Venerable
Venerable Theophanes the Branded
October 11 Old CalendarOctober 24 New Calendar
Life
A confessor and writer of canons. Born in Arabia to wealthy and pious parents. Together with his brother Theodore (December 27) he was tonsured as a monk in the Monastery of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified. As very educated monks, Patriarch Thomas of Jerusalem sent them to Emperor Leo the Armenian to explain and defend the veneration of icons before the emperor. The wicked emperor grievously tormented these holy brothers and cast them into prison. A later iconoclast emperor, Theophilus, continued to torment them; and in order to expose them to the mockery of the world, he ordered that certain derisive words be inscribed upon their faces. After the end of iconoclasm, Saint Theophanes was released into freedom and soon consecrated as a bishop. He ended his life peacefully in 847. He suffered for the icons for twenty-five years. He wrote one hundred forty-five canons. He departed to the eternal joy of his Lord.
From the Prologue from Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, October 11. Translated by Marcian Sakarya, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Also commemorated on October 11
The full reading for October 11 includes the hymn of praise, a reflection, a contemplation and a homily.
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