As a zealous young monk, Saint Nicetas fell victim to the wiles of the Devil who inflamed him with vainglorious thoughts of becoming a recluse without the blessing of his abbot. Having shut himself up in a cave, one day he heard a voice, and, thinking he has been vouchsafed a divine vision, called out for the Lord to reveal himself. The Devil then appeared to him as angel of light and ordered him to stop praying saying that he (the “angel”) would pray in his stead. Furthermore, he commanded that he should read only from the Old Testament. The deceived and disobedient Nicetas prostrated himself before the vision and promised to obey. Some time later, the Devil began appearing regularly to provide his thrall with knowledge of things happening in the world that he could not otherwise have known. Thinking they were prophecies, he began proclaiming them to those visiting the monastery. As a result the monk’s fame increased and the Enemy of mankind was able to cast his net ever wider. When the elders of the monastery noticed that Nicetas never spoke to his visitors from the New Testament, they investigated the matter further in prayer and realized that he had fallen prey to the evil one. Breaking down the door to his cave, they routed the Devil by their prayer and called forth Nicetas like Lazarus from the tomb. Upon emerging, God granted him the consolation of a child-like mind, wiping away all trace of his fall, and leaving him only with an impression of the necessity of obedience. From that firm foundation, the abbot and elders built him into the very example of monastic humility and repentance using as their tools the common life of the brotherhood. He advanced so far in the path of holiness that he was eventually made the Bishop of Novgorod where he was the source of many blessings for his flock both before and after his death.
Honoratus, Archbishop of Arles and Founder of the Monastery of Lerins
In the garden, our First Parents were attacked by the deception of that envious serpent, the Devil. Thereafter, in some circumstances, the snake has become a symbol of his malice and hate for man. Such was the case on the deserted Isles of Lerins in Gaul which was infested by the beasts when Saint Honoratus and his spiritual Father arrived there to found the famous monastery. But, having following the Lord’s command to be “wise as serpents, ” — the redemption of the negative symbolism — the future Archbishop drove them off by his prayer. In place of the desolate wilderness, he cultivated a garden of the Theotokos, which provided the Church with many fruitful tress and flowers, the saints of Lerins.
Juliana the Merciful of Lazarevzk
A faithful and dutiful wife, when her husband was away on business for the Tzar, Saint Juliana worked with her household staff to give of their bounties to those in their such that multiple families had their needs met by her generosity. When famine struck the land, her compassion and giving abounded even more. For those who, despite her best efforts, did not survive, she paid for their Christian burial if their family could not afford it. Compassion was as if a natural reflex for her developed by nightly shared metanias with her husband and early morning prayer on her own. When she lost two of her children unexpectedly, she asked her husband to allow her to retire to a monastery. Although he did not grant his blessing because of the care she owed to their remaining children, he did allow her to live a monastic life in their domestic Church. The Saint took up the ascetic life with a vigor only matched by her generosity. She kept vigil at night, only allowing herself moments of sleep on the ground with a log for a pillow; she fasted severely so she had more to give others, and she kept the Jesus Prayer ever on her lips. Unable to bear her humility which was as a scourge to them, she was attacked one night by demons, but she drove them out by calling on the intercessions of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker who appeared with a stick that reminded those rebellious ones of their defeat by the wood of cross. At her death a visible halo of light formed around her head, and years later her body was found to incorrupt and emitting a heavenly fragrance.
Seraphim of Sarov
The great star in the firmament of Holy Orthodoxy, Saint Seraphim, shone forth within 100 years of the great persecution at the hands of the godless atheists in 20th Century Russia. An initiate into the fellowship of the Theotokos and the Apostles and blessed with divine visions of their holy band, the Saint was a perfect example of monastic obedience and striving. This led him to pass through all states of the ascetic life as a cenobite, a hesychast, a stylite, and a recluse. From such, he became an instructor to all the world of the acquisition of and life in the Holy Spirit, helping to lead thousands around him to salvation. Foreseeing that he would become an unconquerable foe, the devil ferociously attacked the Saint with vainglorious thoughts, unexplainable sounds meant to distract and disrupt, frightening visions and apparitions in order to defeat him before he became too strong. But the man of God triumphed by prayer – particularly the prayer of the Publican which also inspired the Jesus Prayer – and by making the sign of the cross. Enraged by his failure, the Devil inspired three robbers to beat him so severely that he was near to death. Rejoicing that he had been found worthy to suffer in a manner similar to Christ, Saint Seraphim did not resist. Suffering for more than four months from his wounds, he was miraculously healed by the Mother of God. His glorification in 1903 was perhaps that last manifestation of the Christian unity of Russia before the revolution, and the translation of his relics in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union demonstrated the triumph of the perseverance of faith through the darkest of times. He was then, and remains now, a source of consolation for the Russian land and the wider Church.
Martyr Gordios of Cappadocia
A Roman Centurion, the holy Martyr Gordios became incensed when he saw the way that his fellow countrymen who were Christians were being treated during Diocletian’s persecution. Deserting his post in protest, the Saint fled into the wilderness where he determined to cleanse his nous from the taint of the atrocities he witnessed through fasting, prayer, vigil, and meditation on Holy Scripture. Having undergone true martial training in the desert, the Martyr returned to Cappadocia during a feast to the so-called god Mars, and proclaimed his allegiance to the One True God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Dragged before the Governor, Saint Gordius boldly repeated his confession and expressed His desire to suffer for the faith. Threatened with the vilest torments a depraved mind could conceive, the Soldier of Christ stood fast, lamenting only that he had could give his life but once for the Lord. The Devil then sought to undermine his resolve by inspiring his family and friends to visit him in prison, playing on the bonds of affection. The Martyr resisted the temptation through the remembrance of death and exhorted his loved ones to care only for the eternal and not the temporal. Having persevered to the end, Saint Gordios received the crown of Martyrdom by beheading.
