April 15

1. THE HOLY APOSTLES ARISTARCHUS, PUDENS AND TROPHIMUS

They were numbered among the Seventy Apostles. Aristarchus was bishop of Apamea in Syria. The Apostle Paul mentions him several times: The city was filled with confusion and the people rushed with one accord into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus (Acts 19:29. See also Colossians 4:10 & Philemon 1:23-24).  Aristarchus was arrested in Ephesus, together with Gaius, by a multitude of people who had risen up against Paul. The Apostle Paul writes to the Colossians: Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you (Colossians 4:10). In the Epistle to Philemon, Paul calls Aristarchus my fellow laborer, together with Mark, Demas and Luke.

Pudens was a distinguished citizen of Rome. The Apostle Paul mentions him once. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers send greetings (2 Timothy 4:21). At first, the home of Pudens was a haven for the chief apostles [Peter and Paul] and later it was converted into a place of worship, called the Shepherd's Church.

Trophimus was from Asia. Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus, from Beroea, accompanied him, as did Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia (Acts 20:4), and he accompanied the Apostle on his travels. In one place the Apostle Paul writes: Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick (2 Timothy 4:20).

During Nero's persecution, when the Apostle Paul was beheaded, all three of these glorious apostles were also beheaded.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR SABBAS THE GOTH

In the land of the Goths there was a brutal persecution against Christians. A certain prince of the Goths [Atharidus] entered the village where this devout Sabbas lived and asked the villagers: "Are there any Christians living in your village?" They convinced him, by swearing, that there were none. Then Sabbas stood before the prince and the people and said: "Let no one swear for me; I am a Christian!" Upon seeing Sabbas, wretched and poor, the prince let him go in peace, saying: "This one can neither harm nor benefit anyone." The following year, around Pascha, a certain priest, Sansala, came to this village and celebrated the glorious Feast of the Pascha with Sabbas. Upon learning of this, the heathens suddenly attacked the home of Sabbas and began to beat this holy man of God mercilessly with canes. In addition, they dragged Sabbas's naked body through thorns and then tied both Sabbas and Sansala to a tree, offering them the meat of idolatrous sacrifices to eat. These men of God called to mind the words of the apostles and refused to eat of the unclean, diabolical sacrifices. Finally, the prince condemned Sabbas to death and handed him over to the soldiers. Full of joy, Sabbas arrived at the scaffold praising God. Recognizing him as a good man, the soldiers wanted to release him along the way. Because of this, Sabbas became very sorrowful and told the soldiers that they were duty-bound to carry out the order of the prince. The soldiers then brought him to a river [the Mussovo River at Targoviste, Romania, near Bucharest], tied a stone around his neck, and cast him into the water. His body was washed up along the shore. Later on, during the reign of Emperor Valens, when the Greek Commander Ioannis Soranos was warring with the Goths, he discovered Sabbas's body and translated it to Cappadocia. St. Sabbas suffered at the age of thirty-one, in the year 372 A.D.

3. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYRS BASILISSA AND ANASTASIA

Basilissa and Anastasia were two pious and devout Romans. During the reign of Emperor Nero, they gathered the slain bodies of the disciples of the apostles and buried them with honor. They were denounced for this and imprisoned. After prolonged torture, during which their breasts and tongues were severed, they were finally beheaded.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY MARTYRS

The radiant martyrs shed their blood

And empurpled the whole black earth with their blood.

Powerful was the fire in which they were burned,

But more powerful the love with which they loved Christ.

To be a martyr is the greatest good;

With what treasure can this be compared?

The All-victorious Christ, the King of the ages,

Welcomed into heaven their brave souls.

He took them to Himself from the hands of the angels,

And all their heavy pains He blessed.


REFLECTION

CONTEMPLATION

Contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How He was concerned about the physical nourishment of His disciples; how He broke and blessed bread for the disciples in Emmaus;

2. How, by the shore of the lake, he asked His disciples: Have ye any meat? (John 21:5). How, when they answered Him that they had not, He prepared bread and fish and gave it to them.

HOMILY

on how we will resemble Him Whom we love

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).

Previously we were slaves, but now we are the children of God. We were the slaves of evil, but now we are the servants of good--the supreme good in heaven and on earth. We were slaves to all of that which is lower and worse than man, but now we will serve the All-highest and the All-good. We were oppressed by darkness, but now we will labor in the light. Until now the devil, sin and death held us in continual fear, but now we will live close to God in freedom and joy.

Now--when is this "now?" Now is when the Lord has appeared on earth in the flesh, when He has given us the knowledge of light, freedom and life; when He has gloriously resurrected and manifested Himself in His glorified body; when He has fulfilled all the prophecies of the prophets and all of His promises. Now we, too, are the children of God, seen as sons and heirs of the Kingdom (James 2:5).

We shall be like Him. Truly, this has not yet materialized, but He has manifested Himself and, for now, that is sufficient. He Himself showed how beautiful man is in the Resurrection, and we know that we will also be the same as He. The Apostle John says: We know that we shall be like Him. He does not say, "We suspect," or, "It has been told to us," but he says: We know that we shall be like Him. For He did not resurrect for His sake, but for our sake. He did not resurrect from the grave only to show His power to the dead who are without hope, but to assure the dead that they too will live again--and to show them how they will be when they become enlivened. Neither did the apostles write: We know, because of their vanity before the ignorant, but because of brotherly love toward man, that all men may know this--and that we too might know.

O risen Lord, confirm in us also this saving knowledge, through the prayers of Thy Holy Apostles.

To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

Twitter