Saturday, 9 August 2025

Ven. Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America

Saturday of the 9th week after Pentecost

111 days after Pascha · Tone 7 · Red cross half-circle (vigil typikon symbol) · Dormition Fast (Fish, Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

★ Holy Apostle Matthias

The Holy Apostle Matthias was born in Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah. From early childhood he studied the Law of God under the guidance of the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver. When the Lord Jesus Christ revealed Himself to the world, Matthias believed in Him as the Messiah, followed Him constantly, and was numbered among the Seventy. After the Ascension of the Saviour the eleven remaining disciples cast lots to fill the place left vacant by the betrayer Judas Iscariot, and the lot fell upon Matthias, who was thus added to the Twelve, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, Matthias preached the Gospel in Jerusalem and Judea together with the other apostles. He travelled with the apostles Peter and Andrew to Syrian Antioch and to the Cappadocian city of Tyana, and preached at Sinope and Amaseia on the shore of the Black Sea. According to the tradition of the Church he carried the Gospel into Pontic Ethiopia, identified with western Georgia, and into Macedonia, where he endured many trials. Eventually he returned to Judea and was sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin and stoned. To accuse him as an enemy of Caesar his head was struck off after he was already dead. He received the crown of martyrdom about the year 63. He is commemorated on 9 August.

Glorification of Saint Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America

Saint Herman of Alaska (c. 1756 to 15 December 1837) was a Russian monk of Valaam Monastery and one of the original missionaries who, in 1794, sailed to Kodiak Island in Russian America to preach the Gospel to the indigenous peoples of Alaska. After the deaths of his fellow missionaries he withdrew to nearby Spruce Island, which he named New Valaam, where he lived as a hermit for some thirty years, caring for orphans, defending the Native Alaskans against the abuses of the Russian-American Company, teaching the children, healing the sick, and praying ceaselessly. Many miracles were attributed to him during his life and after his repose, and the local people venerated him as a saint long before his formal glorification. On 9 August 1970, Metropolitan Ireney of the Orthodox Church in America, together with hierarchs and clergy from sister churches, celebrated the rite of glorification at the Holy Resurrection Cathedral on Kodiak Island, and on the same day the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia carried out a parallel glorification at the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco. Saint Herman thus became the first canonised saint of the Orthodox Church in North America. The 9 August feast commemorates this glorification, while his repose is also kept on 15 December.

Holy Martyr Anthony of Alexandria

The Holy Martyr Anthony was a native of Alexandria in Egypt and a Christian who, in a time of persecution, openly confessed the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Arrested for this confession, he was severely tortured. He was first bound to a tree and his body torn with iron hooks; when this failed to break his constancy he was condemned to be burned in a heated furnace. Standing in the midst of the flames he calmly addressed the crowd, exhorting them to consider not the body, which is temporal, but the soul, which is eternal, and so to direct their toil toward God. Having finished his exhortation he gave up his soul to the Lord. When the furnace was opened his holy relics were found untouched by the fire. He is commemorated on 9 August.

Holy Ten Martyrs of Constantinople

730

The Holy Ten Martyrs of Constantinople, named in the synaxaria as Julian, Marcian, John, James, Alexius, Demetrius, Photius, Peter, Leontius and the Patrician Mary, together with the Protospatharios Gregory, suffered for the holy icons in the year 730 under the iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian. When the emperor ordered the great icon of Christ over the brazen gate of the imperial palace, the Chalke, to be torn down, these confessors resisted those who had been sent for the purpose. According to tradition Mary the Patrician, a noblewoman, climbed the ladder herself and pulled it down so that the soldier should not commit the sacrilege; the others gathered around the gate to defend the holy image. They were seized and subjected to many tortures, and at length all were beheaded by order of the emperor. Their relics were preserved in Constantinople and their memory is kept on 9 August together with the holy apostle Matthias.

Holy Martyr Anthony

2nd c.

A native of Alexandria, he was brought before the pagan governor and tortured for his faith, but would not renounce Christ. Finally he was burned alive, but from the flames he called out: ‘My beloved brethren, do not be enslaved by your bodies, but give thought to your souls, given to you by God and kin to God and to the heavenly powers.’

Daily readings

Vespers

Wisdom of Solomon — Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9

¹But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.

²In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery,

³And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.

⁴For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.

⁵And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself.

⁶As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering.

⁷And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.

⁸They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.

⁹They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect.

Vespers

Wisdom of Solomon — Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3

¹⁵But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High.

¹⁶Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord’s hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.

¹⁷He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armour, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.

¹⁸He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet.

¹⁹He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.

²⁰His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise.

²¹Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.

²²And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them.

²³Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

¹Hear therefore, O ye kings, and understand; learn, ye that be judges of the ends of the earth.

²Give ear, ye that rule the people, and glory in the multitude of nations.

³For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works, and search out your counsels.

Vespers

Wisdom of Solomon — Wisdom of Solomon 4.7-15

⁷But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest.

⁸For honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years.

⁹But wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age.

¹⁰He pleased God, and was beloved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated.

¹¹Yea speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul.

¹²For the bewitching of naughtiness doth obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence doth undermine the simple mind.

¹³He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time:

¹⁴For his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked.

¹⁵This the people saw, and understood it not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he hath respect unto his chosen.

Matins Gospel

Matthew — Matthew 11.27-30

²⁷All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. ²⁷All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him. ²⁸Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁸Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Epistle

weekly cycle

Romans — Romans 14.6-9

⁶He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. ⁶He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. ⁷For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. ⁷For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. ⁸For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁸For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. ⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Epistle

— St Herman

Galatians — Galatians 5.22-6.2

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ²⁴And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. ²⁴And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

²⁵If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. ²⁶Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

¹Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

¹Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ²Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. ²Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Matthew — Matthew 15.32-39

³²Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

³²And Jesus called unto him his disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint on the way. ³³And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? ³³And the disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude? ³⁴And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. ³⁴And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes. ³⁵And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. ³⁵And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; ³⁶And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. ³⁶and he took the seven loaves and the fishes; and he gave thanks and brake, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. ³⁷And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. ³⁷And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. ³⁸And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁸And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. ³⁹And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala. ³⁹And he sent away the multitudes, and entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magadan.

Gospel

— St Herman

Luke — Luke 6.17-23

¹⁷and he came down with them, and stood on a level place, and a great multitude of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judæa and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

¹⁷And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judæa and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; ¹⁸and they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed. ¹⁸And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. ¹⁹And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. ¹⁹And all the multitude sought to touch him; for power came forth from him, and healed them all.

²⁰And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

²⁰And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. ²¹Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. ²²Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. ²²Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. ²³Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. ²³Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets.