1st v.St. Epitacius and Basileus body thrown into sea found by Elpidiphorus
through angel revelation Martyrs both bishops
In Hispánia sanctórum Mártyrum
Epitácii Epíscopi, et Basiléi.
In Spain, the holy martyrs
Epitacius, a bishop, and Basileus.
Epitacius was the first bishop of Tuy, Spain. Basileus ruled
Braga, Portugal. At Amasea in Pontus, St. Basileus, bishop and martyr, whose
illustrious martyrdom occurred under Emperor Licinius. His body
was thrown into the sea, but was found by Elpidiphorus, through the revelation
of an angel, and was honorably buried.
Epitacius and Basileus MM (RM) 1st century. It is likely that Saint Epitacius
was the first bishop of Tuy in Spanish Galicia and Basileus the first bishop
of Braga, Portugal (Benedictines).
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Saint Euphebius bishop
of Naples B (RM)
Neápoli, in Campánia, sancti Euphébii
Epíscopi. At Naples in Campania, St. Euphebius,
bishop.
All we knew about Saint Euphebius is that he was a bishop
of Naples (Benedictines).
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307
Martyrs of Mesopotamia under Maximian Galerius
In Cappadócia commemorátio sanctórum Mártyrum,
qui, in persecutióne Maximiáni Galérii, confráctis
crúribus, necáti sunt; item eórum, qui eódem
témpore, in Mesopotámia, appénsi pédibus in sublíme,
cápite verso deórsum, suffocáti fumo et lento igne consúmpti,
martyrium complevérunt.
In Cappadocia, the commemoration of the holy martyrs who
died by having their legs crushed, in the persecution of Maximian Galerius.
Also in Mesopotamia, those martyrs who, at the same time, were suspended
in the air with their heads downward, suffocated with smoke, and consumed
by a slow fire, thus fulfilling their martyrdom.
A group of Christians who suffered martyrdom in Mesopotamia
under the Roman imperial authorities.
Martyrs of Mesopotamia (RM) These martyrs suffered under Maximian Galerius (Benedictines).
303 Martyrs of Cappadocia
A group of Christians put to death
in Cappadocia under Emperor Galerius after hideous tortures.
Martyrs of Cappadocia (RM) A group of martyrs who died under Galerius after extreme
torture (Benedictines).
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406 Merculialis
of Forli Merculialis was the first bishop of Forli, central Italy zealous
opponent of paganism and Arianism (RM)
Ipso die sancti Mercuriális Epíscopi.
The same day, St. Mercurialis, bishop.
He was a zealous opponent of paganism and Arianism.
His life became the subject of many extravagant legends (Benedictines).
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407 St. Desiderius
Bishop martyr attempt to convince warriors not to massacre his flock
Apud Língonas, in Gállia, pássio sancti Desidérii
Epíscopi, qui, cum plebem suam ab exércitu Wandalórum
vexári cérneret, ad Regem eórum pro ea supplicatúrus
accéssit; a quo statim jugulári jussus, pro óvibus sibi
créditis cervícem libénter exténdit, et, percússus
gládio, migrávit ad Christum. Passi sunt autem cum ipso
et álii plures de número gregis sui, qui apud eándem
urbem cónditi sunt.
At Langres in France, the martyrdom of the holy bishop
Desiderius, who visited the king to offer entreaties in behalf of his people
who were mistreated by the Vandal army. He was immediately condemned
to beheading, and willingly presenting his head to receive the blow of the
sword, he died for the sheep committed to his charge and departed for heaven.
With him suffered many of his flock, who are buried in the same city.
also called Dizier. A native of Genoa, Italy,
he became bishop of Langres, in France. When the Vandals invaded the region,
Desiderius pleaded for his people and was slain.
Desiderius (Didier) of Langres BM (RM) Saint Desiderius was said to have
been a native of Genoa, who preached in Langres and was eventually made bishop
there. Like his Master, he was a good shepherd who laid down his life for
his sheep. During the turbulent time of barbarian invasions, Saint Desiderius
and his clergy went outside the city in an attempt to convince the warriors
not to massacre his flock. He and those with him were killed. Some say this
occurred during the invasion of Chrocus under Gallien; others place it a
bit later (411) when the Alands, Sueves, and Vandals plundered the country
(Benedictines, Husenbeth).
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430 St. Quintian
Leader of a group of 19 martyrs in Africa including Julian and Lucius
In Africa sanctórum Mártyrum Quinctiáni, Lúcii
et Juliáni, qui, in persecutióne Wandálica passi, ætérnas
corónas meruérunt.
In Africa, the holy martyrs Quintian, Lucius, and Julian,
who merited eternal crowns by their sufferings, during the persecution of
the Vandals.
The nineteen martyrs were put to death for being
orthodox Christians by Arian ruler King Hunneric of the Vandals
Quintian, Lucius and Julian MM (RM) These are the only names known of a group
of 19, including several women, who were martyred in Africa by the Arian
Vandal Huneric (Benedictines).
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6th v. Eutychius
and Florentius 2 monks Saint Gregory the Great praised their virtues and
miracles (RM)
Apud Núrsiam sanctórum Eutychii et Floréntii Monachórum,
quorum méminit beátus Gregórius Papa.
At Norcia, Saints Eutychius and Florentius, monks, mentioned
by the blessed Pope Gregory.
Two monks who successively governed a monastery
in Valcastoria near Norcia (Nursia?), Italy. Saint Gregory the Great praised
their virtues and miracles (Benedictines).
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650 St. Desiderius
reforming bishop of Vienne murdered by three followers of King Theodoric
He is invoked against fever
In território Lugdunénsi sancti Desidérii, Epíscopi
Viennénsis; qui, Theodoríci Regis jussu lapídibus óbrutus,
martyrio coronátur.
In the territory of Lyons, St. Desiderius, bishop of Vienne,
who was crowned with martyrdom by being stoned at the order of King Theodoric.
607 ST DESIDERIUS, OR DIDIER, BISHOP OF VIENNE, MARTYR ST GUIBERT
AT the time when Queen Brunhildis was exercising her baleful influence over
the courts of her grandsons Theodebert, king of Austrasia, and Theodoric,
king of Burgundy, the diocese of Vienne was administered by a holy and learned
bishop named Desiderius. He was one of the French prelates to whom St Gregory
the Great specially commended St Augustine and his companion missionaries
on their way to evangelize England. The zeal of St Desiderius in enforcing
clerical discipline, in repressing simony, and in denouncing the profligacy
of the court made him many enemies, the chief of whom was Brunhildis herself.
Attempts were made to discredit him with the pope by accusing him of paganism
on the ground of his liking for reading the great Latin classics, but St Gregory,
after receiving his apologia, completely exonerated him. Brunhildis then
persuaded a servile council at Chalon to banish the good bishop on charges
trumped up by false witnesses. Recalled after four years, St Desiderius found
himself hampered in the exercise of his duties by the governor of Vienne
and other old opponents, but he did not scruple boldly to rebuke King Theodoric
for his shameless wickedness. On the way home from the court he was set upon
by three hired men who, probably exceeding their orders, killed him, at the
place where now stands the town of Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne.
The passio, which was edited in
the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. ix
(1890), pp. 250-262, seems to be a trustworthy document and to be the work
of a contemporary. Another account attributed to Sisebut, the Visigothic
king, is also probably authentic, but tells us little. Both are included
by B. Krusch in his third volume of Scriptores
Merov., in MGH., pp. 620-648. See also Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. i, pp.
207-208.
Desiderius was born at Autun, Gaul, and also known as Didier. He became
bishop of Vienne. His enforcement of strict clerical discipline, his attachs
on simony, and his denunciation of the immorality of Queen Brunhildis' court
made him many enemies. He was denounced by the queen for paganism to Pope
Gregory the Great who completely exonerated him, but was banished by a synod
controlled by Brunhildis. Desiderius returned four years later but was murdered
by three followers of King Theodoric, whom he had publicly censured.
Desiderius of Vienne BM (RM) Born in Autun, France; died 608; second feast
on February 11. Desiderius was educated in Vienne, where he became archdeacon
and rose to be bishop. This was a time of much laxity among the clergy and
the new bishop zealously set about reforming them. He was ready to rebuke
the highest in the land for their immorality.
One of these was Queen Brunhildis. Desiderius found the behavior of her courtiers
shameful, and said so. The queen appealed to Pope Gregory the Great, accusing
the bishop of being too much interested in the writings of pagans. Pope Gregory
remonstrated with him for personally giving lessons in so profane a subject
as grammar--Latin grammar. (Gregory also wrote to Desiderius to request hospitality
for Saint Augustine of Canterbury
on his way to England from Rome.)
For several years the bishop was banished but eventually Gregory the Great
came to see that he was innocent of Brunhildis's charges and restored him
to Vienne. Desiderius also attacked the queen's grandson, King Thierry II
of Burgundy, whose life was as immoral as his grandmother's. Thierry found
a new false charge to bring against Desiderius: He alleged that Desiderius
had an immoral relationship with a lady named Justa. In consequence, Desiderius
was banished from his diocese for some years.
On his return from exile, he was soon in trouble again for having rebuked
King Thierry for his shameful life. As he was being taken into detention,
three of his escort set on him (at a place now called Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne)
and cruelly murdered him, apparently on the initiative of the soldiers rather
than by order of Thierry.
Desiderius is venerated as a martyr because he was put to death in the execution
of his duty as a bishop (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley). In art, Saint
Desiderius is a bishop holding a rope, or strangled. He is invoked against
fever (Roeder).
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Dodo of the St David-Gareji Monastery, Georgia Venerable
A companion of St. Davit of Gareji, St. Dodo belonged to the
royal family Andronikashvili. He was tonsured a monk while still an youth,
and was endowed with every virtue.
An admirer of poverty and solitude, he labored as a hermit at
Ninotsminda in Kakheti.
