February 20 / February 7

Saint Parthenius, Bishop of Lampsacus on the Hellespont (4th c.)

Parthenius was the son of a deacon from the town of Melitopolis. As a child he remembered well the words of the Gospel and endeavored to fulfill them. He settled near a lake, where he fished. He then sold the fish and distributed the money to the poor. By God’s providence he was chosen as Bishop of Lampsacus. He cleansed the town of paganism, closed the idolatrous temples, built many churches and strengthened believers in the Faith.

Through prayer, he healed every manner of illness and was particularly powerful over evil spirits. On one occasion, when he wanted to cast out an evil spirit from an insane man, the evil spirit begged him not to do so. Parthenius said to him: “I will give you another man whom you can enter, and in him you can dwell.” The evil spirit asked him: “Who is this man?” “I am that man,” replied the saint. “Enter and dwell in me!” Upon hearing this, the evil spirit fled as though burned by fire, crying out: “How can I enter into the house of God?” St. Parthenius lived a long time and through his work manifested an abundant love for God and man. Parthenius entered into the eternal rest of Christ in the fourth century.

The Venerable Luke of Mt. Steirion (953)

Luke was born in Castoria. Even as a child, he never desired to taste meat and always conducted his life in chastity and prayer. One time, Luke went to a field to sow grains of wheat. Along the way, however, he distributed a greater portion of the grains of wheat to the poor, and he planted the lesser portion, that was left over. From that lesser quantity of grain, God gave him a greater harvest than had previously come from the entire amount. After that, Luke left his widowed mother and entered a monastery. The grieving mother prayed earnestly to God to reveal the secret of where her son could be found. God heard the prayers of the mother. The abbot of that monastery dreamed on three consecutive nights that a certain woman sharply rebuked him because he had taken away her only son. The abbot then ordered Luke to return immediately to his mother. Luke went, visited his mother, and parted from her once again, this time never to return. He exhausted himself by fasting on a mountain known as John’s Mountain [near Corinth]. At night he prayed to God and during the day he worked in the garden and field, not for his sake but for the sake of the in- digent and visitors. Luke himself only lived on bread made of barley. God bestowed upon him the gift of working miracles. Luke reposed peacefully on 7 February 953. From time to time, myrrh flowed from his relics.

The Venerable Mastridia

Mastridia lived in Jerusalem, where she led an austere life of asceticism. A certain young man fell in love with her and began to annoy her. In order to save herself and this young man from sin, Mastridia took a small basket of moistened beans and retreated into the wilderness. She spent seventeen years in the wilderness, and during the entire time, by the pow- er of God, she did not exhaust her supply of beans, nor did her clothing wear out. Mastridia died peacefully in about the year 580.

The 1003 Martyrs of Nicomedia (303)

They all suffered for Christ during the reign of Emperor Diocletian..

• Hieromartyr Augulius, bishop of Augusta (ca. 305).
• Saint Audactus and Six Martyrs of Phrygia (ca. 305).
• Euthymius, monk of Glinsk Hermitage (1866).
• New Martyr George of Alikianes on Crete (1867).
• New Hieromartyr Barlaam (Ryashentsev), archbishop of Perm (1942).
• Theopemptus and of his four Companions who were slain by the sword.
• Peter of Monovatia.
• (Greek : St. Aprionus, bishop of Cyprus).

HYMN OF PRAISE

The Holy Martyrs at Nicomedia

The city of Nicomedia shone like a star—
The eastern capital, like the morning star.
But one day, by the will of Duclianus,
Four courtiers were beheaded.
Eusebius, Vasa, Eutychius, courageous ones,
And wondrous Basilides, with unfading glory,
Were beheaded for Christ.
And by this, Nicomedia was darkened.
Those four heads were not the end of the horror,
But only the first blossoms of the mown grass:
A thousand slaves, servants, and obedient ones,
Who faithfully served the four martyrs.
A thousand as one, and three more,
Created a clamor, as though they had drunk wine.
No, it was not wine that they drank, but the truth that intoxicated them,
With the Blood and the victory of the Son of God.
“O ungodly emperor, we also are Christians.
We also are Christians, do whatever you will!
We desire to go to that place
Where our Blessed Master went.”
O wondrous daring! O wondrous fidelity!
But this did not cause the emperor’s cruelty to abate.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A thousand souls departed the earth,
And the gates of Paradise opened wide to them.

---

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.