r/OrthodoxGreece

In 1740, the Ottoman Empire was at war and Sultan Ahmet ordered that all the male children of Christians be taken off to army camps. Theocharis, who was an orphan, was picked up with other children and begged the Lord day and night prevent him from being tortured. One day, the cadi of Neapolis in Cappadocia visited the camp and noticed the young man. He took him into his service, with the task of looking after the stables. One evening, the wife of the cadi saw Theocharis praying on his knees for a long time with his hands raised to the heavens. Impressed by his piety, she persuaded her husband to marry him to their daughter.

When the cadi offered to make him his son-in-law and his heir, on condition that he embraced Islam, the young man replied: “I was born and baptized a Christian and it’s impossible for me to renounce the faith of my ancestors”. The judge considered the answer to be insulting, and sentenced him to death by starvation. Theocharis went to church to confess and to partake of the spotless Sacraments, then returned to his master. When he repeated his refusal and confessed his faith, they cast him into prison without food for many days. But he was nourished by prayer and did not feel the pangs of hunger; he was satisfied with a little water now and then.

On 20 August, after he had rejected new proposals from his master, he was taken an hour’s journey out of town. In answer to the last question of the executioners, he began to pray. The former thought he was mocking them so they stoned him and then hanged him from a birch tree. When they threw him into the hole they had dug for him there, a fierce storm arose, which spread panic among the Turks. The saint’s relics were found later, after a revelation and, in 1923, refugees from Asia Minor took them to Thessaloniki, to the church of Saint Katherine. As for the birch tree where Saint Theocharis was hanged, it became a place of pilgrimage for Christians and Muslims alike.

*Νέος Συναξαριστής της Ορθοδόξου Εκκλησίας, Indiktos Publications, p. 216.*

SOURCE: https://pemptousia.com/2022/08/he-was-nourished-by-prayer-and-did-not-feel-the-pangs-of-hunger-new-martyr-theocharis-from-neapolis-asia-minor/

In the grim years of Ottoman rule, as is known from history, thousands of Christians were martyred. One of them is the Holy Neomartyr Constantine of Kappua in Thessaly, who before being baptized and received into the bosom of our Church was a Muslim, the son of a Turkish official. At the age of twenty he was introduced to Christian doctrines by a certain educated monk from the Monastery of Saint Nicholas in Kappua. When this monk determined that the faith in Christ was established in this young Turk, he baptized him in the Monastery, and from his former name Saim he was given the new name Constantine.

The reaction of the Turkish official, who was the father of the neophyte Constantine, was thunderous and dynamic. He wanted to punish the three monks of the Monastery in Kappua with death, but he did not succeed because they managed to flee to Meteora, where they sought protection from the monks there. The anger of the father peaked and he burned down the Monastery. Enraged by the strong stance and behavior of his son, he ordered the soldiers of his guard to throw him in the dungeon and were ordered not to release him until he returned to his ancestral faith.

The soldiers acted in accordance with the orders of the father. They threw Constantine into a dark and moldy dungeon, and from morning till night they would ask him if he repented of his apostasy. Constantine, however, would answer with sweetness and stability: "I will never deny my Christ, no matter what you do to me. I fear nothing. He is beside me and strengthens me." The angry and exhausted father, having reached the limits of his patience, ordered his soldiers to torture him harder, and that if he still refuses repentance, they were to bring him to the gallows. But even the new harder tortures were not able to bend the mind and faith of Constantine. Then the soldiers announced the decision of the father to have him hung, as a last resort threat, but they still received the same firm answer: "I tell you again, nothing can separate me from my Christ. I love Him so much, that I do not care if I even have to give my life for His love."

Under the command of his father, the soldiers led him outside of the town of Kappua, where the modern day village of Kappa is located. Here they threw a rope over a thick branch of a large plane tree that existed at this location, near the Community Bureau of Kappa, and they hung Constantine. The holy soul of the young Constantine flew near to the eternal love of Christ. His honored relics were buried by Christians near the place of his martyrdom, at a place called "Tria Dendra" (Three Trees), where a church was erected.

Saint Constantine was martyred on the 18th of August in the year 1610.

SOURCE: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2013/08/holy-new-martyr-constantine-of-kappua.html?m=1

He was born in the town of Galatista in Chalkidiki around 1710. Galatista was the seat of a diocese at that time. In his homeland he received his secondary education. At this time in Galatista, as in other parts of Chalkidiki, “they have schools that are quite well-trained and a staff of teachers to teach them”. It is worth mentioning that from Galatista during this period came the great relative hagiographers called Galatsanoi, who painted many icons and frescoes on Mount Athos, and many of their works are preserved in the Vatopedi monastery.

