On the first day
of
the Afterfeast of the Transfiguration
The hymns of Vespers speak of the amazement of the Apostles when they
saw Christ transfigured before them.
The Savior's equality with the Father is also stressed, for He who
covers Himself with light as with a garment is now transfigured before
His disciples, "shining more brightly than the sun."
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1st v St.
Claudia mother of Linus mother of Linus, the second Pope. Tradition has
her the daughter of British
King Caractacus, who was sent to Rome with his family in chains when he
was defeated by Aulus Plautius. Released by Emperor Claudius, one of
his daughters took the name Claudia, remained in Rome, was baptized,
and is the Claudia mentioned in St. Paul's
second letter to Timothy.
Another tradition has her the daughter of Cogidubnus, a British ally of
Claudius, who took the Emperor's name. Martial mentions a British lady,
Claudia Rufina, and says she was married to his friend Aulus Pudens, a
Roman senator. Another tradition has this senator the Pudens also
mentioned in St. Paul's second
letter to Timothy.
Claudia, Matron (AC) 1st century. Saint Claudia, mother of
Pope Saint Linus, is said to have been the daughter of the British king
Caractacus, who was sent to Rome with his family in chains when he was
defeated by Aulus Plautius. Released by Emperor Claudius, one of his
daughters took the name Claudia, remained in Rome, was baptized, and is
the Claudia mentioned in Saint Paul's second letter to Timothy (4:21).
Another tradition makes her the daughter of Cogidubnus, a British ally
of Claudius, who took the emperor's name. In a third postulation,
Martial mentions a British lady, Claudia Rufina, and says she was
married to his friend Aulus Pudens, a Roman senator, which would mean
she was the mother of Saints Praxedes and Pudentiana. Another tradition
has this senator the Pudens also mentioned in the same letter of Saint
Paul (2 Timothy 4:21) (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
ST CLAUDIA, MARTYR (FIRST CENTURY)
IN his second letter to St Timothy (2 Tim. iv 21), St Paul says,
"Eubulus and Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren salute
thee". She was evidently a lady of importance the Apostolic Constitutions (4th
century) state Claudia was mother of Linus, and St Irenaeus
says the Linus mentioned by St Paul was he who succeeded St Peter
in the supreme pontificate.
The poet Martial mentions
in his Epigrams a British lady, Claudia Rufina, who was the wife of his
friend Aulus Pudens, and by some this man has been identified with the
Pudens of St Paul. That St Claudia was a Briton is
maintained independently by a tradition that she was a daughter of the
British King Caractacus, who was defeated by the Roman general Aulus
Plautius and sent with his family in chains to Rome in the year
51. They were released by Emperor Claudius. One daughter remained
in Rome, was baptized, and took the name of
Claudia, and is the lady whom St Paul mentions.
Others think she was the daughter, not of
Caractacus, but of
Cogidubnus, British ally of Claudius who adopted the emperor's
name. None of these theories have more than the weight of
not-impossible suppositions; it is not even certain that St
Claudia was the wife of St Pudens.
Bishop Lightfoot (Apostolic
Fathers, vol. i, pt 1, pp. 76-79) discusses these
identifications in connection with St Clement and Pudens. He finds
nothing which can lend them any probability.
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190 St.
Faustus Martyr Martyred
soldier who suffered in Milan, Italy
Mediolani sancti Fausti militis, qui, sub Aurelio Commodo, post multa
certamina, martyrii palmam adeptus est.
At Milan, St. Faustus, a soldier, who obtained the
palm of martyrdom after many trials in the time of Aurélius
Commodus.
Faustus of Milan M (RM) Tradition holds that Saint
Faustus was a soldier martyred under Commodius at Milan, Italy; no
extant records of his death (Benedictines).
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St. Donat
Patron
saint of St. Donat’s or Llandunwyd, Glamorgan, Wales. In some lists he
is called Dunwyd.
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258 Sixtus (Xystus)
II,
Pope, and Companions a Greek philosopher who embraced the Christian
faith, served as a
deacon in Rome, reached this pinnacle of the church's offices on August
30, 257, and lasted in it no more than a year, suffering a brave
martyr's death. His name is in the canon of the Roman Mass MM
(RM)
Orthodoxe Kirche: Laurentius,
Sixtus, Felicissimus, Agapitus und
Romanus - 10. August Katholische Kirche: Xystus II. und Gefährten
- 7.
August
Died August 6, 258; feast day formerly on August 6. Pope
Sixtus II was
a Greek philosopher who embraced the Christian faith, served as a
deacon in Rome, reached this pinnacle of the church's offices on August
30, 257, and lasted in it no more than a year, suffering a brave
martyr's death. His name is in the canon of the Roman Mass.
Although Sixtus II was convinced that anyone baptized by a
heretic was
truly baptized, he nevertheless refused to excommunicate or otherwise
punish those theologians who disagreed with him. In his correspondence
with Saint Dionysius of Alexandria and Firmilian of Antioch, he upheld
the Roman position of their validity. Nevertheless, he resumed
relations with Saint Cyprian and the churches Africa and Asia Minor
which had been ruptured by Pope Saint Stephen I, his predecessor. In
later centuries, the Church decreed that provided a heretic had
properly used the formulas of baptism, any person so baptized could not
be held to be outside the Christian faith. Why should a man who had
embraced the faith be considered a pagan simply because the one who
performed the rite of baptism was in error in his own beliefs?
In 253, Valerian, who had the chief of the senate, was
elected emperor.
At first he was more favorably disposed toward the Christians than any
of the emperors before him had been, except Philip; and his palace was
full of Christians. Thus, the church enjoyed three years and one-half
years of peace. Valerian fell under the influence of the Persian
archmagician named Macrianus, who persuaded the emperor that the
Christians, as avowed enemies of magic and the gods, obstructed the
effects of the sacrifices, and the prosperity of his empire.
According to Saint Cyprian who considered Sixtus an
excellent prelate,
Valerian had set forth his first decree condemning Christianity in
April 257. Shortly, Saint Stephen I was martyred. This persecution
lasted three and one-half years until he was taken prisoner by the
Persians. Valerian ordered that the farms and estates, the honors and
the goods, the freedom and even the lives of those who refused to
renounce their faith should be sacrificed. When the persecution
intensified the following year, Cyprian wrote to his fellow African
bishops:
"Valerian has sent an order
to the senate
to the
effect that bishops, priests, and deacons should forthwith die [even if
they are willing to conform], but that senators, persons of quality,
and Roman knights should forfeit their honors, should have their
estates forfeited, and if they still refused to sacrifice, should lose
their heads; that matrons should have their goods seized, and be
banished; that any of Caesar's officers or domestics who already
confessed the Christian faith, or had should now confess it, should
forfeit their estates to the exchequer, and should be sent in chains to
work in Caesar's farms. To this order the emperor subjoined a copy of
the letters which he hath dispatched to the presidents of the several
provinces concerning us; which letter I expect, and hope will soon be
brought hither."
"Sixtus
suffered in a cemetery on the sixth day of
August, and with him four deacons. The Roman officers are very keen on
this persecution: the people brought before them are certain to suffer
and forfeit their estates. Please notify my colleagues of these details
so that our brothers may be ready everywhere for their great conflict,
that we all may think of immortality rather than death and derive joy
rather than fear from this confession, in which the soldiers of Christ,
as we know, are not so much killed as crowned."
The pope took refuge in the catacombs of Praetextatus on the
Appian
Way. There he was discovered preaching to his flock, seated in his
chair. According to some accounts he was still seated, when he was
beheaded. Others say that he was taken away for examination and
returned to the scene for execution. It is certain that he was beheaded
in the cemetery. The Roman Martyrology that he was martyred with his
deacons (Felicissimus and Agapitus), subdeacons (Januarius, Magnus,
Stephen, and Vincent), and Quartus. (Quartus owes his existence to a
bad transcript in which "diaconus Quartus" (the deacon, Quartus) was
written in place of the original "diacones quattuor" (four deacons).)
It is likely that Sixtus suffered with all seven of the deacons of
Rome, the six mentioned today, and Saint Lawrence; the four may not
have been subdeacons.
Their bodies were carried across the Appian Way by their
mourners, and
placed in the cemetery of Saint Callixtus. He was one of the most
highly esteemed martyrs of the early Roman church; however, the sayings
of a pagan moralist, named Sextus, were wrongly attributed to Sixtus in
the middle ages (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney,
Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, White).
In art, Saint Sixtus is shown holding a money-bag, with his
deacon
Saint Lawrence and Saint John the Baptist. At times he may be depicted
(1) ordaining Saint Lawrence [Fra Angelico]; (2) giving Lawrence a bag
of money to give to the poor; or (3) as he is greeted by Lawrence on
his way to martyrdom (Roeder).
Xystus II. (Sixtus II.), Felicissimus, Agapitus, Januarius,
Magnus,
Vincentius, Stephanus, Quartus und Romanus
Orthodoxe Kirche: Laurentius, Sixtus, Felicissimus, Agapitus
und
Romanus - 10. August Katholische Kirche: Xystus II. und Gefährten
- 7. August
Xystus II. war von 257 bis 258 Bischof von Rom. Er stellte
den Frieden
im Ketzertaufstreit wieder her (siehe Cyprian). Unter Kaiser Valerius
setzte eine neue Verfolgung ein, zu deren Beginn Xystus während
der Eucharistiefeier in der Callixtuskatakombe am 6.8.258
überfallen und enthauptet wurde. Am gleichen Tage wurden seine
Diakone Felicissimus und Agapitus ermordet. Das Fest dieser drei
Märtyrer steht seit 354 im römischen Missale. Das
Martyrologium Romanum nennt außerdem die Subdiakone Januarius,
Magnus, Vincentius, Stephanus und Quartus, die ebenfalls am 6.8.258 das
Martyrium erlitten. Der Erzdiakon Laurentius wurde am 10.8.258 zu Tode
gemartert. Das griechische xystus (der geglättete) wurde als
sixtus latinisiert und dann mit sextus (der sechste) gleichgesetzt. In
einigen Gegenden zählt Sixtus zu den 14 Nothelfern.
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260 St. Peter,
Julian,
and Companions martyrs A group put to death during the
persecutions of
Emperors Valerian and Gallienus
Romæ
sanctórum Mártyrum Petri et Juliáni, cum
áliis decem et octo. At Rome, the holy martyrs
Peter and Julian, with eighteen others.
Peter, Julian
(Juliana) and Companions MM (RM) Died c. 260. A mixed
gender group of at least 20 Romans martyred under Valerian and
Gallienus (Benedictines).
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295
St. Carpophorus Soldiers Martyr with Exanthus,
Cassius, Severinus, Secundus, and Licinius; slain
at Como, Italy, during the persecution of co-Emperor Maximian
Novocomi pássio
sanctórum Mártyrum
Carpophori, Exanthi, Cassii, Severini, Secúndi et Licinii; qui,
in
confessióne Christi, cápite truncáti sunt.
At Como, the
passion of the holy
martyrs Carpophorus, Exanthus, Cassius, Severinus, Secundus, and
Licinius, who were beheaded for the confession of Christ.
Carpophorus,
Exanthus, Cassius, Severinus, Secundus, Licinius MM (RM) Died c.
295.
Christian soldiers who were martyred at Como, Lombardy, Italy, during
the reign of Maximian Herculius (Benedictines).
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 260
Marinus, soldier & Asterius senator Holy Martyrs; Marinus when
about to be promoted to centurion, Marinus refused to swear
the customary oath invoking the pagan gods, or to offer sacrifice to
idols; When the execution was over, he took off his senatorial garb,
spread it upon the ground and wrapped the head and body of St Marinus
in it. On his own shoulders he carried the martyr's relics to the grave
and reverently consigned them to earth
A soldier during the reign of the pagan emperors Valerian
(253-259) and
his son Gallienus (260-268).
When he was about to be promoted to centurion, Marinus
refused to swear
the customary oath invoking the pagan gods, or to offer sacrifice to
idols. St Marinus was beheaded in Caesarea Philippi after cruel
tortures.
St Asterius also happened to be present at the sufferings of
the Martyr
Marinus. When the execution was over, he took off his senatorial garb,
spread it upon the ground and wrapped the head and body of St Marinus
in it. On his own shoulders he carried the martyr's relics to the grave
and reverently consigned them to earth.
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4th v. St.
Donatian Second bishop of Chalons-sur-Marne, in France
Catalauni,
in Gállia, sancti Donatiáni
Epíscopi. At Chalons in France, St. Donatian,
bishop.
Donatian of
Châlons-sur-Marne B (RM) 4th century (?). Second bishop of
Châlons-sur-Marne, France (Benedictines).
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305 Afra Fest
steht,
daß Afra um 304 enthauptet wurde, die später entstandenen
Legenden sind vielleicht aus einer Christianisierung des griechischen
Aphrodite-Kultes entstanden. Aphrodite (in Italien Venus) war die
Göttin der Liebe und Fruchtbarkeit.
Katholische und Evangelische Kirche: 7. August
Die Lebensgeschichte Afras dürfte weitgehend Legende sein. Sie
soll mit ihrer Mutter mit cyprischen Legionären nach Augsburg
gekommen sein. Hier unterhielt ihre Mutter Hilaria (Gedenktag 2.8.) ein
Bordell, in dem auch Afra arbeitete. Bischof Narcissus von Gerona
(Gedenktag 29. Oktober) fand in dem Haus Zuflucht, als er vor der
Verfolgung unter Diokletian geflohen war. Afra erfuhr durch ihn vom
christlichen Glauben und ließ sich mit ihrer Mutter taufen. Um
Narcissus und Afra entstand eine kleine Gemeinde und das Bordell soll
zur ersten Kirche Augsburgs geworden sein. Narcissus setzte einen Onkel
Afras, Dionysius, zum Bischof der Gemeinde ein und kehrte nach Spanien
zurück.
Die Bekehrung Afras wurde bald angezeigt. Da sie sich unter Folterungen
weigerte, zu widerrufen, wurde sie um 305 auf einer Insel im Lech
verbrannt (nach anderen Legenden enthauptet). Ihre Mutter und andere
Frauen, die sich zu Christus bekannten, wurden kurz darauf ebenfalls
verbrannt. Vorher soll ihre Mutter noch eine Kapelle über Afras
Grab erbaut haben. Später befand sich ihr Grab in der Afra-Kirche.
Afra wurde 1064 heiliggesprochen. In diesem Jahr wurde auch ein
römischer Sarkophag mit angekohlten Gebeinen gefunden, der sich
jetzt in der Unterkirche der Basilika St. Ulrich und Afra befindet.
Afra ist mit Ulrich Patronin von Augsburg.
Fest steht, daß Afra um 304 enthauptet wurde, die später
entstandenen Legenden sind vielleicht aus einer Christianisierung des
griechischen Aphrodite-Kultes entstanden. Aphrodite (in Italien Venus)
war die Göttin der Liebe und Fruchtbarkeit.
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4th v. Martyrdom
of
St. Apoli, Son of Justus; This Saint was the crown prince of the Roman
empire. He was away in
war, and when he returned to Antioch, he found Diocletian had already
established the pagan worship of idols. Although Apoli was capable of
killing him and taking the empire over from him, he preferred the
heavenly everlasting kingdom.
On this day, St. Apoli (Aboli), son of Justus, son of Emperor Nomarius,
was martyred. This Saint was the crown prince of the Roman empire. He
was away in war, and when he returned to Antioch, he found Diocletian
had already established the pagan worship of idols. Although Apoli was
capable of killing him and taking the empire over from him, he
preferred the heavenly everlasting kingdom. St. Apoli came forward, and
confessed Christ before Diocletian. In the beginning, Diocletian
handled him gently, but when he failed to attract him to the worship of
the idols, he banished him along with his father, Justus, and his
mother, Theoclia to the city of Alexandria. He wrote to Armanius, its
governor, to persuade them to offer sacrifice to the gods, and if they
refuse, to separate them from each other.
Armanius, knowing their royal positions, sent Justus (the father) to
Ansena (Antinoe), his wife to the city of Sa, and Apoli, their son, to
Basta. He also left to each of them one of their servants to minister
unto them. When Apoli arrived in the city of Basta, he confessed Christ
before its governor who tortured him severely. He beat him, burned him,
and dismembered him. When the governor saw that many became Christians
because of what they saw from the steadfastness of the Saint to the
tortures, and that the Lord was healing him from his wounds, he ordered
to cut off his holy head, and thus received the crown of martyrdom.
May his prayers be with us.
Amen.
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St. Hyperechios a
“Desert Father.” Egyptian hermit, called a “Desert Father.” A
collection of his sayings
is extant.
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361
St. Donatus
bishop of Arizzo & Hilarinus a martyr of Ostia; Martyrs of Italy;
Their cultus now confined to local
calendars
Aretii, in Túscia,
natális sancti
Donati, Epíscopi et Mártyris; qui, inter cetera
virtútis ópera (ut
scribit beátus Gregórius Papa), cálicem sanctum, a
Paganis fractum,
orándo instaurávit. Is, in persecutióne
Juliáni Apóstatæ, a
Quadratiáno Augustali comprehénsus, et, cum
sacrificáre idolis
renuísset, gládio percússus, martyrium
consummávit. Passus est étiam
cum eo beátus Hilarinus Monachus; cujus memória
décimo séptimo Kaléndas
Augusti recolitur, quo die sacrum ipsíus corpus ad Ostia
Tiberina
translátum fuit.
At Arezzo in Tuscany, the birthday of St. Donatus,
bishop and
martyr, who among other miraculous deeds by his prayers (as is related
by blessed Pope Gregory) made whole again a sacred chalice which had
been broken by pagans. Being apprehended by the imperial officer
Quadratian, during the persecution of Julian the Apostate, and refusing
to sacrifice to idols, he was struck with the sword, and thus fulfilled
his martyrdom. With him suffered also the blessed monk Hilarinus,
whose feast is celebrated on the 16th of July, at which time his body
was taken to Ostia.
Donatus
of Besançon, OSB B (AC) Died before 660. Donatus, a monk of
Luxeuil
Abbey, became bishop of Besançon, France, in 624. Because of his
zeal
for monasticism, he founded Saint Paul's Abbey in his see. His Regula
ad virgines combines elements of the Benedictine Rule with that of
Saint Columbanus, the founder of Luxeuil (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
361 Donatus B and Hilarinus (Hilary) M (RM).
Hilarinus was a monk martyred at Ostia, Italy, under Julian the
Apostate; Donatus the second bishop of Arezzo, Italy. Through confusion
with another Saint Donatus, he is often thought to have been a martyr,
but he appears to have died a peaceful death (Benedictines,
Encyclopedia). In art, Saint Donatus is portrayed as a young or
middle-aged bishop with a sword and dragon. He might also be shown (1)
freeing a poisoned well from the dragon; (2) on horseback, raising his
crozier at the dragon; (3) kneeling at an altar with an angel
whispering to him, a chalice and dragon at his feet; or (4) beheaded
with sword or stabbed with a dagger (Roeder). He is the patron saint of
Arezzo. In addition to the confusion with the other Donatus, he is
mixed up with Donatia of Rheims, who is the patron saint of Bruges
(Roeder).
ST DONATUS, BISHOP OF
Aanzzo 362
DONATUS was the second bishop of Arezzo in Tuscany. Though the
Roman Martyrology refers to him as a martyr at Arezzo under Julian the
Apostate, and he is commemorated as such in today's Mass, he seems
certainly not to have died for the faith. In the same place
Donatus is associated with the martyred monk St Hilarinus, but he seems
to have suffered at Ostia; there too mention is made of the
attribution to him by St Gregory the Great of a miracle of restoring a
chalice broken up by the heathen. There has also been
confusion between St Donatus of Arezzo and another St Donatus, bishop
of Euroea in Epirus.
The early cultus of this
Donatus as a confessor is
indubitable, but his so-called passio (Acta
Sanctorum, August, vol. ii) is simply derived from the
fictitious story of St Gallicanus, who has a long entry in the Roman
Martyrology on June 25.
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363 St Dometius
martyred by Julian Apostate; lived in Persia during the fourth century.
In his youth he was converted to the Faith by a Christian named Uaros.  Forsaking Persia, he
withdrew to the frontier city of Nisibis (in Mesopotamia), where he was
baptized in one of the monasteries, received the monastic tonsure,
ordained a deacon; local inhabitants began to come for healing and
help. Many pagans were brought to faith in Christ
Nisibi, in Mesopotamia,
sancti Dometii, Monachi Persæ, qui cum
duobus discípulis, sub Juliáno Apóstata,
lapidátus est.
At
Nisibis in Mesopotamia, St. Dometius, a Persian
monk, who was stoned to death with two of his disciples at the time of
Julian the Apostate.
Fleeing
the ill-will of some of the monks, St Dometius
moved to the
monastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in the city of Theodosiopolis.
The monastery was under the guidance of an archimandrite named Urbelos,
a strict ascetic, of whom it was said that for sixty years he did not
taste cooked food, nor did he lay down for sleep, but rather took his
rest standing up, supporting himself upon his staff.
In this monastery St Dometius was ordained a deacon, but
when the
archimandrite decided to have him made a presbyter,
considering himself unworthy, hid himself on desolate mountain in
Syria, region of Cyrrhus.
Stories about him constantly spread among the
local inhabitants. They
began to come to him for healing and for help. Many pagans were brought
to faith in Christ by Dometius. And one time, in the locality where St
Dometius struggled with his disciples, the emperor Julian the Apostate
(361-363) arrived, traveling on his campaign against the Persians. By
order of the emperor, soldiers found St Dometius praying with his
disciples in a cave, and walled them up alive inside.
Two disciples of St Dometius lived during the
fourth century, and were
walled up inside a cave with him by order of the emperor Julian the
Apostate in the year 363.
Dometius (Domitius) the Persian & Companions M
(RM) Died 4th
century. Although the Roman Martyrology appears to have three entries
for this Domitius (f.d. March 23 and July 5), it is uncertain that they
were indeed the same person. The laus reads: "At Nisibis in Mesopotamia
Saint Dometius, a Persian monk who with two of this disciples was
stoned to death under Julian the Apostate" (Benedictines).
ST DOMETIUS THE PERSIAN, MARTYR (c. A.D. 362?)
Melkites and other
Christians of the East today celebrate the memory of
St Dometius who, according to the legend, was a Persian convert who
became monk at Nisibis in Mesopotamia, was ordained deacon, and went to
live in a cave, from whence he converted many heathen of the
neighbourhood. People flocked to his retreat to ask his
blessing and in hope he would cure their ills and the Emperor Julian
the Apostate, whom Dometius had reproached for his impiety, accused the
holy man of courting popularity. "If these poor harmless
folk come to see me, I cannot send them away", he replied.
Julian was so
incensed by the answer that he had him stoned to death.
There has been great confusion between this
Dometius and
another, mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on July 5 as a martyr in
Syria, "who by his power affords many benefits to the inhabitants of
these parts". St Dometius has a great reputation in the East as
an ascete and wonder-worker there is evidence that he was honoured in
Cyprus and in southern Italy, and we find him referred to in the Syriac
martyrology of Rabban Sliba as a "healer of sciatica".
The Greek acts have been
printed in Analecta Bollanadiana,
vol. xix
(1900), pp. 285-320; in the Syriac recension, edited by P. Bedjan, the
narrative has been transformed in a number of details. In Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lvii
(1939), pp. 72-104, Fr P. Peeters discusses at length the confusion
between the two Dometii.
|
390 St Horus
in his
youth withdrew into the Thebaid desert and struggled in complete
solitude for many years, leading the life of a strict hermit. Having
advanced in years, St Horus was granted to see an angel, who announced
that the Lord had destined him for the salvation of the many people who
would seek his guidance. After this, the monk began to accept
everyone who came to him for advice and help. The Lord granted him a
gift of reading the Holy Scriptures, despite the fact that the saint
since childhood had not been taught reading and writing.
Gradually, a large monastery formed around St Horus, which
the holy
Elder was the spiritual guide. The monk never entered the trapeza for
food, nor did he eat on the day of partaking of the Holy Mysteries. He
often taught the brethren by means of stories about the temptations
which might beset a monk living in solitude. But he always told them in
such a way that everyone would know that he was speaking of
desert-dwellers personally known to him. The saint concealed his own
ascetic exploits.
Once, when the saint still lived with only one disciple, he brought to
the Elder's attention the approach of Holy Pascha. St Horus immediately
stood up at prayer, and raising his hands, he stood thus for three days
under the open sky, in unceasing prayer. He then explained to his
disciple that for a monk every feastday, and especially Pascha, is
celebrated by removing oneself from everything mundane, and lifting up
one's mind to unity with God.
All the thoughts and deeds of his disciples was revealed to St Horus,
and no one dared to lie to him. Having survived well into old age, St
Horus founded several monasteries, comprising altogether as many as
1,000 monastics. He died at age 90 in about the year 390 .
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407
St. Victricius missionary and Bishop; The son of a Roman legionnaire,
he set out on a military career. After
becoming a Christian, he refused to remain in the legions. Flogged and
sentenced to death for remaining adamant in his refusal to return to
the army, he somehow avoided execution and received a discharge.
Victricius became a missionary among the tribes of Flanders, Hainault,
and Brabant, Belgium, and later the bishop of Rouen, France (about
386)
Rotomagi sancti Victricii
Epíscopi, qui adhuc miles, sub eodem
Juliáno, abjíciens pro Christo cingulum, a Tribuno multis
torméntis affícitur, et cápitis damnátur;
sed, carnifice, qui ad eum cædéndum missus fuerat,
cæcitate percusso, ipse, vínculis solutis, liber
evasit. Postea, Epíscopus factus, indomitas
Morinórum et Nerviórum gentes divini
prædicatióne verbi ad Christi fidem perdúxit, et
demum Confessor in pace quiévit.
At
Rouen, the holy bishop St. Victricius.
While he was yet a soldier under Julian, he threw away his military
belt for Christ, and after being subjected by the tribune to many
torments, was condemned to death. But the executioner sent to
slay him being struck blind, and the confessor's chains being loosened,
he made his escape. Afterwards being made bishop, by preaching
the word of God, he brought to the faith of Christ the barbarous people
of Belgic Gaul, and finally died in peace, a confessor.Owing
to
his reputation for goodness and being a capable prelate, he
journeyed to England in 396 to assist in the settlement of some dispute
among the bishops there, although in his later years he was accused of
heretical leanings. Not only was he exonerated by Pope St. Innocent I
(401-417), but he received from the pope the important decretal
of
the Liber Regularum.
He was also the author of the work The
Praise of
Saints St. Victricius.
Victricius of Rouen B (RM) Died c. 409.
It seems that God
preserved Victricius from martyrdom because He had other plans. When
the saint converted to Christianity, he resigned from the Roman army
because, like his friend Saint Martin of Tours he believed military
service was incompatible with his new faith. For this he was brutally
flogged and sentenced to death. But the sentence was never executed.
Victricius became a missionary among the northern tribes of France.
After he came bishop of Rouen in 380, he was known as one of the
leading prelates of Gaul. About 395, the bishops of Britain sent for
him to resolve certain difficulties of an unknown nature. He was
definitely a man of importance who "did all that he could, even if he
could not do all that needed doing." Although there is no early life of
him, he is discussed in several extant letters of his friend Saint
Paulinus of Nola. A piece written by Victricius on the Praise of Saints
still survives, as well as an
important disciplinary document addressed to him by Pope Saint Innocent I
(Attwater,
Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
St Victricius, Bishop of
Rouen
Among the great bishops of
the
Western church during the fourth century three stand out
conspicuously in Gaul, namely, Hilary
of Poitiers, Martin of Tours
and Victricius of Rouen. Of
these the last-named is the least well known to fame because we have
less information about his career, whereas the other two are pretty
well documented. It is likely his birthplace was
somewhere not far from the Scheldt, that he was born about the year
330, and that his father or near ancestor was a soldier in one of the
Roman legions called Victrix. Nothing is known of his early
years, but at the age of seventeen he became a soldier and not long
afterwards a Christian. At this time the lawfulness of the
military profession for a Christian had not yet been decided in the
Church, and there were not wanting learned and good men who denied that
a Christian could bear arms without blame; and St Victricius, laying
down his weapons one day on parade, asked for his discharge (cf. the
action of St Martin of Tours in similar circumstances). His
period of service was not yet expired, so his tribune treated the
request as a breach of discipline and ordered him to be flogged. Unable
to move him, the tribune referred the matter to the comes, who sentenced Victricius to
death for desertion. St Paulinus
of Nola says in one of his letters that miraculous intervention
prevented the sentence from being carried out; and Victricius and some
Christian comrades were released and discharged.
