Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9 (Vespers)

Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3 (Vespers)

Wisdom of Solomon 4.7-15 (Vespers)

Matthew 11.27-30 (Matins Gospel)

27„Toate lucrurile Mi-au fost date în mâini de Tatăl Meu; şi nimeni nu cunoaşte deplin pe Fiul, afară de Tatăl; tot astfel nimeni nu cunoaşte deplin pe Tatăl, afară de Fiul şi acela căruia vrea Fiul să i-L descopere. 28Veniţi la Mine, toţi cei trudiţi şi împovăraţi, şi Eu vă voi da odihnă. 29Luaţi jugul Meu asupra voastră şi învăţaţi de la Mine, căci Eu sunt blând şi smerit cu inima; şi veţi găsi odihnă pentru sufletele voastre.

30Căci jugul Meu este bun, şi sarcina Mea este uşoară.”

1 Timothy 1.1-7 (Epistle)

1Pavel, apostol al lui Isus Hristos, prin porunca lui Dumnezeu, Mântuitorul nostru, şi a Domnului Isus Hristos, nădejdea noastră, 2către Timotei, adevăratul meu copil în credinţă: har, îndurare şi pace de la Dumnezeu, Tatăl nostru, şi de la Hristos Isus, Domnul nostru! 3După cum te-am rugat, la plecarea mea în Macedonia, să rămâi în Efes, ca să porunceşti unora să nu înveţe pe alţii altă învăţătură 4şi să nu se ţină de basme şi de înşirări de neamuri fără sfârşit, care dau naştere mai mult la certuri de vorbe decât fac să înainteze lucrul lui Dumnezeu prin credinţă, aşa fac şi acum. 5Ţinta poruncii este dragostea, care vine dintr-o inimă curată, dintr-un cuget bun şi dintr-o credinţă neprefăcută. 6Unii, fiindcă s-au depărtat de aceste lucruri, au rătăcit şi s-au apucat de flecării. 7Ei vor să fie învăţători ai Legii, şi nu ştiu nici măcar ce spun, nici ce urmăresc.

Galatians 5.22-6.2 (Epistle, St Herman)

22Roada Duhului, dimpotrivă, este: dragostea, bucuria, pacea, îndelunga răbdare, bunătatea, facerea de bine, credincioşia, 23blândeţea, înfrânarea poftelor. Împotriva acestor lucruri nu este lege. 24Cei ce sunt ai lui Hristos Isus şi-au răstignit firea pământească împreună cu patimile şi poftele ei. 25Dacă trăim prin Duhul, să şi umblăm prin Duhul.

26Să nu umblăm după o slavă deşartă, întărâtându-ne unii pe alţii şi pizmuindu-ne unii pe alţii. 1Fraţilor, chiar dacă un om ar cădea deodată în vreo greşeală, voi, care sunteţi duhovniceşti, să-l ridicaţi cu duhul blândeţii. Şi ia seama la tine însuţi, ca să nu fii ispitit şi tu. 2Purtaţi-vă sarcinile unii altora şi veţi împlini astfel legea lui Hristos.

Mark 8.11-21 (Gospel)

11Fariseii au venit deodată şi au început o ceartă de vorbe cu Isus; şi, ca să-L pună la încercare, I-au cerut un semn din cer. 12Isus a suspinat adânc în duhul Său şi a zis: „Pentru ce cere neamul acesta un semn? Adevărat vă spun că neamului acestuia nu i se va da deloc un semn.” 13Apoi i-a lăsat şi a intrat iarăşi în corabie, ca să treacă de cealaltă parte. 14Ucenicii uitaseră să ia pâini; cu ei în corabie n-aveau decât o pâine. 15Isus le dădea în grijă şi le zicea: „Luaţi seama, să vă păziţi bine de aluatul fariseilor şi de aluatul lui Irod!” 16Ucenicii se gândeau şi ziceau între ei: „Fiindcă n-avem pâini.” 17Isus a înţeles lucrul acesta şi le-a zis: „Pentru ce vă gândiţi că n-aveţi pâini? Tot nu pricepeţi şi tot nu înţelegeţi? Aveţi inima împietrită? 18Aveţi ochi, şi nu vedeţi? Aveţi urechi, şi nu auziţi? Şi nu vă aduceţi aminte deloc? 19Când am frânt cele cinci pâini la cei cinci mii de bărbaţi, câte coşuri pline cu firimituri aţi ridicat?” „Douăsprezece”, I-au răspuns ei. 20„Şi, când am frânt cele şapte pâini la cei patru mii de bărbaţi, câte coşniţe pline cu firimituri aţi ridicat?” „Şapte”, I-au răspuns ei. 21Şi El le-a zis: „Tot nu înţelegeţi?”

