Menologium of the Greeks, Edited by Order of Emperor Basil

TO OUR MOST HOLY LORD, BENEDICT XIII, SUPREME PONTIFF, ANNIBAL, CARDINAL PRIEST OF THE TITLE OF SAINT CLEMENT, BISHOP OF ALBANO, CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH, AND ARCHPRIEST OF THE VATICAN BASILICA, WISHES EVERLASTING HAPPINESS.

^A The Basilian Menologium, the other half-yearly part of which Clement XI, the predecessor of Your Holiness, had in the very flower of his youth caused to be transcribed from a most ancient Greek manuscript of the Monastery of Grottaferrata and, having saved it from destruction, had rendered into Latin, is now, under Your auspices, MOST HOLY FATHER, published for the general benefit of learned men. And rightly and worthily so. For the Acts of the Saints themselves, having long ago been collected for the use of a great emperor, are eager to write Your name upon themselves and seem to congratulate You, because You have emerged as the supreme teacher of the Church from this school of innocence and holiness; and because, having been devoted to sacred matters from an early age and occupied in their practice for almost the entire span of Your life, You hold these in the highest place amidst the most burdensome duties of the apostolic dignity, and wish most earnestly for others to hold them, so that the devotion to knowing and illustrating sacred antiquity may increase day by day. Nor do I believe it happened by chance that a work finished long ago and destined for the press many years ago could at last come to light through the Urbino types, which You have embraced with the greatest generosity, at the very time when eight famous alumni of our Roman Church, distinguished by virtues and miracles, have been enrolled in the canon of saints by the most wise judgment of Your Holiness. For it became the Greek Church that the daughter should follow the mother; and that she, who has no new saints to produce, should at least show the ancient ones collected from the whole Orient into one volume, and at the same time testify that the Eastern lands were most fertile in saints of every age, rank, and condition when they were obedient to the Roman Pontiff and were cultivated by competent laborers. With which patronage, therefore, most holy Father, embrace this most expected edition, in which, while we make public the first fruits of the studies of Your predecessor, Clement XI, we represent Your own studies, for You have applied Your mind to the exercises of religion and letters from childhood. Furthermore, we ask God, the Best and Greatest, with earnest and assiduous prayers, that, joining the Church of the Greeks with their Roman mother, He may restore her under the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XIII to that state which existed under Benedict VII, when Basil Porphyrogenitus, the Emperor, had this Menologium transcribed for his own use.

THE TYPOGRAPHER TO THE CANDID READER*

The Menologium, transcribed by order of the Emperor Basil Porphyrogenitus and adorned with painted images of the saints, was brought to Constantinople to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan—having escaped the changes of time, the neglect of barbarism, and the common fate of books. Afterwards, it was kept by the Sfrondati family, and given as a gift to Paul, Cardinal Sfrondato of Saint Cecilia; then, Pope Paul V assigned it to the Vatican Apostolic Library. The same work, celebrated with the highest praises by learned men and desired by their prayers, at last comes forth into the public light. ^B Learned men did indeed lament for a long time that such an excellent manuscript lay hidden, than which nothing would be more useful for exciting Christian piety, for confirming the truth of the orthodox religion, and for illustrating ecclesiastical antiquity and the history of sacred things; in short, nothing more pleasing in our age to literate men who are eagerly applying themselves to such studies with the distinguished fruit of the Church and sacred criticism. Truly, Leon Allatius and Petrus Arcudius, who well deserved of the ecclesiastical erudition of the Greeks, tried in some way to satisfy their curious and pious studies. For the former, in his Dissertation on the Ecclesiastical Books of the Greeks, § 12, pursued in writing the age, excellence, and fortune of the codex. Arcudius, indeed, translated the same into Latin, and we read his interpretation printed in volume VI of Ferdinando Ughelli’s *Italia Sacra*. But Allatius wrote...

* The edition of the Menologium appeared at Urbino in 1727, in 3 folio volumes, adorned with a wonderful splendor of types.

Having set forth the rarity of the codex with his own explanations, he increased the desire of the curious; and the translation of Arcudius, not being sufficiently accurate, revealed to readers the necessity of the Greek text; especially in the light of this age and of the critical art, which is kindled all the more by interpretations for the purpose of examining texts. Therefore, Cardinal Joseph Maria Thomasius, a man celebrated for the holiness of his character and his sacred erudition, since he knew the value of that treasure very well, directed his efforts toward publishing it. He would have accomplished this, had not the sheer magnitude of the expenses deterred a man of such singular merit, who was at that time serving in the order of regular clergy, and who was poor in will and in his institute. For the dignity of the codex is recommended above all other praises by four hundred and thirty images painted in minium by illustrious artists of the Basilian age, which display to the eyes the holy martyrs, confessors, priests, monks, virgins, women, torturers, tyrants, and judges, along with their vestments, arms, seats, and ornaments; as well as the structure, form, and apparatus of houses, temples, and tribunals: to engrave and reproduce these in copper would have required no small sum of money.

But this praise was reserved for Clement XI, Supreme Pontiff, that he might make public a thing which had hitherto been the precious treasure of great princes. By his providence, he restored to its pristine splendor a codex worth more than any gold, yet already crumbling from age and fading with images that were nearly disappearing; and he would have had all the plates taken at his own expense, had not death intervened. The final hand was applied to the work he had begun by his successors, Innocent and Benedict XIII, the former of whom ceased to be among the living while he was embracing this excellent monument of antiquity with his munificence; the latter not only completed the plates but also generously provided the most elegant Greek type for the preparation of the edition.

It remained, however, that the loss of the other part, which had long since miserably perished, be restored in some way to the integrity of this most highly desired work; and that, by adding the six subsequent months from some manuscript codex of no inferior age, students of sacred things might possess an absolute corpus of the Menologium, with the Lives at least, if not the plates, digested through the full circle of the year. We have obtained this aid from the domestic library of manuscripts of Clement XI himself, which is enriched with the most choice monuments of all languages, or rather from his very own papers, and from the earliest exercises of his childhood. For he had scarcely passed his seventeenth year when, from the ancient codices of the monastery of Grottaferrata, he had discovered by himself that other part of the Basilian Menologium which learned men lamented as lost, had copied it in Greek with his own hand, and had rendered it in a most accurate Latin translation. Although his plain and singular modesty had suppressed it in long darkness, public utility does not allow it to lie hidden any longer. Therefore, to the mutilated work we have added the other half-year part, preserved and rendered into Latin by his diligence; so that posterity may refer its gratitude to his immortal name for a work partly snatched from destruction, partly brought out from darkness, and partly endowed with the Latin language.

