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This month has thirty-one days with ten hours of day fourteen hours of
night.
January 1
The Circumcision according to the Flesh of Our Lord,
God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of our Father among the Saints, Basil the
Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia (ca. 330379)
The Mosaic Law prescribed that when a woman brought a
male child into the world, he had to be circumcised on the
eighth day after his birth. Our Lord submitted to the
circumcision prescribed by the Law on this day, which is
the eighth day after His birth, and received, according to
the announcement of the angel, the name which is above all
names, "Jesus" or Savior. In celebrating the name day of
the Lord today, we begin the new year at the same time
under the sign of the Incarnation.
Saint Basil the Great belonged, through his father also
named Basil, to the province of Pontus, and through his
Emmelia, to the province of Pontus, and through his mother
Emmelia, to Cappadocia. He was born in Caesarea in
Cappadocia around 329-330. He studied in Caesarea, then
in Constantinople under the famous rhetor Libanius, and
finally in Athens, where he became a close friend of Saint
Gregory of Nazianzus. Shortly after his return to Caesarea
which occurred about 356, he retired in solitude to the
outskirts of Neocaesarea, where his mother and his sister
Macrina already led the monastic life. It is at that time he
composed his ascetical writings. He was ordained a priest
by Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea, and at the death of
the latter was elected in 370 to succeed him and rule the
Church of Christ. He governed it for eight years, during
January 2
Pre-festive Period of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of
Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of our Father among the Saints, Silvester, Pope
of Rome (+335)
Upon the death of his predecessor Melchiades in 314, Saint
Silvester was consecrated Bishop of ancient Rome. Saint
Silvester sent legates to the First Ecumenical Council of
Nicaea in 325. He died on December 31, 335, and was
buried in the cemetery of Priscillus, on the Salarian Way.
Fifth Class Feast.
January 3
Second Pre-festive Day of the Feast of the Holy
Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Memory of the holy Prophet Malachia (Fifth century
B.C.)
The holy martyr Gordios (+under Licinius, 313-323).
The holy prophet Malachia prophesied in the times of
Nehemia and Artaxerxes the Long-handed, the King of
Persia, without doubt prior to the year 444 B.C.
Saint Gordios, concerning whom Saint Basil the Great
made a panegyric, was a native of Caesarea of Cappadocia
and a centurion under Emperor Licinius (313-323). Not
being able to endure the insolence of the pagans and the
blasphemies which they unceasingly uttered against Christ,
he fled from the world and lived in the mountains in the
company of wild beasts. Before long reviving his love for
Christ and his courage against error, he entered the town,
rushed into the theater overflowing with people, and
publicly confessed his faith. Having attracted the attention
of the whole crowd on himself, the Saint amazed the
governor, who presided at the assembly, by his presence
and urged him on to the extreme limit of his rage. After
many tortures, he died by the sword.
Fifth Class Feast.
Troparia: of the Pre-festive Period of Theophany, of Saint Gordios, and
of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of
Theophany.
January 4
Third Pre-festive Day of the Feast of the Holy
Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Synaxis of the Seventy Disciples of Our Lord.
Memory of our venerable Father Theoktistos, Hegumen
of Cucume in Sicily (?)
Saint Theoktistos was hegumen of the monastery of Saint
Nicholas in Cucume, in the vicinity of Thermae, Sicily, at
an uncertain date.
Fifth Class Feast.
Troparia: of the Pre-festive Period of Theophany, of the Seventy
Disciples of Our Lord, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the
Pre-festive Period of Theophany.
January 5
Fourth Pre-festive Day of the Feast of the Holy
Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Memory of the holy martyrs Theopemptos and Theonas
(end of the Third century).
Our venerable Mother Syncletica (?)
Paramony of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Fast, regardless of the day.
January 6
The Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior
Jesus Christ.
