Holy Martyr Codratus of Corinth
Saint Codratus was a holy martyr who suffered for Christ during the persecution of Christians in the early centuries of the Church. Together with his companions, he was brought before magistrates who demanded that he renounce his faith in Jesus Christ and offer sacrifice to pagan gods. Codratus and his fellow believers refused to deny the Saviour or to participate in idolatrous worship. They were subjected to various torments, being beaten and imprisoned. Their unwavering confession of Orthodox faith was a testimony to all who witnessed their trials. Despite the cruelties inflicted upon them, the saints remained joyful and gave glory to God, knowing that they would receive the crown of martyrdom. Saint Codratus and his companions were finally executed and now intercede for the faithful who honour their memory.
Martyrs Codratus and those with him
258
‘In a time of persecution of Christians, many of the faithful fled to the mountains and caves. The mother of this Codratus did so. She was pregnant at that time, and gave birth to Codratus in a forest, dying almost at once. He was kept safe and fed by the providence of God and his guardian angel. Codratus grew up in solitude with nature. He who gave manna from heaven to the Israelites in the wilderness released a sweet dew from a cloud onto the mouth of the child Codratus. When he was twelve years old, he went down to the town, and there some good people took a fancy to him and educated him. He studied medicine and then began to heal the sick, using both natural medicines and, more importantly, the spiritual power and prayer which had been with him from childhood. When a new persecution arose under Decius, Codratus was taken for trial and thrown into prison. Five of his friends stood beside him and confessed the name of Christ. They were: Cyprian, Dionysius, Anectus, Paul and Crescens. They were all dragged through the streets and struck with sticks and stones by the unbelievers, especially by the children, until they arrived at the scaffold. Here the martyrs prayed to God and were beheaded with the sword. A spring of water gushed out onto the earth at the spot, which to this day is called by Codratus’ name and commemorates the heroic death for Christ of the holy six. They suffered with honour for the truth in Corinth in the year 250, in the time of the Emperor Decius and his governor Jason.’ (Prologue)
Saint Anastasia the Patrician of Alexandria
Saint Anastasia was a woman of noble birth, a patrician of the city of Alexandria, who devoted herself entirely to the service of God and to works of charity. In the early centuries of Christianity, she used her considerable wealth and influence to aid the poor, to support those suffering persecution, and to advance the faith. Saint Anastasia was known for her great compassion, her strict asceticism despite her position of ease, and her unshakeable commitment to Christ. She endured trials and persecutions for the Orthodox faith and spent her life in prayer, fasting, and service to others. The Church honours her memory as one who combined the virtues of nobility with the simplicity of evangelical poverty and as one whose intercession brings comfort to those in distress.
Saint John of Khakhuli, called the Chrysostom
Saint John of Khakhuli, known to the Georgians as Oqropiri, "the Golden-tongued", was one of the great spiritual lights of medieval Georgia. He flourished in the second half of the tenth and the early eleventh centuries, a contemporary of King David Kuropalates and King Bagrat III, who founded the celebrated Khakhuli Monastery in the historic region of Tao at the gorge where the Khakhuli river joins the Tortumi.
A theologian, translator, and calligrapher of great learning, John laboured to enrich the Georgian Church with the wisdom of the Fathers, and his sermons were so eloquent that he was given the same epithet "Chrysostom" that had been bestowed long before on the great Archbishop of Constantinople. Some traditions say that he was first consecrated Bishop of Bolnisi and afterwards transferred to Khakhuli.
About the year 1019 he left Khakhuli together with his companions Arsen of Ninotsminda and John Grdzelis and journeyed to the Holy Mountain of Athos. There he attached himself to Saint Ekvtime the Hagiorite at the Iviron Monastery, assisting him in his great labour of translating the Scriptures and Fathers into Georgian. The Life of Saint George of the Holy Mountain records that Saint John reposed on Mount Athos. The Khakhuli Monastery long preserved his memory, and the icon of the Mother of God of Khakhuli, set in a famous gold and enamel triptych, became one of the chief treasures of the Georgian Church.
Saint Simplicius, Pope of Rome
483
Saint Simplicius was born at Tivoli in Italy, the son of a citizen named Castinus. After serving in the Roman clergy with distinction, he was elected to the apostolic see of Rome on 3 March 468, in succession to Saint Hilary, and held it for fifteen years through one of the most turbulent periods of the late Roman West.
His pontificate witnessed the deposition of the last western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, in 476, and the establishment of barbarian rule in Italy under Odoacer. Throughout these upheavals Simplicius laboured to preserve the faith of the Council of Chalcedon, opposing the resurgent Monophysitism that troubled the East. He resisted the Henotikon promulgated by the emperor Zeno and the compromises of Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople, defending the two natures of Christ as defined by the holy Fathers. He likewise upheld the orthodox party in Egypt and Antioch in their struggles against heretical claimants.
In Rome itself Simplicius dedicated several great churches, among them San Stefano Rotondo on the Caelian Hill, Santa Bibiana, Sant'Andrea Catabarbara, and a basilica in honour of the holy martyrs in the Roman cemeteries. He reposed in peace on 10 March in the year 483 and was buried in the portico of Saint Peter's Basilica. The Orthodox Church venerates him among the saints of the pre-schism see of Rome.
Our Holy Mother Anastasia
563
She was a noble lady at the Imperial court under the Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. But when she was widowed she left Constantinople and all her privileges behind and fled to the Egyptian desert. There Abba Daniel tonsured her and, at her request, presented her to the brethren as the eunuch Anastasius, so that she might avoid discovery by imperial investigators. She closed herself in a small cell, where she spent twenty-eight years in prayer and askesis. Shortly before her death, her elder Daniel saw her face shining like the sun.