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Assumption of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2022-06-12
Bulletin Contents
Pentecost
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Assumption of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • 7179193382
  • Street Address:

  • 801 Montecito Drive

  • San Angelo, TX 76903


Contact Information




Services Schedule

Sundays
9 AM Orthros Prayer Service
10 AM Divine Liturgy Communion Service

 


Past Bulletins


Calendar & Announcements

Happy Pentecost!

Though perhaps not as well known as Pascha (Easter) or Christmas, the Feast of Pentecost is one of the major feasts of the Church year.  On this day we remember, enter into, and celebrate the events of the first Christian Pentecost.

The disciples had gathered in the upper room–following Christ’s command to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, and observing the Old Testament Pentecost which remembered the giving of the Law.  While they were together “in one accord,” the Holy Spirit came upon them in dramatic fashion (Acts 2:1).

They heard the rushing of a mighty wind that filled the entire house.  They saw flames of fire sitting upon each one’s head.  And then they were filled with the Holy Spirit, who enabled them to speak in various languages they had never spoken in before.  This caused such a disturbance that others in Jerusalem heard and drew near in shock as they listened to the disciples speaking in their own language.

Source: http://www.orthodoxmotherhood.com/ways-celebrate-pentecost/

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SCHEDULE  CHANGE

We are back to our normal Sunday schedule again, 9 AM Orthros and 10 AM Divine Liturgy.

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FASTING

  • This week we have no fasting! That's to celebrate the Pentecost.
  • The Fast before the Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul will start next Monday, June 20, and go through Wednesday, June 29.
    • This special fast will be a fish, wine, and oil fast on all the days, except for the first Wednesday, which is listed as a strict fast day.
    • Note: June 29 is the feast day, but it is on a Wednesday, so it also is a day of fish, wine, and oil.

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UPCOMING  SERVICES

Wednesday, June 29, Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul

  • 9 AM Orthros
  • 10 AM Divine Liturgy

 

June 16 Paint Night with International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)

IOCC Paint Night Fundraiser

Register here for June 16 Nationwide IOCC Paint Night: Register

All proceeds benefit ministries of IOCC, which helps people of all faiths across the world. Learn more about IOCC.  

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PARISH  COUNCIL

The next Parish Council meeting will be held the second Sunday of the month, at the end of Coffee Hour.

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Check out the rest of the bulletin online! See below for recipes, news from the world of Orthodoxy, online concerts and lecture series, and more.

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SPECIAL  OCCASIONS

Birthdays:Fr. James Hademenos, George Kuykendall 

Anniversaries: none

Namedays:Augustina Bartl

Memorials: none

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COFFEE  HOUR

Please join us for refreshments in the Social Hall.

** As always, see the parish website for any changes and updates. **

 

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Assembly of Bishops News

Spring Meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation

05/19/2022

The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation met for its one-hundredth meeting at the Saint Methodios Faith and Heritage Center in Contoocook, New Hampshire, on May 17-19, 2022. Some participants also attended online.
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Ecumenical Patriarchate News

Halki Summit V Underway in Constantinople

06/09/2022

Yesterday, June 8, marked the start of the fifth Halki Summit conference in Constantinople. This year’s theme is “Sustaining the Future of the Planet Together: the Prophetic Ministry of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,” and is sponsored in part by generous grants from Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the CR Florence Foundation.
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Archdiocese News

SPEAKER SERIES BONUS EDITION: Orthodox Scholars Preach - Holy Pentecost, June 12

06/08/2022

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros

Congratulations to the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival National Finalists

06/07/2022


GOA Center for Family Care’s “Soak Up the Son” Video Series Begins June 13th

06/07/2022

GOA Center for Family Care’s “Soak Up the Son” Video Series Begins June 13th

Archbishop Elpidophoros Serves as Greek Independence Day Parade Grand Marshal

06/07/2022

On Sunday, June 5, 2022 His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America served as a Grand Marshal of the New York City Greek Independence Day Parade, his first since his enthronement in 2019. Organized by the Federation of Hellenic American Societies of Greater NY, the parade returned on a warm and sunny afternoon after two years of Covid restrictions.

GOA Girl Delegates Visit to Archdiocese

06/06/2022

On Thursday, June 2, 2022, Archbishop Elidophoros met with the Girl Delegates of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to congratulate them on the work they have done at the United Nations with the Working Group on Girls.

