October 11 / September 28

1.  The Venerable Chariton the Confessor, abbot, of Palestine (350)

Chariton was a distinguished and devout citizen of the city of Iconium. Imbued with the spirit of his compatriot, St. Thecla, Chariton openly confessed the name of Christ. When a bitter persecution of Christians began during the reign of Emperor Aurelian, Chariton was immediately brought to trial before the eparch. The judge ordered him to worship the gods, but Chariton replied: “All your gods are demons, and were cast from the heavens into the nethermost hell.” Chariton clearly proclaimed his faith in the One Living God, the Creator of all, and the Lord Jesus, the Savior of mankind. The eparch ordered that he be tortured and beaten, until his whole body was like one great wound. When Aurelian’s evil deeds caught up with him and he died an evil death, Chariton was freed from torture and prison. He then set out for Je- rusalem. On the way he was seized by robbers, but escaped from them by God’s providence. Chariton, not wanting to return to Iconium again, withdrew to the wilderness of Pharan, where he founded a monastery and gathered monks. He established a rule for the monastery and then, to avoid the praise of men, withdrew to another wilderness near Jericho. There he founded another monastery called the Monastery of Chariton. Finally, he founded a third monastery, Souka, which the Greeks called the Old Lavra. Chariton died at a great old age, and took up his abode in the glory of his Lord on September 28, 350. His relics repose in his first monastery. The composition of the rite of monastic tonsure is attributed to St. Chariton.

2.   The Holy Prophet Baruch

He was a disciple and faithful friend of the great prophet Jeremiah. He prophesied the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, the destruction of Babylon, and the coming of the Son of God to earth. It is held that he was slain by the Jews in Egypt, as was the Prophet Jeremiah, in the seventh century before Christ.

3.  The Holy Martyr Mark the Shepherd

At the time of Diocletian, Magnus, the magistrate of Antioch, went hunting with his soldiers. Pursuing a wild beast, the soldiers saw that it fled to the shepherd Mark, who was tending his flock there. The beast fawned around Mark, a man of God. Seeing this, thirty soldiers listened to Mark’s explanation of the Faith, and believed in Christ. They were soon beheaded. The magistrate then bound Mark, took him to town and sum- moned three brothers, Alexander, Alphaeus and Zosimas, who were black- smiths. He ordered them to make instruments of torture with which to torment Mark. All three of them, after conversing with St. Mark, confessed the Christian Faith, and ignored the magistrate’s order. The magistrate sentenced them to death, and ordered that molten lead be poured into their mouths. After this, the saintly Mark was beheaded, and his head was mockingly placed in the temple of Artemis. Because of this, that temple was destroyed by the power of God.

4. The Holy Martyr Vatslav [Wenceslaus], King of the Czechs

Vatslav was the grandson of St. Ludmilla. As king, he labored in the Faith like the great ascetics, and strengthened the Orthodox Faith among his people. He was strict in ensuring that no innocent person suffer in the courts. In his zeal for the Christian Faith and in his love for his fellow man, St. Vatslav purchased pagan children who were being sold as slaves, and immediately baptized them and raised them as Christians. He translated the Gospel of St. John into the Czech language, and transported the relics of St. Vitus and St. Ludmilla to Prague. His brother Boleslav invited him to be his guest, and then killed him in his court. Immediately after this, Boleslav brought in German priests and had the services celebrated in Latin. St. Vatslav suffered in the year 935 and his relics repose in Prague.

• Martyrs Alexander, Alphius, Zosimas, Mark the Shepherd, Nicon, Neon, Helio- dorus, and 24 others, in Pisidia and Phrygia (4th ).
• Faustus, bishop of Riez (495).
• Alkison, bishop of Nicopolis (Preveza) in Epirus (561).
• Hieromartyr Annemund, archbishop of Lyons (658).
• Leoba, abbess of Tauberbischofsheim, English missionary to Germany (779).
• Auxentius the Alaman, wonderworker, of Cyprus (12th c.).
• Cyril, schemamonk, and Maria, schemanun (ca. 1337), parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
• Chariton, abbot of Syanzhema Monastery (Vologda) (1509).
• Herodion, founder of Iloezersk Monastery (Belozersk)(1541).
• New Hieromartyr Hilarion, hieromonk, of Petushki (Vladimir), and New Martyr Michaela, schemanun, of Aksinyino (Moscow) (1937).
• Synaxis of the Holy Fathers of Kiev whose relics lie in the Near Caves of Anthony.
• (Greek : Martyr Eustace of Rome).
• (Cypriot : Translation of the relics of St. Neophytus the Recluse, of Cyprus [1214]).

HYMN OF PRAISE

The Holy Martyr Vatslav, King of the Czechs

From a wicked mother, good fruit was born:
St. Vatslav, who pleased God.
His wicked mother gave him only a body,
But his grandmother—light and faith and hope.
The glorious grandmother, pious Ludmilla,
Nurtured Vatslav’s soul.
As a white lily, Vatslav grew,
And adorned himself with innocence.
As the king reigned, the people rejoiced,
And with their king they honored God.
Yet the adversary of man never sleeps or dozes,
Laying sinful snares for every soul,
And he incited Boleslav against Vatslav.
“For what, my brother, do you want my head?”
Vatslav asked, but was still beheaded!
But the evildoer did not escape God.
The soul of St. Vatslav went
Before the Most-high God, the Just,
The One he had always adored,
And with Ludmilla, Vatslav now prays
For his people, that they be strengthened in faith.
St. Vatslav, beautiful as an angel!

---

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.