Orthodox and church holidays and fasts
Today is an Orthodox church holiday: * Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised (memory of the miracle by which Orthodoxy was established, 451). * Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena (969) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Tomorrow:
* Martyrs Proclus and Hilary (c. 98-117).
* St. Michael Malein (962) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Holidays are expected: 07/26/2021
- * Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel.
* St. Stephen Savvait (794) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... 07.27.2021
- * Apostle Aquila of the 70 (I) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
07.28.2021
- * Martyrs of Kirik and Julitta, his mother (c. 305). *** Equal to the Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, in holy baptism Vasily, Baptist of Rus' (1015) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
All Orthodox and church holidays and fasts...
Historical events
1582 - Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar, the next day was announced as October 15.
1675 - Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens patented a pocket watch.
1800 - the first blast furnace was launched in Lugansk.
1911 - The first escalator was put into operation in London.
1957 - The first artificial Earth satellite was launched in the USSR.
1959 - The Luna 3 spacecraft was launched, photographing the far side of the Moon for the first time.
1995 - Television broadcast of the cult series “Neon Genesis Evangelion” began in Japan.
Francesco Solimena. "Allegory of Kingship". Photo: Wikipedia
Orthodox Saints of God
The holy saints of God show special love and mercy to those who honor their holy memory.
It seems to many that the saints are far from us. But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The holy saints in their earthly life turned to God for help in healing their ailments, sorrows and deliverance from temptations, asking God that even after death He would honor them with the gift of helping people in various cases of life.
The saints have reached the Heavenly Kingdom and there they see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they also see the suffering of people on earth. Many holy saints of God received special grace from God, and He deigned them to be intercessors before Him for deliverance from our sorrows and bodily ailments, in which they themselves were tempted.
The saints rejoice at our repentance and mourn when people leave God and become like foolish cattle. They feel sorry that people live on earth, not knowing that if they loved each other, then there would be freedom from sin on earth: and where there is no sin, there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, so that, wherever you look, everything sweet, and the soul wonders why it feels so good, and praises God. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows about this. We must remember: in order for a prayer to be heard, one should pray to the holy saints of God with faith in the power of their intercession before God, in words coming from the heart.
In our prayers we turn to the Lord God, to His Most Pure Mother - our Intercessor and Helper, to the holy Angels and holy people - the saints of God, because for their sake the Lord God is more likely to hear us sinners, our prayers. The Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous, confessors. more>>
The Lord says: “When you light a candle, you do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). Saints are bright stars that show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us treasure the closeness of the holy saints of God to God and turn to them for help, remembering that they love us and care about our salvation. It is good to pray to the holy saints of God on those days when the Church celebrates their memory.
«Holy Saints of God, pray to God for us!»
Saints: life, memory, suffering...
Whom does the church honor today on October 4: St. Daniel of Shuzhgorsk
The church honors Saint Daniel. He led an ascetic life. Founder of the monastery in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Shuzhgora in the Belozersky region.
Information about Daniil Shuzhgorsky is extremely scarce. According to Bishop Ambrose (Ornatsky), he was from the “Moscow countries”. He pursued asceticism in the north of Rus', where he took monastic vows at the Cornelius Komel Monastery.
The Monk Daniel left the monastery and continued his solitary ascetic life in a deserted and wooded area in the Belozersky region, on a mountain called Shuzhgora. Here the holy ascetic founded his monastery in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The 16th century is considered to be the time when Daniil founded the Shuzhgorsky monastery.
The Monk Daniel was buried in the Transfiguration Church of the monastery he founded.
Around 1739, a report to the Vologda Spiritual Consistory mentioned the unattested relics of St. Daniel, who rested in the Shuzhgorsky monastery, to whom “people of various ranks” flocked on pilgrimage. In 1764 the monastery was converted into a parish. In the 19th century, the relics of St. Daniel were buried under a bushel in the stone Church of the Transfiguration behind the right choir. One of the chapels of the church, built in 1775, was dedicated to St. Daniel the Stylite (possibly the heavenly patron of the monastery founder). Currently, the temple is in ruins; the saint’s grave has not been preserved.
According to Bishop Sergius (Spassky), memory of St. Daniil of Shuzhgorsky was contained in the handwritten Kaidalovsky calendar of the late 17th century under August 2. At the end of the 19th century, E. E. Golubinsky placed the name of St. Daniel in the “List of the Dead Actually Honored.” The saint's canonization was confirmed by the inclusion of his name in the Council of Novgorod Saints (celebration established ca. 1831, resumed in 1981). In the modern Menaion, under September 21, there are two prayers of St. Daniel.