On this day the Word of God, after having put on the old
Adam and having accomplished the prescriptions of the
Law, came to the great prophet John to be baptized. John
refrained from doing it, saying: "It is I who should be
baptized by You, and You come to me!" But when Jesus
said to him: "Let it be so now," John obeyed and performed
it, understanding that the baptism was the fulfillment of all
justice. By His baptism, Christ sanctified the nature of
water. Having buried all of men's sin in the waves of the
Jordan, He came out of the water, having renewed and
reconstructed man made old by sins, and having given him
the kingdom of heaven.
The feast of the Theophanies of the Lord was at first
intended to solemnize the idea of the different
manifestations of God to men in the Person of the Word
made flesh. It was not primarily a commemoration of
historical events (as Easter or Pentecost), but a notion of a
feast: the announcement of the Incarnation and divine
mission of the Lord, and of His mysterious union with
humanity in the Church-a Union of Understanding (Faith)
"All of you who have been baptized into Christ, have put
on Christ. Alleluia."
First Class Feast. Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Antiphons and
Isodikon of the Feast. Troparion (three times), Hypakoi and Kondakion
of the Feast. Instead of the Trisagion, the verse is said: "All of you who
have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia." Epistle
and Gospel of the Feast. Hirmos from the First Canon of the Feast.
Kinonikon of the Feast. After Communion, Troparion of the Feast.
Particular dismissal: "...who has deigned to be baptized by John in the
Jordan, for our salvation..."
In certain Churches, there is a custom to have the blessing of water
after the Liturgy of the day.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. Hirmos
of this Liturgy. Kinonikon and, after Communion, Troparion of the
Feast.
In occurrence with a Monday, the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is
likewise celebrated.
January 7
Second Day of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Synaxis of the Honored and Glorious Prophet,
Precursor and Baptist John
We celebrate today a solemn synaxis in honor of the holy
Precursor, who took an active part in the mystery of the
baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Synaxis of today
recalls to us the great crowd of people hastening to the
desert in order to hear the Precursor's preaching and to
thereby do penance.
Fourth Class Feast.
Antiphons and Isodikon of Theophany. Troparia: of Theophany and of
Saint John. Kondakion of Theophany. Instead of the Trisagion: "All of
you who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia."
Epistle and Gospel from the Menologion. Hirmos from the Ninth Ode
of the Second Canon of Theophany. Kinonikon of Saint John. After
Communion, Troparion of Theophany.
In occurrence with a Saturday, the Epistle and Gospel are likewise
from the Menologion.
January 8
Third Day of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of our venerable Father George the Chozebite
(+before 614)
Our venerable Mother Dominica (+ca. 475)
A native of Cyprus, Saint George left his country upon his
parents' death and retired to a monastery in Palestine under
his uncle's direction. Then he went to the laura of Calamon
near the Jordan, the home of his brother Heraclious, who
guided him, no doubt because he was still too young, to the
coenubium of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Chozeba,
on the left of the route which leads from Jerusalem to
Jericho. The Saint died there shortly after the Persian
invasion in 614.
A native of a small village in the vicinity of Carthage,
called Carthagenus, Saint Dominica lived in the times of
January 9
Fourth Day of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Memory of the
holy Martyr Polyeuktos (+ca. 250)
Saint Polyeuktos, a soldier in Melitene, Armenia, died for
the faith under Emperor Decius around 250. A blasphemous
decree having been promulgated, prescribing renunciation
of Christ under pain of death, Saint Polyeuktos, without
becoming excited, publicly confessed Christ and, in the
zeal of his faith, went as far as to break pagan idols. Neither
his father-in-law's exhortations and prayers, nor his wife's
tears and wailing could shake his resolution. Keeping his
promise to his friend Nearchos whom he had converted to
Christ's faith, he proved rigid in his belief and his life was
ended by the sword.
Fifth Class Feast. Troparia: of Theophany, of Saint Polyeuktos, and of
the Church Patron. Kondakion of Theophany.
January 10
January 11
Sixth Day of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of our venerable Father Theodosius the
Cenobiarch (ca. 424-529)
Saint Theodosius was born in 424 in the town of Mogarice,
in Cappadocia. Early in life he embraced the monastic life.
He went to Antioch to receive the blessing of Saint Simeon
the Stylite. He proceeded to Jerusalem during the reign of
Marcian (450-457), and, from there to the desert, where he
lived for thirty years, feeding upon dried figs and herbs
without ever eating bread. Around 465, between Bethlehem
and the laura of Saint Sabbas, he built a large coenobium
with three chapels; one for the Greek speaking monks,
another for the Armenians, and a third for the Slavs. From
the anaphora until the end of the Divine Liturgy, all joined
together in the catholicon and the Liturgy was celebrated in
January 12
Seventh Day of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Memory of the holy Martyr Tatiana (?)
Saint Tatiana was martyred in Rome at an uncertain date.
Her synaxis was formerly celebrated in a small church
named after her in the Sixth "region" of Rome on the
Quirinal. The Menaia relate that she was born in Rome
under Emperor Alexander Severus (222-235). Her father
was a consul three times. She herself was a deaconess of
the Roman Church. Brought before the Emperor for
Christ's faith, she entered a pagan temple with him and by
her prayers overturned all the idols which were found there.
She was cruelly struck on the forehead, her eyes were torn
out with hooks, she was tied to a stake and the skin of her
head was flayed. Finally, after having been exposed in vain
to fire and beasts, she was beheaded.
Fifth Class Feast.
January 13
Eighth Day of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the holy Martyrs Hermylos and Stratonikos
(+between 307 and 311)
These holy martyrs suffered for the faith in Singidunum, in
Upper Moesia, on the Danube under Emperor Licinius.
Saint Hermylos was a deacon. After many tortures, he was
comforted by his friend Stratonikos who was grieved by the
sight of his sufferings. Both were drowned in the Danube
around 307-311.
Fifth Class Feast.
Today, memory is also made of the Fathers Massacred at
Sinai and at Raitho, anticipated from January 14 (Closing
Day of Theophany). Antiphons of Theophany. Troparia: of
Theophany, of Saints Hermylos and Stratonikos, of the
Fathers Massacred at Sinai and at Raithos, and of the
Church Patron. Kondakion of Theophany.
On Sunday (January 12 or 13) in occurrence with the period of the
Triodion (Easter on March 23 or 24): Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon
of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of Theophany, and of the
Church Patron. Kondakion of Theophany. Epistle and Gospel from the
Triodion.
January 14
Closing Day of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our
Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
January 15
Memory of our venerable Fathers Paul of Thebes
(Fourth century) and John the Hut-Dweller (Fifth
century)
Sozomenos (I:13) says that Saint Paul was a simple
peasant. He lived in the desert near Saint Anthony who put
this newcomer to the test more than once. Paul was an old
January 16
Veneration of the Precious Chain of the Holy and
Renowned Apostle Peter.
According to the tradition of the Eastern Church, today we
celebrate the veneration of the chain by which the leader of
the Apostles was bound when he was thrown into prison by
the Tetrarch Herod for Jesus Christ's name, as related in
Acts 12:6. This chain was transferred to Constantinople in
437 by Empress Eudocia, the wife of Theodosius the
Younger, and placed in the chapel of the Holy Apostle
Peter, which is found within the Great Church.
January 17
Memory of our venerable and God-bearing Father
Anthony the Great (ca. 251-356)
Saint Anthony was born around the year 251 in a noble
Egyptian family of Coma, a market town in Lower Egypt
near the Small Heracleopolis. Sozomenos (I:13) relates
that: "Orphaned in childhood, he gave the inhabitants of his
village his paternal properties and sold the rest of his
possessions to distribute their value to the poor... His food
was bread and salt, his drink was pure water, and his
mealtime was always fixed at sunset. Rather often he
remained two or more days without eating. It is related that
he sat up every night and welcomed the day in prayer.
