| Tweet Нравится Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George Commemorated on April 23/May 6 The Holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer, was a native of Cappadocia (a district in Asia Minor), and he grew up in a deeply believing Christian family. His father was martyred for Christ when George was still a child. His mother, owning lands in Palestine, moved there with her son and raised him in strict piety. When he became a man, Saint George entered into the service of the Roman army. He was handsome, brave and valiant in battle, and he came to the notice of the emperor Diocletian (284-305) and joined the imperial guard with the rank of comites, or military commander. The pagan emperor, who did much for the restoration of Roman might, was clearly concerned with the danger presented to pagan civilization by the triumph of the Crucified Savior, and intensified his persecution against the Christians in the final years of his reign. Following the advice of the Senate at Nicomedia, Diocletian gave all his governors full freedom in their court proceedings against Christians, and he promised them his full support. Saint George, when he heard the decision of the emperor, distributed all his wealth to the poor, freed his servants, and then appeared in the Senate. The brave soldier of Christ spoke out openly against the emperor’s designs. He confessed himself a Christian, and appealed to all to acknowledge Christ: “I am a servant of Christ, my God, and trusting in Him, I have come among you voluntarily, to bear witness concerning the Truth.” “What is Truth?” one of the dignitaries asked, echoing the question of Pontius Pilate. The saint replied, “Christ Himself, Whom you persecuted, is Truth.” Stunned by the bold speech of the valiant warrior, the emperor, who had loved and promoted George, attempted to persuade him not to throw away his youth and glory and honors, but rather to offer sacrifice to the gods as was the Roman custom. The confessor replied, “Nothing in this inconstant life can weaken my resolve to serve God.” |
| Venerable Nicetas the Confessor the Abbot of Medikion Commemorated on April 3 Photo: Days.Pravoslavie.Ru Saint Nicetas the Confessor was born in Bithynian Caesarea (northwest Asia Minor) of a pious family. His mother died eight days after his birth, and his father Philaretos became a monk. The child remained in the care of his grandmother, who raised him in a true Christian spirit. From his youth Saint Nicetas attended church and was a disciple of the hermit Stephanos. With his blessing, Saint Nicetas set off to the Mydicia monastery, where Saint Nicephorus (March 13) was the igumen. After seven years of virtuous life at the monastery, famed for its strict monastic rule, Saint Nicetas was ordained presbyter. Saint Nicephorus, knowing the holy life of the young monk, entrusted to him the guidance of the monastery when he himself became ill. Not wanting power, Saint Nicetas devoted himself to the enlightenment and welfare of the monastery. He guided the brethren by his own example. Soon the fame of the lofty life of its inhabitants of the monastery attracted many seeking salvation. After several years, the number of monks had increased to one hundred. When Saint Nicephorus departed to the Lord in his old age, the brethren unanimously chose Saint Nicetas as igumen. The Lord granted Saint Nicetas the gift of wonderworking. Through his prayer a deaf-mute child received the gift of speech; two demon-possessed women were healed; he restored reason to one who had lost his mind, and many of the sick were healed of their infirmities. During these years under the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820), the Iconoclast heresy resurfaced and oppression increased. Orthodox bishops were deposed and banished. At Constantinople a council of heretics was convened in 815, at which they deposed the holy Patriarch Nicephorus (806-815), and in his place they chose the heretical layman Theodotus. They also installed heretics in place of exiled and imprisoned Orthodox bishops. The emperor summoned all the heads of the monasteries and tried to bring them over to the Iconoclast heresy. Among those summoned was Saint Nicetas, who stood firmly for the Orthodox confession. Following his example, all the igumens remained faithful to the veneration of holy icons. Therefore, they threw him into prison. Saint Nicetas bravely underwent all the tribulations and encouraged firmness of spirit in the other prisoners. |