Then follows a blank in the history of
Victricius, and
when next heard of he is bishop of Rouen, to which see he must have
been elected about the year 386. Within his diocese there were still
many heathen, to whose conversion the bishop applied himself with zeal,
and he introduced monasticism into Rouen in the loose unorganized form
that it had in Gaul at that time his flock of ascetes, thin with
fasting "and his choir of maidens", whose "life is even more splendid
than it is, in the world's eyes, hard". He obtained from
St Ambrose at Milan many relics of the saints, which were
received by the people in solemn
procession and duly enshrined. In connection with these
translations he preached or wrote his work On the Praise of The Saints, which
partakes of the nature both of a panegyric and of a thesis on the cultus of the saints; as a piece
of literature it is particularly valuable for the study of the
rhythmical cursus. Victricius established a number of rural
parishes, which in those days were still rare, but progress against
paganism was slow among the country people, and it continued for
another couple of hundred years. He preached in Artois, western
Flanders, Hainault and Brabant; but his work was largely undone and the
religious centres he established destroyed by the barbarian invasions
in the fifth century.
His reputation for wisdom and
holiness had meanwhile crossed the Channel, and about 396 he came over
at the request of the British bishops to settle some
differences. Their nature is not known. Whatever it
was, Victricius, in his own words, "did all he could, even if he did
not do all that wanted doing...I inspired the wise with love of peace,
I taught it to the teachable, I explained it to the ignorant, I imposed
it on the obstinate, insisting on it in season and out of season..."
Towards the end of his life St Victricius came
under
suspicion of heresy, and he went to Rome to clear himself. This
he had no difficulty in doing; and he received from Pope St Innocent I in 404 a famous
decretal on disciplinary matters, including the reference of causae maiores from the local
bishops to the Holy See. The exact date of the death of this
great bishop is not known.
Considering
the important position claimed for St
Victricius it is curious that we possess no early life of him. We
have to be content for the most part with such information as may be
gleaned from the letters of St Paulinus of Nola. There is an
excellent study of all that is known of Victricius, by E. Vacandard, in
the series "Les Saints" (1903). Cf.
also C. Jullian, Histoire de la Gaule,
and E. de
Moreau, Histoire de l'Eglise en
Belgique, t. i (1945). For the saint's influence on St
Patrick, see Fr P. Grosjean in Analecta
Bollandiana, vol. lxiv (1946), pp. 94-99.
|
660 St. Donatus
of
Besancon Fr Bishop Bishop of Besancon, France, from 624. Donatus was a
monk at Luxeuil
before becoming a bishop; founded St. Paul Abbey.
|
 1110 Saint Pimen the
Much-ailing attained the Kingdom of Heaven by enduring grievous
illness. This Russian ascetic was both born and grew up sickly, but his
illness preserved him from illness of the soul; conscious of the high
value of suffering, he the Lord both
for the continuation of his sickness, and tonsuring into
monasticism; radiant angels appeared in the guise of monks, and
tonsured him -- They
told him that he would receive his health only on the day of his death;
On the day of St Pimen's repose, three fiery columns appeared over the
trapeza, and moved atop the church. A similar event was described in
the chronicles under February 11, 1110 (See the August 5 commemoration
of St Theoctistus of Chernigov).
For a long time he besought his parents to send him to the
Kiev Caves
monastery. When they brought their son to the famed monastery, they
then began to pray for him to be healthy. But the sufferer himself,
conscious of the high value of suffering, instead asked the Lord both
for the continuation of his sickness, and also his tonsuring into
monasticism.
One night, radiant angels appeared in the guise of monks,
and tonsured
him. They told him that he would receive his health only on the day of
his death. Several of the brethren heard the sound of singing, and
coming to St Pimen, they found him attired in monastic garb. In his
hand he held a lit candle, and his tonsured hair could be seen at the
crypt of St Theodosius. St Pimen spent many years in sickness, so that
those attending to him could not tolerate it. They often left him
without food and water for two or three days at a time, but he endured
everything with joy.
Compassionate towards the brethren, St Pimen healed a
certain crippled
brother, who promised to serve him until death if he were healed. But
after a while the brother grew lax in his service, and his former
ailment overtook him. St Pimen again healed him with the advice, that
both the sick and those attending the sick receive equal reward.
St Pimen spent twenty years in grievous sufferings. One day,
as the
angels had predicted, he became healthy. In church, the monk took leave
of all the brethren and partook of the Holy Mysteries. Then, having
bowed down before the grave of Abba Anthony, St Pimen indicated the
place for his burial, and he himself carried his bed there.
Pointing to those buried there, one after the other of the monks, and
he predicted that the brethren would find one buried in the schema to
be without it, since this monk had led a life unworthy of it. Another
monk, who had been buried without the schema, would be found clothed in
it after death, since he had greatly desired it during his life, and he
was worthy.
Then St Pimen lay down
upon his bed and fell asleep in the Lord. The
brethren buried him with great honor, glorifying God. After the
death of St Pimen, the brethren were persuaded of the truth of his
words. On the day of St Pimen's repose, three fiery columns appeared
over the trapeza, and moved atop the church. A similar event was
described in the chronicles under February 11, 1110 (See the August 5
commemoration of St Theoctistus of Chernigov), therefore the day of
demise of St Pimen is surmised as also occurring on February 11, 1110.
The relics of St Pimen rest in
the Antoniev Cave. A second commemoration of the saint is made on
September 28, the
Synaxis of the Monks of the Near Caves.
|
1141 St Pimen,
Faster
of the Caves, labored in the Far Caves. His abstinence was such that he
ate food only once a day, and only in the most necessary quantity. His
outward fasting corresponded to an inward abstemiousness from any
actions, thoughts or feelings, displeasing to God. St Pimen igumen
of Kiev Caves monastery from 1132 to 1141.
A second commemoration of the
saint occurs on August 28.
|
1248 Blessed
Jordan
Forzatei a monk at Padua until he was made abbot of the Benedictine
abbey of
Saint Justina. When Frederick II entrusted the government of the city
to him, Count Ezzelino imprisoned him for three years, OSB Abbot
(AC)
Born in Padua, Italy, in 1158; died at Venice, 1248. Jordan was a monk
at Padua until he was made abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Saint
Justina. When Frederick II entrusted the government of the city to him,
Count Ezzelino imprisoned him for three years. His feast is kept at
Padua, Treviso, and Praglia (Benedictines).
|
1307
St. Albert of Trapani miracles;
Carmelite hermit and missionary entered a monastic hermitage near
Messina where he successfully devoted himself to the conversion of the
Jews
Messanæ, in Sicília, sancti Alberti Confessóris, ex
Ordine Carmelitárum, miráculis clari.
At Messina in Sicily, St. Albert, confessor of the
Carmelite Order, renowned for miracles.
He was born in
Trapani, Sicily, joined
the Carmelite Order. After ordination, he was sent to nearby Messina,
where he gathered thousands with his preaching and miracles.
After serving as a missionary, Albert entered a monastic hermitage near
Messina where he successfully devoted himself to the conversion of the
Jews (Benedictines).
He remained there until his death.
Albert of Trapani, OC (RM) Born in Trapani, Sicily; died 1306; cultus
confirmed in 1454. At a very young age, Saint Albert enter the
Carmelite monastery of his hometown. After his priestly ordination, he
was transferred to the house at Messina, where he successfully devoted
himself to the conversion of the Jews (Benedictines).
St Albert of Trapani, also called "of Sicily", was born at
Trapani in that
island. It is said his parents were Benedict Adalberti
and Joan of Palizze and that, having been long without issue, they
vowed that if they had a male child he should be dedicated to our Lady
of Mount Carmel in her order. At any rate, the young Albert
became a Carmelite, and after he had been ordained was sent to the
priory of Messina, where he preached with much success, especially
among the Jews. He added many voluntary austerities to those of his
rule, among them the custom of repeating the whole psalter on his knees
before a crucifix every night before he went to bed.
Unfortunately this and other particulars given by his biographer were
written long after he was dead and are far from reliable. He
tells us that when the king of Naples was besieging Messina and had
blockaded it so effectually that the city was in imminent danger of
starvation, Frederick III of Sicily contemplated burning it down to
keep it out of the enemy's hands certain of the citizens came to St
Albert in great distress about this, and the sudden arrival of food
ships that had successfully run the blockade was attributed to his
prayers.
His biographer records that St Albert made a pilgrimage to
Palestine to the cradle of his order, where he became as famous for his
miracles as he was at home hut in fact this journey was never
undertaken, and the miracles must be regarded as probably equally
apocryphal. During the last years of his life he lived as a
hermit near Messina. When, three hundred years later, St Mary
Magdalen de' Pazzi was tempted to leave the Carmel at Florence and
return to the world, she asked the prayers of St Albert in Heaven; the
temptation left her, and she was confirmed in her good resolution by a
vision of the saint. He was never formally canonized,
but his cultus was approved
in 1476.
The Latin life, upon which
all the others of more recent date
are directly or indirectly founded, has been printed in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvii
(1898), pp. 317 seq. It
was only written at the beginning of the fifteenth century. See
also B. Zimmerman, Monumenta
historica Carmelitana, pp. 259, 422, etc.
|
14th v. Saint
Mercurius of Kiev Caves pursued asceticism in the Farther Caves, and
was strict in fasting. During his lifetime St Mercurius had a deep
spiritual friendship with St Paisius, and when they died, they were
buried in the same grave.
The November 24 commemoration of the saint is made because of his
namesake, the holy Great Martyr Mercurius. He is also remembered on
August 28, the Synaxis of the Saints of the
Far Caves; and the second Sunday of Great Lent, the Synaxis of all
the monastic Fathers of the Kiev Caves.
|
1419 Nikanor
Orthodoxe Kirche: 7. August Nikanor lebte als Einsiedler auf dem Berg
Calistratus. Er wird als Wundertäter verehrt. Nikanor starb 1419.
|
1504 Blessed
Vincent
of Aquila Vincent a Franciscan lay-brother who was famous for his
mystical gifts , OFM (AC)
Born in Aquila, Italy; cultus approved
in 1785. Vincent Franciscan lay-brother famous for his
mystical gifts (Benedictines).
|
1547
St.
Cajetan; at his birth his
mother, a fervent Dominican tertiary, dedicated Cajetan to the Blessed
Virgin; father died fighting for Venetians
against King Ferdinand of Naples when Cajetan was only two, example
of mother helped Cajetan to grow into a man of sweet temper,
constant recollection, unwavering compassion, especially toward poor
and afflicted; mystical
experience; doctorate in both civil and canon law at
Padua, Italy, he became a senator in Vicenza; Pope Julius II compelled
him to accept the office of
protonotary in his court. Although Julius II was one of the least
inspiring examples of a pope, Cajetan saw through the lustful,
simonious, indulgent, war-loving court to the essential holiness of the
Church. He knew that despite the vices and follies of Her
servants, Holy Mother Church still held the keys to the salvation of
the world; resigned as protonotary upon Julius's death in 1513 and was
ordained
in 1516; founder of the blue-habited
Theatines, beatified by Urban VIII in 1629; canonized by Clement X in
1671. Miracles
Neapoli, in Campania,
sancti
Cajetani Thienæi Confessóris, Clericórum
Regulárium Fundatoris, qui, singulári in Deum fiducia,
pristinam Apostolicam vivéndi formam suis coléndam
trádidit, et, miráculis clarus, a Cleménte Papa
Décimo inter Sanctos relátus est.
At
Naples in
Campania, St. Cajetan the Theatine, confessor, founder of the Clerics
Regular, who, through singular confidence in God, made his disciples
practise the primitive mode of life of the apostles. Being
renowned for miracles, he was ranked among the saints by Clement X.
Saint Cajetan, was the born 1480
son of Lord Gaspar of Thienna (Tiene)
and his
wife Mary di Porto. Both were known for their piety. At his birth his
mother, a fervent Dominican tertiary, dedicated Cajetan to the Blessed
Virgin. Although his father died while fighting for the Venetians
against King Ferdinand of Naples when Cajetan was only two, the example
of his mother helped Cajetan to grow into a man of sweet temper,
constant recollection, and unwavering compassion, especially toward the
poor and afflicted.
After attaining a doctorate in both civil and
canon law at
Padua, Italy, he became a senator in Vicenza. He built a parochial
chapel at his own expense at Rampazzo, where those living far from the
parish church might be catechized and worship. Thereafter he fled to
Rome in 1506, where he had hoped to live in obscurity among the crowds;
however, Pope Julius II compelled him to accept the office of
protonotary in his court. Although Julius II was one of the least
inspiring examples of a pope, Cajetan saw through the lustful,
simonious, indulgent, war-loving court to the essential holiness of the
Church. He knew that despite the vices and follies of Her
servants, Holy Mother Church still held the keys to the salvation of
the world.
He resigned as protonotary upon
Julius's death in 1513 and was ordained
in 1516. The
following year, while praying at the Christmas crib in the church of
Saint Mary Maggiore, he had a mystical experience. He records,
"Encouraged by the Blessed Saint Jerome,
whose bones lie in the crypt beneath the crib, I took from the hands of
the timid Virgin who had just become a mother her tender Child, in whom
the eternal Word had been made flesh."
In 1523, the
Church was in sad shape. People could not get the
spiritual nourishment they needed from the large numbers of uneducated
and even immoral priests who took their money but returned nothing.
When good priests and laypeople turned to the hierarchy for help, they
found leaders at best apathetic and indifferent to their concerns.
How should a good Catholic respond to this situation? We all
known how
Luther and others responded -- by splitting away from the Catholic
Church when their pleas went unheard.
Cajetan took a different
route.
Just as concerned as Luther was about
what he observed in the Church, he went to Rome in 1523 -- not to talk
to the pope or the hierarchy but to consult with members of a
confraternity called the Oratory of
the Divine Love. When he had first
come to Rome many years before, he had felt called to some unknown
great work there. A few years later he returned to his hometown of Vicenza -- his great work seemingly
unrealized. He had however studied for the priesthood and been ordained
and helped re-establish a faded confraternity whose aims were promoting
God's glory and the welfare of souls.
In the years he had been gone from Rome, he had founded
another Oratory in his home town and Verona where he had promoted spiritual life and care for the poor and sick not only
with words but with his heroic example. He told his brothers, "In this
oratory we try to serve God by worship; in our hospital we may say that
we actually find him." But none of the horrors he saw in the hospitals
of the incurables depressed him as much as the wickedness he saw
everywhere he looked.
In his former confraternity, he found other clergy who felt
the way he
did. They didn't want to split off from the Church, they wanted to
restore it. So they decided to form an order based on the lives of the
apostles in the hopes that these lives would inspire them and others to
live holy lives devoted to Jesus . In order to accomplish this they
would focus on moral lives,
sacred studies, preaching and pastoral care, helping the sick, and
other solid foundations of pastoral life. This new order was
known as Theatines Clerks Regular because it was an order of the
regular clergy and because a bishop known as Theatensis was their first
superior general (although Cajetan is considered the founder).
