MONDAY June 4/17 ns 2024
Today we honor the
blessed servants of God
Saint Metrophánes,
Archbishop of Constantinople;
Archbishop of Constantinople;
Sts. Martha and Mary of Bethany
Dometius,
the father of Metrophánes and the brother of the Roman Emperor Probus, fled from Rome as a Christian during the persecution of Christians and arrived at Byzantium. Titus, the Byzantine bishop, ordained him a presbyter. Following the death of Titus, Dometius became the bishop of Byzantium. After the death of Domitios, his eldest son Probus occupied the episcopal throne and after the death of Probus, Metrophánes assumed the episcopal throne.When Emperor Constantine first saw Metrophánes, he liked him as his own father. At the time of the First Ecumenical Council [325 A.D.], Metrophánes was already a man of one-hundred seventeen years and unable to participate in the work of the Council, so he appointed Alexander his Choriepiscopus as his representative. The emperor, by his intervention at the Council, conferred upon him the title of patriarch. Thus, he was the first patriarch of Constantinople. Further, the emperor invited the entire Council to visit the ailing and aged arch-pastor. When the emperor asked him whom he wished to name as successor to the patriarchal throne, Metrophánes named Alexander. Following that, he said to Alexander of Alexandria: "O brother, you will remain my most worthy successor." He then took the hand of Archdeacon Athanasius (later Athanasius the Great and Patriarch of Alexandria) and praised him before all. After this prophecy of his successor Metrophánes sought forgiveness from all and within ten days gave up his soul to God in the year 325 A.D.
Hebrews 7:26-8:2 KJV
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
8 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Saint John 10:1-9 KJV
10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
You may judge how great the power of prayer is even in a sinful person, when it is offered whole-heartedly, by the following example from Holy Tradition.
More from +Saint Seraphim of Sarov
The Acquisition of the Holy Spirit
When at the request of a desperate mother who had been deprived by death of her only son, a harlot whom she chanced to meet, still unclean from her last sin, and who was touched by the mother’s deep sorrow, cried to the Lord: ’Not for the sake of a wretched sinner like me, but for the sake of the tears of a mother grieving for her son and firmly trusting in Thy loving kindness and Thy almighty power, Christ God, raise up her son, O Lord!’
And the Lord raised him up You see, your Godliness!
Great is the power of prayer, and it brings most of all the Spirit of God, and is most easily practiced by everyone. We shall be happy indeed if the Lord God finds us watchful and filled with the gifts of His Holy Spirit. Then we may boldly hope to be caught up... in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17) Who is coming with great power and glory (St. Mark 13:26) to judge the living and the dead(1 Peter 4:5)and to reward every man according to his works (St. Matthew 16:27).
If you view the PARAGON with your phone...
it is highly recommended that you do the following:
The PARAGON appears as a single column when viewed with your phone but if you wish to see the two column version (below), which includes quotes from the God revealed saints, as in the image below: Simply scroll to the very bottom of the Paragon until you see "View Web Version" and then click on it.
Also, once in the Web Version, a tap increases the size of the view and allows sliding right and left between the columns.
Click to enlarge
No comments:
Post a Comment