ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2018
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Дорофея мц. Святитель Вукол Смирнский Фотий Константинопольский
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Old Style
February 6 		Monday
New Style
February 19
1st Week of Great Lent. Tone 4.
Great Lent.
Monastic rule: total abstinence from food.

Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомSt. Bucolus, bishop of Smyrna (ca. 100).

Virgin-martyr Dorothea, and with her Martyrs Christina and Callista, sisters, and Theophilus, at Caesarea in Cappadocia (288-300). Virgin-martyr Fausta, and with her Martyrs Evilasius and Maximus, at Cyzicus (305-311). Martyr Julian of Emesa (312). Sts. Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet, monks of Gaza (6th c.). St. Photius, patriarch of Constantinople (891). Virgin-martyrs Martha and Mary and their brother Lycarion at Tanis (Hermopolis) in Egypt. St. Dorothea, schemanun, of Kashin (1629).

New Hieromartyr Dimitry Rozhdestvensky, archpriest, of Verny, and his son New Martyr Anatole (1922). New Hieromartyr Basil Nadezhnin, priest, of Moscow (1930).

St. James, ascetic, of Syria (ca. 460). St. Mael, bishop of Ardagh (488), disciple of St. Patrick. St. Vedast, bishop of Arras (540). St. John of Thebes, monk of Palestine (6th c.) St. Amand, apostle of Maastricht (675). St. Arsenius of Iqalto, Georgia (1127).

Repose of Archbishop Theophan (Bystrov) of Poltava (1940).

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

Monday (1st Week of Lent).

“Lent has come, O mother of chastity.” What was the time before this day? A time of fornication.[1] The soul fornicated with all that struck its eye as pleasant—both with people and with things: more fully, with sinful passions. Everyone has his passion which he pleases in all he does. It is time to put an end to this. May each of you comprehend your Delilah, who binds you and hands you over to evil enemies, and abandon her. Then you will be given more than Samson: not only shall your hair grow, but so also shall good thoughts; and not only shall your strength return, but so also your strength of will. Your eyes shall also open, your mind shall have sight and it shall see the Lord, yourself, and everything around you in the proper light. This is the favourable time! This is the day of salvation!

[1] “A time of fornication.” Fornication here has a double meaning in Russian, both of fornication and roaming.

Articles

St. Bucolus the Bishop of Smyrna

Saint Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, and became the first Bishop of Smyrna (Asia Minor).

Virginmartyr Dorothy at Caesarea, in Cappadocia

The Holy Martyr Dorothy, the Martyrs Christina, Callista and the Martyr Theophilus lived in Caesarea of Cappadocia and suffered under the emperor Diocletian in either the year 288 or 300.

Martyrs Christina and Callista, sisters, at Caesarea in Cappadocia

Saints Christina and Callista were sisters who once were Christians, but fearing torture, they renounced Christ and began to lead impious lives.

Martyr Theophilus at Caesarea, in Cappadocia

As Saint Dorothy was being led to execution, Theophilus, one of the governor’s counselors, laughed and said to her, “Bride of Christ, send me an apple and some roses from the Paradise of your Bridegroom.” The martyr nodded and said, “I shall do that.”

Virginmarty Fausta at Cyzicus

The girl bravely confessed her faith and was subjected to many cruel tortures.

Martyr Evilasius at Cyzicus

Saint Evilasius was an eighty-year-old pagan priest who was ordered to turn Saint Fausta away from Christ.

Martyr Maximus at Cyzicus

The eparch Maximus was sent to investigate the case of Saints Fausta and Evilasius for the emperor, and he began to torture the old man who had come to believe in Christ.

Martyr Julian of Emesa

He was a skilled physician, and healed illnesses not only of the body but also of the soul, and he converted many people to faith in Christ the Savior.

Venerable Barsanuphius the Great

Saints Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet lived during the sixth century during the reign of the emperor Justinian I (483-565). They lived in asceticism at the monastery of Abba Seridus in Palestine, near the city of Gaza.

Venerable John the Prophet

Saint John, a disciple of Saint Barsanuphius, lived in a cell outside the monastery of Abba Seridus for eighteen years until his death.

St. Photius the Patriarch of Constantinople

Saint Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, “the Church’s far-gleaming beacon,” lived during the ninth century, and came from a family of zealous Christians.

Virgin-martyrs Martha and Mary and their brother Lycarion at Tanis (Hermopolis) in Egypt

They were arrested together with their brother Lykarion. All three were crucified, and during the execution their mother came to them, encouraging them in their sufferings for Christ.

St. Dorothy of Kashin

Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose)

Thus it was that, having lost her husband and her earthly happiness in the midst of the terrible misfortunes of the Russian land, St. Dorothy, already a woman of mature years, resolved to abandon the world and seek, in prayers and struggles, not a temporary happiness which is so often darkened by various evils, but rather a heavenly and eternal blessedness.

St. Arsenius of Iqalto in Georgia

Saint Arsen of Iqalto was a translator, researcher, compiler of manuscripts, hymnographer, philosopher, and a great defender of the Georgian Christian Faith.
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