October 19, 2016. + Orthodox Calendar

Orthodox Calendar 2016

Old Style

October 19

Tuesday

New Style

November 1

20th Week after Pentecost. Tone 2.

Fast-free period.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt (1908). Prophet Joel (800 b.c.). Martyrs Warus and seven others with him, in Egypt (ca. 307). First translation of the relics of St. John, founder of Rila Monastery in Bulgaria (1187).

Blessed Cleopatra (327) and her son John (320), in Egypt. Hieromartyr Sadoc (Sadoth), bishop of Persia, and 128 martyrs with him (342). St. Anthony (Abashidze), schema-archbishop, of the Kiev Caves Lavra (1942).

New Hieromartyr Alexis Stavrovsky, priest, of Petrograd (1918).

St. Leontius the Philosopher, of St. Sabbas Monastery (624). St. Frideswide of Oxford, abbess (ca. 735). St. Prochorus, abbot, in the Vranski Desert on the river Pchinja in Bulgaria (10th c.). New Monk-martyr Nicholas Dvali of Jerusalem (1314). St. Gabriel, archimandrite, of St. Elias Skete, Mt. Athos (1901).

Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse

Tuesday. [Col. 2:20-3:3; Luke 9:23-27]

Do not be ashamed to confess the Lord Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God who redeemed us through His death on the cross, who through His resurrection and ascension opened for us the entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. If you shall be ashamed, then He shall be ashamed of you, When he shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy Angels. Now in society there is a trend to not talk at all about the Lord and about salvation, whereas in the beginning these dear subjects were all that people talked about. One’s talk more readily flows from the place where the heart abides. Can it really be that people’s hearts abide less with the Lord? Judging from the talk, this must be the case. Some do not know Him at all, others are cold towards Him. Fearing encounters with such people, even those who are warm towards the Lord do not direct the conversation towards Him, and the priesthood is silent. Now, talk about the Lord and Saviour and about our main concern—salvation—is excluded from the circle of talk acceptable in society. What, you say, are we really supposed to talk only about that? Why only about that? One can talk about anything, but in a way that is shaded by the spirit of Christ. Then it would be possible to guess whether the speaker is Christian or pagan. Now, however, it is impossible to guess what they are, neither by their talk, nor by their writings. Look through all the periodicals—what don’t they write there? But nobody wants to make Christian conversation. What a complicated time!

Articles

My Life in Christ

St. John of Kronstadt

"In this warfare I have come to know the immensity of God's long-suffering to us; for He alone knows all the infirmity of our fallen nature, which He mercifully took upon Himself, except for sin (I Peter2:22; Isaiah 53:9; I John 3:5; 4:10; Hebrews 4:15), and therefore He commanded us 'seventy times seven' times to forgive the sins (St. Matt. 18:22) of those who have fallen into them; and He has surrounded and continued to surround me everyday with the joys of salvation from sin in peace and expansion of the heart. The Divine mercy which I have experienced and the perpetual nearness to me of the Lord confirm me in the hope of my eternal salvation and in that of those who follow and hear me to salvation, according to the word of the Scriptures, 'Behold I and the children which God hath given me'"

The Life of the Pastor of Kronstadt

Bishop Nikon

I lowered my eyes, while he continued to look at me, looking straight into my soul. He began to talk. I cannot even hope to reproduce all that he said. He spoke about my hut being like paradise, because wherever there are children, all is light and warmth there, and that I should not trade this paradise for the smoky atmosphere of a bar. He did not accuse me, – no, he kept excusing me, only I did not feel like being excused… He left, while I just continued sitting there quietly… I didn’t cry, although my soul was on the brink of tears. My wife kept looking at me… And ever since that time I became a decent man again…”

John of Kronstadt: Saint of Communion, Saint of Confession

Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)

It is very clear that when St. John in his Epistle and our Savior in the Gospel speak about love they do not just mean something sentimental, something emotional, they mean something far more profound. The kind of love that they envisage, a universal all-embracing love, a love without limits, can only be a result of prayer, of ascetic effort.

God the Father is All-Good. St. John of Kronstadt

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

"God, Father of the Word, is also our benevolent and loving Father. When saying 'The Lord's Prayer,' we must believe and remember that the Father in heaven never forgets and will never forget us, for what earthly father forgets or does not care for his children? Remember that our Heavenly Father constantly surrounds us with love and care, and not in vain is He called our Father—this is not a name without meaning and force, but a name with great significance and power."

Miraculous Help from St. John of Kronstadt Today

Olga Rozhneva

My heart froze. I asked her myself how my son is. The doctor answered, “Mama, there must have been some mistake with your son. It can’t be explained any other way.

“I still marvel at the power of his prayer.” St. John of Kronstadt

Father John Sergiev breathed fresh life into Russian spirituality, making it predominantly Eucharistic. With eldership on the wane, this age-old Russian form of religious piety prophetically bequeathed by Father John of Kronstadt determined the existence of the Russian Orthodox Church for many years to come.

St. John of Kronstadt Through the Eyes of New Martyr Alexander Hotovitzky

New Martyr Alexander Hotovitzky

In 1903, Fr. Alexander traveled to Russia and visited Fr. John Sergiev, the future saint, in Kronstadt. When he returned to New York, he gave an interview to a reporter from the Wilkes-Barre Times, and spoke about the famous wonder-worker of Kronstadt. The article was printed in that periodical on April 7, 1904.

Translation of the relics of the Venerable John of Rila from Trnovo to Rila

On October 19, 1238 the relics of St John of Rila were solemnly transferred to the new capital, Trnovo, and put in a church dedicated to the saint.

Repose of the Venerable John the Abbot of Rila

Saint John of Rila, the great spiritual ascetic of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Heavenly Protector of the Bulgarian nation, was born in the year 876 in the village of Skrino in the Sredets district [now Sofia].

Venerable Frideswide, Patroness of Oxford

Dmitry Lapa

For over 1000 years St. Frideswide has been venerated as the patron saint of Oxford in England and for over half of millennium, as the heavenly patroness of Oxford University and its students.

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