New Books Available on Orthodox Marketplace

06/02/2022

Three new valuable guides for the Orthodox faithful are now available on Orthodox Marketplace.
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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Holy Pentecost
The Reading is from John 20:19-23

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were gathered, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."


Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 8th Tone. Psalm 18.4,1.
Their voice has gone out into all the earth.
Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God.

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11.

WHEN THE DAY of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontos and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."


Gospel Reading

Holy Pentecost
The Reading is from John 7:37-52; 8:12

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This is really the prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?" The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this man!" The Pharisees answered them, "Are you led astray, you also? Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed." Nikodemos, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" They replied, "Are you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee." Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."


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Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion for Pentecost in the 8th Tone

Blessed are you, O Christ our God. You made wise men of poor fishermen by sending down upon them your Holy Spirit, and through them you caught the whole world. O Lover of mankind, glory to you.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 8th Tone

When he came down and confused the tongues of men the Most High divided the nations. But in sending forth parted tongues of flame he called all mankind to unity that with one accord we might glorify his all Holy Spirit.
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Saints and Feasts

Pentecost
June 12

Holy Pentecost

After the Saviour's Ascension into the Heavens, the eleven Apostles and the rest of His disciples, the God-loving women who followed after Him from the beginning, His Mother, the most holy Virgin Mary, and His brethren-all together about 120 souls returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. Entering into the house where they gathered, they went into the upper room, and there they persevered in prayer and supplication, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, as their Divine Teacher had promised them. In the meanwhile, they chose Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas among the Apostles.

Thus, on this day, the seventh Sunday of Pascha, the tenth day after the Ascension and the fiftieth day after Pascha, at the third hour of the day from the rising of the sun, there suddenly came a sound from Heaven, as when a mighty wind blows, and it filled the whole house where the Apostles and the rest with them were gathered. Immediately after the sound, there appeared tongues of fire that divided and rested upon the head of each one. Filled with the Spirit, all those present began speaking not in their native tongue, but in other tongues and dialects, as the Holy Spirit instructed them.

The multitudes that had come together from various places for the feast, most of whom were Jews by race and religion, were called Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and so forth, according to the places where they dwelt. Though they spoke many different tongues, they were present in Jerusalem by divine dispensation. When they heard that sound that came down from Heaven to the place where the disciples of Christ were gathered, all ran together to learn what had taken place. But they were confounded when they came and heard the Apostles speaking in their own tongues. Marvelling at this, they said one to another, "Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" But others, because of their foolishness and excess of evil, mocked the wonder and said that the Apostles were drunken.

Then Peter stood up with the eleven, and raising his voice, spoke to all the people, proving that that which had taken place was not drunkenness, but the fulfilment of God's promise that had been spoken by the Prophet Joel: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that I shall pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28), and he preached Jesus of Nazareth unto them, proving in many ways that He is Christ the Lord, Whom the Jews crucified but God raised from the dead. On hearing Peter's teaching, many were smitten with compunction and received the word. Thus, they were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added to the Faith of Christ.

Such, therefore, are the reasons for today's feast: the coming of the All-holy Spirit into the world, the completion of the Lord Jesus Christ's promise, and the fulfilment of the hope of the sacred disciples, which we celebrate today. This is the final feast of the great mystery and dispensation of God's incarnation. On this last, and great, and saving day of Pentecost, the Apostles of the Saviour, who were unlearned fishermen, made wise now of a sudden by the Holy Spirit, clearly and with divine authority spoke the heavenly doctrines. They became heralds of the truth and teachers of the whole world. On this day they were ordained and began their apostleship, of which the salvation of those three thousand souls in one day was the comely and marvellous first fruit.

Some erroneously hold that Pentecost is the "birthday of the Church." But this is not true, for the teaching of the holy Fathers is that the Church existed before all other things. In the second vision of The Shepherd of Hermas we read: "Now brethren, a revelation was made unto me in my sleep by a youth of exceeding fair form, who said to me, 'Whom thinkest thou the aged woman, from whom thou receivedst the book, to be?' I say, 'The Sibyl.' 'Thou art wrong,' saith he, 'she is not.' 'Who then is she?' I say. 'The Church,' saith he. I said unto him, 'Wherefore then is she aged?' 'Because,' saith he, 'she was created before all things; therefore is she aged, and for her sake the world was framed."' Saint Gregory the Theologian also speaks of "the Church of Christ ... both before Christ and after Christ" (PG 35:1108-9). Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus writes, "The Catholic Church, which exists from the ages, is revealed most clearly in the incarnate advent of Christ" (PG 42:640). Saint John Damascene observes, "The Holy Catholic Church of God, therefore, is the assembly of the holy Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs who have been from the very beginning, to whom were added all the nations who believed with one accord" (PG 96, 1357c). According to Saint Gregory the Theologian, "The Prophets established the Church, the Apostles conjoined it, and the Evangelists set it in order" (PG 35, 589 A). The Church existed from the creation of the Angels, for the Angels came into existence before the creation of the world, and they have always been members of the Church. Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, says in his second epistle to the Corinthians, the Church "was created before the sun and moon"; and a little further on, "The Church existeth not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning" (II Cor. 14).

