The Sixth Week of Great Lent

By Sergei V. Bulgakov

Being disclosed in a Canon of the 5th week, the Gospel parable about the rich man and Lazarus serves as the subject of hymns also in the 6th week. The Holy Church calls us "to run from the cruelty and hatred of mankind of the rich man and to emulate the fortitude and longsuffering of Lazarus" and to beg the Lord that, "Having grown poor through the pleasures of this life, He make us rich in virtues", and deliver us "from the torment of Gehenna" and "that we may enjoy rest in the bosom of the Patriarch Abraham". Continuing also in this week, as well as in the previous one to call us to spiritual efforts of piety, the Holy Church appeals to us:

"Come, brethren, and before the end with pure hearts let us all draw near to the compassionate God. Casting aside the cares of this life, let us take thought for our souls. Through abstinence let us reject with loathing the pleasures of food, and let us busy ourselves with acts of virtue."

"Through abstinence let us destroy the passions and through godlike actions let us bring to life the spirit."

"Let us fast, pouring out streams of tears from our soul, that we may be granted mercy".

Together with this the Holy Church, "having begun the sixth week", invites all of us: "Let us sing to Christ a hymn in preparation for the Feast of Palms who comes" "to raise Lazarus from the tomb" and "who comes seated on the foal of an ass".

According to this, the 6th week is called "the threshold of the lifegiving of Lazarus", but mainly is the Week of Palms", "the Flowery" or "Flower bearing". In its Forefeast hymns the Holy Church sings:

"Rejoice, O Bethany, home of Lazarus: for Christ comes to you and shall perform a mighty work, bringing Lazarus to life."

"O faithful let us follow Martha and Mary, let us send to the Lord divine acts as prayers, that He may come to raise up from the dead our mind, which lies dead in the tomb of insensible laziness, lacking all feeling of the fear of God, and now having no vital energy, crying out: O Lord, by Your dread authority You has raised up Your friend Lazarus of old, O Compassionate One, so now enliven all of us, granting us Your great mercy".

"The Lord comes seated, as is written, upon a foal. O people, prepare to receive in fear the King of all, and to welcome Him with palms as Victor over death, who raised Lazarus from Hades."

"Having enlightened and cleansed our souls by fasting, let us go to meet Christ, who comes into Jerusalem in the flesh."

"With the Children let us also meet Christ our God, bringing works of mercy instead of palms, and fervent prayer instead of branches singing Hosanna: bless, and exalt Him forever."

"Come let us prepare for meeting the Lord, carrying branches of virtue to Him. So shall we receive Him in our souls as in the city of Jerusalem, worshipping and singing to Him".

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Video: Report On the Miracle of Kalymnos

From the video here provided by Truth FM on April 7th, the miracle of the appearance of the face of Christ continues at Holy Trinity Church in Kalymnos.

One sees the continuous swinging of the hanging vigil lamp. Interviews from witnesses follow (in Greek).

The second video below is from April 4th.

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The Relics of Saint Antipas, the Martyr of Revelation 2:13

In 610 A.D. the future Roman Emperor Heraclius had the beheaded body of Emperor Phocas burned in a brazen ox. This brazen ox was the same one used to slowly burn alive Saint Antipas the Martyr (April 11), whom the Lord speaks of in Revelation 2:13. More can be read about Saint Antipas here.

Saint Antipas was sentenced to be burned alive in the brazen ox at the age of 83. This ox had been donated by King Attalus of Pergamum (241-197 BC) on the Acropolis of the city of Pergamum as a trophy of victory against the Gauls. It was transferred by the Romans to the Egyptian temple of Serapis in Pergamon, who honored the ox as a sacred animal. The body of St. Antipas also was buried outside the city where later a small church was built in his honor. Emperor Theodosius brought the ox and relics to Constantinople.

Today the relics of St. Antipas can be found in many places. A portion of his skull is in Patmos, Dionysiou Monastery at Mount Athos has his right arm, and his jaw is at Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos. More relics can be found in places such as the Phanar in Constantinople and the Metropolis Cathedral of Mytileni.

It should be noted that the relics of St. Antipas are myrrh-flowing.

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Erdogan Saved the Future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

April 11, 2011

Today's Zaman

The spokesperson of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Father Dositheos Anagnostopulos, has said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saved the future of the patriarchate by offering Turkish citizenship to a number of archbishops in 2009.

In an interview with the Star daily, Anagnostopulos said there were 12 archbishops on the patriarchate's Spiritual Board at the time. “Most of [those archbishops] are very old. In order to become a member of this board, one has to be a Turkish citizen. If the patriarch dies one day, it seemed unlikely that a new patriarch would be elected from the board [due to the members' age]. This danger has now passed. The prime minister attended a luncheon on Büyükada in August 2009 … and said the problem with the Spiritual Board will be overcome if archbishops applied to become Turkish citizens. He assured us that applicants would be granted citizenship,” the spokesperson stated.

Anagnostopulos defined the prime minister's remarks as the “most positive moment in his lifetime.” “After the prime minister's call, 27 of 35 archbishops abroad submitted applications to become Turkish citizens. Thirteen of them have already been granted citizenship,” he added. In 2010, CNN International ran a story on the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in which it suggested that Patriarch Bartholomew could ultimately be the last patriarch if Turkish laws, demographics and attitudes do not change. According to Anagnostopulos, however, this is no longer the case, thanks to Erdoğan.

The spokesperson also said Erdoğan and Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınc were the first state authorities to express their wish to reopen a closed Greek Orthodox seminary on Heybeliada, off the coast of Istanbul. The Halki Seminary was closed in 1971 in accordance with a law that put religious and military training under state control.

In addition, Anagnostopulos said the Halki Seminary is of high importance for the Greek Orthodox population as it was once a base where clerics were trained for the religious community.

“An argument has been put forward by some people in Turkey. They say the Greek Orthodox population comprises only 2,500 people, and we needn’t train clerics for so few people. They say we may ‘import’ clerics from abroad. However, they should know that the Greek Orthodox patriarch is the most senior among Orthodox churches in the world. This is why he was granted the ecumenical title. We also have followers outside of Istanbul, including in North and South America and some parts of Europe, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. Their priests and archbishops are appointed by our patriarch. And for their appointment, it is a must for candidates to have graduated from a seminary,” he stated.

