Evsígnios served as a soldier under Emperor Maximian, Emperor Constantine the Great and under Constantine's sons. He was present during the torturing of the holy female martyr Basiliscus [May 22]. He saw myriads of angels and the Lord Jesus Himself as He received the soul of this holy martyr from the angels. Evsígnios fought under Emperor Constantine and saw the Cross which appeared to the emperor. He served in the army for sixty full years and during the reign of Constantine's sons resigned from military service and settled in Antioch, the place of his birth. There, he lived a god-pleasing life in fasting, prayer and good works. During the time of Julian the Apostate, two men who were arguing on the street asked him to be their judge. He dispensed justice to the correct one and the man at fault became angry and went to the emperor and accused Evsígnios of being a Christian. The emperor summoned Evsígnios to court but he strongly denounced the emperor for his apostasy from the Faith and reproached him with the shining example of Constantine the Great. The enraged Julian ordered that he be beheaded. Evsígnios was martyred at a ripe old age in the year 362 A.D. and took up habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Saint John 20:11-18 KJV
11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
1 Corinthians 1:10-17 KJV
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Saint Matthew 14:14-22 KJV
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Saint Matthew 14:14-22 KJV
14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
ON NOT BEING DECEIVED
and
ON BODY AND SOUL
by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
Do not allow fallen spirits to deceive and seduce you when they set before you earthly prosperity in an attractive, false picture, and suggest that you should desire and strive for it, so as to steal and rob you of your eternal treasure.
Do not expect and do not seek praise and approval from human society.
Do not hanker after fame and glory.
Do not expect and do not seek an untroubled life with plenty of latitude and scope, replete with every convenience. That is not your lot.
Do not seek and do not expect love from people. Seek earnestly and demand from yourself love and compassion for others.
Be content with the fact that a few true servants of God whom you meet from time to time in the course of your life love you, and with love and interest approve of your conduct and glorify God for you. Such meetings were not frequent even in the flourishing times of Christianity; lately they have become extremely rare.
At man’s procreation in his present fallen state, the body serves the soul as the swaddling cloth serves a newborn. The swaddled body of a newborn forms correctly, but without the bindings his organs, being soft, can become misshapen. So too the soul, clothed in the body, covered and separated by it from the world of spirits, gradually forms itself by studying God’s law, or, which is the same, by studying Christianity and receiving the ability to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5: 14). Then the spiritual perception of spirits is granted and, if it conforms to God’s purpose guiding the soul, the sensory perception is then granted, since deception and seduction of the soul are now less dangerous, while experience and knowledge are beneficial.
When our souls are separated from the body by physical death, we once again enter the state and community of the spirits. It is clear then that for a safe entrance into the world of spirits, a timely self-teaching of God’s law is necessary. It is exactly for this learning that we are given a certain time, determined by God for each man, to wander the earth. That journey is called human life.
Be content with the fact that a few true servants of God whom you meet from time to time in the course of your life love you, and with love and interest approve of your conduct and glorify God for you. Such meetings were not frequent even in the flourishing times of Christianity; lately they have become extremely rare.
ON BODY AND SOUL
When our souls are separated from the body by physical death, we once again enter the state and community of the spirits. It is clear then that for a safe entrance into the world of spirits, a timely self-teaching of God’s law is necessary. It is exactly for this learning that we are given a certain time, determined by God for each man, to wander the earth. That journey is called human life.
AMISH BOY
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