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Let us sing hymns extolling our God's divine and all-honored disciples, who for the world are luminaries guiding us, and our salvation's first fruits. They have shined out the light on to us who were in the dark, and they gave all the knowledge of Christ the glorious Sun. Also, they brought down the deception of the idols, by preaching the Trinity which is one in divinity. Let us therefore cry out to them, "As Christ our God's Apostles, entreat that He grant forgiveness of offences to those who with longing observe your holy memory."
Their proclamation went forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. By conceiving the wisdom. To the ends of the world into all the earth did the sound of your wise proclamation go. Indeed, it has publicly proclaimed the knowledge of God to all. It turned the Gentiles' ignorance into full knowledge of the truth, O holy and all-lauded Apostles of Christ the Lord. Also, it dispelled all the darkness of the idols, and shined on to those who sat in the darkness the light of truth. And we therefore now pray to you: Intercede with Christ our God that He grant forgiveness of offences to those who with longing observe your holy memory. Amen.
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Eleutherios the Hieromartyr,
Bishop of Illyricum, and his mother Anthia
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St. Paul's Second Letter to
Timothy 1:8-18
TIMOTHY, my son, do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, and among them Phygelos and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphoros, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me - may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesos.
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The Gospel according to
Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-5
At that time, Jesus was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" And he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath."
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come here." And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch it out," and his hand was restored.
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In
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You. O heavenly King, 0 Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who are in all places and fill all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, 0 gracious Lord. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy God visit and heal our infirmities for thy Name's sake.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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December 15
Thursday of the 13th Week
Eleutherios the Hieromartyr, Bishop of Illyricum, and his mother Anthia
Eleutherios was born in Rome in the second century AD. He was among the first and youngest to carve a niche for himself in Christianity in the eternal city of Rome, where he astounded his elders with his prodigious intellect and early development. Had his father, a high public official of pagan Rome, lived to guide his immensely talented son, things might have taken a different turn for the boy and for Christianity, but his widowed mother, the beautiful Anthia, had accepted Christianity with all her heart. It followed, therefore, that the boy's talents would be applied to Christian endeavour, and he was as quick to embrace the Messiah as he was quick to acquire knowledge. His enormous capacity for learning so accelerated his intellectual pace that he outdistanced his teachers, one of whom suggested to Anthia that she take this marvelous boy to the bishop of Rome, Aniketos, who after witnessing the boy's intellectual display took him under his personal supervision. With a desire to serve the Saviour that was as profound as his learning, Eleutherios embarked on a meteoric career as a man of the cloth, acquiring before he was twelve the equivalent of a college education and with such impressive credentials was tonsured a reader at the age of thirteen. When he was fifteen years old he was ordained a deacon and at the age of seventeen was ordained a priest of the Christian Church.
With such early momentum propelling him and with an ever-increasing hope to serve Christ in the highest tradition of the apostles, he was elevated to the episcopacy at the age of twenty, the youngest bishop ever to reach that pinnacle through his own efforts. As bishop in Illyricum, Eleutherios promoted the cause of Christianity with the adroitness of a seasoned campaigner, giving added impetus to the Christian movement at a time when the merciless persecutions not only made it difficult to win and hold converts, but also at a time when the gravest danger was in being a high-ranking prelate of the Church. Oblivious to this threat, he was acclaimed in the inner circle of Christianity as the brightest luminary of Christian Rome since the apostles.
Even those whom he failed to convert held him in the highest esteem, and with this immense popularity he grew bolder and thereby more offensive to the state. This outstanding theologian, orator and benefactor of Christian and pagan alike was finally mentioned to Emperor Hadrian, who ordered his arrest. Ordinarily the emperor would have questioned him personally because of his high station, but fearing a reprisal because of the prelate's popularity, Hadrian dispatched his most trusted centurion, a man named Felix, to bring the bishop before the prefect of Rome for trial and punishment. The centurion decided that rather than run the risk of seizing Eleutherios publicly he would seek out his place of worship and arrest him there. After some time Felix found the well-hidden church and crept in just as the bishop was commencing a sermon. The oratory of the brilliant Eleutherios was spellbinding, and when the sermon was over Felix came forth and asked to be converted to Christianity. This done, Felix exposed his purpose and apologised for having come to the house of God with treachery in his heart. He was easily forgiven by Eleutherios, who thereafter instructed the centurion to return him to the prefect lest judgment be passed on both of them. With a great deal of reluctance Felix took the bishop to what appeared to be a sealed fate, offering along the way to help Eleutherios escape. But the proud prelate would not hear of it.
