250 St. Florentius Martyr with Cyriacus, Faustinus,
Julian, and Marcellinus. They were beheaded at Perugia, Italy
Perúsiæ sanctórum Mártyrum
Floréntii, Juliáni, Cyríaci, Marcellíni et Faustíni,
qui omnes, in persecutióne Décii Imperatóris, cápite
cæsi sunt.
Florentius, Julian, Cyriacus, Marcellinus, and
Faustinus At Perugia, the holy martyrs
, who were beheaded in the persecution of Decius. |
305-311
The Holy Martyrs Marcian, Nicander, Hyperechius, Apollonius, Leonidas, Arius,
Gorgias, Pambo, and the women martyrs Selenia and Irene natives of Egypt angel
appeared and healed their wounds
In
Ægypto natális sanctórum Mártyrum Marciáni,
Nicánoris, Apollónii et aliórum, qui, in persecutióne
Galérii Maximiáni, illústre martyrium consummárunt.
In Egypt, the birthday of the holy martyrs
Marcian, Nicanor, Apollonius, and others, who suffered a glorious martyrdom.
Suffered during
the reign of Maximian (305-311). For their steadfast confession of faith in
Christ they were subjected to a fierce scourging. They then threw the sufferers
barely alive into prison, where an angel appeared to them and healed their
wounds. The holy martyrs died in prison from hunger and thirst.
Nikandros, Georgios und Gefährten Orthodoxe Kirche:
05. Juni
10 Christen - Marcian, Nicander, Hyperechias, Apollonius, Leonides,
Arias, Gorgias, Selinias, Ireneios und Pambonosin Ägypten wurden unter
Kaiser Maximian (305-311) verhaftet und fast zu Tode gefoltert. Sie wurden
dann in ein Gefängnis geworfen, wo sie verhungerten.
|
362 Dorotheus
bishop of the Phoenician city of TyreThe Hieromartyr guided his flock more
than 50 years, converted many pagans to Christianity martyred at 107 in Myzean
city of Udum (present day Bulgarian Varna)
Tyri, in Phœnícia, sancti
Doróthei Presbyteri, qui, sub Diocletiáno, multa passus est;
et, usque ad Juliáni témpora supérstes, sub eo, annum
agens séptimum supra centésimum, venerándam senéctam
martyrio honestávit.
At Tyre, St. Dorotheus, a priest, who suffered greatly under Diocletian,
but survived until the reign of Julian, under whom his venerable age of one
hundred and seven years was crowned with martyrdom.
362? ST DOROTHEUS OF TYRE, MARTYR
THE martyr St Dorotheus, commemorated on June 5 in the Roman
Martyrology, was a priest of Tyre, and, according to some authorities, bishop
of the diocese. In the reign of Diocletian, after suffering much for the
faith in his own city, he was driven into exile. A lull in the persecution
enabled him to return to his flock and he attended the Council of Nicaea
in 325. A man of learning, well versed in Greek and Latin, he is reported
to have been the author of several books. The accession of Julian the Apostate
brought a renewal of persecution, and he withdrew once more to Odyssopolis
in Thrace, the present Bulgarian port of Varna. Even there he was not left
in peace. He was arrested and so cruelly beaten that he died of his injuries
at the age, it is said, of 107. He is not to be identified with his namesake,
Dorotheus, superintendent of the Tyrian dye-works, who was martyred during
the reign of Diocletian, and whose feast falls, in the Roman Martyrology,
on September 9.
As a matter of fact, Dorotheus was a common appellation,
and the Greeks honour several holy men of the name, though they seem to have
confused their history. Of these no less than three, besides the subject of
the above memoir, discussed by the Bollandists, are assigned to June 5, though
none of them seem to have any association with this date. Two of them, moreover,
seem never to have had any cultus.
These are Dorotheus the Theban, of whom Palladius gives an account in the
second chapter of his Lausiac History;
and the Archimandrite Dorotheus, a monk of Gaza (cf. St Dositheus, February 23), whose
ascetical writings were so highly esteemed by Abbot de Rance that he had them
translated into French for his Trappists. The fourth Dorotheus is noticed
herein on January 5, the day on which he is celebrated by the Greeks.
<>This is the only Dorotheus
commemorated on this day in the Roman Martyrology. Though his story is to
be found in Theophanes, Chronographia,
it would seem to be entirely apocryphal. It may possibly have been suggested
to some fabricator by the references in Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., bk vii, ch. xxxii; bk viii,
ch. vi) to a learned Dorotheus who was living in Syria in his time, and who
had been made superintendent of the Tyrian dye-works. But the whole matter
of identification is quite hopeless. Under the name of this supposed Dorotheus
of Tyre, certain writings were current concerning the Prophets, Apostles,
and the seventy-two Disciples. See DTC., vol. iv (1911), cc. 1786-1788; and
T. Schermann, Propheten-und Apostellegenden.
For the Theban, see Abbot Butler, Lausiac
History (1904), vol. ii; and for the Archimandrite, Échos d'Orient, vol iv (1901),
pp. 359-36J, and the Byzantinische Zeitschrift.
vol. xiii (1904), pp. 423 seq.
During the time of the persecution
against Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Heeding the words
of the Gospel (Mt.10:23), the saint withdrew from Tyre and hid from the persecutors.
He returned to Tyre during the reign of St Constantine the Great (306-337,
May 21), again occupying the bishop's throne he guided his flock for more
than fifty years, and converted many of the pagans to Christianity. When the
emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) began openly to persecute Christians,
St Dorotheus was already over 100 years old. He withdrew from Tyre to the
Myzean city of Udum (present day Bulgarian Varna). Delegates of the emperor
arrested him there for his refusal to offer sacrifice to idols. They began
to torture the holy Elder, and under torture he surrendered his soul to the
Lord (+ ca. 362) at the age of 107.
Some ascribe to St Dorotheus the compilation of a work, "The
Synopsis", a collection of sayings, and including lives of the holy prophets
and apostles.
Dorotheos von Tyre Orthodoxe und Katholische Kirche: 5. Juni
Dorotheos war während der Verfolgungen unter Diokletian
Bischof von Tyre. Er konnte vor der Verhaftung fliehen und kehrte nach Tyre
zurück, nachdem Konstantin Nachfolger Diokletians geworden war. Er
soll dann über 50 Jahre Bischof von Tyre gewesen sein, bis unter Julian
(361 - 363) erneut eine Christenverfolgung einsetzte. Dorotheos floh nach
Udum bzw. Odyssopolis (heute Varna in Bulgarien - nach anderen Quellen floh
er nach Edessa) , wo er 362 im Alter von 107 Jahren ergriffen und zu Tode
gefoltert wurde.
Dorotheos schrieb mehrere Heiligenbiographien und Bibelauslegungen.
Seine Werke werden in der orthodoxen Kirche auch heute beachtet. Die ihm
zugeschriebenen Listen (z. B. der 70 Apostel oder der Bischöfe von Byzanz)
sind allerdings vermutlich späteren Datums.
The Hieromartyr Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
He was Bishop of Tyre from the time of Diocletian right up to
the time of Julian the Apostate, under whom he was tortured and suffered for
the Orthodox faith. He lived on earth to the age of 107, and, being pleasing
to God, entered into eternal life in 361. He was a great scholar and wrote
many learned books both in Greek and Latin.
Cæsaréæ,
in Palæstína, pássio sanctárum Zenáidis,
Cyriæ, Valériæ et Márciæ; quæ, per multa
torménta, gaudéntes ad martyrium pervenérunt.
At Caesarea in Palestine, the martyrdom
of the Saints Zenaides, Cyria, Valeria, and Marcia, who joyfully attained
martyrdom through many torments. |
4th v. Saint Anubius
the Ascetic bravely endured tortures during the time of persecutions against
Christians but remained alive and withdrew into the wilderness, where he dwelt
until old age singing of angels who came to receive his soul he often saw
angels and the holy saints of God standing before the Lord also beheld Satan
and his angels committed to the eternal flames
He founded a small skete, in which he lived with six monks,
one of whom was his brother St Pimen the Great (August 27). Once robbers
laid waste to the skete, and the monks had to hide themselves in the ruins
of a pagan temple, while having given their word not to speak with each other
for a week. In the morning all week long St Anubius threw a stone at the face
of the statue of the pagan god, and in the evening he said to it, "I have
sinned."
At the end of the week the brethren asked Abba Anubius what
his actions signified, and the Elder explained that just as the statue did
not get angry when he struck it, nor get flattered when he asked forgiveness
of it, so the brethren ought to live.
Three days before his end St Anubius was visited by the desert-dwellers
Cyrus, Isaiah, and Paul, who asked the Elder to tell them about his life for
the edification of believers. The saint replied, "I do not recall that I
did anything great or glorious." However, swayed by the entreaties of his
questioners, in deep humility he related to them that during the time of persecutions
he confessed the Name of Christ under torture, after this he had never defiled
his lips with a lie, since after he had confessed Truth, he did not want
to utter falsehood.
Three days later, St Anubius reposed in spiritual joy. The aforementioned
Fathers said that they heard the singing of angels who came to receive his
soul.
His heart was ever filled with a thirst for communion
with the Lord, and he had often seen angels and the holy saints of God standing
before the Lord. He also beheld Satan and his angels committed to the eternal
flames. He is mentioned in the LAUSIAC HISTORYof Palladius, and his sayings
can be found in the Paradise of the Fathers and in the Evergetinos.
|
403 commemoration
of the Relocation of the Body of St. Epiphanius Many miracles appeared from
his body
On this day of the year 403 A.D., the body of St. Epiphanius
(His biography is under the 17th. of Bashans), arrived to the island of
Cyprus. The boat that carried his body arrived to Cyprus from Constantinople
on the 28th. day of Bashans. The priests and the people came with crosses,
gospels, candles and incense and carried his body to the church. When they
started to dig his tomb, two deacons did not allow them. They were excommunicated
by the saints for their bad reputation. The body remained in the church for
four days without a change or a stench. His body looked as if he was asleep.
