Apodosis of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
326
The Apodosis, or Leave-taking, of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-giving Cross is kept on 21 September, as the Church bids farewell for another year to the great feast celebrated on 14 September. On this day the hymns and propers of the Exaltation are sung once more at the divine services, recalling the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena in Jerusalem in the year 326, the building of the Church of the Resurrection by Saint Constantine, the first solemn elevation of the Cross by Saint Macarius of Jerusalem, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians by the emperor Heraclius in 628. The faithful are reminded that the Cross is no longer a sign of shame but a weapon of peace, an unconquerable trophy and the source of resurrection life. With the Apodosis the eight days of celebration come to a close; the Cross which had been displayed in the centre of the church for veneration is returned to its place, and the festal cycle returns to the ordinary commemorations of the saints.
Hieromartyr Hypatius, Bishop of Ephesus, and Andrew the Presbyter
730
The hieromartyr Hypatius, Bishop of Ephesus, and the priest Andrew suffered for the holy icons in the eighth century, under the iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian, who reigned from 717 to 741. Both were born in Lycia and had been friends from childhood. As they grew, each gave himself wholly to the service of God: Hypatius as a strict monk and ascetic, and Andrew as a priest, an eloquent preacher of the word and a labourer among the people. For his great virtues, learning and holiness of life, Hypatius was raised to the episcopal throne of Ephesus, and Andrew was appointed presbyter in the same city. When the emperor Leo began his persecution of the holy icons, casting them out of the churches to be trampled and burned, Hypatius and Andrew rose up boldly in defence of icon veneration, urging their flock to keep faith with Orthodoxy and instructing them in its meaning. They were seized, brought to Constantinople, and after horrible tortures borne for the truth they were beheaded in the year 730 and so passed from this transitory life to life eternal. Their bodies, thrown out to be devoured by dogs, were preserved by the providence of God and reverently buried by the faithful.
Holy Apostle Quadratus of the Seventy at Magnesia
130
Saint Quadratus, Apostle of the Seventy, preached the Word of God at Athens and at Magnesia, on the eastern peninsula of Thessaly, in the early second century, and was made Bishop of Athens after the martyrdom of Saint Publius. His biographer called him "a morning star among the clouds of paganism." He converted many pagans to faith in Christ the Saviour, and his bold preaching aroused such hatred that an angry mob fell upon him and tried to stone him to death. Preserved by God from this attack, he was thrown into prison, where he died of starvation and was crowned with martyrdom. His holy body was buried in Magnesia. About the year 126 Saint Quadratus had composed an Apologia in defence of Christianity, which he presented to the emperor Hadrian during the emperor's visit to Athens. This Apologia, the earliest known Christian apology, so impressed Hadrian that he issued an edict forbidding the punishment of Christians without due cause. Only a small fragment of the work survives, preserved by the historian Eusebius. Saint Quadratus is commemorated on 21 September and again on 4 January with the synaxis of the Seventy.
Saint Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov
Saint Demetrius of Rostov, in the world Daniel Tuptalo, was born in 1651 in the town of Makarov near Kiev, the son of a pious Cossack officer. From childhood he was trained in piety and learning, and at seventeen he was tonsured a monk at the Saint Cyril Monastery in Kiev under the name Demetrius. Ordained deacon, then priest, he laboured as a preacher of remarkable power in monasteries throughout Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. From 1684 he undertook, at the request of his fellow monks at the Caves Monastery in Kiev, the immense task of compiling the Lives of the Saints in four volumes for the whole Church year, drawing upon Greek, Latin and Slavonic sources. This labour, accomplished amid many duties and infirmities, occupied more than twenty years of his life and remains one of the great hagiographical works of the Orthodox Church. In 1701 he was summoned by Tsar Peter the Great and consecrated for the see of Rostov, where he ruled for the rest of his life as a tireless pastor, founding schools, opposing the Old Ritualist schism by careful instruction rather than force, and continuing his writing. He fell asleep on his knees at prayer on 28 October 1709. The uncovering of his incorrupt relics during repairs to the cathedral church of Rostov on 21 September 1752, and the many miracles which followed, led to his glorification, and this date is also kept in his honour.
Holy Prophet Jonas
9th c. BC
His story is told in the Old Testament book that bears his name. He is counted as one of the twelve ‘minor prophets.’ According to one tradition recorded in the Synaxaria, he was the son of the widow of Zarephath, resurrected by the holy Elias (July 20).
The song of Jonah, I called to the Lord out of my distress (Jonah 2:2-9) is the Sixth Biblical Ode of the Matins canon, and forms the basis of countless troparia, many of which meditate upon the Jonah’s time in the belly of the sea-monster as a type of Christ’s sojourn in the tomb. The Book of Jonah is read in its entirety on Holy Saturday.
The Prophet Jonah is commemorated tomorrow, September 22, on the Slavic calendar.
Our Venerable Father Joseph of Zaonikiev Monastery
1612
He was a peasant named Hilarion in the district of Vologda, and lived a simple, laboring life until he began to lose his sight. Not despairing, Hilarion went to all the churches nearby and asked that services of intercession be offered for him. One day, during the Divine Liturgy, Hilarion beheld a man in white clothing who told him that his name was Cosmas, blessed him, and told him that he would soon be healed. The next day Hilarion was going to church again and the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian appeared to him along with an icon of the Mother of God. A voice from the icon said that the people must cleanse the place where he stood and erect a cross there. Upon venerating the icon, Hilarion was instantly and completely healed. Returning to his village, he joyfully told what had happened. The villagers cleansed the place, as commanded in Hilarion’s vision, set up a cross, and built a chapel to house the icon, which began to work many miracles. When the bishop learned of these events, he determined to found a monastery on that spot, and made Hilarion the first monk, giving him the name of Joseph. Saint Joseph spent the next thirty years there in prayer and great asceticism: he would spend the winter nights without sleep, standing in prayer before the miraculous icon of the Theotokos. He reposed in peace and was buried in the chapel that he and his fellow-villagers had built years before.
Finding of the Relics of St Dimitri of Rostov
1752
St Dimitri is commemorated October 28.