As a young man, he traveled to Jerusalem to worship the Holy Land, where he remained, was ordained a monk, and became a member of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood. He was ordained priest of the Holy Sepulchre by the patriarch of Jerusalem, Parthenios (1737-1766).

He was then sent as steward of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Thessaloniki, where the church of Nea Panagia was located near the White Tower, where it still exists today. During his stay there, he taught at the Urban School of Thessaloniki.

In 1743, Patriarch Parthenios of Jerusalem sent Archimandrite Agapios to Moscow to collect funds to repay the large debt of the Holy Sepulcher to the creditors of the Patriarchate. Agapios, due to many and various problems, remained in Russia until 1747 and returned with a sufficient amount to repay the debt.

When he returned to Thessaloniki, he continued his teaching work at the school there. Then he taught as a professor at the Athonia Academy, near the Vatopedi monastery. At the suggestion of the wise teacher Eugenios Voulgaris, the saint was appointed by the venerable Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Scholarch of Athonia: The interest of the Great Church of Christ increased even more in the early years through the appointment of Ephors in Constantinople and Athos, commissioners in Europe and Scholarchs, such as Neophytos of Kafsokalyve, the virtuous and wise Archimandrite. Agapios of the Holy Sepulchre and martyred on August 18, 1752 in Thermi, Thessaloniki, and subsequently the miraculous and wise Hierodeacon Eugenios of the Bulgarian."

The great Evgenios Voulgaris, in a letter dated April 10, 1752 from Ioannina to Agapios, congratulates him on taking up his duties in Athoniada. This letter was in the archives of the learned bishop of Campania Theophilos (1749-1795), who was a student of Voulgaris in Ioannina. Theophilos was from Ioannina, and the seat of his diocese was Koulakia, Thessaloniki, where he himself notes: “This letter was addressed to the enlightened archimandrite of the Holy Sepulchre, Lord Agapios, who was killed outside Thessaloniki by the wicked murderous Janissaries, returning from Galatistis, his homeland, on the 18th of August! "May our generation be afflicted by the loss of such a wise man. Truly, the judgments of God are a great abyss."

On August 18, 1752, the virtuous and wise "Archimandrite of the Holy Sepulchre, the Great Teacher of the Nation, the wisest Scholar of Athonia, Agapios the Agiotaphite, was martyred outside Thessaloniki, near Thermi, by evil Janissaries as he was coming from Galatista to Thessaloniki."

We know that at this time the army of the violent Janissaries in this region was committing plunder, kidnapping and bloodshed against the Orthodox people. We do not know what happened during the arrest and martyrdom of Agapios. We also do not know where he was buried and what happened to his honorable remains.

The first event in honor of Saint Agapios took place in 1977 in his birthplace by the most venerable Metropolitan of Ierissos, Mount Athos and Ardameri, Mr. Nikodimos, with the efforts of its protosyngellos, Archimandrite Chrysostomos Maidonis. The icon of the saint was painted by the Athonite hieromonk Benedictos Neoskitios in 1997 and placed in the holy church of Panagia Galatista. A church is being built in his honor in his homeland. His sacred service was composed by the hymnographer Charalambis Bousias.

His memory is unknown to the synaxarists. He is honored on August 18th.

Source: Monk Moses of Mount Athos, Vatopedi Synaxarion, published by the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopedi, Mount Athos, 2007.

SOURCE: https://www.vatopedi.gr/en/ergo/agapios-agiotafitis/

Did you know that God has endowed us with free will?

Free will may seem difficult to reconcile with God’s omniscience and omnipotence. If God knows everything, how can we be in control of our lives? Simply, God’s foreknowledge does not preclude our free will. Just because God knows what we’re going to do does not preclude us from being able to freely

do what we want, whether good or bad. Both things are true. God knows what we’re going to do, and he still allows us to do it.

Likewise, simply because God is in control of everything does not mean that he inhibits our free will. God creates us and sustains us, so naturally, we depend on him for everything. Dependency, however, does not preclude free will. Simply because God creates and sustains everything does not mean that

we do not have free will; it simply means that the Divine Will permits us to have autonomy in our own willing.

God’s plan for every human being is salvation, but God allows us to freely determine for ourselves whether we wish to accept that salvation or not, as he himself says, “For many are called, but few are

chosen” (Matthew 22:14). God calls all of us to be saved, but we are free to reject the salvation which he freely and generously dispenses unto all of us.

God gives us the free will to determine whether we wish to love him as he has loved us. Freedom is a prerequisite to love, because love, by definition, is the act of freely choosing to will good unto someone. God cannot force us to love him because anything which is not done freely is coercion, and love can never be coerced.

SOURCE: https://www.goarch.org/documents/32058/12709588/Free+Will.pdf/8c96f208-4473-d02a-754b-d757e7458c51?version=1.0&t=1786996614593

George was born in 1846, in Sugag (today in Alba County), Transylvania, to faithful parents, at a time when that region was part of the Habsburg Empire.

From his early childhood, he ate little, fasted, and loved solitude, finding great joy in praying in the village church, even when there were no services, especially at night; and during the day, while herding the cattle, he would withdraw to hidden places and make many prostrations, meditating on the things of God. After he learned to read, he prayed with the Psalter until he had memorized it.

At the age of 24, he was united through the Mystery of Holy Matrimony with a faithful young woman named Pelaghia, and God blessed them with five children. As a husband and father, he did not neglect his spiritual practices, but fulfilled the works of faith with even greater devotion, always seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Being merciful and free of greed, he always gave alms to the poor, even though he himself lived in poverty. He was not troubled by the reproaches of those close to him, but would always say with confidence and peace: “Do not be troubled, God will take care to feed us; our duty is to pray without ceasing and to do His will.” With such words, he strengthened both himself and those around him. Thus, the man of God was always at peace, with a bright face and a serene heart, gentle and untroubled, living in the world and in the body, but at the same time above the world and the body. Unceasing prayer and heavenly joy filled his heart and accompanied him throughout his life.

After fourteen years of marriage, in 1883, with his wife’s blessing, he decided to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem together with several peasants from his village. Taking with him the Gospel and the Psalter, he walked on foot to Constanta, then sailed by ship to Jerusalem. There he remained for forty days, attending the Divine Liturgy and other services at the Holy Sepulcher three times a day. He also visited the other Holy Places: Bethlehem, Jericho, the Jordan, Nazareth, and Tabor. At the cave of Saint Xenophon, he met a hermit who prophesied to him that he would not become a monk, but would live wandering from place to place, in want, poverty, and unceasing prayer; only in this way would he save his soul and ignite piety in the hearts of many.

Before beginning this way of life, however, he remained for forty days in strict ascetic struggle and fasting, enduring many temptations from the devil, in the desert of Upper Egypt. At times, the enemy frightened him with apparitions of wild beasts and venomous serpents; at other times, he tormented him with hunger, thirst, heat, and swarms of mosquitoes. Once, the devil repeatedly knocked the cap from his head, trying to drive him to anger, but the brave ascetic resolved to leave it on the ground and vowed to God that until his death, he would go with his head uncovered. Then the devil took away his boots, leaving him without shoes. But the undefeated soldier of Christ asked God for the gift of walking barefoot all his life, both in summer and winter. On another occasion, the devil appeared to him as a farmer who praised him for his struggle, trying to lure him into the temptation of pride, but the wise George overcame him through humble-mindedness. Thus, with God’s help and much perseverance, he endured the trial of forty days of fasting, overcoming all temptations, whether from the weakness of nature or the evil one. Immediately afterward, the ascetic struggler went to Jerusalem, where he venerated the Tomb of the Lord. As he entered the church to light a candle at the Holy Sepulcher, the candle in his hand became miraculously lit by itself—a sure and comforting sign that his prayers and fasting had been pleasing and acceptable to God.

After making a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, he returned to his village, three years after leaving. One night, while praying in the church in Sugag, the devil appeared visibly before him and angrily asked him: “What are you doing here, Old Man George?” “I am praying to God,” the elder boldly replied, and the enemy fled from him. At another time, the elder told those close to him: “On a Sunday, as I was returning from the holy church, I saw at the tavern in Sugag many villagers drinking, and among them a multitude of demons, such as I had never seen anywhere else.”

The saint did not remain long in his village but began his journeys, as in apostolic times, becoming a pilgrim, a stranger, and a wanderer throughout the land. He went from church to church, where he prayed almost the whole night, walking unhurried, barefoot and bare-headed, fasting and keeping away from worldly pleasures, roaming through Sibiu, Fagaras, and Brasov regions. Nearly every year, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, guiding groups of pilgrims.

Having heard of the many monasteries in Moldavia, in 1895, the righteous George crossed the Carpathians. He settled in Piatra Neamt, where he was given a small room in the bell tower of the Church of Saint John the King, founded by Saint Stephen the Great. Soon, he became known to priests, monks, and laypeople, who valued him as a true spiritual man. He remained there until the end of his life, having in that place a church and a cell, peace, a spiritual father, and many monasteries nearby.

