Sainte MESSALINE, vierge et martyre à Foligno, lors de la persécution de Dèce (entre 249 et 251).
Saint CLEMENT, évêque d'Ancyre (aujourd'hui Ankara), et saint AGATHANGE, martyrs sous Dioclétien (vers 296). (Office traduit en français par le père Denis Guillaume au tome I des Ménées.) santi Clemente, vescovo, ed Agatangelo subirono il martirio presso l’attuale capitale turca, Ankara, al tempo della persecuzione dei cristiani perpetrata dall’imperatore Diocleziano. The Hieromartyr Clement was born in the Galatian city of Ancyra in the year 258, of a pagan father and a Christian mother. He lost his father when he was an infant, and his mother when he was twelve. She predicted a martyr's death for him because of his belief in Christ.
A woman named Sophia adopted him and raised him in the fear of God. During a terrible famine in Galatia several pagans turned out their own children, not having the means to feed them. Sophia took in these unfortunates, and fed and clothed them. St Clement assisted her in this. He taught the children and prepared them for Baptism. Many of them died as martyrs for Christ.
St Clement was made a reader, and later a deacon. When he was eighteen he was ordained to the holy priesthood, and at age twenty he was consecrated Bishop of Ancyra. Soon afterwards the persecution against Christians under Diocletian (284-305) broke out.
Bishop Clement was denounced as a Christian and arrested. Dometian, the governor of Galatia, tried to make the saint worship the pagan gods, but St Clement firmly confessed his faith and valiantly withstood all the tortures.
They suspended him on a tree, and raked his body with sharp iron instruments so that his entrails could be seen. They smashed his mouth with stones, and they turned him on a wheel and burned him over a low fire. The Lord preserved His sufferer and healed his lacerated body.
Then Dometian sent the saint to Rome to the emperor Diocletian himself, with a report that Bishop Clement had been fiercely tortured, but had proven unyielding. Diocletian, seeing the martyr completely healthy, did not believe the report and subjected him to even crueler tortures, and then had him locked up in prison.
Many of the pagans, seeing the bravery of the saint and the miraculous healing of his wounds, believed in Christ. People flocked to St Clement in prison for guidance, healing and Baptism, so that the prison was literally transformed into a church. When word of this reached the emperor, many of these new Christians were executed.
Diocletian, struck by the amazing endurance of St Clement, sent him to Nicomedia to his co-emperor Maximian. On the ship, the saint was joined by his disciple Agathangelus, who had avoided being executed with the other confessors, and who now wanted to suffer and die for Christ with Bishop Clement.
The emperor Maximian in turn sent Sts Clement and Agathangelus to the governor Agrippina, who subjected them to such inhuman torments, that even the pagan on-lookers felt pity for the martyrs and they began to pelt the torturers with stones.
Having been set free, the saints healed an inhabitant of the city through the laying on of hands and they baptized and instructed people, thronging to them in multitudes. Arrested again on orders of Maximian, they were sent home to Ancyra, where the ruler Cyrenius had them tortured. Then they were sent to the city of Amasea to the proconsul Dometius, known for his great cruelty.
In Amasea, the martyrs were thrown into hot lime. They spent a whole day in it and remained unharmed. They flayed them, beat them with iron rods, set them on red-hot beds, and poured sulfur on their bodies. All this failed to harm the saints, and they were sent to Tarsus for new tortures. In the wilderness along the way St Clement had a revelation that he would suffer a total of twenty-eight years for Christ. Then having endured a multitude of tortures, the saints were locked up in prison.
St Agathangelus was beheaded with the sword on November 5. The Christians of Ancyra freed St Clement from prison and took him to a cave church. There, after celebrating Liturgy, the saint announced to the faithful the impending end of the persecution and his own martyrdom. On January 23, the holy hierarch was killed by soldiers from the city, who stormed the church. The saint was beheaded as he stood before the altar and offered the Bloodless Sacrifice. Two deacons, Christopher and Chariton, were beheaded with him, but no one else was harmed.
Saints ANASTASE, soldat, SERGE, moine, et SEPTANTE-TROIS autres, martyrs à Tarragone (Espagne) sous Dioclétien.
DEUX MARTYRS de Parios (Hellespont), qui trouvèrent la mort en étant jetés dans une fosse.
Saints BEAU, FLORUS, SATURNIN, MINUTIUS, CASTULE, BASILE, CORNEILLE, exorciste, et CORTILLE, vierge, martyrs à Rome.
icona del western rite di tradizione francofona
Sainte EMERENTIENNE, vierge, martyre à Rome alors qu'elle était encore catéchumène (vers 305). Tra i fedeli accorsi ai funerali di Agnese è ricordata anche "Emerentiana, quae fuerat collactanea eius, virgo sanctissima, licet cathecumena". Un'improvvisa aggressione da parte di pagani fanatici disperse i cristiani. Emerenziana, invece di fuggire, apostrofò coraggiosamente gli assalitori, finendo però lapidata. I genitori di s. Agnese ne seppellirono il corpo nei pressi:
Saint AMASE, évêque de Tiano en Campanie (vers 356).
Saint ASCOLE, ACHOLIOS ou ASCHOLIOS, évêque de Thessalonique, renommé pour ses vertus et qui participa au IIème Concile oecuménique (383).
Saint EUSEBE, ascète sur le mont Coryphée près d'Antioche (IVème -Vème siècles).
Saint MAYESMAS le Syrien, ascète dans la région de Cyr (IVème - Vème siècles).
