Prophet Jeremiah (6th c. b.c.). St. Paphnutius, abbot, of Borovsk (1477).
Hieromartyr Batas, abbot, of Nisibis (4th c.). St. Tamara, queen of Georgia (1213). Hieromartyr Macarius, metropolitan of Kiev (1497). St. Gerasimus, founder of Boldino Monastery (Smolensk) (1554). New Monk-martyrs Euthymius (1814) and Ignatius (1814) and Acacius of Serres (1816), at Constantinople. St. Luke (Shvets), schemamonk of Glinsk Hermitage (1898).
New Hiero-confessor Tryphon of Svyatogorsk Monastery (1939). Synaxis of New Martyrs of Izyum (Ukraine).
“Unexpected Joy” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
St. Brieuc, abbot, in Brittany (ca. 502). Martyr Sigismund, king of Burgundy (524). St. Asaph, bishop of Llanelwy, North Wales (ca. 600). St. Ultan, Irish missionary monk, of Burgh Castle (East Anglia), Fosse, and Peronne (Gaul) (680). New Monk-martyr Romanus of Raqqa (780). St. Michael, ascetic, of Chalcedon (8th c.-9th c.). St. Zosimas, bishop of Kumurdo (15th c.-16th c). St. Panaretus, bishop of Paphos on Cyprus (1791). St. Nicephorus of Chios, monk (1821). New Martyr Maria of Merambelos on Crete (1826). Martyr Philosophus at Alexandria (252). St. Isidora the Fool-for-Christ, of Tabennisi, Egypt (ca. 365).
Saturday. [Acts 9:20–31; John 15:17–16:2]
When Saint Paul began to preach in
Damascus, all were amazed, saying: Is not this he that
destroyed them which called on this name? (Acts 9:21).
Isn’t it always this way? Those close to someone who
converts from unbelief to belief, or from sin to virtue,
marvel over what happened has with this person. He did
everything our way and now suddenly everything has
changed: his words and his gaze, his step and his thoughts
are not the same, and his undertakings are different, and
the places where he goes are different. It is as if one
were walking toward the west, and then suddenly turned
around to the east. These two lives are contradictory and
mutually exclude one another. He who wants to combine
them, or to make a whole life with part from the one, and
part from the other, will waste both time and effort with
no success. What can these lives have in common?! Only
those who do not understand things can say, “Why
does it have to be so drastic!”