September 26 / September 13
1. Commemoration of the Founding of the Church of the Resurrection (the Holy Sepulchre) at Jerusalem (335)
When the holy Empress Helena found the Cross of our Lord in Jeru- salem, she stayed awhile in the Holy City, and built churches in Geth- semane and Bethlehem, and on the Mount of Olives, as well as other plac- es prominent in the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. On Golgotha, where she found the Honorable Cross, she began the building of an enor- mous church. The church was designed to encompass the Place of the Skull, where the Lord was crucified, as well as the place where He was buried. The saintly empress wanted to include the place of His suffering and the place of His glory under the same roof. However, Helena reposed in the Lord before this majestic church was completed. By the time it was com- pleted, Constantine was celebrating the thirtieth year of his reign. Thus, the consecration of the church and the emperor’s jubilee were celebrated on the same day, September 13, 335. A local council of bishops was being held in Tyre at that time. These bishops, and many others, came to Jerusa- lem for the solemn consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord. It was then established that this day—a day of victory and triumph for the Church of Christ—be solemnly commemorated every year.
2. The Holy Hieromartyr Cornelius the Centurion
Cornelius was a Roman and an officer in Caesarea of Palestine. As the result of a heavenly revelation, the Apostle Peter baptized him (Acts 10:1). He was the first among the pagans to enter God’s Church. Until then, some thought that the Church was only for the Jews and those who received the circumcision of the Jews. Having been baptized, Cornelius left everything and followed the apostle. Later, Peter consecrated him a bishop and sent him to the pagan town of Skep, where St. Cornelius endured much hu- miliation and torture for the sake of Christ. Even so, he destroyed the temple of Apollo there by the power of God, and baptized Prince Deme- trius with 277 other pagans. Being forewarned by God of the day of his death, Cornelius summoned all the Christians together, counseled them, prayed to God for them, and peacefully presented himself to the Lord in honorable old age. In time, his grave site was neglected and forgotten, but the saint ap- peared to Silvanus the Bishop of Troas and revealed it to him, commanding that a church be built there. The bishop carried this out with the help of Euge- nius, a wealthy citizen. Many miracles have been worked by the relics of St. Cornelius.
3. The Holy Martyrs Elias, Zoticus, Lucian, Valerian, Macrobius, and Gordian, at Tomis in Moesia (320)
They were from Paphlagonia. They began as imperial attendants, but when they declared themselves Christians, the emperor banished them to Scythia. There, they were thrown into a fire at a place called New Danube, in the year 320.
4. The Holy Great-martyr Ketevan, queen of Kakheti, Georgia (1624)
Ketevan was Queen of Kakheti [in Georgia]. She suffered as a Christian under Shah Abbas I, in the year 1624. By order of the Shah, a red-hot kettle was placed over her head. Her son Teimuraz, the King of Georgia, placed her relics beneath the altar of the church at Alaverdi in Georgia.
5. The Venerable Hierotheus of Kalamata, monk of Iveron, Mt. Athos (1745)
Hierotheus was born in the Peloponnese in the village of Kalamata. He labored in asceticism in the Monastery of Iveron on the Holy Moun- tain. He was distinguished by great secular learning and by strict monastic asceticism. He strove to fulfill this rule of St. Arsenius: “In the course of twenty-four hours, one hour of sleep is sufficient for a monk.” Hierotheus entered into rest on the island of Varos in the year 1745. His relics are mir- acle-working. Of these relics, his head is preserved in the Monastery of Iveron. Upon touching his holy relics in Constantinople, a blind woman received her sight.
- Martyr Straton of Nicomedia (3rd ).
- Martyrs Serapion, Cronides, and Leontius, of Alexandria (237).
- Martyr Seleucus of Galatia (320).
- Litorius, bishop of Tours (370).
- Eulogius I, patriarch of Alexandria (608).
- John of Prislop (Romania) (15th-16th c.).
- Cornelius of Padan-Olonets, disciple of St. Alexander of Svir, and with him Sts. Dionysius and Misael (16th c.).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Hieromartyr Cornelius the Centurion
Wondrous Cornelius, pious in feeling
But plainly pagan-minded,
Pleased God by giving much alms.
God the Most High sent him a mighty angel.
An angel greeted him, and an apostle baptized him,
And thus he was numbered among the faithful.
The first pagan who joined the Church
Confessed Christ with his entire household.
But, for him, baptism alone was not enough;
He became an apostle with the apostle of God.
To help others, and to save them,
Cornelius took upon himself a most trying labor.
He astonished men with mighty miracles,
Baptized the prince and hundreds of men.
Having known the sweetness of Christ he left his home,
And for sweet Christ he was glorified in torture.
For labor and torture in this life,
He now reaps his reward in the Kingdom of Christ.
Holy Cornelius, now help us
By your prayers before the Eternal Judge.
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