| Venerable Theophanes the Confessor of Sigriane Commemorated on March 12 Photo: Days.Pravoslavie.Ru Saint Theophanes the Confessor was born in 759 at Constantinople into a pious and renowned family. His father was a relative of the Byzantine emperor Leo the Isaurian (717-741). Three years after Theophanes was born, his father died, leaving his family under the care of the emperor himself. Theophanes grew up at the court and became a dignitary under the emperor Leo IV the Khazar (775-780). His position obliged him to enter into marriage, but he persuaded his bride to live with him in virginity. After the death of his parents, Theophanes and his wife visited monasteries in the Sygrian district (Asia Minor), Theophanes met the Elder Gregory Stratitios, who predicted to Theophanes’ wife that her husband would earn the crown of martyrdom. Later the wife of Theophanes was tonsured a nun in one of the monasteries in Bithynia, and Theophanes went to a monastery in the Cyzicus region. With the blessing of his Elder, Theophanes founded the Kalonymon monastery on an island in the Sea of Marmara and secluded himself in his cell, transcribing books. Theophanes attained a high degree of skill in this occupation. Later, Saint Theophanes founded another monastery in Sygria, at a place called the “Big Settlement”, and became its igumen. He participated in all the work of the monastery, and was an example to all in his love for work and ascetical effort. He received from the Lord the gift of wonderworking, healing the sick, and casting out demons. The Seventh Ecumenical Council met in Nicea in 787, which condemned the heresy of Iconoclasm. Saint Theophanes was also invited to the Council. He arrived dressed in his tattered garments, but he revealed his wisdom in affirming the veneration of the holy icons. At the age of fifty, Saint Theophanes fell grievously ill and he suffered terribly until the day he died. Even on his deathbed, the saint continued to work. He wrote his CHRONOGRAPHIA, a history of the Christian Church covering the years 285-813. This work has remained an invaluable source for the history of the Church. |
| Календарь Материалы 20 мая 2013 г. [Встреча с Православием/Богослужение] 7/20 мая 2013 г. Понедельник 3-й седмицы по Пасхе. Сретенский монастырь. Великая вечерня, утреня. Хор Сретенской Духовной Семинарии. (MP3 файл. Продолжительность 2:24:01 мин. Размер 103.7 Mb) [Поместные Православные Церкви/Румынская/Публикации] Кто ведет половое воспитание ваших детей? — Гомосексуалисты, радикальные феминистки и клиники по проведению абортов. То есть те, кто не может иметь детей, кто не хочет иметь детей, кто зиждет свое благополучие и богатство на крови нерожденных, убитых детей. [Интернет-журнал/Культура] Александр Сегень Было у фильма «Поп» ещё одно благословение, весьма необычное. [Встреча с Православием/Апологетика] Валерий Духанин Некто пришел к духовному наставнику, чтобы передать тому, что сказал о нем друг его. «Подожди, – остановил его старец, – просей сначала всё, что ты собираешься сказать, через три сита». «Что же это за три сита?» – удивился ученик. Соблазнительное учение священника Георгия Кочеткова, не раз осужденное высшей иерархией Русской Православной Церкви, нашло, к сожалению, приверженцев в нашей Митрополии. И что вдвойне печально, среди соблазнившихся есть и священство. Архимандрит Рафаил (Карелин) В VI веке в летописи Грузинской Церкви открылась новая страница — приход из Антиохии Сирийской в Иверию монахов во главе с игуменом Иоанном. English Edition [News] The Moscow city government has rejected an application for a homosexual march permit for the eighth year in a row, citing the need for “respect for morality” and patriotism. [Suffering Church] The feast has passed, beloved Sayyidna, the Feast of the Lord " s Pascha, and we await you. It will not escape you, wherever you are, that Christ is risen, since He nests within you. You embrace Him and He protects you. [News] Repressions against Greeks and other Christian peoples took place systematically from 1908 to 1923. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Pontian Greeks were forced to leave their historical homeland in Asia Minor and to resettle in other regions. Many of them eventually found their new homeland in the Russian Empire and afterwards in Soviet Russia. |
