The Lives of the Saints
1. HOLY PRIEST-MARTYR PROTERIUS
This saint was a presbyter in Alexandria at the time when the patriarch in that city was the heretic Dioscorus, one of the originators of the Monophysite heresy, which taught that in Christ there are not two natures but one. At that time Marcian and Pulcheria were reigning. Proterius, a holy and pious man, arose against Dioscorus, on account of which he endured many afflictions. Then the Fourth Ecumenical Council was convened in Chalcedon, at which the Monophysite heresy was condemned, Dioscorus was deposed from the patriarchal throne and sent into exile. In his place this orthodox man Proterius was elected. He governed the Church with the zeal and love of a true follower of Christ. But the followers of Dioscorus did not cease stirring up tumult in Alexandria. During one such bloody uprising Proterius departed from the city with the intention of withdrawing temporarily, but on the road the prophet Isaiah appeared to him and said: "Return to the city — I am waiting to receive you." Proterius returned and entered the church. Hearing of this, the frenzied heretics rushed into the church, seized the patriarch, and stabbed him with knives. Together with Proterius six other Christians perished at that time. Thus did this wondrous shepherd of the flock of Christ receive the martyr's crown for the truth of Orthodoxy, in the year 457.
2. SAINT BASIL THE CONFESSOR
The companion and fellow sufferer of Saint Procopius the Decapolite. Basil faithfully followed his teacher Procopius both in peace and in persecution. He endured many torments from the iconoclasts. And when the iconoclasts were brought to ruin by God's Providence, Basil returned together with Procopius to their monastery, where he struggled for a long time in fasting and prayer, and reposed peacefully in the year 747.
3. HOLY PRIEST-MARTYR NESTOR, BISHOP OF MAGYDUS
He was distinguished by great meekness. In the time of Decius he was brought to trial and cruelly tortured for Christ. Before his death he saw in a vision a sacrificial lamb, which he interpreted as a sign of his own imminent sacrifice. He was tortured by the eparch Publius and at last was crucified in Perge in the year 250.
4. SAINT BLESSED NICHOLAS, FOOL-FOR-CHRIST OF PSKOV
He lived the life of a fool for Christ in the city of Pskov in the time of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and reposed on February 28, 1576.
Hymn of Praise
THE GOD-MAN
Two natures the Lord united,
Never to be divided again:
The human and the divine,
Never to be divided again.
God and Man — one Person
Immediate on both sides.
God-Man and Savior,
Uniter of what was divided,
Interpreter of eternal mysteries,
Founder of the Kingdom of the saints.
God drew near to man,
Brought eternity down, raised time up,
Christ — the trumpet of the Holy Trinity,
Christ — the mystery of the wondrous Duality:
God truly became man,
Descended below, yet remained above.
He neither fell nor stumbled,
But clothed Himself in flesh.
This is a holy, pure love,
Eternal love, eternally the same:
With a little finger He raises a wonder,
Yet to the mind it is incomprehensible.
“God truly became man, descended below, yet remained above.”
Reflection
The fools-for-Christ were distinguished by a rare fearlessness. Blessed Nicholas ran through the streets of the city of Pskov feigning madness, rebuking men for their secret sins and prophesying what would befall them. When Tsar Ivan the Terrible entered Pskov, the entire city was in fear and dread of the fearsome tsar. Before every house bread and salt had been laid out as a welcome to the tsar, yet the people did not appear. When the city's commander presented the tsar before the church with bread and salt on a tray, the tsar pushed the tray aside and the bread and salt fell to the ground. Then before the tsar appeared Blessed Nicholas, in a long shirt, girded with rope, riding a stick like a child, and cried out: "Ivanushka, Ivanushka, eat bread and salt, not the blood of men." Soldiers rushed to seize him, but he ran off and hid. When the tsar learned of this blessed one — who he was and what he was — he visited him in his cramped cell. It was the first Sunday of the Great Fast. Hearing that the tsar was coming to visit him, Nicholas found a piece of raw meat, and when the tsar stepped into the cell, Nicholas bowed and offered the meat to the tsar: "Eat, Ivanushka, eat!" The fearsome tsar answered angrily: "I am a Christian and do not eat meat during the fast." Then the man of God quickly replied: "And yet you do worse: you feed on the flesh and blood of men, forgetting not only the fast but God Himself!" This lesson entered into the heart of Tsar Ivan and, put to shame, he immediately departed from Pskov, where he had intended to carry out a great massacre.
“Ivanushka, Ivanushka, eat bread and salt, not the blood of men.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the Lord Jesus as the bread of life (John 6:48), namely:
1. As the bread by which the soul is nourished and lives;
2. As the bread by which the mind is nourished and enlightened;
3. As the bread by which the heart is nourished and ennobled.
Homily
on the food of the soul
I am the bread of life (John 6:48)
So spoke the Lord Jesus to the hungry race of men. And that word was fulfilled through the ages in the countless followers of Christ who received the Lord as the food of their souls. A certain despairing young man who stood on the brink of suicide made his confession to a spiritual father. The spiritual father listened to him attentively and said: "My son, you yourself are to blame for your misfortune. Your soul has starved to the point of death. All your life you have learned only how to feed the body, but you have never once thought that the soul also requires its own food — and in greater quantity and more frequently than the body needs. Your soul is perishing of hunger. Eat and drink Christ, my son. Only that can restore your soul from death. Every day, unceasingly, eat and drink Christ; He is the life-giving bread of our souls." The young man heeded the elder and returned to life.
Let us nourish our souls, brethren, with Christ, that our souls may be alive and well. Let us unceasingly nourish our minds with the thoughts of Christ, that our minds may be enlightened and serene. Let us unceasingly nourish our hearts with the love of Christ, that our hearts may be satisfied and joyful. Let us unceasingly nourish our wills with the commandments of Christ and the example of Christ, that our wills may every moment do good deeds. Let the thoughts of Christ be our thoughts, and the love of Christ our love, and the good will of Christ our good will. Let us unceasingly nourish our souls with Christ the Lord; let us unceasingly eat Him and drink Him with our souls. There is no more nourishing bread than He, no sweeter drink than He. In Holy Communion He gives Himself wholly to us, in body and blood. But Holy Communion is a reminder that our souls must feed on Him without ceasing. Without ceasing let us eat Him and drink Him, as we breathe without ceasing.
O gracious and sweet Lord of ours, move our souls to feed on Thee without ceasing and to be alive. Thou art our bread of life. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“Your soul has starved to the point of death. All your life you have learned only how to feed the body, but you have never once thought that the soul also requires its own food.”