Luke 6.17-23 (Gospel, St Herman)

17S-a coborât împreună cu ei şi S-a oprit într-un podiş unde se aflau mulţi ucenici de ai Lui şi o mare mulţime de oameni, care veniseră din toată Iudeea, din Ierusalim şi de pe lângă marea Tirului şi a Sidonului ca să-L asculte şi să fie vindecaţi de bolile lor. 18Cei chinuiţi de duhuri necurate erau vindecaţi. 19Şi tot norodul căuta să se atingă de El, pentru că din El ieşea o putere care-i vindeca pe toţi. 20Atunci Isus Şi-a ridicat ochii spre ucenicii Săi şi a zis: „Ferice de voi care sunteţi săraci, pentru că Împărăţia lui Dumnezeu este a voastră! 21Ferice de voi care sunteţi flămânzi acum, pentru că voi veţi fi săturaţi! Ferice de voi care plângeţi acum, pentru că voi veţi râde! 22Ferice de voi, când oamenii vă vor urî, vă vor izgoni dintre ei, vă vor ocărî şi vor lepăda numele vostru ca ceva rău, din pricina Fiului omului! 23Bucuraţi-vă în ziua aceea şi săltaţi de veselie; pentru că răsplata voastră este mare în cer; căci tot aşa făceau părinţii lor cu prorocii.

St Herman, Wonderworker of Alaska (1836). First Martyrs of America Juvenaly (1796) and Peter the Aleut (1815 )

St Herman, for many the Patron of North America, was born near Moscow around 1756 to a pious merchant family, and entered monastic life at the age of sixteen, at the Trinity - St Sergius Lavra near St Petersburg. While there he was attacked by a cancer of the face, but the Mother of God appeared to him and healed him completely. He was tonsured a monk in 1783 with the name of Herman (a form of Germanos), and was received into Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga. After some time, he was allowed to withdraw to the life of a hermit in the forest, and only came to the monastery for feast days.

In 1793, in response to a request by the Russian-American Commercial Company for missionaries to Alaska, Valaam Monastery was told to select a company of its best monks to travel to America. Eight were chosen, of whom the hermit Herman was one. The company crossed all of Siberia and , almost a year later, first saw Kodiak Island in September 1794. The missionaries set about their work, and found the native Aleut people so receptive to the Gospel of Christ that in the first year about 7,000 were baptized and 1,500 marriages performed.

Despite severe hardships, the missionaries covered huge distances, on foot and in small boats, to reach the scattered fishing settlements of the Aleuts. In general they found a warm reception, but many of the pagan shamans opposed their message and sometimes stirred up the people against them. It was thus that the Priest-monk Juvenaly was killed in 1796, becoming the First Martyr of North America.

Despite such opposition, the missionaries’ major difficulty was with the Russian traders and settlers, who were in the habit of exploiting the Aleuts as they wished, and who had oppressed and disgusted the native people with their immoral behavior. When the missionaries came to the defense of the natives, they were repaid with the opposition of the Russian-American company, whose leadership put countless obstacles in the path of their work. In time, several of the company died at sea, and several more abandoned the mission in discouragement, leaving the monk Herman alone.

He settled on Spruce Island near Kodiak, and once again took up the hermit’s life, dwelling in a small cabin in the forest. He spent his days in prayer and mission work, and denied himself every fleshly comfort: he fasted often and lived on a diet of blackberries, mushrooms and vegetables (in Alaska!!). Despite these privations, he founded an orphanage and a school for the natives of the island, cared for the sick in epidemics, and built a chapel where he conducted divine services attended by many. (He was not a priest, but God made up the lack in miraculous ways: at Theophany, Angels descended to bless the waters of the bay, and the Saint would use the holy water to heal the sick). Asked if he was ever lonely or dejected in his solitude, and replied: “I am not alone; God is here as everywhere, and the Angels too. There is no better company.”

Saint Herman reposed in peace on Spruce island, at the age of eighty-one, in 1836. At the moment of his departure, his face was radiant with light, and the inhabitants nearby saw a pillar of light rising above his hermitage. His last wish was to be buried on Spruce Island. When some of his well-intended disciples attempted to take his relics back to Kodiak to be buried from the church there, a storm rose up and continued unabated until they had abandoned the plan and buried him as he desired. He was officially glorified in 1970, the first canonized American Saint.

Saint Peter was a young Aleut convert to the Orthodox faith. In 1812 the Russian- American Company set up a post in California, where Russians and Aleuts farmed and traded to supply the needs of the Alaskans; Peter was one of these. The Spanish, who at the time ruled California, suspected the Russians of territorial ambitions, and in 1815 captured about twenty Orthodox Aleuts and took them to San Francisco. Fourteen of these were put to torture in an effort to convert them to the Roman Catholic faith. All refused to compromise their faith, and Peter and a companion were singled out for especially vicious treatment: Peter’s fingers, then hands and feet, were severed, and he died from loss of blood, still firm in his confession. The Latins were preparing the same fate for the others when word came that they were to be transferred; eventually they returned to Alaska. When he heard a first-hand account of Peter’s martyrdom, Saint Herman crossed himself and said “Holy New Martyr Peter, pray to God for us!” Saint Peter the Aleut is the first recognized Saint of American birth.