Not surprisingly, they didn't find thousands of formerly
greedy and licentious priests flocking to their door. But Cajetan and
the others persevered even in the face of open opposition from laity
and clergy who didn't want to reform. It was his holy example that
converted many as well as his preaching.
Worn out by the troubles he saw in his Church
and his home,
Cajetan
fell ill. When doctors tried to get him to rest on a softer bed then
the boards he slept on, Cajetan answered, "My savior died on a cross.
Let me die on wood at least." He died on August 7, 1547.
In His Footsteps
Do you have concerns about the Church or about certain
people in power
in the Church? Have you ever thought of leaving the Church because of
these concerns? What positive steps could you take instead of splitting
from the Church to help promote holiness and love of God and
others?
Prayer: Saint Cajetan, when we see things that trouble us in our
Church, help us to continue to love her. Guide us to the positive steps
we need to take to work within the Church for renewal. Help us to be
examples of holiness to all. Amen
Cajetan (Gaetano) of
Thienna, Priest (RM) Born in Vicenza, Lombardy,
Italy, in 1480; died in Naples, Italy, on August 7, 1547; beatified by
Urban VIII in 1629; canonized by Clement X in 1671. Saint Cajetan,
founder of the blue-habited Theatines, was the son of Lord Gaspar of
Thienna (Tiene) and his wife Mary di Porto. Both were known for their
piety. At his birth his mother, a fervent Dominican tertiary, dedicated
Cajetan to the Blessed Virgin. Although his father died while fighting
for the Venetians against King Ferdinand of Naples when Cajetan was
only two, the example of his mother helped Cajetan to grow into a man
of sweet temper, constant recollection, and unwavering compassion,
especially toward the poor and afflicted.
After attaining a doctorate in both civil and canon law at
Padua,
Italy, he became a senator in Vicenza. He built a parochial chapel at
his own expense at Rampazzo, where those living far from the parish
church might be catechized and worship. Thereafter he fled to Rome in
1506, where he had hoped to live in obscurity among the crowds;
however, Pope Julius II compelled him to accept the office of
protonotary in his court. Although Julius II was one of the least
inspiring examples of a pope, Cajetan saw through the lustful,
simonious, indulgent, war-loving court to the essential holiness of the
Church. He knew that despite the vices and follies of Her servants,
Holy Mother Church still held the keys to the salvation of the world.
He thanked God for the flowering of the arts in the
Renaissance,
knowing that the genius of the artist was but a reflection of the
creativity of God. Yet he knew that the Church was in need of
reformation. Unlike his contemporaries Luther and Savonarola, however,
Cajetan wanted to bring about the reform patiently and humbly. He put
his trust in the Holy Spirit and the love Christ has for His Bride.
During the thirteen years Cajetan labored in Rome for
reform, he did
what he could to bring comfort to others: he visited the sick in
hospitals and sought out the incurable and the dying in their homes. He
had joined the Confraternity of Divine Love, a small, unofficial group
devoted to works of charity. They cared for the sick, the poor,
foundlings, and prisoners. Gradually their influence spread further
afield in Italy.
He resigned as protonotary upon Julius's death in 1513 and
was ordained
in 1516. The following year, while praying at the Christmas crib in the
church of Saint Mary Maggiore, he had a mystical experience. He
records, "Encouraged by the Blessed Saint Jerome, whose bones lie in
the crypt beneath the crib, I took from the hands of the timid Virgin
who had just become a mother her tender Child, in whom the eternal Word
had been made flesh."
In 1518, Cajetan returned to Vicenza and his dying mother.
There he
joined the Oratory of Saint Jerome. Upon Mary di Porto's death, he
dedicated his considerable inheritance to relieving distress, first in
Vicenza and then in Verona and Venice. He founded a similar oratory at
Venice and continued his work, particularly with the incurable.
In 1523, he returned to
Rome, Paul Consiglieri, Boniface da Colle, and
Bishop Giovanni Pietro Caraffa of Chieti (or Theate), who later became
Pope Paul IV. These men helped Cajetan implement his vision of an order
of priests whose lives would be as simple as those of the Apostles and
who would serve as models for the secular clergy. The members of the
Congregation of Clerks Regular (more generally known as the Theatines)
were to dress in black and concentrate on the essentials of the
priestly life: embracing poverty, spreading charity, and bringing life
in the sacraments. The institute was approved by Pope Clement VII with
Bishop Caraffa as the order's first provost general.
In 1524, twelve priests installed themselves in a house on
the Pinicio
in Rome, where Cajetan occupied himself in the humblest tasks. When
Rome was sacked three years later by Charles V, the Theatines moved to
Venice, where the famine and plague gave them ample opportunity to
devote themselves to the service of others. The Venetians called them
"hermits" because of their extreme simplicity of life and Cajetan they
named "the saint of Providence." Cajetan was elected superior in 1530,
and Caraffa re- elected in 1533. That same year the Theatines founded a
house in Naples with Cajetan as its superior. Thereafter, the order
rapidly spread throughout Italy, then Europe.
In Naples Cajetan fought widespread opposition to the
reforms of the
bishops and the prevalent heresies. Later, with Blessed John Marinoni,
he founded the montes pietatis to help extend loans to the poor and
combat usury.
Cajetan, one of the great Catholic reformers, died in
Naples, worn out
by his frequent travels and many obligations as superior, on a bed of
ashes. At his request, he was buried in a common grave in the church of
Saint Paul. Many of the reforms of the Council of Trent were
anticipated and implemented by Cajetan long before that council
convened (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
In art, Saint Cajetan is depicted as a Theatine monk with a
winged
heart. He may sometimes be shown (1) with a book, pen, lily, and
flaming heart (not to be confused with Saint Augustine, who never has a
lily); (2) seeing a vision of the Holy Family with a lily at his feet;
or (3) holding the Christ-Child as an angel holds a lily nearby
(Roeder). He is venerated in Chieti and Naples (Roeder).
August 7, 2010
St. Cajetan
(1480-1557)
Like most of us, Cajetan seemed headed for an "ordinary" life—first as
a lawyer, then as a priest engaged in the work of the Roman Curia.
His life took a characteristic turn when he joined the Oratory of
Divine Love in Rome, a group devoted to piety and charity, shortly
after his ordination at 36. When he was 42 he founded a hospital for
incurables at Venice. At Vicenza, he entered a "disreputable" religious
community that consisted only of men of the lowest stations of life—and
was roundly censured by his friends, who thought his action was a
reflection on his family. He sought out the sick and poor of the town
and served them.
The greatest need of the time was the reformation of a Church that was
"sick in head and members." Cajetan and three friends decided that the
best road to reformation lay in reviving the spirit and zeal of the
clergy. (One of them later became Paul IV.) Together they founded a
congregation known as the Theatines (from Teate [Chieti] where their
first superior-bishop had his see). They managed to escape to Venice
after their house in Rome was wrecked when Charles V's troops sacked
Rome in 1527. The Theatines were outstanding among the Catholic reform
movements that took shape before the Protestant Reformation. He founded
a monte de pieta ("mountain [or fund] of piety") in Naples—one of many
charitable, nonprofit credit organizations that lent money on the
security of pawned objects. The purpose was to help the poor and
protect them against usurers. Cajetan's little organization ultimately
became the Bank of Naples, with great changes in policy.
Comment: If Vatican II
had been summarily stopped after its first session in 1962, many
Catholics would have felt that a great blow had been dealt to the
growth of the Church. Cajetan had the same feeling about the Council of
Trent. But, as he said, God is the same in Naples as in Venice, with or
without Trent or Vatican II (or III). We open ourselves to God's power
in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, and God's will is done.
God's standards of success differ from ours.
St Cajetan, Co-founder of The Theatine Clerks Regular
St Cajetan (Gaetano) was son
of Caspar, Count of Thierie, and Mary di Porto, of the nobility of
Vicenza, where he was born in 1480. Two years later his
father was killed, fighting for Venetians against King Ferdinand of
Naples. His widow was appointed guardian of Cajetan and his two
brothers. The admirable example and teaching she gave her sons
bore quick and abundant fruit, and Cajetan in particular was soon known
for his unusual goodness. He went four years to the
University of Padua where long exercises of devotion which he
practised were no hindrance to his studies, but sanctified them and
purified his understanding, enabling him the better to judge of
truth. He distinguished himself in theology, and took the degree
of doctor in civil and Canon law in 1504. He then returned to his
native town, of which he was made a senator, and in pursuance of his
resolve to serve God as a priest he received the tonsure.
In 1506
he went to Rome, not in quest of preferment or live at court, but
because of a strong inward conviction that he was needed for some great
work there. Soon after his arrival Pope Julius II conferred on him
the office of protonotary, with a benefice attached.
On the death of Julius II in 1513 Cajetan refused his successor's
request to continue in his office, and devoted three years to preparing
himself for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1516 being
thirty-three years old, and returned to Vicenza in 1518.
Cajetan had
re-founded a confraternity in Rome,
called "of the Divine Love", which was an association of zealous
and devout clerics who devoted themselves to labour with all their
power to promote God's honour and the welfare of
souls.
At Vicenza he now entered himself in the
Oratory of St Jerome, which was instituted upon the plan of that of the
Divine Love but consisted only of men in the lowest stations of
life. This circumstance gave great offence to his friends, who
thought it a reflection on the honour of his family. He
persisted, however, and exerted his zeal with wonderful
fruit. He sought out the sick and the poor over the
whole town and served them, and cared for those who suffered from the
most loathsome diseases in the hospital of the incurables, the revenues
of which he greatly increased. But his primary concern was for the
spiritual life of the members of his oratory: "In this oratory",
he said, "we try to serve God by worship; in our hospital we may say
that we actually find Him." He founded a similar
oratory at Verona and then, in obedience to the advice of his
confessor, John-Baptist of Crema, a Dominican friar of great prudence
and piety, Cajetan went in 1520 to Venice and, taking up his
lodgings in the new hospital of that city, pursued Iris former manner
of life there. He was so great a benefactor to that house as to
be regarded as its principal founder.
He remained in
Venice three years, and introduced exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
in that city, as well as continuing the promotion of frequent
communion: "I shall never be content till I see Christians
flocking like little children to feed on the Bread of Life, and with
eagerness and delight, not with fear and false shame", he wrote.
The state of
Christendom at this time was not less than
shocking.
The general corruption weakened the Church before
the assaults of Protestantisrn and provided an apparent excuse for that
revolt, and the decay of religion with its accompaniment of moral
wickedness was not checked by the clergy, many of whom, high and low,
secular and regular were themselves sunk in iniquity and
indifference. The Church was "sick in head and members". The
spectacle shocked and distressed Cajetan, and in 1523 he went
back to Rome to confer with his friends of the Oratory of Divine
Love. They agreed that little could be done
than by reviving in the clergy the spirit and zeal of those
holy pastors who first planted the faith, and to put them in
mind what this spirit ought to be, and what it
obliges them to, a plan was formed for instituting an order of regular
clergy upon the model of lives of the Apostles.
First associates of St Cajetan in this design were John Peter Caraffa, afterwards pope
under the name of Paul IV Clement
VII, and Carafh was chosen the first provost
general. From his episcopal name of Theatensis these
clerks regular came to be distinguished from others as Theatines. On
September 14, 1524 the four original members laid aside their
prelatical robes and
made their profession in St Peter's in the presence of a
papal
delegate. The principal ends
which they proposed to themselves were to preach sound doctrine to the
people, assist the sick, restore the frequent use of the sacraments,
and re-establish in the clergy disinterestedness, regularity of
life, sacred studies (especially of the Bible), preaching and pastoral
care, and the fitting conduct of divine
worhsip. Life was to be in common, under the
usual vows, and poverty was strongly emphasized.
The success of the new congregation was not
immediate, and
in 1527, when it still numbered only a dozen members, a calamity
happened which might well have put an end to it. The army
of the Emperor Charles V sacked Rome: the Theatines' house was nearly
demolished, and the inmates had to escape to Venice.Caraffa's term as
superior expired in 1530: St Cajetan was chosen in his place. He
accepted the office with reluctance, but did not let its cares abate
the energy with which he worked to inspire the clergy with his own
fervour and devotion, and his charity was made most conspicuous during
a plague which was brought to Venice from the Levant, followed by a
dreadful famine. but
at that time bishop of Theate (Chieti); Paul Consiglieri, of the family
of Ghislieri; and Boniface da Colle, a gentleman of Milan.
The institute was approved .
At the end of
the three years of office, CarauIa was made
superior a second time, and Cajetan was sent to Verona, where both the
clergy and laity were tumultuously opposing the reformation of
discipline which their bishop was endeavouring to introduce among
them. Shortly after, he was called
to Naples to establish the clerks regular there. The Count
of Oppido gave him a large house, and tried to prevail upon him to
accept an estate in lands; but this he refused. In
vain the count pointed out that the Neapolitans were neither so rich
nor so generous as the Venetians. "That may be true",
replied Cajetan, "but God is the same in both cities."
A
general improvement at Naples was the fruit of his example, preaching
and labours, and he was foremost in the successful opposition to the
activities of three apostates, a layman, an Augustinian and a
Franciscan, who, respectively Socinian, Calvinist and Lutheran, were
corrupting the religion of the people. During the last years of
his life he established with Bd John Marinoni the benevolent pawnshops (montes pietatis) sanctioned some
time before by the Fifth Lateran Council. Worn out
with trying to appease civil strife in Naples, and disappointed by the
suspension of the Council of Trent from which he hoped so much for the
Church's good, St Cajetan had to take to his bed in the summer of
1547. When his physicians advised him not to
lie on the hard boards but to use a mattress, his answer
was, "My Saviour died on a cross, allow me at least to die on
wood". He lingered for a week, the end coming on Sunday,
August 7. Many miracles wrought by his intercession were approved
at Rome after a rigorous scrutiny, and he was canonized in 1671.
St Cajetan was one of the most outstanding
figures among
the pre-Tridentine Catholic reformers, and his institution of clerks
regular, priests bound by vow and living in community but engaged in
active pastoral work, played a very great part in the Catholic
reformation. Today, with. the one tremendous exception of the
Jesuits, all their congregations have been reduced to small
bodies, but continuing their original life and work. Thomas
Goldwell, Bishop of Saint Asaph and last survivor of the
old hierarchy of England and Wales, was a Theatine, who entered their
house of St Paul at Naples in the year of St Cajetan's death.
