Hieromartyr Timothy, bishop of Prusa (ca. 361-363). Uncovering and translation of the relics of St. Basil, bishop of Ryazan (1609). Synaxis of the Saints of Ryazan. St. John, metropolitan of Tobolsk and all Siberia (1715). Synaxis of the Saints of Siberia. St. Tamar (Mardzhanishvili), schema-abbess of the St. Seraphim–Znamensky Skete (Moscow) (1936).
Martyr Alexander and Virgin-martyr Antonina, at Crodamon (ca. 313). St. Theophanes, monk, and St. Pansemne, former harlot, of Antioch (369). St. Bassian, bishop of Lodi in Lombardy (409). St. Silouan of the Far Caves in Kiev (13th c.-14th c.). Blessed Cosmas, fool-for-Christ, of Verkhoturye (1706).
St. Asterius, bishop of Petra (4th c.). St. Canides, monk, of Cappadocia (ca. 460). 222 Chinese New Martyrs of the Boxer Uprising, at Beijing and other places: Hieromartyr Metrophanes Chang (Chang Tzi-tzung), his wife Tatiana, his sons John and Isaiah, Isaiah’s fiancée Maria, the church-school teachers Paul Wang and Ia Wen, and others (1900).
Repose of Elder Nahum of Solovki (1853) and Schemamonk Sergius of Valaam (1860).
Friday. [Rom. 9:6-19; Matt. 10:32-36, 11:1]
Whosoever shall confess me before
men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in
Heaven. Is it hard to confess the Lord? It is not hard
at all. How hard is it to say, when necessary, that our
Lord Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God, and
God, Who for us came to earth, was made flesh of the Holy
Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, was crucified,
suffered, was buried, arose on the third day, ascended
into the heavens and sits at the right hand of God the
Father, and again will come to judge the living and the
dead—Who sent the Holy Spirit upon the holy
apostles, who through His power established on the earth
the Holy Church, which, teaching the truth and sanctifying
through the mysteries, leads all of its faithful children
to the heavenly kingdom along a sure path? We repeat all
this every time we hear and read the symbol of faith. So
imprint these truths in your heart, and be ready, not
fearing any person, to show that one must believe thus and
cannot be saved in any other way, preparing also to endure
whatever comes to you as a result of this. Bar the lips of
teachers of lies and blasphemers of Christianity with the
word of truth, and you will receive what is promised by
the Lord. You confess Him as God and Saviour before men,
and He before God the Father will confess that you are His
faithful follower and confessor.