The Holy Martyr Isidore lived during the third century on the Island of Chios, and was a native of Alexandria. During the first year of rule of the emperor Decius (249-251) there was issued an edict to make a census of all those capable to serve in the armies of the Roman empire. Saint Isidore, tall and strong of body, was drafted into the regiment of the military-commander Numerius. Saint Isidore was a Christian, he led a life of temperance and abstinence, he was chaste and he shunned all the pagan customs.
Another imperial edict then commanded, that all the soldiers were to worship the Roman pagan gods and to offer them sacrifice. Not to obey the edict carried the penalty of torture and death. The centurion reported to the military-commander Numerius, that Isidore was a Christian. At the interrogation before Numerius Saint Isidore without flinching confessed his faith in Christ the Saviour and refused to offer sacrifice to idols. Numerius urged the saint not to expose himself to tortures and to obey the will of the emperor, but Saint Isidore answered that he would obey only the will of the eternal God, Christ the Saviour, and never would he renounce Him. The saint was handed over to torture.
During the time of torments he praised Christ God and denounced the pagan idols. The military-commander gave orders to cut out the tongue of the saint, but even after this the saint continued distinctly to give glory to Christ. Numerius in fright fell to the ground and himself lost the gift of speech. Getting up with the help of soldiers, by means of gestures he demanded a small board and on it wrote an order to cut off the head of Saint Isidore. Saint Isidore welcomed his death sentence with joy and said: "I glorify Thee, O my Master, that by Thy mercy Thou hast accepted me in Thine Heavenly Habitation!" The death of the martyr occurred in the year 251. After execution his body was cast out without burial, but another saint, the secret Christian Ammonios, took up his body and committed it to earth. Later on Ammonios himself accepted a martyr's death in the city of Kyzikos.
At the beginning of the twelfth century the Russian pilgrim Daniel saw the relics of the holy Martyr Isidore on the Island of Chios. His relics were later transferred to Constantinople and placed in the church of Saint Irene.
Saint Glyceria suffered as a martyr for her faith in Christ in the second century, during the time of a persecution against Christians under the emperor Antoninus (138-161). She was descended from illustrious lineage: her father Macarius was the city-governor of Rome, and afterwards he resettled to the Thracian city of Trojanopolis. But Saint Glyceria early on lost both her father and mother. Falling in with Christians, she converted to the true faith, and daily she visited the church of God.
The Trojanopolis governor, Sabinus, having received the imperial edict about compelling Christians to offer sacrifice to the idols, and so he set the inhabitants of the city a day of general worship of the idol Zeus. Saint Glyceria firmly resolved to suffer for Christ, she told the Christians about her intention, and she besought them to pray that the Lord would send her the strength to undergo the sufferings. On the festal day of Zeus Saint Glyceria, having traced on her forehead the Sign of the Cross, went into the pagan temple; the saint stood on a raised spot in the rays of the sun, and snatched from her head the veil, showing all the holy Cross, traced on her forehead. She prayed heatedly to God, that He should bring the pagans to their senses and destroy the stone idol of Zeus. Suddenly thunder was heard, the statue of Zeus crashed to the floor and smashed into little pieces. In a rage, the governor Sabinus and the pagan priests commanded the people to pelt Saint Glyceria with stones, but the stones that were thrown did not touch the saint.
They locked up Saint Glyceria in prison, where the Christian priest Philokrates came to her and encouraged the martyress in the deed before her. In the morning, when the tortures had started, suddenly amidst the torturers there appeared an Angel, and they all fell to the ground, overcome with terror. When the vision vanished, then by order of Sabinus, himself hardly able to speak, they again led off the saint to prison. They securely shut the door and sealed it with the personal ring of the governor, so that no one could get in to her. During all her time of being thus locked in, Angels of God brought Saint Glyceria food and drink.
Some many days afterwards Sabinus came to the prison and he himself removed the seal. Going in to the saint, he was shaken, seeing her alive and well. Setting off for the city of Heraclium, Sabinus gave orders to bring along there also Saint Glyceria. From this city there came out to meet her the Christians of Heraclium with the bishop Dometius at the head, and in front of everyone he uttered a prayer to the Lord for strengthening the saint in the act of martyrdom. At Heraclium they cast Saint Glyceria into a red-hot furnace, but the fire in it at once extinguished. Then the governor, in a mindless fury, gave orders to strip the skin from the head of Saint Glyceria. Then they threw the bared martyress into prison onto sharp stones, where she prayed incessantly, and at midnight in the prison there appeared an Angel which healed her of her wounds.
