† 2nd Saturday of Souls
• Fall of Constantinople
• Holy Virgin-Martyr Theodosía;
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Once, during the reign of Emperor Maximian, many Christians stood bound before the praetor in Palestinian Caesarea. The pious virgin Theodosia approached, comforted and encouraged them in their martyrdom. Upon hearing what she was saying, the soldiers also led her before the judge. The enraged judge ordered that a stone be hung around her neck and tossed her into the depths of the sea. But angels of God carried her to the shore alive. When she, again, appeared before the judge, he ordered her beheaded. The following night, Theodosia appeared to her parents completely encompassed in a great heavenly light, surrounded by many other virgins who were also saved and said: "Do you see how great is the glory and grace of my Christ which you wanted to deprive me of?" She said that to her parents because they tried to persuade her from confessing Christ and martyrdom. Theodosia suffered honorably and was glorified in the year 308 A.D.
• St. Alexander of Alexandria
For the Reposed
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 KJV
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
For the Reposed
Saint John 5:24-30 KJV
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Love
"Apart from love nothing whatever has existed, nor ever will. Its names and actions are many. More numerous still are its distinctive marks; divine and innumerable are its properties. Yet it is one in nature, wholly beyond utterance whether on the part of angels or men or any other creatures, even such as are unknown to us. Reason cannot comprehend it; its glory is inaccessible, its counsels unsearchable.
It is eternal because it is beyond time, invisible because thought cannot comprehend it, though it may perceive it. Many are the beauties of this holy Sion not made with hands!
He who has begun to see it no longer delights in sensible objects; he ceases to be attached to the glory of this world."
—St. Symeon the New Theologian
—1 Cor 13:4-8
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; It is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way;
It is not irritable or resentful; It does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; But when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
N o t e
The following sermon by +Saint Philaret of New York [of blessed memory] to his Russian Faithful and all faithful Orthodox, should be read before the Period of the Holy Apostles' Fast.
In offering everyone the opportunity to do so, it will remain posted from today Monday, June 7 ns through Monday June 20 ns, when the Apostles' Fast Begins.
In offering everyone the opportunity to do so, it will remain posted from today Monday, June 7 ns through Monday June 20 ns, when the Apostles' Fast Begins.
Our Lord Jesus Christ once said: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (St. Matthew 5:18), that is, everything that we are taught by our Orthodox law, everything in the Holy Gospel, all is fulfilled, and those who do not fulfill it will be disobedient to the Law of God.
Look how it was in ancient times. The Church, for instance, glorified the Maccabean Martyrs: all the brothers and their elder, Eleázar, and their mother. Their tormentor, the pagan king, subjected them to terrible torture for their refusal to eat pork, which was forbidden by Mosaic law. In other words, they refused to violate the fast by eating what the Church did not allow them. And for this they met their death.
People today are remarkably negligent about this, but true men of faith, who believe in God, observe all laws as inviolable sacred things which must be obeyed. Once an ascetic in our Mother Russia was asked: Why does the Lord so clearly cease to offer His blessings, His mercy? The elder responded: “Because people refuse to hear God, people have ceased to observe the Lenten periods.” That was then, now it is completely different. At that time, one could still find Orthodox people who observed Lent, but we can’t today. And not only in our difficult lives today.
The writer Khomiakoff, the renowned Russian author, philosopher, theologian, a man of lofty spiritual values and a talented poet, who always strictly followed all Lenten periods and laws, came to St Petersburg, the capital of Russia. He felt as though he were in a wilderness: no one observed Lent—not one person! He worked, he fasted, and surprised everyone with his staunchness and stubbornness. Today it is hard to find anyone who observes the fasting periods.
Let us remember, my dear ones, all the Church laws—there is nothing pointless in the Church, nothing that is useless that is offered to us, no! We are given free will in this life: to choose to live one way or another. But there are Church laws which all Orthodox Christians must observe. One of these laws is about the Lenten periods, when the Church calls upon us to abstain during certain periods during the year. Only those who observe them are Orthodox Christians.
Once we recalled the words of St Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic. He stated simply: “He who does not observe Lent is not a Christian!” He may call himself whatever he likes, but he is not a Christian. This is perfectly natural, this strict judgment by a great ascetic, because what school would keep a student who ignored school rules? What workplace would keep an employee who did not observe its regulations? And so the Church has its own laws, its own regulations. I repeat, the Church offers a great deal to select from: ways of life, occupations, She blesses them all if a person lives as a Christian. Where the Church offers its laws, there the Christian must submit without hesitation.
The Church offers this all for our own benefit, because obedience to the Church is one of the greatest virtues. Amen.
Let us remember, my dear ones, all the Church laws—there is nothing pointless in the Church, nothing that is useless that is offered to us, no! We are given free will in this life: to choose to live one way or another. But there are Church laws which all Orthodox Christians must observe. One of these laws is about the Lenten periods, when the Church calls upon us to abstain during certain periods during the year. Only those who observe them are Orthodox Christians.
Once we recalled the words of St Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic. He stated simply: “He who does not observe Lent is not a Christian!” He may call himself whatever he likes, but he is not a Christian. This is perfectly natural, this strict judgment by a great ascetic, because what school would keep a student who ignored school rules? What workplace would keep an employee who did not observe its regulations? And so the Church has its own laws, its own regulations. I repeat, the Church offers a great deal to select from: ways of life, occupations, She blesses them all if a person lives as a Christian. Where the Church offers its laws, there the Christian must submit without hesitation.
The Church offers this all for our own benefit, because obedience to the Church is one of the greatest virtues. Amen.
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