| The Church of the Gauls. Part 1 St. Pothinus St. Pothinus 1. The beginnings of the Gallic Church The Gallic Church had its beginnings in the first century. Western tradition holds that Gaul (France) was initially evangelized and baptized by St. Mary Magdalene, St. Lazarus the Four-Days Dead, and his sisters Sts. Mary and Martha. On the basis of St. Paul’s second Epistle to Timothy, several historians have thought that the Apostle Crescens, an envoy of St. Paul, labored in Gaul. Some also think that St. Paul stopped in Gaul on his way to Spain. In any event, Christianity penetrated into southern Gaul at an early date, specifically into Provence and the Rhone Valley — areas that had a strong presence of Greek minorities hailing from Asia Minor, Phrygia and Syria. The written history of Orthodox Gaul begins in the second century with the Church of Lyons, which in the West was second only to Rome in authority and influence. Its first bishops were Sts. Pothinus and Irenaeus. St. Pothinus was among the Christians martyred by Emperor Marcus Aurelius in A.D. 177. Pothinus’ Acts, included by Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History (Book 5, chapter 1), are considered some of the most beautiful writings of the ancient Church. St. Pothinus’ successor was the Hieromartyr Irenaeus, who had known the Hieromartyr Polycarp in his youth in Smyrna, the latter in turn having been a disciple of the Apostle and Evangelist John. The writings of St. Irenaeus of Lyons are numbered among those of the Holy Fathers of the Church; through them St. Irenaeus’ influence soon reached both Asia Minor and Egypt. St. Irenaeus St. Irenaeus Other cities also had martyrs and saints, even though persecutions were less intense in Gaul than in other regions of the Empire. The most venerated of these holy servants of Christ are St. Victor of Marseilles, St. Saturninus of Toulouse, St. Symphorian of Autun, Sts. Marcellus of Chalon-sur-Saone and Valerian of Tournus, St. Dionysius of Paris, St. Maurice of Agaune and the martyrs of the Theban Legion, St. Julian of Cenomanis (LeMans), St. Taurinus of Evereux and St. Patroclus of Troyes. |
| Tweet Нравится Venerable Fathers Mikael and Arsen the Georgians (9th century) Memory 3 (16) May Sts. Mikael and Arsen the Georgians. Sts. Mikael and Arsen the Georgians. The biographies of Sts. Mikael and Arsen the Georgians have unfortunately not been preserved. It is known that they were contemporaries of Patriarch Sergius of Jerusalem (843–859). The following entry is recorded in the synodicon of Jerusalem’s Holy Cross Monastery: “Our Holy Fathers Mikael and Arsen, founders of Olympus.” The record indicates that Sts. Arsen and Mikael established Georgian monasticism on Mt. Olympus. According to Paul Ingorokva, a scholar of the Georgian Middle Ages, Arsen was probably a disciple of St. Grigol of Khandzta. Ingorokva calls Arsen “a handsome gentleman, a kind monk full of wisdom, the son of a great nobleman, and a relative of St. Eprem, bishop of Atsquri.” It is believed that at some point Arsen moved from Khandzta Monastery to Palestine and labored there with a certain Macarius of Leteti. Afterward, St. Arsen founded a Georgian monastery on Mt. Olympus in Asia Minor. Twenty years later, Venerable Ilarion the Georgian arrived on Mt. Olympus and found three Georgian monks who were almost certainly disciples of Mikael and Arsen. O Holy Fathers Mikael and Arsen, most radiant stars, bestow upon us the grace of your prayers and enlighten the faithful of our nation and the world! Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze For further information on the book THE LIVES OF THE GEORGIAN SAINTS by Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze contact St. Herman Press : St. Herman Press, P.O. Box 70, Platina, CA 96076 22 мая 2007 г. 1 Synodicon: a commemoration book. Mt. Olympus, located in Bythinia of Asia Minor, southeast of Prousa, was an important monastic center from the 5th to the 14th centuries. The monasteries of Olympus came to include the monastic communities on the plain of Prousa. The number of monasteries in the region is numbered at around fifty, their apogee occurring between the 8th and 10th centuries, when Olympus occupied the first place in the list of holy mountains. Monasteries in the region included Atroa, Chenolakkos, Medikion, and Pelekete. |