That which came to pass at Pentecost, then, was the ordination of the Apostles, the commencement of the apostolic preaching to the nations, and the inauguration of the priesthood of the new Israel. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that "Our Lord Jesus Christ herein ordained the instructors and teachers of the world and the stewards of His divine Mysteries ... showing together with the dignity of Apostleship, the incomparable glory of the authority given them ... Revealing them to be splendid with the great dignity of the Apostleship and showing them forth as both stewards and priests of the divine altars . . . they became fit to initiate others through the enlightening guidance of the Holy Spirit" (PG 74, 708-712). Saint Gregory Palamas says, "Now, therefore ... the Holy Spirit descended ... showing the Disciples to be supernal luminaries ... and the distributed grace of the Divine Spirit came through the ordination of the Apostles upon their successors" (Homily 24, 10). And Saint Sophronius, Bishop of Jerusalem, writes, "After the visitation of the Comforter, the Apostles became high priests" (PG 87, 3981B). Therefore, together with the baptism of the Holy Spirit which came upon them who were present in the upper chamber, which the Lord had foretold as recorded in the Acts, "ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence" (Acts 1:5), the Apostles were also appointed and raised to the high priestly rank, according to Saint John Chrysostom (PG 60, 21). On this day commenced the celebration of the Holy Eucharist by which we become "partakers of the Divine Nature" (II Peter 1:4). For before Pentecost, it is said of the Apostles and disciples only that they abode in "prayer and supplication" (Acts 1:14); it is only after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they persevered in the "breaking of bread,"that is, the communion of the Holy Mysteries-"and in prayer" (Acts 2:42).

The feast of holy Pentecost, therefore, determined the beginning of the priesthood of grace, not the beginning of the Church. Henceforth, the Apostles proclaimed the good tidings "in country and town," preaching and baptizing and appointing shepherds, imparting the priesthood to them whom they judged were worthy to minister, as Saint Clement writes in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (I Cor. 42).

All foods allowed during the week following Pentecost.


Peteratheniteonouphrios
June 12

Onuphrius of Egypt

Saint Onuphrius flourished in the fourth century, first in the cenobium near Hermopolis of Thebes in Egypt, and later as a solitary in the desert, where he was discovered by Saint Paphnutius. When Paphnutius first encountered him deep in the desert, he was affrighted at the Saint's appearance, seeing him covered with hair like a wild beast and naked except for a garment sewn of leaves covering his loins. After relating his life and the bitter conflicts he had endured as a hermit, Onuphrius told Paphnutius that he was about to die, and that Paphnutius had been sent to bury him, which soon came to pass. Although Paphnutius desired afterwards to remain in the Saint's cave, as soon as he had buried him, the cave fell in and the palm tree, which had furnished the Saint with dates withered up, indicating that it was the will of God that Paphnutius return to his monastery and make Saint Onuphrius known to all.


Peteratheniteonouphrios
June 12

Peter the Athonite

Saint Peter was born of noble parents in Constantinople in the ninth century. Sent forth with the Roman army against the Saracens, he was taken captive and shut up in the prison of Samarra in Syria; this is no doubt the same prison in which the Forty-Two Martyrs of Amorion were kept (see Mar. 6). Released from prison through the prayers of Saint Nicholas of Myra and Saint Symeon the God-receiver, he fled to Rome, where he became a monk, and later came to the peninsula of Athos, where he lived in a cave as a solitary, suffering many temptations from the evil one, but also enjoying the manifest help of the most holy Theotokos. After many years, he reposed in peace.


