August 29 / August 16
1. The Icon of the Lord Jesus Christ “Not Made With Hands”
(Third “Feast of the Savior” in August). In the time when our Lord preached the Good News and healed every illness and infirmity of men, there lived in the city of Edessa, on the shore of the Euphrates, a prince named Abgar, who was completely infected with leprosy. He heard of Christ, the Healer of every pain and disease, and sent an artist, Ananias, to Palestine with a letter to Christ in which he begged the Lord to come to Edessa and to cure him of leprosy. In the event that the Lord was unable to come, the prince ordered Ananias to portray His likeness and to bring it back to him, believing that this likeness would be able to restore his health. The Lord answered that He was unable to come, for the time of His passion was approaching. Instead, He wiped His face with a towel—and the image of His face remained on the towel. The Lord gave this towel to Ananias, with the admonition that the prince would be healed by it, but not entirely—He would send the prince a messenger who would complete the healing of his disease later on. Receiving the towel, Prince Abgar kissed it and leprosy completely fell from his body, but a little remained on his face. Later, the Apostle Thaddaeus came to Abgar, preached the Gospel, and secretly healed and baptized him. The prince then destroyed the idols which stood at the gates of the city. He placed the towel with the likeness of Christ— with a wooden backing, framed in a gold frame, and adorned with pearls— above the gates. The prince also wrote beneath the icon, directly on the gateway: “O Christ God, no one will be ashamed who hopes in Thee.” Later, one of Abgar’s great-grandsons restored idolatry, and the Bishop of Edessa came by night and walled up that icon over the gates. Centuries passed. During the reign of Emperor Justinian, the Persian King Chozroes attacked Edessa, and the city was in great hardship. It happened that Bishop Eulabius had a vision of the All-holy Theotokos, who revealed to him the mystery of the sealed wall and the forgotten icon. The icon was discovered, and by its power, the Persian army was defeated.
2. The Holy Martyr Diomedes the Physician, of Tarsus in Cilicia (298)
Diomedes was a physician of prominent birth from Tarsus. Healing the people, Diomedes taught them the Christian Faith. Emperor Diocle- tian ordered him beheaded in Nicaea, in the year 298. Those who behead- ed him and brought his head to the emperor were blinded, but when they returned the head to the body and prayed, they were healed.
3. The Venerable Joachim of Osogovsk and Sarandapor (1105)
Joachim lived a life of asceticism in the second half of the eleventh century on Osogovsk Mountain, in a cave at a place called Sarandopor. Later in this place, another ascetic, Theodore of the Sheepfield, to whom St. Joachim appeared in a dream, built a church. Through the centuries, many miracles occurred over the relics of the Venerable Joachim, and still do today.
4. The Holy Martyr Stamatius of Demetrias, near Volos
Stamatius was a peasant born in Volos, in Thessaly. When an inhuman agha collected the royal tribute from the people and greatly mistreated them, Stamatius departed for Constantinople with several of his companions to complain to the vizier. By his sharp criticisms of the agha, Stamatius offended the sultan’s noblemen and they arrested him. At first, they tried to convert him to Islam by flattery, promising him riches, glory, and honor. But he cried out: “Christ is my riches, glory, and honor!” The Turks tortured him, and finally, in front of the Church of Hagia Sophia, Stamatius was beheaded. That is how this soldier of Christ was crowned with the martyr’s wreath, in the year 1680.
- Chaeremon of Egypt (4th c.).
- Anthony the Stylite, of Martqopi, Georgia (6th c.).
- Eustathius II, archbishop of Serbia (1309).
- Nilus of Erikoussa (ca. 1335).
- Romanus the Sinaite, of Djunisa, Serbia (14th c.).
- Monk-martyr Christopher of Guria (Georgia), at Damascus (15th ).
- New Martyr Nicodemus of Meteora (1551).
- Gerasimus the New, ascetic of Cephalonia (Mt. Athos) (1579).
- Raphael of Banat, Serbia (ca. 1590).
- Timothy of Euripos, archbishop, founder of the Pendeli Monastery (1590).
- New Great-martyr Apostolus of the town of Lawrence, martyred at Constan- tinople (1686).
- New Martyrs King Constantine Brancoveanu of Wallachia and his four sons, Constantine, Stephen, Radu, and Matthew, and his counsellor Ioannicius (1714).
- . Translation of the relics (1798) of Martyrs Seraphim, Dorotheus, James, Demetrius, Basil, and Sarantis, of Megaris.
- Joseph of Varatec Monastery (Romania) (1828).
- Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of Theodore” (“Feodorovskaya”) “Of Kostro- ma” (1239), and “Of Port Arthur” (1904).
- (Greek : 33 Martyrs of Palestine).
HYMN OF PRAISE
Prince Abgar
O gentle God, Who reveals mysteries,
Wondrous mysteries, never before heard of—
Thou didst proclaim, once by the lake,
That many pagan peoples
From the east to the west
Would sit at table with Abraham,
And that the unbelieving sons of the Jews
Would be banished to outer darkness*)
Because of their hardened hearts.
Thou didst speak this mystery, and it came to pass:
The Jews looked at Thy face,
But prepared death behind Thy back.
But Prince Abgar, from a distant land,
Leprous in body, as well as in soul,
From the false faith of the pagans,
Heard of Thee by word of mouth,
Heard of Thy words and miracles,
Heard of Thee and believed in Thee.
And when He saw the likeness of Thy most-pure face,
He kissed it with tears
And was made whole in soul and body.
His soul went to Paradise,
And rejoices with Abraham, eternally.
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