With the emperor conspicuous by his absence, St Eleutherios went on trial before the prefect, but not even his oratorical power could save him. The bishop was cast into prison, tortured, and put to death. He died for Christ on December 15.
Holy Martyr Eleutherios the Cubicularios
(4th c.)
He was from a noble family in Constantinople, and rose to the rank of Cubicularios (Chamberlain). He was not only a counselor to, but a close friend of, the Emperor (probably Julian the Apostate). But Eleutherios was increasingly moved by a desire to become a Christian; so, obtaining a leave from the Imperial court, he moved to the countryside in Bithynia, where he was baptized. There he built a house that concealed an underground chapel. When Eleutherios returned to court, some jealous courtiers denounced him to the Emperor, who visited Eleutherios' country house and was furious to discover the underground church. When the Saint would not renounce his faith in Christ, the Emperor, ignoring all previous bonds of friendship, had him beheaded.
Holy Martyr Bacchus the New (787)
During the reign of Constantine VI and Irene, restorers of the holy icons, the Holy Land was under the control of the Muslim Arabs. Many Christians there apostatized, putting honors and security in this world above their eternal joy. One of these was the father of this Saint, who brought up seven children as Muslims. His wife however, never renounced her Faith and prayed constantly for the conversion of her husband and children. Upon the death of the father, her third son Dachak declared that he wished to become a Christian. He was baptized in the Monastery of St Sabas near Jerusalem, receiving the name Bacchus, and determined to be a monk. But the abbot, fearing reprisals against the Monastery, sent him back to his home in Jerusalem. His brothers, seeing his joy and boldness in confessing the Faith, decided to receive holy Baptism, except for one, who denounced Bacchus to the authorities. He was arrested and brought before the judge and, when he proved steadfast in his confession of Christ, was beheaded.
Our Venerable Father Tryphon of Kola, apostle of Laponia (1583), and his disciple the Holy Martyr Jonah (1590)
Saint Tryphon was the son of a priest from Novgorod. The Synaxarion records that, at the moment of his birth, the verse Blessed is the life of those who dwell in the desert was being sung in the Matins service. In 1525 he was moved by a divine revelation to flee to the far north of Russia and live as a hermit. He settled near the River Kola, where he devoted his nights to prayer, his days to proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the native peoples there. The pagans were hostile at first, but his patience and humility won them over, and he baptized many. He built them a church with his own hands on the shores of Lake Ladoga, and later founded a monastery there. Saint Tryphon reposed in 1583. He predicted his own death and the coming destruction of the Monastery by the Swedes, which came to pass in 1590. All the monks were massacred. The first victim, Starets Jonah, worked many miracles at the Monastery after its restoration.
The Martyr Susannah the Deaconess
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Prayer of Saint Symeon
Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people: the Light of revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.
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Regarding the Gosp
el of
The Hunger of Jesus.
St. Augustine
: It is foolish to believe the Evangelist's account that he ate and not to believe that he was really hungry. Yet it does not follow that everyone who eats is hungry. For we read that even an angel ate, but we do not read that he was hungry. Nor does it follow that everyone who is hungry eats. He may either restrain himself due to some obligation or lack food or the means to eat.... Now, just as the fact that Jesus ate food is unintelligible without a body, so the fact that he felt hunger is impossible without a soul. Against the Apollinarians, Question 80
Withered Hands, Withered Minds.
St. Athanasius
: In the synagogue of the Jews was a man who had a withered hand. If he was withered in his hand, the ones who stood by were withered in their minds. And they were not looking at the crippled man nor were they expecting the miraculous deed of the one who was about to work. But before doing the work, the Savior ploughed up their minds with words. For knowing the evil of the mind and its bitter depth, he first softened them up in advance with words so as to tame the wildness of their understanding, asking: "Is it permitted to do good on the sabbath or to do evil; to save a life or to destroy one?" For if he had said to them, "Is it permitted to work?" immediately they would have said, "You are speaking contrary to the law." Then he told them what was intended by the law, for he spoke as the One who established the laws concerning the sabbath, adding, "except this: that which will be done for the sake of a life." Again if a person falls into a hole on a sabbath, Jews are permitted to pull the person out. This not only applies to a person, but also an ox or a donkey. In this way the law agrees that things relating to preservation may be done, hence Jews prepare meals on the sabbath. Then he asked them about a point on which they could hardly disagree: "Is it permitted to do good?" But they did not even so much as say, "Yes," because by then they were not in a good temper. Homilies 28
The Intent to Discredit.
