Lives of the Saints
1. THE HOLY MARTYRS THEODOTUS AND SEVEN VIRGIN MARTYRS: THECUSA, ALEXANDRA, CLAUDIA, PHAÏNA, EUPHRASIA, MATRONA, AND JULIA
Theodotus was married and was a tavern-keeper in Ancyra in the time of Emperor Diocletian. Although married, he lived according to the word of the Apostle: "From now on let those who have wives live as though they had none" (I Cor. 7:29). And he kept a tavern so that he might unsuspectedly better help Christians. His tavern was a shelter for persecuted believers. Theodotus secretly sent help to Christians who had fled into the mountains, and secretly gathered the bodies of those who had been slain and buried them. At that time seven maidens were brought to trial and tortured for Christ; they were tortured, dishonored, and finally drowned in a lake. One of them, Saint Thecusa, appeared to Theodotus in a dream and told him to retrieve their bodies from the lake and bury them. In the dark of night Theodotus set out with a companion to fulfill the will of the martyr, and, led by the angels of God, he succeeded in finding all seven bodies and burying them. But that companion betrayed him to the judge, and the judge subjected him to grievous tortures. But Theodotus endured all the tortures as though he were in another's body, having his whole mind immersed in the Lord. When the torturer had turned his whole body into wounds and had shattered his teeth with stones, he ordered him beheaded with a sword. When he was led out to the place of execution, many Christians wept for him, but Saint Theodotus said to them: "Do not weep for me, brethren, but glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has helped me to complete my struggle and to vanquish the enemy." — Having said this, he laid his head on the block beneath the sword and was beheaded in the year 303. A certain priest honorably buried the body of the martyr on a knoll outside the city. On that site a church was later built in the name of Saint Theodotus. (See June 7.)
2. THE HOLY MARTYRS PETER, DIONYSIUS, ANDREW, PAUL, AND CHRISTINA
Peter was a splendid young man, Dionysius a distinguished man, Andrew and Paul were soldiers, and Christina was a sixteen-year-old maiden. All courageously confessed Christ the Lord and endured tortures and death for His name. A certain Nicomachus, who was tortured with them, renounced Christ in the midst of his torments and immediately went out of his mind, and like a madman he bit his own body and foamed at the mouth until he breathed his last. This was in the year 250.
3. THE HOLY MARTYRS HERACLIUS, PAULINUS, AND BENEDIMUS
They were Athenians. They suffered for the faith in the time of Decius. For the name of Christ they were burned in a fiery furnace.
“Do not weep for me, brethren, but glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has helped me to complete my struggle.”
Hymn of Praise
At Ancyra on the green hill,
There a company of persecuted Christians
Dined together with a blessing.
What the sun is among the shining stars,
That was Theodotus in the company,
And next to him the presbyter Fronto.
And Theodotus spoke to Fronto:
This place is fitting for a church
Over the relics of honorable martyrs!
Fronto answered Theodotus:
See to it thyself, O wondrous man,
Procure for us the relics of martyrs,
And we shall easily build the church
And adorn this place with a church.
The wondrous Theodotus smiled,
He removed a ring from his right hand
And gave it to the honorable Fronto,
Speaking to him these words:
— Thy word is honorable, and the ring thy pledge,
I shall soon procure for thee the relics
And lay them in this very place!
This Theodotus spoke as a prophecy,
Prophesying his own suffering
And his martyrdom for Christ.
As he spoke, so it came to pass.
His relics were laid there,
And over them a church was built,
A wondrous memorial of immortal victory
At Ancyra on the green hill.
Reflection
To conceal one's virtue and one's ascetical struggle was the custom of ascetics, both men and women, not only in the earliest times of Christianity but throughout all the centuries to our own day. Eudoxia, the wife of the glorious Prince Dimitri Donskoy, the liberator of Russia from the Tatars, was left a widow in the year 1389, still quite young. Wholly imbued with piety, this princess built churches, distributed alms, and secretly exhausted her body with fasting and vigils. Against her body she wore iron chains. Yet before the world she always appeared smiling, dressed in luxury, adorned with pearls. The world said all sorts of things about her; rumors began to spread about her immoral life. Her sons heard of this, and, offended and embittered, they told their mother openly what was being said about her. The mother opened her luxurious garment, and the children with great horror saw her body, completely dried up and withered, bound in iron chains.
“To conceal one's virtue and one's ascetical struggle was the custom of ascetics, both men and women, throughout all the centuries.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the action of God the Holy Spirit upon the martyrs, namely:
1. How the Holy Spirit grants them consolation in their sufferings,
2. How sometimes, according to His own will, He makes their bodies incombustible.
Homily
on the Witness of the Spirit of God
The Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me (John 15:26)
God the Son sends into the world God the Holy Spirit to bear witness of Him until the end of time. He shall testify of Me.
How will God the Spirit bear witness of God the Son? He will bear witness in many ways: He will draw human souls to the Church of Christ; He will open to them the meaning of Holy Scripture; He will bring to their remembrance the commandments of Christ; He will give to the words of Christ warmth, freshness, power, and sweetness; He will convert repentant sinners into righteous ones; He will fulfill all the promises and prophecies of Christ upon people, upon nations, and upon the Church of God; He will strengthen the Church of Christ and hold it firm against all the storms of time and all the malice of hell and of men through the ages and the ages.
The Spirit Who acts in these and in many other similar ways is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, the gracious, life-giving, all-powerful Spirit.
Not one word of Christ is contrary to the Spirit of God, nor is the Spirit of God contrary to any word of Christ. Therefore when the Spirit of God deigns to enter the heart of man, He becomes the living and unfailing witness of all that Christ said and did. And man then believes joyfully and unshakably. For how could he not believe the greatest and most enduring Eyewitness and Co-participant in all the words, all the miracles, and all the deeds of Christ?
Therefore, my brethren, let us pray above all and before all that this Eyewitness and Co-participant, the Holy and All-powerful Spirit, take up His dwelling in our hearts, that our faith may become living, unshakable, and joy-creating. O God the Holy Spirit, Spirit of truth, draw near and dwell within us. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“Not one word of Christ is contrary to the Spirit of God, nor is the Spirit of God contrary to any word of Christ.”