20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? Saint Luke 12:20 KJV
Saint Theodore the Tiro,
Miracle of the Kóllyva
Holy Martyrs Codrátos
of Corinth et al.
GREAT LENT
The Lord Christ Himself appeared to Theodore in prison and encouraged His martyr, saying to him: "Fear not Theodore, I am with you; do not partake of earthly food and drink anymore, for you will be with Me in the other world in the heavens; eternal and permanent." At that moment there appeared a multitude of angels in the prison and the entire prison shown brightly and the guards, seeing angels dressed in white raiment, became very frightened. After that, St. Theodore was taken out, tortured and condemned to death. Theodore was tossed into a fire and gave up his holy soul to God the Most High. He suffered in the year 306 A.D.
Saint Mark 2:23-3:5 KJV
23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
3 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
2 Saint Timothy 2:1-10 KJV
2 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Saint John 15:17-16:2 KJV
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
16 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
On the Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent,
we celebrate the remarkable miracle performed by the Holy and Glorious Great Martyr, Theodore the Recruit, through the Kóllyva.
we celebrate the remarkable miracle performed by the Holy and Glorious Great Martyr, Theodore the Recruit, through the Kóllyva.
HISTORY
Kollyba, a word which, in Greek, is the plural form of kollybo (κόλλυβο – itself rarely used), is derived from the Classical Greek word κόλλυβος, kollybos, i.e. a small coin or a small gold weight. In the Hellenistic period, the neuter plural form of the latter word, i.e. κόλλυβα, kollyba, took the meaning of small pies made of boiled wheat. This sense of a ritual food is of a latter period.
THE MIRACLE
Koliva was introduced into the practice of the Church after the miracle of Saint Theodore of Tyro (Saint Theodore of Amasea), which happened about fifty years after this Saint’s death (February 17, 306), during the time of Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) who, wishing to mock the Christians, ordered the governor of Constantinople to sprinkle all supplies in the food markets with blood sacrificed to idols, in the first week of the Great Lent, because the Emperor knew that the Christians would be hungry after the first week of strict fasting, and would go to the marketplaces of Constantinople on Saturday to buy food.
Saint Theodore, appearing in a dream of Archbishop Eudoxios of Constantinople (360-370), commanded him to warn Christians not to buy anything from the market, but rather to eat boiled wheat with honey (koliva). Not long after this, the feast of the miracle of this Great Martyr Saint Theodore was scheduled in the calendar on the first Saturday of the Great Lent (more precisely during the time of Patriarch Nectary of Constantinople (381-397)). From then until today, on the first Saturday of the Great Lent, the remembrance of the dead and the commemoration of Saint Theodore Tyron are celebrated.
SYMBOLISM
The symbolic use of Koliva in our Church services also shows that man may also be regarded as a seed, a fruit of the earth, now sowing itself on the earth like wheat, to again be resurrected with the power of God, rising in the life to be and bringing himself alive and perfect in Christ. For as any seed is buried in the earth, it will, upon rising, bring forth much fruit, so also a human, being given to the earth through death, will rise again.
The same thing is said by the Holy Apostle Paul, showing the theme of resurrection through the parable of sowing.
Based on Saint Symeon of Thessaloniki
TREASON
By Saint Gregory Palamas
“… Adam chose the treason of the serpent, the originator of evil, in preference to God’s commandment and counsel, and broke the decreed fast. Instead of eternal life he received death and instead of the place of unsullied joy he received this sinful place full of passions and misfortunes, or rather, he was sentenced to Hades and nether darkness. Our nature would have stayed in the infernal regions below the lurking places of the serpent who initially beguiled it, had not Christ come. He started off by fasting (cf. Mk. 1:13) and in the end abolished the serpent’s tyranny, set us free and brought us back to life.”
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