Virgin Martyr Anysia at Thessalonica

Saints commemorated

Saint of the day

Virgin Martyr Anysia at Thessalonica

Anysia (†c. 304) was a young Christian of Thessalonica, the daughter of pious and wealthy parents, who on their death gave away her inheritance to the poor and gave herself to a strict life of fasting, vigil, and prayer, resolved to keep her virginity for Christ alone. During the persecution of Maximian, as she was going to the assembly of the faithful, a pagan soldier seized her and tried to force her to sacrifice to the idols at a heathen festival; when she confessed Christ and spat in the face of the demon he served, he ran her through with his sword. She is honoured as a virgin-martyr of the same city and the same persecution as the Great-Martyr Demetrius, and is kept on December 30, within the afterfeast of the Nativity.
Our Holy Father Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia (1563)
Zoticus the Orphanotrophos

Zoticus (†c. 350) was a Roman of noble birth and Christian piety who came to Constantinople in the reign of Constantine the Great, renounced his rank, was ordained presbyter, and gave himself and his wealth to the care of the poor, the orphaned, and above all the lepers whom the city cast out. When an imperial order condemned the lepers to be drowned in the sea, he bought them from the soldiers with money he had drawn from the treasury "to purchase pearls for the emperor," and sheltered them on a hill across the Golden Horn. Under Constantine's son Constantius, discovering the ruse, the emperor had Zoticus bound to wild mules and dragged over the stones until he died — whereupon, the tradition says, a spring of healing water broke from the ground and the emperor, repenting, raised over his grave the great orphanage and leprosarium that made "Orphanotrophos" a title of honour in Byzantium. He is called the Feeder of Orphans, and is kept on December 30.

British Isles and Ireland

St. Egwin, bishop of Worcester and founder of Evesham Abbey (717)

Troparia & kontakia

Kontakion — Tone 2

For the love of Christ, O venerable one, thou didst cherish the poor and didst fill their need to the full; and now hast thou received the riches of heaven, O most-blessed Zoticus. Therefore do we all honour thee, keeping thy memory.

Proper

Having holily accomplished the road of the virtues, thou wast betrothed unto the Word, O modest Anysia, and didst contend rejoicing; while thou, O Melania, made radiant with the splendour of dispassion, didst flash upon the world the lightning of the virtues. And now do ye both make Christ the Lord merciful unto us.

Troparion — Tone 4

Thy lamb, O Jesus, cries out with a loud voice: Thee, my Bridegroom, do I long for, and seeking Thee I contend; I am crucified and buried together with Thee in Thy baptism, and I suffer for Thy sake, that I may reign with Thee; I die for Thee, that I may live in Thee. Receive me as a spotless sacrifice, offered to Thee in love. By her intercessions, O merciful One, save our souls.

Readings

Epistle

Titus 1.5-2.1

⁵For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: ⁶If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. ⁷For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; ⁸But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; ⁹Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. ¹⁰For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: ¹¹Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. ¹²One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. ¹³This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; ¹⁴Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. ¹⁵Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. ¹⁶They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. ¹But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

Gospel

Mark 11.27-33

²⁷And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, ²⁸And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? ²⁹And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. ³¹And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? ³²But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. ³³And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Saints commemorated