Saturday, 22 February 2025

Memorial Saturday

Saturday of Meatfare

57 days before Pascha · Tone 1 · Liturgy · No Fast

Saints commemorated

Holy Martyrs Maurice and Photinus of Apamea

305

Maurice was a distinguished military commander of the Syrian city of Apamea who held considerable authority and respect among the soldiers under his command. When the imperial authorities learned that Maurice was proclaiming the faith in Christ and converting his subordinates to the Orthodox Christian religion, he was brought before the authorities to answer charges of apostasy from the imperial pagan gods. Maurice, together with his beloved son Photinus and the seventy soldiers under his military command, stood firm in their confession of Christ, neither yielding to persuasion nor succumbing to threats against their lives. They endured systematic and cruel torture, being beaten mercilessly, burned with fire and torn with iron implements. The young man Photinus, who had heroically borne the torments inflicted upon him, was eventually beheaded by the sword before the very eyes of his father. The sight of his son's martyrdom did not break Maurice's resolve but rather strengthened his faith, knowing that his child had been granted the crown of martyrdom. The remaining confessors were subsequently led to a swampy place infested with mosquitoes, wasps and gnats, where they were bound to trees and covered with honey to enhance their suffering. Weakened by hunger and thirst, these holy martyrs endured this terrible torment for ten days, yet they never ceased their prayers and praises of God. Finally the Lord granted them relief from their earthly struggles in the year 305, during the reign of the emperor Maximian Galerius.

Saint Athanasius the Confessor of Constantinople

821

Saint Athanasius was born in Constantinople to pious and affluent parents who ensured he received both a classical education and thorough grounding in Holy Scripture and the spiritual life. From his earliest years he felt called to dedicate himself entirely to the service of God. Upon reaching maturity, he retired to the Pavlopetrios monastery in Nicomedia, a community dedicated to the memory of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, where he embraced the monastic vocation. During the reign of the iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820), Saint Athanasius endured severe persecution for his steadfast defence of the veneration of holy icons. He was subjected to vicious torture and subsequently exiled, suffering imprisonment, grief and anguish for his Orthodox faith. Despite the ferocity of imperial opposition and the horrors inflicted upon his body, he remained unwavering in his confession of the Orthodox teaching, never wavering in his witness to the sacred tradition. Saint Athanasius continued to confess the Orthodox Faith until the very end of his earthly existence, and he fell asleep in the Lord peacefully in the year 821, departing to the eternal rest that awaits the faithful.

Uncovering of the relics of the Holy Martyrs at the gate of Eugenius at Constantinople

c. 423

“At the time of the holy Patriarch Thomas I of Constantinople (607-610), the relics of some unknown holy Martyrs were discovered buried in the district of Eugenius. As soon as the Patriarch exposed them for the veneration of the people who gathered from all over the city, numerous healings took place. “Many years had gone by when a clergyman named Nicolas, who worked as a book copyist, learnt by divine revelation that among these anonymous relics were those of Saint Paul’s disciples, the holy apostles Andronicus and Junia, who are mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans (16:7). The Emperor Andronicus I (1183-5) built a beautiful church at the place where thise relics were venerated.” (Synaxarion)

Venerable Limnaeus, hermit of Syria

Venerable Limnaeus was a Syrian ascetic who devoted himself to monastic life under the spiritual direction of the great Saint Thalassius, dwelling with his elder for a considerable time. Through constant association with this accomplished master, Limnaeus acquired the virtues characteristic of his teacher, namely simplicity of manner, gentleness and profound humility. After establishing himself in these spiritual foundations, Limnaeus joined the venerable Saint Maron and together with him pursued a life of rigorous mortification atop a mountain, exposed to the elements without shelter or protection. He constructed a small stone enclosure without a roof, and through a narrow aperture cut into its walls, he conversed with those who approached seeking his counsel and prayers. After the death of Saint Thalassius, Limnaeus continued his labours with Saint Maron, witnessing to the power of monastic dedication and the grace of God throughout his long years of solitary struggle.

Venerable Thalassius, hermit of Syria

440

Venerable Thalassius was a fifth-century ascetic who withdrew from the world to practise strict monasticism in the deserts of Syria. At a young age he left secular life and established himself on a hill near the village of Targala, where he remained for thirty-eight years engaged in unceasing prayer and ascetic labour. Throughout this extended period of spiritual struggle, he neither possessed nor sought shelter, enduring the elements without roof or cell, relying entirely upon divine providence. He became renowned for his exceptional virtue and wisdom, attracting many who sought his spiritual guidance. His practice of profound silence as a form of ascetical discipline became widely known, and he served as an example to countless monks and ascetics who sought to emulate his unwavering commitment to prayer and mortification of the flesh. Saint Thalassius reposed peacefully in the year 440.

Also commemorated: Unc. Rel. Holy Martyrs at Gate of Eugenius

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

1 Corinthians — 1 Corinthians 10.23-28

²³All things are lawful; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all things edify. ²³All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. ²⁴Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor’s good. ²⁴Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. ²⁵Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake; ²⁵Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: ²⁶for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. ²⁶For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. ²⁷If one of them that believe not biddeth you to a feast, and ye are disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake. ²⁷If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. ²⁸But if any man say unto you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake that showed it, and for conscience’ sake: ²⁸But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof:

Epistle

— Departed

1 Thessalonians — 1 Thessalonians 4.13-17

¹³But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope.

¹³But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. ¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; ¹⁷then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Luke — Luke 21.8-9, 25-27, 33-36

⁸And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. ⁸And he said, Take heed that ye be not led astray: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am he; and, The time is at hand: go ye not after them. ⁹But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. ⁹And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for these things must needs come to pass first; but the end is not immediately.

²⁵And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

²⁵And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; ²⁶Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. ²⁶men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. ²⁷And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁷And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ³³Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. ³³Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

³⁴But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare:

³⁴And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. ³⁵For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁵for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. ³⁶Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. ³⁶But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Gospel

— Departed

John — John 5.24-30

²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. ²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. ²⁵Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. ²⁵Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. ²⁶For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; ²⁶For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself: ²⁷And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. ²⁷and he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. ²⁸Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁸Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, ²⁹And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. ²⁹and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. ³⁰I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

³⁰I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.