Having heard about the miracles of Davit of Gareji, St. Dodo set
off for the Gareji Wilderness to witness them himself. The venerable fathers
greeted one another warmly and began laboring there together.
After some time, St. Davit became deeply impressed with Dodo’s
devotion to the Faith, and he proposed that he take with him some of the
other monks and begin to construct cells on the opposite mountain.
The brothers built cells and began to labor there with great ardor.
Before long the number of cells had reached two hundred. St. Dodo isolated
himself in a narrow crevice, where there was barely room for one man. Day
and night, winter and summer, in the heat and the cold, he prayed with penitent
tears for the forgiveness of his sins, the strengthening of the souls of
his brothers, and the bolstering of the true Faith throughout the country.
Once St. Davit miraculously healed the son of Prince Bubakar of
Rustavi. In return, the grateful prince donated food and other necessities
to the monks of Gareji Monastery. St. Davit took part of his contributions
and sent what remained to St. Dodo. He advised Bubakar to have St. Dodo baptize
him, and St. Dodo joyously baptized Bubakar, his sons, and all his suite.
St. Dodo labored to an advanced age in the monastery he had founded
and reposed peacefully.
His spiritual sons and companions buried him in the cave where
he had labored, and a church was later built over his grave.
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670 St. Goban Abbot
skills as a builder Benedictine monk and disciple of Saint Fursey
also called Gobhnena. He is believed to be the Goban mentioned in the life
of St. Laserian. Goban served in
Tascaffin, County Limerick, Ireland. Saint Goban was born in Ireland, though his exact place of birth
is not known, it is said he was local to the north Antrim coast area and
perhaps the Glenshesk area. Local folklore tell of his skills as a
builder and that he was responsible for many buildings around the locality
including the church at Templastragh 'Temple of the Flame, above Portbraddon,
County Antrim and another at Drumenie in Glenshesk, Ballycastle,
County Antrim.
Goban was ordained in Ireland and then went to live as Benedictine
monk and disciple of Saint Fursey
at Burgh Castle in Suffolk. He accompanied and assisted the Abbott
on his missions to spread the Gospel of Christianity to the east coast of
England. Later Goban and Fursey both went to live at Corbeny
in France, before the Abbey was built there.
They settled and lived as hermits in the forests of Loan and finally at Oise.
It was there that Goban founded another church and dedicated it to St. Peter,
it is today called Saint Gobain. The land on which it was built was given
to Goban by King Clotaire the III.
Gobain was attacked and beheaded by robbers or raiders at Le Mont d'Hermitage,
the location now known as the town of Saint Gobain in France.
Goban Gobhnena of Old-Leighlin (AC) 6th or 7th century. This saint is supposed
to be the Goban mentioned in the life of Saint Laserian as governing the monastery
of Old-Leighlin. He migrated from there to Tascaffin, County Limerick (Benedictines).
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787
Saint Syagrius (Siacre) of Nice kinsman of Blessed Charlemagne monk of Lérins
founder abbot bishop of Nice OSB B (AC)
Saint Syagrius, kinsman of Blessed Charlemagne, was a monk of Lérins.
Later he founded and became the abbot of Saint Pons at Cimiez in Provence,
from where he was consecrated at bishop of Nice in 777 (Benedictines).
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820
St. Michael of Synnada Bishop disciple of St. Tarasius of Constantinople
enemy of Iconoclast heretics in the Byzantine Empire
Synnadæ, in Phrygia, sancti Michaélis
Epíscopi. At Synnada in Phrygia, St. Michael, bishop.
Michael was bishop of Synnada, Phrygia, in modem
Turkey. He carried a synodal document from St. Tarasius to Pope St. Leo III
in Rome. An enemy of the Iconoclast heretics in the Byzantine Empire, Michael
was exiled to Galatia by Emperor Leo V the Armenian.
Michael of Synnada B (RM) Saint Michael was consecrated bishop of Synnada
in Phrygia by his mentor Saint Tarasius of Constantinople. Tarasius chose
Michael to carry his synodal letter to Pope Saint Leo III in Rome. Because
Michael was a fearless opponent of the iconoclasts, image breakers, he was
exiled to Galatia by Emperor Leo the Armenian (Benedictines).
821 St Michael the Confessor the
Bishop of Synnada defended Orthodoxy, bravely opposing the heretics and denouncing
their error
Saint Michael the Confessor From his youth he longed for the monastic life
and was sent by Patriarch Tarasius (784-806) to a monastery on the coast
of the Black Sea. St Theophylactus
(March 8), the future Bishop of Nicomedia also entered the monastery together
with him. At the monastery both monks engaged in spiritual struggles
and were soon glorified by gifts from the Lord. Once, during a harvest, when
the people were weakened by thirst, an empty metal vessel was filled with
water by the prayer of the monks. Patriarch Tarasius consecrated St
Michael as bishop of the city of Synada. Through his holy life and wisdom,
St Michael won the love of believers, and the notice of the emperors Nicephorus
I (802-811) and Michael I Rangabe (811-813). St Michael was present at the
Seventh
Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 787.
When the Iconoclast heretic Leo the Armenian (813-820) assumed the throne,
he began to expel Orthodox hierarchs from their Sees, appointing heretics
in their place. St Michael defended Orthodoxy, bravely opposing the
heretics and denouncing their error. Leo the Armenian brought St Michael
to trial, but not fearing torture he answered resolutely, "I venerate the
holy icons of my Savior Jesus Christ and the All-Pure Virgin, His Mother,
and all the saints, and it is to them I bow down. I shall not obey your decrees
to remove icons from churches."
Leo then banished St Michael to the city of Eudokiada, where the confessor
died about the year 821. The head of St Michael is preserved in the Great
Lavra of St Athanasius on Mount Athos, and part of the relics are at the
Iveron monastery.
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962
Guibert (Guibertus) of Gembloux abandoned his military career for the religious
life active in missionary work among the Hungarian and Slav soldiers OSB
Abbot (AC)
Died at Gorze on May 23, 962; canonized in 1211. Guibert, a noble of Lorraine,
was a well-known military leader, but he abandoned his military career for
the religious life. He became a hermit on his estate at Gembloux, Brabant,
and with the help of his Grandmother Gisla, in 936 founded a Benedictine
monastery on the estate with Herluin as abbot and donated the estate to the
monastery.
962 ST GUIBERT
GEMBLOUX in Brabant, which is now a centre for agriculture and the manufacture
of cutlery, covers the site once occupied by a celebrated Benedictine monastery.
It was founded by St Guibert, or Wibert, who, about the year 936, gave his
estate of Gembloux for that purpose. He came of one of the most illustrious
families of Lotharingia and had served with distinction in warlike campaigns,
when he was moved to abandon the world and to make trial of the solitary
life on one of his estates. It was whilst he was living as a hermit that
he conceived the idea of establishing a religious house where men, drawn
from worldly affairs, would honour God unceasingly by singing His praises.
St Guibert's grandmother Gisla helped to endow the new foundation, over which
he placed a holy man called Herluin to be the first abbot. He himself, as
soon as the new monastery was well launched, retired to the abbey of Gorze,
where he received the habit. This step he took from humility, to avoid the
respect with which he was regarded at Gembloux and the complacency he might
feel in his own foundation. At Gorze he hoped to live in obscurity as a simple
monk, He soon discovered, however, that he could not thus easily sever his
connection with Gembloux. The land he had given to the new abbey appears
to have been an imperial fief, and busybodies represented to the Emperor
Otto I that the saint was not entitled thus to dispose of it. The monarch
summoned him to plead his cause. Guibert defended his action and his rights
so successfully that Otto confirmed the establishment of the abbey by charter
and subsequently granted to it great privileges.
Nevertheless, in spite of the emperor's letters, the monks of Gembloux were
not left in peaceful possession. The count of Namur, St Guibert's brother-in-law,
claimed it on behalf of his wife and seized the revenues of the abbey so
St Guibert was obliged for a time to return to Gembloux to assert his own
claims and to protect the community he had founded. At the same time he did
missionary work, and succeeded in converting a number of pagans, Hungarian
and Slav settlers who had remained in the country after the invasion of 954.
St Guibert's last years, which he spent at Gorze, were troubled by a long
and painful illness. He died on May 23, 962, in his seventieth year, and
his tomb was afterwards celebrated for the miracles wrought there.
There is a life written in some
detail by the chronicler Sigebert of Gembloux, who lived a century later.
It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum,
May, vol. v, and elsewhere. A good deal of attention has been paid by various
writers to the foundation of Gembloux. See especially U. Berlière,
Monasticon Beige, vol. i,
pp. 15-26, and also the Revue Bénédictine
, vol. iv (1887), pp. 303-307.
Guibert then became a monk at Gorze but was summoned before Emperor
Otto I to defend his right to donate the estate (it was an imperial fief)
to the monastery--which he did successfully. He was again obliged to defend
the monastery when the count of Namur seized its revenues, claiming that
it belonged to his wife, and again successfully defended the monastery against
the count, his brother- in-law. Guibert was active in missionary work among
the Hungarian and Slav soldiers who remained in Brabant after an invasion
in 954 (Benedictines, Delaney).
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1077 St.
Leontius Bishop missionary in Russia born Greek monk at the Caves of Kiev,
Russia
In 1051, he became bishop of Rostov.
Uncovering of the relics of St Leontius
the Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov
1077 ST LEONTIUS, BISHOP OF ROSTOV, MARTYR Helped by the gift of miracles,
he is said to have brought paganism to an end around Rostov; St Leontius
was distinguished as "the hieromartyr", that is, the martyr who was a priest.