Anagnostopulos also said the re-opening of the Halki Seminary would not run contrary to the Treaty of Lausanne. He also ruled out fears that the “Byzantine spirit” would be revived if the seminary is re-opened.

“Some fear that it will go against the principles of the Republic of Turkey if the patriarchate is a very strong institution. This is wrong. The Republic of Turkey has a secular character. Every religious group has the right to continue its activities provided they are not engaged in politics. It is now a fact that the closing down of the Halki Seminary was not legal. I personally believe that the seminary was used as a trump card in the Cyprus issue and was eventually shut down,” he noted.

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There Is No Rest On Earth For Those Desiring Salvation

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"There can be no rest for those on earth who desire to be saved," says St. Ephrem the Syrian. The struggle is unceasing be it either external or internal. The adversary acts visibly at times through men and other things, and at other times invisibly through thoughts. At times, the adversary appears openly and behaves brutally and cruelly like an enemy and, at other times, under the guise of a flattering friend he seduces by shrewdness. That which occurs in battle between two opposing armies also occurs to every man individually in battle with the passions of this world. Truly, "there can be no rest for those on earth who desire to be saved." When salvation comes, rest also comes.

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The Authenticity of the Lead Codices: Scholars Disagree

According to a growing number of scholars, scores of lead codices revealed to the public last month as possibly the earliest Christian writings may be nothing more than modern forgeries. The latest and most vocal doubts have come from Dr. Peter Thonemann, a specialist in ancient Greek at Wadham College in Oxford, who was sent pictures of the codices by their most ardent defender, archaeologist and Biblical scholar David Elkington.

After reviewing the images of the codices, Thonemann is very suspicious and believes the credit-card sized books were probably made within the past 50 years. “The image they are saying is Christ is the sun god Helios from a coin that came from the island of Rhodes,” said Thonemann. “There are also some nonsense inscriptions in Hebrew and Greek.” The Israel Antiquities Authority, among others, had earlier voiced its concern that the books contained “a mixture of incompatible periods and styles without any connection or logic.”

Archaeologist and biblical scholar, David Elkington believes, however that the 70 lead and copper books, or codices, found in Jordan could be among the earliest Christian documents, predating the writings of St Paul.

Mr Elkington hit back at Dr Thonemann yesterday: “He’s not a biblical scholar, he’s a Greek classicist. Dismissing the provenance of the books on the basis of two low resolution photographs by e-mail is out of order. We welcome healthy debate but it is not very helpful for anybody to dismiss it on such little evidence.”

Read more here.

Dozens of photos are now online here.

Jim Davila provides a concise and compelling summary of the case against the authenticity of the lead codices here.

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Yuri Gagarin and Sergei Korolev Were Orthodox Christians

April 11, 2011

Interfax

Hegumen Job (Talats), the patriarchial metochion's rector of Transfiguration Church in Zvyozdny Gorodok (Star City), gave evidence that neither Yuri Gagarin, nor Sergei Korolev were atheists.

"Yuri Gagarin baptized his elder daughter Yelena shortly before his space flight; and his family used to celebrate Christmas and Easter and keep icons in the house," Father Job said in an interview to the April issue of Vima magazine.

He also recalled that Gagarin urged the authorities to reconstruct Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow.

"Sergei Korolev lost faith for some time but eventually regained it through suffering and temptations. Of course, he could not make it public but he used to pray and confess. Now I am trying to find out who was his confessor," Father Job said.

As a child, Father Job was dreaming of becoming a cosmonaut. Even as a priest, he completed a series of cosmonaut training to better understand these people. He sees the Russian cosmonaut teams off to Baikonur and meets the crews returning from space.

In his monastery (Father Job is a monk at the Trinity Laura of St. Sergius), he has a telescope, binoculars and many books on astronomy.

According to Father Job, sins are preventing people from further outer space exploration.

"I was once asked, 'Father Job, why do we fail to move further on in space?' I answered, "We have already damaged the Earth; so do you want to damage the whole Universe? Look what's going on around here - robbery, murders, violence, deception, and we shall carry our wickedness further out. Therefore, God does not let us move on. While we are in the process of moral growth, we shall not go far away from the Earth," the priest said.

Read also:

The Confessor of the Astronauts

Church Asks Gagarin's Daughter To Allow Services in Kremlin Church of St. John of the Ladder Whose Feast Day Coincides With Cosmonautics Day

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Serbian Orthodox Nuns Learn Language of Albanian Muslims

Ismet Hajdari

April 11, 2011

AFP

A Serb Orthodox monastery in religiously polarised Kosovo is breaking stereotypes by making its nuns learn Albanian so they can talk to Muslim villagers who come to pray at a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Muslims from all over Kosovo flock to the Sokolica monastery because they believe its 14th-century sculpture of the Virgin with Christ can cure deaf-mute children and help childless couples fall pregnant.

"When they ask how to pray, we tell them to pray in their own language and in the way they are taught to. We let them praise their Allah as we do our God," the 67-year-old head of the monastery, Mati Makarija, told AFP.

The monastery is settled in rugged volcanic mountains that overlook the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, where relations between Serb Orthodox Christians and Albanian Muslims are tense -- as they are throughout Kosovo which broke free from Serbia in 2008.

Sokolica is surrounded by the Muslim village of Boletin whose residents are regular visitors.

"Our door is open for them. If they think our sacred sculpture can help them, then they are welcome," said Makarija, dressed in a traditional black habit and with a black head scarf.

As part of her effort to welcome all faiths, Makarija has instructed her nuns to learn Albanian, which is vastly different to Serbian and spoken by very few Serbs.

"Speaking languages of each other is a must," Makarija said. "I don't want them to talk to the neighbours and Albanians who visit the monastery in English but in Albanian."

"I am always looking for (Albanian) textbooks. I might be too old for it already but my nuns have to learn Albanian," insisted Makarija, who speaks English, German and Greek.

The eight nuns have to squeeze their language lessons into an already tight schedule.

Under the supervision of Makarija, considered one of the best fresco painters in the Serbian Orthodox church, they work from the early morning, mostly in the fresco and icon workshop that produces paintings popular with foreign buyers.