The Bollandist associates enriched the erudite labors of such a young man with some months of their own collection, adding the Greek acts of the saints to the end of March, April, May, and July from the Alban commentaries. And although the same Clement XI prepared the Latin translations of those same months, as well as of June and August; yet in his own papers which survive, only April and May are complete; of March, the first twenty days; and of June and July, some days appear translated into Latin and written in his own hand; whither the rest went, or by what fate they lie hidden or have perished, is unknown. The Basilian monks of Grottaferrata, supplementing from the same autograph and from more recent Menologies in Greek, adorned the Latin version of the month of August, which had fallen out of the Alban copy and was mutilated by a few pages. The remaining days of March, June, and July were translated from the Greek language into Latin by P. Petrus Benedictus of the Society of Jesus, a Syrian Maronite, a man most cultivated in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic letters. By the command of the same Clement XI, he also translated into the Latin tongue the history of the Persian martyrs written by a most ancient Syrian author, and the deeds of other saints described in most excellent Syriac codices, which the same Pontiff, brought forth from the shadows of the Orient along with many other selected manuscripts of oriental languages, dedicated in the Vatican library for common utility, and we expect these to be published in type shortly.

The first half-year part of the Menologium, which Ughellus published under the name of Petrus Arcudius, we here edit as corrected and bestowed with a new, and almost entirely different, translation by the illustrious Joseph Simonius Assemanus, a beneficiary priest of the Vatican Basilica, who has examined the same oriental codices in the Clementine-Vatican library. For it stood very far from the Greek text, as is made obvious by the collation performed: for many things were falsely added or omitted by the interpreter; some things were expressed in a sense entirely different from what the text allows; the names of the saints were even corrupted in some places; and everywhere, finally, one can see a paraphrase rather than a faithful version: so much so that the learned could hardly believe it to be the genuine offspring of the man Arcudius, who was most learned in Greek and Latin, unless Ughellus affirmed it.

In the other half-year part, which, as stated above, we owe to Clement XI, some days are lacking because several pages were torn out due to the age of the codex: namely, June 9, 10, 11, and August 4, 13, 14, 28, 29, 30, 31. We add these, taken from the printed Menaea and translated into Latin. We present the images of the saints engraved in copper as true to life as they appear in the Vatican autograph: for they are precious moments of antiquity, even if they recede somewhat from the art of painting. The names of the painters,

which exist in the margin of the individual images in the same autograph are these: Pantaleo Simeon, Michael Blachernita, Georgius, Menas, Simeon Blachernita, Michael the Younger, Nestor. We have not deemed it worth the effort to repeat them four hundred and thirty times in the margin of this edition.

We preface the Menologium with the testimonies of illustrious men regarding both its parts: from which it is evident, first, that the Emperor Basil to whom the Menologium is attributed is not the Macedonian, who held the empire in the year of Christ 886, as Cardinal Baronius thought; but the Porphyrogenitus, who was a full century later than the Macedonian, which Allatius and Ughellus demonstrate. Second, that the other half—the semestral part, the beginning of which is dated from the month of March, and which the Bollandist associates say was found in the monastery of Grottaferrata—was transmitted in Greek and Latin to them by Giovanni Francesco Albani before the year of Christ 1668, in which they published the month of March from the Basilian Menologium, as Giovanni Ciampini testifies in his Diary of the year 1676. We append the Greek letter of Petrus Possinus of the Society of Jesus to the same Giovanni Francesco Albani, written on the 26th of December 1661, from which it is made clear that the illustrious youth, at the beginning of his thirteenth year of age (for he was born in the month of July 1649), had progressed so far in the study of the Greek language that he could write letters in that tongue not only purely and accurately, but also elegantly and ornately.

That the work should be divided into two parts seemed to be required by the Greek text, which is distributed into two semestres. But because the first part—having four hundred and thirty images of saints—makes it twice as large as the latter, it was necessary to divide the Menologium into three [volumes], of which the first part comprises September, October, and November; the second, December, January, and February; and the third, the remaining six months of the year. Enjoy these, friendly Reader; and attribute this edition to the most eminent and most reverend Lord Annibale, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church of the title of St. Clement, Albani, Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, and Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, nephew of Pope Clement XI, a man who has deserved exceedingly well of the republic of letters, through whose counsel, zeal, and expense this work is yielded for your convenience.

CONCERNING THE MENOLOGIUM OF THE EMPEROR BASIL

TESTIMONIES OF ILLUSTRIOUS MEN

—

*Card. Baronius, under the year 886, on the Emperor Basil the Macedonian.* It concerns the same Basil (lest any antiquity be omitted) that he saw to the writing and augmentation of the Greek Menologium; which he also adorned with images, in which the contests of each are expressed. On its front, we find an epigram of this kind written in iambic verse in the manuscript codex of Vincenzo Pinelli, sent to us at Ferrara, when we were there with the pontiff:

Basil, emperor of this clime, Excellent in peace, and in martial affairs. And by skin-bound pact, following in order, Beautiful, fierce images like stars.

The autograph volume of Basil himself exists, decorated with images of great value for single days and individual saints, of whom mention is made in the verses. We have seen and read it, allowed to us by Paul Sfondrati, Cardinal of Saint Cecilia, nephew of Pope Gregory XIV, of happy memory.

*Leo Allatius in his dissertation on the Ecclesiastical Books of the Greeks, § 12.* Menologia are nothing else (and it will be the twelfth book) than what the Latin would call Martyrologies or Calendars, and there is nothing contained in them except the lives of the saints, summarized for every day throughout the whole year, or a commemoration of those whose lives are not held; and no series of ordering or reciting the office is contained therein. It is, however, true that very often a part—and not a small one—of these Menologia is digested in the Menaia after the sixth ode, so that, without the help of another book, anyone who recites the office in church or at home may have the little histories and commemorations of the saints to be celebrated. This Menologium among the Greeks is not one, but it also takes on a varied face according to the convenience of time; for one thing is what Canisius presented to us in Latin only, from the version of Cardinal Sirlet, in his *Antiquae Lectiones*: another is that which is kept separately, manuscript here and there in libraries, and most notably the Barberini, which is also the most ancient: and they do not all correspond with one another; another is that which is inserted into the Greek Menaia; another is that which is read after the divine Hours, the Gospel, the Apostle, and other books. The Menologium, dug out from the Greek Menaia and translated into the Greek vernacular, was edited by Maximus Margunius, Bishop of Cythera, and printed by Antonius Pinellus at Venice in the year 1529, in-12.

Baronius, in the year of our Lord 886, reports that the Emperor Basil the Macedonian had the Greek Menologium written out and augmented, and also adorned with images, in which the contests of the individual saints are expressed: the autograph of which we ourselves have seen, and read, allowed to us by Paul Sfondrati, Cardinal of St. Cecilia, nephew of Pope Gregory XIV. This Menologium, most precious in gold and gems

brought quite munificently to Constantinople to Ludovico Sforza, once Ludovico had departed this life, Giovanni Battista, the parent of the cardinal Francesco Sfondrati and grandfather of the cardinal Niccolò Sfondrati, held it within his own discretion and power—just as he did other monuments and writings of the highest estimation belonging to that same Ludovico, with whom the authority of Battista carried the greatest weight, as we can gather from the various embassies which he, because of the gravest matters, conducted before almost all Christian princes: namely, Innocent VIII, Charles of France, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Ferdinand king of Naples and Sicily, and finally the Venetian Republic, where he also met his death. Afterwards, having been received as a gift from the cardinal Paolo Sfondrati, Pope Paul V brought it into the Vatican Library, and signified it with a prefixed inscription: "Pope Paul V ordered this book, which had been brought from Constantinople to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and later preserved within the Sfondrati family, having been given as a gift to him by the cardinal Paolo Sfondrati, Cardinal of St. Cecilia, to be brought into the Vatican Library in the year 1615, in the eleventh year of his pontificate."