Russian usage commemorates him at the preparation of the holy things in the
Byzantine Mass,
This Leontius, who was a Greek from Constantinople, was the first monk of
the Caves of Kiev to become a bishop, when soon after the year 1051 he was
given charge of the eparchy of Rostov. He was one of a line of remarkable
missionary bishops of this see, and though he received much persecution at
the hands of the heathen he was reputed to be more successful in their conversion
than any of his predecessors. Helped by the gift of miracles, he is said
to have brought paganism to an end around Rostov, but in view of the mission
of St Abraham fifty years later this can hardly be the case (unless St Abraham
has been wrongly dated).
St Leontius died in or about 1077, and because of the ill-treatment he suffered
from the heathen he has ever been venerated as a martyr. It is said that
two laymen, Varangians, were the first to die for the Christian faith in
Russia, in the time of St Vladimir the Great, and St Leontius was distinguished
as "the hieromartyr", that is, the martyr who was a priest. Russian usage
commemorates him at the preparation of the holy things in the Byzantine Mass.
From Martynov's Annus ecclesiasticus Graeco-Slavicus in Acta
Sanctorum, October, xi. Cf. St Sergius, September 25, and bibliography.
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May
23 was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Saint Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, is commemorated today with the other Rostov
saints. He reposed on May 23, 1073, and his holy relics were uncovered in
1164.
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1116 St. Ivo of
Chartres One of the most notable bishops of France at the time of the Investiture
struggles and the most important canonist before Gratian in the Occident
1116 ST IVO, BISHOP OF CHARTRES
To the order of Canons Regular of St Augustine the Church in the eleventh
century was indebted for one of the most venerated of her episcopal rulers.
Ivo, bishop of Chartres, was born in the territory of Beauvais and studied
theology under the celebrated Lanfranc in the abbey of Bec. After occupying
a canonry at Nesles in Picardy, he took the habit at the monastery of Saint-Quentin,
a house of regular canons, where he was appointed to lecture on theology,
canon law and the Holy Scriptures. Afterwards Ivo ruled as superior for fourteen
years, during the course of which he raised the house to a high pitch of
discipline and learning, so that he was constantly being called upon by bishops
and princes to send his canons to other places either to reform ancient chapters
or to found new ones. The observances of Saint-Quentin were adopted by St
Botulf's at Colchester, the first Augustinian house in England.
When, in the year 1091, Geoffrey, bishop of Chartres, was deposed for simony
and other misdemeanours, the clergy and people demanded Ivo for their bishop.
He was very unwilling to emerge from his retirement, but Bd Urban II confirmed
his election and Ivo set out for Capua, where he was consecrated by the pope,
who subsequently checked the endeavours of Richerius, archbishop of Sens,
to reinstate Geoffrey. Scarcely was St Ivo firmly established in his see
than he found himself faced with the necessity of opposing the will of his
sovereign. King Philip I had become so greatly enamoured of Bertrada, the
third wife of Fulk, Count of Anjou, that he had determined to marry her and
to divorce his queen Bertha, in spite of the fact that she had borne him
two children. Ivo did his utmost to dissuade the king from proceeding further,
but when he found his remonstrances unavailing he declared openly that he
would prefer to be cast into the sea with a mill-stone round his neck rather
than countenance such a scandal; and he absented himself from the wedding
ceremony at which the bishop of Senlis connived. Philip in revenge had him
put in prison, seized his revenues and sent officers to plunder his lands.
Strong representations, however, were made by the pope, by other influential
personages and by the citizens of Chartres, and he was released. Philip indeed
could scarcely fail to realize that the bishop was amongst his most loyal
subjects, for St Ivo, while actually in custody, nipped in the bud a conspiracy
of nobles against their sovereign; and, when the affair had dragged on for
years, he exerted himself to reconcile Philip to the Holy See and at the
Council of Beaugency in 1104 recommended the absolution of the king, whose
real wife had in the meantime died. Though he was devoted to the Holy See,
St Ivo maintained a sufficiently independent attitude to enable him to act
as mediator in the dispute over investitures and to protest openly against
the greed of certain Roman legates and the simony of members of the papal
court.
St Ivo died on December 23, 1116, after having governed his see for twenty-three
years. He was a voluminous writer and many of his works have survived. His
most famous literary undertaking was a collection of decrees drawn from papal
and conciliar letters and canons accepted by the fathers. This is preserved
to us in two, if not three, independent compilations. We have also 24 sermons
and 288 letters which shed an interesting light on contemporary history and
ecclesiastical discipline.
Although no formal early biography
of St Ivo of Chartres is preserved to us, we have a great deal of information
supplied by his letters and by references in contemporary chronicles and
correspondence. See the Acta Sanctorum,
May, vol. v. Ivo has been much studied recently, especially from the point
of view of his work as a canonist. A most valuable contribution to this aspect
of the subject may be found in the treatise of P. Fournier and G. Le Bras,
Histoire des Collections canoniques
en Occident depuis les Fausses Décrétales, etc., vol.
ii (1932), pp. 55-114. St Ivo's views as to the superiority of the cenobitical
life to that of hermits and solitaries are discussed by G. Morin in the Revue Bénédictine, vol.
xl (1928), pp. 99-115. See also Fliche and Martin, Histoire de l'Eglise, t. viii.
Born of a noble family about 1040; From the neighbourhood of
Beauvais, his native country, he went for his studies first to Paris and
thence to the Abbey of Bee in Normandy, at the same time as Anselm of Canterbury,
to attend the lectures given by Lanfranc. About 1080 he became, at the desire
of his bishop, prior of the canons of St-Quentin at Beauvais. He was then
one of the best teachers in France, and so prepared himself to infuse a new
life into the celebrated schools of Chartres, of which city he was appointed
bishop in 1090, his predecessor, Geoffroy, having been deposed for simony.
His episcopal government, at first opposed by the tenants of Geoffroy, ranged
over a period of twenty-five years. No man, perhaps, is better portrayed
in his writing than is Ivo in his letters and sermons; in both he appears
as a man always faithful to his duties, high-minded, full of zeal and piety,
sound in his judgments, a keen jurist, straight-forward, mindful of others'
rights, devoted to the papacy and to his country, at the same time openly
disapproving of what he considered wrong. This explains why he has been sometimes
quoted as a patron of Gallican Liberties and looked upon by Flaccus Illyricus
as one of the "witnesses to the truth" in his "Catalogus". Very often Ivo
was consulted on theological, liturgical, political, and especially canonical
matters. Of his life little more is known than may be gathered from his letters.
As bishop he strongly opposed Philip the First, who wished to desert Bertha,
his legitimate wife, and marry Bertrade of Anjou (1092); his opposition gained
him a prison cell. In the Investiture struggle then raging in France, and
especially in Germany, Ivo represented the moderate party. Though he died
too early to witness the final triumph of his ideas with the Concordat of
Worms (1122), his endeavours and his doctrines may be said to have paved
the way for an agreement satisfactory to both sides. His views on the subject
are fully expressed in several of his letters, especially those of the years
1099, 1106, and 1111 (Epistolae, lx, clxxxix, ccxxxii, ccxxxvi, ccxxxvii,
etc.); these letters are still of interest as to the question of the relationship
between Church and State, the efficacy of sacraments administered by heretics,
the sin of simony, etc.
Works The printed works of Ivo of Chartres may be arranged into three
categories; canonical
writings, letters,
and sermons.
Ivo (Yvo) of Chartres, OSA B (AC) Born at Beauvais, France, c. 1040; died
December 23, 1115. Ivo was a canon at Nasles and then became a canon regular
of Saint Augustine at Saint-Quentin. After teaching Scripture, theology,
and canon law there, he became prior about 1078 and was elected bishop of
Chartres in 1091. Because of his expertise in canon law, he was counselor
of King Philip I. When Ivo denounced the king's plan to divorce his wife,
Bertha, to marry Bertrada, third wife of Count Fulk of Anjou, Ivo was imprisoned
in 1192 and his revenues were confiscated by the crown. He was freed through
the intercession of the pope and later reconciled Philip to the Holy See
after Bertha died. Ivo acted as mediator in several investiture disputes
and openly protested the simony of several members of the papal court. He
wrote widely on canon law, and his Decretum had considerable influence on
its development. Ivo was also a voluminous correspondent, and many of his
letters reflecting the religious issues of his time are still extant (Benedictines,
Delaney).
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1073 Leonitus of Rostov
Bishop and wonderworker of Rostov BM (RM)
Opening of the Relics of St. Leontius; Orthodox Liturgy: Hymn
Of St Leontius, Bishop Of Rostov - Arte Corale. 10. Orthodox Liturgy: Hymn
Of The Cherubim - Arte Corale ...Uncovering of the relics of St Leontius,
Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov
Saint Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, is commemorated today with the
other Rostov saints. He reposed on May 23, 1073, and his holy relics were
uncovered in 1164.
Uncovering of the relics of St Leontius the Bishop and Wonderworker
of Rostov: The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav
Saints on May 23 was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch
Alexis I (+ 1970) and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March
10, 1964.
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1173 Euphrosyne
of Polotsk the only East Slav virgin saint money Euphrosyne earned copying
books distributed to the poorV (RM)
1173 ST EUPHROSYNE OF POLOTSK, VIRGIN
WHEN Russia received the Christian faith from Constantinople at the end of
the tenth century the Byzantine liturgy of worship also was adopted, including
the calendar with its commemorations of numerous Greek and other saints.
As time went by Russian holy ones were added to the sanctorale; but in this
connection there were two rather curious modifications of Greek and Western
practice.
The first was the very secondary place given to martyrs for the faith as
compared with great ascetics or such "sufferers" as SS. Boris and Gleb.
The second was the lack of veneration for holy maidens (the All-Holy Mother
of God of course excepted). Early Russian iconography ignored the virgin
saints of the Greek calendar almost completely; and only twelve women have
been canonized by the Russian Church, and of these, eleven have been married.
The exception was St Euphrosyne of Polotsk.