No
biography of this saint has been left us by anyone who
actually knew him. The life which is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, August, vol. ii,
compiled by A. Caracciolo, was not written until some sixty years after
the holy priest's death. Probably St Cajetan's close
association with Caraffa, and the extreme unpopularity of the latter's
pontificate-he became pope, as Paul IV, eight years after the former
went to Heaven-rendered the early history of the Theatines a delicate
subject to handle. It is only in recent times that L. von Pastor,
G. M. Monti, 0. Premoli, and other conscientious investigators have
thrown light upon many matters formerly buried in obscurity. Though
only a slight sketch, the bookletof 0. Premoli, S. Gaetano Thiene (1910), perhaps offers the
most reliable picture of the saint but for the earlier portion of his
career, Pio Paschini, S. Gaetano...e
1a origini dei...Teatini (1926), has provided a study of great
value, largely based upon unpublished letters. The life by
R. de Maulde Ia Claviere, which having been translated into English is
the most easily accessible, cannot be recommended without
reserves: see the reviews of both the original and the revised
edition in the Analecta Bollandiana,
vol. xxii, p. 119, and vol. xxiv, p. 419. Two later
biographies in Italian are by P. Chiminelli (1948), very full, and by
L. Ruiz de Cardenas (1947), shorter and more popular.
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1568 Saint
Dometius was
an Athonite Elder. He pursued silence at the Philotheou monastery
together with the Hieromartyr Damian of Philotheou (February 23), who
suffered under cruel tortures by the Turks in the year 1568.
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1638 Bb.
Agathangelo
and Cassian, Capuchin Martyrs in their mission
for Abyssinia—or Ethiopia
THE foundation and
first direction of the Capuchin missions in the Levant in the
seventeenth
century was the work of Father Joseph of Paris (Joseph Leclerc du
Tremblay),
known on account of his influence with Richelieu and Louis XIII as “the
Grey
Cardinal”. Early in 1629 five Capuchins landed at Alexandretta, among
them
Father Agathangelo of Vendôme.
He had been born in
that town in 1598, and at the age of twenty-one entered the Capuchin
friary of Le
Mans. He was ordained priest in 1625 and was a preacher in his own
country
until he was asked to go to Syria. At Aleppo he ministered to the
French and
Italian traders and others while he was learning Arabic, and soon
mastered that
language sufficiently well to talk and preach; he cultivated the
society of
Moslems and dissident Christians, winning the goodwill of such notables
as the imam of the principal mosque and the
superior of the Dervishes, and even explained Christianity to the
Turks, in
spite of the forbiddance by the Congregation de Propaganda
Fide of any public preaching among Mohammedans. The
fruit of this work was to induce an atmosphere of tolerance and
interest:
Father Agathangelo was too good a missionary to look for any more
tangible results
before due time.
In
1630 a Capuchin
mission was established at Cairo which did not prosper, and at the end
of 1633 Father
Agathangelo was sent there to take charge. He was joined by three new
missionaries from Marseilles, one of them being Father Cassian of
Nantes, a
Frenchman by birth but Portuguese by parentage. He soon became the
right-hand
man of Father Agathangelo and entered whole-heartedly into his efforts
to bring
about a reunion with the Holy See of the Coptic or native Egyptian church. Agathangelo
got into personal touch with the Coptic bishops; and their patriarch,
Matthew,
opened all the dissident churches to him; using powers granted by Rome,
he
celebrated Mass, preached, and catechized therein and reconciled a
number of
individual Copts. The friars determined to try and gain the influence
of the
monks also, from among whom the Coptic bishops were chosen, and in 1636
Father
Agathangelo took with him Father Benedict of Dijon and made the long
journey to
the monastery of Dair Antonios in the Lower Thebaid.
They were well
received by the monks and made a stay of four months, Father
Agathangelo
conducting doctrinal discussions and giving spiritual conferences; of
the two
books which he used for the last purpose one was the treatise On the Holy Will of God, written by the
English Father Benedict of Canfield (William Fitch), the first Capuchin
missionary in England in penal times.
Two of the community
were reconciled to the Church, and Father Agathangelo left them at the
monastery in the hope that they would draw their brethren after them.
This was
his deliberate policy in Egypt, especially as there were no Catholic
churches
of the Coptic rite for reconciled dissidents to attend: priests were
allowed to
celebrate the Liturgy in, and lay-people to frequent, the dissident
churches
whose schism they had repudiated; thus they were not left without
ministration
and they might in time leaven the whole. Then Propaganda declared
the practice illicit. Father Agathangelo asked
the opinion of the father custodian of the Holy Land. “I think”,
replied the
Recollect, “that if those eminent prelates had known the conditions in
this
country they would never have come to such a decision; and that is the
opinion
of all my friars as well.” All the missionaries of Palestine and Egypt
agreed,
and Father Agathangelo wrote a long letter to the cardinal prefect
giving
theological, canonical and practical reasons for a withdrawal of the
decree.
The matter was referred to the Holy Office; there is no record of its
reply,
but it was probably favourable, for the successors of Father
Agathangelo at
Cairo followed his policy without hindrance.
Unhappily,
and not
for the only time in history, the great obstacle to Coptic reunion in a
body
was the Latin Catholics themselves. Some years before encouraging
negotiations
had taken place between the Coptic patriarch and the consuls of France
and
Venice, and the French friars did not hesitate to make the renown and
power of
his Most Christian Majesty a point
d’appui" of their undertaking. Or rather, they wished to. But the
parties to the previous conversations were all dead, and the then
consul of
France was a man of such shocking life that his house deserved the name
given
to it by Father Agathangelo, “a synagogue of Satan”. Moreover, the
general life
of Europeans in Cairo was such that he had to write to his superiors
that the
public scandals made the Church “so great an object of abomination
among the
Copts, Greeks and other Christians that it will be very difficult to
overcome
their aversion for the Latins”. Even the appointment of a new and
better consul
in 1637 did not mend matters. When the synod of the Coptic patriarch
met in the
same year to discuss the possibility of reunion, one of his councillors
denounced the proposal because of the scandalous lives of Catholics in
Cairo:
“The Roman Church is in this country a brothel”, he exclaimed. Father
Agathangelo was present, but could not deny the truth of what was said;
after
gently urging that the sins of individuals, however terrible, could not
alter
the fact of the truth and holiness of the Church, he left the assembly
and
wrote a letter to the cardinal prefect of Propaganda. After
pointing out that for three years he had asked in vain
for authority
publicly to excommunicate the worst offenders, he said he had done his
best and
could do no more: “I have appealed, I have reproved, I have
threatened...Now
my enthusiasm, whether reasonable or indiscreet, can no longer tolerate
that
those who have authority should not use it. They are dumb dogs, who are
afraid
to bite. Your Eminence will do whatever your good zeal for God’s glory
may
suggest to you...For the love of our crucified Lord and His holy
Mother
may your Lordships find a cure for these enormous scandals. As for
myself, I
shall not be held responsible for them before the judgement-seat of
Christ who
will judge us all...” A few days later he left Egypt for Abyssinia
with
Father Cassian.
A Capuchin mission
for Abyssinia—or Ethiopia, as it is better called—had been planned in
1637, and
Agathangelo and Cassian had been awaiting orders to go and establish
it. For
some years Father Cassian had been destined for Ethiopia, and with this
in view
had set himself while in Cairo to learn Amharic, the principal language
in use
in that country; he therefore now took the leading place, as Father
Agathangelo
knew little of the language. They were, of course, fully informed about
the
dangerous state for Catholics in Ethiopia which had been brought about
by
recent political and ecclesiastical events there, and they had made
certain
provisions in view of it; what they did not know was that a certain
German
Lutheran physician, Peter Heyling, notorious for his hostility to
Catholics,
had been at work to upset their plans. Accordingly, when they got to
Dibarua,
an unidentified place beyond Suakim, in the early summer of 1638, they
were
arrested and taken, manacled and on foot, to Gondar.
The day after their
arrival they were brought, chained and in muddy and torn Franciscan
habits,
before King Basilides and his court. In reply to his questions Bd
Cassian
replied, “We are Catholics and religious, natives of France. We have
come to
invite you to reunion with the Roman Church. We are well known to Abuna
Mark,
who has had a letter from the Patriarch of Alexandria, and we should
like to
speak with him.” Mark was the newly elected primate of the dissident
Church of
Ethiopia, who had been friendly with Father Agathangelo in Cairo; but
Heyling
had been talking to him, and Mark now refused to see the friars,
saying, “I
indeed knew this Agathangelo in Egypt and he is an evil and dangerous
man. He
tried to draw the people there to his religion, and has come to do the
same
here. I do not wish to see him. I recommend you to hang them both.” A
Mohammedan
remonstrated with the archbishop, but he repeated his words, with
abuse.
Basilides was inclined to banish the friars, but Peter Heyling with
Mark and
the king’s mother worked on the mob to demand their death, and so they
were sentenced
after they had been given the opportunity to save themselves by
abjuring the
Catholic faith in favour of that of the monophysites.
When the
two martyrs
were brought beneath the trees from which they were to be hanged there
was some
delay. “Why are you so slow? What are we waiting for?” asked Bd
Cassian. “We
have had to send for ropes”, answered the executioner. “But have
we not ropes
round our clothes?” And so they were hanged with the cords of their
Franciscan
habits. But before they were dead the traitor Mark appeared before the
crowd, crying
out, “Stone these enemies of the faith of Alexandria, or I will
excommunicate
you!” Volleys of stones were immediately flung at the swinging bodies,
and thus
Bd Agathangelo and Bd Cassian died, the one being forty years old, the
other
thirty. For four nights miraculous light was reported to be seen above
the
bodies, and Basilides in terror ordered them to be buried; but some
Catholics took them away by stealth and their resting-place is to this
day
unknown. In 1905, Agathangelo of
Vendôme, one of the most remarkable missionaries of the
seventeenth century,
and his faithful companion, Cassian of Nantes, were declared blessed by
Pope
Pius X.
A sufficient
account of
these martyrs is provided in Ladislas de Vannes, Deux
martyrs capucins (1905); and
Antonio da Pontedera, Vita c martirio dei
BB. Agatangelo e Cassiano (1904).
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1710 Saint
Theodora,
the greatest of Romania's holy ascetics; St Theodora made such
progress in asceticism that she was able to keep
vigil all night long with her arms lifted up toward heaven. When the
morning sun touched her face, she would eat some herbs and other
vegetation to break her fast. She drank rainwater which she collected
from a channel cut into the cliff, which is still known as St
Theodora's Spring; As St Theodora grew old, she was forgotten and there
was no one to care
for her. Placing all her hope in God, she continued her spiritual
struggles, and reached great heights of perfection. When she prayed her
mind was raised up to Heaven, and her body was lifted up off the
ground. Like the great saints of earlier times, her face shone  with a
radiant light, and a flame came forth from her mouth when she
prayed.
In time her clothes became mere rags, and when her food ran out, she
was fed by birds like the Prophet Elias (July 20). They brought her
crusts of bread from the Sihastria Skete. Seeing the birds come to the
skete and then fly away with pieces of bread in their beaks, the igumen
sent two monks to follow them. Night fell as they walked toward Sihla,
and they lost their way in the woods. They decided to wait for
daylight, and began to pray. Suddenly, they saw a bright light
stretching up into the sky, and went to investigate. As they
approached, they saw a woman shining with light and levitating above
the ground as she prayed.
Born in the village of
Vanatori, Neamts in the first half of the
seventeenth century, and was the daughter of Stephen Joldea and his
wife. She was married to a man of Ismail, but had no
children. Therefore, she and her husband decided to enter the monastic
life. Her husband went to the Skete of Poiana Marului, where he was
tonsured with the name Eleutherius. He was also ordained to the holy
priesthood. Theodora also received the monastic tonsure in
the Skete of Poiana Marului. In just a few years, she advanced in
obedience, prayer, and asceticism, acquiring the grace of unceasing
prayer of the heart.
When her skete was destroyed by the
Turks, she
fled to the Buzau Mountains with her spiritual mother, Schemanun
Paisia. They lived for several years in fasting, vigil and prayer,
enduring cold, hunger, and demonic temptations. When her spiritual
mother fell asleep in the Lord (1670-1675), St Theodora was led by God
to the mountains of Neamts. After venerating the wonderworking Neamts
Icon of the Mother of God (June 26) in the monastery, she was told to
seek the advice of Hieromonk Barsanuphius of Sihastria Skete. Seeing
her desire for the eremetical life, and recognizing her great virtues,
he gave her Holy Communion and assigned Hieromonk Paul as her Father
Confessor and spiritual guide.
Fr Barsanuphius advised
Theodora to go and live alone in the wilderness for a year. "If, by the grace of Christ, you are able
to endure the difficulties and trials of the wilderness, then remain
there until you die. If you cannot endure, however, then go to a
women's monastery, and struggle there in humility for the salvation of
your soul."
Fr Paul searched in vain
for an abandoned hermitage where St Theodora
might live. Then they met an old hermit living beneath the cliffs of
Sihla. This clairvoyant Elder greeted them and said, "Mother Theodora,
remain in my cell, for I am moving to another place."
Fr Paul left
Theodora on
Mount Sihla, blessing her before he returned to the skete. St Theodora
lived in that cell for thirty years. Strengthened with power from on
high, she vanquished all the attacks of the Enemy through patience and
humility. She never left the mountain, and never saw another person
except for Fr Paul, who visited her from time to time to bring her the
Spotless Mysteries of Christ and the supplies she needed to survive.
St Theodora made such progress in asceticism that she was
able to keep
vigil all night long with her arms lifted up toward heaven. When the
morning sun touched her face, she would eat some herbs and other
vegetation to break her fast. She drank rainwater which she collected
from a channel cut into the cliff, which is still known as St
Theodora's Spring.
When Turks attacked the villages and monasteries around
Neamts, the
woods became filled with villagers and monastics. Some nuns found St
Theodora's cell, and she called out to them, "Remain here in my cell,
for I have another place of refuge." Then she moved into a nearby cave,
living there completely alone. An army of Turks discovered the cave,
and were about to kill the saint. Lifting up her hands, she cried out,
"O Lord, deliver me from the hands of these murderers." The wall of the
cave opened, and she was able to escape into the woods.
As St Theodora grew old, she was forgotten and there was no
one to care
for her. Placing all her hope in God, she continued her spiritual
struggles, and reached great heights of perfection. When she prayed her
mind was raised up to Heaven, and her body was lifted up off the
ground. Like the great saints of earlier times, her face shone with a
radiant light, and a flame came forth from her mouth when she
prayed. In time her clothes became mere rags, and when her
food ran out, she was fed by birds like the Prophet Elias (July 20).
