December 3 / November 20

1. The Venerable Gregory of Decapolis (816)

Gregory was born in Isaurian Decapolis of prominent and devout parents, Sergius and Mary. After he had completed his schooling, his parents desired that he marry, but he fled to the wilderness and was tonsured a monk. He lived in various places: Byzantium, Rome, and on Mount Olym- pus. Wherever he was, he amazed men by his asceticism and miracles. At times a heavenly light illumined him and angels of God appeared to him. He gazed upon the beauty of the angels and listened to their sweet chanting. He lived a long and God-pleasing life and died peacefully in the ninth century in Constantinople, his soul taking up its abode in the joy of his Lord.

2.  Saint Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople

Proclus was a disciple of St. John Chrysostom. In the year 426 he was consecrated Bishop of Cyzicus, and in 435 was chosen Patriarch of Constantinople. He governed the Church of God as a prudent hierarch. During his tenure, two significant events occurred. The first was the translation of the relics of St. John Chrysostom from Comana to Constantinople, at the desire of both the emperor and the patriarch. Emperor Theodosius the Younger was then reigning with his sister, Pulcheria. The second event was the great earthquake in Constantinople and the surrounding countryside. Many of the largest and most beautiful buildings were destroyed by this terrible earthquake. Then the patriarch, with the emperor, many of the clergy, nobles and people, came out in a procession of supplication. As they were praying to God, a child was miraculously lifted high in the air, until he was out of sight. Then he returned and was lowered gently to the ground. Asked where he had been, the child replied that he had been lifted up to heaven among the angels and that he had heard the angels sing: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!” Upon hear- ing this, all the people in the procession began to sing it and the earthquake ceased immediately. From that time on, this beautiful hymn was adopted by the Church. The child soon reposed and was interred in the Church of St. Irene. In all, St. Proclus served as a hierarch for twenty years and re- posed peacefully in the Lord in the year 447.

3.  The Holy Martyrs Eustace, Thespesius, and Anatolius, of Nicaea (313) Eustathius, Thespesius and Anatolius were blood brothers from Nico- Their parents, Philotheus and Eusebia, were pagans who received the true Faith from St. Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, as did their sons. Philotheus was ordained a presbyter. When he and his wife reposed, a terrible persecution of Christians was perpetrated under the evil Emperor Maximian, and Philotheus’s three sons were brought to trial. Accused, interrogated and tortured in various ways, they were finally condemned to death. Angels appeared to them many times in prison and gave them manna to eat, filling their young hearts with strength, courage and endurance. When they were led to the place of execution, two friends, Palladius and Acacius, approached them and spoke with them. While they were still speaking, the holy martyrs gave up their souls to God. The soldiers then severed their lifeless heads and took them to show to the judge. They suffered for Christ the Lord in about the year 313, and took up their habitation in the Immortal Kingdom of Christ.

4.  Saint Isaac, catholicos of Armenia (440)

Isaac was born in Constantinople when his father was an envoy of the Armenian king to the Byzantine court. Isaac was the tenth Archbishop of Armenia, and in that calling, governed the Church for fifty years. His episcopacy was distinguished, among other things, by the translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Armenian language. He was told in a vision that the Armenians would eventually fall away from the pure Faith of Orthodoxy. This eminent hierarch entered peacefully into rest in the year 440 and reposed in the Lord.

5. The Three Holy Virgins

All three were Persians. At the time of King Sapor, these three virgins were persecuted as Christians and were finally cut to pieces with knives. Three fig trees grew out of their graves that healed all manner of pains and illnesses.

• Martyr Dasius of Durostolon in Moesia (303).
• Hieromartyr Nerses, bishop of Shahrqart (Kirkuk), and his disciple Martyr Joseph, and those martyred with them in Persia: Hieromartyrs John, Shapur, and Isaac, bishops of Seit Selok; Martyrs Guhshtazad, eunuch, Mari, Sasan, Tima, Noah, and Zaun, of Lashom; and Bautha, Denachis, Thecla, Dinaq, Tatun, Mama, Mazakya, Ana, Abyat, and Hatay (343).
• Theoctistus the Confessor, of Constantinople (855).
• Martyr Edmund, king of East Anglia (869).
• Sozomen of Cyprus (12th c.).
• New Hieromartyrs Macarius, bishop of Dnepropetrovsk, Arsenius, abbot, of the Tikhvin Monastery, Eutychius, abbot, of the Marcian Skete (Ukraine), and Hilarion, hieromonk of Glinsk Hermitage (1937).
• New Nun-martyr Ioannikia, abbess of the Convent of the Entry of the Theotokos (Tikhvin) (1937).

HYMN OF PRAISE

Saint Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople

Glorious disciple of a glorious teacher,
O most-wise Proclus, servant of the Savior,
You strengthened the Faith and destroyed heresy,
For which the Holy Church praises you,
And the Church magnifies its giant,
Who, by glorifying God, glorified himself.
As a skilled helmsman, you guided the Church,
Beheld miracles and glorified God.
Clairvoyant of spirit, with a mind filled with grace,
You resonated with the Spirit like a finely tuned string.
Taught by the Spirit, you instructed the emperor
To transport the relics of the golden-mouthed Patriarch,
And with the emperor and the people you openly beheld
Glorious miracles manifest from the relics.
Now, in Paradise eternal, pray for us,
That the faithful endure in the Faith to the end!

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