enemy wants to devour me, Most Pure Mother of God, destroy that evil cunning deceit, so that I may be delivered and glorify Thee.
Catavasia: Save Thy servants from troubles, O Mother of God, for we all resort to Thee according to God, as for an unbreakable wall and intercession.
Sedalen, voice 2:
Warm prayer and an insurmountable wall, source of mercy, world refuge, we diligently cry out to You: Mother of God, Lady, advance, and deliver us from troubles, One soon presenting.
[Glory, and now, the same.]
Irmos: Seated in glory on the Throne of the Divine in a light cloud, the Divine Jesus came, with an imperishable Hand and calling for salvation: glory, O Christ, to Thy power.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
You are, Most Pure Lady, my hope and affirmation, and freedom from my cruel troubles, and consolation in sorrow, enlightenment of my soul and invincible in my hope Assistant. [Twice.]
Glory: You will be my sweet consolation in all sorrows, your ambulance in troubles, and your representative in prayers, for you are the Mother of God, who has gained from all troubles deliverance.
And now: Bow down to the prayers of Your servant, Lady, and do not hesitate to deliver me from all these sorrows that will overcome me, the visible and invisible enemies of marriage. me, may I not perish evilly, wretched one.
Irmos: Everyone was terrified of Your Divine glory: For You, the unartificed Virgin, had in your womb God above all, and You gave birth to the Flightless Son, to all who sang Your praises, world giver.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Weapons of the adversary and deliver me, condemned, from vain insult, for You are the All-Immaculate Mother, Who will judge everyone according to their deeds.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
You mercifully protect those in adversity and sorrow, those who come under your roof, accept, O All-Holy One, this prayer from the despondency of my heart, so that I may not perish in evil despair.
Glory: With a merciful and gentle eye, Mother of God, look at me, unworthy, with Your mercy look at me, and circumstances, and troubles, and the adversity of freedom calling on Thee, All-Holy.
And now: Primordial Adam and Eve by You, Most Pure One, having got rid of the evil ones, with them I fall down to You and pray: by Your mercy put away my painful tears and rain This is a useful consolation.
Irmos: This divine and all-honorable celebration, God of God, Mother of God, come, let us clasp our hands, from Her we glorify the God who was born.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Inspire the sad cry of Your servant, demanding Your help, Mother of God, You are my hope, try to turn my sorrow into joy.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Deliver me from the flattery of the enemy, from the tongue of flattery and from the unrighteous man, deliver me without dirty tricks, for all you can, as the Mother of the Creator of existence.
Glory: We know You, God-gracious one, a hard-working healer, and with a weak spirit and mouth I call: free me from this misfortune and sorrow and save me, O Lady, who has come running.
And now: Deliver me from this flattery and misfortune, O Bride of God, for God made You an intercessor for our salvation and intercession, for this sake, intercede for me, unworthy, from all sorrow liberation.
[Katavasia: Save Thy servants from troubles, O Mother of God, for we all resort to Thee according to God, as for an unbreakable wall and intercession.]
Kontakion, tone 8:
To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil ones, let us write thanksgiving to Thy servants, the Mother of God: but as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, yes We call Ti: Rejoice, non-bridal Bride.
Ikos:
A representative angel was sent from heaven and quickly said to the Mother of God: Rejoice! And, with a disembodied voice, You are incarnated in vain, Lord, terrified and standing, calling to Her like this: Rejoice, for Her joy will shine forth; Rejoice, the oath will disappear. Rejoice, proclamation to fallen Adam; Rejoice, the tears of Eve are deliverance. Rejoice, height inconceivable by human thoughts; Rejoice, depth, inconceivable and angelic. Rejoice, for you are the seat of the King; Rejoice, for you bear the One who bears everything. Rejoice, star that represents the Sun; Rejoice, womb of the Divine Incarnation. Rejoice, even the creation is being renewed; Rejoice, we worship the Creator. Rejoice, non-bridal Bride.
[Prokeimenon of the Theotokos, voice 4: I will remember Your name* in every generation and generation. Verse: Hear, O Daughter, and see, and incline Your ear. Every breath... Gospel of Luke, conception 4.
Stichera, voice 6:
Do not entrust me to human intercession, Most Holy Lady, but accept the prayer of Your servant: grief will overtake me, I cannot tolerate demonic shooting, there is no protection from the imam, below where I will come for refuge, accursed one, we are always victorious, and there is no consolation, unless You, the Lady of the world, have the hope and intercession of the faithful, do not despise my prayer, make it beneficial].
Irmos: Having not served the creation of God, more than the Creator, but having bravely overcome the fiery rebuke, I rejoice, singing: O venerable father, Lord and God, blessed art thou.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
You are, Most Pure Virgin, my Patroness and the unceasing hope of my soul, O Lady, accept me, overcome by fierce misfortune, and console my sorrow. [Twice.]
Glory: You are my strength, Most Pure Lady, and the consolation of those who have found me in these unexpected sorrows. For this reason, I, Your unworthy servant, cry out to You with all confidence: have mercy on me, the fallen one.
And now: Heal the ulcers of my soul, O Lady, and intercede for me, Your servant, and deliver me from every unrighteous deception and from the opposite slander and corruption of me, All-blessed.
Irmos: The pious youths in the cave The Nativity of the Theotokos saved is, then what was formed, now in action, the whole universe raises to sing to You: Sing to the Lord, do ye, and exalt Him in all the time.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Destroy the advice of the unrighteous, even the essence is refined against me, for I have no other help, unless You, Pure One, I resort to You, do not allow me: for all things are possible for You.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Preserve my soul with Thy blood, O Blessed Mother of God, deliver me from various present troubles and sorrows, may my enemy not rejoice over my weakness, but may God be glorified Mother forever.
Glory: I did not seek human help, but to You, Most Immaculate: You are the all-reliable Guardian of Christians.
And now: You are, Mother of God, enlightenment and deliverance, You are my Champion, the Delighted One. You are the indestructible hope, the wall and glory of praise, Most Immaculate Virgin. I wholeheartedly worship you and cry out: save me from this sorrow and misfortune.
Irmos: Let every earth-born leap, let us be enlightened by the Spirit, let the nature of disembodied minds triumph, honoring the sacred triumph of the Mother of God, and let it cry out: Rejoice, All-Blessed One Mother of God, Pure Ever-Virgin.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
My fortress is gone, as if it were poor, and soul-destroying evils are added to hell. Precede me, Mother of God, with Your intercession, deliver me from the sorrows that overwhelm me by the hand of Your mercy.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Break the nets of the wicked and the wicked, O Pure Mother of God, deliver me unharmed, for I am your servant: oh, rejoice, O Delighted One!
Glory: All-Immaculate Youth, help to all faithful Christians, be an endless Helper to Your Son and God, glorified in the Trinity, and free me from sow having found sorrow.
And now: You are my fortress, Most Pure, and refuge, and invincible wall, You are the prayer book to God, free from all misfortunes and misfortunes, the only Blessed One.
Irmos: I will open my lips, and they will be filled with the Spirit, and I will vomit a word to the Queen Mother, and I will appear, brightly triumphant, and I will sing, rejoicing, those miracles.
Chorus: Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Athos, which is called the Holy Mountain, All-Immaculate, Pure, as You prophesied, now brightly celebrates You, Holy is truly the Mountain of existence, and the Divine accomplishes this day for You celebration.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Always divine, Gabriel serves Your mysteries wonderfully, O All-Immaculate One, and even now, the Virgin, Your songs, rejoicing, sings the predestination.
Glory: Do not cease, O All-Immaculate One, to perform ever-glorious miracles for Your servants, O Pure Mother, and to pour out good deeds at all times, O Most Holy One, as our benefactor.
And now: How will I pronounce the greatest thing that you accomplished, Archangel, near the monastery of Kareya miracle, when you taught us by your appearance a song worthy of the Mother of God?
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the unbreakable wall and intercession (bow).
Irmos: Thy hymnologists, Mother of God, living and unenvious source, the face of the whole body, spiritually establish, in Thy Divine glory, the crowns of glory of the Lord.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
The time has come for all the fathers to gather in the church of Protastem, to perform all-night praise, then the Archangel will sing Your Divine song, Pure.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
The elder, one of the novice monks, came with others, and to this only one remaining, Gabriel the Archangel appeared in a similar form, beginning Your song.
Glory: The addition to Thy song, as the foreshadowing, Pure One, even before Cosmas, Thy Divine servant, sang the verb, as it is the custom for them to begin the song Yours.
And now: Oh, Your terrible miracles, Divine Archangel Gabriel! How, in a monastic manner, did you sing a song to the Mother of God today and, as befitting, did you magnify it?
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the unbreakable wall and intercession (bow).
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, even now.
I was surprised at the monk of the Angel of Song, strangely singing this song before Your song, O Pure One, I will appear to him in an image similar to him, and before that the monk will write himself, more than they desire, on the tablet With a hand of stone a wonderful outline was made, and it became invisible. From then on, this song was preached to everyone, glorifying Theotokos, O All-Immaculate One.
Irmos: The unsearchable advice of God, even from the Virgin of the incarnation of You, the Most High, the prophet Habakkuk, seeing, calling: glory to Your power, Lord.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
It is worthy, first of all, for truly there is the blessedness of Thee, the Most Pure One, the Mother of God, the ever-blessed and truly immaculate and the Mother of God, the all-unclean One.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
I sing this opening song to the Divine Gabriel in a strange way, as the monk listened in surprise, and before he asked, he sang, speaking, as usual.
Glory: Speak and to him Gabriel commanded this predestination, also to sing the Divine song of Cosmas and teach everyone this, Divine speech Archangel.
And now: You asked the monks, Gabriel the Divine, to write a song, and as soon as you heard it, you inscribed it on a stone tablet, Archangel. Glory to your ineffable power.
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the indestructible wall and intercession (bow).
Irmos: Everyone was terrified of Your Divine glory: You, the unartificial Virgin, had in your womb God above all and gave birth to a flightless Son, giving peace to all who sang Your praises.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
A man was horrified by a wondrous miracle, when he saw a miracle, like a stone tablet, and suddenly the one speaking to him became invisible, Gabriel, the glorious and honest Archangel.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
The elder, when he returned to his cell in the morning, and when he heard this strange thing, he saw a stone tablet, written by hand, and took this abiye with his disciple, bringing the Mountains to the bosses.
Glory: These miracles are known and known to everyone, O Virgin, from which the ruling mountains solemnly sent away the stone tablet to the reigning city, so as to glorify Thee to all.
And now: Everyone flocked to the wretched abode, in which a strange miracle was performed, and to Your icon, before it, a song was sung, All-Pure, reverently worshiping, unanimously standing in The file is to be kept.
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the indestructible wall and intercession (bow).
Irmos: This divine and all-honorable celebration, God of God, Mother of God, come, let us clasp our hands, from Her we glorify the God who was born.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
With indescribable joy and joy, all the priests and monastics, and all the multitude of mountains, Most Pure One, flocked to take Thy venerable icon.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
All the fathers held this divine icon with all reverence, splashing, with songs and stumps, bringing it into Your Divine Church, O Most Pure One.
Slava: Devo! Having performed the all-night vigil, I honored You and the Archangel with love, having proclaimed Your song, and now we honor you together in the same way.
And now: The Divine Fathers, with hymns, after the mysteries, took up Your Divine icon, placed it inside the church, inaccessible, with much reverence.
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the unbreakable wall and intercession (bow).
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, even now.
The whole of Athos celebrates today, for the song received from the Angel is wonderful to You, O Purest Mother of God, which all creation honors and glorifies.
Now let the multitude of the fathers of Athos rejoice: behold, to the Virgin of the former song, even so wonderfully did Cosmas, the Divine hymnist, sing to Her, Gabriel now sings the predestination, like: Worthy there is, as truly, as the monk says, the blessedness of Thee, the Mother of God, ever-blessed and most blameless and the Mother of our God; This is your command, so that everyone begins your song. And, having inscribed this with his hand on a stone tablet, he suddenly became invisible. The monk, marveling, sang, as if he had learned, the Pure Mother of God, who all creation honors and glorifies.
Irmos: I did not serve the creation of the Divine Wisdom more than the Creator, but I bravely overcame the fiery rebuke, singing with joy: O venerable father, Lord and God, blessed art thou.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
All the fathers, both past and present, have given inordinate honor to this icon of Your Divine, Most Immaculate, Most Righteous: for you have been honored with great honor.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Thy Divine Icon, Most Immaculate, has been honored with great grace, for it is clear before her that Thy songs are intended first to shout out Thy good will. Moreover, we bow to this duty with love.
Glory: We do not idolize Your icon, Most Pure One, as they slander us, but rather we honor, Most Immaculate One, rejoicing, kissing it in honor, Your servants, now and forever.
And now: With You, Most Holy One, we do not cease to honor the glorious Gabriel, who has now taught us Your song, even before You, crying out to You: Rejoice, O Blessed One.
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the unbreakable wall and intercession (bow).
Irmos: The pious youths in the cave of the Nativity of the Theotokos saved, then what was formed, now in action, the whole universe raises up to sing to you: Sing to the Lord, do ye, and exalt Him unto all ages.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
As pious youths imitating, O Theotokos, of Thy miracles which the Lord does for Thy glory, O Most Pure One, we chant: Sing to the Lord, O works, and extol Him to all eyelids.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
Blessed indeed, who was deemed worthy to hear Thy Divine praise from the Angel, O Most Holy Virgin, Immaculate, as Thy Son was pleased, and taught all to sing Thee worthily and exalt Thee forever and ever.
Glory: “Singing”, according to its heritage, decided to name the place where this miracle took place, like a reproach, it will remain with us and forever, in memory, Most Pure, miracle, as let us glorify Thee and We exalt you to all ages.
And now: “It is worthy to eat,” even to this day it is clearly pronounced, and that cell, in it and Your Divine icon, before it, first of all, Your songs were sung, O Pure Virgin, foreshadowing, for let all sing to Thee worthily and extol Thee to all ages.
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the unbreakable wall and intercession (bow).
Irmos: Let every earth-born leap, let us be enlightened by the Spirit, let the nature of disembodied minds triumph, honoring the sacred triumph of the Mother of God, and let it cry out: Rejoice, all-blessed Mother of God, Pure Ever-Virgin.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
All Your servants, we flock to Your Divine church and celebrate, brightly celebrating today, on this summer day in memory of the miracle of Your songs of replenishment, Mother of God, Pure Ever-Virgin.
Most Holy Lady Theotokos, hear the prayer of Your servants praying to You.
It is worthy to eat, we do not cease to rejoice in saying, the blessedness of You, the ever-blessed One, as truly and most blameless and the Mother of our God, having now learned from this Angel, Mother of God, Pure Ever-Virgin!
Glory: Together with the glorious and Divine Archangel Gabriel today, we rejoice, glorify, offering thanksgiving singing, by a wondrous miracle he taught everyone the Divine song of the Pure Mother of God, Rejoice, mysteries of the ineffable, crying out.
And now: Rejoice, glorious church of Protata, boasting of the treasure of the all-honorable, Divine and grace-piercing icon of the one Mother of God and representative of Athos: for this mountain is Her chosen lot done.
Save Thy servants from troubles, Mother of God, for we all, according to God, resort to Thee, as for the unbreakable wall and intercession (bow).
Worthyly glorified and righteously blessed from all the high ranks, as if surpassing them without comparison, giving birth to God and the Creator of all things, exalted above all others, wonderful to the Lady! Praying from You to the incarnate Christ our God, may he look upon us, unrequited people, and keep us unharmed from all the slander of the enemy and evil slander, for much more can Your mother prayer, according to what is said: ask, My Mother, I will not turn away, but I will fulfill all Your requests. For this reason, with the joy of this fulfillment, we cry to Thee: save, O Lady, Thy perishing servants, enlighten those darkened by the vanity of this age and lead us to the sweetest To Jesus, everlastingly rejoicing, we cry: glory to the Father, glory to the Son, glory to the Holy Spirit, glory to You, most glorious and most immaculate Virgin Mother of God, let us be pleased and blessed in endless centuries of centuries. Amen.
Irmos: I will open my lips, and they will be filled with the Spirit, and I will vomit a word to the Queen Mother, and I will appear, brightly triumphant, and I will sing, rejoicing, those miracles.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Christ, True Light, grant me enlightenment to write praises to Your Most Holy Mother, and I will sing Your great mercy to Your servants.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Woe, O glorified one, You have been pleased, O Lady, and among the poor to glorify Your name by the grace of miracles from Your holy icon, the Deliverer.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
When the inhabitants of the village, despairing of the destruction of their labors, flocked with tears to Your image, O Virgin, having improved their deliverance and, rejoicing, glorifying mercy Yours.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thy right hand, O Lady, glorify yourself in the fortress, and with the multitude of your mercy you have appeared as the Patroness and Deliverer for the salvation of the needy.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Hope of Christians, Helper of those in sorrow, pray to Your Son to be delivered from all troubles by those who celebrate Your holy image, Redeemer.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice, inexhaustible wealth of the poor and orphaned Intercessor, Rejoice, who saves through faith Your name, O Virgin, who calls, Rejoice, driving away despondency and joy to the Giver.
Irmos: Thy hymns, Mother of God, living and unenvious Source, the face of the whole body, spiritually established in Thy Divine glory the crowns of glory.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The Lord dies what He wills, and lives by You, Mother of the Belly, fulfilling the prayers of those who pray to You, He raises up those sent down to hell and raises them up from the rotting pit of passions to Your almighty representation.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
I slowed the priest down to admonish the dying youth, and then for the deceased I prayed to You, O All-Blessed One, and was overshadowed by Your icon, the Deliverer, and the youth suddenly came to life and rose healthy. By Yours and Your Son's life-giving power.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Life-giving You and all-healing source, Bride of God, by knowledge, Your servants: in Your image, O Deliverer, You give life and health, mental and physical, and deliver from troubles those asking for Your intercession.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The beginning of Christ's miracles You are, Most Wonderful Virgin, and the miracles of Your image are glorifying today, O Deliverer, we pray to You: visit Your servants with Your grace, illnesses, evils and eternal death take away from us.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Revive my soul, which is being killed by sins, O Lady, who is all powerful according to God, and deliver the passions that hold me, yes, free from the captivity of the passionate, I magnify You with gratitude.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Direct, O Pure One, to the silence of dispassion into the depths of the evils of Thy servant, and do not allow me to perish, asking Thy, Deliverer, mercy, for Thy faithfulness is covered, are saved.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
Sedalen, voice 3:
O Thy most holy hand, which thou didst bear, who bearest all, stretch out to Him, Ever-Virgin Redeemer, and through Thy prayers deliver us from His wrath, sin for the sake of the mover, take away the fierce guidance and for those sakes the depression and despondency that people experience, and save our souls in peace.
Irmos: Seated in glory on the Throne of the Divine on a light cloud, the Divine Jesus came with an imperishable Hand and those who saved called: glory, O Christ, to Thy power.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Understanding the faithfulness of Thy goodness, O Lady, and a joyful trembling in their hearts, never before their souls were troubled by troubles and illnesses, Thy mercy, O Blessed One, Having remembered, You went out with Your icon to deliver Your people.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Having heard about the glorious miracle of Your power, Mother of God, in the revival of the youth, rushing from various places to Your image, the Deliverer, and, accepting healing, with joy You greatness.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O merciful being, O Pure One, who embodied the All-Good Word for our salvation, do not deprive us of Your help and deliverance, who flow with faith to Your miraculous icon, the Deliverer.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You are the praise of the faithful, Mother of All Singing, You are the ark of shrines, giving sanctification, You are an inexhaustible source of healing and from troubles the Deliverer of those who pray to You before the holy image Yours.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Through the ailments of the oppressed and the temptations of the fighter, deliver us from these, O Mother of God, and at the hour of exodus do not give up our souls to be overcome by the adversary, so that we may glorify Your greatness.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Invincible Commander of Christian leaders and armies, Christ-loving army, armed with the shield of faith and the Cross, appear victorious, delivering from all the slander of the enemy.
Irmos: Everyone was terrified of Your Divine glory: For you, the Unartful Virgin, had in your womb God above all and gave birth to the Flightless Son, to all who sing praises to Thy world giver.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
In sorrow, the small punishment of Your Son was to become an inhabitant of the world, and, having become ill, he called on Thee, the Mother of bounty, and through You he arose from despair and rejoiced, the dew of grace, even from Thy icons, healing came to them.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Grace to Thy sharpening icon, O Deliverer, to Thy faithful servant, which I always carried with me, Thou didst forbid, O Lady, to hide it from the faithful, so that they may be delivered from troubles and illnesses those who come running to You.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
By You, All-Merciful Lady, freedom from the cruel was sent down to those who flowed with faith to Your holy image, while hope, protection and indestructible joy were granted to those who mourn, O God-pleased.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Terrified in misery at the richness of Your gifts, O Virgin, in miracles from Your image, I fell down to Him, joyfully crying out: Truly You are the Deliverer from all troubles
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Joy of angels and men, create freedom from the sorrows of life and deliver the future tightness and eternal fire with your maternal boldness, O All-Good One, from the troubles of the Deliverer.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
God's chosen Ever-Virgin, foreseen in the watered rune of ancient times, sprinkle with the dew of grace the parched earth of my heart and make my soul fruitful through good deeds and vision.
Irmos: This divine and all-honorable celebration, O God of Wisdom, Mother of God, come, let us clasp our hands, from Her we glorify the God who was born.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Whose mind will comprehend, O Lady, the power of the fortress of Your Son, having brought His people out of the earth, even the faiths of eternity, and having made You, His Mother, an enemy I am terrible, delivering those who call upon You from the belly of hell.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The tongue will express Your all-conquering power, O Lady! One thing is for the likeness of Your face, like fire, scorches evil spirits, but Your people heal and rejoice, and we reverently kiss it, Your servant.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Some word will depict the greatness of Your miracles, O All-Merciful Deliverer from troubles! Just as your holy icon was brought to the fierce torment of a demon, the tormentor disappeared, and when healed, you loudly glorified your power.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
From the abundance of grace inherent in Your image, Bride of God, how many demoniacs and other sick people You healed, how many mourners you joined in joy, who flowed to the icon with faith Yours.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Oh, great mercy of Thy, Mother of God, who was pleased by Thy miraculous image to stay with us! What shall we repay Thee for the grace which Thou hast shown to us, bestowing upon this church nothing but sacred wealth?
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O All-Singing Mother, sovereign protector of the world! Protect those who worship Thee from all troubles, and fight against their Christian enemies with Your irresistible power.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
Kontakion, tone 8:
To Your icon, Most Holy Lady, those who were in need came with faith, through Your intercession they got rid of the evil ones, but as the Mother of Christ God, free us from harsh circumstances, temporary and eternal, let us call Ty: Rejoice, our Deliverer from all troubles.
Ikos:
Having gathered in this church, let us glorify the glorious church of the Divine, the Most Holy Virgin, before Her image with reverence, crying out: Rejoice, village of Divine glory; Rejoice, Lady of Heaven and earth. Rejoice, inexhaustible source of miracles; Rejoice, all-powerful healing of the sick. Rejoice, Driver of Demons; Rejoice, revival of the dead. Rejoice, covering the abodes of Thy Mountain; Rejoice, warm representation of the monks. Rejoice, faithful to the Intercessor; Rejoice, salvation of the Christian race. Rejoice, joy shines forth from the south; Rejoice, now sorrow ceases. Rejoice, our Deliverer from all troubles.
Irmos: Having not served the creation of the Divine Wisdom more than the Creator, but having bravely overcome the fiery rebuke, I rejoice, singing: O venerable father, Lord and God, blessed art thou.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Work with us according to the multitude of Thy mercy, Mother of God, and redeem us according to Thy miracles, and let them be ashamed of all power, and let the strength be crushed by those who show evil to Thy servant, O To you who sing: Father God, blessed are you.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
For you, Virgin, the Chaldean cave is a prototype of those who have it, the youths are cooled with dew in the midst of the flame. Likewise, we who have Your image, in the fires of temptation, have been kept cool and unburned by the grace of Your Son, so that we may sing to Him: Father God, blessed are you.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The seven-headed arrows of the seven deadly passions, which are kindled by the sevenfold, are also released by the seven-headed serpent devil, who rises against us today, quench and crush, O Lady, yes, like the youths unharmed, we sing: Father God, blessed are you.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
We mean the seven-luminary lamp of Thee, God-gracious Mary, who shines with the gifts of the Spirit for the faithful for seven weeks, giving grace and bounty to those who sing about You, the Giver of good things: Blessed be God of the Fathers you are.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
You, Lady, have the inexhaustible treasure of mercy and your holy icon, the Deliverer, for the protection of the monastery and for deliverance from troubles, we sing to your Son about you: fathers God, blessed are you.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
As the King of kings, Mother, we pray to You, Lady: be an indestructible fortress to our fatherland and the Christ-loving army, giving them good things, singing: Father God, Blessed are you.
Irmos: The pious youths in the cave saved the Nativity of the Theotokos; Then what was formed, now in action, raises up the entire universe to sing to You: Sing to the Lord, you doers, and exalt Him to all ages.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Like the three youths, kept in the fires, I praised and blessed God, and so did the faithful, by You, Blessed One, having been delivered from the fire, troubles and illnesses, all things, - I cry, - Lord, sing praises and exalt Him forever.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Just as you first delivered from harmful pests those who flocked to your image, O Mother of God, so now do not cease from those and all harm to deliver this monastery, the Mountain, Russia and Orthodox Christians everywhere, may we glorify Thee forever.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Having died, you were overshadowed by your icon, O Virgin, and you revived us, leading us away from the deadly path and guiding us to the path of eternal life, yes, we are saved. By You, we exalt You forever.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
As You commanded Your servant not to hide from the faithful the graces flowing from Your holy image, O All-merciful Deliverer, exude this to us, Your servant, so that we may glorify You forever.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As you have healed many, O Lady, from the torment of demons and other ailments, and you have freed us from mental and physical illnesses and from all the snares of the enemy, so that we may praise You eyelids.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Like the Angel who inspired Gideon to defeat the Midianites, inspire, O All-Queen, and glorify Thee, overthrowing all the vacillation of the enemies, may we bless Thee forever.
Irmos: Let every earth-born leap, let us be enlightened by the Spirit, let the nature of disembodied minds triumph, honoring the sacred triumph of the Mother of God, and let it cry out: Rejoice, All-Blessed One Mother of God, Pure Ever-Virgin.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Sowing monastic abodes, to the Mother of the Lord Most High today, praying before Her miraculous icon, visit the mourners and create deliverance for your people.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You who gave birth generously to the Merciful Lord and Savior of all, show, O All-Good One, Your generosity to us who celebrate Your honest image, and create deliverance from the troubles of people To my own.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
In You, Mother of God, Your Son has erected the horn of salvation for us, strengthen Your servants to serve Him with holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives and create deliverance from troubles for His people.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Look, O Virgin of the Deliverer, to our prayerful sighs, do not leave us helpless in temptation and be a Prayer Book to the Lord, may He grant forgiveness for our sins and deliverance from troubles to people To my own.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lady All-Merciful, do not cease to visit Your Mountain and this monastery, Russia and all Orthodox countries with grace and create deliverance from troubles for Your people.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
We offer intercession for us, the Word of God, to Your Mother, from Whom You were incarnate for our salvation, through Her prayers forgive and have mercy on us, O Kindness, who sin against You, and create deliverance from troubles for your people.
Irmos: Immerse the chariot of Pharaoh, the sometimes miraculous rod of Moses, striking in the shape of a cross and dividing the sea, and the fugitive Israel of Israel, saving the pedestrian, singing the song of God.
Chorus: Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Receive praise from profane lips, O All-blameless One, just as before Your Son, my God and Lord, will accept the widow’s two mites, and grant the remission of my sins, as I owe due honor. Cha.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Angelic singing is befitting of You, the Mother of God, for it is strange that you gave birth to the Creator. But also from us, O Lady, accept these humble prayers, so that we may sing to the Lord: gloriously glorified in our weakness.
Glory: Thickening the waters, thickening the waves in the middle of the sea, bearing Your icon, Mother of God. Confirm my moving heart on the stone of the commandments of Christ.
And now: You were the Helper and Patroness, O Virgin, of the monastery of Iveron, who plunged the warriors of Amira from their ships into the sea, but drowned in the abyss of the mercy of Your Son all my spiritual passions and my countless sins.
Irmos: Establish Heaven in the beginning with reason and the earth on the waters, on the rock of me, Christ, establish Thy commandments, as there is nothing holy, more than You, the only One who loves mankind.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Strengthen my heart in trust in You, Mother of God, remove all pride and exaltation from my darkened mind, so that I cry: none is holy, like the Lord, and none is righteous, like our God.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You, O Mother of God, girdle the weak with strength and satisfy the hungry; visit my weakness and the hungry and thirsty me to satisfy the Animal Bread, which came down from Heaven to earth through Your virgin womb.
Glory: Rise, O Lady, from the earth me, the wretched, and from the rotting place of sin, raise up the poor, give prayer to me, the one who prays, and, magnifying, I sing Your intercession.
And now: Show my barren mind to be fruitful, O Good Virgin, born of barrenness: for You give the fruitfulness of all blessings by the appearance of Your icon.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
This bright day is the triumph of our Intercessor. Let the creation leap, let the cathedrals of humanity rejoice, for the Holy Mother of God calls us to see Her fiery icon enlightening with the rays of faithful mercy. Moreover, we rejoice and cry: save, O Lady, from famine, fire, sword and troubles all those who venerate the appearance of Your icon.
Irmos: You are my fortress, Lord, You are my strength, You are my God, You are my joy, do not leave the bosom of the Father and visit our poverty. To those, with the prophet Habakkuk, I call Ti: Glory to Your power, O Lover of mankind.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The heavens are covered with Thy virtue, O Mother of God, and the earth is filled with Thy praise, but place the love of Thy mighty fortress on me, the desperate one.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Preparing the procession, more wonderful than Your icon, the abyss gave its voice, the sun rose up, and its radiance was like light, but You went out to save people, to save Your inheritance you came.
Glory: Having heard the rumor of Your coming, the foreigners were afraid; Having understood Your deeds, being horrified, but sometimes my soul is confused, remember Your mercy, Lady, and cry: glory to Your intercession, Mother of God.
And now: You are my strength and strength, Mother of God, I will rest in You on the day of my tribulation, and from the land of my coming I will ascend with You to the Heavenly inheritance, and I will rejoice in the Lord and God, the Savior mine.
Irmos: Thou hast cast me away from Thy presence, O Light that never passeth, and an alien darkness has covered me, the accursed one, but turn me and guide my path to the light of Thy commandments, I pray.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
See, O Pure One, from the night the people of Thy flock maturing, Thy icon of the God-praising situation, asking for the remission of sins, and the correction of life, and the Divine glory of communion: not cast us away from Thy presence, O Light of the Never-Departing Mother.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
With all their souls and thoughts in Your flock, everyone rejoices, psalms, and spiritual songs, and Divine singing venerate Your icon, asking for forgiveness of sins and salvation of souls. You, the healing of our being, give all this to the Lady of the Bride of God.
Glory: Thy Church, O Virgin, like another paradise has now appeared, like the tree of life having an icon of Thy beauty, even as we all diligently kiss with reverence and love, we cry: Lady, give us peace, Lady, gain us, for you have no other consolation.
And now: the sweet Ty River and the stream of satiation, the manna from Heaven, the abundance and grace that ever flows in Your abode, those living who have acquired, sing Your Nativity, O Youth.
Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for my iniquities are many, and bring me up from the depths of evil, I pray, for I have cried out to You, and hear me, O God of my salvation
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
In the sorrow of my heart I cry out to Thee, Lady, the sea of life is drowned by a storm; I come running to You, like a quiet refuge: lift my life from aphids.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The last abyss of sins has passed me by, and my spirit disappears, but stretch out, O Lady, Your tall muscle and, like Gabriel, you have made me, running to Your icon, unharmed.
Glory: Do not completely cast me away from Your presence, Mother of the Never-Ending Light, do not let me sink into the abyss of lawlessness, but lift me up from the cronyism of passions, so that my life may arise from decay and I will devour you with a voice of praise and confession.
And now: The church of the body is completely desecrated, to You, the Most Pure Church of the Eternal Word, I dare in Your honorable Church, before Your holy icon to offer my humble prayers. You, as the Merciful One, cleanse me with Your compassion.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
And yet Thy holy icon, O Mother of God, was cast into the sea from a widow who could not save her from her enemies, but the guardian of Athos and the goalkeeper of the monastery of Iverskia appeared, Frightening enemies and in the Orthodox Russian country who honor You from all troubles and misfortunes.
In the pillar of fire, the icon of the Mother of God appeared, and the faces of the Iveron fasters cried out: O Master, grant us to accept the icon of Your Mother for the consolation of our journey; But you, Gabriel, dare and go into the sea, and accept into your arms the treasure that is revealed to us, may it be a vigilant guard for us, protection and joy for all Christians, and a guardian from troubles and misfortunes deliverer.
Irmos: Sometimes Babylon was ashamed of God’s descent of fire. For this reason, the young man in the cave, with rejoicing feet, as in a flower garden, rejoicing, said: Blessed are you, God our father.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
A sinner, a lawless one, an untruthful one before the Lord, but, my Lady Theotokos, as the Good One, quench the fire of His righteous anger with Your warm intercession, so let us sing to Him: Father of ours, God, blessed are you.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
In the cave of temptations and troubles, the scorched ones are irrigated, O Mother of God, by the streams of Your bounty, so that our enemies may be put to shame and may everyone understand that You are the only Lady Mother of God throughout the entire universe glorified.
Glory: Throne of the King of Glory, Most Honest Cherub, animate church, in which the Lord dwells, the firmament of Heaven, on which the Sun of Truth rises, Christ, we praise Thee, Theotokos, and we exalt to all ages.
And now: You are the joy of those who live in the deserts, You are the consolation and praise of the capital city, O Virgin Mary, praised and exalted forever.
Irmos: By the Sevenfold, the cave of the Chaldean tormentor furiously kindled the godly, but by the best power they were saved, having seen, the Creator and the Deliverer cried out: lads, bless, priests, sing, O people, exalt to all ages.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The Angelic Powers sing to You, extol the human race, all creation bless You, the Most Pure Virgin Mary. Accept from me, the unworthy, the praise brought to You.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Sing, monks of Athos, bless, O land of Iveron, extol, O whole Russian country, the Good Lady, flowing rivers of miracles from Her miraculous icons. We praise, we bless, we worship Thee, Mother of God, singing and exalting us to all ages.
Glory: By the likeness of the Iveron icon, not only is Saint Athos enlightened, but the capital city of Moscow is also beautified, from which it receives miraculous help and finds a source of consolation in it.
And now: also the country of Novgorod and other cities and villages in the likeness of Thy Iveron icon, O Lady, was sanctified and enlightened with miracles, crying out: Sing to the Lord and extol to all eyelids.
Irmos: Heaven and earth were horrified at this and were amazed at the end, for God appeared as a man in the flesh and Your womb was the most spacious of Heaven. Thus, Thea, the Mother of God, the Angels and the people of the ranks are magnified.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The mystery of the depth of Your Nativity terrifies the angelic mind, O Virgin, and Your most pure icon drives away the demons, who cannot bear to look at its power, they run and disappear. We kindly bow to and kiss you and magnify You, the Mother of God.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Come, all of you, let us worship, fall down and exalt the Mother of God, who has looked upon us, the humble, who is hungry for good and who has made a covenant of mercy with us in the appearance of Her wondrous icon.
Glory: Virgin Mary, hope of Christians, grant to our race Thy mercy, who was our father, cover and keep us from all evil.
And now: O All-Merciful Helper of Christians, the tongue of man and angels cannot adequately sing of Thee, as all the most honorable and most glorious of earthly creatures are, but accept this mercifully The prayer we bring to You and always save us, for we have placed our trust in You.
Irmos: Having passed through the water like dry land, and having escaped the Egyptian evil, the Israeli cried out: Let us drink to the Deliverer and our God.
Chorus: Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Illuminate me with God's grace, O God-gracious one, reverently sing before Your holy icon of You, the invincible Intercessor and the power of the indestructible flock.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You, the All-Immaculate One, are the intercession of the imams, and joy and consolation. For this reason, glorifying Your goodness, we pray: have mercy on us.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Guardian of the essence of the Mountain, who found the monastery of Vatopedi as a robber, you did not betray, O Lady, Your servants into the hands of the enemy.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Who is like You, O Virgin, gloriously working miracles? Having taught the monks the righteousness of Your Son, even to fear Him, You delivered and consoled them with Your strength.
Glory: There is medicine to cut and sores, health is guilty, but You, Son of God, heal us with the soft healings of Your bounties, Your Mother with prayers.
And now: Hear, O Good One, the prayers of the people named for Christ, look at the embitterment of the oppressed, see the tears of those in sorrow and be mercifully angry with Thy servants.
Irmos: You are the affirmation of those who flow to You, Lord, You are the Light of the darkened, and my spirit sings of You.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
We flow under Thy roof, Thy people. Be our Intercessor, O Lady, giving joy and consolation to those who sing to Thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The Vatopedians rejoiced at Your salvation, O Virgin, for You girded the weak with strength to drive out the robbers.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Do not cease, O All-Merciful Lady, to save Your servants from unexpected misfortunes, and let us gratefully glorify You.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Pray, Mother of God, that we may be delivered from all wrath and rebuke of God, who worship You.
Glory: A favorable and strong intercessor to God, ask Him for remission of sins from Him, Bride of God.
And now: Deadly ailments of soul and body are gone, O Lady, who gave birth to eternal Life to the world.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
Visible and invisible enemies around us, we call to You, O Virgin, running: do not remove Your help from us, as You did not remove Your help from the monks of Vatopedi, but by sovereign power With your help you overcome those who fight and give us a peaceful and God-pleasing life.
Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the sight of Your sacrament, I have understood Your works and glorified Your Divinity.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The heart of the abbot was afraid in the prayer of his lips from Your voice, O Mother of God, and the rebuke of Your Son, and his fortress was disturbed by the former attack from the robbers.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
When Vatopedi was always troubled by Thy anger, O Lord, Thou didst remember Thy mercy by the intercession of the Ever-Virgin, from whom Thou didst appear to save Thy people.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Do not deliver Your inheritance into the hands of your enemies, O Pure One, lest they say: Where is the Mother of God who trusted in Nyuzha? but keep Thy flock without harm and without harm.
Glory: To Your holy image, we pray to You: destroy the advice of those who wish us harm and direct our life to do the Divine will of Your Son in the world.
And now: In temptation, give us, O Lady, a saving refuge, in illness, healing, in distress, a quiet refuge, and in sorrow, Joy and Consolation.
Irmos: Thou hast cast me away from Thy presence, O Light that never passeth, and an alien darkness has covered me, the accursed one, but turn me and guide my path to the light of Thy commandments, I pray.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The mountain is a strong wall and an unshakable pillar of Thee in the barbarian invasions: for you fulfill the enemy’s faces and return to them vain and idle, Lady.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Motherly providence for those who are in the Mountain of Ty, fear for the sake of Your Son, the Virgin, sick Vatoped, having warned about the robbers, and gave birth to the spirit of salvation through Your intercession, Most Blessed One.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Just as the abbot of Vatopedi, after watching and praying in the morning, you instructed, O Good One, how to save ourselves from adversity, so grant us the effort from the night to become alert to God and to salvation we are guides who deliver from all troubles.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Just as you forbade us, Lady, from opening the gates of ready-made destruction from our enemies, so place in us a gracious door of enclosure, so that the entrance of the all-evil destroyer and their tares will not be found.
Glory: As you, O Lady, commanded, having ascended the walls, to drive away the robbers, so strengthen us on the quadrupeds of courage and truth, wisdom and chastity, so that we may repel the fighting us.
And now: Just as You, O Virgin, propitiated Your Son, being angry with those who exist in Vatopedi, so propitiate Him for us, who have fallen into many sins, for much more can motherly prayer to the mercy of the Lord.
Irmos: I will pour out a prayer to the Lord and to Him I will proclaim my sorrows, for my soul is filled with evil and my life is drawing near to hell, and I pray like Jonah: from aphids, O God, lift me up.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Proclaiming to You our sorrows, we pray, Mother of God: with Your grace you will gladden the sorrowing hearts, Joy to all, and lifted up from aphids.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
No other consolation and strong intercession has been acquired on earth, unless You, O All-Good One, cover from all evil the love of those who sing Your praises.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
We accept grace and mercy from Your Son, O Virgin, through Your prayers: You keep us from rumors, confusion, snare and all the deceits of the enemy, O All-Singing One.
Glory: To the Savior of the world, by Thy irresistible power do not cease to watch over Thy flock, which calls: Thou art our Joy and Consolation, O Blessed One.
And now: Deliver all good wines, revival of mortals, recovery of the lost, O Lady, Thy servants from vain death and from the aphids of sin.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having got rid of the evil ones, let us write thanksgiving to Thee, Thy servants, Mother of God, but as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, and let us call to Thee: Rejoice, Bride Not the bride.
The angels glorify Thee, the Mother of our God, with songs, and we on earth joyfully sing to Thee, crying out: Rejoice, Light-Giving Village, Whose rays of salvation have arisen for the world; Rejoice, Delighted One, We are filled with Divine joy. Rejoice, door of the East, leading us away from the gates of deadly sin; Rejoice, bright lamp, enlightener of the darkened. Rejoice, the abyss of God’s love for us; Rejoice, the gift bestowed upon us by God is greater than the price of all things. Rejoice, for you have great boldness towards Him; Rejoice, Guardian of Athos and Guardian of those who live there. Rejoice, all-strong wall, by which we are preserved by the insurmountable enemies of the Christians; Rejoice, the ulcer of invisible enemies and healing from them for those who are vulnerable. Rejoice, O strength and help for the helpless; Rejoice, Otrado and Consolation of those who mourn. Rejoice, Unbride-less Bride.
Irmos: It came from Judea, the children in Babylon sometimes trampled the fire of the furnace by the Trinity faith, singing: Father God, blessed are you.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Having become incarnate from Your womb, Lord, I rule over creation, and You, O Virgin, will show You, the Lady, to all who are visible and to all who are invisible, glorifying You as His Mother.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
We have sinned, Lord, but we have not departed from You and we know no other, unless You betray us to the end to Your Mother with your prayers, blessed Fathers of God.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Overshadowed Mountain of God, All-Pure, cover those who exist in the Mountain with the shadow of Your prayers and deliver those who catch from the net of those who sing: Our father, God, blessed are you.
Glory: You are an invincible fortress, Lady, and an indestructible defense of those who call upon You with faith: you destroy the advice of those who arm themselves to glorify You.
And now: Congratulation to the despondent, Comfort to the sad, Master to the erring, keep us, O Virgin, from all evil, who honor Your holy image.
Irmos: Praise and extol the Heavenly King, Whom the angels sing, praise and extol forever.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Blessed Mother of the All-Merciful God, reward us, unworthy ones, with the gifts of Your mercy, may we extol You forever.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Be Thy servant, O All-Tsarina, fortress and power, strength, weapon and sword, secant enemies of salvation, let us glorify Thee forever.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Shining more than an Angel with holiness, keep us, All-Immaculate One, from sinful acts, words and thoughts, may we bless Thee forever.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Sanctify, O All-Holy One, those who reverently kiss Thy holy icon and with Thy maternal boldness give us Thy Son, that we may praise Him forever.
Glory: Delight and Consolation of those who pray to You, deliver us from temporary and eternal cruelties, let us praise You and exalt Your Son to all ages.
And now: Path and Life, O Virgin, who gave birth, direct our feet according to the word of God, yea, the eternal life of the inheritor, we praise Thee, Thy Son, exalting all the ages.
Irmos: Manifested on the mountain of the lawmaker in the lights and bushes of the Ever-Virgin Nativity in ours, the faithful, salvation with songs of non-silent majesty.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, Vatopede, vigilant Athos the Watcher, who with Your mania destroyed the cunning of the enemy against You and created the destruction that was prepared for You when driven out.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Oh, your great boldness, O Virgin, towards God and your compassion towards your servants! For Thou hast proclaimed things against the enemy, and hast turned away Thy face from the hand of Thy Son, as Thou art seen in Thy icon unto this day.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You are an inexhaustible stream of lightness, joy and consolation, O God-Glorious Mother of Light, the darkness of the passions of life from us, who stand in the bright likeness of Your face, and the unluminous fire deliver.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
May our salvation be ever present, O Lady, from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us, and direct our feet on the path of peaceful mercy for the sake of the mercy of Your Son and our God, Most Blessed One.
Glory: Ruler of all, as the Mother of All the Kings, grant to our country prosperity, peace, salvation and, in parallel, victory and overcoming.
And now: Prayer singing from the soul was brought with fear to You, Virgin, who gave birth to Christ God, Who prayed to Him, make our prayers acceptable, and magnify You with silent songs.
Irmos: Having passed through the water like dry land, and having escaped the Egyptian evil, the Israeli cried out: Let us drink to the Deliverer and our God.
Chorus: Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
With many blessings to praise Your Divine miracles, I pray to You, O Virgin, from the heart, to the Quick to Hear, grant me grace.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Who will not be amazed at Your miraculous appearance, O Virgin? From him you cried out to the server of the table three times, You were called Quick to Hear.
Glory: How can I perform Your miracles, O Youth? For before you made the disobedient monk without eyes, and again you arranged this, seeing.
And now: Rejoice, holy monastery of Dochiar: you are the Lord of all, the Representative and protection, as She herself clearly proclaimed.
Irmos: The Supreme Creator of the heavenly circle, Lord, and the Creator of the Church, You confirm me in Your love, the desires of the land, the true affirmation, the One Lover of Mankind.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You, Mary, showed the childless, blessed ones, and you made barren wives, Quick to Hear, rejoicing over your children. Who will not be amazed, O Virgin, at Your greatness?
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Bulgaria preaches miracles of Your image, O Quick to Hear, East and West. You have become a fountain, flowing out grace to all who call on Your name.
Glory: The disease of cancer disappears from the hand of an honest woman, O Virgin, by Thy visitation, even the one suffering, freed from the disease, rejoicing, giving a sermon of thanksgiving.
And now: Your icon is wonderfully adorned, Quick to Hear, and illuminates everyone with Your grace, O Most Pure One, more than the rays of the sun. Who will not praise You, glorified in Heaven and on earth!
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
The Lady of the world, Mary the All-Singing One, as You gave birth to us all, the Creator, the Savior of the world, Who also glorify You, Your Most Pure Mother, giving You grace and mercy those who honor You and pray to You, Mother of God.
Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the sight of Your sacrament, I have understood Your works and glorified Your Divinity.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Your miraculous image has been glorified in all corners, and now everyone pronounces the “Quick to Hear” with their lips.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
And in a dream, the All-Tsarina, and in reality, the Quick to Hear, appearing and performing miracles in the world, glorious.
Glory: Who is your name, O Virgin, in every need that you call on, and you did not hear him, as you are a quick-to-hear?
And now: Blessed are you, the glorious monastery of Dochiar, for you were enriched by the icon of the all-honorable Quick-to-Hear.
Irmos: Enlighten us with Your commandments, O Lord, and with Your high arm grant us Your peace, O Lover of Mankind.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
How unworthy I am, I will look at Your most pure image, Quick to Hear, with unclean hairs!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Sea and earth, O Queen of All, Your icons preach miracles: For these two have enjoyed Your graces.
Glory: Taty appears, the penyazi who stole his neighbor, Materodevo, and returned this righteous thing to the possessor.
And now: What shall we render unto Thee, O All-Blessed One, for the great grace which Thou hast shown us, having given Thy icon, sacred wealth.
Irmos: I will pour out a prayer to the Lord and to Him I will proclaim my sorrows, for my soul is filled with evil and my life is drawing near to hell, and I pray like Jonah: from aphids, O God, lift me up.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
As the loving Mother appeared, You called the youth to Yourself, until You delivered You from the hand of robbers, Mother Devo. But may we also find You, loving Mother!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Your servants have no other imams than You, intercession and protection. Moreover, O Pure One, we cry from the heart: free Your flock and the faithful who come running to You from all troubles.
Glory: Just as you saved those who called on your Divine name from the sea storm, so you also saved us from sensory and mental collapse, Virgin, save us and guide us into the quiet haven of salvation.
And now: Peace is your refuge and salvation; therefore, O Pure One, people flock to Your most honest icon from everywhere and everyone who listens to them will soon find You.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
In the sea of life we are overwhelmed, we fall into anxiety, passions and temptations. Give us, O Lady, a helping hand, like Thy Son Petrov, and hasten to deliver us from troubles, and let us call to Thee: Rejoice, O All-Blessed Quick-to-Hear.
Wherever Your grace overshadows, O Lady, the sick are restored to health, the needy are brought to prosperity, and everyone who mourns is filled with joy. Moreover, by Thy grace the autumn of us, the blue-grass joyful One, saying: Rejoice, O God-gracious, village of the Unapproachable Divinity; Rejoice, holy table, supplying us with the bread of life; Rejoice, myrrh of great value, fragrant to the faithful; Rejoice, olive tree, anointing us with the oil of mercy; Rejoice, inexhaustible treasure of gifts; Rejoice, ever-flowing source of miracles; Rejoice, intercession of the offended; Rejoice, sweet haven for those overwhelmed; Rejoice, hearing for the deaf and light for the blind; Rejoice, strengthener of the weakened; Rejoice, liberation of the captives; Rejoice, hope of all peace; Rejoice, All-merciful Quick Hearer.
Irmos: It came from Judea, the youths in Babylon sometimes, by the Trinity faith, trampled the fire of the furnace, singing: Father God, blessed art thou.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou hast given to the blind the power to comb their eyes, O Virgin, even to see, but thou hast also enlightened the apple of our soul and body, so that we may ever sing of Thy greatness.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
You have granted hearing to the deaf, Mary the Quick to Hear, but also open us all to the ears of soul and body, so that we may ever sing of Your greatness.
Glory: Just as you of old delivered those who fled to You from troubles, O Most Pure One, so also deliver us from this and all harm, so that we may always sing of Your greatness.
And now: As You first corrected the weakened one, so correct us, both weakened, by Your warm intercession, so that we may ever sing of Your greatness.
Irmos: The King of Heaven, Whom all the Angels sing, praise and extol to all ages.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
From all illnesses, O Quick Hearer, deliver us, just as you have delivered us from many of these.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Your icon, O Virgin, the source of miracles has appeared, from which the thirsty are abundantly supplied.
Glory: You reveal the lost, O Lady, and give joy to those who have found them. How many is the image of Your grace!
And now: All the elements obey Your command, O Lady, and deliver those who call upon You from harm.
Irmos: Truly the Mother of God, we confess Thee, saved by Thee, Pure Virgin, with the Bodiless faces magnifying Thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Gather diligently to the Divine Abode of the Archangels, you who are sick: the Doctor dwells in it free of charge.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The sacred icon of Your other appears the Pool of Siloam, the Virgin, cleansing and healing illnesses of the soul and body.
Glory: The zeal to see Your image ignites the grace-filled beauty, and I am not satisfied with magnifying You!
And now: May I see You, the All-Blessed Quick to Hear, who in the time of death comforts me and drives away the ghosts of demons!
voice 8
The Most Holy Theotokos upon deliverance from illness, the creation of St. John Euchaitis (there is a canon read by A.B. in the prayer book “Glory to God for everything”)
Irmos: Having passed through the water like dry land, and having escaped the Egyptian evil, the Israeli cried out: Let us drink to the Deliverer and our God.
You have opened the door of the Divine East, the door of my compassion, and you have delivered the path to hell for those who bow to hell: therefore, I praise Thee with gratitude.
With a humble heart and spirit and mind, I have received help from You, Holy Virgin, I thank You unceasingly, Your servant.
Glory: Turn my sorrow into joy, for we see that I am healthy by Thy grace: also, Most Immaculate Mary, I thank Thee and glorify Thee by faith.
And now: Having come running to Your Divine Church, we are fiercely overwhelmed by all sorts of torments, Your servant obtains silence: and for this reason, O Virgin, He glorifies You.
Irmos: The Supreme Creator of the heavenly circle, the Creator of the Lord, and the Creator of the Church, Thou hast confirmed me in Thy love, the desires of the land, the faithful affirmation, the One Lover of Mankind.
The depths of sin plunged me into the great sea above, Pure, illness: but I flowed into the quietest haven of Thy generosity and, having received healing, I glorify Thee with desire.
My illness became a consolation for You and the torment that overpowered You, O God-gracious One, soon changed: for this reason I speak thanksgiving voices to Thee by faith, Thy servant.
Glory: Thou didst not despise my lamentable prayer, for thou didst draw forth the source of compassion, O gracious Lady: even so, my illness and the torment of my soul was quickly quenched by Thy Divine visitation you are.
And now: From the bed of torment, from the gates of hell, from the closest embitterment, you lifted me up to the light, weakened by the breadth of the fortress: for those sake I magnify Thee, the Unclean Lady.
Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the sight of Your sacrament, I have understood Your works and glorified Your Divinity.
Occupying the heat of the fire, my burning heart was freed by the dew of Your mercy: for this reason, O Virgin, I please You.
You surprised me, O Undefiled Bride of God, with Your mercy, having delivered me from embitterment and overwhelming despair.
Glory: Having heard my voice, you took away all inconvenience from me: therefore, I always glorify You, Glorified Ever-Virgin.
And now: You bestowed compassion upon me, the uncompassionate one, and you visited me, in a troubled state, to the Mother of God: therefore I magnify You.
Irmos: Thou hast cast me away from Thy presence, O Light that never passeth, and an alien darkness has covered me, O accursed one? But turn me and guide me to the light of Your commandments, I pray.
Having overcome the darkness with Thy visitation, O Pure One, I have consumed much torment and received invisible relief: for this I glorify, thank and magnify Thy warm intercession, O Virgin.
In the humility of my heart, I bring a song of thanksgiving, Pure, to Thee, Thy faithful servant, who delivered the cold, Most Pure, and I cry to Thee: Rejoice, Refuge in the needs of those who exist, Rejoice, One man Help.
Glory: Thou hast taken away the gloomy tunic of the sickness that afflicts me, and thou hast clothed healing with radiant hope, and now I rejoice joyfully in Thy church, singing Yours, Virgin, miracles.
And now: With incessant prayer You brought me, wanting to fall asleep into death, and You brought about the end of illnesses by Your Divine visitation, and You brought me up from the depths of much torment: this For my sake, Virgo, I praise Thee.
Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for my iniquities are many, and bring me up from the depths of evil, I pray: I have cried out to You, and hear me, O God of my salvation.
You turned the cry of Your servant into joy, You tore apart my sackcloth of much anger, O Most Immaculate One, and You girded You with the joy of healing.
I am weakened, as first Your Son raised up, O Pure Mother of God, so You took me, Your servant, from the disease that causes death: for this reason I magnify You.
Glory: You have pardoned the ends of my life for those who are thinking: and now, O Pure Virgin, I walk around Your holy church, rejoicing, with a grateful tongue and heart I please You.
And now: Heal my souls of deviation, Ever-Virgin, for you have quenched the fierce pains of the body: for the health of both, bring thanksgiving praise to the imams.
Irmos: The youths of Judaism in the cave boldly trampled the flame and turned the fire into the dew, crying out: Blessed are you, Lord God, forever.
Rejoice, joy of the cold and intercession of the offended; Rejoice, blood of the naked and those who cry gloriously: Blessed, Most Pure, is the Fruit of Your womb.
Healing for the sick comes from Your hand, Mary Mother of God, from which You gave drink to Your servant, who cried out: Blessed, O Most Pure One, is the Fruit of Your womb.
Glory: With what voices will I sing to You? With what language do I exalt Thee, Mother of God? As through bitter illness and the most difficult labors, You indescribably freed Your servant.
And now: You saw my sorrow, O Virgin, and you listened to my voice and delivered me from my fierce passions and illnesses and troubles: I thank You, O Lady, my known hope.
Irmos: By the Sevenfold, the Chaldean tormentor furiously kindled the furnace of the Godly, but by the best power he saw the Creator and the Deliverer, he cried out to the Creator and the Deliverer: bless the priests, sing, people, exalt to all ages.
Groaning with illness, scorched by fire and shaken by fierce anxiety, I approached You, Blessed Most Pure Lady; and because you were merciful, you did not loathe me at all, but saved him who cried: bless the priests, people exalt Christ forever.
With illnesses holding me in bitterness and my stomach groaning in despair, you, unfilthy one, looked upon my humility and called upon you for a well-known healing, crying out from the heart: Bless the priests, people exalt Christ forever.
Glory: You looked upon my infirmity, O Mother of God, and with compassion you saved Your servant, O Lady, more than my hopes; You filled me with joy, with Divine power and joy singing: bless the youths, sing to the priests, people exalt Christ forever.
And now: Having received healing, Hezekiah first quickly ran to the house of the Lord, giving thanks to God Almighty, O Lady: and having received healing from You, I came to Your church, with all my heart and soul. Our hearts thank you, O Virgin, forever and ever.
Irmos: Frightened by every hearing of the ineffable condescension of God, for the Most High came down to the flesh by the will of the Lord, from the virgin’s womb he became a Man: also Thee, the Most Pure Mother of God, the faithful, We magnify.
What praise, O Good One, is worthy to be sent to the Imam by Thy servant, for such good deeds Thou hast granted me and the passions that lead me to the abysses of hell, Thou hast freed me through intercession Yours, Most Blessed One?
Holy village of God, rejoice, One adornment of mortals, the church of the Most Holy King and the throne of fire, by your merciful effort81 you have eased the burden of your illness mine, and you have granted me healing and life.
Glory: Come, all my brethren, rejoice in common with the magnification of the Mother of God, the abundant source, from whom the bright current of healing flowed for me and the flame of my illnesses to the end destroy it.
And now: Undefiled Pure Lady, heal the passions of my heart and create my future life as a Divine participant and deliver from the difficult lives of Your prayers, that I may glorify You, intercession of the faithful, unclean.
ancient, examined and carefully corrected by the hardworking hand and wise reed of the most distinguished teacher and ever-remembered Father Cyrus Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain
Let us praise the Archangels of the Trinity, Michael and Gabriel, all idle lovers, overshadowing them with shelter. And we are delivered from all misfortunes, calling to the One: Rejoice, servant of the law. To another he said: Rejoice, messenger of grace.
Angel, chief of the immaterial angels, you were created by the all-guilty God in mental silence, Michael, the light of the first light and the second. Therefore, rejoicing in you, I proclaim this song:
Rejoice, creation of the world-creating mind;
Rejoice, primordial radiance of light.
Rejoice, fiery primate of the Divine;
Rejoice, tireless servant of the Trinity.
Rejoice, God-like soul, immaterial, fiery;
Rejoice, immortal being, singing the praises of God.
Rejoice, ruler of the fiery heaven;
Rejoice, master of the world's wisdom.
Rejoice, shining light of the grateful ranks;
Rejoice, destroyer of an ungrateful spirit.
Rejoice, in whom the nature of the Angels endures;
Rejoice, for Satan was quickly deposed.
Rejoice, servant of the law.
Seeing the ungrateful angels rising and the fiery ones falling from heaven, the Divine Michael, like a grateful servant, stood and cried out: let us become good and listen, singing the song to the Trinity: Alleluia.
Thou hast appeared, O Gabriel, the secret receiver of the hidden knowledge and counsels of the Most High, to show foreknowledge of the things to come and to proclaim joyful tidings to the earth-born. For this reason, I am encouraged by love to sing to you:
Rejoice, mirror of the unreasonable light;
Rejoice, messenger of the secrets of God.
Rejoice, insight into hidden counsels;
Rejoice, ineffable revelation of God.
Rejoice, thou shalt shine forth in the mind the hidden knowledge;
Rejoice, thou who shinest light upon the people.
Rejoice, minister of the Divine Gospels;
Rejoice, enlightener of joyful events.
Rejoice, many unclear things have been clarified;
Rejoice, foreknowledge of frequent future events.
Rejoice, to whom joy is infused;
Rejoice, having cast out sorrow.
Rejoice, messenger of grace.
Thou didst show Daniel the Prophet, above all other prophets, the strange mystery of the terrible coming of Christ and the vision of the Great Gabriel, and Thou didst instruct him to sing to God in complacency: Alleluia.
Having, Michael the Divine mind, the namesake of the power of God, you have clearly shown yourself to be strong in battle, and you have strengthened Jacob in the struggle, defeating the tongues of foreigners. For this reason I magnify your strength:
Rejoice, more effective than fire;
Rejoice, quickest flaming one.
Rejoice, thou who drowned the armies of the Egyptians;
Rejoice, you have broken the alliances of the Canaanites.
Rejoice, for you strengthened Moses and Aaron;
Rejoice, for you have encouraged Jesus the son of Joshua.
Rejoice, conquered army of Assyria;
Rejoice, Thou who has corrected Zion of Ammore.
Rejoice, destruction of Oga of Bashan;
Rejoice, dead Moses liberation.
Rejoice, who are consumed by wickedness;
Rejoice, for they are exalted in piety.
Rejoice, servant of the law.
Michael the Chief Angel, beg God with your prayers to let us live virtuously, performing your honest council with love, and grant those who have begun a better life with you to sing to God the song: Alleluia.
You came from the Most High, Gabriel of the Divine Mind, bringing joyful tidings to Joachim and Anna and resolving their childless infertility. For this reason, having fun, we cry out to you with faith:
Rejoice, good tidings;
Rejoice, child-bearing joy of those who do not give birth.
Rejoice, barren, God-given all-fertility;
Rejoice, God-pleasing child of the childless.
Rejoice, for you brought an honest birth to God the Forefather;
Rejoice, you have given the fruit of the womb to the Mother of God.
Rejoice, resolving the bonds of childlessness;
Rejoice, you who foretell grace to those who are born.
Rejoice, many fathers have been praised;
Rejoice, kind consolation to mothers.
Rejoice, through whom the human race multiplies;
Rejoice, for by him the inheritance is foreshadowed.
Rejoice, messenger of grace.
To the Mother of God Mary, the Lady of peace, who dwells in the church of the Lord, you were sent to Gabriel, who will soon bring you the bread of Heaven and always excite me to cry out to God like this: Alleluia.
You were the former servant of God, the official, the forefathers of ancient times, who delivered you from many evils, Michael, and you were always present to the Jewish people. For this reason I appeal to you:
Rejoice, thou who delivered Isaac from slaughter;
Rejoice, thou who filled Abraham with joy.
Rejoice, quenching of Ishmael’s thirst;
Rejoice, Hagar who weeps, a strange consolation.
Rejoice, pillar of fire, leader of Israel;
Rejoice, golden cloud covering him on his journey.
Rejoice, thou who saved the firstborn of the Jews;
Rejoice, thou who slaughtered the firstborn of the Egyptians.
Rejoice, bright praise of the Jews;
Rejoice, strong fence of the law.
Rejoice, people brought out of Egypt;
Rejoice, you who brought him to the good land.
Rejoice, servant of the law.
Having descended on Mount Sinai, the great God, who, although he would give the law to the Jews, through your service and through your service, the Tallest Michael, spoke it to Moses and taught him to sing: Alleluia.
The priest Zechariah, Gabriel, once foretold the birth of the Divine Forerunner in the church of God for deliverance and salvation to the people who were longing for salvation. For this reason, marveling at your gospel, I cry:
Rejoice, foretold of great things in those born of women;
Rejoice, you who showed the angel to your father.
Rejoice, most desired word for Zechariah;
Rejoice, If the sweetest hearing of advice.
Rejoice, for you preached the good news about the Baptist of Christ;
Rejoice, for you predicted the second Elijah.
Rejoice, preacher of repentance;
Rejoice, all-hearing trumpet of light from the lamp.
Rejoice, the beginning of the proclamation of grace;
Rejoice, foretelling of the dawn of the day.
Rejoice, beginning of the salvation of earthly beings;
Rejoice, foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven for us.
Rejoice, messenger of grace.
Although God the Word may become incarnate for the sake of us, entrust this sacrament to you alone, Gabriel, and prejudge you, his servant, thinking about miracles within yourself and singing like this: Alleluia.
You rescued three young men of old from the flames of the cave, Michael the Chief of Officials, and you once appeared in it, splendid, bright-eyed and God-like, so that the tyrant would be horrified by miracles. For this reason I cry out to you:
Rejoice, extinguishing the inextinguishable fire;
Rejoice, end of the ever-living flame.
Rejoice, liberation of virgin youths;
Rejoice, preservation of immaculate bodies.
Rejoice, for you have terrified the tyrant with your vision;
Rejoice, for you strengthened the youth Daniel.
Rejoice, delightful prophet Habakkuk;
Rejoice, you brought it to Babylon soon.
Rejoice, strong Gideon in victory;
Rejoice, glorious defeat of Midian.
Rejoice, by whom kings are strengthened;
Rejoice, even as tyrants are overthrown.
Rejoice, servant of the law.
Having seen a strange miracle, Balaam the prophet and later David the prophet, you, the Divine Michael, soon fell and bowed down to you, bound only by fear, while others cried out to God: Alleluia.
Full of lightning, all shining and all joyful, you came to the Most Blessed One, Gabriel, joyful as you brought the gospel. For being delighted by your greeting, I greet you:
Rejoice, preacher of unceasing joys;
Rejoice, ancient oaths of Sekiro.
Rejoice, proclamation to fallen Adam;
Rejoice, encouragement to Evvin’s incompetence.
Rejoice, O loud-mouthed interpreter of the Words of the Incarnation;
Rejoice, glorious master of God's condescension.
Rejoice, with joy, “Rejoice,” the joyful one who spoke;
Rejoice, resolving all sorrow through “Rejoice…”
Rejoice, star who foreshadowed the Sun;
Rejoice, luminary, who has shown the unapproachable light.
Rejoice, for through him the world has been enlightened;
Rejoice, for you have dispersed the darkness.
Rejoice, messenger of grace.
You announced the birth of the Savior to the shepherds on the field, Gabriel, rejoicing, and the wise men, like a bright star, led you to worship Him and taught everyone to cry out to the Born One: Alleluia.
You appeared as a strong representative of the New Testament, luminous to Michael, and you became known to all faithful Christians as a great champion, delivering them from many misfortunes and rousing them to cry out to you:
Rejoice, new people of the wall;
Rejoice, guardian of the Christ-named tribes.
Rejoice, having strengthened the Apostles many times;
Rejoice, you who gave strength to the passion-bearers.
Rejoice, for you saved Peter from bonds and prison;
Rejoice, for you killed Herod suddenly.
Rejoice, invincible guardian of the church;
Rejoice, heretical double-edged axe.
Rejoice, solid fortification of the monks;
Rejoice, glorious affirmation of the Hierarchs.
Rejoice, through whom faith spreads;
Rejoice, for even error is diminished.
Rejoice, servant of the law.
The end of the world has come, Michael, blow the last trumpet, from which the dead rose from the earth and stand with trembling before the unwashed judgment, shouting with you the song: Alleluia.
Your name clearly shows the height of your rank, O luminous Gabriel: since you manifest God and man in your name, you have rightly appeared as a worthy servant of the God-man of the word. That’s why I magnify you with songs:
Rejoice, to whom the betrothed was soon betrothed;
Rejoice, in whom the Virgin was perceived.
Rejoice, having named the name of Jesus;
Rejoice, you who proclaim salvation to the world.
Rejoice, for you served Joseph the betrothed;
Rejoice, for you accompanied Jesus into Egypt.
Rejoice, you who called Christ from Egypt;
Rejoice, you have shown the city of Nazareth into habitation.
Rejoice, faithful and secret guide of the Magi;
Rejoice, you who delivered them from Herod.
Rejoice, by whom Jesus was preserved;
Rejoice, for it was Herod who was ridiculed.
Rejoice, messenger of grace.
On the Divine stone of the life-receiving Tomb, gray-haired, Gabriel, in white robes, and shining like lightning, you proclaimed the Resurrection of Christ to the women: do not cry, crying out to them and singing the song: Alleluia.
(for reading in Russian churches, see the given ikos after the 13th kontakion)
Thou art the light of the world, Michael the military leader, illuminating the thoughts of the faithful, leading them to knowledge of the Divine, and enlightening everyone to salvation from the malice of the murderer, delivering those who cry:
Rejoice, representative of all the faithful;
Rejoice, source of various miracles.
Rejoice, free healing for the sick;
Rejoice, the captives will soon return.
Rejoice, for you have interceded for the Dochiar monastery;
Rejoice, for you saved me from the Saracen aspirations.
Rejoice, deliverance of the drowned youth;
Rejoice, golden secret discovery.
Rejoice, thou who flowest forth streams of living water;
Rejoice, perform miracles with water.
Rejoice, decorator of the Dochiar church;
Rejoice, intercessor of the sowing monasteries.
Rejoice, servant of the law.
Grant Divine grace, Michael, to those who perform your council with love and call upon you at the end of your life: appear as your helper, and protect in this monastery those who cry: Alleluia.
(for reading in Russian churches, see the given ikos after the 13th kontakion)
Sing in full accord with the incarnation of God the sweet praises we have learned from you, Divine Gabriel, we sing thanksgiving to you with love, and magnifyingly we cry out to you as the evangelist:
Rejoice, joy of those who mourn;
Rejoice, guardian of the offended.
Rejoice, unstolen wealth of the poor;
Rejoice, saving haven for those who float.
Rejoice, victorious weapon of pious kings;
Rejoice, glorious praise of the reverent priests.
Rejoice, representative of the Dochiar monastery;
Rejoice, wonderful pilot of her ship.
Rejoice, you who honor you as champion;
Rejoice, most generous soul to the bridegroom.
Rejoice, blessing from God to the faithful;
Rejoice, good monastic driving.
Rejoice, messenger of grace.
About the Divine Archangels, Michael and Gabriel, standing before the throne of God, we have accepted this song of ours, like the mite of a widow, deliver us from all torment and sing with you: Alliuia.
This kontakion is read three times, then the 1st ikos and the 1st kontakion. Changes in the last two ikos for reading in Russian churches:
Thou art the light of the world, Michael the military leader, illuminating the thoughts of the faithful, leading them to knowledge of the Divine, and enlightening everyone to salvation from the malice of the murderer, delivering those who cry:
Rejoice, representative of all the faithful;
Rejoice, source of many different miracles.
Rejoice, free healing for the sick;
Rejoice, the captives will soon return.
Rejoice, for you have interceded for the Russian State;
Rejoice, for you saved me from my enemies.
Rejoice, the eminent Michael has been called to the Russian throne;
Rejoice, wisdom of our blessed kings.
Rejoice, enlighten our entire Synclite;
Rejoice, teaching the fingers of our Christ-loving warriors to fight.
Rejoice, decorator of God's Orthodox churches;
Rejoice, Intercessor of the Russian Abodes.
Rejoice, servant of the law.
Sing in full accord with the incarnation of God the sweet praises we have learned from you, Divine Gabriel, we sing thanksgiving to you with love, and magnifyingly we cry out to you as the evangelist:
Rejoice, joy of those who mourn;
Rejoice, guardian of the offended.
Rejoice, unstolen wealth of the poor;
Rejoice, saving haven for those who float.
Rejoice, victorious weapon of pious kings;
Rejoice, glorious praise of the reverent priests.
Rejoice, guardian of the Russian Power;
Rejoice, wonderful pilot of her ark.
Rejoice, you who honor you as champion;
Rejoice, most generous soul to the bridegroom.
Rejoice, blessing from God to the faithful;
Rejoice, good monastic driving.
Rejoice, messenger of grace.
Holy and great Archangel of God Michael, the first primate of the Mysterious and Essential Trinity, the guardian and guardian of the human race, crushing with his army the head of the proud Star in heaven and putting to shame his malice and deceit on earth! We resort to you with faith and we pray to you with love: be an indestructible shield and a strong shield for the Holy Church and our Orthodox Fatherland, protecting them with your lightning sword from all enemies, visible and invisible. Be the leader and invincible companion of our Christ-loving army, crowning it with glory and victories over our peers, so that all who oppose us will know that God and His holy Angels are with us. Do not, O Archangel of God, forsake us through your help and intercession, who today glorify your holy name: behold, even though we are many sinners, we do not want to perish in our iniquities, but to turn to the Lord and be quickened by Him to do good deeds.
Illuminate our minds with the light of God, which shines on your lightning-like brow, so that we may understand that God’s will for us is good and perfect, and that we may know all that we should do and that which we should despise and abandon. Strengthen our weak will and weak will with the grace of the Lord, so that, having established ourselves in the law of the Lord, we will cease to be dominated by earthly thoughts and the lusts of the flesh, being carried away, in the likeness of foolish children, by the soon-to-perish beauties of this world, as if for the sake of the corruptible and the earthly, the eternal and heavenly things are foolish to forget. For all of these, ask us from above for the spirit of true repentance, unfeigned sadness for God and contrition for our sins, so that we may spend the remaining number of days of our temporary life, not in pleasing our feelings and working with our passions, but in blotting out the evils we have committed, with tears of faith and contrition of heart, deeds of purity and holy deeds of mercy.
When the hour of our death and liberation from the bonds of this mortal body approaches, do not leave us, Archangel of God, defenseless against the spirits of malice under Heaven, who are accustomed to block the souls of mankind from rising to heaven; May we, guarded by you, reach without stumbling those glorious villages of paradise, where there is no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life, and we will be worthy to see the bright Face of our All-Good Lord and Master and give glory to Him, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Oh, wonderful Archangel of God Gabriel, the most zealous prayer book for our souls, we humbly pray to you, our intercessor: ask for your holy all-powerful prayers before the Throne of God, always offered, to preserve this holy church until the end of this world, to confirm, strengthen and expand the faith of Christ, to Orthodox Christians the patristic Orthodox faith until the end of days preserve ours immaculately, walk unswervingly in all the commandments of the Lord, always bring true repentance for our sins to God, and be honored with a peaceful Christian death and a good answer at the Last Judgment of God. Beg us to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and, together with you, glorify the Most Honorable and Magnificent Name of the Most Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Troparion, tone 4:
Heavenly armies of the Archangel, we always pray to you, we are unworthy, and with your prayers protect us with the shelter of your immaterial glory, preserving us, who fall diligently and cry out: deliver us from troubles, like the commander of the Highest Powers.
Archangel of God, servant of the Divine glory, ruler of angels and mentor of men, ask for what is useful to us and great mercy, like the bodiless Archangel.
Troparion, tone 4:
Heavenly armies of the Archangel, we always pray to you, we are unworthy, and with your prayers protect us with the shelter of your immaterial glory, preserving us, who fall diligently and cry out: deliver us from troubles, like the official of the Highest Powers.
Blessed, and Honest, and Omnipotent, Most Countless and Terrible Trinity, you are, Archangel, glorious servant and prayer book, now unceasingly pray for us to be delivered from all troubles and torments, so we call to you: Rejoice, protection for your servant.
In Heaven in vain God's glory and on earth from on high bestowing grace, chief of the Angels, wise Gabriel, servant of God's glory and champion of divine peace, save, keep those crying out to you: be a helper yourself, and no one else against us.
Irmos: Occasionally immerse Pharaoh’s chariot, the miracle-worker, / striking the rod of Moses in the shape of a cross, / and dividing the sea, and saving Israel, the fugitive pedestrian, // singing the song of God.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
God of all, grant me the gift of words, to Your servant, who is now beginning to praise with songs like the fathers who brightened up at Mount Athos, who fulfilled Your will.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
The Holy Assembly of the Athos Fathers, existing in Athos, we honor with hymns, friends of the Blessed Virgin and Christ God, zealous saints, our warm representatives and unceasing prayers about the salvation of our souls.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
I honor the Great Lavra of the holy creator in songs, Great Athanasius,
the image and mark of the father who was in Athos, in his visions and deeds.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, Most Holy Lady, who sanctified Athos with Your coming; rejoice,
who overthrew the idols there; Rejoice, you who planted true faith in Mountain; Rejoice, you who drove away unbelief from there.
Another canon, voice 1.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
I must praise the glorious Agapius of Vatopedi, who heard the voice of the Mother of God, and enslaved himself, and delivered his master and his sons, for he is free from eternal torment.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Athanasius, the red branch of the Simensky monastery, I praise the life, / of the Divine Akakiy and the Venerable Gabriel of Iveron, / who took the miraculous icon of the Goalkeeper from the sea.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Why not the honorable Gennady, who saw in Vatopedi the miraculous flow of oil from the Mother of God? How can I keep silent about God-bearing George, the creator of the Iveron monastery?
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: When God divided the languages according to the number of His angels, then foreseeing Thee, O Virgin, to be like His Most Pure Mother, set apart this great Mountain for Thee as an inalienable inheritance.
Irmos: The Supreme Creator of the heavenly circle, O Lord, / and the Creator Church, / You confirm me in Your love, / the desires of the land, the true affirmation, / The One who loves mankind.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, you, who have moved by Divine grace, have formed the sacred fence in Mount and brought up many monastics in the pastures of salvation for the help of the Mother of God. But even now, pray for us, your flock, that we may be delivered from all needs and that our souls may be saved.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
I glorify the great theologian and sacred organ of the Holy Spirit, Gregory Palamas, the Light of the uneven spectator, Theology of the faithful, an unfailing mentor.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
It is right to praise the other Gregory, who fasted lightly within the boundaries of the Lavra, and the same name of Gregory the Divine, the monastery I have built for myself.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Theotokos: Rejoice, you who have chosen this Mountain as your lot; Rejoice, you who deigned to be the Intercessor of this place; Rejoice, faithful ones who dwell here, Giver of earthly blessings; Rejoice, Helper of their eternal salvation.
In canon
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
The Simensky monastery will grow Damian, and Philotheev will grow another Damian, the venerable martyr, / and with him the Divine Dometius, and let us please them.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
I sing the wonderful Dionysius, John the Baptist, who created the monastery, and Dometius, Dionysian’s follower.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Dionysius the other, the Iveron branch, and Damascus, the Lavra Divine Fertilizer, are now blessed, as they have received the greatest crowns of suffering together and fasting.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: You, Most Pure Virgin, have always promised to help everyone in this Grief who wage war against the fighter who fights people, / and also, Lady, according to Your promise, do not abandon us, We pray to Thee.
Sedalen, voice 4.
The whole host of angels was horrified, seeing the courage of your soul and struggle, even more than nature, the standard-bearing fathers, as if covered with a material body, incorporeal You will defeat your enemies, and with gratitude you will sing the victorious song of the Lord: Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee, who strengthens the dead nature of men.
Glory: and now:
Your love for mankind terrifies every mind. You showed so much, O Mother of God Mary, to the monastic order of those fasting here: from all the earth I gathered into this great Mountain and as you bestowed this monkship on yours. Great indeed is Your providence for us, Ever-Virgin.
Irmos: You are my fortress, Lord, / You are my strength, / You are my God, You are my joy, / do not leave the bosom of the Father / and visit our poverty. / Therefore, with the prophet Habakkuk, I call You: / to Your strength Glory, Lover of humanity.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Having loved God with all my soul, the venerables accomplished great feats, and they also loved their neighbors warmly, and in various places of Athos they erected monasteries and hostels Naturally they gathered multitudes into Tyya. / Pray, dear fathers who love children, that we too may be doers of love and our souls may be saved.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
With songs I honor the abbot of Vatopedi, Euthymius, / who was quickly bound with chains and plunged into the depths of the seas, / who exposed the intent of the Latin wise and the crown of torment at the hand of the Lord there is an unfading bud.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
I also sing the praises of another honorable Euthymius, the creator of the Iveron monastery, as when I once served God, I saw a pillar shaped like the sun from those with him. And I sing to the creator of Dochiar, another venerable Euthymius.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Theotokos: Rejoice, warm Intercessor for those living in Your lot; Rejoice, you who promised the mercy of Your Son to this place until the end of the age; Rejoice, His grace that foretold would never fail; Rejoice, joy and salvation of our souls.
In canon
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
It is worthy to praise Theodosius, the mentor of the Philotheevian monastery, and Theophanes the faster, the Dochiar monastery of Divine fertilizer, and the highly intelligent Theolippus of Philadelphia, the servant of the Honest Trinity faithful.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
How can I leave Theon unpraised, the luminary of the monastery of Pantocrator and the saint after the former Thessalonite? How can the words not resemble Theophilus, the myrrh-streaming, emitting fragrance above all others?
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Let us praise the sacred monastery of Iveron, the creator, John the Reverend, Euthymius according to the flesh of his father, and with him the packs of the Iveron branch, Jacob the God-wise and Jacob the other, steadfast Let us remember the venerable martyrs of Christ.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: How great is Your providence for this Mountain, O Lady! You advertised that you would be a mentor and teacher in virtues to all who live well in it, a nourisher and doctor of their souls and bodies.
Irmos: Thou hast cast me away from Thy presence, O Light that never passes away, / and a strange darkness has covered me, the accursed one, / but turn me also to the light of Thy commandments / my ways guide me, I pray.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Reverend fathers of Athos, you, like the glory of the sweet voice, living in the midst of the wilds of the Holy Mountain, have always participated in the saving name of Jesus, enlightening your mind with the Divine light and hearts Delightingly from there, exuding joy, even with your prayers, give to us who remember you.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
I praise Joasaph of the venerable Dionysian monastery in song, for, rejoicing, he poured out his blood to eat for the love of all the King Christ and received the crown of torment.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
It is truly fitting to praise the great Callista in songs, the wise and God-inspired organ of grace, and the decoration of the Iveron monastery and the glorious shepherd.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Theotokos: Rejoice, O Virgin, for through Thy autumn blessing upon the Mountain the strength of the Most High; Rejoice, you who planted a spiritual heliport by the grace of God in His inheritance; Rejoice, for the abundance and wilds thereof are filled with monks; Rejoice, for there are many saints in Athos praying for the salvation of our souls.
In canon
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
A significant branch of the Zograf monastery, may the Venerable Cosmas, who saw the Mother of God with his eyes, be honored in the songs, and may the Hieromartyr Constantius, also in the Lavra, be honored with him wait a while.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Rejoice in the Lord, O monastery of Kutlumus, for within your borders Cyprian the Great, the priest and martyr of Christ, prospered.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Like a mother in children, the Dionysian monastery rejoices: it glorifies the honorable Macarius, the new martyr, and Leonty, who gloriously exuded fragrant myrrh from the grave.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: Who does not rejoice, hearing Your promise, Most Immaculate Youth? You advertise that you present those who live well here to Your Son and God, asking for forgiveness of their sins.
Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, / for my iniquities are many, / and bring me up from the depths of evil, I pray, / for I have cried out to You, and hear me, / God of my salvation.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Reverend fathers of Athos, you, having accomplished many different feats, have flown from the Sowing Mountain to the Heavenly Mountains and, having established your dwelling there, now rest in your souls yourselves, like the golden and all-kind doves, where you remember us, who praise you.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Laurels’ sacred education with songs we honor, / bodiless in the flesh, God-in-heaven Maxim, / from the Divine Spirit received the rich gift of prophecy.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
At the Vatopedi monastery I honor the Divine branches, the glorious Neophyte, who heard the voice of the Pure Virgin Mary, and among the monks the shining Nicodemus.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Theotokos: Rejoice, for you always look upon Your inheritance; Rejoice, for you have been granted the grace of God and His mercy; Rejoice, thou who strengthenest the hearts of Thy servants on the stone of the commandments of Christ; Rejoice, you who bring down the blessing of Your Son upon us.
In Canon Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
The monasteries of Dionysus are a fair amount of fertilizer, wake up for duty, wonderful Niphonte, Constantine of the city, former shepherd and all the venerable leaders.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Rejoice, honorable monastery of Dochiar, having been enriched by the glorious creator, the wise Neophyte, enriched with all virtue, like a fruitful tree.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Faster of Kareya, you too rejoice in the Divine Dus, / having blossomed the glorious Nectarios, the sweetest water of virtues and similar merchants.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: By Thy prayer, Mother of God, protected as with a strong armor, the Sowing Mountains of the Lord conquered all the demonic hosts and received the honor of victory.
You who have enraged this Mountain, and who have shown the life of angels in it, and the fathers who have gathered many monks, come, we praise you all, crying out to them: deliver us from all troubles and temptations, many saints, Athos praise.
Oh, if your union is good, Fathers of God’s Wisdom! Oh, how beautiful and sweet is this common holiday of yours, in which all of you, in this mountain of shining saints, are known in full and without name, in common praise, like spiritual brothers, accept! It is fitting that in one place the Lord should please those who were pleased to celebrate on one day. For this reason, we, also in Athos, the monks and the world, gathered together in one place, dutifully please you, the novians - the ancients and the sons - the fathers, according to the cry: this place, in Please live, save from all evil, many saints, Athos praise.
Irmos: The youths of the Jews in the cave/ boldly asked for the flame and turned the fire into the dew, crying out:/ Blessed are you, O Lord God, forever.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Reverend fathers, who rose in Athos, with the rays of virtues and Divine gifts, you illuminate this Mountain, like many-bright stars, and Heaven is another place of your display of exploits, dispersing the fierce demonic darkness. Don’t stop praying for us to the Lord.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
One of the saints from Athos, Niphon the God-bearing appeared, who lived like a bird within the boundaries of the Lavra / and received a prophetic gift from God.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Nile, the myrrh-streamer of the Lavra, and Nicodemus, the flower of Kafsokali, the former and new martyr beloved of Christ, worthily boasted in songs and songs.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Theotokos: Rejoice, O All-Generous Giver of all gifts to Thy servant; Rejoice, in battle, in illness and labor, their most merciful Comforter; Rejoice, you who arrange for them a prosperous life on earth and an all-blessed life in Heaven; Rejoice, hope and salvation of our souls.
In Canon Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
How could it be that in the person of the Divine Father the noble Nicephorus, who lived silently in the wilderness and spiritual gifts, was honored worthily?
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Paul, ktitor of two abodes, Georgiev and Xiropotamia, fasters of kindness, who shone at his death like another sun, let him boast in songs.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
I sing a song to Pachomius, the Divine branch of Kafsokaly, the new martyr of Christ, who received the special crown from the hand of the Lord.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: You are the Lady of the world, Ever-Virgin, and even more than the sowing Mountains, you are the Lady and Representative, saving this one from all temptation and harm.
Irmos: The sevenfold furnace / Chaldean tormentor / furiously kindled the godly, / by the best power of salvation, having seen, / cried out to the Creator and Deliverer: / children, bless, / priests, sing, / people, exalt to all ages.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Athos, nun and guardian, according to the Mother of God, our intercessor and diversity of beneficence and watchfulness, pillars of fire, standing with love and joy around the Mother of Light, do not cease praying for us to the Lord.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Peter, the first in Athos, is revered as the silent one in Athos, having lived the immaterial life and having driven away in the flesh the incorporeal demons who walked naked all his life/ and was granted the gifts of the Holy Spirit richly, Our Lady of prayers.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Roman is glorious, the adornment of the fasters and the joy of the martyr of Christ, let us honor in songs, for whom the Lavra fasting woman flourished, like a fragrant thorn.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Theotokos: Rejoice, our Guardian in the present age; Rejoice, Representative and shameless hope in the future; Rejoice, you who give entrance to all good things; Rejoice, you who repelled all evil from Your lot.
In Canon Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
May Savva be praised, the Divine Hierarch, who received miracles from Christ and enlightened the Serbian land like the sun, together with Simeon, his father according to the flesh, and his son according to to the spirit who exuded fragrant myrrh from the grave, the Divine creator of the Hilandar monastery.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
With songs we honor Simeon, the great mentor of the Philotheus monastery, and the myrrh-streaming Simon, who on the rock created a monastery exceeding the highest with the instruction of the heavenly stars and the power of miracles from God received and power over unclean spirits.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Play again and rejoice, honorable monastery of Dionysius, who raised the Divine Philotheus, adornment of the fasting people, whom the Mother of God Mary delivered from prison, / whose honorable head is like the sun, prosiya.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: On the high and bright throne, O Lady, you appeared, seated, all shining, / and the faces of the monks were indescribable, standing around You, / on the midday borders of Athos and the Holy The mountains are all around, and they appear like pillars of fire, which the fathers praise today.
Irmos: Heaven was horrified at this, / and the ends of the earth were amazed, / for God appeared as a man in the flesh, and Your womb was the most spacious of Heaven. Tem Cha,
The Mother of God, the Angels and the people of the ranks are magnified.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Reverend fathers of Athos, / Queen of Heaven's army, the beginnings of darkness, who helped her to overcome, who killed the flesh and quickened the spirit, / who received the Divine action of grace, do not cease praying for us to the Lord.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Rejoice, the venerable monastery of Vatopedi, enriched by the twelve sufferers of the same saints, who courageously exposed Tsar Michael and Patriarch John of Latin wisdom, and also the betrayal of the former death, strangulation, and greater crowns from God.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Rejoice, O honorable monastery of Iveron, for thou hast brought much to God from thy children, venerable martyrs, who were cast into the depths of the sea, for the false words of the wise men of Latin expose.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Theotokos: Rejoice, all the monasteries of the Mountain are fenced off by Her; Rejoice, because all the machinations of the enemy are being destroyed; Rejoice, you who incline your Son toward us for goodness sake: Rejoice, because your servants have boldness toward Him.
In canon
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
Play and rejoice, you too, O monastery of Zograf, who brought your sons to the Lord, the twenty and four Divine Martyrs, who put to shame the courage of the Latins, like burnt offerings sacred, finished by fire.
Reverend Fathers of Athos, pray to God for us.
And you, honorable fasting woman of Kareya, rejoice now and rejoice, for you too have brought your children to Christ, steadfast monastic martyrs, who were cut by the sword at the head, having defended You will abolish paternal dogma and Latin charm.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Trinitarian: Receive, O All-Holy, Honest Trinity, which Mount Athos offers to You, as the firstfruits of the chosen sacrifice, all that has pleased You first and after in it, known and unknown, and through their prayers save us all from all harm.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokos: All of us who live in this Mountain bring songs of thanksgiving to Thee, Mother of God, as you always save us from every situation, feed us, provide for us, and provide for us. But we pray to You and the Divine Kingdom after the death of our lord.
“On the day on which... the Russian Church celebrates the general feast of All Russian Saints, Holy Mount Athos celebrates the common feast of all its saints... Mount Athos with the host of its devotees is of the greatest importance for the Orthodox Russian Church. On Mount Athos are the roots of all Russian asceticism. Due to the significance of the Athonite ascetics for the Russian Orthodox Church and for the Russian people, it would be appropriate in our Church Charter to celebrate the common holiday of all the saints of Athonite. But the Russian Church now cannot celebrate this holiday at the same time as Athos on the second Sunday after Pentecost, because on this day we have our own great holiday. Therefore, the feast of the Athonite saints should be moved to another day, and best of all to the previous Saturday.
Then our celebration of the Athonite saints will not be too distant from their celebration on Mount Athos, it will also correspond on Saturday on cheese week to the celebration of all the saints and, most importantly, will be a kind of pre-celebration for the spring feast of All Russian Saints" (Athanasius (Sakharov), bishop. About the feast of All Saints who shone in the Russian land, and about the service for this holiday // Service to All Saints in the land Russian beaming / Comp.: Bishop Afanasy Kovrovsky (Sakharov).
The chosen ones of the Lord, the spiritually fragrant flowers of the garden of Jesus, from the Holy Mount Athos to the heavenly ascension city, and the boldness to the Lord who has acquired, We pray to you, God-bearing fathers, with your prayers free us from all troubles, and we call to you in praise: Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for your zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
The angels in the flesh and the people of heaven are truly faster, the fathers of God-bearing, the life of equal angels in the deserts of Athos is older, the equality of angels in heaven appeared, not at all bright With the rays of your prayers you illuminate the darkness of our souls with grace, and with the image of your godly life you guide us on the path to salvation, calling to you from the heart:
Rejoice, unflickering lamps of God's grace.
Rejoice, pillars of the steadfastness of the Holy Orthodox Church.
Rejoice, ascetics of virtue, who have enriched Athos with your exploits.
Rejoice, followers of God's wisdom, for miracles shining throughout the entire universe.
Rejoice, beads of spirituality, who have arisen from the abundance of Athos in Zion on high.
Rejoice, for the goodness of your souls has pleased the Lord Jesus.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
We see you, Reverend Fathers Peter and Athanasius, in the Cathedral of the Saints of Athos, who received the primacy, and the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos greatly blessed you; Moreover, as the God-wise duo, who served the Divine Trinity well, we please you with songs of praise, venerable fathers, and with a cry to the Triune God who glorified you: Alleluia.
The heavenly mind is acquisitive, the fathers of God, and all the good things of this world have despised, in Mount Athos you have found spiritual peace in Christ, and with Christ you abide in the Kingdom of Heaven; From here we too, overwhelmed by the troubles of the sea of life, pacify us with grace with your prayers, and in the silence of the spirit we will sing to you, our intercessor, the following songs:
Rejoice, you who have passed through the passionate depths of the sea through the nourishment of Christ.
Rejoice, you have safely reached the harbor of salvation.
Rejoice, the sail of faith, hope and love invisibly preserved the ship of your souls from the storm of passions.
Rejoice, for having strengthened him through fasting and prayer.
Rejoice, God-bright stars, who gracefully illuminate our sinful night.
Rejoice, for the light of your virtues spiritually enlightens our dark souls.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
By the power of Christ, the holiness of God, Athanasius, Calliste, Nifonte, Theono, Gregory and many others, shone in Athos, shepherds of Christ’s Church, Pray, we pray, the Chief Shepherd Christ, that He will save us, the lost sheep, for salvation and make us worthy to imitate your Godly wisdom, and to live well in this time, pleasing to God and righteously experience the end of your life and sing to Him together with you: Alleluia.
Having one zeal, to please the only Christ, and to serve Him faithfully with veneration and righteousness, Blessed Fathers, praise and confirmation appeared to Athos and The lot of the Mother of God with your holy deeds will be spiritually beautiful, together with Her pray to the Lord, Her Son and God, who is not deprived of being and for us the good part of those saved by love of mankind Christ, let us call you with gratitude and praise:
Rejoice, O King of Heaven, warriors of invincibility, who fought against invisible enemies under the sign of the Cross.
Rejoice, Queen of Heaven, chosen servant, Her earthly lot, glorified by your virtues.
Rejoice, the joy of Heaven and the glory of the saints are worthy of the heir.
Rejoice, the bliss of paradise and the light of eternal participation.
Rejoice, from the heights of your glory you come mercifully to the earthly creatures.
Rejoice, you who visit us as fathers, your children and the verbal sheep of your pasture.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
The storms of life were wisely avoided, and the kingdom of earth was replaced by the Kingdom of Heaven by the good traitor, the myrrh-streamer Simeon and Saint Savvo, Serbian praise and the Hilendar monastery ktitori sparse; Moreover, Christ glorify you with glorious miracles, and instead of the temporary blessings you left for His love, enrich you with imperishable and eternal blessings. Pray to Him diligently, fathers It is worthy of praise that salvation in Christ may come to us, sinners, who call to Him with compassion: Alleluia.
Having heard about your labors, we marveled, reverend fathers of Athos, who made the Holy Mountain with your residence into another heaven, and from it you ascended comfortably to the Heavenly Mountain, even though with your souls you now dwell in Jerusalem on high and enjoy the sweet sight of Christ. But as kindness is an imitation of Spasov’s mercy, mercifully overshadow us, humble and sinners, with your prayers, and instruct us on the path to salvation, and let us all joyfully call to you:
Rejoice, heavenly eagles, who flew from the valleys of Athos to the Heavenly Mountain.
Rejoice, sweet-singing gussets who filled the desert of Athos with song and prayer.
Rejoice, the mountain has been illuminated by the trisolar light.
Rejoice, miracles of grace and healing given by the Lord to glorification.
Rejoice, for your reward is abundant in heaven.
Rejoice, for your souls shine like the sun in the light of the saints.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
The God-bright stars appeared to John, George and Euthymius Iverstia, Neophyte and Euthymius Dochiarstia, Simeon, Paul, Dionysius and Gregory, the monasteries of Athos the first and founder of all-honesty, to you Gregory of Sinai, Dionysius of Olympia, Simeon, Theophanes and Evdokim the wonderworkers, Gennady and Nectarius the fasters, as if shining with virtues, yes will match. We pray to you, all-blessed fathers, who now dwell in the abodes not made by hands and eternal: do not cease with your prayers to preserve and keep us, your spiritual children, from the snares and snares of the enemy the devil, that we may be saved by your holy heavenly intercession, we call to the Savior God: Alleluia.
We see you, God-bearing fathers, who have kept all the commandments of Christ well, and who have diligently applied themselves to spiritual wisdom, and in your image we are instructing, we are shaking off soul-harming laziness from ourselves, to exploits But we extend ourselves spiritually, having you to the asceticism of spiritual teachers and leaders. For this reason we call you with gratitude:
Rejoice, tearful seeker of the bliss of heaven.
Rejoice, constant prayer to God for the peace of the whole world.
Rejoice, your souls have been nourished by fasting for salvation.
Rejoice, all-night vigils and long-lasting defeat of the invisible enemy who has overthrown the strong.
Rejoice, weeping for those who have quenched the kindled arrows of the devil’s temptations.
Rejoice, who sighed from the depths of the desert of Athos and spiritually fertilized it.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
Preacher of the holy faith, Apostle of Christ, zealously imitate in the preaching of the Gospel of truth, Cosmos Equal to the Apostles, Damian, Niketos, Cyprian and James with two disciples Yours, who fought to the death for the name of Christ, received a martyr’s death, crown bearers of good victories, and now you reign with Christ forever in the abodes of heaven, His diligently Pray that we too may not be deprived of the inheritance of Heaven, crying out to Him: Alleluia.
Shine forth on Athos, like the luminaries of God's radiance, blessed fathers, and illumine the whole universe with your miracles, from the east to the north your saints, your names and The exploits of the early angelic life of your praise are gratified by the following:
Rejoice, all-joyful messenger of Christ’s omnipotence and strength.
Rejoice, strong-hearted ascetics, who crushed the head of the proud Belial.
Rejoice, good healers of mental and physical ailments.
Rejoice in knowing the propitiation of the King of Heaven, Christ God.
Rejoice, warriors of the clergy, dressed in holiness and truth.
Rejoice, having received power from the Lord over unclean spirits.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
To those who want to live piously for Christ, you show in yourself the image of a godly and silent life, like the desert dweller Maxim, Cosmos and Akaki, and the myrrh-streamers Nile and Theophilus, in in the deserts of Athos, who labored equally angelically, and to you also the Venerable Anthony of Pechersk, who was spiritually educated in Athos, is worthily reckoned with, like the pioneer of monastic life in Russia done. Pray to the Lord, God-bearing fathers, that together with you, we, in humility, may be deemed worthy to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and, in the joy of the saints, sing praises to our Creator forever: Alleluia.
New Zion has appeared as the Holy Mountain of Athos, where from the east, north, and south have come the spiritual children, blessing the Lord in songs of praise: for behold, the splendid assembly of the holy fathers who lived sanctified on Athos gathers us today to honor their struggles and labors and to cry out to them thus:
Rejoice, glorious beloved of God, having amazed the Angels by the greatness of your struggles.
Rejoice, most glorious wonderworkers, aiding mankind in distress and sorrow.
Rejoice, gracious blossoming of the wilderness of Athos.
Rejoice, spiritual beauty and joy of the Holy Orthodox Church.
Rejoice, earnest intercessors for our joy and eternal glory.
Rejoice, swift fulfillers of our good desires.
Rejoice, holy fathers of Athos, earnest intercessors for our souls.
Strangely and gloriously, you walked silently across the sea, O Reverend Gabriel, and you brought the icon of the Divine Goalkeeper Athos for blessing and sanctification; To you, God-bearer John Kukuzel, the Most Holy Theotokos Herself appeared and from the hands of Her Most Pure Ones wonderfully bestowed a gold platter, and you sang songs of praise to Her incessantly. Marveling at the many miracles of God, we cry out to God: Alleluia.
The whole Holy Mount Athos and all its desert and fields manifest the blessing of God in themselves: of them are the fruitful trees of Jesus' paradise, the cathedral of the great holy fathers Athonite, who are satisfied with spiritual fruits, with a grateful heart and mouth the following verb to them:
Rejoice, angels of earth and people of Heaven.
Rejoice, smell the fragrance of the desert vegetation.
Rejoice, having enraged Mount Athos with your Heavenly virtues.
Rejoice, you who intercede before the Lord for the whole Christian world.
Rejoice, chosen ones of God, your election has been witnessed by many miracles.
Rejoice, crown bearers of good victories, crowned by the right hands of Christ.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
All the Angels of Heaven were amazed at the majesty of your feat and patience, Reverend Martyr Zografstia, before the appearance of Thomas and your retinue, from the Latins for the Orthodox faith, burning, and sacrifice is pleasing to God to appear: your names are written in heaven, in the lower part of the eternal belly, and are confessed by Christ God before the Heavenly Father, Who is joyfully martyrdom in His face sing: Alleluia.
Vitii of the vanity of humanity, declaring the violence of being, spiritual asceticism, putting to shame your exploits and miracles, our reverend fathers Athos: who will not be touched by seeing, As you have neglected everything earthly, you have striven with all your soul to the Heavenly Ones, and even as you seek, you have achieved the most luminous sight of Christ. For this reason we praise you:
Rejoice, holy language, royal sanctification, people of renewal.
Rejoice, spiritual salt of all the earth, which will not overcome you forever.
Rejoice, proclaimers of the righteousness of Christ, who came out from the world to serve God.
Rejoice, you have been called from every generation into the sweet work of the Lord.
Rejoice, you who have lifted a good yoke upon all and followed the Lord Christ sincerely.
Rejoice, having received eternal rest for your souls in heaven from Christ the Hero.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
To the Savior God, who delivered you from the bitter work of sin, send up a song of praise, strive to suffer for Christ, the Most Holy Martyrs Macarius, Hilarion, Pachomius, Constantine, Onuphrie, Procopius, Luko, Timothy, Agafangel and many others, who came from Athos and Christ before the Hagarians, who confessed, for the Unworthy you suffered to the point of blood and laid down your souls, Now you rejoice as martyrs and sweetly sing to Him: Alleluia.
The King of Heavenly Christ has appeared, O God-bearing fathers, who have received the reward of your labor from the unworthy reward of your labor, your spiritual children according to faith in your image, you are traveling to Him. It’s not false, but from us you will hear the chickadee songs worthy of you:
Rejoice, for the Angels rejoice and men glorify God.
Rejoice, for whom the Holy Mount Athos has been spiritually adorned from generation to generation.
Rejoice, dew-bearing clouds, cooling the heat of our passions.
Rejoice, fruitful olive trees that anoint our hearts with the oil of your labors.
Rejoice, adamants of patience, shining with the rays of God's grace.
Rejoice, pillars of Orthodoxy, your miracles confirming those who waver in the faith.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
The singing of the Most Holy Trinity brings forth, the trinity of new new martyrs in Athos ascended spiritually: Euthymius, Ignatius and Akakios of all virtues, the Hagaryan wickedness disgraced the name of Christ before The Hagarites, who gloriously confessed and received their martyrdom from them, now live with Christ, singing to Him the song of victory: Alleluia.
With the bright rays of your miracles, all-blessed fathers, Mount Athos is spiritually illuminated and blesses you according to duty, as its Heavenly intercessors and patrons; We, who honor your deeds and sufferings, out of spiritual love, bring you this praise with humility and faith:
Rejoice, the healing ointment of God flows abundantly to us.
Rejoice, doctors have cured mental and physical ailments.
Rejoice, you who demand from us only faith to heal ailments.
Rejoice, you who received Tuna, who gave us the grace of healing.
Rejoice, thou who hast given us spiritual and soul-saving gifts.
Rejoice, in troubles and sorrows you are our helper and comforter.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
The grace of God to the chosen vessels, all our reverend fathers Athos, naming and not naming, by your bright council hasten to help us in times of our helplessness and from You will deliver from the vain and arrogant death of those who honor you through your favorable intercession to the Lord, so let us gratefully call to Him: Alleluia.
Singing your holy and equal angelic life and your many miracles, our reverend fathers Athos, we praise, glorify and magnify Christ God, the Sanctifier, who glorified you saints and the Creator of wonderworkers, who poured out on you the abundance of His grace-filled gifts, we honor you, our saints and many-powerful representatives, with these titles:
Rejoice, teachers of monks and interlocutors of Angels.
Rejoice, friends of all saints and dreams of God.
Rejoice, citizens of the shining city of Jerusalem.
Rejoice, heavenly protector of your earthly abodes.
Rejoice, strengthening and intercession of the Orthodox monks.
Rejoice, vigilant intercessor for the whole world.
Rejoice, reverend fathers of Athos, for the zeal for the souls of our prayer books.
About our venerable fathers Athos, God-given intercessor and protector, you are in heaven, we are down on earth, removed from you not only by place, but by sinful impurity ours, we both dare to bring you this little song of praise, and we pray and ask you for one thing: beg the Savior Christ to save us from eternal torment and make us worthy of the kingdom of Heaven, yes with you we will sing to Him forever: Alleluia.
(This kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1)
About the blessedness and holy fathers, reverends, hierarchs, holy martyrs and monastic martyrs, myrrh-streamers and wonderworkers, earthly angels and heavenly people, sowing the Holy Mountains, inhabitants and adornment, according to the Mother of God, our representation before the Lord, beneficence and admonishment, the royal victorious militia, which in the body defeated the disembodied demons, the Queen of Heaven, the Most Pure Mother of God blossom, the light-fruitful tree of this mental paradise of the Ever-Virgin, the ever-flowing river of spiritual gifts! Accept this praiseworthy word that we bring to you, as the Lord accepts widows two mites, and embrace the common celebration that we celebrate in honor and memory of you, as the stench of fragrance and the sacrifice is acceptable: not the imams, but what else should our benefactor bring out of debt for the great good deeds that we received and the imams came from you.
To her, we confess that for our sake we are not worthy of living in this place and being called your sons, but for your kindness you do not deny being our fathers. Do not forget us, humble ones, but keep your holy monasteries and all monasteries and cells and us living in them, preserve and deliver from all temptation and misfortune in this life, and in the future yes Through your holy prayers let us be honored with bliss together with you, sons with their fathers, the flock with their shepherds, disciples with their teachers, and may we hear from you that blessed voice To the Lord: behold, we and the children have given to us, Lord! And, rejoicing, let us give all glory, honor and worship to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Irmos: In the depths of the post, sometimes the Pharaonic all-army is a re-armed power, but the incarnate Word of all-evil sin consumed food, the glorified Lord, gloriously glorified.
Chorus: Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
I fought a good fight, O martyr, and became a good doctor, healed my illnesses, and held the fire with your watering, giving me perfect health.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Deliver me from fierce diseases, O Panteleimon, and quickly take away my due infirmity from me, and grant me the final healing, as I please the great intercessor with faith. you.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Healer of souls and bodies, heal my fierce passions, both physical and spiritual, that have flowed, O Panteleimon, under your saving roof, martyr of Spasov, for I please you with praises you.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Thou art of mercy, Pure One, who gave birth to the gracious Word of God, heal the illness of your servant, and quickly grant healing and health to those who ask for your mercy by faith.
Irmos: The desert has flourished like the Crean of the Lord, the pagan barren church, by Your coming, my heart has been established in it.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Having destroyed the many-witted torment, dear passion-bearer, live by your giving deeds in Christ, mortify the passions of weaning from the sick, through your prayer.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
My soul, corrupted by evil thoughts and deeds, has been corrupted by ulcers, O glorious one, grant healing through your visit, and do not leave me to perish, the accursed one, I pray.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
You have quenched the heat of godlessness by the flow of your blood, O passion-bearer, and hereby I pray to you, set me free from the fire of illness.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
I will cast my many sins, Pure One, into the abyss of ailments, but She, Pure One, will nourish me to the silence of health, Mother of God.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
Let us praise the great sufferer of the piety of Christ with the light of Panteleimon, the vernia, the psalms and the pennies and the spiritual songs, having trampled upon the torment of the invisible enemy by the power of the Divine, and healing of ailments is richly granted from the Lord, who faithfully celebrate his Divine and honest holiday.
Slava:
Ermolai the wise, martyr, you listened to your words and abandoned your earthly art, as it is vile, as it is not strong, as it is destructive, having Christ’s passions, teachings of life in your heart, giving health to those who suffer without healing, Panteleimon. Moreover, pray for those who create your memory with love.
And now:
We are overwhelmed by passionate worries, the unscrupulous one, Pure One, I call upon You warmly: do not despise me, the accursed one, and perish, having given birth to the abyss of mercy, unless You have no hope Imam, let joy and laughter not be the enemy, I hope in You, I will appear, for you can do whatever you want, as the Mother of God of all.
Irmos: You came from the Virgin, not an intercessor, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself incarnate, and you saved all of me; Therefore I call to you: glory to your power, Lord.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Heal my incurably aching flesh, O gratuitous physician, receiving the gift of healing from God, and do not disgrace me, from my hope praying to you with faith.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
With your medicines, Panteleimon, heal the diseases that kill me, and bring me to health, as with joy and joy I glorify you, the most blessed one.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Hear my painful words, holy one, your servant cries out to you, like the blind man of old, heal, I pray, the one who is desperate and approaching hell.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
As we pray to You, the Master of all, with faith, bring a prayer to Your Son and our God, that He may deliver Your servant, O Pure One, from the misfortune that besets us.
Irmos: You were an intercessor for God and a man, O Christ God: By You, O Master, to Your Father, the source of light, from the night of ignorance, brought the imams.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
You raised the dead of old, Panteleimon, so help this servant of yours, we pray to you, and soon grant him perfect healing.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Heal many ailments that flow to you with faith, so heal me, and do not disgrace my hope, do not disgrace me, martyr Panteleimon.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Source of many gifts of the Spirit, Panteleimon, quench the sorrow of my illness, and heal, blessed one, the paralytic.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
As fire consumes me, O Most Pure Lady, an illness, deliver me from it, and save me with Your prayers, as the Life of all has ineffably given birth.
Irmos: Lying in the abyss of sin, I call upon the unsearchable abyss of Your mercy: from aphids, God lift me up.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Having received the gift of blessed hopes, and fulfill my hope, suddenly save me from the mortal disease that beset me, Panteleimon.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
The sea overwhelms me with ailments, show me your quiet refuge, O holy one, having sent down your saving help, your servant cries to you.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
O blessed one, ease the burden of despondency and indisposition towards your intercession, Panteleimon.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Thy warm help, O Most Pure One, shower Thy servant who is burning with sins and overcome by bodily ailments, trembling.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
O imitator of the Merciful, and receive healing grace from Him, passion-bearer and martyr of Christ God, with Your prayers heal our spiritual ailments, drive away the ever-fighting temptations from those who cry it is true: save us, Lord.
Ikos:
Let us piously sing the memory of the unmercenary, the noble sufferer, the faithful healer, lovers of Christ, so that we may receive mercy, rather than desecrate our own churches: He gives healing to souls and bodies, beloved ones. Let us strive, faithful brethren, to have his strength in our hearts, delivering us from the flattery that cries out: Thank you, Lord.
Irmos: The ungodly command of the lawless tormentor raised a high flame: Christ spread spiritual dew to the Godly youth, He is Blessed and Glorified.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
You remained motionless during the time of torment, Panteleimon, yet you were fiercely possessed by fierce diseases, and heal your servant in need, so that your intercession may be glorified by faith.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Having seen you rich in mercy, the most merciful God, wise Panteleimon, granted you grace to give healing; Moreover, I pray to you diligently, heal the ailments of my mind.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
You have broken the bonds of the enemy of the villain with spiritual weapons, wisely, and we also pray to you: bound by illness and in need, heal the sick, so that we may always honor your intercession.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Heal the contrition of man, O Most Pure One, who gave birth to God ineffably, pray to Him, as the Most Good, give healing to me, O Virgin, to Thy servant, be kind to the suffering.
Irmos: Sometimes the fiery furnace in Babylon separates the actions, scorching the Chaldeans by God's command, and watering the faithful, singing: bless all the works of the Lord the Lord.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Dan was faithful, fence, wall and medicine, holy, fair, also, my mental ulcers, wise, heal, and ease bodily illnesses, Panteleimon, lute holding me.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
To your merciful cover, those who flow have taken away every illness, and now visit your servant, who resorts to you with faith, and deliver him from various ailments.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Direct, O Pure One, to the haven of health, distressed by illness, and immersed in the depths, and do not let me perish, seeking your Divine help through love, by which the faithful are saved.
Irmos: The Beginningless Parent, the Son, God and Lord, incarnated from the Virgin, appeared to us, darkened to enlighten, gathered scattered, thereby we magnify the All-Singing Mother of God.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
Like the light, like the sun, you have risen, blessed one, enlightening everyone with rays of healing, and we pray to you with faith: you will soon be delivered from illnesses and heavy darkness overwhelmed.
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, pray to God for us.
We pray to you now, Saint Panteleimon, we fall down and pray warmly to you, overcome the mortal illness from the slander of severe illnesses by visiting him, so that love pleases you.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
A day of health will dawn on your servant, who lies in the night of a fierce illness, so that he may come to your honest church with a grateful heart, confessing your grace, Panteleimon.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Good Lady! By Your merciful mania, I have taken away my many sins from my sorrow, and delivered from the sicknesses and infirmities that beset me, so that I may gratefully please Thee, the Lady, who is according to my inheritance. Bless you all.
Irmos: Pharaoh’s chariot immersed / sometimes working wonders / Moses’ rod, striking in the form of a cross / and dividing the sea, / Israel’s fugitive, saving the pedestrian, / chanting the song of God.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Having become the name of immortality, / life having ended, you appeared to the true one, Father Athanasius, / immortality’s friend, having passed away from the temporal, // but, standing before Christ, remember us, those who remember you.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Pious from the former soft nails, reverend, / to the virtue of acquiring parents, deprivation was in no way prohibited, / / but you turned all your desire with all your strength and diligence to the one Creator.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
From the evil walls, I boldly sing praise to you,/ I have become the recipient of your desires and an ally of love, // but, Father, be merciful and let me bring you this praise according to your inheritance.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
You, the Ancient of Days, gave birth to Your Childhood, more than words, / showing a new path of virtue on earth, / His saint, Your dear friend Athanasius, the Youth, / love We are consumed, I have created this church for You.
Irmos: Establish the Heavens in the beginning with your mind/ and the foundation of the earth on the waters,/ on the rock of me, Christ, establish Your commandments,/ as there is nothing holy, more than You,/ You alone, the Lover of Mankind.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
From childhood he was already taken to God by love, / gathering his peers from children and composing his face, he spiritually read, // children’s wisdom, taking away these customs. .
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Passing over wisdom with desire,/ you came to the prudent city of Constantine, the wise God,/ like a wise bee, and, lustfully pure from words, the coven,// left the useless you are.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
With the sail, Father, the Cross nourished your spiritual ship, / you escaped the cruel sinking of life comfortably and easily, / and you brought you to the silence of the Divine havens, rejoicing.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Who, before the ages, was born from the Father inexpressibly/ and finally from Thy womb passed and deified our nature, O Mother of the Virgin, // Who hath plagued the faces of the likes.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
From my youth I left all the things of life, red and stucco, / you diligently followed Him who called you, O Reverend, / and on the frame we take up the Cross of your Lord, in fasting, Father, you exhausted your body thou art, / so that the All-merciful Lord, O blessed Athanasius, will arrange for the good of the shepherd of His sheep. / Pray to Christ the God of forgiveness of sins to grant // to those who honor holy love your memory.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen.
Like the Virgin and one among wives, You, who without seed gave birth to God's flesh,/ we please all, giving birth to humanity:/ For fire has taken up residence in you of the Divinity,/ and, like a Child, you feed on milk Creator and Lord./ Thus, the angelic and human race, we worthily glorify Thy most holy Nativity/ and in accordance with Ti’s cry:/ pray to Christ the God to grant forgiveness of sins// to those who worship by faith in Thy most holy Nativity.
Irmos: You are my fortress, Lord, / You are my strength, / You are my God, You are my joy, / do not leave the bosom of the Father, / and visit our poverty. / Thus, with the prophet Habakkuk, I call to You: / Glory to Your strength, Lover of mankind.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Creating the mind of the passions, / and we instruct with Divine laws, and with the commandments of God we assure, / the child of conversation, and the evil host, and the dancing of demons, piously object, // Like a wise man, choosing what is best.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
We accepted the light yoke of the Savior, and we are composed of Divine fear,/ and having cleansed the body and soul, you were the purity and chastity of wine,// and the limit of abstinence, and the seal of dispassion, and the image of love, Afanasy.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
You have already passed through us, and you have passed through the external punishment of philosophy, vegetative and decisive, / you have passed through each time, protected by righteousness, // by wisdom and judgment, humility and reason and frost red talents.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
We wear the terrible plait of Cherubim, the Lord on the throne, like a fiery one, / in Thy, Pure One, indwelling the womb and flesh with the acceptance of the human being, // as a fair one teaches Venerable Athanasius, One All-Singing One.
Irmos: Thou hast cast me away / from Thy presence, O Light that never enters, / and an alien darkness has covered me, O accursed one, / but turn me also to the light of Thy commandments / my ways guide me, I pray.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
You appeared like a magnet, attracting with sweetness, Father, your words/ to punishment and obedience by the teachings that were entrusted to you,// to constantly behold and see your honest and joyful face.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Following the Divine Law and obeying the command of the Creator,/ the Lawgiver appeared as a monk and the most famous rule,/ a punisher for the foolish, and a mentor for the erring// and a lamp in darkness, more glorious.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
This organ of virtues and thanksgiving is the friend of the Holy Spirit,/ you created a sacred and red dwelling, // offering all life and life to the monk.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Vitiyskaya cannot get tired of singing according to the heritage of You, the All-Singing One,/ the highest being of the Cherubim and all creatures.// Also, with the Divine Athanasius, pray to the Lord for all of us.
Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior,/ for my iniquities are many,/ and bring me up from the depths of evil, I pray:/ I have cried out to You, and hear me,// God of my salvation.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Thou hast put to death carnal lusts through much abstinence, / crucified thou to the world and passions, / clinging unto God with tears and tears, prayers and unceasing songs.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
The mentor of the monastics living in Mount Athos,/ and this image of the outline of virtuous deeds,// you adorned all the unmarried sojourns there.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Sweet, right and good, meek and humble,/ an approachable servant, you were merciful,/ generous and kind-hearted, quiet images, // an imitator of Christ’s morals.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
New, like Moses, appeared,/ you built, like another tabernacle, a fence, most honorably,/ and you overcame sickness and sweat,// and placed it on the Mother of God.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
As there are a fair number of immaterial beings for the viewer/ and the activity of the all-true teller,/ your flock calls to you, O God-speaker:/ do not be poor, praying for your servants,/ to be delivered from misfortunes and treatment, to those crying to you: Rejoice, Father Athanasius.
Above your rank, your reception is glorious, you inherited immortal life:/ for you passed through lifeless life on earth with flesh, you were disliked by passions./ Moreover, we praise you, father:/ Rejoice, bright glory of the monastics. Rejoice, clear pillar of chastity./ Rejoice, the knowledge of courage is evident./ Rejoice, manifestation of the wise mind./ Rejoice, rule equal to the truth./ Rejoice, having fulfilled your aspirations with words./ Rejoice, being able to enjoy unspeakable thoughts./ Rejoice, having piously surprised all creation./ Rejoice, having been put to shame by the demons./ Rejoice, for whom every passion has been put to death./ Rejoice, source of the waters of life./ Rejoice, the Savior is faithful to those who cry // Rejoice, Father Athanasius.
Irmos: God’s condescension / the fire is ashamed in Babylon sometimes. / For this reason, the youth in the cave, with joyful feet, / like in a flower garden, rejoicing, in the lap: / blessed are you, God our father.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
The entire creation of your life has flowed around your corrections, father, / and you have reached a glorious height, I will glorify you to God // and will do everything to everyone.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Builder of the poor, representative of widows, provider of the orphans,/ quick comfort for the sad, refuge for the drowned,// you were the intercessor of the offended, your father, like a teacher.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
A universal star and a never-setting luminary for monastics,/ a helper in troubles, a great refuge for sinners,// I offer the intercessor and prayer book to the Lord Christ, most honorably.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Desiring to see Your saint/ Your Son and God the ineffable glory of the Mother of God/ This Honest Cross on the frame of the world, // following His life-giving and Divine feet.
Irmos: By the sevenfold furnace/ the Chaldean tormentor/ he kindled the godly furiously,/ by the better power they were saved, having seen this,/ they cried out to the Creator and Deliverer:/ lads, bless,/ priests, sing, / people, exalt to all ages.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Youthfully conquering the beginning, Athanasius, and the powers of darkness,/ you were a great teacher and a saving mentor,/ revealing the slander, and barking, and flattery of those,// your flock of all the demons of villainy observing unharmed.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Walking on earth as a man, living in Heaven as you truly acquired, / Your interlocutor appeared as an angel, living and living one, / singing with him today: // Bless the priests, people, exalt Christ forever.
Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.
You, who have come today, we deservedly praise and honor your relics, / deliverance of passions, forgiveness of sins, / all kinds of adversity and circumstances, permission beseechingly through your prayers, / / fulfilling your holy memory faithfully and joyfully forever.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Just as Elijah first settled in Carmel,/ so you too, practicing in the mountain of Athos, desired to be with God/ and, having been illuminated by the visions of God,/ the saint appeared You are more pure than the Mother of God, // crying out to Her: Rejoice, - with the Archangel.
Irmos: Heaven was horrified at this, / and the earth was surprised at the ends, / for God appeared as a man in the flesh, / and Your womb became the most spacious of Heaven, / Thee, the Mother of God, / Angels and men officials are magnified.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
In purity and chastity, and in purity of stay, and undefiled life, / as if you were bodiless, having lived on earth, you turned to the heavenly paths, / and rejoiced with all the holy and righteous, / praying for all of Christ.
Reverend Father Athanasius, pray to God for us.
Velma exalted you as Lord on your land,/ and through your vision and deeds you glorified Him most gloriously,/ you appeared everywhere and you were glorified, O God-bearer // virtue for good news truly put the adversary to shame.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Thou hast united with the Bodiless hosts, / and with a holy face hast thou been united, and with all the elect rejoice, partaking of true deification, and immortal, Father, life. / With the least about pray to your flock without ceasing to pray to your Master.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
The church is consecrated, it is a place for the One of the Trinity, / Your church, O Lady, the honorable Athanasius has erected to Your glory and honor, // in it, do not cease incessantly giving help by your prayers.
Chosen servant of Christ and wonderworker, like Father Silvana, lamp of the Russian lands, holy Mount Athos, wonderful ascetic, we glorify you in songs spiritual, holy prayer book and our intercessor. But you, since you have boldness in the Lord, by your heavenly intercession free us from all troubles, calling with love: Rejoice. Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
An earthly angel and a heavenly man appeared to you, Holy Father Silvana, when you desired to serve the Lord in holiness and righteousness. For this reason, imitating the great ancient fathers, you lived like the angels in the monastery of Russia of the holy great martyr Panteleimon and there, illuminated by the radiance of the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ You have acquired and you have become the secret place of God’s grace, and you have shown an image of a godly life. Now standing before the throne of the Holy Trinity, together with the faces of the holy fathers of Athos, pray for us, who reverently honor you and call you sice:
Rejoice, born of the Orthodox Russian land:
Rejoice, blessed children of pious parents.
Rejoice, you who love God with all your heart and with all your soul:
Rejoice, holy faith, like valuable beads acquired.
Rejoice, having completely subdued your heart to the will of God:
Rejoice, earthly fatherland, forsaking your home, father and mother, for Christ’s sake.
Rejoice, you who came to the holy Mount Athos without any restrictions:
Rejoice, you have moved into the Russian monastery on this mountain.
Rejoice, the image of angelic beauty revealed in humility and obedience:
Rejoice, having ascended through unceasing prayer to the heights of dispassion.
Rejoice, overshadowed by the favor and love of God to the Mother:
Rejoice, now glorified in heaven and on earth.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
Seeing you, the blessed Virgin Mary is perishing in sin, has mercy on you and with a quiet voice of love calls you to repentance. But you, Holy Father, knowing in spirit the Mother of the Lord God, never forgot this wondrous visit and the gentle words of God to the Mother. Moreover, having left the path leading to destruction, having washed away the sins of your youth with tears of repentance, in contrition of heart you resorted to the Life-Giver Christ, singing to him in tenderness: Alleluia.
Having a God-enlightened mind, the great righteous John of Kronstadt, the wonderworker, foresaw your monastic perfect life, bless you, like Father Silouan, on the path of monasticism serving God. You left your earthly fatherland and you directed your steps to the helicopter city, who wonderfully called you to the Mother of God, the holy Mount Athos, so that there you will find a serene refuge. salvation. Moreover, praising this will of yours, overshadowed by the blessing of God, we sing to you:
Rejoice, beloved Church of God from the swaddling clothes:
Rejoice, you who count earthly wealth for nothing.
Rejoice, bright joy of the Tambov lands:
Rejoice, zealous intercessor before God for the Russian people.
Rejoice, you who were called from the darkness of sin to the light of the truth of Christ by the Most Pure One:
Rejoice, thou chosen as the builder of this earthly heliport.
Rejoice, chosen one of God, who has settled on the Holy Mountain:
Rejoice, thou who served God angelically in the holy monastery of Panteleimon.
Rejoice, having laid the cross on yourself from God without complaint:
Rejoice, gloriously victorious in the work, fasting and silence of the enemy who fought you.
Rejoice, having ascended from youth to the heights of perfection:
Rejoice, our vigilant prayer book to the Mother of God.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
Fortified by strength from above, you were not afraid of the malicious attacks of the enemy of salvation, and with strong faith, as if protected by a shield, you repelled all the destructive thoughts of the invisible adversary with the weapon of prayer, vigil and fasting, the unceasing flow of your tears, propitiating the Lord, and thus in patience you acquired the gifts of grace, singing in spiritual joy to the merciful God the angel's song: alleluia.
Having the wealth of grace, you were raised by the spirit to heaven, Father Silouan, and there you were deemed worthy to behold the face of the all-forgiving Christ God, who appeared to you in radiance of the unspeakable divine light, where you, filled with indescribable joy and tenderness, gratefully cried out to you: Lord, the world is perishing in despair: to me, as the most unworthy of everyone, you, Father, reveal the secrets of eternal life: let the whole world know you. For this reason, knowing you to be God’s chosen one and a prayer book for the peace of the whole world, we joyfully cry:
Rejoice, lover of the monastic life of sorrow and hardship:
Rejoice, having received the gift of unceasing prayer from the Most Holy Theotokos.
Rejoice, you who have ascended to the high mountain of divine virtues:
Rejoice, in your humility you have been worthy of the great gifts of God.
Rejoice, thou who art deemed worthy of Christ’s visitation:
Rejoice, rejoicing at the sight of the beauty of the face of God.
Rejoice, this vision, for you have left us a spiritual treasure:
Rejoice, because we are inspired to walk along the path to eternal life.
Rejoice, raised up in heaven by the Holy Spirit:
Rejoice, filled with the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, you constantly bear the image of Christ in your heart:
Rejoice, filled with love and compassion for people.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
A storm of evil thoughts raised from the enemy, like the flames of hell, holding you back, Holy Father, may your faith be tested, like gold in a furnace, may you know the weaknesses of the fallen nature Adamova. For you, in the anguish of your soul, experienced the falling away from God’s grace and you overcame this temptation in blessed lamentation, considering all people to be the lowest of all, and thus you knew how It is appropriate for us to acquire grace and keep it, constantly giving thanks and singing to God, our helper and patron, the victorious song: alleluia.
Hearing your groanings from the grave temptations of the devil, grant you to understand how to resist the fierce wiles of the enemy: for the multitudes fill your cell, you cannot bear it zeal for unceasing prayer and contemplation of God, and the desire to return you to the world. Then the Lord himself will reveal to you the secret of life in Dus, the verb: keep your mind in hell and do not despair. This is an invincible weapon against the devil, burning passions and illuminating with the light of the humility of Christ. Likewise, we, having accepted this rule, gratefully cry out:
Rejoice, golden one, purified by the fire of temptation:
Rejoice, censer, kindled with a repentant flame.
Rejoice, for in the forsakenness of God you have thoroughly tested your soul:
Rejoice, for through faith and secret tears you have overcome the despair of your soul.
Rejoice, by fasting and prayer you have repelled the arrows of the evil one to the end:
Rejoice, great courage in the fight against the spirits of evil is revealed.
Rejoice, thou who humbly trampled all the wiles of the devil:
Rejoice, having taught us how to overcome his evil tricks.
Rejoice, you who bore the good yoke of Christ in your struggle with love:
Rejoice, for you desired to go to hell for all unrepentant sinners.
Rejoice, prayerfully affirming your mind, heart and will in God:
Rejoice, Mystery of God, who has yet tasted the earth of heaven.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
You appeared as a God-bright star in the sky to the church, most glorious Father Silouan, shining with virtues like rays of light, driving away the darkness of despondency and despair with the power of prayer and casting down evil spirits by the grace of God. Because you have washed your soul with great tears, you have received from above the grace to intercede for all people, crying: Lord, send your mercy to the children of the earth, whom you love, and give to them all understand your love and know your glory through the Holy Spirit. and now, standing before the throne of God, like Father Silouan, give us consolation in our sorrows, may the sad hearts of people be warmed with joy and may they know the love of God by singing to him song: alleluia.
You see, blessed Silouana, inhabitant of Mount Athos, the new lamp of God’s grace, for by God’s will you appeared to the world as a great man in labors clever work and by his grace you penetrated into the depths of theology. For this reason, those seeking soul-saving instruction came to you and found in you a God-dear teacher of monastic life equal to the angels. Moreover, you left your scriptures, animated by the breath of the Holy Spirit, to us and you nourished many with the bread of your teaching. help, holy father, to all those wandering in the deserts of the world to find the source of eternal life, illuminate our hardened hearts with your words, so that we may drink in the life-giving streams of divine teaching, Gratefully singing to you, Sisevaya:
Rejoice, viewer of divine visions:
Rejoice, hearer of heavenly words.
Rejoice, you who are illuminated by the spirit to worship the Creator:
Rejoice, preacher of that mercy and forgiveness.
Rejoice, for through prayers and deeds you have acquired spiritual intelligence:
Rejoice, for you have brought many to salvation.
Rejoice, teacher of Christian perfection:
Rejoice, source of God-inspired teachings.
Rejoice, you who revealed the depths of the mysteries of God in simple words:
Rejoice, God-wise mentor, guide the faithful to heaven.
Rejoice, you who have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit into your heart:
Rejoice, our guide to the heavenly fatherland.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
The preacher of love for the enemy appeared to the world, like Silouana, as the Holy Spirit taught you to have mercy on your enemies and to pray for them, imitating Christ crucified for us. You have shown the image of the humility of Christ and His love by your life, crying out with tears: brothers, love your enemies, and these are your brothers, the enemy your devil is: if anyone does not love his enemies, he does not know God. Moreover, seeing you as a living church of divine love, we pray to you, enlighten our hardened hearts and grant us to love our enemies, as the Lord commanded, singing to him in joy: Hallelujah.
Rise up the divine light, revealed by the all-generous Christ God, and fill your immaculate heart with joy and unspeakable bliss, when you are in the pain of your soul about the world lying in evil, You prayed to God, the source of life and eternal blessings, for all people languishing in darkness and the shadow of death, for whom you interceded with tears in nightly prayers for joy and peace, so that they will be deprived of God’s mercy and will know the love of their creator. We, leading you boldly to pray for us before God, from the depths of our hearts bring you this song:
Rejoice, in prayer for peace there is an unquenchable burning of love:
Rejoice, thou who seest the mysteries of God's love for mankind.
Rejoice, living angel in the flesh:
Rejoice, invincible warrior of Christ.
Rejoice, having fulfilled Christ’s commandment about love for the enemy:
Rejoice, you who imprinted the teaching on the salvation of the soul with it.
Rejoice, thou who imitate God in mercy towards all people:
Rejoice, for with your heart and soul you were crucified with Christ for your enemies.
Rejoice, for with your prayers you have propitiated the ruler of all:
Rejoice, for you teach us to cry out to God with a contrite heart.
Rejoice, O Light, who shone forth to those who are in darkness and the shadow of death:
Rejoice, cup that pours out the currents of God's mercy.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
Although the Lord, a lover of mankind, will show his unfading mercy to people, showing you truly an image of perfect humility and repentance. You said in prayer: I thank you, Lord, for you have humbled my soul, you love those who cry and the humble, grant, mercifully, to come to you through humble crying, You showed it to me too. Moreover, you who mourned for the whole world appeared, like Silouana, and now you bring tears of unspeakable love for us, compassionate with all those who mourn and cry on earth, bringing them joy and consolation and teaching to sing gratefully to God: alleluia.
Now, the Lord has given the gift of a gift to the saints of Mount Athos and to the whole world, calling you, God-bearing Father Silouan, to selflessly follow in your footsteps. But you, having endured the burden of painful labors, reached the spiritual heights of Sinai and you were honored, like the ancient prophet Moses, the seer of God, to behold the Lord, and you were teacher of repentance, proclaiming in prayer day and night: O my brothers, repent while there is time: God is looking for our repentance. Moreover, Christ bless you and pray for all people, good and evil, that the Lord may have mercy on everyone and everything. We are sinners, we strive for love for you, we please you:
Rejoice, beloved of the incorruptible wealth of the kingdom of heaven:
Rejoice, you have become a perfect husband through clever work.
Rejoice, marvelous embodiment of purity of faith and gentleness:
Rejoice, diligent fulfiller of God’s commandments.
Rejoice, strict zealot of the life of the angels:
Rejoice, faithful father of the great venerable followers.
Rejoice, source of tears that wash the conscience:
Rejoice, as the ancient prophet Jeremiah wept for the people who sinned.
Rejoice, diligent performer of all-night prayers and vigils:
Rejoice, blessed teacher of repentance.
Rejoice, faithful intercessor for all who perish in sins before God:
Rejoice, bold man of prayer for peace.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
The Lord show you a strange and glorious miracle, like Father Silouan, when the old man, your spiritual father Abraham, was transfigured in his image, radiant and marvelous in display. But we, seeing you as our will, entrusting ourselves to the Lord Himself, our spiritual father, and thus devoting ourselves entirely to obedience to the will of God, learn through humility and repentance to cut off our own will. To know God through the shepherds of the Church of Christ, singing to our hero the song: Alleluia.
With all your heart and holy love you served the brethren of the monastery of Panteleimon, our Father Silouan, when you accepted obedience to iconography, to the chaste Joseph You became like me. For not only about the brothers of the holy monastery, but also about the worldly people who worked there, having love and care, you cried out to God: Lord, send Your Holy Spirit and comfort their sorrowful souls. do not forget all those who honor you with love, but always pray for the salvation of us sinners, who please you and cry out:
Rejoice, to the follower of the feat of the Athonite God-bearing fathers:
Rejoice, imitator of their patience and labor.
Rejoice, for through the tears of repentance you have rooted the virtue of humility in yourself:
Rejoice, for by obedience to your spiritual father you have protected yourself from delusion.
Rejoice, you who served your brothers with love:
Rejoice, and now the brethren of the Athonite helicopter city are a quick helper in their labors.
Rejoice, joy and consolation for the monks of the Panteleimon monastery:
Rejoice, for all those who strive in it, warm prayer book.
Rejoice, for through you the Russian monastery is glorified:
Rejoice, for Orthodox Russia rejoices in you.
Rejoice, angel of the Russian land, who labored on the holy mountain:
Rejoice, lighted lamp of God's grace on Mount Athos.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
Every angelic nature and the entire host of God’s saints residing in heaven, rejoicing in your life as an angel, like Silvana, after fasting, through prayer and contemplation of God, you cleansed your soul from all evil, having illuminated your mind with the grace of the Holy Spirit and enlightened your heart from it, you ascended the spiritual ladder, contemplating ineffable love Life-giver God and in joy with the powers on high singing to him: Alleluia.
The developments of humanity will not be able to comprehend the depth of the wisdom of God, as the Lord God chooses not the wise of this world, but the meek and humble into the dwelling of His grace. Seeing this come true for you, Father Silouan, as the source of God-inspired words, throughout the whole earth those thirsty for the truth, who gave you drink, the wondrous saint of God and the miracle worker. We honor and with love from our hearts we proclaim these praises:
Rejoice, thou who hast acquired heavenly talents through earthly deeds:
Rejoice, living your life in spiritual joy.
Rejoice, lover of the beauty of God’s creation:
Rejoice, for you have had a heart that has mercy on every creature.
Rejoice, in your life you have revealed wondrous wisdom:
Rejoice, guided by the grace of God.
Rejoice, adorned with the gift of insight:
Rejoice, O you who are to come, as you are the present one who is the seer.
Rejoice, accuser of wisdom of this age:
Rejoice, you have guided many who have gone astray onto the path of righteousness and truth.
Rejoice, as the angels in heaven rejoice over you:
Rejoice, for because of you people on earth glorify God.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
To save your soul, you moved from the land of your father into the heliport of the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy Mount Athos, through prayer, abstinence, silence, and hard work. You have acquired angelic beauty, O all-blessed Father, with burning love for the Lord and humility you have put to shame the enemy of our salvation, and with great joy you have given up your soul in your hand To God, singing to him, who strengthened you in your struggle, a song of praise: alleluia.
The wall of the insurmountable Christian race, the Blessed Virgin, you understood with the Holy Spirit, like Silvana, and with all your life you were the most zealous of her servant. You, in your spirit, contemplated the Most Pure Mother of the Lord at the cross of Your Son, standing and praying with tears, and You revealed this wondrous and terrible vision to us sinners. Moreover, the Holy Spirit revealed to you the inexpressible love of the Lady and the depth of Her sorrow for a world that has not known its Lord and Savior. Now, holy father, see in glory the Mother of God praying for all people to her Son. We, rejoicing at this, please you with the following praises:
Rejoice, blessed is the end of your life:
Rejoice, adorned with the crown of incorruptibility in heaven.
Rejoice, for you have been brought from the earthly abode to the heavenly one:
Rejoice, because there you stand before the Lord for all of us and intercede with him.
Rejoice, beloved chosen one of the Mother of God:
Rejoice, tireless ascetic, diligent in prayers for the world.
Rejoice, most blessed Abbess of Mount Athos, faithful novice:
Rejoice, vigilant worker of the helicopter city.
Rejoice, you bear sorrow for the people who suffer in your heart:
Rejoice, for today you see the Most Pure Mother of the Lord in glory.
Rejoice, wondrously glorified by the sight of God:
Rejoice, for you have dwelled with the holy and righteous.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
The singing of tenderness is brought to you, blessed Silouan, not only by the Russian power and the Hellenic country, but also by the entire Orthodox Church, who honor your works and exploits, in whom God glorify you, even on earth noun Moreover, we believe that you stand before the Throne of God today, praying for us with the Most Holy Theotokos, rejoicing with the saints and eating in joy to God, wondrous in your holy things: Hallelujah.
You were a luminous lamp of the never-setting sun of the righteousness of Christ in earthly life, Father Silouan, luminous in the word and image of your holy life, and the path of salvation for many You showed to Christ, even as you yourself steadily walked. Moreover, after your blessed departure to the heavenly abodes, you enlighten the hearts of the faithful and instruct everyone to the divine mind, teaching us to joyfully sing to you:
Rejoice, fragrant incense, brought to God from the holy Mount Athos:
Rejoice, you who have entered into the joy of your Lord.
Rejoice, the talent entrusted to you is multiplying:
Rejoice, you who received great rewards in heaven.
Rejoice, treasure of the spiritual mind:
Rejoice, good teacher of monks.
Rejoice, shining pillar, driving away the darkness of enmity:
Rejoice, new lamp of faith, who in our days shows the way to God.
Rejoice, holy Athonite, kindled by the fire of love for God:
Rejoice, bright star, illuminating all who please you.
Rejoice, partaker of the indescribable beauty of paradise:
Rejoice, for with the powers on high you glorify the Lord with angelic powers.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
The grace of the All-Generous God poured out upon you, give to all who honor and pray to you, O Reverend Silvana, but your honorable head, upon finding it, is a testimony of your love and help to us, to the weak and sinners, in joy of such mercy of God, calling to him: alleluia.
Singing your long-suffering labors and deeds, nightly vigils and struggles, mental prayer and spiritual sobriety, which you bore with all the chosen ones of God to the Mother of the Holy Mountain monks, We praise you, like Father Silouan, and together with the monks of Athos we glorify your holy name, for the Lord has crowned you in the kingdom of Heaven, where your place has been prepared to all who love Christ our God. Moreover, we please you, our heavenly protector and representative, with these songs:
Rejoice, fragrant flower, who flourished in the garden of the Most Holy Theotokos:
Rejoice, united with the Greek land through strong love.
Rejoice, envoy to Mount Athos of Holy Russia:
Rejoice, vigilant man of prayer for the whole Russian land.
Rejoice, zealous representative for your fatherland in troubled times:
Rejoice, spiritual adornment of the Russian country.
Rejoice, having enriched the monastery of Panteleimon with your shrine:
Rejoice, for your honest head has appeared as the source of many healings.
Rejoice, new luminary of Mount Athos:
Rejoice, teacher of monks and companion of angels.
Rejoice, numbered among the saints in heaven:
Rejoice, for you are now triumphant with all the saints.
Rejoice, O Reverend Silvana, preacher of love for the enemy and teacher of humility and prayer.
O wonderful servant of God, born of the Russian land, praise and adornment to the ascetics of the holy Mount Athos, praise and adornment of the true and equal life of the angels to the zealot and to the whole Orthodox world, God-wise mentor, accept this little prayer of ours and save your monastery and those who labor in it from enemies, visible and invisible, from all evils and misfortunes. Pray to the Lord for all those who honor and love you, so that in our evil days we will holyly abide in faith, patience and love, and so our life has passed, we will be delivered from eternal torment and be blessed with joy sing to God with you forever: alleluia.
O wonderful servant of God, like Father Silouan, the holy Mount Athos, new lamp, beloved by the Most Holy Theotokos and be a faithful worker in her Called by the earth to the heliport, with tenderness we now bow the knees of our hearts and cry to you: bring our prayer to the all-merciful God and ask for everything that is for the benefit of souls and bodies to ours: right faith, undoubted hope, unfeigned love, courage in temptation, patience in suffering and illness, prosperity in piety, diligence in prayer. accept our humble prayer, warm us with the breath of your love, illuminate us with the light of the given grace and intercede for us with the Lord, pour out your prayer to him, may he calm the storm of passions Let the fire of our divine love warm our and cold hearts and thus enable us to bring warm repentance with tears to Him, and the toils and sorrows of this life patiently,
bear without complaint and with gratitude, and at the hour of our departure from earthly life, let him plunge the abyss of our sins into the sea of his mercy and have mercy on us for the sake of his ineffable love for may the human race be honored in the kingdom of heaven to enjoy his divine love together with you and all the saints, forever and ever. Amen.
O wonderful servant of God, Father Silouan, praise and adornment to the holy fathers of Athonite! Hear us sinners praying to you, cover and intercede for all those struggling in the monastery of the holy great martyr Panteleimon from all troubles and sorrows, help the statutes of the holy fathers of Athonite unshakable to preserve us, deliver us from the falls of sin, give us the spirit of contrition and humility, instruct us in the fulfillment of monastic vows and all the commandments of God. teach us to march towards salvation through humble crying, repentance and obedience, stay constantly with us, guiding us to the truth of Christ. Protect this monastery with a wall of your prayers, all who live and strive in it and all who come to worship: keep peace and love among the brethren, protect the builders with your protection, its benefactors and benefactors.
Pray to the heavenly Abbess of Athos, the Most Blessed Lady Theotokos, that we may be worthy to end our life within the walls of the monastery in which you labored, and move into the heavenly abodes, where we will praise with you and all the saints, on the holy mountain who have shone forth in their labors, the One in the Trinity glorified God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever eyelids of centuries. Amen.
Irmos: To the Savior God, / who taught the people in the sea with wet feet, / and the Pharaoh and all his host who drowned, / / Let us feast upon the One who has become famous.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
With purity of mind, listen to the call of the Mother of the Lord of Powers, / you have vomited out the serpent that destroys sin, / and your spirit has leaped for God your Savior, the God-loving Father Silouan, / to Him you pray who honor your memory.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
To you, who took up your cross and ascended to the mountain of dispassion, / falling, we pray, all-blessed: / kindle our hearts to the loving God of all, / with the flame of your love, in unquenchable burning.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Whom did your soul love? You were convinced of Him,/ and to Him alone you clung, O lover of God,/ and you subdued the evil tempter of your soul,/ through labor, vigilance, putting this to shame with humility and tearful prayer.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lord of hosts, who sanctify every man who comes into the world,/ give a word of praise with my mouth,/ that I may exalt Your Trisholy name, which rests wonderfully in Your holy ones,/ with Below, Silouan, Your beloved, prays to You for our souls.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Sorrowful intimations overwhelm my poor soul,/ and misfortunes clouds cover my heart, O bride of God,/ but, Thou who has given birth to the Divine and Eternal Light,/ shine upon me the light of joy, through prayers Silouan, Thy saint.
Irmos: By the power of Your Cross, O Christ, / confirm my thoughts, / to sing and glorify // Your saving Resurrection.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Who will confess the suffering of your soul, like Silvana, / when the spirit of malice in high places prevails over you, / remove your ill-wishing soul from the Lord? / Deliver us also from the snare of this evil one, prayer book for the whole universe.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Through the power of patience and the beauty of humility, your soul, O all-blessed one,/ has been built as a temple for the Holy Spirit, for this reason you cried out:/ O people, creation of God, know the Creator/ and Cling to Him through love.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
The source of your joys and the focus of your thoughts/ the name of the Most High God, Father Silvana,/ cleave to Him and be established in Him/ help us with your prayers, to you those who come running.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lord, Lord, grant the power of Your grace, / that all people may know You through the Holy Spirit, / we cry out to You tenderly, like Your beloved, / inflamed with love for You, Silouan is wonderful.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
I will not keep silent from the cry of Your greatness: / If not You, the Young Lady, / had always stood by, praying for me to Your Son, / who would have delivered me from so much storm and fierce troubles?
Thirsting for God, our Father Silvana grew jealous, you left your father’s land, / and from the desert-loving Mount Athos / you stretched out your hand to the Lord most earnestly thou art, / where thou hast adorned the heliport of the Lady of the world with thy labors equal to the angels, / and, like an incense, thou hast fragrant the Church of the Universes, / thou hast fragrant the vine of the grapes, with the Spirit Graced by the Saints.
Glory: and now:
It is impossible to quantify Your greatness, Mother of God, / below express the incomprehensible power of Your miracles performed beyond the mind, / the love of those who honor and worship You with faith, / as if she truly gave birth to God.
Irmos: I heard the voice of the power of the Cross, as if paradise was opened to them, and I cried out: glory to your power, Lord.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Like a hard-working bee, you lay close to God with fasting and prayer/ and you tearfully begged the Most Pure Mother of God not to abandon the world,/ Reverend Father, do not cease now for us pray, / for you have great boldness.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
A new well of inexhaustible grace in Mount Athos appeared to you, O all-blessed one, / from nothing more than honey and honeycomb, / the sweetness of the love of Christ flows through the Holy Spirit, / Even in the sorrow of sin, delight our hearts.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
To the Lord, I say: where your treasure is, so will your heart be; for, O all-blessed One, you are pleased to cry out to Him:/ Lord, give by Your Holy Spirit My heart thirsts,/ may I never be satisfied with You.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Like a fragrant and undefiled sacrifice, / offer your prayers for us to the Most Holy Trinity, O Reverend Father, / and ask for mercy on those who hate and are hostile to us, / deliver both them and us from all sorrow and sadness.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
You, Pure, You, Undefiled Virgin, the only invincible wall to the Imam, / refuge, protection of strength, weapon of salvation, / do not despise me, the prodigal, the hopeless, / help for the weak, joy for the insulted and intercession.
Irmos: In the morning, we cry to Thee:/ Lord, save us,/ For Thou art our God,// For Thee, we know no other.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
You, Lord, created me and through holy Baptism you enlightened me,/ You forgive my sins and grant me to partake of Your Body and Blood,/ grant me the strength to always abide in You,/ I offer Siluan’s lament to You, our God.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
The darkness of my mind and the passions of my body are overwhelmed/ with your prayers, O all-blessed one, enlighten and calm,/ just as you dared to tame the waves of the sea,/ impatient to see The fishermen are overwhelmed by the destructive winds.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Our wretched praise brought to you by unworthy lips, O Reverend, do not despise, / but accept and visit those who sing your memory with your prayer, / deliver from troubles and misfortunes and eternal torment, / and not Let us be ashamed, we put our trust in you.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Like a desert-loving dove, from the morning watch until night/ sing the Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible/ from the desert-loving Holy Mountain you, Father Silvanus, sat down/ for propitiation interceding with the dead, the living and those to come.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
What gift of thanksgiving will I bring to Thee, Mother of God, / because I have enjoyed Your gifts and Your immeasurable goodness? / Moreover, I will sing songs and magnify / Your ineffable mercy towards me.
Irmos: The abyss has passed me by,/ my grave has become a whale,/ and I cried out to You, O Lover of Mankind,// and Your right hand saved me, O Lord.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Hierarchs and priestesses, foreigners and all people, / rejoicing, together glorify God and His Most Pure Mother, / a new censer, the pure prayer of Silouan, with the flame of the Spirit The Holy One is burning, / at the Throne of Heaven who accepted for us.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Rejoice, Mount Athos, with your desert lovers/ and in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, cry out to God:/ may your faithful servant be acceptable before your face,/ him Through prayers the grace of the new Church of the Saints was bestowed.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Come, all you faithful, from the desert-loving Holy Mountain, / let us honor the memory of the righteous with praise, crying out: / lift up the Lord our God and worship in His holy mountain / marvelous in His saints to Him who rests.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
God, who will be like You? / You are the only Highest throughout the whole earth. / But we, equal to the angelic humility of Your servant, listen to Your image and likeness through the Holy Spirit.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
I will not hide the depth of Your generosity, and the current of immeasurable miracles, / and the ever-flowing source of Your mercy to me, Mother of God: / but I confess to everyone, and cry out, and proclaim.
Confessor of humility of mind/ and kindness warmed by the Holy Spirit,/ to God beloved Silvana,/ the Russian Church rejoices in your struggle,/ the foreigners of the Mountains Athonite and all Christian people, / joyfully, with filial love, rush to God. / Pray for us, like an angel who knows God, / so that we may be saved, in burning love for you imitating.
Having the wealth of grace, in the spirit you were raised to Heaven, / truly you were granted unspeakable joy, O blessed Father Silouan. / Always, beyond images peace, in contemplation of the immeasurably loving Christ of God, you were vouchsafed to see the Face of God, / then, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, / in the heliport of the Most Blessed Mother of God, with all diligence You have served./ Pray for Him, like the angels who know God,/ so that we may be saved, imitating you in the burning of love.
Irmos: In the furnace of fire/ the hymn-speakers saved the youths,// blessed be God our father.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
The good yoke, the light burden of Christ the Savior is upon us,/ and with the sail of the Holy Spirit, in the divine passion,/ thou hast steered the ship of thy soul to a sweet haven, O Father Silouan,/ a monk, exhausted in labor, in a marvelous manner.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
How we do not marvel at your humility and love for mankind, O good Silouan,/seeing you shedding tears/and about those in hell and unrepentant sinners, sobbing back and forth,/for the enemy asking for your forgiveness, imitating Christ’s all-forgiveness?
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Psalmically exclaiming: Thy procession, O God, has been seen, / the procession of my God and the King who is in the Holy One, / Whom indeed in the person of the spiritual father Abraham was granted to behold Thou shalt honor our mentors by instructing us with grace, O Silouans, more knowledgeable of God.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
This image of the outlines of virtuous deeds, / humble, and meek, and a kind mentor, appeared to the monastics in Mount Athos, Silouana, / for the sake of monasticism and peace / intercession yours is entrusted to God.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Be protection, and intercession, and intercession, and praise, O Virgin,/ I will now reveal to me all kinds of help,/ the helpless strength and the hopeless,/ Silouan’s prayers, the warmest of the sun.
Irmos: From the Father, before the age of birth, the Son and God, / and in the last year, incarnated from the Virgin Mother, / priest, sing, / / people, exalt to all ages.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Receive the lifting of our hands, O Reverend,/ Becoming like the Lord of goodness, despising our sins,/ for you have wounded your soul with the love of Christ and His Most Pure Mother,/ Please beg her to save our souls.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Like a precious cranium and a most wonderful sapphire, / in the heliport of the Most Pure One you flourished, like Silouana, / humbly jealous of your Lord Christ, for we perceive above man life, / bringing many souls to the Lord.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Truly, you were the bearer of the gifts of the Holy Spirit/ and, adorned with various virtues, Silvanus,/ having inherited the heights of the mountains with humility, you have fairly received the heavenly riches through poverty./ The heirs of this are shown by your prayers.
The Lord, Father Silouan, showed you the radiance of the Divine and the Holy Spirit, the sweetness of the participant, / when in the indescribable radiance of Favorstem he visited you. / See His glory in in the light of the splendor of His Divinity/ grant us, we pray.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Most Pure Lady, who exceeded the Heavenly Powers,/ who gave birth to the Savior, the Creator of all, Consubstantial with the Father and the Spirit,/ give us the word, Chanting, that we may sing to Thee,/ the present Intercessor our kind.
Irmos: You, more than the mind and the word, the Mother of God, / in the summer without words, / who gave birth ineffably, / to Vernia, we magnify with one mind.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
In the life of the ascetic, she is wonderful, but after the death of the man of prayer/ and compassionate for us before God, she has become quite familiar with you, like the hierodeacon David, who was mortally poisoned by a visit to You suddenly healed yours, / having diligently interceded for this time of repentance.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
Russian lands in the chosen vessel and Mount Athos, new ascetic,/ God's servant Silouan, stretch out your hand for us to the Lord/ and, like fragrant myrrh, prayers exalt, / may He save our souls from death.
Reverend Father Silouana, pray to God for us.
The Lord, O Reverend, has called you as an angel and is involved with the saints / to the heavenly Zion / where you offer up your prayers for us to the Master of all, / interceding for the Holy Church and for us, who honor your memory with sweet song.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
With fire the bush was not scorched and the tongues with flames sanctified the Church of Christ, / for the sake of your humility, you were kindled by the Holy Spirit, Father before, / and by an unclean life Teach us to worship the Trinity, all those who approach Him with the flame of your love.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
As our Queen and Lady of all, / We glorify You with love, Most Pure Virgin, / enlightened by the Passion of Your Son and knowing Him as the Benefactor of all. / Glory to His grace throughout all ages.
Irmos: Helper and protector be my salvation: this is my God, and I will glorify him, the God of my father, and I will exalt him: gloriously thou art glorified.
Chorus: Reverend Father Paisius, pray to God for us.
May the sweet-flowing source of divine teaching flow from your mouth, our Father Paisius, and delight those who remember him and those who follow your teaching.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
Sitting in your cell, going through everyone with your mind, you considered the various wounds: there are many different ones, and you applied a healing and pleasant plaster to everyone, Father.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The one who begins to remember your virtues, do not leave him behind, father, from your verbal flock, but having protected him with your prayers, keep him unharmed from the plundering wolf.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
We pray to you, Mother of God of the Ever-Virgin, to preserve forever your servants, whom when you departed you left food for your keeping.
Irmos: Lord, establish my moving heart on the rock of Your commandments, for You and the Lord alone are holy.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
Even though you were sick, and you had many wounds on your body, you healed many purulent spiritual wounds of those who came to you: with your good customs and gentle words, Father Paisius.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
You were seriously ill in body, and you said beforehand: I am preparing for death; when I go to church, I don’t know whether I will return healthy, or whether death will befall me on the way.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
This is the custom of the saints, as soon as they draw closer to God, they only multiply the verbs: I am not yet finished, I am not yet ready, until I completely betray my soul in my hand God’s: so are you, Father, even though you were perfect, but you were always prepared, pray that I may be saved by your prayers.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Holy of Holies, Mother of God Virgin, praying to Thy Son, Christ our God, that those who were imitators may inherit what was prepared for us by the creation of the world, glorifying thee, the Ever-Virgin.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
You drank the living waters in the Vertograd of God Matera, the Kiev-Pecherste and Mount Athos monasteries, and here a storehouse of Philokalia appeared, O Reverend Paisius, and Having given those who thirst for the truth of God plenty to drink, having inflamed them with love for the Lord and raised them to the zeal of the angelic life, pray to Christ the God of sins to grant those who honor love your memory.
Glory: in sedalen, the voice is the same:
One summer you left your cell, Father Paisius, you surveyed the village of your disciples, riding, surveying and naming each of their cells to the setting sun, and with You prayed with tears, handing them over to God and saying: Lord, protect this small flock and save it from the wolves that destroy it.
And now: Theotokos. The voice is the same.
Like the Throne of Kings and the shining lamp of the fire of the Divine leading Thee, the Pure Virgin, and the door of Her, the Lord into the world below and the whole human race deified, even in purple baptism blessed with grace, that we may be sons of light. Moreover, the All-Singing One, the crown of the thousand-year blessing of God, who is like us, pray for our souls to be saved.
Irmos: The prophet heard Your coming, O Lord, and was afraid, because you wanted to be born of a virgin and appear as a man, and said: I heard Your rumor and were afraid: glory Your power, Lord.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
You had a gentle disposition and a meek heart, not accepting malice against those who reveal this to you, our Father Paisios: but as from her, consigning anger to oblivion, help your hand quickly by giving, you delighted from the all-pervading.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
Your death is honorable, but quick and unknown: having come not too late, but quickly and self-righteously, having delighted you, it left us to eat orphans, and inconsolable from crying.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Even though I have greatly offended and grieved your heart: but having seen his kindness, I fall down and pray to you: remember me too, where you appeared before God, so that I will not be rejected by you and your verbal flock.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
With our shepherd who had trust in You, pray to the Lady, Your Son Christ our God, who remains under Your protection for us: may He grant us sinners His kingdom.
Irmos: From the morning night, O Lover of mankind, enlighten me, I pray, and guide me in Thy commandments, and teach me, O Savior, to do Thy will.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
Your wretched children are all left on earth, Father Paisius, we weep with heart disease: even though we pray so much for us, we weep inconsolably for our inseparability.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
The sorrowful time has come, the sad hour: the one who has come to embrace everyone, everyone is in lamentation, no one wants to be comforted from us: even though we are abundant in everything, we cannot be comforted, Like those who were separated from you, Father Paisie.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
If I had seen the hour of your departure, O Father Paisius, I would have washed your praying nose with tears, so that when you present yourself to God, ask for health for my body. but even today it is good, as you hear my voice and see everything I have, I pray to you: ask God for something useful for me.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
You weigh, O Most Pure Mother of God, how much I have been robbed, in the hope of my salvation, from insensibility and negligence. I pray to You: overcome this Amalek, that I may not be stolen from them; I will stand before Your Son naked.
Irmos: I cried with all my heart to the generous God, and heard me from hell, and raised my life from aphids.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
We cry and like a child left behind from his mother’s breast, crying lamenting and sobbing: O Father, where are you, why don’t you feed us your children, who are hungry for your spiritual food?
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
When were your children obstinate, or your good-natured, when you forsook us, like a mother’s child, when the time came for solid food, saying: let us feed ourselves, remembering your goodness.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
My life is spent, my days are spent, my hopes are robbed for the sake of my sins, and I am perplexed: how should I answer about my affairs. But I pray, O Father, pray to God that the time will return to me to repentance.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
I bow down to many sins and am sick of them, I bow my soul and body to You, Lady, and I pray to You: Correct me.
Chosen of the monastic life to the zealot, like a laborious bee, you have provided our souls with paternal writings, instructing each one on the path of salvation, for this reason we call to you: Rejoice, Father of the wise, regenerator of the spiritual elders in our country.
The chaste Joseph and the Forerunner of the desert-loving abstinence was jealous of all the delights of this world, you left, like the evil serpent, with a copy of patience, overthrowing the mountains and hills Thou art blessed with thy virtues: thou hast appeared to thee, putting to shame the heresies of wickedness, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Teacher. We also call you: Rejoice, Our Father, radiant light for the Orthodox Church.
Let us praise the earthly angel and the saints of the heavenly cohabitant church, Paisia the God-loving come together, Vernius, whose right hand of God raised up among our people, when the Latins on the borders of the right land of the Dnieper region, the evil union will be planted: villages and cities, people and abodes of Orthodoxy devastated, may he sound the trumpet of Philokalia in the lands of the Bukovinians and Moldovans, and He will gather the desert-loving Christian peoples from the dispersion and establish a stronghold of Orthodox brotherhood in the monasteries of many. We also call to him: Rejoice, Our Father, radiant light for the Orthodox Church.
Irmos: I am a sinner, a transgressor, an untruthful one before you, a lower observant, a lower creator, as you commanded us: but do not betray us to the end, father God.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
Your death truly surprised us, O our Father Paisius, not just because your children, having torn their hearts to pieces, were dashed across the earth: but the air made a wonderful noise, and seemed to appear weeping, showing It's time for us to lament.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
The spiritual fathers who carried you, oh, since they wanted to hold you back, but whoever can hold you, opened your mouth to praise God: every word that comes out of your mouth brings with it a multitude sobs and a source of tears.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Forgive me, who transgressed your commands, who neglected your holy will, who is envious and crafty above all people, who does not fulfill his will, especially the devil, kindly and good father. and by your gentle custom: and pray to God to grant me time to repent.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Impenetrable gates, open for me, I pray, the gates of true repentance: and show me the path of repentance, Pure, to the Teacher of all.
Irmos: Whom the armies of heaven praise, and tremble with cherubs and seraphim, every breath and creature, sing, bless and exalt to all ages.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
You asked for truly wonderful power from God at your death, O Father! You terrified everyone: when one dead person lay in the church, another was laid in the grave, another was accomplished in the cell: once again you crowned one with glory and health You have laid down another on the bed of illness, so you have humbled those who exalted themselves, and you have exalted the humble, by the power given to you by God.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
Who will not be surprised and who will not come to thought, and who will not cry! and to whom the wondrous image of thy image was not first established, Father Paisius, I do not give a river like a bone: strong in the heart: but like a strong firmament on the water, like none of those that are on it It will be possible to move unless you are hoisted. Who wouldn’t be surprised by the virtue of your meek life?
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
I alone walked in your light, and did not feel your light: I alone am your food, sweet food, and I have not known your feeder: I alone am your drink, sweet drink, and I have not felt the sweet source flowing from your lips: I am one sheep that has gone astray from your flock, good shepherd, do not be angry with me, beg God to grant time for repentance.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
I am troubled by a storm of sinful cry to you, Pure Lady, through your intercession direct me to saving repentance, and to an all-comforting haven: so that I may see the light of salvation, always darkened by laziness.
Irmos: The birth of a seedless conception is unspeakable, The mother of a husbandless woman is incorruptible Fruit: God’s birth renews natures. Moreover, we all give birth to you, as the Blessed Mother of God, we magnify you Orthodoxy.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
He who has truly seen your life cannot silence his virtues! Who didn’t want you? To whom did you not give a helping hand, for whom did you not regret? whose heart you have not softened, truly, even if he were the hardest adamant, and even the simplest art was not named for composition, but what he saw and what was done with it would bring him to praise your virtues, Father Paisie.
Reverend Father Paisios, pray to God for us.
Glory to You, O Most Heavenly King! As You have made us worthy in such deep darkness to see such a bright lamp, glory to Thee, O inexhaustible mercies of the abyss! as you showed us such a source, who gave us plenty to drink from the sweets of your current life, having drunk more than enough, and they got drunk, not just the artistry of your life, but also the forgiveness and ignorance of your drink, Father Paisius, even if the fervor of your heart does not cool us.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
However, father, dainty being with you, you were not satisfied with your sweet drink, you rejected me like a mother, a child gnawing at your breast, but today you are no longer cold: I pray you, warm me, so that I will not be deprived of your sweet drink.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
He also stands before the heavens with trembling, whom you gave birth to, the Pure One, united to man for goodness. Pray diligently for His favor, Thy servants.
Irmos: Let us understand, all people, / from the bitter work of the Pharaohs of Israel to the traitor / and in the depths of the seas with wet feet to the One who taught / a song of victory, / as if he had become glorified.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
What language can sing according to the inheritance / yours, great father, great corrections, high teaching, / in prison and in bonds, martyrdom and long-suffering?
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
How shall we sing and what shall we call you, O Lord Father? / A prophet, as he foretold the inconvenience that is understood and known to us, / Or an apostle, as the unsteady winds that are contrary to us / Establish the Christian faith in the Divine Scriptures, teachings, / or teachers, but truly you are no worse and lower than the great ones of the universal teacher.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Sing the Holy and Worshipful Paraclete in prison, a message from the Angel, accept, / you created the canon of the Holy Spirit, / whereby the will is still enlightened, holy and inspired by God you compiled the books.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Let us hear, all people, the shrine and glory of the Most Pure and All-Singing Mother of God, / who is above Heaven and all intelligent Powers, / who reviled Emmanuel in Her most pure womb, / for she is holy and glorious.
Irmos: Establish me, O Christ, on the immovable rock of Your commandments/ and enlighten me with the light of Your face:/ for there is nothing holy, more than You, O Lover of Mankind.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
You, like Saint Maxima, affirmed in your heart the Divine fear, / having hated all carnal lusts, / for this reason you became wise, like a simple child, / and you followed the Lord.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
By the affirmation of the crucified Lord Jesus Christ, / strange, unknown, homeless, fatherless, / nameless, meaningless, you were, Reverend Maxima, / before your relatives, known and friends.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Confirmed on the commandments of the Lord, / from the sorrow of the prison you were for many hours, as if dead, / but you did not pray for the evildoers, with the verb: / Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, / did not put them of this sin, who slander me untruthfully.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Establish us for Thy praise, O Virgin, / and preserve us without harm from all the wiles of the evil one, / and make us worthy to stand at the right hand of Thy Only Begotten Son, / To whom is due all glory, honor and worship forever centuries.
Having adorned your mind with the teachings of the God-inspired Scriptures, / with sober prayer and vigils pleasing to God, / you confirmed your heart in the Lord by fulfilling His saving commandments, / for this sake The people of Russia and Athos glorify you, / and the monastery of Vatopedi, together with us, cries out: / Maxim the Wise, do not abandon us who pray to you.
Glory: and now, Theotokos:
I pray to You, Most Pure Mother of the Most High God, / my soul alone for consolation, hope, sweetness, / Divine protection, light, intercession and salvation! / Bless me with Your prayers hear the voice / calling the blessed ones inside the palace of the Lord.
Irmos: The great mystery/ of Thy, O Christ, vision:/ seeing this from above with God-vision, O Habakkuk, / Thou didst come forth, crying unto Thee, / for the salvation of Thy people, O Lover of mankind.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
From secret heretical false teachings / nothing is hidden from you, Reverend Maxima, / but by the grace of the Holy and worshiped Spirit the whole essence is revealed to you.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
The mysterious dogmas of the Orthodox faith/ not just a champion of the truth and true to oneself, but also a sharp axe/ against all heresies under heaven.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As the builder of the mysteries of the Holy Spirit, / and the steward of the heavenly life, and the teacher of the law of the Lord, / you truly appeared to the wise Maxima.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Moses the God-Seer taught the great mystery, in vain the bush was not burned: / the bush is the weakness of human nature, / fire is the Divinity of the Only Begotten Son of the Most High, / for our God is a consuming fire our sins, / like the Divine Apostle speaking.
́
Irmos: From the morning in the morning, we sing Thee, O Christ, / Who is the Father of the Self and Savior of our souls, / Give peace to the world, O Lover of mankind.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
By night the moon and by day the sun enlighten and cheer all visible creation, / but the lives and wisdom of the saints enlighten and cheer the souls of all people / who want to be saved and come to the understanding of the truth. / Sitsa and the writings of the Venerable Maxim the Greek, because of his divinely inspired works, cry out loudly.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
At night I pray to you in prison, / God-beginning and the Most Blagable Trinity, with providence the Angel of the Lord speaks: / about the elder! With these torments you will suffer eternal torment.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
In the night, like a sweet-voiced and kindly-singing glory, / you sang to the wise Maxim: / do not grieve, do not mourn, even grieve for them, - / dear to my soul, - / who suffer without truth, / yours for the reward is great in Heaven.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
From the night, in the morning, I sing of Thee, O Virgin, / Daughter of the Tsar, clothed with gold and covered with gold, / the ladder that Jacob saw, / the mountain that God was pleased to live in, for The Lord will dwell until the end.
Irmos: You saved the Prophet from the whale, O Lover of Mankind,/ and bring me up from the depths of sins, I pray.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
Prophetically 24, Reverend Maxima, you denounced people, leading them to repentance: / lost, lost from the right and unlost life of the holy monks / and madly flowing towards honor highest rank.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
You appeared as a prophet of repentance, Reverend Maxima, / providing sobriety to souls with Divine words / and raising those darkened by sins from the pit of passions.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The prophetic writings, spoken in secret, / were made clear by you, the wise Maxim, / for this reason all people will listen to you abundantly.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
The prophets proclaimed Thee, O Pure Virgin, / the apostles preached, and blessed all the saints, / we and the Archangel cry out: / Rejoice, O Most Gracious One, the Lord is with Thee.
By the inspired Scripture and theology / preaching / you have exposed the superstition of those who do not believe, O you who are all rich, / moreover, by correcting them in Orthodoxy, you have guided them to the path of true knowledge, / like a pipe God-voiced, delighting the hearing minds, / constantly rejoice, Maxima is most wonderful, / for this sake we pray to Thee: / pray to Christ God to send down the remission of sins / by faith to those who sing your all-holy Dormition, Maxim, our father.
How shall we sing to the greatest namesake, Maximus of the Predoblyago? / the venerables of the red crown, the sufferers of the firm rule, / the heretics of unfathomable shame, the Church of the pillar unshakable, / the virgin of a famous mentor and the marriage of an honest defender, / the philosophers of the wise sage, the source of truth ever flowing, / the monk praise and all people truly decoration, / for this reason we pray to you, most venerable Maxima: / pray to Christ God to send forgiveness of sins / by faith to those who sing your all-holy dormition, Maximus, our father.
Irmos: To serve the image, / convening people in musical harmony, / singing fatherly from the songs of Zion, the youths of David / tormentingly destroyed the evil command, / and turning the flame into dew, / song chanting: / exalted father and our God, blessed art thou.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
Having rendered a hymn of thanksgiving to the image of the Providence of the Most Holy Trinity, O Reverend Maxima,/ You have called upon all of us to bless without blasphemy the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,/ One God in Three Hypostasis.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
The image of suffering, patience and prayer appeared to you, Saint Maximus, and even more so of hope, / that God the Judge is righteous, and strong, and long-suffering, / and He will reward everyone according to his deeds.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
You, the wise Maximus, acquired an image of the most sublime theology, / these are the dogmas of the Divine apostle and father, / poured out from the Holy Paraclete, which you teach us with your God-Wise scripture.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
The image of Your most pure Nativity, Virgin Mother, / is indescribable and incomprehensible, / for You were the dwelling of the eternal Only Begotten Son of the Father, without being scorched by Him.
Irmos: In the flame of the fiery burning furnace/ preserve the children and in the eye of the Angel who descended to them,/ sing to the Lord and exalt Him forever.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
Having desired the flame of the Divine Paraclete, Reverend Maxima, / for this sake, and with the sweetest light of teaching and miracles, with fire, / you drove away all demonic darkness.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
You taught people to flee from the flame of Gehenna, like the venerable Maxima, / calling them by deed to fulfill the commandments of Christ / and to retreat from malice, fornication, lies, pride, flattery and theft of the unrighteous other people's estates.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
You, the wise Maxim, burned fiery heretical wickedness, / and explained the immaculate Christian faith with the Divine Confession.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
In the flame of a fiery burning bush in the form of Thee, Moses the God-Seer, / proclaimed Thy seedless Nativity, O Most Pure Virgin, / for the sake of our carnal passions of freedom.
Irmos: To you, the bright light and Mother of God,/ we magnify the most wonderful glory and above all creatures,/ with songs.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
To you, the bright light, is the most extreme mind, and the unshakable pillar of everything, / above all, we preach the teacher of monks and the punisher of heresies.
Reverend Father Maxima, pray to God for us.
You, like Maxima, shone with light from the midday countries, / showing your bright life, driving away the darkness of wickedness / and asking for your favorable prayer.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Having become the light of the Divine mind, you have attained the knowledge of the Son of God, / become a perfect husband, according to the stature of Christ, / for this reason we cry to you: / blessed are you indeed in all things, / and in deeds, and glory, and grace, which you have received from above.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
To you, I shine a light in the night of passions, / and a cover of goodness, and an insurmountable wall from the slander of the enemy, / we magnify you with loud songs.
Irmos: Your victorious right hand has been gloriously glorified in the fortress: therefore, Immortal, as the almighty has erased the enemy, having remade the path of the depths of the Israelites.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You have given the source and the wisdom of the more spiritual, the most glorious, the lips and thoughts of grace have appeared in the abyss, from which drop a drop, Father, and give to me, who sings to you.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You were the charter and rule more than the nature of monastic life, and the charter of the theologian, and the saint, and the divine teacher, from where they came together, they weave songs for you.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
And you appeared from the womb of Jeremiah, knowing, to Him who created all things, entrusted, sanctified, God-bearing, all things, from where your mouth received the words of God.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Standing before the Divine Throne are angels, God-seer Gregory, having received the ray now revealed as unapproachable, praying that the darkness of sin may be resolved for us, we pray.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The light that has arisen, O Mother of God, from Your womb, desiring to see, Gregory, presents to You a prayer book to the Creator and receive the graces desired from You.
Irmos: One, who knows the weakness of the human being and mercifully imagines himself in it, girds me from on high with power, even as I cry out to You, Holy One, animated by the church Thy ineffable glory, O Lover of mankind.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You have imputed foolishness, wisdom, worldly wisdom, you have loved foolishness on the cross, and this, at the Ramo reception, you have shown, as Paul said, even foolishness worldly wisdom is superior.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Возлюби́л еси́, о́тче, от души́ нищету́, и смире́ние, и ху́дость, и нестяжа́тельство, челове́к бе́гая, отню́дуже гони́мь еси́ в пусты́ню, всегда́, в воню́ мѵ́р твои́х, Христо́ви зовя́ше: теку́ всле́д Тебе́.
Thou hast loved, O Father, with all thy heart the poverty, and humility, and wickedness, and unmerited suffering of man, who fleeing from these, art ever pursued into the wilderness by the stench of thy wounds, crying to Christ: I follow Thee in pursuit.
Staretz Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Thou didst die, wise one, by the entire ascetic struggle and weeping, washing thyself with tears from the old man within thee, and thou didst take up thy ancient life in Christ and put on the new.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Let us glorify, O multitude of monks from the local monasteries, together with all the priests and nuns, with red-robed voices and divine words, today's common teacher who adorned our lives and words, Gregory.
And now and ever and for ever. Amen.
Seeing thou didst desire, O Gregory, the spiritual dawn, through the intercession of the Mother of God thou art now more brightly enlightened by That Light; through thy prayer, may darkness of passions be changed into the bright grace.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
By abstinence, and weeping, and prayer, and action, and poverty, and common mentality, Gregory, you cleansed your heart with tears, you were all raptured, and you united with Christ in the spirit, like Paul, having heard the indescribable things and having been chosen as a vessel, you bore the name of Christ, you preached the uncreated high and simple One Divinity, Please do not cease to pray that your flock may be saved.
Glory: and now, the Mother of God:
Who, from those who do not exist, brought the existing nature, the Word of God, honor in the image and hand of man, having corrupted him by the charm of the serpent, having restored him again with the honorable Cross of Ty, Thou hast sanctified every nature, O Generous One, by Thy Holy Spirit and bodily perception, to Thy Mother with prayers, Master Christ God, grant forgiveness of sins to those who worship by faith in your power.
Irmos: Mount Ty, overshadowed by the grace of God, the perspicacious Habakkuk saw in his eyes, proclaiming from You to come forth to the Holy One of Israel, for our salvation and renewal.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
A moonless and dark night, Gregory, having wounded the passions with a prayer club, like Moses of Egypt, you, more than nature, turned to the vision of the Divine and became our lawgiver you are.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Having ascended to the Divine heights, Father Gregory, of virtues, just as Christ’s friends and disciples are at the forefront, You saw Him, revealing the natural and Divine glory, and having become deified, another thing appeared sun.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Mystery of the Divinity, God-Seer Gregory, and you have been an ineffable partaker, theologize That mystery, proclaiming the One and Uncreated by the power and Nature of the Three Compositions.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The Word that gave birth, the Ineffable of God, you sang sacred words and you proclaimed the mystery of the bright Divine Incarnation, and now pray for the Church to keep the unstormed.
Irmos: Enlightened by the radiance of Your coming, O Christ, and illuminated by Your Cross the ends of the world, enlighten the hearts with the light of Your God-mind, those who sing Thee Orthodoxy.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Great Mind, inexpressible depth of Wisdom, find yours, God-bearer, the universe of mind, united with Yourself, Mind and Wisdom have given you the organ of the Church.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Like Athos, Gregory, who first shone a bright ray, bestows upon the bright city, God-moving Spiritual Light, sanctifying and fatherly instructing.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You will receive a Divine gift from God and inexhaustible wealth, the Metropolitan Metropolitanate of Fittal convenes neighbors to partake of your words and miracles, blessed one.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Those who desire the feat and words of the graces of the Grigorievs, now bring a song to him, let us pray to him through the prayers of the Creator and the Lord of mercy to all.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Enlightening the breadth of the earth, the light of the sun, the Light of beings appearing in the darkness, the Virgin, the Everlasting One, Who prayed to the fierce and sinful darkness to deliver us, O Lady.
Irmos: From the womb of the baby Jonah the sea beast vomited, and received Jacob; Into the Virgin the Word entered and the flesh that was received passed, preserving the incorruptibility: He, for the incorruptibility did not suffer, preserved the One who gave birth unharmed.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
The rule of virtue, your divine life is seen to be truly faithful, Gregory, but the ruler of piety is your word and command, with which he discusses his own and empty, One God is preaching omnipotent, One and Uncreated.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Having preached the Divinity in one pious manner, the great Gregory appeared to us, having formed the Three One Nature and Power, in every possible way the Simple and Uncreated One, he put all to shame to the sovereign, The Godhead was created for those who speak whores [in the text: whorespeakers].
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You denounce the foolish wisdom of Akindinus, like the proud Barlam before, who shared the glory of the Hellenics, bringing the Divinity into a creature, dishonored, like the first of the Jews, The dignity of the Son of God.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Bringing the statutes of commandments, Gregory, and the words of light, in which you opened the thoughts of honest theologians, with the Spirit, with your prayers, the immovable one, keeping Christ, delivering, the Church from all heresy.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The throne of the cherubim and all the heavenly powers, O Lady, and of every high rank, You have appeared, like the indescribable throne of the former composition of God, Whose, like Thy Son, O merciful One, I will surely sing to Thee, make.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
Wisdom, sacred and divine organ, theology of the bright trumpet, we sing to you, Gregory, the God-speaker, but, as wiser, the First Mind now stands, to that mind Our father, instruct, so we call to you: Rejoice, preacher of grace.
Ikos:
An angel appeared on earth, the ineffable Divine proclaiming to the corruptible, for disembodied voices, born of men and living in the body, surprised you and made you call, God-speaking, this: Rejoice, for whose sake the Light was preached; Rejoice, for his sake I drove away the darkness; Rejoice, proclaimer of the Uncreated Divinity; Rejoice, thou who hast created nature and is truly a accuser; Rejoice, unclimbable height, God's nature of rivers; Rejoice, the depth of visual inconvenience, the action of rivers; Rejoice, for thou art the glory of God; Rejoice, for you have renounced the wisdom of the evil ones; Rejoice, luminary, showing the Sun; Rejoice, vessel of divine drink; Rejoice, for where the truth shines; Rejoice, even though darkness has darkened; Rejoice, preacher of grace.
Irmos: To you, wise Mother of God, let us consider the cave, faithful, just as we saved the three youths, O exalted One, renew the world, in Your womb is wholly, O praiseworthy Father God and glorified.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Like the thunder of the voice of your commands and the words of the divine lightning, the terrible lightning can be seen clearly, father, they cannot overcome the charm of captivity and are felt, as he writes, like a blind man, now The walls are more ridiculous than madness.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
The night was not bright for the disobedient, and now the Natural Light is the Kingdom of the Glory of God, which the Lover of Mankind revealed as a secret place to the favorites, Gregory, who, having received sufficient communion, join those you please.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Those who are wicked in grace, most glorious, who blasphemed God’s silence and prayer, and who mocked the unspeakable filth of deification, having put them to shame, you drove away from the Divine court, its always comply with your prayers.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Come now to our help, common salvation, accepting St. Gregory’s prayers, Lady, passions that lull mental and physical and general rebellion and corruption soon permissive.
Irmos: In the cave, the children of Israel, as in a crucible, the goodness of piety, purer than gold, sparkled, saying: bless, all the works of the Lord, the Lord, sing and exalt in all things eyelids.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You have appeared, Father, all bright, sweet, right, meek, flowing sweet words with faith to those who come to you, Gregory, divine beer, gladdening all pious hearts, grab those suffering from spiritual feelings.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
The mind and tongue are truly noble, the heart will find punishment and words, the Wisdom of God will dwell in you, united with each other, father, a miracle to all It’s strange to show you to the world.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
In the cave, the children are unharmed by the Jewish demonstration of the power of piety, to whom, like unto the wise, the flame restrained evil in the midst of the furnace of temptations, and valiantly slain the Master, and scorching persecutors.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Cleverly, you immersed Pharaoh in the flow of your tears and you drowned all the Egyptian army, you ascended the mountain of dispassion, beating from there the Spirit with the power of the army. a fighter like the great Moses.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Bright of grace, Pure One, preacher and theologian of the Spirit, Mother of God, given by You, now the words of triumphant singing, songs and choirs are gathered by all Ti, as faithful servant, glorifying Your memory.
Irmos: The image of Your pure Nativity is shown by the burning bush, unburned; and now the ferocious misfortunes on us will be extinguished, we pray, O God, that we may unceasingly magnify You, Mother of God.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
Standing before the Throne, Gregory, of the Trisolar and Beginningless Divinity, and having been sufficiently satisfied with grace through the action, now you have sung, co-worker and friend, who have now remembered you, remember.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You have found the reward of your illnesses, O Kingdom, Father, the beginningless of God, which you preached most piously on earth, you received the crowns of triplets of confession. divine, priesthood and silence.
Saint Father Gregory, pray to God for us.
You appeared to the monastics to praise you, you are a divine theologian, and the rule of the priesthood is known, for this reason here miracles will be given to you, Divine grace, confirming your words.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The law of the praiseworthy, the most glorious, and the verbal feat truly came, and to the earth alive, and came from the body, but accept a little singing more generously and give petitions to those who wish you with prayers yours.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The mouth of Your terrible Christmas and theological language, Lady, came, even more than nature, from You the adoration of Your honest servant Gregory, his now prayers accept, save everyone.
Let us sing of the Thessalonite shepherd, who was all-encompassing and to the Church, in the songs of theology: Light for the village has appeared without setting, and bestows enlightenment and unenvious grace calling: Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
An angel in the world, like a spectator on high, appeared to you, O all-blessed Gregory, and through your God-like life you enhanced your angelic talents. Moreover, marveling at your lordship, father, we cry:
Rejoice, for the Divine Light shines;
Rejoice, for you have driven away the darkness.
Rejoice, most fragrant of wisdom;
Rejoice, punishment of the best communicant.
Rejoice, unimaginable height of lofty visions;
Rejoice, impenetrable depth of spiritual gifts.
Rejoice, for you are the lordship of the church;
Rejoice, for you have shown yourself to be a fortress of the Orthodox.
Rejoice, all-bright luminary of faith;
Rejoice, lamp of grace that never goes down.
Rejoice, for his sake the talkers fall silent;
Rejoice, for his sake the theologians will leap.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
The vision of your soul has been from youth, father, reaching out to Christ the King, you have despised the royal courts and you have abandoned earthly glory, but following the fasting labors of the Lord, you have sung You: Alleluia.
You have learned all external intelligence, O all-blessed one, for you are intelligent and extremely witty, and it is from the Wisdom of God’s kindness that the healer appeared, Gregory, making wise the divine words. in your reverence they cry out:
Rejoice, morals like a vessel;
Rejoice, immaterial treasure of Light.
Rejoice, all-fruitful root of the noble tree;
Rejoice, fragrant kinnamone of piety.
Rejoice, everlasting flower of mystical agriculture;
Rejoice, abundant phoenix of spiritual prosperity.
Rejoice, for you have despised worldly flattery;
Rejoice, for you have received God-given grace.
Rejoice, warmest servant of Christ;
Rejoice, thou who art above all perishable things.
Rejoice, quickening of your spiritual strength;
Rejoice, you who put to death passions and aspirations.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
With strength on Athos you clothed yourself with the holy, the monastic image, and in the weakness of the flesh you prepared yourself for the fasting with labor, O blessed Gregory, who strengthens you with a call: Alleluia.
You shone with silence and diligent feat with every active life and with intelligent prayer you united with the Savior in the sacrament, filling the Divine Light and enlightening you blatant:
Rejoice, lamp of silence;
Rejoice, image of abstinence.
Rejoice, doer of intelligent prayers;
Rejoice, treasure of active life.
Rejoice, treasured vessel of the inspiration of the Comforter;
Rejoice, God-bearing mouth of the spiritual voice.
Rejoice, for you have surpassed the limits of corruption;
Rejoice as you gaze upon the glory of God.
Rejoice, in vain the Divine Light;
Rejoice, you who see God and are visible from Him.
Rejoice, you who abolish wisdom;
Rejoice, fierce one who drives away attacks.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
Having lived in silence, like an angel, Father, you received the heavenly light and, filled with truly divine Light, you departed from Athos like the sun, Gregory God-wise, flaming those singing: Alleluia.
You have denounced with the divine word and the wisdom of the power and the dogmas of the saints, God-wise, the slander of Barlaam, surprising all with your grace, the divine teacher seemed to cry out:
Rejoice, princess of piety;
Rejoice, fall of evil.
Rejoice, great teacher of the Church;
Rejoice, filled with immaterial gods.
Rejoice, thou who art of many wisdom of the dogmas of the right;
Rejoice, thou art a two-edged sword against all who are at enmity.
Rejoice, destroyer of the tares;
Rejoice, planter of heavenly virtues.
Rejoice, you who are abundant in the word of grace;
Rejoice, meek in all things and gentle.
Rejoice, strengthening the hearts of the faithful;
Rejoice, burn away the passions of guilt.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
In the language of God at the Divine Council, as full of heavenly wisdom, you, Father, expounded the truly holy dogmas of Orthodoxy, as the Father is unanimous, Gregory, call from below: Alleluia.
God-wise saint, as a treasure of virtues and a secret place of divine ascensions, and the Thessalonite shepherd was God-like and wise, you were the divine lot, the venerable one, hearing from us:
Rejoice, mouth of theologians;
Rejoice, power of the Orthodox.
Rejoice, the most precise rule of the priests;
Rejoice, thou imprinted of shepherds in the image of God.
Rejoice, trumpet of the divine teachings of the saints;
Rejoice, flowing fountain of God, flowing forth new water.
Rejoice, blessed chief shepherd to Thessaloniki;
Rejoice, God-speaking representative of Orthodoxy.
Rejoice, Light to the divine servant;
Rejoice, immaculate lives to the teacher.
Rejoice, cleanse the filthiness of your soul;
Rejoice, arouse the jealousy of the faithful.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
He was a Preacher of the Divine Light, he spoke of God, as he was a partaker in the life, on that rising voice the words of lordship eclipsed you, and you raised everything up, Gregory, God's name: Alleluia.
Having risen up at the cathedral, like a bright theologian and the mouth of unspoken Wisdom, you preached God’s being without participation, but the action is participatory in those who cry out to you, father:
Rejoice, great glory to the priest;
Rejoice, O Divine Manifestation of God.
Rejoice, thou of the highest lordship to the herald;
Rejoice, luminous adoration of the secret writer.
Rejoice, God-like leader of wise sobriety;
Rejoice, charmless teacher of inner prayers.
Rejoice, for you are filled with heavenly graces;
Rejoice, for you have partaken of the divine radiance.
Rejoice, thou who has seen God's lordship;
Rejoice, drive out darkness of passions.
Rejoice, foundation of Orthodox dogmas;
Rejoice, streams of rich springs.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
Greatness in the saints truly appeared to you, Gregory to the wise, the Manifestation of God, as if you were adorned with the apostolic life and wondrous virtues, O saint, and you raised up all the songs: Hallelujah.
Immaterial divine nectar and soul-nourishing manna and honey flowing from the stone, like the words of the holy David, your words of testament are given, Gregory, all-wonderful, crying joyfully:
Rejoice, sweetest pagan;
Rejoice, most divine one.
Rejoice, like Savior and imitator;
Rejoice, jealous father and co-dweller.
Rejoice, heavenly breeze, cooling souls;
Rejoice, dew that brings joy to us, irrigating us.
Rejoice, holy aroma of pure living;
Rejoice, perfect food of spiritual feast.
Rejoice, cup of immortal nectar;
Rejoice, accuser of fierce wisdom.
Rejoice, God-bearing radiance of the wise;
Rejoice, leader of the Orthodox people.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
Strange grace is given in the rich outpouring of your mouth, the Manifestation of God, from whom, like a great river, flowing from Eden, Gregory, water the whole Church, crying out to the Lord: Hallelujah.
Mount, father, the bright Mount of Athos preaches your exploits with Thessaloniki, and the whole Church of the Faithful, as God-given, honors you as the bearer of Light, even more than meaning, who enlightens you blatant:
Rejoice, God-bearing lips;
Rejoice, myrrh-bearing vessel.
Rejoice, organ of trisolar radiance;
Rejoice, perfect silence.
Rejoice, God-bright house of divine action;
Rejoice, inestimable wealth like those in Dus belly.
Rejoice, for you have received the divine gift;
Rejoice, for you have turned away Varlaam’s idle talk.
Rejoice, in whom Athos is magnified;
Rejoice, who drives away delusion.
Rejoice, bright Thessaloniki, glory;
Rejoice, strong power of Orthodoxy.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
Rivers flow from your womb with a mysterious shower from heaven, like the speech of the Savior, O wise Father, and the thirsty heart will water from the living stream, Gregory, call the God: Alleluia.
Most easily, Father, you have endured various temptations for a good confession, and like all were tempted with gold by fire, you have exalted, raising those who cry out to better reverence:
Rejoice, stone of goodness;
Rejoice, stone of patience.
Rejoice, you were not afraid of the temptations of invasion;
Rejoice, quenching the furnace of passions.
Rejoice, unshakable wall of the Church of Christ;
Rejoice, much-bright lamp of God-wise people.
Rejoice, for you bore sorrow with joy;
Rejoice, for you appeared to the Lord with glory.
Rejoice, preacher of God’s mysteries;
Rejoice, you who offer salvation to the faithful.
Rejoice, divine soul builder;
Rejoice, most divine friend of Christ.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
From the lips of your words, the Orthodox faith was established in the divine Dus: for the ancient divine father was one and the same and unanimous, the voices of those, the venerable one, you led, singing: Alleluia.
Enjoying the rays of the uncreated light that shone on Tabor, you write this sacred glory, kindness, lightness and raise up, holy ones, to the communion of the cry:
Rejoice, uncreated mystical light;
Rejoice, deliverer from the passions of the soul.
Rejoice, beginning of future blessings;
Rejoice, consolation for sorrowful souls.
Rejoice, for you showed the wisdom of Barlaam to Buiy;
Rejoice, for you have proclaimed the grace of the Spirit.
Rejoice, divine fertilizer for the bishops;
Rejoice, luminous treasure of theology.
Rejoice, mirror of the immaterial light;
Rejoice, sickle of alien dogmas.
Rejoice, joy of the Orthodox and the gift;
Rejoice, cast down the horn of the enemy.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
With high thoughts and divine wisdom, having preached the greatness of God, the Spirit of divine fruits, you reveal grace, Gregory, with a pure spirit, of which those who cry out partake: Alleluia.
Your life of virtues is luminous with rays, Gregory, appearing, theologian, and fulfilling your teaching with light, blessed one: For you bring all your teachings to God, crying out:
Rejoice, source of teaching;
Rejoice, establishment of Orthodoxy.
Rejoice, dweller of the holy image;
Rejoice, crowned Church of God.
Rejoice, wonderful proclaimer of the purest life;
Rejoice, holy preacher of the words of grace.
Rejoice, for you cleanse the souls of all filthiness;
Rejoice, for you are teaching the path to salvation.
Rejoice, lamp of immaterial lights;
Rejoice, luminary of the highest mysteries.
Rejoice, for for his sake the Church rejoices;
Rejoice, for whose sake every faithful one rejoices divinely.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
Ask for divine joy and salvation of souls, Gregory, wise saint, who come to you in reverence and honor your bright deeds; For as a minister of light, you enlighten those who cry: Alleluia.
Singing your labors and divine deeds, which you have accomplished for the Church for the sake of pious faces, you will sing to you, Gregory, and your grateful lips will cry out to you incessantly:
Rejoice, power of the Church;
Rejoice, branch of piety.
Rejoice, shameful idle talker Akindina;
Rejoice, you who have manifested God-given power.
Rejoice, O apostle to the merchant, as an imitator in all;
Rejoice, fellow and partaker of the dawn of God.
Rejoice, bright day of Thessalonites;
Rejoice, God-speaking ascetic of Orthodoxy.
Rejoice, delight of our souls;
Rejoice, all Orthodox affirmation.
Rejoice, O honorable lordship of your church;
Rejoice, joy to your faithful people.
Rejoice, Father Gregory, preacher of grace.
O Divine Father, Mystery of the Unspeakable, Gregory, fathers of the land, receive the voices of your people and give your intercession to everyone: surely we will flow to you and cry out to the Trinity: Alleluia.
This kontakion was spoken three times, then the 1st ikos and the 1st kontakion.
O blessed and honest, truly and most beloved head, the power of silence, the glory of the monastics, the common adornment of theologians and fathers and teachers, the apostles, the ascetics, the confessors and bloodless martyrs for the zealot and crowner of words and deeds and piety, champion and leader of the leader, exalted exponent and teacher of divine dogmas, delights of various heresies for the consumer, To the whole Church of Christ, representative, guardian, and deliverer! Thou hast reposed unto Christ, and now even now thy flock and the whole Church from above, healing various diseases, and ruling all thy words, and casting out heresies, and manifold passions delivering. Accept our prayer and deliver us from passions and temptations, and worries, and troubles, and grant us weakness and peace and prosperity, O Christ Jesus our Lord, to Him be glory and dominion due. His beginningless Father and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
As the divine life of a rich mystery and the piety of a God-bearing teacher, the Orthodox Church honors you: from heaven, for the granting of reception, illuminated by your divine writings blatant ones:
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
An angel of morals and great understanding, O Nicodemus, you appeared on Athos; You have an angelic life, with an angelic voice you explained the paternal scriptures, in which you enlighten those who cry:
Rejoice, Naxian beauty;
Rejoice, Athos illumination.
Rejoice, exposition of fatherly dogmas;
Rejoice, holy verb explanation.
Rejoice, the height of wisdom and wisdom is river;
Rejoice, depth of divine knowledge and treasure of love.
Rejoice, for you have appeared as a God-bearing scribe;
Rejoice, for you are a God-speaking interpreter.
Rejoice, lamp of the morals of honesty;
Rejoice, fiery mountain of lordship.
Rejoice, for the faithfulness is established;
Rejoice, they are afraid of enemies.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
The life sanctified from childhood, like the branch of divine parents, you left the worldly darkness, and you rushed to the Savior Christ, following Him unswervingly, Nicodemus, You cried with inspiration: Alleluia.
With a mind acceptable to God, as if touched by divine desire, you came to Mount Athos, and by virtuous living to the mountains you exalted yourself eternally, according to David, Nicodemus, hearing from us calico:
Rejoice, the lives of the saint are a treasure;
Rejoice, immaterial friend of the light.
Rejoice, monk of Athos;
Rejoice, confirmation of the pious of all.
Rejoice, knowledgeable of God, filled with heavenly thoughts;
Rejoice, mouth of the God-moving teachings.
Rejoice, for you have completely withdrawn from the world;
Rejoice, for in Athos you went to the mountains.
Rejoice, the faces of the holy communicants;
Rejoice, great teacher to the faithful.
Rejoice, thou who destroyest the thoughts of the enemies;
Rejoice, strengthening careless souls.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
Looking at the glory of the Lord, having cleared yourself of material things, you appeared to the heavenly instructors, the God-speaking Nicodemus, directing all things to God in deed and word, crying out to God: Hallelujah.
Have your heart set on fire by the fear of God, you have passed unwaveringly through the life of an angel, and even in it there is grace, as you are enlightened by the Spirit, O Nicodemus, explaining to those who call:
Rejoice, pillar of abstinence;
Rejoice, mystery of dispassion.
Rejoice, having raised your mind to heaven;
Rejoice, thou who obtained from there the unspeakable one.
Rejoice, light-shaped house of Spiritual grace;
Rejoice, valuable village of virtuous people.
Rejoice, for you flow from rivers of teachings;
Rejoice, for you have dried up the streams of passions.
Rejoice, enriched with the radiance of Christ;
Rejoice, slain exaltation of the enemy.
Rejoice, harp of soul-nourishing verbs;
Rejoice, song of the godly wise woman.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
The zealous God-inspired one appeared to the holy fathers, putting to death those who are in the world, and the holy teachers, the imprint and mouth of the God-moving: rich grace was given to you, O Nicodemus, I cry: Alleluia.
Thou didst end thy life, like unto the God-wise, having resisted various temptations, and, like gold in the fire, was tempted by sorrows, O Nicodemus, the God-wise teacher appeared in action. to those calling:
Rejoice, new among the saints;
Rejoice, God-inspired teacher.
Rejoice, instruct our thoughts;
Rejoice, destroy the Belial madness.
Rejoice, guide souls with the word of grace;
Rejoice, sword, ever sowing passions of guilt.
Rejoice, for you cleanse the filthiness of the heart;
Rejoice, for you are the divine gift.
Rejoice, fiery best Wisdom;
Rejoice, lightning for the worst demon.
Rejoice, lamp of prosperity to the living creatures;
Rejoice, shining light towards divine exaltation.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
The God-speaking language is received, God-speaking, we are moved by the highest inspiration, the verbs of eternal life and even in the divine fathers, inconvenient to all, you have explained, all the struggle Sing to the Gods: Alleluia.
May you, O God-bearing one, soar to God, all your movements, the preservation of feelings, you have firmly passed through, teaching those who want to improve divine unity, even as they sing, father, sitsa:
Rejoice, divine herald;
Rejoice, deliverer from the worst ignorance.
Rejoice, teach divine feats;
Rejoice, heavenly revealer of wisdom.
Rejoice, breadth of the divine mind and wise mentor;
Rejoice, tablet of God-imprinted spiritual broadcasting.
Rejoice, most honorable Comforter in the vessel;
Rejoice, God-given fortress of the Orthodox.
Rejoice, cup of soul-nourishing nectar;
Rejoice, filled with the trisolar light.
Rejoice, you ruled as a hermit in business;
Rejoice, being a teacher in words.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
The Vertograd of divine graces, having completed your heart, O Nicodemus, with your residence, “The Vertograd of Divine Graces,” as you are truly filled with the fragrance of grace, you called your book, enjoying, we cry: Alleluia.
Having risen on Mount Athos, like a newly-minted star, you enlighten the Church of Christ with your dawning virtues, O holy monk Nicodemus; from here we call to life with your light:
Rejoice, church star;
Rejoice, torch of piety.
Rejoice, explanation of the ancient theologians;
Rejoice, overthrow of alien teachings.
Rejoice, guardian and secret guide of divine traditions;
Rejoice, holy light-bearer of virtuous deeds.
Rejoice, for you denounce the new teachings;
Rejoice, for you demonstrate God-given virtues.
Rejoice, dearest servant of God;
Rejoice, unshakable protector of the faithful.
Rejoice, paradise of manifold wisdom;
Rejoice, who was the shining light of learning in Christ.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
Stay in Mount Athos, like in an upper room, through fervent prayer and fasting. You, the wise one, received spiritual grace, mysteriously dwelling in you, like the apostles and others. The imitator appeared to you, crying: Alleluia.
Your teaching gives victory to the pious, to those who learn faithfully, to Nicodemus, the Holy Father, against passions and all heresies: in the Holy Spirit he acts as he always cries:
Rejoice, victory of the Orthodox;
Rejoice, fall of the ill-famed.
Rejoice, great teacher of the Church;
Rejoice, equal to the ancient saints.
Rejoice, for you have left us a wealth of sacred books;
Rejoice, for you cease all misery of passions.
Rejoice, God-enlightened pillar reaching to heaven;
Rejoice, O everlasting lamp of the Comforter.
Rejoice, cloud, overshadowing the faithful;
Rejoice, most luminous, shining best.
Rejoice, preacher of divine dogmas;
Rejoice, streams from immaterial sources.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
The thoughts of the faithful, God-speaking, marvel at the multitude of your wise writings: for you, O Lord, write and speak with divine wisdom and heavenly power, and all encourage us to sing: Alleluia.
The whole Church, like a God-given light, your God-given words enlighten, Father, mysteriously, and lead to the most perfect understanding even in this regard, those who perceive and cry out with one accord:
Rejoice, trumpet of the ineffable;
Rejoice, mysteries of heaven.
Rejoice, scribe of the Spirit of God;
Rejoice, taught by divine inspiration.
Rejoice, for divine moisture has come from heaven;
Rejoice, for you have been blessed by the hand of God.
Rejoice, theology of the mystical harp;
Rejoice, God-speaking heavenly priest.
Rejoice, cut away the thorns of passions; Rejoice, soul cleanse the field.
Rejoice, O pagan of God's grace; Rejoice, glory to the Orthodox faithful.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
Instructing by feat against mental enemies, Nicodemus, the venerable fulfillment, “Invisible Warfare”, you have wisely copied the book, O saint: from this we learn Lift up to God, singing: Alleluia.
On the Savior holidays, God-inspired sayings and songs of all wisdom spread in breadth and depth, even in them you gave grace to everyone, so that souls rejoice, to Nicodemus, those who cry out to you:
Rejoice, interpreter of the divine songs;
Rejoice, daughter of the words of the saints.
Rejoice, blessings of the divine treasury;
Rejoice, decoration of the Church of Christ.
Rejoice, treasure of the Spirit and repository of virtues;
Rejoice, organ inspired by God with spiritual songs.
Rejoice, for you purify the hearts of the faithful;
Rejoice, for you bring forth life-giving irrigation.
Rejoice, God-wise mentor soul;
Rejoice, equal honorable father.
Rejoice, teach the mind to guard;
Rejoice, shining with mysterious joy.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
With lips that speak God and a hand moved by the Spirit by grace, Father, explaining spiritual degrees in the breadth of meaning, you have placed a ladder for those who wish to sing to the Lord: Alleluia.
The wisdom of the divine is the moisture, like Solomon, given to you, Nicodemus, from wherefore the wise and glorious teacher appeared to the Church, for all the best instruction, Father, calling:
Rejoice, mind of theology;
Rejoice, stream of theology.
Rejoice, more than spiritual pleasure;
Rejoice, most bright in words and deeds.
Rejoice, ancient and wise verb of the animals;
Rejoice, blessed mouth of the Spiritual voice.
Rejoice, planter of heavenly virtues;
Rejoice, eradicator of the most evil morals.
Rejoice, warm prayers have been established;
Rejoice, God-given praise of the faithful.
Rejoice, God-speaking God-singer;
Rejoice, our God-bearing leader.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
Having raised your aspirations towards God in your mind, you put to death carnal movements, and, illuminated by the divine light, you shone forth in word and deed, like a saint, to God. guiding those who cry: Alleluia.
By the Comforter Light of your wise writings, grace, Nicodemus, shines everywhere and breathes a mysterious fragrance into the souls, through which we get rid of the stench of passions, crying out:
Rejoice, flower of paradise;
Rejoice, reed of the Comforter.
Rejoice, world-maker of divine goodness;
Rejoice, the fragrance of life is pure.
Rejoice, all-fragrant world of ascetic life;
Rejoice, heavenly aroma of the spiritual dwelling.
Rejoice, secret writer of holy dogmas;
Rejoice, more eloquent than sacred meanings.
Rejoice, louder than the songs of grace;
Rejoice, numbered among the saints.
Rejoice, soul of confirmation of those who waver;
Rejoice, wise teacher of monks.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
Grace and guidance to the path of salvation and all the divine benefits in the Holy Dus, the multitude of your books, O Nicodemus, gives and leads to the divine glory of those crying out: Alleluia.
Singing a song to you, as a great and divine teacher and wise teacher of the Church of Christ, about the prophecy of God, we honor you, Nicodemus: but do not cease, O holy one, to enlighten all calling:
Rejoice, great glory of Mount Athos;
Rejoice, divine praise of Naxos.
Rejoice, ever-bright luminary for the monastics;
Rejoice, never-ending fiery of the Orthodox.
Rejoice, image and rule of monks acceptable to God;
Rejoice, gift and crown of the silent and reverent.
Rejoice, most unshakable wall of the Church;
Rejoice, most luminous lamp of piety.
Rejoice, for we will receive the best;
Rejoice, we also turn away the worst.
Rejoice, Mysterious Mother of God;
Rejoice, your named representative.
Rejoice, Father Nicodemus, Holy Mountains, glorious decoration.
O Nicodemus, Father, Mount Athos, miracle and glory to the whole Church, graciously accept our present offering and give everyone the divine light through your prayers, for it is everlasting to God we cry: Alleluia.
Say this kontakion three times. Also 1st Ikos and 1st Kontakion.
O God-inspired and universal teacher of truth, great praise to the Most Holy Mountain, brightest star of the Orthodox Catholic Church, all-venerable and holy Father Nicodemus! Give us enlightenment through your prayers in fulfillment of the divine will, direct our feet to the paths of virtuous living, overshadow us with the grace given to you and enlighten our minds, in our understanding God-wise teachings of yours, may we find in them repentance, healing, joy, peace, meekness, peace, love, and whatever is good and beneficial and saving, and in the end eternal life, and always pray to To the Lord for all of us who sincerely love you and call upon your fatherly goodness and help every day and hour. Amen.
Irmos: Having passed through the water like dry land, and having escaped the evil of Egypt, the Israeli cried out: Let us drink to the Deliverer and our God.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
Bring a song to Thy saint, who glorified Thee on earth, Peter, God grant, that I may glorify Thee with songs, the Giver of Meaning.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
You, blessed one, to your fatherland, like the bright sun, Christ showed, illuminating miracles to all who come to you by faith.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As you have neglected the things of the body, and the earthly, as it is corruptible, you have hated, and for this reason you have renounced for the sake of the world, you have received the honor of the like, and pray with him for peace.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Most Pure Mother of God, who gave birth to flesh the ever-present Word of the Beginningless Father, the Ever-Virgin, to whom we now cry: Let us praise our Savior God.
Irmos: The Supreme Creator of the heavenly circle, Lord, and the Creator of the Church, Thou hast confirmed me in Thy love, the desires of the land, the true affirmation, the One Lover of Mankind.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
Be a helper to the helpless, blessed Peter, and merciful consolation to the sad, yes, through your prayers we deliver, we honor you.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
Just as you sometimes killed the serpent and consigned it to eventual obscurity, so even now your fatherland of those who fight has been victorious, blessed be thee, let us glorify you.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
See the despondency, see the sadness, see the misfortune that is attacking us today from the enemy, and also with your prayer to the Lord, Peter, may we honor you with piety.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We are all treasurers of You, Christians, a refuge and a wall, and we praise You without silence, O Blessed One.
Lord, have mercy (three times).
To the blessed and luminous triumph, like the rising sun, of Peter and Fevronia, throughout the world, let us come to them, faithful ones, and unceasingly cry out to our mother: earth, glory, but you will not leave us, and there the angels of the Trinity stand, and pray to save our souls.
Glory: and now the Word of the Father, Christ our God, from You became incarnate, by knowledge, the Virgin Mother of God, one Pure, one Blessed. Thus we continually magnify You, praising.
Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the sight of Your sacrament, I have understood Your works and glorified Your Divinity.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
As an intercessor and defender of your fatherland, as a resolver of the resistance, interceding your people, glorifying you, Peter.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
As you rejoice in the heavenly abodes with the holy and righteous, blessed Peter together with Fevronia, do not cease praying for your people.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We pray to you, most blessed one, to put down those who resist the vacillation and alleviate the ailments of people, as we magnify you in the voices of praise.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Grant cleansing to us through sin, as the Preblad, and pacify your world, O God, who gave birth to you through your prayers.
Irmos: Thou hast cast me away from Thy presence, O everlasting Light, and hast the alien darkness of the accursed covered me? But turn me, and direct my path to the light of Your commandments, I pray.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
The earth is sanctified, having received your honorable body, blessed Peter and Fevronia, and the people who receive your healing glorify Christ, who sincerely glorified you.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
Even though you were far from the earth, but to the heavenly dominions and there the angels presented themselves to the Trinity, You pray to be saved by the love of those who worship you, blessed ones.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Like the bright stars and like the never-setting sun that has acquired you, your fatherland boasts, honoring your honorable memory, Peter and Fevronia.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We sing to You at Christmas, Mother of God, for You gave birth to us in the flesh of God the Word, and to Him we all call: direct our path, we pray to You.
Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for my iniquities are many, and bring me up from the depths of evil, I pray, for I have cried out to You, and hear me, O God of my salvation.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
Oh, most honorable two! Oh, great lamps! Sanctify and glorify you with love in songs of glorification, miracle workers.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
Like the blessed two and like the most honorable mile and prosperity, the Lord’s yoke is on the earth, so work with all your heart.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As advisors of goodness to your life, having one thought in two bodies, you enlighten the world with miracles, and also illuminate us with your prayers.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The voice of God makes clear the prophecies of Thee, the Virgin, the Mother of God, and we also sing to Thee, seeing the fulfillment of honest prophecies, true virginity and the receptacle of purity.
Thinking of this world's reign and glory for a time, for this sake you lived piously in the world, Peter, together with your wife, the wise Fevronia, alms and pleasing God with prayers. Moreover, even after death, lying inseparably in the tomb, you invisibly grant healing, and now you pray to Christ to preserve the city and the people who glorify you.
Ikos Clarify my tongue, O Savior, and placate my heart, widen my mouth and fill with the Spirit and wisdom, so that I may say and sing to Your voice, wonderworkers: Rejoice, Blessed Peter with the most praiseworthy Fevronia; Rejoice, intercessor of the Russian lands and helper of the Orthodox prince; Rejoice, guardians of your fatherland and the establishment of our city. Oh, most honorable duality and good union, pray to Christ to preserve the city and the people who glorify you.
Irmos: From Judea came, children, in Babylon, sometimes, by the faith of the Trinity, the fire of the furnace was trodden, singing: Fathers God, blessed art thou.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
In sickness, deliver those who come running to you, most blessed Peter, together with Fevronia, who cry to Christ: our father, God, blessed are you.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
A haven for all, blessed ones, and a calm calm for those who are in sin, and you and I cry out to Christ: Our Father God, blessed are you.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
May you be a refuge for me in the day of wrath, blessings of God, as I walk in the midst of many snares: therefore deliver me from them, that I may sing praises to you.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Today the glorious memory of Peter and Fevronia, like the sun, has risen in the world, having come together, let us all sing: our father, God, blessed are you.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
God-flowing drop, born from You, sanctify the world, Virgin Mary: pour out drops of mercy for me, sanctifying the souls and thoughts of the earth.
Irmos: Praise and extol the Heavenly King, Whom all the angels sing, praise and extol forever.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
Purify and forgive our sins, O Sinless One, through Your prayers, saint Peter and Fevronia, may we praise You, Christ, forever.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
And from the heart, with an unworthy hand, the praise brought to you, blessed ones, accept and make a prayer for us to Christ God.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
To the singer who sings to You, Most Holy Trinity, forgive your sins, as the Most Good, pray for the sake of Peter and Fevronia, that we may sing to You forever.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Deities who were the vessel, O Pure One, enlighten me in the commandment of the Light to walk, O Most Pure One, from Thy womb that arose and enlightened the hearts of the faithful.
Irmos: Truly the Mother of God, We confess Thee, saved by You, Pure Virgin, with disembodied faces magnifying Thee.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
From your youth, you have had a clear conscience towards God, for this reason, having lived piously, to the highest. Pray to Christ for us, that we may honor you with love.
Holy saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us.
As the Holy Trinity stands with the holy and righteous, pray, blessed ones, to deliver us from all reproach and anger, so that we may continually magnify you.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Your people pray to you, blessed Peter, pray to Christ together with the wise Fevronia, who lived in the world pleasingly to God, to deliver us from all evils.
And now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Oh, great miracle! How can Christ God, who cannot be contained, fit into Your womb? For those who praised You, we begged Him, O Virgin, to deliver us from troubles and from lawless people always.
As the divine organ and Light of the Trisolar dwelling of the mysterious theology, the Theologian Simeon, we praise you. But as you are filled with the Spirit, illuminate with the rays of your graces those who cry out: Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the divine mystery.
You appeared angel-like to those who excelled in virtues, O god-wise Simeon the Theologian, and through your angelic voice you theologized even more than the mind of the sacrament. Moreover, we all cry out in wonder at your lordship:
Rejoice, in whom the Trinity is sung;
Rejoice, in whom corruption is trampled under foot.
Rejoice, dwelling place of the Trisolar Light;
Rejoice, contemplation of heavenly life.
Rejoice, height of the divine mind, inconvenience corrected by many;
Rejoice, depth of life of the best, for the sake of all virtues.
Rejoice, for you have appeared in radiance to the Church;
Rejoice, for you have appeared to bring joy to the theologians.
Rejoice, ray of immaterial lights;
Rejoice, lightning against material imaginations.
Rejoice, through whom theologies are taught in secret;
Rejoice, because the New Slovakians are listening.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
Having cleansed the eye of your soul to a great extent by your life, you marvelously saw the immaterial light of the manifestation, the lifting of the yoke of Christ, O Reverend, and, fixed on the Spirit, Simeon Inspired by God, you cried: Alleluia.
Having a divine mind, you wisely renounced the worldly virtues of all souls and, despising the love of your parents, you flowed to the abode of the Studios, rejoicing: For you followed Christ, hearing from everyone:
Rejoice, treasure of Christ's love;
Rejoice, immaterial friend of the light.
Rejoice, imitate the life of angels;
Rejoice, turning away demonic insolence.
Rejoice, treasured vessel of divine inspiration;
Rejoice, thou who art God-forged against material addiction.
Rejoice, for thou hast received heavenly fire into the soul;
Rejoice, for you have chosen the best for all things.
Rejoice, pluck away the thorns of passion;
Rejoice, renew the field of souls.
Rejoice, creator of immortal fruits;
Rejoice, filled with incorruptible goodness.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
I received strength in asceticism and in many understandings, Simeon, from heaven and in obedience to the elders, having been perfected, you subordinated the flesh to wisdom, but you were filled with the best wisdom and the Trinity sing: Alleluia.
The rich grace of your lips was poured out, and your moisture was given to wisdom; It is from here that you poured out the streams of the Church from theology, O Reverend, and watered your words with the thoughts of those who cried out:
Rejoice, source of theology;
Rejoice, flame of godly wisdom.
Rejoice, you who rivered blessed waters;
Rejoice, treasure of spiritual instructions.
Rejoice, mystical God-illumined one of lofty visions;
Rejoice, mouth of God-moved heavenly thoughts.
Rejoice, for you have passed the limits of matter;
Rejoice, for you have revealed the meanings of dogmas.
Rejoice, holy life to the teacher;
Rejoice, equal to an honest angel.
Rejoice, mystical Trinity Church;
Rejoice, dawn of the heavenly lamp.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
From the belly of divine manna, and immortal nectar, and honey flowing from stones, there is a book of your god-created teachings, purifying souls and instructing those who cry out to divine perfection: Hallelujah.
Thou didst set out with a lofty vision, according to Paul, and the ineffable Spirit saw thou, even the wise theologian, theologizing to all the worldly One with the tongue of God, Simeon, thou didst appear blatant:
Rejoice, divine theologian;
Rejoice, all-wise blasphemer.
Rejoice, John the Great Imprint;
Rejoice, Gregory's divine likeness.
Rejoice, multi-sounding organ of lofty visions;
Rejoice, thou art of the psalter animated by luminous instructions.
Rejoice, for you have entered into the impenetrable darkness;
Rejoice, for you have seen the heavenly world.
Rejoice, you who amaze the faithful with your words;
Rejoice, order the morals of your souls.
Rejoice, expresser of the heavenly life;
Rejoice, O wonderful manifestation of God to us.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
By divine zeal, Father, you were wounded sweetly, you rose up with a heavenly mind of temptation, sorrow and persecution, and like gold into fire you were tempted, like an angel, holy one, You appeared to everyone, singing to Christ: Alleluia.
Thou hast corrected the mind of thy movements, God-wise, to the glory of Spasov, and the fullness of divine wisdom has appeared to Simeon, by the Holy Spirit, awakening to repentance with love those who cry:
Rejoice, pillar of abstinence;
Rejoice, image of patience.
Rejoice, wise writer of secrecy;
Rejoice, destroyer of the most severe petrification.
Rejoice, honey-flowing lips, dripping divine sweetness;
Rejoice, God-watered cloud, shedding the dew of life.
Rejoice, for you have shown apostolic grace;
Rejoice, for you are shining with a saving radiance.
Rejoice, all-bright luminary of grace;
Rejoice, never-setting star of the Best.
Rejoice, source of life-giving waters;
Rejoice, luminary of God-inspired verbs.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
Having purified your heart, you were filled with divine illuminations for the sake of the spiritual, and the All-Lighter, performing sacred acts, appeared to you as your disciple, blessed one. Deified by the sacrament, O all-validated Simeon, you cried out: Alleluia.
Shining in the vision, like living outside the world and united to the one God, fiery and God-like, and joyful in face, and meek you appeared to everyone, reverently crying out to you:
Rejoice, O sage of the Comforter;
Rejoice, tree of paradise.
Rejoice, who is incorporeal in matter and body;
Rejoice, you who are equal in appearance and character to the angels.
Rejoice, multi-bright star of the mysterious East;
Rejoice, golden-speckled chariot of divine action.
Rejoice, trumpet, proclaiming the song of salvation;
Rejoice, Gentile, grant God-given strength.
Rejoice, treasure of the divine light;
Rejoice, the fiery aspirations are extinguished.
Rejoice, honest mysteries to the viewer;
Rejoice, servant of the trisunny God.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
You appeared great in your visions and honest visions of God, O Simeon the Theologian, for through your intelligent prayer, even in God’s admiration, you knew the mystery, blessed, like another Moses, calling out: Alleluia.
The book of your words gives the living nectar of incorruptibility to the faithful, O Theologian, for the Comforter of the Church through you speaks and proclaims, and awakens all the cries of thee, Simeon, sifted:
Rejoice, glory to the Church;
Rejoice, branch of God.
Rejoice, cleanse spiritual defilement;
Rejoice, enlighten our thoughts.
Rejoice, flame, consuming the thorns of passions;
Rejoice, mind, open, clever one, and in vain.
Rejoice, for you have been released from the substance of the captives;
Rejoice, for you are filled with flowing waters.
Rejoice, beholden to God's radiance;
Rejoice, hate the enemy of malice.
Rejoice, flood of wisdom teachings;
Rejoice, harp of honest gifts.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
A strange miracle appeared, Father Simeon, in you, amazing and joyful to everyone; For, rich in enlightenment, you have appeared divinely and wisely, the wisest, the ignorant before, and now girding to all the wisdom of God: Alleluia.
All changed and all gone to God with the most divine devotion, God-wise, and deified by communion, to the longed-for deification, Simeon, the glorified God, crying out with love:
Rejoice, coal of the immaterial fire;
Rejoice, radiance of the divine light.
Rejoice, thou who art more eloquent than deification;
Rejoice, most powerful consumer of laziness.
Rejoice, thou who manifest the kindness of deification more actively;
Rejoice, teach saving sobriety to reason.
Rejoice, for you teach the monks;
Rejoice, for you turn away the enemies of the regiment.
Rejoice, enlightener of our wisdom;
Rejoice, stop striving for passions.
Rejoice, granting divine grace to the faithful;
Rejoice, beg God for everyone.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
The passions of the soul are cleansed by the teachings of your saints, to awaken us, through sobriety and prayer, Father, the valuable stone of the animal, which was destroyed in ancient times; Moreover, now let us cry to Christ: Alleluia.
The branch of the mystical theology appeared to you, having acquired the highest understanding: for the Comforter attracted all things to you, the Father, as if you were well pleased, and the strange and glorious thing you proclaimed to those who cry:
Rejoice, holy voice of God;
Rejoice, perfect silence of the enemies.
Rejoice, fulfill the heavenly mystical teaching;
Rejoice, prophet of the best treatment.
Rejoice, you who have learned from God the wisdom of God;
Rejoice, I have a two-edged sword against the charms of the enemy.
Rejoice, for you teach the divine ascent;
Rejoice, for you are leading us to the path of salvation.
Rejoice, thou who bearest the deadness of Christ;
Rejoice, grant us divine illumination.
Rejoice, having been enriched by the gift of words;
Rejoice, divine verb to all.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
You and the New Theologian of the Church of Christ appeared to the Divine mouth, O wise God, in the same new and old from the treasure I will vomit your heart, as the scribe is acceptable to God, as says the Savior, eat Him: Alleluia.
You appeared in the light of the immaterial divine mirror, having come to the divine revelation, Father Simeon the Theologian, and you called all the faithful to partake of the good things that you have found. Moreover, we cry out to you with desire:
Rejoice, mouth of the unspeakable;
Rejoice, eye of heaven.
Rejoice, treasure of divine luminosity;
Rejoice, the establishment of the gifts of the saints.
Rejoice, thou who growest abundantly fruitful living vines;
Rejoice, thou all-ripe one of the angelic dwelling.
Rejoice, for you are inflamed with heavenly desires;
Rejoice, for you have revealed the law of grace.
Rejoice, thou who glorified Christ by thy life;
Rejoice, build up the faithful with your word.
Rejoice, image of holy aspiration;
Rejoice, paradise of wondrous dispassion.
Rejoice, like Father Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
Having entered, O Theologian, into the bright darkness, you have received in the tablets of the heart the theology of the mysterious God-sealed tablet in Dus, in the image of which we are secretly led to divine zeal, crying: Alleluia.
Light, approaching the trisolar Light, you appeared to the world, like the Lord who speaks, and you enlighten our souls and create light with your teachings, holy ones, from which we are delivered from darkness passions, love blatantly:
Rejoice, for you have become a light in the world;
Rejoice, giving strength to words.
Rejoice, actions of the divine teacher;
Rejoice, heavenly man in labor.
Rejoice, trisolar grace revealed to the monastery;
Rejoice, God-given gift of spiritual organs.
Rejoice, for you have courageously faced temptations;
Rejoice, for you give enlightenment to the God-given.
Rejoice, rule of the holy life;
Rejoice, lamp of ineffable deification.
Rejoice, clever one who flaunts movements;
Rejoice, enlighten our hearts.
Rejoice, O Reverend Simeon, light of the Divine Mystery.
The divine, flowing water, Father, flows into eternal life, unceasingly, and the living things exude a fragrance and the book of your teachings gladdens our thoughts, in which we learn with a cry: Hallelujah.
We bring a song-like crown to your honorable top, your child, father, who is received like a father, grant us a ray of divine light: it is true that we flow to you and do not cease cry out:
Rejoice, goodness of the fathers;
Rejoice, decoration of the saints.
Rejoice, the most sacred rule of the priests;
Rejoice, most divine Father of those who monk.
Rejoice, praise of theologians, wonderful Theologian;
Rejoice, O glorious strengthener of the pious and the secret leader.
Rejoice, most divine pillar of the Church;
Rejoice, heavenly bright lamp of the Orthodox.
Rejoice, we are filled with light; Rejoice, even though we are freed from passions.
Rejoice, wise leader of your children;
Rejoice, and be your intercessor for us.
Rejoice, like Simeon, the light of the Divine Mystery.
O Divine Father, Simeon the Theologian, luminary of the Church of Christ, receive our voice, with the light of grace existing in you, shine upon you who sing in piety and cry out to the Trinity: Hallelujah.
This kontakion was spoken three times, including the first ikos and kontakion.
Creation of St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain
O God-bearing and Christ-bearing and spirit-bearing Father Simeon, New Theologian, praise to the saints, glory to the priests, delight to the theologians, intelligent prayers to the teacher, God glorified and glorified by God in your life, especially after death, earthly angel and heavenly man, spiritual joy and spiritual joy to us, your humble servant and unworthy your son, who celebrates your sacred and luminous memory with reverence and love! Accept this song, even as we offer you as an insignificant and smallest gift, for the great gifts of grace, which we will enjoy in all things, I have received from you, from the book of your sacred words, and do not reject this, for I am unworthy of your splendor: for in our weakness we are worthy to praise you, such a great theologian.
And in this life, preserve us with your prayers from all harm, mental and physical, visible and invisible enemies, constantly praying to God in the Trinity, may he also grant us, the humble, the mysterious to feel in the middle of our hearts the mental action of the divine grace of the Holy Spirit, which has already been destroyed, alas! our negligence and passions; in the future, by your strong intercessions, deliver us from terrible condemnation and eternal torment, and grant us eternal bliss in Christ Jesus, our Lord, Him All glory, honor and worship is due to His beginningless Father and His Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
2
St. Anthony of Pechersk († 1073, commemorated July 10, September 2)
You came from worldly rebellion, / you followed the evangelical Christ through the rejection of the world, / and having lived a life equal to the angels, / you reached the quiet refuge of the Holy Mountains of Athos. / From there, with the blessing of the fathers, you came to the mountain of Kyiv, / and there you completed your life of hard work, / You enlightened your Fatherland, / And you showed many monastics the path leading to the Heavenly Kingdom, / You brought this to Christ. / Pray to him, Reverend Anthony, / that he may save our souls.
The Monk Anthony of Kiev-Pechersk was born in 983 near Chernigov, in the town of Lyubeche. From a young age, having the fear of God, he wanted to put on a monastic image. Having come of age, he set out to wander and, having reached Athos, was inflamed with the desire to imitate the exploits of his holy inhabitants. Having taken monastic vows here, the young monk pleased God in everything and, striving on the path of virtue, especially succeeded in humility and obedience, so that all the monks rejoiced looking at his holy life.
Seeing a great future ascetic in Anthony, the abbot, under inspiration from God, sent him to his homeland, saying: “Antony! It is time for you and others to lead in holy living. Return to your Russian land, may the blessing of the Holy Mount Athos be upon you, many monks will come from you.”
Returning to Rus', Anthony began to visit monasteries in the Kiev region, but nowhere did he find such a strict life as he was accustomed to on Athos.
By God's providence, on one of the Kyiv hills, on the steep bank of the Dnieper, which reminded him of his beloved Athos, in the forest, near the village of Berestovo, he saw a cave dug by the priest Hilarion (later the holy Metropolitan of Kiev; commemorated October 21). He began to struggle there in prayer, fasting, vigil and labor, eating a little food every other day, sometimes not eating for a week. People began to come to the ascetic for blessings and advice, while others decided to stay with the saint forever. Among the first disciples of the Monk Anthony was Saint Nikon, who in 1032 tonsured the Monk Theodosius of Pechersk († 1074; Comm. May 3), who came to the monastery.
The holy life of St. Anthony illuminated the entire Russian land with the beauty of monastic feats. Saint Anthony accepted those who aspired to monasticism with love. After instructions on how to follow Christ, he commanded Blessed Nikon to tonsure those who wished to do so. When 12 brethren gathered around the Reverend, by joint efforts a large cave was dug and a church and cells for monks were built in it. Saint Anthony, having installed blessed Varlaam as abbot over the brethren, himself withdrew from the monastery and, having dug himself a new cave, shut himself up in it. But even there, near the place of his solitude, monks soon began to settle. This is how the Near and Far cave monasteries were formed. Subsequently, a small wooden church was built by monks above the Far Cave in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God.
By the will of Prince Izyaslav, Abbot Varlaam retired to the Dimitrievsky Monastery. With the blessing of St. Anthony and with the general consent of the brethren, the meek and humble Theodosius was elected to the abbess. By that time the number of brethren had already reached one hundred people. The Great Prince of Kiev Izyaslav († 1078) gave the monks a mountain on which a large church and cells were built, and a palisade was placed around it. This is how a glorious monastery was formed, which was called Pechersk, as it was founded above the caves. While talking about this, the chronicler notes that although there are many monasteries built by the wealth of kings and boyars, they cannot compare with those built by the prayers of saints, their tears, fasting and vigil. Likewise, the Monk Anthony did not have gold, but with his labors he increased the monastery, incomparable with others, which became the first spiritual center of Rus'.
For his holy life, God glorified the Monk Anthony with the gift of insight and miracles. This was especially evident when he built the great Pechersk Church. The Most Holy Theotokos herself appeared to him and the Monk Theodosius in the Blachernae Church, where they miraculously appeared and were raptured without leaving the Pechersk Monastery. Having received gold from the Mother of God, the saints hired master masons who, at the command of the Queen of Heaven, went to the Russian land to build a church in the Pechersk monastery. At this appearance, the Mother of God predicted the imminent death of the Monk Anthony, which followed in the 90th year of his life on May 7, 1073. The relics of St. Anthony, according to God's will, remain hidden.
September 11 - memory of St. Silouan of Athos
Seraphim's love for the Lord, ardent zealot and Jeremiah, for a people weeping, zealous imitator, all-blessed Father Silvana, you call upon the Mother of the Lord with strength, You wisely cast out the sinful serpent and you withdrew to Mount Athos from the vanity of the world, where you abundantly acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit through your labors and prayers with tears. Let our hearts ignite and tenderly cry out to you: My Lord, my life and holy joy, save the world and us from all evil ones.
Venerable Silouan of Athos (1866–1938)
In 1866, in the Tambov province of the Lebedinsky district of the Shov volost in the village of Shovskoye, a boy was born into the pious family of the peasant Ivan Antonov; at holy baptism the child received the name Simeon. The large and friendly family lived poorly, but the father, like many Russian peasants, loved to show hospitality to strangers. The father talked with them about God and Christian life, and these conversations made a strong impression on the receptive soul of the youth.
From childhood, Simeon worked together with his elders, helping his father in the field and his brothers with construction work on the landowner’s estate to the best of his ability. The life of the Antonov family is inextricably linked with the church, a visit to which instilled in Simeon from infancy a sense of reverence for the word of God, and raised him in the spirit of Christian humility and other virtues. A few years later, the young man began to ask his parents to let him go to the monastery; he wanted to take monastic vows at the Pechersk Lavra. The father insisted that his son first enter military service and only after completing it decide who he should be.
Simeon did his military service in St. Petersburg. In the army, the gift of his wise advice manifested itself with particular force, following which many found peace of mind and well-being. Having left for service with living faith and a deep feeling of repentance, Simeon never forgot about God. By that time, the place of his future monastic exploits had been miraculously determined - Holy Mount Athos. He often thought about monastic life and, wanting to somehow help the inhabitants of the monastery, several times sent the accumulated money to Athos. Shortly before the end of his military service, Simeon decides to ask for the prayers and blessings of Father John of Kronstadt - Holy Righteous John. Not finding him, he leaves a note with the words: “Father, I want to become a monk; pray that the world does not delay me.”
Many years later, the ascetic would write: “O great Father John, our prayer book! I thank you, good and holy shepherd, for for the sake of your prayers I parted with the world and came to Mount Athos, where I saw great mercy from God.”
Simeon stayed at home for only one week. Having collected gifts for the monastery and what was necessary for the journey, he said goodbye to everyone and went to Athos. In the fall of 1892, the young man arrived at the Holy Mountain and was accepted as a novice into the Russian monastery of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon.
The life of the elder in the monastery was simple, accessible and outwardly unremarkable: at first his obedience was hard work at the mill, which was replaced by the busy work of a housekeeper, managing workshops, a food warehouse, and in his declining years - a trading store.
Having gone through the initial monastic trials, in 1896 he was tonsured into the mantle with the name Silouan, and in 1911 into the schema, leaving his previous name.
He did not have his own disciples and was not in obedience to any particular elder. “It is difficult to live without an elder,” he said later. “An inexperienced soul does not understand the will of God, and it will endure many sorrows before it learns humility.” He himself, like most monks, was brought up in the atmosphere of the spiritual tradition common to the monks of Athos, spending, as required by the centuries-old way of life in the monastery, days in the incessant Jesus Prayer, long services in the church, fasting and vigils, frequent confession and Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, reading spiritual books and work.
Having lived for forty-six years in a monastery with a communal charter, the ascetic never sought to go into seclusion or retire to the desert, believing that without the favor of God they in themselves are only auxiliary means, and not the goal of Christian life. While among people, the elder kept his mind and heart from extraneous thoughts, cleansed them of passions to stand before God in prayer, claiming that this was the shortest path to salvation. He prayed a lot and earnestly, resorting mainly to the Jesus Prayer, which soon entered his heart and began to be performed in him incessantly. This gift was received by Elder Silouan from the Most Holy Theotokos after fervent prayer before Her image.
The novice Simeon continued the feat of vigil, fasting and heartfelt prayer, but the spiritual struggle with new temptations - vanity and pride - did not leave him.
The appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ brought the novice the joy of Easter, the Resurrection, a feeling of transition from the darkness of spiritual death to the inexplicable light of life. Once having cognized Divine love by the Holy Spirit, he begins to experience the loss of grace incomparably deeper and more acutely: "Whoever has lost it tirelessly seeks it day and night and is drawn to it. It is lost by us for pride and vanity, for hostility towards a brother, for condemning a brother, for envy, it leaves us for a lustful thought, for addiction to earthly things, for all this grace leaves, and the devastated and sad soul then misses God, just as our father Adam missed his expulsion from paradise.”
Elder Silouan wrote: “The soul that has known God cannot be satisfied with anything on earth, but everything strives for the Lord and cries out like a little child who has lost its mother: my soul misses You, and I am tearfully seeking You.”
Constantly being in asceticism, he abstained from everything and anything that could interfere with the acquisition of grace: he slept little, in fits and starts, up to two hours a day, sitting on a stool, did not make concessions in fasting and limited himself in food, advising those who turned to him to “eat so much that after eating you want to pray”; cut off his will, believing that this brings “great benefit” to the soul. She yearns, prays, cries, being in a struggle to retain grace, but the Divine light, if it returns, does not last long, and then, as before, again leaves the novice. "We suffer for this reason," the elder explained, "because we do not have humility. The Holy Spirit lives in a humble soul, and He gives the soul freedom, peace, love, bliss." Acquiring a humble spirit “is a great science that you will not quickly overcome.”
15 years have passed since the Lord appeared to Elder Silouan. His mind is again darkened by spiritual warfare, “attacks” at night. The ascetic later spoke about the mental pain he had to endure: “If the Lord had not first given me to know how much He loves a person, then I would not have endured even one such night, and I had many of them.”
On one of these nights, with contrition in his heart, he cried out:
- God. You see that I want to pray to You with a pure mind, but the demons do not let me. Teach me what I should do so that they don’t bother me?
“The proud always suffer from demons,” was the answer.
- Lord, teach me what should I do to humble my soul?
And again God’s answer sounded in my heart: “Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.”
According to the elder, the Lord took pity on him and Himself taught him how the soul should humble itself and become unapproachable to enemies: when sinful thoughts approach, it recognizes itself as worthy of eternal torment and descends into hell in order to burn out in itself the effect of every passion with the power of hellish flame and turn to the Lord with pure prayer, trusting in the saving action of the love of Christ and thereby avoiding despair.
This revelation given by the Lord was not only an extremely important practical instruction for the monk Silouan, but also marked the beginning of a new stage in his spiritual life. Gradually, the ascetic’s prayer begins to be dominated by sorrow for a world that does not know God. As the elder explained, people have forgotten the Lord who created them and are looking for their freedom, not realizing that outside the true Source of life it does not and cannot exist. Freedom is only in the Lord, who, by His mercy, gives those who resort to Him the grace of the Holy Spirit. In Him, the Holy Spirit, in His knowledge lies liberation from the slavery of sin and the fear of death.
Once, talking with a hermit monk, the elder asked:
– If they put you in heaven and from there you see someone burning in hellfire, will you be at peace?
“What can you do, it’s your own fault,” he heard in response.
Then the elder with a sorrowful face replied: “Love cannot bear this. We need to pray for everyone.”
Elder Silouan had a tender heart, touched by love, filled with sensitivity and responsiveness... The elder was a man of deep, genuine humility, in his work you can read the following lines: "The Lord took pity on me a lot, and made me understand that I should cry all my life. This is the way of the Lord. And now I write, pitying those people who, like me, are proud and therefore suffer. I write so that they learn humility and find peace in God...
He who came to know God by the Holy Spirit learned humility from Him, and became like his Teacher, Christ the Son of God, and became like Him...
Lord, grant us Your humble Holy Spirit, just as You came to save people and take them to heaven so that they may see Your glory...
Oh, Christ's humility! I know you, but I cannot win you. Your fruits are sweet because they are not earthly...
When the soul is depressed, how can you kindle a fire in it so that it burns with love every hour? This fire is with God, and the Lord came to earth to give us this fire of grace of the Holy Spirit, and whoever learns humility has it, for the Lord gives His grace to the humble...
Much work must be put in, and many tears must be shed in order to retain the humble spirit of Christ; and without it, the light of life fades in the soul, and it dies. The body can be dried out by fasting quickly, but it is not easy, and not soon possible, to humble the soul so that it is constantly humble...
Most Holy Mother of the Lord, ask, O Merciful One, for us a humble spirit.
All Saints, you live in heaven and see the glory of the Lord, and your spirit rejoices - pray that we too may be with you. My soul is drawn to see the Lord, and misses Him in humility, as unworthy of this good.
Merciful Lord, teach us Your humility through the Holy Spirit... He who humbles himself has conquered his enemies.”
In his love for all people, Elder Silouan saw him as similar to the Lord Jesus Christ, who “stretched out his hands on the Cross” to gather everyone. And he lived through the suffering of the whole world, forgetting himself, and there was no end to his prayer, calling on all the peoples of the Earth to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit. According to the deep conviction of the elder, if this happened and people, leaving their hobbies, would rush to God with all their souls, then the face of the Earth would change and the destinies of all people and the whole world would be transformed “in one hour.”
His whole life was a heartfelt prayer “to the point of great tears.”
“The world stands by prayer,” said Elder Silouan, “and when prayer weakens, then the world will perish.” In this prayerful aspiration, he achieved such an internal state in which he foresaw what was happening and saw the future of man, revealing the deep secrets of his soul and calling everyone to take the path of saving repentance. Continuous prayer did not leave the ascetic until the last hour of his earthly wanderings.
On September 24, 1938, Elder Schemamonk Silouan died peacefully.
At the end of November 1987, the glorification of Elder Silouan took place. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', the name of St. Silouan of Athos was included in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church. Memorial Day of St. Silouan of Athos - September 11/24.
13 – Rev. Hierotheus New, Kalamsky, Iverian, Hierome. († 1745, commemorated September 13)
Saint Hierotheus was born in 1686 in Greece. Wanting to comprehend divine wisdom both in the sciences and in monastic life, the pious young man, possessing great abilities and diligence, studied Latin and Greek philosophy. After the death of his parents, intending to continue his education, Saint Hierotheos first of all visited Holy Mount Athos, which was famous for many learned men. At first he was a student of a hermit at the cell of St. Artemy, and then he joined the brotherhood of the Iveron Monastery, where he took monastic vows.
Soon, on monastic affairs, Saint Hierotheus ended up in Constantinople, and from there to Wallachia, where he continued his interrupted education. Studying with a certain Cypriot Mark, Saint Hierotheus, with his good character, earned the favor of Metropolitan Auxentius of Sofia and was ordained a deacon. Having completed his education in Venice, Saint Hierotheus returned to the Holy Mountain.
He settled near the Iversky Monastery in the Khagi desert. According to contemporaries, he led the most severe hermit life; Through the constant Jesus Prayer, the monk acquired high love for his neighbors and joyful crying.
At the request of the abbot of the Iveron Monastery, Saint Hierotheos was awarded holy rank by Metropolitan Jacob of Neocaesarea, who lived there in retirement.
At the request of the Bishop of Arta, Neophytos, who established a theological school in Skopele, taught there together with Athonite students, Hieromonk Meletios and the monks Joasaph and Simeon for eight years, being at the same time a preacher of the word of God and a confessor.
Foreseeing his imminent death, the Monk Hierotheus with three disciples retired to the island of Jura, where criminals usually sentenced to life imprisonment (there was an ancient center of eldership). There, after a short illness, he died on December 13, 1745. His disciples buried him on that island, and three years later his venerable head was transferred to the Iversky Monastery. Through the prayers of the saint, many sick people and those struggling with carnal passion were healed.
15 – Macarius of Thessalonica († ca. 1523/1527), martyr
Macarius was a disciple of St. Niphon II, Patriarch of Constantinople, and with him retired to the beginning. XVI century on Mount Athos to the Vatopedi Monastery. The saint, knowing that Macarius was eager to confess Christ by martyrdom and that such was the will of God, blessed him for this feat.
Macarius went to Thessalonica, where he openly spoke to a crowd of Turks preaching Christianity. The enraged Turks beat the martyr and threw him into prison, where they tried to force Macarius to renounce Christ through flattery, threats and torture. Having not succeeded at all, the torturers beheaded the saint. Saint Niphon knew the hour of his martyrdom, saying to his disciple Joasaph: “Know, my son, today your brother Macarius died a martyr’s death and joyfully ascends to heaven.”
Various sources attribute the martyrdom of St. Macarius to 1522, 1523, 1527.
16 St. Cyprian, Met. Moscow and All Rus' († 1406, commemorated September 27, September 16)
Who was perfect from God above by Divine grace/ and adorned with good morals,/ enlightened by the Holy Spirit,/ having accomplished holiness in the passion of God,/ vouchsafed the speed of grace of the Divine Spirit,/ shepherding the Church of God of the Russian Metropolis,/ having overcome all by fasting, endured anxiety,/ having overcome persecution, always calling upon St. Peter the Metropolitan for help,/ and having this helper,/ and following in his footsteps./ An acceptable servant,/ keeping God’s commandments,/ instructing the Spirit of God,/ enlightening faithful people with the teaching of your words,/ adorning your life with fasting,/ receiving the yoke of the Lord from childhood,/ and loving Christ above all./ For this sake, I am honored with the bishop’s seat,/ and, as the luminous sun, which came from the Serbian land, / and shone forth with virtue to all the ends of the Russian land, / appeared as the world’s luminary, / and reposed to the Lord from this life into eternal rest, / great bishop of God, Metropolitan Cyprian, / teacher and mentor of the Russian land, / always standing before the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity, / pray to the Lord be diligent about the bishops and about all Christians, / may he save you for the sake of our souls.
Serbian (or Bulgarian) by origin, he labored on Mount Athos. In 1375 (1376) he was appointed metropolitan of all Rus' during the life of St. Metropolitan Alexy († 1378; commemorated February 12/25). Therefore, Saint Cyprian ruled at first only the southwestern part of the Russian Church. In 1390 he finally occupied the Moscow See. He appeared as a wise and zealous guardian of the Church of God, its pure teaching and institution. He especially cared a lot about streamlining worship and correcting liturgical books. Autographs of some Slavic translations of the saint have been preserved. With his pastoral letters he affirmed the faith in the Church. His work in translating liturgical literature is widely known. The saint died in 1406. His relics, found in 1472, rest in the Moscow Dormition Cathedral under cover.
17 Icon of the Mother of God “Deliverer”
Like a most radiant star, / asking for Divine miracles / Thy holy image, O Deliverer, / illuminating the rays of Thy grace and mercy in the night of present sorrows. / Grant us, O All-Blessed Virgin, / deliverance from troubles, / healing of mental and physical ailments, / salvation and great mercy.
The Icon of the Mother of God “Deliverer”, before it was brought to the New Athos Simon-Cananite Monastery in the Caucasus, was located on Holy Mount Athos with the resident of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery, Schemamonk Martinian († 1884). The pious schema-monk received this icon from the ascetic Theodulus. The holy icon has been famous for its miracles since ancient times. By praying before this icon in 1841, the inhabitants of Sparta (in Greece) got rid of locusts. From the Panteleimon Monastery, according to the will of Schema-Archimandrite Macarius, this icon was transferred to the New Athos Monastery on July 20, 1889, and a festival was established in its honor on October 17. When the first celebration in honor of this icon took place at the Simon-Kananitskaya monastery, a storm washed up more than a ton of fish on the shore near the monastery. On the icon, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted holding on her right hand the Infant God, blessing with her right hand.
20 – Prmch. Hilarion the Cretan, Athonite († 1804, commemorated September 20)
Saint Hilarion was from Crete, his secular name was John. He was raised by his uncle, a doctor, who did not want to initiate the boy into the secrets of his profession. After some time, John left his uncle’s house and got a job as an assistant to a certain merchant in Chios. He suspected John of money fraud. Under pain of execution, the young man was forced to convert to Islam.
He was pardoned, dressed in beautiful clothes and sent to study walking.
But John begged God for the opportunity to escape and fled to Crimea. But his conscience did not give him peace for renouncing his faith. On the advice of other Christians, he followed to Holy Mount Athos, where he first entered the monastery of St. Anna, and then became a novice of a certain hieromonk, who was a student of the holy priest. Luke of Mytilene of Odrin (see March 23). Later the elder tonsured him with the name Hilarion.
A few years later, Hilarion announced to the elder that he was ready to firmly confess Christ. He went to Istanbul, where he came to the church, prayed, and received Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries. Then Hilarion appeared before the aga and confessed Christ.
After much torment, the saint was beheaded.
An eight-year-old demon-possessed girl was healed by anointing with the blood of the holy head of the martyr.
22
Venerable Martyrs of Zograf (Athos)
Tremendous lamps, / of all the venerable martyr God-chosen regiment, / twenty and six of the Divine monastery Father Zograf, we honor, / who denounced the Latin charm / and died violently in the fires; / Thomas the shepherd leader, the sacred Barsanuphius, / the illustrious Parthenius and others who labored, / having come together, let us honor with hymns, / these for the Holy Trinity / are constantly begging for us.
In 1274, at the Council of Lyon, the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos decided to strengthen his power, which was close to collapse, through an alliance with Catholic Rome - a union. This step caused general discontent in the country, and the emperor in 1278 issued a decree to introduce a union in Byzantium, even if through violent measures. Holy Mount Athos firmly opposed the union. The Athonite monks sent a message to Michael, in which they thoroughly argued that the primacy of the pope, his commemoration in churches, the celebration of the Eucharist on unleavened bread, and the addition of “and from the Son” to the Creed cannot be accepted by the Orthodox, and they called on the emperor to come to his senses. “We clearly see,” the message said, “that you are a heretic, but we beg you: leave all this and abide in the teaching that you have accepted... Reject the unholy new teachings of false knowledge, which adds guesswork to faith.” The crusaders, expelled from Palestine and finding refuge in Romagna, declared to the emperor their readiness to assert the power of the pope with fire and sword. Mikhail also hired Turks and Tatars.
When the troops approached Athos, which the emperor hated, in order not to irritate the Greeks, he decided to take out his anger on the Slavs of Athos. By order of Michael, the pope's servants attacked the Bulgarian monastery of Zograf. When the Zograf monks were asked to accept the union, none of them even wanted to hear about Catholicism. Most of the Zografs left the monastery, and the most solid ones, 26 in number, remained in the monastery tower. These were: abbot Thomas, monks Barsanuphius, Cyril, Micah, Simon, Hilarion, Jacob, Job, Cyprian, Savva, Jacob, Martinian, Cosmas, Sergius, Mina, Joasaph, Ioannikios, Paul, Anthony, Euthymius, Dometian, Parthenius and 4 laymen. The holy martyrs for the Orthodox faith were burned in the monastery tower on October 10, 1284.
St. Cosmas of Zografsky (Athos), hierome, hermit († 1323, commemorated February 23, September 22)
The Monk Cosmas, the hermit of Zograf, a Bulgarian, in his youth avoided marriage and went to Holy Mount Athos secretly from his parents. Even then, on the way to the Holy Land, the devil tried to shake the young man’s aspirations, confusing him with a vision of the insurmountable depths of the sea surrounding the Holy Mountain. The young man's fervent prayer dispelled the demonic obsession. On Mount Athos, Saint Cosmas was received into the Zograf monastery. There he was a novice for a long time, and then took monastic vows and was appointed ecclesiarch. Saint Cosmas received the special grace of being the seer of the Heavenly Abbess of Mount Athos herself, Who, on the feast of the Annunciation in the Vatopedi monastery, deigned to visibly reveal to him the care of Her earthly lot: he saw a Woman of royal beauty and majesty, Who was in charge both in the church at the service and in the refectory, yet the monks were obedient to Her servants. Soon the saint was ordained a deacon, and then a presbyter, which prompted him to new exploits.
Zealous for salvation, the saint, through fervent prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos, again received a sign of Her special protection: he heard the voice of the Mother of God coming from Her holy icon and asking Her Son: “How can Cosmas be saved?” The Lord’s answer was this: “Let him leave the monastery in silence.” Having asked for the blessing of the abbot, Saint Cosmas withdrew into the desert, and there, in a cave carved into the rock, a new feat of silent hermitage began. God did not abandon his faithful prayer book: the saint was granted the gift of clairvoyance.
Just as at the beginning of his asceticism the enemy of the human race tried to divert the saint from his intended path, so the dying days of the righteous man were a difficult test for him. Shortly before his death, the chosen one of God was awarded a vision of Christ Himself, who informed the saint that before his soul departed to the Kingdom of Heaven, Satan himself with his horde would cruelly beat and wound him. Prepared for suffering by Divine consolation, the saint courageously endured the terrible mockery of the devil, allowed by God, and on the third day after the fierce beatings, having partaken of the Most Pure Mysteries, with praise on his lips, he peacefully departed to the Lord. God, “who glorifies those who glorify Him,” miraculously glorified the venerable One after death: during the burial of the saint, many animals and birds flocked to his cave, as if understanding the general loss of the Holy Mountain, but when the body was lowered into the grave and began to be covered with earth, each of the dumb creatures uttered a sad voice, paying their last respect to the saint of God.
When, according to custom, 40 days after the all-night vigil, the brethren opened the holy remains of the righteous man in order to transfer them with honor to the monastery, miraculously they were not there - the Lord hid them. This was in 1323.
1
Icons of the Mother of God Kukuzelissa and others. John Kukuzel, Athonite, domestic (regent) († XII, commemorated October 1)
The Monk John Kukuzel, originally from Dyrrachia (Bulgaria), was left an orphan as a child. Possessing a very beautiful voice, he entered the court school of Constantinople, where for his talents he gained the favor of Emperor John Komnenos (1118 - 1143) and became the first court singer. But the delights of the imperial court tormented the God-loving young man. Not wanting to remain among comforts and luxury, avoiding the marriage that the emperor was preparing for him, young John began to look for ways to leave the capital and hide in the remote desert. By the will of God, having met with the Athonite elder - abbot, who arrived in Constantinople on monastic affairs, John revealed his intention to him and, with his blessing, went with him to the Holy Mountain. There he was accepted, tonsured as a monk and entrusted with shepherding the monastery flock. Leaving with the herd into the distant deserts of Svyatogorsk, the young man could, in solitude, freely indulge in prayer, contemplation of God and the singing of Divine hymns.
The angelic beauty of his voice enchanted even the animals, who gathered around the shepherd and listened to him spellbound. Due to his modesty and humility, the young singer did not reveal his gift to the brethren. Only once did the touching shepherd’s singing shock one hermit, and he informed the abbot about the wondrous singer. Young John revealed that he was a former court singer, and tearfully begged the abbot to leave him in his former shepherd's obedience. Fearing the disfavor of the emperor, who could find his favorite and return him from the Holy Mountain, the abbot himself went to Constantinople, told the emperor everything about the fate of his former subject and asked not to interfere with the young monk to follow his chosen path of salvation.
Since then, John Kukuzel sang on Sundays and other holidays in the cathedral on the right choir. For his singing, the saint was awarded the great mercy of the Mother of God Herself: one day, after an akathist sung before the icon of the Mother of God, the Mother of God Herself appeared to Saint John in a subtle dream and said to him: “Sing and don’t stop singing. I won’t leave you for that.” At these words, She placed a gold coin in John’s hand and became invisible. The coin was suspended from the icon, and from that time on, miracles began to happen from the icon and the coin. That icon, called “Kukouzelisa,” is still located in the Lavra of St. Athanasius. The memory is celebrated on October 1 and on the 10th Friday after Easter.
Subsequently, the Mother of God once again appeared to Saint John and healed him of a serious illness in his legs caused by long standing in the church. Saint John spent the rest of his days in intense ascetic labors. Anticipating the hour of his death, he said goodbye to the brethren, bequeathing to bury himself in the Archangel Church he created. Church choristers venerate St. John of Kukuzel as their special patron.
A skilled singer, the Monk John Kukuzel worked a lot in the science of church singing and deservedly earned himself the title of master and domestic: he himself corrected and composed melodies for church stichera, troparions and kontakions and for the entire church service; rearranged the texts of chants, wrote his own troparia. The following works of his are known from manuscripts: “A book containing, by God’s will, the entire order of the church order, compiled by the master, Mr. John Kukuzel.” - “Sequences compiled by Master John Kukuzel, from the beginning of Great Vespers even to the end of the Divine Liturgy.” – “The science of singing and singing signs with all the regulations for the hand and with the entire structure of singing”, etc.
St. Gregory Domestik, Athos († ca. 1360, commemorated October 1)
Gregory the Domestic, Glykis (Glyka, Greek Γρηγόριος ο Δομέστικος, Γλυκύς] (1355 / ca. 1360), hieromonk, Byzantine church composer, domesticist (charter and chief chanter), reverend.
According to legend, when Patriarch Callistus I first occupied the See of Constantinople (1350-1353), he sent a decree to Athos to sing St. Basil the Great instead of “It is worthy to eat” “He rejoices in You,” but his successor St. Philotheus Kokkin canceled this innovation, which caused controversy on Mount Athos. During his second tenure on the patriarchal throne (1355-1363), Callistus renewed his decree.
Gregory the Domestic is credited with composing the melos (melody) of the chant “He rejoices in You” in the 4th plagal voice with the designation “ancient” (ἀρχαῖον). According to legend, on the eve of Epiphany Gregory sang “He rejoices in You” and later saw the Most Holy Theotokos in a dream, who thanked him for singing in Her honor and gave him a gold coin. Since then, the rule has been to sing “He rejoices in You” instead of “It is worthy to eat.”
St. Savva Vishersky, Novgorod († 1461, commemorated October 1)
From your youth, you enslaved yourself entirely to God, O blessed one, / and for His sake you left your fatherland and family for the sake of love, / you moved into the desert, / and showed a cruel life in it, / you received miracles from the Lord, / Reverend Savvo, / pray to Christ God to save our souls.
The Monk Savva of Vishera was the son of the boyar Ivan Borozda from Kashin. The monk was distinguished by his piety from childhood. Initially, he labored in the Tver Savvina hermitage, where the brethren elected him abbot. Avoiding honors, the Monk Savva retired to Athos, where he worked on copying the liturgical books. Upon returning from Athos to Rus', he chose a secluded place for his exploits, 7 miles from Novgorod on the banks of the Vishera River. Here, with the blessing of Novgorod Archbishop Simon, the monk in 1418 built a small monastery in honor of the Ascension of the Lord. Near the monastery, the Monk Savva built a pillar and asceticised on it.
The monk died in 1461 at a ripe old age, 80 years old. He appointed his disciple Andrei, known for his strict, ascetic life, as his successor.
The local celebration was established under the Novgorod Archbishop Jonah († 1470) in connection with the healing of the abbot of the Savvo-Vishera Monastery. Archbishop Jonah then ordered that an icon of the saint be painted and a canon drawn up. The church-wide glorification of the Monk Sava took place at the Moscow Council in 1549. The service to him was compiled by Hieromonk Pachomius the Serb.
2 Mar. George of Athos († 1794, commemorated October 2)
Blessed George was from Philadelphia, the son of Christian parents. Having come of age, he left his fatherland and settled in Karachasu, a place in the diocese of Iliopol. Here, blinded by the whirlwind of worldly vanity, he accepted Islamism, but a few days after the unfortunate recognition of lies as truth, darkness as light, he sobered up from mental blindness, vividly felt the gravity of his crime, wept bitterly about it and sought means for his correction. Why, having found a convenient time, he left from there, arrived on the Holy Mountain, confessed his sin to one confessor there, fulfilled the canon assigned to him and, upon fulfilling it, was anointed with the sacred myrrh. Having thus been grafted onto the spiritual olive tree - Christ, he labored for quite a few years in every possible way to appease God, who was angered by his great crime of renunciation; however, his soul never had complete peace within itself. Reflecting on the words of the Lord: Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven (Matt.
10:33), the blessed one did not find any other way to atone for his denial of Christ, except by confessing Him before those to whom he denied Him, and except by shedding his blood for Him; Thinking about this, he was finally inflamed with an indispensable desire for martyrdom. Having announced this intention to his confessor and some other spiritual fathers and finding them agreeing with his desire, he distributed everything he had to the fathers in alms, asking and praying so much for the upcoming great feat, and, leaving the Holy Mountain, arrived in Karachasa. The Turks, seeing him here, recognized him and, immediately seizing him, brought him to the judge and testified that this man at such and such a time denied Christ and became a Turk, and now, having come here, walks in Christian clothes. “Is this true?” – the judge asked George.
“It’s absolutely true,” the martyr of Christ answered with great boldness, “I am really that Haji George, who at such and such a time, out of his madness, renounced his faith and accepted yours, but, having gone to different places, I clearly understood that your faith is false, and therefore now I have come here to give it back to you. Great is my sin that I abandoned my first faith, which is pure, unadulterated gold, and accepted yours - this insignificant metal. So, I confess before you that I am a Christian again, I call myself George, and for the love of Christ I am ready to shed all my blood. Now do whatever you want with me.” “The judge used all means to change his thoughts, but the martyr stood firm and unshakable in the faith of Christ. Seeing this inflexibility of his thoughts, the judge ordered his servants to throw the passion-bearer into prison and torment him there until they turned him away from Christianity.
Having received such an ungodly command, the servants rushed at the sufferer of Christ like untamed beasts and, throwing him into prison, tortured him for 8 days with the most severe torments: they - the devil's servants - stretched his legs in the tree to the point that the so-called groins were almost torn, then they brought a metal, very hot cup and put it on his head like a skufia; then they wrapped a rope around his head and pulled it so tightly that the whites of his eyes protruded from their places. But the courageous warrior of Christ, half dead from such inhuman torment, cried out:
“If you do anything else to me, I will not renounce my faith: I was born a Christian, I live as a Christian, and I will die as a Christian.”
So, the wicked, being unable to bring him to their wickedness, announced this to the judge, and he then signed the death sentence for the martyr, according to which the executioners, taking him from prison, brought him to the place of execution and beheaded him there. This happened in 1794, on October 2. Thus, blessed George received the crown of martyrdom from the heroic hero Christ our God, to whom belongs all glory, honor and worship, together with His beginningless Father and His all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
3 Rev. Hesychius Horivit (VI, commemorated October 3)
Blessed Hesychius Khorivit, the Silent One, lived in the 6th century in one of the monasteries on Mount Athos and at first was not a very zealous monk. After a serious illness, Hesychius died, but, by the wondrous Providence of God, he returned to life an hour later. After this, the blessed one secluded himself in his cell and remained in complete solitude for 12 years. The brethren heard only the singing of psalms and repentant sobs coming from the gate. Before his death, blessed Hesychius said to the visiting monks: “Forgive me, brothers. He who has mortal memory will never sin.”
The name Hesychia is associated with the formation on Mount Athos of the monastery of the Silent Ones - hesychasts who acquired special experience in the mental Jesus prayer
5 Rev. Evdokim of Vatopedi (Athos) († XVII, commemorated October 5)
In 1840, during the renovation of the tomb of the Vatopedi monastery, the fragrant relics of an unknown monk with an icon in his hands were found. Judging by his clothes, he died on the 1st floor. XVII century Healings began from the relics. The brethren of Vatopedi, with the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople, decided to give him the symbolic name Eudokim - glorified or given by favor. Since then, he has been honored on Mount Athos as Evdokim the Newly Revealed. The fragrance from the relics continues to this day.
Having briefly described the discovery of the holy relics of St. Evdokim, we must not remain silent about his miracles. Of the many, we will tell here only about two that happened in Vatopedi and which we were eyewitnesses (says the compiler of the legend): one monk, who suffered from consumption, the disease developed so much that medical remedies no longer had any effect. Due to his hopeless situation, the patient turned with fervent prayer to the Monk Evdokim. When he finished the prayer and fell asleep a little, he suddenly saw a godly and gray-haired monk approaching him, who, giving him a small vessel filled with some kind of medicinal liquid, ordered him to drink it. When the patient drank the liquid, the one who appeared poured him the same liquid a second time. After this, the patient turned to the heavenly visitor and said:
“I thank you, father, for your zeal and love that you showed me and gave water to a thirsty person.”
At this time, he woke up from sleep and actually felt as if he had just drunk a soft drink, from which he received complete healing.
Meanwhile, he remembered his prayer to the saint, and, attributing his healing to the Monk Evdokim, the former patient brought him a worthy thanksgiving and immediately told all the Vatopedi brethren about the former miracle. The brethren, seeing before their eyes healthy the one whom they had doomed to death a few hours ago, glorified God and His holy saint.
Another miracle happened over the Vatopedi monk Gabriel, a very skilled doctor, who suffered from a sciatic nerve problem. The pain was so unbearable that he could neither sit nor turn on the other side, but lay in bed without any movement; At the same time, all medical remedies were tested, from which the patient did not receive relief. Seeing the cruel suffering of the sick man, the brethren advised him to turn in prayer to the Monk Evdokim and ask for his help. The patient agreed and said:
- If it is true that Saint Eudokim is a miracle worker and will heal me from a cruel illness, I will arrange a silver shrine for his sacred head.
After this, he fell into a subtle sleep and saw a godly old man approaching him, resembling the image of St. Euthymius the Great, who, touching his thighs with his hand, said:
“Your illness is not at all dangerous, so rest assured, it will pass soon.”
“Why are you, elder, joking with me,” answered Gabriel, “don’t you see how I suffer and am in a hopeless situation?”
“Well, be healthy from now on,” said the one who appeared and left the sick man.
Upon awakening, Gabriel saw himself healed from a serious illness, but could not understand whether all this was in a dream or in reality, and therefore asked the brother who was serving him:
“Where is the old man who was talking to me now from?”
When the servant said that he had not seen anyone and no one had come to the cell, then Gabriel remembered how he turned with prayer to the Monk Evdokim, as well as about his vow. Therefore, he immediately wished, as a sign of gratitude to the saint, to fulfill the vow he had made;
For this purpose, a master was called, and a silver shrine was ordered for the head of the monk.
And so that the memory of this miraculous healing would not be lost, the following words were carved on the cancer:
“This shrine was built for the honorable head of the Monk Eudokim by the monk Gabriel, whom this monk healed of a serious illness.” Through the prayers of our venerable father Evdokim, may we all get rid of the ailments we encounter, mental and physical, and may we inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
6 Prmch. Macarius the New, Kiysky, Athonite († 1590, commemorated October 6)
The Holy Martyr Macarius was descended from poor peasant parents who lived in the village of Kion or Kiossa in Asia Minor: a father named Peter, and a mother named Anthusa. In holy baptism he was named Manuel; when he reached adolescence, his parents gave him to an artisan tailor, from whom he learned not only this skill, but also Christian piety, since the artisan was distinguished by an exemplary pious life. Thus, Manuel lived with his master, a craftsman, until he was 18 years old. When the young man turned eighteen, his father voluntarily renounced his faith and forced his son to become a Muslim.
A few days after circumcision, Manuel retired to St. Mount Athos, where, having visited all the monasteries and monasteries, he fell in love with the monastery of St. Anna and here, having submitted to one virtuous and skilled elder in monastic deeds, he began to spend his life in fasting, vigil and prayer, jealous of his mentor in everything.
After living for some time under the guidance of the elder, Manuel began to ask to be tonsured into an angelic image, to which the elder willingly agreed and tonsured him with the name Macarius. After accepting the angelic image, Macarius also intensified his monastic exploits. But no matter how depressing he was with his exploits, his soul was not at peace: it suffered and shuddered from the vile ritual the Turks performed on him. As a result of this spiritual grief, he shed bitter tears and considered his involuntary fall as if it had occurred from his own will, and therefore, with his utmost obedience to the elder, he applied labor to labor and with a contrite heart in humble prayer asked the merciful God to forgive him his involuntary fall.
Apparently, God’s Providence was pleased to grant the blessed one peace of conscience and joy through the crown of martyrdom, which is why he gave him the idea of giving himself up to torture and reconciling himself with Him through a martyr’s death.
In 1590, having received the blessing of his spiritual father, he returned to Prussa, where he had once renounced, and appeared on the market in monastic robes. The Christian proclaimed the truth and called on everyone crowded around him to renounce error in order to unite with Christ and avoid eternal torment. Soon the Monk Macarius was captured, subjected to terrible torture, and then stoned and beheaded.
Relics of St. Saint Martyr Macarius remained unburied in the ravine for several days. During all this time at night I went to St. relics of the Divine light, which many pious Christians who lived in Brousse were privileged to see. Some of them, driven by jealousy, disregarding fear and danger, decided in one night to take them from the ditch and secretly buried them, and then divided them: the honorable head of the martyr was sent to St. Mount Athos, to the monastery of St. Anna, where Macarius prepared himself for a suffering feat; part of St. His own mother took the relics and took them to her homeland, where they were placed in the church of St. Trinity; the rest of St. The Brus Christians left the relics for the sanctification and preservation of themselves through his intercessory prayers before the throne of God from the attacks of the enemies of the Cross of Christ, which was honestly and reverently placed in the church, in a special ark.
The Holy Martyr Macarius suffered on October 6, 1590.
7 Rev. Sergius of Obnorsky, Nuromsky, Vologda († 1412, commemorated October 7)
Inflamed with spiritual desire, you are rich, / you have filled your soul with the flow of your tears / and you have wounded your heart with sighs from the depths, / and with vigorous prayers, and all-night standing before the Lord Christ / you have brought much virtuous fruit to yourself. / And for this reason, as a saint of God, you have appeared brightly to the world, / shining miracles, Our Father Sergius, / warm prayer book to God, always pray for us, / that He may save our souls.
Reverend Sergius of Obnor, Nuromsky, Vologda wonderworker, began monastic exploits on Holy Mount Athos. Then he came to Russia and settled in the monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity under the leadership of St. Sergius of Radonezh (July 5 and September 25). A few years later, with the blessing of the Venerable Abbot, Saint Sergius went to the Vologda forests and stopped on the banks of the Nurma River. There he erected a cross and built a chapel with a cell, in which he labored in deep silence, “living a life like an angel,” and patiently enduring temptations from demons and unkind people.
The Lord was pleased to call the saint from his solitude so that he, filled with wisdom and spiritual experience, would serve others for salvation. 40 people gathered to him from different places, thirsting for a pious life. Together, the brethren built a large church in honor of the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Cells were built around the church. Not far from the Nurom Monastery, the Monk Pavel of Obnor (January 10) performed his feat, whom the Monk Sergius often visited for soul-searching conversations. The Monk Sergius died on October 7, 1412. Church veneration of the saint began in 1546.
12 Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
From Thy holy icon, / O Lady Theotokos, / healing and healing are given abundantly, / with faith and love, to those who come to her. /So visit my weakness/ and have mercy on my soul, O Good One,/ and heal my body / with Your grace, O Most Pure One.
Legend see February 12
15 Rev. Euthymius the New, Thessalonica, hierodeacon († 889, commemorated October 15)
The Monk Euthymius the New, of Thessalonica, in the world Nikita, was a native of the city of Ancyra in Galatia. His parents, Epiphanius and Anna, led a virtuous Christian life, and their son was meek, honest and obedient from childhood. At the age of seven he was left without a father and soon became his mother’s support in all matters. After completing military service, Nikita, at the insistence of his mother, got married. After the birth of his daughter, he secretly left home to enter a monastery. For 15 years the Monk Euthymius labored on Mount Olympus, where he learned monastic deeds from the elders.
Then the monk moved to Holy Mount Athos. On the way, having learned that his mother and wife were in good health, he informed them that he had become a monk and sent them a cross, urging them to follow his example. On Athos, the monk accepted the great schema and lived for three years in a cave, in complete silence, struggling with temptations. For a long time, Saint Euthymius labored on a pillar, not far from Thessaloniki, instructing those who came for advice and healing illnesses. The monk purified his mind and heart so much that he was granted divine visions and revelations. By command of the Lord, Saint Euthymius in 863 on Mount Peristera, not far from Thessaloniki, founded two monasteries, which he ruled for 14 years, remaining in the rank of deacon. In one of them his mother and wife were tonsured. Before his death, the monk retired to an island located near Mount Athos, and there he rested in 889. His relics were transferred to Thessaloniki. The Monk Euthymius is called the New, in contrast to the Monk Euthymius the Great.
