ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2020
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Прп. Амвросий Оптинский
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Old Style
October 10 		Friday
New Style
October 23
20th Week after Pentecost. Tone 2.
Fast Day.
Wine and oil allowed.

Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомMartyrs Eulampius and Eulampia and 200 martyrs with them, at Nicomedia (303-311). Совершается служба с полиелеемSt. Ambrose, elder, of Optina Monastery (1891). St. Innocent, bishop of Penza (1819).

Martyr Theotecnus of Antioch (3rd-4th c.). St. Bassian of Constantinople (ca. 458). St. Theophilus the Confessor, of Bulgaria (716). Blessed Andrew of Totma (Vologda), fool-for-Christ (1673). New Hieromartyr Theodore (Pozdeyevsky), archbishop of Volokolamsk (1937). Synaxis of the Saints of Volhynia: Sts. Stephen (1094) and Amphilochius (1122), bishops of Vladimir in Volhynia; St. Yaropolk-Peter, prince of Vladimir in Volhynia (1086); St. Theodore (in monasticism Theodosius) of the Kiev Caves, prince of Ostrog in Volhynia (1483); St. Juliana, princess of Olshansk (ca. 1540); St. Job, abbot and wonderworker of Pochaev (1651); and Hieromartyr Macarius of Kanev, archimandrite, of Obruch and Pinsk (1678).

Zographou Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of the Akathist.”

St. Pinytus, bishop of Knossos on Crete (2nd c.). Martyrs of the Theban Legion, along the Rhine: Sts. Cassius and Florentius, at Bonn; Sts. Gereon and companions, at Cologne; and Sts. Victor and companions, at Xanten (Germany) (ca. 287). St. Paulinus, archbishop of York (644). Martyrdom of the 26 Martyrs of Zographou Monastery on Mt. Athos by the Latins: Abbot Thomas, Monks Barsanuphius, Cyril, Micah, Simon, Hilarion, Job, James, Cyprian, Sabbas, James, Martinian, Cosmas, Sergius, Paul, Menas, Ioasaph, Ioannicius, Anthony, Euthymius, Dometian, and Parthenius, and four laymen (1284).

Repose of Schemamonk Theodore, desert-dweller of Valaam (1834).

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

Friday. [Phil. 3:8-19; Luke 7:31-35]

   Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? That is, unbelievers. If the Lord poses this question as if in perplexity, is it not even more proper for us to be perplexed by acts of unbelief? One might ask: how can people go against something that is obvious in every respect? And yet they do. The fact that Satan resists is not surprising—such is his name: the enemy of truth and goodness. He clearly sees that God exists, that God will judge him and condemn him, that death for him is already prepared, but is nevertheless defiant, and not for the sake of anything but evil, and consequently, for greater ruin to himself. Are not unbelievers being controlled by this spirit of fighting against God? At least according to the understanding we have about the soul and its operations, unbelief, given the obviousness of the foundations of faith, is as inexplicable as a sinner’s slavery to sin after he has clearly seen that sin is destroying him. And here is another contradiction! Only unbelievers and lovers of the passions deny the existence of Satan and unclean spirits. Those who should have stood up for them most of all totally renounce them. Does not this teaching come from them? Those who are of the darkness love the darkness, they teach people to say that they do not exist, and that moral life takes shape by itself, without their snares and deceit.

Articles

Martyrs Eulampius and Eulampia and 200 martyrs with them, at Nicomedia

Saints Eulampius and Eulampia were brother and sister.

The Prayer Rule of St. Ambrose of Optina To Be Read in Times of Temptation

St. Ambrose, elder of Optina offered to those who came to him with various sorrows and trials a special, brief prayer rule that is possible for any Christian to read. The elder knew from his own experience the effectiveness of these prayers, how they strengthen one's enfeebled spirit, and how they scatter the enemy's attacks if read with faith and hope in God's almighty help. This prayer rule, comprised of the Psalms of David, we offer here together with extracts from the letters of St. Ambrose.

The Life of St. Ambrose of Optina

God’s abundant benevolence that resided in him, was the source of those spiritual blessings that allowed him to serve those that visited him, comforting the grieving, strengthening the faith in those that were wavering and directing everybody toward the path of salvation.

St. Ambrose, Elder of Optina

Archpriest Sergius Chetverikov

Why do people experience depression? "Depression, according to Mark the Ascetic, is a spiritual cross sent to us in order to cleanse our former sins. Depression comes also for other reasons: from offended self-love, because we are not getting our own way; also from vainglory, when one sees that his equals enjoy greater privileges; from stressful situations during which our faith in God's Providence and hope in His mercy and omnipotent help is put to test.

