Translation of the relics of Great-martyr Theodore Stratelates (“the General”), of Heraclea (319).
St. Ephraim, patriarch of Antioch (545). St. Zosimas, monk, of Phoenicia (Syria) (6th c.). St. Theodore, bishop of Rostov and Suzdal (ca. 1023). Uncovering of the relics of Sts. Basil and Constantine, princes of Yaroslavl (1501).
Yaroslavl Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (13th c.).
Martyr Calliope, at Rome (ca. 250). Martyrs Nicander and Marcian, at Dorostolum in Moesia (303). St. Naucratius, brother of St. Basil the Great (4th c.). St. Melania the Elder, of Palladius’ Lausiac History (410). St. Atre (Athre) of Nitria (Egypt) (5th c.). St. Medardus, bishop of Noyon (Neth.) (560). St. Chlodulf (Cloud), bishop of Metz (696). St. Paul the Confessor, of Kaiuma Monastery in Constantinople (766). New Martyr Theophanes at Constantinople (1588). New Hieromartyr Theodore, priest, of Kvelta, Georgia (1609). Synaxis of the Church of the Cross at Mtskheta, Georgia.
Repose of lay elder Theodore (Sokolov) of White Lake (1973).
Wednesday. [Rom. 8:2-13; Matt. 10:16-22]
He that endureth to the end shall be
saved. And do we have anything to endure? In this
nobody is lacking. Everyone’s arena of endurance is
vast; therefore our salvation is at hand. Endure
everything to the end and you will be saved. However, you
must endure skillfully; otherwise you may not gain
anything by your endurance. First of all, keep the holy
faith and lead an irreproachable life according to faith;
immediately cleanse every sin that occurs with repentance.
Secondly, accept everything that you must endure as from
the hands of God, remembering firmly that nothing happens
without God’s will. Thirdly, give thanks sincerely
to God for everything, believing that everything which
proceeds from the Lord is sent by Him unto the good of our
souls—thank Him for sorrows, and for consolations.
Fourth, love sorrow for its great saving worth and
cultivate your thirst for it, like a drink which although
bitter, is healing. Fifth, keep in your thoughts that when
a misfortune has come, you cannot throw it off like tight
clothes; you must bear it. Whether in a Christian way, or
in a non-Christian way, you must bear it nonetheless; so
it is better to bear it in a Christian way. Complaining
will not rescue you from misfortune, but only make it
heavier; whereas humble submission to God’s
Providence and good humour relieve the burden of
misfortunes. Sixth, realize that you deserve even a
greater misfortune—realize that if the Lord wanted
to deal with you as you rightly deserve, would such a
small misfortune really be enough? Seventh, most of all,
pray, and the merciful Lord will give you strength of
spirit. With such strength, others will marvel at your
misfortunes which seem like nothing to you.