20 Rev. Gerasim of Cephalon, New, Nataras, Athonite, Hierom. († 1579, commemorated August 16, October 20)
The Monk Gerasim was born in the village of Trikala, located in the Peloponnese. Upon reaching adulthood, he retired to the island of Zakin for monastic life. On the Holy Mountain he accepted the schema and studied with the Athonite ascetics. Having received a blessing from the elders, the monk went to Jerusalem to venerate the Life-Giving Tomb of the Savior. Having walked around the holy places and visited Mount Sinai, Antioch, Damascus, Alexandria, Egypt, he returned to Jerusalem, where he became a candle burner at the Holy Sepulcher. The monk was ordained by the blessed Patriarch of Jerusalem Herman II (1534 - 1579) as a deacon, and then as a presbyter. The Monk Gerasim did not weaken his prayerful deeds. For silence, he retired to the Jordan, where he fasted continuously for 40 days. Having received a blessing from the patriarch for a silent life, the Monk Gerasim retired to Zakynthos. There he remained in solitude for 5 years, eating plants.
By inspiration from above, the Monk Gerasim moved to the island of Cephalonia and in Omale, at the church he restored, he founded a nunnery, in which he lived for 30 years in constant labor, vigil, prayer, kneeling prostration on the earth. During his high life, he was awarded by God the gift of miracles - to heal diseases and cast out unclean spirits. The Monk Gerasim, notified of his death several days in advance, blessed the nuns and peacefully departed to the Lord on August 15, 1579, in the 71st year of his life. When the tomb was opened two years later, his holy relics, found incorrupt, exuded a fragrance and were intact.
20 Prmch. Ignatius the New, Athos, Constantinople († 1814, commemorated May 1, October 20)
Equal in number to the Trinity of the Uncreated beings, / with the faces of Angels and the ranks of martyrs, / you stand before, rejoicing, the Throne of the Divine, wisdom. / For this reason, through the sacrament, you receive the radiance from there, / you give a source of healing to the faithful, / and Divine enlightenment, / the martyr of Christ Euthymius with Ignatius the wise and with the Divine Acacius, / about us ever pray.
The birthplace of the Holy Martyr Ignatius was the village of Eski-Zagra, Ternov diocese, inhabited by Bulgarians. His father George and mother Maria were Orthodox Christians, who subsequently moved from this village to Philippopolis and there they gave Ignatius, named in St. baptism by John, learn to read and write. Possessing naturally excellent abilities, he quickly learned his Slavic language, and to further educate himself in the sciences, he retired to the Rila Bulgarian monastery, and there he entered under the guidance of one learned elder, with whom he stayed for six years, studying various sciences and at the same time complacently enduring various insults from him, since the elder had a hot-tempered character. But one day, when the elder was very angry with John for something and his irritability was already beginning to go out of bounds, so that the life of the blessed one was in danger, then he, fearing the possible unfortunate consequences, withdrew from there again to his parent’s house.
Ivan returned to Plovdiv when the Turks were recruiting men into the army to suppress the rebellion in Serbia. His father refused to fight with his brothers in faith, for which he was brutally killed, and his mother and 2 sisters were forcibly converted to Islam. Having learned about these events, Ivan hid with the pious old woman. The sisters handed him over to the Turks, but Ivan managed to escape.
Ivan stayed in Bucharest for some time, and then headed to Mount Athos and in Shumen met an acquaintance from Bucharest, Eleutherius, who converted to Islam. But, as you can see, his desire was not even then the will of God, arranging everything in a timely manner for our benefit.
At that time, there happened to be one Svyatogorsk elder in Thessaloniki, who rejected John from his intention - he advised him to go back to the Holy Mountain, strengthen himself with spiritual exploits, and then, if it was God’s will, to embark on a martyrdom. Having listened to the advice of the good old man, John agreed to follow it and a few days later, together with this good companion, he arrived back on Athos, to the monastery of St. Anna, where this elder soon fell ill and rested in the Lord, and John, after his death, moved to the Kavsokalivsky monastery. Here he learned about his former friend, the Venerable Martyr Euphemia, who suffered a martyr’s death for Christ. Rejoicing at the favorable outcome of his friend and with all his heart offering up a prayer of gratitude to the Heavenly Father, who snatched the lost sheep from the predatory wolf-devil, he himself decided to follow in the footsteps of the Venerable Martyr Euthymius, and therefore immediately went to the monastery of St. The Forerunner, to the confessor Nicephorus (father and mentor of Euthymius), and earnestly began to beg to accept him under his spiritual leadership.
From the conversation that followed between them, Nicephorus learned in detail the entire past life of John and agreed to accept him as his disciple.
Under the guidance of the experienced confessor Nicephorus, John day by day became more and more successful in virtues, so that prayer, vigils and genuflections were his consolation, and the name of Jesus, which constantly reigned in his heart, became his life. In addition, he read part of the sacred Gospel every day and offered a short prayer to the Mother of God several times a day, asking the Heavenly Intercessor to grant him martyrdom. His food consisted of bread and water, which he consumed with moderation.
Leading such a strict life, his spirit did not weaken or become despondent, and he was constantly cheerful; Moreover, wanting to suffer for his faith in Jesus Christ, he tried to imitate St. in everything. Euthymius, and what he did before his martyrdom, his worthy imitator tried his best to do, often turning to his holy friend with prayer, so that he would help him to enter into the great feat of martyrdom and courageously accept death for Christ. Ivan decided to suffer for Christ and thereby atone for the sin of cowardice. Elder Akaki tonsured him as a monk with a name and blessed him for martyrdom.
On September 29, 1814, Ignatius came to Constantinople with mon. Gregory, who had previously accompanied Euthymius. A few days later, on Tuesday, after receiving Holy Communion, Ignatius changed into Turkish clothes and headed to the court hearing. There he tore the turban from his head, threw it to the ground and said that in his youth he was forced to lie, promising to renounce the faith, and now he wants to take back his words and confess Christ, the True God. The judge urged him to change his decision, but Ignatius boldly condemned the Muslim religion. He was imprisoned, where they tried to force him to renounce Christ through persuasion and torture for 2 days, but the martyr was adamant. Then he was convicted and hanged on October 8, 1814.
After 3 days, monk Gregory bought his relics and on October 20 delivered them to Athos, where he placed them along with the relics of the great saint. Euphemia in the new church in the monastery of St. John the Baptist.
We should not remain silent about the miracles that St. Martyr Ignatius. So, in Galata of Constantinople there were two unfortunate people - sick, one insane in mind, and the other paralytic, and as soon as they put the saint's skuf 286 on the head of the sick, first on one, and then on the other, invoking the name of the Venerable Martyr Ignatius, the paralytic immediately became healthy in body, and the insane one came to his senses. - Glory to our God, who glorifies His saints, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Honest head of St. Ignatius is in the Russian monastery of the Great Martyr. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, particles of his relics are kept in the monastery of St. John the Baptist and in the Iveron Monastery.
21 Rev. Philotheus of Athos (late 10th – early 11th centuries, commemorated October 21)
The Monk Philotheus was from Elatia. Fearing the Turks, his parents moved to Macedonia, to Chrysopolis, where the saint’s father soon died. The child Philotheus and his brother, kidnapped by the Turks and thrown into prison, were miraculously brought out by the Mother of God Herself. She appeared to the children in the form of their mother and led them to the monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos in the city of Naples in Asia Minor. In this monastery, the brothers took monastic vows and underwent the obedience appointed by the abbot as ecclesiarchs. Philotheus’s mother, Evdokia, under the secret guidance of Providence, retired to a nunnery in the same city, knowing absolutely nothing about the fate of her children for many years. During the church holiday, being together with several nuns in the men's monastery where the monk labored, Evdokia recognized her children. When she asked how they ended up here, the children answered: “You know better, weren’t you the one who brought us here after freeing us from prison?” So Evdokia became convinced of the gracious intercession of the Mother of God, in prayers to Whom she only found consolation.
All the brethren gathered for the joyful meeting of the mother and the children and, having learned about the miraculous incident, glorified the Lord. After the death of his mother, the Monk Philotheus departed for the Holy Mountain, where he first joined the brotherhood of the Dionysia Monastery, and then retired to complete silence. Devoting himself to prayerful deeds, the Monk Philotheus achieved high spiritual perfection and was awarded the gift of clairvoyance. At the age of eighty-four, the monk peacefully departed to the Lord, commanding his disciples not to bury his body, but to throw it with dishonor in the forest to be devoured by animals and birds. The disciples fulfilled the elder’s will, but the Lord glorified him with the miraculous radiance of the saint’s power, after which they were returned to the monastery.
24 St. Athanasius I, Patriarch of Constantinople († 1315, commemorated October 24)
With the light of purity of life you burned the passionate thorns/ and with the flow of tears you watered the barren land,/ making the spiritual field abundantly fruitful,/ Blessed Athanasius,/ shone for Constantinople, fertilized by the Patriarch,/ pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Saint Athanasius I, Patriarch of Constantinople (1289-1293; 1303-1311), known as Alexius, was from Adrianople. Even in his youth, having succeeded in learning the wisdom of Christ, he left home and went to Thessalonica, where in one of the monasteries he took monastic vows with the name Akakios. From there he soon retired to Holy Mount Athos and joined the brotherhood of the Esphigmena monastery, where he served as a refector for three years. In his labors and exploits he acquired the gift of tears, and with his virtues he gained the universal favor of the brethren. Fearing praise, the humble Akaki left Athos, first to the shrines of Jerusalem, and then to Mount Patria, where he labored as a hermit for a long time. From there the ascetic moved to Auxentia, and then to Mount Galantia to the monastery of blessed Lazarus, where he received a great angelic image with the name Athanasius, received holy orders and became ecclesiarch. Here the saint was rewarded with Divine revelation: from the crucifixion he heard the voice of the Lord, calling him to pastoral service.
Ten years later, wanting to further strengthen his spirit in silence and prayer, Saint Athanasius again settled on Mount Athos. However, due to the disturbances that arose there, he returned to Mount Galantia. But even here he did not have to remain in solitude for long. Many people flocked to him for pastoral guidance. So a convent was formed on this site. At that time, the cathedra of the Church of Constantinople was empty after the upheavals and unrest of the times of Patriarch John Vekkos. At the suggestion of the pious Emperor Andronikos Palaiologos, the Council of Bishops and Clergy in 1289 unanimously elected Saint Athanasius to the see of the Universal Church.
Patriarch Athanasius began to fulfill his new obedience with zeal and did a lot to strengthen the Church. The severity of his denunciations aroused the discontent of the influential clergy, and in 1293 he was forced to leave the department and retired again to his monastery, where he labored in solitude. In 1303, he was again given the baton of patriarchal service, which he carried with dignity for another 7 years. In 1308, Saint Athanasius installed Saint Peter, Primate of the Russian Church, as Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus' (December 21). And again, because of the onset of discontent, not wanting to be the cause of church unrest, Saint Athanasius in 1311 left the management of the Church and went to his monastery, completely devoting himself to monastic exploits. Towards the end of his life, the saint was again honored to see Christ: the Lord reproached him that Athanasius had not fully fulfilled his pastoral duty. Shedding tears, the saint repented of his cowardice and received from the Lord forgiveness and the gift of miracles. Saint Athanasius reposed at the age of 100.
26 Prmch. Joasaph of Athonite, disciple of St. Niphon II of Constantinople († 1516, commemorated October 26)
Monk of the Dionysian Monastery on Holy Mount Athos, disciple of St. Niphon of Constantinople. He accepted martyrdom on October 26, 1516 in Constantinople. The Turks brutally tortured him and then beheaded him.
28 St. Arseny I of Serbia, Archbishop. Serbian († 1266, commemorated October 28)
Thou hast opened the treasure of mercy and mercy to all, / Divine fertilization of orthodoxy to the teacher and bishops, / Our Father, Hierarch Arseny, / thou hast been the intercessor of the poor: / so pray to Christ God, / to enlighten our souls, lest we fall asleep into death.
Saint Arseny is a disciple and follower of Saint Sava I of Serbia, who entrusted Arseny with the abbotship of the Zhich monastery and relied on him in many church matters. When the constant attacks of the Vergre on the northern regions of Serbia showed St. Sava, that Žića was not protected enough to play the role of the capital of the Serbian Church, he instructed Arseniy to find an area where the church center could be moved. St. Arseny found a place in the valley of the Bystrica River, fenced by two high ridges, where his labors laid the foundation for the Peč Lavra, which became the center of the Serbian Church for many centuries.
When St. Savva went to Jerusalem for the first time; he left the affairs of the department in the hands of St. Arseny, and before his second trip to the Holy Land in 1233 or 1234 - dedicated to St. Arseny to the rank of archbishop and transferred to him control of the young Serbian Church.
Returning from Jerusalem, Saint Sava became seriously ill and gave his soul to God in the city of Tarnovo, Bulgaria. Saint Arsenios, as his successor and successor, convinced the Serbian King Vladislav to make every effort to transfer the holy relics to Serbia. King Vladislav, having personally gone to Bulgaria and begged his relative, the Bulgarian Tsar, returned the relics of the Serbian saint to his homeland, where St. Arseny gathered the clergy and nobility for their solemn meeting. The relics were placed by Saint Arseny in the Mileshevo monastery.
Saint Arseniy crowned King Uros I in 1242, under whom the Serbian land found peace from invasions. The saint devoted all his energies to the organization of church structure, education, the construction of monasteries and the organization of monastic life. Thanks to his opposition to the Bogomil heresy that had spread in the Balkans, Serbia avoided the religious unrest that befell neighboring countries.
The saint departed to the Lord in peace and silence on October 28, 1266. Three years before his death, he was struck by an illness, which he accepted with meekness and humility. His body was buried in the Pech monastery.
29 Prmch. Agathangel of Esphigmen († 1819, commemorated April 19, October 29
In the world, Athanasius, originally from the city of Aena, Thracian region, was raised in a strictly Orthodox family. After the death of his parents, he entered the naval service. The Turks decided to convert the intelligent and skillful young man to Islam. They knew that he would not renounce Christ of his own free will, and in the city of Smyrna (now Izmir) they attacked the saint, wounded him and, threatening him with death, forced him to convert to Islam. The young man was confused and promised to call himself a Muslim in the hope of soon getting rid of the rapists and renouncing this promise. But he did not succeed for a long time, he was tormented by remorse and finally found the opportunity to leave the city and went to seek refuge on Holy Mount Athos. At the Esphigmen monastery, Abbot Euthymius confessed him and blessed him for obedience, which Saint Athanasius carried out with the greatest zeal.
But Saint Athanasius considered even the most difficult feats insufficient to repent of the sin of renunciation. He felt that he needed to give his life for his faith in Christ, and began to pray earnestly for this.
On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, a nineteen-year-old young man was tonsured a monk with the name Agafangel.
Saint Nicholas of Myra appeared to the newly tonsured monk in a dream and promised his help. The abbot of the monastery saw a special sign in this and blessed Saint Agafangel to confess the faith of Christ in Smyrna before those who forced him to renounce it.
At the Ottoman court, the confessor told how he was forcibly forced to accept an alien faith, publicly renounced Islam and confessed himself as a Christian. They began to persuade and exhort Saint Agafangel. He answered: “I abhor your admonitions, your promises, and you yourself. I only love Christ, I seek my Christ, I desire to enjoy my Christ.” The judge began to threaten him with a painful death. “I am ready to endure everything for my Christ! I accept all types of torment with the greatest joy! I just ask you not to delay in carrying out your words,” answered the saint.
Saint Agathangel was tied up, shackled with a heavy chain, his feet were driven into wooden stocks and thrown into prison. Together with him there were two more innocently convicted Christians. One of them, Nicholas, after the death of the venerable martyr, witnessed his torment.
The next day, Saint Agathangel appeared in chains again before the court. Having courageously endured all the tortures that the Turks prepared for him, he was again sent to prison. Nicholas informed him that one influential man was petitioning the court for his release, but Saint Agathangel, in a letter to that man, asked not to seek freedom for him, but to pray to God to strengthen him in his martyrdom.
The saint was preparing for the final test. At midnight it was revealed to him in a vision that he would be executed no later than five o’clock, and he joyfully began to wait for the appointed hour. At about four o'clock the guards came for him. Seeing no possibility of turning the staunch confessor away from the faith of Christ, the judges decided to execute him. Concentrating in prayer, the martyr did not notice either the preparations for execution or the large crowd of people. He was beheaded at about five o'clock in the morning, April 19, 1819. Christians bought the holy relics of the martyr and buried them in Smyrna, in the Church of the Great Martyr George.
In 1844, part of the holy remains of the Venerable Martyr Agafangel was transferred to the Holy Mount Athos to the Esphigmen monastery.
29 Prmch. Timofey Esfigmensky, Athos († 1820, commemorated April 19, October 29)
In the world, Triandafil, was born in the village of Paraora (Παράορα, modern Barağı in Turkey) near the city of Kisani (Greek Κισσός, modern Keşan in Turkey) in the Thracian region.
His first name, given to him in holy baptism, was Triandafil. Having reached adulthood, Triandafil was legally married, from which he had two daughters.
The godly and peaceful life of this happy family led to the envy of the malicious enemy, who, out of his malice and hatred of all good, decided to destroy marital harmony; To do this, he aroused an irresistible voluptuous lust in one Muslim for Triandafil's wife, so that he, overcome by attraction, forcibly took her away from Triandafil and, introducing her to the Muslim faith, placed her in his harem. The good heart of the husband was overcome with bitter sorrow, seeing the death of his wife, who, for the sake of temporary and perishing blessings, had lost eternal ones, and, not finding any other outcome in his grief than prayer, he began to fervently pray to the Almighty Creator, asking Him to turn the lost woman to the light of true knowledge. But at the same time, he feared for his daughters, fearing that they too would suffer the fate of their mother, and therefore sent them to his relatives, asking them to take part in the unfortunate.
Grief over the loss of his beloved wife oppressed poor Triandafil, and he decided at all costs to snatch her from the clutches of the devil, why, in addition to fervent prayer, he secretly, through others, exhorted her to leave the Muslim faith, threatening her with eternal torment for her apostasy. The fervent prayer, offered from the fullness of the heart, was heard by the Heavenly Creator, Who, in His great mercy, put a good thought into the heart of the outcast, so that she soon felt disgusted with the Muslim faith, came to consciousness, bitterly repented of her fall and decided to again accept the Christian faith. But knowing that it was difficult to escape from the hands of the kidnapper on her own, she suggested that Triandafil pretend to accept the Muslim faith, and then demand it from the kidnapper in court; In other ways it was impossible for her to free herself from the harem.
And then, when she is freed, they must leave the world and go: he to the Holy Mount Athos and, having become a monk there, beg God and ask for forgiveness in his involuntary fall, and she to a nunnery, where, like him, she will heal her ulcers with repentance.
Hearing such a demand from his wife, Triandafil, in order to acquire the deceased, decided to fulfill her desire, imitating in this case the Apostle Paul, who, for the salvation of his brethren, himself wanted to be excommunicated from Christ.
So, placing his hope in God, he went to the judgment seat, where he declared his desire to accept the Muslim faith, but only if his wife was returned to him. Triandafil's wish was immediately fulfilled: he was introduced to the Muslim faith and, after circumcision was performed on him, his wife was returned to him. Having received a wife, Triandafil, although he showed the appearance that he would follow the Mohammedan law, secretly, together with his wife, professed the Christian faith and performed all church rituals, however, no matter how much they hid their secret, the Turks still suspected them of treason, which is why they began to strictly monitor them. Meanwhile, Triandafil realized that it was impossible for them to remain among the Muslims any longer, and therefore, entrusting his daughters to relatives and saying goodbye to them, he secretly went with his wife to the city of Enos, and from there to Kydonia, where he left her in a nunnery, and he himself went to Holy Mount Athos.
Upon arrival at the Holy Mountain, Triandafil entered the brotherhood of the Lavra of St. Athanasius, where he zealously labored in monastic deeds. Meanwhile, he secretly shed bitter tears and asked the merciful God to forgive him for his involuntary sin. The abbot, seeing his zeal in imitation of a virtuous life, tonsured him into monasticism with the name Timothy. With the adoption of the angelic image, he applied labor to labor and among the Lavra brotherhood he was like an angel, adorned with goodness and deep humility. He carried out the obediences assigned to him with special zeal, and thus he lived in the Lavra for about seven years, growing from strength to strength.
At that same time, news reached the Lavra that in Smyrna St. The Venerable Martyr Agafangel of Esphigmena successfully completed his martyrdom, and even the Turks themselves were amazed at his courageous patience. This rumor, as well as the fact that for his renunciation of Christ he shed his blood and with it washed away the stain that his all-evil enemy had placed on him, had a strong effect on Timothy: it clearly seemed to him that for his renunciation, like St. Agafangel, must confess Christ as the true God before the Muslims and then accept martyrdom.
The sunken thought of martyrdom began to haunt him at every step, but, however, not having tested his strength, he did not dare to follow his intention without preparation and advice from experienced elders.
Wanting to test himself exactly, he, with the blessing of the Lavra abbot, moved to the Esphigmen monastery, where he placed himself under the guidance of that same abbot, who, together with Elder Herman, participated in the preparation of St. Agafangel to the suffering feat. Here Timothy was soon tonsured into the great angelic image - the schema and, under the leadership of the abbot, began to prepare himself to endure torment for the name of Jesus Christ.
Having daily before the eyes of St. relics of Agafangel, Timothy revered the holy martyr and asked him in his prayer to ask him from the Greatly Gifted Lord for grace: to suffer for His holy name. As you can see, St. Agathangel heeded Timothy's plea, for his heart was so inflamed with love for our Lord Jesus Christ that he was unable to bear it any longer and wanted to suffer for the sweetest Jesus as soon as possible. And therefore he announced his intention to the abbot, begging him to give him a blessing for his martyrdom. But the abbot, wanting to test Timothy and as if not heeding his request, refused him his blessing, which, however, did not at all bother Timothy, who, out of his deep humility and unquestioning obedience, accepted the words of the abbot, as if from the Lord Himself. Meanwhile, quite a lot of time passed during which Timothy not only did not weaken in his intention, but even often reminded and asked to be released to a suffering feat.
When the experienced leader saw Timothy’s unchanging and firm thought, he agreed and, giving him his blessing, sent him with a letter to the Miriophyte diocese on the banks of the Propontis to Hieromonk Herman, a former companion of St. Agafangel, who at that time was on church business in these places, asking him to prepare Timothy for the suffering feat.
Arriving in Propontis, he found Elder Herman, to whom he handed a letter from the Abbot of Esphigmen. Having read the letter, Herman with joy and brotherly love accepted Timothy as a future martyr, comforted him with hospitality and gave him shelter.
Preparing Timothy for the feat of martyrdom, Herman spiritually rejoiced that the Lord God, in His great mercy, deigned to prepare one more martyr for the confession of His holy name, and a few days later, seeing Timothy’s firmness in intention, blessed him for the feat of martyrdom. At the same time, there was also a follower of Timothy, Hieromonk Euthymius, who, seeing his courageous determination, was inflamed with jealousy and wished to suffer with him for Christ and accept martyrdom.
And thus, guided by blessing and prayer, Euthymius and Timothy went to Kisani, where they went into the house of a former Christian, an acquaintance of Timothy, but now an outcast. After the usual greeting, Timothy began to persuade the outcast to turn again to Christ, while threatening him with eternal torment and deprivation of the benefits that are prepared for the followers of Christ. But the embittered outcast, instead of gratitude for their good advice, reported them to the judge, who immediately ordered to bring St. martyrs at the judgment seat.
When St. The martyrs entered the judgment seat and appeared before the judge, then they boldly confessed themselves to be Christians, denouncing their delusion and false belief in Mohammed. The judge, hearing the blasphemy against his faith, became seething with anger and ordered the servants to tightly tie the hands of the saint. martyrs back and, considering their guilt not subject to his authority, sent them to Adrianople. At the same time, the servants showed brutal zeal: they are the hands of St. Timofey was pulled so tightly that his shoulders were joined together.
The next day, the sufferers of Christ arrived in Adrianople; here they learned that the day before, two ascetics of Christ, Hieromonk Nicholas and Monk Barnabas, courageously professed the Christian faith and that after a short admonition, the judges ordered them to be thrown into different prisons and, having driven their feet into stocks, to beat them on their heels every day for one month, adding two blows every day, starting with thirty-eight blows. This news strengthened Euthymius and Timothy, and they joyfully looked forward to suffering for Christ who loved them.
When St. The martyrs Euthymius and Timothy were brought to the court, then the judges, after the usual admonitions, seeing their inflexibility, ordered Hieromonk Euthymius to be imprisoned and beaten on the heels in the same way as Nicholas and Barnabas, while Timothy was left without punishment, declaring to him that if he did not convert to the Muslim faith within one month, then the next month he would be put to death.
Two days later, Timothy’s elder, Herman, arrived in Adrianople, who, through a messenger, secretly visited St. The martyrs learned that they wished to receive Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries, and therefore immediately went to the house patriarchal church, took several particles of antidora there and on the same day sent three particles to St. martyrs with that Christian who informed him of their desire to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, and in a short letter informed the sufferers that tomorrow he himself would come to them in prison. The next day, Herman, having inquired from one Christian that debtors were being imprisoned in the same prison in which Euthymius and Timothy were imprisoned, as well as for non-payment of taxes, began to ask him to report him to the tax collector, as if he had not paid the legal tax. As soon as the collector heard about this, he immediately came to the hotel where Herman was staying, and, calling him, began to demand a receipt for the payment of taxes. And since Herman did not have not only the receipt, but also the money, the collector sent him to prison.
Who can adequately describe the joy when the students saw their teacher in prison?! What joyful tears watered their cheeks at the sight of their benefactor and mentor! They were all having fun and kissing each other with tears. The whole night was spent in vigil and prayer, and the gloomy prison turned into a church; At the end of the vigil, the martyrs of Christ confessed to their elder and then partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And as soon as morning came, Herman was ransomed by pious Christians and he was released.
Meanwhile, to the shame of the enemies of Christianity, the Lord clearly worked miracles through His confessors, for no matter how cruel the torturers beat the passion-bearers on the heels, the martyrs of Christ, instead of the usual groans, rejoiced and gave thanks for the blows they had inflicted; After each beating, the executioners’ hands became relaxed, and they, seeing their weakness, gnashed their teeth in anger.
Finally, the day approached on which God’s Providence was pleased to call St. Martyr Timothy. On this day, the judges demanded him to appear in court and, after various flattering promises and threats, they ordered his head to be cut off and thrown into the river along with his body, which was carried out by the executioners on October 29, 1820.
Elder Herman grieved a lot because the enemies of the Church of Christ deprived Christians of the consolation of having St. the relics of the sufferer of Christ Timothy, and therefore, wanting to purchase at least his bloody clothes, he offered the executioners a significant amount of money, for which he received what he wanted. Then with this precious burden he went to the Holy Mountain. Passing by the village where the daughters of St. Timothy, Herman came to them, told them the good news about the martyrdom of their father and gave them a portion of the saint’s clothes. Upon arrival on Mount Athos, the brethren of the Esphigmen monastery met the martyr's clothes with a procession of the cross, carried them into the church with honor and placed them in the ark with the clothes of St. Martyr Agafangel.
After the execution of St. Timothy, the confessors of Christ: Euthymius, Nicholas and Barnabas, were released from prison and dishonorably driven out of the city. Through the prayers of St. Venerable Martyr Timothy, O Christ our God, make us worthy to receive eternal glory in heaven. Amen.
1
Memory of the Venerable Martyr Jacob of Kostur and his disciples Hierodeacon Jacob and Dionysius the Monk († c. 1520, commemorated November 1)
In the world, John was born in one of the villages near Kastoria (Greece) into a poor pious family. His parents' names were Martin and Paraskeva. In his youth, John tended flocks and gradually acquired his own sheep. His brother was jealous of John's success and reported to the local Turkish authorities that he had found a treasure. John was forced to leave his native place to avoid persecution by the Turks. He settled in Constantinople, began supplying lamb to the Sultan's court and gradually became rich. Once, while visiting a noble Turk, he heard a story about how Patriarch Niphon II (1486-1489, 1497-1498) healed the possessed wife of a Turk, while the Turk saw how, during the reading of the Gospel, the dome of the church opened and divine light filled the church. After this, John decided to go to the patriarch for a spiritual conversation. Under the influence of Patriarch Nifont, he distributed his estate (300 thousand gross) to the poor, retired to Athos and took monastic vows at the Dokhiar monastery.
Three years later, he restored the desolate monastery of St. John the Baptist, which belonged to the Iveron Monastery, and labored there for 6 years under the leadership of Elder Ignatius. After the death of the elder, like the ancient ascetics, he was subjected to temptations and demonic attacks, from which the Most Holy Theotokos delivered him.
Passing through obedience in various feats of self-sacrifice, the divine Jacob rose to such purity that he was awarded heavenly revelations: like the Apostle Paul, the venerable abodes of heaven and the prisons of hell were revealed to the saint. By gift from above, the Monk Jacob saw the secrets of the heart and innermost thoughts of each of those who came to him. The monk was also honored with the gift of miracles. Visiting Aetolia with his disciples, Rev. He performed many miracles, healing the sick and edifying everyone. Many people flocked to the saint. The Turkish authorities, taking advantage of a false denunciation against the saint that he, supposedly, by gathering people could cause a rebellion, tried to force the saint to renounce Orthodoxy. But St. Jacob and both of his disciples, hierodeacon Jacob and Dionysius the monk, having endured severe torture for many days, accepted martyrdom on November 1, 1520.
Christians bought the bodies of the saints and took them to the village of Arvanitochorion (according to other sources, Alvani, or Alvanitochorion) near Adrianople and buried them in 3 separate tombs. Every Sunday and on holidays, light emanated from the tombs of the venerable martyrs. Soon after the martyrdom of the holy saints. Nikolai from Arta went to visit his brother who lived on the Danube. On the way, in Adrianople, the priest's horse fell ill. Nicholas, who heard about Jacob’s martyrdom, turned to him with prayer, and the horse was healed. The priest went to the burial place of Jacob and told the residents of Arvanitochorion about what had happened. At his insistence, the tombs were opened. A wonderful fragrance emanated from the relics of Jacob. Priest Nicholas took the venerable head of the venerable martyr and part of his relics and took them to the disciples of the venerable martyr, who labored in the Athos monastery of Simonopetra. The housekeeper Neophyte and the priest received healing from the relics of Jacob. Callistus. The disciples sent with the priest.
Nicholas to Adrianople, one of the monks, named Theophilus, and transferred the remaining relics of Jacob, Jacob and Dionysius to Simonopetra. Afterwards Jacob's disciples moved to the village. Galatista on the Chalkidiki peninsula and restored the VMC monastery, which was in desolation. Anastasia the Pattern Maker. Miracles from the relics of the holy martyrs attracted a large number of brethren there - up to 150 people. Through prayer to Jacob, Philip, a Thessalonian, was saved from drowning during a storm. Healings occurred not only from the relics of Jacob, but also from his clothes (they made difficult childbirth easier). Currently, part of the relics of Jacob is also kept in the Dohiar monastery.
9
Icons of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear”
To the Mother of God, as a father figure in troubles, / and to Her holy icon, let us now fall, / calling with faith from the depths of our souls: / soon hear our prayer, O Virgin, / as the One who is quick to hear. / For thee are Thy servants in need, / ready Helper of the imams.
This ancient miraculous image is located on Holy Mount Athos, in the Dochiar monastery. Monastic tradition dates the time of its writing to the 10th century, to the time of the life of the abbot of the monastery, St. Neophytos. In 1664, the refector Nil, walking into the refectory at night with a lit torch, heard from the image of the Mother of God hanging above the door a voice calling on him not to walk here in the future and not to smoke the icon. The monk thought that this was a joke of some brother, ignored the sign and continued to go to the refectory with a smoking splinter. Suddenly he went blind. In bitter repentance, Nile prayed before the icon of the Mother of God, begging for forgiveness. And again I heard a wonderful voice, announcing forgiveness and the return of sight and ordering it to be announced to all the brethren: “From now on, this icon of mine will be called Quick to Hear, because I will quickly show mercy and fulfillment of petitions to all who come to it.” The Most Holy Theotokos fulfilled and is now fulfilling Her promise - she provides immediate help and consolation to everyone who flows to Her with faith.
In Rus', copies of the miraculous Athos icon “Quick to Hear” have always enjoyed great love and veneration. Many of them became famous for their miracles. Particularly noted were cases of healing from epilepsy and demonic possession.
In 1938, the Athonite monastery of Dokhiar donated a copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” to the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem.
Memory of Saints Euthymius and Neophytos of Dochiar (Athos) (10th century)
The Monks Euthymius and Neophytos of Dochiar, uncle and nephew, belonged to the highest Byzantine aristocracy. The Monk Euthymius, while still in the world, received the honor of being a friend of the Monk Athanasius of Athos (July 5), and subsequently became a tonsure and disciple of the great ascetic. For sincere brotherly love, meekness and special zeal in the ascetic life, Saint Athanasius awarded the monk the position of dochiar (housekeeper), which the monk Euthymius fulfilled as entrusted to him by God Himself.
With several monks, Saint Euthymius settled in the town of Daphne, where he founded a monastery in the name of Saint Nicholas, which he named Dochiar, in memory of his obedience. Instructing his small brotherhood, the Monk Euthymius taught the need for deep attention to oneself, to all movements of the soul, explaining that the struggle of Christians, according to the Apostle Paul, is not “against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, and against the powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12). The peaceful ascetic life of the monks was disrupted by the Saracens. The monk took all the brethren into the forest. When the monks returned, they found the monastery destroyed to the ground. The Monk Euthymius did not lose heart, and the monastery was rebuilt.
The Monk Neophyte in the world was a close associate of Emperor Nikephoros Phocas (963-969). After the death of his parents, he arrived on Athos, where he took monastic vows at the monastery of his uncle, the Monk Euthymius. Before his death, Saint Euthymius transferred control of the monastery to his nephew. Under the spiritual leadership of the Monk Neophytos, the small monastery grew into a Lavra. Having offered Emperor Nicephorus to become a ktitor (investor) of the monastery, the Monk Neophytos increased the monastery to the current size of Dochiara. The Monk Neophytos was awarded the election of prot (the head of the protate - the council of elders of the Holy Mountain) and worked there for many years. After his dismissal from the protate due to old age, the monk returned to the Dokhiarsky monastery, where he peacefully departed to the Lord (X).
12
St. Myrrh-Streaming Nile, Mount Athos, Hierom. († 1651, commemorated May 7, November 12)
Having become a monk pleasing to God in Mount Athos, / in prayers and fasts you sought God / and you became a companion of the pure Spirit, / shining upon the faithful the rays of virtues, / in the image of you shining, Nile, crying out to you: / glory to the God who glorified you, / glory to Him who crowned you, / glory to the One who heals you all.
The holy and blessed Nile, having shone forth in late times, surpassed even many ancient ascetics in his exploits. New proof that virtue, piety and love of God are not determined by times and years, but have their basis in our will and discretion.
The Monk Nile the Myrrh-Streaming was born in Greece, in a village named after Saint Peter, in the Diocese of Zonium. He was raised by his uncle, Hieromonk Macarius. Having reached the required age, the monk took monastic tonsure and was awarded ordination as a hierodeacon, and then as a hieromonk.
The desire for great feats in monastic work led the blessed uncle and venerable nephew to Athos, where Macarius and Nil labored in a place called the Holy Stones.
After the repose of Blessed Macarius, the monk, rising to higher spiritual achievements, settled in a place inaccessible to almost any living creature.
Those who truly love God and live according to God try in every possible way to hide their virtues, crying and tears, fearing the arrows of vanity and human praise, they want their minds not to be constrained by worries about the vain and worldly, but to be constantly directed towards God. Likewise, the divine Nile, wishing that his most companions would not hear his heartfelt sighs and prayers to God and would not see his deeds and tears, so that his mind and heart would be constantly occupied with God, so that he could always devote himself to God and so that no one could interrupt his heavenly exercises, found a place for his solitude, inaccessible to almost any living creature, he found it and, not paying attention to the inexpressible difficulties and even dangers of life, settled in it. And having settled, he courageously endured all kinds of cramped conditions and misfortunes until the end of his life, despising all bodily repose and human consolation.
He who mortifies his body all day painlessly repays the common debt of mortality and goes to the One for whom his soul desired from his youth, ascending to heaven in the chants and angels’ prayers. In his cramped cave, marked and sanctified by so many wondrous deeds, he peacefully surrendered his peaceful spirit into the hands of God. During her presence, the brethren of his cell reverently buried his many-victorious and long-suffering body. And the wonderfully gifted Rewarder in His saints, gloriously glorifying those who glorify Him, as a true and clear testimony of the pure and Divine life of this high ascetic, glorified him by the fact that fragrant myrrh with healing powers subsequently began to flow from his tomb.
This myrrh, as legend testifies, flowed in such abundance that it flowed down the rapids even to the sea. And when the fame of this spread everywhere, Christians began to flock here in large numbers from the most remote countries of the East, landing on their caiques (boats) below and directly opposite the cave, in order to receive this sacred world for the healing and sanctification of soul and body. From this very thing, they say, the place located below the Nilova cave is called karabosrasion (ship station). From that time on, the monk was named Myrrh-Streaming.
At the same time, they say that the disciple who remained after Saint Nile and was an eyewitness to the modesty and deep humility of his elder during his earthly life, unable to bear the rumors from the multitude of flocking laymen who disturbed the peace of the Holy Mountain, allegedly decided to complain to his illustrious elder about himself, that, contrary to his words, he would not seek and not have glory on earth, but desire it only in heaven, the whole world would soon fill the glory of his name and violate through that the tranquility of the Holy Mountain, when large numbers began to come to him for healing: and this had such an effect on the holy myrrh-streamer that then the myrrh dried up.
Recently, some of the Kavsokalivian fathers, who received healing from various diseases through reverent prayerful invocation of the saint to help them, out of a feeling of holy gratitude, decided to build a church next to his cave. On May 7, 1815, construction began. While digging a place for the foundation of the church, they opened a hitherto unnoticed vault, and suddenly an indescribable fragrance came out of it. It must be said that until that time, although everyone was sure that the saint’s coffin and his relics were located near his cave, no one knew for sure in what exact place. For an inquisitive faith, it was enough just to know that there was a shrine that she revered there. So, having dismantled this vault, they found under it a priceless treasure - the sacred relics of the saint, fragrant with an inexplicable heavenly aroma. They immediately reported this to the Lavra of St. Afanasia. The Lavra immediately sent priests there.
The priests, taking the holy relics from under the vault with the greatest reverence, transferred them to the Lavra, where at that time the Patriarch of Constantinople, Blessed Gregory V, was located and participated in the meeting of the holy relics. The Lavra, having properly decorated the skull and jaw of the holy head, kept the first one, placing it in the holy altar along with other holy relics, but sent the second one to the cell of St. Nile, for the consecration of those who stay there and come there for the sake of reverence for the saint and veneration of his memory. Meanwhile, the construction of the sacred church at the cave of St. Nile was also completed. Depending on the space available, it can accommodate no more than ten to fifteen people. Behind the altar of this church is the place where the saint’s tomb was.
His feat was so pleasing to God that after the death of the righteous man, abundant myrrh began to flow from the heights of the mountain where the saint’s relics were buried. The saint’s deep spiritual experience did not remain hidden either: many years after his departure to the Lord, the saint began to appear to the Athonite monk Theophan and conduct conversations with him about sin and its eradication, spiritual ailments generated by passions, and opposition to them.
Through the prayers and intercession of our reverend father Nile, may we also reach the measure of the age and fulfillment of Christ and may we be worthy to enjoy together with him a blessed and ageless life. Amen.
13
Prmch. Damascene of Athos, Constantinople († 1681, commemorated November 13)
He was born in the Constantinople quarter of Galata in the parish of the Church of Our Lady of Eleusa and was named by his parents, Kyriak and Kyriakia, Diamantis. Having been orphaned early, he learned the skill of a tailor. For some offense, Diamantis was captured by the Turks and, wanting to avoid trial, renounced the Christian faith. After some time, he repented and retired to the Holy Mountain, where he took monastic vows at the Great Lavra with the name Damascus.
For 12 years he labored under the guidance of the elder, mourning his apostasy and exhausting himself with strict asceticism. Damascene considered his sin so grave that he decided to atone for it by martyrdom. He told about this to the former living in the Great Lavra. Patriarch Dionysius III of Constantinople, and he blessed him for this feat.
Damascene arrived in Constantinople, received Holy Communion in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Galata. In order not to bring the wrath of the Ottoman authorities upon the Holy Mountain monks, as happened after the execution of the new martyrs Gabriel (1676) and Cyprian (1679), he changed into secular clothes. Arriving at the Church of St. Sophia, which had been converted into a mosque, Damascene began to pray, making the sign of the cross, but the Muslims considered him crazy. For several days Damascus confessed Christ on the streets of the capital, but the Turks only called him a madman. Only when Damascene began to blaspheme Islam in the palace of the Grand Vizier was he beaten and expelled. Finally, he came to the very mosque where he had once renounced Christ, and, denouncing the Muslims, was captured and taken to the judge, and then to the vizier, who sentenced Damascus to death. He was beheaded in front of the gates of the patriarchal residence in Phanar. Relics of the Venerable Martyr. buried in the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the island of Halki.
14
St. Gregory Palamas, archbishop. Solunsky († c. 1360, commemorated November 14, 2nd Sunday of Lent)
Teacher of Orthodoxy, adornment of the saint, / Invincible champion of the theologian, Gregory the miracle worker, / Great praise to Thessaloniki, preacher of grace, / pray to Christ God to save our souls.
Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, was born in 1296 in Asia Minor. During the Turkish invasion, the family fled to Constantinople and found shelter at the court of Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282-1328). The father of Saint Gregory became a major dignitary under the emperor, but soon died, and Andronicus himself took part in the upbringing and education of the orphaned boy. Possessing excellent abilities and great diligence, Gregory easily mastered all the subjects that made up the full course of medieval higher education. The emperor wanted the young man to devote himself to state activities, but Gregory, having barely reached the age of 20, retired to Holy Mount Athos in 1316 (according to other sources, in 1318) and entered the Vatopedi monastery as a novice, where, under the leadership of the elder, the Monk Nicodemus of Vatopedi (July 11), he took monastic vows and began the path of asceticism. A year later, the holy evangelist John the Theologian appeared to him in a vision and promised his spiritual protection.
Gregory's mother, along with his sisters, also became a monk. After the repose of Elder Nicodemus, the monk Gregory went through his feat of prayer for 8 years under the leadership of Elder Nicephorus, and after the death of the latter he moved to the Lavra of St. Athanasius. Here he served at meals and then became a church singer. But three years later (1321), striving for higher levels of spiritual perfection, he settled in the small hermitage of Glossia. The abbot of this monastery began to teach the young man concentrated spiritual prayer - mental work, which was gradually developed and assimilated by the monks, starting with the great hermits of the 4th century, Evagrius of Pontus and the Monk Macarius of Egypt (January 19). After the external prayer techniques of mental work received detailed coverage in the works of Simeon the New Theologian (March 12) in the 11th century, it was adopted by the Athonite ascetics. The experimental use of mental doing, requiring solitude and silence, is called hesychasm (from the Greek.
- peace, silence), and those who practice it themselves began to be called hesychasts. During his stay in Glossia, the future saint was completely imbued with the spirit of hesychasm and accepted it for himself as the basis of life. In 1326, due to the threat of an attack by the Turks, he and his brethren moved to Thessaloniki, where he was ordained a priest.
Saint Gregory combined his duties as a presbyter with the life of a hermit: he spent five days of the week in silence and prayer, and only on Saturday and Sunday did the shepherd go out to the people - perform divine services and deliver sermons. His teachings often brought tenderness and tears to those present in the church. However, complete detachment from public life was unusual for the saint. Sometimes he attended theological meetings of the city's educated youth, led by the future Patriarch Isidore. Returning one day from Constantinople, he discovered a place near Thessaloniki called Veria, convenient for a solitary life. Soon he gathered a small community of hermit monks here and led it for 5 years. In 1331, the saint retired to Athos and retired to the monastery of St. Sava, near the Lavra of St. Athanasius. In 1333 he was appointed abbot of the Esphigmen monastery in the northern part of the Holy Mountain. In 1336, the saint returned to the monastery of St. Sava, where he began theological works, which he did not abandon until the end of his life.
Meanwhile, in the 30s of the 14th century, events were brewing in the life of the Eastern Church that placed Saint Gregory among the most significant ecumenical apologists of Orthodoxy and brought him fame as a teacher of hesychasm. Around 1330, the learned monk Varlaam came to Constantinople from Calabria. The author of treatises on logic and astronomy, a skillful and witty speaker, he received a chair at the capital's university and began to interpret the works of Dionysius the Areopagite (October 3), whose apophatic theology was recognized equally by the Eastern and Western Churches. Soon Varlaam went to Athos, became acquainted there with the way of spiritual life of the hesychasts and, based on the dogma of the incomprehensibility of the being of God, declared smart work to be a heretical delusion. Traveling from Athos to Thessaloniki, from there to Constantinople and then again to Thessaloniki, Varlaam entered into disputes with the monks and tried to prove the creatureliness of the Tabor light; At the same time, he did not hesitate to ridicule the monks’ stories about prayer techniques and spiritual insights.
Saint Gregory, at the request of the Athonite monks, first addressed verbal exhortations. But, seeing the futility of such attempts, he set out his theological arguments in writing. This is how the “Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts” appeared (1338). By 1340, the Athonite ascetics, with the participation of the saint, drew up a common response to Varlaam’s attacks - the so-called “Svyatogorsk Tomos”. At the Council of Constantinople in 1341, in the Church of Hagia Sophia, a dispute between St. Gregory Palamas and Barlaam took place, centered on the nature of the Tabor light. On May 27, 1341, the Council adopted the provisions of St. Gregory Palamas that God, inaccessible in His Essence, reveals Himself in energies that are addressed to the world and accessible to perception, like the Light of Tabor, but are not sensory and not created. Varlaam's teaching was condemned as heresy, and he himself, anathematized, retired to Calabria.
But the disputes between the Palamites and the Barlaamites were far from over. The second group included Varlaam’s disciple, the Bulgarian monk Akindinus and Patriarch John XIV Kalek (1341-1347); Andronikos III Palaiologos (1328-1341) also leaned towards them. Akindinus came out with a number of treatises in which he declared St. Gregory and the Athonite monks to be the perpetrators of church unrest. The saint wrote a detailed refutation of Akindinus's speculations. Then the Patriarch excommunicated the saint from the Church (1344) and subjected him to prison, which lasted three years. In 1347, when John XIV was replaced on the patriarchal throne by Isidore (1347-1349), Saint Gregory Palamas was released and elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Thessalonica. In 1351, the Council of Blachernae solemnly attested to the Orthodoxy of his teachings. But the Thessalonians did not immediately accept Saint Gregory; he was forced to live in different places. On one of his trips to Constantinople, a Byzantine galley fell into the hands of the Turks. Saint Gregory was sold as a captive in various cities for a year, but even then he tirelessly continued preaching the Christian faith.
Only three years before his death he returned to Thessaloniki. On the eve of his repose, Saint John Chrysostom appeared to him in a vision. With the words “To the mountain! To the top! Saint Gregory Palamas reposed peacefully before God on November 14, 1359. In 1368, he was canonized at the Council of Constantinople under Patriarch Philotheus (1354-1355, 1362-1376), who wrote the life and service of the saint.
Mch. Constantine of Rhodes († 1800, commemorated November 14)
Constantine was born in 1770 on the island of Hydra into a Christian family. His father's name was Michalak, and his mother's name was Marina. Having reached the age of eighteen, Constantine moved to live in Rhodes and entered the service of the Rhodian ruler Hassan there. Finding a convenient time, Hassan, calling on Constantine, first with affection, and then with various gifts, convinced him to renounce Christ and accept Islam. As soon as Constantine renounced Christ, they immediately gave him the Mohammedan name Hassan, and his life in the house of the ruler of Rhodes took a different turn: he was given another highest position, money, and all the employees in Hassan’s house began to honor and respect him.
But all this, as temporary and soon to perish, was soon taken into consideration, and the outcast little by little began to come to his senses: his conscience began to convict him of his deep fall. The Lord God, seeing the heartfelt contrition of the outcast, inspired him with a good thought: to turn to his confessor and repent of his fall. Constantine asked his confessor for a blessing so that, without leaving Rhodes, he would now renounce the vile Mohammed and again confess himself a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. The confessor saw his jealousy, but was unsure of his courage, moreover, he was afraid that at such a young and youthful age, fearing fierce torment, he would renounce Christ a second time. Therefore, he rejected Constantine from this untimely thought and desire, leaving his intention to the time and the age at which a person is more firm in his convictions, and then, having previously prepared by fasting, vigil and prayer, one can perform the feat of martyrdom, but even then only if it is the will of God.
Constantine obeyed his spiritual father. Arriving at Hassan’s house, he collected his property and money and, having distributed everything to the poor, a few days later he left the ill-fated house and retired to the Crimea. And three years later, Constantine went to the Holy Mountain and there he entered the brotherhood of the Iveron Monastery, where he began to undergo obedience with zeal and love. He often turned with fervent prayer and tears to the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Portaitissa, and begged the Most Pure One to pacify his heart and make him worthy to suffer for Christ, whom he denied through his own foolishness, being seduced by the splendor of wealth and glory. And thus his heart became more and more inflamed with love for Jesus Christ, for Whom he was ready to endure not only suffering, but also thousands of deaths. From that time on, his thoughts began to force him to indulge in torture.
Being in an excited state, he revealed his thoughts to the confessor of the Baptist monastery, Hieromonk Sergius, and the elders, who, however, did not advise him to commit martyrdom, saying that it was possible to save his soul without torment. But Constantine, burning with heartfelt love to suffer for Christ, could not follow the advice of the elders and soon left the Holy Mountain and went to Rhodes to confess the name of Jesus Christ.
After arriving in Rhodes, he confessed to his confessor and, having received the Holy Mysteries, revealed his intention to enter into a fight with the devil. But the confessor, fearing that he would become faint-hearted in torment, rejected him, like the Athonite elders, from such an intention and advised him to return back to the Holy Mountain. But Constantine firmly decided to suffer for Christ.
Having prayed to God and strengthened his heart with prayer, he went to the house of his former master Hasan and said to him:
- Hello, my lord! I testify to you of the obedience of your former servant, whom you three years ago, by deception, flattering and insidious words, convinced to renounce my Lord Jesus Christ, whom I now confess as the true God, but I curse your false prophet Mohammed as a deceiver and destroyer of human souls!
- Unhappy! - Hassan said. “I do not recognize you as a former servant, since you are dressed in monastic clothes.” Take off these black and deplorable clothes, and I will order you to be dressed in the most expensive and best colored ones, and I will recognize you as my servant, and I will enrich you with even greater honors and wealth than before.
- Master! - answered the confessor of Christ. “On the contrary, I advise you to abandon your wickedness.” All the evil that you did to me by seducing me into accepting Mohammedanism, because of which I was tormented and tormented by my conscience for so long - I forgive you all that, but only so that you believe in Jesus Christ the true God. So, be prudent and do not waste time, but convert to the Christian faith.
- Despicable! - Hassan shouted with anger. “Who taught you to offer me such idle talk?” I brought you happiness and subsequently wanted to marry my daughter. And you, despising all my worries, inflict such an insult on me.
At this time, one of Hassan’s servants hit the martyr of Christ on the cheek, to which Saint Constantine replied:
- Glory to You, Christ God, that You have vouchsafed me to receive a blow on the cheek for confessing Your name and have vouchsafed me to be an imitator of Your passion on the cross. For even You, my Lord, the despicable servant of the wicked high priest Anna, dared to strike You on the cheek with His foul hand at the judgment seat.
After much persuasion and detention in prison, the wicked Hasan ordered the saint to be beaten on the back and legs with sticks. From numerous blows, the body of the holy martyr was torn from the bones, and his toenails all fell off, and he fell to the ground from exhaustion and lay as if dead. The torturers, thinking that the martyr of Christ had already died, picked him up and threw him into prison.
Three days later, the tormentor Hassan ordered his servants to throw out the corpse of the sufferer of Christ from prison, thinking that he had already given himself over to decay. But what was the surprise of the servants when, entering the prison, they saw the martyr of Christ healthy, unharmed and with a radiant face! They immediately reported this to their master, who was also surprised and ordered him to be brought. When the holy sufferer came to Hassan, instead of believing in Jesus Christ, seeing an obvious miracle, he began to persuade him to renounce the Christian faith, while promising great honors and riches.
The Martyr of Christ, seeing Hassan’s spiritual blindness, said to him:
“Listen, sir, you know very well that three days ago your zealous servants injured my body, tore out all the hair on my head, and knocked off all the nails from my toes. And now, look, I'm healthy. So, glorify my Lord Jesus Christ, who did not disdain to come to me in a stinking prison, healed my wounds and commanded my hair and nails to grow again. Therefore, is it conceivable to renounce the Source of life and believe in the false Mohammed - the teacher of all uncleanness and vices! I advise and beg you from the bottom of my heart: open the eyes of your soul and again believe in Jesus Christ, in whom your parents believe and you once believed.
Hearing the denunciation of apostasy, Hasan, thinking that no one here knew about this, became embarrassed and quickly ordered, imposing heavy chains, to throw the holy martyr into prison. The holy martyr spent three days and three nights there. At this time, eight more Christians from the village of Soroni were imprisoned in the same prison, among whom were two priests, as well as four Turks. One night, God, who glorifies His saints, wanted to console His servant and glorify him among the prisoners, so that they would subsequently, in confirmation of the Christian faith and to the shame of the enemies of the cross, tell about the next miraculous phenomenon. At midnight, suddenly a light similar to the sun shone in the prison, and at the same time the heavy chains fell off the holy martyr. Seeing himself freed from his chains, the holy sufferer immediately began to pray. The priests and other Christians, seeing such an unusual miracle, were moved and began to pray, and the Turks fell prostrate to the ground out of fear. The guards, who saw an extraordinary light in the dungeon, thought that there was a fire there.
But what was their surprise when, upon entering the prison, they found everything in order, and the holy martyr freed from his bonds and standing in prayer! The guards immediately reported this miracle to Hasan, who, wanting to suppress this miracle, like the first, ordered the guards not to disclose it to the people. Prisoners - both Christians and Turks - were also forbidden to talk about the miracle in order to avoid terrible punishments. Then they were released from prison. He ordered that the holy martyr should no longer be brought to himself, but that in prison he should be struck daily. But the Lord, having tested the saint’s patience, no longer allowed his tormentors to reach him. Thus, one Turkish imam wanted to strangle a saint. But the moment he raised his hand, it turned black like coal.
After this, another miracle, the Turks did not dare to touch the martyr, fearing that they too would suffer, like the imam. Thus, the holy martyr Constantine remained in prison for five months, enduring hunger, thirst and cold. Meanwhile, the Lord, who cares for His saints, inspired one God-loving Christian to bring him the Holy Mysteries, with which the prisoner of Christ strengthened his spirit and weakened body.
The holy martyr spent so long in prison because Hassan did not dare to autocratically condemn him, as a native of the island of Hydra, to death, fearing the strength and power that the Idriots had in Porte, especially the captain of the Pasha of the Archipelago. Therefore, he wrote a letter to Captain George, originally from the island of Hydra, who was then in Alexandria. Informing him about the case of the holy martyr Constantine and awaiting an answer, Hassan postponed the final verdict.
Meanwhile, the holy prisoner of Christ, having learned that Hassan had sent a report, and fearing that there would be no obstacle to his feat from Captain George, he himself wrote a letter to him and conjured him in the name of God not to prevent him from committing a martyrdom. Captain George, having received a letter from the holy martyr and seeing his fiery desire to suffer for Christ, wrote to the ruler of Rhodes: “We do not know this man, and therefore do with him as you wish.”
Having received the answer, Hassan called the holy sufferer to him and once again offered to renounce Christ. But, seeing his firmness and disregard for all the honors offered, he ordered to be taken back to prison and strangled there.
Thus, on November 14, 1800, at 5 o’clock at night, the holy martyr Constantine valiantly ended his life. His holy soul, purified by its blood, went clean into the hands of God to receive the crown of martyrdom from Him. The Christians, without restraint, took his body from prison with due honor and buried it in the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Varusion. During the burial of the holy relics, the good God glorified His saint with miracles: the sick, suffering from various diseases, received healing from touching them.
Soon after his martyrdom, the mother of Saint Constantine, having learned that her son had suffered with honor for confessing the name of Jesus Christ and that his honorable relics were buried in Rhodes, wished to transfer them to her fatherland, which she was allowed to do with the assistance of the mentioned captain George.
During the transfer of the holy relics, many miracles also occurred. Among them, we cite here the following: one Rhodian Christian, when struck by lightning, lost his hearing, voice and was out of his mind. When they brought him to the relics of the holy martyr and he kissed them, he immediately became healthy. Another unfortunate man also received healing, having suffered for three years from a demon tormenting him: he ran from people and wandered through the mountains naked and barefoot. As soon as the holy relics of the martyr were brought closer to this unfortunate man, the demon immediately left, and he loudly began to glorify God and thank His holy saint. Thus God was pleased to glorify those who suffered for Him and to shame the tormentors.
15
St. Paisiy Velichkovsky († 1794)
Having been strange on earth, / You reached the Heavenly Fatherland, / Reverend Father Paisius, / the ascetic of the Philokalia, / taught the faithful to raise their minds to God / and cry out to Him with their hearts: / Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, / have mercy on me, a sinner.
The Monk Paisiy (in the world Peter Velichkovsky) was born on December 21, 1722 in Ukraine into a deeply religious family of hereditary priests. The entire Velichkovsky family, both male and female, served God. From an early age, Paisius was a man of a bookish spirit. In the house of the rector of the Assumption Cathedral in Poltava there were many spiritual books. The boy began to read the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers early. The ancient ascetics, about whom Paisius learned from hagiographic literature, became his heroes. He wanted to imitate them, to follow their path in the footsteps of Christ.
Having entered the Kyiv Academy at the age of 13, Paisiy happily began to study, without forgetting about the main thing - the soul. Having written a short rule for himself, the boy strove to strictly observe it: not to condemn his brothers even when he saw their sins with his own eyes, never to have hatred for anyone and from the bottom of his heart to forgive his neighbors for their sins.
From the first days of his studies, Paisius dreamed of a monastic life. Visiting the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in his free time, he certainly visited the holy caves, imbued with the gracious spirit of the first Russian monks. Paisius dreamed of taking monastic vows in a poor monastery, far from the noise of the world.
Increasingly dissatisfied with the level of teaching at the Academy, at the age of 17 Paisiy runs away from the Academy to finally fulfill his secret dream - to begin a monastic life under the guidance of an elder. Paisius, a young man from a noble family, becomes one of the poor wanderers who at that time wandered across the endless expanses of Russia in search of true spiritual guidance.
The spiritual life of the post-Petrine empire was in deep crisis. Church reform spared no one. Starting with the abolition of the patriarchate, turning the clergy into a bureaucratic class, Tsar Peter also attacked the monks. The number of monasteries in the country has sharply decreased. Many of them were given over to barracks and homes for the disabled. By the middle of the century, monastic life, deprived of elder leadership, became completely impoverished even in the famous monasteries.
Paisius wandered for a long time from country to country, but nowhere did he find a wise and experienced mentor. Having taken monastic vows in one of the Ukrainian monasteries, having lived for some time in Moldavian monasteries, Paisius decided to leave his homeland and go to Athos, believing there, in the famous monastic kingdom, to achieve his desired goal.
Having experienced great joy from coming into contact with the ancient shrines of Athos, Paisius soon experienced great disappointment. The Holy Mountain was no longer the kingdom of the spirit that the 24-year-old monk dreamed of. Athos was in the possession of heterodox Turks, who oppressed the monks in every possible way, which is why the monasteries became poorer and fell into unpayable debts. The monks dispersed from their monasteries. Much of the rich monastic tradition has been lost. Paisius did not find a spiritual mentor on the Holy Mountain either.
Having settled in a wretched cell, eating bread and water, and even then every other day, Paisius spent four years in solitude and silence. His consolation and guiding star are the manuscripts of patristic writings, which he finds in the monastic libraries of Bulgarian and Serbian monasteries. Absorbing the experience of the ancient ascetics, Paisius gradually turns into a wise mentor.
When young Vissarion came to his lonely cell, Paisius already had something to say to the new monk. A few years later, 50 monks already lived next to the first students. Yielding to the request of the brethren, Paisiy accepted the priesthood and became the rector of the Slavic-Moldavian brotherhood in the Ilyinsky monastery. The evangelical spirit of love firmly united monks of different ages and languages: Moldovans, Ukrainians and Russians lived with one soul and one heart.
Father Paisiy introduced into the life of the Elias monastery the practice of “smart doing”, forgotten by many on Athos. The monks worked, read the holy fathers, unquestioningly obeying the elder and constantly repeating the Jesus Prayer.
Comparing Slavic manuscripts from different times, Paisius discovered a lot of inaccuracies in the texts, which led him to bewilderment. Trying to make the necessary amendments to the Slavic manuscripts based on other Slavic manuscripts, Paisius soon abandoned his useless work. He realized that in correcting the ancient Slavic translations of the patristic writings, he needed Greek originals, but they were not in any of the famous libraries of Athos.
Elder Paisios clearly realized that without relying on the patristic spiritual experience, it was not possible to follow the unlost path to salvation and lead the numerous brethren who had entrusted themselves to him. Then the ascetic turns to God with fiery prayer. And the Lord came to the rescue. Unexpectedly, in a remote monastery in the name of St. Basil the Great, Father Paisius discovered many Greek primary sources. The joy of finding priceless treasures turned out to be so great that no everyday difficulties could shake Paisius’s determination to collect ancient Greek manuscripts of patristic writings and comprehend the depths of the spiritual experience of the ancient fathers of the Eastern Church.
Having experienced repeated oppression from non-Orthodox people and having learned about a significant increase in rent by Turkish officials, Father Paisiy made a courageous decision to return to Moldova. The Metropolitan of Moldova warmly welcomed the settlers, giving Paisius a unique opportunity to organize his monastery in Dragomirna - in the God-protected and Orthodox land of Moldova.
Everything in the new place pleases and inspires the 42-year-old ascetic. In the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, picturesquely located in the Carpathian Mountains, Paisius wrote a charter in which the hardworking life and the contemplative life peacefully coexist. Thus, Paisius put the final point in the painful and tragic dispute between “acquisitive” and “non-acquisitive”, which led in the 16th century to the defeat of the elders, the consequences of which were devastating for the entire monastic and spiritual life of Russia. Admiring the structure of monastic life in the Greek monastery of Simeon the New Theologian, immersing himself in the rich spiritual experience of the Russian elder Nile of Sorsky, Father Paisius placed the main emphasis on the inner structure of the soul of each monk. He constantly shared his prayer experience with his disciples, after the evening meal he held conversations with the brethren, read to them and commented on the patristic works.
The material for instructive lessons with the brethren of St. Paisius is the inspired writings of the holy fathers of the Eastern Church. The elder corrects old Slavic translations of the patristic writings and again translates some of them from ancient Greek. Over time, he organized a real translation school, the fruit of which was the translation of many holy fathers into Slavic and Romanian languages, which were distributed in numerous lists to the monasteries of Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Mount Athos. Gradually, through enormous joint efforts, a whole library was compiled, the most famous work of which was the collection of the ancient Fathers of the Church “Philokalia”, better known in Russian as “Philokalia”.
Until the end of his life, Paisius did not stop translating, although three times he had to start his work in a new place. The outbreak of the Russian-Turkish War and the transfer of the Dragomirn monastery, together with part of the Carpathians, into the possession of Catholic Austria, forced the monks to leave their beloved monastery and move to the Sekul monastery.
When the number of brethren in the new monastery reached three hundred people, living in extreme poverty and oppression, and there was no possibility of accepting new brethren, the ruler of Moldavia forced Paisius to move again. The elder, who had strived for solitude all his life, with tears in his eyes, left this quiet monastery forever. For the last 15 years he lived in the largest and most famous Moldavian Neamet monastery.
700 monks, numerous workshops, agricultural land, a hospital, a house for pilgrims - this is the new vast economy of the abbot and it is very difficult to manage such a monastery, much less bring it to the ideal of spiritual life. But Paisiy was not alone - next to him were his many students, who became experienced mentors.
On November 15 (November 28), 1794, at the age of 72, the elder died quietly without naming his successor, for he knew that there would be many successors.
Numerous disciples and associates of the elder brought living faith to many monasteries in Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, and Greece. More than a hundred Russian monasteries have been revived to active monastic life. The ancient northern monasteries of Valaam and Konevets rose and flourished, Optina and the Glinsk hermitage became famous throughout the country, and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was revived.
Restoring lost traditions at the end of the 20th century, the Russian Orthodox Church - 200 years later - in 1988 canonized Elder Paisius. The Monk Paisios re-entered the life of modern monasticism, repeating after the Savior the eternal words: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
17
Icons of the Mother of God Eleovritissa (Ole-flowing) and etc. Gennady of Vatopedi (XV century)
Our venerable father Gennady held the position of dochiar (eknom) in the glorious monastery of Vatopedi and during his service he was honored to see the following miracle: in a certain year during his service there was a shortage of oil, so that only one vessel with it remained in stock. The monk, wanting to preserve these remains for church lamps, no longer began to give oil to the brethren. But the abbot of the monastery, firmly trusting in the help of the Mother of God, to whose name the monastery is dedicated, ordered him to release the oil. Dokhiar obeyed the will of his abbot.
Once, when Saint Gennady entered the dochiarium, hoping to find the vessel containing oil empty, he saw it full, so that the oil even overflowed over the edge of the vessel and flowed out of the door of the dochiarium.
Then everyone glorified God and the Most Holy Theotokos, who cared so motherly for Her servants, and thanked Her from the heart before Her holy icon, which was standing there at that time in the dochiarium. The Oil-Flowing Icon remains there at the present time; a fragrance emanates from the icon. This image is also called “Kelarnitsa” (Ϫοχειάριςςα). The icon is small in size (28x22 cm) and dates back to the 14th century. The iconography belongs to the Hodegetria type, where the Infant Christ is represented on the left hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
19
Icons of the Mother of God “Consolation in Sorrows and Sorrows”
This icon comes from the St. Andrew's monastery at Athos; became famous for numerous miracles.
According to legend, the icon belonged to St. Athanasius III Patellarius, Patriarch of Constantinople, owner of the Serai cell. After the death of the saint in 1654, it passed to the elder, who lived in retirement in the Vatopedi monastery. On the day of the opening of St. Andrew's monastery (October 22, 1849), Met. Gregory presented the icon to the first abbot of the monastery, Vissarion (Tolmachev). In Aug. In 1853, the icon was sent by sea to Odessa, and from there by mail to St. Petersburg by priest. Theodoret (Krestovnikov), who collected funds for the monastery in Russia. In November he received the icon with significant damage and, probably, in July 1859, returning to Athos, he returned it to the monastery. Before his death in 1862, Abbot. Vissarion handed over the icon to the brethren with the prophetic words: “May it be joy and consolation to you in sorrows and sorrows.”
In August 1863, during the 2nd stay of the icon in Russia for the period of training by Hierom. Paisiy paid funds for the construction of the St. Andrew's monastery, in the Kazan province the icon showed miraculous power in healing people. The first miracle from the icon was recorded on November 19, 1863 in the convent in honor of the Nativity of Christ in the city of Slobodskoye, - 18-year-old student of the Vyatka Theological School Vladimir Nevolin found the power of speech.
This image was decorated with a rich silver-gilded chasuble with a diamond crown on the head of the Mother of God. He was placed in the convent of the Nativity of Christ, in the Church of the Nativity of Christ.
Citizens of the city hurried in crowds day and night to worship the miraculous image. The grace of God then deigned to glorify the icon of the Mother of God with numerous miracles.
The icon “Consolation in Sorrows and Sorrows” is arranged in the form of a folding fold. In addition to the Most Pure Mother of God, it depicts the holy great martyrs George the Victorious and Demetrius of Thessalonica on horseback, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Theologian, St. Anthony, Euthymius, Onuphry, Savva the Sanctified, St. Spyridon of Trimythous and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The image is decorated with several vestments, one of which is gold.
In the service of the icon, the troparion, kontakion and akathist to the icon of the Mother of God “Assuage my sorrows” are used.
22
St. Callistus II Xanthopoulos, Patriarch of Constantinople († after 1397)
Saint Callistus II, known under the name Callista Xanthopoulos, labored in the monastery of Xanthopoulos on Holy Mount Athos (apparently in the monastery of Pantocrator). In 1397 he was elevated to the Patriarchal throne and served as a priest under Manuel Paleologus (1391 - 1425). Having left the administration of the Church of Constantinople, he retired into silence. Together with his associate Ignatius Xanthopoulos, he compiled One Hundred Chapters on mental prayer, placed in the second part of the Slavic edition of the Philokalia. According to their contemporary, Saint Simeon of Thessaloniki, Saints Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopoulos were awarded Divine illumination, like the Apostles on Mount Tabor. Their faces “seemed to shine like the sun.”
30
Gregorian Icon of the Mother of God
A revered image from the monastery of St. Gregory the Monk (Grigoriat) on Mount Athos. The icon was brought as a gift to the monastery by the daughter-in-law of the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great, Maria Asenina, a relative of the Palaiologos, which is evidenced by the inscription in Greek on the silver plate at the bottom of the icon: † Ϫέησις τῆς εὐσεβεστάτης Prayer to the most pious Lady Mary Asenina Paleologina, Mrs. Moldovlahiyskaya). This act of donation was reflected in one of the names of the icon used in the monastery - “Palaeologina”, which replaced the original “Hodegetria-Pantanassa (All-Tsarina)”, including in order to distinguish this image from other icons of the Mother of God with the same name (Θεοφύλακτος (Μαρινάκης), ἀρχιμ.
Another name for the icon - “Not Burnt in Fire” - was given to it in memory of 2 fires in the monastery, from which it emerged unharmed. The fire on November 30, 1761 was especially destructive, destroying the monastery almost to the ground. It was on this day that a solemn service was held for the Gregorian icon in memory of the miraculous salvation of the Gregorian icon. On Mount Athos, such a miracle of saving an icon from fire is not the only known case. Two icons of the Mother of God, glorified in the same way, are located in the Hilandar Monastery: the one that did not burn in the fire in 1722 and the “Akathist” icon, which survived the fire in 1837.
Thanks to the notes of a Russian traveler on St. places of V. G. Grigorovich-Barsky, who visited the monastery twice, in 1725 and in 1744, the icon became known in Russia, where it was given the name of its place of origin - “Gregorian”. Currently time G. and. is also located in the katholikon, near the left choir, at the north-east. column. The icon is not transferred to another place in the church in memory of the fact that it was here that it remained unharmed in the fire.
5
St. Philotheus of Karey, Athos († late XV, commemorated December 5)
The Monk Philotheus of Kareya (15th century) asceticised on Mount Athos in the Karean cell of Yagari. He was the confessor of St. Nektary of Bitolsky (see December 15). For his high purity of life, he was awarded the gift of clairvoyance.
Venerable Martyrs of Karey (Athos) († 1260–1281, commemorated December 5)
The holy venerable martyrs of Kareya accepted martyrdom from the papists who marched with fire and sword across the Holy Mountain during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Michael Palaiologos (1259 - 1282), who apostatized from Orthodoxy. Having invaded Karea, the Latins burned and destroyed Protata, “leaving no one alive.” After many tortures, the Catholics hanged the Monk Protatus, who denounced the Latin philosophies of heresy, in front of Protatus in the place of Chalkos, and killed those hiding in their cells around the Kareis with swords.
7
St. Gerasim of Euboea (XIV, commemorated December 7)
The Monk Greasim was born in the city of Chalkida, on the island of Euboea, into a noble Frankish or Italian family. According to the author of the Life, St. Callista I, Gerasim belonged to the royal family of Fatsos, which, apparently, means the family of Boniface of Montferrat († 1207), king of Thessalonica, or, according to researcher P. A. Sirku, the family of one of the Euboean barons, Boniface della Carceri († 1317), who came from Verona. Leaving wealth and fame, Gerasim retired to Sinai, where St. Petersburg became his mentor. Gregory Sinait. In the Life of St. Gregory of Sinaita Gerasim is named the first disciple of the famous hesychast. Together with him, he subsequently went to Greece and labored on the Holy Mountain.
Patriarch Callistus I writes about the virtues and ascetic exploits of Gerasim of Euboea, who imitated St. Gerasim of Jordan. The saint gathered a monastic community and organized several hesychastries. The monks who lived in them practiced silence and smart work.
The future Patriarch of Constantinople Isidore I (1347-1350) was also a student of Gerasim of Euboea.
St. Gregory the Serb, Silent, Athonite, ktitor († after 1405, commemorated December 7)
The fatherland of Saint Gregory, ktitor of the Svyatogorsk monastery of Gregoriates, was Serbia. This is what legend says and this is what is said in his service. On the western side of the monastery, a quarter of an hour's journey from the monastery, they still show a cave in which the Monk Gregory labored as an angel. The monastery he built is dedicated to St. Nicholas of Christ, but both in ancient times and now, in honor of its founder, it is called Grigorieva (Grhgoriou). A recent compiler of a laudatory word in honor of this father, who gleaned scant information about him from local sources, found his signature in the acts of Athos, 1405. Unfortunately, his complete biography perished along with other acts of the monastery from fires, of which the former was especially destroyed in the second half of the last century (1761). There is a legend that at that time the relics of St. Gregory were carried away by Serbian monks from Athos.
15
St. Nektary of Bitolsky, Kareysky, Athonite († 1500, commemorated December 5, December 15)
The Divine Nectarius was born in what is now called Bitolia and was named under St. baptism by Nicholas. When the Turks intended to take this place, the mother of the monk, working on the threshing floor, fell into a short sleep and saw the Most Holy Theotokos, commanding her to flee immediately with her husband and children and hide in some unknown country, declaring to her that the Turks would capture their region. As soon as the vision ended, she announced this to her husband, and they, without any delay, took their children, left their homeland and hid until the Hagarians, having captured Bitolia, after plundering and plundering it, scattered for robbery and rampages in other places. Thus, that pious family was saved through the intercession of the Mother of God, to whom from that time on they entrusted themselves with special faith, gratitude and love.
Nektarios’s parent at that time was already advanced in age, and therefore, with the consent of his wife, he left the world and those in the world and, taking with him Nicholas and another son, retired to the monastery of the Holy Unmercenaries, located near the neighboring mountain in the vicinity of Bitolia. There he took on an angelic image under the name Pachomius and, pleasing the Lord, made every possible effort to raise his children, teaching them the fear of the Lord and establishing them in the rules of Christian morality.
His life flowed so peacefully. Meanwhile, it must be said that the local Christians were in the habit of devoting part of the fruits and everything that the land gave, according to their own zeal, to the benefit of the monastery of the Holy Unmercenaries, where Pachomius labored with the children. Such an offering took place every year in memory of the holy unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian. One day, when their memory was being celebrated in this way and a meal and decent refreshments were offered, the supply of grape wine ran out. To cleanse and wash the empty vessel, Elder Pachomius, lighting a candle, went to this obedience with his children. But as soon as he took hold of the vessel, he felt that it had not yet been touched and was full of wine. The brethren and all the honored honorers of the memory of the holy Unmercenaries came to this miracle: having tasted the wine, they found that the wine was extremely light, aromatic and pleasant to the taste. Then everyone glorified God, who glorified the holy Unmercenaries with this sign.
Meanwhile, Nicholas, edified by the examples of high monastic life in the Monastery of the Unmercenaries and seeing that the silence there was unsatisfactory due to the flocking laity, withdrew from there to the Holy Mountain. Here he chose an elder named Dionysius, experienced in spiritual life, and remained with him. This Dionysius, nicknamed Jagaris, was the son of one of the famous nobles of the court of Constantinople in his time, and out of love for the Lord he despised everything and settled on the Holy Mountain, subordinating himself to the leadership of one of the Athonite elders, named Philotheus.
However, Dionysius did not suddenly accept Nicholas. He first introduced him to his elder Philotheus, who, having the gift of insight, before Nicholas said anything about himself, called him and his father by name and lovingly accepted him into his asceticism.
Thus, Nicholas, having settled on the Holy Mountain, soon took on the monastic image with the name Nektarios and unconditionally devoted himself to obedience to the will of his elders and to the strict fulfillment of his great vow.
In vain the enemy of good - the devil - first rebelled against him with his thoughts, prejudiced him against the elder and tried to separate him from him in the hope of subsequently crushing him without the protection of the elder's prayers and advice. After all, Satan knows that while the novice is with the elder, it is difficult to catch him in the net, since he has an indestructible stronghold against this - prayers and fatherly instructions. However, failure in one battle does not hinder the enemy, who is inexhaustible in inventions of malice: he attacks the obedient Nectarius from the other side. Elder Philotheus, in addition to Nektarios, also had a student. This latter was so embittered by Satan and driven to envy and hatred against Nektarios that the unfortunate man began to openly tell Philotheus and Dionysius to drive Nektarios away, otherwise he would either kill him or himself. The elders trembled with horror when they heard about such demonic plans.
In vain they admonished the unfortunate man, convinced him and begged him to reconcile his heart and suppress the feelings of anger and envy, in vain they threatened him with the judgment of God and hell: he did not want to hear anything, but demanded the fulfillment of his desire. In order to give in to anger, the elders suggested that Nektarios withdraw from them for a short time, until his envious brother came to his senses. Advising Nektarios with old man's prayers, they sent him to the then prot of the Holy Mountain, Daniel, who received him with love and with fatherly care, instructed and strengthened him in the exploits of monastic life.
During Nectarius’s stay with the prot, the God-loving Philotheus died at a ripe old age. Then Dionysius Yagaris, unable to bear the immoral behavior of his student, invited Nektarios to live with him as a brother in spirit, and left the unfortunate man to look for another place and another elder. Thus, Dionysius and Nectarius spent their lives peacefully, eating from their handicrafts and helping the poor as much as they could, while that unfortunate brother of theirs, not coming to a sense of humility and repentance, moved from place to place, then retired into the world and there, indulging in intemperance, died in a pitiful manner in the middle of the people’s square, even without the usual Christian farewell. This is what brotherly hatred and envy mean! A person fully experiences their disastrous consequences even in real life and often goes into eternity without any hope of salvation! We must protect ourselves from such god-hating vices!
Finally, blessed Dionysius, after many sorrows and cramped monastic life, achieved spiritual perfection and peacefully departed to the Lord. The loss of such a sincere friend and father greatly affected Nectarius. From that time on, all his thoughts, desires and hopes were transferred to the afterlife. Wanting to quickly unite with his beloved and loving Lord and see his elders, he devoted himself to all the severity of desert exploits: fasting and vigils exhausted his bodily strength, while his spirit became more and more courageous and inspired. The enemy saw this and was tormented. Finally, like Job, blessed Nektarios was handed over to trial and temptation. In order to arouse in him a feeling of cowardice and complaint, the enemy struck him with extreme bodily illnesses, but the true ascetic was unshakable and, in these suffering temptations, purified like gold in a crucible, he peacefully surrendered his spirit to the Lord. It was December 5, 1500. After four years, his disciples opened his grave, and a heavenly aroma poured out from his holy relics.
At the same time, a proper ark was built with the image of the sacred face of the monk on the front board. The holy relics were placed in the ark, and it was placed in the cell church. Through the prayers of the saint, may we also be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
20
St. Daniel II of Serbia, Archbishop. († 1338)
The miracle of the announcement, / you shone with the works of God’s virtues, / you saved the faces of the monastics, / you established the bishop’s seat, / without hesitating the heretical attack, / ruling the Church of Christ, / the Reverend Father, Daniel the Wise, / died as if sleeping, / but your body is intact and incorruptible quickly observed,/ and provides healing to those who are sick from various ailments,/ and drives away demons./ For this reason, we pray to you: pray for our souls to be saved.
Saint Daniel of Serbia, the only son of rich and noble parents, was a close associate of the Serbian king Stefan Urosh Milutin. Having abandoned his secular career, he took monastic vows from the abbot of the monastery in the name of St. Nicholas in the town of Konchul on the banks of the Ibra River.
The ascetic life of the monk Daniel was an example for all the brethren. Archbishop Eustathius of Serbia ordained him as a presbyter and received him into his cell. When the time came to choose an abbot for the Hilendar monastery on Holy Mount Athos, Saint Daniel received the appointment. The saint had to be abbot at that most difficult time for the Holy Mountain, when the crusaders expelled from Palestine, mixing with the Arabs, plundered and plundered the Athos monasteries, “not sparing any shrine.” Saint Daniel bravely stayed in the Hilendar monastery, which endured assaults, siege, and famine.
When peace reigned on the Holy Mountain, the saint resigned as abbess and retired to complete silence in the cell of Saint Sava of Serbia (in Kareya). During the internecine war between Uros Milutin and his brother Stefan Dragutin, the ascetic was summoned to Serbia and reconciled the brothers. In his homeland, Daniel was consecrated Bishop of Bansk and made rector of the famous monastery of St. Stephen - the royal treasury. Having completed the construction of the cathedral church in Bansk in the name of the holy Apostle and Archdeacon Stephen, Saint Daniel again returned to his monastic exploits on the Holy Mountain.
Another time, the saint was called from Athos in 1325 for his elevation to the archbishop of Serbia, which took place on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The celebration was attended by Archpriest of the Holy Mountain Garvasius and the Svyatogorsk elders. Archbishop Daniel was an example of piety, a wise archpastor. Complete non-covetousness, tireless care and labor for the needs of the Church and flock and the splendor of the holy churches distinguished his holy ministry. In 1335, in Deči, the saint erected a church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, one of the best Christian monuments in Serbia. Having collected information about the past of Serbia, the saint compiled a “Genealogy”, where he described the life of Serbian rulers and Serbian high priests. During his lifetime, Saint Daniel was awarded the gift of miracles and healings. After fourteen years of archbishop's service, Saint Daniel reposed in the Lord on December 19, 1338.
26
Prmch. Constantius the Russian, Hierom. († 1743, commemorated December 26)
The blessed hieromonk Constantius was a Russian by birth. Serving as a priest at the Russian imperial embassy in Constantinople, he spent his life quietly and peacefully. At that time, during the reign of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, hostile actions arose between Turkey and Russia. On this occasion, the Russian embassy left the hostile Porte, but Hieromonk Constantius, as alien to political unrest and relations that created a gap between strong powers, did not want to leave the East. Knowing, meanwhile, that Holy Mount Athos was always aloof from military upheavals, he went there and settled in the Lavra of St. Athanasius. While hostilities continued, he, in the form of a simple wanderer, visited Jerusalem and other holy places, and then again returned to the Holy Mountain in anticipation of the end of the war and the longed-for peace.
“At that time I also knew him,” says the compiler of this life, Hieromonk Jonah, a student of St. Akaki Kavsokalivita, - since he served the Liturgy with him in the monastery and at the burial of the Art bishop Neophytos, who loved him very much. Constantius was a wise and virtuous man: while talking to him, we often talked about Russia, and especially about our church needs and other spiritual subjects.”
When, by the grace of God, the war between Turkey and Russia ended and peace continued to prevail, then Hieromonk Constantius left the Holy Mountain for Constantinople to continue to occupy the priestly position at the embassy church. The Messenger received him with love and treated him with respect and respect. But a few days after this, God knows for what reason, displeasure arose between the envoy and Hieromonk Constantius. No one knew positively about the reasons for the unpleasant relationship between them, and if at one time they spoke about it, they spoke guessingly and differently.
Perhaps out of fear and fear of bad consequences for himself from his highest government, and perhaps in order to expose the envoy to strict liability and royal wrath, Hieromonk Constantius decided on an extraordinary act: he secretly disappeared from the embassy and, appearing at the Sultan’s palace, in the Turkish Supreme Divan, announced that he wanted to personally introduce himself to the Sultan, so that before him and in the sight of all Muslims he would renounce Christ and confess Mohammed as the true prophet of the great Allah. One can imagine how great the triumph of the infidels was! At the request of the unfortunate Constantius, he was presented to the Sultan, and - alas! - out loud to everyone, he renounced his Lord and faith in Him and recognized Islam as saving, and Mohammed as a great prophet. The Sultan showered him with favors, and honors poured in on him.
But a few days passed when the poor outcast came to his senses: the all-good Lord, not wanting the sinner to die, but to turn and live for him (Ezek. 33:11), touched his apostate heart with His grace, and Constantius’s thought was suddenly illuminated by Divine light: he deeply felt his terrible fall and with all his strength understood from what height and into what abyss of destruction he had fallen, the unfortunate one. For a long time, bitterly, extremely bitterly, he cried about his misfortune and, like the repentant Peter, cried out for mercy. Finally, despising shame and fear, he tied an old scarf around his head and, in a tattered duckweed, appeared at the Sultan's palace. There, in that very place and in the presence of the same courtiers of the Sultan, he threw on the floor the Turkish dress with which they had dressed him in the moments of his retreat, trampled, trampled on it and loudly cursed Mohammed and his teaching, and cursed all his followers.
This act of the repentant Constantius infuriated all the Turks: without any trial or interrogation, they seized him and cut off his head in the palace square, at the very time when he, cursing Mohammed, confessed Christ as the one true God. Thus he joyfully accepted the crown of martyrdom. May the Lord God save us through his prayers. Amen.
Saint Constantius suffered in 1743, on December 26th.
28
St. Simon the Myrrh-Streaming, Simonopetra (Athos) († 1257)
The Monk Simon demonstrated the holiness and special dignity of his ascetic life by the wondrous deeds and miracles that he performed both during his life and after death, and especially by the sharpening of the world, like the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. But where he came from, who his parents were, how he was raised and, finally, where he laid down the beginnings of his monastic exploits, there is no historical information about this, or even local tradition. As for his wonderful life on Holy Mount Athos, the following narrative will show this.
Remembering the old saying that without obedience it is impossible to be saved, the Monk Simon first of all tried to ensure that he was not only a faithful guide to salvation and a bright example of perfect asceticism, but also a strict judge in relation to his weaknesses. As a result, like a deer thirsting for the life-giving streams of a source, he walked through all the monasteries and hermitages of the Holy Mountain in the hope of finding the desired leader. At each meeting with monks of experienced life, the stranger entered into detailed questions and judgments about the monastic virtues; and finally, in a multitude of them, he found the sought-after elder, perfect in all respects of asceticism. The only rule for all his actions, after subtly revealing to the elder all the circumstances of his past life, he set unconditional obedience to everything that the elder commanded him, he decided to carry out exactly and without any reflection each of his fatherly words - as if these words came not from the lips of the elder, but from God Himself.
Such obedience of the student pleased the teacher, although he often scolded the student and even beat him.
The monk was so deeply imbued with a sense of the importance and necessity of unconditional obedience to the elder, and not to his own will. With this way of thinking about a virtuous life, the Monk Simon soon became famous throughout the Mountain, so that those equal in age revered him, and his elders loved him, because both of them at his young age saw the mind of an old man, in his exploits inimitable patience, in his mind - perfection, in his words - edification, strict prudence and, finally, sincere love for everyone, which constitutes the crown of all virtues. Finally, the elder, having become convinced by constant experiences of Simon’s truly unconditional obedience, completely changed in his behavior with him, so that, with fatherly attentiveness to him, he treated him like a novice, and treated him like a brother, and even in some cases asked for his advice and reasoning. Simon was extremely upset by this and decided to leave the elder, under the pretext that he was looking for complete silence.
Saint Simon searched for a long time along the Holy Mountain for such a hidden desert, where no one could know or find him, until finally, with God’s help, he found, at will, a deserted rock and with it a cave on the southern side of the Holy Mountain, where the monastery of Simonopeter now exists, founded, as we will see below, by this same venerable one.
Upon entering the cave, knowing that he had to fight against invisible enemies, he, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, put on spiritual armor, kissed the cross, prayer, faith, patience, fasting and everything that destroys demonic intrigues and elevates a person to angelic purity and infantile dispassion. It is difficult to imagine the fortress and secret networks of Satan’s entrapment and warfare against Saint Simon, who, however, royally advanced and trampled his pride and overthrew all his intrigues. Of the many such cases, let us imagine the following.
One night the saint was praying when suddenly a demon appeared before him in the form of a terrible dragon. Instead of fear, despite the feeling of unbearable pain, Saint Simon turned to God with a prayerful cry of a suffering soul, and knowing that it was not a sensual dragon that attacked him, but under the guise of him Satan armed himself, confronted him with the name of the Lord of hosts, and the dragon, like smoke, disappeared in his sight. The consequence of this feat and shameless hope for the help of the Lord was that, as soon as the demon disappeared, a quiet Divine light spilled into the cave, a heavenly aroma wafted and Saint Simon, filled with heartfelt joy and peace, heard a voice from above:
– Take courage and be strong, obedient and faithful servant of My Son!
Thus, Saint Simon remained as before in the cave and spent many years in it, despite the constant struggle with the invisible enemy of his salvation and extreme sorrows and hardships from the outside.
Meanwhile, having learned about his strict life and special spirit of knowledge and prudence, many of the monks of the Holy Mountain began to go to him, for, according to the word of God, “a city cannot be hidden on top of a standing mountain” (Matthew 5:14), and received great benefit for their souls from his soul-helping advice. At the same time, he was honored to receive from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance and foreknowledge. However, in his humility, Simon wanted to move from there to a more deserted place. But God, who provides and cares for the benefit and salvation of everyone, prevented his intention. Let’s listen to how it was:
One night, while practicing prayer, the monk sees the cave, as before, illuminated by Divine light; an inexplicable fragrance spread around him, and then he heard a voice from above:
- Simon, Simon, faithful friend and servant of My Son! Do not move away from here, I have decided to glorify this place, you will be a light for it, and your name will be glorious.
At first, Simon did not believe this vision out of caution, lest it be the snare of the evil one, knowing that, according to the Apostle, Satan will also be transformed into an angel of light. That is why he still did not stop thinking about where he could retire for silence. It was before Christmas. And then one night, leaving the cave, he sees a terrible phenomenon: he imagined that a star had fallen from the sky and stood over the rock, where he subsequently founded a monastery. This vision was repeated for several nights in a row, but the Monk Simon was still afraid that this might be an enemy action, and therefore did not trust him. When night fell on Christmas Day, he again sees a bright star and hears the Divine voice:
-Simon! You must establish a monastic community here. Leave your doubts, I myself will be your Helper, otherwise you will be punished for your unbelief!
