Lives of the Saints
1. VENERABLE PARASCEVA (PETKA)
This glorious saint was of Serbian origin, born in the town of Epibatae (Pivat, in Turkish Boyadjis, between Selymbria and Constantinople). The parents of Saint Parasceva were wealthy and pious Christians, and besides Parasceva they also had a son, Euthymius, who was tonsured a monk during his parents' lifetime and later became the renowned Bishop of Madytos. After the death of her parents, the maiden Parasceva, ever desirous of the ascetic life for the sake of Christ, left her parental home and went first to Constantinople, and then to the desert of the Jordan, where she practiced asceticism until her old age. Who could recount all the labors, and sufferings, and demonic temptations that Saint Parasceva endured in the course of many years? Under old age an angel of God appeared to her and said: "Leave the desert and return to your homeland; it is needful that there you surrender your body to the earth and your soul depart to the Lord." Saint Parasceva obeyed the voice from heaven, left the desert she so loved, and returned to Epibatae. There she lived for two more years, again in unceasing fasting and prayer, and then surrendered her spirit to God and departed to the dwellings of Paradise. She reposed in the eleventh century. Her wonderworking relics were transferred over time: to Constantinople, to Trnovo, then again to Constantinople, then to Belgrade. They are now located in Romania, in the city of Iasi. In the fortress of Belgrade there is a holy spring (hagiasma) of Saint Parasceva, which miraculously heals all those who approach it with faith in God and love for this saint.
2. HOLY MARTYRS NAZARIUS, GERVASIUS, AND PROTASIUS
Nazarius was born in Rome to a Jewish father and a Christian mother. His mother Perpetua had been baptized by the Apostle Peter himself. Having accepted his mother's faith, Nazarius gave himself wholeheartedly to the fulfillment of all the precepts of the Church. Fearlessly preaching the Gospel, Nazarius came to Mediolanum (Milan). There he found Gervasius and Protasius in prison and served them with great love. When the local ruler learned of this, he ordered Nazarius to be beaten and expelled from the city. In a vision his mother appeared to him and told him that he should go to Gaul (France) and preach the Gospel there. This Nazarius did. After several years Nazarius again came to Mediolanum, now with the young man Celsus, his disciple, whom he had baptized in Gaul. There he found the brothers Gervasius and Protasius still in prison, into which the governor Anulinus soon cast him as well. And the martyrs of Christ rejoiced at their new meeting by God's Providence. Emperor Nero ordered that Nazarius be killed; and the governor brought out Nazarius and Celsus from prison and beheaded them. Soon after, Saints Gervasius and Protasius were also beheaded by a certain commander Astasius, who was passing through Mediolanum on his way to war against the Moravians. When the commander heard that these two brothers did not offer sacrifice to the idols, he feared that because of this he might lose the battle, and so he ordered that they be beheaded at once. Gervasius and Protasius were twins of blessed parents who were also disciples of the faith: Vitalis and Valeria. The relics of Saint Nazarius were transferred by Saint Ambrose from a garden outside the city to the Church of the Holy Apostles, and the relics of Saints Gervasius and Protasius were revealed to him in a wondrous vision.
“Under old age an angel of God appeared to her and said: "Leave the desert and return to your homeland; it is needful that there you surrender your body to the earth and your soul depart to the Lord." Saint Parasceva obeyed the voice from heaven, left the desert she so loved, and returned to Epibatae.”
Hymn of Praise
VENERABLE PARASCEVA
A pure heart the Lord desires,
The Gospel so declares:
A pure virgin you remained,
A pure heart to God you gave —
O wondrous saint,
Our model, holy Petka!
A most pure mind the Lord requires,
Without fantasy and without falsehood:
You gave Him a most pure mind,
Like an angel's — just the same.
O wondrous saint,
Hear our prayers, holy Petka!
A pure soul the Lord demands
As a heavenly sanctuary;
Such a soul you nurtured,
Which now shines in heaven.
O wondrous saint,
Help us, holy Petka!