The book contains only one part of the Menologium, since it is completed in only six months—September, October, November, December, January, and February. In what coffers the other part lies hidden is uncertain, and would that it has not suffered the common fate of books—perishing from light through fire or iron, through the hands of impious or idle men, or even through the injury of the elements. It is written on large parchment folios, skillfully smoothed, though already slightly dulled by being worn with age, in a shape almost square, with most elegant characters, which nowhere—due to the quality of its ink, which does not stain black—appear black. The so-called capital letters are fashioned in gold; the upper part of each page represents the names of the saints of that day, and the other half contains the deeds of the saints written in summary, with the other part presenting images and colors to the eyes, not carelessly, but quite elegantly for that time. More recent scholars call the painting "miniature," for the colors are tempered not with oil, but with water and gum. The images do not originate from a single hand, and therefore they are not all of the same quality, but one excels over another in elegance, accuracy, and suitability to the art; and so that they might not wander unassigned, each painter expressed his name in the margin of the book by the image he depicted. The names of the painters are: Pantaleo, Michael Blachernita, Georg, Simeon, Michael the younger, Menas, Nestor, Simeon Blachernita. The images are arranged in such a way that one does not correspond to the one opposite it, but rather to the letters and Lives of the saints: wherefore sometimes it refers to the upper part of the page, when the upper part of the other refers to the writing, and sometimes to the lower, when the lower part of the other is described.

As to when the book was written, we cannot divine; however, the iambics prefixed to the work seem to indicate that it was written 662 years ago. These are indeed:

Ἐνταῦθα νῦν σκόπησον ὀρθῶς ὁ βλέπων, etc. From the version of Joannes Argoli. Consider well with your eyes here, O you who gaze, Upon an excellent work, truly the best of things, The work of God, I say, most beautiful, striking the mind, Delighting all things created by sight, as is deserved, For as the King of the highest heaven, the Artificer, Adorning the sky with fiery choruses, Which like a skin He unfolded with the sound of a voice, Irradiates the world with wise providence; And below, as the Earth itself, shining with equal customs, [Irradiates] the regions of the whole, and the king of purple, Basilius, and his son, double in power, By fame, namely by triumphs, [and] by sermons, etc.

And this is the Menologium seen by Baronius, and I do not deny it; but that it was described and adorned with images by the study and order of the Emperor Basil, unless I am taught from elsewhere, I would not believe, just as I would not believe that this Basil was the Macedonian. For by these iambics this Basil is asserted to be Porphyrogennetos: ἄναξ ὅλης γῆς, ἥλιος τῆς πορφύρας Βασίλειος, τὸ θρέμμα τῆς ἀλουργίδος, "Emperor of the whole earth, sun of the purple, Basil, and nursling of the royal robe." This cannot be said of the Macedonian, since he was neither Porphyrogennetos, nor born of an emperor father, nor was he an adult. Zonaras, on Constantine Doukas: Τὴν μὲν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ καταλέλοιπε τρισὶν υἱέσιν, etc. "He left his kingdom to three sons, of whom he had begotten two, Michael and Andronicus, while Eudoxia was still a private citizen, but Constantine while he was reigning, when she herself had already been called Augusta." Whence he alone was Porphyrogenitus and was immediately adorned above the rest with the insignia of the empire. From this, indeed, the name of the "Purple-born" emerged: those who were born while the father was reigning, whether in the chamber called the Porphyra or wrapped in purple, were called Porphyrogennetoi. Herodian, history lib. 1, regarding Commodus, the son of the Emperor Marcus: "Ἔδωκε δὲ μετ' ἐκεῖνον, etc. "And after that Marcus, fortune gave you a prince, not indeed an adoptive one such as those who were before me, nor one boasting in an acquired empire, for I am the only one born to you and raised in the palace, not wrapped in private swaddling clothes; immediately as I emerged from the womb, the imperial purple received me, and as soon as the sun saw me, it saw a man and a prince." And Themistius, oration 6, regarding Valentinian, the brother of the Emperor Gratian: Πρῶτος γὰρ δὴ τέως τῆς εὐδαίμονος οἰκίας ἐσπαργανώθης ἐν ἁλουργίδι, "For you were the first of that happy house to be swaddled in the purple." It is said, however, of Basil the Younger, who held the empire around the year of the Lord 977, together with Constantine Porphyrogennetos.

TESTIMONIES

The Bollandist associates, in *Acta Sanctorum*, Vol. I of March, p. 861. "We have taken care to possess the two more illustrious Menologia in their entirety; one of which we received on loan from our Society's Clermont college in Paris; the other we ordered to be transcribed partly from the manuscripts of the monastery of Grottaferrata in Latium, and partly from the codex of the Vatican Library. And the latter is that of which the first part, most elegantly copied by Cardinal Sfondrati for Pope Paul V, given as a gift, and rendered into Latin by Peter Arcudius, was appended by Ferdinand Ughelli in *Italia Sacra*, Vol. IV, lamenting that the other part lay hidden, one knew not in what cellars, by the common lot of books perhaps lost to fire or sword, or to the injury of impious or idle men, or the elements. ^B But we found it, not lying hidden in cellars, but serving for the use of the divine office for as many months as it contains, from March to the beginning of September, in the aforementioned monastery of Basilian monks: not indeed adorned with equal elegance of characters and delights of pictures on every page (such as we have heard, read, and seen to be in the Vatican), but in its antiquity and fidelity not at all inferior, and bearing the same title of Emperor Basil. So that we did not hesitate to believe that this, if not the genuine counterpart of the Vatican part, was at least born from the same hand as if from the womb, and certainly generated from the same father and author, as much by other indicators as by the most perfect similarity of style. Therefore, we present here the first month, that is, March, as a specimen of all the other Menologia. For this collection is more illustrious than all others we have seen, and of greater authority, in that it was not compiled by the private whim of anyone, but seems to have been in public use in the churches of Constantinople: since it is known to have been written by order of the Emperor Basil Porphyrogennetos before the year of salvation 984. Is it the first of this kind? We do not dare to assert by conjecture, much less to define how much older the use of Menologia was in the Greek Church than the aforementioned century, etc." "A Synaxarion collected from the Menologion by order of Emperor Basil, the last six months of which exist in manuscript in the monastery of Grottaferrata in Latium, etc." Joannes Ciampinus, in the book titled *Il Giornale de' Letterati*, published in Rome in 1676, in the first Diary of April of that same year, when he had reported on the *Acta Sanctorum* of April collected and illustrated by Godefrido Henschenio and Daniele Papebrochio of the Society of Jesus, adds the following on page 8: "But above all, in this regard, it must not be left unsaid how in this work the original Greek of the month of April is reported in full from a most ancient Menologion found in the monastery of Grottaferrata. It contains the saints of only six months, starting from March to the end of August; but the lack of the other six does not diminish, but rather increases, the value of the manuscript, since those other six months, which are missing to make the full year, are kept precisely in the Vatican, written by order of the Emperor Basil Porphyrogennetos the Younger and translated from the Greek by Peter Arcudius. There had been no knowledge of this whole new part before: for which reason Monsignor Leone Allatius deemed it completely lost, and Ughelli, at the end of the sixth volume of *Italia Sacra*, where he reports the translation of the six months of the Vatican Menologion, also laments the loss of such a beautiful memorial. Much is therefore owed to the Canon Giovanni Francesco Albani, since he transmitted to the authors the Latin translation of this latter manuscript and attests that it is in all respects similar, in character, in form, and in phrasing, to the Vatican one."

