“An explanation of how repentant sinners are to be freed from their sins is given through the prophet Isaiah [May 9/ May 22] in the words: ‘Wash yourselves and be clean. Remove the evil from your souls; learn to do what is right. Be just to the orphan, vindicate the widow.’”
☦️St Justin Martyr
St Prophet Isaiah prophesied in marvellous detail the coming of the Messiah, Christ the Saviour. He named the Messiah as God and Man, teacher of all the nations, founder of the Kingdom of God. By his clear foretelling of Christ the Savior, the Prophet Isaiah is rightly called an Old Testament Evangelist. St Isaiah foretold the birth of the Messiah from a Virgin, and with particular clarity he describes the suffering of Christ for the sins of the world, the One “wounded for our sins and tortured for our transgressions. “ By these same “wounds we were healed....” He foresees Christ’s Resurrection and the universal spreading of His Church.
☦️St Justin Martyr
St Prophet Isaiah prophesied in marvellous detail the coming of the Messiah, Christ the Saviour. He named the Messiah as God and Man, teacher of all the nations, founder of the Kingdom of God. By his clear foretelling of Christ the Savior, the Prophet Isaiah is rightly called an Old Testament Evangelist. St Isaiah foretold the birth of the Messiah from a Virgin, and with particular clarity he describes the suffering of Christ for the sins of the world, the One “wounded for our sins and tortured for our transgressions. “ By these same “wounds we were healed....” He foresees Christ’s Resurrection and the universal spreading of His Church.
The holy Prophet Isaiah also had the gift of wonderworking. During a siege of Jerusalem by enemies, the besieged had become exhausted with thirst, he by his prayer drew out from beneath Mount Sion a spring of water, which was called Siloam. It was to this same spring afterwards that the Saviour sent a man blind from birth to wash, restoring his sight. By the prayer of the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord prolonged the life of Hezekiah for 15 years. The Prophet Isaiah died a martyr’s death. By order of the Jewish king Manasseh he was sawn through by a wood-saw. The prophet was buried not far from the Pool of Siloam. The relics of the holy Prophet Isaiah were afterwards transferred by the emperor Theodosius the Younger to Constantinople and installed in the church of St. Laurence at Blachernae. Part of the head of the Prophet Isaiah is preserved in the Hilandar monastery at Mt. Athos.
When the Holy Apostle Simon (May 10/ May 23) saw the Lord, he left his home and parents and bride to follow Christ. St Simon's great and burning zeal for the Saviour and His Gospel earned him the name Simon the Zealot. The Holy Apostle proclaimed the gospel from Britain to the Black Sea. Like his Lord, he suffered death by torture and crucifixion.
"With praise let us all bless Simon, the herald of God, who established the doctrines of wisdom securely in the souls of the pious. Now he stands before the throne of glory, and rejoicing with the angels, he unceasingly prays for us all."
"With praise let us all bless Simon, the herald of God, who established the doctrines of wisdom securely in the souls of the pious. Now he stands before the throne of glory, and rejoicing with the angels, he unceasingly prays for us all."
When St. Vladimir and the whole nation of the Rus' were baptized into the Orthodox Faith in 988, they found that all the texts they needed had already been translated into a language they could understand. Two brothers from a pious family in Thessaloniki, Ss. Cyril & Methodius, laid the groundwork for all the Slavs to receive the light of Christ.
The Glagolitic alphabet they created was the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic.
Divinely-wise Cyril and Methodius,
equals-to-the-apostles and teachers of the Slavs, entreat the Master of all
to strengthen all nations in Orthodoxy and unity of mind, to grant peace to the world and to save our souls.
(Troparion, Tone 4)
The Glagolitic alphabet they created was the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic.
Divinely-wise Cyril and Methodius,
equals-to-the-apostles and teachers of the Slavs, entreat the Master of all
to strengthen all nations in Orthodoxy and unity of mind, to grant peace to the world and to save our souls.
(Troparion, Tone 4)
“Keep your mind and heart from false teachings. Do not even speak about Christianity with people who have been infected with false thoughts; do not read books on Christianity that were written by heretics. The Holy Spirit accompanies all Truth. He is the Spirit of Truth. The devil accompanies and acts together with every lie. He is false, and the father of lies.”
☦️Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, Bishop of the Caucasus
☦️Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, Bishop of the Caucasus
“All the sects are truly ‘gates of hell,’ but ‘They will not prevail against the rock’, that is, the truth.” ☦️ Our father among the saints Epiphanius of Cyprus (May 12)
St Epiphanius was Bishop of Salamis on the island of Cyprus and later, Bishop of Cyprus during the latter part of the fourth century. He was known for his great zeal for the faith, his love and charity toward the poor, and simplicity of character.
After his baptism, Epiphanius became a member of a monastery in Egypt under the guidance of the elder St. Hilarion the Great. Seeking to avoid human glory, he set out to the desert where robbers fell upon him and held him for three months. By his talk about repentance, Epiphanius brought one of the gang of robbers to the faith in the True God. When he was set free, the robber joined him. Epiphanius took him to his monastery and baptized him with the name John. John became a faithful disciple of Epiphanius and carefully recorded the Epiphanius’ life and miracles.
St Epiphanius was Bishop of Salamis on the island of Cyprus and later, Bishop of Cyprus during the latter part of the fourth century. He was known for his great zeal for the faith, his love and charity toward the poor, and simplicity of character.
After his baptism, Epiphanius became a member of a monastery in Egypt under the guidance of the elder St. Hilarion the Great. Seeking to avoid human glory, he set out to the desert where robbers fell upon him and held him for three months. By his talk about repentance, Epiphanius brought one of the gang of robbers to the faith in the True God. When he was set free, the robber joined him. Epiphanius took him to his monastery and baptized him with the name John. John became a faithful disciple of Epiphanius and carefully recorded the Epiphanius’ life and miracles.
Epiphanius’ book, the Panarion which means "medicine-chest" offers antidotes for those bitten by the serpent of heresy. It lists 80 heresies, some of which are not described in any other surviving documents from his time. Epiphanius often let his zeal come before facts. He wrote against the Origenists based only on hearsay.
In 402 or 403 he was induced by Archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria to travel to Constantinople as part of the prelate's campaign against Archbishop John Chrysostom, who stood in defence of a group of monks whom Theophilus had falsely accused of Origenism. It is unclear what happened, but it appears that Epiphanius was made aware of Theophilus political motives, he reconciled with Archbishop John and abruptly began a journey home to Cyprus. On the way there, he died at sea.
“O relatives and close ones of the dead! Do for them what is needful for them and within your power. Use your money not for outward adornment of the coffin and grave, but in order to help those in need, in memory of your close ones who have died, for churches, where prayers for them are offered. Show mercy to the dead, take care of their souls. Before us all stands the same path, and how we shall then wish that we would be remembered in prayer! Let us therefore be ourselves merciful to the dead.”
+St John Maximovitch
+St John Maximovitch
Prayer of the Optina Elders
O Lord, grant that I may meet all that his coming day brings to me with spiritual tranquility. Grant that I may fully surrender myself to thy holy will. At every hour of this day, direct and support me in all things. Whatever news may reach me in the course of the day, teach me to accept it with a calm soul and the firm conviction that all is subject to thy holy will. Guide my thoughts and feelings in all my words and actions. In all unexpected occurrences, let me not forget that all is sent down from thee. Grant me to deal in a straightforward and wise manner with every member of my family, neither embarrassing nor saddening anyone. O Lord, grant me power to endure the fatigue of the coming day and all the events that will take place during it. Guide my will and teach me to prayer, to believe, to hope, to be patient, to forgive, and to love. Amen.
O Lord, grant that I may meet all that his coming day brings to me with spiritual tranquility. Grant that I may fully surrender myself to thy holy will. At every hour of this day, direct and support me in all things. Whatever news may reach me in the course of the day, teach me to accept it with a calm soul and the firm conviction that all is subject to thy holy will. Guide my thoughts and feelings in all my words and actions. In all unexpected occurrences, let me not forget that all is sent down from thee. Grant me to deal in a straightforward and wise manner with every member of my family, neither embarrassing nor saddening anyone. O Lord, grant me power to endure the fatigue of the coming day and all the events that will take place during it. Guide my will and teach me to prayer, to believe, to hope, to be patient, to forgive, and to love. Amen.
“Do away with every wickedness, beginning with me”
The Right-believing Saint Queen Tamara (May 1/ May 14), who called herself "the father of orphans and the judge of widows," ruled Georgia with such wisdom and godliness that her reign is known as the Golden Age of Georgia.
When she convoked a council of bishops from across her kingdom to correct disorders in church life, she honoured the assembled bishops as if she were a commoner, and they Angels of God. Queen Tamara exhorted them to establish righteousness and redress abuses. In her humility, she declared, “Do away with every wickedness, beginning with me, for the prerogative of the throne is in no wise that of making war against God."
“Desiring heavenly sweetness, you drove base carnal pleasures far from yourself and, during your reign, you lived an angelic life; O blessed Queen Tamara, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.”—Troparion, Tone 1
The Right-believing Saint Queen Tamara (May 1/ May 14), who called herself "the father of orphans and the judge of widows," ruled Georgia with such wisdom and godliness that her reign is known as the Golden Age of Georgia.
When she convoked a council of bishops from across her kingdom to correct disorders in church life, she honoured the assembled bishops as if she were a commoner, and they Angels of God. Queen Tamara exhorted them to establish righteousness and redress abuses. In her humility, she declared, “Do away with every wickedness, beginning with me, for the prerogative of the throne is in no wise that of making war against God."
“Desiring heavenly sweetness, you drove base carnal pleasures far from yourself and, during your reign, you lived an angelic life; O blessed Queen Tamara, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.”—Troparion, Tone 1
Our venerable and God-bearing father Brendan the Navigator also called the Voyager (May 16) was a 6th-century Irish monastic and missionary who may have been the first Orthodox Christian to set foot on what is now Canadian soil.
The historic account of a possible trans-Atlantic voyage is disputed, based on doubts about the ability of a curragh, the sea craft on which Brendan is said to have sailed, to make such a journey. However, in 1976, Irish explorer Tim Severin built an ox leather curragh, a replica of the sort Brendan would have used. Over two summers he sailed from Ireland via the Hebrides, Faroe Islands and Iceland to Newfoundland to demonstrate that the such a voyage was feasible.
The historic account of a possible trans-Atlantic voyage is disputed, based on doubts about the ability of a curragh, the sea craft on which Brendan is said to have sailed, to make such a journey. However, in 1976, Irish explorer Tim Severin built an ox leather curragh, a replica of the sort Brendan would have used. Over two summers he sailed from Ireland via the Hebrides, Faroe Islands and Iceland to Newfoundland to demonstrate that the such a voyage was feasible.
Regardless of what was the actual extent of St Brendan’s journeys were, he is the patron saint of sailors and traveller. He is considered one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland", said to have been tutored by the great teacher, Finnian of Clonard. At the age of twenty-six, Brendan was ordained a priest and afterwards founded a number of monasteries— the first one was on the Aran Islands. He also travelled to Hinba (Argyll), an island off of Scotland, as well as Wales and finally to Brittany, on the northern coast of France.
St Brendan is a also a patron for
boatmen, divers, mariner’s, whales, and portaging canoeists.
“The Divine Likeness has been perfected in thee, O holy Father Brendan,
For taking up the Cross thou hast followed Christ,
And by thy deeds thou hast taught us to disdain the flesh for it passes away,
But to cultivate the soul for it is immortal:
Wherefore, O holy father, thy spirit rejoices with the Angels.”
St Brendan is a also a patron for
boatmen, divers, mariner’s, whales, and portaging canoeists.
“The Divine Likeness has been perfected in thee, O holy Father Brendan,
For taking up the Cross thou hast followed Christ,
And by thy deeds thou hast taught us to disdain the flesh for it passes away,
But to cultivate the soul for it is immortal:
Wherefore, O holy father, thy spirit rejoices with the Angels.”