12 August 2024 (MIA)

Macedonian Orthodox Church Calendar

Apostles Silas, Silvanus, Crescens, Epenetus, and Andronicus of the Seventy

St Silas was a companion and fellow-worker of the Apostle Paul. He became Bishop of Corinth and reposed in peace. St Silvanus became Bishop of Thessalonica and reposed in peace. St Crescens, mentioned by St Paul in 2 Timothy 4:10, became Bishop of Chalcedon. St Epenetus, praised by St Paul in Romans 16:5 as “my well-beloved Epenetus, the first-fruits of Achaia” (that is the first Christian from the Greek land) became Bishop of Carthage. St Andronicus and his fellow-worker Junia are also commemorated.

Catholic Calendar

Innocent IX

Born 1611 at Como, Italy as Benedetto Odescalchi. Cardinal-deacon, cardinal-priest, and Bishop of Novara. Became Pope on Sept. 21, 1676. Stood against the meddling in Church affairs by King Louis XIV of France; Louis tried to get back in papal favor by persecuting Protestants, but Innocent immediately pleaded for a halt to the abuse. Fought nepotism in Church bureaucracy, worked to reduce the expenses of the Curia. Encouraged catechetical instruction.

He disapproved of James II’s method of attempting to restore Catholicism in England, but it is not true that he supported William of Orange against the king. Fought Jansenism, Quietism, and the heresies promoted by Molinos. He encouraged daily communion, insisted on a high standard of education in the seminaries, condemned immodesty in dress, gambling, and laxism in moral theology. Noted for his simple, pious life both before and after his ascension to the papacy. Died on Aug. 12, 1689 in Rome, Italy, of natural causes.