September 9 / August 27
1. The Venerable Poemen the Great, of Egypt (450)
Poemen was an Egyptian by birth and a great ascetic of Egypt. As a boy he visited the most renowned spiritual men. He gathered tangible knowledge from them, as a bee gathers honey from flowers. Poemen once begged the elder Paul to take him to St. Paisius. Seeing Poemen, Paisius said to Paul: “This child will save many; the hand of God is on him.” In time Poemen was tonsured a monk, and attracted two of his brothers to the monastic life as well. Once his mother came to see her sons. Poemen did not allow her to enter but asked her through the door: “Do you desire more to see us here, or there, in eternity?” The mother withdrew with joy, saying: “Since I will surely see you there, then I do not desire to see you here!” In the monastery where these three brothers dwelled (which was governed by Abba Anoub, Poemen’s eldest brother), their rule was as follows: At night they spent four hours doing manual work, four hours sleeping, and four hours reading the Psalter. During the day, they alternated work and prayer from morning to noon, did their reading from noon until Vespers, and made supper for themselves after Vespers. This was the only meal in twenty-four hours, and it usually consisted of some kind of cabbage. Poemen is said to have commented: “We ate that which was given to us. No one ever said, ‘Give me something else,’ or, ‘I do not want that.’ In this way, we spent our entire life in silence and peace.” Poemen lived a life of asceticism in the fifth century and reposed peacefully in old age.
2. The Venerable Poemen of Palestine
Poemen lived a life of asceticism in Rouba, which lay in the wilderness of Palestine, during the reign of Emperor Maurice (582-602). He had been a shepherd in his youth. One day his dogs attacked a man and tore him to pieces, but out of mischievousness, he did not try to save the man. As a result of this, it was revealed to him that he would be slain by wild beasts when his time has come. And thus it happened. He was devoured by wild beasts and gave up his soul to his Lord.
3. Saint Hosius, Bishop of Cordova
As the Bishop of Cordova, Hosius governed the Church in Spain for over sixty years. He was prominent at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325, and presided at the local Council of Sardica in 347. So zealous was he for Orthodoxy that, when he was near death, he issued yet another anathema against the Arian heresy.
4. The Hieromartyr Kuksha and Poemen the Faster
Kuksha and Poemen were both monks in the Monastery of the Kiev Caves. Kuksha successfully preached the Gospel to the Wallachians and baptized them. One day, pagans attacked and slew him and his disciple. Just then, Poemen the Faster was standing in the church in the Monastery of the Caves; and, having a vision of the death of Kuksha, his disciple and companion, he cried out: “Today, our brother Kuksha was slain for the Holy Gospel.” Saying this, he himself gave up the spirit. This happened in the year 1113.
5. The Holy Martyr Phanourios
Also commemorated under August 27, in the Great Greek Synaxarion, is the Holy Martyr Phanourios. Who this saint was and when he lived is not known. He is greatly venerated on Rhodes and Crete. In the year 1500, St. Phanourios appeared to people on the island of Rhodes, where he manifested miracles of healing. There, an old icon of him was found, in which Phanourios is portrayed as a young soldier, holding a cross in his right hand, and a lighted taper in his left. St. Phanourios is greatly venerated in Egypt. In Egypt, there exists a tradition that his mother was a grievous sinner whom even he, her son, was unable to correct. Even so, his filial love for his mother was extraordinarily great. He prayed more for his mother’s salvation than for his own. When pagans stoned him to death for the sake of Christ, St. Phanourios prayed to God:
“For the sake of my sufferings for Thee, Lord, help all of those who pray to Thee for the salvation of
Phanourios’s sinful mother.” In Egypt, many Christians pray thus: “Save, O Lord, the mother of St. Phanourios, and help me, a sinner.” Many receive help through these prayers.
- Sabbas, monk, of Benephali.
- Liberius the Confessor, pope of Rome (366).
- Praulius, archbishop of Jerusalem (422).
- Caesarius, bishop of Arles (543).
- New Hieromartyrs Michael, priest (with 28 other martyrs), and Stephen, priest (with 18 other martyrs), all of Nizhni-Novgorod (1918).
- New Hieromartyr Methodius, abbot, of Sukovo (Moscow) (1937).
- Uncovering of the relics (1991) of John, archpriest, of Korma (1917).
HYMN OF PRAISE
Venerable Poemen the Great
Venerable Poemen was a well of wisdom,
And a great torch of Christ’s light.
From the day he put the world of vanity behind him,
He reprimanded none, he reproached none.
Once the brethren quarreled in his presence,
But Poemen remained silent. Some reprimanded him:
“How can you hear the quarrel as if nothing is wrong?”
Poemen replied: “I died long ago.”
Another asked him: “How can I be saved,
That my mind not wander after the enemy’s calumnies?”
Said Poemen: “Flies avoid hot water,
And devils flee from a warm soul.”
“What is more trustworthy,” another asked,
“The speech of my brother or silence?”
“By one or the other, God is glorified.
For the glory of God, choose for yourself.”
“How can I defend myself from evil?”
“Evil does not defeat evil.
Do something good for the evildoer,
And that will inflame even his heart.
One’s home is not built by destroying another’s:
In this, only the third party—the devil—benefits.”
“Two wicked passions poison our souls;
We have no freedom while they crush us:
Fleshly pleasure and worldly vanity—
Only a holy soul is free from them.”
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