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04. JANUARY |
Synaxsis of the Seventy Holy Apostles |
| Besides the Twelve Greater Apostles, the Lord chose Seventy
Lesser Apostles and sent them to preach the Gospel, "After
these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent
them two and two before his face into every city and place He
intended to visit, He said to them, "The harvest is abundant
but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to
send out laborers for his harvest." Go on your way: behold,
I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag,
no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever
house you enter, first say, "Peace be to this household"
(St. Luke 10:1-5). But, as Judas, one of the Twelve, fell away
from the Lord, so it was with some of the Seventy who abandoned
the Lord not with the intention of betrayal but because of human
weakness and faintheartedness. "As a result of this, many
of His disciples returned to their former way of life and no
longer accompanied Him" (St. John 6:66). As Judas' place
was filled by another apostle, "So they (The Apostles)
proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as
Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, "You, Lord, Who
know the hearts of all, show which one of these two You have
chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which
Judas turned away to go to his own place". Then they gave
lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted
with the eleven apostles" (Acts of the Apostles 1:23-26);
so also were the places of these lesser apostles filled by others
that were chosen. These Seventy Lesser Apostles labored at the
same work as did the Twelve Great Apostles; they were co-workers
with the Twelve in spreading and establishing the Church of
God in the world. They endured many sufferings and malevolent
acts from men and demons, but their strong faith and fervent
love for the resurrected Lord made them victors over the world
and inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven. |
Saint Eustathius, Archbishop of the
Serbs |
| Eustathius was born in the district of Budim of God-fearing
parents. As a young man he was tonsured a monk in Zeta; then
he entered a higher form of asceticism in the Monastery Hilandar
(Mt. Athos). In time, Eustathius became the abbot of Hilandar.
As abbot, he was elected Bishop of Zeta and after a certain
period of time was elected Archbishop of the Serbs. Eustathius
was a man of great charity who governed Christ's flock with
zeal and love. He died peacefully in the year 1279 A.D. In his
old age he cried out before his death: "Into Your hands,
O Lord I give my soul." His relics are interred under the
flooring in the Church at the Patriarchate of Pec. |
Eunuch of Queen Candace |
The Apostle Philip baptized this black man, a eunuch. Following
his baptism the eunuch returned to his home and began to preach
Christ. He was the first Apostle of Faith among the blacks in
Ethiopia. "Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem
to Gaza, the desert route. So he got up and set out. Now there
was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, that
is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the Prophet Isaiah. The
Spirit said to Philip, "Go and join up with the chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the Prophet and said,
"Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied,
"How can I, unless someone instructs me?" So he invited
Philip to get in and sit with him. This was the scripture passage
he was reading: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opened not
his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will
tell of his posterity? For his life is taken from earth."
Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply, "I beg you, about
whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone
else?" Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with
this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him. As they
traveled along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch
said, "Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being
baptized?" Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip
and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized
him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord
snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued
on his way rejoicing. Philip came to Azotus, and went about
preaching the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
(Acts of the Apostles 8: 26-40). The eunuch died a martyr and
became worthy of the Kingdom of God.
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Venerable Martyr Onuphrius of Hilandar
Monastery (Mount Athos) |
| In his youth, Onuphrius became angry with his parents and
declared before the Turks that he was going to convert to Islam.
Immediately following that, he repented because of these words
and went to Hilandar where he was tonsured a monk. Tormented
by his conscience, Onuphrius decided for martyrdom. Because
of his determination and with the blessing of his spiritual
father, he departed for Trnovo, Bulgaria where he reported to
the Turks, proclaimed himself a Christian, and ridiculed Muhammad.
Because of that, Onuphrius was beheaded on January 4, 1818,
in his thirty-second year. The body of this spiritual knight
is not preserved for the Turks tossed it into the sea. |
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