DOCSLIB.ORG

2021 03 22 JAWS Devotional Guide

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
2021 03 22 JAWS Devotional Guide NEWSLETTER & DEVOTIONAL GUIDE Second Week of the Great Lent Monday, March 22 — Sunday, March 28, 2021 The Holy Forty Martyrs of St. Euthymius, Bishop of St. Gregory Palamas the Sebaste Novgorod, wonderwoker Archbishop of Thessalonica (1458) 1 ~ CONTENTS ~ A Note from Fr. John Look It Up! “Twitter Summary” Prayer Corner Thoughts for Every Day Bookstore Ponder This ~ A NOTE FROM FATHER JOHN ~ This past Sunday was the triumph of Orthodoxy, and a hymn sung today states solemnly and simply: "This is the Apostolic faith, this is the Orthodox faith, this is the faith of the Fathers, this is the faith that is the foundation of the world." My dear brothers and sisters, this is also our own faith. We are chosen. We are elected. We are the happy few that can say of our faith, "apostolic," "universal," "the faith of our fathers," "Orthodoxy," "the truth." Having this wonderful treasure, let us preserve it, let us keep it, and let us also use it in such a way that this treasure becomes the victory of Christ in us and in His Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! ~ “TWITTER SUMMARY” ~ The main points from Sunday’s sermon, in 280 characters or less! Worship is accorded only to God. In the words of Saint Basil the Great, we hear explained that “the honor which is given to the icon passes over to the prototype.” The prototype honored is, in the last analysis, God, as God created man in His own image. ~ THOUGHTS FOR EVERY DAY ~ 2 Scripture and liturgical readings to enrich your prayer life every day of the week ~ MONDAY~ ~ TUESDAY~ (3/22) (3/23) Holy Scripture: Holy Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-10 40 Martyrs Isaiah 5:7-16 (6th Hour) Matthew 20:1-16 40 Martyrs Genesis 4:8-15 (Vespers, 1st Reading) Excerpt from the Menaion: Proverbs 5:1-15 (Vespers, 2nd Reading) The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, Troparion, Excerpt from the Menaion: Tone I — Troparion — Tone 1 By the pangs of Thy saints/ wherewith Let the godly-minded Quadratus, they suffered for Thee,/ be entreated, O Anectus, Paul, Dionysius, Cyprian, and Lord, and heal all our pains// O Thou Who Crescens / be praised with melodious hymns, lovest mankind. / for as the six-fold choir of Christ’s Commemoration of the Day: prize-winners, / they ceaselessly pray for us The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste before the Trinity! Commemoration of the Day: Martyrs Codratus (Quadratus) and those with him at Corinth ~ WEDNESDAY~ ~ THURSDAY~ (3/24) (3/25) Holy Scripture: Holy Scripture: Isaiah 5:16-25 (6th Hour) Isaiah 6:1-12 (6th Hour) Genesis 4:16-26 (Vespers, 1st Reading) Genesis 5:1-24 (Vespers, 1st Reading) Proverbs 5:15-6:4 (Vespers, 2nd) Proverbs 6:3-20 (Vespers, 2nd Reading) Excerpt from the Menaion: Excerpt from the Menaion: Troparion — Tone 4 Troparion — Tone 8 O hierarch Euthymius, you were chosen By a flood of tears you made the desert by God from your youth / and honored with fertile / and by your longing for God you the rank of bishop. / You faithfully cared for brought forth fruits in abundance. / By the your flock / and even after your repose / you radiance of miracles you illuminated the received the gift of wonderworking, to heal whole universe. / O our holy Father infirmities. / Now pray for us who celebrate Theophanes, pray to Christ our God to save your memory / that we might praise Christ our souls. ceaselessly! Commemoration of the Day: Commemoration of the Day: Venerable Theophanes the Confessor of St. Euthymius, Bishop of Novgorod, Sigriane (818) wonderwoker (1458) ~ FRIDAY~ ~ SATURDAY ~ (3/26) (3/27) Holy Scripture: Holy Scripture: 3 Isaiah 7:1-15 (6th Hour) Hebrews 3:12-16 Genesis 5:32-6:8 (Vespers, 1st Reading) 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (Departed) Proverbs 6:20-7:1 (Vespers, 2nd) Mark 