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Holy sacred. Pankratius, Bishop of Tavrominsk Saint Pankratius, a native of Antioch, in his youth was with his parents in Palestine and heard the teaching of Christ; After the ascension of the Savior, when one of the Apostles arrived in Antioch, he was baptized together with his parent (about the year 40), and in 45 he was installed by the Apostles Peter and Paul as bishop of the Sicilian city of Taurominus. Arriving in Tavromin, he, denouncing the powerlessness of idols and preaching salvation in Christ, gradually converted many citizens to the holy faith and built a church. When his flock began to multiply, a certain Archagan, a Canaanite by birth (from the African Phoenicians), invited him to the pagan temple of the god Scamander, threw him through a hole in the floor into a mountain crevice, and other pagans threw stones at him there. Currently, his relics rest in Rome. Rev. Theodore, Bishop of Edessa, and with him other saints of God Theodore was the son of pious parents - Simeon and Mary, who lived in the city of Edessa. He was asked by them from God with great prayers and named after Theodore, which means: the gift of God, according to the vision he had of him even before the birth of his son. Delighted and grateful to God for the fulfillment of their prayer, Simeon and Maria used all their efforts to raise in him a Christian devoted to God. From a very early age they began to teach him to read and write, but for a long time this training was unsuccessful; the boy himself was aware and upset about his inability to learn; meanwhile, having already received the concept of God and that everything is possible for God, he fervently prayed to God to give him reason and understanding, and indeed, in what even loving parents could not help him, God Himself appeared as an assistant, lovingly accepting a child’s prayer. Theodore soon surpassed even all his peers in learning. Theodore was not yet 20 years old when his parents died. He gave half of the estate that remained after them to his sister (the mother of Basil, Bishop of Amasia, who later described the life of his uncle Theodore), distributing the rest to the poor, and retired to Jerusalem, where he soon took monastic vows in the Lavra of St. Savva; He lived here for 12 years in a hostel and for 24 years in a seclusion and became so famous for his strict asceticism that when the bishop who was there died in Edessa, the Patriarch of Antioch, at the direction of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, ordained Theodore as bishop of the city of Edessa. The hermit did not want to part with his secluded cell, which was dear to him; During the journey to Edessa to his destination, grief took possession of him even to such an extent that he decided to hide secretly from his companions, but having fallen asleep before that, he heard in a dream that God Himself was telling him: “Do not be like the lazy servant who hid his talent in the ground, but be like the one who, having received five talents, acquired another five; do not refuse to bear the yoke of Christ placed upon you.” Enlightened by these words, Theodore submitted to the will of God and, having accepted the episcopal throne, shepherded the flock entrusted to him both in word and deed, since he set an example of a virtuous life. He also worked a lot in the fight against various heresies that troubled the Edessa Christians at that time. Having once left Edessa on business for his Church, Theodore healed and converted to Jesus Christ the Mohammedan caliph Moavia, who subsequently died under the name of John on May 3 as a martyr with three of his Christian youths from his subjects for confessing Jesus Christ. During Theodore's episcopate, two brothers labored near Edessa: Theodosius the Stylite, to whom Theodore often came for conversation, and John the Hermit in the country of Babylon. Theodosius, getting closer to Theodore, told him about himself that at first he and his brother John lived in the desert, in separate caves, not far from each other. One day, when they were walking through the desert, collecting greens, John, stopping near one place, suddenly, as if struck by something, quickly jumped over this place and hastily retreated into the cave. Theodosius, wanting to know why John was so amazed and, it seemed, frightened, approached that place and saw a pile of scattered gold. Rejoicing at the find, he took off his outer clothing, poured so much gold into it that he could barely carry it to his cave, and the next day he set off for the city. There, with this money, he built a church, set up a monastery and with it a hospital and a hospice, and with the rest of the money he provided for the further maintenance of his charitable institutions. Returning to the desert, Theodosius thought: “This is what a God-pleasing deed I have done, but my brother was unable to use the expensive treasure he found for good... Approaching the cave, Theodosius suddenly saw an angel who had often appeared to him and his brother in the desert and strengthened them in their exploits. Now he appeared with a menacing look and said: “Why are you vain and proud of your brother? I tell you the truth: all your long-term work, all your beneficent institutions are not worth the feeling that prompted your brother to jump over the gold. He did not jump over a pile of gold, but on light wings he flew across that great abyss that lies between heaven and hell, as it is said about it in the Gospel parable of the rich man and Lazarus... and now he will find peace on the “Bed of Abraham”... you will never see either your brother or me in this world again until you appease God with many tears.”