Lives of the Saints
1. SAINT SOPHRONIUS, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM
Sophronius was born in Damascus of distinguished parents. Having gathered worldly wisdom, he was yet not satisfied, and set out to gather pure spiritual wisdom as well. At the Lavra of Saint Theodosius he found himself in the company of the monk John Moschus, whom he took as his teacher; together with him he set out to visit the monasteries and ascetics of Egypt. His motto was: to learn more spiritual wisdom every day. Everything they learned they wrote down, and afterward published in two books under the name Leimonarion, or the Spiritual Meadow. Later they went to Rome, where Moschus died, leaving Sophronius the charge of conveying his body either to Sinai or to the Lavra of Theodosius. Sophronius fulfilled his teacher's wish and brought his body to the Lavra of Theodosius, then remained in Jerusalem, which at that very time had been liberated from the Persians. He was present at the return of the Honorable Cross from Persia, which Emperor Heraclius carried upon his own shoulders into the Holy City. The elderly Patriarch Zacharias, also returned from captivity, did not live long; when he departed to the other world, Modestus succeeded him, and after Modestus the blessed Sophronius succeeded. With particular wisdom and zeal he governed the Church for ten years. He arose in defense of Orthodoxy against the Monothelite heresy, which he condemned at his own Council in Jerusalem before it was condemned at the Sixth Ecumenical Council. He wrote the life of Saint Mary of Egypt, composed the rite of the Great Blessing of Waters, and introduced into various services certain new hymns and songs. When the Arab caliph Omar conquered Jerusalem, Sophronius implored him to spare the Christians, which Omar deceitfully promised. When Omar shortly afterward began to plunder and abuse the Christians in Jerusalem, Sophronius prayed to God with great lamentation to take him from among the living on earth, that he might not witness the desecration of the holy places. And God heard his prayer and took him to His heavenly courts in the year 644.
2. HOLY MARTYRS PIONIUS AND OTHERS WITH HIM
Pionius was a presbyter of Smyrna. He suffered in Smyrna during the Decian persecution. He was condemned to crucifixion, with which he was exceedingly glad. And as soon as the soldiers had fashioned the cross and laid it on the ground, Pionius himself lay down upon the cross, stretched out his arms, and commanded the soldiers to nail the nails into his hands. The cross was set upright in an inverted position, and a fire was lit beneath the martyr's head. There was a great crowd around him. Pionius closed his eyes and prayed to God within himself. The fire could not even set his hair alight. When at last the fire went out and everyone thought him dead, Pionius opened his eyes and cried out with joy: "O God, receive my spirit!" and breathed his last. This saint wrote the life of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, with whom he now rejoices together in the Kingdom of Christ. He suffered and was glorified in the year 250.
3. VENERABLE GEORGE THE SINAITE
George was the abbot of Mount Sinai. A great ascetic and righteous man. On the night of Pascha an angel of God conveyed him to Jerusalem for the divine service, and returned him to Sinai the same day. He reposed peacefully in the sixth century.
Hymn of Praise
HOLY MARTYR PIONIUS
Pionius speaks in his torments:
— O citizens of the illustrious Smyrna,
Fellow citizens of the renowned Homer,
I know what each of you knows,
But none of you knows what I know:
I know the sweet sweetness of dying
And sweeter still — the hope in Christ.
I know that death will not put me to death
But only separate the body from the soul:
I know that the angels await me
In the courts of the heavenly King,
Both angels, and prophets, and saints,
Many hosts of God's beloved ones,
And wondrous martyrs for Christ.
I know that I am returning to my homeland,
From which I came here in the first place.
I know the purpose of my suffering,
(You do not know why you torment me!)
The Savior awaits me in the heavenly bridal chamber,
Seethe, O malice, rage against me!
The Savior awaits me with arms outstretched,
Strike me to ever greater torment.
The heavier the torment, the sooner the dawn,
The swifter the death, the more joyful the soul.
“I know the purpose of my suffering — you do not know why you torment me!”
Reflection
"No good is accomplished by our labor alone, but by the power and will of God. Yet God also requires labor from us, conformable to His will." These are the words of Saint Barsanuphius and John. Few words, but much is said. We must labor in the cultivation and preparation of every good; but whether any good will sprout, grow, and bear fruit — that depends on the power and will of God. We plow the furrows, and God sows, if He wills. We cleanse the vessels of the spirit, and God pours the spirit into those vessels, if He wills. And He wills all that corresponds to the highest wisdom and purposefulness — that is, to His economy of human salvation.
Commenting on the words of the Lord: Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16), Saint Chrysostom writes that the Lord gave that commandment to the disciples "so that they themselves might also cooperate in some measure, lest everything appear as the work of grace alone, and lest it be thought that they received the crowns of glory for nothing." And so two things are indispensable for our salvation: our labor and the gracious power of God.
“No good is accomplished by our labor alone, but by the power and will of God. Yet God also requires labor from us.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the Lord Jesus at the trial before Caiaphas, namely:
1. How the Jewish high priest holds the Lord within his house, surrounded by men nearly as wicked as himself;
2. How Peter sits outside in the courtyard by the fire, and how before the servants he denies the Lord Jesus three times;
3. How even today it comes to pass that certain Christians, out of fear of the world, deny the Lord in this way — by making themselves out to be as if they were not Christians, as if they did not know the Lord's commandments and cared nothing for the Lord.
Homily
on the second coming of Christ
When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory (Matt. 25:31)
Thus spoke the Lord — and precisely on the eve of His most terrible humiliation, before the binding, the spitting, the striking, the mockery, and the crucifixion. In the darkest hours He speaks of His brightest and most glorious hour. On the eve of His terrible and wretched departure from the world He speaks of His return in His glory. First He came from the cave of Bethlehem, humbly and unseen; the next time He will come on the clouds with His angels. The first time He was as if He had sprouted from the earth; the second time He will appear from heaven. The first time He stood and knelt upon the earth; the second time He will sit upon the throne of His glory.
And when He comes again in His glory, He will be unseen by no one. No one will ask, as the magi at His first coming: where is the King? All this time will see the King and know Him as King. But that sight and knowledge will be for some a joy and for others a fear and terror. Consider the joy of those who fulfilled His commandment, who offered prayers and good deeds in His name — and especially those who suffered for His name! And consider the fear and terror of those who spat upon Him and struck Him and crucified Him in Jerusalem, as well as all those who through the ages mock His miracles, revile His name, and trample His commandments!
O merciful Lord, forgive all of us who call upon Thy name yet sin through weakness; forgive us before that majestic and fateful hour when Thou shalt appear in Thy glory with all Thy holy angels. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“First He came from the cave of Bethlehem, humbly and unseen; the next time He will come on the clouds with His angels.”