Righteous Saint Joachim, son of Barpathir, was a descendant of King David, to whom God had revealed that from the descendants of his line would be born the Saviour of the world. Righteous Saint Anna was the daughter of Matthan and through her father she was of the tribe of Levi, and through her mother of the tribe of Judah. The spouses lived at Nazareth in Galilee.
They were childless into their old age and all their life they grieved over this. They had to endure derision and scorn, since at that time childlessness was considered a disgrace. But they never grumbled and only but fervently prayed to God, humbly trusting on His will.
Once during the time of a great feast, the gifts which Righteous Joachim took to Jerusalem for offering to God were not accepted by the priest Ruben, who considered that a childless man was not worthy to offer sacrifice to God. This pained the old man very much, and he, regarding himself the most sinful of people, decided not to return home, but to settle in solitude in a desolate place.
His righteous spouse Anna, having learned what sort of humiliation her husband had endured, in prayer and fasting began sorrowfully to pray to God for granting her a child. In his desolate solitude and with fasting Righteous Joachim also besought God for this.
And the prayer of the saintly couple was heard: to both of them an Angel announced, that there would be born of them a Daughter, Who would bless all the race of mankind. By order of this Heavenly Messenger, Righteous Joachim and Anna met at Jerusalem, where through the promise of God was born to them the Daughter, named Mary.
Saint Joachim died a few years later after the Entry into the Temple of his Blessed Daughter, at about age 80. Saint Anna died at age 70, two years after him, spending the time in the Temple alongside her Daughter.
The Most Holy Virgin Mary was born at a time when people had reached such limits of decay of moral values that it seemed altogether impossible to restore them. The best minds of this era were aware and often said openly that God must needs come down into the world so as to restore faith and not tolerate the ruination of the race of mankind.
The Son of God chose for the salvation of mankind to take on human nature, and the All-Pure Virgin Mary, - alone worthy to contain in Herself and to incarnate the Source of purity and holiness, - He chose as His Mother.
The Birth of Our Most Holy Lady Mother of God and Ever Virgin Mary is celebrated by the Church as a day of universal joy. Within the context of the Old and the New Testaments, on this radiant day was born the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, having been forechosen through the ages by Divine Providence to bring about the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God, and She is revealed as the Mother of the Saviour of the World, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Most Holy Virgin Mary was born in the small city of Galilee, Nazareth. Her parents were Righteous Joachim from the tribe of the King and Prophet David, and Anna from the tribe of the First-Priest Aaron. The couple was without child, since Saint Anna was barren. Having reached old age, Joachim and Anna did not lose hope on the mercy of God. They had strong faith that for God everything is possible, and that He would be able to solve the barrenness of Anna, even in her old age, as He had once solved the barrenness of Sarah, spouse of the Patriarch Abraham.
Saints Joachim and Anna made a vow to dedicate the child which the Lord might bestow on them, into the service of God in the Temple. Childlessness was considered among the Hebrew nation as a Divine punishment for sin, and therefore the righteous Saints Joachim and Anna had to endure abuse from their own countrymen.
On one of the feast-days at the Temple in Jerusalem the elderly Joachim brought his sacrifice in offering to God, but the High Priest would not accept it, considering Joachim to be unworthy since he was childless.
Saint Joachim in deep grief went into the wilderness and there he prayed with tears to the Lord for the granting of a child. Saint Anna, having learned about what had happened at the Jerusalem Temple, wept bitterly; never once did she complain against the Lord, but rather she prayed, asking God's mercy on her family. The Lord fulfilled her petitions when the pious spouses had attained to extreme old age and prepared themselves by virtuous life for a sublime calling: to be the parents of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the future Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Archangel Gabriel brought Joachim and Anna the joyous message: their prayers were heard by God, and of them would be born a Most Blessed Daughter Mary, through Whom would come the Salvation of all the World. The Most Holy Virgin Mary of Herself in purity and virtue surpassed not only all mankind but also the Angels; She was manifest as the Living Temple of God, such that the Church sings in its festal verses of song: "the Heavenly Gate, bringing Christ into the world for the salvation of our souls" (2nd Stichos on "Lord, I have cried", Tone Six).
The Birth of the Mother of God marks the change of the times, wherein the great and comforting promises of God begin to be fulfilled about the salvation of the human race from slavery to the devil. This event has brought nigh to earth the grace of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of Truth, piety, virtue, and life immortal.
Our Mother First Born of All Creation is revealed to all of us by grace as a merciful Intercessor and Mother, to Whom we steadfastly recourse with filial devotion.
The Martyr Sozon, a native of Licaonea, was a shepherd.
He read the Holy Scriptures attentively, and he loved to share his knowledge about the One God with the shepherds who gathered together with him. He brought many to the faith in Christ and to Baptism.
By night-time once, when he sat under an oak tree, he had a vision foretelling his deed of martyrdom for Christ.
He set off to the city of Cilician Pompeiopolis, where a festal pagan celebration was being prepared for a golden idol, standing in a pagan temple. Unseen by anyone, saint Sozon went into the pagan temple and broke off the hand of the idol, and having smashed it he gave the gold to the poor.
The missing hands of the idol caused an uproar and commotion in the city: many were under suspicion, given over to interrogation and torture. Not wanting to be the cause of suffering for other people, Saint Sozon went to the emperor Maximian (284-305) and declared that it was he that broke the hand from the idol. "I did this," he said, "so that ye might see the lack of power of your god, which offered me no resistance. It is not a god, but rather a deaf and dumb idol. I wanted to smash it all into pieces, so that people would no longer worship its wrought hands."
The emperor in a fitful rage commanded that Saint Sozon be tortured mercilessly. They hung him up and struck at him with iron claws, and then they put on his legs iron shackles with nails inside and took him through the city. After this they again suspended him and beat him with iron rods until his bones broke.
In these terrible torments Saint Sozon gave up his spirit to God (+c.304). By decree of the emperor, slaves set a strong fire so as to burn the body of the martyr, but suddenly lightning flashed, it thundered loudly and a strong rain poured down over the flames of the fire. Christians took the body of the martyr by night and gave it over to burial. By his grave and at the place where he had the vision, there occurred healing of many of the sick. A church later was built in memory of the sufferings of the holy martyr.
The Remembrance of the Miracle, worked by the leader of the Heavenly Hosts, the Archangel Michael, at Chonae.
In Phrygia, not far from the city of Hieropolis, in a place called Kherotopos, there was a church named for the Archangel Michael, and outside the church flowed a health-curative spring. This church was built through the zeal of a certain inhabitant of the city of Laodicea in gratitude to God and to the holy Archangel Michael, who had appeared in a dream vision to this man - the father of a mute girl, and who then had not yet been illumined by holy Baptism, and revealed to him that his daughter would receive the gift of speech in drinking from the water of the spring. During her drinking the girl actually did receive healing and began to speak.
After this miracle, the father with his daughter and all their family were baptised, and in fervent gratitude the father built the church in honour of the holy Archangel Michael. And for healing began to come to the water-spring not only Christians, but also pagans. In so doing, many of the pagans turned from their idols and were converted to the faith in Christ.
At this church of the holy Archangel Michael a certain pious man by the name of Archippos served over the span of sixty years as church-attendant. By his preaching and by the example of his saintly life he brought many a pagan to faith in Christ. With the general malice of that time towards Christians, and even moreso against Archippos, who had never forsaken the church and gave example of a real servant of Christ, the pagans gave thought to destroying the church and at the same time kill Archippos. Towards this end they made a confluence of two mountainous rushing streams and directed its combined flow against the church.
Saint Archippos prayed fervently to the Archangel Michael to ward off the danger. Through his prayer the Archangel Michael appeared at the temple, and with a blow of his staff opened into the mountain a wide fissure and commanded to flow into it the rushing torrents of water. The temple thus remained unharmed.
In beholding such an awesome miracle, the pagans fled in terror, and Archippos together with Christians gathered in church glorified God and gave thanks to the holy Archangel Michael for the help. The place where the miracle happened received the name "Chonae", which means "opening" or "fissure".
The Holy Prophet Zacharias and Holy Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John.
They were descended from the lineage of Aaron: Saint Zacharias, son of Barach, was a priest in the Jerusalem Temple, and Saint Elizabeth was a relative of the Most Holy Mother of God.
The righteous spouses, "comporting themselves through all the commandments of the Lord blameless" (Lk. 1:5-25), suffered barrenness, which in the Old Testament times was considered a punishment from God.
One time during the occasion of service in the Temple, Saint Zacharias received the news from an Angel that his aged wife would bear him a son, who "wilt be great before the Lord" (Lk.1:15) and "wilt go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias." (Lk.1:17)
Zacharias was doubtful of the possibility of the fulfilling of this prediction, and for his weakness of faith he was punished by becoming unable to speak. When Righteous Elizabeth gave birth to a son, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she announced that his name was John, although earlier in their family line no one had been given such a name as this. They asked Righteous Zacharias and he likewise wrote down on the writing-board the name John. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and inspired of the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son as being the Forerunner of the Lord.
When impious king Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messias, he decided to kill at Bethlehem and its surroundings all the infants up to two years old, hoping that in this number would be also the newborn Messias. Herod well know about the unusual birth of John and he wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Righteous Elizabeth hid herself away with the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Righteous Elizabeth, catching sight of her pursuers, began tearfully to implore God concerning their safety, and immediately the hill opening up concealed her together with the infant from their pursuers.
In these tragic days Saint Zacharias was taking his turn making services at the Jerusalem Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him betwixt the offertory and the altar (Mt.23:35). Righteous Elizabeth died forty days after her spouse, and Saint John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.
The Hieromartyr Babylas, and with him the three young men Urban, Prilidian, Eppolonias, and their mother Christodoula died as martyrs under the emperor Decius (249-251).