Sylvester, Pope of Rome
The teacher of Saint Constantine the Great, Saint Sylvester inspired the Emperor to construct seven basilicas in Rome to the glory of Christ Jesus. Angered by his decreasing influence in the Empire that once so ferociously persecuted Christians at his command, the devil inspired Saint Helena, who at that time was still enamored by Judaism, to organize a public debate between 12 Christian bishops, led by Saint Sylvester, and 12 Jewish scribes led by a known named Zambrius. After being soundly defeated by the holy Pope who clearly demonstrated Christ and the Most Holy Trinity from his own Old Testament scriptures, Zambrius thought to inspire awe by cursing a bull and causing its death at a mere word. Thinking he had triumphed, the insolent man challenged Saint Sylvester to do the same. The holy man, however, simply replied that His was the God of the living and not the dead, and, at his prayer, the animal was restored to life again. Thus the Christian party proved victorious and the enemy of mankind was put to shame.
The Giving of the Holy Name of Jesus at the Circumcision in the Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ
On the eighth day after the birth of our Lord, His most holy Mother and His foster father, Saint Joseph the Betrothed, presented Christ Jesus for circumcision in the flesh in accordance with the command given to Abraham of old. Having humbly submitted Himself to receive the sign He Himself had ordered Israel to receive, He showed forth the entire Mystery of our Redemption and inaugurated the New Covenant in His blood. On the same day, according to custom, He was also given the Name of Jesus (God saves) as was foretold by the Archangel Gabriel. This is the “Name that is above every name” at which “every knee…in heaven and on earth and under the earth” will bow (Philippians 2:9-10). When the saints from all ages have invoked His holy Name in prayer, the Lord is present with them as He promised, demons are put to flight as if scourged with fire, and their evil schemes are crushed and brought to naught.
Martyr Anthusa of Seleucia
Inspired by the holy reputation of Saint Athanius Bishop of Tarsus, Saint Anthusa desired to learn the Christian Faith from him. Saint Basil having appeared to her in a dream while still living, the girl recognized him while on a journey to Cilicia. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, she immediately requested baptism at which point a miraculous spring burst forth from dry land, and it was in these waters that the Holy Bishop baptized Saint Anthusa. Upon coming out of the font-not-made-with-hands, two angels appeared and clothed her with the white robe of the neophyte. After explaining to her mother that she had become a Christian, she was confirmed in her virginity by Saint Athanasius, and blessed to flee to the desert where she spent twenty years in extreme asceticism amongst the wild beasts who gamboled at her pure feet. While Saint Athansisus was put to death during Valerian’s persecution, Saint Anthusa put to death her passions in constant striving against the flesh and the Devil. The Evil One often appeared to her in the guise of a hermit monk asking her to come and pray with Him. But the purity of her nous was such that she could see through his schemes, and she routinely put him to flight with the Name above all Names. As a reward for her contest and her voluntary martyrdom in the desert, an angel appeared to her one day at prayer explaining that she was to receive the martyr’s crown. With that assurance, the athlete of Christ laid down in peace and gave her soul into God’s hands. Her incorrupt body was found in her cave four years later by Christians who were astonished to see that her flesh was still warm as if she were just asleep.
Abraham of Smolensk
After giving away all of the possessions he inherited from his wealthy parents, Saint Abraham became a monk and gave himself over the strictest of ascesis. Along with his body, his passions also withered as a result of night-long vigils and constant pleas for the Lord to have mercy on the world. His disciple, Saint Ephrem, described his appearance as that of a living relic. After being made a priest, his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and His insightful sermons brought him fame and renown with the faithful. Stoking the jealousy of his enemies, the demons inspired them to accuse him of heresy to the Bishop. The Bishop was deceived for a time, but the inherent disorder of the sinful decision infected the land and resulted in a drought and an epidemic. Made aware of his error, the Bishop repented and restored Saint Abraham. As a result, God delivered them via a miraculous heavy rain. Thus, the machinations of the Evil One came to nothing.
Martyr Bassa
Caught up in the fervor of persecution associated with Emperor Maximian’s birthday, Saint Bassa and her three sons were ordered to offer sacrifice and pour out libations to the Greek gods. Her husband, a pagan priest and thrall of the idols, turned them in when they refused to do so. Like the mother of the Maccabean martyrs, Saint Bassa encouraged her children to defeat the demons that had overtaken their father by patient endurance and by offering themselves completely to Christ who was waiting to receive them. By obeying their Mother they conquered the foe and received the martyr’s crown. Their mother joining them not too long after, first having dashed the idol of Zeus into a thousand pieces by her prayer.
Hymnography
Possessing an unhesitating mind, thou didst set out to wrestle with the wily adversary, and thou didst destroy him in the deep of thy blood.
(Ode Four, First Troparion of the Martyr; Orthros Canon)
With longing we call Bassa blessed, that dove that was guileless indeed, that turtle-dove that loved God, that swallow which escaped the winter and nets of demons, soared up with her godly younglings, and nested in the Heavens, in the spiritual dominion of God.
(Ode Nine, Fourth Troparion of the Martyr; Orthros Canon)