ON THIS DATE: From the Prologue to Ohrid/Ochrid

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1. The Holy Prophet Obadiah.

Obadiah lived at the court of King Ahab, but, when the king tumed away from true worship and bowed down to idols, Obadiah did not follow the king's example, but continued to serve the one, true God. When the wicked Queen Jezebel, because of her feud with Elias, hunted down all the prophets of God, Obadiah took a hundred of them and hid them in two caves, feeding them till the persecution was over (I Kings 18:4). A contemporary of the great Prophet Elias, Obadiah revered him greatly and hearkened to him in all things, being a follower and pupil of his. He lived nine hundred years before Christ, and entered peacefully into rest.

1. The Holy Martyr Barlaam.

He was born in Antioch, and was harshly tortured by the dishonourable judge for his faith in Christ the Lord. The judge decided to use ridicule, and to put such pressure on him that he would offer sacrifice to idols. He accordingly took him to the temple and applied fire to his palm, putting incense on the fire with the thought that the martyr would be forced by the pain to throw the fire and incense from his hand in front of the idols, and thus involuntarily offer them incense. But this heroic soldier of Christ held the fire on his palm, and would not cast it before the idols, until his fingers were burned and fell off, and his palm was burned through and fell to the ground with the fire. 'He had a right hand stronger than fire', said St Basil the Great, 'for, though the flames consumed it, still the hand held the fire as ash.' Chrysostom writes: 'The angels looked from the heights; the archangels beheld, for the scene was majestic, surpassing in truth all human nature. Lo, who would not wish to see a man who made such an ascetic endeavour and did not feel that which it is common to man to feel; a man who was himself the altar of sacrifice, and the sacrifice, and the priest?' When his hand had burned off, his body fell dead to the ground and his soul went to the eternal rest of his Lord and Saviour. This glorious and heroic elder suffered in the year 304.

1. Our Holy Fathers Barlaam and Joasaph the Heir.

They were Indian ascetics. Joasaph was son and heir to King Abenner. By God's providence, he was visited by the elder Barlaam, who taught him the Christian faith and baptised him. After that, the elder went off into the mountains to live in asceticism, and Joasaph remained to wrestle with many temptations in the world and to overcome them by the grace of God. Joasaph finally succeeded in bringing his father to Christ. When he had been baptised, King Abenner lived a further four years in deep repentance (for he had committed grave sins in his persecution of Christians) and then finished his earthly course and went to the better life. The young Joasaph entrusted the kingdom to his friend Barachias, and himself went off into the desert to live in asceticism for the sake of Christ. His one desire on earth was to see his spiritual father, Barlaam, once more. God, in his mercy, fulfilled his desire, and, one day, Joasaph stood before Barlaam's cave, and called: 'Bless me, Father!' The elder Barlaam lived in asceticism in the desert for seventy years, living a hundred years in all. St Joasaph handed over his kingdom at the age of twenty-five and went into the desert, where he lived a further thirty-five years. They both had great love for the Lord Jesus, brought many to the true Faith and entered into the eternal joy of their Lord.

1. The Holy Martyr Heliodorus.

He was from the town of Magidus in Parnphylia, and was tortured for the Christian faith in the time of the Emperor Aurelian (270- 75). While undergoing harsh torture, he heard a voice from heaven: 'Fear not; I am with thee!' Thrown into a white- hot copper ox, he prayed fervently to God, and God saved him. The white- hot ox was suddenly cooled, and Heliodorus emerged alive. The judge cried to him that some sort of magic had done that, but to this the martyr replied: 'My magic is Christ!' He was then beheaded and went to the Lord.

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1. Our Holy Father Gregory of Decapolis.

He was born in Isaurian Decapolis of eminent and devout parents, Sergius and Maria. When he had finished his schooling, his parents desired him to marry, but he fled to the desert and became a monk. He lived in various places: in Byzantium and Rome, and on Mount Olympus. Wherever he found himself, he made men marvel by his asceticism and miracles. It happened at times that his face was lit up with heavenly light, and that angels of God appeared to him; he looked upon the beauty of the angels and heard their blessed singing. He lived a long and godly life, and died peacefully in Constantinople in the ninth century, his soul entering into the joy of his Lord.