A saintly deacon came near the body and said: "I know of your relationship
with God, and that you can restrain these evil opponents." He then took an
ax and hit the ground with it. The two opposing deacons fell on their faces
immediately, and they were carried to their homes and died on the third day.
The body of the Saint was anointed and wrapped, they buried
him in a marble sarcophagus in he church. Many miracles appeared from his
body.
May his prayers be with us, and glory be to God forever. Amen. |
5th v. Our Holy
Father Anoub gifted with discernment
June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net One of the great
Egyptian monks, he suffered greatly for the true Faith. When, at the time
of his death, three old hermits visited him, he, gifted with discernment,
revealed to them all the secrets of their hearts. He died peacefully some
time in the second half of the 5th century.
The Monk Anubios, Egyptian Wilderness-Dweller, bravely endured
tortures during the time of persecutions against Christians in the IV Century,
but he remained alive and withdrew into the wilderness, where he dwelt into
old age. He founded a small skete-monastery, in which he lived together with
six monks, one of whom was his brother Pimen (Comm. of Monk Pimen the Great
is 27 August). One time robbers laid waste to the skete, and the monks had
to hide themselves in the ruins of a pagan temple, while having given their
word not to speak with each other over the course of a week. In the morning
all week long the Monk Anubios threw a stone at the face of the statue of
the pagan god, and in the evening he said to it: "I have sinned". At the end
of the week the brethren asked Abba Anubios, what his actions signified, and
the elder explained, that just as the statue did not get angry when he struck
it, nor get flattered when he asked forgiveness of it, so also ought the
brethren to live. Three days before his end the Monk Anubios was visited by
the wilderness-dwellers Cyrus, Isaiah and Paul, who asked the elder that he
tell them about his life for the edification of believers. The saint replied:
"I do not remember, that I did anything great or glorious". But swayed by
the entreaties of his questioners, in deep humility he related to them that
during the time of persecutions having confessed under torture the Name of
Christ, after this he had never defiled his lips with an unrighteous word,
since once having confessed Truth, he did not want to utter falsehood. His
heart was ever filled with a thirst for communion with the Lord, and often
he had contemplated angels and the holy saints of God, standing before the
Lord; he beheld also Satan and his angels, committed to the eternal flames;
shown also to him were the righteous, inheriting eternal bliss. At the passing
of the third day the Monk Anubios in spiritual joy expired to the Lord. When
his soul lifted up to Heaven, in the air was heard Angelic song. |
583 Saint Theodore
the Wonderworker In his youth he left the world, embraced monasticism and
withdrew into the Jordanian wilderness. He received from God the gift of wonderworking.
Thus, while journeying on a ship to Constantinople, St Theodore besought
the Lord that water drawn from the sea be made fresh to quench the thirst
of his companions. To those thanking him for this the monk said that
God had worked such a miracle out of pity for the intense thirst of mankind,
rather than by his.
Theodore the Hermit Our Holy Father, the Wonderworker June 5
SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
He purified his heart by long asceticism in the Jordan wilderness
and received from God the gift of wonderworking. When he was at one time
travelling by ship from Constantinople, his ship went off course and there
was no drinking water left in her. When all the travellers were close to
death from thirst, Theodore raised his arms to heaven, prayed to God and
made the sign of the Cross over the sea. He then told the sailors to draw
water from the sea and drink it; and, when they did so, they found the water
fresh. They all began to pay homage to Theodore, but he begged them to thank,
not him, but the Lord God, who had performed that wonder out of His love
for mankind. He died peacefully in 583. |
6th v. Dorotheus
The Holy Abba disciple of St John the Prophet in the Palestinian monastery
of Abba Seridus
In his youth he had zealously studied secular science.
"When I sought worldly knowledge," wrote the abba, "it was very difficult
at first. When I would come to take a book, I was like a man about to touch
a wild beast. When I forced myself to study, then God helped me, and diligence
became such a habit that I did not know what I ate, what I drank, whether
I had slept, nor whether I was warm or not. I was oblivious to all this while
reading. I could not be dragged away by my friends for meals, nor would I
even talk with them while I was absorbed in reading. When the philosopher
let us go, I went home and washed, and ate whatever was prepared for me.
After Vespers, I lit a lamp and continued reading until midnight." So absorbed
was Abba Dorotheus in his studies at that time.
He devoted himself to monastic activity with an even greater
zeal. Upon entering the monastery, he says in his tenth Instruction, he decided
that his study of virtue ought to be more fervent than his occupation with
secular science had been.
One of the first obediences of Abba Dorotheus was to greet and
to see to pilgrims arriving at the monastery. It gave him opportunity to
converse with people from various different positions in life, bearing all
sorts of burdens and tribulations, and contending against manifold temptations.
With the means of a certain brother St Dorotheus built an infirmary, in which
also he served. The holy abba himself described his obedience, "At the time
I had only just recovered from a serious illness. Travellers would arrive
in the evening, and I spent the evening with them. Then camel drivers would
come, and I saw to their needs. It often happened that once I had fallen asleep,
other things arose requiring my attention. Then it would be time for Vigil."
St Dorotheus asked one of the brethren to wake him up for for Vigil, and
another to prevent him from dozing during the service. "Believe me," said
the holy abba, "I revered and honored them as though my salvation depended
upon them."
For ten years Abba Dorotheus was cell-attendant for St John
the Prophet (Feb. 6). He was happy to serve the Elder in this obedience,
even kissing the door to his cell with the same feeling as another might
bow down before the holy Cross. Distressed that he was not fulfilling the
word of St Paul that one must enter the Kingdom of Heaven through many tribulations
(Acts 14:22), Abba Dorotheus revealed this thought to the Elder. St John replied,
"Do not be sad, and do not allow this to distress you. You are in obedience
to the Fathers, and this is a fitting delight to the carefree and calm."
Besides the Fathers at the monastery of Abba Seridus, St Dorotheus visited
and listened to the counsels of other great ascetics of his time, among whom
was Abba Zosima.
After the death of St John the Prophet, when Abba Barsanuphius
took upon himself complete silence, St Dorotheus left the monastery of Abba
Seridus and founded another monastery, the monks of which he guided until
his own death.
Abba Dorotheus wrote 21 Discourses,
several Letters, and 87 Questions with written Answers by Sts Barsanuphius
the Great and John the Prophet. In manuscript form are 30 Talks on Asceticism,
and written counsels of Abba Zosima. The works of Abba Dorotheus are imbued
with a deep spiritual wisdom, distinguished by a clear and insightful style,
but with a plain and comprehensible expression. The Discourses deal with
the inner Christian life, gradually rising up in measure of growth in Christ.
The saint resorted often to the advice of the great hierarchs, Sts Basil the
Great, Gregory the Theologian, and Gregory of Nyssa. Obedience and humility,
the combining of deep love for God with love for neighbor, are virtues without
which spiritual life is impossible. This thought pervades all the writings
of Abba Dorotheus.
In his writings the personal experience of Abba Dorotheus is
felt everywhere. His disciple, St Dositheus (February 19), says of him,
"Towards the brethren laboring with him he responded with modesty, with humility,
and was gracious without arrogance or audacity. He was good-natured and direct,
he would engage in a dispute, but always preserved the principle of respect,
of good will, and that which is sweeter than honey, oneness of soul, the mother
of all virtues."
The Discourses of Abba Dorotheus are preliminary books for entering
upon the path of spiritual action. The simple advice, how to proceed in
this or that instance, together with a most subtle analysis of thoughts and
stirrings of soul provide guidance for anyone who resolves to read the works
of Abba Dorotheus. Monks who begin to read this book, will never part from
it throughout their life.
The works of Abba Dorotheus are to be found in every monastery
library and are constantly reprinted. In Russia, his soul-profiting Instruction,
together with the Replies of the Monks Barsanuphius the Great and John the
Prophet, were extensively copied, together with The Ladder of Divine Ascent
of St John Climacus and the works of St Ephraim the Syrian. St Cyril of White
Lake (June 9), despite his many duties as igumen, with his own hand transcribed
the Discourses of Abba Dorotheus, as he did also the Ladder of Divine Ascent.
The Discourses of Abba Dorotheus pertain not only to monks,
but this book should be read by anyone who aspires to fulfill the commands
of Christ.
|
| 6th v. St. Tudno Welsh saint after whom Llandudno in
Gwynedd, Wales, is named. He figures in various Welsh Christian legends.
|
754 St. Boniface {Winfrith
} of Mainz missionary bishop; Pope Gregory II talked to Winfrith all winter
long before finally sending him on a test mission to Thuringia in Germany
known as the Apostle of Germany He not only brought the Christian faith but
Roman Christian civilization to this portion of Europe
In Frísia sancti Bonifátii,
Epíscopi Moguntíni et Mártyris. Hic de Anglia Romam
venit, índeque a beáto Gregório Papa Secúndo in
Germániam missus est ut Christi fidem illis géntibus evangelizáret,
et, cum máximum ibi multitúdinem, præsértim Frísonum,
Christiánæ religióni subjugásset, Germanórum
Apóstolus méruit appellári; novíssime in Frísia,
a furéntibus Gentílibus gládio perémptus, una
cum Eóbano Coepíscopo et quibúsdam áliis servis
Dei, martyrium consummávit.
