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July 26
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Saturday |
New Style
August 8
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| 10th Week after Pentecost. Tone 8. |  Fast-free period.
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Hieromartyrs Hermolaus, Hermippus, and Hermocrates, at Nicomedia (ca. 305).
Nun-martyr Parasceva of Rome (138-161). St. Moses the Hungarian, of the Kiev Caves (ca. 1043). St. Theodosius of the Caucasus (1948). St. Isaac, hieromonk of Svyatogorsk Monastery (1903).
Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of Emvolon” in Constantinople.
Martyr Oriozela of Reuma, near the Bosphorus (ca. 250). Virgin-martyr Jerusalem, near the Bosphorus (3rd c.). St. Gerontius, founder of St. Anne’s Skete, Mt. Athos (13th c.). St. Sava III, archbishop of Serbia (1316). St. Ioannicius the New, schemamonk of Muscel (Romania) (1638). St. Iakov Netsvetov of Atka Island and Ikogmute, missionary priest to the Yup’ik on the Yukon River (1867). St. Ignatius, monk, of Mt. Steirion (Gr. Cal).
Repose of Elder Theophanes of Solovki (1819) and Archimandrite Nathaniel (Pospelov) of Pskov Caves Monastery (2002).
Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse
Saturday. [Rom. 15:30-33; Matt. 17:24-18:4]
The Lord paid the required church tribute and [kept] all other practices, both church and civic. He fulfilled this and taught the apostles to do the same, and the apostles in turn passed this same law on to all Christians. Only the spirit of life was made new; externally all remained as it had been, except what was clearly against the will of God—like, for instance, participating in idolatry, etc. Then Christianity gained the upper hand, displaced all former practices, and established its own. One could expect that it would thus be easier for the spirit of Christianity to develop and strengthen. So it was, but not for everyone. A large percent mastered external Christian practices but stopped there, not concerning themselves with the spirit of life. It is the same today. Out of the entire sum of Christians, who proves to be a Christian in spirit? What are the others? “They bear the name as if they are alive, but behold—they are dead.” When the apostles preached the Gospels, their word drew God’s portion out from the midst of the pagan world. Now through the same word the Lord chooses His portion from amidst the Christian world. “Whoso readeth, let him understand,” and let him take care to find out for certain whether he is in the portion of the Lord; and if he cannot be certain of this, let him take care to belong to the Lord, for in this alone lies salvation.