دوم پطرس ۱.۱-۱۰ (رساله)

۱از شَمعون پطرس، خادم و رسول عیسی مسیح، به آنان که به برکتِ عدالت خدا و نجات‌دهندۀ ما عیسی مسیح، ایمانی همتراز با ایمان ما نصیبشان شده است: ۲فیض و سلامتی به واسطۀ شناخت خدا و خداوند ما عیسی، به‌فزونی بر شما باد. ۳قدرت الهیِ او هرآنچه را برای حیات و دینداری نیاز داریم بر ما ارزانی داشته است. این از طریق شناختِ او میسّر شده که ما را به واسطۀ جلال و نیکویی خویش فرا خوانده است. ۴او به واسطۀ اینها وعده‌های عظیم و گرانبهای خود را به ما بخشیده، تا از طریق آنها شریک طبیعت الهی شوید و از فسادی که در نتیجۀ امیال نفسانی در دنیا وجود دارد، بِرَهید. ۵از همین رو، به سعی تمام بکوشید تا به واسطۀ ایمان خود نیکویی بار آورید و به واسطۀ نیکویی، شناخت، ۶و به واسطۀ شناخت، خویشتنداری، و به واسطۀ خویشتنداری، پایداری، و به واسطۀ پایداری، دینداری، ۷و به واسطۀ دینداری، مهرِ برادرانه و به واسطۀ مهرِ برادرانه، محبت. ۸زیرا چون اینها در شما باشد و فزونی یابد، نخواهد گذاشت در شناخت خداوند ما عیسی مسیح، بی‌فایده و بی‌ثمر باشید. ۹امّا آن که عاری از اینهاست، کور است و کوته‌بین، و از یاد برده که از گناهان گذشتۀ خویش پاک شده است. ۱۰پس ای برادران، هر چه بیشتر بکوشید تا فراخواندگی و برگزیدگی خویش را تثبیت نمایید، چرا که اگر چنین کنید هرگز سقوط نخواهید کرد.

مرقس ۱۳.۱-۸ (انجیل)

۱هنگامی که عیسی معبد را ترک می‌کرد، یکی از شاگردانش به او گفت: «استاد، بنگر! چه سنگها و چه بناهای باشکوهی!» ۲امّا عیسی به او فرمود: «همۀ این بناهای بزرگ را می‌بینی؟ بدان که سنگی بر سنگ دیگر باقی نخواهد ماند، بلکه همه فرو خواهد ریخت.» ۳و چون عیسی بر کوه زیتون روبه‌روی معبد نشسته بود، پطرس و یعقوب و یوحنا و آندریاس در خلوت از او پرسیدند: ۴«به ما بگو این وقایع کِی روی خواهد داد و نشانۀ نزدیک شدن زمان تحقق آنها چیست؟» ۵عیسی بدیشان فرمود: «به‌هوش باشید تا کسی گمراهتان نکند. ۶بسیاری به نام من آمده، خواهند گفت، ”من همانم“ و بسیاری را گمراه خواهند کرد. ۷چون دربارۀ جنگها می‌شنوید و خبر جنگها به گوشتان می‌رسد، مشوش مشوید. چنین وقایعی می‌باید رخ دهد، ولی هنوز پایان فرا نرسیده است. ۸قومی بر قوم دیگر و حکومتی بر حکومت دیگر بر خواهند خاست. زلزله‌ها در جایهای گوناگون خواهد آمد و قحطیها خواهد شد. امّا این تنها به منزلۀ آغاز درد زایمان است.

قدیس پارتنیوس، اسقف لامپساکوس

He was an illiterate fisherman, but always listened carefully to the readings of Holy Scripture in church, and strove to put their teaching into practice. Whatever he earned from his trade he gave to the poor, keeping back nothing for himself. His charity became so well-known that Philetus, Bishop of Melitopolis, ordained him to the priesthood, charging him to travel throughout the diocese visiting Christians. Parthenius fulfilled his mission admirably, and his many miracles and healings — even raising the dead to life — showed that divine favor rested on him. Ascalus, Metropolitan of Cyzicus, made him Bishop of Lampsacus, at that time an almost completely pagan city. By virtue of his preaching, prayer and fasting, St Parthenius in time converted the whole city to Christ.

Miracles of healing poured forth from the holy bishop so reliably (according to the Synaxarion) the city’s doctors became superfluous. Demons took flight at the Saint’s approach. Once, when he commanded a demon to depart from a poor man, the spirit begged him, ‘Give me a place to live, even swine!’ ‘No,’ the bishop replied, ‘But you may come and dwell in me!’ The demon fled, crying as though burned, ‘How can I enter God’s house? Great is the power of the Christians!’

Once Parthenius visited Heraclea in Thrace, whose Bishop Hypatian was extremely ill. The Saint revealed to the bishop that avarice was the true cause of his ailment. ‘Give to the poor the goods that you are withholding from them, and you will recover.’ The Metropolitan had himself carried to the church on a stretcher and publicly gave all his possessions to the poor. Three days later he was completely cured. On leaving the city, Parthenius told the Metropolitan that his own death was near and, soon after returning to Lampsacus, reposed in peace.

پدر قابل احترام ما لوقا جدید کوه استیریون (حدود ۹۵۰)

Is there such a thing as a natural monk? Saint Luke was born in 896 to pious parents who came from Aegina but were forced to settle on the Greek mainland due to Saracen raids. From his earliest years, he showed a desire for a life of ascesis and contemplation usually only found in seasoned elders. He abstained from all flesh, cheese, eggs, and delicacies, drank only water, and kept a total fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. While herding cattle or tilling the family fields, he would often give away his food and even his clothing to the poor, returning home naked. When his father died, he abandoned farm work to devote himself entirely to prayer, making such progress that he was often lifted above the ground while praying. After a time he secretly left home and entered a monastery in Athens (he was now only fourteen years old), but the abbot sent him home after seeing his mother every night in dream, tearfully calling for her son. He returned home for a while, but when he had obtained her permission to leave once again set out upon the monastic life. He traveled widely, living as a hermit in various places, sometimes attached to a monastery and sometimes not. Often he would be forced to move by the number of visitors who learned of his holiness, no matter how secretly he tried to live, and came to him for prayer or a word of counsel or prophecy. Once he lived for three years on the island of Ampelon; his sister would occasionally bring him some bread, but he gave much of it away to the needy or to passing sailors. Finally, his health damaged, he returned to the mainland at the entreaties of his disciples and settled at a place called Stirion (which may be a corruption of Soterion), where he built a hermitage.

Saint Luke fell ill in his seventh year at Stirion. Embracing his disciples, he asked them to pray for him, prophesying that the place where he died would someday be the site of a great church and monastery; he then reposed in peace and joy.

His tomb exuded a fragrant oil which was collected and burned in a lamp, and many miracles and healings were wrought at the tomb. As the Saint had predicted, two churches and a monastery were built there, and the monastery of Hosios Lukas became a great place of pilgrimage, as it remains to this day.