1. St Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople.

A disciple of St John Chrysostom, he was consecrated Bishop of Cyzicus in 426, and in 435 was chosen as Patriarch of Constantinople. He governed the Church of God as a wise hierarch. In his time, two unusual events occurred. The first was the translation of the relics of St John Chrysostom from Comana to Constantinople, at the desire of both the Emperor and the Patriarch, the Emperor Theodosius the Younger being at that time on the throne, with his sister Pulcheria.

The second event was the earthquake in Constantinople and the surrounding country. Many of the greatest and most beautiful buildings fell in the terrible earthquake. Then the Patriarch, together with the Emperor and many of the clergy, the nobles and the people, made a procession. While they were praying in this procession, a child was miraculously lifted up high into the air, finally becoming invisible to the eye. It then returned, and landed gently on the ground. Asked where it had been, the child replied that it had been lifted up to heaven among the angels, and had heard them sing: 'Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us!' Hearing this song, all the people in the procession began to sing it, and the earthquake ceased at once. From that time, this wonderful hymn was adopted by the Church. The child soon died, and was buried in the Church of St Irene. St Proclus served as hierarch for twenty years, and entered peacefully into rest in the Lord in 446.

1. The Holy Martyrs Eustace, Thespesius and Anatolius.

These three were brothers from Nicomedia, of pagan parents, Philotheus and Eusebia, who later received the true Faith from Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, together with their three sons. Philotheus was ordained priest. When he and his wife had died, a terrible persecution broke out under the Emperor Maximian, and Philotheus's three sons were taken for trial. Tried, interrogated and tortured in various ways, they were finally condemned to death. Angels appeared to them many times in the prison, giving them manna for food and filling their youthful hearts with strength and courage in endurance. When they were led out to the scaffold, two of their friends, Palladius and Acacius, came up to them and began to speak with them. While they were still talking, the holy martyrs gave their souls into God's hands. The soldiers then beheaded their dead bodies, and carried them off to show the judge. They suffered for Christ the Lord in about 313, and entered into the eternal Kingdom of Christ.

1. St Isaac, Archbishop of Armenia.

He was born in Constantinople at the time that his father was an envoy from the King of Armenia to the Byzantine court. He was the tenth Archbishop of Armenia, and as such governed the Church for fifty years. His episcopate was distinguished, among other things, by the translation of the Scriptures into Armenian. He was told in a vision that Armenia would, one day, fall away from the pure, Orthodox faith. This great hierarch entered peacefully into rest in 440, and went to the Lord.

1. The Three Holy Persian Maidens.

IN the days of King Sapor, these three maidens were persecuted as Christian and finally beheaded with knives. Three fig trees grew over their graves, the fruits of which healed all manner of pains and ills.

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1. The Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Mother of God.

When the most holy Virgin Mary had reached the age of three, her parents, holy Joachim and Anna, took her from Nazareth to Jerusalem, to give her to the service of God in fulfillment of their promise. It was three days journey to Jerusalem, but, going as they were on God's work, they did not find the journey difficult. Many of Joachim and Anna's kinsmen gathered to take part in this celebration, in which the invisible angels of God also took part. Maidens went ahead with lighted candles in their hands, followed by the most holy Virgin, led on either side by her father and mother. The Virgin was clad in royal and beautiful garments, like those of the 'king's daughter', the Bride of God (Ps. 44:9,10). Behind them walked many of their kinsfolk and friends, all bearing lighted candles. There were fifteen steps leading to the Temple. Her parents stood the Virgin on the first step, and she ran quickly to the top on her own, where the High Priest, Zacharias, the father of St John the Forerunner, met her and, taking her by the hand, led her not only into the Temple but into the Holy of Holies, the holiest place of all, into which none could enter except the High Priest, and that once a year. St Theophylact of Ochrid says that Zacharias was ,out of himself, and moved by God' when he led the Virgin into the chief place in the Temple, beyond the second curtain - otherwise there could be no explanation of his action. Her parents then offered sacrifices to God, according to the Law, received the priest's blessing and returned home, leaving the most holy Virgin in the Temple. She dwelt in the Temple for nine whole years. While her parents were alive, they visited her often. When they departed this life, the holy Virgin was left an orphan, and longed to remain in the Temple for the rest of her days, without entering into marriage. This being contrary both to the Law and Israelite custom, she was confided at the age of twelve to St Joseph, a kinsman of hers in Nazareth, so that she might, under the protection of betrothal, live in virginity and thus fulfil both her desire and the demands of the Law, for it was unknown in Israel at that time for a girl to vow perpetual virginity. The holy Virgin Mary was the first to do this, and was later followed by thousands upon thousands of virgin men and women in the Church of Christ.