The prison guard Laodicius, having come in the morning for the saint, at first did not recognise her, and thinking that the martyress had been hidden away he wanted to kill himself in fear of punishment, but Saint Glyceria stopped him. Shaken by the miracle, Laodicius believed in the True God and he besought prayers of the saint, that he also might suffer and die for Christ together with her. "Follow Christ and thou wilt be saved," the holy martyress answered him. Laodicius placed upon himself the chains, with which the saint was bound, and at the trial he declared to the governor and everyone present about the miraculous healing of Saint Glyceria by an Angel and he confessed himself a Christian. The newly chosen one of God was immediately beheaded by the sword. Christians, having secretly taken up his remains, reverently gave them burial, but Saint Glyceria was given over for devouring by wild beasts. She went to execution with great joy, but the lioness set loose upon the saint meekly crawled up to her and, curling up, lay at her feet. Finally, the saint turned with a prayer to the Lord, imploring that He take her unto Himself. In answer she heard a Voice from Heaven, summoning her to the Heavenly bliss. At this moment there was set loose upon the saint another lioness, which pounced upon the martyress and killed her, but did not rend her apart. Bishop Dometius and the Heraclium Christians reverently buried the holy Martyress Glyceria. She suffered for Christ in about the year 177. Her holy relics were glorified with a flow of curative myrrh.
Sainted Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, lived during the fourth century in Phoenicia. By descent he was Jewish, and in his youth he received a fine education. He was converted to the Christian faith after he saw how a certain monk, Lucian by name, gave away his own clothing to a poor person. Struck by the compassion of the monk, Epiphanius besought him to instruct him in Christianity. He accepted Baptism and settled in the monastery, organised by his teacher Lucian.
At the monastery he pursued asceticism under the guidance of the experienced elder Ilarion, and he occupied himself with the copying of Greek books and progressing in the monastic life. Saint Epiphanius for his ascetic deeds was granted the gift of wonderworking, but in order to avoid human glory, he set out from the monastery into the Spanidrion wilderness. Robbers caught him there and held him for three months in captivity. By his talk about repentance, the saint brought one of the gang of robbers to the holy faith in the True God. When they set free the holy ascetic, with him also went the robber. Saint Epiphanius took him to his monastery and baptised him with the name John. And from that time he became a faithful disciple of Saint Epiphanius, and he carefully recorded in writing about the life and miracles of his preceptor.
Reports about the righteous life of Saint Epiphanius spread far beyond the bounds of the monastery. The saint set out a second time into the wilderness with his disciple John. But even in the wilderness disciples started to come to him. Thus emerged a new monastery. After a certain while Saint Epiphanius undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for veneration of its holy artifacts and from there returned to the Spanidrion monastery.
The people of the city of Lycia dispatched the monk Polybios to Saint Epiphanius with a request to occupy the bishop's throne of their dead archpastor. But the perspicacious ascetic, having learned of this intention, secretly set out into the Pathysian wilderness to the great ascetic Ilarion, under whose guidance he pursued asceticism in his youthful years. The saints spent two months in mutual prayer, and then Ilarion sent Saint Epiphanius to Salamis. Bishops were gathered there for the selecting of a new archpastor in place of one recently died. The Lord revealed to the eldest of them, Bishop Papios, that the Monk Epiphanius arriving in the city should be chosen bishop. When Epiphanius arrived, Saint Papios led him into the church, where in obedience to the will of the participants of the Council, Epiphanius was obliged to give his consent. Thus occurred the elevation of Saint Epiphanius to the bishop's cathedra of Salamis in about the year 367.
Sainted Epiphanius won reknown upon the archpastoral chair by his great zeal for the faith, love and charity towards the poor, and simplicity of character. He underwent much from the slander and enmity of some of his clergy. For his purity of life, Sainted Epiphanius received the granting to see at Divine Liturgy the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Holy Gifts. One time the saint, celebrating the Mystery, was deprived of this vision. He then became suspicious of one of the clergy and quietly said to him: "Depart, my son, since today thou art unworthy to participate at the celebrating of the Mystery."
On this event the writings of his disciple John break off, since he then fell sick and died. The further record of the life of Saint Epiphanius was continued by a second of his disciples, Polybios (afterwards bishop of city of Rinocyreia).
Through the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia and the Alexandria patriarch Theophilos, towards the end of his life Saint Epiphanius was summoned to Constantinople for a church council, which was convened for judgment upon the great saint, John Chrysostom. But Saint Epiphanius, not wanting to take part in a lawless council, left Constantinople. While sailing upon the ship, the saint sensed the nearness of his death, and he gave his disciples final instructions - to keep the Commandments of God and to preserve the mind from impure thoughts - and two days later he died. The people of Salamis met the body of their archpastor with carriages, and on 12 May 403 they buried him with reverence in a new church built by the saint.
The Seventh Ecumenical Council named Sainted Epiphanius as a Father and Teacher of the Church. In the writings of Saint Epiphanius, the "Panarion" and the "Ankoratos" contain refutation of the Arian and other heresies. In others of his works are encountered valuable church-historical traditions and directives on the Greek translation of the Bible.
Saint Mocius was a presbyter in Macedonia in the city of Amphypolis. During a time of persecution against Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305), Saint Mocius exhorted the pagans, who had assembled for the pagan feast to the divinity Dionysos (Bacchus), to forsake iniquity and the vile customs which accompanied this solemnity, and to repent and be converted to the Lord Jesus Christ and be cleansed through holy baptism.
The saint was brought to trial to the governor of Laodiceia; he confessed before him the true faith, and against the threats he answered: "My death for Christ is a great accomplishment for me."
Saint Mocius was subjected to torture, which he bore with marvelous endurance, and in no wise ceasing to denounce the idol-worshippers. Taken to the pagan temple of Dionysos, the saint shattered the idols with the Name of Jesus Christ. After this he was put into a red-hot oven, where he remained unharmed, but the flames coming out of the oven scorched the governor.
And again the assigned commander subjected Saint Mocius to fierce torture, which with the help of God he stoically endured; given for devouring by wild beasts, he remained unharmed - the lions but lay down at the feet of the saint. The people, having witnessed such miracles, began to urge that the saint be set free. The governor ordered the saint to be sent to the city of Perinth, and from there to Byzantium, where Saint Mocius was executed. Before his death he gave thanks to the Lord, for having bestown upon him the strength to go to the very end with the act of martyrdom. "Lord, receive my spirit in peace," were his last words, after which he was beheaded. Saint Mocius died in about the year 295. Later on, the emperor Constantine built a church in honour of the Hieromartyr Mocius and transferred his holy passion-bearing relics into it.
The Holy Apostle Simon Zelotes hailed from Cana of Galilee. The first miracle which the Saviour worked, the transforming of water into wine, occurred at the house of Simon: at the time of a wedding-feast there was insufficient wine for the guests. Then the Lord, at the prompting of the Most Holy Mother of God, transformed water into wine. Struck by the miracle, Simon with all his heart and soul believed in the Lord Jesus as the Promised Messiah and, having left behind everything, he followed after Him.
Simon received the title "Zelotes", i.e. the zealot, meaning a person who is zealous. On the day of Pentecost he received the gift of the Holy Spirit together with the other Apostles.
The holy Apostle Simon preached the teaching of Christ at Judea, Egypt, Libya, Cyrenia, and Britain. At Abkhazia he accepted a martyr's death, and was crucified on a cross. He was buried at the city of Nikopsia around Sukhum. Afterwards (in the nineteenth century), at the place where the holy Apostle Simon asceticised near Mount Iveria, there was established the Novoathonite monastery of Simon the Canaanite. To the present day is preserved the cave wherein the holy Apostle Simon asceticised.
The holy Prophet Isaias lived 700 years before the Birth of Christ, and was descended of royal lineage. The father of Isaias, Amos, raised his son in the fear of God and in the law of the Lord. Having attained the age of maturity, the Prophet Isaias entered into marriage with a pious maiden-prophetess (Is. 8:3) and had a son Jashub (Is. 8:18).