During a time of his stay at their city of Antioch, the emperor arranged for a large festival in honour of the pagan gods. During this same time the holy and God-fearing bishop of Antioch, Babylas, was making Divine Liturgy in church; he prayed for his flock and taught it bravely to undergo all the tribulations for the faith in Christ. After his abomination of idol-worship, Decius, wanting to behold the making of the Divine Mysteries, decided to enter the church and by his visit to defile the Sanctuary of the Lord. News of this reached the bishop, and he, not wanting to permit impiety in the temple of God, went out to meet him and block the path to the church.
When the emperor tried to get closer to the church doors, Saint Babylas shoved him away with his hands, such that the emperor had to forego his intent. He wanted to take his revenge on the saint right away, but seeing the large throng of Christians, he feared having them riot.
The next day the angry emperor gave orders to set fire to the Christian temple, and to bring Bishop Babylas before him. To the question about why he should insult the imperial dignity, and not allow the emperor into the church nor render him due respect of position, the holy bishop answered, "Anyone that would rise up against God and want to desecrate His sanctuary, such a one not only is not worthy of respect, but is become the enemy of the Lord."
The emperor demanded that the holy bishop worship the idols and in such manner redeem his offence against the emperor, or else face execution. But having convinced himself that the martyr would remain steadfast in his faith, he commanded the military commander Victorinus to put him in heavy chains and lead him through the city in disgrace. To this the holy martyr replied, "Emperor, for me these chains be as venerable as for thee is thine imperial crown, and the suffering for Christ for me is as acceptable as is the imperial power for thee; death for the Immortal King for me is as desirable as thine life be for thee."
At the trial with Bishop Babylas were three young brothers who did not forsake him even in this most difficult moment. Seeing them, the emperor asked, "Who are these children?" "These are my spiritual children," answered the saint, "and I have raised them in piety, I have nourished them with an education, cultivated them with guidance, and here in a small body before thee are these great young men and perfect Christians. Test and see."
The emperor tried in all sorts of ways to entice the youths and their mother Christodoula into a renunciation of Christ, but in vain. Then in a rage he gave orders to whip each of them in a number equivalent to their years of age. The first they whipped with twelve blows, the second ten, and the third seven. Having dismissed the mother and children, the torturer again summoned the bishop, telling him that the children had renounced Christ. But the lie quickly unraveled and brought no success. Then in a rage he commanded all the martyrs be tied on a tree and burnt at with fire. But seeing the stoic bravery of the saints, the emperor finally condemned them to the death of martyrdom by beheading with the sword (+c.251).
The Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, and the Martyrs with him suffered during the time of the persecution against Christians under the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (284-305).
The persecution of Christians became particularly intense after the occurrence of a conflagration at the imperial court at Nicomedia. The pagans accused the Christians of setting the fire and reacted against them with terrible ferocity. Thus, in Nicomedia alone, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, at a church as many as twenty thousand Christians were burned. But this monstrous inhumanity did not frighten off the Christians: they firmly confessed their faith and accepted a martyr's death for Christ. And thus during this period of sufferings died Saints Dorotheus, Mardonius, Migdonius, Peter, Indysus and Gorgonius. One of them was beheaded by the sword, others perished by burning, or being covered over in the ground, or by drowning in the sea.
Zinon, a soldier, for his bold denunciation of the emperor Maximian was stoned, and then beheaded. Then also perished at the hands of the pagans the holy Virgin-Martyr Domna, a former pagan-priestess, and also Saint Euthymius, because of their concern that the bodies of the holy martyrs should be buried.
Bishop Anthimus, who headed the Church of Nicomedia, at the request of his flock concealed himself in a village not far from the city. From there he sent missives to the Christians, urging them to cleave firmly to the holy faith and not to fear tortures. One of his letters, dispatched with the Deacon Theophilus, was intercepted and given over to the emperor Maximian. Theophilus was subjected to interrogation and died under torture, without revealing to his torturers the whereabouts of Bishop Anthimus.
But after a certain while Maximian managed to learn where Saint Anthimus was situated, and he sent a detachment of soldiers after him. The bishop himself met up with them along the way. The soldiers did not recognise the identity of the saint. He invited them to join him and provided them a meal, after which he revealed that he was the one that they were searching for. The soldiers did not know what to do in this instance; indeed, they wanted to leave him be and tell the emperor that they had not found him. Bishop Anthimus was not one to tolerate a lie, and so he would not consent to this. The soldiers themselves came to believe in Christ and accepted holy Baptism. But amidst all this, the saint nonetheless demanded them to carry out the orders of the emperor.
When Bishop Anthimus was brought before the emperor, the emperor gave orders that the instruments of execution be brought out and placed before him. "Dost thou think, emperor, to frighten me with these tolls of execution?"asked the saint. "No indeed, thou canst not frighten one that doth wish to die for Christ! Execution is frightening only for the cowardly of soul, for whom the present life is most precious."
The emperor then directed that the saint be fiercely tortured and beheaded by the sword. Bishop Anthimus to his last gasp with joy glorified God, for Whom he had been vouchsafed to suffer (+302).
