June 11 / May 29
Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council (325)
The commemoration and praise of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council is held on the Sunday before Pentecost, the Seventh Sunday after Pascha. This Council was held in Nicaea in the year 325 during the reign of the saintly Emperor Constantine the Great. The Council was convened to eliminate the confusion which Arius, a priest of Alexandria, had created by his false teaching. He taught that Christ was created in time by God and that He is not the pre-eternal Son of God, equal in being with God the Father. Three hundred and eighteen Holy Fathers participated in this Council. The Council condemned the Arian teaching, and Arius was anathematized since he refused to re- pent. The Council finally confirmed the Symbol of Faith [the Creed], which was later augmented at the Second Ecumenical Council. Many distinguished saints were present at the First Ecumenical Council, among whom the following stood out: St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, St. Spyridon, St. Athanasius, St. Achilles, St. Paphnutius, St. James of Nisibis, Macarius of Jerusalem, Alexander of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, Eusebius of Caesarea, Metrophanes of Constantinople, John of Persia, Aristarchus of Armenia, and many others from the East. From the West, the following were present: Hosius of Cordova, Theophilus the Goth, Cecilianus of Carthage and others. The most important work of this Council was the confirmation of the Symbol of Faith. The Council also established the time of the celebration of Pascha and issued twenty various canons.
The Holy Virgin-Martyr Theodosia of Tyre (308)
Once, during the reign of Emperor Maximian, many Christians stood bound before the praetor in Palestinian Caesarea. The pious virgin Theodosia approached and comforted and encouraged them in their martyrdom. Upon hearing what she was saying, the soldiers also led her before the judge. The enraged judge ordered that a stone be hung around her neck and that she be cast into the depths of the sea. But angels of God carried her to the shore alive. When she appeared before the judge again, he ordered her to be beheaded. The following night, Theodosia appeared to her parents encompassed in a great heavenly light, surrounded by many other virgins who were also saved and said: “Do you see how great is the glory and grace of my Christ, of which you wanted to deprive me?” She said this to her parents because they had tried to dissuade her from confessing Christ and martyrdom. Theodosia suffered honorably and was glorified in the year 308.
The Venerable Virgin-Martyr Theodosia of Constantinople (730)
Theodosia was born as the result of the prayers of her mother to the holy Martyr Anastasia, who appeared to her and said that she would give Her parents dedicated her to God and at an early age presented her to a women’s monastery. After the death of her parents, Theodosia inherited a vast estate, and from that estate, she ordered three icons from a goldsmith: of the Savior, the Theotokos, and St. Anastasia. The rest of her inheritance she distributed to the poor. She suffered in the year 730 during the reign of the evil Emperor Leo the Isaurian, the iconoclast, and received a twofold wreath: virginity and martyrdom.
Saint Alexander, Archbishop of Alexandria
Alexander was the first to take up the fight against Arius. He reposed in the year 326. Saint John of Ustiug, Fool-for-Christ, and Miracle-worker, and Mary (13th c.)
The Holy Martyr Nannus (or John) of Thessalonica
John suffered for the Faith at the hands of the Turks in Smyrna in 1802.
The Holy Martyr Andrew of Chios
Andrew suffered for the Faith at the hands of the Turks in Constantinople in the year 1465.
The Fall of the City of Constantinople
Because of the sins of men, God permitted a bitter calamity to fall upon the capital of Christianity. On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mohammed II conquered Constantinople and executed Emperor Constantine XI.
- Martyrs Cyril, child Carellus, Primolus, Phinodus, Venustus, Gissinus, Alexander, Tredentius, and Jocunda, at Caesarea in Cappadocia (253-259).
- John, Votus, and Felix, hermits in the Pyrenees (ca. 750).
- Blessed Constantine XI, last Byzantine emperor, martyred by the Turks (1453).
- New Hiero-confessor Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), archbishop of Simferopol (1961).
- Uncovering of the relics (2000) of Job (Joshua in schema) of Anzersk Island (So- lovki) (1720).
- New Hieromartyr Euthymius (Agritellis), bishop of Zela (Pontus) (1921).
- (Greek : Hieromartyr Olbian, bishop of Anaea, , in the province of Asia in Asia Minor [284-303]).
- Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Surety of Sinners,” in Moscow (1848).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Fall of the City of Constantinople Emperor Constantine XI
Constantine the Emperor bravely defends Constantinople,
And to God he quietly prays within himself:
“O Most-high God, Who lookest down from heaven,
Thou dost not allow injustice to defeat justice.
Christians have greatly sinned against Thee,
And have horridly trampled upon Thy laws.
This battle is not without Thy permission;
Because of men’s sins, blood is shed.
If it is Thy will that this city fall,
Encourage my people not to surrender,
That the Cross not be trampled upon and that they not go over to Islam.
Rather, let them endure bondage,
until freedom returns.
Let them be servants, let them even be slaves;
Let hatred and ridicule fall upon them;
But let them endure with hope and repentance
And with bitter sighing for former sins,
Until they wash away and expiate all their sins,
And until they completely return to Thee.
If they have Thee, they will be rich;
Thou wilt replace all plundered treasures.
Constantinople on earth—may it be or not be;
Thou didst establish a Constantinople in heaven,
Where, with Thy servants,
Thou gloriously reignest.
Behold, I stand before this Constantinople.
O Blessed One, have mercy on our sinful souls.
When it is built anew, let the old one be razed!”
To read the Reflection, Contemplation, and Homily for this day,
you can purchase your copy of the Prologue of Ohrid at our St. Sebastian Bookstore
or download our Kindle E-Book version at Amazon.com.