Orthodox prayers and icons of the Mother of God and saints
The word “icon” comes from the Greek language and means “image”, “image”. The image of the icon is consecrated with holy water and special prayers, through this consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the icon, and the icon is already revered by us as holy. According to the Orthodox dogma of icon veneration, approved by the VII Ecumenical Council, “the honor given to an icon relates to its prototype, and the one who worships the icon worships the hypostasis of the person depicted on it.” The Council especially emphasizes that we give veneration to icons, and not the worship that is due to God alone. “The icon mysteriously contains within itself the presence of the one whom it depicts, and this presence is the closer, more grace-filled and stronger, the more the icon corresponds to the church canon.”
All Icons of the Mother of God and Saints
Apostolic reading:
The Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians, chapter 2, verses 16 - 20
Read excerpt
16 However, knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law; For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified. 17 If, seeking justification in Christ, we ourselves turned out to be sinners, then is Christ really the minister of sin? No way. 18 For if I build again what I have destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 By the law I died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, 20 and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Collapse
Priest Dmitry (Baritsky) comments
Prayer in the Christian life. What is prayer? About prayer
Prayer is the most important part of the spiritual life of every believer. Through prayer, a person turns to God, asks him and asks for forgiveness from him. In other words, prayer is nothing more than a person’s way of talking with God. About prayer...
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer, said Saint Philaret of Moscow, “is a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
Prayer does not require a specific time, place, circumstance or form. It can be verbose - long, and laconic - short. The prayer can be said at any time of the day or night, and anywhere. A person can pray under all circumstances of his life: when he is sick or healthy, when he is happy or sad, when he succeeds or fails, when he is in the company of his enemies or in the circle of his friends, when he is abandoned by everyone, or when he in the midst of your beloved family. But God’s temple serves as a special place of prayer. On Sundays, as well as on weekdays, if time permits, we should go to church to pray, where our brothers and sisters in Christ - Christians - gather to pray together, all together. This kind of prayer is called church prayer.
Every Orthodox Christian must pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before starting and at the end of any task (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).
In the morning we pray to thank God for preserving us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a successful day and ask him to keep us during the night.
Before and after meals we pray to thank God for His gifts and ask Him to bless and sanctify the food.
In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the upcoming work, and upon completion, thank God.
Unfortunately, many people forget about the necessity and importance of prayer, and resort to it only in cases of feeling hopeless. However, even in these cases, as practice shows, God does not forget about the person and gives him his love and support. But not a single prayer will bring anything good to a person if he simply reads it without thinking about what is said. Therefore, it is extremely important, when turning to the Creator in prayer, to truly feel every word.
God is the best of interlocutors; he will always hear a person and help him. You should not be embarrassed to talk to God even about the most secret things that are in your soul. The main thing is to do it with true faith in God.
“True prayer does not consist in words and saying them, but true prayer consists “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). When we pray to God, we must stand before Him not only in body, but also in spirit; and say prayer not only with your lips, but also with your mind and heart; and not only bow our heads and knees, but also our hearts before Him; and raise our intelligent eyes to Him with humility. For all prayer must come from the heart; and what the tongue says, the mind and heart must say.” Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
And no matter what happens during the day, everything happens according to the will of God; all, without exception, are circumstances in which the Lord wished to place you, so that you could be His presence, His love, His compassion. His creative mind, His courage... And, besides, whenever you encounter this or that situation, you are the one whom God put there to carry out the ministry of a Christian, to be a part of the Body of Christ and the action of God. If you do this, you will easily see that sometimes you will have to turn to God and say: “Lord, enlighten my mind, strengthen and direct my will, give me a fiery heart, help me!” At other times you will be able to say, “Oh my God, thank you!”
In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
In the New Testament, prayer is a living connection between the children of God and their infinitely good Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the unity of the entire Holy Trinity with the entire spirit.” Thus, prayer life is a constant and natural presence in the presence of the Trisagion of God and in communion with Him. Such vital communion is always possible because through baptism our being has become one with Christ. Prayer is Christian because it is communion with Christ and grows in the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are the dimensions of Christ's love.
“Prayer is not telling God our needs. Prayer is the condition under which Divine power can contact our spirit and act in us. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves.” Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin) (XX century).
Veneration of the Hieromartyr Hypatius and Presbyter Andrew
During his lifetime, Hypatius held a high episcopal post in Ephesus. A presbyter named Andrei was always with him. Both men became victims of the persecutions that took place everywhere during the reign of Leo the Isaurian. Hypatiy and Andrey studied together, but after studying, one became a monk, and the other followed the path of a cleric, seeking to guide the people on the true path.
The emperor was of the opinion that veneration of icons was the wrong approach, and therefore advocated the destruction of holy images.