Saint SALAMAN l'Hésychaste (Haute-Mésopotamie, IVème - Vème siècles.)
Saint MACHAIRE des Mauges, higoumène, apôtre du Bocage (Vème siècle).
Saint GAUDENCE (GAUDENS), évêque de Novare en Italie (417). http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/31000
Saint MARTYR, solitaire dans les Abruzzes (VIème siècle).
Sainte GREGORIE, vierge à Rome (VIème siècle).
Saint ORMOND ou ARMAND, higoumène de Mairé en Poitou (vers 597).
Saint BOISILE, prévot du monastère de Melrose en Ecosse (vers 664).
Saint ILDEFONSE ou ALONZO (ALPHONSE), évêque de Tolède en Espagne (667). La sua famiglia, già potente sotto i Romani, lo rimane anche sotto i Visigoti, e gli prepara una carriera adeguata. Ma Ildefonso scappa di casa, rifugiandosi nel monastero dei santi Cosma e Damiano, vicino a Toledo. Non ha in mente la carriera. Si fa monaco, arriva al diaconato e qui si ferma. Gli va bene così. Ma i confratelli lo eleggono ugualmente abate nella loro comunità, perché ha tutto: pietà, cultura, energia, un parlare attraente. Ed è anche uno scrittore di grande efficacia.
Ma sui cinquant’anni deve lasciare il monastero: è morto Eugenio II, il vescovo di Toledo, e al suo posto si vuole lui, Ildefonso. Per convincerlo si muove il re visigoto in persona, Recesvinto. Così, nel 657, eccolo vescovo di quella che al tempo è la capitale del regno. Ora non ha più molto tempo da dedicare ai libri, impegnato com’è a scrivere tante lettere, e non proprio allegre. Abbiamo di lui pagine angosciate sugli scandali ad opera di certi cristiani influenti e falsi, sui conflitti duri con il re, che pure lo stima; e su tanti ecclesiastici che troppo s’immischiano negli affari di Stato.
Era davvero meglio il monastero: pregare con gli altri, studiare, scrivere... Ildefonso ci ha lasciato opere di dottrina e di morale, trattati sulla Madre di Dio , inni liturgici. E anche l’opera divulgativa De viris illustribus (“Degli uomini illustriâ€) che è un po’ una continuazione delle Etimologie di Isidoro di Siviglia (ca. 570-636), la grande “enciclopedia†di tutto l’Alto Medioevo. Ildefonso non può vivere senza insegnare, convinto anche lui (come san Braulio, vescovo di Saragozza) che il sapere "è un dono comune, non privato", e che perciò deve essere distribuito a tutti.
Colpisce i fedeli la sua devozione mariana, suscitando anche racconti di fatti prodigiosi. Come quando, al momento di una celebrazione solenne, apparve in chiesa la Madonna, porgendo a Ildefonso l’abito liturgico (la pianeta) per il rito.
Dopo la morte, il suo corpo fu sepolto a Toledo; poi, con l’invasione araba, venne trasferito a Zamora, in Castiglia. I fedeli lo hanno “gridato santo†da subito, collegando sempre il suo nome a quello della Beata Vergine Maria.
Commémoration du VIème concile oecuménique (680).
Il Concilio condannò i monoteliti,
affermando la dottrina che in Gesù Cristo sussistono due volontà e due
operazioni naturali, senza divisione e senza cambiamento, inseparate, inseparabili e inconfuse;
quindi, due volontà, di cui una divina, alla quale è subordinata quella
umana. Condannò, scomunicandoli, anche tutti coloro che avevano
sostenuto la dottrina monotelita, come i patriarchi Sergio, Pirro, Ciro e lo stesso papa Onorio, che aveva mostrato delle aperture verso di essa.
Saint COLMAN, higoumène de Lismore en Irlande et évêque (vers 702).
Saint BARNARD ou BERNARD (BERNHARD), higoumène du monastère d'Ambronay dans l'Ain, puis archevêque de Vienne en Dauphiné, fondateur du monastère de Romans-sur-Isère, confesseur de l'Orthodoxie contre l'adoptianisme de Félix d'Urgel et contre l'iconoclasme mitigé des conciles de Francfort et de Paris (842).
(Contrairement à ce qu'affirme Mgr Guérin dans le tome I des Petits Bollandistes, édition de 1874, p. 570, ce n'est pas lui, mais un autre Bernard, archevêque de Worms, qui fit partie d'une délégation chargée par Charlemagne d'imposer le Filioque au pape saint Léon III - cf. archiprêtre Wladimir Guettée, Histoire de l'Eglise, tome VI, p. 61.)
Saint MAIMBOEUF, Irlandais, massacré par des brigands près d'un lieu nommé Dampierre (Franche-Comté, vers 880).
A
Dampierre nel territorio di Besançon in Burgundia, nell’odierna
Francia, san Maimbodo, che, irlandese di origine, fattosi pellegrino ed
eremita, si tramanda che sia stato ucciso dai briganti.
Saint DENYS de l'Olympe, higoumène du monastère athonite de Philothéou puis ermite au pied de l'Olympe (Thessalie 1541).