When it occurred to him to sleep, he laid down on a small
mat. More often still, he simply slept on the bare ground,
which he made his only bed... He had many disciples, and
was very renowned in Egypt and Libya, as well as in
Palestine, Syria, and Arabia." So famous in the deserts of
Egypt, the renown of the man's virtue reached Emperor
Constatine who became his friend. Constantine by several
letters, praying him to write to ask him for all which he
needed. Anthony lived nearly one hundred and five years
and probably died on January 17, 356.
Third Class Feast. Follow the general order.
In occurrence with a Sunday in the period of Triodion: the Typika and
Beatitudes are said. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the
Resurrection, of Saint Anthony, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion
of the Feast of the Encounter of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus
January 18
Memory of our Fathers among the Saints Athanasius
(return from his exile, 346) and Cyril (+444),
Archbishops of Alexandria
According to the ancient custom of the Church of
Constantinople, today we celebrate Saint Athanasius' return
from exile, when, upon the death of the intruder Gregory of
Cappadocia in 345, he managed to return to his see on
October 21, 346. His principal feast is celebrated on May 2.
Today the Office of Saint Cyril is also sung, for, as the
Great Athanasius was the defender of the Orthodox dogma
of the consubstantial Trinity, so also the Great Cyril was the
champion of the dogma of the Incarnation of the Word in
Mary's womb.
Third Class Feast, follow the general order of a Third Class Feast.
January 19
Memory of our venerable Father Makarios the
Egyptian (ca. 300-390)
Our Father among the Saints Arsenios of Corcyra (end
of the Tenth century)
Saint Makarios was born in Upper Egypt about the year
300. Palladius says: "He lived ninety years, of which he
spent sixty in the desert of Skete, where he retired when
thirty years old. He commanded the attention of all to such
an extent that he was called 'the young old man.' He
progressed so rapidly in perfection that at the age of forty
he received the grace of expelling demons and of predicting
the future. He was also judged worthy of the priesthood."
He died around the year 390.
Saint Arsenios was born in Bethania, Palestine, under
Emperor Basil I (867-886). Consecrated to God in his
infancy, he took the monastic habit when he was twelve
years old and, without doubt, went to study in Seleucia, on
the Orontes River, where he received priestly ordination.
From there he went to Constantinople under hegumen
Tryphon, who subsequently became Patriarch in 928, and
January 20
Memory of our venerable Father Euthymius the Great
(377-473)
Saint Euthymius was born in 377, in Melitene, Armenia,
under Emperor Gratian (367-383). Baptized when three
years old, he was ordained a lector by Eutroius, Bishop of
Melitene. He was ordained to the priesthood when he was
nineteen years old, in 395, and was named Exarch of the
monasteries. He went to Jerusalem in 405-406. In 411, he
withdrew to the grotto of Saint Theoktistos. By his virtue,
he contended so nobly with the Saracens that, day by day,
he disposed them to adhere to Christ and to be baptized
with their families, in 420-421. He fought the Nestorians,
the Eutychians, and the Manicheans. In 455-456, he
brought back to the true faith, Eudocia, the wife of
Theodosius the Younger, who had fallen into the
Monophysite heresy. He performed numerous miracles.
One day while celebrating the Divine Liturgy he appeared
as a column of fire. He died at the grand old age of ninetyseven, during the reign of Emperor Leo the Great, on
January 20, 473.
Third Class Feast, follow the general order of a Third Class Feast.
January 21
Memory of our venerable Father Maximos the
Confessor (580-662)
The holy Martyr Neophytos (beginning the fourth
century)
The sublime Maximos was born in Constantinople in 580
into a noble family during the reign of Tiberius I
Constantine (578-582). Under Heraclius he held the
position of First Secretary and Imperial Counsellor. Around
January 22
Memory of the holy Apostle Timothy (end of the First
century)
The holy Hosiomartyr Anastasius the Persian (+628)
A native of Lystra in Lycaonia, Saint Timothy was the son
of a pagan father and a Jewish mother. On Saint Paul's first
visit to Lycaonia, he attracted Timothy, and Timothy
followed him in all his missions. When the Apostle went to
Macedonia, he left Timothy in charge at Ephesus. Tradition
relates that he died a martyr around the end of the First
century.