They brought her crusts of bread from the Sihastria Skete. Seeing the
birds come to the skete and then fly away with pieces of bread in their
beaks, the igumen sent two monks to follow them. Night fell as they
walked toward Sihla, and they lost their way in the woods. They decided
to wait for daylight, and began to pray. Suddenly, they saw a bright
light stretching up into the sky, and went to investigate. As they
approached, they saw a woman shining with light and levitating above
the ground as she prayed.
St Theodora said, "Brethren, do
not be afraid, for I am a humble handmaiden of Christ. Throw me
something to wear, for I am naked."
Then she told them of her
life and approaching death. She asked them to
go to the skete and ask for Fr Anthony and the hierodeacon Laurence to
come and bring her Communion. They asked her how they could find their
way to the skete at night, for they did not know the way. She said that
they would be guided to the skete by a light which would go before them.
The next day at dawn, Fr Anthony went to Sihla with the
deacon and two
other monks. When they found St Theodora, she was praying by a fir tree
in front of her cave. She confessed to the priest, then received the
Holy Mysteries of Christ and gave her soul to God. The monks buried her
in her cave with great reverence sometime during the first decade of
the eighteenth century.
News of her death spread quickly, and people came from all
over to
venerate her tomb. Her holy relics remained incorrupt, and many
miracles took place before them. Some kissed the relics, others touched
the reliquary, while others washed in her spring. All who entreated St
Theodora's intercession received healing and consolation.
St Theodore's former husband,
Hieromonk Eleutherius, heard that she had been living at Sihla, and
decided to go there. He found her cave shortly after her death and
burial. Grieving for his beloved wife, Eleutherius did not return to
his monastery, but made a small cell for himself below the cliffs of
Sihla. He remained close to her cave, fasting, praying, and serving the
Divine Liturgy. He lived there for about ten years before his blessed
repose. He was buried in the hermits' cemetery, and the Skete of St
John the Baptist was built over his grave.
St Theodora's relics were taken
to the Kiev Caves Monastery between 1828 and 1834. There she is known
as St Theodora of the Carpathians.
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 1832
Saint Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh The Uncovering of the Relics of :
The memory of the deep piety and pastoral virtues of St Metrophanes
(Macarius, in the schema) was revered at Voronezh from the time of his
death (November 23, 1703). His successors, the Voronezh hierarchs,
considered it their sacred duty to make annual remembrance of the first
hierarch of their flock, together with his parents, the priest Basil
and Maria.
The people of Voronezh and its environs came to the
Annunciation
cathedral, where memorial services were offered at his tomb.
Contributing to the intense remembrance of St Metrophanes was also his
dying request that prayers be said for him. For this purpose the saint,
even during his lifetime, had built a chapel at the cathedral in honor
of the holy Archangel Michael (his patron saint), and in it a special
priest served the Liturgy. Although succeeding generations did not know
the saint, they also revered his memory.
The veracity of the sainthood of the first hierarch of the
Voronezh
diocese was also confirmed by his incorrupt relics, attested during
their repeated transfers from one temple to another. In the year 1718,
Metropolitan Pachomius of Voronezh, about to begin the construction of
a new cathedral, gave orders to demolish the old Annunciation
cathedral. The body of St Metrophanes was temporarily transferred into
the church of the Unburnt Bush. In 1735, the body of St Metrophanes was
transferred into the new cathedral, during which time the incorrupt
state of his relics was again observed. At the place of the burial of
the saint, panikhidas were customarily served for him.
By 1820 it was noticed that the number of those venerating
St
Metrophanes and thronging to Voronezh, had extraordinarily increased.
Grace-filled signs also increased. Archbishop Anthony II of Voronezh
made repeated reports to the Holy Synod about the miracles, and he
petitioned for a resolution for the glorification of the saint. The
Holy Synod then prescribed that records be kept of miracles at the
grave of St Metrophanes. In the year 1831, after seeing the incorrupt
body of the saint, Archbishop Anthony together with commission members
of the Holy Synod, Archbishop Eugenius of Yaroslavl and Archimandrite
Hermogenes of the Moscow Savior-Androniev monastery, became convinced
in the miraculous intercession of St Metrophanes before the Throne of
God. The Holy Synod then issued its resolution adding St Metrophanes to
the ranks of the Saints. Since then, the Russian Church celebrates the
memory of the saint twice during the year: November 23, the day of his
repose, and August 7, the day of his glorification.
Archbishop Anthony II (1827-1846) established in the
Voronezh also the
following feastdays in honor of St Metrophanes: June 4, the Feast of
his namesake St Metrophanes, Patriarch of Constantinople; April 2, the
saint's day of consecration as bishop in 1682; and December 11, the day
of the transfer of the relics of St Metrophanes in 1831.
St Metrophanes left behind
a Spiritual Testament. Its original is
preserved in the State Historical Museum. Upon the testament is the
unique authoritative signature of the saint: "This spiritual dictate is
attested to by me... Bishop Metrophanes of Voronezh."
On the lower cover (inside) is an inscription from the
eighteenth
century: "This is the book of testament or last will of the Voronezh
schemamonk Macarius, written in the God-saved city of Voronezh, in the
house of His Grace the bishop and schemamonk Macarius, who reposed in
the month of November on the 23rd day in the year 1703, and was buried
on the 4th day of December."
On the day preceding the Uncovering of the Relics of St
Metrophanes,
Archbishop Anthony of Voronezh went to church, so as to lay out the new
vestments prepared for the relics. Suddenly, he felt so weak that he
was barely able to go about his cell. Troubled by this, he sat and
pondered and then he heard a quiet voice: " Do not transgress my
legacy."
This he did not understand right away, and instead thinking
about his
own plans, he gathered up his strength and opened the closet where the
vestments were, and there he caught sight of the monastic schema,
brought shortly before this by an unknown monk who had entrusted it to
him and said that it soon would be needed.
Seeing this monastic schema, the hierarch then realized that
the words,
"Do not transgress my legacy," was actually the will of St Metrophanes,
that they not place upon his relics bishop's vestments, but rather to
clothe them in the schema. By this and by his extreme humility, he
indicated the deep spiritual connection with his patronal saint (in
schema), St Macarius of Unzhensk.
|
1865 Saint
Anthony
(Putilov) captivity during Napoleon's invasion; tonsured by Fr
Athanasius on February 2, 1820 and was given the name
Anthony. He was also placed under the spiritual guidance of Fr Moses;
ordained as a deacon 1823; bore all these trials with patience and
humility, believing that
illness is sometimes given to us by God in order to heal the
infirmities of the soul; "Whom the Lord loves, He chastises" (Hebrews 12:6). Fr Anthony retorted, "Many are the
scourges of the sinner" (Psalm 31/32:10).
Born March 9, 1795 in the town of Romanov in the Yaroslavl
province,
and was baptized with the name Alexander. His siblings were called
Timothy, Jonah, Basil, Cyril, and Anysia. John Putilov named all his
children after the saint commemorated on the eighth day after their
birth, so the future St Anthony was named for the holy hieromartyr
Alexander the Bishop of Rome (March 16). The children were educated at
home, since their parents feared they would be corrupted in some way if
they were sent away to school.
From an early age, Alexander was quiet and modest,
disdaining the noisy
games of other children. It is not surprising that he should be
inclined toward monasticism even as a child, because his
great-grandfather Joel had been a hierodeacon at the Serpukhov
Monastery, and his cousin Maximilla was a nun in the Annunciation
women's monastery in Moscow. When Alexander was ten years
old, his brothers Timothy and Jonah entered the Sarov Monastery. They
wrote to him and sent him spiritual books, which he enjoyed reading.
When he was only thirteen, he wrote to them expressing the wish to
become a monk like them.
The young Alexander endured many trials and illnesses during
his
childhood, and on ten separate occasions he was in danger of losing his
life. Once he nearly drowned, another time he fell and fractured his
skull. He had several other close calls, yet God spared his life,
forseeing something better for him (Hebrews 11:40). After
his father's death in 1809, Alexander went to work for the merchant
Karpishev in Moscow, for whom his older brothers had also worked. He
lived in Moscow only three years, but he remembered the location of all
the city's holy places and wonderworking icons for the rest of his life.
On September 2, 1812, he tried to flee Moscow during
Napoleon's
invasion, but it was too late to escape. A Pole on horseback pointed a
pistol at Alexander and stole his money. Later, French soldiers robbed
him of his watch and most of his clothing, and held him prisoner for
ten days. During his captivity he consoled himself with the words of St
John Chrysostom, who said that the worst sufferings on earth are
nothing compared to the least sufferings in hell.
After learning that there were Russian soldiers outside of Moscow,
Alexander escaped on September 12 while it was raining. He found a
group of Russians, including some of his relatives. They walked through
forests and swamps by night, and hid from the French by day.
Eventually, Alexander arrived at the home of some relatives in Rostov.
Not knowing what had become of his brothers, he took a job similar to
the one he had in Moscow.
Alexander loved to visit
the St James Monastery in Rostov, where the
relics of St Demetrius of Rostov (October 28) were enshrined. By the
end of 1815, circumstances finally permitted him to withdraw from the
world. First, however, he arranged for his older brother Basil to
marry, choosing a suitable and pious bride for him.
At the end of 1815, Alexander went to Moscow to visit the
various
churches and monasteries. He prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos and to
all the saints, asking that his intention to become a monk might be
blessed. From Moscow, he traveled to Kaluga, and then to the Roslavl
forests in Smolensk province where his brother Fr Moses had been living
for about five years.
Alexander consulted with his brother about his desire to
enter the
monastery at Sarov, and decided to remain with Fr Moses until spring.
He was made a novice on January 15, 1816. In the spring, Alexander
decided he would remain a while longer. Several months later, he went
with Fr Moses on pilgrimage to Kiev. On their return trip the brothers
stopped at several monasteries, conversing with many Elders about the
spiritual life. Alexander was not inclined to enter any of them,
however. Back in the Roslavl forests, Alexander realized that he
did not want to leave his brother. He had come only for a brief visit,
but ended up staying with Fr Moses for the next twenty-four years.
Despite the many illnesses of his childhood, Alexander was
blessed with
great physical strength, and devoted himself to seemingly impossible
ascetic labors. The brothers would get up at midnight and read through
the cycle of services without omissions, and so Alexander became
familiar with the church Typikon. He copied out patristic texts by
hand, and helped his brother compile extracts from various sources in
order to provide a system of rules for the Christian life. Out of
reverence for these spiritual books, the brothers remained standing
when they read or copied them. Alexander spent so much time standing on
his feet that he damaged his legs, which caused him pain for the rest
of his life.
As the youngest member of the
community,
Alexander had to get up before the others in order to wake them. He
chopped wood, carried water, worked in the vegetable garden, and still
fulfilled his daily rule of prayer. After a trial period of
four years, Alexander was tonsured by Fr Athanasius on February 2, 1820
and was given the name Anthony. He was also placed under the spiritual
guidance of Fr Moses.
In 1821 Bishop Philaret of Kaluga (later Metropolitan of
Kiev) decided
to establish a skete at Optina Monastery for experienced ascetics who
wished to live in silence. He had met Fr Moses at Optina in 1820 where
they were introduced by Igumen Daniel. The bishop offered him
opportunity to move to his diocese and establish a skete at Optina, and
Fr Moses accepted. On June 3, 1821 Fr Moses left the
Roslavl forests with Fr Anthony, and the monks Hilarion and Sabbatius.
The Elders Athanasius and Dorotheus decided to remain behind until the
skete was completely ready. For the rest of his life Fr Anthony would
always remember his five years in the Roslavl forests with a special
joy.
On June 6 St Anthony
arrived at Optina with the other monks. The site
they selected for the skete was 400 yards from the monastery's eastern
side. They cleared the land of trees and built a cell and a church
dedicated to St John the Baptist. St Moses was appointed igumen, and on
August 24, 1823 Anthony was ordained as a deacon. St Anthony was
placed in charge of the skete when his brother was made Superior of
Optina Monastery in 1825. For the next fourteen years the skete
flourished under Anthony. Wise Elders and experienced ascetics were
attracted to the hesychast skete by the fame of Fr Moses. St Leonid
(October 11) came from the St Anthony of Svir monastery with five of
his disciples in 1829. St Macarius (September 7) came from Ploschansk
monastery in 1834 at the invitation of Fr Moses.
With the help of Fr Leonid and Fr Macarius, Fr Moses and Fr
Anthony
introduced the ancient monastic tradition of eldership at the skete and
monastery. St Anthony was an example of obedience to others. Though he
was Superior of the skete, he never made any decisions or gave any
orders without the blessing of his own Elder, Fr Moses.
At first,
life in the skete was very difficult. There were not enough monks to do
all the work, so Fr Anthony carried his own water and firewood. He also
worked on the grounds, cleared paths, took his turn serving in church,
and greeted visitors. The hard work made him appreciate the simple food
served in the trapeza. Sometimes a benefactor would donate wheat loaves
for the brethren, but most days they ate black bread.
Fr Anthony suffered from various afflictions throughout his
life. His
legs pained him because of his continual standing. He also had eye
trouble, and even lost his sight for a brief time. In 1836, while
hurrying to the monastery along a forest path for the midnight paschal
service, Fr Anthony stubbed his right foot on a tree stump. His legs
were already sore from years of standing, and now they developed open
sores. The inflammation in his legs prevented him from leaving
his cell for six months. He bore all these trials with
patience and humility, believing that illness is sometimes given to us
by God in order to heal the infirmities of the soul. When anything
unpleasant happened to him, he remained meek and calm. He offered
thanks to God because his sickness gave him more time for reading
spiritual books for the benefit of his soul.
On November 30, 1839
Bishop Nicholas of Kaluga summoned Fr Anthony, and
appointed him as igumen of the Maloyaroslavets Monastery. He had hoped
to remain at the skete for the rest of his lfe, but in spite of his
sorrow at leaving Optina, he went obediently to his new
assignment. By the mercy of God, three Putilov brothers
were now serving as igumens of monasteries: Moses at Optina, Anthony at
Maloyaroslavets, and Isaiah at Sarov. Fr Moses seemed to have the least
difficulty in bearing the sorrows and labors of his office. The others
sometimes found it difficult to fulfill their duties and provide for
the needs of the monastery.
After five years in the forest and
eighteen years at
the skete, Fr Anthony found life at Maloyaroslavets monastery like
living in the midst of a noisy city. The monks did not share the same
oneness of mind as the Optina monks. Besides this, Fr Anthony was so
ill that he was not able to observe what was going on in the monastery,
and he had to issue his orders through others. After only a few days he
became depressed at his situation. One night St Metrophanes of Voronezh
(November 23) appeared to him in a dream and blessed him. He said, "You
have been in Paradise and you know it. Now work, pray, and don't be
lazy." From that time, Fr Anthony felt himself to be under the saint's
special care.
Fr Anthony zealously devoted
himself to
improving the spiritual life of the monastery, but he was not happy
there. More than once he wrote to the bishop and asked to be allowed to
retire. The bishop, however, would not hear of it. Fr Anthony also
wrote to Fr Moses to express his sorrow and his desire to be relieved
of his duties. Fr Moses told him that he could not abandon his
responsabilities, for that would insult the monastery, and would also
grieve the bishop and Fr Moses himself. He chastized his brother,
saying that in seeking deliverence from his sorrows, Anthony was
placing his own will in opposition to the will of
God. Fr Anthony accepted the rebuke of Fr Moses and
learned to bear his cross with meekness, and to place all his trust in
God. Finally, in 1853, Bishop Gregory of Kaluga relieved Fr Anthony of
his duties, and permitted him to retire to Optina.
Fr Anthony arrived back at his beloved
Optina on
February 12, 1853, and was given a cell near Fr Moses. Although he
continued to suffer from physical ailments, he bore them with exemplary
patience. He went to church for all the services, and took his meals
with the brethren. Since he continued his prolonged standing, his legs
became covered with sores. The writer I.V. Kieryevsky told Fr Anthony
that he fulfilled the words of Scripture: "Whom the Lord loves, He
chastises" (Hebrews 12:6). Fr Anthony retorted, "Many are the scourges
of the sinner" (Psalm 31/32:10).
He never complained about
his sufferings, even though they prevented
him from leaving his cell for weeks at a time. If he could not be at
the church services, he would read his rule of prayer in his cell at
the very time the services were taking place.
Only those experienced in the spiritual life themselves
could
understand what spiritual gifts God had granted Fr Anthony, which he
tried to conceal from everyone. There is reason to believe that he saw
visions, and attained great spiritual heights. When he was serving the
Liturgy, his face seemed to radiate such grace that those who merely
looked at him felt that their souls were transformed.
After services in the church and prayers in his cell, Fr
Anthony
devoted himself to his favorite occupation - reading. He loved the Holy
Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, and also enjoyed other
books of a spiritual or historical nature. He gave over 2,000 of his
books to the monastery library, and he had read every single one. He
made notes on what he read, and also copied excerpts from books and
magazines for the benefit of his spiritual children. The Elder
was blessed with a remarkable memory. Not only could he remember
everything he had read for many years afterward, he also remembered who
had visited him on a particular day, and what their conversation had
been about.
St Anthony knew how to balance strictness
with a
certain amount of compassion for human weakness. He would not bless
anyone to depart from the Church's norms, however. He was very strict
concerning spiritual matters in general, and especially the teachings
and canons of the Church. He himself believed in the Church's teachings
and kept its precepts, and he required the same faith and obedience
from his spiritual children.
Fr Anthony's retirement at Optina lasted for twelve years.
When Fr
Moses reposed in 1862, Fr Anthony was stricken with grief. For the
first forty days he secluded himself in his cell, constantly reading
the Psalter for his newly-departed brother. For about a year, he
avoided people as much as he could, and prayed for Fr Moses. He refused
to speak to anyone about the hidden spiritual life of Fr Moses, but he
did reveal to a few people that he remained in spiritual contact with
his brother even after his death.
In 1863, Fr Anthony went on
a pilgrimage to venerate the relics of the newly-glorified St Tikhon of
Zadonsk (August 13) and St Metrophanes of Voronezh. He also visited
several other monasteries, and some families who loved him. Upon
returning to Optina, Fr Anthony began to prepare for his departure from
this world, and on March 9, 1865, at the age of seventy, he received
the Great Schema.
On June 24, 1865, the Nativity of St John the Baptist and
the Skete's
Feast Day, Igumen Anthony attended Liturgy in the skete church for the
last time. He was growing weaker day by day, and in July he began to
suffer from typhoid fever. As a result, he was able to sleep only for
brief periods.Still, he continued to receive visitors, giving advice
and instructions, and revealing to some that he was about to
die. The Elder received Holy Unction on July 21 and
received Holy Communion every day. In his last days he asked to be
sprinkled with holy water from Theophany, and requested that his bed
and his room also be sprinkled. This brought him great comfort. He
said, "How necessary is this sprinkling. The grace of God is present."
St Anthony was not afraid of death, but awaited it in a
spirit of joy
and peace, surrendering himself to the will of God. He asked that his
schema and the other garments in which he wanted to be buried be laid
out and ready. He also started distributing his belongings to others as
a remembrance. After Liturgy on August 6, some of the
brethren came to his cell to sing the troparion and kontakion for the
Transfiguration. The next day he asked to be clothed in the full garb
of a schemamonk. Due to his weakness, however, this could not be done.
They placed the schema over him, and that satisfied him.
That evening St Anthony
asked to see the Superior, and sought his
blessing for his final journey. Fr Isaac blessed him and took leave of
him. Then the Elder asked Fr Isaac to ring the bell three times. In
monasteries this is normally done after someone has died, so his
request seemed rather unusual. However, in 1863 St Anthony had compiled
a collection of prayers for those who were incurably ill, with prayers
for the departed. In this collection he stipulated that the bell be
rung three or more times "to announce to the brethren that the sick
brother is departing" so that they might pray for him.
The Canon for the Departure of a Soul was read for him, and
when it was
completed he lay silent for a while. Suddenly he looked to the right
and to the left in a threatening manner, and even raised his left fist.
Those present became fearful, for they believed that he saw something
which their eyes could not see. Perhaps they recalled that many of the
saints had seen demons just before they died. One of the spiritual
Fathers of the monastery blessed him three times with a hand cross. The
holy Elder sighed three times, then departed to the Lord.
The funeral took place on August 10, and was attended by
many people.
Although St Anthony wanted to be buried in the new cemetery, the
Archishop ordered that he be buried next to his brother St Moses in the
side altar of the monastery's Cathedral (katholikon).
The Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the
Optina
Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Sts
Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and
Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next
day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of St John the
Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of
the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date
for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in
the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.
The Optina Elders were glorified
by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.
|
1878
Wonder-working
icon of the Mother of God of Valaam. Painted on lime
wood, the 132 x 79.5 cm icon depicts the Virgin Mary as a full-length
figure standing on a cloud with lowered gaze, clothed in a bright red
cloak and a dark turquoise undergarment. She is holding the Christ
child, who is dressed in a thin, pale yellow smock, on her left arm.
With her right hand, she points to Christ, in the style of the
"hodigitria" icons of the Mother of God. Christ blesses with His right
hand and holds an orb, surmounted by a cross, in His left hand,
signifying that He is the Creator of the world and King of all.
According to the inscription, the icon was painted in 1878, “the work
of the monks of Valaam.” It is customarily attributed, however, to
Father Alipy, one of the leading iconographers at the original Valaam
Monastery in Lake Ladoga in Russian Karelia.
One of the greatest treasures in
the possession of the Monastery of New Valamo in Heinävesi, Finland
Father Alipy painted the icon only a few years
after he arrived at the monastery, before he had become a novice there.
He was tonsured to monastic orders in 1884 and ordained as priestmonk
in 1893. Following the conventions of the late 19th century, the icon
was painted in a “naturalistic” style, employing a technique that
combined the use of tempera and oils. Originally, the icon was to have
been placed in the Valaam Monastery's Church of the Dormition. This
never occurred, however, and subsequently the icon was misplaced.
In 1897, the icon was
rediscovered and gained its miracle-working reputation on the strength
of a succession of visions of the Mother of God experienced by an
elderly woman with serious rheumatoid arthritis, Natalia Andreyevna. Andreyeva,
who was cured of her illness.
Despite the Valaam
Monastery's long history, it never had an icon of the Mother of God
of its own design, although Father Alipy's icon came to occupy such a
position in subsequent years. In the turmoil of World War II, the icon
was transported to safety in Finland, along with many other treasures
from Valaam and the majority of the monks. It now occupies a prominent
position in the Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord at the New
Valaam Monastery. In 1987, the bishops of the autonomous Orthodox
Church of Finland established an annual feast in the Valaam Icon's
honor on August 7. The troparion and kontakion for the feast were
written by the late Archbishop Paul of Finland. On July 29, 2005, the
Valaam Icon of the Mother of God was brought for the first time to
North America by His Eminence, Archbishop Leo of Karelia and All
Finland.
“Mother dear, is it true that you live at Valaam?”
The story of the
icon of the Mother of God of Valaam, as recorded in 1897
In a corner
behind the choir enclosure on the south side of the lower main church
at the monastery of Valaam, where the miracle-working remains of the
monastery’s founders, the Saints Sergei and Herman of Valaam, lie at
rest interred in the rock, stands an icon of the All-Holy Mother of
God.
This full length
image of the Queen of Heaven holding the divine
child in her arms is known as the icon of the Mother of God of Valaam.
It is a work of considerable artistic merit that was painted by a local
artist-monk and later hieromonk, Father Alipi, in 1878. Nowadays this
icon is one of the most cherished objects of reverence at Valaam. As if
by some divine providence, no suitable place could be found for the
icon at first when it was finished, and it was placed in the entrance
hall to the upper main church, where it remained until that church was
demolished to make way for a new one. At that stage the majority of the
icons, including this one, were taken to the Church of the Dormition of
the Mother of God, where the monastery held its regular services until
the lower main church was completed. The icon was hung in a relatively
high position on a pillar to the left of the entrance to the church.
When the lower main church was ready for consecration, all the icons
that had been moved to the Church of the Dormition were returned to it,
but again, for some inexplicable reason known only to God, no place
could be found for this one.
As scarcely any services were held in
the Church of
the Dormition any longer, this icon, along with some others, was placed
in temporary storage in the Church of St Nicholas the Miracle-Worker.
There it lay forgotten for many years, until it was moved to its
present place in response to a vision experienced by a holy woman
servant of God. The story of the indescribable act of grace bestowed
upon this woman by the Queen of Heaven is recounted below in her own
words.
‘I am a
member of the
peasant estate from the village of Zarino in the parish of Paskina,
part of the district of Korchevski within the province of Tver. My name
is Natalia Andreyevna Andreyeva. I am now sixty-four
and live in St Petersburg, in the Brusnitsyn
old peoples’ home, at Kosaya Line no. 15 on Vasili Island. I was placed
in this home, through the grace of God, by the lady in whose service I
was a serf in former days. In the year 1878 or 1879 I caught a bad cold
on one occasion when washing clothes and developed rheumatism in my
arms and legs. I began to seek treatment for this, but my health became
worse year by year. I went to the Mariski Hospital for massage for a
long time, but it didn’t help, and I went to the Grand Duchess Elena
Pavlovna’s clinic opposite the Tauria gardens for as long as I could. I
was more or less a cripple for most of the winter. All my money went on
doctors’ fees and medicines, but the Lord God didn’t look kindly on my
afflictions. In the end I was told that my illness had reached the
stage of serious rheumatoid arthritis and that the only way of curing
it was to go to a spa and take warm water baths. What could I do? By
that time I could scarcely afford to eat, so how could I find the money
for treatment at a spa?
And so, sinner that I am, I began to
pray ardently to the Mother of God that in her mercy she would help me
in my sufferings. I could walk only with great difficulty, leaning on a
stick, and I had such pains in my hands and arms from time to time that
I could no longer hold on to the stick. Sometimes I could make my way
into the Church of the Sign only by crawling up the steps on all fours.
I lived as a beggar, on food that people gave me as alms. This went on
until 1887.
At that point my former mistress heard
about my
pitiful state and invited me to come and live with her at
Käkisalmi in the province of Viipuri in Finland and look after her
children as far as my health would permit. There was no other work that
I could think of doing in the condition that I was in. The family was
not a rich one, and so I was not to receive any wages for this – but,
thank God, at least I was sure of food and a roof over my head. While I
was at Käkisalmi I heard many accounts of the miraculous cures
that had taken place at the tomb of the Saints Sergei and Herman of
Valaam, and this aroused a powerful desire in me to visit Valaam and
prostrate myself before the tomb of these saints who had been
acceptable unto the Lord and entreat their help in my serious state of
illness.
I had heard a lot about Valaam earlier, while I
was living
in St Petersburg, and I had often thought of visiting the monastery to
pay reverence to its founder saints, but in all the vanities of life I
had never got round to it. The main reason had been the cost of the
journey, of course, but now the monastery was closer. Also, there was
an inner voice speaking to me all the time, “Go to Valaam and be
cured!” I could no longer resist this desire, and I asked the lady of
the house for leave to go there. As I had no money at all, I pawned my
warm scarf for four roubles and started to make preparations for the
journey. As the day of departure approached I began to feel uneasy and
distressed. I was an old woman who was utterly sick and lacking in
strength. How could I travel alone? I had very little money, only just
enough for the journey. How could I set out at all on such a journey?
And if something were to happen, what would a poor creature like me do
then? Thoughts like this began to haunt me until I was quite
distraught. The night before I set out I just lay on my bed and wept.
What should I do? I wanted so much to make this journey, but still I
was frightened for some reason. Then – I don’t know whether I was
asleep or awake – I saw quite clearly
a tall woman clad in pink velvet and with a child in her arms,
surrounded by an amazing light. The thought immediately struck
me, could this be the Mother of God? I didn’t dare to call out to her
by that name, though. I wanted to go to her, but she stepped back and
said, “Don’t weep. The Saviour is coming, and I am coming to you!” Then
I said to her, “Mother dear, how beautiful and good you are! Is it true
that you live at Valaam?” “Yes, I live
there. You will see me at Valaam!” After that the vision
disappeared, but now that the Mother of God had spoken to me it was as
if a stone had been lifted from my heart. My mind was at ease and all
my fears had been swept away.
The next day the
ship came and I set out joyfully on my journey.