She was the daughter of Prince Svyatoslav of Polotsk, and she became a nun
in her native town when she was twelve years old, and took up a solitary
life in a cell at the cathedral church of the Holy Wisdom. For the most part
she spent her time copying books, which she sold in order that she might
devote the proceeds to the relief of the sick and needy. But like some other
recluses St Euphrosyne travelled about a good bit: she founded a monastery
for women at Seltse, she visited Constantinople, where she was received by
the Emperor Manuel I and was given by the Patriarch Michael III the eikon
of our Lady of Korsun, and in her last years she went to the Holy Land. These
were the days of the Latin crusading kingdom of Jerusalem, and St Euphrosyne
was received by King Amaury I and by the Frankish patriarch, Amaury; she
also visited the famous monastery of Mar Saba, still in existence and occupied,
in the wilderness halfway between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. It was there
in Jerusalem that she died, and her body was brought back to Kiev for burial.
St Euphrosyne is honoured by the Ruthenians and Lithuanians as well as by
the Russians.
See I. Martynov, Annus ecclesiasticus Graeco-Slavicus,
in the Acta Sanctorum, October,
vol. xi, and A. Maltsev, Menologium der
Orthodox-Katholischen Kirche des Morgenlandes (1900) and also the
account of Euphrosyne's pilgrimage translated in Revue de l'Orient latin, vol. iii (1895),
pp. 32-35.
(also known as Efrasinnia, Euphrasinne) Born in Polacak, Belorussia, in 1110;
Pradslava, the only East Slav virgin saint, was the granddaughter of Prince
Polacak Usiaslau from whom she inherited a strong will.
Determined to devote her life to God, she refused all marriage proposals
and, finally, ran away to join her aunt's convent, Holy Wisdom. There she
took the veil and the name Euphrosyne. The money Euphrosyne earned in copying
books, she distributed to the poor. Later she founded and ruled her own convent,
Holy Savior, as well as a monastery. In trying to convince her father, Prince
Sviataslau, to allow her sister Hardzislava join her at the convent, she
argued that in this way Hardzislava would learn to read and write. She was
also joined by two nieces and a cousin. Euphrosyne commissioned a beautiful,
gem-studded cross, which she gave to Holy Savior Church in 1161. This cross
disappeared without a trace during World War II.
Late in life she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where she died. After
the conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187, Euphrosyne's relics were translated
Monastery of the Caves in Kiev, Ukraine. In 1910, they were returned to Polacak
(Nadson).
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1201 St. William
of Rochester miracles occurred at grave experienced conversion as a young
man devoted himself to the care of the poor and orphans
1201 ST WILLIAM OF ROCHESTER, MARTYR
THE story of this William is that he was a holy and charitable burgher of
Perth, who set out from Scotland to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He took
with him one David, a foundling whom he had adopted. In the neighbourhood
of Rochester this lad murdered his benefactor. The body was found by a poor
woman who roamed about the country crazy and half-naked; she made a garland
of honeysuckle and laid it on the corpse. Afterwards, putting the wreath
on her own head, she was restored to her right mind and gave notice to the
people of Rochester. They came out and honourably buried the victim of this
crime. Miracles followed, and it is even alleged that William was canonized
by Pope Alexander IV in 1256. What is certain is that before this time there
was already a shrine of "St William" in Rochester Cathedral, which was a
notable centre of popular devotion.
Father T. K Bridgett discussed
the case at length in The Month for August 1891, pp. 501-508. But see also
the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. v;
and W. St John Hope, The Cathedral and
Monastery of St Andrew at Rochester (1900), pp. 37, 127-128, etc.
There is no trace of any bull of canonization, and the statement that Bishop
Laurence going to Rome impetravit canonizationem
beati Willelmi martyris probably means no more than that leave was
granted to maintain the cult already in existence. We know that King Edward
I in 1299 made an offering at the shrine.
Patron of adopted children. William was a well-to-do burgher at
Perth, Scotland. He went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his adopted son
David who murdered him near Rochester, England. When a mentally deranged woman
found his body and cared for it, she was miraculously cured of her mental
problems. Reportedly miracles occurred at his grave, and it is said that
he was canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1256, though there is no record
of such a canonization. There is a shrine dedicated to William at Rochester
Cathedral.
William of Rochester M (AC) (also known as William of Perth) Born in Perth,
Scotland; papal approval given in 1256; other feast day on April 22. A baker
(or fisherman according to Farmer) by trade, Saint William experienced conversion
as a young man. Thereafter, he devoted himself to the care of the poor and
orphans. Once he saved an infant who was left at the door of the church and
raised him as his own. In 1201, he set out on a pilgrimage to Canterbury
or the Holy Land, taking with him one companion, his adopted son. Near Rochester,
the son diverted him on a short-cut and killed him for his few possessions.
His body was found by a madwoman who garlanded it with honeysuckle, and through
it was cured of her insanity. As a result of this and other miracles wrought
at his intercession after death, he was acclaimed a martyr by the people
and his body was enshrined in the cathedral of Rochester. First it was in
the crypt, then in the north-east transept, where offerings at his shrine
contributed towards the rebuilding of the church.
Some type of papal approval of the cultus was sought by Bishop Laurence of
Rochester in 1256 and granted. Offerings at the shrine were recorded for
King Edward I (1300) and Queen Philippa (1352). Bequests by the local people
continued through the 15th and 16th centuries. Saint William's Hospital on
the road to Maidstone marks the site of the saint's death (Benedictines,
Farmer, Gill).
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1245
BD GERARD OF VILLAMAGNA led
a very austere life, absorbed for the most part in contemplation, but also
giving direction at times to many struggling souls who came to consult him:
received the cord of the third
order from St Francis himself, and that he died some twenty years later famous
for his miracles and prophecies
THE origins of the Franciscan third order for lay-folk are involved in great
obscurity, and it is curious to notice how little evidence is forthcoming
to support the claim that certain holy people in the early part of the thirteenth
century were admitted as tertiaries by St Francis himself. Something has
already been said of the case of Bd Luchesius (April 28); and here again
when we ask for proof that Gerard of Villamagna was received into the third
order by the Saint of Assisi, we are told that all early documents have perished.
Gerard was a solitary who occupied a hermitage near his native village of
Villamagna in Tuscany. He led a very austere life, absorbed for the most
part in contemplation, but also giving direction at times to many struggling
souls who came to consult him. We are told that he had been left an orphan
at the age of twelve, had been brought up as a kind of page-boy in the household
of some wealthy Florentine, had attended his master as a body-servant when
he joined the third crusade, had been captured by the Saracens and afterwards
ransomed, that he had again returned to the Holy Land with another crusader,
and had himself eventually been admitted as a knight of the Holy Sepulchre.
Wearied of the world, it is stated that he came back to Italy to lead the
life of a hermit, that he received the cord of the third order from St Francis
himself, and that he died some twenty years later famous for his miracles
and prophecies. His cult was confirmed in 1833.
The Bollandists could find no
better materials to print in the Acta Sanctorum
(May, vol. iii) than an account compiled after the year 1550 by the parish
priest of Villamagna. See also Wadding, Annales, vol. v, p. 59.
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1330
Blessed Bartholomew Pucci-Franceschi Franciscan friar a wealthy citizen of
Montepulciano, Italy, OFM (AC)
Died May 6, 1330; cultus confirmed in 1880. Bartholomew was a wealthy citizen
of Montepulciano, Italy, who, with his wife's consent, became a Franciscan
friar, and is usually described as having become "a fool for Christ's sake"
(Benedictines).
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1587 St. Felix of Cantalice
the first Franciscan Capuchin ever canonized developed the habit of praying
while he worked; model of simplicity and charity
In fact, when he was born [1515],
the Capuchins did not yet exist as a distinct group within the Franciscans.
1330 BD BARTHOLOMEW OF MONTEPULCIANO
AMONGST the numerous persons of all ranks who were led by the example of
the early Franciscans to abandon all things in order to embrace holy poverty
was a prominent citizen of Montepulciano named Bartholomew Pucci-Franceschi.
He was a married man and had lived an exemplary Christian life with his family
for many years when the call came to him to serve God in complete renunciation
of the world. With the consent of his wife, who herself took the vow of chastity,
he entered the Franciscan Order. Soon he surpassed all his brethren in piety,
and was induced, though against his wish, to receive holy orders. He had frequent
visions of our Lady and of angels, and performed many miracles, particularly
in the multiplication of food. To avoid human respect he tried to become
a "fool for Christ's sake", behaving at times in such a manner as to be ridiculed
and pelted by children in the streets. He lived to be very old, and died
at Montepulciano on May 6, 1330.
See Ausserer,
Seraphisches Martyrologium (1889); Leon, Aureole Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. ii, pp. 375--376.
Born of humble, 1515, God-fearing parents in the Rieti Valley,
Felix worked as a farmhand and a shepherd until he was 28. He developed the
habit of praying while he worked.
In 1543 he joined the Capuchins. When the guardian explained the
hardships of that way of life, Felix answered: "Father, the austerity of
your Order does not frighten me. I hope, with God’s help, to overcome all
the difficulties which will arise from my own weakness."
Three years later Felix was assigned to the friary in Rome as
its official beggar. Because he was a model of simplicity and charity, he
edified many people during the 42 years he performed that service for his
confreres.
As he made his rounds, he worked to convert hardened sinners and
to feed the poor as did his good friend, St. Philip Neri, who founded the Oratory,
a community of priests serving the poor of Rome. When Felix wasn’t talking
on his rounds, he was praying the rosary. The people named him "Brother Deo
Gratias" (thanks be to God) because he was always using that blessing.
When Felix was an old man, his superior had to order him to wear
sandals to protect his health. Around the same time a certain cardinal offered
to suggest to Felix’s superiors that he be freed of begging so that he could
devote more time to prayer. Felix talked the cardinal out of that idea. Felix
was canonized in 1712.
