Today’s Feasts & Saints at OCA
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February 2 - Meeting of the Lord
Today is the feast of the Meeting of the Lord.
Troparion - Tone 1
Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos,
full of grace!
From you shone
the Sun of Righteousness,
Christ our God.
Enlightening those
who sat in darkness!
Rejoice, and be glad, O righteous elder;
You accepted in your arms
the Redeemer of our souls,
Who grants us the Resurrection.
Kontakion - Tone 1
By Your nativity, You did sanctify the Virgin’s womb,
And did bless Simeon’s hands, O Christ God.
Now You have come and saved us through love.
Grant peace to all Orthodox Christians, O only Lover of man!
Tracy
February 18 - St. Leo the Great, Pope of Rome
Kontakion - Tone 3
O glorious Leo, when you rose to the Bishop’s throne,
You shut the lions’ mouths with the true doctrine of the Holy Trinity:
You enlightened your flock with the knowledge of God.
Therefore you are glorified, O seer of things divine!
Troparion - Tone 8
O Champion of Orthodoxy, and teacher of holiness,
The enlightenment of the universe and the inspired glory of true believers.
O most wise Father Leo, your teachings are as music of the Holy Spirit for us!
Pray that Christ our God may save our souls!
Note: The name “Leo” means lion, so in the kontakion above, the Lion shuts the mouths of the lions.
Defending Rome
Pope Leo is known for having saved Rome from an invasion by no less a menace than Attila the Hun!
Here’s the story:
Attila, the leader of the Huns, who was called the scourge of God, came into Italy, inflamed with fury, after he had laid waste with most savage frenzy Thrace and Illyricum, Macedonia and Moesia, Achaia and Greece, Pannonia and Germany. He was utterly cruel in inflicting torture, greedy in plundering, insolent in abuse… . He destroyed Aquileia from the foundations and razed to the ground those regal cities, Pavia and Milan; he laid waste many other towns, and was rushing down upon Rome.
Then Leo had compassion on the calamity of Italy and Rome, and with one of the consuls and a large part of the Roman senate he went to meet Attila. The old man of harmless simplicity, venerable in his gray hair and his majestic garb, ready of his own will to give himself entirely for the defense of his flock, went forth to meet the tyrant who was destroying all things. He met Attila, it is said, in the neighborhood of the river Mincio, and he spoke to the grim monarch, saying:
“The senate and the people of Rome, once conquerors of the world, now indeed vanquished, come before thee as suppliants. We pray for mercy and deliverance. O Attila, thou king of kings, thou couldst have no greater glory than to see suppliant at thy feet this people before whom once all peoples and kings lay suppliant. Thou hast subdued, O Attila, the whole circle of the lands which it was granted to the Romans, victors over all peoples, to conquer. Now we pray that thou, who hast conquered others, shouldst conquer thyself! The people have felt thy scourge; now as suppliants they would feel thy mercy.”
As Leo said these things Attila stood looking upon his venerable garb and aspect, silent, as if thinking deeply. And lo, suddenly there were seen the apostles Peter and Paul, clad like bishops, standing by Leo, the one on the right hand, the other on the left. They held swords stretched out over his head, and threatened Attila with death if he did not obey the pope’s command. Wherefore Attila was appeased he who had raged as one mad. He by Leo’s intercession, straightway promised a lasting peace and withdrew beyond the Danube.
~ from the Medieval Sourcebook
Click here for a much larger picture of St. Leo’s famous meeting with Attila the Hun, painted by the famous Italian artist Raphael.
You can also read a good story about Attila the Hun, including at the end, his encounter with St. Leo.
More about St. Leo
February 23 - St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
Troparion - Tone 4
By sharing in the ways of the Apostles,
you became a successor to their throne.
Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God;
by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood.
Hieromartyr Polycarp, entreat Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion - Tone 1
Through virtues, you offered spiritual fruit to the Lord,
therefore, you were glorified as a worthy hierarch, wise Polycarp.
Today, we who have been enlightened by your words
extol in song your praise-worthy memory,
there-by giving glory to the Lord.