Saint Isaias was called to prophetic service during the reign of Uzziah, king of Judea, and he prophesied for sixty years during the reign of kings Joatham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. The start of his service was marked by the following vision: he beheld the Lord God, sitting in a majestic heavenly temple upon an high throne. Six-winged Seraphim encircled Him. With two wings they covered their faces, and with two wings they covered their feet, and with two wings they flew about crying out one to another "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth are filled of His Glory!" The pillars of the heavenly temple did shake from their shouts, and in the temple swelled the smoke of incense. The prophet cried out in terror: "Oh, accursed a man am I, granted to behold the Lord Sabaoth, and having impure lips and living amidst an impure people!" Then was sent him one of the Seraphim, having in hand a red-hot coal, which he took with tongs from the altar of the Lord. He touched it to the mouth of the Prophet Isaias and said: "Here, I have touched it to thine lips and the Lord doth do away with thine offences and doth cleanse thy sins." After this Isaias heard the voice of the Lord, directed towards him: "Whom shalt I send and who wilt go to the Jews, who wilt go for Us?" Isaias answered: "Here am I, send me, Lord, and I shalt go" (Is. 6:1ff). And the Lord sent him to the Jews to exhort them to turn from the ways of impiety and idol-worship and to offer repentance. To those that repent and turn to the True God, the Lord promised mercy and forgiveness, but punishment and the judgment of God are appointed the unrepentant. Then Isaias asked the Lord, how long would the falling-away of the Jewish nation from God continue. The Lord answered: "Until that time, as they neglect the city, nor be there people in the houses and this land be made desolate. Just as when a tree be felled and from the stump come forth new shoots, so also from the destruction of the nation wilt remain an holy remnant, from which emergeth a new tribe."
Isaias left behind him a book of prophecy, in which he denounces the Jews for their unfaithfulness to the God of their fathers, and he predicts the captivity of the Jews and their return from captivity during the time of the emperor Cyrus, the destruction and renewal of Jerusalem and of the Temple. Together with this he predicts the historical fate also of the other nations bordering the Jews. But what is most important of all for us, the Prophet Isaias with particular clearness and detail prophesies about the coming of the Messiah - Christ the Saviour. The prophet names the Messiah as God and Man, Teacher of all the nations, Founder of the Kingdom of Peace and Love. The prophet foretells the Birth of the Messiah from a Virgin, and with particular clearness he describes the Suffering of the Messiah for the sins of the world, he foresees His Resurrection and the universal spreading of His Church. By his clear foretelling about Christ the Saviour, the Prophet Isaias merited being called an Old Testament Evangelist. To him belong the words: "This One beareth our sins and is smitten for us... He was wounded for our sins and tortured for our transgressions. The chastisement of our world was upon Him, and by His wounds we were healed..." (Is. 53:4-5. Vide Book of Prophet Isaias: 7:14, 11:1, 9:6, 53:4, 60:13, etc.).
The holy Prophet Isaias had also a gift of wonderworking. And thus so, when during the time of a siege of Jerusalem by enemies the besieged had become exhausted with thirst, he by his prayer drew out from beneath Mount Sion a spring of water, which was called Siloam, i.e. "sent from God." It was to this spring afterwards that the Saviour sent the man blind from birth to wash, and for whom was restored sight by Him. By the prayer of the Prophet Isaias, the Lord prolonged the life of Hezekiah for fifteen years.
The Prophet Isaias died a martyr's death. By order of the Jewish king Manasseh he was sawn through by a wood-saw. The prophet was buried not far from the Pool of Siloam. The relics of the holy Prophet Isaias were afterwards transferred by the emperor Theodosius the Younger to Constantinople and installed in the church of Saint Lawrence at Blachernae. At the present time part of the head of the Prophet Isaias is preserved at Athos in the Chilandaria monastery.
About the times and the events which occurred during the life of the Prophet Isaias, the 4th Book of Kings speaks (Ch. 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, etc.), and likewise 2 Chronicles (Ch. 26-32).
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian occupies a unique place in the ranks of the chosen disciples of Christ the Saviour. Often in iconography the Apostle John is depicted as a gentle, majestic, and spiritual elder, with features of innocent tenderness, with the imprint of complete calm upon his forehead and the deep look of a contemplator of unuttered revelations. Another main trait of the spiritual countenance of the Apostle John is revealed through his teaching about love, for which the title "Apostle of Love" is preeminently designated to him. Actually, all his writings are permeated by love, the basic concept of which leads to the comprehension that God in His Being is Love (1 Jn. 4:8). In his writings, Saint John dwells especially upon the manifestations of the inexpressible love of God for the world and for mankind, the love of his Divine Teacher. He constantly exhorts his disciples to mutual love one for another.