Comment: Grateful people make good beggars. Francis told
his friars that if they gave the world good example, the world would support
them. Felix’s life proves the truth of that advice. In referring all blessings
back to their source (God), Felix encouraged people to works of charity for
the friars and for others.
Quote: "And let us refer all good to the most high and supreme
lord God, and acknowledge that every good is His, and thank Him for everything,
[He] from Whom all good things come. And may He, the Highest and Supreme,
Who alone is true God, have and be given and receive every honor and reverence,
every praise and blessing, every thanks and glory, for every good is His,
He Who alone is good. And when we see or hear an evil [person] speak or act
or blaspheme God, let us speak well and act well and praise God (cf. Rm 12:21),
Who is blessed forever (Rm 1:25)" (St. Francis, Rule of 1221, Ch. 17).
St. Felix of Cantalice (1515-1587) Felix was the first Franciscan
Capuchin ever canonized. In fact, when he was born, the Capuchins did not
yet exist as a distinct group within the Franciscans. Born of humble, God-fearing
parents in the Rieti Valley, Felix worked as a farmhand and a shepherd until
he was 28. He developed the habit of praying while he worked.
In 1543 he joined the Capuchins. When the guardian explained the
hardships of that way of life, Felix answered: "Father, the austerity of
your Order does not frighten me. I hope, with God’s help, to overcome all
the difficulties which will arise from my own weakness."
Three years later Felix was assigned to the friary in Rome as
its official beggar. Because he was a model of simplicity and charity, he
edified many people during the 42 years he performed that service for his
confreres.
As he made his rounds, he worked
to convert hardened sinners and to feed the poor as did his good friend,
St. Philip Neri, who founded the Oratory, a community of priests serving
the poor of Rome. When Felix wasn’t talking on his rounds, he was praying
the rosary. The people named him "Brother Deo Gratias" (thanks be to God)
because he was always using that blessing.
When Felix was an old man, his superior had to order him to wear
sandals to protect his health. Around the same time a certain cardinal offered
to suggest to Felix’s superiors that he be freed of begging so that he could
devote more time to prayer. Felix talked the cardinal out of that idea. Felix
was canonized in 1712.
Comment: Grateful people make good beggars. Francis told
his friars that if they gave the world good example, the world would support
them. Felix’s life proves the truth of that advice. In referring all blessings
back to their source (God), Felix encouraged people to works of charity for
the friars and for others.
Quote: "And let us refer all good to the most high and supreme
lord God, and acknowledge that every good is His, and thank Him for everything,
[He] from Whom all good things come. And may He, the Highest and Supreme,
Who alone is true God, have and be given and receive every honor and reverence,
every praise and blessing, every thanks and glory, for every good is His,
He Who alone is good. And when we see or hear an evil [person] speak or act
or blaspheme God, let us speak well and act well and praise God (cf. Rm 12:21),
Who is blessed forever (Rm 1:25)" (St. Francis, Rule of 1221, Ch. 17).
(This entry appears in the print edition of Day by Day With Followers
of Francis and Clare.)
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1750 St. Crispin
of Viterbo Franciscan lay brother, noted for miracles, prophecies, and holiness
Born Peter Fioretti, in Viterbo, Italy,
on November 13, 1668, he studied at the Jesuit College, and became a shoemaker.
At twenty-five he entered the Franciscan Capuchins and took the name Crispin.
He served as a gardener and as a cook. He called himself “the little
beast of burden of the Capuchins.” During an epidemic, Crispin effected many
miraculous cures. He was also venerated for his prophecies and spiritual
wisdom. Crispin died in Rome on May 19. He was beautified in 1806 and canonized
in 1982. |
St. Julia born of noble parents in South
Africa
When she was still quite
young, her city was conquered by barbarians. Julia was captured and sold
as a slave to a pagan merchant, but she did not complain or feel sorry for
herself. She accepted everything, and performed the most humble tasks with
wonderful cheerfulness. For Julia loved God with all her heart. In her spare
time, she read holy books and prayed fervently.
One day her master decided to take her with him to France. On
the way, he stopped at an island to go to a pagan festivsl. Julia refused
to even go near the place where they were celebrating. She did not want to
have anything to do with those superstitious ceremonies.
The governor of that region was very angry with her for not joining
in the pagan feast. "Who is that woman who dares to insult our gods?" he cried.
Julia's owner answered that she was a Christian. He said, too, that although
he had not been able to make her give up her religion, still she was such
a good, faithful servant that he would not know what to do without her.
"I will give you four of my best women slaves for her," offered
the governor, but her master refused. "No," he said, "All you own will not
buy her. I would willingly lose the most valuable thing in the world rather
than lose her."
When the merchant was asleep, however, the wicked governor tried
to make Julia sacrifice to the gods. He promised to have her set free if she
would, but she absolutely refused. She said she was as free as she wanted
to be as long as she could serve Jesus. Then the pagan ruler, in great anger,
had her struck on the face and her hair torn from her head. She was next
put on a cross to hang there until she died.
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1764 John Baptist de
Rossi combined enfleshment of social Gospel with cure of souls catechized
teamsters farmers cattlemen from the country sought help homeless women girls
living in streets beggars prostitutes (RM)
Romæ sancti Joánnis
Baptístæ de Rossi, Presbyteri et Confessóris, patiéntia
et caritáte in evangelizándis paupéribus insígnis.
At Rome, St.
John Baptist de Rossi, priest and confessor, a man illustrious for his patience
and his zeal in preaching the Gospel to the poor.
1764 ST JOHN BAPTIST
ROSSI
THIS holy priest was born in 1698 at the village of Voltaggio in the diocese
of Genoa, and was one of the four children of an excellent and highly respected
couple. When he was ten, a nobleman and his wife who were spending the summer
at Voltaggio obtained permission from his parents to take him back with them
to Genoa to be trained in their house. He remained with them three years,
winning golden opinions from all, notably from two Capuchin friars who came
to his patron's home. They carried such a favourable report of the boy to
his uncle, who was then minister provincial of the Capuchins, that a cousin,
Lorenzo Rossi, a canon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, invited him to come to
Rome. The offer was accepted, and John Baptist entered the Roman College
at the age of thirteen. Popular with his teacher's and with his fellow pupils,
he had completed the classical course with distinction when the reading of
an ascetical book led him to embark on excessive mortifications. The strain
on his strength at a time when he was working hard led to a complete breakdown,
which obliged him to leave the Roman College. He recovered sufficiently to
complete his training at the Minerva, but he never was again really robust.
Indeed, his subsequent labours were performed under the handicap of almost
constant suffering.
On March 8, 1721, at the age of twenty-three, John Baptist was ordained,
and his first Mass was celebrated in the Roman College at the altar of St
Aloysius Gonzaga, to whom he always had a special devotion. Even in his student
days he had been in the habit of visiting the hospitals, often in the company
of his fellow pupils, over whom he exercised the same influence that he had
wielded over the children of Voltaggio. Now, as a priest, he could do far
more for the patients. Very particularly did he love the hospice of St Galla,
a night refuge for paupers which had been founded by Pope Celestine III.
For forty years he laboured amongst the inmates, consoling and instructing
them. The hospital of the Trinità dei Pellegrini was also a field
of his labours. But there were other poor people for whom, as he discovered,
no provision had hitherto been made; these called for his special sympathy
and efforts. First and foremost there were the cattle-drovers and teamsters
who came up regularly from the country to sell their beasts at the market
then held in the Roman Forum. In the early morning and late evening he would
go amongst them, winning their confidence, instructing them and preparing
them for the sacraments. Another class to whom his pity was extended comprised
the homeless women and girls who wandered about begging, or who haunted the
streets by night. He had absolutely no money except the little that came
as Mass stipends, but with the help of 500 scudi from a charitable person
and of 400 scudi from the pope, he hired a house behind the hospice of St
Galla and made of it a refuge which he placed under the protection of St
Aloysius Gonzaga.
For the first few years after his ordination his diffidence made him shrink
from undertaking the work of a confessor. It was not until he had gone to
convalesce after an illness to the house of Bishop Tenderini of Civita Castellana
that he was persuaded by his friend to make a beginning in his diocese. At
once he and his penitents realized that he had found his true vocation, and
he followed it up upon his return to Rome. "I used often to wonder what was
the shortest road to Heaven", he remarked to another friend. "It lies in
guiding others thither through the confessional…What a power for good that
can be!"
In the year 1731, Canon Rossi obtained for his kinsman the post of assistant
priest at Sta Maria in Cosmedin. The church, partly owing to its position,
had been poorly attended, but it soon began to fill with penitents of all
classes who flocked to St John Baptist's confessional. So much of his time
came to be spent there that, at a later date, two successive popes, Clement
XII and Benedict XIV, dispensed him from the obligation to say the choir
offices when he was on duty in the confessional.
Upon the death of Canon Lorenzo Rossi in 1736 his canonry was conferred upon
his cousin, who accepted it but gave up its emoluments to provide the church
with an organ and the stipend of an organist. Even the house which he inherited
from Canon Lorenzo he presented to the chapter, whilst he himself went to
live in a miserable attic. His personal wants were very few: his food was
frugal in the extreme, and his dress, although always scrupulously neat,
was of the plainest material. One very congenial task was undertaken at the
request of Pope Benedict XIV, who inaugurated courses of instruction for
prison officials and other state servants and selected this young priest
to deliver them. Amongst his penitents was the public hangman. Once he was
called in to settle a serious quarrel between that official and a younger
subordinate: "To-day I have brought a great affair of state to a happy conclusion",
he afterwards remarked.
As a preacher the saint was in great demand for missions and for giving addresses
in religious houses of both men and women. The Brothers of St. John of God,
in whose hospitals he often ministered, held him in such high esteem that
they chose him to be their own confessor-in-ordinary. Failing health obliged
him in 1763 to take up his residence in the Trinità dei Pellegrini,
and in the December of that year he had a stroke and received the last sacraments.