His prayer rule was this: at night, he slept at most three hours in his cell in the tower, then, going inside the church, he prayed to God and made hundreds of prostrations. By day, he walked the town's streets, whispering psalms without ceasing, barefoot and bare-headed, summer and winter alike. He would not return until he had finished reciting the entire Psalter in a day. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he ate nothing. If it was a feast of the Lord, he would taste something in the evening. On the other days, he ate once a day. He spoke with people only about God and spiritual life, and when he did not speak with his tongue and lips, he preached through his deep and eloquent silence, always carrying either the Gospel or the Psalter in his arms.

He often entered a bakery and bought a sack full of bread, which someone carried to the tower. When he returned to the tower in the evening, a multitude of the poor gathered around him, and the blessed George distributed the loaves to them. To those who asked for money, he gave whatever he had received along the way. After finishing his material almsgiving, he began his spiritual almsgiving: to those burdened by troubles and hardships, the wise elder spoke with each one, encouraged them, advised them, and prayed for their needs, and people felt that through his prayers and counsel, the grace and mercy of God descended upon them.

He especially loved the nearby monasteries, particularly Bistrita, where the icon of Saint Anna was kept. Near Sihăstria Monastery, Old George dug for himself a pit for his ascetic struggle. He would hide there, praying nearly all day, and when he returned to the monastery, he said with gratitude to Father Ioanichie, the abbot: “Today I was in heaven!”

He often went to these monasteries for prayer and to meet spiritual fathers, for whom he had great veneration and who, in turn, received the elder as a saint. Many became his disciples, embracing the monastic life, moved by the holiness of his example.

Once, when Old George wanted to go by train to Roman, he boarded the train without a ticket, for he had no money. The conductor, who did not know him, made Old George get off the train at the first station, even though the passengers begged him to let him continue to Roman. The elder walked along the railway, saying: “My dears, remain with God and the Mother of God!” But when the train was to depart, it would not move at all. They changed the locomotive and the conductor; the train still would not move. Then one of the station workers said, “Did you put Old George off the train? That is why it cannot depart. He is a holy man. Go bring him back.” They immediately ran after him, brought him back, seated him in the carriage, and at once the train left the station.

Another miracle, recounted by Elder [now Saint] Cleopa Ilie, took place in Targu Neamt. A young Jewish woman could not give birth and was near death. Many doctors came, but none succeeded. Then her relatives went to Old George, who was preaching to the people, and asked him to pray for her. When the righteous George opened the door of her house, he cried: “Be opened, with God and the Mother of God!” Immediately, she gave birth. The saint came and made the sign of the cross on the child’s head and said, “Let him be Christ’s!” She became healthy, and both she and her child were baptized, the boy being named George after Old George. All the women’s relatives in Targu Neamt were also baptized at that time.

In 1914, the blessed George told Evdochia Stefan’s father that war would begin, but not to fear, for he would return from the front unharmed, though his brother would not return whole. And so it was: the man returned safe, but his brother returned from the war missing an arm.

Mother Zenovia Iacov of Varatec Monastery recalled that the saint prophesied what would happen in her life and that she would become a nun. To Abbot Ioanichie Moroi, he foretold, more than twenty-five years in advance, the trials that would befall him and the Sihastria Secului community.

He knew the day of his death beforehand, declaring it through prophetic words: “I shall die when the nations are troubled, and at my death there will be a feast, and the bells will toll throughout the land.” These words came true in 1916, on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, when the saint’s body was found after having departed to the Lord, just as the country entered into war and the bell ringer of Saint John’s Church in Piatra Neamt was going to the tower to ring the bells. At his burial, countless people gathered, each seeking to receive a final blessing from the reposed and asking for his prayers of intercession before God. He was buried in the cemetery of Piatra Neamt, in the same torn sheepskin coat, barefoot, bare-headed, with the staff of his wanderings, and with the same pure smile on his face that he had borne throughout his life.

After eighteen years, one of his disciples, wishing to move his holy relics to Rasca, came with a wagon to Piatra Neamt and, after exhuming Old George’s relics and placing them in a small coffin, set off. But by divine providence, the cart did not reach Rasca; instead, it arrived at Varatec Monastery, where the relics were placed in the ossuary and remain to this day.

Saint George the Pilgrim lived in humility and toil, preaching by his life and by his words the Gospel of Christ, for which he was graced by God with abundant gifts, through which he worked miracles and healings both during his earthly life and after his repose, being honored by the faithful. For this reason, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church numbered him among the saints, with a feast day on August 17.

Through the prayers of Saint George the Pilgrim, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

[Source: https://doxologia.ro/viata-sfantului-gheorghe-pelerinul\]

SOURCE: https://romelders.substack.com/p/st-george-the-pilgrim-the-barefoot

Our blessed father Yerasimos was born in 1509, in the village of Trikala, near Corinth in the Peloponnese. His God-fearing parents, Dimitrios and Kali came from the prominent Notaras family and, from a young age, he was taught his letters, at which he excelled. While still a young man, he left his birthplace and went to Zakynthos and from there travelled throughout the whole of Greece. From Thessaly he went to the Black Sea, Constantinople, Propontis, and Halkidon (Chalcedon). Wherever he went, he tried to find people who had reached the perfection of the virtues by leading an ascetic and angelic life and who would teach him the art of arts and the science of sciences.

He finally arrived on the Holy Mountain, where, like a diligent bee, he sucked the nectar from the various flowers of virtue he observed in the ascetics in order to create within himself the honey of purity of heart. Blessed Yerasimos stayed a good while on Athos, learning from the servants of Our Lady the Mother of God. He took the great, angelic habit and, with great zeal, applied all the virtues of the monastic life: continuous fasting, all-night vigils, tears, elevation of the mind to God in utter stillness and purity of heart. Some years later, he left the Holy Mountain and began a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In Jerusalem, Patriarch Yermanos I [Germanus I] (1537-1579) ordained him first sub-deacon, then deacon, and then priest. For a year he served at the Holy Sepulchre and then a further twelve years at the Patriarchate, without ever abandoning his ascetic struggle. At one time he went into the Jordan desert, where he spent forty days fasting, in imitation of the Lord (Matth. 4, 1 ff). Thereafter he returned to his duties at the Patriarchate.

After this, he left Jerusalem and continued his pilgrimages. He remained for a time in Sinai, then went to Alexandria and continued throughout the whole of Egypt. After this, he went to Antioch and Damascus, then went on to Crete, arriving finally in Zakynthos, where he lived for five years in a cave, eating only greens, with neither bread or salt. It mattered not how well he hid, he was always discovered by God-fearing believers and in no time numbers of people would be flocking for his blessing and advice. But the voice of the holy Fathers warned him that, for a monk nothing is so debilitating as praise and fame and so he left Zakynthos to live in a small cave in Kefallinia, where he remained for about six years.

But because it’s impossible for a lamp that’s lit not to shine and to remain hidden, even there it wasn’t long before the faithful discovered the virtue of the saint and then they didn’t allow him to enjoy his spiritual communication with God. In the end, divine providence took him to Omala, an inaccessible part of the island, where there was a little church and a wonder-working icon of the Mother of God. He settled there and cultivated a small piece of land, striving to avoid the snares of the devil. After some time, when his fame had spread throughout the region, he was told, when he was at prayer, that it was the Lord’s will that he should receive disciples. Twenty-five young women quickly presented themselves to submit to his spiritual guidance and the little church was transformed into a monastery. The saint agreed to forgo tranquillity in order to be able to transmit to his disciples the spiritual experience which the Lord had granted him in such abundance. His monastery was called New Jerusalem and it seemed to be inhabited by angels in the body.

Well-stricken in years, the Blessed Yerasimos foresaw the day of his departure from this life and gathered his spiritual children around him to pass on his final instructions. Then he blessed them and joyfully surrendered his spirit to the Lord on August 15, 1579. Given that this day coincides with the Dormition of the Mother of God, we honour his memory also on 20 October, the date when his relics were restored. His holy body remains incorrupt to this day, as though he had fallen asleep. It exudes a heavenly fragrance and has worked very many miracles. Saint Yerasimos is the patron saint of Kefallinia and with great boldness, intercedes to God even today on behalf of the island. Of particular importance is the power he has to expel unclean spirits from possessed people, who are brought from all parts to venerate his body.

Νέος Συναξαριστής της Ορθοδόξου Εκκλησίας, October, Indiktos Publications, pp. 237-9

SOURCE: https://pemptousia.com/2013/10/blessed-yerasimos-gerasimus-the-younger-20-october/

In August 1823, the Turkish militia in the region of Ioannina started a particularly violent suppression of the Christians there initiated by Sultan Mahmut II. The hieromonk Christos comforted and encouraged the suffering Christians, and for this he was arrested, beaten and, for refusing to give up his Christian confession, was condemned to death.

On August 15th the Orthodox Christians were celebrating the festival of the Dormition of the Theotokos, and the Turks chose this time to execute the Saint. Furthermore, they deliberately chose to mock the Savior's Passion in the way they devised to kill him. Father Christos was crowned with thorns, stripped and spat upon, and nailed to a cross, which was set up by the plane trees at Kalou Tzesme.