Allsaint
June 12

John the Soldier of Egypt


Allsaint
June 12

Holy Martyr Antonine


Allsaint
June 13

Triphyllos the Bishop of Nicosia


St_akylini
June 13

Aquilina the Martyr of Syria

This Martyr contested in Byblos of Syria during the reign of Diocletian, in 289. Because she taught other young maidens to turn from the idols to Christ, she was brought before the governor. Her ears were pierced with heated spits until blood ran from her nostrils; finally she was beheaded, at the age of ten or twelve.


Holytrin
June 13

Monday of the Holy Spirit

As it is the custom of the Church, on the day after every great Feast, to honour those through whom it came to pass our Lady on the day after the Lord's Nativity, Joachim and Anna after our Lady's Nativity, the holy Baptist the day after Theophany, and so forth, on this day we honour our God the All-holy Spirit, the Comforter promised by our Saviour to His disciples (John 14:16), Who descended upon them at holy Pentecost and guided them "into all truth" (ibid. 16:13), and through them, us.

Rest from labour.


14_methodio
June 14

Methodius the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople

As for Saint Methodius, he was born to wealthy parents in Syracuse of Sicily about the end of the eighth century. Being a presbyter, he was sent as an ambassador to Rome in 815 or 816 on behalf of Patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople, who had been exiled by Leo the Armenian (see June 2). After Leo's death, he returned to Constantinople; but since he was a zealot for the veneration of the holy icons, he was immediately exiled by Emperor Michael the Stutterer to a fortress near Bithynia. When Michael died, he was freed for a short time; but then, because of his confession of the Orthodox Faith, he was imprisoned again by the Emperor Theophilus in a dark and foul-smelling sepulcher. Since this was not enough for the Emperor's inhumanity, he commanded that two thieves be shut up with Methodius, and when one of them died, that the corpse not be removed. While the Saint was imprisoned there, a certain poor fisherman ministered to his needs. Finally, when the Church received its freedom under Saint Theodora the Empress, the Saint ascended the patriarchal throne of Constantinople in 842. Together with the holy Empress, Methodius restored the holy icons to their proper honor; this is commemorated on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. He governed the Church of Constantinople for four years, and reposed in 846.


Eliaselisha
June 14

The Holy Prophet Elisseus (Elisha)

The Prophet Elisseus, the son of Saphat, was from the town of Abel-me-oul and had been a husbandman. In the year 908 B.C., at God's command, the Prophet Elias anointed him to be Prophet in his stead. This happened while Elisseus was plowing his land, having twelve oxen under yoke. Straightway, Elisseus slew the oxen and cooked them, using the wooden plough and the other instruments of husbandry as firewood; then he gave the oxen as food to the people. Bidding farewell to his parents, he followed Elias and served him until the latter was taken up as it were into Heaven (see July 20). When Elisseus received his teacher's mantle and the grace of his prophetic spirit twofold, he demonstrated whose disciple he was through the miracles he wrought and through all that is related of him in the Fourth Book of Kings. He departed full of days and was buried in Samaria, about the year 839 B.C. But even after his death God glorified him; for after the passage of a year, when some Israelites were carrying a dead man for burial and suddenly saw a band of Moabites, they cast the dead man on the grave of the Prophet. No sooner had the dead man touched the Prophet's bones, than he came to life and stood on his feet (IV Kings 13:20-21). Mentioning this, Jesus the Son of Sirach says, "He did wonders in his life, and at his death his works were marvelous" (Ecclus. 48:14). It is because of such marvels that the faithful have reverence for the relics of the Saints (see also Jan. 16). His name means "God is savior."


Allsaint
June 14

The Holy Hieromartyrs of Estonia: Basil the Protopresbyter, John, John, and Artemios


Allsaint
June 15

Amos the Prophet

The Prophet Amos was from the city of Thekoue of the land of Zabulon. He was an unlearned man, a shepherd of goats and sheep, as he testifies concerning himself (Amos 7:14-15). He began to prophesy two years before the earthquake, which some say took place in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of Ozias, King of Judah, about the year 785 B.C. (Amos 1:1). Later, however, Amasias, the false priest of Bethel, brought about his death. His book of prophecy, divided into nine chapters, is ranked third among the minor Prophets. This Amos is different from the Prophet Esaias' father, who also was called Amos. His name means "bearer of burdens.