1:35-44 Excerpt from the Menaion: John 5:24-30 (Departed) Troparion — Tone 3 Excerpt from the Menaion: Your fragrant relics have been revealed Troparion — Tone 8 as godly treasure / filled with life for the Only Creator, with wisdom profound, Church. / On their august translation / we You mercifully order all things, / and give receive the gifts of the Spirit. / Righteous that which is needed to all men: / Give rest, O Father Nicephorus, entreat Christ our God to Lord, to the souls of Your servants who have grant us His great mercy. fallen asleep, / for they have placed their Commemoration of the Day: trust in You, our Maker and Fashioner, and Translation of the relics (846) of St. our God. Nicephorus the Confessor, patriarch of Commemoration of the Day: Constantinople (829) Parents’ Saturday. Remembrance of the dead. ~ SUNDAY ~ (3/28) Holy Scripture: Hebrews 1:10-2:3 “Their sound hath gone forth into all the Hebrews 7:26-8:2 (Saint) earth, their words unto the ends of the Mark 2:1-12 world.” John 10:9-16 (Saint) Excerpt from the Menaion : The Second Sunday of Great Lent. St. [Prokeimenon of Pentecost, Tone 8, Gregory Palamas, Troparion, Tone VIII— Liturgy] Light of Orthodoxy, pillar and doctor of To read more: the Church, adornment of monks, invincible https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/ champion of theologians, O Gregory the wonderworker, praise of Thessalonica, preacher of grace, ever pray that our souls may be saved. Commemoration of the Day: St. Gregory Palamas the Archbishop of Thessalonica 4 ~ PONDER THIS ~ A few thoughts to ponder in light of this week’s lessons and sermons. A Reflection on Great Lent by Alexander Schmemann https://www.pravmir.com/a-reflection-on-great-lent-by-alexander-schmemann/ When a man leaves on a journey, he must know where he is going. Thus, with Lent. Above all, Lent is a spiritual journey and its destination is Easter, “the Feast of Feasts.” It is the preparation for the “fulfillment of Pascha, the true Revelation.” We must begin, therefore, by trying to understand this connection between Lent and Easter, for it reveals something very essential, very crucial about our Christian faith and life. Is it necessary to explain that Easter is much more than one of the feasts, more than a yearly commemoration of a past event? Anyone who has, be it only once, taken part in that night which is “brighter than the day,” who has tasted of that unique joy, knows it. On Easter we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection as something that happened and still happens to us. For each one of us received the gift of that new life and the power to accept it and live by it. It is a gift which radically alters our attitude toward everything in this world, including death. It makes it possible for us to joyfully affirm: “Death is no more!” Oh, death is still there, to be sure, and we still face it and someday it will come and take us. But it is our whole faith that by His own death Christ changed the very nature of death, made it a passage — a “passover,” a “Pascha” — into the Kingdom of God, transforming the tragedy of tragedies into the ultimate victory. ~LOOK IT UP ~ 5 Did you know: Saint John Chrysostom, writes that, during the period of great Lent, we trade our spiritual merchandise and acquire a wealth of virtues. He stresses that it’s no great achievement simply to get through the days of the fast, but that what’s important is to correct some of our flaws and to be cleansed of our sins. Read more: https://www.pravmir.com/thoughts-on-great-lent/ ~ PRAYER CORNER ~ ● Father John and Matushka ● Anna and her family Deborah. ● Healthcare workers and anyone at risk of contracting the COVID virus To submit commemorations for the next Divine Liturgy, to make an appointment with Fr. John to give confession by telephone, to alert us to any pastoral needs, to submit an item for the Prayer Corner, or just to chat, please contact Fr. John or Mat. Deborah using the following contact information: Archpriest John Tomasi * (310) 749-0524 * [email protected] Matushka Deborah Tomasi * (310) 849-9451 * [email protected] Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee! 6.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 1 Vol. 54, No. 10 MARCH 9, 2008 AD Continued from the Cover PAGE
