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August 14
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Friday |
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August 27
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10th Week after Pentecost.
Tone 8.
Успенский пост. |
 Monastic rule: xerophagy (bread, uncooked fruits and vegetables).
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Forefeast of the Dormition. Prophet Micah (8th c. b.c.). 
Translation of the relics of St. Theodosius of the Kiev Caves (1091).
Hieromartyr Marcellus, bishop of Apamea (ca. 389). Translation of the relics of St. Arcadius, monk, of Novotorzhok (1798).
New Hieromartyr Basil (Bogoyavlensky), archbishop of Chernigov, and with him New Monk-martyr Matthew and New Martyr Alexis (1918). New Hiero-confessor Alexander (Urodov), archimandrite, of Sanaxar and Seven Lakes Monasteries (1961). New Hieromartyrs Nazarius, metropolitan of Kutaisi, Georgia, and with him priests Herman, Hierotheus, and Simon, and archdeacon Bessarion (1924). Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Georgia who suffered under the Atheist Yoke (20th c.). New Hieromartyrs Matthew (Pomerantsev), archimandrite, of Perm and Vladimir Tsedrinsky, archpriest, of Lepsinsk (Turkestan) (1918); and Eleutherius (Pechennikov), schema-archimandrite, of the Holy Trinity Monastery (Smolensk) (1937). New Martyr Eve (Pavlova), abbess of Holy Trinity Convent in Penza (Saratov) (1937).
Martyr Ursicius, at Illyricum (305-313). St. Fachanan, abbot, of Ross Carbery, Cork (ca. 600). New Martyr Symeon of Trebizond, at Constantinople (1653).
Commemoration of the disciples of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk: Monks Theophanes, Aaron, Nicander, Cosmas, and Metrophanes (18th-19th c.). Repose of Archimandrite Theodosius (Makkos) of Bethany (1991).
Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse
Friday. [II Cor. 1:12-20; Matt. 22:23-33]
The Lord said of the future life that people there do not marry and are not given in marriage—that is, our everyday earthly relationships will have no place there. It would follow that none of the norms of earthly life will either. Neither science, nor art, nor governments, nor anything else will exist. What will there be? God will be all in all. And since God is spirit, He unites with the spirit and acts on what is spiritual, all life there will be a continuous flow of spiritual movements. There can be only one conclusion drawn from this: since our goal is the future life, and what is here is only a preparation for it, then to spend all the time of one’s life only on what is appropriate in this life alone and has no relevance to the future life means to go against our purpose, and to prepare ourselves for a bitter, most bitter lot. We are not absolutely required to drop everything; but while working as much as is necessary for this life, we must direct our main concern toward preparation for the future life, trying wherever possible to turn even earthly menial labour into a means for achieving this goal.
Saturday. [Rom. 15:30-33; Matt. 17:24-18:4]
The Lord paid the required church tribute and [kept] all other practices, both church and civic. He fulfilled this and taught the apostles to do the same, and the apostles in turn passed this same law on to all Christians. Only the spirit of life was made new; externally all remained as it had been, except what was clearly against the will of God—like, for instance, participating in idolatry, etc. Then Christianity gained the upper hand, displaced all former practices, and established its own. One could expect that it would thus be easier for the spirit of Christianity to develop and strengthen. So it was, but not for everyone. A large percent mastered external Christian practices but stopped there, not concerning themselves with the spirit of life. It is the same today. Out of the entire sum of Christians, who proves to be a Christian in spirit? What are the others? “They bear the name as if they are alive, but behold—they are dead.” When the apostles preached the Gospels, their word drew God’s portion out from the midst of the pagan world. Now through the same word the Lord chooses His portion from amidst the Christian world. “Whoso readeth, let him understand,” and let him take care to find out for certain whether he is in the portion of the Lord; and if he cannot be certain of this, let him take care to belong to the Lord, for in this alone lies salvation.
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