"That is our main income," Makarija said.

The language training, which has aroused great interest among the Muslim villagers, is the latest measure in a long tradition at the monastery of reaching out to its Albanian neighbours.

Even during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war that pitted the security forces of Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic against ethnic Albanian guerrillas, the convent tried to remain neutral.

Today the nuns and villagers won't be drawn in to discussions about politics, a sensitive issue with Kosovo declaring independence in 2008 but its status fiercely disputed by Serbia.

"Politicians are occupied with politics, not us," Makarija said.

Villagers tell how she braved heavy fighting during the war to take a pregnant Boletin woman to the Serb-controlled hospital in Mitrovica to deliver her baby.

"It was dangerous even for her, despite the fact that she was a nun," said Besim Boletini, who lives next door to the monastery.

Muslim villager Mustafa Kelmendi, 67, said Makarija had saved his son Basri from Serb paramilitaries twice.

"The war brought chaos ... However she did not allow Serb forces to stay in the convent even when fighting was going on in the area," the pensioner told AFP.

Kelmendi is a regular visitor to the restored Sokolica monastery, built in the Middle Ages, decorated with neatly cut white stone tiles and considered one of the highlights of medieval orthodox architecture in Kosovo.

The famous sculpture, known as the Sokolac Virgin, is adorned with gold necklaces, bracelets and strings of pearls from grateful visitors -- Christians and Muslims.

"It cures not only their but also our people," Kelmendi said.

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Animations: Saint Mary of Egypt

Below are two different animations of the life of St. Mary of Egypt. The first animation is in Russian with Greek subtitles, while the second is Ukrainian with Greek subtitles.

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What Did Patriarch Bartholomew Ask For At the Martyrdom Site of His Predecessor Patriarch Gregory V?

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, at the end of today's Liturgy [05/10/2011], addressed the numerous pilgrims from Greece and abroad, among whom there were hundreds of Greek elementary and high school students. Speaking in memory of Patriarch Gregory V, he said the following:

"Today is a day of mourning and bitter memories, because as today, April 10, 190 years ago in 1821 it was Pascha, and outside in the courtyard of the Patriarchate, the then Patriarch Gregory V was hung. Since then every year we remember this day.

Before descending to the church today, I went, as I was indebted, and put a few flowers at the, since then, Closed Gate, the place of martyrdom of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and lit a candle asking for his blessing and prayer for this great Orthodox Monastery called the Ecumenical Patriarchate and for all of us who have the blessing of God to minister at this point in the Grand Monastery. I also asked his prayers for all Orthodox Christians throughout the world, because the prayers of such a Martyred Patriarch is certainly heard by God.

I asked his prayers for the peace of the the whole world, the stability of the Holy Churches of God and the union of all things - mankind, churches, peoples and nations of the world. This unity we particularly need now and I plead with you to also pray for the same yourselves."

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Hieromartyr Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople (+ 1821)

St. Gregory V of Constantinople (Feast Day - April 10)

Our father among the saints Gregory V of Constantinople was the 234th Patriarch of Constantinople. He served as patriarch for three separate periods at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: from 1797 to 1798, from 1806 to 1808, and from 1818 to 1821. He was martyred in 1821 during the Greek War of Independence. He was glorified as a saint by the Church of Greece in 1921 and is commemorated as an Ethnomartyr (Greek: Εθνομάρτυρας). He is remembered on April 10.

Georgios Aggelopoulos was born in Dimitsana of the Arcadia prefecture in 1746 to poor parents. A studious child, Georgios attended school at Dimitsana before continuing his education in Athens for two years. With the help of his uncle he continued his education in the theological school at Smyrna for another five years. Having been raised in the hesychastic environment around the Monastery of Philosophou he turned to a monastic life and was tonsured a monk in Strophades with the name Gregory. He continued his education in theology and philosophy at the School of Patmos.

After completing his education at Patmos, Gregory returned to Smyrna where he was ordained a deacon in 1775 by Metropolitan Prokopios of Smyrna and subsequently became an archdeacon. Over the following years he was ordained a priest and a protosyngelos. In 1785, he was elected by the Patriarch of Constantinople to the position of Bishop of the Metropolis of Smyrna succeeding Prokopios who had become Patriarch of Constantinople. In what was becoming a volatile political atmosphere, Gregory was elected to the patriarchal throne of Constantinople in May 1797. In a year he was deposed and deported to the Monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos where he lived an ascetic life of study. On September 23, 1806, the synod recalled him to the patriarchal see. With the shifting Turkish politics and the revolt of the Janissaries, Gregory’s second stint as patriarch ended in 1810 when he was expelled first to Pringiponisos [Princes' Islands], and then again to Mount Athos, where he stayed for nine years. On December 15, 1818, for the third time Gregory was called to the patriarchal see, this time at a crucial and tense time in the Greek struggle for independence.

In 1818, Gregory became a member of the Filiki Eteria (Friendly Society) that was preparing for a revolt against the Turkish rule. However, when Alexander Ypsilantis crossed the Prut River, starting the Greek revolt in Romania, Gregory felt it necessary to excommunicate him to protect the Greeks of Constantinople from reprisals by the Ottoman Turks. The reprisals did come during Holy Week in April 1921 after the Greeks revolted in the Peloponnesus. During celebration of the Divine Liturgy, with eight hierarchs, on the night of Pascha of April 10, Gregory was arrested and, by order of Sultan Mahmud II, hanged at the front gate of the Patriarchate compound in his full Patriarchal vestments. The gate has been closed, locked, and not used since. After hanging for three days and being mocked by the passing crowds, his body was taken down and given to a group of Jews who dragged it through the streets of Constantinople before throwing it into the Bosphorus.

Gregory’s body was recovered from the sea by a Greek seaman, Nicholas Sklavos, and secreted to Odessa, then in Southern Russia, where it was buried with honors at the Church of the Holy Trinity. Later his relics were enshrined in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens. His statue, along with that of Rigas Feraios, stands outside the University of Athens as great martyrs of the Greek Revolution. Patriarch Gregory's martyrdom stirred the Greek revolutionaries who used his name as a rallying cry in the siege of Tripolis and later, eventually winning their freedom.