St. Chrysostom
: Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, "Come here." Then he challenged the Pharisees as to whether it would be lawful to do good on the sabbath. Note the tender compassion of the Lord when he deliberately brought the man with the withered hand right into their presence. He hoped that the mere sight of the misfortune might soften them, that they might become a little less spiteful by seeing the affliction, and perhaps out of sorrow mend their own ways. But they remained callous and unfeeling. They preferred to do harm to the name of Christ than to see this poor man made whole. They betrayed their wickedness not only by their hostility to Christ, but also by their doing so with such contentiousness that they treated with disdain his mercies to others. Gospel of St. Matthew, Homily 40.1
Putting Anger to Good Use.
St. Augustine
: If angry emotions which spring from a love of what is good and from holy charity are to be labeled vices, then all I can say is that some vices should be called virtues. When such affections as anger are directed to their proper objects, they are following good reasoning, and no one should dare to describe them as maladies or vicious passions. This explains why the Lord himself, who humbled himself to the form of a servant, was guilty of no sin whatever as he displayed these emotions openly when appropriate. Surely the One who assumed a true human body and soul would not counterfeit his human affections. Certainly, the Gospel does not falsely attribute emotions to Christ when it speaks of him being saddened and angered by the lawyers because of their blindness of heart. The City of God, Book 14
The Diversity of His Feelings.
St. Augustine
: Feelings cannot exist in anything but a living soul. These events show that just as Jesus had a human body he had a human soul. We read about the diversity of his feelings in the reports of the same Evangelists [who attested his divinity]: Jesus was astonished, was angered, was grieved, was elated, and similar emotive responses without number. Likewise it is clear that he experienced the ordinary fully human experience of interconnectedness between his body and his soul. He was hungry; he slept; he was tired from his journey. Against the Apollinarians 80
Cooperating with Grace.
St. Chrysostom
: I exhort you that you not carelessly slumber so as to leave everything to God. Nor, when diligent in your endeavors, imagine that by your own exertions the whole work is achieved. God does not will that we should be indolent. For God does not do the whole work by himself by fiat. Nor is it his will that we should be entirely self-sufficient. For God does not commit the whole work to us alone. The Gospel of St. Matthew, Homily 82
Stretch Out Your Hand for the Poor.
St. Athanasius
: But Jesus, deeply grieved in heart at the hardness of their hearts, said in effect: "Let the ones who see continue to see. Let the ones who refuse to hear do what they want to do. Let the ones who are hard in heart become stone. But let your right hand become full and tender. Rise, beg no longer." ... In effect Jesus was saying: "Do not continue to beg because of having a withered hand, but after you finally have received it healthy and whole and have begun to work, stretch out your hand to the poor. Rise up and stand in their midst. Become a marvel to those who see. In you the struggle concerning the sabbath is finally being contested. Stand in their midst, so that the ones who are lame in their legs might stand.... Stretch out your hand. I am not touching you so that they may not bring a charge against me. I am speaking with a speech so that they may not think that touching is an act of work. God did not say, 'Do not speak on the sabbath.' But if speech becomes an act of work, let the one who has spoken be an object of amazement. Stretch out your hand." ... While the withered hand was restored, the withered minds of the onlookers were not. For they went out and immediately, according to the reading, were debating what they would do to Jesus. Are you debating what you will do? Worship him as God. Worship the wonder worker. Worship one who worked good things on behalf of another. He did not add plasters; he was not tenderizing with lotions. He did not apply medical ointments. He did this work openly, standing in their midst, and not in a hidden way, so that some might retort: "He applied a plant; he added a plaster." Homilies 28
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By St. Nikolai Velimirovich
From a good tree comes good fruit. This wonderful Saint had noble and greatly eminent parents. Eleutherios was born in Rome, where his father was an imperial proconsul. His mother Anthia heard the Gospel from the great Apostle Paul and was baptized by him. Having been left a widow early, she entrusted her only son for study and service to Aniketos the Bishop of Rome.