    1 Vol. 54, No. 10 MARCH 9, 2008 AD PARISH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC CHURCH Ukrainian-Byzantine Rite “Catholic” comes for the Greek words for “according-to-the-whole” “Rite” means “One of the twenty-one Eastern Catholic Sister Churches, who are simultaneously in Communion with the Church & Pope in Rome, while living from out of their own distinctly non-Roman (non-Latin), & yet equally Apostolic Tradition or Theological, Spiritual, Liturgical & Canonical Heritage.” Continued from the cover PAGE Icon of the Feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste 2 In the general spirituality of our Byzantine Church, “feastdays” not be cele- brated during the weekdays of the Forty days of the Great Fast (Lent). There are only a few exceptions to this rule, such as the Finding of the relics of St. John the Baptist and the memory of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. If these should occur on a weekday of Lent then the Presanctified is cele- brated on the eve and on the day; if on the Fifth Sunday, then the usual propers for St. Mary of Egypt are omitted. ЧИТАННЯ ІЗ СВЯТОГО ПИСЬМА: НИНІ: 9 березня, 2008 р.Б.: П’ЯТОЇ НЕДІЛІ ВЕЛИКОГО ПОСТУ, КОЛИ ЗВИЧАЙНО ТВОРИМО ПАМ’ЯТЬ СВЯТОЇ Й ПРЕПОДОБНОЇ МАТЕРІ НАШОЇ МАРІЇ, ЄГИПЕТСЬКОЇ, АЛЕ З ОГЛЯДУ НА ПОЛІЄЛЕЙНЕ СВЯТО СВ. 40 МУЧЕНИКІВ, ПАМ’ЯТЬ ПРО СВ. МАРІЮ ВІДПАДАЄ. На Вечірній Літургії: П’ЯТОЇ НЕДІЛІ: Книги Буття Читання 48:8-22; Книги Пророка Даниїла Читання 3:13-28; Книги Плачу Єремії Читання 1:1-11; СВ. 40 МУЧЕНИКІВ: Книги Пророка Ісаї Читання 43:9-14, Книги Мудрости Читання 3:1-9; Книги Мудрости Читання 5:15-6:3; На Утренній Літургії: НЕДІЛЬНЕ РЯДОВЕ: Від Івана святого Євангеліє Читання 20:11-18; СВ.
    [Show full text]
  • Santa Maria Antiqua: the Amalgamation of Identity in Early Medieval Rome
    Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee Volume 6 Issue 1 Article 7 April 2015 Santa Maria Antiqua: The Amalgamation of Identity in Early Medieval Rome Cayce Davis University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/pursuit Part of the Architectural History and Criticism Commons, and the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Recommended Citation Davis, Cayce (2015) "Santa Maria Antiqua: The Amalgamation of Identity in Early Medieval Rome," Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1 , Article 7. Available at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/pursuit/vol6/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Volunteer, Open Access, Library Journals (VOL Journals), published in partnership with The University of Tennessee (UT) University Libraries. This article has been accepted for inclusion in Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee by an authorized editor. For more information, please visit https://trace.tennessee.edu/pursuit. Pursuit: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at the University of Tennessee Copyright © The University of Tennessee PURSUIT trace.tennessee.edu/pursuit Santa Maria Antiqua: The amalgamation of Identity in Early Medieval Rome CAYCE DAVIS Advisor: Dr. Gregor Kalas The intent of this investigation is to frame an identity for the church of Santa Maria Antiqua and the urban condition of Rome during the sixth through eighth centuries. Coupling topographical and semiotic information with larger geographic issues, this study interrogates the church and specific individuals associated with it as a way of more comprehensively understanding Santa Maria Antiqua as a visual medium of cultural change and political propaganda.
