| Previous day | 
|
Next day |
| Old Style
August 20
|
Thursday |
New Style
September 2
|
| 11th Week after Pentecost. Tone 1. |  No fast.
|
Prophet Samuel (11th c. b.c.).
Hieromartyr Philip, bishop of Heraclea, and with him Martyrs Severus, Memnon, and 37 soldiers, at Plovdiv in Thrace (304).
Martyr Lucius the Senator, of Cyprus (ca. 310). Martyrs Heliodorus and Dosa (Dausa), in Persia (380). Martyr Oswin, king of Deira (651). St. Philibert of Jumieges (Gaul) (685). St. Hierotheus, first bishop and enlightener of Hungary (10th c.). St. Stephen I, king of Hungary (1038). New Martyr Theocharis of Neopolis in Asia Minor (1740).
Repose of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) of Platina, California (1982), and Archimandrite Spyridon (Lukich) of Kiev ( (1991).
Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse
Thursday. [II Cor. 4:1-6; Matt. 24:13-28]
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. However, not everyone who endures will be saved, but only he who endures on the Lord’s path. This life is given to us for that reason—to endure; everyone endures something, even through to the very end. But enduring does not lead to benefit if it is not for the sake of the Lord and His holy Gospels. Step onto the path of faith and the Gospel commandments; occasions to endure will multiply, but from that moment endurance will begin to bring forth crowns. That endurance, which before was empty, will be made fruitful. With what blindness does the enemy surround us, that only the endurance which is encountered on the path of good seems heavy and unbearable; but what he inflicts on those who serve the passions seems light and free, although it is actually heavier and more dismal than what people bear in struggling with the passions and opposing the enemy! But we are blind, and do not see this… We labour, endure, and strain ourselves to the breaking point for the sake of the enemy, and unto our own perdition.