As he expired on the cross, the Martyr prayed for his tormentors, but they sat around and taunted him. One of the Turks eventually pierced his side with a sabre and he gave up his soul. Even in death they did not cease tormenting him; some gypsies coated his body in tar and set it alight so that it was consumed in the flames.

The above account was recorded by the French diplomat, writer and explorer François Pouqueville (1770-1838) in his Histoire de la régénération de la Grèce (Paris, 1824). He had served as Napoleon's consul general to the court of Ali Pasha of Ioannina.

SOURCE: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2020/08/holy-new-hieromartyr-christos-of.html?m=1

Francis Kottis (Saint Joseph’s name before his monastic tonsure) was born in Paros on February 12, 1897, the fourth of seven children to the simple but pious couple George and Maria Kottis. Because of their extreme poverty, Francis left home at the age of seventeen to work in Piraeus as a merchant to support his large family. When he was twenty-three years old he was engaged to a pious girl and lived in exemplary chastity, never touching his fiancee for fear of coming to the point of kissing her.

One day he beheld a wondrous vision of two angels in the form of palace guards, leading him to serve the heavenly king. After this vision, he became pensive and lost all interest in worldly things; he spent his time reading the lives of saints, especially those of the great ascetic Fathers, which ignited in his heart the desire to become a monk. He then called off his engagement, and in preparation for his life on the Holy Mountain, he started conditioning himself to ascetic struggles by fasting and praying in the countryside of Athens.

In 1921, after two years of living ascetically in the world, he finally made his way to the Holy Mountain, his heart longing for a God-bearing spiritual guide to teach him the art of noetic prayer, and he began traversing the crags and caves in search of one. After searching for sometime without success, he decided to join the brotherhood of Saint Daniel of Katounakia. Renowned for his discernment and exalted spiritual life, Saint Daniel chose a moderate ascetical program for his brotherhood. Francis, however, was inclined to a more austere spiritual life and total dedication to unceasing prayer of the heart, which requires great silence and humility, and thus he stood out from the rest of the brotherhood. Saint Daniel knew he could not stay with his brotherhood, but he also knew that Francis needed a companion, a fellow ascetic, in order to avoid delusion. So he told him that until a co-struggler could be found for him, he should cultivate the Jesus Prayer alone in some remote cave, coming to him occasionally for spiritual guidance.

One day, after suffering many temptations, he was granted a vision of the uncreated light, and he received the gift of ceaseless prayer. From that point on until his death, the prayer was said in his heart unceasingly, granting him exalted spiritual states and divine visions.

Eventually, a suitable co-struggler, Father Arsenios, was sent to him by Saint Daniel. These two spiritual warriors would be inseparable companions for the rest of their lives, leading an austere ascetical life together. In the beginning Father Arsenios regarded Francis as his geronda [elder], even though Father Arsenios had already been tonsured a monk and Francis was still a layman. However, on the Holy Mountain, to be a geronda, you have to be obedient to a geronda until his death. Therefore, following Saint Daniel’s advice they became disciples of two humble old gerondas in Katounakia named Joseph and Ephraim. It was not long before one of them, Saint Joseph, reposed in the Lord. Geronda Ephraim, now their sole geronda, was soon convinced by the exceptional lifestyle of young Francis that this spiritual warrior should be officially enrolled in the angelic monastic order. Thus, the day of his monastic tonsure was set for Sunday, August 31, 1925, the commemoration day of the deposition of the precious sash of the Theotokos. His tonsure took place in the cave of Saint Athanasios the Athonite,6 and he received the name Joseph, after his reposed geronda.

After some years, Geronda Ephraim also fell asleep in the Lord, and the young Father Joseph became a proper geronda. Soon he began attracting monastic aspirants, but few of them were able to endure his severe ascetic program. Eventually, the nucleus of his brotherhood would consist of five disciples: his co-ascetic Father Arsenios; Father Athanasios, his brother in the flesh; Father Joseph the Cypriot, who would later become the geronda of the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi; Father Ephraim, later abbot of the Holy Monastery of Philotheou and future geronda of thirty-three monasteries in Greece, the US, and Canada, including Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona; and Father Haralambos, later abbot of the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou. Also, it is noteworthy to mention Saint Ephraim of Katounakia; although he belonged to a different brotherhood, he was guided spiritually by Saint Joseph, and thus is also considered one of his disciples. In 1938, seeking greater solitude, Saint Joseph and his community moved from Saint Basil’s Skete to a cave at Little Saint Anne’s, but after 15 years of living in the harsh conditions of Little Saint Anne’s, the fathers’ health started to deteriorate, and so in 1953, Saint Joseph decided to move the community farther down the mountain, near the sea, to New Skete, where he would spend the last six years of his life. A few months before his death, he was visited by the Virgin Mary, whom he held in special reverence, and was promised by her, that she would take him on her feast day. Thus the saint fell asleep in the Lord, on August 15, 1959, the day the Orthodox Church celebrates the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.