Petri Possini, S.J., Letter written in Greek to Joannes Franciscus Albanus, written at Rome, 26 Dec 1661.

To the noble and lover of learning, the youth Joannes Franciscus Albani, Petrus Possinus of the Society of Jesus, greetings and well being.

but also neatly and elegantly to write letters in that language. On this account I congratulate you, as it is fitting to congratulate one’s friends on their success and good deeds. I also advise and exhort you not to desist from such distinguished beginnings, nor to betray the good hope of your noble parents; but by long-suffering and patience in labor, may you reach the summit of that glory for which you strive. The new year, which we are soon to enter, God willing, I pray may be most fortunate for you. And since according to ancient custom it is the practice to send gifts around the Kalends of January, as a small token I send you this golden tetrastich of Gregory of Nazianzus:

Work without speech is better than a word without deeds. No one has ever been exalted by words alone, But deeds lift up many without words; For grace is not of the speaker, but of the doer.

Farewell, dearest head. Rome, December 27, 1661. ^B

PARS PRIMA OF THE MENOLOGION OF THE GREEKS, FROM THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER

1. Here now, O observer, look rightly, An excellent work from excellent things: God’s most beautiful work, striking the mind with awe, A work rightly delighting every creature. For He Himself above, as God and Lord, Having adorned the heavens with the dances of the stars, Which He extended like a skin by His word, Illuminates the world with all-wise providence. But he who portrays this in his ways, King of the whole earth, sun of the purple, Basil, child of the swaddling clothes, Most excellent in both: in triumphs and in words; As if creating a second heaven in this book, Extended from skins, as nature requires, Bearing like luminaries beautiful figures: First, that of the God-man Word Himself; Then of the Mother who gave birth without seed; Of wise men, prophets, angels, archangels; ^D It gladdens the whole mind of the orthodox, And delights every vision with pleasantness. But those whom he portrayed with colors, May he find all of them as helpers in his affairs, As collaborators in his endeavors, as comrades in battle.

^A Restrainers of depraved affections, healers of diseases; in the judgment, however, especially before the Lord, fervent mediators, procurers of the supernal ^B Glory, hidden ones, and of the divine sovereignty.

IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER

ON THE FIRST DAY

The Beginning of the Indiction.

The Church of God celebrates the feast of the Indiction, having received this from the ancients, because it was thought to be the beginning of time from this day. For the Romans called the beginning and the definition an "indiction." Therefore, the first day of the month of September is the definition and beginning of the whole year. And since Christ our God, wishing to bless the beginning of time, or rather the whole of time which He Himself created before the ages, entered into the synagogue of the Jews, and there was delivered to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah; and having opened it, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore He has anointed me; He has sent me to preach the gospel to the poor, to preach remission to the captives, and sight to the blind, to call the acceptable year of the Lord." And having returned the book to the minister, He sat down. From that time forth, He granted to us Christians this holy feast, which we, celebrating with eagerness, render thanks to Him.

On the same day. Memory of our holy Father Simeon the Stylite.

Holy Simeon was from Antioch; and while he was yet a youth, he was commanded by his parents to herd sheep. Having stopped one time because of the winter from herding the sheep, he went away to the church of God in order to pray. And by coincidence, he heard the holy Gospel being read: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And he abandoned his parents and everything. And he went away to the laura, called the mandra, and he became a monk in the reign of Emperor Leo the Great. Where, having first struggled, and in all ways having surpassed all the monks in every sort of virtue, and having withered his body through continence—for he fasted for forty consecutive days, standing for twenty, and sitting for the remaining twenty, because of the fatigue—he afterwards ascended a pillar; and having performed ten thousand miracles, and having become great to all men, and having baptized many of the infidels, and having served God for forty-seven years, he died in peace. ^D

On the same day. The Dormition of Joshua the son of Nun.

This Joshua was indeed the son of Nun, successor

a brave and military man. For he took Jericho, a city of the foreigners, and crossed the river Jordan on dry ground together with the people and the Ark of God. He also saw Michael, the prince of the celestial host, holding a sword in his hands; and recognizing him at once, he cast down his own weapons and fell at his feet, saying, "What do you command your servant?" And while he was fighting against the foreigners, and the sun was setting, he, being possessed by a desire to defeat them, placed his greatest hope in God and said, "Let the sun stand still." And immediately the sun stood still and did not set until he had turned the enemies of God to flight in a great victory. Having been a general to the people, and having led them well out of the desert, and having brought them into the land of promise, which is Jerusalem, and having judged the people of Israel for ^B twenty-seven years, he died and was honorably buried in that same land by his own people.

On the same day.

The Contest of the holy forty virgins, and Ammon their teacher.

The multitude of these forty virgins and martyrs came from Adrianopolis in Macedonia. They had as a teacher of the faith Ammon the deacon, from whom they learned those things pertaining to the kingdom of heaven; for this reason they were seized by the ruler of that same city. And they were tortured in many ways because they refused to worship idols. Then they were brought to Beroea to sacrifice. There they prayed to God, and the priest of the idols was suspended in the air, and falling, he died. After this, the holy Ammon was suspended, and his sides were rasped, and he was compelled to put on a burning helmet upon his bare head. Then he was sent, along with the virgins, to the tyrant Licinius; and he pronounced a sentence of death against them. And ten of them were perfected by fire; eight were beheaded along with their teacher; ten were killed, pierced by the sword through the mouth and heart; six were cut into pieces; and the final six were extinguished having burning iron placed into their mouths.

ON THE SAME MONTH. The second day.

The Contest of the holy great martyr Mamas.