He rallied sufficiently to resume celebrating Mass, but he suffered greatly
and on May 23, 1764, he succumbed to another apoplectic seizure. He was sixty-six
years of age. He left so little money that the hospital of the Trinità
had to undertake to pay for his burial. As it turned out, however, he was
accorded a magnificent funeral: two hundred and sixty priests, many religious,
and innumerable lay persons took part in the procession; Archbishop Lercari
of Adrianople pontificated at the requiem in the church of the Trinità,
whilst the papal choir provided the music. During his life the saint had
been endowed with supernatural gifts, and numerous miracles followed his
death. The process of his beatification, begun in 1781, was completed by
the bull of canonization in 1881.
There are a number of excellent
modern lives, notably that by Fr Cormier, in French (19901), and that in
Italian by E. Mougeot (1881), which was translated into English by Lady Herbert,
with a preface by Cardinal Vaughan (1906). A contemporary biography was published
by one of Rossi's friends, J. M. Toietti, in 1768, and another in the same
year by Fr Tavani.
Born in Voltaggio, diocese of Genoa, Italy, in 1698; died in Rome canonized
in 1881. When John was young, a nobleman and his wife, who summered in the
village of Voltaggio, took him back to Genoa to be trained in their home.
He stayed for three years, and during that time he gained the good opinion
of two Capuchin friars who visited his patrons. They told his uncle, the
minister provincial of the Capuchins, of the boy's potential. This resulted
in an invitation from his cousin, Lorenzo Rossi, a canon of Santa Maria in
Cosmedin, to come to Rome.
John entered the Roman College at 13. He completed the classical
course of studies but began practicing severe mortifications after reading
an ascetical book. Their severity, combined with a heavy course load and
a bout of epilepsy, led to a breakdown, and he was forced to leave the college.
He recuperated and completed his training at Minerva but was never again
very strong.
At age 23 (1721) he was ordained, and he celebrated his first
Mass in the Roman College. He had visited hospitals as a student, and now
he focused his attention upon them. He concentrated especially on the hospice
of Saint Galla, an overnight shelter for paupers that had been founded by
Pope Celestine III. He divided his labors among Saint Galla's, the hospital
of the Trinita dei Pellegrini, and serving the people of the area.
John combined the enfleshment of the social Gospel with the cure
of souls. He catechized teamsters, farmers, and the cattlemen from the country
who came to the marketplace, and he sought to help homeless women and girls
who lived in the streets, beggars and prostitutes. He was penniless except
for paltry Mass stipends, but with a local donation and a donation from the
pope, he rented a house behind the hospice and made it a refuge, placing
it under the protection of Saint Aloysius
Gonzaga.
Later, his cousin obtained for John the position of assistant
priest at Santa Maria in Cosmedin at the foot of the Aventine. The church
had not been well-attended, but John now drew throngs of penitents of all
classes to his confessional. He was so sought after as a confessor that he
was released from his choir obligation. When his cousin died in 1736, the
canonry was given to John, who used the compensation from the office to buy
the church an organ and to pay an organist. He chose to live in an attic,
giving the house that had been his legacy from his cousin to the chapter.
Pope Benedict XIV chose John to instruct prison and other state
officials, including the public hangman. His preaching was in great demand,
and he was often asked to give addresses in religious houses .
His ever-frail health compelled
him in 1763 to move to the Trinita dei Pellegrini, where he suffered a stroke
that same year and received the last sacraments. He recovered enough to resume
celebrating Mass, but, in 1764, he had another stroke and died at the age
of 66. The hospital of the Trinita undertook to pay for the poor priest's
burial. His funeral was attended by 260 priests as well as the papal choir.
Archbishop Lercari of Adrianople spoke at the requiem Mass. In 1965, his
relics were translated into the new parish church in Rome, which is under
his patronage (Benedictines, Farmer, White).
1764 St. John Baptist Rossi holy priest This holy priest
was born 1698 in at the village of Voltaggio in the diocese of
Genoa and was one of the four children of an excellent and highly respected
couple. When he was ten a nobleman and his wire who were spending the summer
at Voltaggio obtained permission from his parents to take him back with them
to Genoa to be trained in their house.
He remained with them three years, winning golden opinions from all, notably
from two Capuchin friars who came to his patrons home. They carried such
a favourable report of the boy to his uncle who was then minister provincial
of the Capuchins that a cousin Lorenzo Rossi a canon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin
invited him to come to Rome. The offer was accepted and he entered the Roman
College at the age of thirteen.
Popular with his teachers and with his fellow pupils he had completed the
classical course with distinction when the reading of an ascetical book led
him to embark on excessive mortifications. The strain on his strength at
a time when he was working hard led to a complete breakdown which obliged
him to leave the roman College. He recovered sufficiently to complete his
training at the Minerva, but he never was again relly robust. Indeed his
subsequent labours were performed under the handicap of almost constant suffering.
On March 8, 1721 at the age of twenty three he was ordained and his first
Mass was celebrated in the Roman College at the altar of St. Aloysius Gonzaga
to whom he always had a special devotion.
His fame came from his work as a confessor and as his ministry to the sick.
|
1164 St Leontius the Bishop and
Wonderworker of Rostov Uncovering of the relics
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23
was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Saint Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, is commemorated today with the other Rostov
saints. He reposed on May 23, 1073, and his holy relics were uncovered in
1164.
Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov: The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov
and Yaroslav Saints on May 23 was established by resolution of His
Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970) and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox
Church, on March 10, 1964.
Archimandrite Abraham the wonderworker (October 29, 1073-1077) Prince Basil
(+ 1238) Metropolitan Demetrius (+ October 28, 1709 and September 21) Bishop
Ignatius (+ May 28, 1288) Monk Irenarchus the Hermit (+ 1616) Bishop Isaiah,
wonderworker (+ May 15, 1090) Blessed Isidore, Fool-for-Christ (+ 1474) Bishop
James (+ November 27, 1391) Blessed John of the Hair-Shirt (the Merciful),
Fool-for-Christ (+ 1580) Bishop Leontius (+ May 23, 1073) Peter, Tsarevich
of Ordynsk (+ 1290) Archbishop Theodore (+ November 28, 1394)
Yaroslav Wonderworkers: Princes Basil (+ 1249), Constantine (+ 1257), Theodore
(+ 1299) and his sons David (+ 1321) and Constantine (XIV)
Pereslavl Wonderworkers: Prince Alexander Nevsky (+ 1263) Prince Andrew of
Smolensk (15th c.) Monk Daniel the Archimandrite (+ 1540) Monk Nikita the
Stylite (+ 1186)
Uglich Wonderworkers: Monk Cassian (+ 1504) Tsarevich Demetrius (+ 1591)
Monk Ignatius of Lomsk (+ 1591) Monk Paisius (+ 1504) Prince Roman (+ 1285)
Poshekhonsk Wonderworkers: Hieromartyr Adrian (+ 1550) Monk Gennadius of
Liubimograd and Kostroma (+ 1565) Monk Sebastian (+ 1542) Monk Sylvester
of Obnora (+ 1379)
1288 St Ignatius Wonderworker
of Murom Bishop of Rostov, and shepherded his flock for twenty-six years
miracles took place at his grave
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23
was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Saint Ignatius was Bishop of Rostov, and shepherded his flock for twenty-six
years. After his death on May 28, 1288, his body was brought to the church.
Some people saw him leave his coffin, and float in the air above the church.
He blessed the people and the city, then went back to his coffin.
Many miracles took place at his grave.
St James the Wonderworker of Murom:
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23
was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Saint James, Bishop of Rostov According to a local tradition, he received
monastic tonsure at Kopyrsk monastery on the River Ukhtoma, 80 kilometers
from Rostov. For a long time he was igumen of this monastery, and in the
year 1385 he was made Bishop of Rostov when Pimen was Metropolitan and Demetrius
of the Don was Great Prince.
In defending a woman condemned to execution, the saint followed the example
of the Savior, inviting whoever considered himself to be without sin to cast
the first stone at her (John 8:7), and he then sent the woman forth to repentance.
The Prince and the Rostov nobles, disgruntled over the bishop's judgment,
threw St James out of Rostov.
Leaving the city, the saint proceeded to Lake Nero, spread his bishop's mantiya
on the water, and having signed himself with the Sign of the Cross, he sailed
off on it as if on a boat, guided by the grace of God. Traveling one and
a half versts from the city, St James emerged on shore at the site of his
future monastery. The prince and the people, repenting their actions, besought
the saint's forgiveness. The gentle bishop forgave them, but he did not return
again.
On the shore of Lake Nero he made himself a cell and built a small church
in honor of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by Righteous Anna,
marking the beginning of the Conception-St James monastery. St James died
there on November 27, 1392.
There is a story that St James fought against the Iconoclast heresy of a
certain fellow named Markian, who appeared in Rostov toward the end of the
fourteenth century. The more ancient Lives of our saint do not mention this,
and even the great hagiographer St Demetrius of Rostov was unaware of it.
More recent hagiographers were wont to draw material from the Service to
St James of Rostov. But the Service itself, preserved in copies from the
sixteenth-seventeenth centuries, was compiled by borrowing from the Service
to St Bucolus (February 6), who struggled against the first century heretic
Marcian, and from the Service to St Stephen of Surozh (December 15), who
contended against the emperor Constantine Kopronymos (741-775).
St James is also commemorated on November 27.
1394 St Theodore the Wonderworker
of Murom journeyed to Constantinople several times on church matters for
the Russian Metropolitan iconographer
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23
was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Saint Theodore, Archbishop of Rostov, in the world John, was the son of Stephen
(brother of St Sergius of Radonezh), who occupied an important post under
Prince Andrew of Radonezh. Left a widower, Stephen became a monk, and together
with his twelve-year-old son, he went to the monastery to St Sergius, who
foreseeing the ascetic life of the child John, tonsured him with the name
Theodore on the Feast of St Theodore the Hair-Shirt Wearer (April 20).