He hears this voice three times. And at this time (as he later told his disciples) he imagined that he was in Bethlehem of Judea in the place of shepherds and heard the sweet sounds of angelic singing: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men: do not be afraid, for great joy is preached to you, which will be for all people” (Luke 2:10. 14). After this, the saint said, fear and frenzy left me and I rejoiced spiritually, mysteriously contemplated the events of Bethlehem, when there, in a manger, the Lady Theotokos and Righteous Joseph reverently stood before the Divine Infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Then several days passed from the Nativity of Christ, and then three laymen, brothers according to the flesh and very rich people, came to the saint: falling down to him, they confessed to him all their sins and then began to convincingly beg him to accept them into obedience. This was a consequence of the fact that the glory of the saint’s virtuous life had already spread throughout Macedonia and Thessaly. Saint Simon did not suddenly bow down to their request, under the pretext of the great difficulties that are associated with the vows of monastic life and unconditional obedience. However, despite the fact that they were sent from above to cooperate with the monk in the creation of the monastery, they did not cease to beg him to leave them with him for at least a few days. “And when you are not pleased with us,” they said, “then get us out of here.” Such intense prayer touched the saint: he accepted them and, according to the proper skill, clothed them in an angelic image, and at the Liturgy he communed them with the Most Pure Mysteries339.
It was then that, as if he were his children in spirit, he revealed to them about the Divine vision that was repeated repeatedly over the neighboring rock of his cave, asking them not to tell anyone about it as long as he was alive. The brethren, having listened to his story, lovingly offered the monk all their wealth for the establishment of the monastery and, in accordance with his desire and blessing, took care of the immediate preparation of everything necessary for this so important and godly task. The craftsmen appeared, the materials were prepared, and all that remained was to designate the place where to lay the main stone of the emerging monastery. But when the Monk Simon showed them where to build the church and other buildings, the builders were horrified when they saw the sheer rock, which, according to his instructions, was supposed to serve as the foundation of the monastery.
“Are you joking, Abba,” they told him, “or are you telling the truth?” See if you can get down to business when this rock can be dangerous for the builders, and even more so for those who will live here. Whatever you want, we are against you.
And the matter thus remained unfinished. Meanwhile, Saint Simon, seeing that he could not convince them to begin construction, ordered a meal to be prepared.
While they were eating, one of the saint’s disciples, bringing them wine, stumbled out of demonic envy and fell from the cliff into a terrible abyss, holding a vessel in one hand and a glass of wine poured from it in the other. Struck by such an accident, the masters sternly remarked to the monk:
“You see, Abba, the beginnings of the murderous consequences of your unfounded enterprise!” How many similar cases of murder could there be if we decided to build a monastery here!
The saint did not answer them, and meanwhile, secretly prayed to the Lady Theotokos, so that he would not be ashamed in the hope of Her intercession. So what? How inexpressible are Your miracles, O Lady, and who can praise Your greatness!
Less than half an hour has passed before the brother, who carelessly fell into the abyss, comes out of it from the opposite side, through the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, not only completely healthy and unharmed, but also with an unbroken glass and vessel in his hands, so that not a single drop of wine was spilled from them. Such a miracle left the masters in awe and horror; They fell at the feet of the saint and, asking for forgiveness, said: “Now we have learned, father, that you are truly a man of God,” and, according to their zealous desire, they were all accepted by the monk among his disciples and were soon awarded an angelic image. It was then, under the direct supervision and orders of the Monk Simon himself, that his disciples, who had hitherto been artisans, began to build the monastery.
But since they first of all needed to place a huge stone in the foundation, the saint pointed out to them one that was close to them and ordered them to move it, and they, forgetting the miracle of the monk and seeing that not only could they not bring this weight to the appointed place with their common strength, but also move it, they stood in bewilderment and did not know what to do. Seeing this, the saint approaches them and, having imprinted on that stone the sign of the life-giving cross, lifts it onto his shoulders without any outside help and, having brought it, places it where it was needed. Thus, he actually showed the truth of the words that the Lord said to the apostles: “Amen, amen, I say to you, if you have faith like the grain of a mountain, and say to this mountain: move and be cast into the sea, so it will be.”
A person, completely withered from fasting labors and ascetic life, lifts a weight that exceeds human strength. Is it not clear from this that the monk in this case became an obvious instrument of the almighty right hand of the Most High? This is confirmed by the following miracle. When the monastery, to which the monk, according to the star that appeared above it, gave the name of New Bethlehem, was built and its brotherhood increased, one day predatory Saracens appeared at the monastery pier with the aim of plundering the monastery. Noticing their hostile actions, the saint, accompanied by some of his disciples, went down to the pier and offered them bread and fruits. The Saracens accepted the offering, but, wanting to plunder the monastery treasures, they approached the monk and demanded that he show them the head of the monastery. The saint meekly answered them that its humble abbot was himself and that apart from the gifts brought to them they had nothing.
Dissatisfied with this answer, the robbers rushed at the saint like wild animals with fury, and one even drew a sword to kill him, but God did not allow this to happen: the hand of the daring killer suddenly withered, and the other Saracens were struck with blindness. Encouraged by such heavenly anger, the villains shouted in one voice: “Allah, Allah,” and bursting into tears, humbly began to ask the saint for healing.
“Have mercy on us, Abba,” they cried, “and heal us; we give our word to be Christians!
The kindly old man, an imitator of the kindly Teacher Christ, was moved by the misfortune of his enemies and, sending one of his disciples to fetch oil from the Savior’s lamp, prayed for them, then anointed the eyes of the Saracens with a cross, as well as the withered hand of their comrade, and all of them, shocked by the miracle of healing, not only, as promised, received baptism, but remained in this monastery among the brotherhood. Finally, the wondrous Simon reached a ripe old age and, learning that the time and hour of his departure to the Lord had already approached, he called all his disciples and gave them a farewell covenant:
“Behold, my brothers and children beloved in the Lord,” he said, “I am leaving you, but do not grieve about this, because we will all see each other again soon.” If I receive boldness before God, then I will always visit you and protect you from every temptation, visible and invisible, provided that you also preserve the rules of the community, church deanery and everything that I taught you in word and deed. This is the only condition on my part and on your part! Do not love temporary wealth, flee from vanity, do not be deceived, do not accept children into the monastery; you know what the great Euthymius did with Saint Sava in his childhood: although he knew that Saint Sava was sanctified from his mother’s womb, he did not accept him into the monastery. And in the eldership it was noticed that in ancient times four laurels were empty - precisely because children were accepted there. And our God-bearing father Athanasius, the founder of the local monastery, swore to his disciples not to accept children, even if they were of royal blood. Be peace-loving, hospitable, celebrate holidays spiritually, and not according to the world, i.e.
Do not engage in idle talk, jokes and laughter on such days: the holiday is the sanctification and enlightenment of the soul, which should come from silence, prayer and reading sacred books; at church services, sing with reverence, and not with an unruly cry, and, finally, love the abbot from your heart. If you observe this after my death, as you did during life, then I will always be with you in spirit. Otherwise, we will have to go to trial at the Last and World Judgment!
When the saint taught this way, the brethren and disciples, surrounding him, wept inconsolably over their separation from him. Finally, having prayed for them to the one and only glorified God in the Most Holy Trinity, that He would keep them even after his death, under the protection of the Mother of God and all the saints, he fell silent and the night after that he gave up his holy soul to God. It was December 28, 1287. The next day, in the morning, the face of the deceased righteous man was illuminated with a wondrous light in the presence of the entire brotherhood. Having performed a funeral chant over him, they lowered him into the grave with reverence and tears. Soon, through the prayers of the saint, miracles and healings began to occur.
30
Prmch. Gideon of Caracalla, Athos († 1818)
Saint Gideon was born in the second half of the 18th century in the village of Kapurna, Dimitrias diocese. He came from a poor family. When Gideon was twelve years old, his parents sent their son into the service of his uncle, who traded at the market in the town of Velestinon. Noticing the boy’s ingenuity and hard work, one of the local Muslims forcibly brought him to serve in his harem and a year later ensured that the boy converted to Islam with the name Ibrahim. Less than two months had passed before the unfortunate youth, tormented by pangs of conscience, secretly fled from his owner to his father’s house. In desperation, the parents sent their son to Crete to protect him from punishment.
There he worked for some time as an apprentice for harsh and cruel masons, fled again and found shelter with a priest who lived on the island. Having accepted the boy’s confession of apostasy, the presbyter showed him the path of repentance and left him in his house as an adopted son. Three years later, the good priest died, and the young man went by sea to Holy Mount Athos, wanting to devote his whole life to tearful repentance and the salvation of his lost soul, seeking reconciliation with the Lord.
There he became a monk at the Caracal monastery and was appointed sexton. The young monk soon discovered perfect obedience and self-denial and very quickly succeeded in the feats of fasting, vigil, prostrations and incessant tears. For 35 years, Gideon exemplified monastic service.
In 1797, he received the position of housekeeper in one of the subsidiary monasteries of his monastery, located in Crete, where he was to remain for six years. One of his favorite pastimes was reading the martyrdoms of the holy confessors, in which he saw an example of perfect self-denial for the sake of Christ and the path to revival and salvation for those who had departed from Him. Burning with the desire to follow the paths of the glorious soldiers of Christ, he received a blessing from the monastery fathers to accept voluntary martyrdom and went to Zagora. At first, he began to feign madness, wanting to be subjected to contempt and ridicule, following the example of Saints Simeon and Saint Andrew.
Arriving at Velestinon on Maundy Thursday, Saint Gideon went to the house of his former Muslim master, decorating his head and whole body with many different flowers. He reminded the Turk who did not recognize him that he was the same Christian youth who had once betrayed his faith. Immediately captured, he appeared before the judge the next day, Good Friday, still dressed in his strange outfit. Handing the judge two Easter eggs, the saint said in a firm voice: “Christ is risen!” When they brought him coffee, he splashed it in the judge’s face, denouncing with contempt the false image of the Mohammedan doctrine.
Gideon sought in every possible way to arouse the indignation and anger of the Turks in order to incur the most cruel execution on himself. However, they considered him insane and only punished him with sticks, after which he was carried out half-dead into the street, where he was picked up by local Christians.
Saint Gideon still wished to accept martyrdom. His desire was as uncontrollable as the running of a deer striving for streams of water (see: Ps. 42:2). A short time later, when Turkish soldiers passed through this village, Gideon boldly challenged them and clutched a flaming brand in his hand in order to show that his faith burned stronger than the most cruel flame. He then secluded himself in a cave for a while, spending time in concentrated prayer, and then returned to his Athos monastery.
A year has passed. Once, during the all-night vigil, Saint Gideon heard a voice coming from the image of Christ the Pantocrator under the dome of the church: “Everyone who confesses Me before people, him I will also confess before My Heavenly Father; But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32–33). Heeding the call of God, the saint immediately went again to Velestinon, where he openly announced his return to Christianity.
Brought to trial before the Pasha of Tirnavos, near Larissa in Thessaly, he fearlessly told him the story of his life, again confessed the name of Christ and showered the Turks with abuse. Then he, naked, was carried through the city on a donkey with his head covered with sheepskin, but this shameful spectacle became for him a triumphal procession. After this, the holy martyr was sentenced to have his limbs cut off. Having greeted the verdict with joy, he himself put his foot under the executioner’s ax, encouraging him, while the latter, frightened by the saint’s determination, hesitated to begin the execution. Directing himself to God with all his soul, Saint Gideon did not utter a word and did not even utter a single groan when his arms and legs were cut off.
At sunset, when the martyr was still alive, the ruler ordered four Christians to take him and throw him into a cesspool, where he died on December 30, 1818.
The next day, having bought the saint’s body, Christians hastened to give him a worthy burial. A large number of people who gathered to honor the memory of Saint Gideon saw how fresh blood flowed from the mutilated body of the martyr for two hours in a row, which performed many miracles. In 1837, after many miraculous apparitions of the saint, the Caracal monastery acquired most of his miraculous relics.
Chosen by God, beloved by people, / Divine beauty of the bishops, / Father Eustathius, co-celebrant of the angels, / you were the preacher of the Divine mysteries, / so pray to Christ God with all the saints / to be delivered from all evils / through your prayers, O blessed one, / and to be saved for us, / who honor your holy memory with love.
Saint Eustathius lived and labored in the days of the pious Serbian king Stefan Urosh II Milutin, who ruled Serbia from 1262 to 1320. He received tonsure and monastic rank in the monastery of the Archangel Michael, which is located in the Zeta region, in Montenegro. He led a strict ascetic life. From his assigned monastic share in food and clothing, he did good to the poor. Having made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he settled on Saint Athos in the Serbian monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos of Hilandar, built by Saint Simeon, in the world - by the great Serbian župan Stefan Nemanja, his son Saint Sava. Here he devoted himself to monastic deeds with zeal and humility for many years, and was elevated to the rank of abbot of the monastery. Then he was elected and ordained bishop of the Zeta diocese, and after the death of Archbishop Ioannikiy, a council of bishops, abbots and boyars elected Saint Sava to the archbishop's throne. He died and was buried in Zhiche, in the Church of the Savior. During his cancer, numerous miracles, signs and healings were performed.
Later, his incorruptible and miraculous relics were transferred to the Furnace and placed in the archbishop's cathedral church of the holy apostles Peter and Paul.
12 Venerable Martyrs of Vatopedi (Athos), with smch. Abbot Euthymius of Vatopedi († 1276 (1280), commemorated January 4)
The Venerable Martyr Euthymius, abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery, and with him 12 monks suffered from supporters of the Union of Lyons (1274). During a visit to Athos, imp. Michael VIII Palaiologos and K-Polish Patriarch John XI Vekko faced the opposition of a number of monasteries (Protat, Vatopedi, Iversky and Zografsky), which did not recognize their pro-Western policy. Hegumen of the Vatopedi monastery Euthymios and his disciples bravely resisted the Uniates, for which they were martyred: Euthymii was bound in chains and drowned in the sea near Kalamitsa, and 12 Vatopedi monks were hanged in the area of Furkovuni.
11
St. Theodosius of Trebizond, Metropolitan. (XIV, commemorated January 11)
Saint Theodosius, Abbot of Athos, Metropolitan of Trebizond, was born in the village of Koritsa, near the Kastorian Mountains. At the age of 18, he accepted monasticism in Constantinople and headed to Athos, to the Philotheevsky monastery, in which he led a strict ascetic life. He was elected abbot of the monastery, and subsequently appointed metropolitan of the Church of Trebizond and died in the city of Trebizond in the 16th century.
12
Celebration of the Mother of God in honor of Her Akathistaya icon
The Akathist icon of the Mother of God is located in the Hilendar cathedral iconostasis. She received the name “Akathist” because in 1837, during a fire in the church, an akathist was read before her, and she, to the consolation of the monks, remained unharmed.
Icons of the Mother of God Mammal
Without seed from the Divine Spirit, / by the will of the Father you conceived the Son of God, / from the Father without a mother before the age of existence, / for our sake you were from You without a father, / you gave birth to the flesh / and you nourished the Child with milk, / therefore do not cease to pray / to be delivered from the troubles of our souls.
The Icon of the Mother of God “Mammal” was originally located in the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified near Jerusalem. The holy founder of the Lavra, at the time of his death, predicted to the brethren that the Lavra would be visited by a pilgrim from Serbia, Savva, and ordered that the miraculous icon be given to him as a blessing. This happened in the 13th century. Saint Sava of Serbia brought the icon to the Hilendar monastery on Holy Mount Athos and placed it on the right side of the iconostasis, in the church at the Kareya cell, later called Typikarnitsa, since the charter of Saint Sava was kept there.
St. Sava I of Serbia, archbishop. († 1237, commemorated January 12, May 6)
The path that introduces you into life,/ you were a mentor, and the first altar, and a teacher:/ first of all, when you came to Saint Savvo,/ you enlightened your fatherland/ and, giving birth to it with the Holy Spirit,/ like an olive tree,/ you planted your all-sanctified children in a mental paradise./ Thus, as an apostle and a saint with the throne/ Honoring you, we pray: / pray to Christ God / to grant us great mercy.
Saint Sava, the first Archbishop of Serbia, in the world Rostislav (Rastko), was the son of the autocrat of Serbia Stefan Nemanja and Anna, the daughter of the Greek Emperor Roman. From early childhood he diligently attended church services and had a special love for monks.
At the age of seventeen, having met a Russian monk from Holy Mount Athos, Rostislav secretly left his father’s house and arrived at the Russian Panteleimon Monastery. (According to the Providence of God, in the year of the saint’s birth - 1169 - the ancient monastery of the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon was given to Russian monks for eternal possession.)
His father, having learned that his son was on Athos, equipped a whole squad with a faithful commander and wrote to the ruler of the region where Athos was included that if his son was not returned to him, he would go to war against the Greeks. Arriving at the monastery, the governor ordered not to take his eyes off Rostislav. During the evening service, when the wine-drunk soldiers fell asleep, Rostislav took monastic vows (1186) and sent his secular clothes, hair and a letter to his parents. Monk Savva managed to convince his sovereign parents to accept monasticism. The father of the monk (memory of the Monk Stephen, in monasticism of Simeon, King of Serbia, February 13) together with his son labored in the Vatopedi monastery. On Mount Athos they renovated the Serbian Hilendar monastery, and this monastery received the title of royal stauropegy.
At the Hilendar monastery, the Monk Savva was ordained a deacon and then a presbyter. In Thessalonica, for his monastic exploits on the Holy Mountain, the monk was awarded the rank of archimandrite. In 1219 in Nicaea, on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, Ecumenical Patriarch Herman ordained Archimandrite Sava to the rank of Archbishop of all Serbia. At the same time, the Monk Sava asked the Greek emperor for the right for those seeking the dignity of archbishop to be consecrated in Serbia by a council of bishops, which was very important for that time of frequent wars between eastern and western rulers. Arriving from Nicaea at the Holy Mountain, the saint walked around all the monasteries for the last time, bowed to all the churches and, remembering the blessed life of the desert fathers, in deep contrition said goodbye to the ascetics, “coming from the Holy Mountain, as if from some Divine paradise.” On the way from Athos, dejected by the weight of separation from the Holy Mountain, the saint could hardly walk.
Only the words of the Most Holy Theotokos, who appeared to the saint in a dream: “Having Me as a Companion to the King of all, My Son and My God, do you still grieve for these?” – rescued him from despondency, changing sadness to joy. In memory of this appearance, the saint ordered two large icons of the Savior and the Mother of God from Thessaloniki, which he placed in the Church of Philokalia. In Serbia, the activity of the High Hierarch in organizing the affairs of the Church and the Fatherland was accompanied by numerous signs and wonders. During the Liturgy and the all-night vigil, when the saint came to burn incense over the tomb of his father, the Monk Simeon, the holy relics exuded fragrant myrrh.
Negotiating with the Hungarian king Vladislaus, who declared war on Serbia, the saint, glorified by heavenly signs, not only brought the desired peace to his fatherland, but also brought the Hungarian monarch to Orthodoxy. Having laid the foundation for the historical existence of the independent Serbian Church, Saint Sava also contributed to the establishment of Serbian statehood. To strengthen the independent state of the Serbs, the holy Archbishop Sava crowned his sovereign brother Stephen. After the death of Stephen, crowning his eldest son Radoslav as king, Saint Sava went to the Holy Land “to kiss the holy Sepulcher of Christ and the terrible Golgotha with tears.” Returning to his homeland, the saint blessed and crowned Vladislav as king and, to further strengthen the Serbian throne, betrothed him to the daughter of the Bulgarian prince Asan.
The Holy High Hierarch toured the entire Serbian land, corrected the monastic rules according to the model of those in Mount Athos and Palestine, built and consecrated many churches, confirming the Orthodox in the faith. Having completed his feat in his homeland, the saint, having appointed Hieromonk Arseny as his successor, ordained him a bishop and bestowed a blessing on everyone, set off on a journey of no return, wanting to “end his days as a wanderer in a foreign land.” Having passed through all of Palestine, Syria and Persia, Babylon, Egypt and Anatolia, visiting holy places everywhere, talking with great ascetics, collecting the sacred remains of saints, the saint ended his journey in Tarnovo, in Bulgaria, in the house of a relative of King Asan, where with spiritual joy he gave up his soul to the Lord († 1237).
During the transfer of the holy relics of St. Sava to Serbia in 1237, the healings were so numerous that the Bulgarians began to murmur at Asan, “why is he giving up such a treasure.” In the saint’s homeland, his venerable relics were placed in the Mileshevo church, granting healing to all who came with faith. The inhabitants of Tarnovo continued to receive healing from the remains of the saint’s tomb, which the pious Asan ordered to be collected together and placed in a newly built tomb.
The legacy of Saint Sava of Serbia lives in the Orthodox Church tradition of the Slavic peoples. The first introduction of the Jerusalem Rule in Slavic monastic monasteries is associated with his name; according to the Typik of St. Sava, the Serbian Hilendar Monastery on Mount Athos still lives. The saint's edition of the Helmsman's Book with interpretations by Alexy Aristin became the most widespread in the Russian Church. In 1270, the first list of the Helmsman of Saint Sava was sent from Bulgaria to Metropolitan Kirill of Kyiv. One of the oldest Russian Helmsmen, the Ryazan Helmsman of 1284, was copied from it. It, in turn, formed the basis for the printed Helmsman, published in 1653 and invariably reprinted in the Russian Church since then. Such is the contribution of Saint Sava to the canonical treasury of Orthodoxy.
13
St. Maxim Kavsokaliv, Athos († 1354, commemorated January 13)
The Monk Maxim Kavsokalivit was brought up at the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Lampsak. At the age of seventeen, he left his parents’ home, became a monk and passed obedience to the best spiritual mentor in Macedonia, Elder Mark. After the death of his mentor, the monk labored under the guidance of several desert fathers of an extremely strict life. Arriving in Constantinople, the Monk Maxim was constantly at the Blachernae Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, as if settling in the narthex. In order to hide his prayerful and fasting deeds and avoid glory, the monk behaved like a holy fool.
On Athos, the Monk Maxim underwent obedience in the Lavra of the Monk Athanasius and on the top of the Holy Mountain was awarded a vision of the Mother of God. The Monk Maxim told about his vision to one elder who labored at the Church of the Holy Prophet of God on Carmel, who declared the monk deceived. However, the monk turned this mistrust for good, under the guise of charm and pride, hiding his wondrous exploits, hardships, wandering patience and loneliness. To further strengthen the general rumor about his foolishness, Saint Maxim did not establish a permanent home, he moved from place to place like a madman, burning his kalivas - grass huts (kavsokalivit - means “burning kaliva”). The Saints, knowing about the extreme hardships and sorrows of the Monk Maxim, nevertheless looked at him with prejudice for a long time, even when the monk had reached the height and perfection of contemplative life.
When the Monk Gregory of Sinai († ca. 1310; commemorated on August 8), who spent his life in mental prayer, arrived on Athos, he met the supposedly seduced man and, amazed by the conversation with him, began to call the Monk Maximus nothing other than an earthly angel. The Monk Gregory earnestly asked Saint Maximus to leave his foolishness and remain in one place, so that others could learn from his spiritual experience. Heeding the words of Saint Gregory and the conviction of other elders, the monk chose a cave for his permanent home next to the famous elder Isaiah. Knowing about his gift of clairvoyance, the Byzantine emperors John Palaiologos (1341 - 1376) and John Kantakouzenos (1341 - 1355) visited the monk and were amazed at the fulfillment of prophecies.
The Progumen of the Vatopedi Monastery, Theophan, wrote about Saint Maximus: “I call God to witness that I myself was an eyewitness to several of his miracles: once, for example, I saw him transported through the air from one place to another, I heard how the monk prophetically predicted to me that I would first be an abbot, and then the Metropolitan of Ohrid, he even revealed to me about my suffering deeds for the Church.” Only before his death did Saint Maxim leave his solitude and settle near the Lavra of St. Athanasius, where he gave up his soul to the Lord at the age of 95 († 1354). Both during his life and after his death, the Monk Maxim was glorified by many miracles.
16
St. Romil Vidinsky (Bdinsky) († after 1375, commemorated January 16)
Bulgarian saint. He was born in Vidin, in a family of a Greek and a Bulgarian, and was named Rusko at baptism (according to other sources - Raiko). Through the diligence of his parents and thanks to his talent, he received a good education, which amazed everyone around him.
When he grew up, his parents tried to get him married, but he secretly fled from them to Tarnovo. Here in the Odigitrievsky Monastery, he took monastic vows with the name Roman. His unquestioning obedience and reverence for God, his wise humility and love for everyone, especially the sick, became known to all monasticism on the Turnovo Holy Mountain and in the Ustie Monastery, so that he was nicknamed “Kaloroman” (in Greek, “Good Roman” in Slavic).
Having learned that the great ascetic of grace-filled silence, Saint Gregory of Sinaite, settled in the Parori monastery on the border of the Roman Empire and the Bulgarian kingdom, Roman left everyone and went there. Here he was accepted and taught high virtues and true spiritual life: he acquired the gift of constant prayer and inspiration, tears of repentance and teaching.
Turkish invasions, bandit attacks and the death of St. Gregory forced Saint Roman to return to inner Bulgaria. However, the thirst for the Parorian charter and silence returned him to Paroria, where he accepted the great schema with the name Romil. Disturbed again by the destructive invasion of the Turks, he finally left for Holy Mount Athos. Here numerous brethren gathered to him and they settled in a place called Melania.
After the unfortunate defeat of the Christians in the battle with the Turks on the Maritsa River on September 26, 1371, Saint Romil, like many others, was forced to leave Athos. First, he moved with his students to Avlona (now Vlora) near Drach. Then he moved to the Ravanitsky Ascension Monastery, where he soon reposed on January 16, 1375.
Prmch. Damascene New, Gabrovsky, abbot († 1771, commemorated January 16)
The Holy Hieromartyr Damascus was born in the village of Gabrovo, Ternovo diocese, in Bulgaria. Having left his fatherland, he arrived at the Holy Mountain and, having accepted monasticism in the Hilandar monastery, was subsequently ordained a deacon, then a hieromonk, and finally elevated to the rank of abbot of the same monastery. Due to some needs of the monastery, he had to go to Bulgaria, to the village of Sistovo, from where, having fulfilled the instructions and needs of the monastery, he intended to return to the Holy Mountain, and was already getting ready to set off. But since some of the Turks remained in debt to him, he demanded the debt from them. The Turks not only did not want to give up their duty, but, after consulting among themselves, they took away from him what he had of his own in the farmstead.
It was not enough to offend the humble monk in this way - the Turks secretly took one of the Turkish women of suspicious behavior to the courtyard, left her inside the monastic dwelling and then attacked the meth, broke the door with noise and screaming and, having found the Turkish woman in the monastic courtyard, immediately tied up the innocent Damascene; They stole everything they could from him and finally, as guilty of kidnapping a Mohammedan woman, they presented him to the Turkish court, raging and slandering the reverend elder that he had desecrated their law. The ruler of the town clearly saw and understood that this was slander, and therefore tried in every possible way to justify the innocent, but the cry of the angry crowd of the Turks prevailed, so that contrary to the court and laws, not heeding either the threats or the demands of the chief foreman, they grabbed the divine Damascus and led him to the gallows.
There was only one way to get rid of an undeserved death: in renouncing Christ and recognizing Mohammed as a prophet, but the sufferer, despite the caresses and promises of the Turks, who three times offered him all kinds of benefits and pleasures of life, if only he renounced his faith and accepted their law, despite death itself, calmly answered:
“I was born a Christian, and I will die a Christian.” To renounce Christ is the same as to renounce eternal life: without Him there is no salvation for sinners, like all of us, me and you. He is the reconciler of God's truth with sinful humanity; He is the giver of the grace of God necessary to fulfill the will of God. I feel sorry for you if you don't understand that. But it would be madness if I agreed to buy eternal destruction for temporary life. Take me wherever you want.
Then they brought him to the place of execution, with his hands tied back. While the Turks were preparing to hang Saint Damascus, he asked them for permission to pray to the Lord. The Turks did not refuse him this - and the holy martyr, turning to the East, prayed, protected himself with the sign of the cross and told the murderers that he was ready to die. He was hanged. This is how Saint Damascus received the crown of suffering. However, Divine wrath soon befell his frantic killers. Following his death, crossing the Danube, they drowned and thus, still here on earth, received due punishment for the innocent blood of the Holy Martyr Damascus. May the Lord save us through his prayers. Amen.
The Holy Hieromartyr Damascus suffered in 1771, January 16
21
Icons of the Mother of God of Vatopedi “Consolation” or “Consolation”
Oh, the grace-filled and saving cover of your venerable icon, Mother of God. Looking at this with tenderness, we cry out to You: Send joy and consolation to the Lady; We place our trust in You in sin and humility, in Your intercession we hope in unworthiness, hasten to deliver us from troubles and sorrows, and beg Your Son, Christ our God, to have mercy and save our souls.
The Vatopedi Icon of the Mother of God is located in the ancient Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, in the Church of the Annunciation. It received the name Vatopedi from the fact that near this monastery the young prince Arkady fell into the sea from a ship and, through the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, was transported to the shore unharmed. Here they found him standing under a bush, not far from the monastery. From this event the name “vatoped” (“youth’s bush”) came about. The Holy King Theodosius the Great, in gratitude for the miraculous deliverance of his son, decorated and generously endowed the Vatopedi Monastery. On the Vatopedi icon, the Mother of God is depicted with her face turned to her right shoulder, in memory of the fact that in 807, on January 21, she turned Her face to the abbot of the monastery, who was standing in prayer near the holy icon, and warned him about the intention of robbers to rob the monastery. The abbot took precautions, and the monastery was preserved. In memory of this wonderful event, an unquenchable lamp burns in front of the miraculous icon. On Athos, this icon is also called “Consolation” or “Consolation”.
Icon of the Mother of God “Ktitorskaya”
The story of the appearance of the “Ktitor” Icon of the Mother of God is as follows.
Not far from the Vatopedi Athos Monastery, built in 395 during the reign of Constantine the Great, during a strong storm, Prince Arkady, the son of Emperor Theodosius the Great, fell from a ship into the sea. Everyone thought he was dead. However, not far from the place where the monastery was located, under the shadow of one of the coastal bushes, Arkady's companions saw the prince calmly sleeping. Waking up, he told how he was miraculously delivered from imminent death through the intercession of the Mother of God. In memory of this event, the monastery located here was given the name “Vatoped”, that is, the youth’s bush.
Emperor Theodosius the Great, having learned about the miraculous salvation of his son, in gratitude for this, not only expanded, decorated and enriched the Vatopedi monastery, but also donated an icon of the Mother of God made from mastic to the monastery. This icon was called “Ktitorskaya” - in memory of the fact that the emperor was a ktitor (translated from Greek - the organizer and decorator of the monastery). This “Ktitor” icon was placed in the cathedral Church of the Annunciation in the altar on a high place. This was the reason for calling this holy icon “Altar Girl”.
In 862, when the Arabs, having ravaged and plundered Crete, Sicily and other islands, had already begun to rampage within St. Mount Athos and approached the Vatopedi monastery, the ecclesiarch, not wanting to allow them to violate Christian shrines, hid the Ktitor icon and cross in the well, which was located under the altar platform. Having placed a burning candle in front of the shrines, he pushed a marble slab on top, flush with the platform. However, the barbarians captured the priest himself and took him captive.
Only almost seventy years later the unfortunate captive received freedom. His soul strove to where he had previously served the Lord - to the Holy Mountain. Vatopedi, once magnificent, was now a miserable ruin. A small brethren worked to renovate the ruined monastery, and the captive elder joined them.
Recalling the events of his previous life and the circumstances under which he had to leave the Vatopedi monastery, the hierodeacon pointed out the place where he hid the holy icon of the Mother of God and the cross, and asked to move one of the slabs of the altar platform. Under it, the brethren actually found both an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and the life-giving Cross of the Lord. Even the candle was still burning in front of them.
This candle still burns unquenchably next to the holy Ktitorskaya Icon of the Mother of God: the monks, adding wax, preserve it in this way from generation to generation.
Since both shrines were found on Monday, starting from the time of their discovery, on this day in the Vatopedi monastery a solemn prayer service is held for the Mother of God in the cathedral, and the next day a solemn liturgy is served with the blessing of the koliva and the offering of part of the prosphora in honor of the Mother of God. This constant celebration has been going on for more than ten centuries and is the best evidence of the truth of the event, deeply imprinted in the traditions of the Vatopedi monastery.
Icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria – Xenophian”
According to legend, from time immemorial this miraculous icon was in the Vatopedi Monastery of Athos, in the cathedral. In 1730, behind closed doors, she disappeared not only from the church, but also from the monastery. The icon was discovered in the Xenophian monastery, located three hours away from the Vatopedi monastery. Returned to Vatopedi, the shrine was again placed in its original place, and the fathers of the monastery took the strictest precautions to preserve the icon from theft. However, the icon of the Mother of God left the Vatopedi monastery for the second time and appeared again in Xenophos. Convinced of the providence of this event, the brethren of the monastery refused to return the miraculous image to their monastery and left it in Xenophos. As a sign of reverence, the brethren of the Vatopedi monastery delivered candles and oil for her to Xenof for several years.
The Hodegetria icon in Xenothos is located in the cathedral church, at the column of the left choir, that is, in the same place in which it stood in Vatopedi.
St. Neophyte Prosmonarius of Vatopedi (Athos) (XIV century, commemorated January 21)
Our venerable father Neophyte shone in the monastery of Vatopedi. Once, while on monastic business, he became seriously ill and was already close to death: then he turned to the Mother of God with a warm prayer so that She would grant him health, and - lo and behold! - suddenly he hears a voice from the icon of the Mother of God that he is given another year in order to properly prepare for the departure from this life during this time. Having thus received health, he returned to the monastery. At the end of the year, on one of the days of the week, while preparing to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he again heard a voice from the icon of the Mother of God that the time had already come for his departure from this life, which was fulfilled, for the communion of the Mysteries of Christ was followed by his peaceful exodus to the Lord. The Church gave him the name prosmonary (Προσμονάριος) - an unceasing prayer book.
St. Maxim the Greek († 1556, commemorated January 21, June 21)
We look at the dawn of the Spirit, / you have been vouchsafed to the divinely wise to understand, / you have enlightened the hearts of men, darkened by ignorance, with the light of piety, / you have become the brightest lamp of Orthodoxy, O Reverend Maxim, / from jealousy for the sake of the All-Seeing / of the Fatherland, you are alien and strange, you were a prisoner of the Russian country, / the suffering of prisons and imprisonment from having endured the autocratic,/ you are crowned by the right hand of the Most High and you work glorious miracles./ And be an immutable intercessor for us, // who honor your holy memory with love.
The Monk Maxim the Greek (XV-XVI centuries), the son of a wealthy Greek dignitary in the city of Arta (Albania), received an excellent education. In his youth he traveled widely and studied languages and sciences in European countries; visited Paris, Florence, Venice. Upon returning to his homeland, he arrived on Athos and accepted monasticism at the Vatopedi monastery. He enthusiastically studied the ancient manuscripts left on Mount Athos by the monastic Greek emperors (Andronikos Palaiologos and John Kantakouzenos). At this time, the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Ioannovich (1505-1533) wanted to understand the Greek manuscripts and books of his mother, Sophia Paleologus, and turned to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a request to send him a Greek scholar. Monk Maxim received instructions to go to Moscow. Upon arrival, he was tasked with translating the interpretation of the Psalter into the Slavic language, then the interpretation of the book of the Acts of the Apostles and several liturgical books.
The Monk Maxim diligently and carefully tried to fulfill all orders. But, due to the fact that the Slavic language was not the native language of the translator, naturally, some inaccuracies arose in the translations.
Metropolitan Varlaam of Moscow highly valued the works of St. Maxim. When Metropolitan Daniel took the Moscow throne, the situation changed.
The new metropolitan demanded that the Monk Maxim translate the church history of Theodoret into Slavic. Maxim the Greek resolutely refused this assignment, pointing out that “this story includes letters from the schismatic Arius, and this could be dangerous for simplicity.” This refusal sowed discord between the saint and the metropolitan. Despite the troubles, the Monk Maxim continued to work diligently in the field of spiritual enlightenment in Rus'. He wrote letters against Mohammedans, papism, and pagans. He translated interpretations of St. John Chrysostom into the Gospels of Matthew and John, and also wrote several of his own works. When the Grand Duke intended to dissolve his marriage with his wife Solomonia because of her infertility, the brave confessor Maxim sent the prince “Instructive Chapters for the Leaders of the Faithful,” in which he convincingly proved that the situation obliges the prince not to submit to animal passions. The Monk Maximus was imprisoned. From that time on, a new, long-suffering period in the saint’s life began.
Inaccuracies found in the translations were blamed on St. Maximus for deliberate damage to books. It was hard for the monk in prison, but in the midst of his suffering the monk also acquired the great mercy of God. An angel appeared to him and said: “Be patient, elder! With these torments you will be freed from eternal torment.” In prison, the reverend elder wrote with charcoal on the wall a canon to the Holy Spirit, which is still read in the Church: “Who fed Israel with manna in the desert of old, fill my soul, O Master, with the All-Holy Spirit, so that I may serve You well in Him...”
Six years later, the Monk Maxim was released from prison and sent under church ban to Tver. There he lived under the supervision of the good-natured Bishop Akakios, who treated the innocent victim mercifully. The monk wrote an autobiographical work, “Thoughts with which a sorrowful monk, imprisoned, consoled himself and strengthened himself in patience.” Here are a few words from this vivid work: “Do not grieve, do not grieve, do not grieve, dear soul, that you suffer without truth, from which it would behoove you to receive all that is good, for you used them spiritually, offering them a meal filled with the Holy Spirit...” Only after twenty years of his stay in Tver, the monk was allowed to live freely and the church ban was lifted from him. The Monk Maxim the Greek spent the last years of his life in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. He was already about 70 years old. Persecution and labor affected the health of the saint, but his spirit was cheerful; he continued to work.
Together with his cell attendant and disciple Neil, the monk diligently translated the Psalter from Greek into Slavic. Neither persecution nor imprisonment broke the Monk Maxim.
The monk reposed on January 21, 1556. He was buried near the northwestern wall of the Spiritual Church of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Many manifestations of grace have been witnessed that took place at the tomb of the Saint, on which the troparion and kontakion to him are written. The face of St. Maxim is often depicted on the icon of the Council of Radonezh Saints.
24
St. Dionysius Filofeevsky, Olympian, abbot († XVI, commemorated January 24)
Dionysius was born into a poor family of a blacksmith and gunsmith. His parents, Nikolai and Theodora, named their only son in honor of the Great Martyr. Demetrius of Thessalonica. At night, a luminous cross appeared above the baby’s head, foreshadowing his extraordinary future.
Dmitry lost his parents early and earned his living by teaching children to read and write. Later, while still a young man, he was accepted as a novice of Elder Savva into one of the Meteora monasteries with the name in the cassock Daniel. In search of a more strict monastic life, he left Meteora and went to Athos, but due to his youth he was sent to the village of Agios Mamas on the Chalkidiki peninsula. In 1512, he took monastic vows with the name Dionysius and, under the leadership of Elder Gabriel (in some sources, Seraphim), he labored in the cell of Kaprouli in Kareya. Soon Dionysius was ordained a deacon.
When Elder Gabriel was elected protege of the Holy Mountain and went to Wallachia along with other abbots of the Athonite monasteries to collect financial aid (1517-1519), Dionysius was ordained a priest to perform services in the Cathedral of Protata.
Upon Gabriel’s return, Dionysius took his blessing to settle in a secluded place. Near the monastery of Caracalla he found a deep and impassable desert. Having immersed himself in it, he built himself a cramped kaliva, or hut, and how hard he lived, only God saw and knew. His food consisted of chestnuts, with which the Holy Mountain abounds, and he rarely ate ordinary bread in neighboring cells, where he was sometimes invited for sacred rites. His non-covetousness was such that, wherever he went from his desert, he always left the door of his cell unlocked, because there was nothing in it that the hostile hand of his lord could encroach on. Subsequently, he built a small church at his kaliva in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, where he remained for three years, angelically praising God day and night and passing his life’s path dispassionately, as a result of which he was rewarded with Divine revelations.
Three years later, Dionysius made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Patriarch Dorotheos II of Jerusalem, and then Metropolitan Iconius, whom the ascetic visited on his way back, offered him to become their successor.
The brethren of the Philotheevsky monastery, having lost their abbot, begged Saint Dionysius to be their abbot. Among the monks, however, there were those who were dissatisfied with his election, and discord arose. Valuing peace and love above all else, the Monk Dionysius relinquished the title of abbot and retired to Verria, and then to Mount Olympia. Devotees of monasticism began to flock here to him. Dionysius built cells and a church for them and spent time with them in fasting and prayer. Having reached spiritual heights, he performed many miracles. Many times, through the prayers of the saint, the Lord punished wicked people who oppressed the monks of Olympus or violated the commandments of Christ - so the possessions of the Turk were devastated by severe drought and hail, who expelled the monks and destroyed their monastery; A shepherd who oppressed the monastery was punished with the death of livestock and illness; a girl from one of the villages was attacked by a demon for shamelessness. However, all of them, also through the prayers of the saint, received healing and liberation from disasters, brought to repentance by his gentleness.
During his lifetime, the Monk Dionysius became famous as a seer and wonderworker. So, through his prayer, the monk of the Karakal monastery returned the monastery treasury that he had stolen. He not only healed the sick and cast out evil spirits, but also punished and admonished blasphemers and wicked people. Dionysius also predicted that some time after his death, two bishops would strengthen the monastery with towers (later one tower was built by the Bishop of Kitra, and the other by Platamon).
Having learned in advance about his death, the saint gave his last instructions to the brethren. His body was buried in the narthex of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. When the tomb was opened several years later, the relics of the saint were found streaming myrrh and fragrant. Numerous miracles emanated from them, and the head, jaw and right hand were removed from the tomb and placed in special reliquaries so that they could be transferred to other places for worship.
In 1890, the honest head was stolen in the city of Nigrita, where it was temporarily located at the request of believers. Other parts of the relics are currently kept in the monastery compound of Skala (New Monastery of St. Dionysius of Olympia), 3 km from Litochoro.
30
Holy Martyr Theodore of Mytilene († 1784, commemorated January 30)
Blessed Theodore was from Mytilene and had a wife and children. One day, angry about something, he denied Christ and accepted Mohammedanism, but then, when the darkness dissipated and he came to his senses, he repented of his foolish deed and, leaving his homeland, arrived at the Holy Mountain. Here he confessed his sin to one confessor and fulfilled the penance assigned to him; then he was anointed with the sacred myrrh and thus, being numbered among the verbal flock of Christ, began to strive in spiritual exploits, and had been struggling for quite some time. But his soul, not having complete peace, was not satisfied with these exploits: it always strived for another, higher feat, as if demanding that his criminal renunciation of Christ be washed away with blood. So, the blessed one, having been strengthened by the prayer of his spiritual father, returned to his fatherland, appeared before the judge of that place and asked him whether he who was offended or ridiculed could have the right to seek satisfaction.
“Of course it can,” answered the judge. The martyr said:
– I had the Christian faith, but, being darkened by the devil, I left it and accepted yours. Now I have come to my senses and see that my faith is genuine and good gold, and yours is an insignificant metal, - and with these words, taking off the bandage from my head, he throws it before the judge, and he himself puts on the black skufia that he had in his bosom.
-What are you doing, stupid? Are you crazy? - the wicked judge cried angrily.
“No,” answered the martyr, “I am conscious and full of reason.”
Seeing the passion-bearer firm and unshakable in his confession of the faith of Christ, the judge sentenced him to death. Having reached the place of execution, the martyr said a prayer and, having asked forgiveness from all the Christians who had happened there, he himself climbed onto a high stone, lovingly kissed the rope of the gallows, and in a few minutes his blessed soul appeared before the throne of Eternal Truth. The honest martyr's relics were thrown into the sea, but a few days later the sea washed them ashore, which is why the Christians, having taken permission from the judge, honestly buried them at the Church of St. John the Baptist. Then, however, they were not in their place: they looked for them, but in vain, they have not been found to this day, and no one knows what happened to them. But to the wondrous God in His saints be glory and dominion forever. Amen. St. Martyr Theodore suffered in 1784.
31
Prmch. Ilia Ardunis († 1686, commemorated January 31)
The Venerable Martyr Elijah Ardunis was from Morea. He had prudence and was experienced in everyday affairs, for which he enjoyed the respect of the Turkish elders, who often consulted with him. Once, when in a conversation with Muslims it came to the exorbitant taxes levied on the Christian population, Elijah, in the heat of an argument, declared that the intolerable situation of Christians could lead to the adoption of Islam by all Greeks, and added that if he were offered a red fez, he would change his religion. One of the Turks, taking him at his word, bought a fez for Elijah, and he, coming to the judge, declared himself a Muslim.
After some time, the saint felt repentance, retired to the Holy Mountain, confessed his sin and, having fulfilled the penance imposed on him, was returned to the bosom of the Church through Chrismation. Then he took monastic vows and lived on Mount Athos for 8 years.
Despite his strict asceticism, remorse did not leave him. Having received the blessing of his confessor for martyrdom, Elijah went to Kalama. When the Turks who recognized him asked if he was Mustafa Ardunis, he replied that now he was not Mustafa, but the Christian Elijah, and began to denounce the Muslims. faith. Having beaten the saint, the Turks took him to the judge, saying that he had converted to Islam of his own free will, and now he was blaspheming him. The judge ordered Ardounis to be thrown into prison and tortured. After some time, he was again brought to trial, but he remained steadfast in his faith. Then the judge sentenced Elijah to be burned at the stake. On the way to the place of execution, one of the servants inflicted a deep wound on the saint, hitting him on the back with a saber. When the body of the venerable martyr was taken out of the fire, it, like the cassock, miraculously turned out to be untouched by the fire.
At night, a light was visible above the body of the holy martyr. Christians, having collected a significant amount of money, bought the relics of the saint from the Turks. The honest head of Elijah Ardunis is kept in the Vulcanu monastery, and healings occur from it.
1
Spanish Vasily of Thessaloniki, archbishop. († c. 870, commemorated February 1)
Saint Basil, a disciple and tonsure of the Monk Euthymios of Thessaloniki, was from Athens, asceticised on Holy Mount Athos and in other places with the Monk Euthymios, who on the third day after his tonsure, by a special revelation, predicted to him that he would be a bishop; died peacefully in the 9th century. In the Greek synaxar he is called a confessor. (See in detail in the life of St. Euthymius, October 14).
8
St. Sava II of Serbia, Archbishop. († 1271, commemorated 8 February)
The correction of faith and the image of meekness, and like a garden in the middle of paradise, you enlighten the world with your venerable deeds, for this sake we touch the honest race of your relics with love, kiss them and faithfully cry: appear to help those who glorify your holy and luminous memory, the rich saint Father Savvo, we pray, pray to Christ God, to save our spirits.
Successor to St. Arseny, Archbishop of Serbia, Sava II was the younger brother of the first-crowned King of Serbia, Stephen, and the nephew of the great Sava, the first Archbishop of Serbia.
Predslav, as he was called in the world by the Serbs, became jealous of following in the footsteps of his holy uncle and, in his youth, accepted monasticism. He went to Jerusalem and lived there for a considerable time, then labored on Mount Athos together with his disciple, the Monk Ioannikios, who succeeded him to the archbishop's throne. On the Holy Mount Athos they had to suffer a lot of troubles and oppression from the Latins who were then ravaging it, expelled from Constantinople by the Greeks and settled in Macedonia within the Holy Mountain. Upon his return to his homeland, blessed Arseny, feeling his old age and serious illness, dedicated him as his successor. In the rank of high priest, he imitated the life of his predecessors. His favorite virtue was meekness. According to the news about the chief hierarchs (Glasnik VI, 28) “this saint (Arseny) is still alive, appoint Serbl as archbishop in your place, Savva the second.” Since blessed Arseny († October 28, 1266) was ill for three years before his death, then, of course, no later than 1263 Savva was consecrated archbishop by Arseny. Blessed Savva died at the beginning of 1267. St.
Savva rests in the Pek monastery, near St. Arsenia. The Serbian Church sings to him: “From the root of the good, a good branch has grown, we have watered God’s mind with waters, thus the fragrant fruit has appeared through life from youth, gladdening the hearts and souls that sing to you.”
(The memory of the saint is celebrated a second time in the general service for the holy Serbian saints and teachers on August 30).
12
Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
The insolence of those who hate the image of the Lord / and the power of the wicked came godlessly to Nicaea, / and sent an inhumane widow, / piously venerating the icon of the Mother of God, to torture, / but that night with her son they let the icon into the sea, crying: / glory to You, Pure One, / like the impenetrable sea, you gave up your cloaks, / glory to justice Yours, the only Imperishable.
The veneration of the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, now called Iveron, dates back to the 9th century. According to legend, during the reign of the iconoclast emperor Theophilus, in the vicinity of the city of Nicaea in Asia Minor, there lived a pious widow, in whose house the revered icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was kept. One of the royal overseers, seeing the icon, pierced it. Blood flowed from his right cheek, as if from the wound of a living person, and the villain, horrified, fell to his knees and with tears asked the Mother of God for forgiveness. Realizing that the miraculous image could be found and destroyed, the repentant iconoclast advised the widow to hide it. The widow went to the seashore at night and, after praying, set the icon on the sea - to the will of God.
After some time, the icon sailed to the shores of Athos. The monks of the Iversky Monastery noticed at night that a radiance was emanating from an object floating on the waters of the sea, similar to a pillar of fire rising to the sky. This wondrous phenomenon continued for several nights in a row. Swimming closer in a boat, the monks saw the icon of the Mother of God, but were unable to remove it from the water: as they approached, the image moved away. The monks gathered in the church for joint prayer, asking the Mother of God Herself for help in finding the icon. The Mother of God appeared in a vision to one of the monks, the monk Gabriel, saying that she wanted to bestow Her image on the Iveron monastery. After fervent prayers, the monks went out in procession to the seashore, the icon approached the shore, Gabriel entered the sea waters and reverently accepted it.
The image was brought into the monastery church, but the next morning it disappeared: the monks found it on the wall above the gates of the monastery. He was returned to the church, but the next morning history repeated itself. The Mother of God again appeared in a vision to the monk Gabriel and revealed Her will: the icon should be located above the gates of the monastery, guarding it. The monks fulfilled the will of the Most Pure Virgin: a small church was built above the gate, and the miraculously found icon of the Mother of God was named Portatissa or Goalkeeper.
The origin of the icon became known a few years later, when the son of a widow, the previous owner of the icon, came to the Iveron monastery; he took monastic vows here.
The history of the veneration of the Iveron Icon in Rus' begins in the first years of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (1645–1676), when the abbot of the Athos Iveron Monastery, Archimandrite Pachomius, arrived in Moscow to collect donations for the monastery of the Holy Mountain.
Having heard about the miraculous Iveron Icon, called the Goalkeeper, Archimandrite Nikon of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery, the future All-Russian Patriarch, turned to the Holy Mountain with a request to donate the shrine to the Moscow kingdom. Knowing that the Goalkeeper would not leave her monastery without the will of the Queen of Heaven, the guest promised to make an accurate list of her for the Russian sovereign.
According to the testimony of Archimandrite Pachomius, during the entire period of work, the icon painter Hieromonk Iamblichus Romanov strictly fasted, eating food on Saturdays and Sundays, and all the brethren of the Iveron monastery celebrated all-night vigils and Liturgies twice a week. The list is completely identical to the ancient miraculous image, not differing from it either in size or image. The icon contains the master’s autograph in Greek: “Iamblichus Romanov, who lived in the Iveron cells, wrote this with care. Leta 7156 (1648)”, as well as another Greek inscription: “Through the efforts and support of Pachomius, Archimandrite of Iveron. Summer 1648". Above the head of the Mother of God between the images of two angels there is the inscription “Goalkeeper of Iveron”, above Her right shoulder - “Merciful”, on the right cheek of the Most Pure One there is a wound inflicted on the image by the hand of an iconoclast. On the margins of the icon are images of the 12 apostles.
On October 13, 1648, a copy of the Iveron Icon was delivered to Moscow by three Svyatogorsk monks: Ecclesiarch Pachomius, Hierodeacon Damascus and cellarer Ignatius. A solemn procession headed by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Joseph, clergy, boyars and a multitude of people came out to meet the image of the Mother of God at the Resurrection Gate of Kitay-Gorod. In memory of the bringing of the Iveron Icon to Moscow, an annual celebration was established on October 13/26.
Initially, the Goalkeeper was installed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, then in the house church of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. In 1654, the image was taken by the sovereign on a military campaign, which ended with the defeat of the Poles near Vyazma. Upon returning to Moscow, Alexey Mikhailovich, in gratitude for the victory, placed the Athonite Iveron Icon in the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent, which in the 16th-17th centuries was called the house of the Most Pure Mother of God and had the status of a “royal pilgrimage.”
The veneration of the Iveron Icon quickly spread throughout Rus'. In 1656, through the efforts of Patriarch Nikon, the second list of the Goalkeeper was delivered from Athos - for the Valdai Iveron Monastery. In 1669, in Moscow, at the Resurrection Gate of Kitay-Gorod, the Iverskaya Chapel appeared, where, by royal command, the third copy of the Goalkeeper, made in Moscow from the Athos image from the Novodevichy Convent, but of a larger size, was placed. Now it is located in the Church of the Resurrection in Sokolniki. The Tretyakov Gallery contains another copy of the Iveron Icon - it was located in the Iveron Chapel and was intended for prayer services at the homes of the seriously ill; At the bottom of this icon there are special loops for easy transportation.
14
St. Hilarion the Georgian Svyatogorets
The collection of information about the life and exploits of the Georgian elder, Hieroschemamonk Hilarion, began immediately after his death († 1864). The Russian monk Fr. worked especially hard in this matter. Panteleimon, who later, in the rank of archimandrite, was the rector of the Trinity-Kirensky Monastery, Irkutsk diocese in Siberia, he died in 1888.
Father Panteleimon used the memories of many people who had close spiritual communication with the elder. Among them were: the Georgian monk Gabriel, who, at the request of his confessor Rusik, Fr. Jerome, Fr. Hilarion spoke in detail about his life before becoming a monk; also a disciple of the elder, confessor Fr. Savva, the Zograf hermit Vasily and the cave dweller Khariton, the elder Hadji-George, the Georgian monk Vissarion, the cave dweller Daniel, the elder Theophylact, confessor Fr. Daniel, elders Nicodemus the Bulgarian and Theophilos “Agia Psychi”. Much later, the Russian monk Denasius worked in this matter.
Father Panteleimon began compiling a biography, which he completed before Elder Hilarion left the world. The rest remained in separate records for more than a hundred years, and only now the time has come, having collected all this, to offer it to the pious reader.
If during his lifetime Fr. Hilarion admired and edified many with his high example of Orthodox asceticism, we believe that it will be useful for us, who live in a time when zeal for exploits has weakened, to get to know him.
In the 2nd half of the 20th century. Hierarch became interested in the personality of the famous Athonite elder. Anthony Svyatogorets, who, based on the records of Hierom. Panteleimon, scattered information and documents compiled an extensive work “Essays on the life and exploits of the elder Hieroschim. Hilarion the Georgian" (Jordanville, 1985).
The Monk Hilarion was born into the family of Khakhulia and Maria Kanchaveli, who belonged to a noble family. The firstborn, at the insistence of Mary's brother Hierodeacon Stefan, a well-known elder at that time who labored in a cell near the Tabakini monastery, was dedicated to God: Hierodeacon Stefan predicted that otherwise the boy would die and Mary would become barren. After much hesitation, the parents gave 6-year-old Jesse to his uncle, who taught the boy to read the Holy Scripture. Scripture and brought up in silence, abstinence and prayer.
After 12 years, Jesse, with the blessing of the late Hierodeacon Stefan, moved to the Tabakini monastery. Here the young man heard that there was a “theological school” in Tbilisi and decided to go there. On the way, he stopped by to receive the bishop's blessing. Nikozsky Athanasius, who, having asked Jesse about his life and heard him read St. Scripture and reasons, said: “You will not learn anything in school that you learned in the desert” - and advised him to return home.
The father brought his son to Kutaisi and sent him to serve in the royal palace. The young man came into the possession of the prince. George Tsereteli, who, seeing Jesse’s inclination towards spiritual life, sent him to the highly educated archimandrite. Gerontius (Sologashvili), who labored in the Dzhruchi monastery. The archimandrite continued his education, and also taught Jesse penmanship, grammar, arithmetic, etc. secular sciences. After 3.5 years, Jesse returned to Prince George and 3 years later entered service in the palace as a scribe on official matters. At the insistence of the Imeretian king, Saint Solomon II (1789, 1790-1810), he married and took the rank of presbyter, becoming a court confessor and royal adviser.
Prot. Jesse was involved in pacifying the princely civil strife and participated in all the negotiations of the holy King Solomon II, mainly related to the process of the Georgian lands becoming part of Russia. In the fall of 1803, the vassal of Imereti, the ruler of Megrelia, Prince. Grigol Dadiani accepted Russian citizenship. Since St. Solomon II had no heir, between him and Alexander I on April 25. In 1804, an agreement was concluded according to which Imereti, after the death of St. Solomon II will become part of the Russian Empire and Russian troops will have the opportunity to pass through the territory of Imereti to the border with Turkey and enjoy the support of Georgian troops. Prince Grigol Dadiani and Imeretian subject Prince Zurab Tsereteli, wanting the immediate overthrow of St. Solomon II, Alexander I and the commander-in-chief in Georgia, Adjutant General A.P. Tormasov, created an idea about St. Solomon II as an unreliable ruler who prevents the establishment of peace in the Caucasus.
Archpriest Jesse repeatedly denounced Tsereteli for betraying his monarch and advised St. Solomon II did not leave Kutaisi. Taking advantage of the departure of Rev. Jesse attended the funeral of his wife Maria, Tsereteli convinced the king to meet with Tormasov on neutral territory, in Surami. Tormasov headed to Tiflis, which belonged to the Russian Empire (Eastern Georgia became part of the empire on the basis of the manifesto of Alexander I of September 12, 1801), and Saint Solomon II was forced to follow him. In Tiflis he was placed under house arrest with an order to leave for permanent residence in St. Petersburg within 2 months. Realizing that he was losing the throne, St. Solomon II fled to Akhaltsikhe, which belonged to Turkey, on May 11, 1810. He counted on the military assistance of the Turkish Sultan Mahmud II, who allowed St. Solomon II to reside in Erzurum (Erzurum). Tormasov, having arrived in Kutaisi, announced the abolition of the Imeretian kingdom and its entry into Russia.
Archpriest Jesse was with the king, who tried in vain to gather military forces to return the throne, until his death in Trebizond on February 7. 1815
In May prot. Jesse returned to Imereti and was soon summoned by the widow of St. Solomon II by Queen Mary (1785-1841) to Moscow to become her confessor. Prot. Jesse was burdened by the social life of the queen and her courtiers, but Mary did not let him go and did not give him the documents. In 1819, with the help of the valet of the Tsarina and Metropolitan. St. Petersburg Seraphim (Glagolevsky) Archpriest. Jesse received a passport and, on the advice of the archimandrite of the Iveron Monastery (Iviron), who was visiting Moscow, went to Constantinople via Odessa on Mount Athos with the intention of visiting the Holy Land. However, in K-field, Patriarch Polycarp of Jerusalem (1808-1827) advised Archpriest. Jesse will live on Athos until Lent, about which Archpriest. Jesse “knew almost nothing” then. Hiding his origin and rank, he came to Iviron under the guise of a poor monk. However, he did not like the idiorhythmic rules and the absence of Georgian inhabitants, and he entered Dionysiat (see Dionysius the Monk Monastery on Athos), where, with the blessing of the abbot. Stefan bore obedience “in the magherna,” i.e.
He performed the most difficult jobs (chopping wood, carrying water, etc.), and also worked in the vineyards. In the desert near Dionysiatus, a Georgian acquaintance, Archpriest, labored. Jesse. During Great Lent in 1821 they took monastic vows: Archpriest. Jesse with the name Hilarion, his friend with the name Venedikt (the later famous Athonite elder Venedikt (Kiotishvili; † March 9, 1862)).
One day, a certain monk entered Hilarion’s cell, where he saw his documents (Russian passport and Turkish firman). The abbot demanded to bring them, and one of the monks was able to read the firman. Thus, the monastery learned about Hilarion’s priestly rank, but the ascetic begged the brethren to hide it. One day, the Monk Hilarion asked the abbot’s permission to go to the Iveron Monastery to get Georgian books, because, not knowing the Greek language, “he was deprived of hearing the Word of God.” In Iviron he was recognized by the archimandrite, whom Hilarion met in Moscow. The abbot of the Iversky Monastery kept him in the monastery for 3 days and begged him to stay with them, but the elder refused. The news about the royal confessor spread throughout Athos, and in Dionysiata he was greeted as an elder. Hegumen Stefan persuaded Hilarion to take on confession; the brethren did not allow him to do hard work. Then Elder Hilarion left the monastery and settled in the desert.
The Monk Hilarion played a special role in the events associated with the Greek national liberation uprising of 1821-1829, which also affected the Athonite monasteries. At the beginning of 1822, the ruler of Thessalonica, Abdul Robut Pasha, with a large army, settled in Krumitsa near the borders of the monastic republic and ordered that the abbots of the monasteries come to bow to him, otherwise he would destroy Athos. Knowing the cruelty of the Turks, the abbots did not dare to appear before the pasha. A plan was developed according to which volunteer monks would go to Krumitsa, ready to accept martyrdom, while other Athonites would leave the peninsula in the meantime and take away all the shrines and valuables. Hilarion Gruzin, priest, went from Dionysiatus to the pasha. Panteleimon and a certain monk. Seeing the name Hilarion Kanchaveli in the letter from Protat, the pasha asked which of the envoys was Georgian. It turned out that Pasha was born in Abkhazia in the family of a Georgian Orthodox priest, and as a child he was kidnapped and sold to the Turks and converted to Islam.
Pasha convinced Hilarion to leave Athos, offering him his home and his protection. The monk refused and accused the pasha of renouncing his faith and fatherland. A theological dispute arose, during which, thanks to the intercession of Hilarion, the pasha abandoned the original plan and left Athos.
When Saint Hilarion learned that, while suppressing the rebellion in the city of Njegos, the pasha had tortured many Christians, he begged Abbot Stephen to let him go to Thessalonica. The elder arrived in the city during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and attended a ceremonial reception of foreign guests. Pasha warmly received his fellow countryman, and for several days they continued the theological debate begun in Krumitsa about the possibility of the birth of the Lord by a Virgin. Hilarion stayed overnight in the house of Christian Spandoni. One night a miracle happened: a certain Turk, who wanted to kill the monk, raised a sword over him, but his hand became stiff.
On the 4th day of the dispute, the courtiers began to demand the execution of Hilarion Gruzin, and the pasha ordered his head to be cut off. Two bodyguards, compatriots of the pasha and the saint, took the elder into custody, took him out of the city and ordered him to go to Athos. Hilarion, however, returned to Thessalonica and for 6 months served the prisoners of the White Tower prison - the Athonite monks who participated in the Greek uprising, as well as the imprisoned Turks: he washed clothes, carried food and water, which he bought with alms collected from Christians. Admiring the elder’s tenacity and selflessness, the pasha ordered not to interfere with him. However, after the elder gave some food and water to 2 prisoners sentenced to death by starvation, which allowed one of them to live until the decision on release, the pasha again ordered Hilarion to be executed. The day before, the elder received a command from the Lord in a dream to leave the city. He found a man in his place, ready to help the prisoners, and went to Athos.
Saint Hilarion settled in Dionysiata, where 14 monks lived under the leadership of Abbot Eulogius (the rest of the brethren labored on the islands of Poros, Zakynthos and Skopelos and returned to the monastery on June 6, 1830). But since there, as in other Athonite monasteries, there was a Turkish garrison (in Dionysiata - more than 50 people), Hilarion soon moved to a cave near the monastery, where he labored for 2.5 years. Then Hilarion spent another 3.5 years in the Katunaki caves in silence, eating only herbs, roots and chestnuts. His spiritual father at that time was the Athonite elder Neophytos (Karamanlis).
Once a certain monk was collecting snails near the cave of Hilarion the Gruzin. Having discovered an old man in it, exhausted from illness and hunger, the monk gave him the snails and told him about the ascetic in the nearest hermitages; the monks began to bring him food and seek spiritual advice. Constrained by a significant number of visitors, Hilarion, having asked for a blessing from Paul, the rector of the New Skete in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, went into seclusion, taking refuge in the tower of the New Skete, where he spent about 3 years. The resident of the monastery, monk Gerasim, brought him crackers and water every 15 days.
Monk Gerasim repeatedly witnessed how demons appeared to St. Hilarion. One day he found the elder half-dead, beaten by “countless regiments of demons marching to his pier (tower) from the very sands of St. Paul, over a distance of half an hour’s journey.” The elder was taken out of the tower and called priest. Venedikt (Kiotishvili), and he convinced the hermit to leave the seclusion. The elder was transferred to the cell of St. Charalampia, “where Fr. took care of him. Benedict", then into the Dionysian kathisma of St. James, brother of the Lord. But since disputes soon arose among the brethren in Dionysiata about how often Communion should be taken, and each side tried to enlist Hilarion’s support, the elder, after 2 months, moved to the Iveron Monastery, where he lived for 6 months (1836). Here he began dismantling the cargo. books and compiled the 1st cargo catalogue. libraries. Jerome.
Anthony Svyatogorets also points out that Hilarion the Gruzin made extracts from books and manuscripts (mainly the lives of saints), amounting to 12 volumes, which were published in the Georgian language in Russia by Abbot Zograf under the title “Flower Garden” and without indicating the author.
Having recovered from his illness, Hilarion moved to the Iveron cell of St. John the Theologian, where Georgian monks labored and where he “found true silence.” Two brothers - calligrapher Macarius and Savva (the later famous Athonite ascetic Elder Savva the New (1821-1908)) - begged him to take them under his command. Hilarion was glad to have Greek students: Savva helped him improve in the Greek language. At the request of the Russian monks, Hilarion accepted confession at the Russian Great Martyr Panteleimon Monastery (Rusik). In order to avoid idle talk, he went for 5-10 days to Elder Benedict (Kiotishvili) in the Iveron cell of the prophet. Elijah. However, even there the sufferers found him, and the elder soon moved to the cell of St. that was built for him. Arkhangelov, and in 1843 he moved to the Dionysian cell of St. James, brother of the Lord. Refusing the title of confessor, Hilarion was still forced to accept those who came for spiritual advice. Soon they began to call him “the confessor of the confessors of Athos.” Needing solitude, he periodically went for several days to the Dionysian kathisma of St. Onufria.
In Aug. 1849 I. G. was visited by the church historian and writer A. N. Muravyov, who had heard about the ascetic from P. Ioseliani, who studied Georgian manuscripts on Mount Athos. Muravyov called the elder “an invaluable treasure - a hermit, of which there are few on Athos” and mentioned that the elder “for the sake of extreme humility refused to serve in the priesthood” (Muravyov. 1851. Vol. 1. pp. 290-292). In 1851, Hilarion the Gruzin’s disciple Macarius met a blessed death, and Savva was ordained a deacon, then a priest.
A letter from Hieromonk Savva to the monk Denasius, who labored in Rusika, has been preserved, where he describes with what deep anxiety the Monk Hilarion reacted to the news of the beginning of the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Having learned that the Patriarch of Constantinople Anthimus VI (Ioannidis) issued a decree on reading a prayer in all Athonite monasteries for the granting of victory to the Turks, the elder “was horrified and said: “He is not a Christian!”” (Antony Svyatogorets. 1985. P. 70). According to the prediction of I.G., the monks of the monastery of Grigoriat (see St. Gregory the Monk Monastery on Athos) who were reading a prayer incurred the wrath of God: a stream of water demolished the mill, and a murmur arose in the monastery. The abbot and the brethren begged Elder Hilarion to show them how to ask for God's forgiveness, and followed all his instructions. According to archim. Cherubim (Karambelas), in 1854, the officers of a Russian sailing ship that dropped anchor at Dionysiatus, by order of the Russian emperor. Nicholas I turned to Saint Hilarion to find out the outcome of the war.
The elder, who did not want to be revered as a prophet, refused, but on the 3rd day, yielding to persuasion, he said: “Russia will endure difficulties, it will not win, but it will not lose territories either” (Cherub (Karambelas). 2000. P. 326).
In 1857, a conflict arose in Dionysiata due to the fact that a prosphora man who kept cats lived in a prosphora. St. Hilarion accused the abbot of the monastery of Eulogius of neglecting the saint and advised him to build a more spacious room for prosphora - “at least half” of the abbot’s new cell. The angry abbot forced the elder to leave the monastery, and Saint Hilarion moved to the group of Kalivas of the Lesser St. Anna, located near the cave where he had previously labored. A certain merchant purchased for him the kathisma of St. who belonged to the monastery. Onuphriya, where the elder lived for 5 years. The altar of the cell needed significant repairs, but the monastery did not have the funds for this. The money appeared miraculously: one monk from the Great Lavra, busy collecting funds for his monastery, met a certain woman in Wallachia who handed him 20 ducats and asked him to give it to Hilarion the Gruzin. As it turned out later, the elder did not know who she was, and, deciding that the money was not for him, he ordered it to be distributed to the poor.
However, the council of the Lavra decided to use these funds to rebuild the church in the elder’s cell: at the request of Hilarion, the new church was consecrated in honor of the Resurrection of Christ.
In 1859, the elder was visited by the manager of the office of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, P. I. Salomon, and the official of special assignments, K. K. Zederholm (later hieromonk of the Optina Hermitage Clement), who arrived to resolve spiritual and church issues: Salomon’s letter to the elder dated 1862 and the answer of St. Hilarion, dated February 4, 1863, were preserved. In 1859, an event that became famous outside of Athos took place. Jerome. Gregory from the monastery is right. Anna (Big St. Anne) and the abbot of the Kutlumush monastery “accepted English citizenship and passport.” Hilarion Gruzin imposed penance on Hieromonk Gregory - he excommunicated him from liturgical services for 40 days. However, Abbot Kutlumush, declaring that Hieromonk Gregory “listens to a man who understands nothing further than his wild desert,” ordered the service and commemoration of the name of the English Protestant envoy at the proskomedia.
The confessor of Hieromonk Gregory and Elder Hilarion tightened the penance, but the abbot, having learned about this, reviled both elders and forced the hieromonk to reject them. After the liturgy, Hierom. Gregory started bleeding from his nose, which could not be stopped, and he died.
In 1862, Hilarion Gruzin and Hieromonk Savva moved to Rusik and settled in the cell of the Pechersk monks, and a year later - in the cell of the great martyr, built especially for the elder by his Russian admirer from Ostrogozhsk E. G. Khabarov. George, the church in which was consecrated in October of that year. At the same time, the elder was visited by the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, gr. A. P. Tolstoy (1856-1862). However, a conversation with the elder, about whom the count had heard a lot from his wife, the Georgian princess A. G. Gruzinskaya, created a favorable impression of Athos.
According to the testimony of the Rusik brothers and the cell of the Pechersk monks, who had the opportunity to observe the lifestyle of the elder and his disciple, Elder Hilarion and his disciple Savva held mental prayer, spent the night in vigil, served matins and liturgy in the morning, worked during the day (the monk was engaged in carpentry), observed strict fasting - they cooked food only on Saturday and Sunday, the rest of the time they made do with dry food. Saint Hilarion slept 2 hours a day: one hour standing, the second sitting on the floor.
Elder Hilarion Gruzin reposed on February 14, 1864 in Rusika, where he came to confess to the brethren. Anticipating his death, the saint bequeathed to the priest. Sava to bury him in a secret place, and when the time comes, “dig up the bones... take them to the cemetery of the Dionysiates monastery and mix them with the bones of other fathers” (Cherubim (Karambelas). 2000. P. 328). Since the Rusika brethren were adamant in their desire to venerate the relics of St. Hilarion, Hierarch. Savva took the teacher’s body out of the monastery at night and carried out his will (one of the supposed places of the first burial of Hilario the Georgian is the cell of the Apostle John the Theologian of the Iveron Monastery). However, the monks, due to the fact that “a rumor had spread among the Greeks that the elder’s body had not decayed and therefore the disciple was not digging it up,” advised the priest. Savva must reveal the relics of Hilarion, “otherwise the sin of blasphemy will fall on him.” On May 25, 1867, the fragrant relics were revealed and laid to rest in the monastery of the Little St. Anna.
Before the death of Hilarion, he asked the elders of Rusik “not to register a cell in the name of Father Savva...”. According to the behest of the elder Hierom. Savva, until his death († April 14, 1908), labored in kaliva in honor of the Resurrection in the monastery of the Little St. Anna.
Oct 17 2002 Priest. The Synod of the Georgian Church canonized Hilarion the Gruzin. In 2103, his name was included in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.
16
Prmch. Roman of Karpenisiysky († 1694, commemorated January 5, February 16)
The Holy Martyr Roman was from Karpenisi: he came from parents who were simple and illiterate, but pious. Due to their illiteracy, Roman remained illiterate and therefore had little understanding of the dogmas of faith. One day, having heard the story of some about St. At the tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ, he became jealous to visit St. the city of Jerusalem, where he immediately went. Having reverently bowed to the life-giving Sepulcher of the Lord and all the saints there. places, he came to the Lavra of St. Sava the Sanctified. Hearing readings there about the torment to which the holy martyrs were subjected for the name of Christ in order to receive future eternal benefits, he asked: what are future benefits? Having received an understanding of them, he himself desired to achieve these blessings through the feat of martyrdom. Returning from the Lavra to Jerusalem, he announced his intention to the then patriarch, but the saint of God kept him from suffering, both because the end of this great and terrible matter was unknown, and so as not to bring persecution from the Turks on the brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher and other Christians.
Roman, however, certainly desired martyrdom and could no longer suppress this desire in himself, or, so to speak, could not extinguish the flame that kindled in his heart: why, having left there, he appeared in Thessaloniki, and here appearing before the judge, boldly confessed before him Christ as the true God, the Creator of everything visible and invisible and the Savior of men, and called the prophet of Hagaryan a fabulist, a deceiver and an enemy all human goodness and happiness, and recognized their faith as deception and delusion, as filled with fables and worthy of laughter. Not tolerating such insolence, the judge ordered to beat him without mercy: the barbarians, forcing him to renounce Christ, took several belts from his back and cut his cheeks. In addition to this, the martyr for the name of Christ then endured other various torments. But since he remained firm in his confession, the judge sentenced him to be flogged.
It happened then that the captain of the Thessaloniki galleys was there, who began to ask the judge for a martyr for ship service, saying that this punishment for him would be more severe than a beating with the sword: he would suffer in the galley for the rest of his life. This reasoning of the captain pleased all the wicked, and they gladly gave him a martyr. So, the captain, taking him, shaved his beard and hair, chained him to the galley and forced him to row with an oar. After a little time, some of the Christians, friends of the captain, giving him a ransom, freed the sufferer from hard work and escorted him to Holy Mount Athos. Having appeared there, he chose as his mentor in the spiritual life a wondrous ascetic at that time, the Monk Akakios, who was silent in the monastery of Kafsokalivsky, and began to strive angelically under his leadership. However, Roman’s soul was not calm: he seemed alien to everything earthly, did not care about food or drink, for his thought was constantly directed towards the feat of martyrdom that he desired.
For a better solution to this issue, with common consent, both - the elder and the disciple - imposed a fast on themselves for several days and devoted themselves to warm and earnest prayer to the Lord God, so that He would reveal His will to them about this; Soon the Monk Akaki received a revelation that this was the will of God and that Roman would gloriously accomplish his martyrdom for Christ. So, Romanus, on the day of Pentecost, having clothed himself in the image of an angel and having been strengthened by the prayers of his elder and the local fathers, went to Constantinople. Having arrived here, the saint used the following means to declare himself to the Hagarians: having caught one of the dogs running there, he tied it to his belt and began to drag it in the middle of the bazaar. The Turks, seeing such an ungodly action, according to their concept, asked him: why was he dragging the dog; The martyr answered them: to feed her, as Christians feed you Hagarites.
Enraged by his response, the Muslims rushed at him like untamed animals and began to beat him without mercy, and then presented him to the vizier himself, who, hearing the same words from the mouth of the martyr, handed him over to the wicked to be tortured until he renounced his faith. The wicked servants took him, threw him into a dry well, where murderers are usually thrown, and kept him there for 40 days, without giving him any food or drink, then, taking him out, they again mercilessly tortured him, but unable to persuade him to their wickedness, they reported this to the vizier, who ordered to take his life with a sword. The executioners immediately took him and, bringing him to the place of execution, by taking away his honorable head there, they conveyed his holy soul to the righteous Judge of all - God. After cutting off the head, the holy relics of the martyr turned and fell to the east; Envying this, the Hagarites began to beat and drive away the Christians who had flocked in large numbers from there.
Divine grace deigned to reveal the holiness of these passion-bearing relics to people by illuminating them with heavenly light, which illuminated them for three whole nights while the wicked were guarding them: everyone saw this light and marveled. Christians, glorifying God, rejoiced at this; The Hagarites were put to shame. Then an English ship arrived there: it bought the holy relics and took them to England. But one of the Christians managed to soak a cloth in the blood of the holy martyr, who is located on Mount Athos in the Dochiarsky monastery, where the Christian ended his life as a monk with the name Agapia. Thus, blessed Roman received the crown of martyrdom for the glory of Christ our God. Amen.
The Holy Martyr Roman suffered in 1694.
23
Prmch. Damian the New, Philothean, Larissa († 1568, commemorated February 23, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost)
The ascetic of Christ Damian had as his fatherland the village of Rikhvo, in the diocese of Agrafskaya. Born of pious parents, from his youth he desired a monastic life; therefore, leaving the world and even in the world, he retired to the holy Mount Athos, and here, in the sacred monastery of Philotheus, taking upon himself the angelic image, he began to strive worthy of his title. But desiring even greater feats, after some time he left the monastery and went into silence with one then famous silent ascetic, who even possessed the gift of miracles, named Dometius. He used the guidance and soul-helping instructions of this silent man for three years, rising from strength to strength and succeeding in all virtues, so that for his unremitting zeal and zeal, thoroughness and accuracy in fulfilling all the commandments of God, he was honored to hear the Divine voice calling him to serve his neighbors: “Damian,” this was the Divine broadcast to him, “you must seek not only your own benefit, but also the benefit of others.”
Therefore, he immediately left the Holy Mountain, retired to the borders of Olympia and began to preach the word of God everywhere with boldness and loud voice, stirring up Christians to repentance and moving away from untruths and vices and calling everyone to keep the commandments of God and do good and godly deeds.
The good-hater devil was angry with anger, looking at his brotherly loving works and, not tolerating them, aroused many false Christians against him, who began to slander his life and, calling him seduced and a deceiver, began to cruelly persecute him. Imitating the ascetic Christ, the saint gave way to anger and withdrew from there to the borders of Kisso and Larisa, where preaching the word of God was also an essential subject of his studies.
Having been subjected there to criticism, envy and persecution of malice, he retired to the upper reaches of the Agraf diocese, and everywhere he instructed Christians to remain firm in the faith and keep the commandments of the Lord. But the devil did not sleep: even there he raised up against the saint some Christians who did not fear God and had forgotten their duties, and they, driven by the misanthrope, persecuted him, calling him deceived and a false monk; why the saint left these borders and returned to Kissovo. Desiring serenity, he built a monastery there and, having gathered the brethren, began to send up prayers and thanksgiving to the Lord God with them day and night: however, many came to him there for spiritual benefit; for, being endued from above, he performed great signs and wonders, and rivers of soul-helping teachings flowed from his lips.
One day, for some monastic needs, but more for the benefit of Christians, he went to the village of Vulgarini. On the way there, captured by the Hagarians, he was presented to the ruler of Larissa, with shameless slander that he was outraged by Christians. Therefore, the ruler first ordered to beat the saint severely, then, placing heavy chains on his neck and legs, throw him into prison; then the wicked barbarian continued to torture him continuously for 15 days, now inflicting cruel wounds on him, now frightening him, now caressing him and seducing him in every possible way, with the intention of forcing the courageous warrior of Christ to renounce Christ. But the tormentor was not able to persuade the martyr to this and, moreover, saw that he, despite all his torments, with courage denounces their faith in the false prophet, with much boldness preaches Christ as the true God and is ready for the sake of His love to endure countless torments; therefore, completely filled with anger, the tormentor ordered to immediately kill the martyr and burn his corpse.
The executioners immediately took him and hanged him, but the minute he was being pulled up, one of them hit him on the head with an iron; At that very moment it happened that the rope broke, and the martyr fell from a height to the ground, half dead. Then these damned ones threw him into the fire while still alive and burned him, and poured the ashes into the Pinion River. So the blessed Venerable Martyr Damian accepted the crown of martyrdom! Through his prayers may we all be delivered from the snares of the enemy and may we be honored with the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
The Holy Martyr Damian suffered in 1568, on February 23.
St. Damian of Esphigmen († 1280, commemorated February 23)
Our venerable father Damian remained silent near the monastery of Esphigmen, on a mountain called Samaria, and enjoyed the special friendship of St. Cosmas of Zografsky, as can be seen from his life. Blessed Damian was a true novice and a firm keeper of his father’s commandments: this is especially evident from the following. He had a commandment from his elder - never sleep outside his pot. One day he went to a confessor who lived near the Hilandar monastery, but, not finding him at home, he waited until the day was already approaching evening. Having completed his assignment, the saint went to his kaliva. And since it was already evening and the time was foggy and rainy, the brethren of that cell asked him to spend the night with them, but Damian, remembering the commandment of his elder, did not agree to their request and went to his kaliva, but due to the great rain and darkness he soon lost his way. Not knowing where he should go or where he was, the monk cried out from the depths of his soul: “Lord Jesus Christ, save me, I am perishing!” - and - lo and behold! - at the same time he somehow found himself in front of his pot.
After the dormition of the blessed one, until 40 days, an indescribable and so great fragrance emanated from his tomb that even below, in the Esphigmen monastery, almost half an hour away, the fathers felt it. Thus God glorified His saint for the godly purity and true height of his life! Through his prayers may we also be worthy to inherit eternal glory. Amen.
Kosma Zografsky (September 22, February 23)
Life see September 22.
1
St. Agapius of Vatopedi (Athos) († XIII, commemorated March 1)
The Monk Agapius was a novice of a certain virtuous elder who was silent in the cell of the Holy Trinity in an area called Kolitsa, within the boundaries of the Vatopedi monastery. At one time he went out to the sea to wash his clothes, and the Hagarians happened there: they immediately took him and, taking him with them, sold him in Magnesia to one also Hagarene, with whom the saint was in chains for 12 years and worked every day with zeal. With complete faith and hot tears, Agapius prayed day and night to the Lady Theotokos, the speedy helper of all who resort to Her in faith, so that She, as She Herself knows, would free him from this bitter captivity and hard work. The All-Merciful One finally heeded the prayers of Her servant. One night, appearing to him in a dream, She tells him to go without any fear to her elder. Oh miracle! - Having awakened, Agapius sees that the chains have fallen off him and the doors are open. Then the saint realized that this was done by the miracle of the Mother of God, and therefore, immediately, without any obstacle, leaving the house of the Hagarene, he arrived on the Holy Mountain to his elder.
But this elder, seeing him, was saddened, for he thought that he had secretly run away from his master, and said to him: “Child! You deceived Hagarene, but no one will ever deceive God; at the hour of general judgment, you will have to answer for those pieces of silver that your master spent to buy you in order to have you as an assistant in his needs: therefore, if you truly desire salvation for yourself, go back to your master and serve him. By doing this, you will become a true servant of God and His faithful servant; when God enlightens your master, he himself will give you a vacation.” Agapius, who loves God and is beloved by God, accepting these words of his elder as from God, returned to the one who bought him. Hagaryan, unexpectedly seeing him, was surprised. “How did you leave me and why did you return,” the barbarian asked him. Then the saint explained the whole matter to him in detail. The barbarian was surprised and even amazed at the virtue of the Agapian elder and the height of the holy Christian faith, and at the same time his hardened soul softened with tenderness.
Soon, taking Agapius and his two sons with him, he came to the Holy Mountain to Elder Agapius and asked him for baptism for himself and his children. Having been properly confirmed in the faith of Christ, these barbarians were baptized, and after that they took on the angelic image and, having lived piously in virtuous submission first to the elder Agapius, and after his death to Agapius, they went to the Kingdom of Heaven to rejoice with the other reverend fathers in Christ Jesus, to whom honor and worship are due forever. Amen.
5
Mch. John the Bulgarian († 1784, commemorated March 5)
Blessed John was from Bulgaria. One day it happened that, forgetting precautions against the machinations of the devil, he denied Christ, but after a while, coming to his senses, he repented of his crime. In repentance, he left his fatherland, he arrived on the Holy Mountain and chose the Lavra of St. Athanasius as his home: here he spent three years in the service of one spiritual elder, but since his conscience never gave him peace, he was sad, sad and silent; His very appearance showed everyone that he had suffered some great evil. Unable to bear the remorse of conscience any longer, he left the Holy Mountain, arrived in Constantinople, dressed there in Turkish clothes and in this form entered the mosque of St. Sophia. Having appeared here, he began to perform the sign of the honorable cross on himself and pray according to Christian custom, which greatly amazed the Hagarians who were there. Confused, they run up to him and sternly ask why he is doing this.
Then the blessed one fearlessly confessed that he was a Christian and, as a Christian, he made the sign of the cross on himself and worshiped Christ, Who is the true Son of God and God. The wicked wanted to distract him from this holy confession, but, seeing the inflexibility of his thoughts, they immediately beheaded him outside the courtyard of St. Sophia. Thus, blessed John received the bright crown of martyrdom from Christ our God, to whom be glory and dominion forever. Amen.
Saint John suffered in the 19th year of his life, in 1784.
19
St. Innokenty Komelsky, Vologda († 1521, commemorated March 19)
The Monk Innocent, the son of the boyar Okhlebinin, accepted monasticism in the monastery of the Monk Kirill of Belozersky; then, together with his friend and mentor, the Rev. Nil of Sorsky82, he wandered for a long time to the East and lived in St. Mount Athos. Returning from the East to the Belozersky Monastery, he did not stay there long and followed the Monk Neil into the desert.
The monastery of St. Nile, where, as on St. Mount Athos, Innocent labored with him, was located fifteen miles from the large monastery of Kirillov on the banks of the unknown river Sorka. There Nile built his wretched hut, and not far from it, so that he could give voice to each other, according to Palestinian custom, his interlocutor Innocent built himself another cell; and other hermits little by little began to gather to him; In this way the first Russian monastery was formed, examples of which we see on Holy Mount Athos. Shortly before his blessed death, the Monk Nile, anticipating his departure to God, sent his interlocutor Innocent to the Vologda region, to the Nurma River, and predicted the future glory of his monastery, which was to flourish with community life. “Here,” said the monk, “as it was during my life, so let it be after death: let the brethren live alone, each in his own cell.”
Fulfilling the teacher’s dying will, he plunged into the depths of the Komel dense forest, on the southern side of which the monks Sergius of Nuromsky and Pavel Obnorsky settled at the beginning of the 15th century. From 1491, the Monk Innocent labored alone, but little by little a desert herd gathered around him, which he subordinated to the strict rules of the Monk Nile; then he built a church for the brethren in the name of the Angel of the Desert, the Forerunner of the Lord - and his monastery flourished.
Innocent reposed in 1521 on March 19, and in the last years of the 15th century, monks began to penetrate from all sides into the depths of the hitherto inaccessible wilds of Komelskaya. These were the spiritual children of Kirill Belozersky and Dionysius Glushitsky, who revived the dead desert with monastic deeds. The Tatar sword devastated the monastery of St. Innocent in 1536. Subsequently, a stone church was erected, in the name of the Annunciation, over his tomb; it survived the newly assembled and again abolished monastery in 1764
22
Prmch. Euthymius of Constantinople, Dimitsansky, New, Athos († 1814, commemorated March 22, May 1)
Euthymius the New (in the world Eleutherius), the son of rich and pious parents Panagiotis and Mary, came from the city of Dimitsana (Peloponnese). Together with his brother John, he was educated at the Greek school (later the Patriarchal Academy) in Kuruceshme (now within the boundaries of Istanbul). Then Eleutherius lived in Iasi for 2 years with his father and older brothers.
After a two-year stay in Iasi, a good idea was born in Eleutherius’s soul - to go to St. Mount Athos and become a monk; as a result, hiding from his father and brothers, he quickly flew like a bird from the vain world to the quiet refuge of the ascetics of Christ staying on the Holy Mountain. But before he achieved his desired goal, God was pleased to test his patience with great difficulties.
So, wanting to go to the Holy Mountain through Constantinople, he encountered unforeseen obstacles on this way due to the war between Russia and Turkey, and therefore went to Odessa in the hope of somehow getting from there to Athos. But even here he met an obstacle and returned back to Bucharest with sorrow. Here he became known to the French consul and a certain Russian official, with whom he remained for a year and a half, taking advantage of their patronage.
At this time, the hater of goodness and human salvation, the devil, began to seduce him with worldly delights and kindle his young heart with voluptuousness, which he succeeded in doing. Eleutherius was carried away into the abyss of vice and, having extinguished the holy spark of piety in himself, indulged in all kinds of sinful pleasures with all the fervor of youthful passion.
But since he also needed money to lead a sinful life, he often fell into large debts. The vicious life, however, was not limited to just pleasing the flesh, but demanded a greater sacrifice from him. It was like that.
At that time there were envoys from Turkey in Bucharest to negotiate peace with Russia; Having appeared to them, Eleutherius accosted one of these Turks. Having met the Turkish envoy (reis effendi), he joined his retinue and went with him to Shumen, where he converted to Islam.