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1. The Holy Martyr Cecilia.

Born in Rome of rich and eminent parents, she had a firm faith in Christ the Lord and a great zeal for the Faith. Vowing life-long virginity to God, holy Cecilia wore a rough hair-shirt underneath the costly raiment that her parents gave her. When they forced her into marriage with a pagan, Valerian, she spent the first night urging her new-wedded bridegroom to go to Bishop Urban for baptism, and then himself to live a life of virginity. Embracing the Christian faith, Valerian also brought his brother Tibertius to it. Both brothers were very soon condemned to death for their faith, but their zeal did not falter in the face of death itself. Taken to the scaffold, these two brothers succeeded in bringing the captain of the guard, Maximus, to the Faith, and they all three suffered together for Christ the Lord. St Cecilia buried their bodies together and was then herself taken for trial, having unwearyingly won over many pagans to the Christian faith. In one evening, she had won over four hundred souls. When the judge asked her whence came her daring, she answered: 'From a pure conscience and an unquestioning faith'. After harsh torture, she was condemned to be beheaded with the sword. The executioner brought the sword down on her neck three times, but failed to kill her; he only wounded her and the blood ran down from her wounds, being caught in kerchiefs and bowls by the faithful to use for healing. Three days later, Christ's martyr and virgin gave her spirit into the hands of her Lord, to rejoice with him in eternity. St Cecilia suffered with the others in about the year 230. Her relics are preserved in the church dedicated to her name in Rome . In the Western Church, St Cecilia is regarded as the patron of Church Music.

1. St Kallistos, Patriarch of Constantinople.

He was named `Xanthopoulos' after the cell of that name on Mount Athos, where he lived for a long time in asceticism with his friend Ignatius. Together with this Ignatius, St Kallistos wrote of his personal experience of a life of silence in a book containing a hundred chapters. This book holds a very important place in ascetic literature. Kallistos was greatly influenced by his teacher, St Gregory the Sinaite, whose life he recorded.

1. The Holy Martyr Menignus.

Born on the Hellespont, he worked as a linen-bleacher, and so was called 'the Bleacher'. In the time of the Emperor Decius (249-25 1), he tore up the imperial decree on the persecution of Christians, and was consequently thrown into prison. There, the Lord Himself appeared to him and encouraged him, saying: 'Fear not; I am with thee.' At that moment, his shackles melted like wax, the prison opened of itself and he went out. He was again seized and brought to trial. He was inhumanly tortured: his fingers and toes were cut off, and then he was beheaded. His severed head glowed at night like a lamp.

1. Holy and Righteous Michael the Soldier.

He was a Bulgarian by birth. With his friends, he went into the Greek army to fight against the Hagarenes in Ethiopia, there displaying an extraordinary fearlessness. He killed a poisonous snake and freed a maiden. Very soon after that, this righteous man entered into eternal life. He was first buried somewhere in Thrace, but in 1206 the Emperor Kalo-John translated his relics to Trnovo. He lived and died in the ninth century.

1. The Holy Apostles Philemon, Archippus and Apphia.

Archippus was one of the Seventy. The Apostle Paul mentions him in his Epistles to the Colossians (4:17) and to Philemon (2), calling him his fellow-soldier in the battle. The Christians' gathering-place for prayer in the town of Colossae was in the house of Philemon. The Apostle Paul, writing to Philemon, calls this 'the Church in thy house'. This was in the time when the apostles were consecrating their disciples to the episcopate - some to permanent sees and others as missionaries, travelling to various places. Philemon was one of these latter. Apphia, Philemon's wife, remained to serve the house- church with fasting. At the time of a feast of the pagan goddess Artemis, all the faithful in Colossae were, as was their custom, gathered at prayer in the house of Philemon. The pagans came to hear of this gathering, rushed in on them and seized all the Christians. They flogged Archippus, Philemon and Apphia as their leaders, then buried them up to the waist in the ground and stoned them. Philemon and Apphia died of this, but they took Archippus out of the hole barely alive and left him for the children to play with. They took knives and stabbed him all over, and thus this fellow-soldier of Paul's in the battle made a good end of his earthly road.