Hypatius, together with the presbyter, openly advocated the preservation of the faces of the saints. For such disobedience, Christians were thrown into prison, believing that in cramped circumstances they would change their point of view. Time passed, and the men remained true to the original principles. Then the guards sent the righteous to torture, but even after prolonged torture, the martyrs did not want to give up venerating the icons.
None of the tortures caused serious damage to the bodies of the men, so the emperor ordered to first expose the saints to the ridicule of the courtyard crowd, and then kill them, throwing their bodies to be torn to pieces by animals. Christians were saved from a traceless death by secret followers who managed to intercept the bodies of the martyrs in order to bury them.
Holy Fathers on Prayer
“Prayer is a great weapon, an unfailing treasure, wealth that never runs out, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings and is more powerful than royal power.” St. John Chrysostom.
“Prayer in its rank is higher than alms.” St. Isaac the Syrian.
“Prayer is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God.” St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.
“During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty. Let us think about the fact that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God both by the position of the body and the sound of the voice.” Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage.
“You must abstain from marital affairs in order to engage in prayer; to abstain from worries about wealth, from the desire for earthly glory, from the enjoyment of pleasures, from envy and every evil deed against our neighbor, so that when our soul is in silence and not disturbed by any passion, in it, as in a mirror, God’s purity and uncloudedness will be insight." St. Basil the Great.
“When starting a prayer, leave yourself, your wife, your children, part with the earth, pass through heaven, leave every creature visible and invisible, and begin by praising Him who created everything, and when you praise Him, do not wander your mind here and there, do not talk about fabulous things. pagan, but choose words from the Holy Scriptures.” St. Basil the Great.
“Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” St. John Chrysostom.
Orthodox prayers to the holy saints. Holy saints of God.
Orthodox prayers for those in need for various needs and infirmities.
Space Forces Day
The vast expanses of the universe, unknown and mysterious, have always fascinated people, forcing them to look for ways to explore them. As it turned out, the space field is very extensive for diverse strategic developments in the extraction of other alternative types of resources and the development of planets. In addition, the sphere is an integral part of the defense complex and military technologies of many modern developed countries. Representatives of units that ensure the prevention of missile attacks by aggressors, the launch of domestic satellites and their control in orbit are dedicated to a separate celebration - Space Forces Day. This celebration is celebrated with honor by Russians on October 4th.
The professional celebration has been enshrined at the federal level since 2006 and is based on the decree of the current President of Russia, establishing a list of memorable days of the country's Armed Forces.
Read more about Space Forces Day
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable to know by heart.
1. The Lord's Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). 2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). 3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 5, 3-12; Matt. 5, 21-48; Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 3; Matt. 6, 6; Matt. 6, 14-21; Matt. 6, 24-25; Matthew 7, 1-5; Matthew 23, 8-12; John 13, 34). 4.Symbol of Faith. 5. Morning prayers and evening prayers according to a short prayer book. 6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination) ...
Finding of the relics of St. Demetrius of Rostov (1752)
Icon of St.
Demetrius of Rostov with a scene of veneration of his relics. Deut. floor. XVIII century GMZRK 43 years after the burial of St. Demetrius, on September 21, 1732, the fallen platform in the Conception Cathedral of the monastery was dismantled. The relics and clothes of the saint were found incorrupt, although the coffin had rotted. Over the next 5 years before canonization, more than 300 cases of help and healing from serious illnesses through prayers to the saint were collected and certified under oath. The decree on the canonization of St. Demetrius was the first in the Synodal period and for almost 200 years remained the only one. In the 6 years after canonization, while records of cases of help were being kept, another 203 cases of miraculous healings were recorded.
Today the relics of the Saint are found in the city of Rostov the Great, in the Spaso-Yakovlevsky Dimitrievsky Monastery.
Spaso-Yakovlevsky Dimitriev Monastery, Rostov, Photo: Roman Romanov
Listen to the short life of St. Demetrius on radio “Vera”
Died
• Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn (1606-1669) - Dutch artist.
• Vladimir Dal (1801-1872) - doctor, lexicographer, author of the “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language.”
• Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) - French composer.
• Olena Pchilka (1849-1930) - Ukrainian writer, editor, mother of Lesya Ukrainka.
• Maria Zankovetskaya (1854-1934) - theater actress, People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR.
• Max Weber (1881-1961) was an American abstract artist.
Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn. Aristotle looks at a bust of Plato. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Born
• Al-Biruni (973-1048) - medieval Persian scientist, encyclopedist and thinker.
• Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) - Italian artist of the late Baroque era, one of the largest representatives of the Neapolitan school of painting.
• Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) - French artist, one of the founders of the Barbizon school.
• Louis Henri Boussenard (1847-1910) - French writer (“Captain Rip-off”).
• Anne Rice (b. 1938) - American writer (“Interview with the Vampire”).
Jean Millet. "Death and the Woodcutter." Photo: Wikipedia
