Today we celebrate the feast of the Yaroslavskaya Icon of the most Holy Mother of God, one of the “Umilenie” of “Tenderness” icons that are so loved in the Slavic lands.
This was the first wonderworking icon of the Mother of God revealed during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, and was brought from Kiev to Yaroslavl soon after the invasion of Batu Khan by the holy right-believing Princes Basil and Constantine (July 3).
As we stand or kneel before the icon, we encounter the Virgin’s deep love and care for the Infant-Saviour, as she holds Him close to her – though her face shows reflective inner thought rather than looking at the Child or at us. The Saviour touches His mother’s face, focusing on her as he holds the hem of her robe with his other hand.
This is a perfect icon of the sacred motherhood and love of the Mother of God, to whom we turn in prayer, particularly asking her maternal care for the Archpriest Yves, the Subdeacon Peter, Gennady, Alexey, Valery, Irina, Anastasia, Fidelmia, Anamieka, Phoevos, Mary-Louisa, Mairi, Ruth-Silouana, the infant Lawrence, Susan and all who are sick- and for all refugees from Ukraine, who like her holy icon have fled from their homeland to escape war and bloodshed.
Save thy servants from harm, O Theotokos, for all we, after God, flee unto thee, as to an unassailable wall and intercessor.
Look with loving-kindness, O all-hymned Theotokos, upon my cruel bodily suffering, and heal the sickness of my soul.
After celebrating the Sunday of All Saints, yesterday, today sees the beginning of the Apostles’ Fast, which will last until the feast of the Holy Chiefs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, on 12 July – new style.
In Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch, this Fast originated as a post Trinity-Pentecost Fast, as a time of spiritual purification and struggle, so that we might be personally granted the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This understanding is evident in the words of St Leo the Great, Pope of Old Rome (†461),
“After the long feast of Pentecost, fasting is especially necessary to purify our thoughts and render us worthy to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit … Therefore, the salutary custom was established of fasting after the joyful days during which we celebrated the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.”
Past observance saw local variations in the length of this Fast, ranging from a week to a whole forty days. However, though the Fast commences on a moveable date (depending on the Pascha-Pentecostarion cycle) we now conclude the fast on the fixed date of the feast of the Holy Chief Apostles, varying from 8 days to 42 days.
As always, it is far more important that our fasting begins within us – with abstinence from sin – but the dietary Fast is one which helps us to put aside earthly cares, to pray MORE as we eat and cook LESS. We should not simply be changing ingredients, but moderating the amount we eat.
As in all Fasts, we give up all meat, eggs, and dairy food, striving to keep the fast from oil, and only partaking of wine/alcohol on days when it is blessed by the Church. During the Apostles Fast, we are permitted fish on Saturdays and Sundays, and on several other feasts.
Here is a summary of this year’s Fast, including some feasts, some of which explain the relaxation of the Fast on days which would usually be observed with a stricter fasting-regime. We are always aware that there is some variation in calendars, but follow ROCOR usage from the St Innocent and Jordanville calendars:
Monday June 20 N.S. –Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Tuesday June 21 N.S. –Fast. Wine and oil.
Wednesday June 22 N.S. – Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Thursday June 23 N.S. –Fast. Wine and oil.
Friday June 24 N.S. –Fast. Wine and oil.Holy Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas (1st c.)
Saturday June 25 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.
Sunday June 26 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.
Monday June 27 N.S. –Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Tuesday June 28 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow (1461).
Wednesday June 29 N.S. –Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Thursday June 30 N.S. –Fast. Wine and oil.
Friday July 1 N.S. –Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Saturday July 2 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.
Sunday July 3 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.
Monday July 4 N.S. – Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Tuesday July 5 N.S. –Fast. Wine and oil.
Wednesday July 6 N.S. –Fast. Wine and oil.The Meeting of the Vladimir Icon
Thursday July 7 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
Friday July 8 N.S. –Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Saturday July 9 N.S. – Fast. Fish, wine and oil.
Sunday July 10 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.
Monday July 11 N.S. –Fast. Fish, wine and oil.Venerable Fathers Sergius and Herman (14th c.), abbots of Valaam. Icon of the Mother of God ‘Of the Three Hands’
May God bless you all, and remember that even though it is not great Lent, it does not mean that this Fast is not important.
I would like to express profound thanks to all who made Troitsa such a joyful and festive celebration in St John’s, in labours for Liturgy, Vespers and trapeza… and the less than popular putting away and cleaning.
We greatly appreciated the profusion of flowers and greenery, including the lovely posies that our Warminster ladies arranged so that all of the thirty-three adults could hold flowers during the services, including wonderful bunches of flowers for the clergy – with Sweet Williams at my request, as we always had them in our Troitsa flowers in the Birmingham podvorie of St Seraphim.
To have extras from Cheltenham was an unexpected surprise, and to have so many receiving Holy Communion was a great blessing.
Despite the considerable combined length of the Hours, Liturgy and Vespers, everyone remained buoyant and joyful, with our feast culminating in a wonderfully festive lunch, at which we all ate very well, concluding with much appreciated Torte Napoleon and Medovnik to celebrate Svetlana’s birthday.
Having chanted ‘Mnogaya leta’ for Melangell, a few days after her nameday, we also pray that our senior sister, Svetlana, may be blessed with Many Years!
