Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. Feast of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos (commemoration of the victory of St. Andrew Bogolubsky over the Volga Bulgars) (1164). Holy Seven Maccabees: Martyrs Abimus, Antonius, Gurias, Eleazar, Eusebonus, Alimus, and Marcellus, their mother Solomonia, and their teacher Eleazar (166 b.c.).
Nine Martyrs of Perge in Pamphylia: Leontius, Attius, Alexander, Cindeus, Minsitheus (Mnesitheus), Cyriacus, Mineon (Menaeus), Catanus, and Eucleus (3rd c.). Uncovering of the relics (1995) of St. Sophia of Suzdal, nun (in the world Solomonia)(1542), wife of Grand Duke Basil III of Moscow (1995). St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles, enlightener of Japan (1912).
New Hieromartyr Dimitry Pavsky, archpriest, of Ulyanovo (Tver) (1937).
St. Eusebius, bishop of Verceil (Italy) (ca. 371). Martyr Elessa of Cythera (375). Sts. Friardus of Vindumitta (573) and Secundellus, deacon (6th c.), of Gaul. St. Timothy the Wonderworker, bishop of Proconnesus (6th c.). St. Cennydd (Kenneth), monk, of Llangenydd (Wales) (6th. c.). St. Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester (984).
Repose of Abbess Alexia of Nizhni-Novgorod (1940).
Ninth Sunday After Pentacost. [I Cor. 3:9-17; Matt.
14:22-34]
The holy apostle Peter, with the
Lord’s permission, gets down from the ship and walks
on the water; then he yields to the movement of fear and
begins to drown. The fact that he decided upon such an
unusual act, hoping in the Lord, is nothing deserving
reprimand—otherwise the Lord would not have allowed
him to do this. The reprimand comes because he did not
sustain the original state of his soul. He was filled with
inspired hope in the Lord’s ability to do anything,
and this gave him the boldness to entrust himself to the
waves. Several steps were already made along this new
path—it was necessary only to stand more firmly in
hope, gazing at the Lord Who is near, and at the
experience of walking in His strength. Instead, gave
himself over to human thoughts: “The wind is strong,
the waves are great, the water is not firm;” and
this shook loose and weakened his firmness of faith and
hope. Because of this he broke away from the Lord’s
hands, and, left to the operation of nature’s laws,
began to drown. The Lord rebuked him: O ye of little
faith! Why did you doubt? showing that in this lay the
entire reason for the misfortune. Behold a lesson for all
who undertake something, great or small, with the aim of
pleasing the Lord! Keep your first state of faith and
hope, from which a great virtue is born—patience in
doing good, which serves as the basis for a God-pleasing
life. As long as these dispositions are maintained,
inspiration for labouring on the path begun does not go
away; and obstacles, no matter how great they may be, are
not noticed. When these dispositions weaken, the soul is
filled with human reasoning about human methods of
preserving one’s life and conducting the affairs
which one has begun. But since this reasoning always turns
out to be powerless, fear of how one should be enters the
soul; from this comes wavering—wondering whether or
not to continue—and in the end comes a complete
return. You must do it this way; if you begin, keep it
up—chase away troubling thoughts, and be bold in the
Lord, Who is nearby.