Saint
Denys naquit dans les dernières années du XVe siècle d'un couple de
modestes chrétiens du village de Slatina (aujourd'hui Drakotrypa) en
Thessalie. Après la mort de ses parents l'adolescent excerça quelque
temps les fonctions d'instituteur et de calligraphe; mais, dévoré de
zèle pour les choses de Dieu, il se rendit bientôt au Monastère des
Météores et devint disciple d'un ancien nommé Sabas. Il ne portait les
vêtements monastiques (rasophore) que depuis peu, quand, ayant entendu
vanter le mode de vie hésychaste, l'ascèse et la prière des moines de
l'Athos, il s'enfuit à l'insu de son ancien qui voulait le retenir de
force, et, parvenu à Karyès, la capitale de la république athonite, il
demanda à être reçu dans la communauté d'un ancien réputé pour sa
sagesse, Gabriel. D'abord renvoyé quelque temps dans le monde, auprès de
l'Evêque de Cassandra, jusqu'à ce qu'il atteigne l'âge requis, il reçut
le grand-habit angélique des mains de Gabriel qui, discernant ses
qualités, le fit bientôt ordonner Diacre puis Prêtre, afin de le
remplacer dans le Service Liturgique du Protaton.
Le zèle de Denys pour l'ascèse et son amour de la prière dans la solitude faisaient l'admiration de tous, jeunes comme anciens; aussi obtint-il facilement de son père spirituel l'autorisation d'aller engager les rudes combats de la vie solitaire dans un lieu froid et dépourvu de toute consolation humaine, près du Monastère de Caracallou.
Nuit et Jour, sans relâche, il travaillait à faire croître en lui l'homme intérieur renouvelé à l'image du Christ. Sa nourriture: la lecture de l'Ecriture Sainte et quelques châtaignes qui abondaient en ce lieu et lui permettaient de vivre ainsi libre de tout souci pour la subsistance de son corps. Il persévéra pendant trois années dans des combats dignes des grands ascètes de jadis. Après un pèlerinage en Terre Sainte, où le Patriarche Dorothée voulut le garder pour faire de lui son successeur, il retourna à l'Athos et se mit à l'ouvrage pour agrandir sa modeste chapelle, aidé dans son travail par des Anges. Un jour un brigand, qui avait remarqué que des visiteurs commençaient à venir nombreux pour recevoir la bénédiction du Saint, s'embusqua pour l'assassiner. Mais il fut frappé de berlue et ne le vit pas passer. Il se rendit alors à sa cellule, en pensant la piller tout à son aise, et y découvrit le Saint. Il tomba alors à ses pieds, confessa en pleurant son mauvais dessein et devint ensuite moine.
Au bout de sept années d'une vie plus céleste que terrestre, comme sa renommée s'était répandue sur toute la Sainte Montagne, les moines de Philothéou lui demandèrent d'accepter la charge d'Higoumène. Poussé par son amour des hommes, le Saint se résolut à abandonner les douceurs de la solitude pour le salut de ses frères. Il restaura rapidement la condition matérielle et spirituelle du monastère. Les nouvelles recrues commençaient à affluer quand, certains moines bulgares, jaloux de s'être vu retirer la direction du couvent, fomentèrent un complot contre lui, avec le dessein de mettre fin à ses jours. Prévenu à temps, Saint Denys s'enfuit alors avec quelques-uns de ses moines et s'installa à la skite de Bérée1, où ne vivaient alors péniblement que quelques moines.
Là aussi les vertus et les grâces que Dieu faisait resplendir en lui attirèrent vers le Saint de nombreux disciples, comme le fer est attiré vers l'aimant. Il reconstruisit l'église du Précurseur, transforma la skite en monastère cénobitique, organisé selon la tradition de la Sainte Montagne, et laissa d'autres frères s'installer aux alentours, seuls ou en petites communautés, si bien que l'endroit devint bientôt une véritable cité monastique. Malgré les travaux de constructions et les soucis de la direction spirituelle, Denys poursuivait en tout point sa vie ascétique, comme dans le désert, ne mangeant que quelques fruits, ne portant en tout temps qu'un seul vêtement, priant sans cesse, surtout dans le silence de la nuit, et ajoutant à ses travaux une charité sans limite à l'égard des malheureux qui venaient demander l'aumône au monastère. Il leur distribuait sans compter: biens, nourritures et vêtements, laissant à la Providence divine le soin d'entretenir sa communauté. Père de tous, il était aussi, à l'imitation du Christ, le plus humble et se faisait le serviteur de chacun de ses moines. Chaque fois qu'il le pouvait, il se rendait dans les villages de la région pour enseigner la vie évangélique et l'observation des commandements de Dieu au peuple qui, en ces temps obscurs, était souvent dépourvu de la plus élémentaire éducation chrétienne. En toute circonstance: qu'il lise, qu'il prêche ou qu'il prie, des larmes ne tardaient pas à couler en abondance sur son visage, amenant ceux qui l'approchaient à le suivre et à l'écouter comme un véritable prophète de Dieu.
