Martyr Aquilina of Byblos in Lebanon (293). St. Alexandra, foundress of Diveyevo Convent (1789). St. Triphyllius, bishop of Leucosia (Nicosia) on Cyprus (ca. 370).
Martyr Antonina of Nicaea (ca. 284-305). St. Anna of Larissa in Thessaly (826) and her son John (9th c.). St. Andronicus, disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1395), and St. Sabbas (15th c.) abbots, of Moscow.
Synaxis of New Martyrs and Confessors of Zaporozhie (Ukraine).
St. Antipater, bishop of Bostra in Arabia (458). New Hieromartyr Anthimus the Georgian, metropolitan of Wallachia (1716). Martyr Diodorus of Emesus (Gr. Cal). Repose of Archimandrite Dimitry (Egorov) of Santa Rosa, California (1992).
Friday. [Rom. 11:25-36; Matt. 12:1-8]
If ye had known what this meaneth, I
will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have
condemned the guiltless. Thus, in order to be saved
from the sin of condemnation, we must obtain a merciful
heart. A merciful heart not only does not condemn a
seeming infringement of the law, but neither will it
condemn an obvious one. Instead of judgment it feels pity,
and would sooner weep than reproach. Truly the sin of
condemnation is the fruit of an unmerciful, malicious
heart that takes delight in debasing its neighbor, in
blackening its neighbor’s name, in trampling his
honor underfoot. This is a murderous affair, and is done
in the spirit of the one who is a murderer from the
beginning [John 8:44]. Here there occurs much slander as
well, which comes from the same source—for that is
what the devil is, a slanderer, spreading slanderousness
everywhere. Hurry to arouse pity in yourself every time
the evil urge to condemn comes over you. Then turn in
prayer to the Lord with a compassionate heart, that He
might have mercy upon all of us, not only upon the one
whom we wanted to condemn, but upon us as
well—perhaps even more so upon us—and the evil
urge will die.