27 Dec 2017
Julian calendar:
14 Dec 2017
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The Holy Martyrs Thyrsus, Leucius and Callinicus

The Holy Martyrs Thyrsus, Leucius and CallinicusSaints Thyrsus and Leucius were eminent citizens of Bithynian Caesarea; the latter being baptised and the former still a catechumen. Callinicus, however, was a pagan priest who offered sacrifice to idols. When Cumbricius, heir to the Emperor Decius, began to torture and murder the Christians, the intrepid Leucius stood before him and reproached him: "Why have you begun to make war on your own soul, Cumbricius?" The enraged judge ordered that he be flogged and tortured, and then beheaded with the sword. In terrible torment, Leucius went to his execution as joyfully as if he were going to a wedding. When he beheld Leucius"s courageous death, blessed Thyrsus was inflamed with divine zeal and, like Leucius, went before the judge and rebuked him for his crimes and his lack of belief in the one, true God. He was therefore beaten and cast into prison. He was healed of his wounds by the invisible hand of God, which also opened the prison doors and led him forth. Thyrsus went at once to Phileas, the Bishop of Caesarea, to be baptised by him. After his baptism, he was again seized and tortured, but he endured all the torments as if in a dream and not in reality. Many idols fell down through the power of his prayer. When he saw this, Callinicus, a pagan priest, was converted to the Christian faith, so both he and Thyrsus were condemned to death. Callinicus was beheaded with the sword, and Thyrsus was placed in a wooden coffin to be sawn asunder, but God"s power prevented this and the saw could not penetrate the wood. Then Thyrsus arose from the coffin, praying and thanking God for his sufferings, and he peacefully gave his soul into the Lord"s hands. At the end of the fourth century, the Emperor Flavian built a church to St Thyrsus near Constantinople, and placed his holy relics in it. The saint appeared in a vision to the Empress Pulcheria, and suggested that she bury the relics of the Forty Martyrs beside his own.

The Holy Martyrs Philemon, Apollonius, Arrian and others

The Holy Martyrs Philemon, Apollonius, Arrian and othersDuring the reign of Diocletian, Arrian, a judge in Egypt, cruelly persecuted the Christians there. He seized Apollonius and threatened him with torture. Apollonius became afraid of the tortures, and bribed an unknown musician, Philemon, a pagan, to offer sacrifice to the idols in his place, dressed in his clothes. When Philemon went before the idols, the light of the Christian faith suddenly shone in his heart, and he made the sign of the Cross. He then went out of the temple and began to shout: "I am a Christian, a servant of Christ the living God!" Hearing this, the judge laughed, thinking that Philemon was mocking the Christians. Later, Philemon was subjected to fearful tortures, during which rain fell from heaven to baptise him. Finally, both Philemon and Apollonius were beheaded by Arrian the judge. Then Arrian himself became a Christian, because his blind eye was healed in a miraculous way at Philemon"s grave. He was condemned to death by the Emperor, and perished together with four soldiers who had likewise declared themselves to be Christians.

December 2017
SunMonTueWedThuFriSut
     New Martyrs Anastasius of Epirus and Daniel (1750)
1
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Martyres 150 soldiers (284)
2
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Martyrs Azades, Sasonius, Thecla, and Anna (343)
3
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St. Yaropolk-Peter, prince of Vladimir in Volhynia (1086)
4
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Martyr Agapion of Greece (304)
5
oil
New Martyr Archimandrite Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia (1942.)
6
oil
St. Malchus of Chalcis in Syria (5th c.)
7
oil
Venerable Peter the Silent, of Galata, Syria (429)
8
oil
St. Silas, bishop of Persidos
9
oil
Venerable Palladius of Thessalonica (6th-7th c.)
10
oil
St. Theodore, bishop of Theodosiopolis in Armenia (end of 6th c.)
11
oil
St. Mardarije of Libertyville
12
oil
Hierarch Samuel, Second Catholicos of Georgia
13
oil
St Philaret the Merciful
14
oil
St Jesse, Bishop of Tsiklan
15
oil
Our Holy Father Sava of Storozhev
16
oil
St Gennadius, Archbishop of Novgorod
17
fish
Our Holy Fathers Karyon and Zachariah
18
oil
St Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch
19
fish
Our Holy Father Nilus of Stolobnoye
20
oil
The Holy Martyrs in Africa
21
oil
St Sophronius, Archbishop of Cyprus
22
oil
Our Holy Father Thomas of Bithynia
23
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The Holy Martyr Meirax
24
oil
The Holy Martyr Synesius
25
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The Hieromartyr Gavrilo, Patriarch of Serbia
26
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The Holy Martyrs Philemon, Apollonius, Arrian and others
27
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Our Holy Father Pardus the Solitary
28
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St Theophano the Empress
29
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Our Holy Fathers, the New Martyrs Paisius and Habakkuk (Avakum)
30
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St Modestus, Patriarch of Jerusalem
31
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Moon phases for December , 2017 (Serbia)
03 Dec 2017 Full Moon
10 Dec 2017 Third Quarter
18 Dec 2017 New Moon
26 Dec 2017 First Quarter