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Orthodox Calendar 2024
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Священномученик Александр, патриарх Иерусалимский Святитель Спиридон, епископ Тримифунтский Прп. Ферапонт Монзенский
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Old Style
December 12 		Wednesday
New Style
December 25
27th Week after Pentecost. Tone 1.
Nativity Fast.
Monastic rule: cooked food, no oil.

Совершается служба на шестьSt. Spyridon the Wonderworker, of Tremithus (348).

Hieromartyr Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem (250-251). Martyr Synesius of Rome (270-275). St. Therapontus, monk of Monza Monastery (Galich) (1597).

St. Herman, Wonderworker of Alaska (1836). St. Finian of Clonard and Skellig Michael, teacher of Ireland (549). St. Colman of Glendalough (Ireland) (659). Monk-martyr John, abbot, of Zedazeni Monastery, Georgia (9th c.). St. John, metropolitan of Zichon, founder of the Monastery of the Forerunner on Mt. Menikion (1333). Synaxis of the First Martyrs of the American land: Hieromartyr Juvenaly (1796), Peter (Cungagnaq) the Aleut (1815), and Hieromartyrs Seraphim (Samoilovich), archbishop of Uglich (1937), John (Kochurov), priest, of Chicago (1917), and Alexander (Khotovitsky), priest, of New York (1937).

Repose of Flegont (Ostrovsky), stylite, of Kimlyai (Mordovia) (1870).

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

Wednesday. [Heb. 10:1-18; Mark 8:30-34]

   Having invited people to follow Him with the cross, the Lord shows also shows this path, eliminating the main obstacles to it, which are not outer, but inner, rooted in the human heart. It is as though He is saying, “If you want to follow Me, first of all do not pity yourself, for he who pities himself will destroy himself; second, do not have anything to do with self-interest, for, What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul (Mark 8:38)? Third, do not be embarrassed by what people will say or how they will look at you: Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. Self-pity, self-interest, and embarrassment are the main chains by which a person is held in a life not pleasing to God, on the path of passions and sin. They are the main obstacles to a sinner’s conversion; they are the main object of spiritual struggle in a person who repents and who already has begun to bring forth fruits of repentance. As long as these threads are not cut, the Christian life in us is unreliable, full of stumbles and falls, if not always outer, then inner. Let everyone look attentively at himself; if there is anything in you of what is said above, take care to give it up: otherwise you can not hope to rise to perfection in Christ, although you may outwardly be very proper.

Articles

St Spyridon the Wonderworker and Bishop of Tremithus

Saint Spyridon of Tremithus was born towards the end of the third century on the island of Cyprus. He was a shepherd, and had a wife and children. He used all his substance for the needs of his neighbors and the homeless, for which the Lord rewarded him with a gift of wonderworking. He healed those who were incurably sick, and cast out demons.

Holy Hierarch St. Spyridon of Tremithus

"When instead of logical proofs, from the lips of this Elder there came some special power, my proofs became powerless against it, for man cannot stand up against God. If any of you is able to think as I do, let him believe on Christ and together with me follow after this Elder, through whose lips God Himself spoke.”

St. Spyridon of Tremithius and the Light of Virtue

Roman Savchuk

In this brief episode from the Life of St. Spyridon, just as in other stories connected with his righteous service, the question is answered with particular force as to what language of faith Christians should use when addressing a world that has rejected Christ.

St. Spyridon of Tremithus

Miracle of St. Spyridon in Corfu

At around midnight on November 12th, the day on which the craftsmen expected to start their work, there was lightening and thunder - thunderbolts, one after the other. It was then that the guard of the governor's residence saw a monk approaching him holding a lit torch in his hand.

St. Alexander the Archbishop of Jerusalem

The Hieromartyr Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, was a disciple of the great teacher and writer of the Church, Clement of Alexandria.

Venerable Therapon the Abbot of Monza

Saint Therapon of Monza was a monk in the monastery of Saint Adrian (May 5) at the River Monza.

The Life of St. Herman of Alaska

Edited by Archimandrite Alexander (Mileant)

The Elder was asked "How do you, Father Herman, manage to live alone in the forest, don't you get bored?" He answered "No, I'm not alone there! There is God, and God is everywhere! There are holy angels! How can one be bored with them? With whom is it more pleasant and better to converse, angels or people? Angels, of course!"

Canon to St. Herman of Alaska

From the Service to our Holy and God-Bearing Father, Saint Herman, Wonderworker of Alaska.

The Miraculous Intercession of St. Herman of Alaska

When they finally started their exciting, but extremely difficult, ascent, everything went just fine for a few days. But at the end of one day, on a narrow path, they met an old, strange-looking man in a long dark robe. He was walking in the opposite direction, down the mountain. In a friendly manner he greeted them and advised them to turn around and return to the base camp as quickly as possible because the weather was changing into a severe storm.

The Life of Our Holy Father Saint Herman of Alaska

“I clearly remember,” he says, “all the features of the Elder’s face, which shone with grace: his pleasant smile, meek and attractive gaze, his humble, quiet manner, and his amiable words. He was not tall, he had a pale face, covered with wrinkles, his eyes were gray-blue and full of brightness, and on his head he had a few gray hairs. His speech was not loud, but very pleasant.”

New book available on St. Herman of Alaska

A new book on St. Herman of Alaska entitled, Herman A Wilderness Saint From Sarov, Russia to Kodiak, Alaska was released in November 2013 by the Printshop of St. Job of Pochaev.

St. Herman’s Guardian – Archimandrite Gerasim Schmaltz

St. Herman's years of solitude on Spruce Island caused no little wonder among those unfamiliar with the mysteries of spiritual life. A man once asked, "Fr, Herman, do you live alone in the forest? Do you never become lonely? .... No, I am not alone ," he replied, "God is there as He is everywhere. His angels are there. Is it possible to be lonely in their company? Is it not better to be in their company than in that of people?"

A Life of St. Herman from 1919

Vera Johnston

A Russian missionary to America! Yes, indeed, a servant of God, lowly and simple of heart, who attained to such perfection of spirit that in our day and generation there are many in Alaska and throughout the Orthodox parishes in the United States who think that Herman, the humble monk, should be and will be canonized—a saint of the Church.[1]

The Relics of St. Herman of Alaska

The story of Saint Herman of Alaska. 2007.

VIDEO: Pilgrimage to Spruce Island

Spruce Island is considered by many Orthodox Christians to be one of the holiest sites in North America. The island was home to the hermitage of Herman of Alaska during the early 1800’s. Every year, in early August, the Orthodox Church in America celebrates the canonization of Saint Herman with a Liturgy, pilgrimage, and banquet.

On the Repose of St. Herman of Alaska

Seeing the glorious life of podvig of Father Herman, seeing his miracles, seeing the fulfillment of his prophecies and finally his blessed falling asleep, "generally all the local inhabitants have an awesome respect for him as a holy ascetic, and are entirely convinced of his having pleased God," witnessed Bishop Peter.

St. Herman of Alaska: A Pre-Christmas Gift to America

Fr. Herman (Podmoshensky)

And here, in the midst of this pre-Christmas joy so filled with impressions, there enters into the American consciousness a Russian monk from Valaam who was also connected with children, coziness, spice-cake, pretzels, covered by the Alaskan snow—St. Herman the Wonderworker of America.

Travellers from Ryazan are investigating the Orthodox heritage of Russian America in Alaska

Special attention will be devoted to the person of one of the first Orthodox missionaries of North America – St. Herman of Alaska (c.1757-1837; feast: July 27/August 9), a native of Russia’s Ryazan region.

St. Herman of Alaska

Venerable Finnian, Abbot of Clonard

Dmitry Lapa

The disciples of Clonard established hundreds of churches and monasteries in Ireland as well as in other countries. According to a custom which existed in Clonard, every monk who left the monastery as a missionary took with him a copy of the Gospels, a crozier and some holy object and later, when building his own church or monastery, placed these relics inside it.
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