St Herman appears several times on the Church’s calendar. The Synaxis of St Herman and the American Protomartyrs is celebrated today. St Herman is commemorated on November 15, the day of his repose; but (partly because pilgrimage to Alaska is so difficult in the winter) the day of his glorification, July 27 / August 9 is kept there as his primary feast day.

Following is a fragment of a conversation between St Herman and some officers of a Russian ship, recorded by his disciple Yanovsky; it includes perhaps the most familiar quotation from St Herman.

“But do you love God?” asked the Elder. And all answered: “Of course we love God. How can we not love God?” “And I, a sinner, have tried to love God for more than forty years, and I cannot say that I perfectly love Him,” answered Father Herman, and began to explain how one must love God. “If we love someone,” he said, “then we always think of that one, we strive to please that one; day and night our heart is preoccupied with that object. Is it in this way, gentlemen, that you love God? Do you often turn to Him, do you always remember Him, do you always pray to Him and fulfill His Holy commandments?” We had to admit that we did not. “For our good, for our happiness,” concluded the Elder, “at least let us give a vow to ourselves, that from this day, from this hour, from this minute, we shall strive above all else to love God and to do His Holy Will!”

Saint Herman is also commemorated on December 12.

Martyrs Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius, and Orestes at Sebaste

“These five courageous men shone like five resplendent stars in the dark days of the anti-Christian Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. St Eustratius was a Roman general in the city of Satalios, Eugene was one of his comrades in arms and Orestes likewise a respected soldier. Auxentius was a priest and Mardarius a simple citizen who came, like Eustratius, from the town of Aravraca. The imperial governors, Lysias and Agricola, tortured Auxentius first as he was a priest. Beholding the innocent suffering of the Christians, Eustratius presented himself before Lycias and declared that he also was a Christian. While Eustratius was being tortured, Eugene stood up before the judge and cried out: ‘I am a Christian too, Lycias!’ When they were driving Eustratius and the other martyrs through the town, Mardarius saw them from the roof of his house, and he took leave of his wife and two frail daughters and hastened after them, shouting into the faces of their tormentors: ‘I am a Christian too, like the Lord Eustratius!’ Orestes was a young and handsome soldier, who stood head and shoulders above all the other soldiers. One day, when he was at target practice in Lycias’s presence, the Cross he was wearing fell from his breast, and Lycias realised that he was a Christian. Orestes openly confessed his faith, and was martyred with the others. Auxentius was beheaded, Eugene and Mardarius died under torture, Orestes was exposed on a red-hot iron grid and Eustratius died in a flaming furnace. St Blaise (see Feb. 11th) gave Communion to St Eustratius in prison before his death. Their relics were later taken to Constantinople, and are preserved in the church dedicated to them — The Holy Five Companions. They were seen alive in that church, and St Orestes appeared to St Dimitri of Rostov (see Oct. 28th). A beautiful prayer by St Eustratius is extant, which is read at the Midnight Service on Saturdays: ‘I glorify Thy majesty, 0 Lord for Thou hast regarded my lowliness and hast not shut me up in the hands of my enemies, but hast saved my soul from want…’. ” (Prologue)

Holy Virgin Maryr Lucy of Syracuse (304)

During Diocletian’s persecutians, the Christian maiden Lucy went with her mother on pilgrimage to the tomb of St Agatha (February 5), to pray for her mother’s healing from an ailment. Saint Agatha appeared to Lucy in a dream and said ‘Lucy, my sister, why do you ask from me what your own faith can obtain? Your mother is healed. You will soon be the glory of Syracuse as I am of Catania.’ Lucy’s mother was healed from that day, and Lucy determined to consecrate herself entirely to God. She broke off an engagement to a nobly-born young man and gave her large dowry of land and jewels to the poor. Her would-be husband angrily denounced her as a Christian to the Governor of Syracuse.

At the tribunal, Lucy firmly confessed her faith in Christ and refused to make sacrifice to the gods. The Governor ordered that she be placed in a brothel, but his minions were unable to move her from the place where she stood, even when they tied her with ropes and attempted to drag her with oxen. The Governor asked what witchcraft she used, to which she answered ‘I do not use witchcraft — it is the power of God that is with me. Bring ten thousand of your men if you wish; they will not be able to move me unless God wills it.’ The men then lit a fire around her, but it did not harm her. Finally they beheaded her where she stood. With her last words, she predicted the deaths of Maximian and Diocletian, and the coming of peace to the Church.