October 17 / October 4
1. The Hieromartyr Hierotheus, Bishop of Athens
Hierotheus was a companion of St. Dionysius the Areopagite and received the Christian Faith from the Apostle Paul a short time after Dionysius did. Later, the Apostle appointed him bishop of Athens. At the time of the Dormition of the Most-holy Theotokos, Hierotheus arrived in Jerusalem and took part in her burial. With his divine chanting he inspired heartfelt worship in many, revealing himself as a man inspired from on high. He labored much in the work of evangelism, converted many pagans to the truth and governed well his rational flock. He finally died a martyr for Christ, Who granted him a twofold crown in His Heavenly Kingdom: the crown of a hierarch and the crown of a martyr.
2. Saint Stefan Štiljanović, despot of Srem, Serbia (1540) and his wife St. Helen (Elizabeth in monasticism) (ca. 1543)
Stefan was a Serbian despot, born of the Pastrović clan. He governed the Serbian people during a most difficult period, struggling courageously against the Turks and the Latins. A righteous man and a patriot, this wonderful prince could be compared with St. Alexander Nevsky, or with the holy King Jovan Vladimir. He entered into rest in the sixteenth century (according to some, in 1515). Over his grave a light appeared at night, by which means his holy relics were discovered. They were brought to the Monastery of Šišatovac in Fruška Gora, where they reposed for a long time. During the Second World War, St. Stefan’s relics were transported to Belgrade and placed in the Cathedral Church beside the body of Prince Lazar. The prince’s wife, Helen, seeing Stefan’s incorrupt relics and witnessing miracles arising from the relics, was tonsured a nun, and gave herself over to asceticism until death.
3. The Venerable Ammon (350), of Egypt
Ammon was an Egyptian wine grower. His kinsmen forced him to marry against his will, but he did not wish to live with the woman as husband and wife. From the first day he called her his sister, and counseled her to join him in preserving their mutual chastity for the sake of the greater good in heaven. He lived with his wife this way for a full eighteen years. Later, by mutual agreement, his wife established a convent in her home, and Ammon went to the Nitrian desert, where he gave himself up to the ascesis of hermitic life. Because of his purity of heart, God granted him the great gifts of clairvoyance and miracle-working. A husband and wife brought their insane son to Ammon for healing by his prayer, but Ammon in no way desired to do this. After prolonged insistence by the parents, Ammon said: “The illness and health of your child is in your hands. Return the stolen ox to that widow (and he spoke her name) and your son will be healed.” The parents, amazed at the saint’s clairvoyance, admitted their sin and promised to return the stolen ox as soon as they arrived home. Then St. Ammon prayed to God and the child was healed. Ammon was a close friend of St. Anthony the Great. When Ammon died in Nitria, in approximately 350, St. Anthony saw Ammon’s soul in the heights from his cell and said to the brethren: “Today Abba Ammon died; behold, I see his holy soul as the angels bear it to heaven.”
4. The Venerable Paul the Simple (ca. 339), of Egypt
Until the age of sixty, Paul lived in the world as a married man. Catch- ing his wife in sin, he left everything and went to St. Anthony in the wilderness, receiving the monastic tonsure from him. Even though he was simple and illiterate, he achieved such spiritual perfection that he perceived every man’s soul just as ordinary men see each other’s bodies. He was a great miracle-worker, and in some instances, surpassed even St. Anthony. Paul died in deep old age in the year 339, and took up his joyful habitation with the angels.
- Theodore the Wonderworker, bishop of Tamassos, Cyprus (2nd c.).
- Martyrs Gaius, Faustus, Eusebius, and Chaeremon, of Alexandria (3rd ).
- Martyrs Domninaandherdaughters Berenice (Bernice) and Prosdoce, of Syria (302).
- Martyr Adauctus (ca. 312) and his daughter Callisthene (ca. 318), of Ephesus.
- Hieromartyr Peter of Capitolia, bishop of Bostra in Arabia (715).
- John (Lampadistes) of Cyprus (10th c.).
- Vladimir Yaroslavich, prince of Novgorod (1052), and his mother St. Anna of Novgorod (1050).
- Helladius and Onesimus, of the Near Caves in Kiev (12th-13th c.).
- Ammon, recluse of the Far Caves in Kiev (13th c.).
- Uncovering of the relics (1595) of Gurias, first archbishop of Kazan (1563), and St. Barsanuphius, bishop of Tver (1576).
- Jonah and Nectarius, monks, of Kazan (16th c.).
- Synaxis of the Saints of Kazan.
- Hieromartyr Evdemoz, catholicos of Georgia (1642).
- Peter of Kuznetsk (Siberia) (1820).
- New Hieromartyr Basil, archimandrite, of Stary Kelets (Ryazan) (1937).
- New Hiero-confessor Barsanuphius of Kherson (1954).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Venerable Ammon
Someone once begged Ammon:
“Show me, the wretched one, the path to salvation.”
To him, the saint said: “Through your entire life
You must be as a prisoner who awaits judgment,
As the prisoner who fears the judge,
And counts the hours to his trial,
Listening carefully for the voice that will say:
‘The judge is calling for you!’
He does not value food and shelter,
Cares not whether he stands or sits:
He simply listens and listens
For the call of the judge.
My dear brother, we are like that—
It is true for me, and it is true for you.”
And another asked him:
“The narrow path, what is it?
And the sorrowful path, how long does it last?”
Ammon said to him:
“The narrow path is Constraining your thoughts, so that they do not stray.
The sorrowful path is the binding of your desires,
So that your desire is naught but seeking salvation in Christ.”
O all-wise Ammon, knight of asceticism;
Patient bearer of the yoke of Christ
Who pleased God, and tamed men—
God has rewarded your labors with Paradise!
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