8 July 2024 (MIA)

Macedonian Orthodox Church Calendar

Our Holy Mother, the Martyr Fevronia

She was the daughter of Prosphorus, a Roman senator. In order to escape marriage with a mortal man, she betrothed herself to Christ and became a nun in the East, in Assyria, in a monastery where her aunt, Bryaena, was abbess. Lysimachus, a nobleman’s son, was desirous of entering into marriage with Fevronia, but the Emperor Diocletian, suspecting him of being a secret Christian, sent him to the East with his uncle, Silenus, to seize and kill the Christians. Silenus was as ferocious as a wild beast and mercilessly exterminated the Christians wherever he could. Lysimachus, on the contrary, protected the Christians whenever possible and hid them from his bestial uncle. Having emptied Palmyra of Christians, Silenus came to the city of Nisibis, close to which there was the monastery of fifty ascetic virgins in which Fevronia was a nun. Although she was barely twenty years old, Fevronia was held in respect both in the monastery and in the city for her meekness, wisdom and restraint. The monastery followed the rule of a former abbess, Blessed Platonida, and every Friday the nuns would spend their time in prayer and reading sacred books, with no other work. Bryaena had appointed Fevronia to read to the other sisters while standing behind a curtain, so that no one would be distracted or captivated by the beauty of her face. When Silenus heard about Fevronia, he ordered that she be brought before him. When the holy maiden refused to renounce Christ and enter into marriage with a mortal man, he ordered them to whip her and then cut off her hands, breasts and feet and finally to slay her with the sword. But a fearful divine punishment came upon her tormentor that very day. And demon entered into him, and a fearful terror took hold of him. In his terror, he struck his head on a marble pillar and fell down dead. Lysimachus ordered that Fevronia’s body be gathered together and brought to the monastery for solemn burial, and he, together with many of the soldiers, was baptised. Many healings were wrought through Fevronia’s holy relics, and she herself appeared on the day of her Feast, standing in her usual place among the sisters. They beheld her with both fear and joy. St Fevronia suffered and went to eternal blessedness in the year 310, and her relics were translated to Constantinople in 363.

Catholic Calendar

Priscilla and Aquila Ministries

Paul met them in Corinth on his second missionary journey. This couple was tentmakers as Paul was and he stayed to work with them and even lived in their home. Priscilla and Aquila sailed with Paul to Ephesus and they stayed on there to minister to Apollos and to Paul on his third missionary journey. Their stay in Ephesus was probably a short one, as we see them back in Rome as Paul greets his fellow workers in Christ there. Priscilla and Aquila are mostly known for their discipleship of a zealous Jewish teacher named Apollos. He knew the Old Testament Scriptures well, but did not have a complete view of the truth. Priscilla and Aquila invited him to their home where they helped him to understand the Scriptures more accurately. Because of the discipleship ministry of Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos went on to be great teacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ.