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.
St. Michael
of Synnadawas 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 Benedictine,
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 St. Ivo of Chartres
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; Euphrosyne earned money copying books distributed to the poor V
(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).
|
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 St. William of Rochester
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).
|
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.
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,
See Ausserer,
Seraphisches Martyrologium (1889); Fr Léon, Auréole
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.)
|
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.
|
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.
|
1951 Army Chaplain Capt
Emil J Kapaun Servant of God
http://www.frkapaun.org/
http://cbi-theater-6.home.comcast.net/~cbi-theater-6/kapaun/kapaun.html
Kapaun, who volunteered for the Korean War after serving
as a chaplain during World War II, is now being considered for sainthood
by the Vatican.
Father Kapaun, was born in Pilsen, Kansas in the Diocese of Wichita,
Kansas on Holy Thursday, April 20, 1916. He was ordained as a Priest
for the Diocese on June 9, 1940 and entered the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps
in 1944.
Separated from the service in 1946,
he re-entered the Army in 1948 and was sent to Japan the following year.
In July of 1950 Father Kapaun was
ordered to Korea. On November 2 of that same year he was taken as
a prisoner of war. In the seven months in prison, Father Kapaun spent
himself in heroic service to his fellow prisoners without regard for race,
color or creed.
To this there is testimony of men
of all faiths. Ignoring his own ill health, he nursed the sick and
wounded until a blood clot in his leg prevented his daily rounds.
Moved to a so-called hospital, but denied medical assistance, his death
soon followed on May 23, 1951.
The Diocese of Wichita and the Vatican
have begun the formal process that could lead to Father Kapaun's canonization.
In 1993, it was announced that Fr. Kapaun would receive the title of "Servant
of God".
|
Pope
Francis PRAYER
INTENTIONS
FOR MAY 2022
(Vasilko): Monomashichi (Monomakhovichi), the
name of a 12th-and 13th-century line of Russian princes descended from
the grand prince of Kiev, Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh.
1st v.St. 
Icon_You_are_vineyard_Theotokos
The celebration of the 
Christian
council
held
at
Among
the
most important
titles
we have
in
the Catholic
Church
for the
Blessed
Virgin
Mary
are
Our Lady
of
Victory
and
Our Lady
of the
Rosary.
These
titles
can be traced
back
to one of
the most
decisive
times
in the
history
of the world
and Christendom.
The Battle
of
Lepanto
took place
on October
7 (date
of feast
of Our
Lady
of Rosary),
1571.
This
proved to
be the most crucial
battle
for the
Christian
forces
against
the
radical
Muslim navy
of Turkey.
Pope Pius
V led a procession
around
St. Peter’s
Square
in
Vatican City
praying
the Rosary.
He
showed true
pastoral
leadership
in
recognizing
the danger
posed
to Christendom
by the radical
Muslim
forces,
and
in using
the means
necessary
to defeat
it. Spiritual
battles
require spiritual
weapons,
and
this more
than anything
was
a battle
that had
its origins
in the spiritual
order—a
true battle
between
good and
evil.