Allsaint
June 15

Augustine the Blessed, Bishop of Hippo


Allsaint
June 15

Father among the Saints Jonas, Metropolitan of Kiev

Our holy Father Jonas, Metropolitan of Kiev, was tonsured at the age of twelve in one of the Galician monasteries and later struggled in the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. About 1430, he became Bishop of Ryazan and Murom. In 1432 he was chosen as a candidate for Metropolitan of Kiev. (The Metropolitan's residence had been transferred from Kiev to Vladimir about the year 1280, and then to Moscow in 1328, yet the Metropolitan continued to be called "of Kiev" until Saint Jonas, the last to be so called. After the fall of Constantinople, the successors of Saint Jonas took the title Metropolitan of Moscow. This is why Metropolitans Theognostus, Cyprian, Photius, and Jonas are sometimes called "of Kiev" and sometimes "of Moscow.") Upon arriving in Constantinople to receive consecration, however, Jonas learned that Isidore had been appointed to the see by the Ecumenical Patriarch Joseph, without the knowledge of the Muscovite prince and clergy. In 1438, at the Council of Florence, both Patriarch Joseph and Metropolitan Isidore became Uniates; in 1441, therefore, Isidore was driven from his see, and in 1449 (according to some, 1448), Saint Jonas was made Metropolitan by the Russian bishops. He reposed on March 21, 1461. (See also Oct. 5)


Lazar
June 15

Lazar of Serbia


Allsaint
June 15

Achikos, Stephanas, & Fortuanatos the Apostles


Allsaint
June 16

Tychon the Wonderworker

This Saint was born of pious Christian parents and flourished in the fifth century. Because of his piety and purity of life he was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Amathus, and later was made Bishop of Amathus by the great Epiphanius (see May 12). He worked many signs and wonders and turned many from the worship of idols unto Christ. Once he planted a vine in the ground and it wondrously sprouted and brought forth ripe grapes. After his death, on his annual feast-day on June 16, it being yet early in the season, that vine would be laden with unripe grapes, as is natural; but as the Divine Liturgy began, the grapes would begin to darken, and by the end of it, they would be fully ripened. The third of the Vespers stichera in the Menaion service to Saint Tychon alludes to this yearly miracle.


Allsaint
June 16

40 Martyrs of Rome


Allsaint
June 16

Mark the Just of Apollonia


Allsaint
June 17

Isaurus the Holy Martyr & his Companions of Athens

The holy Martyr Isaurus, a deacon, and Basil and Innocent were from Athens. In the reign of Numerian (283-284), they came to Apollonia (most likely, the city in Illyricum); there encountering Felix, Peregrinus, and Hermias hidden in a cave, they strengthened them in their Faith. Betrayed to Tripontius the Proconsul, all but Isaurus and Innocent were beheaded; these last two Tripontius gave over to his son, Apollonius, who tormented them, and then had them beheaded.


Allsaint
June 17

Manuel, Sabel, & Ishmael the Martyrs of Persia

The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year.


Allsaint
June 17

Righteous Father Botolph, Abbot of the Monastery of Ikanhoe

Saint Botolph was born in Britain about the year 610 and in his youth became a monk in Gaul. The sisters of Ethelmund, King of East Anglia, who were also sent to Gaul to learn the monastic discipline, met Saint Botolph, and learning of his intention to return to Britain, bade their brother the King grant him land on which to found the monastery. Hearing the King's offer, Saint Botolph asked for land not already in any man's possession, not wishing that his gain should come through another's loss, and chose a certain desolate place called Ikanhoe. At his coming, the demons' inhabiting Ikanhoe rose up against him with tumult, threats, and horrible apparitions, but the Saint drove them away with the sign of the Cross and his prayer. Through his monastery he established in England the rule of monastic life that he had learned in Gaul. He worked signs and wonders, had the gift of prophecy, and "was distinguished for his sweetness of disposition and affability." In the last years of his life he bore a certain painful sickness with great patience, giving thanks like Job and continuing to instruct his spiritual children in the rules of the monastic life. He fell asleep in peace about the year 680. His relics were later found incorrupt, and giving off a sweet fragrance. The place where he founded his monastery came to be called "Botolphston" (from either "Botolph's stone" or "Botolph's town") which was later contracted to "Boston."


