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...
Biography of the couple
Alas, we cannot say anything about when Cyril and Maria of Radonezh were born. One can only assume, since they died at a respectable age, that they were born in the second half of the 13th century. Most likely, Kirill inherited the boyar title from his father. He owned an estate in the village of Varnitsa, which was located four miles from Rostov the Great. But it is reliably known that Kirill was in the service first of Prince Konstantin Borisovich, and then of Konstantin Vasilyevich.
Obviously, his wife Maria was also of a boyar family. But who her parents were, how and where her childhood and adolescence took place, and even when she got married, historians do not know. The couple lived richly, but without luxury. Kirill went to the court of the princes of Rostov only on duty. The couple spent most of their time on their estate, not disdaining, as Epiphanius the Wise writes, and physical labor. They were pious people, but they were no longer different from the Orthodox people. They had two sons - Stefan and Peter.
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 But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.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...
Love for work
Kirill and Maria tried to visit the princely court as little as possible. They preferred a quiet life on their estate to the bustle of Rostov the Great. There, the righteous couple not only themselves took part in various manual work, but managed to instill a taste for it in all their sons. Each of the boys knew how to appreciate the work of others, loved to work themselves and mastered a number of crafts.
The work of St. Sergius
We can glean some information about this from the life of St. Sergius. It is known that before the formation of the monastery, the monk survived alone in the forest, preparing various food supplies for himself in it. Later, the holy abbot got up earlier than the other brothers of his monastery and went to bed later than everyone else. All day long he alternated prayer with manual labor, deliberately choosing the most difficult obediences for himself. While still a hermit in the Radonezh Forest, the Monk Sergius built himself a cell there, and then cut down a wooden church in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity. The construction of the church required many skills from the saint, which he could only obtain earlier, in the house of his parents.
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
Religious exploits of Mary herself
It seems that to bear in the womb of a future saint, who, moreover, announced himself so early, is already a great merit before God. But Saint Mary of Radonezh, as the author of the life of the founder of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra writes, stayed away from all uncleanness and defilement. She treated the child she carried as “some priceless treasure.” While other pregnant women annoyed their husbands with their whims, Maria was very restrained in food.
She strictly kept fasts and generally refused any fast food. When she was pregnant, she excluded fish from her diet. She ate only boiled vegetables and cereals, and drank only spring water, and even then in small quantities. She very often prayed alone to God, asking Him to protect her and the baby. She also often mentioned that if he were born male, she would dedicate him to the Church, that is, make him a monk, as soon as he reached the age of understanding good and evil.
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).
The end of earthly life
Since his adolescence, Bartholomew wanted to take monastic vows and often reminded his parents of the promise they had made to dedicate him to God. Kirill and Maria did not give up their words, but asked their son to support them in their senile weakness and poverty, because the youngest son was their only support. But since death still did not come for them, the parents decided to take monastic vows themselves. For this purpose, Schemamonk Kirill and the Venerable Mary of Radonezh retired to the Khotkovo monastery. There they spent the rest of their days in prayer and abstinence.
Meanwhile, the fate of their eldest son, Stefan, changed. His wife died. Stefan, being in grief, decided to leave the world. He gave his two sons to be raised by his younger brother Peter and also entered the Khotkovsky monastery. In 1337, the parents appeared before the Lord, and their sons buried them in the monastery, under the floor of the Intercession Cathedral. For forty days Bartholomew stayed at the tomb of Cyril and Mary, and then he distributed his property to the poor and retired with his brother Stefan to the Makovetsky forest, where they built the Trinity Church and a monastery around it. Three years later, the saint took monastic vows, taking the monastic name Sergius.
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.
People's Intercessors
The Church recognized the schema-monks as reverends only in the 19th century. But already on the icons of the 15th century, Cyril and Mary, the parents of Sergius of Radonezh, were depicted with halos around their heads. People constantly flocked to the grave of the intercessors, asking for recovery from their illnesses. The Intercession Cathedral was rebuilt several times, but the relics remained in the crypt until the terrible years of “militant atheism.”
Above the grave was an ancient icon of Mary of Radonezh and other members of her family. This image embodied the idea of heavenly intercession. In the center of the icon was the Mother of God with her hands raised in prayer. Her feet rested on the grave of the schema monks. On one side of her were depicted the men of the clan: Cyril, Sergius, Stefan and Peter, and on the other - the women: Maria, Anna and Catherine. According to legend, the founder of the Trinity Lavra often visited Khotkovo to pray at the grave of his parents. One of the icons of Sergius of Radonezh depicts him with a censer over his coffin in Khotkovo.
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) ...
Yokos z7.
A new blessing is shown to all the creators and 3 in the world through you, prpdbnіi, є3гдА have passed2 є3стE t temporary sеS ѕ є3д0лівніз in њвњвєлєл вВчні. sy6z more power in†sha, also 3 under8 hidden secrets, miracles and 3flow: many great, especially brought to you babies and 3selє1niz gift. today, for the sake of acceptance, heal our blessed ones, and praise us6 sytevhz:
Rejoice, thou who through temporal death have come to eternal life: Rejoice, thou through incorruption and 3 miracles2 of glorification.
Rejoice, as you are remembered with praises and 3 blessings with you: Rejoice, as your memory was written on nb7sho and3 blessed in your birth.
Rejoice, you who have given more healing to the greater children: Rejoice, the greater maiden, who has flowed to you with faith and love, and who has not ailted you and saved you.
Rejoice, those who love and honor you and our representatives: Rejoice, where gifts of grace are ever given to us.
Rejoice, blessed kingdom and 3rd march, our dearest gentlemen!
