St. Nicetas the Confessor, bishop of Chalcedon, with his kinsmen Sts. Nicetas and Ignatius (9th c.) St. Ignatius, bishop and wonderworker of Rostov (1288). St. Helen (Manturova), nun of Diveyevo (1832).
Hieromartyr Eutychius, bishop of Melitene (1st c.). Martyr Heliconis of Thessalonica (244). St. Germanus, bishop of Paris (576). Hieromartyr Helladius, bishop (6th c.-7th c.). St. Gerontius, metropolitan of Moscow (1489). Blessed Domnica (Likvinenko), ascetic, of Kherson (1967).
New Hieromartyrs Macarius (Morzhov), hieromonk of Zosima Hermitage (Smolensk), and Dionysius (Petushkov), hieroschemamonk of the St. Nilus of Stolobny Hermitage (Tver) (1931). New Confessor Heraclius (Motyakh), schemamonk, of Turkistan (1936). New Hiero-confessor Rodion (Fyodorov), archimandrite, of the Holy Trinity–St. Sergius Lavra (1933).
Martyrs Crescens, Paul, and Dioscorides, of Rome (326). St. Alexander, bishop of Thessalonica (4th c.). St. William, monastic founder, of Gellone (Gaul) (812). St. Sophronius, monk, of Bulgaria (1510). New Martyr Mitros (Demetrius) of Tripolitsa (1794). Blessed Andrew, fool-for-Christ, of Constantinople (911) New Hieromartyr Zachariah, priest of Prusa (1802).
Wednesday. [Rom. 1:18–27; Matt. 5:20–26]
Except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no
case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt.
5:20). Characteristic of the scribes is knowledge of the
law without concern for life according to the law.
Characteristic of the Pharisees is correctness of outward
behaviour without particular concern for correctness of
thoughts and feelings in the heart. Both attitudes are
condemned to remain outside of the heavenly kingdom. Let
everyone receive from this the lesson he needs. If you
want to learn the Gospel law, do so—but in a way
that enables you to establish your life according to this
knowledge. Try to be correct in your behaviour, but keep
your inner feelings and dispositions correct at the same
time. If you have gained some knowledge, do not stop
there, but go further and understand the demands such
knowledge makes of you—then act appropriately. Let
your behaviour show that your feelings and dispositions
are not the result of externals, but such that your
external behaviour proceeds from your feelings and
dispositions, and actually expresss them. If you gear
yourself this way, you will be higher than the Scribes and
Pharisees, and the doors of the kingdom will not be closed
to you.