ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2023
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Св. блгв. князь Михаил Тверской
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Old Style
November 22
Tuesday
New Style
December 5
27th Week after Pentecost. Tone 1.
Nativity Fast.
Wine and oil allowed.

Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомAfterfeast of the Entry into the Temple. Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомApostles of the Seventy Philemon and Archippus, Martyr Apphia, wife of Philemon, and St. Onesimus, disciple of St. Paul (1st c.). Совершается служба на шестьMartyrdom of St. Michael, great prince of Tver (1318).

Martyrs Cecilia, Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus, at Rome (ca. 230). Martyr Menignus, at Parium (250). Martyr Procopius the Reader, at Caesarea in Palestine (303). St. Agabbas of Syria (5th c.). Righteous Michael the Soldier, of Bulgaria (866). St. Yaropolk-Peter, prince of Vladimir in Volhynia (1086).

New Hieromartyrs Ioasaph (Zhevakhov), bishop of Mogilev, Gerasim (Mochalov), hieromonk of the Zosima Hermitage (Smolensk), and Alexis Benemansky and Elijah Gromoglasov, archpriests, of Tver (1937). New Monk-martyrs Eutychius (Didenko), Abner (Sinitsyn), Sava (Suslov), and Mark (Makhrov), of Optina Monastery, and with them Martyr Boris Kozlov (1937).

Martyr Agapion of Greece (304). Martyrs Stephen, Mark, and Mark (another), at Antioch in Pisidia (4th c.). St. Germanus of Eikoiphinissa in Macedonia (9th c.). St. Clement of Ochrid, bishop of Greater Macedonia (916). St. Callistus II, patriarch of Constantinople (Mt. Athos) (1397).

Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday. [I Tim. 5:1-10; Luke 17:20-25]

   Having said that the Son of Man will appear in his day like lightning, instantly illuminating everything under heaven, the Lord added: But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. The word order here makes it apparent that this “must suffer” should precede Lord’s appearance in glory. Thus, the whole time until that day is the time of the Lord’s suffering. He suffered in His person at one known time; after that His sufferings continue in believers—suffering as they are born, their upbringing in the spirit and protection from actions of the enemy, both inner and outer—for the Lord’s union with His own is not just mental or moral, but living. Everything that touches them is accepted by Him as well, as the head. Therefore, it is impossible not to see that the Lord indeed suffers much. The most painful sorrows are the falls of believers; even more painful for Him is when they fall away from the faith. But these are the final wounds; as continuously wounding arrows are the sorrows, temptations, and wavering faith of unbelief. Words and writings that exude unbelief are kindled arrows of the evil one. Nowadays, the evil one has led many blacksmiths to forge such arrows. The hearts of believers ache when they are struck by them and see others being struck. The Lord aches too. But the day of the Lord’s glory will appear—then all the secret darkness will be revealed, and those who have suffered will rejoice with the Lord. Until that time we must endure and pray.

Tuesday. [I Tim. 5:11-21; Luke 17:26-37]

   Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. One must understand it this way: to save your life means to pity yourself, while to lose your life means not pitying yourself—that is, on the path of the Lord’s commandments, or in working for the Lord. So, it is like this: he who works for the Lord, fulfilling His commandments without pitying himself, is saved; but he who pities himself, perishes. If you pity yourself you will unfailingly be found as a transgressor of the commandments and, consequently, an unprofitable servant; and what is the sentence for an unprofitable servant? Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30). Make an effort to watch yourself if only for a single day, and you will see that self-pity distorts all of our [good] deeds and kills the desire to do them. Without labour and effort, you will not be able to do anything; but if you regret forcing yourself—it all stops there. There are things which you must do, whether you want to or not. Such things are done without fail, difficult as they may be. But here self-pity is overcome by self-pity. If you don’t do them, there will be nothing to eat. But since what is required by the commandments are not of such nature, they are always omitted out of s elf-pity. You make condescensions to yourself when it comes to bad deeds, also out of self-pity. You hate to refuse yourself what you want and so the desire is fulfilled, even though it is either outright sinful, or will lead to sin. Thus it always goes with one who pities himself—what he should do, he does not, and what he should not do, he indulges himself in doing; and he ends up good for nothing. What salvation can there be here?

Articles

Apostles Archippus and Philemon of the Seventy, and Martyr Apphia

Saints Archippus, Philemon and Apphia, Apostles of the Seventy were students and companions of the holy Apostle Paul.

Martyr Michael the Prince of Tver

Prince Yurii slandered Saint Michael before the Khan, accusing him of poisoning Konchaka. The Khan became enraged, threatening to destroy Saint Michael’s princely holding, and demanded that he appear to give an account.

Virgin Martyr Cecilia and the Holy Martyrs Valerian, Tiburtius and Maximus at Rome

Saint Cecilia was born in Rome of wealthy and illustrious parents. From her youth she was raised in the Christian Faith.

Martyr Menignus at Parium

The Holy Martyr Menignus was a simple worker, a linen-bleacher. The Lord granted him His special mercy.

Martyr Procopius the Reader at Caesarea, in Palestine

The Holy Martyr Procopius was a reader in the Church of Jerusalem. He led a strict ascetic life,

Saint Agabbas of Syria

Saint Agabbas was by birth an Ishmaelite (Arab) and pursued asceticism in Syria. He was a novice under the Monk Eusebius, from whom he learned inner prayer and silence, and he lived thirty-eight years as a hermit.

Righteous Michael the soldier of Potouka, Bulgaria

Saint Michael the Soldier of Bulgaria, was among the first of the Bulgarians to become Christian, and lived in the city of Potuka during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III (855-867).

Blessed Yaropolk the Prince of Vladimir-Volhynia, in Holy Baptism Peter

On the way from Vladimir to Zvenigorod-Galitsk, Yaropolk was treacherously murdered by Neryadets, one of his retainers (+1086).

New Hieromartyr Alexis Benemanskii of Tver

Born January 6, 1881 in the Tver region, the New Martyr Alexis Constantinovich Benemanskii was a priest of the Diocese of Tver, Russia, during the early 1900s.
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