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1. St Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.

A fellow-countryman and friend of St Basil the Great and other great saints of the fourth century, Amphilochius early forsook the bustle of the world and withdrew to a cave where, as a solitary, he lived in asceticism for forty years. The episcopal throne in Iconium then fell empty, and Amphilochius was chosen in a wonderful way and consecrated as Bishop of Iconium. He was a marvellous shepherd and a great defender of the purity of the Orthodox faith, and took part in the Second Ecumenical Council in 381. He fought zealously against Macedonius, and against the Arians and the Eunomians. He personally begged Theodosius the Great to drive the Arians out of every city in the Empire, but the Emperor did not comply with his request. After a few days, Amphilochius came before the Emperor again. When the bishop was taken into the presence-chamber, the Emperor was sitting on his throne with his son Arcadius, whom he had taken as co-Emperor, sitting at his right hand. Entering the room, Amphilochius did reverence to Theodosius, but ignored Arcadius as though he were not there. Infuriated by this, the Emperor Theodosius commanded that Amphilochius be instantly driven from court. The saint then said to the Emperor: 'Do you see, 0 Emperor, how you do not tolerate a slight paid to your son? In the same way, God the Father does not tolerate dishonour paid to His Son, turning with loathing from those who blaspheme against Him, and being angered at that accursed Arian heresy.' Hearing this, the Emperor understood the reason for Amphilochius's seeming disrespect towards his son, and marvelled at his wisdom and daring. Among many other works, Amphilochius wrote several books on the Faith. He entered into rest in 395 in great old age, and went to immortal life.

1. St Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum.

He was born in Sicily, near the town of Agrigentum (where he was later bishop), of his devout parents Chariton and Theodota. His whole life was woven through with God's wonders. He went to Jerusalem in a wonderful way, was chosen as bishop in a wonderful way and was saved from slander in a wonderful way. He himself was a great wonderworker, for he was greatly pleasing to God, and was a great spiritual guide and ascetic. He took part in the Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 553. After severe temptations, he entered peacefully into rest at the end of the sixth century or the beginning of the seventh.

1. St Alexander of the Neva (Nevsky).

The son of Prince Yaroslav, his heart was drawn to God from his youth. He overcame the Swedes on the river Neva on July 15th, 1240, whence he took the name 'of the Neva'. On that occasion, Ss Boris and Gleb appeared to one of Alexander's generals and promised their aid to the great prince, their kinsman. Among the Golden Horde of the Tartars, he refused to sacrifice to idols or pass through fire. The Tartar Khan valued him for his wisdom, and his physical strength and beauty. He built many churches, and performed innumerable works of mercy. He entered into rest at the age of forty-three, on November 14th, 1263, today being the commemoration of the translation of his relics to the city of Vladimir.

1. St Mitrophan, Bishop of Voronezh.

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1. The Holy and Great Martyr Katharine.

The daughter of King Constus, she lived with her mother in Alexandria after her father's death. Her mother was secretly a Christian and, through her spiritual father, brought Katharine to the Christian faith. In a vision, St Katharine received a ring from the Lord Jesus Himself as a sign of her betrothal to Him. This ring remains on her finger to this day. Katharine was greatly gifted by God, exceptionally well-educated in Greek philosophy, medicine, rhetoric and logic, and added great physical beauty to this. When the wicked Emperor Maxentius offered sacrifice to idols and ordered everyone to do the same, St Katharine came with daring before him and denounced his idolatrous errors. The Emperor, seeing that she surpassed him in wisdom and leaming, summoned fifty of the wisest men, to dispute with her about faith and put her to shame, but Katharine was wiser than they, and put them to shame. The furious Emperor commanded that all fifty wise men be burned. These wise men, at St Katharine's prayers, all confessed the name of Christ at the moment of death, and proclaimed themselves Christians. When the martyr was in prison, she brought Porphyrius the general, with two hundred of his soldiers, to the Faith, and also the Empress, Augusta-Vasilissa. They all suffered for Christ. At St Katharine's martyrdom, an angel of God appeared to her, stopping and breaking the wheel on which she was being tortured, and after that the Lord Christ Himself appeared to her, strengthening her. After many tortures, Katharine was beheaded with the sword at the age of eighteen, on November 24th, 310. Milk flowed from her body in place of blood. Her wonderworking relics are preserved on Sinai.