The old ladies sitting beside me began to offer me food and drink, one
bread, another tea and yet another coffee, so that I was not short of
anything all the way. It was a happy journey. The only problem was that
my legs were very painful because of the rocking of the ship. At Valaam
they were celebrating not only the annual feast of the Saints Sergei
and Herman but also the laying of the foundation stone for a new
church. There were a huge number of pilgrims there, and also the Grand
Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and his wife the Duchess. There were
throngs of people everywhere. Once I had arrived and rested after the
strenuous journey, I made my way to the tomb of the Saints Sergei and
Herman and prayed there ardently so that the tears streamed from my
eyes. I asked the saints who had been acceptable unto God to help me,
to grant me, sinful as I was, relief from my illness. I spent the last
coins that I had on a short service of prayer to them, so that I had
nothing left but twenty kopecks and my return fare. The evening service
was held in the Church of the Dormition, and the crowd was so enormous
that with my illness, I stood no chance of pushing my way into the
church but had to stand, or rather sit, in the entrance. The following
day I had to return home. I would have liked to stay there longer to
pray, but I couldn’t, as even a few days would have cost so much that I
would not have had any money for the fare home. Just before the ship
was due to leave, some unseen force began to drive me back to the
Church of the Dormition once more to pray. Although I was frightened of
missing the ship, I didn’t dare to resist this inner voice which
ordered me into the church, so I gathered up all my strength and
practically ran back there. As soon as I stepped into the church I
involuntarily looked to the left – and stood rooted to the spot. My
legs went weak beneath me, and I would certainly have fallen down if it
hadn’t been for the railings beside the stairs leading to the upper
church. The reason for my surprise and bewilderment was something quite
miraculous. Hanging on the pillar to the left of the door, in a golden
frame, and looking at me was the Mother of God! And what was more, I
recognised in Her the same figure who had appeared to me in a dream on
the eve of my departure for Valaam and strengthened my failing spirit
for the journey. I couldn’t take my eyes off the icon, and I became
more and more convinced that this was the same dear mother who had been
gracious enough to visit me in a dream. I recognised Her radiant face
and Her merciful gaze. Even Her clothing was the same, and She held the
Child in just the same way as I had seen in my dream. As soon as I had
recalled all this I wanted to have a service of prayer for the Mother
of God and to kiss Her holy icon, but this was evidently not a suitable
moment for Her, as our defender, to receive my unworthy prayers. The
ship’s siren sounded in the distance, announcing its departure, and the
icon was hung so high up that it was impossible for me to kiss it. I
just had time to buy a candle with my last twenty kopecks and place it
in front of the icon. Then, with tears in my eyes, I had to leave for
the ship. It was only during the voyage that I recovered my composure.
I was delighted beyond words with this miracle that had been granted to
me, a sinner, although I was also saddened by the fact that I had seen
the icon of the All-Holy Mother of God only in the last few minutes
before leaving Valaam. This had evidently been Her wish.
A few days after I
arrived back in Käkisalmi I began to
feel much better. I could walk without a stick and do little jobs
around the house. I resolved at once to go back to the monastery again
at the first opportunity to thank God and the holy fathers and
definitely to have a service of prayer said in front of the icon of the
Mother of God. But the Lord determined otherwise. The lady in whose
house I was living decided to move into the country, and I had to go
back to St Petersburg again and rely on assistance from the good people
there. The years went by. My life was a hard one, and I was often
facing hunger. My illness became worse, and I again had to walk with a
stick. I prayed ardently to the Mother of God for help. Then, in 1896,
nine years after my visit to Valaam, I came home from Vespers one
Saturday evening, said my prayers and went to bed. Again I had a dream.
The Mother of God appeared to me in exactly the same form as on the
first occasion, and said, “So your enthusiasm has waned and you’ve
forgotten your promise to return to Valaam. You were shown the way, but
you didn’t follow it.” “I am poor,” I answered, “I haven’t the money.”
“You find money for everything else, but not for this. Alas, this is a
bitter disappointment for me,” the Mother of God complained. I was
horrified at this vision. I had evidently offended our dear mother.
What was I to do now?
Suddenly I heard that my former mistress
had
recently returned to St Petersburg, and so I went to her and told her
the reason for my sorrow. She again came to my rescue – may God grant
her all his goodness – and unexpectedly gave me five roubles. With
these I was able to travel to Valaam at once. As soon as I reached the
monastery I went to the new church to pray at the tomb of the founder
saints, and then to the Church of the Dormition to pray to the Mother
of God. To my great sorrow, however, I couldn’t find Her icon where it
had been on the first occasion. I began to ask the monks where it was,
and the former treasurer Father Evgeni advised me to ask the master of
the church furnishings, Father Pafnuti, who was responsible for all the
icons. Even he couldn’t tell me exactly where the icon of the Mother of
God that had been in the Church of the Dormition now was, and thought
it might have been sent to the monastery’s chapel on Vasili Island in
St Petersburg. I was very, very upset that I had not found my Queen of
Heaven, and shed many bitter tears as I prayed to the Mother of God and
the Saints Sergei and Herman that they would not abandon me in my sin.
I stayed at Valaam for two and a half weeks, looking everywhere for the
icon, but I couldn’t find it. My health was poor, and my soul weighed
heavy within me. Eventually I went back to St Petersburg and called at
the Valaam chapel on Vasili Island, but the icon was not there, either.
I was more grief-stricken than ever. Another year passed, and my
illness began to grow worse again, so that I could scarcely walk even
with a stick. I had scrimped and saved all year and gradually collected
the kopecks together for another journey to Valaam.
I set
out to spend the feast of St Peter at the
monastery and to look for the icon of the Mother of God once again.
Although I was exhausted by the time I arrived, I prayed earnestly at
the tomb of the founder saints and with tears in my eyes prayed to the
Mother of God that she would show me where I could find Her blessed
icon. And my prayer was answered. That night I had another dream. I was
walking through the yard of the monastery and past the now abandoned
Church of St Nicholas. I was crying and praying to the Mother of God,
“Oh mother dear, if only I could see you once more!” I was greatly
surprised, but I went on praying. Again I heard a voice, but this time
it was someone else’s. “What are you so sad about? What are you looking
for?” I turned round and there was a grey-bearded old monk in a blue
biretta standing behind me. “I am looking for the Mother of God,” I
replied. “Wait. We will find Her.” “How can you find Her so quickly,” I
asked, “when Father Pafnuti searched for three weeks without finding
her?” “He searched in the wrong places. He had forgotten where She is,”
the old monk said. I followed him to a door. “This door is closed,” I
said. He opened it. “She is in here.” I looked into the inside of the
church, and in one corner, amidst a heap of furnishings and old icons,
was the icon of the Mother of God, half wrapped in a linen cloth and
sacking. I recognised it at once as the icon I was looking for. “Here
She is!” I exclaimed in a loud voice. It was then that the other women
in the same room woke me up.
The next day, a Wednesday, I
went to the
Liturgy early in the morning, after which Father Pafnuti conducted a
service of prayer at the tomb of the founder saints. I told him about
my dream. “In the name of God, forgive me,” he said. “I looked for the
icon at first and then forgot all about it. I will go and search for it
at once. Now I remember. I’m sure it’s in the Church of St Nicholas the
Miracle-Worker.” I intended to take Communion on the Saturday, and the
night before I had another dream. It was as if I were standing alone in
the lower church. There were just two monks beside the founders’ tomb,
Father Seraphim and Father Nikolai. I was waiting impatiently for
something and could not take my eyes off the outer door. Suddenly the
door opened and the icon of the Mother of God was carried in by Father
Pafnuti and a young monk in a short, grey cassock. “There She is, my
dear mother!” I cried, and threw myself on the floor, thinking that the
icon would be carried over me and I would be made well. But Father
Pufnuti said, “There is nothing ready for you here. We have to hold a
short service to bless the holy water before a sick person can be made
well.” And at that I awoke. In the morning I took Communion. I told
Father Pafnuti of my dream and, sobbing, entreated him to go and look
for the icon. Before the later Liturgy I was in a chapel when I
suddenly saw a crowd of people hurrying from the hotel to the church.
“What is happening?” I asked. They told me that the missing icon of the
Mother of God had been found and that it was being taken to the lower
church. I went into the church and saw the icon on the steps in front
of the iconostasis. “Is this the icon you meant?” Father Pafnuti asked
me. “Yes, this is the one,” I replied. “Then be comforted and pray to
the Holy Mother of God,” he said. I asked him to hold a service of
prayer to the Mother of God, and he did so, with a blessing of water as
well, and lit a lamp in front of the icon. Hieromonk Alipi was reading
a service of prayer at the tomb of the founder saints just then, and I
was told that it was he who had painted the icon.
I went to him and
bowed down to
the ground before him. My breath stuck in my throat and tears streamed
down my cheeks from the sheer joy of finding at last the icon of the
Mother of God who had appeared to me, and I gave thanks to the Lord
with all my heart for the unspeakable mercy he had shown to me. The
holy water was poured into a bottle for me, and when I drank it I felt
my strength return. I took some oil from the lamp and went to my room.
There I spread it on my hands and feet. The pain abated, and for the
first time for many years I was able to sleep peacefully. I week later
I could walk without a stick. After giving thanks with all my soul and
from the bottom of my heart to the Mother of God for the miracle that
She had worked on me in my unworthiness, I returned to St Petersburg. I
began to gain in strength all the time without any medicine, and by
Easter I had completely recovered. It was then that I decided that I
would buy a lamp for the icon. By the grace of God I managed to gather
together eight roubles from the little that I had, but a lamp cost ten
roubles.
Then a friend of mine who had
bought a charity
lottery ticket promised that if she won she would give me the two
roubles I needed, and she did win a gold watch, so that I was able to
buy the lamp and send it to the monastery. Many people asked me to give
them a photograph of the icon. Now I am in perfect health. I can do
washing and scrub floors, and I have even been helping with the
haymaking at the Konevits Monastery. I have no pain at all in my legs.
Altogether the illness lasted twelve years. At one time I couldn’t even
get my arms into the sleeves of my clothes, and sometimes I could only
climb steps by crawling on my hands and knees. I shed countless tears
at such times and prayed to the Mother of God that I might be cured.
Now I am healthy again and have everything that I need. There are even
good people around me who have put me in an old people’s home. Glory be
to the Queen of Heaven!’
Natalia Andreyevna’s story of the
discovery of the
icon in the abandoned Church of St Nicholas is thoroughly plausible. It
would have been impossible for her to know anything about the contents
of the church or about the objects stored there beforehand. The church
is kept closed and no people other than the monastery staff are allowed
into it. Everything really happened as she had seen in her dream.
Following her instructions, Father Pafnuti went into the church, found
the icon in a corner and brought it to the lower main church. There he
placed it on the right-hand side of the church, on a pillar behind the
right-hand choir enclosure, where it has been to this day. And by some
miraculous means the person who helped Father Pufnuti carry the icon
was indeed dressed in a short, grey cassock.
Natalia Andreyevna released this
account of her visions on 7th August 1897, and it was written down in
the present form on 26th July 1898.
|
1927
Departure of
St. Kyrillos V (Cyril), 112th Pope of Alexandria {Coptic}
On this day also, of the year 1643 A.M. (August 7, 1927
A.D.) the
righteous and honorable father Pope Kyrillos V, 112th Pope of
Alexandria, departed. This father was born in the city of Tezment,
governorate of Beni-Swaif in 1831 A.D. His pious parents named him
John, brought him up well, and raised him up in the Christian morals.
He had a strong desire to study the Holy Bible and the biography of the
saints.
When he was 12 years old, in 1843 A.D., he was ordained a
deacon and
carried the deaconate duties ardently. Because he was inclined at a
young age to the life of asceticism, and solitary life, he left the
world, and went to St. Mary's monastery (Known by El-Sourian) in Wadi
El-Natrun. There he became a disciple to the spiritual elder, the
hegumen, Fr. Girgis El-Far, the father of confession of the monks. When
John's father discovered where he was, he came to the monastery and
brought him back, but because of his love for the ascetic life, he did
not stay long. He returned to the wilderness, and became a monk at
El-Baramous monastery in the year 1850 A.D. He excelled in his monastic
duties and became known for his asceticism, purity, and gentleness, and
became a good paragon to the other monks. He was ordained a priest in
1851 A.D., then promoted to Hegumen (Archpriest) in 1852 A.D. The
number of monks in the monastery then was small and its income was very
little. This Father worked hard in transcribing and selling books to
churches. The income was used to buy the necessities of the monks, such
as food and clothing.
His virtues of knowledge, righteousness, and gentleness
became well
known. He was ordained a Patriarch, in the 23rd of Babah, 1591 A.M.
(November 1st, 1874 A.D.) in a venerable celebration. He directed his
attention to building churches, renovating monasteries, being merciful
to the poor, and caring for the affairs of the monks. In 1892 A.D., he
chose to be exiled, rather than to squander the properties of the
monasteries. Anba Youanis, Metropolitan of El-Behara, Menoufia, and
then the deputy of the See of St. Mark, was also exiled with him.
Afterwards, both returned from their exile with much respect and honor.
During his papacy the church was adorned by knowledgeable
and holy men:
among them was the great father, the man of purity, meekness, and
charity, Anba Abraam, Bishop of El-Fayoum. This bishop's virtues had
spread vastly, and his almsgiving to the poor had reached a point where
he did not save any money. All the donations he received from the
benevolent, he gave to the poor and needy. He also performed many
wonders such as healing the sick and casting out evil spirits.
Another was the well learned, great theologian and skillful
orator, the
Hegumen (Archpriest) Philotheos Ibrahim El-Tantawy, rector of the great
St. Mark Church. Also, the well learned father the honorable and the
ascetic monk the Hegumen Fr. Abdel Messih Saleeb El-Baramousy, who was
well educated in Coptic, Ethiopian, Greek, and Syrian languages. He
also knew some French and English. He was characterized with
immeasurable patience in research and examining religious books. In
return, he left valuable publications which speak of his prominence.
Pope Kyrillos appointed
the late Habib Girgis, who was the dean of the
theological seminary, to be his deacon. He dedicated his life to the
seminary and its improvement. Mr. Girgis assisted the Pope in expanding
its buildings in Mahmasha. Pope Kyrillos often visited the seminary and
blessed its students. This deacon was a skillful speaker. He
accompanied the Pope in his pastoral visits to Upper Egypt and Sudan.
He translated many religious books from foreign languages to Arabic and
published El-Karma periodical, to spread the facts of the faith in a
positive way. He published many books, among them were: The Seven
Sacraments of the Church, The Consoler of the Faithful, The Mystery of
Piety, and many others. He taught and nurtured many generations of
clerical men who flourished in the church and filled it with their
sermons and religious publications.
The Pope gave the utmost of his efforts to lift his flock to
the
highest spiritual level, as he was prudent in printing the church
books. He departed in peace, after spending fifty-two years, nine
months and six days on the Patriarchal chair. May his prayers be
with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
|
"In
this
oratory we try to serve God by worship; 
Saints of this Day August 07 Séptimo Idus
Augústi 
295
St. Carpophorus
Soldiers Martyr with Exanthus,
Cassius, Severinus, Secundus, and Licinius; slain
at Como, Italy, during the persecution of co-Emperor Maximian
Quote: Pope
Paul
VI’s 1969 
As
we watch the
spectacle of the world
seeming to self-destruct before our eyes, we can’t help but be saddened
and even frightened by so much evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon,
Afghanistan, Somalia, North Korea—It is all a disaster of epic
proportions displayed in living color on our television screens.