St. Isidore of Pelusium, monk (ca. 436-440). St. George, prince of Vladimir (1238). St. Cyril, founder of New Lake Monastery (Novgorod) (1532).
Martyrs Jadorus and Isidore, who suffered under Decius (3rd c.). Hieromartyr Abramius, bishop of Arbela in Assyria (ca. 344-347). St. Nicholas the Confessor, abbot, of the Studion (868). Sts. Abraham and Coprius, founders of Pechenga Monastery (Vologda) (15th c.).
New Hieromartyr Methodius (Krasnoperov), bishop of Petropavlovsk (1921). New Hieromartyrs Theodosius (Bobkov), hieromonk of the Chudov Monastery (Moscow), Nicholas Kandaurov, archpriest (Moscow), Boris Nazarov, archpriest, of Protasievo (Verey), Alexander Pokrovsky, archpriest, of Mineyevo (Moscow), Alexander Sokolov, archpriest, of Paveltsovo (Moscow), Peter Sokolov, archpriest, of Klin (Moscow), John Tikhomirov, archpriest, of Petrovskoye (Moscow), and Nicholas Pospelov, priest, of Bylovo (Podolsk) (1938). New Martyr Raphaela, schemanun, of Moscow (1938).
Hieromartyr Phileas, bishop of Thmuis, and Martyr Philoromus the Magistrate (ca. 303). St. John of Irenopolis (ca. 325). St. Evagrius, fellow-ascetic of St. Shio of Mgvime, Georgia (6th c.). Hieromartyr Aldate of Gloucester (6th c.). New Martyr Joseph of Aleppo in Syria (1686).
Repose of the royal recluse Nun Dosithea of Moscow (1810).
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.