... And the angel became invisible; and Theodosius found the cave in which John labored empty... and sorrow filled his heart, and for 49 years he quenched it by standing on a pillar, but now he found joy and was calmed by the vision of an angel who announced peace and salvation to him. - Elder Theodosius was finally consoled by the news about his brother John, whom Theodore had the opportunity to meet and visited - together with the caliph who had converted him to Christ - in the deep desert - in a dark cave - and saw him having achieved great spiritual perfection. Under the influence of John, in all likelihood, the caliph who accepted the faith of Christ, who until then hid his conversion from the people, after a meeting with the great ascetic, took a holy decision to confess his faith publicly... The news of his martyrdom was reported by the confessor of Christ - Caliph John - himself, appearing in a dream to Bishop Theodore who enlightened him. Waking up, Theodore informed the Stylite Theodosius about this. Soon Stylite also died peacefully, being more than 100 years old. Theodore buried his body. Three years after that, Theodore again took away the murdered Caliph John in a dream. - “Go, Christ is calling you! He wants us to be together in His Kingdom” ... the former student announced to his former teacher, and Theodore realized his imminent death. Having arranged all his affairs, blessing his flock, he went to Jerusalem, and there, taking refuge for the last days of his life in his former hermit’s cell in the Lavra of St. Savva, he died peacefully on July 9, 848. In the life of St. Theodore still remembers the noble, rich and famous husband of St. Ader, instructed in the rules of virtue by St. Theodosius the Stylite. Abandoning his wealth, his wife and 3 sons, he went to the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, accepted monasticism there with the name Athanasius and died peacefully in the desert. After his death, he appeared in a dream to his wife and told her that he was taking his two eldest sons with him, and let her raise the younger one, since he was to be the patriarch of Jerusalem... Indeed, the widow’s two eldest sons soon died, but when the third fell ill, the embarrassed mother hastened to take him to Theodosius the Stylite so that he would heal the child with his prayers. But halfway there the baby died. At this time, at God’s discretion, the mother, distraught with grief, met a woman who was considered despicable for her vicious behavior... With tears, she began to beg this woman to pray to God for her child and resurrect him with her prayers... She openly admitted to her her unworthiness, but with the mother’s persistent prayer, she took the child, began beating her chest and said: “Lord! I am unworthy even to utter Your name with my unclean lips... I do not dare raise my eyes to heaven, but I pray to You - not for my sinner’s sake, but for the sake of this unfortunate mother, resurrect this innocent baby!” And the baby came to life... And he was subsequently the Patriarch of Jerusalem, as it was announced about him. The mother and woman, who attracted God's mercy by the power of her humble prayer, in which faith and repentance covered sin, unknown by name, died peacefully in monasticism. Theodosius the Stylite, according to God's revelation, spiritually saw a praying sinner, a dead child, and a crying mother, illuminated by an extraordinary light 125. Celebration of the Cyprus Icon of Our Lady On the island of Cyprus, five miraculous icons of the Mother of God are known (about Kykkos, see November 15). A list with one of these (on the sides of the image of the Mother of God are written the martyr Antipas and the martyr Photinia) was given by the Rev. Sergius in 1378 to his disciple Leonty, the first abbot of the Stromynsky Assumption Monastery, founded at the request of the Grand Duke. Dimitry Donskoy. After the monastery was abolished in 1764, the icon remained in the church in the village of Stromyni (Bogorodsky district, Moscow province). In 1841, on the week of Orthodoxy, a paralytic maiden was healed in front of this icon (Archim. Dimitri Mesyatseslov, July 9). Celebration of the Koloch Icon of the Mother of God Koloch Icon of St. The Virgin Mary appeared in 1413, during the reign of Vasily Dimitrievich, in the region of his brother, Prince Andrei Dimitrievich, within Mozhaisk, about 15 versts from this city, on the banks of the Kolocha River, in the Smolensk province. Here a certain Luka, a resident of the village of Koloch, found her and reverently brought her to his house. He had been relaxed in his house for many years. Having heard about the appearance of St. icon, he faithfully venerated it with his forehead, eyes and lips, and received perfect healing. This miraculous healing became known in the surrounding area, and many, especially the suffering, began to flow with faith to the revealed icon to worship the Intercessor and receive grace-filled help from Her. Luke brought the icon to Mozhaisk, where Prince Andrei Dimitrievich himself met it with a large crowd. From Mozhaisk it was brought to Moscow and met by Metropolitan Photius with the sacred cathedral and a multitude of people. At the meeting, many sick people received health. Due to the zeal of the Orthodox, significant offerings were collected, and on the site of the appearance of the icon, a church was built in the name of the Mother of God to house her revealed and miraculous icon. Subsequently, at this church, from the estate of Luke and from the donations of Orthodox Christians collected by him, the blessed Prince Andrei built a monastery called Kolonsky or Mozhaisky. Luke took monastic vows in this monastery. After St. Theodora, bishop Edessa, there are 100 chapters or rules of ascetic life left. See about them in “Teachings about the Fathers of the Church” by Philaret Chern. § 276.