As we celebrate the Day of the Holy Spirit, I wish you all a blessed and joyous continuation of the feast, enjoining you to heed the words of the righteous St Alexei Mechev,
“Call on the Holy Spirit – always keep your hearts pure so as not to drive away the Holy Spirit from them but to attract Him.”
Turn to the hymns of the feast, and fill this week with joyful prayer to the Heavenly King, the Comforter – to fill your life, your family and your home, as temples of the Holy Spirit.
O Heavenly King, the Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art in all places, and fillest all things, Treasury of good things, and Giver of life, come, and dwell in us, and cleanse us from every impurity; and save our souls, O good One.
Dear brothers and sisters, с праздником! Happy Feast!
Greetings to you all on this feast of Pentecost when we celebrate the sending-down of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles with the physical manifestation of God’s power.
The Acts of the Apostles described this descent of the Holy Spirit as being as or like a rushing wind, and flames of fire.
This is as close as the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke could come to describing the descent of the Holy Spirit in human language, as ultimately, this outpouring was beyond the descriptive capability of human language.
Just as Ezekiel had to resort to using as and like to describe an attempted approximation of his vision of God on the heavenly chariot-throne; as Daniel had to do likewise in describing the Ancient of Days; as St John the Theologian did in describing his vision of the Son of Man – so St Luke can only look for the nearest earthly things to describe the experience of the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
Nearly two thousand years later, in celebrating the feast, in our services we return to the wonderful prayer “O Heavenly King…” calling upon the same Holy Spirit that descended upon the apostles “as of a rushing mighty wind” and in “cloven tongues like as of fire” to come and abide in us, and if it were not for our baptismal union with Christ, this request would be daring to the point of audacity.
How can we humans – mere creatures – address the Holy Spirit thus: the same Holy Spirit that we encounter in the dramatic events of today’s Gospel?
Of course, in prayer, we ask God for many things – for mercy, for protection, for the healing of the sick, the relief of the suffering, and for the repsose of the departed, for jobs, material necessities, and many other things… but we now go much further than these prayerfull requests.
We have called the Holy Spirit Heavenly King, yet we His servants and creatures ask the “Comforter, the Spirit of Truth” to come and dwell in us – for the Paraclete to actually stay and abide within us fallen and weak human beings – hardly palatial dwellings for the Heavenly King – and to “cleanse us of all impurity and save our souls.”
We can only understand the boldness and even the possibility of this audacious request through the grace, calling and promise of our baptism and chrismation, by which we have already been cleansed, enlightened and sealed by the operation of the Holy Spirit (no matter what we have done since that spiritual rebirth), having been set aside for God as we were anointed with holy chrism in “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit”.
When the Saviour ascended, He promised to send another Comforter, and this came to pass on the day of Pentecost – but this outpouring of the Spirit is not one that only anointed the apostles and the newly founded apostolic Church, but one which is continually poured forth upon the individual members of the Body of Christ: especially in the Holy Mysteries of the Church, which the Saviour has given us.
The Holy Spirit not only recreates us in the Holy Mysteries, but initiates us into the Christian mystery and leads us to Christ, through Whom we are brought to the Father
In our Christian lives, we may not see dramatic signs as on the day of Pentecost, but Christ’s promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit neither ceases nor fails, and it is through the quiet working of the Holy Spirit in our community and individual lives that the gift of Pentecost continues.
The same Holy Spirit which descended upon the upper room on the day of Pentecost has descended upon the baptismal waters in which the new members of our community have been immersed over the last half-year, and was equally the sanctifier of the waters of our own baptism: the Holy Spirit who makes each of us a new creation, in Christ.
The same Comforter sanctified the holy chrism with which each of us received in “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” after baptism. Though we may nor experience supernatural signs, this sealing is our own personal Pentecost, in which we receive the same gift and outpouring that the apostles received in the upper room.
During the consecration at the Divine Liturgy, we pray, “O Lord, Who at the third hour didst send down Thy Most Holy Spirit upon Thine apostles: take Him not away from us, O Good One, but renew Him in us who pray to Thee…” that through the same Holy Spirit, the Holy Gifts may become the very Body and Blood of the Saviour, who promised the Holy Spirit to His disciples.
In the Mystery of Holy Unction, the same Holy Spirit, sanctifies the ‘oil of gladness’, with which we are anointed for the “healing of soul and body”, becoming not only a sign or a symbol, but the spiritual means by which we receive Grace and healing.
The same Holy Spirit works in Holy Matrimony to join husband and wife as one flesh, uniting them in prayer and Faith, transforming them in a new relationship with one another, with God, and with the Church. Through the Grace of the Holy Spirit, they are called to grow together in love, leading one another to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through confession and the mystery of repentance, the same Holy Spirit transforms, cleanses and purifies the human heart, as the gift of God’s forgiveness and Grace restores and renews His image in each of us, who were clothed in Christ in the Mystery of Baptism.
Through the operation of the Holy Spirit, this repentance is not simply a remedial act of spiritual reorientation or correction after we have sinned and fallen, but the entire way of Christian-living, leading to our transformation and transfiguration, in which the human heart and mind are illuminated and raised up to God.
Through the laying-on of hands by the bishops, as successors of the apostles, and by the operation of the same Holy Spirit, the life of the Church is preserved by the ordination of its ministers to Holy Orders – as bishops, priests and deacons.
