“Be near to Thy virgin, O Savior,
And protect me, lest the evil ones defile me.
Better that they burn my body with cruel fire,
Better that they drown it in the azure sea,
Than that they profane it by a shameful deed,
Before the heavenly angels and the righteous saints."
The Lord did according to Charitina's prayer, And immediately received her soul into Paradise.
☦️ from a hymn of praise to the holy virgin-martyr Charitina (Oct 5)
And protect me, lest the evil ones defile me.
Better that they burn my body with cruel fire,
Better that they drown it in the azure sea,
Than that they profane it by a shameful deed,
Before the heavenly angels and the righteous saints."
The Lord did according to Charitina's prayer, And immediately received her soul into Paradise.
☦️ from a hymn of praise to the holy virgin-martyr Charitina (Oct 5)
"When we are stricken with sorrows, pain, suffering of body or soul; when our sins have overtaken us, and when we come to despair; when we feel abandoned by God and men; when we are afflicted by our own passions and by the piercing attacks of the demons; and when we have stubbornly kicked against God’s good-will, isolated ourselves and have wandered astray into spiritual death and hell—
Then, when all hope is lost, and all we have is the slightest turning of our thoughts and hearts to heaven, seeking wordlessly the salvation of Christ, then it is that we should and must turn to His Mother."
Excerpted from a sermon by a monk of Holy Cross Monastery, Wayne, WV, on the Feast of the Protection of the Theotokos.
Then, when all hope is lost, and all we have is the slightest turning of our thoughts and hearts to heaven, seeking wordlessly the salvation of Christ, then it is that we should and must turn to His Mother."
Excerpted from a sermon by a monk of Holy Cross Monastery, Wayne, WV, on the Feast of the Protection of the Theotokos.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry: It Is Not “Supermen” Who Become Saints
“We think that we are powerful and strong, but any passion will defeat us if God does not help us. We can defeat something or someone only with God’s power. When we realize that God is everything, and we are nothing, that I can do everything – I can live, I can do good, I can overcome sins and shortcomings – only with God’s power, then we realize that God is everything for us. This awareness of one’s insignificance and God’s omnipotence is the first step, which is spiritual poverty and on which everything is based."
- sermon during the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Sept. 10, 2020 bit.ly/3hqsvTl
“We think that we are powerful and strong, but any passion will defeat us if God does not help us. We can defeat something or someone only with God’s power. When we realize that God is everything, and we are nothing, that I can do everything – I can live, I can do good, I can overcome sins and shortcomings – only with God’s power, then we realize that God is everything for us. This awareness of one’s insignificance and God’s omnipotence is the first step, which is spiritual poverty and on which everything is based."
- sermon during the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Sept. 10, 2020 bit.ly/3hqsvTl
The only icon in the world that depicts the Most-Holy Mother of God holding in her hands not the Christ Child, but the Cross containing with our crucified Lord.
This miraculous icon is called Panagia tou Harou, which in Greek means “The Virgin of Death."
The icon can be found in the monastery church of St John the Divine on the island of Leipsoi, Greece, and in the church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg.
Every year, this image on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin takes place the so-called "miracle with lilies."
In the 1940s, a woman prayed before this icon and was healed. In gratitude she left a simple bouquet of lilies on the icon. These lilies withered, but remained on the icon. A year later, these lilies blossomed again. Since then, this miracle occurs every year in the church of St John the Divine on the day of the feast and the island of Leipsoi fills with pilgrims who join in the procession of the icon around the entire island.
This miraculous icon is called Panagia tou Harou, which in Greek means “The Virgin of Death."
The icon can be found in the monastery church of St John the Divine on the island of Leipsoi, Greece, and in the church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg.
Every year, this image on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin takes place the so-called "miracle with lilies."
In the 1940s, a woman prayed before this icon and was healed. In gratitude she left a simple bouquet of lilies on the icon. These lilies withered, but remained on the icon. A year later, these lilies blossomed again. Since then, this miracle occurs every year in the church of St John the Divine on the day of the feast and the island of Leipsoi fills with pilgrims who join in the procession of the icon around the entire island.
Saint Innocent, Enlightener of Alaska and Siberia (Glorification Oct 6), was known as Fr Ioann Veniaminov in his early days as a parish priest.