In Friesland, St. Boniface, bishop of Mainz, and martyr. He went from
England to Rome, and was then sent by Pope Gregory II to Germany to preach
the faith of Christ to the people of that country. After converting
large multitudes to the Christian religion, especially in Friesland, he merited
the title Apostle of the Germans. His martyrdom was fulfilled by being
put to the sword by the furious heathens, along with his fellow bishop Eobanus
and some other servants of God.
Bonifatius Alle Kirchen: 5. Juni
June 5, 2009 St. Boniface (672?-754)
754 ST BONIFACE, ARCHBISHOP OF MAINZ, MARTYR
THE title of Apostle of Germany belongs pre-eminently to St Boniface, for
although the Rhineland and Bavaria had accepted the Christian faith before
his time and isolated missionaries had penetrated into other parts of the
country, especially into Thuringia, to him belongs the credit of systematically
evangelizing and civilizing the great regions of central Germany, of founding
an organized church and of creating a hierarchy under the direct commission
of the Holy See. Second only in importance, though, less generally recognized,
was the saint's other great achievement-the regeneration of the Frankish church.
Boniface, or Winfrid-to give him his baptismal name-was born
about the year 680, probably at Crediton in Devonshire. At the age of five,
after listening to the conversation of some monastic visitors to his home,
he determined to be a monk, and when he was seven he was sent to school to
a monastery near Exeter. Some seven years later he went to the abbey of
Nursling, in the diocese of Winchester. There he became the apt pupil of
its learned abbot, Winbert, and after completing his own studies, he was
made director of the school. His skill in teaching and his personal popularity
attracted many scholars, for whose benefit he wrote the first Latin grammar
known to have been compiled in England. His pupils were not confined to the
schools; notes taken at his classes were copied, circulated and eagerly studied.
At the age of thirty he was ordained to the priesthood, and found further
scope for his talents in sermons and instructions-all based on the Bible,
which was his study and delight throughout life.
Teaching and preaching, however, did not exhaust his activities, and when
high preferment in his native land seemed assured, God revealed to him that
his vocation was to the foreign mission-field. The whole of north and the
greater part of central Europe lay still in heathen darkness, and in Friesland
St Willibrord had long been striving against great odds to bring the truths
of the Gospel home to the people. Here seemed to Winfrid the place to which
he was specially called. Having wrung a reluctant consent from his abbot,
he set forth and landed with two companions at Duurstede in the spring of
716. The time was, however, inauspicious, and Winfrid, realizing that it was
useless to stay, returned to England in the autumn. His brethren at Nursling,
delighted to welcome him back, tried to retain him by electing him abbot
upon the death of Winbert, but he was not to be deflected from his call. His
first attempt had convinced him that if he was to succeed he must have a
direct commission from the Pope; and in 718 he presented himself before St
Gregory II in Rome. The pontiff in due course despatched him with a general
commission to preach the word of God to the heathen. He also changed his name
Winfrid to that of Boniface. Without loss of time, the saint took the road
to Germany, crossed the lower AIps, and travelled through Bavaria into Hesse.
Scarcely had he embarked upon his new work when he was informed
of the death of the pagan ruler Radbod, and of the hopeful prospect opened
up through the accession of a friendly successor. In obedience to what appeared
like a recall to his original mission, St Boniface returned to Friesland,
where for three years he laboured energetically under St Willibrord. But when
St WiIIibrord, now a very old man, would have made him his coadjutor and
successor, St Boniface declined, alleging that his commission had been a
general one, not confined to anyone diocese. Then, fearing lest he might be
forced to consent, he returned to Hesse. The dialects of the various Teutonic
tribes of north-western Europe so closely resembled the language spoken
in England at this period that Boniface seems to have experienced no difficulty
in making himself understood, and in spite of many difficulties the mission
made wonderful progress. Boniface was able to make such a satisfactory report
to the Holy See that the pope summoned him to Rome with a view to raising
him to the episcopate.
Accordingly, on St Andrew's day, 722, he was consecrated a
regionary bishop with a general jurisdiction over Germany; and Gregory gave
him a special letter to the powerful Charles Martel. This letter, which the
newly ordained bishop presented in person on his way back to Germany obtained
for him the valuable concession of a sealed pledge of protection. Armed in
this way with authority from church and state, Boniface, on his return to
Hesse, made a bold attempt to strike at the root of the pagan superstitions
which constituted the chief hindrance to the progress of the Gospel as well
as to the stability of the recent converts. On a day which had been publicly
announced, and in the midst of an awestruck crowd, he attacked with an axe
one of the chief objects of popular veneration, Donar's sacred oak, which
stood on the summit of Mount Gudenberg at Geismar, near Fritzlar. Almost
as the first blows fell upon it, the huge tree crashed, splitting into four
parts, and the people who had expected a judgement to descend upon the perpetrators
of such an outrage acknowledged that their gods were powerless to protect
their own sanctuaries. From that time the work of evangelization advanced
steadily, but success in one field only spurred St Boniface to further efforts,
and as soon as he felt that he could safely leave his Hessian converts for
a time, he passed on into Thuringia.
Here he found a sprinkling of Christians, including a few Celtic
and Frankish priests, but they tended to be more of a hindrance than a help.
At Ohrdruf, near Gotha, he established his second monastery, to serve as a
missionary centre for Thuringia. Everywhere he found the people ready to listen;
it was the teachers who were lacking. To obtain them he applied to the English
monasteries, with which he had continued to keep up a regular correspondence.
The lapse of time had not dulled their keen interest in his work. Throughout
his life he seems to have been able to fire others with some of his own enthusiasm,
but the response to this appeal must have surpassed his most ardent hopes.
For several years in succession parties of monks and nuns-the noblest representatives
of the religious houses of Wessex-continued to cross the sea and to place
themselves at his disposal to assist in preaching the Gospel to the heathen.
The two existing monasteries were enlarged, and many new ones founded. Foremost
among the English missionaries were St Lull, who was to succeed St Boniface
at Mainz, St Eoban, who was to share his martyrdom, St Burchard and St Wigbert;
whilst the women included St Thecla, St Walburga, and Boniface's beautiful
and learned young
cousin, St Lioba.
In 731 Pope Gregory II died, and his successor, Gregory III,
to whom St Boniface had written, sent him the pallium and constituted him
metropolitan of Germany beyond the Rhine, with authority to found bishoprics
wherever he thought fit. Several years later the saint went to Rome for the
third time, in order to confer about the churches he had founded. He was then
appointed legate of the Apostolic See; and at Monte Cassino he obtained another
missionary for Germany in the person of St Walburga's brother, St Willibald.
In his capacity of legate he then went to Bavaria, where he organized its
hierarchy, besides deposing unworthy priests and remedying abuses. From Bavaria
he returned to his mission-fields. There he proceeded to found other bishoprics-Erfurt
for Thuringia, Buraburg for Hesse, and Würzburg for Franconia. At a
later date he established an episcopal seat also in the Nordgau-at Eichstätt.
In charge of each diocese he placed one of his English disciples. To the
year 741 belongs the commencement of the abbey of Fulda, of which he and
his young disciple, St Sturmi, are reckoned as the joint founders. It was
destined in after days to become-what St Boniface must surely have intended
it to be-the German Monte Cassino.
Whilst the evangelization of Germany was thus proceeding apace, the condition
of the Church in France under its last Merovingian kings was going from bad
to worse. Ecclesiastical offices were kept vacant or sold to the highest bidder,
the clergy were not only ignorant, but also often heretical or evil-living,
and no church council had been held for eighty-four years. The mayor of the
palace, Charles Martel, regarded himself as the champion of the Church, yet
he persistently plundered it to obtain funds for his wars and did nothing
to help on reform. His death, however, in 741, and the accession of his sons,
Pepin and Carloman, provided an opportunity which St Boniface was not slow
to seize. Carloman was earnestly devout; it was, therefore, a comparatively
easy matter for St Boniface, whom he greatly venerated, to persuade him to
call a synod to deal with abuses. The first assembly was followed by a second
in 743. Not to be outdone, Pepin, the next year, summoned a synod for Gaul,
which was succeeded in 745 by a general council for the two provinces. St
Boniface presided over them all, and succeeded in carrying all the reforms
he had most at heart. Fresh vigour was infused into the Church, and as the
result of five years' work Boniface had restored the Church of Gaul to her
former greatness. The date of the fifth Frankish council, 747, was in other
respects a memorable one for Boniface. Until then he had held a general
commission; the time had come for him to have a fixed metropolitan see. Mainz
was chosen, and Pope St Zachary created him primate of Germany as well as
apostolic legate for Germany and Gaul.
No sooner had this matter been arranged than Boniface lost his ally Carloman,
who decided to retire into a monastery. However, Pepin, who then united France
under one rule, though a man of very different calibre, continued to give
him the general support he still needed. "Without the patronage of the Frankish
chiefs", he wrote to one of his English correspondents, "I cannot govern the
people or exercise discipline over the clergy and monks, or check the practices
of paganism." As papal legate it was he who crowned Pepin at Soissons; but
there is absolutely no evidence to support the theory that Pepin's assumption
of the nominal as well as of the virtual sovereignty was in any way prompted
by him.
Boniface was now growing old, and he realized that the administration of
his vast fold required the vigour of a younger man. He obtained the appointment
of his disciple Lull to be his successor; but in laying down his office he
had no thought of taking rest. The missionary zeal burned within him as ardently
as ever, and he was resolved to spend his last years amongst his first converts,
the Frieslanders, who since the death of St Willibrord were relapsing once
more into paganism. Now a man of about seventy-three, he embarked with some
companions to sail down the Rhine. At Utrecht they were joined by Bishop Eoban.
