November 20 / November 7
1. The Holy Martyr Hieron and his 33 companions, of Melitene (290)
Hieron was born in Tyana in Cappadocia of a good and devout mother, Stratonika, who was blind. Hieron was a very zealous Christian and served his blind mother with great filial love. For two reasons he did not wish to join the army, and he resisted and drove off those who had been sent to take him. Hieron was loath to leave his helpless mother, and it was grievous for him even to consider that, as a soldier, he would be compelled to offer sacrifices to idols. Finally, Hieron was arrested along with other Christians, and they were all taken before the eparch of the town of Melitene. While they were still on the road, a man clad in a brilliant white garment appeared to Hieron one night and said: “Behold, Hieron, I pro- claim salvation to you: you shall not wage war for an earthly king, but for the Heavenly King you will complete your struggle, and you shall soon come to Him to receive honor and glory.” At this, Hieron’s heart was filled with inexpressible joy. In Melitene they were all thrown into prison and Hieron, with great zeal, strengthened all the prisoners in the Faith, urging that not even one of them fall away, but that all willingly offer their bodies to torture and death for Christ. All but one confessed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The exception was Hieron’s kinsman Victor, who fell away from the Faith. The tormentors cut one of Hieron’s hands off, then flogged and tortured him in various ways until they beheaded him and the others. Going to the place of execution, these thirty-three martyrs chanted the Psalm: Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord (Psalms 118:1). Here we will name the honorable martyrs whose names are written with his in the Book of Life: Hesychius, Nicander, Athanasius, Ma- mas, Barachius, Callinicus, Theogenes, Nikon, Longinus, Theodore, Valerius, Xanthius, Theodulus, Callimachus, Eu- genius, Theodochus, Ostrichius, Epiph- anius, Maximian, Ducitius, Claudian, Theophilus, Gigantius, Dorotheus, Theodotus, Castrichius, Anicletus, Themilius, Eutychius, Hilarion, Diodotus and Amonitus. A man named Chrysanthus purchased Hieron’s severed head and honorably buried it, later building a church over it in the saint’s name. The martyr’s severed hand was brought to his blind mother. St. Hieron, with his companions, suffered in the year 298 and entered the glory of Christ.
2. The Holy Martyr Thessalonica with Auctus and Taurion
This maiden was the daughter of a pagan priest, Cleon, a rich and arrogant man. Because of her faith in Christ, her father drove her from the house and city. Two honorable citizens, Auctus and Taurion, reproached Cleon for his inhuman treatment of his daughter, and he in turn denounced them as Christians. They were bitterly tortured and beheaded for Christ. Thessalonica was then tortured and slain as well. They suffered in the Macedonian city of Amphipolis near present day Kavala. Thus, these martyrs were made worthy of the Immortal Kingdom by their honorable suffering.
3. The Venerable Lazarus the Wonderworker, of Mt. Galesion near Ephesus (11th c.)
A pillar of light appeared above the house where he was born. Lazarus left his village of Magnesia and went to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to the holy places. There, he was tonsured a monk in the Monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified. After ten years, he settled on Mount Galesion and lived a life of asceticism on a pillar as a stylite. Lazarus was a miracle-worker both during his life and after death. Emperor Constantine Monomachus had great respect for him. Attaining old age, St. Lazarus entered into eternity toward the end of the eleventh century.
- Martyr Theodotus of Ancyra (303).
- Martyrs Melasippus, Cassina, their son Antoninus, and 40 children converted by their martyrdom, at Ancyra (363).
- Willibrord (Clement), archbishop of Utrecht, apostle of Frisia (739).
- Zosimas, founder of the Annunciation Monastery at Lake Vorbozoma (1550).
- Translation of the relics (1649) of Cyril, founder of Novoezersk Monastery (Novgorod) (1532).
- New Hieromartyrs Cyril, metropolitan of Kazan (1937), Michael, archpriest, of Diveyevo (1937), and Joseph, metropolitan of Petrograd (1938).
- (Greek : St. Gregory, brother of St. Gregory the Wonderworker [3rd c.]. Martyr Alexander of Thessalonica [ca. 305]).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Holy Martyr Hieron and his companions
Prisons are peculiar palaces!
In prison, St. Hieron spoke:
“O my brethren, thirty companions,
Hold to God’s word,
To God’s word and His law.
Behold, from time immemorial, the serpent has risen up,
Seeking to ensnare you with a glance,
So that, one by one, you would follow it to hell.
Do not succumb, brethren, true believers,
Oh, hearken to humble Hieron!
Whatever the serpent promises you
Is as fleeting as the green grass.
Courageously endure your sufferings:
Do not trade the eternal for the temporal;
Today or tomorrow, death will arrive,
Then all must go to the judgment of God.
Blessed is he who is not ashamed
When he sees his Judge before him.
Even more so is he who can show the Judge
The blood he has shed for Him,
And the wounds he bears for His name.
Such a one will reign eternally with Him.”
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.