1. The Holy and Great Martyr Mercurius.

When the Emperor Decius was once making war on the barbarians, there was in the army the commander of an Armenian regiment called the Martesians. This commander was called Mercurius. In the battle, an angel of God appeared to Mercurius, put a sword in his hand and told him that he would overcome the enemy. Mercurius displayed a wonderful courage, mowing the enemy down like grass with his sword. After this glorious victory, the Emperor made him supreme commander of his army, but some jealous men denounced him to the Emperor as a Christian. Mercurius did not deny this before the Emperor, but openly acknowledged it. He was most terribly tortured: cut with knives in strips and burned in a furnace, but an angel of God appeared in the prison and healed him. Finally the Emperor pronounced the sentence that General Mercurius be beheaded with the sword in Cappadocia. When they beheaded him, his body became as white as snow, and from it there arose a wonderful, incense-like fragrance. Many of the sick were healed by his wonderworking relics. This glorious soldier of Christ suffered for the Faith some time between 251 and 259.

1. The Holy Maiden Mastridia.

She lived in Alexandria and led a solitary life of prayer and handwork. A young man became consumed with lustful passion towards her, and pestered her incessantly. Determined not to sin against God, and seeing that it would not be easy to shake off this dissolute youth, St Mastridia once asked him what it was in her that most attracted him. He replied: 'Your eyes!', and Mastridia took the needle with which she was sewing and put out her eyes. Thus she preserved her own peace and the young man's soul, who repented deeply and became a monk.

Author's note: This Mastridia is apparently not the same as the one who is commemorated on February 7th. The latter is from Jerusalem, while this one is from Alexandria. The latter fled from scandal to the desert, and this one put out her eyes.

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1. The Hieromartyr Clement, Bishop of Rome.

Born in Rome and of royal blood, he was a contemporary of the apostles. His mother and two brothers were caught by a storm on a voyage and driven to different places. His father then went off to find his wife and sons, and himself disappeared. Clement, being then twenty-four years old, set off eastwards to look for his parents and brothers. In Alexandria, he made the acquaintance of the Apostle Bamabas, and afterwards became a friend of the Apostle Peter, who was already being followed by his two brothers, Faustinus and Faustinian. By God's providence, the Apostle Peter found Clement's aged mother, who was living as a beggar-woman, and then his father also. Thus the whole family was reunited, and they all returned to Rome as Christians. Clement remained linked with the great apostles, who made him bishop before their death. After Peter's death by martyrdom, Linus was bishop in Rome, then Cletus - both of them only for a short time - and then Clement. He governed the Church of God with burning zeal and, from day to day, brought large numbers of unbelievers to the Faith. He set seven scribes to record the lives of the Christian martyrs who were at that time suffering for their Lord. The Emperor Trajan drove him out to Cherson, where Clement found about two thousand exiled Christians, who were all put to the hard toil of cutting stone in an and region. The Christians welcomed Clement with great joy, and he was to them a living source of comfort. By his prayers, he brought water from the dry ground and converted so many of the pagan inhabitants to Christianity that there were seventy-five churches built in that place in one year. To prevent the further spreading of the Christian faith, Clement was condemned to death, and drowned in the sea with a stone round his neck in the year 101. His wonderworking relics were taken out of the sea only in the time of Ss Cyril and Methodius.

1. The Hieromartyr Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria.

He was the disciple and successor of St Theonas, Archbishop of Alexandria, and was for a time a teacher at Ofigen's famous school of philosophy. He came to the archiepiscopal throne in 299, and died a martyr by the grave of the holy Apostle Mark in 311. He governed the Church in an acutely difficult period, when unbelievers were attacking the faithful from without and heretics from within. Six hundred and seventy Christians suffered in Alexandria in his time; whole families often perishing on the scaffold. At this time, Afius was troubling the faithful with his false teaching. St Peter drove him from the Church and anathematised him both in this world and the next. The Lord Himself appeared to this great and wonderful saint in prison.

1. Our Holy Father Paphnutius.

He never drank wine. He was once seized by robbers, and the chief of the band forced him to drink a cup of wine. Seeing Paphnutius's goodness, the robber chief repented and forsook his brigandage.