Thus, through each of these Holy Mysteries, the Holy Spirit that descended on the apostles on the day of Pentecost, continues to work in the Church and in each of us, quietly, in what is for most of us is a hidden but nevertheless real way.
This presence requires neither signs nor wonders as a mark of validity or authenticity, and whilst the gifts of the Spirit spoken of in the New Testament include supernatural and miraculous charisms that we continue to see in the lives of the saints, the fruits of the Holy Spirit of which St Paul the Apostle speaks are the simple characteristics of a Christian life: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
But, for the fruits of the Holy Spirit to grow and strengthen within us, we need to be active in the podvig of Christian living – labouring to make ourselves worthy receptacles of God’s grace, and worthy temples of the Holy Spirit.
When addressing the Church in Ephesus, St Paul wrote, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” It is by walking in the manner worthy of our calling that the fruits of the Holy Spirit will multiply in us, with such an overflowing abundance that they benefit all around us, united with one another in the bond of peace of which the apostle speaks.
Let each of us labour as individuals, and together as Christ’s Church, to cultivate spiritual lives in which the quiet indwelling of the Holy Spirit transforms us by Divine Grace.
Embracing the holiness and goodness to which God calls us, we must each be oriented to Him, in lives in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel, saturated with prayer, in simplicity, moderation and sobriety, lived in the Church and as the Church – as the community of faith sanctified and confirmed on the feast of Pentecost. And, in all of this, let us support, sustain and help one another, as fellow strugglers and co-workers for the Holy Spirit.
With love in Christ – Hieromonk Mark
“All of us, my friends, participate in this effect of the life-giving goodness of the Holy Spirit in various experiences of our spiritual rebirth, renewal and sanctification. The means by which the Holy Spirit is communicated to us are fervent prayer and the Church sacraments. Our whole life, my friends, from beginning to end is accompanied by the great gifts of the Holy Spirit; and yet, in all its actions it must consist and be lived under the influence of the blessing, sanctifying and life-giving grace of the Holy Spirit.
Call on the Holy Spirit – always keep your hearts pure so as not to drive away the Holy Spirit from them but to attract Him.”
As we celebrate the feast of the Venerable hermitess, Melangell, we send our greetings to Pennant Melangell where Melangell (Menna) is celebrating her nameday on pilgriamge just a matter of days after her baptism, and to Mother Melangell in Walsingham.
We pray that the Lord may grant them many years, and we wish them a joyful and grace-filled feast.
Venerable Mother, Melangell, pray to God for us!
Troparion, Tone 8: Preferring the rigours of monasticism to worldly status and marriage, 0 pious Melangell, though wast fifteen years on a rock, emulating the example of the Syrian Stylites. Wherefore, 0 Saint, pray to God that He will give us strength to serve Him as He wills, that we may be found worthy of His great mercy.
Kontakion, Tone 4: Praise, glory and honour are thy due, 0 righteous Melangell, for in consecrating thy virginity to Christ, thou didst give us a model of Christian living. Wherefore we who keep thy festival pray for grace to amend our lives according to thy example, glorifying God in every word and deed.
Akathist to St. John the Russian, the New Confessor and Wonderworker, whose incorrupt Holy Relics are treasured in Neo Prokopion, Evia
Written by Nun Isidora Agierotheitissa
Kontakion 1: The perfect pinnacle of confession, and the divine example of humility, you willingly were steadfast amidst the bitterness, and your flesh shone forth with incorruption, let us honour John whose name is great, singing to him: Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Oikos 1: You lived the life of the bodiless on earth in your physical flesh, O John, and imitating the ranks of the Bodiless Angels, God Who fashioned you glorified you in wondrous and divine works. Therefore, you hear from those who are amazed by you such words as these:
Rejoice, the precious icon of piety,
Rejoice, rich support of the holy faith.
Rejoice, perfect one in godly struggles,
Rejoice, privileged one serving uplifted things.
Rejoice, the fair pinnacle of all the Righteous ones,
Rejoice, the sacred radiance of the confessors.
Rejoice, the most-precious joy of the Church,
Rejoice, the most-prided offspring of noble Russia.
Rejoice, lamp of the radiance of the saints,
Rejoice, treasury of incorrupt and sacred gifts.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 2: Barbarians faced your nation in battle, and took you hostage, O all-blessed one, thus bringing you to Asia Minor, where you were sold to a terrible boss, while you totally submitted to him in slavery in your incomparable steadfastness, O Father. And being obedient to him as a humble slave, O John, to God, the guide of all things, you offered the hymn, chanting endlessly: Alleluia.
Oikos 2: You willed to imitate Christ, and to suffer the divine Passion, therefore, you endured every insult, O John, in your gladsome and undoubting heart. And you drank their every ridicule and bitterness as a pleasant drink. Therefore, you ever gladden those you cry out to you words like these:
Rejoice, true steward of the God of all,
Rejoice, deferential servant of a vicious boss.
Rejoice, you who endured unspeakable evils,
Rejoice, you who were enriched with heavenly rewards.
Rejoice, you who endured the bitter yoke of slavery,
Rejoice, you who bore the Lord’s yoke with joy.
Rejoice, divine mirror of mystical rays,
Rejoice, sacred treasury of God-given gifts.