Comme le trône épiscopal de Bérée était resté vacant à la mort de l'Evêque, le peuple décida à l'unanimité de choisir le saint moine comme pasteur. Denys demanda d'abord un délai, puis, ayant reçu de Dieu l'assurance que telle n'était pas Sa volonté, il se cacha et partit peu après à la recherche d'un lieu de résidence plus retiré. Parvenu au pied du mont Olympe, l'antique séjour des dieux, celui qui était devenu en vérité dieu par la Grâce du Saint-Esprit s'installa dans une magnifique vallée, ornée d'arbres majestueux et arrosée de sources abondantes. C'est là quaprès avoir mené peu de temps la vie solitaire, il commença la fondation du Monastère de la Sainte-Trinité, pour recevoir les disciples qui accouraient vers lui. Or le gouverneur turc du lieu ayant appris qu'on avait entrepris cette fondation sans son autorisation, s'irrita contre le Saint et décida de le faire arrêter et juger avec tous ses moines. Heureusement averti du danger Denys prit la fuite et alla fonder avec ses disciples le Monastère de la Sainte-Trinité de Sourbias, sur le mont Pilio. Entre temps la colère divine s'abattit sur la région de l'Olympe, et les villages proches du monastère souffrirent cruellement de la sécheresse puis d'une grêle qui détruisit toutes les récoltes. Les paysans comprirent aussitôt que l'exil du Saint était la cause de tous ces malheurs, ils se rendirent auprès du gouverneur et le persuadèrent de rappeler Denys et ses disciples, et de leur donner toutes facilités pour construire leur église et leur monastère à la gloire de Dieu, pour la bénédiction de la région.
De retour à lOlympe, Saint Denys vécut quelque temps retiré dans une grotte, puis, les frères affluant, il partagea ses activités en trois: la retraite silencieuse dans la grotte du Golgotha, au mont des Oliviers ou au mont Saint-Lazare -dénomination qu'il avait donnée à ces lieux en revenant d'un second voyage en Terre Sainte-, la direction spirituelle des frères et la collaboration à la construction du monastère, et enfin le soin des pauvres et l'enseignement du peuple. Dieu lui accordait en abondance sa Grâce qu'il distribuait à son tour comme un fidèle intendant. Tel Moïse, il fut ainsi pendant de longues années le représentant de Dieu pour corriger les pécheurs et les impies, pour consoler les éprouvés, pour guérir les malades, chasser les démons, prédire l'avenir et conduire vers la patrie céleste tous ceux qui se confiaient à lui.
Parvenu à un âge avancé, comme il se trouvait, un jour de janvier, en visite au Monastère du mont Dimitriade, il tomba malade et connut que l'heure était venue pour lui de quitter cette terre. Toutefois, familier comme il l'était avec Dieu et ses Saints, il obtint de la Mère de Dieu un sursis, non pas pour jouir davantage de ce monde auquel il était mort depuis longtemps, mais pour avoir le temps de transmettre ses derniers enseignements à ses disciples. Il retourna donc au mont Olympe, réunit quelques disciples dans la grotte où il avait demeuré précédemment et leur recommanda de garder avec fidélité leur mode de vie selon la tradition de la Sainte Montagne, de persévérer dans la charité fraternelle, dans la pauvreté, l'obéissance, l'humilité et la prière pour être jugés digne du Royaume des Cieux. Il s'endormit en paix le 23 janvier 1541, en adressant pour eux sa prière au Seigneur.
Le zèle de Denys pour l'ascèse et son amour de la prière dans la solitude faisaient l'admiration de tous, jeunes comme anciens; aussi obtint-il facilement de son père spirituel l'autorisation d'aller engager les rudes combats de la vie solitaire dans un lieu froid et dépourvu de toute consolation humaine, près du Monastère de Caracallou.
Nuit et Jour, sans relâche, il travaillait à faire croître en lui l'homme intérieur renouvelé à l'image du Christ. Sa nourriture: la lecture de l'Ecriture Sainte et quelques châtaignes qui abondaient en ce lieu et lui permettaient de vivre ainsi libre de tout souci pour la subsistance de son corps. Il persévéra pendant trois années dans des combats dignes des grands ascètes de jadis. Après un pèlerinage en Terre Sainte, où le Patriarche Dorothée voulut le garder pour faire de lui son successeur, il retourna à l'Athos et se mit à l'ouvrage pour agrandir sa modeste chapelle, aidé dans son travail par des Anges. Un jour un brigand, qui avait remarqué que des visiteurs commençaient à venir nombreux pour recevoir la bénédiction du Saint, s'embusqua pour l'assassiner. Mais il fut frappé de berlue et ne le vit pas passer. Il se rendit alors à sa cellule, en pensant la piller tout à son aise, et y découvrit le Saint. Il tomba alors à ses pieds, confessa en pleurant son mauvais dessein et devint ensuite moine.
Au bout de sept années d'une vie plus céleste que terrestre, comme sa renommée s'était répandue sur toute la Sainte Montagne, les moines de Philothéou lui demandèrent d'accepter la charge d'Higoumène. Poussé par son amour des hommes, le Saint se résolut à abandonner les douceurs de la solitude pour le salut de ses frères. Il restaura rapidement la condition matérielle et spirituelle du monastère. Les nouvelles recrues commençaient à affluer quand, certains moines bulgares, jaloux de s'être vu retirer la direction du couvent, fomentèrent un complot contre lui, avec le dessein de mettre fin à ses jours. Prévenu à temps, Saint Denys s'enfuit alors avec quelques-uns de ses moines et s'installa à la skite de Bérée1, où ne vivaient alors péniblement que quelques moines.
Là aussi les vertus et les grâces que Dieu faisait resplendir en lui attirèrent vers le Saint de nombreux disciples, comme le fer est attiré vers l'aimant. Il reconstruisit l'église du Précurseur, transforma la skite en monastère cénobitique, organisé selon la tradition de la Sainte Montagne, et laissa d'autres frères s'installer aux alentours, seuls ou en petites communautés, si bien que l'endroit devint bientôt une véritable cité monastique. Malgré les travaux de constructions et les soucis de la direction spirituelle, Denys poursuivait en tout point sa vie ascétique, comme dans le désert, ne mangeant que quelques fruits, ne portant en tout temps qu'un seul vêtement, priant sans cesse, surtout dans le silence de la nuit, et ajoutant à ses travaux une charité sans limite à l'égard des malheureux qui venaient demander l'aumône au monastère. Il leur distribuait sans compter: biens, nourritures et vêtements, laissant à la Providence divine le soin d'entretenir sa communauté. Père de tous, il était aussi, à l'imitation du Christ, le plus humble et se faisait le serviteur de chacun de ses moines. Chaque fois qu'il le pouvait, il se rendait dans les villages de la région pour enseigner la vie évangélique et l'observation des commandements de Dieu au peuple qui, en ces temps obscurs, était souvent dépourvu de la plus élémentaire éducation chrétienne. En toute circonstance: qu'il lise, qu'il prêche ou qu'il prie, des larmes ne tardaient pas à couler en abondance sur son visage, amenant ceux qui l'approchaient à le suivre et à l'écouter comme un véritable prophète de Dieu.
Comme le trône épiscopal de Bérée était resté vacant à la mort de l'Evêque, le peuple décida à l'unanimité de choisir le saint moine comme pasteur. Denys demanda d'abord un délai, puis, ayant reçu de Dieu l'assurance que telle n'était pas Sa volonté, il se cacha et partit peu après à la recherche d'un lieu de résidence plus retiré. Parvenu au pied du mont Olympe, l'antique séjour des dieux, celui qui était devenu en vérité dieu par la Grâce du Saint-Esprit s'installa dans une magnifique vallée, ornée d'arbres majestueux et arrosée de sources abondantes. C'est là quaprès avoir mené peu de temps la vie solitaire, il commença la fondation du Monastère de la Sainte-Trinité, pour recevoir les disciples qui accouraient vers lui. Or le gouverneur turc du lieu ayant appris qu'on avait entrepris cette fondation sans son autorisation, s'irrita contre le Saint et décida de le faire arrêter et juger avec tous ses moines. Heureusement averti du danger Denys prit la fuite et alla fonder avec ses disciples le Monastère de la Sainte-Trinité de Sourbias, sur le mont Pilio. Entre temps la colère divine s'abattit sur la région de l'Olympe, et les villages proches du monastère souffrirent cruellement de la sécheresse puis d'une grêle qui détruisit toutes les récoltes. Les paysans comprirent aussitôt que l'exil du Saint était la cause de tous ces malheurs, ils se rendirent auprès du gouverneur et le persuadèrent de rappeler Denys et ses disciples, et de leur donner toutes facilités pour construire leur église et leur monastère à la gloire de Dieu, pour la bénédiction de la région.
De retour à lOlympe, Saint Denys vécut quelque temps retiré dans une grotte, puis, les frères affluant, il partagea ses activités en trois: la retraite silencieuse dans la grotte du Golgotha, au mont des Oliviers ou au mont Saint-Lazare -dénomination qu'il avait donnée à ces lieux en revenant d'un second voyage en Terre Sainte-, la direction spirituelle des frères et la collaboration à la construction du monastère, et enfin le soin des pauvres et l'enseignement du peuple. Dieu lui accordait en abondance sa Grâce qu'il distribuait à son tour comme un fidèle intendant. Tel Moïse, il fut ainsi pendant de longues années le représentant de Dieu pour corriger les pécheurs et les impies, pour consoler les éprouvés, pour guérir les malades, chasser les démons, prédire l'avenir et conduire vers la patrie céleste tous ceux qui se confiaient à lui.
Parvenu à un âge avancé, comme il se trouvait, un jour de janvier, en visite au Monastère du mont Dimitriade, il tomba malade et connut que l'heure était venue pour lui de quitter cette terre. Toutefois, familier comme il l'était avec Dieu et ses Saints, il obtint de la Mère de Dieu un sursis, non pas pour jouir davantage de ce monde auquel il était mort depuis longtemps, mais pour avoir le temps de transmettre ses derniers enseignements à ses disciples. Il retourna donc au mont Olympe, réunit quelques disciples dans la grotte où il avait demeuré précédemment et leur recommanda de garder avec fidélité leur mode de vie selon la tradition de la Sainte Montagne, de persévérer dans la charité fraternelle, dans la pauvreté, l'obéissance, l'humilité et la prière pour être jugés digne du Royaume des Cieux. Il s'endormit en paix le 23 janvier 1541, en adressant pour eux sa prière au Seigneur.
Saint GENNADE le Lituanien, higoumène du monastère de Lioubemov près de Kostroma (Russie 1565). (Office traduit en français par le père Denis Guillaume au tome I du Supplément aux Ménées. Acathiste traduit en français par le père Denis Guillaume au tome XIII du Supplément aux Ménées.) Saint Gennadius of Kostroma and Liubimograd, in the world Gregory, was born in the city of Mogilev into a rich family. He early displayed love for the church, and his frequent visits to monasteries evoked the dismay of his parents. Gregory, however, was firmly resolved to devote himself to God, and changing into tattered clothing, he secretly left his parental home and journeyed to Moscow.
He visited the holy places in Moscow, but he did not find it suitable in spirit and so set out to the Novgorod region. The destiny of the future ascetic was decided by an encounter with St Alexander of Svir (August 30). With his blessing, Gregory went to the Vologda forest to St Cornelius of Komel (May 19), and was tonsured by him with the name Gennadius. Together with St Cornelius, Gennadius moved on to the Kostroma forest. Here, on the shores of Lake Sura, in about the year 1529, there emerged the monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord, afterwards called "the Gennadiev monastery". Having become igumen, St Gennadius did not slacken his monastic efforts, and together with the brethren he went out to the monastery tasks: he chopped wood, carried firewood, made candles and baked prosphora. He also wore heavy chains. One of his favorite tasks was the painting of icons, with which he adorned his new monastery.
