Sunday, 28 January 2024

New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia

34th Sunday after Pentecost

287 days after Pascha · Tone 1 · Black squigg (6-stich typikon symbol) · No Fast

Saints commemorated

Saint Isaac the Syrian, bishop of Nineveh

He was born early in the seventh century in the East. His birthplace is unclear: the Great Horologion says that he was born in eastern Arabia (present-day Qatar); the Synaxarion that he was born in Kurdistan. While still young he entered the Lavra of St Matthew with his brother, but after a few years of monastic life, having advanced far in obedience and the practice of prayer, he withdrew into the desert. His reputation for holiness reached the city of Nineveh, where the people prevailed on the hierarchy to consecrate him as their bishop in 670. Reluctantly but obediently, St Isaac took up the duties of shepherd of his flock in Nineveh. After a few months, he was called on to settle a dispute between two of the faithful, but they rejected his counsel and said ‘Leave your Gospel out of this matter!’ The holy bishop said, ‘If they are not prepared to obey Our Lord’s commandments, what need have they of me?’, and retired to live as a hermit in the mountains of Kurdistan. Later, he settled in the monastery of Raban Shapur, where he wrote his Ascetical Homilies and other jewel-like works on the spiritual life. There he reposed in peace.

The fame of St Isaac’ Homilies spread, and about one hundred years after their writing they were translated from Syriac into Greek by two monks in Palestine. In this form they spread throughout the monastic world, becoming a treasured guide to those who seek the fullness of the life of prayer. The Synaxarion says, “The book of Saint Isaac is, with the Ladder of Saint John Climacus, the indispensible guide for every Orthdox soul to journey safely toward God. Hence, not many years ago, a holy spiritual father, Jerome of Egina (d. 1966), recommended begging, if necessary, in order to be able to purchase a copy.” We are blessed to have a good translation of the Ascetical Homilies available in English.

Saint Isaac is a very unusual case of an Orthodox Saint who lived outside the canonical boundaries of the Church: he was a bishop of the “Nestorian” communion, now sometimes called the “Oriental Orthodox.” The purity of his own Orthodox faith is so clearly evident in his writings that the Church has nonetheless recognized his sanctity.

Saint James the Faster of Phoenicia

James the Faster was a saint of Phoenicia venerated in the Orthodox tradition. He is commemorated as one who distinguished himself through ascetic practice and spiritual discipline. The epithet "the Faster" indicates his particular commitment to the ascetic practice of fasting as a means of mortifying the flesh and drawing close to God in prayer. James devoted his life to the pursuit of holiness, combining physical asceticism with interior spiritual discipline aimed at the transformation of the heart and the attainment of virtue. He exemplified the early Christian understanding of the body as a worthy instrument of salvation when subjected to the will of God and aligned with the spirit in pursuit of holiness. James is venerated as a saint of Phoenicia and an example of ascetic dedication, commemorated on 28 January.

Venerable Ephrem the Syrian

373

He is often called “The Harp of the Holy Spirit” for the sublimity of his writings. He was born in Nisibis of Mesopotamia about the year 306. He embraced the Christian faith while young and for this was driven from his home by his father, a pagan priest. He came under the care of St James of Nisibis (January 13), who was one of the bishops at the Council of Nicaea. He took up a strictly ascetical life, renouncing all possessions and denying himself all comforts. It is said that his eyes constantly flowed with tears: tears of compunction for his own sins, or tears of joy as he contemplated the wonders of God’s grace.

He was baptized at the age of twenty and withdrew to the desert, then settled in Edessa. Once, as he was walking to the city, a harlot approached him. Pretending to accept her proposition, he took her to the city’s public square and suggested that they lie together there, in plain view. Horrified, the woman rebuked him, saying ‘Have you no shame?’ The Saint answered, ‘Poor woman, you are afraid of being watched by other people; but why are you not afraid of being seen by God, who sees everything and, on the last day, will judge all our actions and most secret thoughts?’ The woman repented and, with the Saint’s help, embarked upon a new life.

The Saint returned to the desert for a time, then to Nisibis to aid the Persian Christians, persecuted because they were seen as allies of the Romans. When Nisibis finally fell under Persian rule, St Ephraim and his spiritual father St James both settled in Edessa. At that time Edessa was troubled by the gnostic heretic Bardaisan, one of whose devices was to compose attractive hymns, which became popular and enticed many away from the truth. Taking up Bardaisan’s own weapons, St Ephraim composed a number of hymns, beautiful in word and melody, which poetically set forth the true Faith.

Hearing of the sanctity of St Basil the Great, St Ephraim traveled to Cappadocia to meet him. It is recorded that at their first meeting, St Basil greeted him: ‘Art thou the Ephraim who hath beautifully bended his neck and taken upon himself the yoke of the saving Word?’; to which St Ephraim replied, ‘I am Ephraim who hinder myself from traveling the way to heaven.’ After discoursing with the Syrian Saint for some time, St Basil cried out ‘O, if only I had thy sins!’ Basil then ordained St Ephraim to the diaconate. He would have ordained him a priest but St Ephraim, feeling unworthy, refused to be ordained, then and for the rest of his life.

The Saint returned to a life of solitude; but when a famine broke out in Edessa in 372, he came forth to rebuke the wealthy for failing to share their wealth with the poor. Some replied that they knew no one whom they could trust with their goods, so St Ephraim persuaded them to give their alms to him for distribution to the poor. A true deacon, he cared for the sick with his own hands. The following year, he reposed in peace.

St Ephraim was the first to use hymnody and song to express the teaching of the Church, and so might be called the Church’s first hymnographer. His works were probably an inspiration to St Romanos the Melodist, also a Syrian. He is said to have written more than three million lines of verse in Syriac, in addition to many homilies and treatises. Only a fraction of his work has been translated.

A beautiful selection of St Ephraim’s writings can be found in A Spiritual Psalter, a collection edited by St Theophan the Recluse, available in English.

Venerable Palladius of the Antiochene Desert

Palladius was a Syrian monk and ascetic who devoted himself to the monastic life in the deserts surrounding Antioch. Living in the early Christian era, he pursued the ascetic path with great fervour, seeking through prayer, fasting, and spiritual combat to attain union with God. Palladius became a spiritual father to many disciples who sought his guidance in the monastic life and in the struggle against the passions. He is remembered as an exemplar of the Syrian monastic tradition, which combined rigorous asceticism with pastoral compassion and wisdom. The details of his biography remain sparse in the historical record, but his memory persists in the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church as a testament to the transformative power of monastic discipline and grace. Palladius is commemorated on 28 January as a venerable father of the desert and a guide in the ascetic life.

Daily readings

1st Matins Gospel

Matthew — Matthew 28.16-20

¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

¹⁶But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. ¹⁷And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. ¹⁷And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁸And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:

¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. ²⁰teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

Epistle

weekly cycle

Colossians — Colossians 3.4-11

⁴When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. ⁴When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

⁵Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;

⁵Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: ⁶for which things’ sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience: ⁶For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: ⁷wherein ye also once walked, when ye lived in these things; ⁷In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. ⁸but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth: ⁸But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. ⁹lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, ⁹Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; ¹⁰And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: ¹⁰and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him: ¹¹where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all. ¹¹Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Matthew — Matthew 22.35-46

³⁵Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, ³⁵And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, trying him: ³⁶Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁶Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁷And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ³⁹And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. ⁴⁰On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.

⁴¹Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

⁴¹While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴²Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. ⁴²saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. ⁴³He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, ⁴³He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ⁴⁴The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? ⁴⁴The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet?

⁴⁵If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son? ⁴⁵If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? ⁴⁶And no one was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. ⁴⁶And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.