But the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, apparently, did not completely abandon him: suffering from the unbearable disease of circumcision, he remembered his fatherly piety, the purity of the Christian faith and, damning himself, with trembling began to call on the name of the sweetest Jesus. He also remembered the mercy of the Heavenly Father, who was ready to again accept his converted dissolute son, and with all the strength of his soul he wanted to call upon His Divine help. But imagining the full depth of his apostasy from God, he was unable to raise either his hands to God or direct his mind to the light of His beginningless Divinity; Therefore, he resorted to the only remedy - tears and, like the second Peter, wept bitterly over his fall. Our merciful Lord Jesus Christ, seeing true tears of repentance, mercifully looked upon the repentant, as He once looked upon the chief of the apostles.
Lamenting his renunciation and feeling in his heart the full weight of his fall, in the circle of his comrades he no longer seemed at all what it was proper for him to appear to be. Therefore, the Reis-effendi people, suspecting his intention to flee, carefully guarded him, not allowing him to leave home; Moreover, they diligently watched all his words and movements.
Reis Effendi, wanting to strengthen the convert in the Muslim faith, adopted Eleutherius. But one day, having freed himself from a pernicious society with fervent prayer, he ran almost with the speed of a bird straight to the patriarchal house, found there a confessor he knew, a native of the Peloponnese, confessed to him everything about himself in detail, and after that began to ask him for Christian clothing. The confessor, perhaps due to the impossibility of finding these clothes quickly or out of fear, did not fulfill Eleutherius’ request and, having told him only a few soul-helping words, sent him away in peace.
Leaving his confessor, Eleutherius hurried to the house of the Russian embassy, and here only he could breathe freely and from the depths of his aching heart cried out loudly: “Glory to Thee, who brought me out of hell and the darkness of death, Christ God!”
Everyone who was in the embassy was amazed to see Eleutherius in Turkish clothes, whereas before they knew him as a Christian. Having learned from him about everything that had happened, the Russians were sick in their souls, took off their Turkish clothes, dressed him in Christian clothes and glorified God for freeing His servant from the mouth of the destructive serpent.
Four days later, a ship was found that was sailing to the Strymon Gulf, but also had to be on the Holy Mountain, on which Eleutherius set off with his companion John. Having reached the Holy Mountain, the travelers landed at the Lavra of St. Afanasia. Here they met the former Most Holy Patriarch Gregory of Constantinople, who was now there in retirement. With deep sorrow, Eleutherius told this saint all the details of his life. The great soul of the patriarch for the apostate Bose also condoled and had compassion. Listening to his story, the patriarch sent thanks to God, who does not want the death of a sinner, for the glorious liberation of Eleutherius from the snares of the devil; He blessed his God-loving companion Elevferiev and, promising him great rewards from Christ God for his love for his brother, sent him away in peace, commanding him not to tell anyone else about this matter. And he kept Eleutherius with him and ordered him to go every day to the reverent and virtuous Lavra confessor Meletius, originally from Crete, to listen to propitiatory prayers - according to the establishment of the Church.
After 40 days, Eleutherius was anointed with holy myrrh, and thus freed from the captivity of the all-destroyer, he again took on the name Christian and, again inscribed in the book of life, became a servant of Christ. Having received the seal of the Holy Spirit, he again became a fellow citizen of the angels, a child of God and a joint heir of Christ.
Strengthened spiritually and filled with immeasurable holy joy, Eleutherius, leaving the monastery, comes to the monastery of St. Anna, appears to the sacred and great man Priest Vasily, who has already presented several apostates from the Orthodox faith as martyrs, being for them a leader and companion in suffering, sometimes even at the risk of his life and at great expense from his own meager funds. Before this spiritual man, Eleutherius, with a contrite heart and humble spirit, confessed his entire past life.
Having stayed there for twenty days, struggling according to his strength in the labors of a hermit, Eleutherius began to ask his mentor to bless him to go to Constantinople and there to give himself over to torture. For a long time the confessor did not agree to this, but later, although against his will, he agreed to his desire and gave him the following commandment: if he is recognized by the Turks themselves, then let him enter into the feat of martyrdom; otherwise, let him not dare to expose himself to danger. Touched by God's mercy towards himself, Eleutherius joyfully accepted this old man's commandment and, taking a blessing and parting prayer from the pious old man, went to Constantinople.
Here, over the course of 8 days, he repeatedly saw the six Reis-effendi slaves he knew, but according to fates known to God alone, he was not recognized by them or any other Muslim. This failure made him sad and with heartfelt sorrow he went to the previously mentioned confessor of the patriarchal house, told him about himself, and also announced the commandment of his elder, which he decided to break and give himself arbitrarily into the hands of Muslims, since he could no longer endure the scorching flame of Christ’s love inside him. But the confessor did not advise him to transgress the elder’s commandment and tried in every possible way to convince him to abandon his intention, but after long resistance on the part of Eleutherius, who wanted to shed his blood for Christ, he blessed him and wished him the successful completion of a high and sacred feat. So, on the next day - it was the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ - Eleutherius, having received St.
Christ's Mysteries and armed with this weapon, terrible for demons, he went boldly to betray himself into the hands of the Turks, but according to the inscrutable fate of God's Providence, which arranges everything for our benefit, on the way he met the Svyatogorsk Lavra monk Pankratius, a native of the Peloponnese.
In response to his question, Eleutherius sincerely told him, as his acquaintance, about his intention, but the prudent Pancratius advised him to better return to the Holy Mountain, devote himself to ascetic deeds, test himself better and more perfect, and thus become more strengthened in soul and body and become more firm in his intention and desire, and then embark on the high and terrible feat of martyrdom. Pancratius weakened the zeal of Eleutherius, who decided to postpone until time the fulfillment of his intention and, on the sound advice of his well-wisher, decided to return to the Holy Mountain.
But the hater of good, the primordial enemy of the human race, the devil, knowing that Eleutherius, by his jealousy and, moreover, living in the circle of virtuous elders on Athos, could himself ascend to the heights of virtues, began to confuse him with various thoughts and persuade him first to go to Jerusalem, to Sinai, and then to some other country. Recognizing in this suggestion the cunning of the devil, who wanted to divert him from his real path, the blessed one, with Divine help, did not deign to the evil suggestions and sailed to the Holy Mountain with the progumen of the Dochiar monastery, Eugene Mytilenets. Arriving at the Holy Mountain, Eleutherius stayed with this pro-abbot for two months, and then moved from him to the Esphigmen monastery. From here, after a little time, he returned again to Dokhiar. Here he learned from one hieromonk named Dosifei that his cousin Onuphrius was in the Iveron monastery, and he cried with joy, believing that with his influence he would carry out his intention.
But, on the other hand, ashamed of his renunciation, he did not then go to Onuphrius, although he was prompted to do so by Dositheus, but on the contrary, after some time he retired to the pier belonging to the Stavronikita monastery, to the confessor Cyril of Mytilenets. He, having accepted confession from him, sent him to the sacred monastery of the honest and glorious Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord John, to the confessor Harlampy.
On the way to this monastery, Eleutherius went to the Iveron monastery to see his brother Onuphrius there. Their meeting was deeply touching. Onuphrius, shocked to the depths of his soul, sobbed inconsolably about the great misfortune of Eleutherius: what bitter words did he not utter then! “The beast is fierce,” he said, like another Jacob, “he has devoured you (Gen. 37:33), brother; a fierce bloodsucker has torn you to pieces, Eleutherius,” and he expressed many similar things to his brother. And Eleutherius shed streams of tears from his eyes; and thus having received great benefit from his brother, he retired to the mentioned confessor Harlampius. After 29 days, at the strong request of Onufrieva, the confessor Hieromonk Nicephorus, who was in the same monastery of the Forerunner and famous for his spiritual reasoning, received Eleutherius. Having sincerely confessed to his new confessor, Eleutherius joyfully fulfilled the penance assigned to him. His first victory over the devil under this new leadership was the victory over the passion of gluttony.
One day, languishing from a long fast and abstinence, he saw several onions: the thought immediately came to him to secretly eat one of them (and meanwhile, he was not ordered to eat anything else except dry bread and water). When at 9 o'clock bread and water were served to him and the one who brought them left, then Eleutherius took the onion to eat it, but, remembering the sin of disobedience and secret eating, the blessed one was horrified, for at that moment various thoughts contradictory to one another fell upon him with an inordinate weight, with which he struggled for three whole hours, until finally, with anger, he threw the onion to the ground, trampled it and tasted only the bread with water.
But who can worthily tell about his exploits, immeasurable fasting, vigil, tears, heartfelt contrition, meekness, constant attention to himself, affection towards everyone, silence, silence and compassion for his neighbors? Thus, Eleutherius in a short time achieved the perfection of virtues and subjugated the flesh to the spirit; his soul, embraced by Divine zeal, no longer clung to anything temporary and perishable. Meanwhile, a fiery desire for martyrdom was more and more kindled in his soul, so that he finally announced to his spiritual father his indispensable intention to undertake the feat of martyrdom and asked his consent to this.
At that time, such tenderness and crying were granted to him by God that no one saw him without tears and sighs; without them he did not even eat food. Remembering his fall, he, like the prophet David, said: “I forgot to take away my bread because of the voice of my groaning” (Ps. 102:5. 6).
Walking steadily along the path of asceticism and always thinking only about martyrdom, one night Eleutherius sees in a dream that he, being outside his kaliva, was completely flooded with light emanating from the cross, which consisted of bright stars and was visible on the eastern side of the sky. Amazement and astonishment took possession of Eleutherius, but at the same time, indescribable joy was felt in his heart. Near this cross he noticed a beautiful young man who said to him:
- Eleutherius! This is the weapon with the power of which the first Christian king, the great Constantine, defeated his enemies: take it, go on your way.” Waking up after this vision, he fell to the ground and glorified and thanked God with copious tears. This sign served him as reassurance in the will of God and a strong motivation to the feat of martyrdom. Out of his humility, he kept this vision as a secret until the very hour of departure for martyrdom.
As he set off to suffer, he also spoke about another comforting vision.
“At one time,” he said, “I saw a high and beautiful throne, on it sat the Most Holy Theotokos with great glory and splendor; Around the throne stood a countless number of warriors and servants, each of whom worshiped the Mother of God and then left. Then, like others, I, with great fear and consciousness of my unworthiness, approached Her and bowed. The Mother of God put Her hand on my head and held it for several minutes; At that time I woke up and felt inexplicable joy in my heart, and soon after that, tears involuntarily flowed from my eyes in an abundant stream and especially sweetened my soul.
Finally Evfimi. went to Constantinople, accompanied by the monk Gregory.
On Palm Sunday, having received the Holy Mysteries, he put on Turkish clothes and appeared before the Grand Vizier Rushut Pasha. Throwing the Turkish headdress to the ground, he began to trample on it and blaspheme Mohammed and Islam. The vizier was amazed at the audacity of the 20-year-old youth, thinking that he was drunk or crazy. Euthymius was put in stocks, thrown into prison, and then brought to the vizier for interrogation. Seeing the young man’s resilience, the vizier ordered him to be severely beaten, and after torture he persuaded him to renounce Christ. The monk remained adamant, denouncing the Muslim faith, and the vizier ordered his beheading.
When the vizier heard these daring and accusatory speeches, he was completely changed by anger, being unable to bear them any longer, and, despairing of shaking the determination and firmness of the thoughts of the confessor of Christ, he condemned him to be beheaded by the sword. Then the executioner took Euthymius and wanted to tie his hands back, but the martyr did not allow him and said to him: “Why do you tie me up when I came here uninvited? You didn’t bring me in as a criminal, did you?” “After some thought, the executioner left him.
So, the glorious ascetic of Christ came out of that lawless trial with a cheerful and joyful face, not as if he were about to die, but as if at a wedding feast, holding a cross in his right hand, and in his left hand, which surprised not only Christians, but even the very enemies of the saint. our faith.
Having reached a certain place, the executioners stopped. At this time, the martyr, facing east and stretching out his hands to heaven, said a fiery prayer to the Lord God for himself and for the whole world. At the end of the prayer, he made the sign of the cross on himself, kissed the honest cross that he held in his hands, and, all full of the joy and grace of God, bowed his knees and his head with the words: “Lord! I commend my spirit into Your hands.” Then the executioner struck his head with his sword, but did not cut it off immediately. “The beating is more accurate,” the martyr said to the executioner at this failure. - Oh, wonderful courage, most luminous ascetic! “Then the executioner struck a second time, but again it was unsuccessful - he cut off only part of the sufferer’s flesh. After this, he slaughtered the martyr like a sheep in the throat, and thus the prophecy of the martyr was fulfilled, who had previously said that they would slaughter him like a sheep.
So, the courageous, invincible and glorious Euthymius finally received the blessed death so ardently desired by him in 1814 on March 22, Palm Sunday, at 6 o’clock in the afternoon. To the amazement of all spectators, his suffering body remained on its knees even after the slaughter, but in order not to be disgraced anymore, the wicked deliberately pushed the body, and it fell.
It must be said that, having parted with the martyr, the companion of St. Euphemia Gregory went to where they were staying, because the martyr commanded him, having returned to his place, to pray to God for three whole hours and then inquire about him. Gregory did just that. Three hours later, when the martyr, after torture, was already led to death, he sent the mentioned Christian to find out about the passion-bearer. This lover of Christ, having been honored to see the death of the martyr, informed Gregory about it, who hastened to see the ascetic of Christ, who had so gloriously triumphed over the devil.
And then the executioners raised the suffering body and, at the request of Gregory, carried it to the island of Proti; Gregory bought such a delivery with great difficulty and for a lot of money from the executioners. When transferring St. The relics of the martyr, despite the fact that they remained in the open air for three days, still had warm blood flowing, but the most glorious thing was that when Gregory took the honorable head of St. martyr and, kissing her with tears, talked with the martyr as if he were alive, then this sacred head opened her eyes and, as if alive, looked with a cheerful and pleasant gaze at Gregory and at all those present, and this miracle happened twice in the presence of many.
After this, Gregory, dressing the body of the martyr in monastic clothing, laid it inside the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Meanwhile, it was desirable for Gregory to move St. the relics of the martyr to Athos, but he was perplexed as to how to achieve this goal, which is why he remained in Constantinople for now. But the Venerable Martyr Euthymius one day appears to him in a dream, calms him down and promises that in due time he himself will take his relics and transfer them to the Holy Mountain.
Another miracle was performed by the new martyr during Gregory’s stay in Constantinople. One Christian who lived in Galata, Emmanuel Margaritov, had a son named Yank, six years old, who was ill with a fever: he had been lying unconscious for four days, and not only his relatives, but also the doctors had lost hope for his recovery. Gregory was called to Emmanuel's house with the robes of martyrdom. As soon as the sick man was covered with the bloody martyr's clothes and given water to drink from their irrigation, the sick man immediately opened his eyes, then asked for more of that water, reverently kissed the martyr's clothes and from that moment became healthy.
Finally, Gregory, having found a passing ship, arrived on it to the Holy Mountain, like an angel - the messenger of the confession and suffering death of the new martyr Euthymius. He brought there hair from his honest head and bloody clothes from which a fragrance emanated.
Through the prayers of the Holy New Martyr Euthymius, may God deliver us from mental and physical ailments, and may we be worthy to receive the Kingdom of Heaven from our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Honest head of St. The venerable martyr Euthymius is now in the Russian monastery of St. on Athos. Great Martyr Panteleimon.
(His memory is also celebrated on May 1, together with the Holy Martyrs Ignatius and Akakios).
23
Prmch. Luke of Odrin, Mytilene, Athos († 1802, commemorated March 23, 3rd Sunday of Pentecost)
The Holy Martyr Luke was from Adrianople. His parents were Christians - his father Afanasy, and his mother Domnitsa. Left an orphan for 6 years after the death of his father, Luka was brought up in extreme poverty with all the hardships. Pressed on all sides by poverty, his mother gave him to a Zagori merchant as a trade boy. The well-meaning merchant, taking the boy into his house, treated him not as a subordinate, but as his own son, replacing his father in this respect.
One day, Luka’s owner went to Russia on commercial business, where he took Luka, who was 13 years old at that time, with him; returning from there, he stopped in Constantinople, not suspecting that deep sorrow awaited the unfortunate orphan here. So, one day he left the house where they were staying, and, having quarreled with one Turkish boy, began to beat him; Seeing this, the Turks who were immediately there rushed at Luka like enraged animals and, grabbing him, wanted to kill him. Luka, extremely frightened by their ferocity and not finding any way out of escaping the hands of the little Turk’s fierce defenders, shouted: “Let me go, I’ll hang out.” The word “I’ll turn” instantly changed the ferocity of the Turks, and one of them, yeah, immediately took it and, bringing it to his house, forced Luke to renounce Christ and accept the Mohammedan faith. The unfortunate youth, being intimidated by ferocity and fearing that they would beat and torture him, out of his childish frivolity, renounced Christ - the source of life, the Creator of heaven and earth, without thinking about the consequences of renunciation.
But when Luke calmed down and came to his senses, then he saw into what abyss he had plunged himself, exchanging light for darkness; at the same time his soul suffered, and his heart shed bitter tears; Instead of the usual joy and gaiety, boredom and melancholy set in, and he bitterly repented of his action.
But, however, the Providence of God, seeing that the boy, out of his childish foolishness and fear, although he renounced the Christian faith, bitterly repented of it, gave him a way to leave home, which had become hateful and disgusting for him. Having found a convenient time, he notified his master, the merchant, and asked him to free him from the bondage of which he himself was the culprit, and as soon as possible, before the vile circumcision was performed on him.
Having received this sad news, the merchant immediately went to the Russian envoy, to whom he explained everything in detail, asking for his protection and patronage and to quickly save the distressed youth from death. The envoy, having heard the statement, immediately sent to the aga, demanding that Luka be given to his master. But Aga answered through the messenger: since no one forcibly forced Luke to renounce the Christian faith and accept the Muslim faith, and he himself voluntarily came to his house without any violence, then no one has the right to demand him back.
When the messenger left, out of fear that they would not demand Luke again, he tied his hands and forcibly circumcised him. Having learned about this vile ritual performed on the unfortunate youth, the envoy, seeing that the whole matter was already lost and that the demands would be useless, advised the merchant to notify Luke so that he, choosing a convenient time, would flee from the aga and come straight to the Russian embassy.
On the same day, the merchant informed Luke to flee from that house, which a few days later the youth did: he left forever that ill-fated house in which his childish lips uttered the terrible words of renunciation of the Life-Giver Christ, and, running to Galata, he appeared to the Russian envoy, who ordered him to take off his Turkish clothes and dress him in Christian ones; and on the same day he sent him to Smyrna, and from Smyrna to Tire. Here he fell ill; the disease became more dangerous day by day and brought him closer to death. At this time, he bitterly repented, fearing that a terrible death would snatch him away without repentance, and therefore asked to call his confessor, to whom he told everything that had happened to him in confession.
The confessor, having consoled him, advised him not to give in to despair, but to place all his hope in the Provider God, who cares about our salvation, and who will arrange his salvation, in the image of the destinies Himself; moreover, for the sake of caution in the situation in which he found himself, fearing that the Turks would somehow find out the secret he was hiding, he advised him to retire to the holy Mount Athos and there, in a quiet and serene refuge, among experienced men who had flourished in virtues, arrange his salvation.
Luke accepted the good advice of his confessor with joy and, as soon as the illness eased and he felt so strong that it was possible to undertake the journey, he went to Athos.
Upon arrival at the Holy Mountain, Luke entered the Lavra of St. Athanasius. After living here for some time, he moved to the Iveron Monastery, here he declared to the Iveron elders that, out of foolishness and fear, he had denied Christ for the sake of it and that he was forcibly circumcised. The elders, having listened to Luke, sent him to the Forerunner monastery to his confessor, who, having read censorious prayers over him, anointed him with holy myrrh, and Luke, having received the seal of the Holy Spirit, was again returned to the bosom of the Orthodox Church.
Luke lived a little in the Iversky Monastery and soon moved from here to the Stavronikitsky monastery and was clothed in monastic attire. But, however, he could not get along here either and soon moved to the Zograf Monastery. The enemy of the human race did not give him peace, brought various temptations, confused his soul and did not allow him to get along for long in one place.
Finally, by God’s permission, his temptation reached the point that, not tolerating enemy attacks, he left the holy Mount Athos and returned again to the world. Arriving in Cydonia, he began to look for a sexton position at the churches there, but there was none here. From here he went to Moschonisia, and then to Mytilene and Smyrna, but did not get a place anywhere.
Thus, encountering failure everywhere and, moreover, fearing the plague that was then raging in Smyrna, he returned again to the Holy Mountain and entered the Xiropotamian monastery. He did not stay here long and from there he moved to the Kotlomush monastery, and from here, after some time, he moved to the Forerunner Skete, where in confession he told his confessor about his temptations. The confessor, after listening to Luke, advised him to enter a monastery and promised to provide him with his assistance, but since Luke was young and did not yet have a beard, then, according to the local monastery rules, he was not accepted anywhere. Finally, at the request of his confessor, he was admitted to the Gregoriate Monastery, but from here, through the machinations of an all-evil enemy who did not give him peace, he was driven out. All these temptations were inflicted on him through God's permission, for his spiritual benefit. This can be seen from the following.
Having been expelled from the Gregorian monastery, Luke began to feel embarrassed: “What does this mean, he thought, that they are persecuting me everywhere?” - and, turning over his whole life in his mind, he stopped at this:
“Holy Mount Athos is a storm-proof haven for all those seeking their salvation; many monks spend a silent and virtuous life here, and they all enjoy a peaceful, calm life; Why can’t I get along in any place and, moving from monastery to monastery, I don’t find peace for myself anywhere? Of course, there is no other reason for all this other than the fact that I bear on myself the nasty seal of the devil, which was forcibly placed on me - circumcision. Therefore, in order to pacify oneself, it is necessary to confess Christ before His enemies, to suffer for Him from those before whom I, unfortunate, for the sake of fear, rejected Him and, having shed blood for my Redeemer Jesus, be reconciled with Him.”
After this, Luke went to his elder and announced his intention to suffer for Christ. But the elder did not approve of his desire to suffer for Christ, since he saw him too young to allow him to undertake the great feat of torment; At the same time, the unknown end also frightened him. And therefore he said to him: “If no one wants to keep you in their monastery, then I agree to retire with you somewhere, and we will be inseparable throughout our lives.” But, however, nothing could sway Luke from the idea of suffering for Christ. Therefore, he left the Gregorian monastery and came to the monastery of St. Anna to his friend Hieromonk Vissarion, who received him with fatherly love and, seeing him sad, wanted to know the reason for his grief. Luke, without hiding anything, revealed to him everything about himself in detail, as well as his desire to suffer torment for Christ.
Seeing Luke’s unyielding thought, Vissarion sent him to the confessor Ananias for further admonition. But Ananias, when explaining to Luke all the horrors and torments, could not convince him not to betray himself to such a great feat, and therefore advised him to test himself and properly prepare for the martyrdom, to which Luke willingly agreed.
Having accepted the cell rule from his confessor, Luke began to strive in fasting, vigil, prayer and kneeling, constantly having in his mind the death on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the insidious devil, who hates the ascetics of Christ, did not leave him alone now. So, he armed Vissarion’s disciples against him, who began to ask their elder to let Luke move away from them.
At this time, according to God's will, a boat landed on the shores of Athos, going through Mytilene to Smyrna, and therefore Vissarion and his confessor decided to send Luke in this boat to Mytilene, to which the blessed one agreed, who wanted to accomplish his martyrdom in this city. After this, Luke began to convincingly ask Vissarion to tonsure him into the great angelic image and accompany him to torment. Vissarion bowed to Luke's request, tonsured him as a monk, and, having prepared everything necessary for the journey, on March 10 they left the Holy Mountain, and on the 13th they sailed to Tenedos.
But Vissarion, not wanting to act contrary to the blessing of the elders of the monastery, forbade him to give himself up to torture in this place, and therefore they went further and soon arrived safely in Militin, and, having landed on the shore, stopped in the house of the priest Parthenius. At this time, the devil, wanting to divert blessed Luke from suffering as a martyr for Christ, began to plant blasphemous thoughts in his heart, and armed himself with such hellish force against Luke that Vissarion was forced to read exorcism prayers over him. As soon as Luke calmed down and his heart became calm, they immediately went to the church of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, where they partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ to strengthen themselves. Coming from the church, Luke dressed in Turkish clothes and received a blessing from Elder Vissarion and the priest, and, having given them a kiss in Christ, went to the house where there was a lower judicial place. There he publicly renounced the Muslim faith, denouncing those who forced him to renounce Christ as deceit.
The judge, seeing the martyr's inflexibility, ordered him to be taken to a lower court and placed under the supervision of a Nazir. Here the holy martyr was subjected to terrible beatings from the Nazir’s merciless servants because he asked for blessings and prayers from the Metropolitan of Mytilene, who came to the Nazir on his own business. The Metropolitan, having learned about the voluntary martyr, immediately sent letters to the churches, inviting all Christians to pray for the sufferer to Christ God. Meanwhile, the Nazir, with various promises, then with affection, and finally even expressing a desire to adopt him, tried to deviate Luke from the Christian faith, but it was all in vain: the warrior of Christ stood firmly against temptation. As we see, the words spoken in the Gospel by Jesus Christ were immutably fulfilled on him: “When they betray you, do not worry about how or what to say; for at that hour it will be given to you what to say. For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father who will speak in you” (Matthew 10:19.20). “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all who oppose you will not be able to contradict or resist” (Luke 21:15).
Three days later, the Nazir, calling the martyr to him, announced to him that if he did not renounce Christ, he would be hanged. But the saint replied that he remained unshakable in his belief. And thus the Nazir, having lost all hope of seducing blessed Luke, ordered him to be hanged.
The holy body of the Venerable Martyr Luke remained hanging at the place of execution for three days and three nights. Being preserved by the Almighty Creator, it did not suffer at all from the air changes, but, on the contrary, it was white, the eyes and lips were closed calmly, so that the martyr seemed to be sleeping in the most peaceful and tranquil sleep; at the same time, an extraordinary fragrance emanated from the suffering body to a distant space, which, seeing, Christians glorified God, who strengthened the young youth (only sixteen years old) to courageously struggle and receive the crown of martyrdom.
After three days, the saint’s body was taken from the gallows, a large stone was tied around his neck, and then, putting it in a boat, he was taken to the middle of the sea and thrown into the abyss. But instead of the holy body drowning in the waves of the sea, it, along with the stone, remained on the surface of the sea, and in the place where the boat was, a terrible storm arose, ready to swallow it along with the executioners. Seeing their inevitable death, the executioners returned to the shore with fear. With the onset of night, the relics of the holy martyr were found by Christians on the seashore, being, as can be seen, carried out of it by the invisible power of God, and with due honor they were buried.
The clothes left behind by the venerable martyr acquired healing powers. So several sick people were healed by touching them.
Through the prayers of the holy, glorious venerable martyr Luke, Savior of the world, grant us, too, to trample with Your help all the intrigues inflicted on us by the devil, a hater of good, and grant us, on the day of the Last Judgment, to stand at the right hand with all those who have pleased You. Amen.
4
Icons of the Mother of God Gerontissa
The icon of the Mother of God, called Gerontissa (Elderwoman - Abbess), became famous in the Athos monastery of Pantokrator (Almighty).
The pious elder abbot of that monastery received a revelation of his imminent death. Before his death, he wanted to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and asked the serving priest to hurry up and celebrate the Divine Liturgy, but he did not heed his request. Then a menacing voice was heard from the miraculous icon of Gerontissa, which stood in the altar, commanding the priest to hurry up and fulfill the desire of his abbot.
Another miracle from the icon occurred when, through the prayer of the abbot of the monastery, the oil multiplied in the empty monastery vessels.
In the icon, the Mother of God is depicted in full growth without the Infant God. In front of Her is a vessel from which oil is pouring over the edges.
The famous icon of the Mother of God Gerontissa in the altar of the cathedral church of the Dormition Pochaev Lavra. With the blessing of Archbishop Modest of Volyn and Zhitomir, the clergy, before the start of the service, asked the icon of the Mother of God for a blessing to begin the service.
St. Feona of Thessalonica, Metropolitan. († XVI, commemorated April 4)
Our God-bearing father Theona first labored in the monastery of Pantocrator, serving there as a successive priest, which is also evident from the life of St. Venerable Martyr Jacob of Iveron. Then, having kissed the silence, he united in the ascetic field with this venerable martyr, who at that time was asceticizing in the Iveron monastery of the venerable Forerunner. When the divine Jacob went into the world to preach the word of God, Feon followed him along with others and was inseparable from him almost until his martyrdom. After the passion-bearing death of his elder, he was primate and shepherd at the monastery of St. Anastasia the Patternmaker, located near Thessaloniki, and then, finally, he was elevated to the metropolitan see in Thessalonica. His holy relics are still intact in the above-mentioned monastery of St. Anastasia. (See about him in the life of the Holy Martyr Jacob and his disciples Deacon Jacob and Dionysius, November 1).
Prmch. Nikita Slavyanin, Athos, Hierom. († 1808, commemorated April 4)
Having withered all the movements of the flesh, / through prayer and standing all-night vigils, / through abstinence and tears, / you achieved dispassion, glorious Nikito, / and preached Christ with boldness, / firmly for You suffered for him, holy martyr./ Glory to Him who gave you strength, glory to Him who crowned you, // glory to Him who works for you to heal everyone.
The fatherland of the holy martyr Nikita was Albania. History has not left us any facts about his origin and parents and what this blessed father did in the world. What is known is that he labored on the holy Mount Athos, first in the Russian monastery of St. Great Martyr Panteleimon, undergoing alternate priestly services there, and after some time he retired to silence in the monastery of St. Anna. Here, leading a silent and fasting life, he perfected himself so much that his heart was filled with love for our Redeemer Jesus Christ and that out of love for Him and for that precious blood that He shed on the cross for the sins of the human race, he himself wanted to shed his blood by accepting a martyr’s death.
The spark that had sunk and smoldered in his heart for a long time finally flared up into a flame so that he was no longer able to endure the Divine fire burning in his heart, left the Holy Mountain and, coming to the city of Serra (Seres), stopped at the Serron monastery, where for some time he prepared himself for martyrdom, then from here he went to the ruler of the city, courageously confessed before him Christ as the true God, and Mohammed as he denounced and cursed the charmer and deceiver, for which he suffered martyrdom.
From the beginning to the end of his imprisonment he suffered severe torture; one evening the prison guard brought a lit tallow candle and held it for a long time at Nikita’s nostrils; signs of burning were visible on his face even after his death. We also correctly learned from a noble Christian who had free access to the prince, and that Christian learned from his sincere friend from the Albanians, that they tyrannized the martyr with the following tortures: they put an iron crown on his head, stuck needles under his fingernails, hung him upside down by his feet, scorched his body; The martyr generously endured all this.
On the evening of Holy Saturday, about two hours from sunset, Isukh Bey sentenced the sufferer to death by hanging. So, they took him out of prison and, with beatings and blows, brought him to a part of the city called Cheryakh-bazaar, and there they put a noose around his neck; Among the executioners there was a gypsy, who was ordered to bend down so that the martyr could step on the shoulders to be lifted, but he considered himself unworthy to step on a man, so they put him on a stirrup, tightened the noose and raised him, asking everyone for forgiveness and forgiving everyone. Such was the martyrdom of the holy monk Nikita!
Near the place of execution there is the Church of the Archangel Michael; Her hierodeacon, leaving his cell, saw a great light that illuminated the entire surrounding area; Also, one noble old woman saw the whole city illuminated that night. The body of the hieromartyr remained on the gallows for three days until Tuesday of Holy Easter, without changing his face or the other members; upon death the body was yellow, and remained so in the following days, and was turned towards the east. Those who hanged him took all his clothes, leaving him completely naked, but the next day they covered him with matting, perhaps at the request of some Christians. On the third day of Easter, in the morning, blood began to flow from the ulcer on the big toe of the right foot and flowed all day, occupying a considerable area of the ground; Many of the Christians, out of reverence, collected the martyr's blood along with the earth. On the same day, in the evening, the Christians were given permission from Isuh Bey to remove Nikita and bury him, which they did; They buried the sufferer behind the church of St. Nicholas, near the city hospice house, in a special place. The holy martyr died on April 4, 1808.
6
St. Gregory of Byzantium, Athos (XIV, commemorated April 6)
Our venerable father Gregory was from Byzantium, and his life as an angel shone within the monastery of St. Afanasia. All that is known about this father is that he was the mentor of the Divine Gregory Palamas in sober wisdom and that for the equal height of his life he was honored to receive food from the hands of angels.
7
St. Nil Sorsky († 1508, commemorated April 7, May 7)
Having departed from the world of David, / and counted all that was in it as if it were wise, / and settled in a silent place, / you were filled with spiritual joy, our Father Nile: / and having deigned to serve the One God, / you flourished like a phoenix, / and like a fruitful vine you multiplied the children of the desert. / We also cry out in gratitude: / Glory to Him who strengthened you are in the struggle of living in the desert, / glory to Him who chose you as a hermit in Russia, and glory to Him who saves us through your prayers.
The Venerable Nil of Sorsky, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, came from a family of boyars, the Maikovs. He received monasticism at the monastery of St. Kirill of Belozersky (June 9). Here he used the advice of the pious elder Paisius Yaroslavov, later abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The monk traveled a lot in the East, studying monastic life in Palestine and Mount Athos. Returning to Rus', he retired to the Sora River in the Vologda land, set up a cell and a chapel, where a monastery soon arose with a new monastery charter for us at that time, borrowed by the Monk Nile on Athos. According to the behest of St. Nile, monks were to feed on the labor of their hands, accept alms only in extreme need, and avoid the love of things and luxury even in church; women were not allowed into the monastery, monks were not allowed to leave the monastery under any pretext, and ownership of estates was denied.
Having settled around a small church in honor of the Presentation of the Lord in the forest, in separate cells of one, two and no more than three people, the hermits, on the eve of Sundays and other holidays, gathered for a day for Divine services, and the all-night vigil, at which two or three readings from the patristic works were offered after each kathisma, lasted all night. On other days, everyone prayed and worked in their cell. The main feat of the monks was the struggle with their thoughts and passions, as a result of which peace is born in the soul, clarity in the mind, contrition and love in the heart. In his written works - “The Tradition of His Disciples Who Want to Live in the Wilderness” and “The Rule”, the Monk Neil sets out in detail the steps of this saving mental work. The first step is renunciation of the world, in particular, all worldly entertainment; the second is unceasing prayer, accompanied by the memory of death. In his life, the holy ascetic was distinguished by extreme non-acquisitiveness and hard work. He himself dug a pond and a well, the water of which had healing powers.
For the holiness of Elder Nile's life, the Russian hierarchs of his day deeply revered him. The monk participated in the Councils of 1490 and 1503. Avoiding the honors and glory of this world, before his death he commanded his disciples to throw his body to be devoured by animals and birds or to bury him without any honors at the site of his feat. The saint died at the age of 76 on May 7, 1508. His relics, buried in the monastery he founded, became famous for many miracles. The Russian Church canonized him as a saint.
*Published in Russian:
Tradition by his disciples about living in the monastery // Life and Writings of the Holy Fathers. T.I.M.: Publishing house. Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage. 1849.
Reverend Nil of Sorsky, the founder of the monastery life in Russia and his charter about the monastery life translated into Russian. With the attachment of all his other writings extracted from the manuscripts. St. Petersburg, 1864.*
12
St. Akaki Kavsokalivit († 1730, commemorated April 12)
The Monk Akaki the New took monastic vows at the Holy Trinity Monastery of Saint Dionysius of Olympia (January 24) in Zagori. On the first night after his tonsure, Akaki received a Divine vision. So, it seemed to him as if he was holding a burning lamp that was pouring light into a distant space; this vision meant his future virtuous life, which would be a light and example for zealots seeking a saving path.
Having retired to Holy Mount Athos, the monk, on the advice of his confessor, Father Galaktion, settled in the monastery of St. Maximus of Kavsokalivsky (see his Life on January 13), who appeared to the ascetic many times. The exploits of the Monk Akaki were extremely severe: instead of bread, he ate dried herbs mixed with crushed marble.
Meanwhile, the fame of his contemplative life spread to a distant place, and despite his complete departure, many still came to him for advice, and others, having received instruction from him, did not want to return back, but built cells for themselves near his cave and remained his students, devoting themselves to his leadership.
One day, the Monk Akaki, performing his rule, fell into a frenzy: he saw a luminous man, who, taking him by the hand, led him to a vast field, on which there were many beautiful buildings, but without inhabitants in them. Surprised by this, the monk asked this husband: “Why are all those such beautiful buildings empty and for whom are they prepared? “These wonderful buildings,” answered the luminous man, are prepared for those Christians who pay taxes and other duties to the Turks, and at the same time endure their slavery with gratitude to Christ God, who arranges everything for good.” When the vision ended, the monk called his disciples and told them: “If you have money, then go and pay tribute to the Turks, so that we too can share with those servants of God who pay their duties,” and he told them his vision.
The Monk Akaki had reverence for all the saints, and especially for the Monk Maximus Kavsokalivit, who, he said, repeatedly honored him with his appearance. And when the enemy made him despondent, he called on this saint for help and felt his gracious intercession. The Monk Maximus usually appeared to him in priestly vestments, illuminated by heavenly glory and accompanied by an immense multitude of monks, illuminated by the heavenly light.
In addition to those Divine consolations that the Lord sent through revelations to His saint, he was honored to receive from the sweetest Jesus Christ the gift of clairvoyance: he predicted to many what was about to happen to them, and revealed their heartfelt secrets. The very appearance of the monk had a wondrous effect on those suffering from thoughts. One had only to look at his face to pacify the heart and feelings! He constantly carried the name of Jesus in his heart; when he happened to pronounce it with his lips, a flame always emanated from his lips, which one pious confessor, Hieromonk Sylvester, was repeatedly privileged to see.
Shining with such a holy life, the Monk Akakios was honored to prepare for the martyrdom for confessing the name of Jesus Christ, in addition to the Monk Martyr Romanus and another martyr - Nicodemus, blessing whom for his suffering feat, he handed him his rod, saying: “Go with God, child, on the path you have chosen, here is my rod to help you.”113.
Over time, the number of disciples of the Monk Akaki increased more and more, who built cells for themselves, and thus the monastery (Kavsokalivsky) was formed, which, through the prayers and intercession of the monk, multiplied and flourishes to this day. And since there was no water in that place, the monk, wanting the brethren not to grieve and murmur from the lack of it, one day went out into the middle of the monastery and, after fervent prayer, ordered one brother, named Timothy, to dig in the place indicated to him. When Timofey began to dig the ground, suddenly, to the surprise of everyone, water appeared from that place, very pleasant and healthy, and in such abundance that it was enough not only for the needs of the brethren, but even for the construction of a mill.
When asked how long a monk should sleep, the monk answered that half an hour was enough for a true monk, and he himself, despite his old age and illness, set an example in this.
The Monk Akaki was illiterate, but, having a pure mind and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, he knew the Holy Scripture thoroughly and sometimes solved very difficult questions and knew deep secrets.
The Patriarch of Jerusalem Chrysanthos, during a visit to the Holy Mountain, hearing about the lofty life of the Monk Akakios, as well as the fact that, being illiterate, he understood the lofty concepts and sacraments of Holy Scripture, he wished to see this great man enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and having heard from the lips of the monk what he had heard a lot about, the patriarch glorified God, who makes His own wise to the shame of the wise of this world. And when he returned from him, he told everyone everywhere that he had been honored to see the lamp of faith and to hear the deep secrets of Holy Scripture from the new Elijah and John the Baptist.
About the contemplative life of the Monk Akaki, his disciple, Hieromonk Jonah, says this:
“One day, reading the words of St. Simeon the New Theologian, I came across this expression: “If a Christian does not see Christ here, in this present life, then he will not see Him in the future” (Word 3).”
Jonah, being at a loss about this expression, asked Elder Akakios what kind of vision of Christ St. was writing about. Simeon.
“Yes, child,” answered the monk, “don’t doubt it: St. Simeon speaks the truth, for every Christian must still behold Christ with the eyes of his heart and imagine him in his heart, as the teacher of languages, the Apostle Paul, said about this (Gal. 4:19).
-And you, father, have you seen Christ? – Jonah asked him innocently.
“I saw,” the elder answered with angelic meekness.
- What did He tell you and is telling you? – Jonah asked again.
– He constantly tells me the same thing: “Come after Me” (Matthew 4:19), i.e. fulfill My commandments, but nevertheless, due to my negligence, I do not follow His Divine voice. - Having said this, Akaki cried bitterly.
- For God’s sake, holy father, do not deprive me of one more question: you say that you can see in the heart of Christ, how is it possible to see Him, explain my bewilderment?
“Know, child, that few are granted this gift; for this it is necessary to cleanse oneself of passions, and after this, when the Lord God sees that the flesh is subjugated to the spirit and the heart is cleansed of all passionate lusts, then Jesus Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit indwells it, and then such a chosen one of God sees Christ in his heart with intelligent eyes, as if sensual.
Some disciples of the Monk Akaki, tempted by the sight of beautiful faces, asked him how they could save themselves from such a temptation.
“I don’t know what to tell you to this,” he answered, “because I never feel any passionate movement in myself when looking at beautiful faces, but on the contrary, when I happen to see beautiful facial features, then I involuntarily ascend in thought to the Heavenly Creator and glorify my Creator for His great and wondrous deeds, that He created such a beautiful creature from insignificant dust, and believe me, my dear children, that after this I I feel such joy in my heart that I even forget about food.
Finally, the Monk Akakios, already at the end of his days, still had to send the martyr St. to God. Pachomius the Russian, who courageously accomplished his suffering feat for the prayers of his great mentor. And then, after him, his pure and blessed soul departed from his mortal body to the Lord God, on April 12, 1730, at the age of 98 from birth. About his blessed death, Rev. Akakios was informed by God several days in advance, which he revealed to one monk, Athanasius, who came from the monastery of St. Anna, visit him.
“Athanasius! - said St. Akaki, goodbye! I’m going on a long journey, and we won’t see each other here again!”
Through the prayers of St. Akaki, may we also be worthy to stand in the glory of the saints, glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
For his high deeds, the Monk Akaki was awarded the gift of unceasing mental prayer and Divine revelations. He reposed in the Lord on April 12, 1730, having reached almost a hundred years of age.
19
St. Simeon Bosoy, Filofeevsky, Flamurian, Athonite, abbot († 1594, commemorated April 19)
The Monk Simeon came from a clergy background. His father Andrei was a priest. When Simeon reached adolescence, he was sent to learn to read and write, in which he showed rapid success, so that everyone who knew him marveled at the quickness of mind and the excellent abilities of the young lad.
In the 15th year from birth, Bishop Pachomius of Dimitrias took him into his bishopric and subsequently tonsured him as a monk and ordained him to the rank of hierodeacon. However, Simeon did not stay long with Bishop Pachomius, since his thoughts drew him into solitude. And therefore, having opened his thoughts, as well as his desire, to the bishop, he asked for his fatherly advice. The bishop, seeing his heartfelt desire, did not interfere with his intention and, having given him a parting blessing, sent him away in peace.
Initially, the young ascetic settled on Mount Olympia, in the Ikonomion monastery, near Kissara. Here he began to lead the most strict and severe life, laboring in fasting, vigil and prayer, and in order to humble the flesh and deprive himself of sweet sleep, he put stones on his bed and thus soon rose to the heights of virtues.
Having lived for some time in this monastery, he wished to see the great ascetics, and therefore, leaving Mount Olympia, he went to Athos, where he entered the brotherhood of the Lavra of St. Athanasius. Simeon's high life soon attracted the attention of the Lavra authorities, who considered it necessary to promote him to the rank of hieromonk. Here, in the Lavra, while still in the rank of hierodeacon, the Monk Simeon showed a special trait of humility with which his blessed soul was filled. So, one day one of the brethren, wanting to test him to see if he really humbled himself for the sake of God, said to him:
- Father Simeon! Oh, how beautiful your hair is and how beautifully it fits on your head!
The Monk Simeon, without saying a word to him, retired to his cell, cut his hair and, upon meeting this brother, gave it to him, saying:
- Brother, take my hair if you really like it.
From the Lavra the Monk Simeon moved to the Philotheevsky monastery. Here he began to conduct his ascetic life even more strictly; Moreover, the brethren, seeing such a lamp in their monastery, began to have deep respect for him, and subsequently began to convincingly ask him to be their leader in spiritual life and abbot. The Monk Simeon, out of deep humility, refused this great work, but, seeing their strengthened petition and love, he agreed to be their shepherd and mentor. The evil devil, who hates good, not wanting the whole brotherhood to have unanimity and a peaceful spiritual dispensation, outraged the weaker ones against the monk, sowing in them hatred towards him, who from that time began to slander the monk and spread bad rumors about him. The saint, seeing from whom all this evil came, began to admonish the murmurers not to obey the thoughts instilled in them by the evil enemy, but to imitate more prudent ones; Meanwhile, they not only did not come to their senses, but began to reproach him even more strongly.
So, the monk, seeing the hardness of their hearts and giving way to anger, left the Holy Mountain and went to Mount Flamuria, adjacent to Zagora. Here he began to spend his life like disembodied angels, not caring about anything: he chose an apple tree as his home, under which he lived winter and summer without cover, clothing and barefoot. Three years later, he was found here by some lovers of God, who, amazed at his hermit’s life and deprivation in all things, became inflamed in spirit and themselves wanted to be jealous of him in their spiritual life, and therefore began to ask the saint to accept them into cohabitation. For a long time the Monk Simeon did not agree to accept them, frightening them with the labors and hardships that are associated with a hermit’s life, but they were not afraid of this and with tears asked him to bless them to settle near him.
The prayers of zealous lovers of God softened the monk, and he agreed. On the same day, these lovers of God began to build straw pots for themselves, and after some time two more zealous and seeking a solitary life came and they also settled near the monk. And thus, in this small monastery, seven brethren gathered, who began to engage in arable farming and do small crops for their food.
With the settlement of the brethren near the Monk Simeon, the rumor about his godly life began to spread throughout the entire neighborhood, as a result of which pious Christians began to come to him: some for advice, and others only to see his face and receive a blessing from the monk.
Seven years later, the Monk Simeon built a small church in his monastery in the name of St. Life-Giving Trinity, in which he himself celebrated the Divine Liturgy every day. Soon after the construction of the church, priests and deacons began to come to him and, seeing his equal-angelic life, they remained to live near him, and thus little by little the kenobia was formed.
Having established order and order in his monastery and installed another leader and leader in his brethren’s place, he went to Epirus and then to Thessaly, where he preached the word of God: affirming those who wavered in the faith, assuring those who doubted, strengthening those who were firm in the faith, he urged them to love one another, honor Sundays and holidays, and attend the Church of God for prayer. From here the monk went to Athens, where, by the grace given to him by the Lord, he healed various diseases and cast out unclean spirits. Here, with the blessing of the Athenian Bishop Lawrence, every Sunday and holiday he taught people a pious and chaste life. From Athens he went to Euripus, where, just as in Athens, the saint’s preaching was confirmed by miracles, as a result of which all Euripian Christians began to have deep respect for him and revered him as a great saint of God.
The Turks living in Euripus, seeing the reverence shown by Christians to the Monk Simeon, being incited by the devil, slandered him before the mayor of Euripus, saying that he condemns all Muslims, calling their faith false, and curses the prophet Mohammed, and that there is a danger that this man would not actually convert the Euripus Turks to the Christian faith. Having heard the denunciation, the mayor immediately sent the Kavass to seize the Monk Simeon, put him in chains and then take him to the square for public burning.
When they brought the Monk Simeon to the square and began to collect firewood for the fire, then he, in chains, began to help the Turks and put firewood. Seeing this, the one holding him by the chain said to him:
- Father! After all, this fire is being prepared for you, since the mayor ordered you to be burned.
“Well,” answered the saint, “if this is the will of God, then I sincerely wish to suffer for confessing the name of His Holy One!”
This conversation was overheard by an Arab Christian, who invited several pious women with him, with whom he immediately went to the mayor’s mother and earnestly asked her to beg her son not to put the monk to death. The mayor's mother, moved by a feeling of compassion for the innocence of the saint, immediately went to her son and began to ask him not to do any harm to the slandered innocent monk and not to take on his soul the sin of his death.
“What a sin,” answered the mayor, “if I ordered the burning of the condemner of our faith and the seducer of our faithful into the Christian faith!”
“It’s all a lie, my son,” his mother answered. “In that case, if you do him any harm, then know that I myself will put myself to death.” You better call that unfortunate man and ask him in detail about everything, and then, I assure you, you will see for yourself that it was in vain that you condemned an innocent man to death!
After the mother’s departure, the mayor and other dignitaries decided that, indeed, he had acted unfairly, and decided to call the Monk Simeon and ask him about the denunciation. Then a messenger was sent to the place of execution and the Monk Simeon was brought in chains to the mayor, who, seeing his meek face, barefoot and almost naked, in only an old cassock, involuntarily felt favor towards him, and therefore kindly and quietly asked him:
- I was informed that you are seducing the Turks from believing in Mohammed and inviting them to accept the Christian faith, is this true?
“I did not come here to convert Turks to Christianity, but on the contrary, to confirm Christians in the faith in Jesus Christ, and I teach them what the Gospel commands,” answered the teacher. Simeon.
– What does the Gospel teach? – the mayor asked him again.
“It commands not to steal, to live in purity, not to covet anything that belongs to others, to love each other, to pay royal taxes, to firmly maintain one’s faith, to honor Sundays and holidays.
The mayor, having listened to him with curiosity and not seeing in him the guilt of which he had been slandered, ordered his release.
After this, the Monk Simeon began to preach the word of God with even greater boldness. And thus, having visited many cities and villages, he returned to the cenovia he founded in Flamuria. But, however, to the regret of his disciples, he did not stay with them long: his soul, out of great love for his neighbors, wanted to feed with the word of God those who demanded it, while his disciples, who had already succeeded in a virtuous life, could themselves affirm with the word of God not only themselves, but also others, and therefore he, having said goodbye to them, went to Constantinople, where he was kindly received by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who lovingly allowed him talk with the people and affirm them unshakably and firmly maintain faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And thus, the zealot of the Lord’s commandments tirelessly began to talk with the people, not only in the church, but also in the squares.
The people reverently listened to the teachings of the saint, so that many hastened to confess their sins to him and receive permission through him; others followed him everywhere, listening to his soul-saving conversations and, becoming his disciples, received tonsure into an angelic image at his hand.
Finally, after many years of tireless preaching, he peacefully departed to the heavenly abodes; His holy body was buried with honor by the patriarch in Halki, in the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Two years after the blessed death of the Monk Simeon, the monks of the Flamurian cenovia, who were at one time in Constantinople on monastic affairs, wished to transfer the relics of their father and mentor from Chalok to the cenovia that he created. To do this, they asked the patriarch for permission. The Patriarch, seeing the love of the students for their teacher, rejoiced and ordered them to take them without restraint and transfer them to his monastery.
Having made a new ark, the Kinovites came to Khalki before their departure, and when they opened the tomb of the Monk Simeon, a fragrant fragrance spread from his relics; and all the sick who touched and kissed them received healing. Among many, we cite the following case here.
At the very time when the saint’s coffin was opened, one artisan, who had long suffered from consumption, which was already coming to an end and was ready to kidnap his victim, as soon as he kissed the head of the monk, the cough immediately stopped and the phlegm stopped, and he became completely healthy. Subsequently, in gratitude for his healing, he made a shrine for St. the relics of your healer.
After the relics of St. Simeon were brought to his monastery, they were placed with honor and honored not only by the monks of his monastery, but also by those pious Christians to whom he preached the word of God.
One cannot remain silent about one more miracle that occurred from the relics of the saint. One day, the monks of his monastery, setting out to collect alms according to the custom of the monasteries there, took with them in the ark the finger of the Monk Simeon. Having reached the Oreisk fortress, here they met one patient suffering from swelling of the body, who, having learned that they had part of the relics of the Monk Simeon, asked them to come to his house and serve a prayer service. The monks came to his house and, having blessed the water, ordered the sick man to kiss the saint. relics and drink consecrated water. As soon as the patient completed all this, suddenly a foul-smelling substance flowed out of his entire body, and he soon completely recovered. Seeing himself healed, the former patient, in gratitude to his healer, transferred all his property to the full possession of his monastery, and he himself, having adopted a monastic image, spent the rest of his life there in a virtuous life.
Through the prayers of St. Simeon, O Christ our God, heal both our mental and physical illnesses and grant us the portion of Thy saints. Amen.
Prmch. Agathangel of Esphigmen († 1819, commemorated April 19, October 29)
Prmch. Timofey Esfigmensky, Athos († 1820, commemorated April 19, October 29)
For their lives, see October 29.
Icons of the Mother of God “Sweet Kiss” or “Glycophyllussa”
Belongs, according to legend, to one of the seventy icons painted by St. the apostle and evangelist Luke. The icon became famous during iconoclasm. It belonged to the pious woman Victoria, the wife of a certain Simeon Patricius. Victoria, at the risk of her life, honored and kept it in her room. Her husband demanded that she burn the icon, but Victoria preferred to let her into the sea - and she did. The icon appeared on the shore in front of the Athos Philotheus Monastery. The abbot and the brethren brought her into the cathedral church. From then until now, on Easter Monday, a procession of the cross has been held from the monastery to the site of the appearance of the icon. Miracles are still performed from this icon.
To the possessing heresy,/ about Thy most honorable icon, O Virgin,/ having provided for the reality:/ by the journey of Thy monastery/ as a gift worthy of offering./ By this we call the sweet-loving right,/ We please Thee.
Who in Thy church and monastery cometh/ and God-pleasingly persecutes saving ones/ and venerates Thy holy image,/ hereby grant, O Virgin, Thy mercy,/ from all these sorrows that cry out to Thee:/ Rejoice, O One Bride of God Used materials Complete Orthodox theological encyclopedic dictionary. T.II. St. Petersburg: P.P. Soikin Publishing House. P.2077.
1
Prmch. Akakiy Novy, Syarsky, Athossky († 1816; commemorated May 1)
Equal in number to the Trinity of the Uncreated beings, / with the faces of Angels and the ranks of martyrs, / you stand before, rejoicing, the Throne of the Divine, wisdom. / For this reason, through the sacrament, you receive the radiance from there, / you give a source of healing to the faithful, / and Divine enlightenment, / the martyr of Christ Euthymius with Ignatius the wise and with the Divine Acacius, / about us ever pray.
Akakios (baptized Athanasius) was the son of pious parents who lived in the village of Nivori near Thessalonica. When he was 9 years old, his parents sent him to learn a trade from a shoemaker, who often beat him. Unable to bear the cruelty of his master, the boy left him and, under the influence of the Turkish women he met, agreed to renounce Christ and accept the Muslim faith. The Turkish women took Afanasy to Khaznadar Yusuf Bey, who left him in his house and soon circumcised him, giving him a new Muslim name instead of a Christian one; after that he adopted him and loved him like a son. Having lived for 9 years in a rich house in contentment and luxury, Afanasy reached the age of 18.
The owner's wife was inflamed with carnal passion for him and began to persuade him to commit adultery, but the young man, like the biblical Joseph, fled from her. The angry Turkish woman told her husband that the young man wanted to persuade her to cheat. Yusuf, having listened to his wife's complaint, immediately kicked Afanasy out of the house. Athanasius went to Thessalonica to visit his parents. Those who saw their son, who was considered dead, rejoiced, especially when they learned that he was leaving the Muslim faith and wanted to become a Christian again. On the advice of his parents, Afanasy went first to Mount Athos to the Hilandar monastery, then, on the advice of the elders of this monastery, to the Xenophian monastery to see his confessor Nicholas. He, having listened to Afanasy’s confession, read prayers of permission over him, anointed him with holy myrrh and sent him back to Hilandar. After living in the Hilandar monastery for about a year, Afanasy moved to the Iversky Monastery and was tonsured into monasticism with the name A. After some time, his confessor blessed him to go on a martyrdom and gave him Elder Gregory as a companion.
Having said goodbye to the brethren of the monastery, on April 1 they left the Holy Mountain and sailed to Constantinople. Here, for renouncing Islam and professing the Christian faith, Akaki was beheaded after severe torture.
Prmch. Euthymius of Constantinople, Dimitsansky, New, Athos († 1814, commemorated March 22, May 1)
Prmch. Ignatius the New, Athos, Constantinople († 1814, commemorated May 1, October 20)
2
St. Athanasius III Patelarius, Patriarch of Constantinople, Lubensky († 1654, commemorated May 2)
Having enlightened the reigning city with the wisdom of your teachings,/ you have dispersed the darkness of heretical ignorance, most blessed;/ you have brought your blessing to the Russian land,/ Our Father, to St. Athanasius,/ where, having ended your course,/ you have flown on the wings of purity to the Heavenly Kingdom./ Pray to Christ God unceasingly for our souls.
Saint Athanasius III Patelarius, Patriarch of Tsaregrad, Lubny miracle worker, in the world Alexy, was born in 1560 on the island of Crete, in the family of the pious Greek Patelarius. Despite his education and fame in society, Alexy was attracted by the life of Christian ascetics. After the death of his father, he took monastic vows with the name Ananias in one of the Solunsky monasteries, from where he later went to the Esphigmen monastery on Athos, where he served obedience in the refectory. From Mount Athos he traveled to the Palestinian monasteries and in one of them took monastic vows with the name Athanasius. Upon returning to Thessaloniki, he was made a presbyter and spread the teachings of Christ among the Vlachs and Moldovans, for whom he translated the Psalter from Greek into their native language. Occasionally the saint went to Mount Athos for prayerful solitude and God's blessing for his pastoral labors. The holiness of his life attracted many Christians who wanted to see a true preacher of the Orthodox faith of Christ.
With his extraordinary abilities and spiritual gifts, he attracted the attention of Patriarch Kirill I (Lucaris) of Constantinople (1621-1623), who, having called the ascetic, appointed him as a preacher at the patriarchal see. Soon Saint Athanasius was elevated to the rank of bishop and made Metropolitan of Thessalonica Church.
At this time, Patriarch Cyril I (Lucaris) was slandered before the Sultan and imprisoned on the island of Tenedos, and Saint Athanasius was elected to the Patriarchal throne on March 25, 1634, on the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
While at the primate see, Patriarch Athanasius waged a tireless struggle for Orthodoxy against heretics, Jesuits and Muslims. Having remained on the Patriarchal throne for about 40 days, through the machinations of the enemies of Orthodoxy he was deposed, and Cyril 1 (Lukaris) was returned to the department. The saint went to Athos, where he labored in solitude for some time. Then he was again elevated to the Patriarchate, but a year later he was deposed, after which he returned to the city of Thessaloniki and did not interrupt ties with Athos. Due to the intolerable persecution of Orthodox Christians by Muslims, Saint Athanasius had to repeatedly send (from 1633 to 1643) petitions to the Russian Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich (1613-1645) to grant alms to the distressed Church of Constantinople.
When staying in Thessalonica became impossible for the saint, he was forced to leave for Moldavia under the protection of the ruler Vasily Lukul and settle there in the monastery of St. Nicholas near Galati. And here he constantly turned his gaze to Mount Athos, often visited it and hoped to end his life there. However, God's Providence judged otherwise.
In 1652, Saint Athanasius, after the martyrdom of Patriarch Kirill 1 (Lucaris), was again elevated to the Ecumenical See, but stayed there for only 15 days, since Muslims and Catholics did not like this preacher of the Orthodox Faith of Christ. During his last Patriarchal service, he delivered a sermon in which he denounced the papal claims to supremacy in the Universal Church and the imaginary apostolic succession. Persecuted by Muslims and Jesuits, physically weakened, he transferred control of the Church of Constantinople to Metropolitan Paisius of Lavria and retired to Moldavia, where he received from the ruler the management of the monastery of St. Nicholas in the city of Galati. Knowing the deep faith and responsiveness of the Russian people, Saint Athanasius undertook a journey to Russia. In April 1653, he was greeted with great honors in Moscow by Patriarch Nikon (1652-1658) and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Having received generous alms for the needs of the monastery, in December 1653, Patriarch Afanasy left for Galati.
On the way, he fell ill and stopped at the Transfiguration Mgarsky Monastery in the city of Lubny, in February 1654. Anticipating his imminent death, the saint made a will and went to God on April 5. The burial of the Patriarch was performed by Abbot Petronius and the brethren of the monastery. According to Greek custom, the Saint was buried in a sitting position. On February 1, 1662, Saint Athanasius was glorified as a saint and the celebration was established on May 2, on the day of remembrance of Saint Athanasius the Great, who is named after him.
The relics of the holy Patriarch Athanasius, glorified by numerous miracles and signs, rest in the city of Kharkov, in the Annunciation Cathedral Church.
In 2013, the Russian Orthodox Church donated an icon of St. Athanasius Patellarius with a particle of his holy relics to the brethren of St. Andrew’s Monastery.
4
St. Nikephoros of Athos (XIV, commemorated May 4)
Our venerable father Nikifor was, according to the testimony of Saint Nicodemus, a Latin by birth, but later accepted the confession of the holy Orthodox Eastern Church and led an ascetic life in the most desolate places of the holy Mount Athos. He flourished in the forties of the fourteenth century and, together with the godly and venerable Theoliptus (later the saint of Philadelphia), was the mentor and leader of Gregory of Thessaloniki (Palama) in the study of the highest teaching of ascetic wisdom, as he himself testifies to this in his writings.
In a silence free from worries, listening to himself alone and inexpressibly uniting within himself with the most worldly, highest object of desire - God, the Monk Nicephorus received the blessed gift of the light of grace embodied in the heart. Having himself richly tasted this Divine gift, the blessed father, in order to give us guidance in receiving the same treasure, compiled a “scroll” in which, having collected passages on sobriety, attention and prayer from the writings and lives of the holy fathers, and at the end, adding advice from his experience, he invites everyone to ascend, through heartfelt prayer, to the most sincere communion with the Lord.
This scroll, called “Nicephorus the Solitary’s word on sobriety and guarding the heart, is of great use,” as a correct and good guide to prayer, is placed in the book “Philokalia” in Russian translation, volume 5, pp. 259-272. M. 1890
In his truly multi-useful word, St. Nicephorus calls sobriety and guarding the heart a way that, without labor and sweat, leads you into the haven of dispassion and delivers you from falling through the wiles of the devil. St. Nicephorus himself calls this method or path to spiritual perfection “attention,” and says: “Some of the saints called attention as guarding the mind, others as guarding the heart, others as sobriety, others as meaningful silence, and others as something else. But all these names mean the same thing; Just as they say about bread - ukrukh, hunk, piece, so understand about this.”
Indicating how to achieve this internal activity, St. Nicephorus says: “Having gathered your mind to yourself, force it to enter your heart and stay there. When your mind is established in your heart, then it should not remain idle there, but constantly say the prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! And never be silent. For this, keeping the mind unimaginative, makes it elusive and inviolable to the enemy’s attacks and every day leads it more and more into the love and lust of God.” “The whole face of virtues will come to you, with much-desired and sweet attention: love, joy, peace and so on, for the sake of which then every request of yours will be fulfilled, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor and worship, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen".
6
St. Sava I of Serbia, archbishop. († 1237, commemorated January 12, May 6)
See Life on p.
7
Prmch. Pachomius the Russian, Athos († 1730, May 7, May 20 (on Patmos), May 21 (on Athos))
The Holy Martyr Pachomius was from Little Russia, the son of pious parents.
In his youth, the Tatars kidnapped him and sold him to a Turk, a tanner by trade, who took him with him to his homeland, to the so-called town of Usaki, located in the Philadelphia region (in Asia Minor). The Muslim, having taught the young man his skills, tried in every possible way to entice this innocent man into Mohammedanism, but Pachomius, understanding the craft well and diligently practicing it, disdained and did not want to hear about the wicked teachings of Mohammed. In vain did the frantic Turk use canes, threats and hunger - young Pachomius endured all this with joy and fortitude for his piety. Thus, for twenty whole years he remained in slavery and captivity, serving the cruel master with complete zeal and devotion. Meanwhile, the Hagarene, seeing that he could not influence the heart of the courageous young man either with threats, or beatings, or torture, embarked on satanic tricks: he had a daughter-maiden, and he planned to use her as an instrument to lure Pachomius into apostasy from the faith of Christ.
The Turk began to caress him, persuade him and, offering him his daughter in marriage, promised to make him the full heir of all his property, but the virgin young man with firmness and contempt rejected the caresses and offers of his master, preferring chastity to all the treasures of the world and repeating in his heart the apostolic word: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ; tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or sword” (Rom. 8:35). Finally, his master, seeing the inflexibility of his thoughts, freed him and gave him permission to go wherever he wanted. Pachomius glorified the Lord and was just getting ready to set off, when he suddenly fell dangerously ill. Meanwhile, the neighboring Turks, having learned about everything that was happening to Pachomius, and not wanting to let him out of their hands, wanted to use his very illness to their advantage. Having gathered in the house where the young man lay ill, they falsely announced that during painful attacks he had renounced Christ and gave them his word to hang out as soon as he was able to recover.
As a result, when he began to recover from his illness, he was forcibly dressed in Turkish dress, without, however, performing the circumcision ceremony. No matter how much he disgusted, no matter how much he denied, and no matter how much he cursed Mohammed and his teaching, the Turks did not want to hear, repeating one thing: that he had already once forever renounced his faith and belonged to their prophet. There was nothing to do: Pachomius indignantly withdrew from there to Smyrna under the guise of a merchant, and from there, throwing off his Turkish dress, he went to the holy Mount Athos, where, near the St. Paul's monastery, with one virtuous elder Joseph, who had a special gift of reasoning, he spent twelve years in obedience, accepting from him an angelic image and confessing everything that happened to him and what happened in the past years. At this very time, in the Kavsokalivsky monastery, the Monk Akakios was famous for his wonderful life.
Pachomius repeatedly heard about his great asceticism and, wanting to imitate him to the best of his ability and learn monasticism by experience, he moved there, spent six years under the guidance of the Monk Akakios, fed on the labors of his hands, so that finally he himself became a model of truly ascetic life and the adornment of his time. The consequence of this was that everyone loved him and used the edifying example of his life.
But while in this way Pachomius ascended from strength to the strength of spiritual life, his heart involuntarily trembled when a confused thought led him to think whether he had actually denied Christ in a painful attack or in unconsciousness.
“After all, without a reason, the Turks could not become attached to me,” he thought, “and clothe me in green clothes, which actually belongs to the triumph of their wicked faith.”
For a long time he could not overcome his spiritual excitement and finally revealed himself to his spiritual elder, asking him for blessings for his martyrdom. The elder, believing that this was a consequence of pride, and not of the gracious actions of the Spirit, reproached him, scolded him and drove him away from himself. Despite this, however, Pachomius pestered his elder for a whole year with a desire for martyrdom, and for a whole year the elder beat him, humiliated him and tormented him with canons, thinking that Pachomius was suffering from a spirit of pride. Finally, seeing that this thought did not leave Pachomius, together with him he turned to God in prayer, asking to reveal His holy will, and then both of them turned to the advice of the then famous elders, especially the wondrous Akakios, who blessed the young man for the desired feat. So, Pachomius, accompanied by his elder Joseph, went from the Holy Mountain to his former master, in the town of Usaki.
There the Turks immediately recognized Pachomius, and as soon as he appeared, they seized him and presented him to their effendi, the head of the town, declaring that Pachomius was in slavery to their neighbor and of his own free will denied Christ, as a result of which he was accepted by them into Mohammedanism, and decently dressed, and now he has betrayed his word and appears in a monastic Christian dress.
– Is this true? – asked Effendi Pachomius.
“Liars tell lies,” the holy martyr boldly answered. “It never even occurred to me to renounce Christ the true God.” Even if they had exhausted all the countless types of torment on me and invented different kinds of death, nothing would have ever forced me to renounce the Christian faith, which I confess to be true, and yours to be false and wicked!
“There’s no point wasting time or words with you,” the judge cried out in rage, “or throw off these clothes and, as you gave your word before, be ours, or the most painful death awaits you.” Choose any!
When Saint Pachomius chose the latter, he was taken to prison, where he remained for two days without food, without drink and without consolation from the Christian word. Finally, on the third day, the judges decided to put the saint to death. The prison guard gave him this news. With a feeling of inexpressible joy, glorifying God, the holy martyr listened to this news and spent the entire next night in praise and prayer. In the morning, when he was brought before the judge for final torture, Pachomius confessed the Lord Jesus with the same boldness, for which he was handed over to the executors of the death sentence. When they dragged him bound to the place of execution, many Turks and Christians followed him: the first of them raged over the passion-bearer, spitting and blaspheming him, and the last, that is, the Christians, wanted to see his blessed death.
While Saint Pachomius prayed for everyone in secret prayer and, having reached the place of his death, knelt down, the executioner did not want to behead him and whispered to him in a low voice so that he would not ruin his life in vain, but would rather renounce his Christ and enjoy the earthly bliss that Mohammed and his faithful slaves provide him.
“Do what you are ordered,” answered Saint Pachomius, “and do not waste time in vain!”
And the holy head of the wondrous passion-bearer was cut off! Thus Pachomius received the glorious crown of martyrdom: after three days his holy relics were taken by Christians and honestly buried. And the executioner, as soon as he cut off the head of the martyr, immediately went berserk, screamed and let out foam, ran around the city and died after a few days. At the time when Saint Pachomius suffered so solemnly and wonderfully for Christ, his elder Joseph was hiding, fearing the Turks; then, learning that his disciple had been beheaded, he glorified the Lord, came to the place where his suffering body lay, bowed and, bursting into tears, said:
- So, my beloved Pachomius, you have achieved and received what you wanted; Now pray to the Lord for me and for all those who call on you for help.
When the holy relics of the martyr were finally buried and his elder Joseph was extremely worried by the thought that the Turks would not find out about him, and when he trembled and was horrified by this thought, Pachomius appeared to him in a sleepy vision, illuminated by heavenly light, and cheerfully said to him:
- Don't be afraid, old man! You will be protected!
The Venerable Martyr Pachomius was then apparently glorified by God through miracles: one Christian woman from those places, suffering from a headache in her youth, with faith called upon the Venerable Martyr Pachomius for help and, having anointed the painful parts with his blood, was completely healed from her long-term illness. In gratitude for this, she conveyed to the holy Mount Athos the news about the holy martyr and about her healing, asking there to paint a holy icon of him and send it to her as a blessing, which was done, in honor and memory of the holy martyr Pachomius, and to the glory of Christ God, glorified by the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Pachomius suffered on May 8, 1730, on the day of the Ascension; however, his memory in the Greek menaions (published in Constantinople in 1842-43) is supposed to be celebrated on the 21st day of this month. His holy relics are located on the island of Patmos, in the monastery of St. John the Theologian.
Prp Prp. Myrrh-Streaming Nile, Mount Athos, Hierom. († 1651, commemorated May 7, November 12)
Nil Sorsky († 1508, commemorated April 7, May 7)
11
St. Nicodemus of Serbia, Archbishop. († 1325, commemorated May 11)
The rule of faith and the image of meekness, / teacher self-control, / show you to your flock, / Even the truth of things, / for this sake you have acquired high humility, / rich in poverty, / Hierarch Father Nicodemus, / pray to Christ God, / to save our souls.
Blessed Nicodemus, a natural Serb, labored as a fast for St. Mount Athos and was the abbot of Hilandar. After the death of Archbishop Sava III, Serbia declared its desire to see Nicodemus as its high priest; He did not want to part with the quiet desert, but the Athonite fathers convinced him not to abandon the calling of the church. Therefore, they dedicated him on the day of the Ascension of the Lord, “and elevated him to the throne of St. Savva has been greeting for many years with the words: Many years to the Most Reverend Archbishop Nikodim of all Serbian and Pomeranian lands,” says a contemporary1. This was in 1317.
At the tomb of the blessed king Milutin, a bloody riot was raised by the adherents of his wife, the Greek Simonida; The energetic archpastor stopped the bloodshed and robbery. Then, in January 1321, he crowned Milyutinov’s eldest son as king, regardless of the queen’s party. A zealous patriot, Saint Nicodemus was a zealous guardian of the affairs of the holy faith.
Several more liturgical books written by order of St. Nicodemus have survived to this day. The blessed archpastor, who sincerely loved monastic life and contributed to its prosperity in Serbia, wrote a letter so that the Serbian archbishops and Hilandar abbots would not forget the typica (Rule) of St. Savva the Sanctified, and eloquently described the life of St. Savva; this was the dying testament of the Hilandar ascetic and archbishop of all Serbia.
Saint Nicodemus ruled the Serbian Church for eight years; and, therefore, died in May 1325. In front of the iconostasis of the Peć Church, on the left side, there is a shrine with the relics of St. Nicodemus, Archbishop of Serbia, the great wonderworker. (The memory of the saint is secondary in the general service to the holy Serbian saints and teachers - August 30).
13
Prpp. fathers, monks of the Iversky Monastery, martyred by the Latins in the 13th century (May 13)
Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos sent a message to the Pope, asking for help in the fight against the Bulgarian Tsar. However, as the compiler of the Athos Patericon reports, “the Western Catholic sovereigns took up arms and decided to go to Constantinople not so much for help as for destruction” (the “Tale of the Papist Invasion of the Holy Mount Athos” tells about this). Along the way, they came to Athos, trying to persuade the Athonite inhabitants to union. The monks of the Great Lavra, through an excommunicated priest, accepted the union. At the Iversky Monastery, the Uniates met resistance; about 200 of the oldest monks were drowned in the sea along with the monastery ship, the younger ones were sold into slavery “to the Jews in Italy.” The next to be martyred were the monks of Vatopedi (see art. Vatopedi martyrs) and Zograf (see art. Zograf martyrs), after which “the lawless Latins scattered throughout the Holy Mountain... everything was destroyed or set on fire, and property was plundered.”
The monks of Xiropotamus met the Uniates with “branches in their hands” and accepted “part of the looted wealth” as a gift, after which an earthquake occurred and many died. The surviving Uniates returned to the ships and sailed to K-pol; some remained on Mount Athos and became monks.
St. John of Svyatogorets, Iveron (Athos) († 998, commemorated May 13, July 12)
Our God-bearing father John was from Iberia (Georgia), from the region of Tao, descended from the royal family of Iveron and was famous in his fatherland, but out of love for God he left the world and everything in the world, and, taking on the monastic form, first labored in the monasteries located in Iberia. At first he entered the brotherhood of a monastery located near his homeland; then, like a wise and hardworking bee, wanting more to collect the honey of virtues from the flowers of the garden of spiritual wisdom, he moved to a monastery, also in Iveria, which was on a mountain called Kolpa, and from here to Olympus, where he remained silent for quite some time. But the glory of the virtue of Athanasius of Athos reached both the highest mountains and inaccessible heights, and thus from there attracted this ascetic, like an iron magnet, to the ascetic of Athos. Having come to Athanasius on Athos, John became his sincere friend and true novice, therefore Saint Athanasius subsequently spoke of him with special praise.
After some time, leaving the Lavra of St. Athanasius, he, with the support of Vasily, the son of Romanus, the Greek king, created a glorious monastery, which is still known as Iveron, instead of the previously small and meager one called Clement.
St. Gabriel of Svyatogorets, Iversky (Athos) (X, commemorated May 13, July 12)
He was from Iberia, worked as a hermit within the Iberian monastery on St. Mount Athos.
For the height of his life, he was awarded a vision in which the Most Holy Theotokos commanded him to announce to the abbot and brethren that She wanted to give them Her icon to help and intercede. According to Her command, Elder Gabriel had to walk with faith on the sea waves and accept the icon for the monastery.
The Monk Gabriel announced a miraculous vision, and the abbot and the brethren went ashore while singing prayers with candles and censers. The holy elder fulfilled the command of the Mother of God, fearlessly walked on the water as if on dry land, reverently accepted the holy icon of the Mother of God and brought it to the shore. This icon began to be called after the name of the Iverskaya monastery.
St. Euthymius the New, Svyatogorets, Iversky (Athos), son of St. John of the Holy Mountain († 1028, commemorated May 13, July 12)
Saint Euthymius was born in the Georgian historical province of Tao into the family of a large feudal lord close to the court of the Georgian king David III Kuropalates († 1001). His mother came from the Georgian princely family of Chordvaneli. Euthymius was still a child when his father took monastic vows with the name John and settled on Mount Olympus in Bithynia.
The boy and his brothers and sisters were raised by his grandfather Abuharb Chordvaneli. The Byzantines, waging war with the Arabs and trying to enlist the support of Georgia, ceded some lands to David III, and the Georgian king, in turn, as a guarantor of the alliance, sent “princes of the blood” to Constantinople - Euthymius’ maternal cousins and himself. Having learned about this, his father, Rev. John the Svyatogorets went to Constantinople and, with the consent of the Byzantine emperor, took his son to Olympus.
The Monk John “gave him first a Georgian and then a complete Greek education” (PDGAL. 1967. Vol. 2, p. 60). The mastery of the translations of St. Euthymius of Iveron confirms the information of St. George that he was endowed with good learning abilities, memory and diligence, and also allows us to judge the depth of his education. The young man mastered the Greek language perfectly and had an excellent understanding of both Byzantine and ancient literature. In the Greek story it is specified that St. John sent his son to school in Constantinople, where the young man “over time achieved such success that it became known to the whole city... only the praise of Euthymius was heard” (Machkhaneli. 1982. P. 96).
In 965, St. John and his disciples settled on Mount Athos, in the Great Lavra. After some time, Rev. John and his brother-in-law St. John Torniky (Chordvaneli), with the support of the Byzantine Emperor Vasily II, the Bulgarian Slayers founded the Iveron Monastery (Iviron) on Athos.
The “Life of... John and Euthymius...” contains a list of jewelry, money and books, and also mentions part of the Life-Giving Cross and the island of Neon, which the Monk John and his son Venerable. Euthymius was donated at different times to the Great Lavra and other Athonite monasteries (PDGAL. 1967. Vol. 2. pp. 52-54).
The miraculous healing of the Monk Evimius is associated with his adolescence. St. John was worried that his son hardly spoke his native language. When the young man returned from Constantinople to Mount Athos after completing his studies, he became seriously ill and could not speak due to weakness. The father prayed fervently in the church in front of the icon of the Mother of God and then asked the priest to give communion to his dying son. Returning to his cell, he felt an extraordinary fragrance and saw his son sitting on the bed. The young man said that the Queen, surrounded by glory, came to him and asked: “What happened to you, Euthymius?” He replied that he was dying, and then the Blessed Virgin said: “Nothing hurts you anymore. Get up and speak Georgian well.” After this incident, Euthymius “received extraordinary grace and the gift of knowledge of the Georgian language.”
The Monk John, “in order to increase the grace given to his son by the Lord” and since “the country of Kartli has a great need for books and many books are missing,” blessed his son for translation work. Hearing about the miracle, St. Afanasy of Afonsky convinced Euthymius to take the rank. In 975 the monk began translating books.
In the mid-90s. X century, the Monk John became seriously ill and entrusted his son with the care of the Iveron Monastery and the brethren, which at that time numbered about 300 people. A few years later, sensing his imminent death, he blessed Euthymius to become the abbot of the monastery, and to transfer the obedience of the confessor of the brethren to a relative, St. George the Svyatogorets, so that the latter, in the event of the death of Euthymius, would take over as abbot.
Euthymius introduced into the monastic charter of Iviron “Rules and regulations that affirm the faith,” based on disciplinary and moral principles, characterizing which St. George wrote: “As he was, our blessed father Euthymius, filled with heavenly grace, such were the rules and regulations he established in his monastery.” General monastic affairs were considered by the council of the monastery brethren, and private ones by the economist. The abbotship took up a lot of the reverend's time, and this affected his translation activities. On the advice of his companions, St. Arseny of Ninotsminda and St. John (Grdzelidze), in 1019 he transferred control of the monastery to St. George, but continued to “supervise the progress of affairs” both in Iviron and at the request of St. Athanasius of Athos in the Great Lavra, and also petitioned the Byzantine emperor for benefits and assistance to the Athonite monasteries.
St. George characterizes Euthymius as a worker, a man of prayer and a strict faster: the saint came to the church before everyone else and defended the entire service; on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he did not leave his cell and kept a strict fast: only after sunset he ate water and bread; was “an example for all the brethren... he never gave himself rest in anything.” He wore rags and iron chains over them. 2 times a month, Euthymius “taught the brethren ... teachings and instructions in spiritual life,” and “the word from his sacred lips, full of wisdom and consolation, exuded spiritual healing for everyone.” According to the hagiographer, the monk was a close spiritual friend of St. Gabriel of Iveron (Svyatogorets) and “blessed Leon, founder of the Roman monastery on Athos,” he often had spiritual conversations with them. Euthymius was distinguished by special humility: he refused the offer of the Byzantine Emperor Vasily II of the Bulgarian Slayers to occupy the high priestly throne after the death of the Archbishop of Cyprus.
Numerous miracles are associated with the name of Saint Euthymius. During his visit to Thessalonica, the local archbishop asked the monk to enter into a dispute with a learned Jew, with whom the bishop himself often talked, but could not convert to Christianity. When “the Jew found himself in difficulty and powerless... he began to blaspheme the Christians’ immaculate faith,” Euthymius ordered him to shut his mouth. Numb, the Jew believed and threw himself at the saint’s feet. Through the prayer of the saint, the gift of speech returned to the Jew, and from then on he “appeared to be a very believing man.”
In one of the driest years on Athos, when there was no rain for 4 months, Euthymius, on the day of the prophet Elijah, performed in the Athos church in the name of the prophet. Elijah all-night vigil and liturgy. The Life states that during the 1st reading of the Gospel clouds appeared over “Mount Erisioni”; before communion began, torrential rain began, which subsided only by the “evening riveting.” Another miracle is associated with the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. During the liturgy, which the monk was celebrating on the top of Mount Athos, an earthquake occurred, high flames surrounded the saint, his image brightened and the singing of a large choir could be heard.
In the 20s XI century Unrest began in the Great Lavra and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VIII invited Euthymius to a conversation in Constantinople. Anticipating his imminent death, he “gathered the brethren of the Iveron Monastery in the monastery of Theophanes, consoled the monks and commanded them to firmly and unchangeably keep their vows and obey the abbot.” The emperor greeted the monk with great honors. After the liturgy celebrated on the day of remembrance of St. John the Theologian, Euthymius, riding a mule, brought the icon of the apostle to the icon painter. John for renewal. Having met a beggar, the saint stopped to give alms. The mule, frightened by the rags, threw off its rider. A fall from a mule was the cause of the saint's illness and death.
The body of the newly deceased “with honor and the singing of psalms” was transferred to Iviron and buried in a church in the name of St. John the Baptist; the relics received the power of healing. Later Rev. George Svyatogorets transferred the relics to the cathedral church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy. Mother of God, where they rest today. time. An unquenchable lamp was installed above the shrine, and the custom was introduced every year on the day of the saint’s memory to release oil to the priest for a year. Just a year after his death, the Monk Euthymius was canonized.
St. George Svyatogorets, Iversky (Athos), ktitor († 1066, commemorated May 13, June 27)
The Monk George of Iveron, Mount Athos, was born in Trialeti (region of Southern Georgia) in 1009 (according to some sources, in 1014) into the family of noble rulers Mary and Jacob. His father, on behalf of the Georgian king George I (1014-1027), went to the Persian Shah as an ambassador.
When the boy was 7 years old, his parents brought him to the Tadzria convent, where his older sister Tekle (Thekla) was raised. Here Saint George spent three years, and twice during this time he was miraculously saved from death by the Providence of God (in the Ktsia River and in the flames of a fire that broke out in the monastery).
In 1019, at the request of his uncles (father's brothers), George the Clerk and Savva, who labored in the Khakhul Monastery, the youth George received the blessing of the abbot of the Khakhul Monastery, Macarius, to be educated by the strict ascetic Hilarion Tualeli, who was famous for his education and height of spiritual life.
In 1022, Saint George was sent to Constantinople, where for twelve years he carefully studied science and received a comprehensive education.
After returning to Georgia in 1034, he took monastic vows at the Khakhul Monastery from the blessed elder Hilarion Tualeli. After some time, the monk George, having given his clothes to a beggar and dressed in his old rags, went to worship the holy places of Palestine.
After a short stay in the monasteries on Black Mountain (near Antioch), the monk George went to Divnaya Mountain, to the monastery of St. Simeon the Divnogorets († 459). There he found a spiritual mentor, Elder George the Silent († 1068), also a Georgian, who lived in a cleft in the rock. He spent three years in the monastery of St. Roman (from 1036 to 1039). At the age of 30, the Monk George received the great schema from Elder George the Silent. Then, with parting words from him, he went to Athos, to the Iveron Monastery. On the way, the saint visited Jerusalem and bowed to the Holy Sepulcher.
The Monk George arrived on Athos in 1040 and continued the work on the translation of the liturgical books and works of the holy fathers of the Church, begun by the Monk Euthymius of Iveron (May 13).
To this day, the Georgian Orthodox Church recognizes as canonical and permissible for church use only that edition of the Holy Scriptures that belongs to the pen of St. George of Iveron, who worthily completed the works of St. Euthymius.
The Life of St. George provides an incomplete list of his translations from Greek: the Great Synaxarion, the Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles, the twelve Liturgical Mineas, the Octoechos, the Triodion (lenten and colored), the Breviary, the Psalter, the Complete Book of Hours, the “Six Days” of St. Basil the Great, the Epistles of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, the Council Epistles St. Cyril of Alexandria, the Book of St. Gregory of Nyssa, the Book of St. Theodore the Studite, the Book of Acts of the VI Ecumenical Council “and many other useful and holy books.”
From translations of St. George of Iveron from Latin into Greek, the famous work of Bishop Dorotheus “On the 70 Disciples of the Lord” has come down to us. The original work of the Venerable George of Iveron, “The Life of John and Euthymius,” is also widely known, providing detailed information about the foundation and internal life of the Athos Iveron Monastery under its first ktitors and abbots, the Venerables John and Euthymius (July 12 and May 13).
After a year of novitiate, the Monk George was ordained to the rank of priest in 1042 and appointed senior hieromonk at the cathedral church. He also served as regent. The saint devoted his free time from divine services to translation work and poetic creativity. The Athos hymns of St. George of Iveron, in particular the famous “Evening Bells” (translated into Russian by I. I. Kozlov), were subsequently translated into many European languages.
After the death of the abbot of the Iveron Monastery, Stefan Khartulyari, the Monk George was elected as the new abbot in 1044 (the lot pointed to him three times). Under the care of the new abbot, the cathedral church of the monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary was rebuilt and strengthened and the rights of Georgians to the Iversky Monastery were confirmed. For this purpose, the Monk George visited Constantinople, where he was received by Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (1042-1055) and received a letter of grant from him.
Returning to the Iveron monastery, the monk left behind him the abbot of George Oltiseli and went to the Black Mountain, near Antioch. He was probably forced to do this in order to justify before the Patriarch of Antioch Theodosius III (1057-1076) the brethren of the Iveron Monastery, suspected by the Greeks of non-Orthodoxy. The Monk George managed not only to cope with this task, but also to convince the Antiochian High Hierarch of the canonical legality of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which preserves the apostolic succession from the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. From Antioch, at the invitation of the Georgian king Bagrat IV (1027-1072), the Monk George went to Georgia. He spent five years in Georgia: he taught the people in word and deed, helped improve church life, and introduced his translation works. Thanks to their high scientific and literary merits, they were recognized as exemplary by the Georgian Church.
Concerned about the spiritual enlightenment of the country, the Monk George selected 80 Georgian youths and went with them to Athos to send them to the school he founded. On the way he visited Constantinople. Despite the persuasion of his students to postpone the visit to the emperor, since the Monk George fell ill, he, having been informed from above about his upcoming death, hastened to introduce his students to Emperor Constantine X Luke (1059-1067) and received a certificate for their education at the Athos school.
The next day, June 29, 1065, Saint George peacefully departed to the Lord. The body of the saint was transported with honor to Athos, glorified along the way by obvious signs of God's mercy. It lay in a coffin for a year without burial in the Church of All Saints. When the coffin was opened, the saint’s body turned out to be completely incorrupt: not a single hair fell from his head or beard. The tomb of St. George was installed near the shrine of St. Euthymius on May 24, 1066, on the day of remembrance of St. Simeon of Divnogorets. With the consent of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia John IV (1110-1142), the memory of St. George was celebrated annually on this day, later timed to coincide with the day of his blessed death, and now celebrated on June 27.
28
St. Ioannikis I of Serbia, Archbishop. († after 1272, commemorated May 28)
The Monk Ioannikis, the son of pious parents, left the world in his youth and, out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ, having loved a chaste life, took upon himself the monastic form.
He was a disciple of St. Savva the Second, even before his election to the archbishop's throne of the Serbian Church, who loved the monk very much for his virtuous life. Therefore, Ioannikis accompanied his elder, St. Savva to the Holy City for the veneration of the life-giving tomb of the Lord. In Jerusalem, at the request of St. Savva, the Monk Ioannikios was ordained a deacon and then awarded the grace of the priesthood. Returning then from the trip, St. Savva and his disciple, the Monk Ioannikios, settled in St. Mount Athos, where for quite some time they labored for the Lord in desert labors and fasting, enduring persecution and sorrow, and often torment from the godless robber corsairs who were then ravaging the Holy Mountain.
Finally, according to God's will, St. Savva wished to return to his fatherland Serbia, taking with him the Monk Ioannikios, with whom he did not want to be separated, as with his long-term fasting companion and associate. But the love of kind solitude strongly attracted the Monk Ioannikis again to the Holy Mountain. The monk considered the suffering he suffered there from the barbarians to be a feat, which he wanted to imitate the Lord who suffered for the salvation of the world. Therefore, with the blessing of the Right Reverend Sava, he returned to Athos to his kind labors.
Upon his return, the monk began to strive even more intensely, so that his life was praised by all those living on the Holy Mountain, for they saw him as skillful in every matter and able to serve the benefit of many, which is why the abbot of the Hilandar Lavra wanted to make him the steward of this monastery; The monk for a long time denied such a burdensome duty, but, convinced by the entire Council of Fathers, and not daring to disobey the commandment given to him, he accepted this obedience, and soon after that, at the request of the Serbian King, he was installed by the Cathedral of the Holy Mountain and abbot of the glorious Hilandar Lavra.
