Lives of the Saints
1. PRIEST-MARTYR HYPATIOS, BISHOP OF GANGRA
Born in Cilicia, he was bishop in the city of Gangra. He was present at the First Ecumenical Council. Renowned on all sides for his pious life and miracle-working. Emperor Constantius had ordered that an image of Hypatios be made during the lifetime of this saint, and the emperor kept that image in his palace as a weapon against every hostile power. Returning once from Constantinople, Hypatios was attacked in a narrow pass by heretics of the Novatian party and pushed from the road into a swamp. In that moment a woman from their company struck him on the head with a stone, and thus the saint ended his earthly life. But that woman suddenly went mad and took that same stone and beat herself with it. When she was brought to the grave of Saint Hypatios and prayer was offered to God for her, she was healed through the great mercy of the spirit of Hypatios, and lived out the remainder of her life in repentance and prayer. The holy Hypatios suffered and was translated to the eternal Kingdom of Christ God in the year 326.
2. SAINT JONAH, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW
He was from the province of Kostroma. In his twelfth year he became a monk and as such lived long in the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. In the time of Metropolitan Photios he became Bishop of Ryazan, and when Photios died, Jonah was elected as Metropolitan and sent to Constantinople to the Patriarch for consecration and confirmation. But meanwhile a certain Isidore, Bulgarian by origin, preceded Jonah, arrived in Constantinople before him, and was consecrated as Metropolitan of Russia. Jonah returned to his see in Ryazan. But the evil-minded Isidore ended his metropolitanate badly. He went to the Council of Florence, and only after three years returned to Moscow. All fell upon him as an apostate from Orthodoxy and drove him out. It is not known where he ended his life. To the metropolitanate there came Jonah, a good and wise shepherd — a great wonderworker, clairvoyant, and spiritual father. When the Hagarenes besieged Moscow, Jonah drove them away by his prayer. In his old age he desired that some illness befall him, that he might suffer and be entirely purified by suffering before his departure for the other world. In answer to his prayer, God allowed a wound to open on his leg, as had been previously revealed in a vision to a certain priest named Jacob. From that wound the saint died and departed to the citizens of heaven on March 31, 1461. Many miracles occurred over his relics. A certain mute man named John was brought to the relics of the saint. John kissed the hand of Jonah, and, as he afterward recounted, that hand grasped him by the tongue and he felt a sharp pain. When he freed his tongue and turned to his companions, he spoke as if he had never been mute at all.
3. PRIEST-MARTYR ABDAS, BISHOP OF THE CITY OF SUSA
He was beheaded for Christ in Persia in the year 418 by Emperor Yazdegerd. His deacon, Saint Benjamin, was released by the tormentor on condition that he no longer preach the Gospel. He at first agreed to this condition, but could not prevail against his heart, and continued to spread the truth of Christ among the people. For this he was seized and killed, three years after Saint Abdas, in the year 421.
4. VENERABLE APOLLONIOS
A celebrated Egyptian hermit. In his fifteenth year he renounced the world and withdrew to a certain mountain, where he lived for forty years, nourishing himself only on the plants of the field. He later founded a monastery in which he had five hundred monks. He fell asleep in the Lord peacefully in the year 395.
Hymn of Praise
SAINT JONAH THE METROPOLITAN AND PRIEST-MARTYR HYPATIOS
Know the truth — the Lord commands —
He who knows the truth cannot be made captive.
Truth gives freedom to the faithful,
And through truth the faithful reigns over the world.
Falsehood and bondage are as a spring and river —
Falsehood holds the liar in bondage forever.
Falsehood is dark midnight that leads astray,
And along the wrong path leads men into the abyss.
Falsehood binds with fear — fear of everything:
Of men and the world and the evil demon.
Truth is the light that scatters the darkness,
And gives freedom to the despairing slave —
Freedom from men, freedom from the world,
Freedom from fear and from the accursed demons.
He who knows the truth receives freedom,
And with freedom, power over all enemies.
Truth prepares the cradle of freedom,
For there is no true freedom without truth.
“Falsehood binds with fear — fear of everything: of men and the world and the evil demon. Truth is the light that scatters the darkness.”
Reflection
Saint John of the Ladder says: "He who takes pride within himself in his tears and in his mind condemns those who do not weep is like one who obtains from the king a weapon against the enemy, and kills himself with it." If thy heart has been softened — whether from repentance before God or from the knowledge of God's infinite love for thee — do not pride thyself before those whose heart is still hard and callous. Remember how long thy heart also was hard and callous. In a certain hospital seven brothers lay ill. One of them recovered from his illness and sat up, and hastened with brotherly love and care to serve the rest of his brothers that they too might recover. Be thou also like that brother. Regard all men as thy brothers — and sick brothers at that. And if at any time thou dost feel that God has granted thee some measure of health before them, know that this was given thee in mercy, that thou too as one who is healthy might serve the other sick ones. What is there to be proud of in this? It is as if a puddle were to cleanse itself by itself, rather than being cleansed by some spring deeper and purer than itself.
“Regard all men as thy brothers — and sick brothers at that. If God has granted thee some measure of health, know that this was given thee that thou might serve the other sick ones.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the Lord Jesus in death, namely:
1. How His body lies peacefully in the tomb;
2. How He in spirit descends into Hades to deliver the souls of the forefathers.
Homily
on joy after sorrow
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice (John 16:22)
A father walks toward the place of execution while his sons weep around him. And instead of the sons comforting him, he comforts his sons. Something similar occurred with the Lord and His disciples. Walking toward His own bitter death, the Lord grieves more over the grief of His disciples than over what He Himself must endure. And He soothes them with comfort and encourages them with prophecy of a new and imminent seeing. *But I will see you again. * That is a prophecy of the Resurrection. Many times did the Lord foretell His own death, but whenever He foretold death, He also foretold the Resurrection. Nothing happened to Him unforeseen. But He prophesied not of Himself alone but also of them. They would be in great sorrow — as a woman when she travaileth hath sorrow, and then rejoiceth that a man is born into the world — so it would be with them. In their consciousness Christ the Lord had not yet been fully formed as the God-man. As long as they knew Him only as the Sufferer and mortal man, they knew Him only partially — as long as the labor pangs lasted in their souls. But when they saw Him risen again and living, miracle-working and all-powerful, the Sovereign of all things in heaven and on earth, the suffering and grief would cease and joy would arise in their hearts. For Christ would then be fully formed in their consciousness as the God-man, and they would then know Him in fullness, in His wholeness. Only then would He be fully born for them.
So also we, brethren, know the Lord Jesus only partially as long as we know Him only from His birth until His death on Golgotha. We know Him fully only when we know Him as the Conqueror of death, as the Risen One.
O Lord all-victorious, have mercy on us and gladden us with Thy Resurrection, as Thou didst have mercy and gladden Thy disciples. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“Walking toward His own bitter death, the Lord grieves more over the grief of His disciples than over what He Himself must endure.”