Rejoice, anointer of the unspeakable mystagogy,
Rejoice, shining pearl of the Church.
Rejoice, lamp that shines upon the hearts of the faithful,
Rejoice, sun that speaks of the unwaning Christ.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 3: In the rich home in which you served, a dinner was served, and through the grace of your Lord, you worked a great miracle through your piercing prayer, O Father. And from afar, O John, you sent food to your slave master in his own dish, thus granting him joy. While to God, Who dwells in the highest, you granted joy, as your burning heart chanted the hymn: Alleluia.
Oikos 3: Having the most-pure fear of the Lord in your holy heart, O Father, as David the Prophet, you were enriched with perfect love. And through the spring of love, you approached God perfectly, and you meditated upon the law mindfully, O all-precious John, and called upon His name ceaselessly from the mouth of your heart. Therefore, with incomparable care, you hearken upon us who call upon you ceaselessly:
Rejoice, the most-faithful worshipper of the God of all,
Rejoice, the bloodless Martyr of the Master of all.
Rejoice, you who were enriched with the great forbearance of Job,
Rejoice, you who unflinchingly gave a good witness.
Rejoice, you who travelled the straight path of turmoil,
Rejoice, you who bent the neck of your soul to Christ.
Rejoice, treasury of graces, full of divine fragrance,
Rejoice, river of wonders, and inheritance of fragrance.
Rejoice, the wealth of the Greeks, the incorruptible treasure,
Rejoice, perfect sharer of the mystical Table.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 4: With the immense warmth of your fervour, O John, you followed Christ willingly, and you did not at all deny His holy and all-powerful name, O blessed one. You suffered many pains, but you were as a diamond amidst turmoil, that beautifies the Church of Christ. With the fiery rays of the confession which you gave before the godless rulers with a piercing voice, O Father, you ceaselessly spoke of God, and chanted the thrice-holy hymn, chanting in thanksgiving: Alleluia.
Oikos 4: From Russia, O Father, you were transported to the holy land of Asia Minor as a slave. And by your righteous pains you cultivated the land, and harvested the fruit of the faith, offering it to God Who cultivated you. Through freedom in soul, you served Him, O Righteous John, and kept your mind free, giving glory to Him instead as is right. Therefore, for those who bless you, grant a godly mind and a pure heart, as we cry out to you with loud voices like this:
Rejoice, you who worked the mystical vineyard,
Rejoice, you who fed upon the grapes of your athletic pains.
Rejoice, for with precious tears you watered your pillow,
Rejoice, for with divine rejoicing you bestow harmony.
Rejoice, you who received a great talent from the hand of God,
Rejoice, you who greatly increased the portion given to you.
Rejoice, you who received the holy seed within the field of your heart,
Rejoice, you who bore fruit through the good word of your confession.
Rejoice, the good servant of every virtue,
Rejoice, the prudent disciple of the Master of all.
Rejoice, the boast of the Church and root of beautiful fruit,
Rejoice, the glory of the Righteous, and wonder of the Angels.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 5: Willingly doing the will of the Lord, you eagerly served, O sacred John, and with your humble mindset you followed the commandments. Therefore, you rejoiced as you accepted the yoke of slavery for the love which He offered to us, as He took on the form of a servant in His great goodness. With utter desire in heart, and a joyous voice, you offered to Him the hymn and ode as is proper: Alleluia.
Oikos 5: In your endurance, you dwelt within a dark stable with the horses, while in your heart you mystically beheld the light of Christ, and you hymned the Giver-of-light in truth, keeping the lamp of your soul lit through the illuminating rays of your all-holy prayers. I entreat you to drive away the darkness from my irrational soul, that I may rationally offer you this light-bearing ode, saying fervently these words in thanksgiving:
Rejoice, healer adorned with the beauty of confession,
Rejoice, steadfast and divine pinnacle of good struggles.
Rejoice, the most-joyous treasury of the spotless faith,
Rejoice, spotless treasury of joyous graces.
Rejoice, you who freely give from the treasury of the Saints,
Rejoice, you who strengthen the souls with precious wealth.
Rejoice, spring which brings the fragrant message of dispassion,
Rejoice, well that waters with the refreshment of the spirit.
Rejoice, for you wore the tattered garment of the flesh in humility, O Father,
Rejoice, for you gladden the soul with songs from above.
Rejoice, the perfect companion of servants,
Rejoice, the faithful servant of the divine will.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 6: Though you lived under the dominion of deceived ones, you who trample upon the enemy, you preserved your heart, O wondrous John, and you founded a great tower of the strength of God in the house of your soul that was unassailable to all, in which you loudly spoke of God’s greatness. Loudly speak to my mouth, through the boldness of your prayers, that I might totally resist the strength of the deceiver, and offer to the all-powerful God, along with the Angels, the hymn: Alleluia.
Oikos 6: Shining with the beauty of your soul more than corruptible gold, you beautify the Church of Christ, O John, and with the golden rays of your holy deeds, you shine upon all of us with the beauty of the Master. Illumine the garment of my soul, which is soiled by the passions, through your bold intercessions, I entreat you, that I might hymn your fervent help, as is needful, and with all joy, ceaselessly saying to you words such as these:
Rejoice, container of healings, and river of wonders,
Rejoice, the most-speedy physician of incurable diseases.
