Lives of the Saints
1. SAINT ANDREW THE FOOL-FOR-CHRIST
A Slav by origin. As a slave he was purchased by a certain rich man, Theognostus, in Constantinople in the time of Emperor Leo the Wise, the son of Emperor Basil the Macedonian. Andrew was a handsome young man in body and soul. Theognostus came to love Andrew and gave him to be educated in letters. Andrew fervently prayed to God and lovingly attended the church services. Heeding a certain heavenly revelation, he resolved upon the ascetic labor of foolishness for Christ's sake. And one day when he went to the well for water, he tore his clothes upon himself and shredded them with a knife, and pretended to be mad. Grieved by this, his master Theognostus shackled him in chains and brought him to the Church of Saint Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions, to have prayers read over him. But as Andrew did not improve in the eyes of his master, his master set him free as a madman. The holy Andrew by day pretended to be a fool, but by night he prayed to God all night long. He lived without roof or shelter. He spent the night in the open field, walked about half-naked in a single tattered garment, and ate a little bread when kind people offered him some. From what he received he would share with beggars, and whenever he gave to them he would mock them, so that they would not thank him. For Saint Andrew expected all reward only from God. Therefore great grace from God settled into him, so that he could see into the secrets of men, see angels and demons, drive demons away from people, and correct people from sin. He had wondrous visions of Paradise and the highest heavenly Powers; he saw Christ the Lord on the throne of glory; he saw, together with his disciple Epiphanius, the Most Holy Theotokos in the Church at Blachernae, covering the Christian race with her garment (see the Protection of the Theotokos); he heard in the heavens words unspeakable, which he was not permitted to repeat to men. After unheard-of labors of the most severe kind, he reposed in the year 911 and was translated into the eternal glory of his Lord.
2. HIEROMARTYR CYPRIAN AND HOLY VIRGIN MARTYR JUSTINA
Cyprian — a man who had moved from Carthage to Antioch, where Justina also lived with her parents, Aedesius and Cleodonia. Aedesius was a pagan priest and his entire household was heathen. But when Justina, visiting Christian churches, came to know the true faith, she converted both her father and her mother to Christ the Lord. And all three received baptism from Bishop Optatus. Cyprian, however, was a sorcerer, had dealings with unclean spirits, and practiced divination. A certain dissolute young pagan named Aglaidas desired at all costs to seduce Saint Justina, for he was captivated by her beauty, but when the holy virgin resolutely refused him, he sought help from Cyprian. Cyprian sent evil spirits, one after another, upon Justina, to inflame in her an impure passion for Aglaidas, but succeeded in nothing, for Saint Justina drove away the spirits of wickedness from herself by the sign of the Cross and prayer to God. Then Cyprian came to know the power of the Cross and was himself baptized, and in time became a presbyter and bishop. The embittered pagans accused both him and Justina, and both were brought to trial in Damascus, and then tortured and beheaded in Nicomedia at the end of the third century.
3. HOLY MARTYRS DAVID AND CONSTANTINE
Christian princes from Argveti. Condemned to death for Christ in Imereti by the Caliph Emir-el-Mumenim, and drowned in a river in the year 730. Before their death they prayed to God that God would forgive the sins of all those who would invoke them in prayer for help. When they had finished their prayer, thunder sounded and a voice was heard from heaven that their prayer had been granted. Their relics repose in Georgia, in the Monastery of Motsameta.
“Cyprian came to know the power of the Cross and was himself baptized, and in time became a presbyter and bishop.”
Hymn of Praise
Andrew the Fool-for-Christ stood in the night,
Beneath the canopy of stars he prayed to God:
O God Most High, Three in Hypostasis,
Awaken sleeping souls and save them!
O sweet Jesus, sweeter than life itself,
Treasury of joy and eternal beauty,
Purify the pastors, enlighten the emperors,
Comfort the afflicted, and sanctify all the world,
And even me, the sinful one, Andrew the Fool,
Do not cast out, O Lord, from Thy holy people! —
O holy Andrew, full of God's wisdom,
Thou who didst teach the world by words of folly.
In the tongue of the world thou didst speak to the world
And by seeming foolishness thou didst glorify Christ.
Men despised thee as one bereft of mind,
And dogs drove thee from their resting places!
Upon the dunghill of the world thou wast an altar,
With thy prayers thou didst cense the whole world.
Yet all the world was not worthy of thee, O wondrous one —
Glory to thee, Andrew, O holy Fool-for-Christ!
“Andrew the Fool-for-Christ stood in the night, Beneath the canopy of stars he prayed to God: O God Most High, Three in Hypostasis, Awaken sleeping souls and save them!”
Reflection
A vision of Saint Andrew the Fool-for-Christ. A certain monk in Constantinople was renowned as an ascetic and spiritual father, and many people came to him for prayers. But that monk had a secret vice of avarice. He gathered money and gave none to anyone. Saint Andrew met him on the street and saw wrapped around his neck a terrible serpent. Saint Andrew took pity on him, approached him, and began to counsel him: "Why, brother, have you destroyed your own soul? Why have you bound yourself to the demon of avarice? Why have you given him rest upon yourself? Why do you gather gold as though it will go with you into the grave and not into the hands of others? Why do you choke yourself with miserliness while others go hungry and thirsty and die from the cold, and you rejoice gazing upon your abundance of gold? Is that the way of repentance? Is that the monastic calling?... Do you see the one around him?" And in that instant the eyes of the monk were opened and he saw a black demon, and was greatly horrified. And the demon removed itself from the monk and fled, driven by the power of Andrew. Then a most radiant angel of God drew near to that monk, for the monk's heart had been changed to good. And immediately the monk went and distributed all his gathered gold to the destitute and poor. And after that he pleased God in all things, and was glorified far more than before.
“Do you see the one around him? And in that instant the eyes of the monk were opened and he saw a black demon, and was greatly horrified.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the righteousness of King Hezekiah and the reward of God (II Chronicles 30-31), namely:
1. How Hezekiah did that which was good and right and true before the Lord;
2. How he restored holiness to the temple of the Lord and exterminated the idols and idolatry among the people;
3. How God showed him mercy and he was blessed in all things.
Homily
on the will of the righteous man in the will of God
Blessed is that man, brethren, and thrice-blessed is he, whose will is subject to the will of God, whose mind thinks nothing contrary to the counsel of God, and whose heart desires nothing contrary to the desire of God. The mind is the helmsman of both the will and the heart. If the mind is constantly directed toward God, then it will eagerly study the Law of God day and night, and will not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, but will seek truth and explanation for everything in the Law of God. If the mind is thus directed toward God, then the heart and the will of a man will also quickly be directed toward God. Then the will, as the executive organ of the inner man, will carry out only that which is in agreement with the will of God and that which is prescribed in the Law of God. Then a man will not stand in the way of sinners, nor will he sit in the seat of destruction — that is, he will not commit sin, nor will he draw other people into sin. At the beginning of this Psalm the Prophet David praises the man who does not do three evils, and now continues to praise him when he does two goods. The three evils are: to seek wisdom from sinners, to live the life of sinners, and to scandalize other people by one's evil example. The two goods are: to conform one's will completely to the Law of God, and to direct one's mind to study the Law of God day and night. O my brethren, how pitifully shallow is the mind of all those who do not know the Law of God! The depth of the human mind is measured by the knowledge of the depths of the Law of God. Whoever studies the mysteries of the Law of God, his mind is deep and broad and exalted. And the mind is the helmsman of both the heart and the will. O my brethren, how shallow and fickle and debased is the will of all those who do not subject their will to the will of God! Truly pitifully shallow, and fickle and debased. What is the Law of God, brethren? It is the expression of the will of God. Where is this expression found? In Holy Scripture and in the Tradition of the saints of the Church of God. Blessed is he who knows the will of God and who fulfills it. O Lord God, great and mighty, merciful and just, enlighten our minds with Thy holy Law, and direct our will with Thy will, the will that is loving toward man and saving. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“If the mind is constantly directed toward God, then it will eagerly study the Law of God day and night, and will not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.”