December 16 / December 3
1. The Holy Prophet Zephaniah (Sophonias)
Zephaniah was a native of Mount Sarabatha, from the tribe of He lived and prophe- sied in the seventh century before Christ, at the time of Josiah the pious king of Judah. Zephaniah was a contemporary of the Prophet Jeremiah. Having great humility and a pure mind raised to God, he was found worthy of discerning the future. He prophesied the day of the wrath of God and the punishment of Gaza, Ashkalon, Ashdod, Ekron, Nineveh, Jerusalem, and Egypt. He saw Jerusalem as a filthy and polluted, … oppressing city…. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; … her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the Law (Zephaniah 3:1-4).
Foreseeing the advent of the Messiah, he enthusiastically exclaimed: Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:14). This seer of mysteries entered into rest at his birthplace to await the General Resurrection and his reward from God.
2. Saint John the Silent, bishop of Colonia and monk of St. Sabbas Monastery (558)
John was a native of Nicopolis in Armenia and was the son of Encratius and Euphemia. He was tonsured a monk at the age of eighteen and lived a strict and resolute life of asceticism, cleansing his heart by his many tears, fasting, and prayer. After ten years, he was appointed bishop of Colonia. By his example, he attracted his brother Pergamius and his uncle Theodore—both distinguished men at the imperial courts of Emperors Zeno and Justinian—to a God-pleasing life. Seeing the malice and intrigues of this world and his inability to put matters right, he abandoned his episcopal throne. He disguised himself as a simple monk and went to the Monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified near Jerusalem. There he remained unknown for many years, conscientiously and capably completing every task that the abbot ordered him to do. For this, St. Sava recommended to Patriarch Elias that he ordain him a presbyter. When the patriarch wanted to ordain John, he confessed that he already possessed the rank of bishop. Then St. John closed himself in a cell and spent years and years in silence and prayer. Afterward, he spent nine years in the wilderness feeding himself only on wild vegetables, and then he returned to the monastery. He turned the faithful away from the heresy of Origen and contributed greatly to the condemnation and elimination of this heresy. He clearly discerned the spiritual world and healed people from sickness. Having conquered himself, he easily conquered demons. Great in humility, might and divine wisdom, this servant of God entered peacefully into rest in the year 558 at the age of 104.
3. The Hieromartyr Theodore I, Archbishop of Alexandria
After functioning as patriarch for two years, Theodore was ridiculed and tortured by the pagans. They placed a crown of thorns on his head and finally beheaded him for his Faith in the year 609.
4. The Venerable Theodulus, eparch of Constantinople (440)
Theodulus was an eminent patrician at the court of Theodosius the Great. After the death of his wife, he renounced the vanity of the world and withdrew from Constantinople to a pillar near Ephesus, where he lived a life of asceticism for thirty years.
5. The Venerable Sabbas of Zvenigorod
Sabbas was a disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh and a great miracle- worker. Following his death, he appeared to many as though he were alive, at times teaching them, at times reproaching them and at times healing them. He passed from this life to a better life in the year 1406..
- Birinus, bishop of Dorchester (ca. 649).
- Sola, Anglo-Saxon missionary priest under St. Boniface (Germany) (790-794).
- New Hieromartyr Gabriel, metropolitan of Ganos and Chora, at Prusa (1659).
- Hilarion, bishop of Krutitsa (1759).
- New Monk-martyr Cosmas of Anne’s Skete, Mt. Athos (1760).
- George of Cernica and Caldarusani (1806).
- New Martyr Angelus of Chios (1813).
HYMN OF PRAISE
Saint John the Silent
John the Silent, God’s laborer,
Walked through the wilderness as a lonely hermit,
Until someone cried out:
“The barbarians are coming!
Behold how the dust rises up on the road!
They are near, very near; rise up, rise!”
“Let them be near, but God is nearer!”
John said to him, and did not move.
And when misfortune sought to overtake him,
A lion appeared, sent by God,
And began to fiercely roar at the enemy.
The horde fled; John did not move.
He competed with the severe wilderness,
He competed with her in stillness,
And in dryness and solitude.
“Pascha is coming, how shall we greet it?
What shall we eat on the feast, Father?”
The disciple asked. And John said to him:
“To every creature, God gives food.”
When the Radiant Feast of Christ dawned,
An angel suddenly appeared as a man before the saint;
Bread, wine and honey he brought.
The disciple, when he beheld the miracle,
Wept at his lack of faith,
And glorified God and God’s saint.
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