The monk worked a lot in the management of the honorable Hilandar Lavra in those troubled and turbulent times: so the Lord helped him day by day through sorrows and hardships to be relieved from the burden of sin, so that, even in possession of earthly power, he could appear skilled in everything. The Monk Ioannikis did not abandon his exploits, which he learned from a young age, i.e. fasting, vigils and prayer, and was especially distinguished by his spiritual love for his brethren and his compassionate disposition towards the poor. After quite some time, the monk renounced the abbotship of the monastery and returned to Serbia, fleeing earthly power and wanting only silence. But the saying is true that a burning lamp cannot be hidden under a bushel. For whomever the Lord loves, the kingdoms of the earth glorify him during his life and after his death, and his memory endures with praise for generations and generations.
The Monk Ioannikis, by the will of King Urosh, who wanted to take advantage of his spiritual experience, was made abbot of the Lavra of Studenica, created by the Monk Simeon Nemanja, where St. his relics rest. And soon he became the Archbishop of Serbia. The blessed king Urosh loved the very Reverend Ioannikis, and during his reign Serbia began to rest from the turmoil and enjoy peace, but from time immemorial the hater of the Christian race - the devil - inspired envy of this pious ruler, his son Stephen the King, who took the throne from his father. When the king Urosh was expelled from the kingdom and retired to the country of Chlum, the blessed Archbishop Ioannikis, leaving his holy throne, followed the king and there he soon passed from a temporary life to an endless life.
After two years and nine months, King Urosh and Mother Elena, at the request of the people, took the trouble to transfer the saint to Serbia. When they opened the tomb of Blessed Ioannikiy, his body turned out to be incorrupt, and it was laid with honors in the Sopochansky Monastery, near the body of King Urosh. Then they began to elect a new high priest, and the successor of St. Blessed Eustathius was elected to Ioannikis.
Commemoration of the repose of St. Ioannikios - May 28. He ruled the Serbian Church according to St. Savva is four years old, but now she rejoices in heaven with the angels, constantly glorifying the Most Holy Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Holy Martyr Constantine was born on the island of Mytilene into a Mohammedan family. In his youth, he fell ill with smallpox, from which he completely lost his sight and expected to die.
One pious Christian woman, who lived not far from the house of the patient’s mother, came to visit him. Comforting the sick man and his grieving mother, she, by inspiration from above, being moved by a feeling of compassion, began to ask permission to carry the sick man to a Christian church and there immerse him in holy water, and this pious wife said that she was sure that our God, who created heaven and earth, would heal him. The mother, being stricken with grief, agreed to her proposal; the same one, immediately taking the boy, carried him to the church, where she washed him with holy water, after which the sick man completely recovered and regained his sight in one eye, but the other remained somewhat closed, according to the inscrutable destinies of God, who arranges all things with His wisdom. After this miracle, the former patient, who was carried into the church in his arms, now came home himself, where his surprised mother met him and, glorifying Christ God, changed her sorrow to joy.
One day, Constantine, while in Smyrna in the metropolitan house, met there with a confessor, whom he asked to read something to him from Christian books. The confessor fulfilled the young man’s desire, read to him something from the Holy Scriptures, which, like a spark, fell into the young heart and ignited in him the fire of Divine love, so that from its sweetness he made a firm intention to abandon the Muslim faith and join the Church of Christ.
At this very time, a severe plague was raging in Smyrna. Fearing infection, he and his two Christian comrades, for whom he had brotherly love, went to the church of the Holy Great Martyr George; here they thought they would be saved both from infection and from death. Their faith, indeed, saved them from death, but, unfortunately, the crafty enemy caught poor Constantine, and he fell into fornication. As a result of the fall, he no longer began to feel the former warmth in his heart, but instead coldness and emptiness appeared, which, however, did not last long, since the philanthropic God did not abandon His chosen one - he gave him a helping hand, and the unfortunate young man soon came to his senses and, feeling the emptiness of his heart, began to repent and bitterly mourn the loss of heartfelt consolation and virgin purity. And so as not to get carried away another time and fall into lust, he, without telling anyone, left for the holy Mount Athos. Here he stopped at a new monastery, where, after living for fifteen days, he revealed to one monk that he was a Mohammedan and wanted to accept the Christian faith.
The monk immediately went to the monastery of St. Paul, told the elders there about Constantine and his desire to join the Church of Christ. For some reason, the elders rejected this matter and advised him to contact the Lavra of St. Athanasius. It was bitter for the poor young man to hear the elders’ refusal; However, submitting to necessity, he went to the Lavra. After walking for several hours, he felt tired and, being guided by the Providence of God, instead of the Lavra he came to the Kavsokalivsky monastery, where he was received with fatherly love by the priest Gabriel. Constantine, seeing the kindness and kindness of the pious elder, revealed to him his intention - to be baptized.
“Be brave, child,” said the elder, “God has fulfilled your desire, just have patience.”
And, immediately calling the skete elders, he revealed to them the young man’s intentions, demanding their advice. But the elders decided that since their monastery and they depended on the Lavra, it was necessary to send him there on such an important matter, and thus they sent him to the Lavra. But even in the monastery, as soon as they found out that he was a Turk, they also did not dare to baptize him, fearing to be in danger from the Turkish authorities, and therefore, having rejected this matter, like the Kassokaliv elders, they sent him to the Iveron Monastery, to the exiled Most Holy Patriarch Gregory V, who remained there in silence.
Seeing failures everywhere, the young man cried bitterly and spent the whole night in tears and without sleep, and only calmed down a little in the morning. At this time, he sees in a dream the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God approaching him, shining with an indescribable light, who said to him in a quiet voice:
- Do not be sad, but go again to the Kavsokalivsky monastery, and God Himself, My Son, to Whom you want to come, will take care of you and arrange everything for good.
From these words the young man woke up, but there was no one in front of him. Without hesitating at all, he went to the monastery and there he told the wild man Gabriel about his former vision. Surprised by the young man’s story and touched by his tears, the elder sent him to the patriarch with one of the monastery brethren.
When the young man came to the Iveron monastery and appeared to Saint Gregory, he fell at his feet and began with tears to ask the patriarch to baptize him into the Christian faith. The Patriarch wanted to test him and told him:
- Why did you, young man, come to us - the oppressed? What are you looking for from us poor people, as you yourself see? Are we not more humiliated than all nations? Isn’t power, glory and all earthly blessings in your hands? How are you the only one who is dissatisfied and despises those temporary earthly pleasures that others are so looking for? So, better come to your senses, be careful not to regret and repent later about what has not yet been done.
Without answering the saint, the young man with his head bowed down bitterly burst into tears...
- Why don’t you answer? - asked the patriarch, wanting to test him even more.
Instead of answering, the young man already began to sob; This sob touched the saint, who affectionately said to him:
“Calm down, child, and go back to the Kavsokalivsky monastery, and so get ready for baptism, which I myself will perform on you, just don’t tell anyone who you are until then.”
After this, the patriarch announced him with the name of Michael.
Upon returning to the Kavsokalivsky monastery, Michael prepared himself for the great Sacrament of baptism for six months. At this time, the devil did not give him peace for a short time, confusing his thoughts and instilling fear in them, so that he would flee from Mount Athos, and sometimes induce dreams. But Michael, being strengthened by the grace of God and through the prayers of the elders, stood firm in his conviction. Enemy temptations did not harm Mikhail also because the brethren often came to him for the sake of consolation, and thus strengthened him against enemy arrows. The devil did not like these kinds of visits, for he saw that the brethren were strengthening Michael and this was destroying all his machinations, and therefore, in order to divert them from visits, the demon appeared in a sensual image. So, one evening, one brother, named Gerasim, came to visit Mikhail, and after a long conversation, Mikhail began to ask Gerasim to stay overnight with him. The brother agreed, and when Gerasim began to read the Holy Scriptures to console Michael, at that time the demon knocked on the door, asking to be let in.
Believing that it was one of the brethren, they went out, but, not seeing anyone, they were confused, however, they entered the cell again, and Gerasim continued the interrupted reading, but, after a little time, the devil came again and was already trying to open the door himself, which involuntarily led them to fear, and when they went out the door of the cell again, there was no one there again. Then they, having recognized the machinations of the evil devil, who wanted to instill fear in them, fell before the icon of the Mother of God and began to pray before her, and then went to bed and, being protected by the cover of the Most Blessed One, peacefully spent the night.
Meanwhile, the appointed time approached when Michael was to be baptized, and when this was announced to him, his young heart was filled with great joy. During the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, when Michael was immersed in the font and the words of prayer were said: “The servant of God Constantine is baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” at that time his face became so illuminated that it was impossible to look at him, and at the same time his eye, with which he had not seen anything before, was completely healed. Seeing this, the brethren gave thanks and glorified God, who works wondrous miracles!
Some time after his baptism, Konstantin began to ask the elder to go to the Iveron Monastery, venerate the icon of the Mother of God the Goalkeeper and, as promised, light a candle in front of Her holy icon. Having received the blessing, he went there with one monk from the monastery brethren. Having venerated the holy icon, on the way back they went to the Forerunner Skete, since even before this Constantine had heard that the great elder-confessor was silent there, who had recently sent to the Lord three of his disciples who had suffered for confessing the name of Jesus Christ, and that parts of their holy relics were in this skete. Seeing the holy relics, he reverently bowed and kissed them, and at that moment his heart beat joyfully and a desire was born to follow the path of these holy martyrs, to be jealous of their lives and then to suffer for the love of Jesus Christ, who led him from darkness to the light of true knowledge.
The confessor, talking with Constantine about spiritual benefits, among other things, told him about the suffering of the holy martyrs of his disciples, which made Constantine’s heart even warmer and the idea of suffering for Christ was confirmed. The elder appointed him to remain in seclusion in complete silence, fasting and prayer for forty days and rely on the will of God.
After this, Saint Constantine, having received a blessing, confessed his faith in Christ before the Turks. After many cruel tortures, the judge ordered him to be strangled. Saint Constantine began his suffering feat for the Lord Jesus Christ on April 23, and ended on June 2, 1819.
11
Icons of the Mother of God “It is Worthy to Eat” or the Merciful One and the Monk of Karey, meritorious of the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel (X, commemorated June 11)
Troparion, Tone 4th All the Athonite multitudes of the Fathers, gather together, truly celebrating, today, rejoicing and brightly exclaiming all in joy, the Mother of God is now gloriously sung by the Angel. Moreover, like the Mother of God, we glorify Her evermore. (twice).
Troparion, the same voice of Glory, and now: Let us, faithfully, boldly approach the merciful Queen Theotokos and tenderly cry to Her: send down upon us Your rich mercies: Save our Church, Keep people in prosperity, deliver our land from every situation, grant peace to the world and salvation to our souls.
In his laudatory speech to the Fathers of blessed memory who shone on the Holy Mountain, Nicodemus the Svyatogorets also mentions that blessed “monk” not known by name, who, living in subordination to his elder, was honored to strangely receive the Archangel Gabriel himself in his cell and hear from him a touching hymn to the Mother of God: “It is worthy that you truly bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Immaculate and Mother of our God..." and so on. This phenomenon took place during the reign of the brother-kings Vasily and Constantine, called the porphyrogenetic sons of Romanus the Younger, during the patriarchate of Nicholas Chrysoverg (984-995), and the story of the appearance of the Archangel was written by the archpriest of the Holy Mountain, Hieromonk Seraphim Fiipol in 7056 (1548).
Not far from Kareya, on a sloping place between monastic huts, there is one cell with a small Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God. In this cell lived a certain priest and a novice. It so happened that the elder, wishing to attend the all-night vigil on Sunday in the Kareisky idom, remained to guard the cell. When night fell, he suddenly heard a knock on the door of his cell and, opening it, saw an unfamiliar monk, whom he received with friendliness and respect. When the time came for the service, they both began to lift up prayer chants to the Lord God with fear and reverence: the night service proceeded in its own order. Finishing the canon, standing before the icon of the Mother of God, they began to chant the Most Honest Cherub and the Most Glorious Seraphim. The household monk, full of heartfelt reverence for the All-Sung One, sang the usual ancient song of St. Cosmas, Bishop of Maium:
“The most honorable Cherub” and so on. to the end, but his wondrous guest, giving the touching hymn a different beginning, sang in an angelic voice: “It is worthy that You are truly blessed, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate, and the Mother of our God,” and to this he added: “The most honorable Cherub,” and so on.
- Wonderful! - exclaimed the house singer, moved to tears by the new song and at the same time surprised by the unusualness of the hymn he heard for the first time, - wonderful! But we only sing:
“The most honest,” and such a song: “It is worthy to eat,” neither we nor our ancestors had heard before that time. However,” he said to the wondrous stranger, “I ask you, write me this song, so that I can glorify the Mother of God in the same way.”
“Okay,” answered the stranger, “give me paper and ink, I’ll write this song for you to remember.”
- Sorry, brother! - the home monk spoke in the spirit of humility and simplicity. “When we engage in prayer and handicrafts, we rarely need paper and ink, and therefore now we have neither one nor the other.”
“Then bring me at least some kind of stone slab,” said the one who appeared.
When the monk handed him the slab, the stranger began to write on it with his finger the entire above-mentioned hymn to the Mother of God. Having inscribed all the words of the song clearly and clearly on the stone, he handed it to the monk and said:
“From now on, sing like this forever, both you and all Orthodox Christians,” and instantly became invisible.
It was Archangel Gabriel. A joyful thrill seized the humble monk at the sight of the wonderfully inscribed stone tablet. Rereading the words of the sacred song several times, he repeated them, and at dawn a new song sounded in the lips of the pious hermit. The elder, who returned home, was amazed by the news of the song and asked his novice: where did he learn to sing like that? Then he told the old man everything that had happened, and showed him the very board with the miraculous inscription. The elder listened attentively to the extraordinary story of his disciple about the appearance of an unfamiliar visitor in his cell, looked at the slab covered with writings by the Archangel for a long time and in amazement, and re-read the wonderful writings several times. Then both of them, taking the stone, showed it to the council of elders and informed them of the details of the wonderful event. Then everyone, with one mouth and one heart, glorified the Lord and His Most Pure Mother and sang a new song to Her.
From that time on, the Angelic hymn “It is worthy to eat” came into general use in the Orthodox Church, and the icon in front of which it was sung by the Archangel was transferred to the Cathedral Church of Kareya, where it is still visible in the altar on a high place.
The slab, with the song inscribed on it by the Archangel Gabriel, was transferred to Constantinople during the patriarchate of St. Nicholas Chrysovergo († 995, commemorated December 16).
Numerous copies of the “It Is Worthy” (“Merciful”) icon are sacredly revered in Russian churches. In the Galernaya harbor of St. Petersburg, in honor of the Mother of Mercy, a five-domed church was erected, in which the gracious “Merciful” icon sent from Athos was placed.
The Athos cell in memory of this wonderful event is still known on the Holy Mountain under the name “Worthy,” and the event itself is remembered and celebrated on Athos on June 11.
12
The Monk Peter of Athos, a Greek by birth, served as a commander in the imperial troops and lived in Constantinople. In 667, during the war with the Syrians, Saint Peter was captured and imprisoned in the fortress of the city of Samara on the Euphrates River.
For a long time he languished in prison and thought about what sins he had been punished by God for. Saint Peter remembered that he once had the intention of leaving the world and entering a monastery, but he never fulfilled it. He began to observe strict fasting in prison, pray fervently, and asked St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for intercession before God. Saint Nicholas appeared to Saint Peter in a dream and gave advice to call upon Saint Simeon the God-Receiver for help. Strengthening the prisoner in patience and hope, the saint once again appeared to him in a dream. For the third time he appeared together with Saint Simeon the God-Receiver in reality. Saint Simeon touched the chains of Saint Peter with his rod, and the iron melted like wax. The doors of the prison opened, and Saint Peter came out to freedom. Saint Simeon the God-Receiver became invisible, and Saint Nicholas escorted Saint Peter to the border of the Greek land. Having recalled the vow, Saint Nicholas also became invisible. To receive the monastic image at the tomb of the Apostle Peter, Saint Peter went to Rome.
Saint Nicholas did not leave him without his help: he appeared in a dream to the Pope and told about the circumstances of the release of Saint Peter from captivity, ordering the Pope to tonsure the former prisoner into monasticism.
The next day, with a crowd of people during the Divine Service, the Pope said loudly: “Peter, who came from the Greek land, whom St. Nicholas freed from prison in Samara, come to me.” Saint Peter appeared before the Pope, who tonsured him as a monk at the tomb of the Apostle Peter. The Pope taught Saint Peter the rules of monastic life and kept the monk with him. Then, with a blessing, he released Saint Peter to wherever God would deign to send him.
Saint Peter boarded a ship sailing east. The shipmen, who went ashore during a stop, asked Saint Peter to come and pray to one house, where the owner and all the household were lying sick. Saint Peter healed them with his prayer. In a dream, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to Saint Peter and indicated the place where he was to live until the end of his days - Holy Mount Athos. When the ship sailed past Athos, it stopped by itself. Saint Peter realized that at this place he must disembark, and he went ashore. This was in 681. The Monk Peter spent 53 years in the deserted places of the Holy Mountain, without seeing any people. His clothes decayed, and his hair and beard grew and covered his body instead of clothes.
At first, the Monk Peter was repeatedly subjected to demonic attacks. Trying to force the saint to leave the cave, the demons took the form of either armed warriors or ferocious animals and reptiles ready to tear the hermit to pieces. But with fervent prayer to God and the Mother of God, the Monk Peter defeated demonic attacks. Then the enemy began to act with cunning. Appearing under the guise of a youth sent to him from his home, he tearfully begged the monk to leave the desert and return to his home. The monk shed tears, but answered without hesitation: “The Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos brought me here, without Her permission I will not leave here.” Hearing the name of the Mother of God, the demon disappeared.
Seven years later, the demon appeared before the saint in the form of a bright angel and said that God commanded him to go into the world to enlighten and save people who needed his guidance. The experienced ascetic again replied that he would not leave the desert without the command of the Mother of God. The demon disappeared and no longer dared to approach the monk. The Mother of God appeared to St. Peter in a dream along with St. Nicholas and told the courageous hermit that every 40 days an Angel would bring him Heavenly manna. From that time on, the Monk Peter fasted for 40 days, and on the fortieth day he was strengthened by Heavenly manna, receiving strength for a further forty days of abstinence.
One day, a hunter, chasing a deer, saw a naked man, overgrown with hair and girded around his loins with leaves. He got scared and started running. The Monk Peter stopped him and told him about his life. The hunter asked permission to stay with him, but the saint sent him home. The Monk Peter gave the hunter a year for self-examination and forbade him to talk about his meeting with him.
A year later, the hunter returned with his brother, possessed by a demon, and other companions. When they entered the cave of the Monk Peter, they saw that he had already reposed before God. The hunter, with bitter weeping, told his companions about the life of St. Peter, and his brother, as soon as he touched the body of the saint, received healing. The Monk Peter died in 734. His holy relics were located on Mount Athos in the monastery of St. Clement. During the iconoclasm they were hidden, and in 969 they were transferred to the Thracian village of Photoki.
The name of the Venerable Peter of Athos is associated with the sacred covenant of the Mother of God about her earthly destiny - Holy Mount Athos, which remains in force to this day: “In Mount Athos there will be his rest, that is, My lot from My Son and God, given to Me, so that those who are absent from worldly rumors and embrace spiritual exploits according to the strength of their deeds, with faith and love from the soul calling on My name, there They spend their temporary life without sorrow, and those who are pleasing to God for the sake of their deeds will receive eternal life: for I love that place dearly and I want to increase the monastic rite there, and the mercy of My Son and God to those who have monasticism there will not be ruined forever, if they also keep the saving commandments; and I will spread them in the Mountain to the south and north, and they will prevail from world to world, and I will make their name praiseworthy in all the sunflowers and protect those who there will patiently strive in fasting" (About Holy Mount Athos - "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate", 1974, No. 3-5, 8).
St. Arseny Konevsky († 1447, June 12)
Blessed Arseny came from the great Novgorod. His heart, inflamed with the love of Christ, prompted him to leave the world to seek the silent life; First, he retired to the monastery neighboring the great Novgorod, on Fox Mountain, and there, having completed the monastic experience, he tonsured his hair and became a perfect monk: all the brethren looked at him as a model of monastic life given to them from above.
The desire to visit the holy Mount Athos had long arisen in the soul of the Monk Arseny, and he took advantage of the coming to Novgorod of several Athonite monks. When these monks arrived, he fell with tears at the feet of the abbot and begged to be released. For a long time the abbot did not agree to his request, feeling what a deprivation it would cause for the monastery, but finally he could not help but yield to the tearful prayer of the zealous monk. Arseny joyfully set out on his journey with a fatherly blessing and safely reached the Holy Mountain, where he was lovingly received by Abbot John. The abbot ordered the stranger to strive in common labors with the brethren. Therefore, Arseny went through all the monastic services in order, starting with woodworking and baking bread, and performed every service with extreme humility and obedience, considering himself to be the worst of the brethren.
The abbot, having recognized the art of the Russian newcomer for forging copper vessels, occupied him preferentially with this handicraft, and in deep silence he forged vessels for the needs of the monastery, devoting the whole day to this, and spent the night in prayer, barely allowing himself little rest, for he was strong and courageous. He worked without compensation not only for his monastery, but also for other Svyatogorsk monasteries, for from everywhere they brought him copper for forging vessels, as soon as they heard about his art. It is not known in which monastery Arseny actually labored; however, it must be assumed that in Rusika, for it was the common refuge of all Russian newcomers.
Fearing that the multitude of those who came to him would not burden the brethren of his monastery, he accepted the blessing from his abbot to go around all the monasteries of the Holy Mountain in order to work for the benefit of each of them, not for the sake of gold and silver, but for spiritual salvation, and he remained in such a feat for another three years. Then the desire came to him to return to his native land in order to establish a monastery there for the glory of the Mother of God, in Whom he had warm faith. Arseny began to ask the abbot for leave to his homeland, and he, filled with the spirit of clairvoyance, prophetically told him that the Lord would build through him a monastery in the northern country, which would be saved by his prayers from many demonic charms and superstitions.
The abbot fatherly blessed him with a double icon of the Lady with the Eternal Child on one side and the miraculous image of Spasov on the other; Moreover, he also gave him the cenobitic charter of the Holy Mountain and, releasing him, prayed over him like this: “God our father, look from the throne of Thy glory on Thy servant Arseny, may the grace of Thy Holy Spirit always rest on him and Thy blessing be with him.”
In 1393, Blessed Arseny returned to Veliky Novgorod, carrying with him the miraculous icon from the Holy Mountain. Here he appeared before Archbishop John, to whom he told everything that had happened to him on the Holy Mountain and asked for his blessing to create a monastery in the north in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The bishop released him in peace - and Arseny with the icon of the Mother of God sailed to Lake Ladoga. Having been in the Valaam monastery, he decided to go into silence to more secluded places - and by the Providence of God, having reached the deserted island of Konevsky, he founded the Konevsky monastery, where he initially drove away the crafty spirits with their dreams and insurances from the ancient idolatry.
After the establishment of the monastery and the increase of the brethren, the Monk Arseny again went to the holy Mount Athos - this was already under the Novgorod Archbishop Simeon - and slowed down in his wanderings. Then there was a great scarcity in his monastery, so that the brethren, overcome by hunger, wanted to disperse. But one of the elders, named Joachim, adorned with piety and gray hair, ascended the mountain adjacent to the monastery, where the monk first labored, and prayed to the Heavenly nourisher Mother of God to send them their daily bread. After a long prayer, the elder dozed off, and through a subtle sleep the Mother of God appeared to him in heavenly glory. “Don’t grieve, elder,” She said in a quiet voice, “tell the brethren not to leave this place, for soon Arseny himself will come to you with an abundance of everything needed for the monastery. The next day, Arseny, indeed, sailed on two large ships and brought with him a lot of supplies.
After many years of exploits, in old age, he gave up his pure soul to the Lord on June 12, 1447, on the day of remembrance of the Monks Onuphrius and Peter of Athos, following whose example he retired to the Holy Mount Athos.
14
St. Niphon of Athos († 1330, commemorated June 14)
Our venerable father Nifont was born in an area called Argyrokastron, from a priest of the village of Lukovi. When he was ten years old, his father’s brother, who was ecclesiarch in the monastery of St. Nicholas, took him to his place to confirm him in the rules of strict Christian morality. The monastery of St. Nicholas was founded by Constantine Monomakh in a place now called Mesopotam. After accepting the boy into the monastery, his uncle first of all took care of teaching him to read and write, and then clothed him in a monastic image. The beginnings of education in the Holy Scriptures were so successful in the youth, and his unconditional obedience and modesty were so edifying that he was soon made a reader; upon reaching adulthood, he was awarded the priesthood.
With such Divine dignity, constantly practicing reading the Holy Scriptures and the lives of the saints, Niphon was so wounded by the love of God and the desire for the immaculate keeping of His holy commandments that he decided to leave everything and plunge into the deep desert, where, under all conditions of silence, he could completely devote himself to the one God. As a result of this, he withdrew from the monastery of St. Nicholas to Mount Heromerion, where an old man who had arrived from Mount Sinai was then laboring in solitude. There, under the guidance and instructions of an experienced Sinaite, young Niphon, rising from strength to strength, fully felt that the mountain desert of Geromerion was unsatisfactory for the impulses of his fiery soul, which longed for the most perfect silence and desert feats.
Therefore, suppressing in himself the feeling of attachment to his homeland, to relatives, friends and to everything that holds his thoughts in connection with the world, he went to the holy Mount Athos and, with the secret guidance of Providence, reached the cave of St. Peter of Athos, where the wonderful hermit Theognostus was then silent, to whom Niphon entrusted himself, as a child to his father and a slave to the ruler, hiding his priesthood before him. Thus, Niphon, like a novice, unconditionally obeyed his elder for three years. Finally, after this time, Theognostus, having somehow learned by chance that his novice had been invested with the rank of presbyterate, under no circumstances wanted to have him as a novice, especially since his exploits and labors seemed to him wonderful and edifying. No matter how much Niphon, for his part, convinced and begged the elder to continue to be his leader, explaining that this was necessary for him, as he was still imperfect in the experiences of hermit life, Theognostus, due to his extreme humility, did not agree to this.
Therefore, the Divine Niphon withdrew from him to the neighboring monastery of the great Basil and there he spent fourteen years in extreme silence, only once a week reinforcing his strength with a small amount of dry bread.
Meanwhile, a pestilence opened in the monastery: many brethren became its victims - so the abbot was forced to invite Saint Niphon to the monastery for the Divine rite. Thus, he spent three summers in the work of this great service. However, no matter how important this obedience was in itself, the heart’s attraction to complete silence did not give him peace. Unable to suppress this feeling and attraction within himself, he left from there to Vulevtirie - where the monastery of St. Anna is now - and there, in desert silence, he spent many years wandering without shelter or shelter, eating only grass and roots.
No matter how high, no matter how impartial the life of Nifont was, no matter how edifying for everyone, there were nevertheless envious people who presented him to the abbot of the sacred monastery as a seduced one. They strengthened the proof of their slander by the fact that the monk allegedly abhors bread, as a sinful and impermissible food, and therefore feeds on a desert potion. To find out the justice of the accusation, the abbot called the Monk Niphon to him and asked why he was behaving so strictly, disdaining even human food.
“The ancient fathers,” he said, “fed potion in the deserts, because there was no bread there, but here there is bread and other foods that should be consumed for the glory of God, with moderation, thus avoiding the satanic arrogance from immoderate and strict fasting.” Like a true novice, the monk humbly accepted the elder’s advice. Meanwhile, avoiding new troubles, he avoided the monastery of St. Anna and subsequently became close to the Monk Maxim Kavsokalivit, so that the latter, after many years of complicity with the wondrous Niphon, as proof of his sincere affection and friendship for him, gave him his own hut, or hut, and built himself another one near him.
But since many flocked to Saint Maximus for the miracles that he performed and for the sake of prophecies about the future, Saint Niphon, not tolerating the rumors, with the permission and advice of Saint Maximus, withdrew into a cave opposite the area of “Saint Christopher” and remained silent there. A little time passed when the monk Mark, who had a brother, came to him from his homeland to submit himself to his senile leadership. The saint received him with love and ordered him to build a kaliva for both himself and his brother.
- What are you doing, father? - objected the surprised Mark, - my brother is a layman and lives among his relatives.
“Forgive me,” the humble Niphon answered him, “I’m crazy and I don’t know what I’m saying.” Don't listen to me and do as you please.
Meanwhile, the feast of St. Athanasius arrived. The monk, sending Mark to the Lavra for this holiday, said to him:
- When returning from the holiday, bring your brother with you.
Mark responded to this with Saint Niphon the same as before. But, approaching the monastery, he suddenly sees his brother at the monastery gates. Struck by the saint’s prophecy, he joyfully embraced the newcomer and, at the end of the Lavra holiday, returning with him to his elder, fell at the feet of the saint and asked him for forgiveness for his lack of faith. Soon after, Mark fell extremely ill, and the saint, reproaching him for his lack of faith and doubt in the miraculous power of God, anointed him with oil from the unquenchable lamp, and Mark rose from his sick bed.
- Be healthy; “If anyone does not sin, let him not suffer the worse,” Saint Niphon told him at the same time. Some time after this, Mark began to ask Niphon for permission to fish in the sea and heard the following from him:
– First learn to catch and notice unclean thoughts, and give up the sea and fishing, so as not to plunge into the sea of temptations.
Mark did not pay attention to the elder’s advice and, under the pretext of washing his soiled dress, went down to the sea, cast a fishing rod and enjoyed complete pleasure. The disobedience was not in vain. Just as Mark was completely immersed in his work, a huge beast suddenly jumped out of the sea and rushed straight at him. Mark was horrified and, prayerfully calling his elder for help, barely somehow got rid of the beast. Being beside himself with fear and at the same time holding the caught fish in his hands, he ran to the saint, but he said with paternal sympathy:
- Disobedient! He who was transformed into a serpent to deceive the forefathers, and now has taken the form of a sea dog for your destruction, and only Christ, who came into the world to abolish the enemy’s power, by His innumerable goodness helped you in anticipation of your repentance. As for the fish you caught, as the fruit of disobedience, I will not dare to touch it under any circumstances.
Touched by the old man's reprimand, Mark fell at his feet and cried tears of repentance. From that time on, he corrected himself and showed complete obedience to the saint until his death, which did not hesitate to visit him. After Mark's death, his nephew Gabriel remained in the service of the saint.
Even six months earlier, the Monk Niphon foresaw that Saint Maximus Kavsokalivit was already close to his exodus into eternity, and he said to his disciples:
- Let's go to Saint Maximus to receive the last blessing from him, because we will no longer see him in real life.
And so they came. Upon mutual greeting of each other, Saint Maximus said:
– Rejoice, beloved brethren! This greeting is already a farewell, from now on we will not see each other again.
As the Monk Niphon foresaw the death of the Monk Maxim, so it followed.
After many years had passed, a pestilence again appeared on the Holy Mountain, and Niphon’s novice, Gabriel, was mortally struck. At that time, Gabriel’s father, Dosifei, was still alive, and he wept inconsolably for him. Saint Niphon consoled him and said:
“Don’t cry, brother, your son, for the sake of obedience to my unworthiness, will not die now.”
Then, turning to the east, he prayed to the all-generous God in secret - and the sick man rose from his deathbed, praising God. Then the saint, talking with those who were with him, said:
- Our brother, with the help of God, recovered, but I had to die during Peter’s Fast. Finally, the fast of the holy Apostles arrived. On Saturday of the first week, getting up in the morning, the monk prayed, then took communion of the Divine Mysteries, and finally said to his disciples:
– Beloved children in the Lord! The time has come for my departure to the Lord, Whom from my youth I have loved with all my soul.
The disciples were embarrassed by the old man’s words.
“You should not be embarrassed and cry,” he said, noticing their confusion, “but rejoice, because in me you will have a prayer book before God for your salvation, if only His commandments are fulfilled on your part.”
The next day, i.e. on Sunday, the monk ordered them to first strengthen themselves with food, and then dig his grave and prepare everything necessary for burial:
“It’s time for me to go,” he said, “to the ground, from where it was not taken.”
When all this was completed, he got up from his bed and prayed for a long time with his eyes and hands raised to heaven; Finally, after completing the prayer, he blessed everyone, asked everyone for forgiveness, lay down on his deathbed and, crossing his venerable hands on his chest, peacefully gave up and gave up his spirit to God. Then the face of the righteous man, as a sign of his heavenly glory and boldness before God, shone like the sun. The Monk Niphon reposed on June 14, 1330. All the years of his earthly life were 96. He created many miracles during his life, of which, in addition to those mentioned, we offer here the following.
The spiritual and virtuous elder Theodulus once wished to see the Monk Niphon for the sake of spiritual benefit: he got up and went to him. But on the way, during one rapid, he slipped and hurt his leg on a stone so much that from the amount of blood that flowed out and from the pain, he became extremely exhausted and expected to die. Finally, in the spirit of faith, he bitterly groaned before the Lord and said: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! If Niphon really has boldness and grace before You, deliver me, for the sake of his prayers, from inevitable death and suffering.” As soon as the elder said this, the flow of blood stopped, the illness completely subsided, and the elder, glorifying God and His saint, recovered.
One of the monks of the Lavra of St. Athanasius, having a feeling of love for the saint, sent him through a friend a vessel of oil. It happened that the one carrying this gift to Niphon stumbled on the way, fell - and other things that were with him were broken, but the vessel with oil remained intact. When the brother brought and gave this vessel to the monk, Niphon said with a smile:
“You see how strong the faith of the brother who sent the oil is.” His faith delivered you and you from trouble, and kept the vessel of oil intact, although everything else was broken.
Niphon's foresight amazed his brother, to whom he told everything that happened to him on the way - and the brother glorified God.
Another monk, who suffered from headaches for many years, instead of seeking help from above, turned to doctors, spent everything he had on them, and received no benefit. Seeing such futility of human aid, he finally came to the monk and, falling at his feet, begged him for the gift of healing.
“I believe, saint,” he said, “what you did not ask from God will be given to you.”
“On the contrary, brother,” answered the monk, “I am a sinful man, and God will not listen to a sinner.”
Meanwhile, the sick man, bursting into tears, did not stop falling at his feet and begging for healing from his illness. Then blessed Niphon, touched by his brother’s painstaking plight, read a prayer over the sick man’s head, and the sick man felt as if a noise or strong whirlwind had flown out of his head. After this, he was healed and, praising God, returned to his home, full of surprise and gratitude to his doctor.
The watchmaker of the sacred monastery was expelled from it for some mistake. When he came to the saint and, complaining about his unrighteous expulsion from the Lavra, asked permission to remain in obedience to him, the saint answered:
- Return to the Lavra, fall before the abbot, humbly admit your guilt, and you will be received again. If you do not listen to my advice, believe me, you will not be able to endure the cramped conditions of the desert here, and what is most important, you will lose your part and lot of the holy fathers of the monastery. And when you return, after a while you will be elevated to the rank of ecclesiarch, and then - abbot of the Lavra. Most of all, humble yourself.
Then Nifont continued with a smile:
- When, by the will of God, you become abbot, remember us too.
The brother acted on the advice of the divine Niphon, and, indeed, was accepted into the monastery; then, after some time, according to the prophecy of the monk, he was elected ecclesiarch and, finally, abbot. Grateful for the advice of the Monk Niphon, he sent him everything necessary for cell life. To our God, who gloriously glorifies His saints, be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
15
St. Ephraim of Serbia, patriarch († 1400, commemorated June 15)
Blessed Ephraim, who was the third patriarch of the Serbian Church, was the son of a priest contemporary with King Milutin; Even in his young years he felt an attraction to monastic life. His parents wanted to see him married, but he disappeared from their house and, finding the hermit Vasily, began to live with him in fasting and prayer, and soon took a vow of monasticism with him. His parents, having learned about his whereabouts, wanted to take him away from the hermit, but he fled to Athos and hid there in one of the monasteries. During military troubles, Ephraim and his disciples moved to the Ibrovo Monastery in Serbia; Here he was also abbot, but not for long. Having venerated the shrines of the Patriarchate, he settled in a secluded place near the Decani Monastery and lived here as a strict hermit. After the death of Tsar Dushan, the unrest of anarchy began and then robberies appeared. The hermit Ephraim was beaten half to death by bad people who forced him to share money with them. Patriarch Savva, successor of St. Ioannikis, the first Patriarch of Serbia, took the elder to the patriarchate and appointed a cave cell for him; the great faster came to life and recovered here.
The pious Prince Lazar sent an embassy to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a request to end the disputes that were taking place regarding the Serbian Patriarchate. Peace has been restored with the Greek Church. It was necessary to calmly elect a new patriarch to replace the deceased Savva. Then, unfortunately, there were quite a few seekers of the patriarchal see in Serbia. After a general prayer, the council of Serbian bishops in the city of Peci elected the “Reverend Hermit Ephraim” as patriarch, an old man adorned not only with gray hair, but also with high virtues. Blessed Ephraim, who did not at all expect such an election and was brought to the council to explain the election to him, wept bitterly and begged to be relieved of his difficult lot. The council answered: “He who is designated by God is to be consecrated.” It was October 3, 1375, in memory of St. Dionysius the Areopagite. Following this, Ephraim was ordained patriarch and then crowned Prince Lazar with the crown of the Serbian rulers. It was not in vain that blessed Ephraim cried so much that they were conferring a high rank on him.
The time was difficult: many disorders arose in the Church during the breakdown of civil government. Just as not all regional rulers willingly submitted to Prince Lazar, so not all bishops and other clergy obeyed Patriarch Ephraim, despite his high spiritual life. Accustomed to a quiet, solitary life, burdened by the disorder of affairs, St. Ephraim refused the busy position of ruler of the Serbian Church. In 1382, he dedicated Blessed Spyridon to his place, and he himself began to live in solitude in the Arkhangelsk monastery of Tsar Dushan. People of spiritual life highly respected Blessed Ephraim even in his solitude, recognized him as an experienced mentor and teacher, and willingly followed his advice.
Blessed Spyridon, who cared for the monastic monasteries, died in 1388 almost at the same time as the blessed Prince Lazar, who fell on the Kosovo field.
Since after the death of Spyridon and Prince Lazar the time was extremely troubled, they begged Blessed Ephraim to govern the Church again until the election of a new patriarch. Thus he again governed the Serbian flock for quite some time, to the consolation of the best people.
A wondrous ascetic, meek as an angel, he died on June 15, 1400, at the age of 88, under the successor of Patriarch Daniel, Savva. His relics rest in the great patriarchal church.
18
St. Leonty the Farsighted, Athonite († 1605, commemorated June 18)
Our venerable father Leontius was from Argos of the Peloponnese, and asceticised for St. Mount Athos, in the monastery of St. Dionysius. During the sixty years he spent in the monastery, he only entered it once and once left it, i.e. was worn out upon his repose. For the height of his life, he was awarded the gift of clairvoyance and prophecy, and after his death he exuded myrrh from his divine relics, as Malaxa, the archpriest of Nauplia, relates. The Monk Leonty departed to the Lord in 1605, on March 16, being 85 years old.
19
St. Paisiy of Hilendar (Athos), Bulgarian († after 1762, commemorated June 19)
The Monk Paisiy of Hilendar was born in 1722 in Bansko into a pious family. One brother of the saint, Lavrenty, was the abbot of the Hilendar monastery, and the other was known as a generous benefactor of Orthodox churches and monasteries, and the Monk Paisius himself served his obedience at the Rylsky monastery. In 1745, at the age of 23, Saint Paisius went to his brother at the Hilendar monastery on Mount Athos, where he took monastic vows. On the Holy Mountain, the ascetic grew spiritually, deeply studied the Holy Scriptures and was awarded holy orders. In 1762, the Monk Paisius wrote “Slavic-Bulgarian History” - a book that strengthened the Christian faith and awakened the national consciousness of the enslaved Bulgarian people. In the midst of the darkness of foreign oppression, the monk again lit the lamp of Orthodoxy, once lit by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius (May 11). The time and place of the blessed death of the saint is still unknown.
On June 26, 1962, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and with the participation of all His Eminence metropolitans, paying tribute to the merits of Saint Paisius to the Church and homeland, decided to honor Paisios of Hilendar and Bulgaria as a saint and determined to celebrate his memory on June 19, “when, according to the pan-Orthodox month, the memory is celebrated Venerable Paisius the Great." The state university in Plovdiv and many institutes and schools in other cities and villages of Bulgaria bear the name of Saint Paisius, which testifies to the deep veneration of the ascetic by the Bulgarian people.
20
St. Callistus I of Constantinople, patriarch († c. 1363, commemorated June 20)
His Holiness Patriarch Callistus began his exploits on Mount Athos in the monastery of Magula, located near the monastery of Philotheus (now in ruins), under the leadership of the Monk Gregory of Sinaite, whose life he later described at length. In this biography (see April 6), His Holiness Callistus cites many cases where he mentions himself as the monk’s closest disciple: he not only lived with him on Athos, but also accompanied him on many of his wanderings. When the Monk Gregory of Sinai, around 1340, retired to the kingdom of Bulgaria, where he asceticised near Tarnov, Kallistos remained in the monastery and enjoyed great respect for his virtues. He lived in the monastery, as he himself says, for 28 years. Then, from an ascetic career, in 1350, he ascended, after Patriarch Isidore, to the ecumenical patriarchal see of Constantinople and occupied it under John Cantacuzene and John Palaeologus. The saint was famous for his virtues and on the holy throne - as a champion of Orthodoxy and justice.
After four years of priesthood, he left the pulpit and retired for silence to the monastery of St. Mamanta. Philotheus took his place. When Cantacuzene changed his royal life to monastic life and John Palaiologos became the sole king, then Callistus, returning from Tenedos, where he had retired, ascended to the patriarchal see for the second time in 1355 and ruled the Church for another eight years. The Emperor, finding it necessary to get closer to the Serbs to repel the enemies, sent Patriarch Callistus with the clergy as an ambassador to the Serbian Queen Helena (nun Elizabeth), through Thessaloniki and Athos; here is St. Maxim Kavsokalivit predicted the patriarch’s imminent death, saying that this elder would no longer see his flock, for behind him the funeral hymn could already be heard: “Blessed are the blameless on the way.” And indeed, the patriarch became seriously ill in the city of Ferah, where he died. Kantakouzenos in his history says this about his burial:
“Elizabeth superbly buried the patriarch in the metropolis of Ferskaya. When worthy and most virtuous men came to her from the Athos monasteries, especially from the sacred monastery, and asked the patriarch’s body to be transferred to Athos and buried with them, she refused, saying that she herself needed his intercession before God.”
Patriarch Callistus is known both as a writer and as a preacher. Of the lives he wrote, the most famous are the life of St. Gregory of Sinaite and “The Life of St. Theodosius of Ternovsky” († 1362). The 100 chapters placed in the Greek Philokalia for the instruction of the silent and the chapters on prayer are attributed either to this blessed patriarch and ascetic, or to Patriarch Callistus II († 1397). Few from his conversations and words are known in print; they are found only in the manuscripts of Greek and Slavic archpriests.
21
St. Maxim the Greek († 1556, commemorated January 21, June 21)
See life on page...
25
St. Dionysius of Athos, ktitor of the monastery of St. John the Baptist († after 1380, commemorated June 25)
Dionysius was born into a pious family of middle-income farmers. His elder brother St. Theodosius (1300-1392, Metropolitan of Trebizond (Greek commemoration: January 11)) was educated in Constantinople under the Patriarchate, then took monastic vows and was ordained a presbyter. After some time, he retired to the Holy Mountain to the Philotheus monastery, where he later became abbot.
Dionysius was able to enter this monastery under the leadership of his brother upon reaching the age of 19, in 1335, and served as ecclesiarch. At the age of 30, D. was ordained a deacon and then a priest (1346). He soon became known as an ascetic and was especially respected. After 12 years in the monastery, after consulting with his confessors, he secretly left the crowded monastery and secluded himself in a cave on Mount Athos, where he spent time in constant prayer, eating grass and wild fruits, and sometimes went to the surrounding monasteries to ask for bread.
Three years passed like this. Constantly purifying his mental and physical feelings with prayer and fasting, Dionysius finally achieved perfection. Then, guided by God, one of the experienced and pious ascetics of the Holy Mountain appeared to him and asked for a blessing to settle near his cave. With great difficulty he persuaded Dionysius, who was strict in this regard. Another brother soon came for this - and both of them built kalivas for themselves, subordinated themselves to Dionysius, with unconditional obedience, on their part, to his elder will. But just as a city cannot hide when standing on top of a mountain, so the exploits of Dionysius were announced everywhere and the Holy Mountain was filled with the glory of his name. The consequence of this was that many, coming to him for guidance and advice, expressed a desire to remain under his senile leadership and control. Dionysius at first did not agree to this, but when they urgently asked and begged him, he answered them: “Beloved brothers! I am avoiding you from myself, and I am avoiding you for no other reason, but solely because the place here is wild and strict.
If you absolutely want to be with me, then go up the mountain higher, and there you will find a comfortable place: if you like it, live, and I give my word to visit you and, to the best of my ability, to help you with your heartfelt needs.” Having agreed to this, they built cells in the northern part of the mountain, with a church in the name of John the Baptist, which is now called the Ancient Forerunner. Thus, a select society of desert brethren formed around the Monk Dionysius, and he appeared to them on Saturdays for the Liturgy, during which, sharing the Holy Mysteries with them, he remained with them for two days for their edification and comfort, and on Sunday evening, taking bread and desert plants from them, he went into his cave.
But since it was too cold on the mountain during the winter, especially in the northern part, and the brethren suffered a lot from the cold, then, with the blessing of the elder, they went down to the western side, and, having built kalivas for themselves, planted vineyards there, and among other things, they built themselves a small ship, because with the increase in the brethren they began to need food for life and for communication with other places of the Holy Mountain. If they happened to unload wheat or any other things, the saint, as an example of hard work, himself participated with the brethren in obedience - especially since he was naturally strong and powerful. He said at the same time that the leader should be an example for the brethren in all respects. Often the monk spent his nights on the embankment of the kaliva, and while the brethren, as usual, got up at midnight to perform matins in the open air, without having a church for that, he also, throughout the entire service, stood without entertainment, like a motionless pillar, ascending in thought and heart to God.
One day during Matins, Dionysius, at the place where the monastery was later built by God’s will, suddenly saw a wondrous lamp that burned brightly until dawn. At first, believing that this was the action of a hostile force, the saint did not tell anyone about his vision, but since it continued to repeat itself for many nights in a row, he told about it to one perspicacious and inspired elder, Hieromonk Dometius, who lived at the church of the Most Holy Theotokos. To believe the vision, the wise Dometius himself went to Saint Dionysius: the vision was repeated three times in the presence of Dometius. Thus convinced of the reality of the Divine miracle, they revealed it to all the brethren.
Everyone gathered to the stone where an extraordinary light appeared, they examined whether there was some luminous body here, under the influence of a physical action, and when nothing was discovered, Dometius prophetically spoke to the Divine Dionysius: “God wants a holy monastery to be built here, where the monks will gather, and God will be glorified in them; therefore, do not hesitate to begin it, without worrying about material needs; Almighty God will send you everything you need, and I, for my part, will help as much as I can.” The brethren said the same thing, promising to help their elder in building the monastery.
Thus, having prayed, they cleared the place and first of all tried to erect a tower to protect themselves and, subsequently, the monastery from sea robbers. As for the food and money needed in such a case for complex needs and expenses, the glory of the name of Dionysius and his high life attracted him not only from the places of the Holy Mountain, but also from the distant world, people thirsty for his words, consolations and elder advice - and these spiritual children of his generous hand showered him with money and everything necessary for his emerging monastery.
While Dionysius was working on the foundation of his monastery, his brother Theodosius, abbot of Filofeevsky, one day before the Feast of the Annunciation went out with other brothers to fish. While fishing at night, robbers attacked them and, capturing them, took them to Brussa, where they sold them (into captivity) to the local Christians, who, having bought them, gave them complete freedom, allowing them to go wherever they wanted. While others were returning to the Holy Mountain, the divine Theodosius, by God's dispensation, arrived in Constantinople. The Patriarch and others who knew him before were very happy at his arrival, especially since one of the Byzantine monasteries did not have an abbot. However, Theodosius did not stay there long. After he arrived in Constantinople, the metropolitan died in Trebizond. At that time, Emperor Alexei Komnenos was in this city, by whose command the patriarch was ordered to elect to the orphaned department of the Church of Trebizond someone worthy to bear the rod and burden of hierarchical service.
So, not heeding the apologies of Theodosius, who denied such a high title under the pretext of his own unworthiness and the difficulty of church government, the patriarch ordained him and elevated him to the degree of metropolitan. Thus, Theodosius had to go to his destination, to his flock, to Trebizond, where he was received solemnly and with joy by the emperor and the entire Church. Hearing about this, the divine Dionysius rejoiced that his brother was elevated to the degree of metropolitan, glorifying God, who so wonderfully and contrary to our plans and will disposes of the destinies of our lives.
Knowing also from rumors that Theodosius enjoyed the special attention and favor of the emperor, Dionysius subsequently undertook a trip to Trebizond, to his brother, through whose intercession he expected royal benefits and provision for his newly emerging monastery. The brothers' meeting was touching. Theodosius listened to him with sympathy and then presented him personally to the sovereign. After gracious inquiries from the emperor about the situation of the Holy Mountain, Dionysius, encouraged by his attentiveness and condescension, decided to present his own needs to him and finally invited him to be the ktitor of his emerging monastery. The emperor, touched by the tears of the elder, gladly accepted his offer and, having provided the monastery with the charter given to it from his royal treasures, obliged the successors of his throne to take care of it. And besides, in addition to the amounts allocated to Dionysius, the emperor, by the same letter, ordered that the monastery be given annually a thousand silver coins from the royal treasures, which was carried out for a long time.
Thus, Dionysius, having spent some time with his brother and being kindly treated by the emperor, cheerfully departed from them, glorifying the Providence of God, which had so wondrously arranged his affairs.
But, while in the Black Sea, suddenly he and the others noticed several Turkish ships rushing towards them. At the sight of the barbarians, fear fell on everyone, but Dionysius, firmly trusting in God, said to his companions: “Do not be afraid of anything, wait a little - and you will see the power of God. Let us place all our hope in the Lord, and He will turn away the danger from us.” Meanwhile, the barbarians, approaching them, began to shoot. Then the saint, raising his hands to heaven, prayed with tears like this: “Lord Jesus Christ, our God, ever glorified with the Father and the Spirit! Hear me, Thy unworthy servant, and, for the sake of the intercession of Thy Most Pure Mother and Forerunner and Thy Baptist, deliver us from our enemies.” During prayer (how great is the monk’s boldness before God!) the great Forerunner suddenly appeared, with a staff in his right hand, and calmed everyone who was with Dionysius; The barbarians were threatened with death if they dared to approach and did not go back. And the Forerunner’s threats were accompanied by the actual execution of the barbarians: their hands suddenly lost strength and became numb.
Seeing such a glorious miracle and immediate help from above, everyone who was with the saint thanked the Lord, crying out: “Glory to Thee, Almighty King, who through His Baptist and Forerunner delivered us from mortal danger!”
Saved in this way, Dionysius and his disciples arrived safely at the Holy Mountain, to their monastery. When the brethren learned how the Lord had helped them, everyone joyfully glorified His Divine Providence. And Dometius remarked to the monk that every good deed only needs a beginning, as well as the foundation of a monastery; for the rest, the Lord is a helper. “So now begin the building with diligence,” he continued. Then the monk began building the monastery and erected a magnificent church in honor of the Holy Forerunner, installed water pipes and everything that was part of the monastic buildings. Thus, the monastery of the Forerunner of the Lord arose in 6888 from the creation of the world, or in 1380 from the Nativity of Christ.
When the funds ran out, Dionysius went to the emperor for the second time (1377), but upon his return he found the monastery plundered by pirates, so almost all the money was spent on trips to Bithynia, where Dionysius ransomed captive monks in the markets.
In 1382, Dionysius traveled to Constantinople to confirm the monastery's rights to property from Emperor John V Palaiologos (1341-1391). The number of monks multiplied, but there were no funds to cover their needs and complete construction work, therefore, leaving Dometius as abbot, Dionysius in 1387 again went to the emperor of Trebizond. Having entrusted the care of his monastery to his brother, Metropolitan Theodosius of Trebizond, Saint Dionysius died at the age of 72 and was buried with great honors. Healings were noted at his coffin.
The day of death of the saint is unknown. In the Life compiled by Hieromonk Mitrofan, he is not indicated, and later Lives name June 25 as the date of celebration of his memory in Dionysiata.
St. Dometius of Dionysiata, Mount Athos, abbot († 1380, commemorated June 25)
Our spirit-bearing and God-bearing father Dometius was a companion and friend of Saint Dionysius, ktitor of the monastery of the honorable Forerunner, and after his death - shepherd and abbot of this monastery.
Prmch. Procopius of Varna, Smyrna († 1810, commemorated June 25)
The birthplace of the holy martyr Procopius was an area near Varna. His parents were pious Christians. Upon reaching the age of twenty, he had a desire to devote himself to monastic life, and therefore, leaving his parents and relatives, he retired to Holy Mount Athos.
Arriving at the Holy Mountain, he at first did not join any monastery, but lived as a wanderer, moving from one place to another throughout Mount Athos, looked closely at various types of monastic life, and finally, choosing the most severe hermit life, he submitted himself to the leadership of the elder of the Baptist monastery Dionysius.
Leading a strict hermit's life, in order to establish himself in even higher deeds, he wished to take on the angelic image, which the elder not only did not forbid him, but even tonsured him into monasticism.
After accepting the angelic image, Procopius began to strive even more in fasting, vigil and prayer; in addition, he had perfect obedience and great patience in enduring the labors of the hermit’s life and, as if the crown of all his exploits, was adorned with a meek and gentle disposition, surprising all the fathers with his kindness and simple-heartedness. But, however, the enemy of our salvation, the devil, seeing Procopius succeeding in virtues, did not doze off himself, but kept a vigilant eye on the ascetic, looking only for an opportune time to unexpectedly attack him, plunder his spiritual treasure and, having dealt a mortal blow to his heart, wait for his final fall.
The all-evil enemy began his crafty attack by daily instilling in his soul thoughts of leaving for the world. The battle raised by the murderer became stronger day by day and, finally, prevailing over the feelings of Procopius, turned into a storm with bitterness, uprooting the unfortunate man of good undertakings from the helicity of Christ and the community of workers toiling in it. Procopius could not resist the enemy storm, and therefore decided to leave the Holy Mountain and go into the world, which he did, and without telling anyone, he went to Smyrna.
As soon as Procopius landed on the shore, the ever-sleeping devil, who had already taken possession of his heart and mind, began to confuse and lead Procopius into despair, suggesting that since he, without any reason, left the Holy Mountain and his labors, in which he did not want to remain any longer, not enduring monastic labors, and returned again to the world, he must certainly undergo torture.
The confusion that took possession of his soul became even stronger when he remembered that by his removal from Mount Athos he had caused sorrow to virtuous men and that all the fathers of the Forerunner monastery considered him as if he had already died for a virtuous life, since he left the Holy Mountain like a thief, without consulting with anyone and without taking a blessing from anyone, not finding it necessary. Likewise, here he did not want to, or perhaps the enemy did not allow him to reveal his thoughts to his confessor and thus act on the latter’s advice177.
The unfortunate man, having destroyed the lamp that enlightened his heart, exchanged it for a gloomy and moonless night, on which the robbers dragged him into the abyss of destruction. Already considering himself lost, the pitiful Procopius decided to take a very desperate and terrible step: to leave the Christian faith and accept the Muslim faith.
Imagining the situation of the unfortunate Procopius, the soul of every Christian should shudder, seeing how the former ascetic of Christ suddenly became an apostate; the reason for this is lack of conscience and secrecy, which led him to a deep fall. Of course, at the same time his soul suffered and struggled until the hellish force took over and, bridling the unfortunate man, led him to death.
And then one day, intending to put an end to all his suffering, he went to the city judge to declare his rejection of Christ, where he was first stopped by the watchmen, who asked him:
– Why do you need a judge, do you want to file a complaint with him or accept the Muslim faith?
“Accept the Muslim faith,” Procopius answered timidly. - The guards immediately brought him to the judge, declaring that Procopius wanted to believe in Mohammed. Then the judge affectionately addressed the outcast:
– Do you really want to accept our faith?
“Yes, indeed,” answered the unfortunate man, having forgotten the vows he had taken during tonsure, the promise of eternal blessings and the threat of eternal torment.
Seeing agreement, the judge ordered Procopius to utter some blasphemous words, and after 15 days he was circumcised. But marvelous are Your destinies, O God! As soon as the apostate was circumcised, his thoughts suddenly changed, his conscience spoke, convicting him of his treacherous renunciation of Jesus Christ, and he, as if from former intoxication, came to full consciousness and immediately decided to seek help in his error.
Having chosen a convenient time, he secretly came to his friend, the confessor, whom he knew when he lived on Mount Athos, but the confessor, seeing him in Turkish clothes, was surprised at such a strange transformation.
“Of course, father, you are surprised to see me in Turkish, and not in monastic clothes?” But that is why I came to you, so that you would wash away from me that stain with which I, the unfortunate one, being seduced by the devil, desecrated myself, and at the same time would clothe me in my first garment. – Next, Procopius began to tell how he left the Holy Mountain and how he renounced Christ, adding that in order to restore himself from his fall, he wanted to accept a martyr’s death for confessing the name of Jesus Christ.
The confessor, seeing Procopius’s good thought, rejoiced at his conversion, but at the same time remarked to him: “Have you properly thought through what you are deciding on? You know that the enemies of the faith of Christ will cruelly torment you, and therefore, instead of becoming a winner, you will not become defeated a second time and, instead of receiving a crown, you will not appear worthy of tears! If you really came to consult with me as a confessor, then I tell you, as a friend and father, that God’s mercy towards us sinners is limitless and that there is no sin that conquers God’s love for mankind, and therefore I advise you to return again to Holy Mount Athos and there, in repentance and tears, mourn your sin, and I am sure that the Lord, seeing your repentance, will forgive you your deep fall, just as He forgave the Apostle Peter, who denied Him before the servants of the high priest of the Jews.”
But the repentant outcast answered him: “I also know, Father, that I will have to endure much torment from the enemies of the Cross, but I believe that God, who strengthened all the holy martyrs in suffering, is omnipotent and will strengthen me to confess His name.”
The confessor, seeing the firmness of his thoughts, no longer began to deviate him from the desire for martyrdom, and from that time Procopius began to prepare for the feat, moreover, he began to come to the confessor more often to reinforce his thoughts, and after fifteen days Procopius announced to him that this was the last day they would see each other, since he decided to appear in court before the Turks today. Then both of them sang a prayer service to the Mother of God and, kissing each other with the last kiss, left together from the house of the confessor, who, following the martyr from afar, admonished him with his secret prayers until the very trial. When the martyr appeared before the judge, he threw off the green bandage from his head and boldly began to profess the Christian faith and curse the Muslim faith with their false prophet. The judge, hearing the disgrace of his faith, first ordered him to be beaten and then imprisoned, thinking by this to force him to change his thoughts, but not seeing success on this side, he turned to him with affection and promises of high positions and ranks.
Hearing the flattering promises, the holy martyr complacently replied: “If you had given me the whole world, then even then you would not have been able to change my firm intention.”
The firmness of the martyr hastened the verdict of the judges, who, following in formality the newly received royal decree, which informed them that the state was in danger from enemies attacking it, and commanded them to resolve great and small matters as soon as possible in order to prepare their forces to repel the enemies, considered it unnecessary to waste time and engage in torture and ordered Procopius’ head to be immediately cut off.
When the holy martyr was brought to the place of execution and without embarrassment bowed his head to be beheaded, the Muslims, seeing his courage, were surprised, and none of them decided to carry out the execution. At that time there was in Smyrna one outcast from Christ, distinguished by the ferocity of his disposition, who was brought to the place of execution, and without hesitation he did what even barbarians by nature could not do, and thus the soul of the holy martyr Procopius, purified by the blood, was separated from the body on June 25, 1810, Saturday. Glory and thanksgiving to Christ God, who strengthens His saints, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
27
St. George Svyatogorets, Iversky (Athos), ktitor († 1066, commemorated May 13, June 27)
See life on p.
29
Venerable Paisius the Holy Mountain (Eznepidis)
The blessed elder schemamonk Paisiy Svyatogorets (secular name Arseniy Eznepidis) was born on July 25, 1924 (old style) in the village of Farasy, in Cappadocia (Asia Minor). As an infant, he was transported to Greece due to the Asia Minor disaster, as a result of which the Greek population, after approximately 2.5 thousand years of constant residence in this region, was forced to move to the territory of modern Hellas as refugees in order to avoid persecution and massacre by the Turks.
In addition to little Arseny, there were nine more children in the family. Before leaving for Greece, the boy was baptized by Saint Arsenius of Cappadocia and gave him his name, prophetically saying: “I want to leave behind me a monk.”
The Elder's family eventually settled in Konitsa in Epirus, in the northwestern part of Greece. There Elder Paisius spent his childhood years.
A special spiritual calling, chosenness, was discovered early in him, as Saint Arsenius of Cappadocia prophesied about him. From childhood, Arseny lived as an ascetic, enjoyed reading the lives of saints, and zealously, with extreme zeal and amazing uncompromisingness, sought to imitate their exploits. He had a great love for Christ and the Mother of God, and really wanted to become a monk. Arseny devoted himself to unceasing prayer, trying to develop in himself the main Christian qualities: love, humility, patience. In great spiritual sobriety, in prayers and fasting, young Arseny prepared with ardent zeal for an ascetic life.
“I went to the mountains in the morning, taking some water with me, and climbed onto some rock to pray there, like the ancient stylites. As a teenager, I didn’t hang out with my peers; they went and killed birds and did other things that I didn’t like. And I interacted with small children. They, as the eldest, respected me as their leader and rejoiced at our friendship. I kept fasts - they wanted to fast too, so I had problems with their mothers. “Don’t hang around with him, he’ll drive you to consumption,” mothers told their children,” this is how the Elder told Afanasy Rakovalis, the author of the book of memoirs about the Elder “Father Paisius Told Me...”, published in 2003, with a smile.
At a young age, the future elder learned the craft of a carpenter, wanting in this to be like Christ, who until the age of 30 worked as a carpenter in the house of His father Joseph, before going out to preach for three years. When the civil war between the government army and communist rebels began in Greece (1944–1948), Arseniy Eznepidis was drafted into the active army, received a military specialty as a radio operator and served his homeland for 3.5 years. In the army, he continued his ascetic life, distinguished by courage, self-sacrifice, high Christian morality and diverse talents.
“When some dangerous operation was planned,” said Elder Paisius, “I tried to participate in it. If I had shown indifference and someone else would have gone instead of me and would have been killed, then my conscience would have killed me all my life (that is, I would have been killed many times), and in the war I would have been killed only once...
Once our camp was bombed. I found a ditch nearby and took refuge in it. Soon someone passes and says: “Can I come here?” "Let's!" - I say. And there is just enough space for one person. In fear, wanting to protect himself, he squeezes me out. Then another one came up. I was forced to get out of the ditch completely. “Nothing,” I say, “don’t worry, God won’t leave you!” As soon as I left, a bullet flew by and shaved my head. (The elder laughed.) Just like that, it almost touched the skin and cut a stripe in the hair. A centimeter lower - I would have killed. I marveled at God’s Providence.”
Ruthless conscientiousness, courage, bravery, reckless, unconditional dedication - this is what Elder Paisios was in his youth. “He won the love and respect of everyone - both soldiers and officers. The Elder's self-sacrifice, even before he became a monk and took the path of a warrior of Christ, extended to his readiness to accept death for the sake of love for his neighbor! How far are we, modern people, from this,” notes Afanasy Rakovalis.
Having repaid his debt to his fatherland, at about 30 years of age Arseny embarked on the path of monastic life - the one to which he had strived since childhood. Let us note that at the same age Christ came out to preach. The elder endured many trials, but was not abandoned by the Lord. While still a layman, he more than once experienced divine experiences of life in Christ. But when he became a monk, the special favor of the saints, the Most Holy Theotokos and the Lord Himself towards him became most obvious, as the sisters of the monastery he founded in Suroti say. At the same time, he led a truly ascetic life and open warfare with the human enemy. “I think the ascetic exploits of the Elder go far beyond the boundaries of our era, with its characteristic effeminacy of people who are spoiled even in terms of their way of thinking,” says Athanasius Rakovalis. “Therefore, the exploits of Elder Paisius are comparable only to the exploits of the ancient ascetics of the 4th century. In our relaxed state, it can be scary to even hear about these exploits!”
In 1950, Arseny became a novice of the gracious confessor - Father Kirill, later abbot of the Kutlumush monastery († 1968). Some time later, Father Kirill sent the novice to the Esphigmen Monastery, where in 1954 Arseny accepted the ryassophore with the name Averky. The novice monk resignedly and joyfully carried out any obedience, and having completed his own, he helped other brothers to finish their work. Averky constantly prayed, trying so that those around him would not notice. In the same year, on the advice of his spiritual father, he moved to the monastery of Philotheus and became a student of Father Simeon, known for his virtue. Two years later, Father Simeon tonsured Father Averky into the minor schema with the name Paisius - in honor of Metropolitan Paisius II of Caesarea, who was also a native of Farasa of Cappadocia. In the new place, Father Paisius led his former life: he labored out of curiosity and helped the brethren as much as he could.
Father Paisios asceticised at the Stomion Monastery in Konitsa, where he fed wild bears from his hands, spent three years in solitude in the desert of Holy Mount Sinai (in the cave of St. Epistimia), only going down to the Monastery of St. Catherine on Sundays, and spent most of his life in the kaliva on Holy Mount Athos. He spent his life in obscurity, completely surrendering himself to God, who revealed and gave him to people. Many, many came to the Elder and found guidance and consolation, healing and peace for their tormented souls. Divine love overflowed from the sanctified soul of the Elder, the radiance of Divine grace emanated from his reverend appearance. For days on end, Elder Paisius the Svyatogorets tirelessly took away their pain from people, lavishing divine consolation around him.
On June 29/July 12, 1994, after truly martyrdom, which, according to the Elder himself, brought him greater benefit than the ascetic work of his entire life, he rested in the Lord. The place of his blessed death was the St. John the Theologian Convent (founded by the Elder himself), located near the village of Suroti, not far from Thessaloniki, in Greece. Elder Paisios is buried to the left of the altar of the monastery church of St. Arsenios of Cappadocia, who baptized him in childhood.
Intercession is terrible and shameless, / do not despise, O Good One, our prayers, / All-sung Mother of God, Merciful of the faithful Steward, / establish the Orthodox habitation, / save our country / and protect all Orthodox living in it, / you have given birth to God, O Blessed One.
The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called “Ekonomissa” or “House-Builder” is located on Mount Athos, in the Lavra of St. Afanasia. The story of its appearance is as follows.
In the 10th century, the great Athonite ascetic Elder Athanasius founded a monastery on Athos. However, soon, due to severe hunger, all the monks had to leave the monastery in search of another refuge. There was only one elder abbot left, but he himself was soon forced to leave the monastery. He set off on his journey with an iron staff, but suddenly he saw a Woman under a blue airy blanket coming towards him. St. Athanasius was surprised: where could a woman appear here if entry to the Holy Mountain is strictly prohibited? However, the Woman herself asked him where he was going. In response, St. Afanasy asked Her questions: “Who are you and how did you come here? And why do you need to know where I'm going? You see that I am a local monk.” Then he told everything that happened to his laurel, to which the Woman replied: “Only this! And for the sake of a piece of bread you leave your monastery?! Come back! I will help you, just don’t leave your solitude and don’t leave your monastery, which will become famous and take first place among all the Athos monasteries.” “But who are you?” – the amazed Afanasy asked the Stranger. “I am the Mother of your Lord.
“I am the One to whose name you dedicate your abode,” answered the Woman. St. looked incredulously. Afanasy answered Her: “I’m afraid to believe this, it happens that the enemy takes the form of a bright angel. How will You convince me of the truth of Your words?” “You see this stone,” the old man heard, “hit it with your staff and then you will find out who is speaking to you. Know that from now on I will forever remain the Economissa (House Builder) of your Lavra.”
Afanasy hit the stone with his staff, and water gushed out of it. Amazed by this miracle, St. Athanasius turned around to reverently fall at the feet of the Most Holy Theotokos, but She was no longer there. Then Athanasius returned to his monastery and, to his great amazement, found that the monastery’s storerooms were filled with everything necessary. Soon many of the brethren returned to the monastery.
By the will of the Queen of Heaven, in the Lavra of St. Afanasy from that time on there was no housekeeper, but only a sub-housekeeper or assistant to the Economissa. In memory of the miraculous appearance of Our Lady of St. Athanasius painted an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos the House-Builder in the lavra. In this icon, the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne with the Child of God on her left hand. On the right side of the throne in a position of prayer is depicted the Monk Michael of Sinad, and on the left - St. Athanasius holding in his hands the form of his Lavra, thereby symbolizing the special care, protection and care provided to the monastery by the Mother of God.
At the site of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Athanasius, a small church was erected in honor of Her in the name of the Life-Giving Source. It contained an icon depicting the miracle that took place here. The source still flows abundantly, quenching the thirst of pilgrims and providing healing to believers.
Icon of the Mother of God “Abbess of Mount Athos” or “Economissa”
A revered image created in the former Russian cell of St. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Mount Athos (another name is Belozerka, distorted from the Greek Burazeri; currently assigned to the Hilandar monastery), which is known to Russian icon painters. The icon was made in an academic style by one of the masters, commissioned by the Greek governor of Athos at the beginning of the 20th century. (at present, the icon is in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker). The icon's ark contains particles of the Lord's Cross and the relics of saints. This image, also called “Ekonomissa,” should not be confused with the icon of the same name in the cathedral church of the Great Lavra of St. Athanasius of Athos (see in the article “Housebuilder”, icon of the Mother of God).
The composition of the icon embodies the idea of the patronage of the Mother of God of St. Mount Athos. It combines elements of the iconography of the “Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos” and “Our Lady of the Great Panagia”: Most Holy. The Mother of God is depicted full-length, without the Child, on the clouds (as, for example, on the icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Heaven”), in a monastic robe, blessing with her right hand, holding a staff and an unfolded scroll in her left with the words: “This is the lot given to Me by My Son.” In the lower part of the icon there is a horizontal panorama of Athos, behind the head of the Mother of God there is a radiating sun, on the sides there are monograms (“ΜΡ” and “ΘΥ”).
In the Church of the Great Martyr. Nikita of the Moscow courtyard of the monastery of the Great Martyr. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, written in 2003-2004. in the workshop of the courtyard there is an icon of the same type. On it, the Most Holy Theotokos rests on rocks with palm trees sprouted in the crevices next to 2 conventionally designated Athonite monasteries, to the right and left of the feet of the Mother of God. In her left hand She holds a staff, in her right hand an open scroll with the words: “This place will be my lot from My Son.” The patrons of the monastery are standing before Her on the air boats: the apostles Andrew the First-Called and Luke, the Great Martyrs Panteleimon and Nikita, the Venerable Silouan of Athos and Aristocles (all written in full length).
Carved icon of the beginning. XX century, kept in the sacristy of the monastery of the Great Martyr. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, was performed in this monastery as a return gift for the 1916 contribution of Emperor Nicholas II.
St. Athanasius of Athos, his five disciples who died during the construction of the church of the Great Lavra, and St. Daniel the architect of Athos
Troparion, tone 3:
Even in the flesh, at your life/ I was amazed at the angels of the world:/ how you went out with your body to the invisible plexus, most glorious,/ and you wounded the demonic armies./ Now, Athanasius, / Christ has rewarded you with rich gifts, / for this sake, Father, pray // for our souls to be saved.
The Monk Athanasius of Athos, Abraham in Holy Baptism, was born in the city of Trebizond and, having been orphaned at an early age, was raised by a good pious nun, imitating his adoptive mother in the skills of monastic life, in fasting and prayer. He comprehended teaching easily and soon surpassed his peers in the sciences.
After the death of his adoptive mother, Abraham was taken to Constantinople, to the court of the then Byzantine emperor Roman the Elder, and assigned as a student to the famous rhetorician Athanasius. Soon the student achieved the perfection of a teacher and himself became a mentor to the youth. Considering fasting and wakefulness to be true life, Abraham led a strict and abstinent life, sleeping little and then sitting on a chair, and his food was barley bread and water. When his teacher Athanasius, due to human weakness, began to envy his student, blessed Abraham left his mentorship and retired.
In those days, the Monk Michael Malein, abbot of the Kiminsky monastery, arrived in Constantinople. Abraham told the abbot his life and revealed to him his innermost desire to become a monk. The divine elder, seeing in Abraham the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit, fell in love with him and taught him a lot about matters of salvation. One day, during their spiritual conversation, Saint Michael was visited by his nephew Nicephorus Phocas, a famous commander and future emperor. Abraham's high spirit and deep mind impressed Nikifor and inspired reverent veneration and love for the saint for the rest of his life. Abraham was consumed by zeal for monastic life. Having abandoned everything, he arrived at the Kiminsky Monastery and, falling at the feet of the Reverend Abbot, asked to be clothed in a monastic image. The abbot gladly fulfilled his request and tonsured him with the name Athanasius.
Through long fasts, vigils, genuflections, night and day labors, Athanasius soon achieved such perfection that the holy abbot blessed him for the feat of silence in a secluded place not far from the monastery. Later, leaving Kimin, he walked around many deserted and secluded places and, guided by God, came to a place called Melana, on the very edge of Athos, far removed from other monastic dwellings. Here the Reverend built himself a cell and began to strive in labor and prayer, ascending from asceticism to asceticism to the highest monastic perfection.
The enemy tried to arouse in Saint Athanasius hatred of his chosen place, fighting him with incessant thoughts. The ascetic decided to wait a year, and then do as the Lord arranges. On the last day of the term, when Saint Athanasius began to pray, the Heavenly Light suddenly shone upon him, filling him with indescribable joy, all thoughts dissipated, and blessed tears flowed from his eyes. From then on, Saint Athanasius received the gift of tenderness, and he loved his place of solitude with the same intensity as he had previously hated. At that time, Nikifor Phokas, fed up with military exploits, remembered his vow to become a monk and asked the Monk Athanasius to build a monastery at his expense, that is, to build for him and the brethren cells for silence and a church where the brethren would partake of the Divine Mysteries of Christ on Sundays.
Avoiding worries and cares, blessed Athanasius at first did not agree to accept the hated gold, but, seeing the ardent desire and good intention of Nicephorus and seeing the will of God in this, he began to build a monastery. He erected a large church in honor of the holy Prophet and Forerunner of Christ John and another church, at the foot of the mountain, in the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Cells appeared around the church, and a wonderful monastery arose on the Holy Mountain. A refectory, a hospital, a hospice and other necessary buildings were built in it.
Brethren flocked to the monastery from everywhere, not only from Greece, but also from other countries: ordinary people and nobles, hermits who labored for many years in the desert, abbots of many monasteries and bishops wanted to be simple monks in the Athonite Lavra of St. Athanasius.
The holy abbot established a communal charter in the monastery in the likeness of the ancient Palestinian monasteries. Divine services were performed with the utmost severity; no one dared to talk during the service, be late, or leave the church unnecessarily.
The Most Pure Mother of God herself, the Heavenly Lady of Athos, favored the saint. Many times he was honored to see Her with sensual eyes. By God's permission, such a famine occurred in the monastery that the monks, one after another, began to leave the Lavra. The monk was left alone and in a moment of weakness also thought of leaving. Suddenly he saw a Woman under a blanket of air, walking towards him. “Who are you and where are you going?” – She asked quietly. Saint Athanasius stopped with involuntary respect. “I am a local monk,” answered Saint Athanasius and told about himself and his concerns. “And for the sake of a piece of daily bread, you abandon the monastery, which is to be glorified throughout generations and generations? Where is your faith? Turn back and I will help you." “Who are you?” asked Afanasy. “I am the Mother of your Lord,” She answered and ordered Athanasius to hit the stone with his rod, so that a spring emerged from the crack, which still exists today, reminding of the wonderful visit.
The number of brethren grew, construction work was underway in the Lavra. The Monk Athanasius, foreseeing the time of his departure to the Lord, prophesied about his imminent death and asked the brethren not to be tempted by what would happen. “For otherwise people judge, otherwise the Wise One arranges.” The brethren were perplexed and reflected on the words of the Reverend. Having taught his last instructions to the brethren and consoled everyone, Saint Athanasius went into his cell, put on a mantle and a sacred doll, which he wore only on great holidays, and after a long prayer he left. Cheerful and joyful, the holy abbot went up with six brothers to the top of the church to inspect the construction. Suddenly, by the unknown destinies of God, the top of the church collapsed. The five brothers immediately gave up their spirit to God. The Monk Athanasius and the architect Daniel, covered with stones, remained alive. Everyone heard how the Reverend called on the Lord: “Glory to Thee, God! Lord Jesus Christ, help me!” The brothers, with great weeping, began to dig out their father from under the ruins, but found him already deceased.
Prmch. Cyprian the New, Constantinople († 1679, commemorated July 5)
He was from the village of Klitsos, in the vicinity of Agrafa in Central Greece, in the Ottoman possessions.
Having accepted monasticism and the priesthood, he and two companions labored in the cell of St. George, which belonged to the Athonite monastery of Kutlumush.
Having acquired the fullness of monastic virtues, I felt in my heart a thirst for suffering for Christ. The ascetic went to Thessalonica, came to the Turkish court and boldly declared that the only right faith is faith in Christ the Savior and the Holy Trinity, and Muhammad is a false prophet. The judge sent him away, mistaking him for a madman.
Then the saint went to Constantinople and appeared before the court of the Grand Vizier. He presented a letter he had written, in which he called on the Turks to renounce their false faith and recognize Christ as the true God. At this time, apostate Christians were in court, and Cyprian asked them to translate the text into Turkish and read it aloud. And again he was kicked out with ridicule and insults.
With the letter in hand, the monk went to see the vizier himself. When the magistrate inquired about what business he needed to see the vizier, the blessed one replied that he had come to give him salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and holy baptism. The vizier also mistook Cyprian for a madman or drunk and handed him over to the mufti. He realized that the monk was of sound mind. And since Cyprian refused to make any concessions in faith, the Mufti angrily ordered his beheading in the Phanar quarter populated by Christians.
The person sentenced to death ran to the place of execution ahead of the executioner. At the gates of the Patriarchate Church, Saint Cyprian knelt down, crossed himself, glorified the Lord, read the Creed for the last time, after which he bowed his head under the sword. This happened on July 5, 1679.
7
St. Thomas Malein (X, commemorated July 7)
The Monk Thomas Malein (X) was a military leader before accepting monasticism. Powerful and brave, he took part in many battles, brought victories to his compatriots, for which he enjoyed fame and respect. But, striving with all his heart for God, Thomas left the world with its honors and took monastic vows.
With great humility, he visited the elder monks, asking them for guidance in his spiritual life. A few years later, Thomas received a blessing for a solitary desert life and, strengthened by a special revelation received through the holy prophet of God Elijah, retired to Mount Malea (the eastern part of Athos). Being completely alone, Saint Thomas fought against invisible enemies with the same courage as before in the war against the visible enemies of the fatherland.
The life and exploits of Saint Thomas could not be hidden from those around him; people who were seeking spiritual guidance, as well as those suffering from illnesses, began to flock to him, for he received from God the grace of healing ailments.
Many believers received help through the prayers of the monk and after his departure to God (X).
8
St. Theophilus the Myrrh-Streaming, Athos († 1548, commemorated July 8)
Our Reverend Father Theophilus, i.e. “loving God”, was born in the town of Ziki, located in Macedonia, from pious and virtuous parents, and therefore received a truly Christian upbringing. When he came of age, he was sent to school for primary education, and then he devoted himself to higher sciences. With innate abilities of the mind, he completed his external education in a short time, but with the success of external wisdom, he especially tried to educate the heart in the rules of strict Christian morality: his favorite pastime was, avoiding youthful conversations, most often disorderly, to enter into communication with elders and virtuous men. In addition, he devoted most of his time to reading the Divine Scriptures, according to the commandment of the wise Sirach, who says: “Let your meditation be with those who understand, and all your story be in the law of the Most High” (9:20). The consequence of this was that the pious young man, succeeding in various deeds of virtue, was, in the words of Saint David, “like a tree by springs of water, yielding its fruit in season” (Ps. 1:3).
Reading the Divine Scripture and the lives of saints and pious men involuntarily disposed him to imitate them as much as possible: thus, he imitated Abraham in hospitality, the beautiful Joseph in chastity, Job in patience and courage, Moses and David in meekness, and other righteous people in various exploits. And this very thing drew general attention to him, so that finally, as an example of a virtuous life, he was elevated to the degree of priesthood. From that time on, he went around different places, edifying Christians with the word and example of his life; Subsequently, for the edification of his soul, he himself clung to the Bishop of Randinia, Acacius, and remained with him. This bishop was ordained to this rank by Patriarch Niphon of Constantinople and was his most sincere friend.
At that time, the most holy Patriarch Niphon received letters from Egypt, in which he was informed about the great glorious miracles revealed by God through the then holy Patriarch of Alexandria Joachim to shame and shame the deicide of the Jewish race, in praise and confirmation of the Orthodox and true faith of us and all of us Christians. The miracles were as follows.
A terrible plague raged throughout Egypt. One of the Jewish doctors, an avowed enemy of Christians, spread a rumor among the Turks everywhere that the misfortune that befell them was caused by Christians, for Christians, the Jew explained to them, put the cross into the water, which became the cause of this mortal disease. This slander against Christians spread everywhere, so that it finally became known to the Egyptian Sultan. Although the Sultan was a Muslim, he loved and revered the holy patriarch very much, both for his virtue and for his wisdom and prudence, and therefore he ignored the report of the enemies of the cross of Christ against Christians. The accursed Jew, seeing that he had not achieved his goal with such slander, invented a new plot against Christians. The Supreme Vizier was a natural Jew. The Jewish doctor chose this favorite of the Tsarev as an instrument of his malice against Christians. The Vizier managed to bring the Sultan to the point that he, despite his respect for the Patriarch, demanded him to the Divan for personal explanations of the slander against Christians. The Patriarch appeared at the trial.
The Sultan first had a long conversation with him about faith and finally, seeing that with strong conviction and clear evidence he had justified the Christian faith and disparaged Islamism, he ordered him, in order to justify the words of the Gospel, to move the mountain neighboring Cairo. His Holiness the Patriarch did not waver in the spirit of faith. Having asked for several days for prayer, he, with faithful Christians, propitiated the Lord with fasting, vigil and prayers and asked that he not disgrace them in the sight of the infidels and that they not blaspheme His holy name. At the appointed time, with a gathering of many people, the patriarch, in the name of Christ, told the mountain to move from its place and move to another: the mountain shook at its foundation and left its place. Finally stopped by the same name of Christ, it is still called in Turkish Dur-Dago, Stan-mountain. This miracle amazed the wicked.
Not knowing how to shake the power of Christ’s faith, its enemies prepared a deadly poison and convinced the king to command the patriarch to drink it, for Christ, they said, said in the Gospel: “Even if they drink death, do not harm them” (Mark 16:18). The Sultan accepted this too and ordered poison to be served to the patriarch. Full of faith in the power of the cross of Christ, the patriarch crossed the death cup and drank what was served. It was in vain that they expected him to die immediately: the patriarch remained completely unharmed. After this, having rinsed the glass with water, he asked the Jew to drink it: it was impossible to refuse, because the Sultan himself demanded it. So he drank the water and died at that very moment. Amazed by such miracles, the Sultan ordered the vizier to be beheaded, and imposed a fine on other Jews so that water pipes from the Nile into Cairo would be built at their expense, and he honored the holy patriarch.
When Patriarch Niphon in Constantinople learned about these wondrous events from letters, he immediately sent Bishop Acacius of Randinia, about whom was mentioned above, to Alexandria with the Monk Theophilus and others, so that they would learn in detail and verify with their own eyes what had happened. At the same time, Saint Niphon wrote to Patriarch Joachim of Alexandria, thanking the Lord that He had heard his prayer and through him performed such miracles for the glory and greatness of the Christian race, and then asked to favorably accept the people sent from him. So, they immediately went to Alexandria and were received with great joy and favor by the most holy patriarch, who kept them with him for quite some time. The Monk Theophilus attracted his special attention with his virtue and education. From Alexandria, with Bishop Akakios and others, he went to Mount Sinai, and from there through the desert to the holy city of Jerusalem. There they worshiped the life-receiving tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ and other holy places, and visited Mount Tabor and Damascus.
Here they met the Patriarch of Antioch, from whom they were given letters to the Patriarch of Constantinople. From Damascus they returned again to Jerusalem, where Bishop Akakios fell ill and died. After the death of Akakios, encouraged by the blessing of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, with letters to be delivered to the Patriarch of Constantinople, they returned to Constantinople and introduced themselves to the then most holy Patriarch Pachomius, the former Metropolitan of Sichniya, because the holy Patriarch Niphon, who sent them with these instructions, left the department during their wanderings. Patriarch Pachomius received them with honor and blessed the labors they undertook during the journey; in Saint Theophilus he saw a virtuous and learned man, kept him with him and entrusted him with the written affairs of the patriarchate, with the post of notary and exarch of the great Church. Theophilus carried out these duties for quite a long time and was respected by everyone for his virtues.
But seeing and feeling that, despite the contentment of external life and the respect shown to him, there was no or little essential food for the spirit, he left his position and retired to the Holy Mountain, to the Vatopedi monastery.
So that without elder guidance in monastic life, with the wisdom of his own heart, he would not fall into error and delusion, he entrusted himself to the bishop who was at that time retired in the Vatopedi monastery and unconditionally subordinated his will to him, fulfilling all kinds of obedience and daily offering a bloodless sacrifice to the Lord God. And when the elder bishop departed to the Lord, the Monk Theophilus retired to the Iveron monastery with the goal of finding role models there too. So, he learned from one perfect obedience, from another - humility, from another - love for God and neighbor, meekness and patience. As a result of this, Theophilus became a chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit and an example of monastic virtues.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the monastery, as a red-letter writer, he had as his cell occupation the copying of books that had become dilapidated from longevity. Of these books, many are kept in the library of the Iversky Monastery to this day. And since, according to the word of the Lord, “a city cannot hide on top of a standing mountain” (Matthew 5:14), then the Monk Theophilus became famous for his virtuous life not only in the Holy Mountain, but also in the surrounding distant places; So Thessaloniki, which at that time had lost its archpastor, tried hard to convince Saint Theophilus to accept the episcopal dignity. But the humble Theophilus did not want to hear about it. Meanwhile, Patriarch Theoliptus of Constantinople happened to be in Thessalonica at that time: the Thessalonians turned to him with a petition to grant them the Athos hermit Theophilos as archpastor. His Holiness the Patriarch, for his part, took part in them and wrote a handwritten letter to Theophilus (for he had previously been very friendly with Saint Theophilus, like his compatriot), asking him to go to Thessalonica for a meeting and not mentioning a word about the petition of the Thessalonians.
The monk understood the purpose for which the holy patriarch was inviting him to Thessalonica, and therefore, in order to evade such a high dignity and thereby avoid temporary glory and veneration, he immediately accepted the great schema; He answered the holy patriarch that a serious illness forced him to accept the great schema and renounce priestly service, and that due to illness he could not, under any circumstances, come to Thessaloniki at his request. Thus, apologizing for the impossibility of meeting with the holy patriarch here, he asked him for forgiveness and prayers and promised that, by the grace of the Lord, he would see him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Such an answer, on the one hand, saddened the holy patriarch, and on the other hand, he delighted that Theophilus was so successful in true humility and monastic deeds.
Near the Iverskaya monastery, an abbot named Dionysius then labored in solitude. Loving silence, the Monk Theophilus, with the permission of the abbot and brethren, built a small kaliva near the abbot Dionysius and shared with him the labors of deep seclusion, edified by the example of his lofty life and his wise conversations. Their mutual love was so close that it seemed that one soul lived in them. At this time, someone who lived on Karya, Kirill, became famous for his ascetic life. In order to receive spiritual benefit from him and imitate his life, Saint Theophilus left his silence and moved to Karea, to Cyril. When the monk was with him, Elder Seraphim, who was Cyril’s confessor, often came to them to serve on the Holy Mountain. Prot drew attention to Theophilus, loved him for his holy life, and from that time, even until death, Theophilus and prot remained sincere friends with each other. But the divine Theophilus did not remain long on Kareya.
A strong desire for silence drew him into the confines of the Pantocrator, into the cell of St. Basil, which had all the conditions of deep solitude and imperturbable silence of silence. The cell required amendments, and Saint Theophilus, not having any contribution, could neither pay the agreed price for it to the monastery, nor update it: to such an extent he had adopted monastic non-covetousness. Prot, Elder Seraphim, helped him in this extreme situation. Thus, Saint Theophilus plunged into silence in the desert, having as his companion one brother Isaac. This removal of Saint Theophilus from everyone had a strong effect on the archpriest. Having built a gallery around the protate cathedral, erected a bell tower and painted the inside of the cathedral, he asked the elders of the Holy Mountain for dismissal from the post of prote and retired to a deserted rest, where, together with Saint Theophilus, he constantly practiced reading the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, extracting from there essential and immortal food for the immortal spirit.
The exceptional feat of the Monk Theophilus was the so-called mental work of the holy fathers, or keeping the mind with the unceasing heartfelt Jesus Prayer, that is: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” According to Saint Callistus, there are two types of monastic work: one is for taming the passions - and consists of fasting, vigil, kneeling and other external deeds; and the other - to cleanse the mind and heart from unclean thoughts, which is done with strict attention, with unceasing heartfelt prayer to the Lord Jesus, done in secret and with a painful feeling and a painful cry of the soul, as the Divine Fathers teach. By this mental work and sacred prayer, crying and tears born from this prayer, he cleansed his heart from passions and unclean thoughts and, having completely cast down the demons, became the pure chosen dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
And since, according to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, Divine love does not see or know anything other than its object, Saint Theophilus, flaming with love for God, thought of nothing else but Jesus: Jesus was his breath, Jesus was his life, Jesus was always in his heart. Theophilus, like Saint Paul the Apostle, no longer lived, but Christ lived in him, and therefore, like Saint Paul, he was rewarded with the Divine gifts of the Holy Spirit, foresaw the future, knew the secrets of the heart and human thoughts, “reached a perfect man and to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ,” as the holy Apostle says (Eph. 4:24).
Finally, being full of days, the saint foresaw his death and began to prepare for his exodus into eternity. By the way, he wrote a confession of faith and a spiritual testament, and before his death he wished that the sacrament of anointing be performed on him. It was Friday. Having said goodbye to everyone, on Saturday he partook of the most pure Mysteries of Christ in the church with a feeling of thanksgiving to God for everything and finally called his disciple Isaac to declare his last will to him. Humble throughout his life, Saint Theophilus did not want human veneration even after death: he gave Isaac the commandment that his death should not be announced when he gave up his spirit to God, that priests should not be called to perform the usual burial over him, but that Isaac should put a rope around his feet and throw away his body if possible. Having thus declared his last will to his disciple, Saint Theophilus prostrated himself on his bed.
“Lord Jesus Christ! Receive my spirit,” he said and fell into the sleep of venerable death, in the summer of Christ 1548, July 8, on a Sunday, before the sun rose.
His obedient disciple Isaac fulfilled the saint’s commandments exactly: tying a rope to his feet, he carried his relics into the forest. Rumors about the death of the saint spread throughout the Holy Mountain; The crowd of monks, especially the saint’s friends, was large: everyone wanted to see and venerate his grave and receive the blessing of the deceased at it. So as not to deprive those who came of this, his disciple showed them the dug up place where the monk was supposedly buried. But the monks of the Iveron monastery and Pantocrator doubted the burial place of the saint for some secret feeling, which did not deceive them; Then the monks found the holy relics of Theophilus in the forest, took them and kept them in deep secret from others.
After 40 days, Isaac comes to the ravine to see the relics and, to his amazement, does not find them. After a long trial, he finally learned that the relics were in the Pantocrator monastery. He appears there and asks the elders to give him the remains of his father as his property, but the pantocrators did not want to hear about it. Quite a lot of time passed in this way. To the consolation of Isaac, Macarius, Bishop of Yerissa, then visited the Holy Mountain. Isaac turned to him with a complaint about the Pantocrator monastery and asked him to take part in this matter for his part. Macarius did not hesitate. Having invited the Athos abbots, he arrived at Pantocrator, separated a hand from the relics of St. Theophilus for this monastery, and left the other parts to the disciple. Then they were solemnly transferred from Pantocrator to the cell church of St. Basil, where the monk was silent, and from that time they began to exude fragrant myrrh as evidence of his godly life.
Such is the life of our venerable father Theophilus the Myrrh-streaming; This is how he labored and this is how he was glorified by God on earth and in heaven, during his life and after his death. May we also imitate the saint in non-covetousness, meekness, humility, purity, silence and love for God and neighbor, so that we too may inherit with him the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
9
St. Gabriel of Athos, archimandrite. († 1901, commemorated July 9)
How many faithful followers God has, zealous workers in the great work of building the economy of the salvation of the human race, how many have already been glorified in heaven and are still unknown to the world! It pleased God, wondrous in His saints, to glorify one of these workers in the field of Christ, St. Gabriel of Athos, by the appearance of his incorruptible relics in the St. Elias Cathedral in the city of Odessa on July 9 (22), 1994.
Our reverend and God-bearing father Gabriel was born on January 8, 1849 in the Kyiv province, into a family of poor parents. His birthday coincided with the day of church memory of the Monk George Khozevit, and at baptism the baby was named George. Apparently, George received his initial Christian upbringing from his parents. At the twelfth year of his life, the boy became orphaned. With the help of teachers, he received an education in a rural school, especially showing his diligence in studying the Word of God. He quickly mastered church literacy, loved to read the Holy Scriptures, spiritual and edifying books, while revealing a bright mind and clear memory, adorning himself with virtues. As a young man, during a serious illness, he made a vow to visit the holy places of the Kyiv land upon recovery, which he soon fulfilled. A visit to the Lavra shrines and other monasteries made a deep impression on him.
George saw with his own eyes the places of the exploits of the reverend fathers, about whom he had heard and read a lot, and with reverence kissed the incorruptible relics of the ascetics of Holy Rus', asking for their prayers.
In the soul of the pious young man arose the desire to follow in the footsteps of the saints, imitate their exploits, like them, to renounce the world and devote his life to monastic work. After spending some time in his homeland, he goes to Kyiv a second time and asks the brethren of the Feofaniv Hermitage to accept him as one of the inhabitants of the monastery. With love, George was received by the novice and given to teach monastic life to the humble Father Boniface. Imitating the elders of the desert, the young novice went to church, stood through long monastic services to the end, loved prayer, and diligently carried out the obediences assigned to him.
In 1867, a favorable opportunity presented itself to visit Jerusalem and Athos. Having received the old man's blessing, novice George goes to Jerusalem, where he venerates the Life-Giving Sepulcher of the Lord and other shrines, and the next year he arrives at Mount Athos.
And then Athos opened before him - the lot of the Mother of God with its shrines, miraculous icons and strict monastic life, an island of prayer and spiritual life, a thousand-year monastic kingdom serving the Creator of centuries day and night. George looks with amazement at the inhabitants of Athos - the holy fathers and venerable hermits, monks who live not in a world distorted by sin, but in a transformed world, where, having been cleansed of passions, the ascetic contemplates God. George is convinced with his own eyes that the Athonite monks are martyrs of Christ, “in feelings removed from the world and in thoughts dead to the world,” who truly experience all the beatitudes of the Lord, who passionately loved triple poverty: material, spiritual and bodily. For having become poor in spirit, they become rich; becoming meek, they will inherit the earth; crying, they are consoled; thirsting for truth, they are satisfied; having had mercy, they will be shown mercy; having purified the heart, they will see the Invisible; Having acquired spiritual peace, they will be called sons of God.
The silent appearance of the monks with their faces turned to the earth, the caves of hermits praying for the human race, the magnificent monasteries, the strict way of monastic life, the very nature of the Holy Mountain made an irresistible impression on the novice George. “Ardent love for You and an ardent desire for You, Lord, gripped these angels,” says St. John Chrysostom, “and even greater desire and love kindled in them. For words cannot ignite as much as contemplation of deeds.” George saw the virtuous, truly monastic, ascetic life of the inhabitants of the Holy Mountain. His heart was inflamed with the fire of Divine love. Having completely rejected everything worldly, he remains on Athos and there devotes himself to serving God.
More than other Russian monasteries, he liked the monastery of the holy prophet of God Elijah, whose brethren lived a strict monastic life. The rector, Father Paisius P., a loving and kindly elder, subjected the young novice to the usual test, for he accepted him into the monastery selectively and not before he was fully convinced of his brother’s ardent desire to become a true monk. Archimandrite Paisius and the brethren fell in love with George, who conscientiously and joyfully carried out various obediences in the monastery, and was distinguished by meekness and humility. The young man fell in love with the night monastery services, holy prayer leading to the Lord, solitude and silence. His desire for monastic life increased.
As a proven novice, in 1869 he took monastic vows with the name Gabriel, in honor of the Archangel Gabriel, the heavenly messenger who proclaimed the great joy of the Most Holy Theotokos. The name "Gabriel" means "power of God." The namesake of the Archangel, the Monk Gabriel acquired in his life that Divine power, which he performed in weakness, bearing illnesses and labors, fulfilling the obediences entrusted to him by the hierarchy of the Elias monastery. Resolutely leaving the world with its passions and temptations, the holy man in deep faith sought the Heavenly City, with his heart, soul and all thoughts belonging to it. Imitating the venerable fathers of Athonite in his works and prayers, the young monk Gabriel becomes a man of spiritual maturity. Succeeding in his exploits, in 1874 he was ordained a hierodeacon, and in 1876 a hieromonk, blessed with “the great honor of the priesthood”, called to “perform sacred acts for the people” and “to offer the sacrifice of truth for his sins and for human ignorance.”
Hieromonk Gabriel tries to use all his strength to live holy and please the beneficent Lord, to remain in prayer, to keep his mind and heart pure.
Through constant labor and obedience, under the watchful guidance of the elder, Father Gabriel succeeded in his inner spiritual life. Listening to himself, he clearly learned to see that man himself is nothing, and in the struggle with himself, his sinful passions and vices, he is a winner only to the extent that he humbles himself and calls on the Lord for help. Illuminated by the grace of God, his spirit rushes towards union with the Sweetest Jesus. In the ascetic life of Father Gabriel, he constantly encountered sorrows and temptations, but he endured everything with humility and patience, raising his mind to grief and firmly believing in the help of God and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. “A monk is an abyss of humility into which he has cast down and in which he has drowned every evil spirit,” teaches St. John Climacus. Gabriel overcame the tricks and intrigues of demons through humility, obedience, prayer and fasting. He became more and more convinced of the salvation of monasticism and loved it with all his heart.
In the spring of 1876, Father Gabriel was appointed as a steward on a sailing ship belonging to the monastery, which departs annually to Russia to deliver everything necessary for life in the Ilyinsky monastery. Monastic brig “St. Prophet Elijah" made flights between Athos, Constantinople, Odessa and Mariupol, where it was loaded with grain, flour, Volga fish and other foodstuffs. The captain of the ship was a hieromonk, and the crew consisted of monks and novices - natives of Kherson, Kursk and other provinces. The watch on the ship alternated with the statutory service in the deck church. During the Russian-Turkish War, the economy hieromonk Gabriel with his ship was in Taganrog and Rostov-on-Don, and in 1878, after the conclusion of peace with Turkey, he returned to Athos.
At the monastery, Father Gabriel was entrusted with the important duties of treasurer, housekeeper, and also rector of the Ilyinsky metochion in Constantinople. There were so many things to do around the house that it was just time to get to the cells, give at least a little rest and peace to my tired body, and then go to worship and again take up my chores for the monastery. While carrying out obediences to improve the monastery, Father Gabriel did not stop living an intense spiritual life. Unceasing prayer, spiritual wisdom, fatherly treatment of the brethren, cordial friendliness with strangers, economic practicality - all these qualities were amazingly combined in him.
After the abbot of the monastery, Hieroschemamonk Tovia, moved to the Akhtyrsky Monastery in 1887, God was pleased to entrust Father Gabriel with the management of the St. Elias monastery. In 1891, Hieromonk Gabriel was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Patriarch Joachim III of Constantinople. The new abbot, having high spiritual gifts from God, skillfully managed the life of the monastery. He taught the brethren the need for strict adherence to the monastic rules and internal improvement. Under the influence of his fatherly instructions, some monks, in addition to fulfilling the three ordinary monastic vows - non-covetousness, chastity and obedience, took upon themselves additional vows aimed at strengthening the spiritual will and elevating the Christian spirit. One could quite say about Father Gabriel and his brethren in the words of Chrysostom: “Monks are the faces of angels in human flesh; Their life is difficult and unbearable, but sweeter and more desirable than the worldly, their lips are filled with fragrance, there is silence and silence in their abodes.
They observe strict fasting and get up before dawn, laboring in thanksgiving to God, prayer and psalmody. Being, as it were, in a pier, they lead a life protected from any excitement. They sing before the birds. passions are overcome more easily by the laity. Monastic life needs to be more pleasing than royal life. A prayer for a monk is like a sword for a trapper, death for a monk is carefree, a monk heals the suffering of others, his feat is great. Although the monks are in poverty, they are the owners of spiritual treasures throughout the universe, the monks are holy in life and faith ... "
Archimandrite Gabriel worked hard for the improvement and prosperity of the monastery, both internal and external. Since the foundation of the new church in the monastery by Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, monastic schema-nun Anastasia, who sent the first stone with an inscription to the foundation of the cathedral, there has been a strong confrontation between the Greeks against the Russian monks on Athos in general, and against the Ilinsky monastery in particular. The Monk Gabriel, as a true peacemaker who acquired the blessed peace of God, managed to peacefully end the conflict in favor of the Elias monastery.
The construction of a new cathedral lay ahead, but there were not enough funds. At the request of the rector of the skete, Archimandrite Gabriel, with the highest permission and with the blessing of the Holy Synod, the Russian skete of the Holy Prophet Elijah was allowed to collect alms throughout the Russian Empire. At the end of 1893, Archimandrite Gabriel, accompanied by the brethren, arrived in Russia with the shrines of the Elias monastery: the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Mammal,” part of the tree of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the left foot of the relics of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. With the blessing of Metropolitans Palladius of St. Petersburg and Sergius of Moscow, archbishops and bishops of various provinces of Russia, these shrines were placed in the churches of the capitals and other cities for the worship of pious Christians and the collection of feasible donations.
With the haste of God, good people responded to the holy work and with their offerings made it possible to begin new buildings in the monastery. The holiness of Father Gabriel's life and his spiritual strength attracted monks and lay people to him. The material resources necessary for the monastery appeared.
Having care for the brethren, caring for the splendor of the Athos Elias monastery, the monk did not forget to take care of the Russian pilgrims setting off from their fatherland to the Holy Land and Athos. For this purpose, in 1894-1896. in the city of Odessa, he built a magnificent three-altar church in the Byzantine style at the Ilyinsky courtyard. On December 22, 1896, Archbishop Justin of Kherson and Odessa consecrated the main chapel in the name of the Mother of God “Mammal.” On December 23, the right chapel was consecrated in the name of the holy prophet of God Elijah, and on December 28, the left chapel was consecrated in the name of the Archangel Gabriel. Premises with all amenities for pilgrims were also built.
In 1894, Archimandrite Gabriel laid the foundation for a new dormitory building in the Elias Skete on Mount Athos, the construction of which was completed in 1898. The following year he began construction of a new cathedral. He managed to complete the construction of the foundation and basement of the church. His worries called him on the road, and in 1901, despite poor health, Archimandrite Gabriel was forced to go to Russia to the monastery metochions in Odessa, Taganrog and Novonikolaevsk to manage the household and edify the brethren.
Years passed after years, and the hard-working old man was approaching the end of his earthly career. The lamp of life began to apparently fade within him. Before leaving Athos, Elder Gabriel, sensing his imminent death, addressed the brethren with farewell words: “My peace I leave you, my peace I give you... If we live in the spirit of true monks, if we bear each other’s burdens, if we have among ourselves the peace that Jesus Christ commanded us, then our compassionate benefactors are true children of the holy Orthodox Church, prayerfully the unforgettable sons of our beloved fatherland, holy Russia, cannot leave us with their generous assistance, which is why our monastery exists, by the grace of the Queen of Heaven.”
Having visited metochions in Constantinople, Odessa and Taganrog along the way, Archimandrite Gabriel arrived in Novonikolaevsk in October. On October 14, after the Divine Liturgy, he felt unwell. The next day my health worsened. On October 18, he received communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and on October 19, he departed into eternal life, where all his thoughts and wishes were always directed.
“The death of His saints is honorable before the Lord” (Ps. 115:6). These words were fulfilled over the Monk Gabriel, whom the Lord vouchsafed to repose piously after his deeds of shepherding and church building. For the righteous, bodily death is not fear and horror, but the gateway to the heavenly palaces prepared by Christ for His faithful followers. Having carried the good yoke in earthly life with patience and hope, the holy saint could firmly say: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, and now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will give me on that day” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). The honorable remains of the elder were transferred to Odessa and on November 2 were buried in the crypt of the courtyard church.
“A city that stands on the top of a mountain cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:18). The all-merciful Lord does not abandon the human race out of His love for Him, but cares about it and saves it from evil and destruction through His chosen ones - the saints of God, opening their gates and burial places.
Clergymen of the St. Elias Cathedral in Odessa sometimes heard inexplicable knocking noises in the basement of the church. According to the testimony of old parishioners, according to a pious local legend, it was known that at the bottom of the church, the relics of its builder rested hidden. With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Agathangel of Odessa and Izmail, the clergy of the church decided to examine the supposed burial site, which is located under the baptismal building. This happened on Friday, July 9 (22), 1994. The following event was a sign of the discovery of holy relics. On this day, a young man of about nineteen, possessed by an evil spirit, was brought to the church. Like a Gadarene demoniac, he screamed and fought in the arms of his parents. With difficulty they managed to get him into the baptismal room to pray, during which he lay unconscious on the floor. After he was sprinkled with holy water, the young man, to the surprise of his relatives, got up and, looking very tired, but in good condition, left the baptismal room.
This clearly indicated that the spirit of malice that came out of the young man could not be near the place where the relics of the saint rested.
In the evening, the priests and church workers, having examined the walls of the room and dismantled the partitions, found a coffin covered with a mantle in a niche. At the same time, those present felt a breath of fresh air. This is how the relics of the elder Archimandrite Gabriel were found. The honorable relics were placed in the church in the tomb.
Healings from the relics were noted already in the first days. Thus, on July 13 (26), on the patronal feast of the Archangel Gabriel, the seriously ill servant of God N., possessed by an evil spirit, received significant relief during prayer at the found relics.
On July 14 (27), during the evening service and prayer at the relics, disabled person of the second group Z-th received complete healing of his sore leg. He left the church without limping or leaning on a stick.
On July 16 (29), a paralytic was brought to the cathedral on a stretcher. Being near the relics, the patient felt that a bright light covered him and received relief from his suffering.
Since childhood, the servant of God A-ko has suffered from spastic paralysis (the central nervous system is affected (Lit's disease), experiencing excruciating pain. After repeated visits to the St. Elias Cathedral and prayers at the relics of St. Gabriel of Athos, she received significant relief, the pain almost went away, normal sleep appeared, and she began to move without the help of others.
Miracles at honest relics are sometimes performed in the presence of many witnesses, sometimes in hidden secrets by faith flowing to the shrine.
His venerable relics exude healing to all who flow to them with faith, for there, in the heavenly villages, Saint Gabriel prays to the Lord for those who honor his holy memory, who honor him with a loving heart, who honor him with their lives and who cry out in prayer with hope: Reverend Our Father Gabriel, pray to God for us!
10
St. Anthony of Pechersk († 1073, commemorated July 10, September 2)
See life on page...
11
St. Nicodemus of Vatopedi (Athos) (XIV, commemorated July 11)
This God-bearing father shone with his wondrous life within the boundaries of Vatopedi. It is known about him that he was an old man and, according to Christ, a mentor in philosophy to the divine Gregory Palamas.
Prmch. Nicodemus of Albania, Ohrid, Myrrh-streamer († 1722, commemorated July 11)
The Holy Martyr Nicodemus was born in Albania, in the town of Eelbanas. His parents were pious and, when he reached adulthood, they married him, from which he had children. Meanwhile, entering into constant connections and acquaintances with the Hagarians, Nicodemus became carried away by the sensual promises of their Koran: to please them, he renounced the faith of Christ and finally reached such a degree of immorality that, despite the convictions and tears of his family, he forcibly turned away his children, except for one, whom the Christians managed to kidnap and secretly send to the Holy Mountain. However, the latter were never able to completely hide this from Nicodemus. Having learned that his son was on the Holy Mountain, he rushed there with the goal of certainly finding his child and taking revenge on the entire Holy Mountain as soon as possible, according to his own strength and means.
He assumed so, but the humane God, who desires salvation for everyone, ordered the fate of his life differently - instead of allowing the criminal father to lure his son into Islamism, He attracted him, the unfortunate outcast, to Himself through repentance, so that the Holy Mountain became for him to some extent the reason for salvation. Silence, fasting labors, deprivations of all kinds and removal from everything sensory, even from family ties - all this, which he saw on the Holy Mountain in the monks, upon his arrival there, struck him to the extreme: he remembered the past, when the hopes of the afterlife and the heavenly beauties and those promises of Christ were not alien to his heart, which are as far from Mohammed’s as far, or even further, the sky from the earth or the light from darkness; he remembered that he himself had once belonged to Christ, and he wept bitterly, inconsolably over his disastrous condition. His thoughts were reborn: he turned again to God with repentance and, without leaving the Holy Mountain, took on the angelic image with the name Nicodemus.
For three years, day and night, he mourned his apostasy, exhausting his flesh with fasting and various deprivations and exploits. Finally, having heard such speeches from some fathers that whoever denied Christ before people would benefit greatly from confessing Him again before them, he decided to atone for his sin with the blood of the sufferer. To find out whether this would be pleasing to God and whether this was His will, he turned for advice to the Monk Akakios, who labored in the Kavsokalivsky monastery. He cried for a long time at the feet of Elder Akaki, asking for his prayers and a decision - what should he do in a cramped position of spirit that required suffering. The monk, who enjoyed general fame and trust on the Holy Mountain, as a truly holy ascetic, affectionately raised Nicodemus and then, retreating a little from him, turned to God in prayer. Having finished his prayer, he quietly said something to Nicodemus and then, when he cried long and bitterly, he handed him the old man’s staff with the words: “Go with God, God will help you: you will accomplish a feat, and a martyr’s crown is being prepared for him in heaven.”
Thus, having been instructed by the monk with prayers and blessings for the elderly, Nicodemus, barely moving from Lenten exhaustion, set off on his journey. Meanwhile, before his departure from the Holy Mountain, the Lord honored him with His Divine appearance, strengthened him and clearly revealed all the torments that he must endure in His name and even showed him the very place where his head would be truncated. Comforted and confirmed by such favor of the Lord, Nicodemus joyfully flowed into the field of suffering. From the Holy Mountain he directly arrived in Albania, his homeland, and there solemnly, before the Turks who knew him, he confessed Christ as the true God, and humiliated Mohammed as a flatterer and a deceiver. The Turks presented him to the Pasha. And here blessed Nicodemus repeated his confession, disparaging Islamism. Enraged by this, the pasha ordered to throw him down from the high terrace of his house, hoping to crush his body into pieces: however, what happened was the opposite. Sufferer, by the grace of God,
remained unharmed and then appeared again to the pasha. Pasha trembled, seeing before him the one whom he considered killed to death. In order to satisfy the fury of the crowd, which demanded the execution of the derogator of the great prophet, the pasha handed over the sufferer to their will. For three days the frantic Turks exhausted themselves in all kinds of torment over Nicodemus and, finally, seeing that there was no opportunity or strength to shake his firmness, they beheaded him at the place shown to him by the Lord. Thus, having accomplished a suffering feat, blessed Nicodemus was awarded the crown of heavenly glory. His holy relics remain intact to this day, pouring out fragrance and exuding healing for those who come to them with prayer and faith. Through his prayers may we also be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
The Monk Nicodemus suffered in 1722, on July 11th.
Prmch. Nectarius of Vriulla († 1820, commemorated July 11)
The Holy Martyr Nektarios came from the village of Vruilla (or Vurla, as it is called in common parlance), located in Asia Minor, Ephesus diocese, from simple but pious parents, and in holy baptism he was named Nicholas. Left orphaned after the death of his father at the age of 17 and being in extreme poverty, in order to support himself and his mother, he became a shepherd for one rich Hussein Agha, herding camels. At that time, a devastating plague was raging, from which people in entire villages were dying out, but in order to protect themselves from infection, in this case, the inhabitants of the villages got out of their houses into the fields and spent a nomadic life there. Thus, Nikolai’s master got out into the field with all his servants, who besides Nikolai had six more Greek boys, and all of them were completely removed from any communication with anyone, as happens in such times.
The master of these unfortunates, wanting to seduce them from the true path, began to tell them that all Christians had died out from the plague and that only Muslims and they remained; at the same time, as if taking part in them, he said: “If you do not want to die of starvation and, moreover, provide for your future life in the future, then you need to accept the Muslim faith.”
The unfortunate ones, seeing their hopeless situation, out of their childish foolishness, agreed to renounce the Christian faith and accept the Muslim faith.
When the plague stopped, all the residents wandering through the fields began to return to the village and their homes. Mister Nicholas also returned with his family and servants. Meanwhile, Nikolai learned that his mother had not died, but was alive and in the same village. Rejoicing, he immediately went to her, but the pious mother, as soon as she saw Nicholas dressed in Turkish dress, told him with reproach and anger: “Get away from me! I don’t know who you are!” The young man, seeing himself rejected by his own mother, with heart disease, began to tell her how he became a Muslim and how he was deceived. But a truly pious Christian, his mother still did not recognize him as her son and with even greater anger told him: “Get away from here! I did not give birth to you as a Turk, but as a Christian; Get out of here now so that my eyes don’t see you!” These formidable words of the good mother shook the soul of the unfortunate outcast to the depths and, as if with red-hot arrows, pierced his heart.
Shame, repentance and consciousness of his fall were revealed in all their fullness: out of remorse, he could no longer look at his mother’s face and with deep sorrow withdrew from her.
As soon as he left his mother, he no longer returned to Hussein Agha, but went to Smyrna. Here he found his uncle, to whom he told about his misfortune. His uncle, dressing him in European dress, sent him to Constantinople, and from there advised him to go to Russia, where he would repent of his great sin.
Nicholas listened to his uncle’s advice, went to Constantinople, and from there to Wallachia, but for some reason he did not want to go further, but returned back to Smyrna, where he again came to his uncle, who this time did not accept him, but drove him away, in fact, because he did not listen to his advice. All these failures, apparently, occurred according to God’s will so that Nicholas, in order to cleanse himself in sin, would labor not in the world, but in the desert and among experienced and holy men.
At that time, a confessor from the holy Mount Athos, a pious and experienced man, happened to be in Smyrna, to whom some virtuous Smyrna Christians introduced Nicholas, asking him to teach him spiritual healing. The confessor, having heard the confession of the outcast, sufficiently taught him, then advised him to go to the Holy Mountain and arrange his salvation there, which he joyfully did and, soon leaving Smyrna, arrived there safely.
Upon arrival at the Holy Mountain, he found one compatriot there laboring in a separate cell. This pious monk, with brotherly love, gave him shelter and put him to rest. Then he introduced him to an experienced confessor, who, having read him, introduced him to the Orthodox Church. So blessed Nicholas lived for some time in the cell of his compatriot who sheltered him, leading an ascetic life, and his heart, instead of embarrassment, was soon warmed by Divine love, which little by little inflamed his young heart more and more, so that Nicholas decided for the love of Jesus Christ and for his former renunciation of Him to shed blood and accept a martyr’s death. But, however, the confessor did not advise him to decide on such a great feat, presenting him with seemingly terrible torment and possible danger, as if for fear of falling away from the Christian faith again. Although his confessor’s advice was accepted, his heart still did not calm down.
Therefore, in order to test himself even more in spiritual exploits, he wished to go through a silent life, for which he moved from here to the monastery of St. Anna, in which his compatriot Stephen also labored in the cell of the Holy Trinity. He willingly accepted the young ascetic into the midst of his disciples and soon tonsured him into monasticism with the name Nektarios. After accepting monasticism, Nektarios began to apply labor to labor, spending his nights in vigil, prayer and kneeling; his food was bread and water. The devil, seeing the young ascetic succeeding in virtue and wanting to weaken him, began to confuse the brothers cohabiting with him, who, succumbing to the suggestions of the evil one, hated Nectarius so much that they began to ask Stephen to expel him from their society. But the prudent Stephen, seeing in this unpeacefulness the machinations of ancient malice, did not reject the requests of the brethren and, among other things, exhorted them to leave anger, which is unusual for the servants of God, and, moreover, expressed that they should consider themselves happy and thank God that He honored them to live together with the future martyr of Christ.
These words dispelled all the darkness and deceit of the enemy, and from then on the brethren changed their opinion about Nektarios and began to treat him with love.
Finally, the time was already close to Nectarius to accomplish the feat of martyrdom, for his heart, burning with Divine love, was no longer able to endure the burning flame, and he began to ask Elder Stefan to bless him for the feat of suffering. The experienced elder did not deign to his intention, since he saw him still very young to undertake martyrdom. But this did not stop Nectarius, and he only began to ask Stefan even more forcefully to let him go to suffer. Stefan, not wanting to decide such an important matter alone, consulted with other confessors, who also tried to reject Nektarios and, seeing his youth and fearing an unknown end, did not advise him to expose himself to torture. But, however, the deviations were in vain, and Nektarios complacently answered the elders that on his part only the beginning is required, and Divine power will complete the end and that he has firm hope in the help of Jesus Christ, for whom he intends to shed his blood, as well as in his patroness, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, for whom he has undoubted faith and love.
The Holy Fathers, seeing Nektarios’s strong thought, blessed him for his suffering, and Elder Stefan wished to accompany him for spiritual consolation.
So, having prepared for the journey and having received the blessing of the holy fathers as parting words, they soon set off and safely reached the fatherland of Nektarios, since the blessed one had a desire to suffer for Christ where, out of his own foolishness, he denied Him. Upon arrival in Vriulla, Nektariy took off his monastic attire and dressed in Turkish and thus lived there until the Muslim holiday of Bayram, and during all this time he showed the appearance that he was a true Muslim. But after three days he boldly appeared before the judge and, after the usual greetings, said to him: “Mr. Judge! Of course, seeing me in Turkish clothes, you think that I am a Muslim. But no: I was born a Christian and now a true Christian, a believer in my Redeemer Jesus Christ, but in my childhood, when I still could not distinguish right from left, the local Hussein Agha deceived me, promising various benefits, if only I would renounce the Christian faith, which I did.
But when I came of age and saw that he used his promises to deceive me, to seduce me, and therefore, having learned both the deception and the false Muslim faith, I left him and retired to Algeria (the martyr named this place actually so that it would not be revealed where he lived). Now I have come here in order to publicly confess here the One whom I have denied, and for my bitter fall to accept torment from you, the enemies of my Christ, and, having shed my blood, to appear clean in the heavenly abodes.” Saying this, he took off the fez208 and the green bandage from his head and threw them away with contempt.
The courage with which Nectarius spoke surprised the judge, and he, seeing his youth and physical beauty, began to caress and persuade him to leave his delusion. After many flattering promises, he finally quietly said to the martyr: “My son, I see that you are still so young and in an imperfect mind, and therefore I believe that you are not saying all this on your own, but someone taught you; So, go and think carefully, for your falling away from the Muslim faith will bring bitter torment.”
“It’s in vain, judge, you think so about me and my youth,” the martyr said with a meek smile. “Just order me to be tormented and you will see how I will endure all your torments, being strengthened by the power of my God, whose strength is not made perfect in strength, but in weakness.” So, I have long thought about all the torment, otherwise I would not have come here to confess my Lord Jesus Christ, and I curse your prophet Mohammed as a false one and the son of the devil.
But the judge still spared the holy martyr and, without causing him any harm, ordered him to think and leave.
The next day the martyr of Christ again came to the judge and with a cheerful face said:
“Mr. Judge! Yesterday you told me that I should carefully think about my situation, and so I thought about it all night, but both yesterday and today, I remain in my conviction, moreover, I have become even more contrite and mourn my sin, but I trample on your Muslim faith as ungodly and leading to destruction.”
Finally, the judge, losing patience, ordered him to be taken to the prince of that area. This showed that the judge was betraying him to a higher authority, which had the right to torture and execute. But since the prince was not at home at that time, they locked the holy martyr in prison, hammering his feet into stocks, and placing a heavy chain around his neck. At this time, many noble and wealthy Muslims came to his prison, who, wanting to seduce the martyr, persuaded him and promised him various honors and riches so that only he would agree to renounce the faith in Jesus Christ. But the holy sufferer stood firmly against temptation, counting all their promises of honors and wealth as nothing. The divine love that reigned in his heart neglected everything, and what he desired was not the wealth and glory of the vain world, but the speedy release from the body and the appearance in the face of the living God.
Five days passed; The prince arrived and ordered the holy martyr to be brought to his court. As soon as the martyr was brought, the prince asked him:
“Are you the one who is being held in prison for renouncing our faith, which you accepted voluntarily?”
“Yes, it’s me,” the saint answered complacently.
- Who told you such nonsense that you would become a saint for your insolence?
- Not nonsense, but the truth, which was promised by our Lord Jesus Christ and Who will have mercy on me for confessing His holy name, and through my shed blood will cleanse me from the vile circumcision that was performed on me by you Muslims.
- Well, did God Himself really come to you, the unclean one, and assure you of this?
– Yes, God Himself, Who reveals Himself to those who believe in Him through the Holy Scriptures.
The prince, seeing the boldness of the martyr, began to caress him, saying: “My friend! Come to your senses, have pity on your youth and good looks, preserve our faith, and I will make you my son, provide you with all the blessings and place you above all my associates; otherwise, I will order you to be tortured and then killed as the most worthless of people.”
“May your wealth, honor and glory be your destruction,” the martyr answered him, “but I don’t care about torment and dishonorable death, since that’s why I gave myself away.” So, do with me what you want, but I will never renounce Jesus Christ for anything in the world. “The prince, seeing himself humiliated, ordered him to be thrown into prison again, putting a chain on his neck even heavier than the first, and shackling his legs. But the blessed one endured suffering complacently, for love for Jesus Christ drowned out bodily pain. At this time, Elder Stephen and other pious Christians offered up prayers to the Most High God, so that He would strengthen the holy martyr in his exploits; some of the more courageous ones entered his prison and conveyed the Holy Mysteries sent to him by Stephen, after communion of which the saint became even more strengthened in spirit.
Meanwhile, the prince, at the inspiration of his age-old enemy the devil, did not want to let go of the victim and in every way seduced him through his messengers, eminent citizens, wanting to deviate him from Christ, but when he saw that Stephen remained in his firm intention, he ordered him to be tortured, and the executioners began to torture the saint with bitterness: they beat him with sticks, they covered his head with hot copper cups. After these cruel tortures, which were repeated several times, the saint lost consciousness, and then they threw him into prison. But the next day the young man was found healthy and unharmed; the invisible power of God healed the saint; Seeing this, the Muslims were perplexed and at the same time aware of their powerlessness. Therefore, the prince ordered his head to be cut off, which happened on the same day on Malkaza Square, and the pure soul of the holy sufferer flew to the heavenly monasteries, on July 11, 1820, in the 21st year from birth. The mad monster ordered the body of the saint to be thrown into a dry well and covered with earth and stones, which was exactly what his zealous servants did.
But after a few days, pious Christians managed to secretly take the holy relics from the well and divided them among themselves for consecration: one part was taken by the elder of the venerable martyr Nektarios Stefan and transferred it to the holy Mount Athos, the other was taken by the martyr’s mother, and the third by local Christians.
Through the prayers of the Holy Martyr Nektarios, O Christ God, grant us also the ability to end our lives in peace and receive the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
12
Icons of the Mother of God “Three-handed”
Today the reigning city of Moscow brightly flaunts, containing in itself, O Most Merciful, Most Honest of all creatures, Our Intercessor, Virgin Mother of God, Thy honorable image, and You surprise the sunflower ends of the earth and give peace to the world, in the image of the Holy Trinity you show three hands: two of His Son, Christ our God, bear, the third from You faithfully deliver misfortunes and misfortunes from those who come running to You, and you save them from drowning, and you bestow useful things on everyone, and you show the Maleon Mountain to St. Michael, and you are always gracious to everyone, honestly With Your robe you cover this life and all our cities and countries, so we call You: Rejoice, O O Joyful One.
In the 9th century, during the iconoclasm, for his zealous veneration of holy icons, the Monk John of Damascus was slandered by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717 - 740) before the Caliph of Damascus for treason. The caliph ordered the saint's hand to be cut off and hanged in the market. Towards evening, Saint John, having asked the caliph for a severed hand, applied it to the joint and fell prostrate before the icon of the Mother of God. The monk asked the Lady to heal the hand that was writing in defense of Orthodoxy. After a long prayer, he dozed off and saw in a dream that the Most Pure One was turning to him, promising a speedy healing. At the same time, the Mother of God commanded him to work with this hand without laziness. Waking up from sleep, the Monk John saw that his hand was unharmed. In gratitude for the healing, the saint put a hand made of silver to the icon, which is why the icon received the name “Three-Handed”. According to legend, the Monk John wrote a hymn of gratitude to the Mother of God, “Every creature rejoices in You, O Gracious One,” which is a hymn at the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
Saint John of Damascus accepted monasticism at the Lavra of St. Sava and handed over the miraculous icon there. The Lavra gave the “Three-Handed” icon as a blessing to Saint Sava of Serbia.
During the Turkish invasion of Serbia, Christians, wanting to preserve the icon, entrusted it to the care of the Mother of God Herself. They placed it on a donkey, which came to Athos without a driver and stopped in front of the Hilendar monastery. The monks placed the icon in the cathedral church. During the disagreement over the choice of abbot, the Mother of God deigned to accept the abbot Herself, and Her holy icon took the abbot’s place in the church. Since then, only a viceroy has been elected at the Hilendar monastery, and the monks, according to monastic custom, receive a blessing from the holy icon for all obediences.
St. John of Svyatogorets, Iveron (Athos) († 998, commemorated May 13, July 12)
St. Gabriel of Svyatogorets, Iversky (Athos) (X, commemorated May 13, July 12)
St. Euthymius the New, Svyatogorets, Iversky (Athos), son of St. John of the Holy Mountain († 1028, commemorated May 13, July 12)
See life on page...
14
St. Nikodim Svyatogorets († 1809, commemorated July 14)
This brilliant star of the Church appeared to the world in 1749 on the island of Naxos in the Cyclades archipelago. The parents of the future saint, pious and God-fearing people, named him Nicholas at baptism and gave him to the village priest so that he could teach the boy to read. Unlike other children, Nikolai avoided wild games and instead constantly indulged in reading. The Lord gifted him not only with a lively mind, but also with an exceptional memory, which allowed him to immediately remember everything he read and accurately repeat it whenever he wanted.
At the age of 16, Nicholas was sent to Smyrna to study with didaskal Hierotheos Dendrinos. There he was loved by both the teacher and his fellow students for his kindness and noble disposition. In addition to secular sciences and various spiritual disciplines, he perfectly mastered the Greek language in all its manifestations. This allowed him to subsequently fulfill the mission prepared for him by the Lord: to make the treasures of Church Tradition accessible to the oppressed Orthodox Greeks.
After four years of study in Smyrna, when the Turks destroyed local Greeks after the war with Russia, Nikolai was forced to return to his homeland - to the island of Naxos. Here he met the monks Gregory, Nifont and Arseny, expelled from Athos due to Kollivad disputes. They awakened in him a love for monasticism and taught him the basics of asceticism and inner prayer. From them the young man learned that on the island of Hydra lived a certain man of exceptional virtues, an expert in patristic teaching - Metropolitan Macarius of Corinth (April 17). Nicholas rushed to him, like a thirsty deer to a source of water (see: Ps. 41: 1), and found a complete like-minded person in his desire to do what the Church urgently needed: publish and translate the patristic works - the basis of Church Tradition. There Nicholas also met the famous hermit Sylvester of Caesarea, who lived in a secluded cell not far from the city. The ascetic extolled the joy of solitary life so much that Nicholas decided, without delaying any longer, to lay upon himself the sweet and pleasant yoke of Christ.
Having received letters of recommendation from Saint Sylvester, he went to Athos (1775).
First, he entered the Dionysiates monastery, where he soon took monastic vows with the name Nicodemus. The young monk was appointed secretary and reader. He quickly became an example for other brothers, both in obedience, which he performed resignedly and humbly, and in diligent prayer and abstinence. Every day, forgetting what lies behind, he stretched forward (see Phil. 3:13), striving to subjugate the flesh to the spirit and thus preparing for the spiritual warfare of silent living.
Two years later, Saint Macarius of Corinth visited the Holy Mountain. He commissioned the Monk Nicodemus to edit and prepare for publication the Philokalia, an Orthodox encyclopedia of prayer and spiritual life. The young monk retired to his cell in Karea to fulfill this assignment, worthy of the most experienced teachers of hesychasm, which required the deepest knowledge of the science of the soul. He also worked on the works “Evergetin” and “On Continuous Communion,” which was written by Saint Macarius, but significantly enriched by Saint Nicodemus. Having completed this work, the saint returned to Dionysiatus.
He began to often visit the hesychast fathers, and also diligently indulge in the Jesus Prayer, and soon he had a desire to completely devote himself to silence. Nicodemus learned about the Monk Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15), who was a mentor to about a thousand monks in the holy work of bringing the mind into the heart. The Monk Nicodemus went to the Monk Paisius, but by the will of Divine Providence the storm stopped him, and he returned to Athos. Burning with the desire to devote himself to prayer and silence, the Monk Nicodemus did not return to Dionysiatus, but settled in a secluded cell not far from Kary. Then he moved to the Kapsala monastery of the Pantokrator monastery, to the kaliva, consecrated in the name of St. Athanasius. To provide himself with what he needed, he rewrote manuscripts. Both day and night he could indulge in undistracted prayer and study the works of the holy fathers, quickly ascending the steps of the spiritual ladder.
After some time, the holy elder Arsenios of the Peloponnese, whom the Monk Nicodemus had met on Naxos, returned to Athos and settled in a monastery. Then Nicodemus voluntarily gave up solitude in order to acquire the benefits bestowed by obedience, and became the elder’s disciple. They completed the construction of a new cell, but their privacy was constantly disturbed by visitors, so they decided to retire to the deserted, waterless island of Skiropoula opposite Euboea (1782). However, surviving on this island turned out to be very difficult, and the Monk Arseny went to another place, and Nicodemus was left alone.
It was there, at the request of his cousin, Bishop Hierotheos of Euripus, that the Monk Nicodemus wrote the book “Admonitory Guide.” This outstanding spiritual work is dedicated to storing feelings and thoughts and doing smart things. It became the best creation of the monk that he himself wrote. The author was only 32 years old, he did not resort to the help of books and records and had as a source only the treasury of his amazing memory and constant communication with God. In this work, the Monk Nicodemus presented in a concise form the patristic teaching on spiritual life, illustrating it with an impressive number of quotations and precise references. He writes about how to free the mind from the captivity of sensual pleasures in order to allow it to rise through inner prayer to the spiritual joy of contemplation.
During his stay on a deserted island, the Monk Nicodemus resisted the furious onslaught of demons who sought to drive him out of there. As a child, he was so timid that he was afraid to sleep with the door closed, and now, when unclean spirits whispered under his window, he raised his head from his book only to laugh at their impotent tricks.
After spending a year on Skiropoul, the Monk Nicodemus returned to Athos, took monastic vows into the great schema and settled in the cell of Saint Theona in Kapsala. He agreed to take on a student, Hierotheus, and with even greater zeal devoted himself to working on books and instructing the brethren who settled around him in order to join in his wisdom.
Soon Saint Macarius of Corinth came to Athos again. He instructed St. Nicodemus to prepare a translation of the complete collection of works of St. Simeon the New Theologian. In the introduction to this book, which contained profound instructions on contemplation, St. Nicodemus clarifies that such writings are intended not only for monks, but also for laity, for all Christians are called to evangelical perfection. Then the Monk Nicodemus compiled the “Exomologitarium,” that is, the “Guide to Confession,” and a unique collection of canons to the Mother of God for each voice and for each day of the week for singing at the end of Vespers or at Compline in monasteries.
In addition to many other liturgical texts, he published two works at that time, which were adapted versions of two famous Western spiritual works: Lorenzo Scupoli's Invisible Warfare (1589) and Spiritual Exercises, which have continued to enjoy continued success. These books are by no means simple translations; they were deeply revised by the holy ascetic, who supplemented them with impeccable instructions on repentance, asceticism and the Jesus Prayer.
Meanwhile, “The Most Helpful Book of Continuous Communion” aroused sharp rejection among the monks, who defended the custom of receiving communion only three or four times a year, which contradicts the holy canons and apostolic Tradition. The book was accused of a newly invented heresy and condemned by Patriarch Procopius. But when Neophyte VII took the patriarchal throne (1789), the ban was lifted, and the Kollyvads were recognized as the true defenders of the sacred Tradition. Nevertheless, gross and absurd slander against St. Nicodemus continued to spread in some monastic circles. He was even accused of allegedly hiding the Holy Gifts in his skufa so that he could receive communion on the go. But the saint preferred to remain silent, awaiting justification only from God, and with tears he prayed for the conversion of those who were in error regarding the commemoration of the dead on Sundays.
Hieromonk Agapius of the Peloponnese came to Athos and invited St. Nicodemus to review and translate the collection of holy canons he had prepared, expanding the comments to it. The saint, for whom life and order in the Church were more valuable than his own life, set to work with zeal. He even took four scribes to quickly finish this necessary collection, which he called “The Helmsman” (“Pidalion”). For more than two years, the Monk Nicodemus worked day and night, collecting, comparing, correcting erroneous or contradictory texts, citing parallels from the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, the Fathers of the Church and Byzantine civil legislation, enriching the work with a huge number of notes that provided precise criteria for the application of these canons in the life of the Church. The completed collection was sent to Constantinople, but he had to wait a long time for the patriarch's blessing. Then all the Athonite monks subscribed to this book, transferring funds. Then the collection was handed over to Hieromonk Theodoret, who was in Romania, for publication.
But he was an opponent of collivades and frequent communion and, at his own discretion, introduced corrections into the “Pidalion”, distorting the author’s intention and Church Tradition. The book was published in Leipzig in 1800. When it fell into the hands of the Monk Nicodemus, he was deeply offended and exclaimed: “It would be better if he struck me with a sword right in the heart than added or shortened anything in this book!”
At the same time, news reached St. Nicodemus that the manuscript of the complete collection of works of St. Gregory Palamas (November 14), collected and annotated with great difficulty by him at the request of St. Athanasius of Paria (June 24) and Metropolitan Leo of Iliopolis, was captured and destroyed in a Viennese printing house. This happened because the Austrians were looking for the "Manifesto" of Rigas Fereos, which called on the Greeks to revolt against the Turks. This news struck St. Nicodemus, and he shed streams of tears, regretting not so much the irreparable loss of time spent on this work, but the loss of such a treasure.
After this, the Monk Nicodemus, together with Sylvester of Caesarea, spent some time in the cell of St. Basil, where St. Theophilus the Myrrh-Streaming once lived (July 8), and then again began to live in solitude and continued his apostolic labors. Dressed in rags and wearing rough shoes, he considered himself the last of all. He never prepared any food for himself and ate only boiled rice or honey diluted with water, a few olives and a few soaked beans. If hunger tormented the Monk Nicodemus too much, he would come to his neighbors and eat with them, but usually he would immediately get carried away in conversation and forget about food. He was seen busy with only two things: prayer and scholarly works. At any hour of the day or night he could be found either bent over a book or writing implements, or with his head bowed on his chest, bringing his mind down into the depths of his heart, from there with zeal to call on the holy name of Jesus.
He became entirely prayerful, and it was thanks to this intimate unity with Christ that Divine grace placed in his heart the entire treasure of the Church. When the Monk Nicodemus wrote, he completely immersed himself in his work. One day a certain monk came to him and, finding him at work, put a piece of fresh bread into his mouth. In the evening he came in again and saw the Monk Nicodemus in the same position, with a piece of bread in his mouth, as if he had not noticed anything.
At this time, the Monk Nicodemus wrote an extensive commentary on the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, based on the interpretation of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, adding also a commentary on the conciliar epistles. He also wrote an interpretation of nine biblical songs, entitled “The Garden of Grace,” and translated “Interpretation of the Psalter” by Evfimy Zigavin. As in all his other works, in these writings the Monk Nicodemus did not at all confine himself to simple translation. Taking as a basis and guide one of the commentaries accepted by the Church, he supplemented it with his extensive notes, saturating it with the testimonies of other Church fathers on many different issues.
Like an inexhaustible source, he published selected lives of ancient saints (“Neon Eclogion” - “New Izbornik”), and “New Martyrology” - a collection of the lives of the new martyrs to support the faith of Christians oppressed by the Ottoman yoke. Thanks to this collection, many apostates were converted and joined the glorious army of martyrs. The Monk Nicodemus constantly cared about the education of the people of God and published an essay entitled “Christian Good Morality” - a remarkable exposition of the moral instructions of St. John Chrysostom.
Every day, many of those who were wounded by sin or apostasy, bypassing bishops and confessors, flocked to the Kapsal ascetic to find spiritual healing and consolation. Not only monks, but also lay people came to St. Nicodemus from afar. The saint soon began to complain that he could not indulge in the prayer he desired, and again wanted to retire to a deserted place unknown to anyone. However, illness prevented him from realizing this intention.
At the age of 57, the Monk Nicodemus, exhausted by asceticism and publishing works, which would have been enough to fill an entire library, was crushed by such weakness that he could not be cured even with the help of good nutrition. Then he left the Kapsala monastery and decided to live for some time in the cell of his friends Skurteev, in Karei, and then with one of their neighbors, an icon painter monk. Here, in two years of work, he created the Synaxarion. After this, the Monk Nicodemus returned to his cell in the Kapsala monastery and wrote an extensive commentary on the festive canons (“Eorthodromium”) and the “New Ladder,” that is, an interpretation of the 75 sedate octoechos that are sung at Sunday matins. In The New Ladder all his theological knowledge and spiritual power were revealed. The saint finished this work already being completely weakened, having lost his teeth and almost deaf (1808).
At this time, new slander against Saint Athanasius of Paros and three other collivades led to their unjust condemnation by Patriarch Gregory V. The Monk Nicodemus could no longer come to their defense and limited himself to setting out the “Confession of Faith.”
His health condition worsened. Having revised “The New Ladder” for the last time, St. Nicodemus exclaimed: “Lord, take me away! I'm tired of this world! Gradually, half of his body became paralyzed. The saint repeated the Jesus Prayer out loud, asking forgiveness from the brethren for the fact that he could not do this to himself. Having confessed and received communion, he took in his hands the relics of Saints Macarius of Corinth and Parthenius Scurtheus and, kissing them with tears, said: “Why, holy fathers, have you left me an orphan? You have gone to heaven and are resting there for the sake of the virtues that you performed on earth, and are already enjoying the glory of our Lord. And I suffer because of my sins. I ask you, my fathers, beg our Lord to have mercy on me and make me worthy to be where you are!” At night he exclaimed: “I’m dying, dying, dying. But I ask you - give me communion!” After communion, an unearthly calm descended on St. Nicodemus. He crossed his arms on his chest and answered the monks who were worried about him: “I have accepted Christ into myself.
How can I not be calm!” At sunrise on July 14, 1809, he departed to the Lord. One of the assistants of the Monk Nicodemus exclaimed: “It would be better if thousands of other Christians died today than the Monk Nicodemus!”
His star has set, but its light continues to shine for the Church, and his books remain an inexhaustible source of teaching, comfort and encouragement to the fullness of life in Christ.
28
St. Pavel Xiropotamsky († 820, commemorated July 28)
The Monk Paul of Xiropotamia, in the world Procopius, was the son of the Constantinople Emperor Michael Kuropalates, who subsequently resigned his royal dignity and accepted monasticism in the monastery he built. Having received an excellent education, Procopius became one of the most learned people of his time. His Word on the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Church, the canon of the Forty Martyrs, the canon of the Honorable Cross and other works earned him well-deserved fame. But learning and an honorable position in the world did not captivate Procopius. Leaving everything worldly, exchanging rich clothes for beggar's rags, he went to the Holy Mountain, to the place of Xiropotamus, built himself a cell in the ruins of a ruined monastery, once founded by Queen Pulcheria in honor of the 40 martyrs, and received tonsure from the hermit Cosmas with the name Paul.
Out of humility, the Reverend did not reveal his learning to anyone. The fame of Paul's strict life quickly spread throughout the Holy Mountain. They began to call him Paul of Xiropotam, and the monastery where he labored continues to this day to be called Xiropotam (Dry Stream).
Emperor Romanus, a relative of Saint Paul, who had ascended the throne at that time, through the Prota of the Holy Mountain, begged the saint to come to Constantinople and arranged a magnificent meeting for him. The humble Paul, without betraying his monastic duty, appeared with a cross and in a torn cassock amid the court splendor and splendor. Saint Paul confirmed his glory as God's chosen one by miraculously healing the seriously ill Emperor Romanus by laying his hands on him. But the bustle of court life, promised by the grateful emperor, did not seduce the saint, and he returned to the Holy Mountain, asking the king for only one favor - to restore the Xiropotamian monastery.
Upon the resumption of the monastery and the consecration of the cathedral church, a part of the Venerable Tree of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, given to St. Paul by Emperor Roman, was placed on the holy throne.
Soon the Xiropotamian monastery was filled with many monks who wanted to entrust themselves to the leadership of the holy ascetic, but the Monk Paul, entrusting the management of the monastery to one of the brethren, withdrew into the remote desert. His strict silence was again broken by the disciples, who did not want to leave their elder. Then the Reverend asked the emperor for funds to build a new monastery. So the monastery was founded by Saint Paul in the name of the holy great martyr and victorious George. The first abbot of the new monastery was the Monk Paul himself, who brought there particles of the Venerable Tree of the Cross of the Lord.
Notified in advance by the Lord about his death, the saint called the brethren of the Xiropotamian and new St. George monasteries to him and gave them the last instruction. On the day of his death, the Monk Paul put on a mantle, read the prayer of St. Joannicius, which he repeated constantly: “My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, glory to Thee,” and partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Saint Paul bequeathed to bury his body on the Pongose Peninsula (opposite the Holy Mountain).
But by the will of God, the ship washed up on the shores of Constantinople, where the Emperor and Patriarch reverently accepted the body of the saint and solemnly laid it in the Great Church. After the defeat of Constantinople by the crusaders, the relics of St. Paul were transferred to Venice.
31
Prmch. Dionysius of Vatopedi († 1822, commemorated July 31)
In 1822, the Vatopedi monk Dionysius was sent to the island of Crete, where he was tortured by the Turks for refusing to renounce the Orthodox faith.
Canonized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The name of the Venerable Martyr Dionysius was included in the monthbook of the Russian Orthodox Church by the determination of the Holy Synod of August 21, 2007. In the journals of the Holy Synod, the day of remembrance is indicated on July 18 (31), however, in the church calendar on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate, the memory is placed on July 31 / August 13
7
St. Dometius Filofeevsky, Athonite († XVI, commemorated August 7)
Damian was born in the village of Mirikhov (or Rihovon, now Ayia Triada) near Agraf in Greece around 1510 into a family of pious parents.
From an early age he gravitated toward monastic life. First he went to the Filofeevsky Monastery, where he became a monk. After some time, he left the monastery and lived for three years under the guidance of the silent man and wonderworker Venerable Dometius on the Holy Mountain. Hearing one day a divine voice proclaiming that Damian should work not only for his own benefit, but also for the benefit of others, the monk left Athos and came to Mount Olympus, where he began to preach repentance. He was accused of delusion and went to Larissa and the region of Mount Kissavos.
After this, he returned to Agrafy, where he founded the monastery of the All-Holy Mother of God of Pelekit. Due to troubles, he subsequently had to move to Mount Kissavos, where he founded the Monastery of the Beheading of John the Baptist, where many Christians came to hear his sermons and spiritual instructions. After living with the monks for several years, Saint Damian moved to a secluded hermitage two kilometers from the monastery, from where he continued to instruct the monks and surrounding villagers.
One day Damian went to the neighboring village of Vulgarina on monastery business. There he was attacked by the Turks. On charges of “embarrassing” Christians – i.e. in calling on Christians not to engage in trade on Sundays and to remain firm in their faith - he was brought to the ruler of the Larisa region. They beat him, shackled him and threw him into prison, where they continued to cruelly torture him for 15 days, forcing him to renounce Christ. The saint remained adamant. He was eventually sentenced to death by hanging and subsequent burning of his body. But during the execution, the rope broke, and the martyr was thrown into the fire while still alive, after which the ashes were poured into the Penei River. This happened in 1568.
8
St. Gregory of Sinai († 1310 (1346), commemorated August 8)
The Monk Gregory was born in the late sixties of the 13th century in the village of Kukule (Asia Minor). As a young man, he was captured by the Ottoman Turks who attacked his home village. He was redeemed from captivity by the Laodicean Christians, who were greatly impressed by the performance of church hymns by the captives released by the Turks to the church closest to the military camp.
Subsequently, the life of the monk is associated with places of monastic settlements: the island of Cyprus, Mount Sinai, Palestine, the Cretan hermitage, Athos, the Parorian hermitage (near the border between Bulgaria and Byzantium), again Athos, Paroria. Of these places, Mount Sinai and Athos should be especially noted. At Sinai the monk was tonsured into the minor schema. Here he led a truly ascetic life, for which he received the name Sinaite. Selfless obedience, humility, fasting, almost incessant prayer (sometimes on the top of Mount Sinai, where Moses the Seer of God was remembered), diligent reading of the Holy Scriptures, daily confession to the abbot of all sinful thoughts, monastic work, and in between - copying sacred books with the art of calligrapher...
In the “Philokalia” we read that, having come to Athos, the monk found there “many fathers, who were adorned with knowledge and purity of morals, but were diligent only about active life, but they knew so little about keeping the mind, precise silence and contemplation that they did not even understand these names.” And so Saint Gregory, seeing all this, flared up “with zeal and began to teach sobriety, guarding the mind and mental prayer not only to the silent ones who lived in solitude, but also to all the Cenobites.”
The Monk Gregory died in the middle of the 14th century (presumably in 1346).
Just as during his life Saint Gregory taught inner work, so after his death, with his creations, he “beautifully and fully depicts the active method of heartfelt prayer.” Five of the saint’s creations have survived to this day. These creations are as follows:
Very useful chapters arranged in acro-verse (137 chapters).
Other chapters: On passionate change. About a good change. About temptations in dreams (7 chapters).
A detailed discussion about silence and prayer, moreover about the signs of grace and delusion, and about the difference between fervor and energy and how easy it is to fall into delusion without a guide (10 chapters).
About silence and two types of prayer. How should prayer be performed? About breathing. How should the psalms be sung? Oh the delights. About reading (15 chapters).
About how a silent person should sit during prayer and not finish it hastily. How should the prayer be read? How should one keep the mind (from distraction). How to eliminate thoughts. How to sing psalms. To someone who asks about curbing the belly. About charm and many objects (7 chapters).
In the middle of our century, all of them were re-translated from Greek into Russian by Archimandrite Veniamin Milov (later Bishop of Saratov and Balashov; †08/02/1955). The text of this translation in typescript is stored in the library of the Moscow Theological Academy and is used in this work.
11
St. Niphon II of Constantinople, Patriarch († 1490, commemorated August 11)
Saint Niphon was born around 1435-1440 in the Peloponnese (Greece), into a very pious family. Upon completion of his education, he became a monk in Epidavrion. After the death of his elder Anthony, he retired to Holy Mount Athos, where he labored in the monasteries of Koutlumousiou, Great Lavra and Dionysiou.
For his holy life, learning and eloquence, the Athonite monks forced him to instruct them, although the humble Niphon refused, saying that “he is not worthy to treat the healthy, but he himself needs to be cured of them.” After the death of Metropolitan of Thessalonica in 1483, the clergy and flock of the diocese chose Niphon as their shepherd and he, convinced by the monastic brethren and the abbot, agreed to accept the bishopric. Soon, at the end of 1486, at the insistence of the Vlachian princess, he was elevated to the patriarchal throne of Constantinople. For two years he steered the ship of the Church, but in 1488 he was deposed and retired to live in asceticism in the monastery he founded. In the struggle for influence on the election of the patriarch, characteristic of the entire era of the Turkish yoke, the saint was again nominated to the See of Constantinople, but he stayed there for only a year, from the summer of 1497 to the summer of 1498, and was again forced to retire.
Around 1500, the Vlachian governor Radu the Great called the saint to serve as high priest in his domains. For five years Saint Niphon served as Metropolitan of Wallachia, zealously serving the Church, instructing both the prince and all people without regard for ranks and titles. Under him, two new dioceses were founded with sees in the cities of Ramnicu Valcea and Buzau.
In the spring of 1502, the saint was again, for the third time, called to the See of Constantinople, but refused, preferring to remain with the Romanian flock.
In 1505, a dispute arose between the saint and the governor. The voivode criminally allowed one of his boyars, who abandoned his wife and children, to remarry his sister. Saint Niphon, intolerant of lawlessness, left his see, predicting many misfortunes for the rebellious commander. The saint convinced his faithful disciple, the boyar Neagoe Basarab, that if he adheres to Christ’s commandments, his name will become famous throughout the Romanian land.
The saint blessed his flock with tears and, together with his disciples Macarius and Joasaph, returned to the Holy Mountain, to the Vatopedi monastery. Knowing that Macarius was eager to confess Christ through martyrdom and that this was the will of God, he blessed him and he accepted death from the Turks for his confession in Thessalonica. The saint knew the hour of his martyrdom, saying to his disciple Joasaph: “Know, my son, today your brother Macarius died a martyr’s death and joyfully ascends to heaven.”
Soon he and his disciple secretly went to the Dionysios Monastery. Here Elder Petronius once saw the saint praying at night, enveloped in divine light. Saint Niphon humbly hid his rank and performed his obediences as an ordinary monk until Saint John the Baptist appeared to the abbot in a dream and revealed the saint to him, commanding him and all the brethren to meet him with honor as patriarch.
One day the saint, boarding a ship that came to the monastery, calmed the raging sea. At other times, when the brethren asked his prayers for the sailors, the saint instructed them to fulfill the rule without laziness and to refrain from idle talk.
Finally, feeling the approach of his death, the saint gathered the brethren and fulfilled their last request, composing a prayer of permission, read at the funeral service. Having blessed his disciple Joasaph to go to Constantinople and there accept the crown of martyrdom for confessing Christ, the saint rested on August 11, 1508.
According to the prediction of the saint, the pious Nyagoe Basarab became the governor of Vlahia in 1512. Remembering his mentor, in 1515 the governor transferred the relics of Saint Niphon to his possessions, to the Dyalu monastery, where he donated a large silver ark for them.
On August 16, 1517, in the newly consecrated monastery of Curtea de Arges, Patriarch Theoliptus of Constantinople, together with the Synod of the Romanian Lands and the abbots of the Athos monasteries, performed the solemn glorification of the sanctuary of Niphon. This became the first official canonization of a saint in Romania. In the same year, the relics of the saint were returned to the Dionysiu Monastery, which was completely restored at the expense of the Romanian governors Vasile Lupu, Neagoe Basaraba and Petru Rares. This is where they remain to this day. However, in gratitude, the Athonite monks handed over the venerable head and right hand of Saint Nyagoe to Basarab, who placed them in his Argesh monastery. Here they were preserved until 1949, when they were transferred to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Craiova.
15
Venerable Joseph the Hesychast
Joseph the Silent, Joseph the Cave; in the world Frangiskos Kottis; (11/2/1897, Lefke village on the island of Paros - 08/15/1959, Athos), - an outstanding devotee of piety of the 20th century, spiritual mentor of many Athonite monks. The names of the disciples of Joseph the Hesychast are associated with the renewal and spiritual revival of 6 of the 20 Athonite monasteries and many monasteries outside the Holy Mountain.
The parents of the future elder, Georgios and Maria, were poor but pious people. Georgios died in 1907, and the upbringing of 6 children fell on Maria's shoulders. According to Frangiskos's mother, soon after the birth of her son, she learned about his upcoming fate: an angel who appeared to her in a dream wrote down the baby's name on a certain list and took him away, saying that the King needed him.
Frangiskos did not finish primary school, because after the death of his father he had to help his mother and brothers. In 1914 he went to work in Piraeus. After completing military service, he settled in Athens, where, according to some sources, he was engaged in small trade, and according to others, he worked as a cook and then as a tram conductor. At the age of 23, the young man became interested in reading spiritual literature, under the influence of which he began to imitate the ascetic life of the ancient fathers on the town of Pendeli. In the same 1921, having met a certain elder from a cell in Kareya, Frangiskos distributed his property to the poor and went to the Holy Mountain to become a monk.
On Athos, Frangiskos first joined the brotherhood of Elder Daniel of Katunaki, but then he left there in search of a more secluded place for asceticism. The young man was unable to immediately find a spiritual father for himself, about which he later wrote bitterly: “Day and night I cried because I did not find the Holy Mountain as the saints write about it.” In particular, his attempt to become a disciple of Elder Callinicus the Hesychast was unsuccessful, since the latter refused to teach his novices mental prayer. Then Joseph the Hesychast began to lead a hermit’s life, living in caves. Afterwards after many harsh deeds, he was granted the gift of grace-filled, unceasing prayer.
Unable to find a suitable shelter, Frangiskos traveled around Mount Athos for some time, making a living by making brooms. During these wanderings, he met and became close to the monk Arseny. On the advice of Daniel of Katunaki, who pointed out to young people the importance of obedience for spiritual life, at the end of 1921 Frangiskos and Arseniy became students of the simple-minded and kind-hearted elder Ephraim of Katunaki, an Albanian by birth, engaged in the craft of cooperage. In 1925, Frangiskos was tonsured into the great schema with the name Joseph.
Shortly before his death, Elder Ephraim moved to the monastery of St. Basil the Great, where he soon died. After his death, Joseph, yielding to the request of his brother, assumed the responsibilities of the head of the community, although Fr. Arseny was older both in years and in terms of the time of his monastic tonsure. Left alone, Joseph and Arseny continued traveling around Athos, returning to their kaliva only for the winter, and then decided to live there permanently, doing wood carving. According to Joseph's memoirs, this period of his life was associated with especially difficult temptations. So, one day the elder saw in a vision a long line of monks preparing to fight demons. The tall and glorious military leader invited him to stand in the first row of fighters, to which Joseph happily agreed. The vision was followed by a fierce spiritual warfare that lasted 8 years, as a result of which Joseph, in his words, “entered all the refuges of the enemy and, after fierce combat, came out of them by the grace of the Lord.”
An important event in the life of the ascetic was the acquisition of a spiritual father, Elder Daniel, a silent and almost complete recluse, who monasticized in the cell of St. Peter of Athos in the vicinity of the Great Lavra. From his confessor, Joseph adopted the rule of eating food (consisting of 1 measure of bread and a small amount of vegetables) only once a day, making no exception for great holidays.
During his stay at the monastery of St. Basil the Great, a small monastic brotherhood began to form around Joseph: the elder was joined by his brother Athanasius, Fr. John from Albania and Fr. Ephraim (later hieromonk who led the Old Calendarist movement in the city of Volos). The famous ascetic Monk was also a novice of Joseph for some time. Gerasim (Menaias), who, despite the fact that his health did not allow him to stay in the brotherhood for long, always remembered the elder with deep respect. Since the ascetics began to live permanently in their kaliva, Joseph gained great fame, and many visitors came to him for advice. This circumstance disrupted the secluded atmosphere, prompting the founders of the brotherhood to look for a new place for monastic deeds.
Joseph in 1929 and 1930 left the Holy Mountain to tonsure his mother as a nun and found a nunnery in the vicinity of the city of Drama. In 1933, he returned to Athos, continuing to direct the 5 nuns he had tonsured through correspondence.
In Jan. 1938 Joseph together with Fr. Arseny looked for an abandoned kaliva in the Small Skete of St. Anna, located in caves under a rocky cliff, where they labored for the next 30 years. The devotees renovated the small church of St. John the Baptist and built for themselves a hut from wood, twigs and clay, divided into 3 cells, one of which was intended for Joseph, the other for Arseny, and the third for the visiting hieromonk. Here Joseph and Fr. Arseny was alone again for some time. The very location of the kaliva and the lack of space for living quarters did not suggest the presence of other brethren. Nevertheless, over time, new disciples from among young monks joined the ascetics, including Mon. Ephraim (later hegumen of the Philotheus monastery, and then the founder of a number of monasteries in the United States), mon. Joseph (later confessor of the Vatopedi monastery and biographer of the elder), Hierom. Charalampius (later hegumen of the monastery Dionysius).
The hardships of life in the Small Skete of St. Anna (associated primarily with the need to lift loads to great heights every day) had a bad effect on the health of young novices, so in June 1951 Joseph decided to move closer to the sea. They chose St. Kaliva. Bessrebrenikov in the New Skete. At the beginning of 1958, the elder’s health deteriorated sharply, and a painful abscess appeared on his neck. Yielding to the requests of his spiritual children, Joseph agreed to accept treatment, although he considered the efforts of doctors unnecessary. The following year he suffered from heart failure. On the day of the Dormition of St. The elder departed to the Lord, having predicted his death and having previously received communion at the festive Liturgy.
Relics of Joseph today time are in Vatopedi, and the honest head and the rest of the relics are in the monastery of St. Anthony the Great (Arizona, USA). Posthumous apparitions of the elder and miracles that took place during the transfer of his relics were reported. Joseph is revered as a locally revered saint on Mount Athos, as well as in Romania.
A large number of letters from Joseph to relatives and spiritual children, devoted to various issues of spiritual life, have been preserved. A selection of these letters was published by Elder Ephraim of the Philotheus Monastery under the title “Expression of Monastic Experience.” The elder also wrote the essay “The Ten-Voice Spirit-Moved Trumpet,” which describes in figurative form the steps that an ascetic must overcome on the path to acquiring grace. The elder’s writings are characterized by a unique style, combining archaism with popular expressions and the use of rhymed prose.
16
St. Gerasim of Cephalon, New, Nataras, Athonite, Hierom. († 1579, commemorated August 16, October 20)
See life.
18
Icons of the Mother of God “Vsetsaritsa”
With the joyful image of the honest All-Tsarina, / with the warm desire of those seeking Thy grace, save, O Lady; / deliver those who come running to You from circumstances, / protect Your flock from every adversity, / always crying out for Your intercession.
The miraculous icon of the Mother of God, called the “Vsetsaritsa” (in Greek - “Pantanassa”) is located on Holy Mount Athos in Greece in the cathedral church of the Vatopedi monastery, to the left of the royal gates. This icon, small in size, was painted in the 17th century and, according to legend, was the blessing of the famous Elder Joseph the Hesychast on Athos to his disciples.
The icon depicts the Most Pure Virgin in a scarlet robe, seated on the royal throne. In Her arms is the Infant God with a scroll in his left hand and with a blessing right hand. With her right hand, the Mother of God points to Her Royal Son as the Savior of all people. In the background are two angels who reverently overshadow the Most Pure Virgin with their wings.
According to an ancient monastery legend, one day a young man approached the icon and began to mutter something inaudibly. Suddenly the face of the Mother of God shone with a wondrous light, some invisible force threw the young man away, and he fell to the ground. Rising, he ran in fear to the elder monks and with tears in his eyes confessed to them that he had led an ungodly life, practiced witchcraft, and had come to the monastery to test the power of his magic on the holy icons. The miracle that happened at the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos turned the young man away from witchcraft forever, directed him to the path of repentance and returned him to the path of a pious life. The miraculous image of the Mother of God “The Queen of All” is revered both on Athos and far beyond its borders. The very name of the icon - All-Mistress, All-Mistress - speaks of its special, all-encompassing power.
Having demonstrated its miraculous power for the first time against magical spells, the “Tsarina of All” also has the grace of healing patients with cancer - the most terrible disease of modern humanity (and the spread of passion for magic, witchcraft and the occult throughout the Christian world can be compared to the defeat of the human body by a malignant tumor).
On August 11, 1995, a copy of the miraculous icon “The Tsaritsa” arrived in Russia - at the Moscow Children’s Oncology Center on Kashirka. At prayer services to the Mother of God “The Queen of All,” sick children and their parents pray with the hope of the heavenly help of the Intercessor and Healer.
19
St. Theophan the New, Athos, abbot († XV, commemorated August 19)
The Monk Theophan the New, originally from the city of Ioannina, lived in the 15th century. He took monastic vows in his early youth on Holy Mount Athos in the Dokhiar monastery. Subsequently, for his high virtues, he was elected abbot of this monastery. Saving his nephew from the Turks, who was forcibly taken to Constantinople and there converted to Islam, Saint Theophan, with the help of God, freeing the young man, hid him in his monastery and blessed him to take monastic vows. The brethren, fearing revenge from the Turks, grumbled against the saint, and he, not wanting to be the cause of discord and embarrassment, together with his nephew humbly withdrew from the Dochiar monastery, left the Holy Mountain and went to Verria. There, in the skete of St. John the Baptist, St. Theophan created a church in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos. He gathered the monks here and gave them a communal charter. When the monastery became stronger, the saint retired to a new place, to Naoussa, where he erected a church in honor of the holy Archangels and founded a monastery. Until the end of his days, Saint Theophan did not leave his care for the monks of both monasteries, who considered him a common father.
Having foreseen his death by revelation and having given his last parting words to his flock, the saint died at a ripe old age in the Verri monastery. During his lifetime, the Lord glorified the humble saint: saving people from death, he tamed the storm with prayer and turned sea water into drinking water. And after his repose, the saint never abandoned people with his gracious help.
21
Light-painted icon of the Mother of God
We bow to Your Most Pure Face, O Good One, / asking for intercession for us, Mother of God, / for by your will you deigned to appear among the brethren, / so that you might deliver them from their sorrow. /Thus we cry out to You with gratitude:/ You fill all with joy, O Most Pure Virgin, //who entrust themselves to Your Protection.
On August 21 / September 3, 1903, while distributing alms to poor monks at the Great Monastery Gate of St. Panteleimon Monastery, Monk Gabriel took a photograph and, when he developed it, in a black and white photograph, to his great surprise, he saw the image of the Mother of God humbly receiving the blessed crust of bread.
Monastic archives show that between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russian monks distributed alms to the needy on a weekly basis. Every week, from the two southern Russian ports of Odessa and Taganrog, where the Athonite farmsteads of the St. Panteleimon Monastery were located, large and small ships with food and vital materials came to the Athonite pier. They were intended for 3,000 inhabitants of the St. Panteleimon Monastery and 4,000 Russian-speaking brothers who labored in various monasteries, metochas, cells and kalivas of the Holy Mountain.
A crowd of poor Syromachian monks and pious wanderers gathered at the Great Gate of the monastery. There is evidence that about 600-800 people received bread cakes - chereks - from the hands of the monks. On scheduled days, people who were doing nothing, drunkenly and obeying no one began to come to the monastery gates for alms. On August 14, 1903, the monastery received a letter from Kinot, which expressed dissatisfaction with the “useless” and “harmful”, in his opinion, alms. The Higher Sacred Administration of the Holy Mountain demanded that the Hierarchy of the St. Panteleimon Monastery cancel the distribution of alms and find a more acceptable and non-tempting form of help. The message, in particular, said: “Alms given in the Gospel are only pleasing and dear to God when they are given in the mind - to people worthy of alms and in need of it.
Given to people who unworthily present themselves as alms-seekers and who rely only on this visit, and for this reason they live here, then such giving of alms becomes a cause of harm.”
On August 21, 1903, exactly a week after receiving the Kinot letter, the monks of the Russian monastery decided to observe the tradition for the last time and give out alms, and only then read the contents of the letter from Kinot to those present. At this time, as usual, hundreds of needy and wandering people had already gathered at the main port in anticipation of alms. During the distribution of chereks, Hieromonk Gabriel took a photograph in which the image of the Mother of God appeared, humbly receiving blessed alms together with other petitioners. Looking at the unusual photograph, the monks immediately remembered the story of the monk Sebastian, who heard from the porters that “one hermit saw a woman several times while distributing chereks.” Some of the ascetics, who also saw the Wonderful Virgin in reality among the wretched monks and alms-seekers, wanted to tell the gatekeeper about this, but on the very day of photographing, no one saw Her.
The Mother of God invariably provided for those who labored in Her earthly lot. At the behest of the Queen of Heaven, the monastery continued to satisfy the needs of the poor brethren: after fraternal meals in the monastery, they organized meals for the poor, and the cellarer gave them food from the warehouse.
At the end of the 1980s, with the beginning of the restoration of the monastery, the wonderful photograph was reproduced with a brief description of the event and distributed among pilgrims. For the new generation of Russian people who suffered from atheistic propaganda, photography served as a factor of reassurance in the existence of the spiritual world, which was repeatedly confirmed by pilgrims to the monastery.
The celebration in honor of the Painted Image was established by the Council of Elders of the monastery in 2003 with the blessing of Abbot Archimandrite Jeremiah on the 100th anniversary of the appearance for the liturgical perpetuation of the memory of the miraculous event. The name “Image in Light” was born during the preparation of the liturgical sequence (the word “photograph” is a literal translation of the Greek elephant “photography”). At the same time, an iconographic image of the fall was created for liturgical use. Based on chronicle records and surviving oral memories, the historical outline of the event was recreated.
The text of the sequence was approved by the Synodal Liturgical Commission.
In 2011, at the site of the appearance of the Mother of God, a memorial chapel was built, into which a source of water was supplied for performing water-blessing prayers. Cases of relief of physical and mental ailments from drinking water from this source have been recorded.
In the same year, on the first floor of the fraternal Pokrovsky building, a paraklis church was built and consecrated in honor of the Light-Painted Icon.
In 2011, an image of a historical photograph on a marble plaque was installed in the monastery of the Athos Icon of the Mother of God in the village. Chopoviki Zhytomyr region.
A similar marble plaque depicting a photographic image was installed in 2012 at the parish of the Feodorovsky Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo.
On July 27, 2013, at the next meeting of the Holy Synod in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, it was decided (magazine No. 97) to include in the month book of the Russian Orthodox Church the celebration of the remembrance of the appearance of the Light-painted image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was in the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos in 1903.
In January 2015, the original negative of a photograph from 1903 was found while working with the old photo archive of the monastery. This discovery, which took place more than 110 years later, can undoubtedly be considered a miracle, taking into account all the disastrous circumstances that befell the Russian Svyatogorsk monastery over a century-long period of time. Many negatives were lost in the fires of 1968; some ended up in private collections. There was not even hope of finding this relic after so many years of decline.
According to the abbot of the Russian Abbess of the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, Schema-Archimandrite Jeremiah (Alekhine), “the discovery of the negative - the prototype of the Icon of the Mother of God with Light - is the mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos, testifying that the Abbess of Athos favors the Monastery and accepts the feasible feat of its inhabitants.”
24
Sschmch. Equal to the Apostles Cosmas of Aetolia, Athos, Albania († 1779, commemorated August 24)
In the world, Constantine was born in 1714 in Aetolia, Greece. His father was a weaver, his mother was distinguished by piety. He studied first in his homeland under the guidance of Archdeacon Anania Dervishan, and then completed his education on Mount Athos, at the Vatopedi School with such famous teachers at that time as Nicholas (Tsarzulia) of Mezovo and Eugene (Bulgari).
Remaining on Mount Athos in the Philotheevsky monastery to excel in spiritual labors, he was tonsured there to the monastic rank with the name Cosmas, and then ordained a hieromonk.
The desire to guide his Christian brothers on the path of salvation and strengthen them in the faith prompted Saint Cosmas to ask for the blessing of their spiritual fathers and leave for Constantinople. There he mastered the art of eloquence and, having received written permission from Patriarch Seraphim II (and later from his successor Sophronius) to preach the Holy Gospel, he began to proclaim it first in the churches of Constantinople and surrounding villages, then in the Danube principalities, in Thessalonica, in Veria, in Macedonia, in the regions of Himare, Acarnania, Aetolia, on the island of St. Maura (now Lefkada), Kefalonia and other places. He traveled on foot, on a donkey or by ship. His preaching, filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, simple, calm and meek, brought great spiritual benefit to Christians. Like His holy apostles, the Lord Himself helped him and confirmed his word with signs and wonders.
Preaching in Albania, in those remote places where Christian piety was almost lost, among wild and hardened people, entrenched in sins, Saint Cosmas, with the Word of God, led them to sincere repentance and correction.
According to his guidance, churches and schoolhouses were established in the villages, totaling over 200; shelters and churches were also created. Wealthy individuals donated funds for church improvements, purchasing Holy Books (which the saint distributed to the literate), veils (with which he endowed women, urging them to cover their heads), prayer ropes, and crosses (which he gave to the common people). Since the churches could not accommodate all who wished to hear the wise preacher, Saint Cosmas with a group of priests conducted vigils in fields and squares where thousands prayed for the living and the dead and were instructed by his teachings. Everywhere he stopped to preach, grateful listeners erected large wooden crosses which remained as memorials.
Endowed with the gift of prophecy, Saint Cosmas foretold the appearance of telephones, airplanes, and air raids.
Saint Cosmas's apostolic service lasted 25 years until his martyrdom in August 1779 in Albania. At 65 years old, he was betrayed by Jews and strangled by Turks. His body was thrown into a river but was recovered three days later by priest Mark and buried near the village of Kalikontasi in the Ardevuz Monastery of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos.
His canonization was performed by Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople in 1961, with his feast day set for August 24.
28
St Savva Krypetsky, Pskovian († 1495, commemoration on August 28)
Saint Savva Krypetsky was tonsured on Mount Athos and later came to Pskov. He began his ascetic life on Snina Hill in the Bogoroditskaya Monastery near Pskov, then moved to a more secluded place by the Tolva River, where he joined the community of Saint Evfrosin (commemoration on May 15). Finally, he withdrew into complete silence to Krypetsky Wilderness, about 15 versts from Tolva, and settled alone near a small lake in an impenetrable forest. His food was bread and water; he fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays. In his solitary life, he suffered much from unclean spirits but always overcame them through prayer. After several years of solitude, followers began to gather around Saint Savva, who asked them to build a monastery in honor of the Apostle John the Theologian. He refused to be abbot and entrusted the community to Brother Cassian. Many people from Pskov came to him for healing and advice but he accepted no gifts.
Once, Pskov Prince Yaroslav Vasilyevich Obolensky, who often visited the monastery, arrived with his sick wife. Saint Savva sent a message saying: "Old man Savva says to you, prince, do not enter the monastery with your lady; our rule is that women are not allowed in the monastery: if you violate this fatherly commandment, your wife will not be healed." The prince asked forgiveness for his ignorance and breaking of the rule. Saint Savva and the brethren went out through the gate and served a prayer service. The princess was healed. At the prince's request, Pskov received a land grant for the monastery in 1487.
Saint Savva taught laymen to maintain purity, reminding them of the Apostolic Council against defilers of the body. He advised the rich and judges not to feed on the poor and to uphold justice. He often urged everyone to avoid quarrels and hatred, to preserve love and peace, and to forgive others as they would be forgiven. From the beginning, strict communal living was established in the monastery. In his cell, there were only two icons, a mantle, and a rush mat on which he slept. Saint Savva taught the brethren simplicity. He ordered them to till the land with their own hands. He said: "Why do we call our ancient ascetics fathers when we do not live as they did? They were homeless, poor, spent time in caves and wildernesses, and for God, they submitted their flesh to the spirit with no rest day or night. Let us love the Good Lord, not only by words and clothing but by deeds: love one another, shed tears, fast, practice every kind of abstinence as did our ancient fathers."
Grateful Prince Yaroslav built a bridge through marshes and swamps to the monastery, 1400 sazhens long. After his death († August 28, 1495), Saint Savva continued to protect the monastery. One night, robbers approached the monastery but saw the glorious old man holding a staff who sternly commanded them to repent. The next morning, it was learned that there was no such old man in the monastery and they understood that this was Saint Savva himself. The leader of the robbers repented before the abbot and remained at the monastery.
Saint Savva was tall with snow-white beard, round and thick but not long. In such a form, he appeared to monk Isaiah in the middle of the 16th century, pointing out where his incorrupt relics were located. In 1555, Pskov priest Basil wrote the life of Saint Savva at the request of Krypetsky brethren.
The Calendar of January. Part I. Moscow: Publishing House of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2002, pp. 477-484.
Checked against editions: Lives of Bulgarian Saints. Mount Athos. Slav-Bulgarian Monastery "St. Martyr George Zograph", 2007, p. 439-459. Selected Hymns from the Service of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Zographos. // Saint Paisios the Athonite. The Invisible Battle. Moscow Theological School, 2014.
St Joseph the Iseeker. Expressing Monastic Experience. Moscow Theological School, 2011.
The Calendar of June. Part II. Moscow: Publishing House of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2002, pp. 424-429.
The Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos as Deliverer: Acanthus, Canon, Prayers, Pilgrim Information / edited by N. Makarevsky, Moscow, "Nikol's Day", 2015.
Second Journey to Mount Athos by Archimandrite Porphyry Upensky. Moscow, 1880, pp. 125-133.
Saint Agapius was a disciple of the silent elder on Mount Athos. Turks captured Agapius and held him captive for twelve years. The Mother of God miraculously freed Agapius from captivity but the strict elder ordered him to return home. Seeing such faith, his master and two sons made peace with Agapius and followed him to Mount Athos.
Slav - he.
E - his.
Слу́жба и Ака́фист свято́му великому́ченику и цели́телю Пантелеи́мону. — Иждиве́нием Ру́сскаго Пантелеи́монова монастыря́, что́ на Афо́не. — М.: В Синода́льной Тѵпогра́фии, 1883. — C. 96-106.
Service and Akathist to the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Pantaleimon.
Through the Indulgence of the Russian Monastery of Pantaleimon on Mount Athos.
Moscow: At the Synodal Typographia, 1883.
Pages 96-106.
---
**Troparion, Tone 4**
Having quenched the flames of passions in thy heart, O great Martyr Pantaleimon,
Thou didst shine forth as a lamp to those who were in darkness and walked in sin.
Through thine intercession, grant us forgiveness of our transgressions
And deliverance from every evil.
**Troparion, Tone 4**
O Pantaleimon, thou art the light of the world,
Thou didst enlighten the souls of men with the fire of thy virtues.
By thy prayers, O great Martyr, preserve us from all harm.
---
**Kontakion, Tone 4**
Thou wast a physician to the sick and a healer of the afflicted,
O Pantaleimon, thou didst work many miracles in thy lifetime.
Through thine intercession, grant healing to those who call upon thee
And deliverance from every illness.
---
**Akathist Hymn**
**First Hymn: To the Glory of God**
Glory to Thee, O God,
Through Thy Martyr Pantaleimon,
Who didst heal the sick and work wonders.
Thou art a physician for our souls,
O great Pantaleimon, intercede for us.
**Second Hymn: To the Praise of the Holy Martyr**
Pantaleimon, thou art a light in the darkness,
A guide to those who wander in sin.
Through thine intercession, O great Martyr,
Grant us forgiveness and salvation.
**Third Hymn: To the Power of Thy Intercession**
O Pantaleimon, thou didst quench the flames of passions
And enlighten the hearts of men with thy virtues.
By thy prayers, preserve us from every evil,
For Thou art our healer and our hope.
**Fourth Hymn: To the Miracles Worked by Thee**
Thou didst work many miracles in thy lifetime,
O Pantaleimon, a true physician for the soul.
Through thine intercession, grant healing to those who call upon thee
And deliverance from every illness.
---
**Psalms**
**Psalm 103 (102)**
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
Who healeth all thy diseases.
---
**Psalm 104 (103)**
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
O Lord my God, Thou art very great.
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty,
Wrapping Thyself in light as a garment:
He stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain,
And layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters.
---
**Psalm 105 (104)**
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Thou hast not hid Thy goodness from them that fear Thee:
Thou hast prepared before the sons of men
A remembrance of Thy great goodness.
---
**Psalm 106 (105)**
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, Amen.
Additional Menology. Issue 1. — Moscow: Editorial Board of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2008.
November Minias. Sretensky Monastery, Moscow. Published by "Rule of Faith", 1997 (reprint: Kiev. Printed in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, 1893), pp. 690–718.
@@@
Текст сверен с изданием: Кни́ги, съ Бо́гомъ святы́мъ, Мине́и, три́ мѣ́сяцы: Септе́мврій, Окто́врій и Ное́мврій. — М.: Въ Ца́рской тѵпогра́фіи, 1666. — Л. 366 – 369 об.
For the text you provided is in Church Slavonic and follows a liturgical register, I will translate it into English using the traditional prayer-book idiom as used by the Orthodox Church:
The life of eternal life, O Lord our God, is not for sale; nor can it be won by guile. It comes to those who seek Thee with all their heart, and find Thee through compunction of heart.
For Thou art a stranger in this world, O Lord, and the authority of this world cannot hold Thee. All creation is a spectacle before Thee, and Thou dost look upon it with pity and mercy.
Therefore, let us not be deluded by the deceit of this world; but let us seek Thy kingdom, where our inheritance is laid up in heaven, O Lord our God.
For Thou art the Righteous One, and all glory belongs to Thee. Grant us, we beseech Thee, the gift of Thy mercy, that we may walk in the way of righteousness and find rest in Thee.
And let not our prayers be in vain; for Thou knowest the secrets of our hearts. Remember us, O Lord, with Thine unchanging love, and grant us to see Thee face to face in Thy kingdom.
For Thou art the King of glory, and unto Thee do we lift up our souls. Grant us, we beseech Thee, the grace of Thy Holy Spirit that we may be filled with Thy divine light and walk in the path of Thy commandments.
Amen.
Site of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church: <http://www.izdatsovet.ru/akathistos/detailtext.php?ID=73555>.
Cinnamon (кинамон) – a spice from the bark of a cinnamon tree, also known as cinnamon.
Site of the Moscow Patriarchate. Liturgical Texts. <http://www.patriarchia.ru/data/2013/07/03/1236859060/akafist%20Nikodimu.doc>
Texts are from: MINI’AK MJI’SYATZ’ IUNIY. — Moscow: Monastery of the Holy Saviour, publishing house "Rule of Faith," 1996. — 591 pp. — Reproduction of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra edition: KI’EV’. Printed in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Year of printing: [year]. (With additions).
From the same source: <http://www.patriarchia.ru/data/2013/07/03/1236859066/akafist%20Simeonu.doc>
<http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/910222.html>
Orthodox elders of the 20th century.
http://www.jmp.ru/svyat/sep13.htm
Athonite Patericon, reprint.
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/912922.html
http://www.pravenc.ru/text/187057.html, Athos Patericon October 5.
Athos Patericon
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/912998.html
Athos Patericon
http://www.jmp.ru/svyat/apr19.htm
Orthodox Encyclopedia
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/912524.html
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/912605.html
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/60545.html
http://www.pravenc.ru/text/189775.html
http://www.pravenc.ru/text/164551.html
Athonite Patericon.
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/908855.html
Athos Patericon
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/909635.html
Athos Patericon, https://drevo-info.ru/articles/17162.html
Athos Patericon
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/909820.html
Athos Patericon
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/911934.html
http://www.pravenc.ru/text/63794.html
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/911838.html
Athos Patericon
Athonite Patericon.
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/910824.html
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/910960.html
Skurat K.E., prof. Great teachers of the Church. M., 1999.