    [Show full text]
  • John Rufus's View of Peter the Iberian's Journeys in Late Antique Palestine1
    WEAVING THE PILGRIM'S CROWN WEAVING THE PILGRIM'S CROWN: JOHN RUFUS'S VIEW OF PETER THE IBERIAN'S JOURNEYS IN LATE ANTIQUE PALESTINE1 CORNELIA B. HORN Martyrdom and pilgrimage were central experiences in the lives of early Christians. Those two elements seem closely interwoven in the career of Pe- ter the Iberian, the influential fifth-century anti-Chalcedonian monk and bishop of Maiuma, Gaza. Their connectedness in Peter's life is an important key for understanding how anti-Chalcedonians interpreted their experiences of being a repressed minority in Palestine in the fifth and early sixth centu- ries A.D. PETER'S JOURNEYS Peter the Iberian was born in A.D. 412 or 417 in Georgia as son of the royal couple Bosmarios and Bakurduktia.2 He died on December 1, 491 A.D., on an estate of the late Empress Eudocia in the vicinity of Jamnia in South- Western Palestine.3 Jamnia was about a day and a night's journey north of Maiuma, the port-city of Gaza,4 where Peter had been both the anti- 1 I am grateful to Janet A. Timbie, Jason Zaborowski, Sidney H. Griffith, Susan Ash- brook Harvey, and especially Philip Rousseau for constructive criticism and useful sugges- tions on earlier drafts of this paper. 2 Vita Petri Iberi 5. Reference will be made throughout to the pages of the critical edition of the Syriac text of Peter's biography. It is published, accompanied by a German transla- tion, in Richard Raabe, Petrus der Iberer: ein Charakterbild zur Kirchen- und Sitten- geschichte des 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church Hymns of The
    Feasts and Commemorations for this Week Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church Address: 6134 Black Bill Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86004 Mailing Address: PO Box 2164, Flagstaff, AZ 86003 Phone: (928) 225-3814 Web: www.holycrossflagstaff.org Strict Fast Cheese / Dairy Allowed Wine / Oil Allowed Fish Allowed Email: [email protected] Prayer List: Rev. Earl J. Cantos Phone: (928) 225-3814 Please keep the following intentions in your prayers this week: For the health and safety of our entire community as we are out and about enjoying Services Schedule: our summer breaks. Orthros 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy 10 AM For His Eminence, Archbishop Elpidophoros, to be enthroned June 22nd. May God Church School 9:15 AM (currently on recess) grant him many years! AXIOS! Bulletin for Sunday, June 16, 2019 Save the Dates! HOLY PENTECOST 6/22 8:00am Highway 89 cleanup. Contact Mary Grove to volunteer. Father’s Day No Confessions, No Vespers (Fr. Earl will be out-of-town) 6/23 9:00am Orthros, 10:00am Divine Liturgy - Fr. Virgil Suciu Prayer of the Holy Spirit Sunday of All Saints 6/29 5:00pm Evening Vespers, Confessions will be heard after Vespers Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, every- Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul where present and filling all things, Treasury of bless- 6/30 9:00am Orthros, 10:00am Divine Liturgy ings and Giver of life: come and abide in us, cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One. 7/6 3:30pm—6:00pm Flagstaff Family Food Center—Contact Mary Grove to volunteer.