The service of Love was the entire pathway of life of the Apostle John the Theologian.
The qualities of calmness and profound contemplation were in him combined with an ardent fidelity, tender and boundless love with intensity and even a certain abruptness. From the brief indications of the Evangelists it is apparent that he was endowed in the highest degree with an ardent nature, and his hearty passionateness sometimes reached such a stormy zealousness that Jesus Christ was compelled to give the admonishment that it was discordant with the spirit of the new teaching (Mk. 9:38-40; Lk. 9:49-50, 54‑56) and He called the Apostle John and his brother by birth the Apostle James "Sons of Thunder" ("Boanerges"). During this while Saint John shows scant modesty, and besides his particular position among the Apostles as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," he did not stand out among the other disciples of the Saviour. The distinguishing features of his character were the observance and sensitivity to events, permeated by a keen sense of obedience to the Will of God. Impressions received from without rarely showed up in his word or actions, but they penetrated deeply and powerfully into the inner life of the holy Apostle John. Always sensitive to others, his heart ached for the perishing. The Apostle John with pious tremulation was attentive to the Divinely-inspired teaching of his Master, to the fulness of grace and truth, in pure and sublime comprehending the Glory of the Son of God. No feature of the earthly life of Christ the Saviour slipped past the penetrating gaze of the Apostle John, nor did any event occur that did not leave a deep impression on his memory, since in him was concentrated all the fulness and wholeness of the human person. The thoughts also of the Apostle John the Theologian are imbued with such an integral wholeness. The dichotomy of person did not exist for him. In accord with his precepts, where there is not full devotion, there is nothing. Having chosen the path of service to Christ, to the end of his life he fulfilled it with complete and undivided devotion. The Apostle John speaks about wholistic a devotion to Christ, about the fulness of life in Him, wherefore also sin is considered by him not as a weakness and injury of human nature, but as evil, as a negative principle, which is completely set in opposition to the good (Jn. 8:34; 1 Jn. 3:4, 8-9). In his perspective, it is necessary to belong either to Christ or to the devil, it is not possible to be of a mediocre, lukewarm, undecided condition (1 Jn. 2:22, 4:3; Rev. 3:15-16). Therefore he served the Lord with undivided love and self-denial, having repudiated everything that appertains to the ancient enemy of mankind, the enemy of truth and the father of lies (1 Jn. 2:21-22). Just as strongly as he loves Christ, just as strongly he contemns the Anti-Christ; just as intensely he loves truth, with an equal intensity does he contemn falsehood, for light doth expel darkness (Jn. 8:12; 12:35-36). By the manifestation of the inner fire of love he witnesses with the unique power of spirit about the Divinity of Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:1-18; 1 Jn. 5:1-12).
To the Apostle John was given to express the last word of the Divine Revelation (i.e., the final book of the Holy Scripture), ushering in the most treasured mysteries of the Divine inner life, known only to the eternal Word of God, the Only-Begotten Son.
Truth is reflected in his mind and in his words, wherein he senses and grasps it in his heart. He has comprehension of eternal Truth, and as he sees it, he transmits it to his beloved spiritual children. The Apostle John with simplicity affirms or denies and speaks always with absolute precision (1 Jn. 1:1). He hears the voice of the Lord, revealing to him what He Himself hears from the Father.
The theology of the Apostle John abolishes the borderline between the present and the future. Looking at the present time, he does not halt at it, but transports his gaze to the eternal in the past time and to the eternal in the future time. And therefore he, exhorting for holiness in life, solemnly proclaims, that "all, born of God, sin not" (1 Jn. 5:18; 3:9). In communion with God the true Christian partakes of life Divine, whereby the future of mankind is accomplished already on earth. In his explanation and disclosing of the teaching about the Economia of salvation, the Apostle John crosses over into the area of the eternal present, in which Heaven would co-incide with earth and the earth would be enlightened with the Light of Heavenly Glory.
Thus did the Galilean fisherman, this son of Zebedee, become Theologian proclaiming through Revelation the mystery of world-existence and the fate of mankind.
The celebration on 8 May of the holy Apostle John the Theologian was established by the Church in remembrance of the annual drawing forth on this day at the place of his burial of fine rose ashes, which believers gathered for healing from various maladies. The account about the life of the holy Evangelist John the Theologian is situated under 26 September, the day of his repose.