Seeing how Eleutherios was gifted by God and illumined by the grace of God, the bishop ordained him a deacon at the age of fifteen, a priest at the age of eighteen, and a bishop at the age of twenty. Eleutherios's God-given wisdom made up for what he lacked in years, and this chosen one of God was appointed Bishop of Illyria with his seat in Valona (Avlona), Albania. The good shepherd guarded his flock well and increased their number day by day. Emperor Hadrian, a persecutor of Christians, sent the commander Felix with soldiers to seize Eleutherios and bring him to Rome. When the raging Felix arrived in Valona and entered the church, he saw and heard the holy hierarch of God; suddenly his heart changed, and he became a Christian. Eleutherios baptized Felix and departed for Rome with him, returning joyfully as if he were going to a feast and not to trial and torture.
The emperor subjected the noble Eleutherios to harsh torture: flogging, roasting on an iron bed, boiling in pitch, and burning in a fiery furnace. But Eleutherios was delivered from all these deadly tortures by God's power. Seeing all this, Caribus the Roman eparch declared that he also was a Christian. Caribus was tortured and then beheaded, and so was Blessed Felix. Finally, the imperial executioners cut off the honorable head of St. Eleutherios. When his mother, the holy Anthia, came and stood over the dead body of her son, she also was beheaded. Their bodies were translated to Valona, where even today St. Eleutherios glorifies the name of Christ by his many miracles. He suffered during the reign of Hadrian in the year 120.
The Veneration of Saint Eleutherios
Orthodox Christians solemnly commemorate Sts. Eleutherios and Anthia on December 15, the day of the dedication of a great church to the Saints in Constantinople during the reign of the Roman Emperor Arkadios. This was in the fifth century and the church dominated the Xerolophos district of Constantinople. Ever since many others have been erected in their honor, particularly in Greece. In the West the Saints are honored on April 18, traditionally the day of their martyrdom in Rome. A portion of their relics are still treasured in Reati, in Italy. In the Nea Ionia area of Athens, inhabited mainly by refugees from Asia Minor, other relics of the Saints are venerated by pilgrims from across Greece and Cyprus. A twelfth century church dedicated to St. Eleutherios served as the Athenian cathedral during the centuries of "Turkokratia" or Ottoman rule. This small church is dwarfed by the neighboring large cathedral, built in the nineteenth century, but it continues to draw many more visitors and tourists.
For centuries Orthodox believers have considered Saints Eleutherios and Anthia to be the patrons of expectant mothers and of childbirth. Their fame as wonderworkers, the fact that they were mother and son and the implications of their names contributed to this. "Eleutherios" is a variant of "freedom" in Greek, thus, mothers pray that they might safely be free of their pregnancies by giving birth to healthy children. "Anthia" resembles "anthos" meaning flower.
Furthermore St Eleutherios is held to be the protector of the oppressed, prisoners and all those undergoing any kind of trial. It is believed that these two Saints, like Cyprian and Justina, dispel all demonic influences. Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire thought of St. Eleutherios as their helper in the movement for independence. In Albania where the previous Communist regime had banned the Orthodox faith and all religion, the Saints became a focus for Orthodox Christian resistance -particularly amongst the Greek Epirote minority in the south.
The standard life of these Saints was recorded by St. Symeon Metaphrastes in the tenth century, and this was translated into Modern Greek by Agapios the Cretan in the book
New Paradise. The office of the Saints was published by Athanasios Parios in Leipzig in 1784. In 1987 Archimandrite Nicholas Protopapas published a study titled
Saint Eleutherios the Hieromartyr. St. Eleutherios of Avlona is not to be confused with this St. Eleutherios or a number of other saints bearing the same name. Better known in the West is another St. Eleutherios, the Pope of Rome who succeeded St. Soter in 175 A.D. He was a Greek by origin but other than this very little is known about him. It is thought that this Pope sent missionaries to the British Isles; Phaganos (or Fugatius) and Deruvian (or Damian) are the names given to two of these missionary Saints. They are commemorated on May 26 with St. Eleutherios the Pope.
Apolytikion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Adorned with flowing priestly vesture and with dripping streams of blood you at once went to your Lord Christ, O blessed wise Eleutherios, annihilator of Satan. Wherefore, do not cease to intercede for those who honor your blessed struggles in faith.
Kontakion in the Second Tone
O venerable One, we all praise and entreat you, Eleutherios, Priest-Martyr, comeliness of Priests and exaltation of champions. Deliver from diverse dangers those fervently honoring your memory, interceding unceasingly for us all.
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Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού,
ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
have mercy on me the sinner!
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