Lives of the Saints
1. THE CONCEPTION OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
On this day is glorified the mercy, wonder, and wisdom of God: mercy toward the pious and righteous parents of Saint John, the elder Zacharias and the aged Elizabeth, who all their lives desired and asked of God for a child; the wonder of John's conception in the aged womb of Elizabeth; and the wisdom in the economy of human salvation. For with John, God had especially great intentions — namely, that he should be the Prophet and Forerunner of Christ the Lord, the Savior of the world. Through His angels God announced the birth of Isaac from the childless Sarah, and of Samson from the childless Manoah and his wife, and of John the Forerunner from the childless Zacharias and Elizabeth. Through His angels God announced the birth of those with whom He had special intentions. How could children be born from aged parents? If anyone is curious to know this, let him not ask men about it, for men do not know, nor the laws of nature, for this is above the laws of nature, but let him turn his gaze to the power of the Almighty God, who created the entire world from nothing, and who for the creation of the first man, Adam, had no need of any parents, whether old or young. Instead of curiosity let us render praise to God, who often manifests His power, mercy, and wisdom beyond the laws of nature, in which we, fettered as we are, would without God's special miracles fall into despair and forgetfulness of God.
2. HOLY MARTYR IRAIDA
She is sometimes called Rais or Raida. A virgin from a certain Egyptian city of Batana, and so in all probability an Egyptian. Once Iraida went out to draw water from a well near the sea, and she saw a ship filled with bound Christians: priests, deacons, monastics, women, and maidens. Upon inquiring she learned that the pagan persecutors were taking all those people to torture and death for the name of Christ the Lord. In the heart of the young Iraida there blazed a desire to suffer herself for the Lord. She left her vessels at the well, boarded the ship, and confessed that she too was a Christian. They immediately bound her as well and took her with the rest to the Egyptian city of Antinopolis. After various tortures they first cut off the head of Iraida, and then of the rest. She suffered honorably and was glorified at the beginning of the fourth century.
3. HOLY NEW MARTYR NICHOLAS PANTOPOLIS
As a young man he suffered for the faith of Christ at the hands of the Turks in Constantinople in 1672. His father had settled there from Thessaly. And since his father kept a general store, he too was called Pantopolis, meaning "one who sells everything" in Greek. After much coercion to convert to Islam, and torment because he would not convert, he was beheaded, and departed to the Kingdom of God. His relics rest in the Monastery of Xeropotamou on the Holy Mountain.
4. HOLY NEW MARTYR JOHN
A native of the town of Konitsa in Albania. Born a Muslim of Muslim parents. But later, seeing the wondrous power of the Christian faith in various places and in various circumstances, he was baptized. For this he was reported and brought before a Turkish court. He was tortured for the faith of Christ by the Turks in Aetolia and beheaded after his torments in 1814. Before his death he cried out: "Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom."
“Instead of curiosity let us render praise to God, who often manifests His power, mercy, and wisdom beyond the laws of nature.”
Hymn of Praise
Iraida, a chaste maiden,
Went to draw water.
She returned not to her mother —
She went to the Lord.
Willingly did Iraida
Seek out her torments,
For Christ the Lord was to her
Dearer than her mother.
A ship full of martyrs
Was just about to depart,
Iraida quickly said:
"Take me also!"
I too am a handmaid of Christ,
Christ is my all,
And I desire to be a string
Of His song,
A song of pain and suffering
For the sake of truth.
O receive Iraida,
Let her perish.
And Iraida perished
For her God,
And became an heir
Of life eternal.
By her prayers she now
Saves us also.
To holy Iraida — praise,
And to God — glory!
“Willingly did Iraida Seek out her torments, For Christ the Lord was to her Dearer than her mother.”
Reflection
He who gives to the poor gives to Christ. This is the meaning of the Gospel teaching, confirmed in the experience of the saints. When Peter the Merciful repented, he began giving alms to the poor wherever the opportunity arose. Once a shipwrecked man met him, who had barely saved his naked body in the shipwreck, and begged him for some clothing. Peter took off his costly garment and clothed the naked man. But after a short time Peter saw his garment in the shop of a certain merchant, who had put it on sale. Peter was greatly saddened that the shipwrecked man had sold his garment instead of using it himself. "I am not worthy," Peter said to himself, "the Lord does not accept my alms." But in a dream the Lord appeared to him in the form of a man of noble countenance, more radiant than the sun, with a cross upon His head, and wearing Peter's garment. "Why are you sorrowful, Peter?" the Lord asked him. "How can I not be sorrowful, my Lord, when I see that what I give to the poor is sold in the marketplace?" Then the Lord asked him: "Do you recognize this garment on Me?" Peter answered: "I do, Lord; it is my garment with which I clothed the naked man." Then the Lord said to him: "Do not be sorrowful, then — you gave to a poor man, and I received it, and I commend your deed."
“You gave to a poor man, and I received it, and I commend your deed.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the sins of King Joram and the punishment of God (II Chronicles 21), namely:
1. How Joram slew all his brothers and restored idol-worship in the groves and on the hills;
2. How his enemies plundered and laid waste his land;
3. How he contracted a grievous disease of the bowels, and died, and no one mourned for him.
“How Joram slew all his brothers and restored idol-worship in the groves and on the hills.”
Homily
on God the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father
The unfathomable are the depths of the being of God, brethren. But God has neither hidden Himself from us entirely nor revealed everything to us. As much as our weakness can bear, so much has been revealed to us; as much as is needful for our salvation, so much has been revealed to us. Concerning the Holy Spirit it is revealed to us that He proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son. Let no one seek more, lest he fall into error. Since He proceeds from the Father, it means He is of one essence with the Father; since He is sent by the Son to continue the ministry of the Son, it means He is equal to the Son. The Father beareth witness of Me, the Lord Jesus first said; and now He says of the Spirit of truth: He shall testify of Me. Both witnesses are equal, which is why the Lord appeals now to one, now to the other. And He who has borne witness and He who shall bear witness are equal in essence, for the Lord would not leave a witness for the future who is lesser than the witness from the past. Thus we speak in human terms and in relation to time; in reality, three bear eternal witness in heaven, in the words of the Evangelist: For there are three that bear record in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. There are people who assert that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who revealed this to them, and when? We know that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, for the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, revealed this to us. Therefore we reject those additions to our Orthodox faith which do not agree with the words of the Lord Himself. But to accept the words of the most pure Lord, great purity of heart is needed. Therefore let us strive more to cleanse our heart from passions than to curiously drive our mind with an impure heart into the infinite depths of the being of God, for whoever has done so has fallen into heresy and lost his soul. O Lord God, great and mighty, we give Thee thanks that Thou hast revealed Thyself to us through our Savior Jesus Christ, so that we know we are not children of darkness but sons of the light. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“The unfathomable are the depths of the being of God, brethren. But God has neither hidden Himself from us entirely nor revealed everything to us.”