CATECHESIS & DAILY INSPIRATION |
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The Holy Martyrs Thyrsus, Leucius and Callinicus (Coronatus), with others |
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The NATIVITY FAST
A time for preparation!
May our spiritual efforts bring us renewal in Christ!
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Reflections and Daily Inspiration |
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And when you fast, do not look dismal like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men, but your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
(Mt 6.16–18).
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The Orthodox Spiritual Life (w/ Fr. Seraphim Aldea)
17,243 views • Premiered Dec 16, 2020
Wow, all I can say is I was blessed by this interview, and I hope you are too. Fr. Seraphim Aldea of Mull Monastery in the Scottish Hebrides was kind enough to take the time to introduce me to the Orthodox Spiritual life, and we discussed prayer, fasting, and asceticism and how they help us navigate the paradox between nothingness and God-likeness. I found it to be absolutely fascinating, and deeply spiritually enriching. I hope you enjoy it even half as much as I did.
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Our treasure keeps growing!
We have created a new section devoted to old Serbian manuscripts. The page is designed as a web portal to the work of BLAGO Fund and other internet databases. Digital copies of two manuscripts created by the BLAGO team have been added to our collection - a fifteenth-century menaion for September from Manasija monastery and a sixteenth-century menaion for October from Duboki Potok monastery. We have also gathered links to other digitized Serbian menaia available online and also to some of the most renowned Serbian manuscripts which are included in the Library of Congress, National Library of Serbia, Russian National Library, and many other digital repositories around the world. And the list keeps growing daily.
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MENAIA COLLECTION
Menaion is a liturgical book with offices, hymns, and prayers for immovable feasts for each month of the liturgical year.
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In the Orthodox Church, the New Year actually begins on September 1. And until centuries, most cultures celebrated the New Year on September 1. That’s because they based their year on the farming calendar. They began the year in September by planting seeds, and ended the year in summer by reaping the harvest. Even though we now celebrate the New Year on January 1, we could apply the same principles to our lives, specifically our Christian lives, by planting some new seeds, nurturing them during the year, and then hopefully seeing a spiritual harvest by the close of the year.
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SAINT OF THE DAY
DECEMBER 27 / DECEMBER 14
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The Holy Martyrs Thyrsus, Leucius and Callinicus (Coronatus), with others
Saints Thyrsus and Leucius were honorable citizens of Caesarea of Bithynia, the former being baptized and the latter being a Christian catechumen. Callinicus, however, was a pagan priest. When Emperor Decius’s heir, Cumbricius, began to mercilessly torture and murder Christians, the fearless Leucius appeared before him and, reproaching him, said: “Why have you waged war against your own soul, O Cumbricius?” The enraged judge ordered that he be flogged, tortured, and finally beheaded. The tortured Leucius went to his beheading as joyfully as if he were going to a wedding. Witnessing the death of the courageous Leucius, blessed Thyrsus, inflamed with divine zeal like that of Leucius, also appeared before the judge and reproached him for his evil crimes and for his unbelief in the One True God. He also was flogged and cast into prison. The invisible hand of God healed him of his wounds, opened the prison door and led him out. Thyr- sus immediately went to Phileas, the Bishop of Caesarea, to be baptized by him. After his baptism, he was again seized and tortured, but he endured the tortures, bearing them as though in a dream and not in reality. By the power of his prayer, many idols fell down. The pagan priest Callinicus, upon seeing this, converted to the Christian Faith, and both he and Thyrsus were condemned to death. Callinicus was beheaded, and they placed Thyrsus in a wooden coffin to be sawn in half. However, the power of God would not permit this, and the saw was unable to cut into the wood. Then St. Thyrsus arose from the coffin and prayed to God, rendering Him thanks for the tortures, and he peacefully gave up his soul to his Lord. At the end of the fourth century, Emperor Flavian built a church to St. Thyrsus near Constantinople and placed his holy relics in it. The saint appeared in a vision to Empress Pulcheria and counseled her to bury the relics of the Forty Martyrs alongside his.
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