Monday Nov. 29 / Dec. 12 ns 2022 • Holy Martyr Parámonos and the 370 with him; Holy Martyr Philoúmenos; Hieromartyr Dionýsios, Bishop of Corinth • Wine and olive oil are permitted • Eternal Mysteries Beyond the Grave by Archimandrite Panteleimon

In Asian Bithynia, Governor Aquilinus fiercely persecuted Christians. Once, he captured 370 Christians, brought them with him, and bound them at a place where there was an idolatrous temple of the god Poseidon. Here, the wicked governor tried to force them to worship and offer sacrifice to the idol. Even though the governor threatened death for anyone who did not obey his order, not a single Christian submitted. Just then, a respected man by the name of Parámonos passed along the road beside the temple. He stopped beside the masses of shackled people and learned what was happening. Then he cried out: "Oh, how many innocent righteous ones does this foul governor desire to slaughter, because they will not worship his dead and mute idols?'' Parámonos then continued on his way, and the infuriated governor sent his servants to slay him. The servants caught up to Parámonos, seized him and pierced his tongue with a thorn, then stripped him naked and stabbed his entire body. Holy Parámonos, with prayer in his heart, gave up his soul to God. After that, the 370 martyrs, great as sons of God and innocent as lambs, were beheaded and thus entered into the Immortal Kingdom of Christ the Lord. They suffered in the year 250.

The Holy Epistle 1 Saint Timothy 5:1-10 KJV

5 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.

4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man.

10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

The Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke 19:37-44 KJV

37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Eternal Mysteries Beyond the Grave

What Is the Soul, and What Is Its Origin?

Archimandrite Panteleimon

His Grace, the Bishop Macarius, in his Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, sets forth the Orthodox teachings on the origin of every man and, specifically, the origin of every soul in the following way.

“Even though all men are, by way of natural birth, the descendants of their forefathers Adam and Eve, still God Himself is the Creator not only of the original couple but of every man in particular. The only difference is that He created Adam and Eve out of nothing, through no intervening medium; whereas all their descendants are created through the medium of their parents, by the force of God’s blessing, which He granted to our forefathers immediately upon creating them when He said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). These words, like any of the words of the Almighty, once having been said do not lose their force until the end of all ages.

“The Holy Church, trusting in divine Scripture, teaches that the soul is formed together with the body. However, it does not receive its being together with the seed from which the body is formed. It is God’s will that the soul should appear in the body only when this body has come into being, and simultaneously with the body.

“How shall we understand this creation of individual souls? According to the teaching of the Church, although human souls are individually created, this creation takes place in such a way that they take over from their parents the scourge of the original sin; this, however, would be impossible if God created souls from nothing. Consequently, the newly formed souls are derived from the souls of their parents. Someone might object that such a creation of new souls from parent souls is utterly unintelligible to us, since the human soul is a whole and cannot be visualized as multiplying itself. Indeed, unintelligible it is. But, on the other hand, is it not equally unintelligible how God, Who is the purest Spirit, should be able to give birth from His Being to His Son, and also should be able to give forth the Holy Spirit? Still, divine revelation tells us that God, indeed, eternally gives birth to His Son from His very Being, and eternally gives forth the Holy Spirit, although at the same time God is in no way divided. Thus even the ancient teachers of the Church kept repeating that the mystery of the creation of our souls is comprehensible to God alone.”