Saints Demetrios, Evanthia and Demetrian as Models for our Lives

Sts Demetrios, Evanthia and Demetrian (Feast Day - September 11)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saints Demetrios and Evanthia were husband and wife and Demetrian was their son. Their life is recorded in a concise way in the Synaxarion of Saint Cornelius the Centurion, because it is connected with two miracles that were performed in this family through Saint Cornelius. The first miracle is the resurrection of Evanthia and Demetrian, and the second and greatest miracle is the complete change of Demetrios.

Demetrios was a philosopher and ruler in the city of Skipsi in Asia Minor, but also a fanatical idolater, who furiously persecuted all those who believed in Christ. His wife and son became Christians without him knowing it.

Synaxis of the Panagia the Dakryroousa (Tear-flowing) in Kefallonia

Our Church honors the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos the Dakryroousa (Tear-flowing) on January 31st. The icon of the Panagia the Dakryroousa, also known as Koroniotissa, is kept in the Panagia Koroniotissa Monastery of Lixouri on the island of Kefallonia. On this day the Panagia saved the monastery from the mighty earthquake of 1867.

In January 1867 a deadly earthquake leveled much of Paliki and caused severe damage in Kefallonia.

The official report registers 2642 destroyed houses throughout Kefallonia, 2946 houses with damage and 244 dead. The total damage was estimated at 15 million drachmas, and no neighboring island was damaged.

Homily on the Conception and Birth of Saint John the Baptist (Leontios of Constantinople)

Homily 1

 

On the Conception and Birth of Saint John 

the Prophet and Forerunner

By Leontios, Presbyter of Constantinople

(Delivered in 557 A.D. in either September or December, 

the day after an earthquake.)

 

1. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people" (Lk. 1:68); for today too "dawn has visited us from on high" (Lk. 1:78). We were sleeping in idleness, and he awakened us with his love of human beings; he made the houses shake, in order that he might make us firm by healing our wounds; he whipped what has no soul, in order to chasten what has a soul; he threw the earth into disorder, in order that those in command might be convinced. He shook, he did not destroy; he visited, he did not reveal. "For the one whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and he whips each son whom he accepts" (Prov. 3:12; Heb. 12:6). It was an earthquake that freed Peter from prison; it was an earthquake that freed Paul from fetters; it was an earthquake that Elijah "was lifted up, as it were into heaven" (4 Kings 2:11); it was an earthquake that anticipated the Master's resurrection. Why an earthquake? Where there is a movement of the divinity, there is also an uproar of the elements. Have mercy on your neighbor, and an earthquake will not harm you. Abstain from evil and God will not become angry. You, too, must say diligently in prayer the words of David: "Lord, in your anger do not rebuke me, in your wrath do not chasten me" (Ps. 6:2). Do not overwhelm me as you did the giants, nor have me burnt like the Sodomites, but pity me as you did the Ninevites.

Synaxarion of the Holy Confessor Kointos the Wonderworker

St. Kointos the Martyr (Feast Day - March 2 and July 2)

Verses

For March 2 
(where he is called a Confessor).

You carry the name of deeds,
Wondrous ones O all-blessed Kointos.

For July 2 
(where he is called a Martyr).

With broken legs Kointos was made strong again,
Still he was crowned and met a common death.

This Saint was born in Phrygia, where he was also taught piety, during the reign of Emperor Aurelian in the year 272. Having gone to a village called Aeolia, he distributed alms to the poor and healed those suffering from unclean spirits. The governor Rufus arrested the Saint, and ordered him to sacrifice to the idols, but this caused him to become demon possessed. Therefore the Saint supplicated God, and liberated the governor from the demon. For this reason not only was he set free, but he also received gifts from the governor as a payment for the grace.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake That Took Place in the Year 867 A.D.

The Great Earthquake of 867 (Commemorated on January 9th)

On this day, January 9th, we commemorate the great earthquake which occurred in Constantinople in the year 867 during the reign of Emperor Basil, when the great shrine of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Sigma (Portico) and many other churches and private houses collapsed.

In the early tenth century Life of Ignatios, Niketas David Paphlago wrote of this earthquake:

"On the 9th of January, a most powerful earthquake occurred, and many churches, gates and most of the houses collapsed, and there was such a carnage of men and beasts that no words can express it. And the great house of the Wisdom of God was split into several parts and would have been ruined had not certain leading men taken care of it. This was before the October synod."

Commemoration of the Fearful Threat of the Earthquake of December 6, 1090

On the sixth of December we commemorate the conferring of philanthropy to us with the fearful threat of the earthquake.

Verses

Although a divine glance from above full of rage,
Makes the earth shake, favorable ones are quickly seen.

On December 6 in the year 1090, a strong earthquake in Constantinople damaged many houses and churches and caused colonnades to collapse. The city streets were choked with debris and many people were killed. Aftershocks followed for six days.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake at Constantinople on August 16, 542

On this day (August 16) we commemorate our compassionate assailing in the days of old, of the fearsome threat of an earthquake, from which the All-Compassionate God, in whom is all our hope, redeemed us.

Verses

Do thou cease the fear in our thoughts,
Regarding O Master the shaking, of the foundations of the earth.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake at Constantinople on January 9, 869

On this day an earthquake caused some damage in the region of Constantinople, killing a number of people. The shock caused repairable damage to the west part of the dome of the Church of Hagia Sophia, and the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been affected by the earthquake of 861, was once again damaged. The Church of the Archangel Michael and the Church of the Theotokos at the Sigma collapsed during the Divine Liturgy, killing all within, with the exception of a few people. The globes of the zodiac near the Forum fell and parts of the walls near the palace were damaged.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake of Constantinople on December 14, 557

Great Earthquake of 557 (Commemorated on December 14)

In commemoration of the sustained philanthropy towards us with the terrible threat of the earthquake, from which despite all hope the philanthropic Lord redeemed us.

Verses

You shook then caused to stand still again the earth O Word,
Your wrath being full of compassion.

The earthquake of December 14th in the year 557 was a terrible earthquake that lasted ten days. The chronicler Theophanes says that both of the walls of Constantinople suffered major damage, many churches fell together with the altars and their canopies, and whole areas were razed, which is why he writes: "There was not a place or suburb that did not fall from the terrible threat of the earthquake." The earthquake was so great and terrible "that no man of that generation on earth would forget it." Emperor Justinian I "did not put on his crown for forty days, and for the holy Nativity of Christ he entered the church without it." Kedrinos says that he also entered during the celebration of Theophany without a crown. It seems this was a major disaster and there were many casualties.

Commemoration of the Dreadful Earthquake at the Sinai Monastery on May 1, 1212

Monastery of Saint Katherine, Sinai

On May 1, 1212 a damaging earthquake took place in south Palestine that also affected Egypt, where it was strongly felt in Cairo and Fustat and destroyed a number of houses. At al-Shaubak and al-Karak near the Dead Sea, towers and houses were destroyed, killing a number of women and children.

In the Sinai Peninsula, the shock caused severe damage to the Monastery of Saint Katherine, destroying a major part of its fortifications and damaging the church. The northern wall of the monastery, with its northwest and northeast corners, collapsed. Of the cells, some were destroyed completely and others lost their roofs, apparently without loss of life. This was possibly due to the fact that the earthquake, which struck at dawn, was preceded by a foreshock at sunset the previous evening (Monday 30 April), which might have served as a warning. The shock triggered rockfalls from the mountains behind the monastery, and was followed by aftershocks that continued for a year.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake at Constantinople in 740

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake in 740 (Feast Day - October 26)

Verses

You shook but balanced again the earth O Word,

For of your wrath pity is greater.

In the twenty fourth year of the reign of Leo the Isaurian, in the year 740, at the ninth indiction, on the twenty-sixth of October, there was such a great and terrible earthquake in Constantinople, so that the upper stories and the more splendid of the other buildings collapsed, and many people were crushed under the ruins and died. And so on the day of the Great Martyr Demetrios we commemorate that terrible threat of the earthquake, going in procession to the Church in Blachernae of our all-pure, holy and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, where we celebrate the divine and sacred Liturgy. At the prayers of the Theotokos may we be delivered from every threat and attain eternal good things, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might to the ages of ages. Amen.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake of 447 and the Snatching Up of the Child in the Air

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake and the
Snatching Up of the Child in the Air
(Feast Day - September 25)

Verses

Lifted on high a boy proclaims below,

The song thrice-holy that the Angels sing.

During the reign of Emperor Theodosius II the Younger (408-450), the all-good God allowed by the judgement He knows, to give full assurance to mankind, first, of the common resurrection of all in the last days,* and second, how we ought to sing praises correctly to God. For this reason He allowed a terrible earthquake, and out of fear of this earthquake all the people of Constantinople, together with the emperor and the most holy Patriarch Proclus, as well as all the clergy, were found together outside in the field and they did litanies.** And since at that time there began the heresy of the Theopaschites at the instigation of the devil, who added to the Trisagion Hymn the words, "Who was crucified for us":*** for this reason suddenly a child was snatched up before them into the air.**** While everyone beheld this strange thing, with fear and terror they cried out for a long time, "Lord have mercy," and then once again the child was brought down by a cloud, and in a loud voice he revealed to all that the choir of Angels ascribe the Trisagion Hymn to God without the additional "Who was crucified for us," instead saying, "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us." And the child, immediately after saying these things, delivered his soul into the hands of God, and the earthquake immediately ceased.*****

St. Haralambos and the Earthquake That Struck Pyrgos, Elis in 1996

By Angeliki Gialypsos

I don't know if the last miracle of Saint Haralambos in Pyrgos, Elis has become known, which took place during the powerful earthquake of 1996.

At the time of the earthquake, noontime, children were playing in the courtyard of the Church of Saint Haralambos. One of the children saw a priest with a long beard making two movements with his hands, as if cutting something in the air.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake of Constantinople (mid-5th cent.)

Great Earthquake of Constantinople (Feast Day - January 26)

Verses

You shook but again halted the earth O Word,

Your compassion being greater than Your wrath.

During the final years of the reign of Emperor Theodosius II (408-450), on a Sunday, at the second hour, there occurred such a great earthquake in Constantinople, that it destroyed the city walls, together with many homes and neighborhoods of the city. Extensive damage was especially suffered from the port of Troas to the copper Tetrapylon.

Chrysostom on Earthquakes

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Following a terrible earthquake in Antioch, St. John Chrysostom spoke to the people:

"Great are the fruits of an earthquake. Behold the man-loving Lord Who quakes the city and strengthens the soul, Who sways the foundation and strengthens the thoughts, Who shows the weakness of the city and makes the will of the people powerful! Turn your attention to His love for mankind: He sways for a while, and strengthens forever; He quakes for two days, but the devotion should remain for all times; you were sorrowful for a short time, but strengthened forever. A mother, wanting to wean her child from of the habit of frequent crying, strongly rocks its little crib not in order to harm it, but to frighten it. Precisely, thus the Lord of all, Who holds the universe in His hands shakes it, not in order to destroy it, but rather to bring back those men to salvation who live lawlessly."

Behold this is how the Holy Fathers, the pillars of the Universal Church, knew how to explain God's love for man, both assaults in the same way as good works, and misfortune the same way as fortune. Let us who are slow to give thanks to God be ashamed when He gives and quick in our murmuring toward him when He takes away.