Rejoice, you who exalted God through your wondrous works,
Rejoice, you who trampled upon the enemy through your unspeakable groans.
Rejoice, you who imitated well the endurance of Job,
Rejoice, for as another Lazarus, you persevered in poverty.
Rejoice, you who inherited well the wealth of Eden,
Rejoice, you who wisely found the great treasure.
Rejoice, for your flesh did not taste of corruption in death,
Rejoice, you who partake of the grace of incorruption upon the earth.
Rejoice, you who offer to God prayers of intercession,
Rejoice, protector of all the faithful, full of sympathy.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 7: The precious members of your flesh, O Champion, bore the sacred marks of your confession, as you withstood many evils with your unswayable mind, and suffered hunger, and the bitterness of insults, which you drank as a river, and joyous food, from the eternal city of Eden, O John, in which dwell the choirs of the Righteous, and the sacred ranks of the Martyrs, and the cities of the divine confessors, as you chant ceaselessly unto God in Trinity the gladsome hymn in joy: Alleluia.
Oikos 7: Dwelling in the divine house of the radiant and glorious trophy-bearer George in Asia Minor, you supplicated all day, and prayed all night, thus pleasing the Master of all, O John. Therefore, may you ever look graciously upon us who hymn you, granting remission of sins to our souls, and deep peace and transformation of the passions, that out of gratefulness we might cry to you in truth:
Rejoice, fund of prayer, and rule of continence,
Rejoice, river of love, and icon of gladsomeness.
Rejoice, for you imitated the heavenly ranks of the Cherubim,
Rejoice, for you illuminated the sacred ranks of the Righteous.
Rejoice, house of purity, and robe of cleanliness,
Rejoice, the highest imitator of the divine life.
Rejoice, you who took refuge in the divine church of Saint George,
Rejoice, for you pray with him to God, O Father.
Rejoice, you who accepted the passion of the Martyrs in the flesh,
Rejoice, you who joined with all those who confess God.
Rejoice, Christ’s teacher of humility for us,
Rejoice, for you properly reached the height of dispassion.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 8: You lived your life on earth as a stranger, but grew closer to Christ, Who estranged Himself for us on earth, that we might become friends and close to God, delivering us from our former disobedience, and making us sharers in the eternal joy, and that we be found in light. May your light-bearing prayers, O servant of the light, grant us every grace, O sacred John, that we be delivered from the darkness, and chant unto the Worker-of-light and Master of all, the great ode and never-silent hymn: Alleluia.
Oikos 8: With your whole mind, O Father, you unwaveringly followed the Lord of all, Whom you desired from childhood, and Whose army you were numbered in out of obedience, inscribing His laws upon the tablets of your heart, and keeping them with exactness as a good servant, and from Whom you received divine grace as the reward for your efforts, and your face shone as did the Law-giver Moses. Therefore, do not cease to intercede for us, O good John, and make us worthy to keep the holy commandments, that we might be found in the radiant bridal chamber, and ever chant to you these good words:
Rejoice, perfect mystagogue of divine visions,
Rejoice, precious diner from the radiant Table.
Rejoice, friend of the Master and beloved son,
Rejoice, protector of the faithful, and sacred guide of brides.
Rejoice, you who glorified the immortal God below,
Rejoice, you who trampled upon the powerless enemy.
Rejoice, you who wondrously were true to your Christian name,
Rejoice, stream of wonders, and river of healings.
Rejoice, the joyfulness of the Russians and the sweetness of the Greeks,
Rejoice, the lamp of Evia and the adornment of the Church.
Rejoice, the holy shield of confessors,
Rejoice, the purity and gladness of the Athletes of the Lord.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 9: Every painful notion you endured with joy, as you were shown to be a tower of strength against every enemy, O John, utterly revealing their machinations, and receiving the crown from the hand of Him Who works all things. Through your prayers, O Father, make us worthy to be victorious over [the enemy’s] machinations, and to raise up the trophies of godly victory in strength, and strength of life, that we might all cry out the victorious ode: Alleluia.
Oikos 9: The Russian people take refuge in your holy memory, and skip and magnify God, O John, for He gave you to them as an all-holy root. Asia Minor also dances in glory, for you blessed her through your pains and holy struggles. And Evia also sings, and the noble island rejoices, being joyously enriched with your wondrous body, which transforms corruption, and turns beyond, calling the Greeks, and every city and people that bears the name of Christ to cry out to you these words graciously:
Rejoice, you who drank insults as sweet water,
Rejoice, you who took reproach as joyous food.
Rejoice, you who bore the marks of the Lord in your flesh,
Rejoice, you who bear the seal of incorruption in it.
Rejoice, for you offered yourself to the King of all,
Rejoice, for you ever stand before His throne in heaven.
Rejoice, you who in slavery were proven as gold,
Rejoice, you who are full of gold, and shine upon the earth.
Rejoice, you who quenched the fire of the furnace through your pains,
Rejoice, you who saved your flesh from corruption in the flames.
Rejoice, you who saved the disciple from terrible danger,
Rejoice, you who fill every heart with wonder.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 10: We venerate your incorrupt body in piety, O John, and we bless the immortal God, Who delivered every race of man from death, and through His Third-day Resurrection, resurrected us. We sing to Him in joyous voices faithfully, praising the strength of His wonders, the multitude of His miracles, and we cry from our hearts, with the Angelic choirs, the joyous hymn and cherubic ode: Alleluia.