    [Show full text]
  • The Saint John's Bible and Other Materials from HMML’S Collections
    Non-Profit Organization WINTER NEWSLETTER U.S. Postage Saint John’s University 2010 PO Box 7300 PAID Collegeville, MN 56321-7300 Saint John’s University 320-363-3514 (voice) Want to receive periodic updates about HMML’s latest adventures? Send your e-mail address to: [email protected] and we will add you to our list. We promise not to spam you, or ever sell or rent your personal information. HMML Board of Overseers Jay Abdo Tom Joyce, Chair Joseph S. Micallef, Edina, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Founder Emeritus St. Paul, Minnesota James Hurd Anderson Ruth Mazo Karras Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Anne Miller Edina, Minnesota Nina Archabal Thomas A. Keller III St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Diana E. Murphy Minneapolis, Minnesota Joanne Bailey Steven Kennedy Newport, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Kingsley H. Murphy, Jr. St. Louis Park, Minnesota Thomas J. Barrett Lyndel I. King Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Michael Patella, OSB Collegeville, Minnesota Ron Bosrock Abbot John Klassen, OSB St. Paul, Minnesota Collegeville, Minnesota Dan Riley Minneapolis, Minnesota Conley Brooks, Jr. David Klingeman, OSB Minneapolis, Minnesota Collegeville, Minnesota Lois Rogers Long Lake, Minnesota Nicky B. Carpenter, Robert Koopmann, OSB Lifetime Member Collegeville, Minnesota Aelred Senna, OSB Wayzata, Minnesota Collegeville, Minnesota Harriet Lansing Albert J. Colianni Jr. St. Paul, Minnesota Robert L. Shafer Minneapolis, Minnesota New York, New York Dale Launderville, OSB Patrick Dewane Collegeville, Minnesota
    [Show full text]
  • 394 FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH 300 E. North Line Road on November 26, 1863 the First Christian Church Was Organized with Eighteen Me
    FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH 300 E. North Line Road On November 26, 1863 the First Christian Church was organized with eighteen members. They met in the Court House and the grade school until the first building was built in 1865 at the corner of Court and Houghton Streets. The first minister was David Walk. From printed records in 1895, the current building at Court and Houghton Streets was erected in1892 at a cost of $12,000. On November 7, 1964 the Jim McCumber and Brinda Ruby wedding was the last wedding in this church. The dedication of the present building on North Line Road was held January 17, 1965. Participants on the building committee were Lee Allison, Garland Strohl, Max Summerlot, Fonzie Reed, Orville Fry, and Harley Teel. The church has not only progressed in building, but in evangelism at home and on the mission field. The church supports several missions in the United States and around the world. Approximately 420 members carry out the mission of Saving the Lost and Strengthening the Saved. Ground was broken in the spring of 2006 for building on the new property recently purchased on Egyptian Trail and Church Street. Present elders: Clayton Harriss, Todd Bickers, Gary Foltz, Mike Otto, Allen Reeder and Mark Smith. 1892 -1964 1965 -Present Church Staff Sr. Minister, Scott Zorn, Worship Minister, Benji 2006-FUTURE SITE Mauer, Youth Minister, Phil Davis, Associate FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH Minister, Dawn Davidson. EGYPTIAN TRAIL AND CHURCH STREET 394 FORTY MARTYRS CATHOLIC CHURCH 201 E. Van Allen Street Legend of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste The Forty Martyrs were soldiers in the Roman army stationed in Lesser Armenia at Sebaste, modern Sivas, Turkey.
    [Show full text]
  • Great Lent, the Time of Renewed Devotion
    12 St. Innocent Orthodox Church Issue #7, March 2019 ST. INNOCENT ORTHODOX CHURCH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Great Lent, The Time of HOLIDAYS & SAINTS DAYS Renewed Devotion March 3 Finding of the Precious Cross by St. Elena, mother of St. Konstantin, the Emperor March 9 Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste March 10 - 11 Forgiveness Sunday, Beginning of the Great Lent. Great Canon March 12 St. Gregory Dialogus March 17 Sunday of Orthodoxy Ven. Aleksy, Man of God Let us begin the lenten time spiritually rejoicing. with delight… March 25 Let us fast from passions as Thy grace has arisen upon ANNUNCUATION we fast from food, taking us, O Lord, the illumination MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS pleasure in the good words of our souls has shown forth; of the Spirit, that we may be behold, now is the acceptable March 30 granted to see the holy time; behold, now is the time passion of Christ our God of repentance Ven. John Climacus, author of and his holy Pascha, (Vespers Hymns). “The Ladder” There Is A Time For Everything Dear members of St. Innocent Orthodox Church Let us call brothers even those who hate us, and community! forgive all by the Resurrection. Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon Let this be our time for prayer, forgiveness of those in the tombs bestowing life! enemies, confession of sins, renewed love for God and every neighbor, and focus on Jesus Pray for us especially during this holiest of times, Christ crucified and raised from the dead. as we in our unworthiness pray for you.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgakov Handbook
    March 9 v. The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste who were tortured in a lake. Cyrion (Quirio), Candidus, Domnus, Hesychius, Heraclus, Smaragdus, Eunocius (Eunicus), Valens (Vala), Vivianus, Claudius, Prescus, Theodulus, Eutychius, John, Xantheas, Helianus, Sisinius, Angius, Aetius, Flavius, Acacius, Ecdikius (Ecditius), Lysimachus, Alexander, Elias, Gorgonius, Theophilus, Dometian, Gaius, Leontius, Athanasius, Cyril, Sacerdon, Nicholas, Valerius, Philoctimon (Philoctimus), Severian, Chudion, Aglaius, and Meliton. All of them were warriors, distinguished by their strength and courage and suffered for their Christian faith in Sebaste (in Armenia) during the reign of the Emperor Licinius. After being persuaded with kindness and then with threats to reject Christ, they were confined to prison, and there they were subjected to terrible tortures. They stripped them and put them into a lake, covered with ice. Terrible biting cold benumbed the members of the Holy Martyrs; but the valiant long sufferers, being "huddled together in the cold, chanted a hymn to the Lord". To make the torture worse, the torturers built a warm bath on the shore of the lake to tempt the martyrs. One of the forty warriors was tempted and ran to the bath, but at its threshold he fell dead. At 3 o'clock in the morning a light appeared from heaven, which heated the water in the lake and also warmed the Holy Martyrs. At the same time thirty-nine crowns came down from Heaven onto the Holy Martyrs. One of the guards, Aglaius, struck by the courage of the sufferers, believed in Christ and went into the lake. The next day with hammers they broke the legs of the remaining unharmed martyrs.
    [Show full text]
  • The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste Mural in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul
    “A SPECTACLE TO THE WORLD, BOTH TO ANGELS AND TO MEN” Michael J. K. Walsh Multiculturalism in Medieval Famagusta, Cyprus, as seen through The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste Mural in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul St. Basil the Great, whose homily to “The Forty” is central abstract to our memory of them, spoke uncompromisingly about the power of art and proclaimed that “what the orator’s In 2012 the fifteenth-century mural of The Forty Martyrs narration presenteth to the ear, the silent eloquence of Sebaste in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Fama- of painting proclaimeth to the eye” (1979: 7). Likewise gusta, Cyprus, underwent a major restoration funded Gregory of Nyssa’s “Homily on Theodore” contains the by Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and passage “For painting, even if silent, is capable of speaking the World Monuments Fund. It had been singled out from the wall and being of the greatest benefit” (Leemans for priority treatment not only because of its advanced 2000: 124). This article, while being mindful of Burgin’s state of decay, but because of the wealth of information stark warning cited in my epigraph, and both Saints Basil’s it could offer historians working on the cultural histo- and Gregory’s belief in the value of art, interrogates that ries of medieval Cyprus. This article looks at some of “silent eloquence” to see what can be learned from the the questions raised about multiculturalism in medieval image of The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in relation to multicul- Famagusta and offers some tentative suggestions for a turalism in Famagusta.
