The Lives of the Saints
1. THE HIEROMARTYR EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF SAMOSATA
A great denouncer of Arianism. When the Antiochian throne became vacant, through his efforts Meletius was elected patriarch — Meletius, a great luminary of the Church, who after his death was deemed worthy of great praise from Saint John Chrysostom. But the Arians quickly exiled this Meletius from Antioch. When the wicked son of Constantine, Constantius, died, one worse than he came to the throne — Julian the Apostate. During Julian's persecution of Christians, Saint Eusebius removed his priestly vestments and dressed in military garb, and under the guise of a soldier he visited the persecuted churches in Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, everywhere strengthening the Orthodox faith and appointing needed priests, deacons, and other clergy, and in some places even bishops. After the notorious death of Julian, Saint Eusebius counseled Meletius to convene a council in Antioch in the year 361, at which twenty-seven hierarchs were present, and at which the Arian heresy was once more condemned and the Orthodox faith proclaimed as it had been expressed at the First Ecumenical Council. Besides Meletius and Eusebius, Saint Pelagius of Laodicea was especially notable at this council — a renowned virgin and ascetic. That council was held in the time of the pious Emperor Jovian. But this emperor soon died, and the wicked Valens came to the throne, with whom came again the persecution of Orthodoxy. Saint Meletius was banished to Armenia, Eusebius to Thrace, and Pelagius to Arabia. After Valens, Emperor Gratian came to the throne, who gave freedom to the Church and restored the imprisoned hierarchs to their places. Thus Meletius returned to Antioch, Eusebius to Samosata, and Pelagius to Laodicea. At that time many dioceses and parishes were widowed, and Eusebius zealously hastened to find and give the people lawful pastors. But when he came with the elected bishop Marinus to the city of Dolichina in order to enthrone the new hierarch and to denounce the Arian heresy, which was strong in that city, a fanatical heretic threw a roof tile at Eusebius's head and gravely wounded him, from which wound this great champion of Orthodoxy, saint and martyr, died, to live eternally in the blessedness of Paradise. He suffered in the year 379.
2. THE HOLY MARTYRS ZENON AND ZENAS
Saint Zenon was a Roman officer in the city of Philadelphia in Arabia. And Zenas was his servant. When in the time of Emperor Maximian the persecution of Christians began, Saint Zenon dared to come before the governor Maximus, confessed his faith in the one living God, and counseled Maximus to abandon the dead idols and accept the only true faith. The governor grew angry and cast Zenon into prison. And when the faithful Zenas visited his master in prison, he too was seized and arrested. Then both were tortured for Christ and finally cast into a fire into which the pagans had poured oil. Their souls were crowned with wreaths in the kingdom of Christ, and their bodily remains were buried in the Church of Saint George in a place called Cyparission.
3. THE VENERABLE ANASTASIA, MOTHER OF SAINT SAVA
The wife of Stefan Nemanja. The mother of Vukan, Stefan, and Rastko. She was tonsured a nun in the year 1196 and received the monastic name Anastasia. Her baptismal name was Anna. She reposed on June 21, 1200. She was buried in the narthex of the Monastery of Studenica. Her relics rest in the Monastery of Studenica.
Hymn of Praise
The Church is never without pastors,
Nor without sufferings, nor without heroes.
When the sharp Goliath sword flashed,
The Pastor of Samosata gave resistance —
Eusebius, and with him Meletius,
Like two stars — and a third: Pelagius.
Champions of holy Orthodoxy,
Glorious saints of the Church of God.
There was affliction then for Christians,
Fierce affliction from both sides:
On one side the furious heretics,
On the other the senseless emperors.
Hard it was to preserve the soul
And to uphold the truth of God
Against lies and against violence.
Amid the weeds there was little basil,
Little, little sweet grass and feather grass!
Three hierarchs — three fragrant flowers,
Enough honey for all the poison of the world.
Eusebius began as a champion
And ended his life as a martyr.
O Eusebius, high priest,
Bless us, O pleaser of God!
Reflection
Why does the gracious Lord permit attacks and sufferings upon the true faith, while He allows heresies and paganism to enjoy tranquility? "Why?" asks Saint John Chrysostom, and immediately answers: "So that thou mayest recognize their weakness, when thou seest that even without disturbance they fall apart of themselves, and so that thou mayest be convinced of the power of the faith, which endures calamities and even through its adversaries multiplies."
"If, then, we dispute with pagans or with wretched Jews, it is sufficient to set forth as proof of the divine power the fact that the Christian faith, subjected to countless battles, has maintained the victory" — even when the whole world stood against it. And Saint Isaac the Syrian says: "The wondrous love of God toward man is recognized when man is in calamities that destroy his hope. Here God shows His power and His salvation. For man never knows the power of God in rest and freedom."
“So that thou mayest recognize their weakness, when thou seest that even without disturbance they fall apart of themselves.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the miraculous striking mute of the high priest Zechariah (Luke 1:20), namely:
1. How Zechariah did not believe the angel of God that the aged womb of his wife could conceive and bear, and how because of this he was struck mute, according to the word of the angel,
2. How I too am as one struck mute when I cannot speak sufficiently of the miracles of God, because my faith is small.
Homily
On How the Sluggard Makes Excuses
The slothful man saith, There is a lion without (Prov. 22:13)
To justify his laziness, the sluggard points out the difficulties and obstacles of a task and magnifies them beyond all measure. If one man hinders him, he will say that the whole village hinders him; if leaves rustle, he will claim that he cannot go to work because of a storm; if there is a hare before his house, he will say — a lion! Only so as not to leave the house, and only to postpone the work.
Sloth is entirely contrary to the nature of man. The nature of man is active: it demands to work, to labor, to build. Laziness is a sure sign of the disfigurement of nature in a person. That laziness is a terrible vice is clear from the fact that an active man never envies the sluggard, while the sluggard envies the active man — just as a sober man does not envy the drunkard, while the drunkard envies the sober man.
O Lord, All-active Creator, save us from the dull and vicious laziness by which we distance ourselves from our original nature, from Thy image and likeness, O Master of all creatures! Inspire us with Thy Holy Spirit, ever-moving and joy-creating. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“To justify his laziness, the sluggard points out the difficulties and magnifies them beyond all measure. If there is a hare before his house, he will say — a lion!”