Eighty and Six Years
Now, as Polycarp was entering into the stadium, there came to him a voice from heaven, saying, “Be strong, and show thyself a man, O Polycarp !” No one saw who it was that spoke to him; but those of our brethren who were present heard the voice. And as he was brought forward, the tumult became great when they heard that Polycarp was taken. And when he came near, the proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On his confessing that he was, the proconsul sought to persuade him to deny Christ, saying, “Have respect to thy old age,” and other similar things, according to their custom, such as,” Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, Away with the Atheists.” But Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, “Away with the Atheists.” Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, “Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ;” Polycarp declared, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”
~ from the Martyrdom of Polycarp
Read the full text of Polycarp’s Martyrdom.
Where was Bishop Polycarp’s Church?
Read more about Smyrna.
Apostolic Genealogy
According to the Life of St. Polycarp, the saint was close to St. John the Evangelist (who was at Ephesus at that time) and to St. Ignatius of Antioch, who wrote St. Polycarp a Letter on the way to his own martyrdom.
An important disciple of St. Polycarp was St. Irenaeus, who later became bishop in the west in Lyons (modern day France). St. Irenaeus was one of the most important early Fathers of the Church, especially in the fight against Gnosticism. Here is what St. Irenaeus remembers about Polycarp:
“I was still very young when I saw you in Asia Minor at Polycarp’s, but I would still be able to point out the place where Blessed Polycarp sat and conversed, and be able to depict his walk, his mannerisms in life, his outward appearance, his speaking to people, his companionable wandering with John, and how he himself related, together with other eyewitnesses of the Lord, those things that he remembered from the words of others. He also told what he heard from them about the Lord, His teachings and miracles…. Through the mercy of God to me, I then already listened attentively to Polycarp and wrote down his words, not on tablets, but in the depths of my heart.” (from Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, V, 20)
St. Polycarp wrote a Letter to the Philippians, the same Church that St. Paul himself had founded. Compare St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.
Where were all these towns in relation to each other?
Read more about Philippi.
March 25 - Annunciation
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation.
The feast takes places exactly nine months before the Nativity of Christ.
Troparion - Tone 4
Today is the beginning of our salvation,
The revelation of the eternal mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin
As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:
Rejoice, O Full of Grace,
The Lord is with You!
Kontakion - Tone 8
O Victorious Leader of Triumphant Hosts!
We, your servants, delivered from evil, sing our grateful thanks to you, O Theotokos!
As you possess invincible might, set us free from every calamity
So that we may sing: Rejoice, O unwedded Bride!
Now in the sixth month…
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:26-38
Magnificat
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.”Luke 1:46-49
Let it be to me according to your word.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The soul that through the grace of its calling resembles God keeps inviolate within itself the substance of the blessings bestowed upon it. In souls such as this, Christ always desires to be born in a mystical way, becoming incarnate in those who attain salvation, and making the soul that gives birth to Him a Virgin Mother.
~ St. Maximos the Confessor. On the Lord’s Prayer (Source: Manley, The Bible and the Holy Fathers p. 1000)
Incomprehensible Mystery
It would be impossible for a mere man to save people, for every man has need of the Savior: “for all have sinned,” says St. Paul, “and come short of the Glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Since sin subjects the sinner to the power of the devil, and the devil subjects him to death, then our condition became extremely desperate: there was no way to be delivered from death. Physicians were sent, i.e. the prophets, but they could only point out the malady more clearly. What did they do? When they saw that the illness was beyond human skill, they summoned the Physician from Heaven. One of them said, “Lord, bow Thy heavens, and come down” (Ps 143/144:5); others cried out, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed” (Jer 17:14); “Turn to us, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be delivered” (Ps 79/80:3).
Still others said, “But will God truly dwell with man upon the earth?” (3/1 Kgs 8:27); “let Thy tender mercies go before us, O Lord, for we are greatly impoverished” (Ps 78/79:8). Others said, “Alas, my soul! For the godly have perished from the earth; and there is none among men who orders his way aright” (Mich 7:2). “Draw near, O God, to my help” (Ps 69/70:1). “Though He should tarry, wait for Him; for He will surely come, and will not tarry” (Hab 2:3). “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Thy servant; for I have not forgotten Thy commandments” (Ps 118/119:176). “God our God will come manifestly, and shall not keep silence” (Ps. 49/50:3).