Help us with your intercessions
In the afflictions of life:
In the clouded earthly sorrow
Shine upon us like the rainbow —
O wondrous and chaste maiden,
Holy Mother Parasceva!
“O wondrous saint, hear our prayers, holy Petka! Help us with your intercessions in the afflictions of life.”
Reflection
Examples of how the saints themselves reveal their hidden relics to men justify the veneration of saintly relics, to say nothing of the miraculous effects of those relics, which doubly justify it. For a long, long time no one knew the grave of Saint Parasceva. Once it happened that a sailor died and his body was cast near the grave of the saint. When the body turned into a corpse and began to give off an unbearable stench, a certain monk who was practicing asceticism nearby called the villagers, and they buried the corpse. And it happened that they buried it in the very grave of Saint Parasceva. That night Saint Parasceva appeared in a dream to one of those villagers who had buried the corpse, George by name. She appeared as a most beautiful and splendidly adorned queen, surrounded by many and wondrous soldiers, and said: "George, immediately remove my relics and place them in another place, for I can no longer bear the stench of that corpse." And Saint Parasceva told him who she was and from whence she came. That very same night a village woman of that place, named Euphemia, had the same vision. The next day the villagers went, began to dig, and indeed found the relics of Saint Parasceva, extraordinarily fragrant and, as was soon shown, wonderworking. Concerning the relics of Saints Gervasius and Protasius, Saint Ambrose recounts how they were revealed to him in a similar manner. One night, two handsome young men and one elder, whom Ambrose took to be the Apostle Paul, appeared to the wakeful Ambrose. And while the young men were silent, the elder told Ambrose about them, that they were martyrs of Christ, that their relics lay in the very place where Ambrose at that time was praying to God, and that he would learn all the rest about them from a booklet which he would find in the grave. The next day Ambrose announced his vision, they began to dig, and indeed found the relics of two men, about whom they learned from the booklet found with them that they were called Gervasius and Protasius. In the presence of Saint Ambrose, a certain blind man Severus touched those holy relics and immediately received his sight.
“A certain blind man Severus touched those holy relics and immediately received his sight.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the miraculous healings by the holy Apostles (Acts 5), namely:
1. How by the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were wrought;
2. How many sick people were healed by the very shadow of the Apostle Peter.
“How many sick people were healed by the very shadow of the Apostle Peter.”
Homily
on how the angel fights for the righteous
The angel of the Lord will fight for those who fear God. This has been clearly shown many times in what has been recorded, and countless times in what has not been recorded. The Archangel Michael arrayed himself on behalf of Joshua. An angel fought for the righteous King Hezekiah, and in one night destroyed the entire Chaldean army. How many times did angels visit the apostles and Christian martyrs in prison, and strengthen and gladden them? It is a comfort to the righteous man to know that God is all-seeing, and thus sees his distress; and that God is almighty, and thus is able to save him from distress; and that God is most merciful, and thus wills to save him from distress. God will send His bright angel to the aid of the righteous one; and the righteous one will not fight against his tyrant, but the angel of God will fight in his place. And when the angel of God arrays himself for battle, what army dares stand against him? What kingdom dare make war against him? In an earlier psalm the prophet David says: a king is not saved by a great army, nor is a giant saved by the greatness of his strength; a horse is a vain thing for safety. All this avails nothing if injustice is an ally of all these things. When one angel arrays himself against all this, all of it will burst like a bubble of water. David was himself a king, and he well remembered how, once as a shepherd, he had slain Goliath from a sling, the giant armed to the teeth. He had felt the help of God's angel many times. Therefore he can with such confidence comfort the oppressed righteous with words of comfort and strength: the angel of the Lord shall encamp for you, O all you who fear the Lord and serve Him, and the angel of God shall deliver you. O my brethren, let us not doubt these words, but let us examine carefully every day how the angel of God leaves us with sadness when we sin, and how he hastens to our aid with joy and unspeakable power when we repent and seek mercy from God.
O Lord God, our Creator, King of innumerable angels, forgive us and save us, and protect us by Thy holy angels. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“The angel of the Lord shall encamp around those who fear Him, and shall deliver them.”