Oikos 10: Foreseeing your blessed repose, O John, you sought to partake of the Spotless Mysteries, that you might be born into the life of eternal communion. These were brought to you by a priest in an apple, hidden as a treasure from the faithless enemies. Having received the Mysteries within your soul, O Father, you gave your soul to God. We ever glorify Him, as the Author of our life, and we all say these to you from our heart, ceaselessly:
Rejoice, the most-precious temple of divine gifts,
Rejoice, the most-radiant container of precious virtues.
Rejoice, you who bear the good news of your calling from above,
Rejoice, you who enrich with the fragrance of the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, you who founded within the zeal and steadfastness of the Martyrs,
Rejoice, for having them in mind, you imitated their life.
Rejoice, you who who copied the lives of all the Righteous Ones.
Rejoice, you who reached the hymnody of the Angelic ranks.
Rejoice, you who remained for many years in the dark stable,
Rejoice, you who ever dwell in the pastures of light.
Rejoice, you who adorn the Church of Christ,
Rejoice, you who beautify the holy island of Evia.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 11: Having burned up every evil material within yourself, you were offered to the Church as an all-fragrant harbour, gladdening the faithful with the grandeur of virtues. Therefore, at your holy memory, O John, we weave godly crowns with flowers, out of debt, and rightly engrave a hymn, honouring you from our soul, for the Lord also, in great joy, placed a crown upon your head, O Father, and we chant together: Alleluia.
Oikos 11: Beholding light from your grave as a pillar of fire, you told to those there clearly, O John, of your life full of light which you struggled in on earth, and the boldness which you were eternally enriched with by the Father of Lights. As you never leave His hand, we entreat you to extend your hand, that we be delivered from the darkness, and walk in the light of the commandments, as your servants ceaselessly hymn the Giver-of-light and Saviour, the Redeemer Jesus, and ceaselessly say to you with one voice:
Rejoice, lamp of the Light that drives away the darkness of passions,
Rejoice, for you lit within your soul a lamp with the light of the virtues.
Rejoice, you who gladden the hearts of the faithful with your light,
Rejoice, you who make joyous the holy Church with your beauty.
Rejoice, man of godly and holy desires,
Rejoice, divine lover of sacred commandments.
Rejoice, you who adorn the firmament above,
Rejoice, you who strengthen the souls of all through the wood of the Cross.
Rejoice, spring of divine things, and life-giving waters,
Rejoice, infinite stream of unspeakable wonders.
Rejoice, tree that bears the fruit of Paradise,
Rejoice, flower that carries the fragrance of the Comforter.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 12: Rejoicing that your time of bitter slavery had come to an end, your holy soul passed to the hand of God, and inherited joy in truth, O John, as you ever rejoice together with the choirs of the Angels. Let us all hail you, speaking to the Athlete of the Lord, celebrating his radiant memory with fervour, and embracing his sacred body with faith. And the choir claps on earth in harmony, while those in the heavens cry out the ode, to God in the highest, ever chanting to Him: Alleluia.
Oikos 12: Truly surpassing the sands of the sea, O Father, are the multitude of your wonders, which you pour upon the faithful, who out of debt approach your sacred church, and entreat your intercessions, O sacred John, that we be delivered from sicknesses and from the assaults of the passions, as we cry out willingly with a glad heart:
Rejoice, healer of sicknesses, and driver-out of demons,
Rejoice, fountain of wonders, and mixing-bowel of blessing.
Rejoice, you who shine as a star with the Three-rays of light,
Rejoice, you who dissipate the soul-corrupting mist of the passions.
Rejoice, you grant to all the true wealth of the Master,
Rejoice, you who pour forth incorruptible treasure for the faithful.
Rejoice, divine harbour which grants salvation to souls,
Rejoice, you who befriend us with the Prince of peace.
Rejoice, you who truly bring forth strange wonders,
Rejoice, for your flesh was wondrously estranged from corruption.
Rejoice, pillar of Russia and treasure of Greece,
Rejoice, unsleeping protector of the whole world.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 13: O All-holy Father, the height of divine confessors, and newly-illumined star, O John, you who received the experience of the Martyrs in your precious body, and the sweat of the Righteous, and willingly endured toils, and received a crown upon your head from your beloved Master, and were honoured by incorruption of your holy flesh: grant us the honour of incorruption in the heavens, through your prayers and uplifted hands, that we find the glory of eternal life, with all those who have been saved. To the Lord, Whom you stand before, we offer the ode, crying out with the Bodiless ones ceaselessly: Alleluia.
Oikos 1: You lived the life of the bodiless on earth in your physical flesh, O John, (3) and imitating the ranks of the Bodiless Angels, God Who fashioned you glorified you in wondrous and divine works. Therefore, you hear from those who are amazed by you such words as these:
Rejoice, the precious icon of piety,
Rejoice, rich support of the holy faith.
Rejoice, perfect one in godly struggles,
Rejoice, privileged one serving uplifted things.
Rejoice, the fair pinnacle of all the Righteous ones,
Rejoice, the sacred radiance of the confessors.
Rejoice, the most-precious joy of the Church,
Rejoice, the most-prided offspring of noble Russia.
Rejoice, lamp of the radiance of the saints,
Rejoice, treasury of incorrupt and sacred gifts.
Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
Kontakion 1: The perfect pinnacle of confession, and the divine example of humility, you willingly were steadfast amidst the bitterness, and your flesh shone forth with incorruption, let us honour John whose name is great, singing to him: Rejoice, O boast of the Russians.
The Holy Confessor John the Russian was born in Little Russia around 1690, and was raised in piety and love for the Church of God. Upon attaining the age of maturity he was called to military service, and he served as a simple soldier in the army of Peter I and took part in the Russo-Turkish War. During the Prutsk Campaign of 1711 he and other soldiers were captured by the Tatars, who handed him over to the commander of the Turkish cavalry. He took his Russian captive home with him to Asia Minor, to the village of Prokopion.
The Turks tried to convert the Christian soldiers to the Moslem faith with threats and flattery, but those who resisted were beaten and tortured. Some, alas, denied Christ and became Moslems, hoping to improve their lot. Saint John was not swayed by the promise of earthly delights, and he bravely endured the humiliation and beatings.
His master tortured him often in the hope that his slave would accept Islam. Saint John resolutely resisted the will of his master saying, “You cannot turn me from my holy Faith by threats, nor with promises of riches and pleasures. I will obey your orders willingly, if you will leave me free to follow my religion. I would rather surrender my head to you than to change my faith. I was born a Christian, and I shall die a Christian.”
Saint John’s bold words and firm faith, as well as his humility and meekness, finally softened the fierce heart of his master. He left John in peace, and no longer tried to make him renounce Christianity. The saint lived in the stable and took care of his master’s animals, rejoicing because his bed was a manger such as the one in which the Savior was born.
From morning until late evening the saint served his Turkish master, fulfilling all his commands. He performed his duties in the winter cold and summer heat, half naked and barefoot. Other slaves frequently mocked him, seeing his zeal. Saint John never became angry with them, but on the contrary, he helped them when he could, and comforted them in their misfortune.
The saint’s kindness and gentle nature had its effect on the souls of both the master and the slaves. The Agha and his wife came to love him, and offered him a small room near the hayloft. Saint John did not accept it, preferring to remain in the stable with the animals. Here he slept on the hay, covered only by an old coat. So the stable became his hermitage, where he prayed and chanted Psalms.
Saint John brought a blessing to his master simply by living in his household. The cavalry officer became rich, and was soon one of the most powerful men in Prokopion. He knew very well why his home had been blessed, and he did not hesitate to tell others.
Sometimes Saint John left the stable at night and went to the church of the Great Martyr George, where he kept vigil in the narthex. On Saturdays and Feast days, he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
During this time Saint John continued to serve his master as before, and despite his own poverty, he always helped the needy and the sick, and shared his meager food with them.
One day, the officer left Prokopion and went to Mecca on pilgrimage. A few days later, his wife gave a banquet and invited her husband’s friends and relatives, asking them to pray for her husband’s safe return. Saint John served at the table, and he put down a dish of pilaf, his master’s favorite food. The hostess said, “How much pleasure your master would have if he could be here to eat this pilaf with us.” Saint John asked for a dish of pilaf, saying that he would send it to his master in Mecca. The guests laughed when they heard his words. The mistress, however, ordered the cook to give him a dish of pilaf, thinking he would eat it himself, or give it to some poor family.
Taking the dish, Saint John went into the stable and prayed that God would send it to his master. He had no doubt that God would send the pilaf to his master in a supernatual manner. The plate disappeared before his eyes, and he went into the house to tell his mistress that he had sent the pilaf to his master.
After some time, the master returned home with the copper plate which had held the pilaf. He told his household that on a certain day (the very day of the banquet), he returned from the mosque to the home where he was staying. Although the room was locked, he found a plate of steaming pilaf on the table. Unable to explain who had brought the food, or how anyone could enter the locked room, the officer examined the plate. To his amazement, he saw his own name engraved on the copper plate. In spite of his confusion, he ate the meal with great relish.
When the officer’s family heard this story, they marveled. His wife told him of how John had asked for a plate of pilaf to send to his master in Mecca, and how they all laughed when John came back and said that it had been sent. Now they saw that what the saint had said was true (Compare the story of Habakkuk, who miraculously brought a dish of pottage to Daniel in the lions’ den [Dan. 14:33-39], in the Septuagint).
Toward the end of his difficult life Saint John fell ill, and sensed the nearness of his end. He summoned the priest so that he could receive Holy Communion. The priest, fearing to go to the residence of the Turkish commander openly with the Holy Gifts, enclosed the life-giving Mysteries in an apple and brought them to Saint John.
Saint John glorified the Lord, received the Body and Blood of Christ, and then reposed. The holy Confessor John the Russian went to the Lord Whom he loved on May 27, 1730. When they reported to the master that his servant John had died, he summoned the priests and gave them the body of Saint John for Christian burial. Almost all the Christian inhabitants of Prokopion came to the funeral, and they accompanied the body of the saint to the Christian cemetery.