Sermon on the Commemoration Day of St. Ambrose, Elder of Optina

Hieromonk Vasily (Roslyakov)

Today we too, in approaching the coffin of our holy Father Ambrose, Elder of Optina, rejoice with same inexpressible joy of Christ’s resurrection. Hymning the Tomb of our Savior, we say, “How life-giving, how much more beautiful than paradise, and more resplendent than any royal palace proved Thy tomb, oh Christ, the source of our Resurrection!” And in the troparion to St. Ambrose we sing, “As to a healing spring do we come to thee, Oh Ambrose, our father!”

“Love is Tested By Adversity.” Elder Ambrose of Optina

Fr. Sergius Chetverikov

"The love that animated Fr. Ambrose was of the kind that Christ commanded his disciples to have. It differs greatly from the feeling that the world knows as love. It is no less poetic, but it is broader, purer and knows no bounds. Its main difference is that it gives everything and asks nothing in return."

A Reply to One Well Disposed Towards the Latin Church

St. Ambrose of Optina

The Eastern Orthodox Church, from apostolic times until now, observes unchanged and unblemished by innovations both the Gospel and Apostolic teachings, as well as the Tradition of the Holy Fathers and resolutions of the Ecumenical Councils, at which God-bearing men, having gathered from throughout the entire world, in a conciliar manner composed the divine Symbol of the Orthodox Faith [the Creed], and having proclaimed it aloud to the whole universe, in all respects perfect and complete, forbade on pain of terrible punishments any addition to it, any abridging, alteration, or rearrangement of even one iota of it.

Counsels to a Christian on Unceasing Watchfulness over Oneself

St. Ambrose of Optina

On June 27/July 10, the Church celebrates the uncovering of the relics of St. Ambrose of Optina. We offer to our readers a letter from the forthcoming book by Pokrov Publications, St. Ambrose of Optina. Letters to Laymen.

St. Ambrose of Optina on the Struggle with the Passions

Olga Rozhneva

“When these three fields are cleansed, then other passions stemming from them are also imperceptibly cut off with them—that is, anger and remembrance of wrongs, earthly sorrow, envy, hatred, coolness and laziness regarding prayer and works of piety.”

St. Ambrose of Optina

Olga Glagoleva

In the history of Russia, as in world history, there are saints who serve as “milestones,’ as it were, on the road to the Most High. One such righteous one was St. Ambrose of Optina, whose memory is celebrated on October10/23.

Sayings of St. Ambrose of Optina

St. Ambrose of Optina

"Strive in all things to live according to the Divine commandments, and remember that the Lord is present and sees the disposition of your heart. While fulfilling an obedience, consider that it has been given by the Lord through a person, and that your salvation depends on your zeal in fulfilling it."

Miraculous help from St. Ambrose in our days

"The Lord is nearer to us than it seems, and through people and situations He always guides us through life by the prayers of our venerable and God-bearing father Ambrose, elder of Optina, and of all the saints—of course, for those who follow Christ."

Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk

The proximity of the Chinese border, the expanse and sparsely-settled dioceses, the great number of diverse nationalities (Buryat, Mongol, and others), mostly unenlightened by the Christian Faith, the lack of roads and the poverty—all this made Saint Innocent’s pastoral work burdensome and his life full of deprivations.

Martyr Theotecnus of Antioch

Saint Theotecnus of Antioch was a renowned military commander at Antioch under the emperor Maximian (305-311).

Saint Bassian of Constantinople

The venerable Bassian was the igumen at a monastery where there were three hundred monks.

St. Theophilus the Confessor of Bulgaria

Saint Theophilus the Confessor of Bulgaria came from the area surrounding Tiberiada.

Blessed Andrew of Totma the Fool-For-Christ

Blessed Andrew of Totma, the Fool-for-Christ was born in the year 1638 in the village of Ust-Totma and chose to leave the world while still a child.

Synaxis of the Saints of Volhynia

On this day, we commemorate the Synaxis of Saints of Volhynia—one of the most ancient domains of Christian Rus’, and now part of western Ukraine.

Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Vladimir, Volhynia

Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Vladimir-Volhynia was the third bishop of one of the oldest of Russian dioceses, Vladimir-Volhynia, which was established in the time of Saint Vladimir.

Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev

Saint Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev (in the world named Ivan Zhelezo), was born around 1551 in Pokutia in Galicia. At age ten he came to the Transfiguration Ugornits monastery, and at age twelve he received monastic tonsure with the name Job.

The Akathist—Zographou Icon of the Mother of God

The Icon from which the elder had heard a voice was with the martyrs, and was later found, lying entirely unharmed, underneath the ashes.

26 Martyrs of the Zographou Monastery on Mt. Athos at the hands of the Crusaders

26 Monkmartyrs of the Zographou Monastery on Mount Athos In the year 1274 at the Council of Lyons (in France), the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Paleologos decided to buttress his waning power by forming a union with Catholic Rome.
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