^D Mamas, the most renowned martyr, flourished under Aurelian the Caesar of the Romans. Left an orphan after his parents perished in prison for the sake of Christ, he was raised by a certain pious matron of the senatorial rank. When he reached the age of maturity, he was compelled by the idolaters to sacrifice to idols. Being unable to be persuaded, by the divine angel he was taken up into the mountain, where he was fed by the milk of a fawn and continued his life alone, praying to God. But after some time, when his fame had spread far and wide, he was seized again and compelled by the ruler of Caesarea to worship idols. Rejecting this, he was cast into the fire and emerged unharmed, and

^A was sentenced to the beasts, from which, having received no harm, he was finally pierced through with a spear, and his entrails were poured out upon the earth from the very grievous wound; these he carried with his own hands as he went out of the city of Caesarea, and with thanksgiving surrendered his holy and blessed soul to the Lord God; and he was buried in the same city.

Eodem die.

Memory of our holy Father John, Patriarch of Constantinople, surnamed the Faster.

IN THE SAME MONTH. The third day.

Contest of the holy Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia.

Eodem die.

Contest of the holy virgin and martyr Basilissa.

^A She had her dwelling near the city of Nicomedia, and was in her ninth year. Being denounced as a Christian, she was brought before Alexander the governor. And having confessed Christ with boldness, she was first struck on the face, and having been stripped, she was scourged. Then her ankles were pierced. And having been hung head downwards upon a beam, bound with chains, she was tortured with the smoke of pitch, sulfur, and lead. And after this she was thrown into the fire, and delivered to two lions, and having remained unharmed, she persuaded the governor to believe in Christ. And he indeed, living well, ended his life in peace. But she, having gone out of the city, and being thirsty, prayed. And water flowed forth from the earth, and she drank. Then standing upon a rock, and having prayed, she died. There she was buried, and, through the waters flowing forth from the earth, she wonderfully produces healings ^B for all the faithful each day.

On the same day. Contest of the holy hieromartyr Aristion, bishop of Alexandria.

The holy martyr Aristion was bishop of Alexandria. He taught with boldness, and preached the incarnate advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His eternal kingdom, and furthermore the blessedness and joy of the kingdom of heaven; and that the glory, dignities, and riches of men here are subject to corruption, and vanish away; whereas those goods are incorruptible, and that life is immortal. Teaching these things, and persuading many of the Greeks and converting them to God and baptizing them, he was arrested by the prefect of Alexandria. ^C And having confessed Christ, he was delivered to the fire. And thus in the furnace, like those three holy children, praising and magnifying God, he received the blessed and longed-for end, having obtained the crown of incorruptible life. And his precious remains were indeed committed to the earth. But his holy soul, ascending into the heavens, rejoices with the saints.

OF THE SAME MONTH. The fourth day. Contest of the holy hieromartyr Babylas, patriarch of Antioch, and the children with him.

The holy hieromartyr of Christ, Babylas, was patriarch of the great Antioch, in the time of Numerian, emperor of the Romans. ^D When Numerian himself wished to enter the temple of God, Babylas met him at the gate of the church and forbade him from entering, because he was a worshiper of idols. Wherefore the emperor, being put to shame and provoked to violent anger, ordered him to be brought before him the next day; and when he could not induce him to deny Christ, but rather was himself rebuked by him, he commanded a heavy weight of iron to be placed upon his neck and for him to be led through the middle of the city. Then he said to him: "By the gods, Babylas, this yoke becomes you."

^A To which Babylas replied: "So it becomes me, O emperor, just as the diadem becomes you." Then Numerianus passed sentence against him and against the boys who were being instructed by him. Then the soldiers took them and slaughtered them. And thus the saint was buried by pious Christians outside the city of Antioch, together with the shackles surrounding him, which he had worn for the sake of Christ.

On the same day ^B The Contest of the holy martyrs Theodore, Oceanus, Amianus, and Julian.

These holy martyrs flourished under Maximian the emperor. Being seized and interrogated, they confessed Christ the Lord. And for this reason, having been suspended, they were flayed to the bone. Then they were cast into a bath that had been heated intensely, and sealed with the emperor’s seal so that they might not escape from it but be forced to perish within it. But an angel of the Lord led them out unharmed, while the doors were bolted and sealed. Again, having been captured, they were led outside the city into a desert place to be cruelly put to death. Having requested an hour of prayer from the executioners, and having obtained their request, they stood and prayed at length to God, first for the establishment of the whole world ^C and for the tranquility of the holy Churches; then they gave thanks to Him that they were deemed worthy to undergo martyrdom for His sake. And so, with all their limbs cut off and their legs broken, they were cast into the fire, and thus they were perfected.

On the same day The Contest of the holy martyr Hermione, daughter of the holy apostle Philip.

The holy martyr Hermione lived under Trajan the emperor; she was the daughter of the apostle Philip. She also had a sister named Eutyches. And the two arrived at Ephesus to venerate John the Theologian, but did not find him, for he had already been moved. Trajan the emperor also came to Ephesus for the war against the Persians, and found the name of the holy Hermione to be great among the pious; for she was gifted with the prophetic spirit. Having seized her and tried to force her to deny Christ, when he could not persuade her, he ordered her to be struck on the face. The Lord appeared to her and ^D strengthened her to endure the tortures with fortitude. After this, she was released by Trajan because she had prophesied for him that he would triumph over the Persians. But after Trajan, his son-in-law and successor, Hadrian, seized her again. And when he compelled her to deny Christ and to sacrifice to the idols, and failed to persuade her, he ordered her to be beheaded. The hands of the executioners having withered, they themselves also believed in Christ, and were beheaded together with her.

On the same day Memory of the holy Moses the legislator.

Moses the prophet and legislator, born of a Hebrew father, was born in Egypt. But because there was a command of Pharaoh the king...

of Egypt that the female infants of the Hebrews should be spared, but the males should be put to death, his mother placed Moses in a wicker basket and threw him into the river. And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to the river to bathe. And seeing the basket, and the child crying inside it, she adopted him as her son. And she instructed him in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. When he had grown up, God appeared to him and commanded him to lead the people of the Hebrews out of Egypt. Having therefore led the people out, and having performed many signs and wonders, and having parted the sea, and having crossed on dry land, and having struck a rock with his rod and caused water to gush out from it, and having led them for forty years, he died one thousand four hundred and eighty-five years before the resurrection of Christ. And he was buried on a certain mountain in the desert by Michael, the great captain ^B of the host of God.

ON THE SAME MONTH. The Fifth Day.

Memory of the holy prophet Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.

Zacharias the priest, the father of John the Forerunner, was himself also the son of a priest. Having entered the temple to burn incense, he saw an angel of God standing near the altar of incense, announcing to him that his son John the Baptist would be conceived and born to him; and because he did not believe his voice, he was rendered deaf and dumb, ^C until the bonds of his tongue were loosed at the birth of John. But the mother of John, hearing that Herod, the king of the Jews, was planning to kill the infants in Bethlehem, wishing to kill our Lord Jesus Christ along with them, then, six months after his conception, hid him in a cave beyond the Jordan. Herod, having sought him and not finding the child, ordered his father Zacharias to be slaughtered in the middle of the altar, because he had fled there in fear, and that his blood should be shed in the temple. He was slain, therefore, and they cast him down the precipice. His relatives gathered up his relics and ^D placed them in the tomb of his fathers.

