“When you are about to pray to our Lady the Holy Virgin, be firmly assured, before praying, that you will not depart from her without having received mercy. To think thus and to have confidence in her is meet and right. She is, the All-Merciful Mother of the All-Merciful God, the Word, and her mercies, incalculably great and innumerable, have been declared from all ages by all Christian Churches; she is, indeed, an abyss of mercies and bounties, as is said of Her in the canon of Odigitry.”
+ St. John of Kronstadt
Acts 9:20-31 (Epistle)
20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him.
24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him.
25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.
26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.
27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.
29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.
30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.
31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
John 15:17-16:2 (Gospel)
17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
18 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He who hates Me hates My Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.
25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
26 But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
1 These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.
2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
Apostle Simeon the Zealot (1st c.)
Saint Simon was from Cana in Galilee, and was known to the Lord and His Mother. Tradition says that he was the bridegroom at the wedding where the Savior performed His first miracle. After witnessing the miracle of the water which had been turned into wine, he became a zealous follower of Christ. For this reason, he is known as Saint Simon the Zealot.
Saint Simon was one of the twelve Apostles, and received the Holy Spirit with the others on Pentecost. He traveled to many places from Britain to the Black Sea, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. After winning many pagans to the Lord, Saint Simon suffered martyrdom by crucifixion.
Saint Demetrius of Rostov says that this Saint Simon is to be distinguished from the Apostle Simon Peter, and from the Lord’s relative Simon (Mt.13:55), who was the second Bishop of Jerusalem.
Saint Simon is also commemorated on June 30 with the other Apostles.
“Kiev-Bratsk” Icon of the Mother of God
The wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk (i.e. "Brotherhood") Icon of the Mother of God was revealed in 1654, and was originally kept in the church of Saints Boris and Gleb in the city of Vyshgorod (Kiev), and was placed in a shrine to the left of the Royal Doors on the iconostasis.
On May 10, 1662, during a war with Poland (1659–1667), the city suffered great damage from the Poles and Crimean Tatars who fought against Russia. The church of the Holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb was ravaged and looted by enemy soldiers, who took all the jewels and icons, but the relics of the Saints were hidden under a crypt. By God's Providence, the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was preserved.
Some devout Christians, at the risk of their very lives, rescued the Icon of the Mother of God from the unclean hands of those who had stolen it. Since they were unable to hide the Icon, they had to consign it to the Dnieper River, praying that God's will would be done. To their amazement, the Icon did not sink, but floated upright down the river.
Leaving Vyshgorod, the Tatars began to cross the Dnieper, but they were drowned during a storm. Only one of them escaped by clinging to the Icon of the Mother of God as though it were a raft. The river carried the holy Icon to the bank of the Podil in Kiev, where it stopped before the Bratsk Monastery. The Tatar was afraid of drowning, and cried desperately for help. A boat was sent from the Monastery, into which the monks received the Icon and the Tatar.
The Tatar, whose life was spared by God, believed in Jesus Christ and was baptized. The Icon was placed in the wooden church of Saints Boris and Gleb, where it remained for a long time. An inventory of the church property in the Kiev-Bratsk Monastery, compiled in 1807, gives a description of the miraculous Icon.
In 1919, the Bratsk Monastery was closed, and the Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God was thought to be lost. For a long time, the lack of information about the shrines of the Monastery until the 90s of the XX century was perceived as confirmation that the Icon was lost. In recent years, however, studies have shown that the Icon is one of the five most valuable icons in the Monastery. It was transferred to the Kiev Caves Lavra in 1926.
In 1948, this group of icons was first recorded in the ledger of the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NHMU) with a note saying their fate before they came to the museum was unknown. The reacquisition of the Kiev-Bratsk Icon occurred in the early 2000s, when employees of the NHMU established a connection between these monuments and the Bratsk Monastery.
Currently the Kiev-Bratsk Icon is in the collection of NHMU. It's reacquisition is regarded as confirmation of the Icon's miraculous qualities.
There is an exact copy of the Icon, which is located in the Kievan Monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God.
The Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated on September 6, May 10, June 2, and on Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 5/5: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday 5/6: no services or events
Wednesday 5/7: no services or events
Thursday 5/8: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Friday 5/9: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 5/10: Women’s Group 9 a.m.; Catechumen Class 4:30 p.m.; Great Vespers 6 p.m.
Sunday 5/11: Divine Liturgy 9:15 a.m.
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Christ the Savior Orthodox Church is located in Southbury, Connecticut, and is part of the New England Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America.
Mailing address: Christ the Savior Church, 1070 Roxbury Road, Southbury, CT 06488
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Fr. Moses Locke can be reached at frmoseslocke@gmail.com