February 5translatedThis page has been translated from Serbian to English. It may contain minor phrasing or syntactic issues.
The Lives of the Saints
1. HOLY MARTYR AGATHA
This glorious virgin and martyr of Christ was born in the Sicilian city of Palermo of noble and wealthy parents. When Emperor Decius raised persecution against Christians, Saint Agatha too was seized and brought to trial before the judge Quintianus. The judge saw Agatha, beautiful in face, and desired to have her for his wife. When he proposed this to Agatha, Agatha answered him that she was the bride of Christ, and that she could not be unfaithful to her Bridegroom. The judge subjected her to severe torments: Agatha was flogged, mocked, bound to a tree and beaten until bloody. After this the judge again advised her to renounce Christ, and thus avoid further torments, to which the bride of Christ answered: "These torments are very beneficial to me, just as wheat cannot come into the granaries before it is cleansed from chaff, so neither can my soul enter Paradise if my body is not first crushed by torments." Then the torturer ordered that her female breasts be cut off, and then cast her into prison. In prison Saint Apostle Peter appeared to her and restored her bodily wholeness and health. Again she was brought out for torture, and again cast into prison where she gave up her soul to God, in the year 251 in the city of Catania, during the time of Emperor Decius. After Agatha's death her torturer Quintianus set off to seize her property. But along the way the horses under him and under the soldiers went mad, and gnawed him all over his face, threw him to the ground and trampled him to death with their hooves. Thus God's punishment quickly overtook him for the savage crime against Saint Agatha.
2. HOLY MARTYR THEODULA
She suffered for Christ in the time of Diocletian, the impious Roman emperor. During torture, Theodula enlightened one of the torturers, Eladius, and brought him to the Christian faith. When Eladius publicly confessed his faith in Christ, he was beheaded by the sword. Theodula conducted herself very courageously at trial, for which the judge called her mad. To this Theodula said to him: "Mad are you who have forgotten the only true God, and bow down to dead stone." The judge cast her into fierce torments which Theodula heroically endured, and by her heroism in torments amazed many and turned them to Christ. Among them were two distinguished citizens, Macarius and Evagrius. With these two and many others Theodula was cast into a heated furnace where all honorably perished and were deemed worthy of Christ's kingdom.
3. SAINT POLYEUCTUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
Polyeuctus died in the year 970. Because of his lofty mind, religious zeal and eloquence he was called a second Chrysostom. In the time of Patriarch Polyeuctus and Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the Russian princess Olga came to Constantinople, and there was baptized in the year 957. The patriarch baptized her, and the emperor was her godfather. Saint Polyeuctus said to her prophetically: "Blessed art thou among Russian women, for thou hast loved the light and cast away the darkness, the sons of Russia will bless thee unto the last generation." From among the simple monks Polyeuctus was taken as patriarch in the year 946 and remained on the patriarchal throne until his death in the year 970.
Hymn of Praise
Dark is the dungeon, bright the martyr, In the darkness shines Saint Agatha, Above the dungeon palaces, bathed in light, There the torturer lives, covered with shame, For Agatha the virgin new torments devises, Dark amid light, he suffers, ponders... Who with Christ is wed, to him the dungeon is bright, But to the enemy of righteousness—the palace is despair! Dark is the dungeon, bright the martyr, As soon as she heard Christ, Saint Theodula, After Christ she went, a pure dove. Because of Christ the mob cast her into darkness, But joyful stands Saint Theodula, But joyful stands, fears no one. While her enemies filled with malice, Amid fabulous palaces wretched in despair, Only of evil think, only malice serve, And all is empty to them, and of all they complain, For they have not God, for Christ they know not, All the mysteries of life wrongly they read!
Reflection
The monks asked the great Abba Iskhirion: - What have we done? - We have fulfilled the commandments of God, - answered Iskhirion. - And what will those who come after us do? - They will do what we do, but half as much. - And those after them? - Those at the end of time will in no way keep monastic exercises, but such afflictions and such temptations will befall them, that they through enduring these afflictions and temptations will show themselves in God's kingdom greater than us and than our fathers.
Contemplation
Contemplate the Lord Jesus as the sole true enlightener, namely: 1. As enlightener of every individual person; 2. As enlightener, consequently, of society and of all mankind; 3. As enlightener who illumines with imperishable light both the mind and the heart and the will of man.
Homily
on death as sleep
Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep (John 11:11)
The Master of life calls death sleep. O what ineffable comfort for us! O what sweet news for the world! Bodily death, therefore, does not mean the destruction of man but only slumber from which He can awaken us who also awakened the first dust into life by His word.
And when the Lord called out: Lazarus! the man awoke and came to life. The Lord knows the name of each of us. If Adam knew the name of every creature of God, how would the Lord not know each of us by name! Not only does He know, but He also calls us by name. O sweet and life-giving voice of the Only Man-lover! That voice can create sons of God from stones! How then would it not awaken us from sinful sleep!
A certain man had raised a stone to kill his brother. But at that moment it seemed to him that he heard his mother's voice calling him by name. Just hearing his mother's voice—and his hand trembled. He dropped the stone and was ashamed of the sin he intended. His mother's voice awakened him from sinful death. And if a mother's voice saves and awakens from death, how much more the voice of the Creator and Life-giver!
Whenever the Lord called out to someone who was dead only in body, each one awakened and arose. But not each one awakened and arose of those who were dead in soul, when the Lord called to them. For this awakening, for this resurrection, the consent of the will of the dead one is also needed. Judas! betrayest thou with a kiss? Thus the life-giving voice called out, but the dead man remained a dead man, and the sinner did not awaken. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? the same life-giving voice called out, and the one lulled by sin awakened, and the dead came to life. Truly, sinful sleep is deeper than death, and the sleeper does not awaken easily.
Sweet Lord, awaken us from sinful sleep, awaken us Lord! To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.