On the same day. The Contest of the holy martyr Abdias.

The holy martyr Abdias, a Persian by nation and a Christian by profession, used every effort to teach everyone, and by his exhortations persuaded them to come to the true faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Having been seized for this reason by the prince of the magi, and forced to abjure Christ and worship the sun and fire (for the Persians held these as gods), and not being persuaded, he is struck in the belly and on the loins with rods of harsh pomegranate. And so, from morning until noon, being beaten and tortured, being carried on the shoulders of his executioners, he is taken to his house half-dead; and shortly afterward

he surrendered his holy and blessed soul to the Lord, rejoicing and exulting until his final breath, in that he was deemed worthy to bear witness for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and to die. After this, some of the Christians took his precious remains and laid them in a tomb. ^A

On the same day: The contest of the holy martyrs Thuthael and his sister Babaea.

The holy and multi-victorious martyr of Christ Thuthael and his sister Babaea, being Christians and confessing with boldness that our Lord Jesus Christ is the true God and Lord of all the world, and Creator and Providence, and turning many of the Greeks from the error of idols and bringing them to the true faith and baptizing them, were seized by the impious idolaters. And having been beaten and tortured much by them, in the end the holy Thuthael was hanged upon a beam, and being bound, he was sawed in half with an iron saw; and thus he surrendered his soul. ^B His sister Babaea, having been stripped first, and beaten severely, and flayed even to the bones, was afterwards struck with a spear at the neck and slaughtered. Both having thus been consummated, those who had been instructed by them in the Christian faith took up their bodies and buried them honorably to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^C

In the same month, the sixth day: Memory of the miracle wrought at Chonae by the great Archistrategos of God.

In the city now called Chonae, but formerly Colossae, there lived a certain man named Archippus, devout and fearing God. This man, staying by the water which gushed forth through the visitation of the great Archistrategos, and because of the miracles performed through the water, was converting and baptizing many of the unbelievers; he stirred up to envy the Greeks, who could not bear to see those wondrous miracles. Gnashing their teeth, therefore, against the sacred holy site and the holy Archippus, they gathered infinite multitudes, and damming two great rivers and mixing both together, they released them straightway in order to destroy the temple, and the holy site, and Archippus. But when Archippus heard the roaring of the waters, he besought the Archistrategos to help. And he, appearing immediately, struck the rock with the rod which he held in his hand, and he caused the waters to be swallowed up within it. ^D And the place was called Chonae from that time onward.

On the same day: The contest of the holy martyrs Eudoxius, Romulus, and their companions. Eudoxius, the martyr of Christ, was in the time of the Emperor Trajan...

holding the rank of count. Having ten thousand soldiers under him, he was staying in the land of Gaul. Romulus, however, who was the superintendent of the imperial palace, advised Trajan to send someone to Gaul to compel the soldiers—who were Christians—to sacrifice to the gods. When this was done, they refused to sacrifice; and because of this, they were exiled to the city of Melitene in Armenia. Afterwards, Romulus, moved by repentance and having believed in Christ, rebuked Trajan and was beheaded. After these events, when Maximian had obtained the empire and had ordered the Christians to be killed, he sent written commands to the prefect of Melitene to destroy those who worshipped Christ. Whereat, he seized Eudoxius the count and the soldiers with him; and because they refused to worship the idols, he first tormented them with many tortures and eventually beheaded them ^B.

Eodem die

The contest of the holy martyrs Faustus the presbyter, Abibus the deacon, and their companions.

The holy martyrs Faustus and Abibus lived under the Emperor Decius, the former being a presbyter and the latter a deacon of the Church of Alexandria; at which time also Fabian, patriarch of Rome, and Alexander of Jerusalem suffered martyrdom for Christ. Having been detained by the prefect of Alexandria and severely tortured because they did not wish to abandon Christ, they were cast into prison. Being led out again, they were compelled to perform sacrifices to the idols. But they were so far from being moved to do this that they actually rebuked the prefect and scorned the error and vanity of the idols. For this reason, the heads of these holy men—thirteen in number—were cut off. But their holy souls, commended into the hands of Christ our God, intercede incessantly for us Christians, and grant our faithful emperors strength and vigor against their enemies for the glory of Christ, for whom they shed their blood ^C.

EODEM MENSE. Die septima

The contest of the holy martyr Sozon.

The martyr Sozon was born in the region of Lycia, having been a shepherd of sheep. When he once came upon an immense oak near which there was water, he hung up his three arrows and his bow from the tree as a memento of himself; and through the prayers of the holy man, that place received the gift of divine healings. He taught the Greeks and baptized them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. After this, he entered the temple of the idols, tore off the golden hand of the idol, and breaking it into pieces, distributed it to the poor. When the author of this act was sought, and many were being seized, the holy man voluntarily came forward and presented himself to the governor Maximus, confessing the true faith of Christ our God. For this reason, iron soles with sharp nails were fastened to the plants of his feet, and wearing them, he walked about, praising God ^D. Then, being hung from a tree, he was beaten unto death. And his body was cast into...

a furnace of fire. ^A

The same day.

The struggle of the holy martyr Eupsychius.

Eupsychius the martyr was from Caesarea of Cappadocia, under Hadrian the Roman emperor. After the death of his father, he was baptized by the bishop of Caesarea. Thereafter, being denounced by certain persons as a Christian, he was seized by the governor of Caesarea and cast into prison. After this, upon coming out of prison and selling his possessions, he first gave a portion of them to his accusers, as they had become the agents of the kingdom of heaven for him; the rest he distributed to the poor. Being seized again and brought before the governor, he was compelled to sacrifice to idols. Refusing to be persuaded, he was first hung upon a wooden beam and scraped ^B to such a degree that all his inner organs could be seen. Then, being taken down from the wood and struck with a sword, he was perfected, having surrendered his spirit to the Lord.

EODEM MENSE. The eighth day.

The Nativity of our most holy Lady Theotokos and Virgin Mary.

When the Creator God had fashioned mankind for good works, and so that they might know Him alone and do His will, the devil envied them. First, he persuaded Adam to transgress, having been deceived through his wife, Eve. Then he also persuaded the rest of mankind to abandon God and worship lifeless idols. Having compassion, therefore, on His creation, ^C God gave them the Law and the prophets. But as these things were of no avail, He willed to send His Son and Word to assume the form of a man and to deliver men from the hand of the devil. For this reason, He ordained that she who was to give birth in the flesh to His Son—Mary, the immaculate Theotokos—should be born of holy parents, Joachim and Anna, to whom God had promised, as they prayed, to grant the fruit of the womb. Hence, the present feast is called the Nativity. Celebrating this annually, we give thanks to the Lord our God.

EODEM MENSE. The ninth day.

Commemoration of the holy Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Theotokos.

