Friday September 20 / 3 ns • Holy Martyr Evstáthios and those with him; St. Evstáthios, Archbishop of Thessalonica ~ Wine and olive oil are permitted ~ Saints: Eph. 6:10-17; St. Luke 21:12-19

Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear;

and forget thine own people, and thy father’s house;

and the King shall greatly desire thy beauty.

Friday September 20

October 3 ns 2025

Today we honor with love

The Holy Martyr Evstáthios

and those with him

St. Evstáthios,

Archbishop of Thessalonica

Evstáthios was a great Roman general during the reigns of Emperors Titus and Trajan. Though he was a pagan, Placidas (for that was his pagan name) was a just and merciful man, similar to Cornelius the Centurion, who was baptized by the Apostle Peter (Acts 10). 

Out hunting one day, he pursued a stag. By God's providence, a cross appeared between the antlers of the stag and the voice of the Lord came to Placidas, directing him to go to a Christian priest and become baptized. Placidas was baptized, along with his wife and two sons. At baptism, he received the name Evstáthios; his wife, Theopiste (''faithful to God''); and his sons, Agapitos and Theopistus. After his baptism, he returned to the place where he had experienced the revelation of the stag and, kneeling, gave thanks to God that He had brought him to the truth. Just then, the voice of the Lord again manifested itself to him, foretold that he would suffer for His name, and strengthened him. 

Then Evstáthios secretly left Rome with his family, intending to hide among the simple people and serve God in humble and unknown surroundings. Arriving in Egypt, he was immediately beset by trials. An evil barbarian abducted his wife, and both of his sons were seized by wild beasts and carried away. However, the barbarian soon lost his life, and the children were saved from the wild beasts by shepherds. Evstáthios settled in the Egyptian village of Vadisis and lived there for fifteen years as a hired laborer. 

Then barbarians attacked the Roman Empire, and Emperor Trajan grieved that he did not have the brave General Placidas, who had carried the victory whenever he fought. The emperor sent two of his officers to seek the great commander throughout the empire. By God's providence, these officers (who were once companions of Evstáthios), came to the village of Vadisis, found Evstáthios and brought him back to the emperor. Evstáthios amassed an army and defeated the barbarians. On the way back to Rome, Evstáthios found his wife and both sons. Meanwhile, Emperor Trajan had died and Emperor Hadrian was on the throne. When Hadrian summoned General Evstáthios to offer sacrifices to the gods, Evstáthios declined, declaring himself a Christian. The emperor subjected him and his wife and sons to torture. They were thrown to the wild beasts, but this did them no harm. Then they were cast into a red-hot metal ox. On the third day their dead bodies were removed, but they were unharmed by the fire. Thus, this glorious commander rendered unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's (St. Luke 20:25), and took up his habitation in the Eternal Kingdom of Christ our God.

HYMN OF PRAISE

Saint Nikolai Velmirovich

Holy Martyr Evstáthios 

Evstáthios a wonder among generals,

Gave his life for the Living Lord.

Authority and glory and royal honor

He discarded as refuse and chaff,

For the sake of Christ, the Immortal King,

For the sake of true eternal life.

When the voice of Jesus greeted him,

He was infused with ardent love

For Christ the All-glorious God-

The All-glorious Lover of Mankind.

That voice remained deep in his soul,

And the world could not drown it out;

And the radiant cross which the general saw,

Never left his soul.

The Cross gave him wondrous fearlessness.

The Cross saved him from the enemy's power,

And saved his spouse, faithful as a rock,

And his children, heroic and virtuous.

Evstathios gave his body over to the fire,

And his blessed spirit to the Lord.

O Evstáthios, glorious martyr,

Invincible soldier of Christ,

Help and strengthen the Church of God

That the malicious demon not slander it.

Let the Church shine as a star,

And glorify her Sun, Christ.

Ephesians 6:10-17 KJV

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.


Saint Luke 21:12-19 KJV

12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

WHO AND WHAT

+Monk Simeon of Athos

INTELLIGENCE

+Saint Anthony the Great

“Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who are erudite in the sayings and books of the wise men of old, but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutely adhere by dint of practice to what is good and benefits the soul. These men alone should truly be called intelligent.”

“The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and to conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he disciplines his soul, and whatever he may encounter in the course of his life, he gives thanks to God for the compass and depth of His providential ordering of all things. For it is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul.”

Extended Inclusions

NO NEED TO PROSELYTIZE

~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica ~ 

He who has the Kingdom of God within himself

will imperceptibly pass it on to others.

The atmosphere of Heaven will radiate from us

even when we keep silence or talk about

ordinary things.

SAINT NIKOLAI VELIMIROVICH

QUOTES FROM SAINT SILOUAN

OF ATHOS

WHY AFFLICTIONS

The Lord loves mankind but He sends affliction 

that we may perceive our weakness and humble

ourselves and for this humility receive the Holy

Spirit.  With the Holy Spirit all things are good,

all things are joyful, all things are well

HOW THE TRUE FAITH HAS
COME DOWN TO US

The soul of all peoples always felt

that God exists, even though they

didn't know enough to worship the

true God. The Holy Spirit, however,

taught the Prophets first, then the

Apostles, after them the Holy Fathers

and our bishops and so the true faith

has come down to us. We knew the Lord

through the Holy Spirit. And once

we knew him, our soul became fixed in him.

Know, you peoples, that we were made

in order to glorify God in heaven, and

don't attach yourselves to the earth.

Because God is our Father and He loves

us, His greatly desired children. People

who don't know grace, don't seek it.

People have become attached to the earth

and this is why most of them don't know

that there's nothing earthly which can

compare with the sweetness of the

Holy Spirit.

TO KNOW THE FATHER

To believe that God exists is one thing;

To know God is another. 

The soul that comes to know God fully,
no longer desires anything else.
Nor does it attach itself
to anything on the earth;

and if you put before it a Kingdom,

it would not desire it. For the love

of God gives such sweetness and joy

to the soul that even the life of a king

can no longer give it any sweetness.

When prayer comes from love in the heart, a connection is made.
And when you pray to Christ, you pray to and for ALL MANKIND, in heaven and on earth. Don't wonder at these words but instead ask yourself, is He not the new Adam?  Is He not the Son of Man? 

Did He not say that if we receive the least, 

we receive Him?  

And when a connection is made in prayer, you will love it more than all things due to the presence of Divinity.  And when occupied at times with worldly things, you will yearn to leave what you are doing and go to Him in prayer because you know He is there with Treasure for you.