Today we remember all pious and Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and also recall the dread Day of Judgment. May Christ our God be merciful to them, and to us.
Two Epistles (Acts 28:1-31, I Thess. 4:13-17) and two Gospels (JN 21:14-25, JN 5:24-30) are appointed to be read at Liturgy. The readings from Acts and the Gospel of Saint John, which began on Pascha, now come to an end. The book of Acts does not end, as might be expected, with the death of Saints Peter and Paul, but remains open-ended.
In his article “With all the Saints,” Father Justin Popovich says that the Lives of the Saints are nothing less than a “continuation of the Acts of the Apostles.” Just as the book of Acts describes the works of Christ which the Apostles accomplished through Christ, Who was dwelling in them and working through them, the saints also preach the same Gospel, live the same life, manifest the same righteousness, love, and power from on High. As we prepare for the Sunday of All Saints, we are reminded that each of us is called to a life of holiness.
On this seventh Saturday of Pascha, Saint John Chrysostom’s “Homily on Patience and Gratitude” is appointed to be read in church. It is also prescribed to be read at the funeral service of an Orthodox Christian.
Martyrs Acindynus, Pegasius, Aphthonius, Elpidephorus, Anempodistus, and 7,000 with them, of Persia
Saint Acindynus suffered martyrdom in Persia along with Saints Pegasias, Aphthonius, Elpidephorus, Anempodistus, and 7,000 other Christians at the time of King Sapor II (310-381). These saints were Sapor’s courtiers, and were secret Christians. When the king began his persecution against Christians, envious pagans denounced them to him. Summoned to Sapor’s presence for trial, the holy martyrs fearlessly confessed their faith in the Holy Trinity. The king ordered them to be beaten with whips.
Sapor told the people that Saints Acindynus, Pegasias, Anempodistus and Elpidephorus would have their heads cut off, and that he would not permit the Christians to bury their bodies.
A tremendous crowd accompanied these saints as they were led outside the city walls for execution, glorifying Christ. On Sapor’s orders, soldiers massacred all the Christians in the procession (about 7,000), including Saint Elpidephorus.
Acindynus, Pegasias, and Anempodistus were burned on the following day with the mother of the emperor. Christians came secretly by night to the place of execution, found the bodies of the holy martyrs unharmed by the fire, and they buried them with reverence.
Saint Marcian of Cyrrhus
Saint Marcian of Cyrrhus lived during the fourth century. He went into the desert, where he lived for many years in solitude, unceasing prayer, and strict fasting. He built a small cell, and settled in it. The saint never lit candles for reading at night when he fulfilled his Rule of prayer, for the cell was filled with a divine light.
After several years the monk accepted two disciples, settling them beside him, but he continued to live as a hermit. The Patriarch Flavian of Antioch (February 18) and other bishops entreated the monk to abandon his strict solitude for the benefit of Christians, but he would not agree.
However, while not quitting his cell, he taught those coming to him for instruction and he turned many away from heresy and led them to the Orthodox Faith. Before his end, Saint Marcian instructed his disciple Eusebius to bury him secretly far from his cell, in order to shun posthumous glory and avoid contention among those wanting his relics for nearby churches. Saint Marcian died in the year 388.
“Ozerianka” Icon of the Mother of God of Shuiu-Smolensk
The Shuiu-Smolensk Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was painted in the years 1654-1655 in the Resurrection parish of the city of Shuiu, where an unrelenting pestilence raged. Trusting in the mercy of God and the intercession of the Mother of God, the parishioners of the Resurrection church commissioned a certain pious monk to paint the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, an icon long attributed with being a rescuer of the Russian people from enemies and misfortune.
The parishioners spent the whole week in prayer and fasting while the image was being painted. When the icon was finished, the priest and the people took it to the church and set it in a specially built place. From that time the pestilence began to ease, at first in the area of the Resurrection parish, and then also in all the city.
From the Icon of the Mother of God many miracles of healing took place, especially of eye diseases. The icon is also celebrated on July 11, July 28, and Bright Tuesday.