In the people of the Jews there was a man named Joachim, ^D a just and wealthy man, and at every feast he would divide his wealth into two parts. One part he gave to the poor, the other he offered to God. But he was childless. On one of the feast days, therefore, he was offering his gifts to God, and because he had no child, he was reproached by a certain Jew, who said to him, "It is not fitting for you to offer gifts to God with us, because you are childless." Joachim was grieved, and did not return to his

^A house, but went away into the desert, and fasted for forty days, entreating God to grant him the fruit of the womb. Anna meanwhile was praying the same thing in her house. And God, hearing them, sent an angel who promised them the birth of our holy Lady, the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary. This indeed came to pass, for the salvation of the whole human race.

On the same day ^B The contest of the holy martyr Severianus.

Severianus the martyr was from the city of Sebaste, and was a soldier in the reign of Licinius. When the holy forty martyrs had been arrested and thrust into prison for Christ's sake, he went to them and encouraged them to endure their martyrdom. Having been discovered and seized, he was brought before the tribunal of Lysias the duke. And having openly confessed Christ, and refuted the error, and steadfastly opposed Lysias, he was suspended and scourged with ox-hide thongs, his sides were lacerated, and he was burned with torches. After this, he was suspended from a high wall, bound with ropes, his feet burdened with the weight of massive stones, and his hands tied behind his back. Having been suspended for a long time and suffering under the blows, his nerves being disjointed by the weight of the stones and his limbs dissolved, he meanwhile gave thanks to God and prayed, and thus, having been bitterly tortured, he died, committing his spirit into the hands of God.

ON THE SAME MONTH. The tenth day. Commemoration of the holy Baripsabbas.

At the time when the Jews, out of envy, crucified our Lord Jesus Christ, there was a certain man named Jacob who stood by the cross. He, having seen the soldier pierce the side of the Lord with a spear, and that blood and water flowed forth, ran and took a gourd/pot, received the precious blood in it, and hid it secretly. And when he was dying, he left it to two hermits. And so, handed down through the generations, it came into the hands of a certain pious monk named Baripsabbas, who through it performed many healings. But before he died, taking this same holy blood together with the gourd, he journeyed through every city and region, performing many miracles. Certain men who did not fear God, observing this, came to the conclusion that if they killed Baripsabbas, they would possess the gourd with the precious blood and make a great profit from it. Therefore, they set upon him by night and killed him. They indeed took the gourd, but found nothing of what they had hoped for. He, however, thus slaughtered, gave up his spirit.

On the same day ^D The contest of the holy martyrs and sisters Menodora, Nymphodora, and Metrodora.

Menodora, Nymphodora, and Metrodora, sister martyrs, were from the region of Bithynia, in the time of the Emperor Maximian, dwelling in the Pythia, where...

^A the warm waters emerge. Because they loved Christ, and were teaching the Greeks in His name, they were seized by the ruler of the region. Being questioned, they confessed Christ. For this reason, the eldest sister, Menodora, was beaten first, and her legs were crushed with rods. And thus, praying, she was perfected. The governor commanded her remains to be placed before the other sisters, in order to strike terror into them, and he said to them: "Sacrifice to the gods so that you do not suffer the same things as your sister." But when he did not persuade them, he commanded the executioners to kill them as well. And immediately the executioners, taking iron bars, crushed all their limbs. And thus having completed their martyrdom, they were buried near the warm waters, bestowing healings.

ON THE SAME MONTH. THE ELEVENTH.

Diodorus and Didymus, martyrs of Christ, were from the city of Laodicea in Syria. Being Christians, they instructed everyone in the name of the Lord our God, who made heaven and earth, and all things that are in them. And turning many of the faithless, they baptized them. But having been denounced by the impious Greeks to the ruler of Laodicea, they ^B were brought to his tribunal. And being questioned, and confessing themselves to be Christians, they were severely beaten. Having been tortured for a long time, and not denying Christ, but rather bravely exposing the deception of the idols, and reproaching the ruler as lawless and acting evilly, and spitting in his face because he had abandoned the true God and was devoted to false idols, they met their death while giving thanks and praying to Christ in the midst of their torments.

On the same day ^A The contest of the holy martyr Ia, who suffered martyrdom in Persia.

The martyr of Christ, Ia, was from a Roman fortress situated near the region of Persia. She was taken captive by Sapor, king of the Persians, along with nine thousand ^D Christians. And having been discovered to worship Christ, she was handed over to the chief magi to be punished. They, having urged her to deny Christ, not only failed to persuade her, but were mocked by her. For this reason she was cast into prison, where she was worn down by hunger for an entire year. Then, having been brought out of prison, she was beaten with rods of impure pomegranate. And again, having been shut away for fifteen months, she was brought to the tribunal of the chief magi. And being bound with thin cords, her hands, thighs, and legs were tightened by a winch until her bones made a cracking sound. And again she was beaten on her loins and belly with cowhide straps. And after these things, giving thanks, she was beheaded by the sword.

On the same day: Commemoration of Saint Theodora of Alexandria

Saint Theodora flourished under the Emperor Zeno. She was of outstanding beauty and the daughter of wealthy parents, and had married a pious man who feared God. A certain wealthy man, stirred by the devil, became inflamed with love for her and, having employed a procuress suitable for such purposes, fulfilled his sin. After the sin was committed, Theodora, repenting of the deed and unable to bear the shame, cast off her woman’s garment and put on the poor attire of a man. She went to a monastery of men, giving herself the name Theodore, while her husband meanwhile lay in perpetual mourning and squalor on her account. She endured such temptations from the demons and undertook such a struggle against them that she not only washed away the stain of her sin but was also deemed worthy by God of the gift of many miracles. The monks, believing her to be a man (for she had taken every care to remain hidden), found her to be a woman by nature when they washed her after her death, and they extolled God.

In the same month, the twelfth day. Contest of the holy Hieromartyr Autonomus

The holy martyr Autonomus lived under the Emperor Diocletian and was a bishop in Italy. Because of the persecution stirred up against the Christians, he left Italy and reached Bithynia, where he was received by a certain Christian named Cornelius. Having built a church in the name of the Archstrategos Michael, and having ordained Cornelius as bishop there, he went to Claudiopolis, where he preached the word of God. However, upon returning to visit Cornelius and officiating the liturgy in the temple of the Archstrategos Michael, he provoked the Greeks to fury, for they bore it ill that Christ was worshipped by him while their idols were neglected. Wherefore, having observed the time when he was officiating the sacred rites, they rushed into the church. After putting to flight with swords and clubs those who were around him, they cruelly murdered the holy man upon the very altar, and he yielded his spirit to the Lord. ^C

On the same day. Contest of the holy Hieromartyr Cornutus

The holy martyr Cornutus was from the city of Iconium, a pious presbyter who feared God. When a persecution arose against the Christians, the governor of Iconium, a cruel and inhuman man, was sent to torture the Christians living there. Since all others had fled out of fear, Cornutus, abandoned by all, went to meet the governor. Being questioned by him, he boldly confessed Christ and proclaimed himself a perfect Christian; he exposed the deception of the idols and mocked the governor himself. For this reason he was seized, and having had his feet bound with thin cords, he was dragged along the streets and lanes of the city of Iconium until his blood

flowed like a river upon the ground. And being laid out ^A as if dead, he gave thanks to God, offering prayers. And so, having been tortured for a long time, and calling upon Christ until his very last breath, at the prefect’s command he was beheaded, and committed his soul to God.