At first they worked to reclaim the lapsed in that part of the country which
had been previously evangelized, but in early spring of the following year
they crossed the lake which then divided Friesland into two parts, and bore
their message to the wholly unevangelized tribes of north-east Friesland.
Their efforts seemed crowned with success and large numbers were baptized.
St Boniface arranged to hold a confirmation on Whitsun eve in the open fields
on the plain of Dokkum, near the banks of the little river Borne.
He was quietly reading in his tent while awaiting the arrival of the new
converts, when a hostile band suddenly descended upon the encampment. The
attendants would have defended the saint, but he would not allow them. As
he was exhorting them to trust in God and to welcome the prospect of dying
for the faith, they were attacked-St Boniface being one of the first to fall.
His companions shared his fate. The body of Boniface was taken finally to
Fulda, where it still rests. There also is treasured the book the saint had
been reading, and which he is said to have raised above his head to save it
when he was being attacked. It is dented with sword-cuts, and on its wooden
cover are marks reputed to be stains of the martyr's blood.
Christopher Dawson's judgement that Boniface "had a deeper influence on
the history of Europe than any Englishman who has ever lived" (The Making of Europe, 194-6, p. 166) is
hard to gainsay. And to his outstanding holiness, to his tremendous power
and foresight as missionary and reformer, to his glory as a martyr must be
added the personal loveableness and simplicity to which his letters in particular
bear witness. Already his contemporary, Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury,
could write that, "We in England lovingly count him one of the best and greatest
teachers of the true faith", and add that his feast is to be celebrated every
year as England's patron equally with St Gregory the Great and St Austin.
There are a number of more or less
early lives of St Boniface, the most important being that by Willibald; most
of them are accessible in the Acta Sanctorum,
June, vol. i, but a better critical text is available in MGH., and especially
in the volume edited by W. Levison, Vitae
sancti Bonifacii epis. Moguntini (Eng. trans., Harvard, 1916). A very
considerable literature, mostly of German origin, centres round St Boniface,
too big to be discussed here. A source of supreme importance are the letters
of Boniface himself; they have been best edited by Tangl, in MGH., Epistolae Selectae, vol. i, and translated
into English by E. Emerton (New York, 1940); English Correspondence, translated by
E. Kylie (1924). The best German biographies are those by G. Schnürer
(1909) and J. J. Laux (1922); and there is an excellent book on his mission
work by F. Flaskamp (1929). An admirable study in French is that by G. Kurth
(Eng. trans., Milwaukee, 1935), and there is a good life by the Anglican Bishop
G. F. Browne, Boniface of Crediton
(1910). See also W. Levison, England and
the Continent in the Eighth Century (1946); E. S. Duckett, Anglo-Saxon Saints and Scholars (1947).
There is a translation of the life by Willibald in C. H. Talbot's Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany (1954);
the writer was not Willibald the saint.
Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine
monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion
of the Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his Christian orthodoxy
and his fidelity to the pope of Rome.
How absolutely necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out
by the conditions he found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the
request of Pope Gregory II. Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity
he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The
clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were
in many instances uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops.
In particular instances their very ordination was questionable. These
are the conditions that Boniface was to report in 722 on his first return
visit to Rome. The Holy Father instructed him to reform the German Church.
The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders. Boniface
later admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint,
without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish
ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was finally made a regional bishop
and authorized to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful.
In the Frankish kingdom, he met great problems because of lay interference
in bishops’ elections, the worldliness of the clergy and lack of papal control.
During a final mission to the Frisians, he and 53 companions were massacred
while he was preparing converts for Confirmation. In order to restore
the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, he
had been guided by two principles. The first was to restore the obedience
of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope of Rome. The second
was the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine
monasteries. A great num ber of Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns followed him to
the continent. He introduced Benedictine nuns to the active apostolate of
education.
Comment: Boniface bears out the
Christian rule: To follow Christ is to follow the way of the cross. For
Boniface, it was not only physical suffering or death, but the painful, thankless,
bewildering task of Church reform. Missionary glory is often thought of in
terms of bringing new persons to Christ. It seems—but is not—less glorious
to heal the household of the faith.
Winfrith expected to return to England from Friesland
(in what is now Holland) in triumph. He had left the land where he was a
respected scholar, teacher, and priest because he was convinced he was called
to missionary work. He had argued and pestered his abbot into letting him
go because he would gain greater success for God in foreign lands. He had
abandoned a successful, safe life in his mid-forties to win souls for God.
But from the moment he stepped off the ship, his trip to Friesland to join
the famous missionary Willibrord
had been a disaster. Winfrith and his companions had landed to
discover that the ruler of Friesland, Radbod, had declared war on Christians,
destroying churches and monasteries, driving Willibrord into exile, and sending
what was left of the Church into hiding. Winfrith tried in vain to convince
Radbod to let him and his companions preach. Finally, he had no choice but
to return to England a few short months later in defeat.
It would have been easy to give up missionary work at
this point. Almost anyone would have looked at this fiasco and said that
God was trying to tell him that he was called to stay and serve in England.
Winfrith agreed that God had given him a message and he agreed that he had
been mistaken. But his mistake had not been in the call but how he followed
it. He had believed all he needed to ensure the mission's success was an
enthusiastic response to God's call.
It's surprising that Winfrith ever would have believed this
since so much of his previous life had depended on training and organization.
Born about 675, he had convinced his parents to send him to a monastery for
schooling because he admired the monks who had visited his home. Through
diligent study he rapidly learned all that this local monastery could teach
him and was transfered to the monastery at Nursling for further schooling.
There he became such a well-known teacher that students circulated notes
from his classes.
Back in England he started planning for his second missionary
journey. He kept his enthusiasm but directed his zeal into organization and
preparation for the journey. He would go to the pagan lands ... but first
he would travel to Rome. When he had traveled to Friesland he had had no authority
to back him up. No one had sent him there, no one would stand up for him
if he needed support or help. Now he went to the pope asking for an official
mission and the backing of the Church. Pope Gregory II
was intrigued but uncertain and talked to Winfrith all winter long before
finally sending him on a test mission to Thuringia in Germany. In the
pope's commission on May 15, 1719, we have the first record of Winfrith's
new name, Boniface. The pope apparently gave him this new name because the
previous day had been the feast of a martyr by that name. From then on he
was known as Boniface to all who knew him.
Missionaries had come to Thuringia before but the Church there
was in bad shape, isolated and subject to superstition and heresy.
Boniface saw that he was going to get no help from the local
clergy and monks, but he had learned in Friesland he could not spread God's
word alone. He was about to send for help when he heard that Radbod had died
and the missionary Willibrord was back in Friesland. Boniface immediately
took off for Friesland, the site of his former humiliation. Perhaps he returned
in hopes of redeeming his earlier disaster. It seems more likely, however,
that he was following through on the lesson he had learned at that time and
was going to get training from the expert in missions: Willibrord.
In the three years he spent with
Willibrord, Boniface gave as much as he gained. So helpful was he that Willibrord,
who was in his sixties, wanted to make Boniface his successor. But with his
training over, Boniface felt the pull of the German missionary work he'd
left behind, and, despite Willibrord's pleas, went to Hesse. Unlike
Thuringia or Friesland, Hesse had never been evangelized. Boniface had to
start from scratch. Needing even more authority in dealing with chieftains
who were his first goal for converts, he appealed to the pope again. During
a trip to Rome, the pope consecrated Boniface bishop.
Boniface returned to find that his problems had worsened. People
were attracted by Christianity but unable to give up their old religion and
superstitions, perhaps out of fear of being different or of how their old
"gods" would react. Knowing that the people needed a reason to let go, Boniface
called the tribes to a display of power. As the people watched, Boniface approached
the giant oak of Geismar, a sacred tree dedicated to Thor, with an axe. Some
of the people must have trembled with each stroke of his axe, but nothing
happened. Finally with a crack, the tree split in four parts that we, are
told, fell to the ground in the shape of a cross. There stood Boniface, axe
in hand, unharmed by their old gods, strong in the power of the one God.
After his success in Hesse, he returned to Thuringia to confront
the old problem of the decadent remnants of the Church there.
Unable to get help from the suspect clergy in Thuringia, he
called to England for help. Nuns and monks responded to his call enthusiastically
for many years. We still have many of Boniface's letters, including correspondence
with his helpers in England. Reforming the Church was the biggest challenge
in Thuringia and he had many thorny questions to answer. When a rite of baptism
had been defective was it valid? What should he do about immoral clergy? Still
remembering his first lesson, he appealed to Rome for answers from the pope.
All his appeals to Rome helped him -- but it also helped forge a much stronger
bond between Rome and Europe.
Boniface was called upon to lend his own support to Frankish
Church which was also sadly in need of reform. He set up councils and syonds
and instituted reforms which revitalized the Church there.
Few saints retire, and Boniface was no exception. At 73, a time
when most are thinking of rest and relaxation, Boniface headed back to Friesland
on a new mission. One day in 754 while he was awaiting some confirmands, an
enemy band attacked his camp. Although his companions wanted to fight, Boniface
told them to trust in God and to welcome death for the faith. All of them
were martyred.
Boniface is known as the Apostle of Germany. He not only brought
the Christian faith but Roman Christian civilization to this portion of Europe.
In His Footsteps: When
have you jumped into something without thinking you needed preparation? What
was the result? Is there something you feel called to do but don't feel that
you know enough or would be able to handle it? Who can you go to for training
or support? Talk to one of these people this week.
