ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2020
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Преподобномученик Зосима и преподобный Афанасий Собор 70 апостолов
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Friday
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January 17
Tone 5.
No fast.

Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомForefeast of the Theophany. Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомSynaxis of the Seventy Apostles Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомSt. Theoctistus, abbot of Cucomo Monastery in Sicily (800). Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомRepose of St. Eustathius I, archbishop of Serbia (ca. 1285)

Martyrs Zosimas the Hermit and Athanasius the Commentarisius (prison warden), of Cilicia (3rd c.-4th c.) St. Aquila, deacon, of the Kiev Caves (14th c.) St. Symeon, metropolitan of Smolensk (1699).

New Hieromartyrs Alexander Skalsky, Stephan Ponomarev, and Philip Grigoriev, archpriests, of Kazakhstan (1933). New Hieromartyr Mark (Novoselov), bishop of Sergievsk (1938).

Martyr Djan Darada, the Ethiopian eunuch of Queen Candace (1st c.). St. Gregory of Langres (Gaul) (539-540). St. Evagrius (fellow-ascetic of St. Shio of Mgvime) (6th c.). St. Elias the Deacon, and others (Georgia) (6th c.). St. Euthymius the Younger, monk, of Thessalonica. Hieromartyr Euthymius, abbot, and twelve monk-martyrs of Vatopedi, Mt. Athos (1285). New Monk-martyr Onuphrius Manassias of Gabrovo and Hilandar Monastery, Mt. Athos, on Chios (1818).

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

Sunday Before Theophany[1] (31st). [II Tim. 4:5–8; Mark 1:1–8]

Before the Lord’s appearance to the people, before He began the work of Divine economy[2] of our salvation, Saint John the Forerunner was sent to prepare people for receiving Him. This preparation consisted in a call to repentance. Since then, repentance has become the path to the Lord and Saviour, and the threshold to faith in Him. The Saviour Himself began His preaching with the words: Repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). Repentance and faith lead a person who seeks salvation back and forth between these two states. Repentance weighs him down with the burden of his sins and frightens him with the impartial judgement of God’s righteousness. But faith comes along and shows him the Deliverer Who has taken away the sins of the world. He who repents cleaves to the Deliverer, and laying down the burden of his sins through confession, joyfully runs after Him along the path of His commandments. Faith in this manner is born of repentance and is founded on it. He who repents holds firmly onto faith according to his feeling of deliverance. Faith is alive through repentance. Without repentance faith would be like a sapling which is without an animating current—withered and not giving of life.


[1] Theophany, or in Russian, Bogoyavlenie,  means “God has appeared.” This feast day is otherwise known as Epiphany.

[2] Throughout this book, the Russian word, domostroitelstvo, will be translated as “Divine economy,” which refers to God’s stewardship, overseeing our salvation, as a steward oversees a household. The epitome of God’s Divine economy is Christ’s incarnation, and salvation through Him.

Articles

Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles

St. Dimitry of Rostov

The Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles was established by the Orthodox Church to indicate the equal honor of each of the Seventy. They were sent two by two by the Lord Jesus Christ to go before Him into the cities He would visit (Luke 10:1).

Venerable Theoctistus, Abbot at Cucomo, in Sicily

Saint Theoctistus founded a monastery in the city of Cucomo on the island of Sicily, where he became igumen.

Repose of St Eustathius I, Archbishop of Serbia

Saint Eustathius, Archbishop of Serbia, lived in the second half of the thirteenth century, during the reign of the Serbian king Stephen Urosh (1262-1320).

Martyrs Zosimus the Hermit and Athanasius the Commentarisius (Superintendent of Prisoners), Anchorites, of Cilicia

The Monk Martyr Zosimus came from Cilicia and was an inhabitant of the wilderness.

Martyr Zosimas the Hermit of Cilicia

The Martyr Zosimas the Desert Dweller lived during the fourth century. Once, while hunting, Dometian, the governor of Sicily, saw the Elder calmly and amiably conversing with the beasts around him.

St. Aquila, Deacon, of the Kiev Caves

Saint Aquila the Deacon of the Kiev Caves (14th Century), became famous as a great faster, having spent a long while as a hermit.

Martyr Evargrisi of the Shio-Mgvime Monastery

A certain ruler, Evagre of Tsikhedidi, would often go hunting in the area where Saint Shio lived. On one of his excursions he happened upon venerable Shio and was so awed by his wondrous way of life that he decided to remain there with him.

Ven. Euthymius and twelve other Monks, martyred at Vatopedi

Saint Euthymius was drowned in the sea, and the monks were hanged.

Venerable Onuphrius of Hilandar (Mt. Athos) the Newmartyr

The New Martyr Onuphrius, in the world Matthew, was born in Bulgaria in Gabrovo in the Trnovo diocese.
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