Eodem die

The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyr Theodore of Alexandria

This holy martyr Theodore, being a pious and virtuous Christian, publicly preached Christ and confessed Him to be God and the Creator of all things. The people of Alexandria, addicted to the superstition of idols, gathered together, seized him, and tortured him severely. Then, plaiting a crown of thorns, they placed it upon his head; and beating him with rods, they led him bound through the city, ^B exposing him to mockery and jeering. After this, they threw him into the sea. But a gentle breeze brought him safely to land. And having been seized again, he was brought bound before the prefect. When he could not turn him from the faith of Christ, he subjected him to torments again; while he, giving glory to God in the very midst of the torments, gave thanks to His holy name. Finally, condemned by the sentence of the prefect to be beheaded, he was led by the soldiers to the place of execution and beheaded. And thus, having completed his martyrdom, he delivered up his spirit.

OF THE SAME MONTH.

The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs Macrobius, Gordianus, and their Companions

These holy martyrs flourished during the reign of Licinius. Macrobius was from Cappadocia, and Gordianus from Paphlagonia. Being young in age, and endowed with bravery and prudence, they were appointed to serve at the king’s table, and because of their virtue and the beauty of their faces, they were greatly loved by him. But having been identified as Christians, and being compelled by entreaties at times and by threats at others to deny Christ, and refusing to be persuaded, they were exiled to the region of Scythia. Having arrived there, they found the holy Zoticus, Lucianus, and Heli ^C striving and contending for the confession of Christ. And after many torments, Zoticus and Lucianus were finished by the sword. But they, together with Heli, were thrown into prison. And he ^D was beheaded, while Macrobius and Gordianus were finished by fire. Valerianus himself breathed his last while weeping at the tomb of the saints.

Eodem die

The Martyrdom of the Holy Hieromartyr Julian of Ancyra in Galatia

During the reign of Licinius, there was a great persecution against the Christians. Now there was a pious priest near Ancyra of Galatia by the name of Julian. On account of the persecution, he fled and went off into

^A a mountain. And he was being hidden in a cave, together with forty-two other holy men. But when the governor of Ancyra came near to the mountain for the sake of sacrificing at a temple of one of the gods of the Greeks, called Hecate, and also to the temple of the governor, they were sought after, so that the holy men might be captured. But as the holy men went out day by day, one by one, to draw water from a nearby spring, and others were receiving it, it fell to holy Julian to fill it with water. And some of the Greeks, seeing him, seized him, and having bound him, they brought him before the governor. But when the governor questioned him concerning the others, he did not betray any of them, but freely professed Christ. A helmet fastened to his head is placed upon him; then having been scraped and severely tortured, he was beheaded.

EODEM MENSE. Die decima quarta 37 Commemoratio Exaltationis pretiosæ et vivificæ Crucis.

Constantine the Great, the first of the Christian emperors, was once waging war, as some say, in Rome against Maxentius, before he gained the empire; but as others believe, against the Scythians by the river Danube. But when he saw numerous hostile forces, he was sick at heart and at a loss for counsel, doubting the outcome of the affair. But at night, seeing the precious cross in the heavens as if inscribed by the stars: "Constantine, by this conquer," he fashioned a cross very similar to it for himself, and conquered the enemies. Wherefore, having been baptized by his mother Helena, he wished to find the precious cross on which the Lord was crucified. And his mother went to Jerusalem, and found it revealed by Judas Cyriacus, who later became bishop: and when all the people had seen it, they were affected with the greatest joy. And the empress, indeed, with the senate, adored it and kissed it. But the people, when they were seized with the greatest desire to adore the cross, and could not because of the numberless crowd of men, asked that they might at least see it, and the, people began to cry out, "Lord, have mercy," and the exaltation was formed. When he saw this, the people erupted into this voice. Kyrie eleison. And hence the type of the Exaltation was expressed.

Eodem die ^D 38 Certamen sancti martyris Papæ.

Papas, a martyr of Christ of many contests, was from the region of Lycia, in the time of Emperor Maximian. When he was teaching the right faith, and freely professing Christ, and persuading many of the Greeks to believe in Him, he was denounced to the governor, and having been seized by him, he was first beaten very severely, and all the bones of his face were broken. Then, having been suspended, he was scraped for a long time. And after these things, iron shoes having long and sharp nails were put upon him. And he was driven forward, being beaten in front of the horses, from his own city to the city of Diocaesarea, and from there to Seleucia. And as he was running, a certain woman, having met him, wiped his blood with a linen cloth, and kissed

it as she wept. Then, being placed under a wild fig tree, and beaten severely, he gave up his spirit to the Lord. And after his death, the fig tree became fruitful. ^A

ON THE SAME MONTH. THE FIFTEENTH DAY.

The Martyrdom of the holy great martyr Nicetas.

The glorious martyr of Christ, Nicetas, lived during the reign of Constantine the Great; he was a Goth by birth, noble and wealthy among his own people, and was instructed in the faith by Theophilus, the most religious bishop of Gothia. When the whole Gothic nation had been divided into two factions, and each had created its own prince, one of the princes fled to the emperor of the Romans. The emperor, having launched an expedition against the other Gothic ruler, ^B defeated him and subdued the Goths; and from that time the race of Christians multiplied among them, with Saint Nicetas being the first, and preaching the faith in Christ to the people with boldness. But after the emperor had returned, the infidel Goths, incited by fury, stirred up a persecution against the Christians; and they tortured others in various ways, but Saint Nicetas, after being tormented with many tortures, was handed over to the fire. ^C

On the same day. Commemoration of our holy Father Philotheus the Wonderworker.

Philotheus the Wonderworker was from the theme of Opsikion; he was a priest, and a great worshiper of God from his youth; for he was assiduously devoted to fasting and prayers; he distributed his wealth to the poor; and he spent his days in mourning and weeping, because he contemplated the punishments of sinners in the next world, and the hell of fire, and the sleepless worm. As he therefore strengthened many, and helped them through his teaching, and served God blamelessly, he received the gift of working wonders, to cast out demons, ^D to heal the sick, to cleanse the lepers, and to bring down rain during the greatest droughts; for the Lord does the will of those who fear Him, and hears their supplications. Thus working wonders, and readily granting the requests to those who approached him, he ended his life in peace. And having been entombed, there flows miraculously from his precious bones, until today, a healing oil.

On the same day. The Martyrdom of the holy martyrs Maximus, Theodotus, and Asclepiodote.

These were during the reign of Maximian, the persecutor of the Christians, and they were from the city of Marcianopolis in Thrace. While they were teaching the word of God, and walking in all His commandments by night and day, and converting many from the error of idols to our Lord Jesus Christ, they were seized by the general of Thrace. And first, they were beaten with rods, and then flayed, until their bones were exposed. Thereafter, having been beheaded...