Three and a half years later the priest was miraculously informed in a dream that the relics of Saint John had remained incorrupt. Soon the relics of the saint were transferred to the church of the holy Great Martyr George and placed in a special reliquary. The new saint of God began to be glorified by countless miracles of grace, accounts of which spread to the remote cities and villages. Christian believers from various places came to Prokopion to venerate the holy relics of Saint John the Russian and they received healing through his prayers. The new saint came to be venerated not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by Armenians, and even Turks, who prayed to the Russian saint, “Servant of God, in your mercy, do not disdain us.”
In the year 1881 a portion of the relics of Saint John were transferred to the Russian monastery of the holy Great Martyr Panteleimon by the monks of Mount Athos, after they were miraculously saved by the saint during a dangerous journey.
Construction of a new church was begun in 1886, through the contributions of the monastery and the inhabitants of Prokopion. This was necessary because the church of the holy Great Martyr George, where the relics of Saint John were enshrined, had fallen into disrepair.
On August 15, 1898 the new church dedicated to Saint John the Russian was consecrated by the Metropolitan John of Caesarea, with the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine V.
In 1924, an exchange of the populations of Greece and Turkey took place. Many Moslems moved out of Greece, and many Christians moved out of Turkey. The inhabitants of Prokopion, when they moved to the island of Euboia, took with them part of the relics of Saint John the Russian.
For several decades the relics were in the church of Saints Constantine and Helen at New Prokopion on Euboia, and in 1951 they were transferred into a new church dedicated to Saint John the Russian. Thousands of pilgrims flocked here from all the corners of Greece, particularly on his Feast, May 27. Saint John the Russian is widely venerated on Mount Athos, particularly in the Russian monastery of Saint Panteleimon.
Saint John’s help is sought by travelers, and by those transporting things.
On this feast of St Melangell and of the Holy Wonderworker St John the Russian, we ask your prayers for Joseff as he journeys to Egypt, where he will be trekking down the Nile – continuing to Ethiopia and Addis Ababa.
We pray for God’s blessing and protection for Joseff and his companions, and hope that he will have the opportunity to visit some of the holy sites of Egypt, whose monasteries treasure the relics of the great ascetic fathers and mothers of the Church, and whose churches preserve the memory of the Holy Family in their Egyptian exile.
The greatest treasures of Egypt are not tombs, archaeological wonders and pharaonic artifacts, but the sites connected with Holy Family, its shrines and saints, and the Christian inheritance with which the land is still blessed, however threatened and tenuous Christianity may be in the shadow of Islamism.
May the great Abba Anthony, the Father of Monks, the fathers and mothers of the desert, the sainted patriarchs and hierarchs, St Minas, St Demiana and St Catherine and all the holy martyrs, and the myriad saints of Egypt, and of Ethiopia, bless and protect this journey and fill it with grace.
We pray that Joseff may travel in the knowledge of the great Josephs who sojourned in Egypt, after travelling there – Joseph, the son of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, and Joseph the Betrothed, the guardain of the Infant-Saviour.
We look forward to Troitsa (Pentecost-Trinity) this coming Sunday, when we will celebrate vespers with the kneeling prayers for the invocation of the Holy Spirit immediately after the Liturgy.
The variables for our Liturgy and vespers may be found at ‘Orthodox Austin’:
This, of course, means that our services will be longer than usual – and everyone will no doubt be hungry, as well as achy-kneed at the end of our prayers. So, I encourage parishioners to think ahead with regard to our bring-and-share-lunch. Those who have already read ‘version one’ of this post will have seen a prompt to bring something on which to kneel. It then dawned on me that the church is overflowing with emroidered kneelers!
Confessions will be heard on Friday, in St Mary Butetown, as announced.
Given ongoing travel complications it is my hope to hear confessions during the afternoon – not the evening. As usual, please email me at otetzmark@hotmail.com
Given the length of Sundays services, it is imperative that Sunday confessions are succinct and that those confessing have prepared, so that the Hours may begin at 11:00.
There will be no possibility of additional confessions after Liturgy, as vespers follows. Would those confessing on Sunday who have not yet made requests please inform me? A thankyou to those who have pre-arranged.
On Monday 13 June, the Day of the Holy Spirit, the Hours and Liturgy will be celebrated in Llanelli, commencing at 10:00.
In the wake of Melangell’s baptism on Saturday, we congratulate our parishioner and trustee Peter on the eighth anniversary of his baptism.
He has become a pillar of our parish, a constant support for the clergy, and the smiling and friendly figure who is often the first to welcome newcomers to Liturgy and chat with them after the service.
When he is away, even for a weekend, things aren’t quite the same, and his practicality, advice and counsel are a great blessing to the parish.
May God grant him many, blessed years, as we thank the Lord for all that Peter brings to our community.
Kontakion 6: Though you lived under the dominion of deceived ones, you who trample upon the enemy, you preserved your heart, O wondrous John, and you founded a great tower of the strength of God in the house of your soul that was unassailable to all, in which you loudly spoke of God’s greatness. Loudly speak to my mouth, through the boldness of your prayers, that I might totally resist the strength of the deceiver, and offer to the all-powerful God, along with the Angels, the hymn: Alleluia.
The Turks tried to convert the Christian soldiers to the Moslem faith with threats and flattery, but those who resisted were beaten and tortured. Some, alas, denied Christ and became Moslems, hoping to improve their lot. Saint John was not swayed by the promise of earthly delights, and he bravely endured the humiliation and beatings.