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Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone

You righteously served the God of all as a priest, and offered yourself to Christ as a chosen sacrifice by struggling well. Wherefore by your hanging, you were truly shone to be a deliverer from slavery to the nation of the Greeks. Therefore O Hieromartyr Gregory we honor you.

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Synaxarion For the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

FIFTH SUNDAY of LENT

On this day, the fifth Sunday of the Fast, we are enjoined to celebrate the memory of our Holy Mother Mary of Egypt.

Verses

Her spirit hath departed, and her flesh decayed long ago.

O earth, conceal the bony corpse of Mary.

Synaxarion

When she was only twelve years old, she slipped away from her parents and went to Alexandria, where she lived a life of prodigality for seventeen years. Then, moved by curiosity, she departed for Jerusalem with many pilgrims, in order to be present at the Exaltation of the Precious Cross. During the voyage, she gave herself over to every kind of licentiousness and immorality and enticed many into the pit of perdition.

Wishing to enter the Church, on the day when the Cross was being elevated, three times, four times, she sensed an invisible force that prevented her from entering, whereas the crowd of people with her was entering without any hindrance. Smitten in her heart by this, she resolved to change her life and to propitiate God through repentance; and thus, on returning to the Church, she entered it with ease. After venerating the Precious Cross, she departed from Jerusalem that same day, crossed the Jordan, and went into the inner recesses of the desert, where, for forty-seven years, she lived a life that was very severe and superhuman, praying alone with God.

Near the end of her life, she encountered a hermit named Zosimas and, after recounting her life from the beginning, she besought him to bring her the immaculate Mysteries so that she might receive communion. He did so the following year, on Great Thursday. When Zosimas returned a year later, he found her dead, stretched out on the ground, with a note near her, which read: “O Abba Zosimas, bury the body of humble Mary in this place. I reposed on the same day that I communed the immaculate Mysteries. Pray for me.” Her death is assigned to the year 378.

The memory of this Saint is celebrated on the 1st of April; but she is also commemorated on this day, as the Holy Fast is already drawing to a close, in order to arouse the slothful and the sinners to repentance, having St. Mary as an example.

By her intercessions, O God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Source

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

In thee the image was preserved with exactness, O Mother; for taking up thy cross, thou didst follow Christ, and by thy deeds thou didst teach us to overlook the flesh, for it passeth away, but to attend to the soul since it is immortal. Wherefore, O righteous Mary, thy spirit rejoiceth with the Angels.

Kontakion in the Second Tone

By the toils of thy struggles, O God-inspired one, thou didst hallow the harshness of the desert. Wherefore, we glorify thy memory, as we honour thee with hymns, O Mary, glory of the righteous.

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Hymns and Readings of the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent

By Sergei V. Bulgakov

The church service for this Sunday is devoted to the memory and glorification of the spiritual efforts of Saint Mary of Egypt (Apr. 1), who "has cut down with the sword of abstinence the desires of your soul and the passions of your flesh. You have choked your sinful thoughts with the silence of the ascetic life, and you have watered all the wilderness with the streams of your tears, and caused the fruits of repentance to spring up for us" and "with works of Lenten fasting", "as the sun she shines revealed as a guide to all who have sinned". In her life the Holy Church pays attention to two contrasts: on the depth of her sinful falling and on the height of her graceful rising, that it points out that true repentance wipes away the very heaviest sins, and can uplift the repenting trespasser to a high degree of spiritual perfection. The Odes of the Canon opens the parable about "the rich man and Lazarus". This parable through its imagery gives a lesson on the efforts of fasting that they, fasting physically, fasted also spiritually, that is, they helped their needy brothers and eased the portion of the suffering; but the suffering and the deprived are inspired by patience and magnanimity, by the example of Lazarus who for these virtues "was worthy of Paradise of sweetness". Inspiring those who fast with the necessity of charity, the Holy Church hymns: "The Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and abstinence with holiness; therefore the rich shall not enter into it, but those who entrust their treasures into the hands of the needy. This is what David the prophet teaches us saying: the righteous man shows mercy all day, his delight is in the Lord, and walking in the light he will not stumble. All this was written for our admonition, that we should fast and do good, and the Lord will reward us with heavenly things instead of earthly things". The Resurrection gospel proclaims the approaching time of the coming Passion of Christ, and the Epistle reading explains the saving actions of the offering of the Savior on the cross. With these reminders of the parable about the rich man and Lazarus and suffering, death and resurrection of the Savior, the Holy Church relates the fifth Sunday to a relationship of the coming end of the Lenten effort with the memory connected to Him.

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Video: Who Is Saint Mary of Egypt?

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Synaxarion For the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

FIFTH SATURDAY of LENT

On the same day, the Fifth Saturday of the Fast, we celebrate the Akathist Hymn of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.

Verses

With unsleeping hymns doth thy city gratefully

Hymn her Protectress, who is unsleeping in battles.

Synaxarion

When Herakleios was ruling the Roman Empire, King Chosroes of Persia, seeing the extreme humiliation to which the Roman state had been reduced by the tyrannical Emperor Phokas, sent one of his satraps (generals), Sharbaraz by name, with many thousands of troops to subjugate all the East to him. For Chosroes had previously succeeded in destroying one hundred thousand Christians, whom the Jews had purchased and slain. After laying waste to the entire East, Sharbaraz, the Chief Satrap, reached as far as Chrysopolis, which is now called Scoutari. Emperor Herakleios, lacking public funds, melted down the sacred vessels of the Churches and converted them into coinage, in order to increase his revenues, crossed the Black Sea in ships, and invaded Persian territory, which he destroyed. Chosroes, with the rest of his army, suffered a crushing defeat. Shortly thereafter, Shiroes, the son of Chosroes, rebelled against his father, assumed control of the Empire, and, having killed Chosroes, made peace with Emperor Herakleios.

Now the Khagan, that is, the ruler, of the Mysians and the Scythians (Avars and Slavs [Bulgars]), on learning that the Emperor had crossed over the sea into Persia, broke his treaty with the Romans and, at the head of countless hordes, invaded Constantinople from the west, sending up blasphemous cries against God. At once, the sea became full of ships, and the land was filled with innumerable infantry and cavalry. Patriarch Sergios made many appeals to the people of Constantinople not to fall into despair, but to place all their hope wholeheartedly in God and His Mother, the All-Immaculate Theotokos. Bonus, a Patrician, who was governor of the city at that time, made suitable preparations for warding off the enemy; for, together with help from on high, we, for our part, must do whatever we can. Along with the entire populace, the Patriarch, carrying the holy Icons of the Mother of God, went around the upper walls, thereby ensuring their security. When Sharbaraz from the east and the Khagan from the west began to set fire to the outskirts of the city, the Patriarch bore the Icon of Christ “Not Made with Hands,” the pieces of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, as well as the Precious Robe of the Mother of God and went around the walls. The Scythian Khagan launched an attack on Constantinople via the land walls with a countless multitude of soldiers, so great that for every Roman there were ten Scythians fighting against him. But the invincible Champion, with the very few soldiers who were in her Church of the Life-Giving Spring, destroyed a very large number of the enemy. Encouraged by this and rejoicing over it, the Romans, under their invincible leader, the Mother of God, continued to inflict heavy defeats on them. The people of Constantinople sought to make peace, but their offer was rejected, for the Khagan issued this proclamation: “Do not be deceived by the God in Whom you believe; for I will assuredly occupy your city tomorrow.”

On hearing this, the citizens stretched forth their hands to God. The Khagan and Sharbaraz came to an agreement, and attacked by land and by sea with siege-engines, eager to capture the city. But they were so severely defeated by the Romans that there were not enough men left alive to burn the dead. As the enemy ships, filled with heavily-armed troops, sailed down through the Horn towards the Church of the Theotokos in Blachernai, they were destroyed along with the rest of the enemy fleet when a violent storm suddenly fell upon the sea. And hereupon a miraculous feat of the All-Pure Mother of God could be seen: she cast them all up on the edge of the sea at Blachernai. The people, flinging open the gates as quickly as possible, killed every single one of the enemy, and even women and children fought against them like men. Their leaders returned, weeping and lamenting. The God-loving people of Constantinople, ascribing the victory to the Mother of God, sang the Akathist Hymn throughout the night to her who had kept vigil for their sake and had accomplished a triumph over the enemy by her supernatural might.

Ever since then, in commemoration of such a great and preternatural miracle, the Church has, by tradition, dedicated such a feast to the Mother of God in the present season, when she wrought her victory.

After some forty years had elapsed, during the reign of Constantine Pogonatos, the Hagarenes mustered an enormous army and attacked Constantinople. They laid siege to the city for seven years and, while wintering in the regions around Cyzicus, lost many of their own soldiers. Then, giving up and withdrawing with their fleet, they reached Sylaion, where they all drowned at sea, by the mediation of the All-Pure Mother of God. Again, a third time, during the reign of Leo the Isaurian, the Hagarenes, numbering very many thousands, first destroyed the Persian Empire, and then invaded Egypt and Libya, India, Ethiopia, and Spain. After that, they advanced against the very Queen of cities, with the additional support of 1800 ships. They surrounded the city and waited to take it by storm. The holy people of the city, bearing the hallowed Wood of the Precious and Life-giving Cross and the venerable Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, went around the walls, tearfully propitiating God. Thereafter, the Hagarenes decided to separate their army into two divisions: one division marched against the Bulgarians, but more than twenty thousand of them were slain in the fighting; the other division remained behind to capture Constantinople. However, they were prevented from so doing by a chain that extended from Galatia to the city walls. Retreating, they reached the Sosthenian Strait, where most of their ships were smashed and destroyed by the onrush of a north wind. The survivors were stricken with a terrible famine, to the point that they cooked human flesh and even ate dung. They then fled, but when they reached the Aegean Sea, almost all of their vessels sank with all hands into its depths; for a hailstorm suddenly fell from the sky, causing the sea to seethe so much that it dissolved the pitch that held the ships together. Thus, that innumerable fleet was destroyed, and only three ships survived to report what had happened.

We celebrate the present feast on account of all these preternatural miracles of the All-Pure Mother of God. The hymn is called “Akathist” because at that time all the people chanted it to the Mother of the Word while standing throughout the night; and also because, while we are accustomed to sitting down when such hymns are chanted on the other Feasts, on the present Feast of the Theotokos, we all stand and listen to the hymn.

By the intercessions of Thy Mother, our invincible Champion, O Christ our God, deliver us also from the calamities that beset us, and have mercy on us, for Thou alone lovest mankind. Amen.

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Saint Mary of Egypt: A Living Example of the Power of Repentance

By Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

Saint Mary the Egyptian - along with Saint Pelagia, Saint Moses the Ethiopian, Blessed Augustine and others - is a living example of the power of repentance. People who have sunk into the muck of sin to the top of their heads, afterwards reach the cleanliness of the Angels! How powerful is the Grace of God! Let us not lose hope, no matter how much we have sunk into sin. We are able again to become pure white, as we were after Baptism. All we need to do is repent!

The Pentitential Prayer of St. Mary of Egypt to the Theotokos

My Panagia, Mother of God, who gave birth in the flesh to God the Word. I know, O how well I know, that it is no honor or praise to thee when one so impure and depraved as I looks up to thy icon, O Ever-Virgin, who didst keep thy body and soul in purity. Rightly do I inspire hatred and disgust before thy virginal purity. But I have heard that God Who was born of thee became man for the purpose to call sinners to repentance. Then help me, for I have no other help. Order the entrance of the church to be opened to me. Allow me to see the venerable Tree on which He Who was born of thee suffered in the flesh and on which He shed His holy Blood for the redemption of sinners like me, unworthy as I am. Be my faithful witness before thy Son that I will never again defile my body by the impurity of fornication, but as soon as I have seen the Tree of the Cross I will renounce the world and its temptations and will go wherever thou wilt lead me.

My loving Panagia, thou hast shown me thy great love for all men. Glory to God Who receives the repentance of sinners through thee. What more can I recollect or say, I who am so sinful? It is time for me, my Panagia, to fulfil my vow, according to thy witness. Now lead me by the hand along the path of repentance!

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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The Preeminent Spiritual Wisdom

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

It is said about Pericles that he was a man of almost perfect human beauty but that his head was oblong and resembled a squash, so that he incurred being ridiculed when he appeared bareheaded in public. In order to conceal the defect of this great man of his people, Greek sculptors always portrayed him with a helmet on his head.

When some, among the pagans, knew how to conceal the defects of their friends, how much more, therefore, are we as Christians obligated to do the same? "Love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor" (Romans 12:10), commands the apostle to those who cling to Christ. How can we say that we adhere to the meek and All-Pure Christ, if we daily poison the air with tales about the sins and shortcomings of others? To conceal your own virtue and the shortcomings of others, this is the preeminent spiritual wisdom.

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Saturday of the Akathist Hymn

By Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

This Saturday we chant the Akathist Hymn during Matins. In our days however this does not happen except in the holy monasteries, since in the parishes it is chanted the evening before, on Friday during the Small Compline.

The Akathist Hymn is a "Kontakion". In olden times a Kontakion was a series of hymns, analogous with a "Canon". The name probably comes from the short stick with which the parchment that contained the hymn was unwrapped [kontakion means "short stick" in Greek]. The first troparion is called a "prooimion" or "koukoulion" and those after are called "oikoi", hence why the entire hymn is considered an entire structure [oikos in Greek means "house"] dedicated to the memory of a certain saint. Today the first troparion of such a hymn is usually called a Kontakion.

The Akathist Hymn contains a prooimion and 24 "oikoi". The prooimion in the olden days was not where "O Champion General" is today, but after ("When he perceived what had secretly been ordered"). The "acrostic" of the hymn is alphabetical, that is it follows the order of the alphabet [in Greek] A, B, C, D, etc. An acrostic is a phrase that is formed when the first letter of an eirmos and troparion continues in a certain continuous order for a hymn. This phrase sometimes refers to the name of the author of the hymn, or at other times to the subject of the feast, and so on. Of course not all hymns have acrostics. There are also two "Ephymnia" [Refrains] in the Akathist Hymn: "Rejoice, Bride unwedded" and "Alleluia". The first is the response for the odd numbered "oikoi" (1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) and the second is for the even numbered "oikoi" (2, 4, 6, 8, etc.). An "ephymnion" is the last word or phrase of a hymn which the people repeat, since the chanters of course chanted the entire hymn.

The Akathist Hymn begins with the Annunciation of the Virgin, and then refers to the events thereafter. It speaks of the visitation of the Virgin to Elizabeth, of the suspicions of Joseph the protector of the Virgin, of the veneration of the Lord by the shepherds and magi, of the fleeing of Christ to Egypt and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. These are in the first half. In the second half of the Hymn are words about the incarnation of Christ, the theosis of mankind and the worthiness of the Panagia to be the Mother of God.

Who was the author of the Akathist Hymn? To this question there has not been given an answer till this day which would not be disputed. Despite all the research and discussions the problem remains a problem. Some - and these are the majority - theorize the Hymn was written by Romanos the Melodist. Others theorize it was Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople. Others bring forward George Pisida, while others bring forward others. What seems most likely is that the Hymn was composed during the reign of Emperor Justinian, if not even a bit older.

The reason the Hymn is called "Akathist" is the following, in accordance with tradition:

About the year 626 Constantinople was beseiged by the Persians and Avars for some months. Emperor Heraclius at the time was in Asia Minor battling the Persians. When he found out his city was beseiged he sent 12,000 men of his soldiers to the patrician Bonos in Constantinople in order to defend, with the patrician, the capital of the empire. Bonos along with Patriarch Sergios gathered as many citizens as possible with weapons. They all swore to fight till the end. The Patriarch was running around the city encouraging the people and the fighters. The entire city placed their hopes in their Protectress, the "Champion Leader", the Most Holy Theotokos. The seige was near and strong. Despite this the city withstood the attacks of the seige, yet the seige persisted. Suddenly a fearsome hurricane broke up all their ships, and they rushed throughout the night from the 7th till the 8th of August to abandon their seige and leave empty-handed. The kingdom was saved! The people of the city, celebrating their salvation, which they ascribed to the Mother of God, assembled at the Blachernae Church of the Theotokos, where they gathered for an all-night vigil of thanksgiving, presided over by Patriarch Sergios. During this the entire crowd chanted the Hymn while standing, and from this time on it became known as the Akathist Hymn [akathist means "not sitting" in Greek]. Indeed the Hymn existed before this time and was chanted to the Most Holy Theotokos, but on that night it was established in a festive way for our Church. The troparion "O Champion General" (which replaced the pre-existing "When he perceived what had secretly been ordered") was unquestionably composed at that time. For this reason the entire deliverance of the city from clamity "ascribed the victory" to their Protectress the Theotokos.

The Akathist Hymn begins with a particular Canon, which begins "I will open my mouth". This is an even numbered Canon, which means that it has eight Odes. The acrostic says: "Giver of joy, to you alone belongs rejoicing. Joseph." The name Joseph refers to the author of the Canon. This is probably Joseph the Hymnographer, who was from Sicily and lived during the ninth century. The eirmoi do not belong to him, but were from the Canon of the Dormition of the Theotokos. They probably belong to John the Damascene. Every Ode in the Canon has an eirmon and four troparia. Thus the Canon has 8 eirmoi and 32 troparia.

This Canon is most beautiful and festive, and characterized as a poetic masterpiece. It sings of the Ever-Virgin Daughter as "the living book of Christ", as "the palace of the only King", as a "fiery throne of the Almighty", as a "treasury of purity", as a "sweet smelling lily", as a "dwelling place of light", as a "mercy seat for the world", as "higher than the heavens", as "incomprehensible depth", as "height unspeakable", as "the bridal chamber full of light", as "the fiery chariot of God the Logos", as the "living Paradise", as "the cause of all the deified", as the "unconsumed bush", as the "mystical rod", as the "pillar of fire", etc.

The Akathist Hymn is also chanted in sections in our churches in the first four Fridays of Great Lent. The entire Canon which accompanies the Akathist is also chanted on these Fridays.

Well-known and much-loved is the troparion which is chanted during the Service of the Akathist Hymn:

O Champion General, we your City ascribe to you the victory in gratitude for being rescued from calamity, O Theotokos. But since you have invincible power, free us from all kinds of perils so that we may cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

Most beautiful also is the apolytikion:

When he perceived what had secretly been ordered, to the abode of Joseph urgently reported the bodiless one and said unto the Unwedded: The Lord who has bowed the heavens in His descent, in you is contained completely and without change; and be­holding Him in your womb taking the form of a slave, astounded I cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Video: Akathist Vigil At Dionysiou Monastery On Mt. Athos

The original icon of the Panagia of the Akathist before which the citizens of Constantinople kept vigil following their salvation from the Persians by the Theotokos is today kept at Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos. Below are videos from the Friday night vigil held at Dionysiou in 2005.

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The Faith Factor In Science

Hugh Pickens writes:

"Pastabagel writes that the actual scientific answers to the questions of the origins of the universe, the evolution of man, and the fundamental nature of the cosmos involve things like wave equations and quantum electrodynamics and molecular biology that very few non-scientists can ever hope to understand and that if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we accept the incredibly complex scientific phenomena in physics, astronomy, and biology through the process of belief, not through reason. When Richard Fenyman wrote “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics,” he was including himself which is disconcerting given how many books he wrote on that very subject. The fact is that it takes years of dedicated study before scientific truth in its truest, mathematical and symbolic forms can be understood. The rest of us rely on experts to explain it, someone who has seen and understood the truth and can dumb it down for us in a language we can understand. And therein lies the big problem for science and scientists. For most people, science is really a matter of trusting the expert who tells it to us and believing what they tell us. Trust and belief. Faith. Not understanding. How can we understand science, if we can’t understand the language of science? 'We don’t learn science by doing science, we learn science by reading and memorizing. The same way we learn history. Do you really know what an atom is, or that a Higgs boson is a rather important thing, or did you simply accept they were what someone told you they were?'"

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Synaxis of Panagia of the Unfading Rose in Piraeus

The history of the parish of Panagia of the Unfading Rose (Ρόδον Αμάραντον) in Piraeus, according to the testimonies of former residents, began around the year 1890 AD, when a fisherman pulled an old icon from the rocks of Piraeus, which depicted the Virgin Mary holding Christ, seated as a child, holding in his hand a "Rose". The event immediately became known in the region. A devout family, named Katsaros, having the desire to offer a "home" for the icon of the Virgin Mary on its own initiative, built a private chapel with the name Panagia of the Unfading Rose. Here was housed the old icon and it was venerated by the locals.

The years passed and more and more people were flowing into the area and there was a need to create a parish to accommodate the faithful. Until then, the area of ​​Piraeus was subject under the Archdiocese of Athens. The problem was resolved with the donation of the family Koutsodonti which provided the land for the foundation of the church and create a new parish. In the following years there were struggles, and there was hard work and sacrifice to authorize something from the council.

In 1973, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Piraeus celebrated the dedication of the new church and handed it over to the loyal parishioners. Shortly before the dedication, by letter of the Hierarchy of the Archdiocese of Athens, the parish was officially separated and named the Church of Panagia of the Unfading Rose.

The first church functioned normally until the year 1983 when it was decided by the Church Council to build a new, brighter and larger church from the foundation. The work to complete the church lasted two years.

In 1986, Metropolitan Kallinikos of Piraeus dedicated the new glorious Church of the Panagia of the Unfading Rose, and it celebrates every year on the Friday of the Akathist Hymn.

The first floor chapel of the church was named "Archangel Michael of Simi" and celebrates on November 9. (The name change was because the Archangel Michael of Simi is particularly honored by Symian's, many of whom live in the area of ​​Piraeus).

The old chapel of Panagia of the Unfading Rose



The new parish of Panagia of the Unfading Rose



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Synaxis of Panagia Platsanis in Oia of Santorini

The newer Church of Panagia Platsani

The Church of Panagia Platsani is dedicated to the Akathist Hymn of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Originally the Church of Panagia Platsani was built on the edge of the village inside the castle, where today all visitors of the island gather daily to enjoy the amazing sunsets of Oia. With the devastating earthquake however of 9 July 1956 the church was destroyed, and because the soil there is not stable, the church was rebuilt in the village center.

Tradition says that the icon of the Virgin found in the temple was found in the sea. A fisherman was fishing at the time and saw in the middle of the sea something like a light from a vigil lamp. Going near he saw the icon of the Virgin Mary, but as he approached it would distance itself. Then he called the priests and the villagers who, with prayers and supplications, with incense and candles, went to the shore and with great devotion brought the icon to the church. The next day when he went to light the candles, the priest did not find the newly-revealed icon. After several hours of searching he found the icon on the walls of the castle from where he moved it back to the church. But again the next day the inhabitants found the icon in the same spot of the castle. They brought the icon back to church, yet the same thing happened again and again, so often that the residents decided to all contribute to build the church in the same place where the Virgin Mary had chosen. Here she could watch the sea from where she came and bless the sailboats that embarked on long journey's. The name "Platsani" comes from the words "plats, plats" which in Greek is equivalent to "splash, splash", which was the sound the icon made in the water of the beach upon its discovery.

All the sacred vessels in the church are pious tributes of residents of Oia, mostly sailors, in order to protect them in their travels. Most of them come from Orthodox Russians, who would bring to Russia the famous wine of Santorini. The temple is carved. The inscription has the year 1820 as its founding, but it is likely this is the chronology of the gold-plating, because the construction of the church is placed by experts long before. The painting of the church was done in three different stages.

The older church of Panagia Platsani



Panagia Platsani sunset



Panagia Platsani Oia Santorini by tournewsgr

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Synaxis of Panagia Akathis in Schinousa

Schinousa is part of the Small Eastern Cyclades, and is south of Naxos and north east of Irakleia. The island is hilly and has a population of 206 people. The residents of the island are mostly farmers and are divided between three main villages, Panagia or Chora, Mesaria and the harbour village of Mersini or Mersinia.

In Chora is the Church of the Panagia Akathis that received its rare name because it has a rare icon of the Virgin Mary with Christ standing in front of her. He is thus "akathist" or "standing".

The icon came to the island of Schinousa from the island of Santorini in a miraculous way. A poor woman from Santorini would hear at times from a specific point of her house knocks on the wall. She could not explain it but did not give much care about it either.

One night she had a dream. A woman appeared and told her that she was the Panagia Akathi and celebrates on the day of the Akathist Hymn (16 days before Easter). She told her to dig where she would hear the knocking in her house. The woman dug and found a hollow area within which was the icon with an oil lamp and a jug of oil.

At that time Santorini was a very poor island and its inhabitants were in hard times. Hearing about the icon the villagers went to venerate the icon and left gifts for the woman. One would leave a little oil and others some money. In this way the woman who found the icon was able to live a little better.

At one point the thought came to the woman to bring the icon to the surrounding islands, and when the people venerated the icon they would leave money on the table. So she went on the tour and came to Schinousa, and because there they received her well and became occupied with some work - the island was fertile and there was work for all - she decided to settle.

The icon had always been in the woman's home and somehow she took advantage of it. In a visit there, Metropolitan Gabriel of Thera did not like this taking advantage of the icon. So he took the necessary action required and the icon was transferred to the parish of the island that was dedicated to the Presentation of the Theotokos.

Today the church celebrates its feast on Friday of the Akathist Hymn and it is a great feast. Large feasts are also held on March 25th and August 15th.

Manlati’s Cave

There is a cave called “Maniati’s Cave” in Schinousa. According to an old legend it has taken its name after a pirate from Mani in Southern Greece, who arrived at the island and broke into the Panagia Akathi Church. While he was stealing the money of the church he turned his eyes towards the icon of Virgin Mary and he felt that she was watching him. He was so irritated that he pulled the trigger and shot the icon. Coming out of the church with the stolen money and he slipped down the hill next to the cave and died. He was collected and burnt and since then the rocks of the cave became black and they are black ever since.

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Synaxis of Panagia Theoskepasti in Andros

White and majestic is the Church of Panagia Theoskepasti* as it stands near the picturesque port of Andros. It's feast day is celebrated two weeks before Pascha on the day of the Akathist Hymn.

According to tradition, on a stormy night, the icon came from the sea towards the beach with a strange light coming from it. People on the island followed the light that led them to a small cave. Surprised, in the cave, on seaweed, they saw the icon of the Virgin Mary. They venerated it and brought it to the Chapel of St. Athanasios. The next day however the icon returned to the cave! Thus, the islanders decided to build a temple over the cave. Work on building the temple was rapid and the church was almost ready in no time. But the roof was missing because there was no wood. The Panagia helped in that.

There was a boat loaded with wood openly in danger in the sea off the island of Andros. The Captain along with the sailors prayed to the Panagia to save them from imminent danger. Enlightened, the skipper threw the timber into the sea, and so the ship was saved. The timber slowly came to shore near the cave, shipped to the builders in order to cover the church. Because the wood was unexpected and even on time, it was seen as being providential, thus the Church of the Panagia was named "Theoskepasti". It belongs to the Metropolis of Syros.

*“Theoskepasti” from the Greek words “Theos” and “skepazo” which mean “God” and “to veil” respectively. So, the name is "Veiled by God".

Official Site of Panagia Theoskepasti

The feast day of Panagia Theoskepasti in 2009


Pascha 2010 at Panagia Theoskepasti

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Holy Apostles Herodion, Agabus, Asyncritus, Rufus, Phlegon and Hermes of the 70

Sts. Herodion, Agabus, Asyncritus, Rufus, Phlegon and Hermes of the 70 Apostles (Feast Day - April 8)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

They were all numbered among the Seventy Apostles. All were mentioned by the Apostle Paul in his epistles.

Herodian was a kinsman of Paul. "Greet," writes St. Paul to the Romans, "my relative Herodian" (Romans 16:11). As the Bishop of Neo-Parthia, Herodian suffered much at the hands of the Jews. They beat him over the head with rods, they struck him on the mouth with stones and stabbed him with knives. After they left him for dead, St. Herodian arose and continued to serve the apostles. He assisted the Apostle Peter in Rome and was beheaded along with many other Christians the same day that St. Peter was crucified.

St. Agabus possessed a prophetic spirit. Two of his prophecies are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. First, he prophesied a great famine throughout the world which came true during the reign of Caesar Claudius: "And one of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world and it happened under Claudius" (Acts of the Apostles 11:28). Second, when he met with the Apostle Paul in Caesarea, who was enroute to Jerusalem, Agabus took Paul's belt and bound his own hands and feet saying: "Thus says the Holy Spirit: This is the way the Jews will bind the owner of this belt in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles" (Acts of the Apostles 21:11).

St. Rufus was a Bishop of Thebes in Greece. St. Paul also mentions him. "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord" (Romans 16:13).

St. Asyncritus was Bishop of Hyrcania in Asia and is mentioned along with the others in Romans 16:14.

St. Phlegon is also mentioned in the same epistle. "Greet ASYNCRITUS, PHLEGON, HERMES, PATROBAS and HERMAS and the brothers who are with them" (Romans 16:14). He was a bishop in the Thracian city of Marathon.

St. Hermas, mentioned with the others, was a bishop in Dalmatia.

All of them, like bees for Christ, spread the honey of the Gospel into the various regions, suffering much for the love of Christ. All were translated into the eternal kingdom of Christ the beloved.

HYMN OF PRAISE: THE HOLY APOSTLES

Holy apostles, chosen ones of God,

You ran the race and reached the goal.

The vanity of the world, they despised; to God, they reached out,

The worldly they sacrificed, the eternal, they acquired.

Their love for Christ, stronger than all other powers,

To them, it shone through the darkness of paganism.

The race is over, the battle obtained,

The army of heroes brought to Christ.

In Christ there are many victorious wreaths,

Even if you want, you could be wedded.

Apostles holy, pray to God,

That He deprive us not of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Apolytkion in the First Tone

Let us praise in hymns the six–fold choir of Apostles: Herodion and Agabus,  Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon and holy Hermes. They ever entreat the Trinity for our souls!

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

With the light of the Holy Spirit, you illumine the way of the faithful like stars, O Holy Apostles. As you gaze on God the Word you repel the darkness of error.

Kontakion in the Second Tone

You became the disciples of Christ and all-holy Apostles, O glorious Herodion, Agabus and Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon and Hermes. Ever entreat the Lord to grant forgiveness of transgressions to us who sing your praises.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Holy Apostles entreat the merciful God to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.

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