Prayer: Saint Boniface, you faced discouragement and failure
and learned from them. Help us to hear God's message in our moments of failure
and to use what we learn to serve God better. Amen
Bonifatius Alle Kirchen: 5. Juni
Bonifatius, der Apostel Deutschlands wurde 675 als Winfried
(Wynfrieth) in Südengland (Devonshire) geboren. Er wurde in einem Kloster
ausgebildet, wurde Benediktinermönch und ging 716 erstmals nach Friesland,
kehrte aber erfolglos zurück. 717 (oder 719) schickte ihn Willibrord
nach Rom. Papst Gregor II. (Gedenktag 11.2.) beauftragte ihn mit der Mission
in Deutschland. Bei der Weihe erhielt Winfried den Namen Bonifatius (nach
Bonifatius von Tarsus).
Er zog dann mit Willibrord durch Friesland und Thüringen.
722 wurde er in Rom zum Missionsbischof geweiht und erhielt die Aufgabe,
die Kirche in Germanien zu ordnen und insbesondere die arianischen und iroschottischen
Gemeinden in die römische Kirche einzugliedern. 724 fällte er die
Donarseiche bei Geismar und besiegte damit das Heidentum. Aus dem Holz der
Eiche baute er eine Kapelle, aus der dann das Kloster Fritzlar entstand.
732 wurde Bonifatius von Gregor III. (Gedenktag 28.11.) zum
Erzbischof ernannt. 737 begann er seine Missionstätigkeit in Bayern
und Sachsen. Her gründete er mehrere Bistümer. Bonifatius initiierte
auch die Gründung des Klosters Fulda 744 durch Sturmius. 747 wurde er
Erzbischof von Mainz.
753 brach Bonifatius noch einmal zu einer Missionsreise zu den
Friesen auf. Am Morgen eines Tauffestes Pfingsten 754 bei Dokkum wurde er
von heidnischen Friesen erschlagen. Seine organisatorische Arbeit bildete
die Grundlage der deutschen Kirche und den Grundstock für das mittelalterliche
deutsche Reich, das Karl der Große dann errichtete. Besonders unterstützt
wurde er von seinen Mitarbeitern und Gefährten Gregor, Lullus (Gedenktag
16.10.), Sturmius, Wigbert (Gedenktag 13.8.) und Willibald.
Mit Bonifatius begann gewissermaßen die Geschichte des
Christentums in Eurem Land. Viele sagen, diese Geschichte neige sich
jetzt ihrem Ende zu. Ich sage Euch: Diese Geschichte des Christentums
in Eurem Land soll jetzt neu beginnen, und zwar durch Euch,durch Euer
im Geist des heiligen Bonifatius geformtes Zeugnis!" Papst Johannes Paul II. Am 18.11.1980 auf dem
Domplatz Fulda
|
755 St. Adalar Priest monk and martyr served as a companion
of St. Boniface in his missionary labors. He was martyred at Dokkum in Frisia
with Boniface, also called Adalher.
A monk, Adalar served as a companion of St. Boniface in his
missionary labors. He was martyred at Dokkum in Frisia with Boniface.
755
St. Waccar Benedictine monk-companion of St. Boniface with Elleher, Hathawulf,
Haduiph, and Gundekar. They were all martyred with St. Boniface, four of
the fifty-two monks who died with the great missionary at the hands of pagans.They
share the same feast day as martyrs of the Benedictine Order.
754 St. Eoban Benedictine monk and martyr of Irish descent,
a companion of Sts. Willibrord and Boniface. Eoban was martyred with Boniface
at Dokkum, Holland.
Benedictine monk-companion of St. Boniface with Elleher, Hathawulf,
Haduiph, and Gundekar. They were all martyred with St. Boniface, four of
the fifty-two monks who died with the great missionary at the hands of pagans.They
share the same feast day as martyrs of the Benedictine Order.
|
790 St. Felix of Fritzlar
Benedictine monk of Fritzlar, Germany. He was believed to have been slain
by pagan Saxons
Felix von Fritzlar
Orthodoxe und Katholische Kirche: 05. Juni
Felix war Mönch im Benediktinerkloster Fritzlar. Er wurde
vermutlich bei seiner Missionstätigkeit unter den Sachsen um 790 erschlagen. |
851 St. Sanctinus Also Sancho, a martyr. He was born in Albi, France,
but was captured as a child by the Moors and sold into slavery at Cordoba,
Spain. Raised and educated at the court of the emir of Cordoba, he served
in the palace guard until tortured and executed for professing the Christian
faith and refusing to embrace Islam.
851 SANCTIUS, OR SANCHO, MARTYR
St SANCTIUS, or Sancho, was born at Albi in the south of France, but was
captured as a boy by the Moors and conveyed by them as a prisoner of war to
Cordova. There he was enrolled amongst the young cadets who were trained to
arms as doncellos, or janissaries. Fired, as it seems, by the example of
St Isaac, Sanctius openly declared himself to be a Christian and refused the
prophet Mohammed. He was tried and condemned to death. Several other Christians
suffered at the same time and for the same cause, but Sanctius alone appears
to have undergone the terrible ordeal of being extended on the ground and
impaled while still alive this torment being doubtless meant as a warning
to those who had been his comrades. His corpse, like that of St Isaac, was
afterwards exposed for several days. It was then burnt to ashes which were
scattered in the river.
Here, again, as in the case of
St Isaac on June 3, all our information is derived from Eulogius. See the
bibliographical note there. Other martyrs of this persecution are commemorated
in the Roman Martyrology on the 7, 13, 14 and 28 of this month.
|
1036 BD MEINWERK, BISHOP OF PADERBORN
ALTHOUGH his cultus appears never to have been
formally confirmed, Bd Meinwerk was undoubtedly one of the greatest and most
high-minded churchmen of his age. Of noble Saxon birth, he was educated for
the priesthood, first at Halberstadt and afterwards in the cathedral school
of Hildesheim, where he formed what was to prove a life-long friendship with
his kinsman, the future sainted Emperor Henry II. Upon the death of Ratherius,
bishop of Paderborn, Meinwerk was appointed to succeed him and was consecrated
by St Willigis, archbishop of Mainz, on March 13, 1009. He did so much for
his episcopal city that he has been called the second founder of Paderborn.
He rebuilt the cathedral which had been destroyed by fire, he erected an
episcopal residence, he founded a monastery for Cluniac monks at Abdinghof,
and another religious house in Paderborn, he constructed the city walls,
strengthened the fortifications and restored dilapidated buildings in all
parts of his diocese. A great patron of art and learning, he made the cathedral
school of Paderborn famous all over Germany. The discipline was stern-even
for those days. According to a letter written in 1050 by his nephew Bishop
Imad, a former pupil, the boys lived in the school like little monks and
might never speak in private even to their own fathers, because, as he had
often heard his "dear uncle, Dominus Meinwerk", say, children and boys ought
to be strictly kept down-pampering only made them forward and rude.
The good bishop's enterprises were costly, and when he had exhausted his
own resources (which were considerable) he did not scruple to importune his
wealthy friends, especially the emperor. So frequent, indeed, and sometimes
unreasonable, were his visits for this purpose that the monarch would resort
to stratagem to elude him. On the other hand St Henry well knew that he had
no truer friend or more reliable adviser: he summoned him to all his councils
and took him with him on his journeys. These expeditions enabled the bishop
to satisfy a passion for relic collecting, in which he found Pope Benedict
VIII specially generous.
In 1015 the new cathedral was consecrated, and in 1024- St Henry
died, to the great grief of his faithful friend. The accession of a new emperor,
however, in no way affected Meinwerk's status at court. Indeed it was said
that Conrad II could refuse him nothing. With Conrad he paid his last visit
to Italy in 1031, and from Aquileia he brought back to Abdinghof the relics
of a St Felix. His last work was the building of a church after the pattern
of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, to contain relics which an abbot called
Wino had brought from Jerusalem. Its completion was hurried on because Bd
Meinwerk felt that his life was drawing to an end. The basilica was dedicated
in 1036, and later that same year, at Whitsuntide, its founder passed away.
A twelfth-century life, written
by a monk of Abdinghof, has been printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i. The best
text is that edited by F. Tenckhoff (1921). A good German life was published
by F. X. Schrader in 1895, but many special points have been discussed since.
See, especially, F. Tenckhoff, Vita Meinwerci
(1921); J. Bauermann, in Westfal.
Lebensbilder, vol. i (1930),
pp. 18-31 ; H. Deppe, in Westfal. Zeitschrift,
vol xc (1934), pp. 171-192. See also A. Stonner, Heilige der deutschen Frühzeit (1935),
vol. ii.
|
1150 Saint Igor, Great
Prince of Kiev The Transfer of Relics of The Kievan Great Prince Igor
Ol'govich The Lord glorified the sufferer with miracles.
In holy Baptism George (September 19), in the year 1146 suffered
defeat and was taken captive by prince Izyaslav, who imprisoned him in one
of the monasteries of Russian or Southern Pereyaslavl' (now
Pereyaslavl'-Khmel'nitsk). Far removed from the vanities of this world,
and grievously ill, he began to repent of his sins and asked permission to
be tonsured a monk. On January 5, 1147 Bishop Euthymius of Pereyaslavl' tonsured
him into monasticism with the name Gabriel. Soon he recovered his health and
transferred to the Kiev Theodorov monastery, where he became a schemamonk
with the name Ignatius, and devoted himself entirely to monastic efforts.
But a storm of fratricidal hatred raged over Kiev. The Chernigov
princes, cousins of Igor, plotted to entice Izyaslav of Kiev into a joint
campaign with the aim of capturing, or even killing him. The plot was uncovered
when the prince was already on the way to Chernigov. The Kievans were in an
uproar in learning of the ruse of the Chernigovichi, and they stormed into
the place where the innocent St Igor was. St Igor was brutally murdered on
September 19, 1147.