Saint Joseph’s legacy has been carried on by his disciples, who have reestablished the practice of noetic prayer and watchfulness on the Holy Mountain, brought Athonite monasticism to the United States and Canada, and encouraged many Orthodox faithful through the publishing of his life and letters. Today the spiritual grandchildren of Saint Joseph, who endearingly refer to him as “Pappou Iosif” (Grandfather Joseph in Greek), call upon him to help them in their spiritual life, and he in turn stands before the throne of God and intercedes for his spiritual children and grandchildren, and all those who call upon him.

SOURCE: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/pages/st-joseph-the-hesychast?srsltid=AfmBOoqHoS0XOla-urEdhbjensAYsJzBLZf\_8PvgjKAwF2D3WgI8ATwo

Maxim Ivanovich Rumyantsev was born in the mid-1850s in the village of Vandyshki, Kineshma district of Kostroma province, into a peasant family. After the death of his parents in childhood, he lived with his brother Yegor and his wife Elizabeth, and at the age of fifteen, he went wandering. Upon returning nearly thirty years later, he knew the church service by heart, although he remained illiterate. He spent his time wandering in holy foolishness, not abandoning it until the end of his life. He lived with various people, walked barefoot and in dirty clothes, not washing himself in the bath. The blessed one endured mockery and persecution, remembering that all ascetics for Christ will be persecuted.

Maxim reached a state of blessed dispassion, and the Lord began to reveal His will to him regarding other people. He predicted destinies, helped people, and many testified to the miracles performed through him. In his life, there were instances when he predicted events and assisted in difficult situations. The blessed one never spoke directly but used hints and images.

In 1928, Maxim was arrested on a denunciation; his life ended in prison, where he suffered severe tortures. However, he remained faithful to Christ until the end, and Father Nikolai Zhitnikov, a witness to his death, wrote that the blessed one died as a great righteous man.

SOURCE: https://athos.guide/en/axios/maksim-rumyantsev?srsltid=AfmBOoqfjphFVDihwVLeswTm1E5pKOQN1gFDrkQ2Eb1oeQBSW1BsKtEZ#gsc.tab=0

Metropolitan Nazarius of Kutaisi-Gaenati was born in 1872 in the village of Didi Jikhaishi in Imereti. His forefathers belonged to a long lineage of clergy, and the future metropolitan was nurtured in the Church from the earliest years of his youth.

Nazarius (known in the world as Joseph) received his education at Kutaisi Theological School. In 1892 he graduated with honors from Tbilisi Seminary and began to serve in the Church, first as a deacon and later (from February 9, 1893) as a priest. In 1904, after a series of personal tragedies (first his wife died, then his two daughters), Nazarius was tonsured a monk. On November 4, 1918, he was enthroned as Metropolitan of Kutaisi.

The years 1922 to 1923 marked a difficult period in the history of the Georgian Church. The Bolsheviks razed twelve hundred churches, destroyed much of the Church’s wealth, burnt many rare manuscripts, and persecuted spiritual leaders—particularly Georgian nationalists.

On February 10, 1921, following the Red Army’s invasion of Georgia, the treasures of the Sioni and Svetitskhoveli Cathedrals were carried away to Kutaisi for safekeeping. Patriarch Leonid gave his blessing for four boxes of holy objects to be buried under the porch at Metropolitan Nazarius’s residence, which was located on the grounds of the Bagrati Cathedral.

After the Bolsheviks secured their occupation of Georgia, they discovered where the treasures had been buried and arrested Metropolitan Nazarius. They accused him of agitating against the government and concealing the possessions of the Church. During the court proceedings the metropolitan was asked for whom he had hidden the treasure, and he answered, “For the Church and the Georgian people!”

The court sentenced Nazarius to the most severe punishment—execution by a firing squad—but the sentence was subsequently rescinded. In the end, the Bolsheviks imprisoned the hierarch and confiscated his personal belongings.

In April of 1924 Metropolitan Nazarius received amnesty and was released after two years in prison. He returned to his diocese, which was undergoing many trials. He was not permitted to return to his own residence, but was obliged to live with his brother, while his former home was transformed into a storage facility.

