ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2024
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Святитель Иувеналий (Ювеналий) Иерусалимский Положение честной ризы Пресвятой Богородицы во Влахерне Святитель Фотий
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Old Style
July 2 		Monday
New Style
July 15
4th Week after Pentecost. Tone 2.
No fast.

Совершается служба со славословиемThe Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae (5th c.).

St. Juvenal, patriarch of Jerusalem (ca. 458). St. Photius, metropolitan of Kiev (1431).

Uncovering of the relics of New Hieromartyr Sergius Florinsky, priest of Rakvere, Estonia (2003).

Icon of the Mother of God of Theodotiev (1487). Icon of the Mother of God of Pozhai (XVII). Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of Akhtyra” (1739) and “The Root of Jesse”.

Martyrs Paul, Bilonus, Theonas, and Heron, at Thessalonica (3rd-4th c.). St. Monegunde of Chartres (Gaul) (530). St. Swithun, bishop and wonderworker of Winchester (862). St. Basil, patriarch of Jerusalem (836 or 838). Right-believing King Stephen the Great, of Moldavia (1504). Hieromartyr Juvenaly of Alaska, protomartyr of America (1796). New Martyr Lampros of Makri in Thrace (1835).

Repose of Archimandrite Lawrence of the Iveron-Valdai Monastery (1876) and Elder Zachariah, schema-archimandrite of St. Sergius Lavra (1936).

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. [Rom. 9:18-33; Matt. 11:2-15]

   The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. The kingdom suffereth violence—that is, it is attained with violence, with labour, force, and difficult spiritual struggles; therefore only those who lead a labor-filled ascetic life attain it. This is how comfort of every sort is renounced along the path to the kingdom. Pleasures of all types distance us from the kingdom; but these days we have concern only for pleasures, sometimes emotional, but more often fleshly: to eat, drink, have fun, make merry and luxuriate in everything. We have said to the kingdom, “I beg you to excuse me,” though there is a feast in the kingdom—a royal feast, one so sumptuous that we could not even conceive of it, because we do not have the taste for it. What there is considered sweet, to us is bitter; what there is pleasant, for us is repulsive, what there gladdens, for us is a burden—we have gone totally separate ways. And the kingdom, together with the violent who take it by force, withdraws from us. We are glad, even ready to drive them away more quickly, indeed we already have started talking about it; but the evil one does not manage to arrange this.

Articles

The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Blachernae

After serving an all-night Vigil, and taking it out from the Blachernae church, the sacred Robe of the Mother of God was carried in a procession around the city walls. Its edge was dipped into the waters of the Bosphorus, and it was then carried to the center of Constantinople to the church of Hagia Sophia. The Mother of God protected the city and turned back the Russian warriors. An honorable truce was concluded, and the siege of Constantinople was lifted.

The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Blachernae

During the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Great (457-474), the brothers Galbius and Candidus, associates of the emperor, set out from Constantinople to Palestine to venerate the holy places. In a small settlement near Nazareth they stayed in the home of a certain old Jewish woman. In her house they noticed a room where many lamps were lit, incense burned, and sick people were gathered.

St Juvenal the Patriarch of Jerusalem

Saint Juvenal , Patriarch of Jerusalem, occupied the throne of the Holy City during the years 420-458. During this period great luminaries of the Church enlightened the world: Sts Euthymius the Great (January 20), Simeon the Stylite (September 1), Gerasimus of Jordan (March 4), and many others.

St Photius the Metropolitan of Kiev

Saint Photius, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, was by birth a Greek from the Peloponnesian city of Monembasia (Malbasia).

Icon of the Mother of God of Theodotiev

This Icon appeared in 1483 in the vicinity of Ryazan in a desert place called "Staroe," near the village of Theodotiev.

Icon of the Mother of God of Pozhai

The Pozhai Dormition Monastery was founded in the XVII century on the banks of the Neman River. Its precious shrine was a wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God called Pozhai. It is of very ancient origin and was sent from Rome by Pope Alexander VII as a sign of special favor to the founder of the Pozhai Monastery, Christopher Sigismund Pac, the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1661.

Icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyr

The Akhtyr Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared on July 2, 1739 in the village of Akhtyr in the area of Kharkov, east of Kiev.

St. Juvenaly – First Martyr of America

The holy, glorious, right-victorious hieromartyr Juvenaly of Alaska, Protomartyr of America, was a member of the first group of Orthodox missionaries who came from the monastery of Valaam to preach the Word of God to the native inhabitants of Alaska. He was martyred while evangelizing among the Eskimos on the mainland of Alaska in 1796. His feast day is celebrated on July 2, and he is also commemorated with all the saints of Alaska (September 24), and with the first martyrs of the American land (December 12).

Martyr Juvenal of Alaska

The natives told St Innocent that after they had killed St Juvenal, he got up and followed them, urging them to repent. The fell upon him again and gave him a savage beating. Once more, he got to his feet and called them to repentance.
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