October 16 / October 3
1. The Holy Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite, bishop of Athens, the priest Rusticus, and the deacon Eleutherius (96)
Dionysius is numbered among the Seventy Lesser Apostles. This wonderful man was the scion of a distinguished pagan family in Athens. Hav- ing completed the school of philosophy in Athens, he went to Egypt to study further. While he was there the Lord Christ died on the Cross, the sun was darkened, and there was darkness in Egypt for three hours. Then Dionysius cried out: “Either God the Creator of the world is suffering, or this world is coming to an end.” Returning to Athens, he married a woman named Damaris and had sons by her. He became a member of the high- est court among the Greeks, the Areopagus, and thereafter he was known as the “Areopagite.” When the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel in Athens, Dionysius was baptized with his entire household. Paul consecrated him Bishop of Athens. He left his wife, children and his position for the love of Christ. He traveled with Paul for a long time and met all the other apostles of Christ. He traveled to Jerusalem especially to see the Most-holy Theotokos, and described his encounter with her in one of his written works. He was present at the burial of the Holy and Most-pure One. When his teacher, St. Paul, suffered martyrdom, Dionysius also desired such a death for himself, and went to Gaul, with his presbyter Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius, to preach the Gospel among the barbarians. He suffered much but also succeeded much. By his labors many pagans were converted to the Christian Faith. Dionysius built a small church in Paris, where he celebrated the divine services.*) When he was ninety years old, he, Rusticus and Eleutherius were seized and tortured for Christ; then all three were beheaded. The severed head of St. Dionysius rolled a long distance, to the feet of Catula, a Christian, who honorably buried it with his body. Dionysius suffered during the reign of Dometian in the year 96. He wrote several famous works: on the Divine Names of God, on the Celestial and Ecclesiastical Hierarchies, on Mystical Theology, and on the Most-holy Theotokos.
2. The Venerable John the Chozebite, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine (532)
John was an Egyptian who lived the ascetic life in the Chozeba community during the reign of Emperor Justinian. Whenever he celebrated the Liturgy, he perceived a heavenly radiance in the sanctuary. Ananias, an elder, labored ascetically not far from him. Wondrous was the humility of these two saints. A man brought his insane son to the elder Ananias to heal him by prayer. Ananias sent him to St. John as being greater than he. John could not help but obey the elder; however, he cried out: “In the name of Jesus Christ, it is Ananias, not I, who commands you to come out of this young man!” And the young man was healed immediately.
3. The Venerable Dionysius of the Monastery of the Kiev Caves
Dionysius was a hieromonk and a recluse. The following incident occurred to him on the Feast of the Resurrection in 1463. With a cross and censer, Dionysius visited the caves in order to cense the relics and graves of the saints reposing there. Filled with the joy of the Resurrection, as he approached the caves, he cried out: “Holy fathers and brethren—Christ is Risen!” And a voice resounded from the graves as powerful as thunder: “Indeed, He is Risen!”
- Saint Hesychius (“the Silent”) the Chorebite, of Horeb
At first, Hesychius was negligent about his soul’s salvation, but then he became gravely ill and died. However, he came back from the dead and regained health. This completely changed him. He shut himself up in a cell on the Holy Mountain, and spoke to no one for twelve years. Before his death, the monks opened his cell and begged him to give them some instruction. He said only: “He who contemplates death cannot sin.” From Hesychius descended the so-called hesychasts, who stress silence, divine contemplation, and mental prayer as the chief works of a true monk. There was even a hesychast skete on the Holy Mountain. It is said that St. Greg- ory the Theologian was a hesychast during the Lenten season. St. Hesy- chius lived in the sixth century.
- New Hiero-confessor Agathangelus, metropolitan of Yaroslavl (1928).
- Jerome of Aegina (1966).
- Uncovering of the relics (1988) of Joseph, elder, of Optina Monastery (1911).
- (Greek : Hieromartyrs Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, and the deacons Gaius and Faustus [ca. 265]).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Holy Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite
Glorious saint Dionysius,
Wondrous theologian and lucid scribe!
His mind, gathered in his heart, he directed to God;
He witnessed heavenly mysteries and revealed them to us.
He perceived the glory of the heavenly orders
And described the hierarchy of heaven:
Principalities, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Wondrous Thrones, Seraphim,
Cherubim and Archangels,
Golden-winged Angels of God,
And the Mother of God.—
He beheld all with fear,
And also that which shines above the dust of the earth:
Heavenly powers of infinite strength,
Immortal suns and stars most brilliant!
All that he witnessed,
Dionysius made clear
And told to the Church.
Thus he adorned and enriched the Church,
And his accomplishments were made golden
By his bloody death for his Christ.
Now he shines in heaven;
And the angelic hosts, blazing with the glory of God,
Call Dionysius “Brother.”
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