As a missionary priest, Fr Ioann (John) took his wife Catherine and family with him on a difficult year-long journey from Irkutsk to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
Father Ioann baptized ten thousand people, built churches and schools, and taught the fundamentals of the Christian life in his 45 years of labouring for the enlightenment of the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, mainland Alaska, Yakutsk and the Khabarov frontier—often in severe conditions and at great risks to life.
“O Holy Father Innocent, in obedience to the will of God you accepted dangers and tribulations bringing many peoples to the knowledge of truth. You showed us the way, now by your prayers help lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven.”
As a missionary priest, Fr Ioann (John) took his wife Catherine and family with him on a difficult year-long journey from Irkutsk to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
Father Ioann baptized ten thousand people, built churches and schools, and taught the fundamentals of the Christian life in his 45 years of labouring for the enlightenment of the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, mainland Alaska, Yakutsk and the Khabarov frontier—often in severe conditions and at great risks to life.
“O Holy Father Innocent, in obedience to the will of God you accepted dangers and tribulations bringing many peoples to the knowledge of truth. You showed us the way, now by your prayers help lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven.”
"Walk a little bit, even if by crawling, but do it in the right direction..."
☦️ St Innocent of Alaska, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas (Glorification Oct 6/ Oct 19)
St Innocent still speaks to us today. Audio: https://soundcloud.com/since33/saint-innocent-of-alaska-on-striving-from-the-way-into-the-kingdom-of-heaven
☦️ St Innocent of Alaska, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas (Glorification Oct 6/ Oct 19)
St Innocent still speaks to us today. Audio: https://soundcloud.com/since33/saint-innocent-of-alaska-on-striving-from-the-way-into-the-kingdom-of-heaven
The Holy and Glorious Apostle Thomas (Oct 6) did not want to be
found guilty of careless belief. St Thomas did not say “Except I see,” but, “Except I handle” (John 20:25). He did not want to believe an apparition.
When St Thomas touched the Life-giving side of the Lord, he no longer had any doubts. It was the preaching for the risen Lord, not some apparition, that earned St Thomas a martyr's death.
Icons named “The Doubting Thomas” are incorrectly titled. In Greek, the inscription reads, “The Touching of Thomas.” In Slavonic, it says, “The Belief of Thomas.”
As a result of having converted the wife and son of the prefect of the Indian city of Meliapur [Melipur], the holy apostle was locked up in prison and tortured. Finally, pierced with five spears, he departed to the Lord.
Thomas touched Your life-giving side with an eager hand, O Christ God, crying out, "You are my Lord and my God!" By the intercessions of Thine Holy Apostle Thomas, O Christ our Lord and our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
found guilty of careless belief. St Thomas did not say “Except I see,” but, “Except I handle” (John 20:25). He did not want to believe an apparition.
When St Thomas touched the Life-giving side of the Lord, he no longer had any doubts. It was the preaching for the risen Lord, not some apparition, that earned St Thomas a martyr's death.
Icons named “The Doubting Thomas” are incorrectly titled. In Greek, the inscription reads, “The Touching of Thomas.” In Slavonic, it says, “The Belief of Thomas.”
As a result of having converted the wife and son of the prefect of the Indian city of Meliapur [Melipur], the holy apostle was locked up in prison and tortured. Finally, pierced with five spears, he departed to the Lord.
Thomas touched Your life-giving side with an eager hand, O Christ God, crying out, "You are my Lord and my God!" By the intercessions of Thine Holy Apostle Thomas, O Christ our Lord and our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
St. Panteleimon Monastery, Mount Athos
“When God apportioned the nations according to his Angels, knowing that you, O Virgin, would be his immaculate Mother, he then allotted you this great and beautiful mountain as an inalienable inheritance.”
☦️ Theotokion from the First Ode of the Canon of the Athonite Fathers
“When God apportioned the nations according to his Angels, knowing that you, O Virgin, would be his immaculate Mother, he then allotted you this great and beautiful mountain as an inalienable inheritance.”
☦️ Theotokion from the First Ode of the Canon of the Athonite Fathers
As Igumen of Cernica monastery near Bucharest, Saint Callinicus Bishop of Rimnicului, miracleworker and helper of the needy, took on his responsibilities with great fervour. He believed that the igumen should be “the heart of all hearts who seek him or ask him for instruction or consolation. He is the path to perfection for all the believing souls around him.” Monks and laymen alike sought the godly counsel of this great saint.
Hierarch Father Callinicus, entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved.
Hierarch Father Callinicus, entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved.