August 14 / August 1
1. The Holy Seven Maccabees, their mother Solomonia and Eleazar the Priest
They all suffered for the purity of the faith of Israel under King Antiochus, called by some “Epiphanes” the “enlightened one,” and by others “Epimanes” the “insane one.” Because of the great sins of Jerusalem, and especially because of the attempted dissolution of priestly authority and the crimes committed during this struggle, God allowed great misfortune to befall the Holy City. After that, Antiochus wanted to impose Hellenic idolatry upon the Jews by any means, and he did everything he could to completely replace the faith in the One Living God. Disaffected high priests and other elders of Jerusalem assisted Antiochus in his intention. King Antiochus himself came to Jerusalem and ordered that all Jews eat the meat of swine, contrary to the Law of Moses, since eating pork was a blatant disavowal of the faith of Israel. The elder Eleazar, a priest and one of the seventy translators of the Old Testament into the Greek language [the Sep- tuagint], would not partake of pork. Because of this, Eleazar was tortured and burned. On his return to Antioch, the king took with him the seven young men known as the Maccabees and their mother Solomonia. The seven Maccabean brothers were Avim, Antonius, Eleazar, Gurius, Eusebon, Achim, and Marcellus. Before the eyes of their mother, the wicked king tortured the sons, one by one—tearing the skin from their faces and then casting them into the fire. They all bravely endured torture and death, but they did not disown their faith. Finally, when the mother saw her last son, a three-year-old, cast into the flames, she leapt into the fire and was consumed, releasing her soul to God. They all suffered honorably for the faith in the One Living God, in about 167 b.c.
2. The Procession of the Honorable Cross (1164)
(First of the three “Feasts of the Savior” in August). This feast was instituted by a mutual agreement between the Greeks and Russians, at the time of the Greek Emperor Manuel and the Russian Prince Andrew, in commemoration of the simultaneous victories of the Russians over the Bulgars, and the Greeks over the Saracens. In both of these battles, crosses—from which heavenly rays blazed forth—were carried by the armies. Therefore, it was ordained that, on August 1, the Cross be carried first to the middle of the Church of the Divine Wisdom [Hagia Sophia] and afterward through the streets for the veneration of the people, as a commemoration of the miraculous help of the Cross in battle. This was not an ordinary cross, but the true Honorable Cross itself, which was kept in the church of the imperial court. On July 31, the Honorable Cross was carried from the imperial court to the Church of Hagia Sophia, and from there it was carried along the streets, for the consecration of the earth and the air. Finally, on August 14, it was returned to the church of the imperial palace.
3. The Nine Holy Martyrs of Perge in Pamphylia
The names of these martyrs were: Leontius, Attus, Alexander, Cindeus, Mnesitheus, Cyriacus, Menaeus, Catunus and Eucleus. Leontius was a carpenter and the others were farmers. Because of their bold confession of the Christian Faith and their destruction of the temple of the pagan goddess Artemis, they were cruelly tortured and beheaded in Perga of Pamphylia, during the reign of Diocletian, and became heirs of the Kingdom of Christ.
- Eusebius, bishop of Verceil (Italy) (ca. 371).
- Martyr Elessa of Cythera (375).
- Friardus of Vindumitta (573) and Secundellus (6th c.), of Gaul.
- Timothy the Wonderworker, bishop of Proconnesus (6th c.).
- Cennydd, monk, of Llangenydd (Wales) (6th c.).
- Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester (984).
- Commemoration of the Baptism of Rus’ (988).
- Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles, enlightener of Japan (1912).
- New Hiero-confessor Alexander, archimandrite, of Sanaxar and Seven Lakes Monasteries (1961).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Honorable Cross of Christ
Before the Honorable Cross of Christ,
All honorably prostrate:
By the power of this, the Cross of Christ,
We are delivered from misfortune.
The Holy Cross is mightier than the demons,
And than any earthly king.
The Cross saves us from sickness,
And from the assaults of barbarians.
By the power of the Cross,
Prince Andrew Rescued his enslaved land;
Emperor Manuel, by the power of the Cross,
Gloriously defeated the Saracens.
The power of the Cross has been shown to be far more powerful
Than the armies of the pagans,
Than violent aggressors, Than all evils.
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