ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2017
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Преподобный Макарий Великий, Египетский Свт. Марк Евгеник, архиеп. Ефесский. Преподобный Савва Сторожевский
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Old Style
January 19
Wednesday
New Style
February 1
33rd Week after Pentecost. Tone 7.
Fast Day.
Fish, wine and oil allowed.

Совершается служба на шестьSt. Macarius the Great of Egypt (390-391). Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомSt. Mark, archbishop of Ephesus (1444). Blessed Theodore of Novgorod, fool-for-Christ (1392). St. Macarius the Roman, abbot (Novgorod) (16th c-17th c.).

Virgin-martyr Euphrasia of Nicomedia (303). St. Macarius of Alexandria (394-395). St. Anthony the Stylite, of Martqopi, Georgia (6th c.). St. Arsenius, archbishop of Corfu (8th c.). St. Macarius the Faster, of the Kiev Caves (12th c.). St. Macarius, hierodeacon of the Kiev Caves (13th c.-14th c.). Uncovering of the relics of St. Sabbas, founder of Storozhev Monastery (Zvenigorod) (1652).

New Hieromartyr Peter Skipetrov, archpriest, of Petrograd (1918).

St. Branwalader (Breward) of Cornwall and the Channel Islands (6th c.). Martyr Anthony Rawah the Qoraisite (797). Translation of the relics (950) of St. Gregory the Theologian (389). St. Meletius, confessor, of Mt. Galesion, monk (1286).

Repose of Schemanun Anatolia of Diveyevo (1949).

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

Wednesday. [I Pet. 4:1–11; Mark 12:28–37]

One lawyer asked the Lord: Which is the first commandment of all? The Lord answered: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:28, 30–31). This also serves as a supplement to the portrayal of the hidden man of the heart. Sanctifying the Lord is his spirit, and love—his soul; all the other virtues are his various members—arms, legs, eyes, ears, tongue. Remembrance of this is very needful, because it sometimes happens that, considering the doing of good to be the final virtue, people think they can get by with only this, not thinking about the Lord, and forgetting about love. Doing good without faith and a desire to please God is not holy; it is like a house that has not been blessed, or a room without icons. Without love, the doing of good is like a building filled with lifeless sculptures, succumbing to mustiness and mould. Pay attention to this, each of you; and setting out to create a new person in yourself, try to place him before the Lord, who is without any flaw.

Thursday. [I Pet. 4:12–5:5; Mark 12:38–44]

 The widow placed in the treasury (the church collection box) two mites (a half-kopeck piece, approximately); but the Lord said that she cast in more than anyone, although the others were casting in rubles and tens of rubles. What gave extra weight to her mite? It is the disposition with which the offering was made. Do you see the difference between the doing of good without soul, by habit, and the doing of good with soul and heart? It is not the external aspects of a deed which give it value, but the inner disposition. It may happen that a deed which is outstanding in every regard has no value whatsoever before God, yet a deed which is insignificant in appearance is valued greatly. What follows from this is evident in and of itself. But do not take it into your head to be careless about external things, intending to limit yourself only to inner things. That widow would not have received approval if she had said to herself, “I too have the desire to put in money—but what should I do? I only have two mites. If I give them away, I myself will be left with nothing. She had the desire and acted upon it as well, committing her life into the hands of God. Nobody would have condemned her If she had put in nothing—neither people, nor God. But then she would not have revealed such a disposition, which singled her out from the ranks of others and made her renowned throughout the entire Christian world.

Articles

Venerable Macarius the Great of Egypt

After he buried his wife, Macarius told himself, “Take heed, Macarius, and have care for your soul. It is fitting that you forsake worldly life.”

St. Mark the Archbishop of Ephesus

Saint Mark Eugenikos, Archbishop of Ephesus, was a stalwart defender of Orthodoxy at the Council of Florence.

Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod

He lived in an age when the Christian West was shaken by the Protestant Reformation. While others around him were pursuing luxury and lascivious pleasures, he studied the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers.

Virginmartyr Euphrasia of Nicomedia

The Holy Virgin Martyr Euphrasia was born at Nicomedia into an illustrious family. She was a Christian, and was noted for her beauty.

Venerable Macarius of Alexandria

Saint Macarius of Alexandria was a contemporary and friend of Saint Macarius of Egypt (January 19). He was born in the year 295, and until the age of forty he was occupied in trade. Later, he was baptized and withdrew into the desert, where he spent more than sixty years.

St. Anthony the Founder of Monasticism in Georgia

Our holy father Anton of Martqopi arrived in Georgia in the 6th century with the rest of the Thirteen Syrian Fathers and settled in Kakheti to preach the Gospel of Christ.

St. Arsenius the Archbishop of Kerkyra (Corfu)

Because of his great virtue, Saint Arsenius was consecrated as Archbishop of Kerkyra. He became a defender of widows, a father to orphans, and a comfort for the sorrowful, and so God rewarded him with the gift of miracles.

Venerable Macarius the Faster, of the Kiev Near Caves

Saint Macarius the Faster of the Near Caves of Kiev was a deacon.

Venerable Macarius the Deacon of the Kiev Caves

Saint Macarius lived during the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, and was distinguished by his lack of covetousness.
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