The Lord glorified the sufferer with miracles. With the blessing
of Metropolitan Clement Smolyatich, Igumen Ananias of the Theodorov monastery
buried the
passion-bearer in the church of the Kiev Simonov monastery. On June 5,
1150, when the Kiev throne had become occupied by Yuri Dolgoruky, his confederate
and the murdered Igor's brother, the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav Ol'govich,
solemnly transferred the holy relics of St Igor to Chernigov his native
region, where they were placed into a reliquary in the Savior cathedral church.
Then also the Feastday in memory of the saint was established.
The Igor Icon of the Mother of
God.
The holy Passion-Bearer and Great Prince of Kiev Igor Ol'govich
(September 19, 1147), prayed before this icon during the last moments of
his life. It was in the chapel of St John the Theologian in the Dormition
cathedral of the Kiev Caves Lavra. This icon was of old Greek origin, and
had an inscription saying that it belonged to St Igor.
PEREYASLAVL, a town of Russia, in the government of Poltava,
26 m. S.E. of the city of Kiev, at the confluence of the Trubezh and the
Alta, which reach the Dnieper 5 m. lower down at the town's port, the village
of Andrushi. Pop. 14,609. Besides the town proper there are three considerable
suburbs. Though founded in 993 by Vladimir the Great of Moscow in memory of
his signal success over the Turkish Pechenegs, Pereyaslavl has now few remains
of antiquity. The town has a trade in grain, salt, cattle and horses, and
some manufactures - tallow, wax, tobacco, candles and shoes.
From 1054 Pereyaslavl was the chief town of a separate principality.
As a southern outpost it often figures in the 11th, 2th and 13th centuries,
and was plundered by the Mongols in 123 9. In later times it was one of the
centres of the Cossack movement; and in 1628 the neighbourhood of the town
was the scene of the extermination of the Polish forces known as "Tara's Night."
It was by the Treaty of Pereyaslavl that in 1654 the Cossack chieftain Bogdan
Chmielnicki acknowledged the supremacy of Tsar Alexis of Russia.
Blessed Igor, Prince of Chernigov and Kiev June 5
SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
Persecuted by his kinsfolk, he left the world and became a monk.
The citizens of Kiev, disgusted with the Olgovitch dynasty, determined to
exterminate it. They hurried to the monastery, seized the young and innocent
schema-monk and killed him. For this evil-doing, much misfortune fell on the
inhabitants of Kiev, but candles were several times seen to light of themselves
on the grave of this blessed monk, and a fiery column appeared over the church
were he was buried. This was in 1147.
Blessed Constantine, Metropolitan of Kiev June 5
SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
In the days of the blessed Prince Igor, when there was great
unrest and intrigue among the princes of Russia, there was also disorder
in the Church and frequent changes of hierarch. Thus, after the death of
Metropolitan Michael of Kiev, Prince Izyaslav took a learned monk, Klim,
as Metropolitan, not seeking the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople
as had been the custom from the earli-est times. The Patriarch sent this
Metropolitan Constantine to investigate the matter, and Constantine deposed
Klim and exiled all the priests whom he had ordained. This led to a division
among the people, some upholding Klim and some Constantine. Then, at the
request of the princes, the Patriarch sent a third, Theodore, and both Klim
and Constantine were removed. When Constantine died, in 1159, his will was
opened. In it he had written that he was not to be buried, but cast out for
the dogs to eat, for he saw himself as guilty of having sown discord in the
Church. Not daring to go against his wishes, but with great fear notwithstanding,
they took his body and threw it outside, where it lay for three days. During
these three days, there was terrible thunder over Kiev; lightning flashed,
thunderbolts dropped and there were earth tremors. Eight people were killed
by lightning, and three fiery columns were seen above Constantine's body.
Seeing all this, the Prince of Kiev ordered that his body be taken and buried
in the church in which Igor's tomb was situated, and the natural world immediately
became calm. Thus God justified His humble servant.
|
1233 Theodore
of Novgorod Holy Prince the elder brother of St Alexander Nevsky In 1614 the
Swedes pillaged the monastery, broke open the tomb of the prince finding him
whole and incorrupt
Born in the year 1218. His princely service to his native land
began at a very early age. In 1229 both brothers had been left in Novgorod
by their father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich as his representatives. But not even
a year passed before the young princes had to quit Novgorod. The turbulent
Novgorod people in their "veche" ("government council") decided to invite
another prince. But in the very next year, 1230, during a time of famine and
epidemic, the Novgorodians again invited Yaroslav to rule them. On December
30, 1230 he sat as prince in Novgorod for the fourth time, but he remained
in the city for only two weeks, when he installed his sons there and went
off to Pereyaslavl-Zalessk.
In 1232 the fourteen-year-old Theodore was already summoned
to serve God not only in prayer, but also by the sword. He took part in a
campaign of the Russian troops against the pagan Mordovian princes.
In the year 1233 at the wish of his father he was obliged to
enter into marriage with Theodoulia, the daughter of the holy Prince Michael
of Chernigov. When the guests had already gathered at the wedding feast,
the bridegroom suddenly died.
After the unexpected death of her groom, the princess left the
world and was tonsured in one of the Suzdal monasteries, famed in her monastic
efforts as St Euphrosyne of Suzdal (September 25).
St Theodore was buried in the Yuriev monastery in Novgorod.
In the year 1614 the Swedes, having pillaged the monastery, broke open the
tomb of the prince and finding him whole and incorrupt, they mocked the holy
relics, and finally abandoned the body in the churchyard. Years later, Metropolitan
Isidore of Novgorod transferred the relics to Novgorod's cathedral of Holy
Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) , placing them in the chapel of the holy Prophet, Forerunner
and Baptist John. There they remained until 1919, when they were removed by
the Bolsheviks.
|
1275 Saint
Peter of Korisha meek and humble child he and sister St Helena
sold family possessions distributed the money to the poor entered
monastery Archangel Michael appeared to him and drove away demons
the Lord consoled him with a vision of the Uncreated Light which lasted several
days Many icons of St Peter proved to be miracle working
Peter_of_Korish_coffin_cave_church
Born in 1211 in the village of
Unjimir between the city of Pech and the Field of Kosovo. As a child, he
was meek and humble, and seldom participated in children's games. At an early
age, he and his younger sister Helena devoted themselves to prayer and fasting.
When he was ten years old, the future saint told his parents that he wished
to serve God by becoming a monk.
St Peter's father died when the boy was fourteen, so he
put off his plans to enter the monastery in order to care for his mother and
sister. At the same time, he increased his ascetical efforts. When St Peter
was sixteen, his beloved mother reposed. Determined to enter a monastery,
he asked his sister whether she intended to be married, for his conscience
would not allow him to abandon her unless he had provided for her. Helena
said that it was her wish to preserve her virginity and become a nun. She
said she would share his life of prayer and asceticism if only he would take
her with him. Peter rejoiced and replied, "May the Lord's will be done."
They sold their family possessions and distributed the money
to the poor. Traveling to Pec, they reached the Monastery of Sts Peter and
Paul. Peter remained here, while Helena entered a nearby women's monastery.
After several years, both were granted permission to live in solitude.
Peter built two cells, one for himself and one for his sister, near the monastery.
They spent their time in continual prayer and fasting, freeing themselves
from worldly attachments, subduing the flesh, and struggled on the path of
salvation.
These two spiritual lamps could not remain hidden for very long.
People started coming to them for spiritual counsel and healing. St Peter
and his sister agreed to avoid the snare of vainglory by moving to a more
remote area. They went to Crna Reka (the town of Black River) on the Ibar
River.
crna_reka.jpg Hieromonk Joachim, Protection of the Theotokos
Skete Copyright Protection of the Theotokos Skete http://www.kosovo.net/miracle.html
St Peter wished to move even farther into the woods for a life of even greater
asceticism, but was reluctant to leave his sister. On the other hand, he was
concerned that she might risk her physical and spiritual health if she were
to come with him, so he decided to slip away and leave her in order to live
alone on a mountain. He did not get very far before she noticed he was gone.
She caught up to him and they traveled together to a mountain near the town
of Prizren. On top of the mountain was a town called Korisha (modern Kabash),
where they stopped to rest. Helena went to sleep there in the grass. St Peter
wept and made the Sign of the Cross over her, then went off into the forest.
When she awoke and found him gone, she wept and called his name. Finally,
she went down from the mountain and lived in Prizren for the rest of her
life. St Helena is also commemorated on June 5 with her brother, St Peter.
The monastery in the rocks
The holy ascetic lived in a
cave near Korisha, where he continued his spiritual struggles in the heat
of summer and in the cold of winter. He withstood the temptations and attacks
of the demons which assailed him. When this happened, he sang Psalms and hymns
all night until the sun came up in the morning. He fervently prayed for God
to help and comfort him in his struggles. The Archangel Michael appeared to
him and drove away the demons, promising St Peter that they would never enter
his cell again. The Archangel warned him to be vigilant and to persevere,
for the Devil wished to destroy him. After advising the saint to call upon
the name of the Lord whenever he was attacked by the forces of evil, the holy
Archangel vanished.
St Peter still endured temptations, but was victorious against
all of them. Realizing his own weakness, he turned to Christ, Who strengthened
him and sustained him. After these victories, the Lord consoled him with
a vision of the Uncreated Light which lasted several days. From that time
forward, St Peter was illumined by the grace of God, so no demon ever dared
to approach him again.
Before St Peter's death, many monks were sent to him by God,
and he guided all of them.
He blessed them and tonsured them, and permitted them to live
in the caves below his cave. Forseeing the approach of death, he dug out a
tomb for himself in the wall of his cell. Acceding to the wish of his
disciples, he told them the story of his life. Then he and his disciples received
the Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ. After bidding each brother farewell,
he surrendered his soul to God on June 5, 1275.