    [Show full text]
  • Fig. 1. View of Church and Martyrium of Sta. Lucia, Syracuse (All Photos Courtesy of Mariarita Sgarlata and Grazia Salvo)
    fig. 1. View of Church and Martyrium of Sta. Lucia, Syracuse (all photos courtesy of Mariarita Sgarlata and Grazia Salvo). 84 glenn peers Finding Faith underground: Visions of the Forty Martyrs oratory at Syracuse ¹ LthouGh now integrated into mostly non- A descript post-war residential housing, the com- plex of the martyrium of Sta. Lucia on the northern outskirts of ancient and medieval Syracuse has a great deal to tell us still about medieval Sicily (Fig. 1). this site is the object of great devotion on the part of Sir- acusani still, because Lucia is the patron of the city, and her feast day, 13 December, is marked with great celebratory sadness. her remains are kept in the octag- onal martyrium ascribed to the seventeenth-century master Giovanni Vermexio, and the church communi- cates with that building by means of an underground passageway (Fig. 2). that join reveals one of the re- markable aspects of Syracuse: its extensive subterra- nean passages and chambers that comprise a catacomb system second only to Rome. Even though schol- ars have studied these catacombs, beginning with the great Paolo orsi in 1916 and 1919, and although Mar- iarita Sgarlata and Grazia Salvo have continued to do important work here, much remains to be done. the fig. 2. Plan of Buildings and Catacombs, Sta. Lucia, Syra- catacombs below Sta. Lucia have rarely been open to cuse. the public, but work is being done to change that situ- ation; and they have suffered damage over the centu- tened and talked about Syracuse, my thanks for their indulgence ries that make them rather sad testimonies to an im- and advice: Franco de Angelo, Anne-Marie Bouché, Peter Brown, Martin Eisner, Barry Flood, Oleg Grabar, Herbert Kessler, John portant aspect of the history of Mediterranean culture Osborne, Barbara Roggema, Ramzi Rouighi, and Rabun Taylor.
    [Show full text]
  • Canons of Compline and Transfers of Menaion Services for Great Lent 2016 Aleksandr Andreev
    Canons of Compline and Transfers of Menaion Services for Great Lent 2016 Aleksandr Andreev According to the Typicon, “beginning on Monday of the second Week of the Fast, we chant at Compline the Canons of the Menaion for the Saints that will come to be celebrated in the period from Lazarus Saturday to Thomas Sunday, together with the Canons for the Theotokos”. In light of this instruction, and keeping in mind the other indications of the Typicon concerning the transfer of Menaion commemorations to Compline during the Lenten period, the following schedule of Canons at Compline is possible in 2016. Note that the services for Bright Friday and Thomas Sunday do not need to be transferred in 2016. First Week of Lent Monday, March 1 (14) Martyr Eudocia At Great Compline: Great Canon Tuesday, March 2 (15) Hieromartyr Theodotus At Great Compline: Great Canon Wednesday, March 3 (16) Martyrs Eutropius, Cleonicus and Basiliscus At Great Compline: Great Canon Thursday, March 4 (17) St Gerasimus of the Jordan At Great Compline: Great Canon Friday, March 5 (18) Martyr Conon of Isauria At Great Compline: Canon for the Departed from the Octoechos in Tone 8 Canon and Stichera for the 42 Martyrs of Ammoria (from March 6) Saturday, March 6 (19) St Theodore the Recruit (Triodion Commemoration) � Reigning Icon of the Mother of God (from March 2) Compline is not served because All-night Vigil is served Saturday night Second Week of Lent Sunday, March 7 (20) Sunday of Orthodoxy At Little Compline: Canon for the Holy Prophets from the Triodion Canon and Stichera for the Hieromartyrs of Cherson (from March 7) Monday, March 8 (21) St.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Head: “The Cult of the Saints and Their Relics”
    The Cult of the Saints and Their Relics Thomas Head Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY The saints were, both during their lives and after their deaths, key members not only of the Christian community, but of western society as a whole. As "friends of God" or "soldiers of Christ," saints possessed enormous power. In theory, all who resided in the divine court were saints, but in practice Christian churches accorded a relatively small number of people the title of saint and public veneration. The veneration of those people deemed to be saints--that is, in Latin, cultus , or the cult of the saints--lay at the heart of the practice of late antique and medieval Christianity in western lands. It was through relics that living Christians could seek the patronage and the help of the saintly dead now resident in heaven. While relics were also important in the medieval Christian east, the veneration of icons, or holy pictures of the saints, was equally or perhaps even more important in Byzantine lands. Christians thought that saints were regularly capable of performing miracles with divine assistance. They could cure the sick, counter famine, quell fires, defeat enemies. As residents of the divine court, their posthumous powers were, if anything, more impressive and useful, for they could present petitions on behalf of the living to God in order to win favor for them in the divine court. For Christianity preached the universality of sinfulness, as well as of the divine judgment and punishment which was the result of sin. If a person wished to undo the consequences of their sins, they sought the aid of a saint.
    [Show full text]