For his holy life St Gennadius received from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance and wonderworking. Journeying to Moscow on monastic affairs, at the house of the nobleman Roman Zakharin, the saint predicted to his daughter Anastasia that she would become Tsaritsa. Indeed, Tsar Ivan the Terrible chose her as his wife.
The Life of St Gennadius was written by his disciple, Iguman Alexis, between the years 1584-1587. In it was inserted his spiritual testament, dictated by St Gennadius himself. In it he commands the monks to observe the monastery Rule, to toil constantly, to be at peace with everyone, and to preserve the books collected at the monastery, while striving to understand their meaning. He said, "Strive towards the light, and shun the darkness."
St Gennadius died on January 23, 1565, and was glorified by the Church on August 19, 1646
SYNAXE des saints de Kostroma.
Translation des reliques de saint Théoctiste, archevêque de Novgorod (1786).
Saintes EUDOXIE et CATHERINE, moniales, et sainte MILITSA, laïque, martyres par la main des Communistes (Russie 1938).
Archimandrite John (Basil Maisuradze in the world) was
born in the town of Tskhinvali in Samachablo around 1882. He was raised
in a peasant family and taught to perform all kinds of handiwork. Basil
was barely in his teens when he helped Fr. Spiridon (Ketiladze), the
main priest at Betania Monastery, to restore the monastery between 1894
and 1896.
From his youth Basil was eager to enter the monastic life, and in 1903, according to God’s will, he moved to the Skete of St. John the Theologian at Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. Among the brothers he was distinguished for his simplicity and obedience. He was tonsured a monk and named John in honor of St. John the Theologian, whom he revered deeply and sought to emulate.
The monk John was soon ordained to the priesthood. Throughout his life the holy father dedicated himself to serving God and his brothers in Christ in hopes that his own life might be fruitful for them.
Fr. John remained on Mt. Athos for seventeen years. Then, due to the increasingly troubling circumstances there, he left the Holy Mountain with the other Georgian monks sometime between 1920 and 1921. He settled at Armazi Monastery outside of Mtskheta, where the Bolsheviks had left just one monk to labor in solitude. Once a band of armed Chekists broke into the monastery, led both Fr. John and the other monk away, and shot them in the back.
Believing them to be dead, they tossed them in a nearby gorge. A group of people later discovered Fr. John’s nearly lifeless body and brought it to Samtavro Monastery in Mtskheta. The other monk suffered only minor injuries and returned to the monastery on his own.
When his health had been restored, Fr. John went to Betania Monastery, where his first spiritual father was still laboring. He was appointed abbot shortly thereafter. Accustomed to hard work from his childhood, he skillfully administered the agricultural labors of the monastery. When visitors came to the monastery seeking advice or solace, Fr. John welcomed them warmly, spreading a festal meal before them. He enjoyed spending time with his guests, especially with children.
It is said that he always had candy or a special treat to give to the little ones. The children loved him so much that on the feast of St. John the Theologian, while he was sprinkling the church with holy water, they skipped around him and tried to tousle his hair. The children’s parents were ashamed, but Fr. John cheerfully assured them that it was fitting to be so joyous on a feast day.
Truly Fr. John was endowed with a deep love for young people, and he was also blessed with the divine gifts of prophecy and wonder-working. Once a certain Irakli Ghudushauri, a student at Moscow Theological Seminary, visited him at the monastery. Fr. John received him with exceptional warmth, blessing him with tears of rejoicing. This student would later become Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the beloved shepherd who continues to lead the flock of the Georgian faithful to this very day.
Fr. John disciplined himself severely. He worked hard all day and slept on a single piece of wood. He would spend entire nights praying. Many wondered when he rested and where he had acquired such a seemingly infinite supply of energy.
Occasionally thieves would steal food or domestic animals from the monastery. But the monastery also had many protectors, even within the Soviet government. A group of Christians who worked for the government while secretly practicing their faith supported Fr. John and Fr. George (Mkheidze) (see below), explaining and justifying them to the government as “guardians of a national cultural monument.â€
Many of the miracles performed by Fr. John are known to us today, though he was wary of receiving honor for his deeds. Frs. John and George healed the deaf, and many of the terminally ill were brought to them for healing. After spending several days in the monastery, the infirm would miraculously be cleansed of their diseases. Fr. John bore the heaviest workload in the monastery. He sympathized deeply with Fr. George, who was ailing physically and unfit for strenuous labor. But Fr. John departed this life before Fr. George. Fr. John became ill and reposed in 1957, at the age of seventy-five. He was buried at Betania Monastery.
Fr. George (Mkheidze) was born in the village of Skhvava in the Racha region around 1877. He received a military education—a highly esteemed commodity among the Georgian aristocracy—but instead of pursuing a military career in defense of the Russian empire, he dedicated himself to Georgia’s national liberation movement. At one point the pious and learned George worked for St. Ilia the Righteous as his personal secretary. He often met St. Ilia’s spiritual father, the holy hierarch Alexandre (Okropiridze), and the holy hieromartyr Nazar (Lezhava), and he was acquainted with other important spiritual leaders of the time as well.