… Know then that our Redeemer is not simply a mere man, since the whole human race was enslaved to sin. But neither is He just God, Who does not partake of human nature. He had a body, for if He had not clothed Himself in me, then neither would He have saved me. But, having settled in the womb of the Virgin, He clothed Himself in my fate, and within this womb He effected a miraculous change: He bestowed the Spirit and received a body.
… He alone is both in the bosom of the Father and in the womb of the Virgin; He alone is in the arms of His Mother and rides on the wings of the winds (Ps. 103/104:3). He, before Whom the angels bow down in worship, also reclined at table with publicans. The Seraphim dared not gaze upon Him, yet Pilate pronounced sentence upon Him. He Whom the servant smote is also the one before Whom all creation trembles. He was nailed to the Cross, and ascended to the Throne of Glory. He was placed in the tomb, and He stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 103/104:2). He was numbered among the dead, and He emptied Hell. Here on earth, they cursed Him as a transgressor; there in Heaven, they glorified Him as the All-Holy.
What an incomprehensible mystery! I see the miracles, and I confess that He is God. I see the sufferings, and I cannot deny that He is Man. Emmanuel opened the doors of nature as man, and as God He preserved the seal of virginity intact. He emerged from the womb at birth the same way He entered through the Annunciation. Wondrously was He both conceived and born: He entered without passion, and He emerged without impairment.
~ from the Sermon on the Annunciation by St. Proklos (from OCA)
Tent of Abraham
Taking pity upon that which He has made and bending down in His tender mercy, the Maker hastens to dwell in the womb of a Maiden, the Child of God. To her the great Archangel came, saying to her: “Hail, O thou who art full of divine grace, our God is now with thee. Be not afraid of me, the chief commander of the armies of the King. For thou has found the grace that thy mother Eve once lost: and thou shalt conceive and bring forth Him who is one in essence with the Father.” (2x)
Mary said to the Angel: “Strange is thy speech and strange thine appearance, strange thy sayings and thy disclosures. I am a Maid who knows not wedlock, lead me not astray. Thou sayest that I shall conceive Him who remains uncircumscribed: and how shall my womb contain Him whom the wide spaces of the heavens cannot contain?”
“O Virgin, let the tent of Abraham that once contained God teach thee: for it prefigured thy womb, which now receives the Godhead.”
~ Stichera 1, Small Vespers, Tone Four
Rejoice, O Lady
Today is proclaimed the good tidings of joy,
today is the festival of the Virgin;
things below are joined together with things on high.
Adam is made new;
Eve is freed from the primal grief;
and by the deification of the humanity which was assumed,
the tabernacle of our substance has become a temple of God.
O what mystery!
The manner of His emptying cannot be known;
the manner of His conception is beyond speech.
An angel ministers at the miracle;
a virginal womb receives the Son;
The Holy Spirit is sent down;
the Father on high is well pleased,
and according to their common counsel,
a covenant is brought to pass
in which and through which we are saved.
For this reason let us unite our song with Gabriel’s,
crying aloud to the Virgin:
“Rejoice, O Lady full of grace, the Lord is with you!”
From you is our salvation,
Christ our God, Who,
by assuming the nature that is our own,
has led us back to Himself.
Humbly pray to Him for the salvation of our souls.~ Aposticha for the Feast, by Andrew of Jerusalem
Between Theophany and Pascha
St. Gregory the Theologian wrote seven key paragraphs that he used twice over, in two of his classic festal homilies, on Theophany and Pascha. On the Church calendar, the feast of the Annunciation comes between the two. St. Gregory’s message — the Gospel in a nutshell — applies to today’s feast just as well. Truly there is one Feast, of which all those we celebrate throughout the year are but single moments, and that is the coming among us of Our Lord.
Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? (Mark 2:19)
Read St. Gregory’s Seven.