| Venerable Ioane-Tornike of Mt. Athos (10th century) Memory 12 (25) June The Holy Georgian Fathers of Iveron: St. Ekvtime, St. Ioane-Tornike, St. Ioane, St. Gabriel, and St. Giorgi. The Holy Georgian Fathers of Iveron: St. Ekvtime, St. Ioane-Tornike, St. Ioane, St. Gabriel, and St. Giorgi. Tornike Eristavi (later Ioane of Mt. Athos) was a Georgian army commander famed for his victories in war and a favorite of King Davit Kuropalates. Eventually he abandoned his worldly glory and set off in search of his spiritual father, St. Ioane, on Mt. Olympus. There he learned that St. Ioane had moved to Mt. Athos, so he journeyed there and settled with him in a monastery headed by St. Athanasius the Athonite. He was tonsured a monk and given the new name Ioane. Soon many Georgians became thirsty for the ascetic life and arrived to labor on the Holy Mountain. To serve the young community, St. Ioane built a church in honor of St. John the Theologian and constructed cells nearby. In such a way, the first Georgian community on Mt. Athos was established. At that time, Bardas Sclerus, commander of the army of Asia Minor, led a revolt against Basil and Constantine, the young Byzantine emperors. The dowager empress Theophania, hoping to receive assistance from Georgia, requested that Ioane-Tornike travel to his homeland, inform the king about the difficult situation in Byzantium, and rally the Georgian armies for support. At first Ioane-Tornike refused, doubting his preparedness to return to life in the world. But after the other brothers pleaded with him and he received St. Athanasius’ blessing, he returned to Georgia and delivered Theophania’s letter to King Davit Kuropalates. The king was overjoyed at the sight of his favorite military leader, and he consented to the empress’ request, provided Ioane-Tornike would command the army. The king was resolute and Ioane-Tornike was compelled to honor his will. With God’s help and under the wise leadership of Ioane-Tornike, twelve thousand Georgian soldiers defeated the army of the godless Bardas Sclerus, banishing the conspirator from Byzantium (ca. 979). |
| Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin, Michael D. Peterson Скачать epub pdf TURKS TURKS. Originating in the regions of central Asia between the Caspian Sea and the Altai, Turkic-speaking tribes that expanded in conquest or else fled stronger cousins were the frequent concern of Byzantium (q.v.) from the 5th c. until the end of the Empire. In 1071 Alp Arslan led the Seljuk Turks to a victory over the Byzantine army at Mantzikert, in the extreme east of present-day Turkey, which resulted in the permanent Turkish occupation of Asia Minor (q.v.), a fact confirmed a century later at the battle of Myriokephalion (1176) where the Emperor Manuel I lost the army a second time. Out of the different tribes occupying Anatolia, the Ottomans began their rise to dominance in the early 14th c. until they took the place of the defeated Christian Empire in 1453 under Mohammed II. Asia Minor was cleared of its remaining Greek presence with the population exchanges following the Treaty of Lausanne in 1924. The massacre of the Armenians just prior to that, together with continuing pressures on the Jacobite communities inhabiting the borderlands near Syria (qq.v.), have largely emptied what is now Turkey of any lingering Christian population. The Kurds, however, remain in the regions to the east where once Armenians and Syriac-speaking Christians had lived. They look to be somewhat more intractable a problem for the Turkish state, though efforts have been continuous since Kemal Ataturk in the 1920s to reduce this Muslim people to Turkification. The Turkish-speaking peoples of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan in the former Soviet Union have been showing interest in the idea of a greater Turkey, in some quarters at least, though this is likely to remain rhetoric for the present time. Читать далее Источник: The A to Z of the Orthodox Church/Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin, Michael D. Peterson - Scarecrow Press, 2010. - 462 p. ISBN 1461664039 Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное |
| 42 Martyrs of Ammoria in Phrygia Commemorated on March 6 Photo: Days.Pravoslavie.Ru The Holy 42 Martyrs of Ammoria: Constantine, Aetius (Aetitus), Theophilus, Theodore, Melissenus, Callistus, Basoes and the others with them. During a war between the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus (829-842) and the Saracens, the Saracens managed to besiege the city of Ammoria (in Galicia in Asia Minor). As a result of treason on the part of the military commander Baditses, Ammoria fell, and forty-two of its generals were taken captive and sent off to Syria. During the seven years of their imprisonment they tried in vain to persuade the captives to renounce Christianity and accept Islam. The captives stubbornly resisted all their seductive offers and bravely held out against terrible threats. After many torments that failed to break the spirit of the Christian soldiers, they condemned them to death, hoping to shake the determination of the saints before executing them. The martyrs remained steadfast, saying that the Old Testament Prophets bore witness to Christ, while Mohammed called himself a prophet