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Thursday |
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August 11
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| 8th Week after Pentecost. Tone 6. |  Fast-free period.
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Martyr Callinicus of Gangra, in Asia Minor (ca. 250).
Virgin-martyr Seraphima (Serapia) of Antioch (117-138). Martyr Theodota and her three sons, in Bithynia (ca. 304). Martyr Eustathius of Mtskheta, Georgia (589) (Груз.). Sts. Constantine and Cosmas, abbots, of Kosina (Stara Rus) (13th c.). St. Romanus, founder of Kirzhach Monastery, disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1392). Martyr Daniel Kushnir of Mlievich (Ukraine) (1766).
New Hieromartyrs Seraphim (Bogoslovsky) and Theognostus (Pivovarov), hieromonks of a skete at Kyzyl-Zharskoe (Kazakhstan) (1921). New Hieromartyr Anatole (Smirnov), hieromonk and hermit of the Caucasus Mountains, Abkhazia (1930-1935). New Hieromartyr Pachomius (Rusin), hieromonk, of Alma Ata (Kazakhstan) (1938).
Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, archbishop of Myra in Lycia (3rd. c.). St. Theodosius the Younger, emperor (450). St. Lupus the Confessor, bishop of Troyes (Gaul) (479). St. Constantine I, patriarch of Constantinople (676). St. Olaf, king of Norway (1030). Hieromartyr Bessarion of Smolyan, Bulgaria (1670).
Repose of Archpriest Georges Florovsky (1979).
Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse
Thursday. [I Cor. 10:28-11:7; Matt. 16:24-28]
The Lord demands decisive self-denial of those who want to follow Him: Let him deny himself, He says. It could be expressed like this: Cast aside your interests and pursue only the interests of the Lord. You will be fulfilling this when you always do what is pleasing to Him. How can one do this? Mind carefully what is in you, and what around you on the outside, and discern strictly in one or another situation, be it internal or external, how to act in the way that is most pleasing to God—then, not pitying yourself and not inserting your own calculations, act accordingly, with complete self-denial. You say, “It is hard to determine this.” No, it is not hard. We have been given clear and fixed commandments— they express what we can do to be pleasing to the Lord. All that remains is to apply them to the given situation, and this does not present any great problem. Having common sense is enough. If you cannot figure something out, ask your spiritual father or someone else whose words you respect, and act according to his directions. But it is always better to sharpen your discernment through reading the word of God and writings of the fathers, so that you will always have a decision-maker with you.