After Theodore attained an appropriate age, he was given a blessing to be
ordined to the priesthood. With the blessing of St Sergius, St Theodore built
a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and founded
a monastery on the banks of the River Moskva, at the place called Simonovo.
Soon the monastery began to attract a throng of people. St Theodore built
a cell five versts from the Moscow Kremlin, and pursued new ascetical labors,
and here disciples gathered around him. St Sergius, visiting this place,
blessed the founding of a monastery, and Metropolitan Alexis blessed the
construction of a church in the name of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
at Novoe Simonovo, which also had its foundations laid in 1379. The old Simonov
monastery remained the burial place of monks.
Because of his virtuous life and strict asceticism, St Theodore became known
in Moscow. The Metropolitan St Alexis elevated him to the rank of igumen,
and Great Prince Demetrius of the Don chose him as his father confessor.
St Theodore journeyed to Constantinople several times on church matters for
the Russian Metropolitan. On his first journey in 1384, Patriarch Nilus made
him an archimandrite. The Simonov monastery was put directly under the Patriarch,
thus became stavropegial. In 1387, he was consecrated archbishop and occupied
the See of Rostov.
Being the igumen, and then the archimandrite of the Simonov monastery, and
despite being occupied with churchly matters, St Theodore stalwartly guided
those in the monastic life and counted many great and famous ascetics among
his disciples. Saints Cyril (June
9) and Therapon (May 27), the future
founders of two famous White Lake monasteries, were tonsured at the Simonov
monastery. St Theodore occupied himself with iconography, and he adorned
with icons of his own painting both the Simonov monastery, and many Moscow
churches.
At Rostov, Archbishop Theodore founded the Nativity of the Virgin monastery.
The blessed death of the saint occurred on November 28, 1394. His relics
are in the Rostov Dormition cathedral.
1238 Right-Believing Prince
Basil of Rostov belonged in lineage to the Suzdal Monomashichi, famed in
Russian history (Vasilko):
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23
was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Holy Prince Basil of Rostov belonged in lineage to the Suzdal Monomashichi,
famed in Russian history. The saint's great-grandfather was Yuri Dolgoruky,
and his grandfather was Great Prince Vsevolod III "Big-Nest" (+ 1212), brother
to St Andrew Bogoliubsky (July 4), who had been heir to and continuer of
St Andrew Bogoliubsky's work. From Vladimir-on-Klyazma, which became the
capital of the old Rostovo-Suzdal principality, Vsevolod "Big-Nest" single-handedly
set the course of affairs of the whole of Great Rus. The "Lay of Igor's Campaign"
("Slovo o polku Igoreve") says that he could "splash the Volga with oars,
and bail out the Don with helmets."
St Basil (Basilko) was the oldest child of the "Big Nest". The oldest grandson
of Vsevolod from his oldest son Constantine, St Basil was born on December
7, 1208 in Rostov, where his father ruled as prince. He spent his childhood
there, and in 1216, when Constantine Vsevolodovich became Great Prince of
Vladimir, Rostov was apportioned to Basil (he was then eight years old) as
his princely appanage to rule himself.
Military valor, sacred duty of service to country, the sense of justice and
the heeding of one's elders, all these are traditional features of a Russian
princely defender of the land, and all were present in Basil. The saint's
father, Great-prince Constantine, died on February 2, 1218, when Basil was
not yet ten years of age. The guide of the young Rostov prince then became
his uncle, the Great Prince St Yuri of Vladimir (February 4).
For twenty years Prince Yuri ruled Vladimir, and for all these years Basil
was his closest friend and confidant. The chronicles take note of the vibrantly
handsome figure of Basil, his bright and majestic glance, his daring in trapping
wild game, his beneficence, his mind and deep studiousness, together with
his mildness and good-nature in relations with the nobles: "Whoever served
him, whoever ate his bread and drank the cup with him, could never be the
servant of another prince."
In the year 1219 Basil participated in a campaign of the Vladimir-Suzdal
forces against the Volga Bulgars, and in 1221 in a campaign to the mouth
of the River Oka. St Yuri was then held hostage at Nizhni Novgorod.
In 1223 the first Tatars (Mongols) appeared on the southern steppes, "an
unknown people", coming out of Asia. Their first victims were the Polovetsians
allied with Rus. The Russian princes, with the Polovetsian khans (many of
whom had accepted Holy Baptism), decided to resist the plunderers of the
steppes before they reached the Russian Land. St Basil headed an auxiliary
detachment, sent by Great Prince Yuri to participate in the Russian steppe
campaign.
The enemy showed up sooner than they expected. And the centuries-old division
of appenage principalities proved incapable of effective action in a large
scale war. The detachment of Basil was not in time for the decisive battle,
and from Chernigov came the sad news of the destruction of the Russian forces
at the River Kalka on June 16, 1223. This was a bad omen, and the storm loomed
on the east. Basil and his company returned to Rostov.
In 1227 (or 1228) Basil married, taking Maria, daughter of St Michael of
Chernigov (September 20) as his wife. Basil's uncle, St Yuri, had previously
married St Michael's sister [i.e. Basil's uncle Yuri had married Maria's
aunt]. In 1231 Basil's oldest son Boris was born.
The storm clouds thickened over Russia. On May 3, 1230, "the earth shook
during Liturgy", and famine and pestilence came upon Rus that year. In 1232
the Tatars made winter camp, having barely reached the capital of the Volga
Bulgars. Life took its course, and Prince Yuri in 1236 married off his sons
Vladimir and Mstislav, and Basil rejoiced at their weddings. All of them,
however, had little more than a year to live, for the Tatars had already
taken the Volga-Bulgarian land.
In 1237 the Tatar whirlwind broke upon Rus. In December Ryazan fell under
Batu. Prince Yuri had decided not to send his forces over to provide assistance,
since he was faced with the difficult defense of Vladimir. The Tatars offered
him peace, and he was prepared to negotiate. But the conditions of the peace,
tribute and vassal servitude under the Khan, were unacceptable. "A glorious
fight," said the prince, "is better than a shameful peace." The first battle
with the Tatars was at Kolomna, and Vsevolod Yurievich commanded the troops,
but they were cut to pieces. The enemy turned then towards Moscow, which
they captured and burned. Yuri's other son, Vladimir, was captured while
leading the defense of Moscow.
St Yuri and his faithful companion St Basil were determined to fight "for
the Orthodox Christian Faith" against the "godlessly vile Tatars." Having
organized his defenses and leaving his sons Vsevolod and Mstislav at Vladimir,
Prince Yuri went beyond the Volga to gather new troops to replace those annihilated
by Batu.
With him were his nephews, St Basil of Rostov and his company, and his brothers,
Vsevolod and Vladimir. The Great Prince awaited the arrival of his brothers
Yaroslav and Svyatoslav and their forces.
On Meatfare Saturday, February 3, 1238, quickly and without hindrance upon
the wintry roads, the Tatar army approached Vladimir. Despite heroic defense,
the fate of the city was sealed. Bishop Metrophanes for spiritual strength
tonsured all the princes and princesses remaining in the city into the angelic
schema. The city fell on February 7.
The final outpost of the Vladimirites was the Dormition cathedral, repository
of the most holy object in Russia: the wonderworking Vladimir Icon of the
Mother of God. The Tatars piled wood and kindling around the cathedral and
made a tremendous fire. Bishop Metrophanes died in the fire and smoke, together
with a thousand defenseless women and children, and Prince Yuri's entire
family: his wife Agathia, daughter Theodora, daughters-in-law Maria and Christina,
and the infant grandson Demetrius. His sons Vsevolod and Mstislav, together
with the previously captured Vladimir, were subjected to tortures and then
slaughtered "before the eyes of the Khan". (In several of the old collections
of Saints' Lives, all of them are listed as saints).
St Yuri had been with his forces near Yaroslavl. Learning of the destruction
of the capital and the death of those near and dear to him, "he lamented
in a loud voice with tears." He said it would be better for him to die rather
than continue to live in this world, since he alone survived. St Basil, arriving
with the Rostov company, encouraged him to continue with the military effort.
On March 4, 1238 the decisive battle took place at the River Sita. The Tatars
unexpectedly managed to encircle the Russian army, and a slaughter ensued.
Few Russian warriors remained alive after this terrible battle, but the enemy
paid an expensive price for its victory. St Yuri was cut down in distinguished
combat, and the wounded Basil was brought to Batu's headquarters.
The Tatars demanded that he "follow their vile customs, be subject to their
will and fight for them." The holy prince angrily refused to betray his homeland
or Holy Orthodoxy. "You cannot take the Christian Faith from me" said the
holy prince, like one of the ancient Christian confessors. "They tortured
him a great deal, and then killed him in the Shernsk woods." Thus did holy
Prince Basil commit his soul to God, resembling in death the holy Passion-Bearer
Boris (July 24), the first of the Rostov princes, whom he had imitated in
life. Like St Boris, St Basil was not even thirty years of age.
Bishop Cyril of Rostov, going out on the field of carnage, buried the fallen
Orthodox warriors, and he sought the body of holy Prince Yuri (they did not
find his cut-off head in the mass of broken bodies). He brought his holy
relics to Rostov, to the Dormition cathedral. The body of St Basil was found
in the Shernsk woods by a priest's son and was taken to Rostov. There the
prince's wife, his children, Bishop Cyril and all the inhabitants of Rostov
met the body of their beloved prince with bitter wailing, and they buried
him beneath the arches of the cathedral church.
Describing the burial of Prince Basil, the chronicler said: "The multitude
of Orthodox people wept bitterly, when they saw the departed father and nourisher
of orphans, the great comforter of the sorrowful, and... the setting of a
luminous star.... By his martyr's blood his transgressions and those of his
brethren were washed away."
