Wednesday, 19 August 2026

Martyr Andrew Stratelates and Companions

Wednesday of the 12th week after Pentecost

129 days after Pascha · Tone 2 · Liturgy · Fast

Saints commemorated

Holy Hieromartyr Pitirim, Bishop of Great Perm

1607

Saint Pitirim was bishop of the diocese of Great Perm and Ustiug in Russia in the fifteenth century. Before his elevation to the episcopate he was archimandrite of the Chudov monastery in Moscow, where he was renowned for his learning, piety and zeal for the Orthodox faith. He was consecrated bishop and sent as the successor of Saint Gerasimus to continue the apostolic labours among the peoples of the far north of the Russian land. The activity of Saint Pitirim in his diocese was first and foremost missionary. He travelled through the wild and remote territories of the Komi-Permyak peoples, preaching the Gospel of Christ to the pagan tribes who dwelt along the rivers Vishera, Kama, Chusova and their tributaries. By the grace of God working through his patient labour, the idols of the heathen were uprooted and in their place Christian churches were built and parishes were organised. He gave special care to the formation of clergy from among the newly baptised and provided them with translations of liturgical texts in their own tongue. Saint Pitirim was a true shepherd, defending his flock from outside oppression as well as from spiritual error. The Vogul prince Asyka, an obstinate enemy of the Christian faith and of the Russian land, raided the borders of the diocese with his warriors. On 19 August 1456, while the saint was performing the rite of the Blessing of Waters at the confluence of the rivers Vaga and Vychegda, Asyka and his band fell upon him and murdered him for the sake of Christ. Saint Pitirim was buried in the Cathedral of the Annunciation at Ust-Vym next to his holy predecessor Gerasimus. In the year 1607 a common commemoration of the three holy hierarchs of Perm, Gerasimus, Pitirim and Jonah, was established for 29 January, while the day of Saint Pitirim's martyric repose is kept on 19 August.

Holy Martyr Andrew the General and the 2,593 soldiers with him in Cilicia

“He was an officer, a tribune, in the Roman army in the time of the Emperor Maximian. A Syrian by birth, he served in his native land. When the Persians attacked the imperial Roman army, this Andrew was entrusted with the command in the battle against the enemy — whence his title: commander, strateletes. A secret Christian, although as yet unbaptised, Andrew commended himself to the living God, and, taking only the cream of the army, went to war. Before the battle, he told his soldiers that, if they all called upon the aid of the one, true God, Christ the Lord, their enemies would become as dust scattered before them. All the soldiers, fired with enthusiasm by Andrew and his faith, invoked Christ’s aid and attacked. The Persian army was utterly routed. When the victorious Andrew returned to Antioch, some jealous men denounced him as a Christian and the imperial governor summoned him for trial. Andrew openly proclaimed his steadfast faith in Christ. After harsh torture, the governor threw Andrew into prison and wrote to the Emperor in Rome. Knowing Andrew’s popularity among the people and in the army, the Emperor ordered the governor to set Andrew free, but to seek another occasion and another excuse (not his faith) to kill him. By God’s revelation, Andrew came to know of this imperial command, and, taking his faithful soldiers (2,593 in all) with him, went off to Tarsus in Cilicia, where they were all baptised by the bishop, Peter. Persecuted here also by imperial might, Andrew and his companions withdrew deep into the Armenian mountain of Tavros. There in a ravine, while they were at prayer, the Roman army came upon them and beheaded them all. Not one of them would recant, all being determined on death by martyrdom for Christ. On the spot where a stream of the martyrs’ blood flowed down, a spring of healing water sprang forth, healing from every disease. The bishop, Peter, came secretly with his people and buried the martyrs’ bodies in that same place. They all suffered with honour at the end of the third century and were crowned with wreaths of eternal glory, entering into the Kingdom of Christ our God.” (Prologue)

Holy Martyrs Timothy, Agapius and Thecla of Palestine

304

The Holy Martyrs Timothy, Agapius and Thecla suffered for Christ in the year 304 in Caesarea of Palestine, during the great persecution of Diocletian and Maximian. Their sufferings are recounted by their contemporary, the historian Eusebius of Caesarea, in his "Ecclesiastical History" and his treatise "On the Martyrs of Palestine". The Martyr Timothy was a native of Caesarea Palaestina. He had studied the Holy Scriptures from his youth and, having received from God a special gift of eloquence, became a teacher of the Christian faith, instructing many in the saving doctrine of Christ. When the persecution broke out, Timothy was arrested and brought before the governor Urbanus. The governor employed every means of cruelty in an effort to force the saint to deny Christ: he was tortured with iron hooks, his sides were torn, and finally he was condemned to be slowly burned to death over a low fire. With his eyes raised to heaven and his lips moving in prayer, Saint Timothy yielded up his soul to God in the flames. In that same city and in the same year there were also condemned the Martyrs Agapius and Thecla. After enduring various tortures and refusing to deny Christ, they were thrown to the wild beasts in the arena to be devoured. Saint Thecla received her crown by the teeth of the beasts. Saint Agapius, however, was reserved for further sufferings. The historian Eusebius records that Agapius bore his torments with such serenity that the spectators were astonished; eventually weights were tied to his feet and he was cast into the sea, where he received the crown of martyrdom. By their courageous endurance these three saints glorified Christ in the city of Caesarea and were numbered with the great cloud of martyrs of Palestine. The Orthodox Church commemorates them together on 19 August.

Saint Theophanes the New, of Naoussa

Saint Theophanes the New was a native of the city of Ioannina in Epirus, born in the latter part of the sixteenth century to pious Orthodox parents. From a young age he was drawn to the monastic life and made his way to Mount Athos, where he received the monastic habit at the Monastery of Docheiariou. By his diligence in obedience, prayer and asceticism he advanced quickly in the spiritual life and, on account of his lofty virtue and discernment, he was eventually chosen to be the abbot of the monastery. While he was igumen, news reached the holy mountain that his nephew, who had remained behind in Ioannina, had been seized by the Turks and forcibly converted to Islam. With the help of God, Saint Theophanes succeeded in delivering the youth from his captors, brought him back to Mount Athos, baptised him anew with holy oil and Christian instruction, and gave refuge to him in the monastery, blessing him to enter the angelic life of monasticism. Some of the brethren and the local Turkish authorities were stirred up against the saint for receiving a former Muslim, and rather than be the cause of trouble for the brotherhood, Saint Theophanes humbly withdrew with his nephew from Docheiariou. He left the Holy Mountain altogether and made his way to Beroea (modern Veria) in Macedonia, where he founded the Skete of Saint John the Forerunner and built a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. Later he withdrew yet further to a place near the town of Naoussa in Macedonia, where he founded another monastery and built a church in honour of the Holy Archangels. There he laboured in prayer and ascetic struggle until the end of his life, gathering disciples and bestowing the gifts of healing and wonderworking upon those who came to him in faith. He reposed peacefully in the Lord in the early seventeenth century, and his memory is kept on 19 August.

Also commemorated: Martyr Andrew Stratelates and Companions

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

2 Corinthians — 2 Corinthians 6.11-16

¹¹O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. ¹²Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. ¹³Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. ¹⁴Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ¹⁵And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? ¹⁶And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Mark — Mark 1.23-28

²³And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. ²⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. ²⁶And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. ²⁷And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. ²⁸And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.