February 24 / February 11

The Hieromartyr Blaise, bishop of Sebaste (316)

Blaise was born in the province of Cappadocia. From his early childhood he was God-fearing and meek. Because of his great virtues, he was chosen as bishop of the city of Sebaste [in Armenia]. Blaise was a great spiritual and moral beacon in this pagan city. During a grave persecution of Christians, St. Blaise encouraged his flock and visited the martyrs of Christ in prison. Fore- most among them was the eminent and glorious Eustratius. When the city of Se- baste was completely emptied of Christians—some were slain and others fled—the elderly Blaise withdrew to Mount Argeos and settled there in a cave.

Wild beasts recognized the holy man and gathered around him, and he tenderly caressed them. But the persecutors found the saint in this remote place and brought him to trial. Along the way, Blaise cured a young boy who had a bone caught in his throat. At the plea of a poor widow whose pig had been snatched by a wolf, the saint, by the power of his prayer, made the wolf return it. The sinister judges tortured Blaise severely, flogging him and scraping him with an iron comb. By his steadfastness in the Christian Faith, Blaise converted many pagans to the Faith. Seven women and two children languished in prison with him. The women were beheaded first, and afterward the wonderful Blaise was beheaded with the two children. He suffered and was glorified in the year 316. People pray to St. Blaise for the well-being of their domestic livestock and for protection against wild beasts. In the West, he is also invoked against diseases of the throat.

The Holy New Martyr George of Kratovo, at Sofia (1515)

By origin, George was a Serb from the town of Kratovo. He was a silversmith by trade, and in his heart and soul he was a convinced and devout Christian. George was eighteen years old when the Turks tried to convert him to Islam, but George remained as firm as a diamond in his faith. The Turks tortured him with many cruel tortures and finally burned him at the stake. He suffered for the beautiful Faith of Christ on February 11, 1515, in Sofia, Bulgaria, during the reign of Sultan Selim, and was glorified with unfading glory in the heavens.

Saint Theodora, wife of Emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast

Theodora, a Greek empress, was the wife of the nefarious Emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast. After the death of Theophilus, Theodora be- came the ruling empress and reigned together with her son Michael III. At the council in Constantinople in 842, she immediately restored the veneration of icons. On this occasion the Feast of the Triumph of Ortho- doxy was instituted, which is still celebrated today on the First Sunday of Great Lent. This holy and praiseworthy woman of the Church gave up her soul to God on February 11, 867. By the divine and wonderful providence of God, it was at the time of the solemn triumph of Orthodoxy over all heresies that Saints Cyril and Methodius were sent as Christian missionaries to the Slavs.  .

• Hieromartyr Lucius of Adrianople (348).
• Caedmon, monk, of Whitby, hymnographer (ca. 680).
• Gobnait, abbess of Ballyvourney, Cork (Ireland) (7th c.).
• Benedict of Aniane, monastic reformer (821).
• Vsevolod (in holy baptism Gabriel), prince and wonderworker of Pskov (1138).
• Demetrius, founder of Priluki Monastery (Vologda) (1392).

HYMN OF PRAISE

The Veneration of Icons

To what do you, my Christian, bow,
When you, O my Christian, venerate the icons?
“Before the Living God, the Creator, I am bowing down,
With all my soul, heart and mind, I bow down to Him.
Mortal am I, and I am unable to gaze upon Him;
Therefore, before His image I bow.”
What do you, my Christian, so fervently reverence,
When you kiss the icon, O my Christian?
“I am kissing Christ, God and Savior,
The choirs of angels, the saints and the Mother of God.
Mortal am I, and therefore I am unable to touch them,
But when I kiss their images my heart is at peace.”

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