Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious, and All-Praised Twelve Apostles: Peter, Andrew, James and John the sons of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Jude the brother of James, Simon the Zealot, and Matthias.
St. Peter, prince of the Tatar Horde, wonderworker of Rostov (1290). Glorification of St. Sophronius, bishop of Irkutsk (1918). St. Andrew, prince of Bogoliubovo (1174). St. Stephen of Omsk (1877).
New Hieromartyrs Nicandor (Prusak), hieromonk of Tolga Monastery (Yaroslavl) (1918) and Theogenes (Kozyrev), archimandrite, of Chimkent (Kazakhstan) (1939).
Icon of the Mother of God of Balikin (1711).
Martyr Basilides the Soldier, at Alexandria (202). St. Martial, bishop of Limoges (3rd c.). St. Erentrude, abbess of Nonnberg Monastery, Salzburg (ca. 718). St. Dinara, queen of Khereti, Georgia (10th c.). St. Gelasius of Rimet (Transylvania) (14th c.). New Martyr Michael Paknanas the Gardener, of Athens (1770). New Hieromartyr Milan Popovic, priest, of Rmanj (1940s). New Martyr Alexander (Schmorell) of Munich (1943). Martyr Peter of Sinope.
Repose of Bishop Nestor (Zass) of the Aleutians and Alaska (1882).
Saturday. [Rom. 6:11-17; Matt. 8:14-23]
To one of those who wanted to follow
the Lord, He said: The Son of man hath not where to lay
his head, and to another who wanted first to bury his
father, He said to leave the dead; others will bury him,
but you follow Me. This means that he who wants to follow
the Lord should not expect any comfort on the earth after
following Him, but only deprivations, needs and sorrows;
and it means that worldly cares, even the most legitimate,
are not compatible with following Him. It is necessary to
decisively renounce everything, so that nothing attaches
you to the earth, and then to condemn yourself to many
sufferings or your cross. Having thus prepared yourself,
follow the Lord. This is the direct will of the Lord! But
who is this commandment for—only the Apostles, or
for all Christians? Let each figure it out himself. Deny
yourself and take up the cross. Was this said to everyone?
Love the Lord more than father and mother, brothers and
sisters, wife and children—is this said to everyone?
The conclusion is clear. What should we do? One time the
Apostles posed the same question to the Lord, and He
answered them, The things which are impossible with men
are possible with God (Luke 18:27).