Tuesday, 23 January 2024

Tuesday of the 34th week after Pentecost

282 days after Pascha · Tone 8 · Liturgy · No Fast

Saints commemorated

Hieromartyr Clement of Ancyra, and Martyr Agathangelus

296

He was from Ancyra in Galatia, son of a pagan father and a Christian mother named Euphrosyne. His mother prophesied on her deathbed that he would suffer great torments for Christ over many years. After her death he was adopted and reared by a pious woman named Sophia. From the age of twelve, he began to fast and pray like the monks, so that he was soon ordained a deacon, and became Bishop of Ancyra at the age of twenty. His piety and zeal for the faith attracted the attention of the Imperial Governor of the region, who had him arrested. Thus began Clement’s twenty-eight years of almost continuous suffering for the Faith. When he stood firm despite many tortures, he was sent to the Emperor Diocletian in Rome. The Emperor showed him a table set with costly vessels on one side, and another decked with instruments of torture on the other, and bade Clement to make his choice. The Saint replied: “These precious vessels remind how much more glorious must be the eternal good things of Paradise; and these instruments of torture remind me of the everlasting punishments of hell that await those who deny the Lord.” The Saint was viciously tortured, then transported to Nicomedia, where a converted pagan named Agathangelus (‘good angel’) became his companion. For many years they endured unspeakable torments alternating with long imprisonments, but nothing would move them to deny the precious Faith of Christ. After twenty-eight years of suffering, Agathangelus was beheaded; but Clement was briefly paroled and allowed to celebrate the services of Theophany and to give the holy Communion to his fellow-Christians. A few days later, as he was again celebrating the Divine Liturgy, some pagan soldiers burst into the church and beheaded him at the altar.

Hieromartyr Clement, bishop of Ancyra

Clement was born in the Galatian city of Ancyra in 258 to a pagan father and a Christian mother. He lost his father in infancy and his mother when he was twelve years old. A devout woman named Sophia adopted him and raised him in the fear of God. From his youth, Clement was distinguished for his exceptional virtue and holy living, particularly for his ascetical practices. He ate only bread and vegetables, abstaining from anything slaughtered or containing blood. Because of his fame as a holy man, Clement was elected Bishop of Ancyra at the extraordinary young age of twenty. He had previously been made a reader, then ordained a deacon, and at eighteen was ordained to the holy priesthood. When the persecution against Christians under Emperor Diocletian broke out, Bishop Clement boldly confessed the faith despite the dangers. He was denounced as a Christian and arrested. During the reign of Diocletian, Bishop Clement was subjected to horribly torments as no one had suffered since the beginning of the world, according to historical accounts. He spent twenty-eight years in torments and in dungeons, enduring his sufferings with remarkable faith and steadfastness. On 23 January 312, soldiers from the city stormed the church where he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy as bishop. The holy hierarch was beheaded as he stood before the altar offering the Bloodless Sacrifice. His disciple Agathangelus, who had avoided execution with other confessors, desired to suffer and die with his bishop and was also martyred. Their memory is preserved in the Orthodox tradition as witnesses to Christ.

Saint Mausimas the Syrian

Saint Mausimas (also known as Maximus) was a Syrian monk and ascetic of the early Church. Little biographical detail survives regarding his birth and family, but he is venerated as one of the desert fathers of Syria and the Holy Land during the period of Christian monastic development in the fourth or fifth century. Mausimas devoted his life to rigorous asceticism, prayer, and the pursuit of spiritual perfection in the harsh conditions of the Syrian desert. He was known for his wisdom and spiritual counsel, and attracted disciples who sought his guidance in the monastic life. His life exemplifies the early monastic tradition of self-denial, contemplative prayer, and the struggle against the passions through fasting and vigil. He is commemorated on 23 January as a venerable monk and father of the desert.

Saint Paulinus the Merciful, Bishop of Nola

Paulinus of Nola (353-431) was born in Bordeaux in Aquitania into a wealthy senatorial family. He received a classical education and held the position of Roman consul in 389. In his youth he was known for his eloquence and secular learning, but underwent a profound spiritual conversion in middle age. After the death of his son and the influence of his wife Therasia, he and his family renounced their vast estates and wealth, distributing their fortune to the poor and to churches. He was ordained a priest and later became Bishop of Nola, where he laboured tirelessly for the spiritual and material welfare of his flock. Paulinus was celebrated for his generosity towards the poor and sick, earning the epithet "the Merciful". He was a prolific writer of hymns and spiritual poems, and his correspondence with Saint Augustine and other Church fathers influenced theological thought of the period. He fasted rigorously and maintained a life of ascetic discipline despite his advancing years. Paulinus reposed in peace around 431 and was venerated as a great intercessor for the poor. His feast day commemorates his pastoral charity and transformation from worldly pursuits to Christian asceticism.

Venerable Anatolius of Optina the Younger

Anatolius of Optina the Younger was a Russian Orthodox monk of the Optina Monastery in the nineteenth century. He followed in the tradition of the elders (starcy) of Optina, who were renowned for their spiritual wisdom and pastoral care of souls. Anatolius devoted himself to the monastic life with great dedication, practising rigorous asceticism, obedience to the monastic rule, and constant prayer. He became known as a compassionate spiritual father to those who sought his counsel, offering guidance rooted in deep Orthodox theology and lived experience of the ascetic struggle. The Optina Monastery, situated in the region of Kaluga, was a major centre of spiritual renewal in the Russian Church during the nineteenth century, producing several notable elder-monks and hermits. Anatolius exemplified the virtues of humility, prayer, and self-sacrificial love that characterised the Optina tradition. He reposed in the Lord at Optina and is commemorated as a venerable father of the Russian monastic tradition.

Venerable Salamanes the Silent of the Euphrates

Salamanes was from the town of Kapersana in Syria, on the west bank of the Euphrates River. He followed the path of monasticism and built his cell near the Euphrates, dedicating himself entirely to prayer, silence, and study of the Word of God. He sought to be dead to the world and to obey only the will of God through his monastic struggles. When the bishop of the town learned of the virtue of the venerable ascetic, he went to see him in order to ordain him to the priesthood, desiring to elevate his spiritual gifts for the benefit of the Church. Upon arrival at the saint's cell, the bishop ordered Salamanes to dismantle part of the wall so that he might enter. During the conversation about the grace of priesthood and its responsibilities, the bishop was met with complete silence. Salamanes spoke not a single word in response, maintaining his vow of silence even before his spiritual superior. Understanding the saint's commitment to silence and contemplation, the bishop departed, ordering him to rebuild the wall. Saint Salamanes was content with his feat of silence, which he maintained as a spiritual discipline until his death around the year 400. The ascetic did not interrupt his practice, speaking only to God in prayer. He is honoured as the first saint in the Orthodox tradition to embrace complete silence as a lifelong spiritual practice, pioneering what would later develop into the hesychast tradition of mystical prayer.

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

Hebrews — Hebrews 4.1-13

¹Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

¹Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. ²For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. ²For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. ³For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

³For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works; ⁴For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. ⁵and in this place again, They shall not enter into my rest. ⁵And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. ⁶Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

⁶Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, ⁷he again defineth a certain day, To-day, saying in David so long a time afterward (even as hath been said before), To-day if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts. ⁷Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. ⁸For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. ⁹There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. ⁹There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. ¹⁰For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. ¹¹Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience. ¹¹Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. ¹²For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. ¹³And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Luke — Luke 21.12-19

¹²But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. ¹²But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. ¹³And it shall turn to you for a testimony. ¹³It shall turn out unto you for a testimony. ¹⁴Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: ¹⁴Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer: ¹⁵For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. ¹⁵for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay. ¹⁶And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. ¹⁶But ye shall be delivered up even by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. ¹⁷And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. ¹⁷And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. ¹⁸And not a hair of your head shall perish. ¹⁸But there shall not an hair of your head perish. ¹⁹In your patience possess ye your souls. ¹⁹In your patience ye shall win your souls.