On August 14, 1924, a delegation from the village of Simoneti came to the metropolitan to request that he consecrate their local church. At the appointed time, the metropolitan arrived in Simoneti with his retinue and consecrated the church. That night, a group of Chekists (Soviet security agents) broke into the house where Metropolitan Nazarius and his entourage were staying, bound and beat them, and then dragged them to the village council. Without an investigation, the Troika (a Soviet extraordinary council of three judges) sentenced to death Metropolitan Nazarius and four other clergymen—Priest Herman Jajanidze, Priest Hierotheos Nikoladze, Priest Simon Mchedlidze, and Archdeacon Besarion Kukhianidze. They were shot to death in the Sapichkhia Forest.

In 1994, with the blessing of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the full Ecclesiastical Council of the Georgian Church resolved with one accord to canonize Metropolitan Nazarius and the clergymen who were martyred with him. At the same time, the council canonized all the Orthodox Christians who, for their Faith and the independence of their homeland, became victims of the totalitarian regime. They were proclaimed the “New Martyrs of the Georgian Church.”

SOURCE: https://crkvenikalendar.com/zitije\_en.php?pok=0&id=ZKBA

The Feast of the Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 15 each year. The Feast commemorates the repose (dormition and in the Greek kimisis) or "falling-asleep" of the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The Feast also commemorates the translation or assumption into heaven of the body of the Theotokos.

The Holy Scriptures tell us that when our Lord was dying on the Cross, He saw His mother and His disciple John and said to the Virgin Mary, "Woman, behold your son!" and to John, "Behold your mother!" (John 19:25-27). From that hour, the Apostle took care of the Theotokos in his own home.

Along with the biblical reference in Acts 1:14 that confirms that the Virgin Mary was with the Holy Apostles on the day of Pentecost, the tradition of the Church holds that she remained in the home of the Apostle John in Jerusalem, continuing a ministry in word and deed.

At the time of her death, the disciples of our Lord who were preaching throughout the world returned to Jerusalem to see the Theotokos. Except for the Apostle Thomas, all of them including the Apostle Paul were gathered together at her bedside. At the moment of her death, Jesus Christ himself descended and carried her soul into heaven.

Following her repose, the body of the Theotokos was taken in procession and laid in a tomb near the Garden of Gethsemane. When the Apostle Thomas arrived three days after her repose and desired to see her body, the tomb was found to be empty. The bodily assumption of the Theotokos was confirmed by the message of an angel and by her appearance to the Apostles.

The Icon of the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos shows her on her deathbed surrounded by the Apostles. Christ is standing in the center looking at His mother. He is holding a small child clothed in white representing the soul of the Virgin Mary. With His golden garments, the angels above His head, and the mandorla surrounding Him, Christ is depicted in His divine glory.

The posture of the Apostles direct attention toward the Theotokos. On the right Saint Peter censes the body of the Theotokos. On the left Saint Paul bows low in honor of her.

Together with the Apostles are several bishops and women. The bishops traditionally represented are James, the brother of the Lord, Timothy, Heirotheus, and Dionysius the Areopagite. They are shown wearing episcopal vestments. The women are members of the church in Jerusalem.

In front of the bed of the Theotokos is a candle that helps to form a central axis in the icon. Above the candle is the body of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. Standing over His mother is Christ holding her most pure soul. Above Christ the gates of heaven stand open, ready to receive the Mother of God.

This great Feast of the Church and the icon celebrates a fundamental teaching of our faith—the Resurrection of the body. In the case of the Theotokos, this has been accomplished by the divine will of God. Thus, this Feast is a feast of hope, hope in Resurrection and life eternal. Like those who gathered around the body of the Virgin Mary, we gather around our departed loved ones and commend their souls into the hands of Christ. As we remember those who have reposed in the faith before us and have passed on into the communion of the Saints, we prepare ourselves to one day be received into the new life of the age to come.

We also affirm through this Feast as we journey toward our heavenly abode that the Mother of God intercedes for us. Through Christ she has become the mother of all of the children of God, embracing us with divine love.

The commemoration of the Dormition of the Theotokos and the preparation for the Feast begin on August 1 with a period of fasting. A strict fast is followed on most of the days (no meat, dairy, oil, or wine), with the exceptions of fish on the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6) and the day of the Dormition. Oil and Wine are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays.

On the weekdays before the Feast, Paraklesis services are held in most parishes. These consist of the Great Paraklesis and the Small Paraklesis, both services of supplication and prayer for the intercessions of the Theotokos.

The Feast of the Dormition is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom which is conducted on the morning of the Feast and preceded by a Matins (Orthros) service. A Great Vespers is conducted on the evening before the day of the Feast. Scripture readings for the Feast of the Dormition are the following: At Vespers: Genesis 28:10-17; Ezekiel 43:27-44:4; Proverbs 9:1-11. At the Matins: Luke 1:39-49, 56. At the Divine Liturgy: Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28.

SOURCE: https://www.goarch.org/dormition