On the night of his blessed repose, a heavenly light was seen
in his cave, and the singing of angels was heard by the other monks. In the
morning, St Peter's face shone with radiance, and a sweet fragrance came
from his body. After the saint's burial, many of those who came to his tomb
were healed of their physical and spiritual infirmities. Seventy years later,
King Dushan built a church at Korisha over St Peter's relics, and dedicated
it to the God-bearing ascetic.
The holy relics of St Peter were later transferred to the Black
River monastery, then to the church of the Archangel Michael in the city of
Kalashin.
Many of the icons of St Peter
proved to be miracle working. The inscription reads: "St Peter of Korisha,
desert-dweller and wonder-worker."
Our Holy Father Peter of Koriga
June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
He was born in the village of Koriga, in sight of the monastery
of St Mark near Prizren (others suggest a village near Pec). As a young man,
he ploughed with a one-eyed ox. He was unusually meek and mild of temper.
With his sister Helena, he early began ascetic practices, and lived long in
strict asceticism. He showed himself the victor in difficult struggles with
diabolical temptations. Many monks gathered round him, and he was guide to
them all. Fleeing the praise of men, he hid for a time by the Black River,
where St Janik of Devi6 later lived in asceticism. He entered into rest in
old age in his cave at Kori"sa. The night of his death, the light of many
candles was seen in his cave, and an angelic choir was heard. King Dugan built
a church over his wonderworking relics, which became a dependency of Hilandar.
In more recent times, St Peter's relics were taken to the Black River, where
they are preserved to this day.
"QUICK, HURRY and get changed.
Abbot Theodosy is going to Black River
Monastery, and you are to go with him!"
Crna Reka Monastery
Crna Reka monastery is a hermitage in the midst of the south
Serbian mountains situated in the gorge of the Black River. It is surrounded
by high rocks and lush vegetation. It dates from 13th century when a small
church dedicated to the Holy Archangel Michael was built in a big cave. Soon
the monks hermits built their cells around the church and erected a small
draw bridge over the dry bed of the Black River. By a great blessing og God
the river disappears underground just in front of the monastery and reappears
after several hundred meters of its underground flow and thus spares the monastery
from the noise. The greatest treasure of the monastery are the holy and incorruptible
relics of St. Peter of Korisha, a famous Serbian ascetic from the 13th century.
Even today numerous pilgrims come to the monastery to seek healing and spiritual
consolation from this great miracle-worker. In the 15th century Crna Reka
was home for a time to a famous hesychast St. Ioanichios, who with his monks
later moved to the area of today's Devic monastery. Crna Reka was deserted
for a long time. It was only in 1979 that Fr. Artemy came to live there and
gathered around himself a young brotherhood. After his election as bishop
he took several monks and renewed other monasteries of the Diocese of Raska
and Prizren. Today there are 18 brethren in the monastery who occupy themselves
with prayer, icon painting and wood carving.
It was Tuesday, Januaiy 25, 1994. The message was brought to
me as I helped wash the dishes after lunch in the Decani Monastery kitchen.
"You will need to wear plenty of warm clothes because it is very cold up
there in the mountains."
As an Australian Orthodox visitor to Serbia, I was glad of the
opportunity to visit another monastery. Obediently I left the dishes and
went to rug myself as best I could against the bitter cold of the Serbian
winter. Black River Monastery (Manastir Crna Reka) was hidden high in the
inhospitable and rugged mountains of northwest Kosovo near the borders with
Montenegro and Albania, and the monks there were often isolated by heavy snowstoms
which confined them to their monastery.
The journey took three hours. After passing through Kosovo
Mitrovica we began the gradual climb back into the mountain range. The road
hugged the River Ibar to the village of Ribarici. It is hard to imagine that
not fifteen years ago Archimandrite Atremy, having left his teaching position
with the Theological College in Prizren had been ferried across this very
river on a barge with all his belongings and books packed onto the back of
a little donkey which he led up a shepherd's trail to the half-ruined hermitage
of the Black River Monastery there he began living the coenobitic monastic
life after the patristic principles taught him by his spiritual father, the
Blessed Archimandrite Justin Popovic (+ 1979). God blessed his spiritual
struggles and a brotherhood gradually formed from those men God sent to him.
Called from his lonely but by now overcrowded monastery in 1991
to be the bishop of Raska-Prizren, Vladika Artemy is currently leading a
monastic renewal in this comer of Serbia, staffing four monasteries in his
diocese with the monks he trained at Black River. And still young Serbian
Orthodox men are coming to place themselves under his spiritual direction
to the amazement, constemation and even envy of those within and without
the Church.
We crossed that same river now on a modern bridge that replaced
the ferry only eight years ago. The rough dirt road climbed steeply up a
narrow valley beside the rushing water of the small but lively Black River.
We soon reached the snowline. Our Combi-van could go no further, the track
was covered with a layer of thick, slick ice. The cold was piercing as we
began the slow and careful walk up the mountain, avoiding the ice and making
sure we walked in the footsteps of the one before us. The Black River was
too busy tumbling through the rough black rocks and boulders for the winter
temperatures to interrupt it. An icy breeze blew in our faces. Breath condensed
and matted our beards.
We trudged on. The valley narrowed dramatically, with the road
falling on the right in a sheer drop to the river beneath. We climbed higher,
and then the monastery came into view. On the few places level and wide
enough were two modern but modest buildings containing a winter chapel, cells
for the monks, storerooms, workshops' trapeza and kitchen. And there, on
the right side of the valley, reached by a covered footbridge that spanned
the gorge beneath, was the ancient cave monastery, Manastir Crna Reka. Built
in the thirteenth century, the monastery has been home to monks and hermits
almost continuously for nearly seven hundred years. The gray skies, glowering
clouds and our late afternoon arrival just before dusk impressed upon me its
isolation.
We were warmly greeted by the Abbot, Father Nicolai, who at
once led us across the footbridge into the ancient building fitted snug against
the sheer cliff face. I felt awe at the podvig and spiritual struggles of
those generations of holy monks who had lived, prayed and suffered in this
ancient place. We were led along a corridor, up some steps and in through
a doorway. Before us was the entrance to the cave church of the Holy Archangel
Michael, built in the fifteenth century.
Father Nicolai began to tell the group the history of
the monastery and the church and the spiritual exploits of the holy monks
of past ages. The sound of running water caught our ears. Behind us a small
stream issued from the hidden depths of the great mountain that covered us.
This stream had supplied the needs of those early monks and is now considered
to be a source of grace, healing and blessing to pilgrims in these last days,
who drink of it. A little concrete channel had been built into the floor in
an attempt to control its Dow. Moisture dripped from the ceiling and walls,
our breath misted in in front of us. The cold was chilling, it was no warmer
inside the cave monastery than it was outside.
We entered the little church which was only three metres wide
and six metres long, its walls covered with faded fifteenth century frescoes
of holy saints. Carpets and rugs had been laid on the floor of living rock
but the perpetual dampness of the cave made them squelch beneath our feet.
Monks and visitors venerated the holy icon of Saint Michael.
Near the right wall of the church, I noticed a large kivot (reliquaiy). I
suddenly realised that we were in the presence of the relics of one of God's
saints, though who I did not know. In turn, we venerated the holy remains.
As I prostrated on the wet floor, water oozing from the carpet into my gloves,
I noticed beneath the reliquary a small bed. I was intrigued. I rose, kissed
the reliquary and the holy cross that lay upon it and venerated the icon
of this unknown saint, a venerable white-haired schema-monk. I asked for
his prayers and blessing, thanking God for the holiness of His saints and
the faithfulness of those many generations of Black River monks.
As Father Nicolai continued his talk, I stood quietly with my
own thoughts and prayers, my heart aflame with the holiness of this isolated
hermitage and in awe of those who had lived in such harsh conditions out of
love for God and for the salvation of their souls.
My meditations were interrupted when I heard Father Theodosy
call my name. What was happening! I caught the Serbian word for "headache",
the name "Sveti Petar" and from gestures I understood that I was to lie
down on that small bed beneath the reliquary, and try to sleep! The holy
one, Sveti Petar - Saint Peter, would help me. And help I needed For over
six years I had suffered from severe tension headaches and racking migraines
that kept me bedridden and in severe pain for up to three days at a time.
Medication helped sometimes but I often needed to recuperate from the after-effects
of the drugs prescribed.
It all happened so quickly. Before I knew it, I was being
helped to lie down on that narrow bed raised only a few centimetres above
the wet floor and covered with blankets against the cold. Directly above me
about 40 centimetres was the base of the kivot and the fringe of the velvet
cloth which covered it The monks and visitors soon left. I was alone with
the holy saint, the vigil lamp burning brightly in the damp and frigid atmosphere.
My mind was in turmoil I tried to pray, to calm myself. I didn't
feel a bit sleepy. I felt hope - Oh how I wanted to get rid of those headaches.
I felt fear - what if nothing happened' what if I wasn't worthy enough to
receive a healing? "Lord," I prayed, "I do not know what is happening. I pray
through the intercession of your holy saint that I may be healed of the headaches
which cause me so much pain and distress. I accept whatever you want for
me. If it is Your will for me not to be healed at this time, and to live
with the pain, I accept that May Your will be done, not mine." I tried to
concentrate my thoughts and pray. I tried to relax. Outside a bell rang for
Vespers. I did not know how long I lay there, but eventually I dozed off
praying for God's mercy. Even though the temperature was well below freezing,
I did not feel cold but warm and protected. How long I slept I do not know.
As I dozed I could hear things happening in my head, as if taut wires were
being moved and loosened. Finding the right words to explain is difficult.
But I do know that something happened inside my head.
I was awakened sometime later by one of the monks. At first
I did not feel any different. I venerated the holy relics and left the church,
returning over the footbridge to the trapeza where the monks and our party
were being served coffee. One of the monks who spoke some English told me
the name of the saint whose help I had sought - Saint Peter of Korisha. In
the following months I was to learn as much as I could about this wonderworker.
Soon we said our goodbyes, received Abbot Nicolai's blessing and began the
cold and slippery walk down the mountain in the dark towards our vehicle.
I noticed during the long drive home that an incipient headache that had developed
on the journey to Black River had completely gone. I gave thanks to God and
Saint Peter.
During the following week I experienced the full blessings of
Saint Peter. Think of a pot of boiling water covered by a heavy lid that
prevents the steam and bubbling water from escaping. That is how my head
felt. I know that I was experiencing enormous headaches, but it felt as if
my head was somehow enveloped by "something" which prevented any pain from
being felt. Only once did this series of major headaches succeed in beginning
to manifest the usual physical symptoms, and when I called on the name of
Saint Peter, it immediately vanished. I was filled with wonder, joy and thankfulness
and I still thank God and Saint Peter for this mercy granted to me, a sinner
and unworthy one.
Since that day I have had no migraine headache. The tension
headaches have continued, but as I daily pray to Saint Peter they have been
diminishing in frequency and force. I no longer need to take any medication.
For the first time in years my head feels clear and pain-free, my mind and
thinking free of the
fog of pain and constant tension. An icon of Saint Peter now
hangs above my bed and each night I pray to him to continue the healing
mercies he began when I slept beneath his holy relics.
In my search to know more about my spiritual benefactor,
I was told that Saint Peter is a miracle-worker who helps those who pray to
him and come to his shrine, especially if they rest beneath his relics as
I did. He is particularly helpful to those suffering problems of the head,
migraines headaches, epilepsy, etc.
Shortly after my return home to Australia in early December
1994 I found myself recounting the stay of my healing to a friend, Susan
Menis. Her husband, then Melbourne based Greek Orthodox priest Father Stelios
Menis, had for many years been afflicted with a major migraine complaint.
With the onset of an attack he would take double doses of drugs such as Panadeine
Forte and Mersyndol. Often this initial treatment proved futile and the pain
would incapacitate him. His physician would need to be called to administer
shots of Pethidine to relieve the pain and doses of Stemetil to combat the
nausea. The medication would bring relief from the excruciating head pain
but leave him debilitated and in need of recuperation for three or four days
after each attack.
I gave Susan some oil I had brought with me from the vigil lamp
which hangs above the relics of Saint Peter at Black River Monastery. She
took this to her husband who began to anoint himself at the onslaught of
a migraine headache and pray to Saint Peter for help.
Father Stelios testifies that when he applied the oil of Saint
Peter and prayed the migraines would go away. Since using the oil the violent
migraine attacks have completely stopped, and he no longer has need of prescription
drugs. He still experiences tension headaches, but they are lesser in violence
and frequency and nothing in comparison to the pain he endured during those
long years as migraine sufferer. The Menis family gives grateful thanks to
God and Saint Peter for this healing and deliverance from pain.
Glory be to God for all things, Who in these last days manifests
His wonderworking healing mercies through the relics and intercession of
His glorified ones, the holy Orthodox saints. Holy Saint Peter of Korisha
pray for us, and all who call on you in faith. Amen.
|
1443 BD FERDINAND OF PORTUGAL;
Shortly before his death he was strengthened by a
vision of our Lady, the Archangel Michael and St John the Evangelist. He
passed from prison darkness to everlasting light on June 5, 1443.
IT is as the hero of one of the finest plays of the great
Spanish dramatist Calderon that Prince Ferdinand the Constant is best known
to the world to-day. He was born at Santarem on September 29, 1402. His father
was King John I of Portugal, and his mother was Philippa, daughter of John
of Gaunt; he was therefore a great-grandson of King Edward III of England.
Even as a child he was devout, and although he was delicate and often prostrated
by illness, he always led an austere disciplined life. From the age of fourteen,
he regularly recited the canonical hours, according to the Use of Sarum-a
practice he must have learnt from his English mother-and he was untouched
by the temptations and dissipations of court life.
The death of his father left him so ill-provided that his eldest brother
Edward (Duarte) conferred on him the grand-mastership of the Knights of Aviz,
an order which had originally been formed under the name of the New Militia
to fight the Moors. The pope had granted a dispensation to the Portuguese
princes allowing them, though laymen, to occupy the post, but the office was
primarily an ecclesiastical one, and Ferdinand only accepted it with reluctance.
At one time he wanted to settle in England where he was assured of a welcome
from his Lancastrian cousins; King Edward, however, refused to allow his
brother to leave Portugal. Soon afterwards Pope Eugenius IV sent a legate
to offer the prince the cardinal's hat, but again Ferdinand's scruples stood
in the way, and he declined the honour, on the plea that he could not take
that burden upon his conscience.
It was perhaps largely at Ferdinand's persuasion and in opposition to the
advice both of their brother, Dom Pedro, and of Pope Eugenius, that King Edward
determined to send an expedition against the Moors in Africa under the leadership
of his two brothers, Henry the Navigator and Ferdinand. Although the latter
was ill when they embarked, he made light of it for fear of delay. They arrived
at Ceuta with less than half the forces the king had ordered, but they would
not wait for reinforcements. Their object was to take Tangier, and they attacked
with reckless courage. The result was disastrous. The Portuguese could only
save themselves by accepting humiliating terms, leaving Ferdinand as a hostage
in the hands of the enemy with twelve others, one of whom was his secretary
and future biographer
Alvarez, he was conveyed to Arzilla where he was laid low
by illness for seven months. At first he does not appear to have been very
badly treated. When, however, it became known that the Portuguese would not
ratify the treaty which required the surrender of Ceuta, the Moors vented
their indignation upon their hostage.
In May, 1438, he was removed from Arzilla and taken to Fez, where his lot
became a pitiable one. Loaded with chains and constantly threatened with death,
he spent his days doing heavy menial work in stables and gardens, and his
nights in a verminous prison. Yet he never complained, nor did he ever speak
a harsh word against the Moors. He was far more concerned for his followers
than for himself, and refused to attempt escape because it would mean leaving
them and rendering them liable to worse treatment. Great efforts were made
by his brothers to ransom him, but the Moors refused to release him except
in exchange for Ceuta.
During the last fifteen months of his life he had still harder trials to
face. He was separated from his attendants and thrown into a bare and airless
dungeon. Towards the sixth year of his captivity, it became evident that he
had not long to live. He was still kept in prison, but a doctor, a priest,
and a few other Christians were allowed, one at a time, to visit him. Shortly
before his death he was strengthened by a vision of our Lady, the Archangel
Michael and St John the Evangelist. He passed from prison darkness to everlasting
light on June 5, 1443. After his death his body was exposed head downwards
on the city wall. When Alvarez, in 1451, regained his freedom, he carried
his master's heart back to Portugal, and in 1463 the prince's bones were also
brought to his native land, where they were deposited in the church of our
Lady at Batalha, in the diocese of Leira. Bd Ferdinand's cultus was allowed
by the Holy See in 1470.
There is a Portuguese life by his
devoted follower, John Alvarez: Chronica
dos feitos, vida e morte do Iffante D. Fernando (Lisboa, 1577): a Latin translation
is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i. See also the biography by
M. Gloning (1916); and A. Sanchez Moguel, in the Boletin de la real Academia de la Historia, Madrid,
vol. xx (1892), pp. 332 seq. Some further information may be gleaned from
the lives of Prince Henry the Navigator, e.g.. those by R. H. Major (1868),
and J. P. Oliveira Martins (Eng. trans., 1914).
|
1561 Sts Bassian
and Jonah were monks of the Solovki Transfiguration monastery and disciples
of Igumen Philip, who later became Metropolitan of Moscow (January 9).
These holy monks were glorified by the Lord after their death in
1561.
Fishermen and sailors came to pray in the chapel, built in 1599
over their grave by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery Elder Mamant. There in
1623 the hieromonk James founded a monastery, called Pertominsk. |
| 1840 St. Luke Loan Martyr of Vietnam native ordained
a priest and then served the Catholic community until his arrest by anti-Christian
forces. He was beheaded. His canonization took place in 1988. |
1900 Bl. Franciscan Martyrs
of China 29 Franciscans and Franciscan tertiaries who became victims of the
Boxer Rebellion. They represent more than 100,000 Christians of China who
were martyred in the reign of Empress Tz’u hsi. These martyrs are recorded
as being slain in the palace of the viceroy of Taiyuan-fu of Xian-fu Province.
The martyrs are: Bishop Gregory Grassie, Bishop Francis Fognolla, Father
Elias Facchini, Father Theodore Balat, Father Franco Benedictine hermit. He
was born in Castel Regni, in Abruzzi, Italy. Entering the Benedictine monastery
at Colimento, he lived as a hermit there for twenty years. He spent
the last decade and a half of his life at Asserigo. |
St. Marcian
Martyr of Egypt with Apollonius, Nicanor, and companions. There is doubt
about Marcian and Nicanor, who may have been called Nicander. Some scholars
believe that they were Roman soldiers martyred in Bulgaria or Romania. |
Mary Mother
of GOD
Saints of this Day June 05 Nonas Júnii 
Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969 
Benedict XVI met with Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia,
the highest authority of the Orthodox Church. The Pope
remembered the martyrs of the Armenian Church and the Armenian genocide,
without explicitly mentioning it, and denounced the persecution of Christians
in modern times. Benedict XVI
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.