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The Hieromartyr Patrick, Bishop of Brussa, with three priests: Acacius, Menander and PolyenusThey suffered for the Christian faith in the time of Julian the Apostate in Asian Brussa. The imperial governor, Junius, brought Patrick to a hot water spring and asked him: 'Who created this healing water, if not our gods, Aesculapius and the others, whom we worship?' St Patrick answered: 'Your gods are demons; and this water, like all other water, was created by Christ. our Lord and God.' Then the governor asked: 'And will this Christ of yours save you if I throw you into this boiling water?' The saint replied: 'If He wills, He can keep me whole and uninjured, although I would wish, in this water, to be parted from this temporal life, that I may live eternally with Christ; but let His holy will be done, without which not a hair of a man's head can fall.' Hearing this, the governor ordered that Patrick be thrown into the water. The boiling drops fell on all sides, and scalded many of the onlookers, but the saint remained untouched, as though he were standing in cold water. Seeing this, the governor was wild with shame and commanded that Patrick and three of his priests be beheaded with axes. So these goodly followers of Christ said their prayers and laid their heads under the executioner's axe. When they had been beheaded, their souls were taken merrily to Christ's Kingdom of light, to reign eternally. St John, Bishop of the GothsHe was bishop in Georgia, but when a local Tartar Khan began to torture the Christians, he went off and spent four years among the Goths in Bessabara (a Gothic diocese formed in the time of Constantine the Great). Hearing of the death of the Khan, he returned to his work and guided his flock with zeal and godliness. Before his death, he said: "In forty days I shall go to judgement with the Khan" (that is: through death, he was going before the throne of God). And thus it was. On the fortieth day, he passed away and went to the Lord. He entered peacefully into rest in the 8th century. The Holy Prince Ivan (John) of VologdaHe was a wonderworker. God-fearing and devout from his youth, he was thrown into prison by his uncle, Ivan Vasillievitch, together with his brother Dimitri, spending thirty-two years there. Ivan became a monk before his death, receiving the name Ignatius. Martyr Acoluthusofthe Thebaid (284-305)The Holy Martyr Caluf the Egyptian lived during the III Century, and was from the city of Thebes. For his confession of faith in Christ he was arrested and taken before the governor of the city, by whose order they suspended him head downwards with an heavy stone and they beat him cruelly. The sufferer incessantly repeated: "I endure everything because of faith in the blessedness of future life". They then untied him and began to urge him to offer sacrifice to idols, but the saint did not consent. Finally, he was thrown into a fire and there accepted a martyr's death. This occurred in the year 303. The holy martyr Caluf suffered during the persecution by the emperor Maximian Hercules, co‑regent of Diocletian (284-305).
Venerable Cornelius, abbot of Komel (Vologda) (1537)The Monk Kornilli of Komel'sk was descended from the boyar (noble) family Kriukov. His brother Lukian served at the court of the Moscow GreatPrince. When Lukian, getting up in years, decided to set off to the monastery of the Monk Kirill of Beloezersk, there also followed after him Kornilii, who from a young age yearned after the solitary life. Having taken vows, the young Kornilii began his monastic exploits with a difficult obedience – he wore heavy chains in the bakery, and in his spare time of rest he occupied himself with the copying of church books. Because of his love for solitude, the Monk Kornilii later left the Beloezersk monastery, and he visited Rostov. At Novgorod Sainted Gennadii (Comm. 4 December) attempted to hold on to him, but the ascetic settled in a desolate spot not far from Novgorod... Venerable Sergius, monk, of Shukhtom (1609)The Monk Sergei of Shukhtomsk, in the world Stefan, was born at Kazan. It is known that for three years he walked about the holy places of Palestine and Greece, studying the monastic life. He returned then to Novgorod, from whence he went to the Solovetsk monastery. In 1603 he accepted the monastic schema from archimandrite Isaia, who afterwards wrote the icon of the Monk Sergei of Shukhtomsk. Having accepted the schema, the monk imposed strict ascetic activity upon himself, going day and night without sleep kneeling in prayer. For his holy life the Lord bestowed upon the saint gifts of wonderworking and prophecy. The Monk Sergei of Shukhtomsk reposed on 19 May 1609. Martyr Cyriaca(311)
Martyr Theotima (311) Saints 13 monk-martyrs and confessors of CyprusMonk-martyrs and confessors John, Conon, Jeremias, Cyril, Theoctistus, Barnabas, Maximus, Theognostus, Joseph, Gennadius, Gerasimus, Mark, and Herman of Cyprus, who suffered under the Latins (1231)
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