Desiring to sacrifice his life to God, George was tonsured into monasticism by the holy hieromartyr Nazar. His rare character combined a nobleman’s deportment with a monk’s humble asceticism. Fr. George was ordained a priest and soon after elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
Filled with divine love and patriotic sentiment, the holy father willingly endured the heavy burdens and spiritual tribulations afflicting his country at that time.
In 1924, while Fr. George was laboring at Khirsa Monastery in Kakheti in eastern Georgia, an armed Chekist mob broke into the monastery. The perpetrators beat him, cut off his hair, shaved his beard, and threatened to take his life. He sought refuge with his family, but to no avail—his brothers, who were atheists, shaved off his beard while he was sleeping. (One of Fr. George’s brothers later committed suicide, and the other, together with his wife, was shot to death by the Chekists.) In the same year, Fr. George visited Betania Monastery and was introduced to Fr. John (Maisuradze), with whom he would labor for the remainder of his life.
Fr. George’s health was poor, and he was able to perform only the lightest of tasks around the monastery. He tended the vegetable garden and took responsibility for raising the bees. He was extremely generous. At times he would give all the monastery’s food to the needy, assuring Fr. John that God Himself would provide their daily bread.
Tall, thin, and with an upright posture, Fr. George was strict in both appearance and demeanor. He spoke very little with other people, and children did not play with him as they did with Fr. John. Knowing his character, they tried to please him by reciting prayers and behaving themselves. Fr. George did not like to leave the monastery, but it was often necessary for him to travel to Tbilisi to visit his spiritual children— among whom were many secret Christians who worked for the government.
Fr. George was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and healing, but he was careful to hide them. When constrained to reveal them, he would pass them off as though they were nothing extraordinary. Once a certain pilgrim arrived at the monastery and was surprised to discover that Fr. George knew him by name. Sensing his great amazement, Fr. George told the pilgrim that he had attended his baptism some thirty years earlier, thus concealing his God-given gift. Fr. George knew in advance when his nephew was bringing his sisters, whom he had not seen in forty-eight years, to visit him at the monastery during Great Lent.
Enlightened with this foreknowledge, Fr. George prepared fish and a festal meal in honor of the occasion.
The prayers of Fr. George and Fr. John healed the former’s nephew, who was afflicted by a deadly strain of meningitis. They restored hearing to a deaf child and healed many others of their bodily infirmities.
In 1957, when Fr. John reposed in the Lord, Fr. George was tonsured into the great schema. He was given the name John in honor of his newly departed spiritual brother. Fr. George-John now bore full responsibility for the affairs of the monastery. His health deteriorated further under the weight of this heavy yoke. His spiritual children began to come from the city to care for him.
Once a twenty-year-old girl arrived at the monastery, complaining of incessant headaches. She had been told that the water from Betania Monastery would heal her. She remained there for one week and was miraculously healed. When she left to return home, Fr. George-John walked five miles to see her off, in spite of his physical frailty.
The Theotokos appeared to Fr. George-John in a vision and relieved his terrible physical pain. The protomartyr Thekla also appeared to him, presenting him with a bunch of grapes. Several days before his repose, the holy father was in the city when an angel appeared to him and announced his imminent repose. The angel told him to return to the monastery to prepare for his departure from this world.
St. George-John (Mkheidze) reposed in 1960. He was buried at Betania Monastery, next to Fr. John (Maisuradze). These venerable fathers were canonized on September 18, 2003, at a council of the Holy Synod under the spiritual leadership of His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Frs. John and George-John have been lovingly deemed “one soul in two bodies.â€
From his youth Basil was eager to enter the monastic life, and in 1903, according to God’s will, he moved to the Skete of St. John the Theologian at Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. Among the brothers he was distinguished for his simplicity and obedience. He was tonsured a monk and named John in honor of St. John the Theologian, whom he revered deeply and sought to emulate.
The monk John was soon ordained to the priesthood. Throughout his life the holy father dedicated himself to serving God and his brothers in Christ in hopes that his own life might be fruitful for them.
Fr. John remained on Mt. Athos for seventeen years. Then, due to the increasingly troubling circumstances there, he left the Holy Mountain with the other Georgian monks sometime between 1920 and 1921. He settled at Armazi Monastery outside of Mtskheta, where the Bolsheviks had left just one monk to labor in solitude. Once a band of armed Chekists broke into the monastery, led both Fr. John and the other monk away, and shot them in the back.
Believing them to be dead, they tossed them in a nearby gorge. A group of people later discovered Fr. John’s nearly lifeless body and brought it to Samtavro Monastery in Mtskheta. The other monk suffered only minor injuries and returned to the monastery on his own.
When his health had been restored, Fr. John went to Betania Monastery, where his first spiritual father was still laboring. He was appointed abbot shortly thereafter. Accustomed to hard work from his childhood, he skillfully administered the agricultural labors of the monastery. When visitors came to the monastery seeking advice or solace, Fr. John welcomed them warmly, spreading a festal meal before them. He enjoyed spending time with his guests, especially with children.
It is said that he always had candy or a special treat to give to the little ones. The children loved him so much that on the feast of St. John the Theologian, while he was sprinkling the church with holy water, they skipped around him and tried to tousle his hair. The children’s parents were ashamed, but Fr. John cheerfully assured them that it was fitting to be so joyous on a feast day.
