Devotional to the Bridegroom

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Actsof the Apostles, 319 AD

June 08

Translation of the relics of

the Greatmartyr Theodore Stratelates

O trophy-bearer Theodore, by thy strategy thou wast a general of the heavenly King;

armed with the weapons of faith thou didst annihilate hordes of demons

and win the Athletes' contest. With faith we call thee blessed.

The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates suffered for Christ in Heraklea on February 8, 319. At the time of his sufferings the holy Great Martyr Theodore ordered his servant Varus to bury his body on the estate of his parents in Euchaita. The transfer of the relics of the Great Martyr Theodore took place on June 8, 319.

On this day we also recall a miracle of the icon of the Great Martyr Theodore in a church dedicated to him at a place called Karsat, near Damascus. A group of Saracens had turned this church into their residence. There was a fresco on the wall depicting Theodore. One of the Saracens shot an arrow into the icon of the Great Martyr. From the saint's face, where the arrow had stuck into the wall, blood flowed before the eyes of everyone. A short while later, the Saracens who had settled in the church killed each other. Accounts of this miracle are given by the Anastasius of Mt. Sinai (April 20) and John of Damascus (December 4)

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Acts of the Apostles, 444 AD

June 09

Cyril of Alexandria

Cyril the Archbishop of Alexandria

Today we commemorate the repose of this great Father of the Church.

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Cyril died in the year 444, leaving behind many works. In particular, the following ought to be mentioned:

commentaries On the Gospel of Luke,
On the Gospel of John,
On the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and to the Hebrews;
also an Apologia in Defense of Christianity against the Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363).
Of vast significance are his Five Books against Nestorius; a work on the Most Holy Trinity under the title Thesaurus, written against Arius and Eunomios.
Also two dogmatic compositions on the Most Holy Trinity, distinguished by a precise exposition of the Orthodox teaching on the Procession of the Holy Spirit.
Cyril wrote Against Anthropomorphism for several Egyptians, who through ignorance depicted God in human form.
Among Cyril's works are also the Discussions, among which is the moving and edifying Discourse on the Exodus of the Soul, inserted in the Slavonic "Following Psalter"

Cyril guided the Alexandrian Church for 32 years, and towards the end of his life the flock was cleansed of heretics. Gently and cautiously Cyril approached anyone, who by their own simpleness and lack of knowledge, fell into false wisdom. There was a certain Elder, an ascetic of profound life, who incorrectly considered the Old Testament Priest Melchizedek to be the Son of God. Cyril prayed for the Lord to reveal to the Elder the correct way to view the righteous one. After three days the Elder came to Cyril and said that the Lord had revealed to him that Melchizedek was a mere man.

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Cyril learned to overcome his prejudice against the memory of the great John Chrysostom (November 13). Theophilus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and uncle of Cyril, was an antagonist of John, and presided in a council in judgment of him. Cyril thus found himself in a circle antagonistic to John Chrysostom, and involuntarily acquired a prejudice against him. Isidore of Pelusium (February 4) repeatedly wrote to Cyril and urged him to include the name of the great Father of the Church into the diptychs of the saints, but Cyril would not agree.

Once in a dream he saw a wondrous temple, in which the Mother of God was surrounded by a host of angels and saints, in whose number was John Chrysostom. When Cyril wanted to approach the All-Holy Lady and venerate her, John Chrysostom would not let him. The Theotokos asked John to forgive Cyril for having sinned against him through ignorance. Seeing that John hesitated, the Mother of God said, "Forgive him for my sake, since he has labored much for my honor, and has glorified me among the people calling me Theotokos." John answered, "By your intercession, Lady, I do forgive him," and then he embraced Cyril with love.

Cyril repented that he had maintained anger against the great saint of God. Having convened all the Egyptian bishops, he celebrated a solemn feast in honor of John Chrysostom.

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Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, is a distinguished champion of Orthodoxy and a great teacher of the Church. He studied the secular sciences, including philosophy, but most of all he strove to acquire knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the truths of the Christian Faith.

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Acts of the Apostles, 313

June 10

Holy Martyrs Alexander and Antonina, the Virgin.

Alex and Antonia

St Antonina was from the city of Krodamos (Asia Minor). She was arrested for being a Christian, and was brought before the governor Festus. He urged her to worship the pagan gods, promising to make her a priestess of the goddess Artemis. But the saint bravely confessed Christ, and she urged the governor to renounce the worship of demons in the form of idols. Festus gave orders to strike the saint on the face and lock her up in prison.

The martyr spent all her time at prayer, she ate and drank nothing, but then she heard the voice of God, "Antonina, fortify yourself with food and be brave, for I am with you." When they led her before the governor again, the martyr continued to stand up for the Christian Faith and to denounce the pagans.

The governor decided to give the holy virgin over for defilement by soldiers, but the Lord inspired one of them, St Alexander, to save the holy virgin. He sought permission to go in to her on the pretext that he might be able to convince her to obey the governor's will. St Alexander then suggested that she put on his military attire and flee. St Antonina was afraid, but the Lord ordered her to agree.

No one recognized her dressed as a soldier, and she walked out of prison. The soldiers sent by Festus found St Alexander alone in the cell. He would not respond to the questions of the governor, and so he was tortured and mercilessly beaten. Through the inspiration of the Lord Jesus Christ, St Antonina also came to stand before Festus.

Soldiers cut off their hands, then they smeared them with pitch and threw them into a pit where a fire was burning. When the fire went out, they threw snakes into the pit, so that Christians would not be able to gather up the bones of the martyrs. Returning home, Festus became numb, and was able neither to eat nor to drink. He died after seven days of terrible torment.

Ss Alexander and Antonina were martyred on May 3, 313.

The relics of the saints were transferred to Constantinople and placed in the Maximov monastery.

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O, Gentle Light*

Christ

O Jesus Christ,
Thou gentle Light of the heavenly glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father.
Now that we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the evening light,
We sing in praise to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Thou art worthy at all times to be praised by holy voice
O Son of God, Giver of life,
Therefore the world gives Thee glory.

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O, Gentle Light

The All-Night Vigil, Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written and premiered in 1915. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical achievement of the Orthodox Church". It was one of Rachmaninoff's two favorite compositions along with The Bells, and the composer requested that one of its movements be sung at his funeral. The title of the work is often translated as simply Vespers, which is both literally and conceptually incorrect as applied to the entire work: only the first six of its fifteen movements set texts from the Orthodox Church (Russian diocese) canonical hour of Vespers.

TD

"I am the light of the world. The one that follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

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Acts of the Apostles

June 11

Memorial Saturday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council

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 Divine Liturgy. The readings from Acts and the Gospel of St 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 Sts Peter and Paul, but remains open-ended.*

* In his article "With all the Saints," Fr 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.