without any other witnesses to support his claim. They said to the soldier Theodore, “We know that you forsook the priestly office, became a soldier and shed blood in battle. You can have no hope in Christ, Whom you abandoned voluntarily, so accept Mohammed.” But the martyr replied, “You do not speak truthfully when you say that I abandoned Christ. Moreover, I left the priesthood because of my own unworthiness. Therefore, I must shed my blood for the sake of Christ, so that He might forgive the sins that I have committed against Him.” The executioners took each one separately and led him off to be beheaded, then threw the bodies into the River Euphrates. In the service to them, these holy passion-bearers are glorified as: the “All-Blessed” Theodore, the “Unconquered” Callistus, the “Valliant” Constantine, the “Wondrous” Theophilus and “the Most Strong” Basoes. The betrayer Baditses did not escape his shameful fate. The enemy knew that it is impossible to trust a traitor, and so they killed him. Troparion — Tone 4 Your forty-two holy martyrs, O Lord,/through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God./For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,/and shattered the powerless boldness of demons./Through their intercessions, save our souls! Kontakion — Tone 4 Forty-two holy martyrs of Ammoria,/you contended for the sake of Christ on earth;/you were revealed as crown-bearing martyrs,/and have been received into the life of the joy of heaven./Since you overthrew all the wiles of the enemy/by your sufferings and the blood of your wounds,/you continually send down from on high remission of sins to those who praise you. Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| Apostle Herodion of the Seventy, and those with Him Commemorated on April 8 Saints Herodion (Rodion), Agabus, Asyncritus, Rufus, Phlegon and Hermes are among the Seventy Apostles, chosen by Christ and sent out by Him to preach (Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles: January 4). The holy Apostle Herodion was a relative of Saint Paul, and his companion on many journeys. When Christianity had spread to the Balkan Peninsula, the Apostles Peter and Paul established Saint Herodion as Bishop of Patara. Saint Herodion zealously preached the Word of God and converted many of the Greek pagans and Jews to Christianity. Enraged by the preaching of the disciple, the idol-worshippers and Jews with one accord fell upon Saint Herodion, and they began to beat him with sticks and pelt him with stones. One of the mob struck him with a knife, and the saint fell down. But when the murderers were gone, the Lord restored him to health unharmed. After this, Saint Herodion continued to accompany the Apostle Paul for years afterward. When the holy Apostle Peter was crucified (+ c. 67), Saint Herodion and Saint Olympos were beheaded by the sword at the same time. The holy Apostle Agabus was endowed with the gift of prophecy. He predicted (Acts 11:27-28) the famine during the reign of the emperor Claudius (41-52), and foretold the suffering of the Apostle Paul at Jerusalem (Acts 21:11). Saint Agabus preached in many lands, and converted many pagans to Christ. Saint Rufus, whom the holy Apostle Paul mentions in the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16:11-15), was bishop of the Greek city of Thebes. Saint Asyncritus (Rom. 16:14) was bishop in Hyrcania (Asia Minor). Saint Phlegon was bishop in the city of Marathon (Thrace). Saint Hermes was bishop in Dalmatia (there is another Apostle of the Seventy by the name of Hermas, who was bishop in the Thracian city of Philippopolis). All these disciples for their intrepid service to Christ underwent fierce sufferings and were found worthy of a martyr’s crown. Troparion — Tone 1 Let us praise in hymns the six-fold choir of Apostles:/Herodion and Agabus,/Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon and holy Hermes./They ever entreat the Trinity for our souls! Troparion — Tone 3 Holy Apostles/entreat the merciful God/to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions. Kontakion — Tone 4 With the light of the Holy Spirit,/you illumine the way of the faithful like stars, O Holy Apostles./As you gaze on God the Word you repel the darkness of error. Kontakion — Tone 2 You became the disciples of Christ/And all-holy Apostles,/O glorious Herodion, Agabus and Rufus,/Asyncritus, Phlegon and Hermes./Ever entreat the Lord/To grant forgiveness of transgressions/To us who sing your praises. скрыть способы оплаты Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
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