The people regarded it as a sign of God's mercy that the two princely comrades-in-arms
were buried side by side in the Rostov cathedral church: "Behold the wonder,
in death God has placed their bodies together." (Later on, the relics of
holy Prince Yuri were transferred to the restored Vladimir Dormition cathedral).
The Church venerates Sts Basil and Yuri as Passion-Bearers, and heroic defenders
of the Russian Land. Their holy example has inspired Russian soldiers in
the fight against hostile invaders. The most detailed account of the life
and deeds of holy Princes Basil and Yuri is preserved in the Lavrentiev Chronicle,
written by the monk Laurence with the blessing of St Dionysius, Archbishop
of Suzdal, in the year 1377, three years before the Battle of Kulikovo Pole.
The holy martyr Prince Vasilko (Basil) of Rostov is also commemorated on
March 4.
St Igantius the Wonderworker of Uglich:
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23
was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
The holy Prince John of Uglich was a devout and God-fearing Christian from
his youth. He and his brother Demetrius were thrown into prison by their
uncle John, and remained there for thirty-two years.
Before his death, Prince John received monastic tonsure with the name Ignatius.
St Ignatius the wonderworker is also commemorated on May 19.
1550 St Adrian the Wonderworker
of Poshekhonye Many miracles occurred at the grave
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23
was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970)
and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Saint Adrian of Poshekonye was born at Rostov the Great at the end of the
sixteenth century, of pious parents named Gregory and Irene. St Adrian received
monastic tonsure at the monastery of St Cornelius of Komel (May 19).
Among the brethren gathered around St Cornelius were some capable builders
and iconographers, so the monastery churches were constructed and adorned
by the saints themselves. In the final years of St Cornelius's life, Kazan
Tatars invaded the territory around the monastery, and he led all the brethren
to the River Ukhtoma. But the Tatars did not touch the monastery, being frightened
off by the sight of the many soldiers defending it, and they soon withdrew
from the Vologda district. St Cornelius returned to the monastery with the
brethren and reposed there on May 19, 1537.
Three years after the death of St Cornelius, St Adrian, then a hierodeacon,
greatly desired to go into a wilderness place and found a monastery in honor
of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Lord helped him fulfill his intention. A
certain unknown Eder of striking appearance came to the Corniliev monastery.
St Adrian asked him his name, and the Elder referred to himself as "the lowly
one."
When St Adrian invited him to his own cell and asked him to say something
beneficial for the soul, the Elder said that he would show St Adrian the
spot where he should build the church and monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos.
St Adrian immediately went to the Superior, Igumen Laurence, and sought his
blessing to live in the wilderness. Recalling St Cornelius's order that any
monks who wished to withdraw into the wilderness should be released from
the monastery, Igumen Laurence did not hinder St Adrian but gave him his
blessing. He also sent with him his assistant, Eder Leonid. After they prayed
at the grave of St Cornelius, St Adrian and Elder Leonid went on their way,
led by the mysterious black-robed monk. St Adrian carried with him an icon
of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which he also painted.
On September 13, 1540, the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
of the Lord, St Adrian and Elder Leonid arrived in the wild Poshekonye forest,
near the settlements of Belta, Patrabolsha, Shelshedolsk and Ukhorsk.
They halted at the banks of the River Votkha. There the Elder leading them
suddenly became invisible. The astonished travellers began to chant the Canon
and service of the Feast, with tears of thanks to God. Indeed this was a
portent of the future fame of the monastery, a place where God would be glorified.
For three years St Adrian and the Elder Leonid survived in the wilderness
solitude, suffering want, overcoming temptations from the devil and the whisperings
of wicked folk, and then they began to fulfill their intention. Choosing
a suitable moment, the ascetics went to Moscow to ask the blessing of Metropolitan
Macarius to establish a monastery and church in honor of the Dormition of
the Mother of God on the Peshekhonye side of the River Votkha.
St Macarius gave his blessing to the ascetics to build the monastery, and
he gave them a written document to that effect. He ordained Adrian to the
priesthood and elevated him to the rank of igumen. In the document he had
given to St Adrian, the hierarch bade "priests, deacons, monks and laymen
to listen to him and obey him in everything, as befits a pastor and teacher."
At Moscow the Poshekonye ascetics found generous benefactors who gave the
monks abundant offerings to build their church. Returning to their wilderness
spot on May 31, 1543, St Adrian laid the foundations for the church with
a trapeza, in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Having embellished and consecrated the new church, St Adrian began the construction
of the monastery. The strict monastic Rule of St Cornelius was introduced
at the monastery. Having nothing of their own, a little being sufficient
for everyone, the saints devoted a large portion of their time to prayer,
both in church and in their cells, and no small time was allotted to the
reading of Holy Scripture. This reading was done "not in an elegant voice,
nor for effect, but in a humble and mild voice. One reads, and another speaks
of what is read." They also read in private.
In addition to his duties as igumen, St Adrian also occupied himself with
painting icons. When his holy soul longed for complete silence, he withdrew
into the depths of the forest into the cell and chapel he had built one verst
away from the monastery.
Six years after the founding of the monastery, Elder Leonid reposed. St Adrian
and the brethren buried him with reverence. The number of the brethren had
increased during this time. They built three cells as dwellings, and a fourth
for preparing food and baking bread.
St Adrian began to make plans for the construction of a large stone church,
and he gathered a sum of money for this purpose. One year after the repose
of Elder Leonid, during Great Lent of 1550, on the eve of the commemoration
of the 42 Ammoreian Martyrs (March 6), armed robbers burst into the monastery
and murdered St Adrian after beating him.
The holy relics of St Martyr Adrian were uncovered on December 17, 1626,
solemnly transferred into the monastery church and placed in an open crypt
by the right kliros (choir). Many miracles occurred at the grave of
St Adrian. St Adrian is also commemorated on March 5 and November 19.
Venerable Euphrosyne the Abbess of Polotsk:
Saint Euphrosyne, Abbess of Polotsk, was named Predslava in the world, and
was the daughter of Prince George Vseslavich. From her childhood she was
noted for her love of prayer and book learning. After turning down a proposal
of marriage, Predslava received monastic tonsure with the name Euphrosyne.
With the blessing of Bishop Elias of Polotsk, she began to live near the
Sophia cathedral, where she occupied herself by the copying of books.
Around the year 1128 Bishop Elias entrusted the nun with the task of organizing
a women's monastery. Setting out for Seltso, the site of the future monastery,
the ascetic took only her holy books. At the newly constructed Savior-Transfiguration
monastery the saint taught the girls to copy books, singing, sewing and other
handicrafts.
Through her efforts, a cathedral was built in 1161, which survives to the
present day. St Euphrosyne also founded a men's monastery dedicated to the
Mother of God. Patriarch Luke of Constantinople sent a copy of the wonderworking
Ephesus Icon of the Mother of God at her request. Shortly before her death,
St Euphrosyne journeyed on pilgrimage to the Holy Places with her nephew
David and sister Eupraxia.
After venerating the holy things at Constantinople, she arrived in Jerusalem,
where at the Russian monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos the Lord granted
her a peaceful end on May 24, 1173.
In 1187 the body of the saint was transferred to the Kiev Caves monastery,
and the relics were transferred to Polotsk in 1910 to the monastery she founded.
St Euphrosyne of Polotsk was glorified in the Russian Church as a patroness
of women's monasticism.
Martyr Michael "the Black-Robed" of St Sava' Monastery:
Hieromartyr Michael the Black-Robed lived in the ninth century, and came
from the city of Edessa (Mesopotamia) of Christian parents. He was a zealous
disciple of St Theodore of Edessa (July 9). He distributed to the poor the
inheritance left him by his parents, then went to Jerusalem to venerate the
Holy Places.
Jerusalem at the time was under the control of the Mohammedans. St Michael
remained in Palestine and settled in the monastery of St Sava. Once, he was
sent from the monastery to Jerusalem to sell goods for the monks. At the
marketplace, the eunuch of the Mohammedan empress Seida, seeing that the
monastery goods were both fine and well-made, took him along to the empress.
The young monk caught the fancy of the empress, who tried to lead him into
sin, but her intent proved to be in vain. Then by order of the enraged Seida
they beat the monk with rods, and then accused him of being an enemy of Islam.
Having interrogated the monk, the emperor began to urge him to accept the
Moslem faith, but St Michael answered, "I implore you, either send me back
to the monastery to my instructor, or be baptized in our Christian Faith,
or cut off my head, and then I shall go to Christ my God." The emperor gave
the saint a cup with deadly poison, which St Michael drank and remained unharmed.
After this the emperor gave orders to cut off his head.
The death of the martyr occurred in Jerusalem, but the monks of the monastery
of St Sava took the body of the saint to their Lavra and buried it there
with reverence. At the beginning of the twelfth century the relics of the
holy martyr were seen there by Daniel, the igumen of the Kiev Caves monastery,
while on pilgrimage to the Holy Places.
|
1st v.St. Epitacius and
Basileus body thrown into sea found by Elpidiphorus through angel revelation
Martyrs both bishops
Icon_You_are_vineyard_Theotokos
The celebration of the Synaxis
of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23 was established by
resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970) and the Holy Synod
of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964. Archimandrite Abraham the wonderworker (October 29,
1073-1077) Prince Basil (+ 1238)
Metropolitan Demetrius (+ October
28, 1709 and September 21) Bishop Ignatius
(+ May 28, 1288) Monk Irenarchus
the Hermit (+ 1616) Bishop Isaiah,
wonderworker (+ May 15, 1090) Blessed Isidore,
Fool-for-Christ (+ 1474) Bishop James
(+ November 27, 1391) Blessed John of the Hair-Shirt (the Merciful),
Fool-for-Christ (+ 1580) Bishop Leontius
(+ May 23, 1073) Peter, Tsarevich
of Ordynsk (+ 1290) Archbishop Theodore
(+ November 28, 1394) 
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.