Lives of the Saints
1. THE HOLY MARTYRS TROPHIMUS AND THEOPHILUS, AND THIRTEEN OTHERS WITH THEM
They suffered in Lycia in the time of Emperor Diocletian. Since they would in no wise deny Christ nor offer sacrifice to the idols, they were subjected to various tortures: they were beaten with stones, scraped with sharp iron implements, their knees were broken, and at last, so tortured and more dead than alive, they were cast into fire. The power of God preserved them unharmed in the fire. Then they were led out and beheaded with the sword. But the Lord glorified them both on earth and in His heavenly Kingdom. They suffered honorably in Lycia in the year 308.
2. THE HIEROMARTYR APOLLINARIS
A disciple of the Apostle Peter, by origin from the city of Antioch. St. Peter took him along from Antioch to Rome, and in Rome ordained him bishop of the city of Ravenna. Having come to Ravenna, Apollinaris entered the home of a certain soldier Irenaeus, whose son he healed of blindness, and through this converted the entire household to the faith of Christ. In the same manner he healed the wife of the military commander of Ravenna of a certain grievous ailment, and baptized his whole household as well. At the commander's wish, Apollinaris remained in his home as a resident. There he also built a small house church. And he dwelt in that home for twelve years, preaching the Gospel and baptizing the unbelievers. He was cruelly tortured on many occasions by the pagan authorities, but the almighty right hand of God sustained and saved him. At last he was condemned to exile in Illyricum. But the ship on which they were traveling was wrecked by a storm and sank, and of all the travelers only St. Apollinaris was saved, along with two soldiers and three of his clerics. The soldiers, having been miraculously saved in this way, believed in the power of the God of Apollinaris and were baptized. Then Apollinaris set out to preach the Gospel throughout the entire Balkans, going as far south as the Danube. After that he went to Thrace, where likewise under great pressure he spread the Gospel of the Lord. After three years of labor in the Balkans he was driven back to Italy. He came to Ravenna, where all the faithful rejoiced exceedingly at his return. When the pagan authorities heard of this, they wrote to Emperor Vespasian about Apollinaris as a sorcerer, and asked him whether they should put him to death as an enemy of their gods. To this the emperor replied that he should not be killed, but only that they should demand that he offer sacrifice to the gods, or else be expelled from the city, for, he said, "It is not fitting that we take vengeance on someone for the gods, for they themselves can avenge themselves upon their enemies, if they become wrathful." Yet even despite this imperial decree, the pagans attacked Apollinaris and stabbed him with knives. From severe wounds this servant of God breathed his last and departed to the Kingdom of God. The relics of St. Apollinaris repose in Ravenna, in the church bearing his name.
Hymn of Praise
Apollinaris, for the sake of Christ God,
Endured torments great and many,
Without any anger, without any surprise,
For he knew that without suffering there is no salvation;
He knew that even the Lord did not pass without suffering,
And he saw Peter's hands nailed fast.
And to the Kingdom of God by the sword dispatched,
He knew of many slain as lambs.
Therefore he was ready, and his soul prepared,
For Christ the Living to bear public shame,
And the saint endured all that the hellish power
Had prepared for the tormenting of the faithful,
All the saint endured, bearing it with faith,
And under cruel torment growing old, growing old.
And even when he aged, torment did not pass him by;
Under cruel torments for Christ he perished,
Astounding many generations with his valor —
He did not die but departed — to live forever.
“He knew that even the Lord did not pass without suffering, and he saw Peter's hands nailed fast.”
Reflection
The great teachers of the Church strove to instruct people in great truths not only with words but also with vivid examples. Thus Abba Isaiah, in order to teach the monks that no one who has not labored according to God in this life will receive a reward from God, brought his disciples to a threshing floor where a farmer was gathering the winnowed wheat. "Give me some wheat too!" said Isaiah to the farmer. "But did you reap, Father?" "I did not," replied the elder. "Then how do you expect to receive wheat if you did not reap?" To this the elder said: "Does one who has not reaped not receive wheat?" "He does not," replied the farmer. Upon hearing such an answer, the elder silently turned back. When his disciples asked him to explain his action, the elder said to them: "I did that with the intention of showing you that no one who has not struggled in the ascetical life will receive a reward from God."
Contemplation
Contemplate the suffering of an entire nation because of the sin of one man (Joshua 7), namely:
1. How it was forbidden by God for the Israelites to take anything from the possessions of the conquered people of Jericho;
2. How one man took something from those possessions, on account of which the Israelites were defeated by the men of Ai;
3. How even today, because of the transgression of God's law by one person, many suffer.
“Even today, because of the transgression of God's law by one person, many suffer.”
Homily
on Waterless Springs
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever (II Peter 2:17)
The Apostle calls impure people waterless springs — those who pursue fleshly impurities, who despise authority, who are shameless and willful, and who tremble not when blaspheming glory, but like brute beasts blaspheme that which they do not understand. O waterless springs, who adorn yourselves on every side yet give no water — why do you call yourselves springs when from you nothing flows but thirst? O clouds and mists that puff yourselves up as though you would drown the whole world in a flood, when there is not a drop of water in you, and when one terrible hour the breath of the Spirit of God shall shatter you and scatter you into nothing? You care not for purity, therefore you wallow in fleshly impurities; you care not for order, therefore you despise authority; you care not for honor, therefore you are shameless; you care not for the will of God, therefore you are willful; you care not for the knowledge of truth, therefore you blaspheme that which you have not troubled yourselves to understand. For you is reserved the mist of darkness forever. This is not God's will; it is your will. This path God did not ordain; you yourselves have chosen it. God is righteous and shall not err, but shall give to each according to his sin and according to his unrepentant heart.
What are fleshly desires, brethren, but waterless springs, and dry clouds and mists? What fruit springs up and ripens from them, save thistles and thorns, which need no rain? Men with fleshly desires are equal to their fleshly desires — they cannot be seen apart from these, and shall be judged according to these.
O Lord, Creator of our souls and bodies, grant us the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may preserve both body and soul in purity, and on the Day of Judgment present both in purity to Thee, our Creator and God. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“O waterless springs, who adorn yourselves on every side yet give no water — why do you call yourselves springs when from you nothing flows but thirst?”