Truly Fr. John was endowed with a deep love for young people, and he was also blessed with the divine gifts of prophecy and wonder-working. Once a certain Irakli Ghudushauri, a student at Moscow Theological Seminary, visited him at the monastery. Fr. John received him with exceptional warmth, blessing him with tears of rejoicing. This student would later become Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the beloved shepherd who continues to lead the flock of the Georgian faithful to this very day.
Fr. John disciplined himself severely. He worked hard all day and slept on a single piece of wood. He would spend entire nights praying. Many wondered when he rested and where he had acquired such a seemingly infinite supply of energy.
Occasionally thieves would steal food or domestic animals from the monastery. But the monastery also had many protectors, even within the Soviet government. A group of Christians who worked for the government while secretly practicing their faith supported Fr. John and Fr. George (Mkheidze) (see below), explaining and justifying them to the government as “guardians of a national cultural monument.â€
Many of the miracles performed by Fr. John are known to us today, though he was wary of receiving honor for his deeds. Frs. John and George healed the deaf, and many of the terminally ill were brought to them for healing. After spending several days in the monastery, the infirm would miraculously be cleansed of their diseases. Fr. John bore the heaviest workload in the monastery. He sympathized deeply with Fr. George, who was ailing physically and unfit for strenuous labor. But Fr. John departed this life before Fr. George. Fr. John became ill and reposed in 1957, at the age of seventy-five. He was buried at Betania Monastery.
Fr. George (Mkheidze) was born in the village of Skhvava in the Racha region around 1877. He received a military education—a highly esteemed commodity among the Georgian aristocracy—but instead of pursuing a military career in defense of the Russian empire, he dedicated himself to Georgia’s national liberation movement. At one point the pious and learned George worked for St. Ilia the Righteous as his personal secretary. He often met St. Ilia’s spiritual father, the holy hierarch Alexandre (Okropiridze), and the holy hieromartyr Nazar (Lezhava), and he was acquainted with other important spiritual leaders of the time as well.
Desiring to sacrifice his life to God, George was tonsured into monasticism by the holy hieromartyr Nazar. His rare character combined a nobleman’s deportment with a monk’s humble asceticism. Fr. George was ordained a priest and soon after elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
Filled with divine love and patriotic sentiment, the holy father willingly endured the heavy burdens and spiritual tribulations afflicting his country at that time.
In 1924, while Fr. George was laboring at Khirsa Monastery in Kakheti in eastern Georgia, an armed Chekist mob broke into the monastery. The perpetrators beat him, cut off his hair, shaved his beard, and threatened to take his life. He sought refuge with his family, but to no avail—his brothers, who were atheists, shaved off his beard while he was sleeping. (One of Fr. George’s brothers later committed suicide, and the other, together with his wife, was shot to death by the Chekists.) In the same year, Fr. George visited Betania Monastery and was introduced to Fr. John (Maisuradze), with whom he would labor for the remainder of his life.
Fr. George’s health was poor, and he was able to perform only the lightest of tasks around the monastery. He tended the vegetable garden and took responsibility for raising the bees. He was extremely generous. At times he would give all the monastery’s food to the needy, assuring Fr. John that God Himself would provide their daily bread.
Tall, thin, and with an upright posture, Fr. George was strict in both appearance and demeanor. He spoke very little with other people, and children did not play with him as they did with Fr. John. Knowing his character, they tried to please him by reciting prayers and behaving themselves. Fr. George did not like to leave the monastery, but it was often necessary for him to travel to Tbilisi to visit his spiritual children— among whom were many secret Christians who worked for the government.
Fr. George was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and healing, but he was careful to hide them. When constrained to reveal them, he would pass them off as though they were nothing extraordinary. Once a certain pilgrim arrived at the monastery and was surprised to discover that Fr. George knew him by name. Sensing his great amazement, Fr. George told the pilgrim that he had attended his baptism some thirty years earlier, thus concealing his God-given gift. Fr. George knew in advance when his nephew was bringing his sisters, whom he had not seen in forty-eight years, to visit him at the monastery during Great Lent.
Enlightened with this foreknowledge, Fr. George prepared fish and a festal meal in honor of the occasion.
The prayers of Fr. George and Fr. John healed the former’s nephew, who was afflicted by a deadly strain of meningitis. They restored hearing to a deaf child and healed many others of their bodily infirmities.
In 1957, when Fr. John reposed in the Lord, Fr. George was tonsured into the great schema. He was given the name John in honor of his newly departed spiritual brother. Fr. George-John now bore full responsibility for the affairs of the monastery. His health deteriorated further under the weight of this heavy yoke. His spiritual children began to come from the city to care for him.
Once a twenty-year-old girl arrived at the monastery, complaining of incessant headaches. She had been told that the water from Betania Monastery would heal her. She remained there for one week and was miraculously healed. When she left to return home, Fr. George-John walked five miles to see her off, in spite of his physical frailty.
The Theotokos appeared to Fr. George-John in a vision and relieved his terrible physical pain. The protomartyr Thekla also appeared to him, presenting him with a bunch of grapes. Several days before his repose, the holy father was in the city when an angel appeared to him and announced his imminent repose. The angel told him to return to the monastery to prepare for his departure from this world.
St. George-John (Mkheidze) reposed in 1960. He was buried at Betania Monastery, next to Fr. John (Maisuradze). These venerable fathers were canonized on September 18, 2003, at a council of the Holy Synod under the spiritual leadership of His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Frs. John and George-John have been lovingly deemed “one soul in two bodies.â€
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento
Nota. Solo i membri di questo blog possono postare un commento.