Pentecost
June 18

The Apodosis of Holy Pentecost


Allsaint
June 18

Leontius, Hypatius, & Theodulus the Martyrs of Syria

This Martyr was from Greece. Being of great bodily stature and strength, he was an illustrious soldier in the Roman legions who had won many victories, and was known for his prudence and sobriety of mind. When it was learned that he gave grain to the poor from the imperial stores, and was moreover a Christian, Hadrian the Governor of Phoenicia sent Hypatius, a tribune, and Theodulus, a soldier, to arrest him. Saint Leontius converted them on the way to Tripolis in Phoenicia, where Hypatius and Theodulus were tormented and beheaded by Hadrian for their confession of Christ. Then Hadrian with many flatteries and many torments strove to turn Leontius from Christ. All his attempts failing, he had Leontius put to such tortures that he died in the midst of them, under Vespasian in the year 73.


Allsaint
June 18

Leontios the Myrrh-Streamer of Argos


Allsaint
June 19

The Sunday of All Saints

Honouring the friends of God with much reverence, the Prophet-King David says, "But to me, exceedingly honourable are Thy friends, O Lord" (Ps. 138:16). And the divine Apostle, recounting the achievements of the Saints, and setting forth their memorial as an example that we might turn away from earthly things and from sin, and emulate their patience and courage in the struggles for virtue, says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every burden, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).

This commemoration began as the Sunday (Synaxis) of All Martyrs; to them were added all the ranks of Saints who bore witness (the meaning of "Martyr" in Greek) to Christ in manifold ways, even if occasion did not require the shedding of their blood.

Therefore, guided by the teaching of the Divine Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition, we the pious honour all the Saints, the friends of God, for they are keepers of God's commandments, shining examples of virtue, and benefactors of mankind. Of course, we honour the known Saints especially on their own day of the year, as is evident in the Menologion. But since many Saints are unknown, and their number has increased with time, and will continue to increase until the end of time, the Church has appointed that once a year a common commemoration be made of all the Saints. This is the feast that we celebrate today. It is the harvest of the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world; it is the "much fruit" brought forth by that "Grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died" (John 12:24); it is the glorification of the Saints as "the foundation of the Church, the perfection of the Gospel, they who fulfilled in deed the sayings of the Saviour" (Sunday of All Saints, Doxasticon of Vespers).

In this celebration, then, we reverently honour and call blessed all the Righteous, the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Shepherds, Teachers, and Holy Monastics, both men and women alike, known and unknown, who have been added to the choirs of the Saints and shall be added, from the time of Adam until the end of the world, who have been perfected in piety and have glorified God by their holy lives. All these, as well as the orders of the Angels, and especially our most holy Lady and Queen, the Ever-virgin Theotokos Mary, do we honour today, setting their life before us as an example of virtue, and entreating them to intercede in our behalf with God, Whose grace and boundless mercy be with us all. Amen.


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Wisdom of the Fathers

For as thirsty men, when they have taken a bowl, eagerly drain it and then desist, so too they who hear the divine oracles if they receive them thirsting, will never be weary until they have drunk them up. For to show that men ought ever to thirst and hunger, "Blessed," It said, "are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt.5:6)
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 51 on John 7, 4th Century

For the grace of the Spirit, when it has entered into the mind and has been established, springs up more than any fountain, fails not, becomes not empty, stays not. To signify therefore at once its unfailing supply and unlimited operation, He has called it "a well" and "rivers," not one river but numberless.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 51 on John 7, 4th Century

Goings up, and advances and progress from glory to glory, the Light of the Trinity might shine upon the more illuminated. For this reason it was, I think, that He gradually came to dwell in the Disciples, measuring Himself out to them according to their capacity to receive Him, at the beginning of the Gospel, after the Passion, after the Ascension, making perfect their powers, being breathed upon them, and appearing in fiery tongues...You see lights breaking upon us, gradually; and the order of Theology, which it is better for us to keep, neither proclaiming things too suddenly, nor yet keeping them hidden to the end...He said that all things should be taught us by the Spirit when He should come to dwell amongst us. Of these things one, I take it, was the Deity of the Spirit Himself, made clear later on when such knowledge should be seasonable and capable of being received after our Saviour's restoration, when it would no longer be received with incredulity because of its marvellous character. For what greater thing than this did either He promise, or the Spirit teach. If indeed anything is to be considered great and worthy of the Majesty of God, which was either promised or taught...Look at these facts:--Christ is born; the Spirit is His Forerunner. He is baptized; the Spirit bears witness. He is tempted; the Spirit leads Him up. He works miracles; the Spirit accompanies them. He ascends; the Spirit takes His place.
St. Gregory the Theologian
5th Theological Oration

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