November 25 / November 12
1. St. John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria (620)
John was born on the island of Cyprus. His father was Prince Epiphanius. John was raised as a true Christian from childhood. At the insistence of his parents, he married and had children. However, by God’s providence, his wife and children passed from this world into the next. Renowned for his compassion and piety, John was chosen as Patriarch of Alexandria in the time of Emperor Heraclius. He governed the Church of Alexandria for ten years as a true shepherd, safeguarding it from pagans and heretics. He was a model of meekness, charity and love for his fellow men. He said: “If you desire nobility, seek it not in blood but in virtues, for this is true nobility.” All the saints have been distinguished by mercifulness, but St. John was completely dedicated to this wonderful virtue. Once, while celebrating the Liturgy, the patriarch remembered the words of Christ, Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23–24), and he remembered that one of the clergy in that church had a grievance against him. He quickly left the Holy Gifts, approached that priest, fell before his feet and begged for forgiveness. And only when he had made peace with this man did he return to the table of oblation. Another time, as he was on his way to the Church of Saints Cyrus and John, it happened that he met a needy and unfortunate widow who spoke to him at length about her misfortune. The patriarch’s escorts be- came bored by the woman’s lengthy complaint, and urged the bishop to hurry to the church for the service, intimating that he could hear the woman’s story afterward. John said to them: “And how will God listen to me, if I do not listen to her?” He would not leave until he heard the widow’s complaint to the end.
When the Persians attacked Egypt, Patriarch John boarded a boat to escape from danger. Along the way he fell ill and, when he arrived in Cyprus, he reposed at his birthplace, in the year 620. After he entered the Immortal Kingdom of his Lord, his miracle-working relics were translated to Constantinople, then to Budapest, and finally to Presburg.
2. The Holy Prophet Ahijah (Achias) of Shiloh
Ahijah prophesied a thousand years before Christ. He prophesied to Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant, that he would reign over ten of the tribes of Israel (I Kings 11:29-31).
3. The Venerable Nilus the Faster, of Sinai (ca. 450)
Nilus was at first a prefect in the capital city, Constantinople. As a married man, he had a son and a daughter. Seeing the sinful life of the capital, he agreed with his wife to withdraw from the world. This they did. His wife and daughter went to a convent in Egypt. Nilus and his son Theod- ulus went to Mount Sinai. Nilus lived a life of asceticism on Mount Sinai for a full sixty years. He wrote wonderful books on the spiritual life. He entered peacefully into rest in about the year 450, in the eightieth year of his earthly existence, and took up his habitation in the blessed heavenly life. These holy words are his: “Physical passions have their origin in physical desires, and against them abstinence is necessary; but spiritual pas- sions are born of spiritual desires, and against them, prayer is necessary.”
4. The Venerable Nilus the Myrrh-gusher, of Mt. Athos (1651)
Nilus was born in the Morea. As a hieromonk he went with his uncle to the Holy Mountain and there lived a life of asceticism as a recluse in a deserted place called “the Holy Rocks.” When he entered into rest, myrrh flowed from his body in such abundance that it ran down from the top of the mountain into the sea. This miracle-working myrrh attracted ailing men from all over. A disciple of St. Nilus was so distracted by the many visitors that he complained in prayer to St. Nilus, and the flow of myrrh ceased at once. St. Nilus lived a life of asceticism in the fullest sense, like the saints of old. He entered into rest in the seventeenth century.
- Emilian, hermit, of La Rioja in Spain (574).
- Sinnell of Cleenish, Ireland (6th c.).
- Machar, bishop of Aberdeen (6th c.).
- Cadwaladr, king of the Welsh (664).
- Leontius, patriarch of Constantinople (ca. 1143).
- Blessed John “the Hairy,” fool-for-Christ, of Rostov (1580).
- New Martyr Sabbas of Nigdea in Asia Minor, at Constantinople (1726).
- New Martyr Nicholas of Marmaran, at Constantinople (1732).
- New Martyrs and Confessors of Nasaud, Romania: Athanasius Todoran, Basil Dumitru, Gregory Manu, and Basil Oichi (1763).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Venerable Nilus of Sinai
St. Nilus of Sinai spoke to the monks:
“Repeat the name of Jesus in your heart!
Exercise your heart in innocence,
And your body in purity and abstinence.
If you are insulted, endure the insult,
And thus the insulter will feel the injury.
Weep for the sinner, even when he advances:
He is on an eternal journey to meet justice.
If you endure misfortunes, they will serve you—
Misfortunes are thorns on which roses grow.
Whenever you pray to God, ask not for pleasant things,
But for that which brings benefit to the soul!
Fear not death, but await the death of the body;
Feel shame before the angels, before you feel the shame of men.
Avoid temptation and do not seek it,
But when it comes of its own accord, show yourself a hero.
He who often partakes of Communion with the gracious Christ
Is a temple in which Christ abides.
Speak little and rarely with men,
But speak more and more often with God.”
Thus, did Nilus of Sinai teach the monks,
And his deeds bore witness to his words.
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