As for Saint Anastasius, he was of Persian origin. Struck by
the implacable hatred of Chosroes II for the Christians and
not seeing his reason for it, he decided to become
thoroughly acquainted with their doctrine. Instructed in the
Christian faith, he was baptized in Palestine by Modestus,
January 23
Memory of the holy Hieromartyr Clement of Ancyra
The holy martyr Agathangel (beginning of the Fourth
century)
Saint Agathangel was of Roman origin. As for Saint
Clement, he was born in Ancyra in Galatia of a pagan
father and a Christian mother, named Sophia. After having
spent time in solitude, he was elected Bishop of Ancyra. He
courageously fought and suffered for the Christian faith for
twenty-eight years, and was finally beheaded, at the same
time as Saint Agathangel, under Emperor Maximian, about
296.
Fifth Class Feast.
January 24
Memory of our venerable Mother Xenia (Fifth century)
Saint Xenia, formerly named Eusebius, was born in Rome
during the Fifth century into a noble and fervent Christian
family. Destined for marriage by her parents, at the time
when all were ready to celebrate her marriage, she took to
flight with two other young girls. All three embarked and
after many changes in fortune, settled down at Mylasa in
the province of Caria in Asia, with a monk named Paul.
Xenia-this was her new name-built a small oratory in honor
of the protomartyr Saint Stephen and, with her two
companions and some other virgins who had joined them,
consecrated themselves to the practice of virtues. She died
in peace after a holy life.
January 25
Memory of our Father among the Saints Gregory the
Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople (329-389?)
This Father and Teacher of the Church was born around
329 in Arianzus, a market town in Second Cappadocia, in
the vicinity of Nazianzus. His father, a convert from
paganism who became the Bishop of Nazianzus, was also
named Gregory, and his mother Nonna. He studied first in
Caesarea of Cappadocia, then in Alexandria, and finally in
Athens, where he became a close friend of Saint Basil.
Returning to his country in 357, he received Holy Baptism
and gave himself to asceticism with his friend in the
wilderness of Pontus. He was ordained a priest of the
Church of Nazianzus, by his own father. Saint Basil
consecrated him Bishop of Sasima, a suffering see of
Caesarea. In 375, he withdrew to the monastery of Saint
Thecla in Seleucia of Isauria. It is from there that he left in
379 to help the Church of Constantinople, troubled for forty
years by the Arians. Supported by the pious Emperor
Theodosius the Great, he managed by his wise discourses,
sufferings, and many punishments, to free his Church from
the plague of heresy. He fell asleep in the Lord in 389 or
390. The grandeur of his theological writings have merited
him the surname of "Theologian." That which comes down
to us of his works, discourses and poems of all types,
witness to his radiant eloquence and remarkable
knowledge.
Third Class Feast, follow the general order of a Third Class Feast.
In occurrence with the Saturday of the Dead, the feast of Saint Gregory
is anticipated on January 24.
January 26
Memory of our venerable Father Xenophon and of his
wife (Sixth century?)
January 27
The Translation of the relics of our Father among the
Saints John Chrysostom (438)
Thirty-three years after his death, the relics of Saint John
Chrysostom were brought back from Comana, Armenia, in
438, under Theodosius the Younger and Patriarch Proclos.
Again the Christian people went to encounter him in boats,
so numerous that the sea appeared as a vast continent, and
countless torches covered the Bosphorus Strait.
Third Class Feast. All is said as on the Saint's principal feast on
November 13.
January 28
Memory of our venerable Father Ephrem the Syrian
(+373)
Saint Ephrem was born in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, at the
beginning of the Fourth century. His father, named Abnil,
was a pagan priest. Ephrem was a disciple of James, the
Bishop of Nisibis. He practiced monastic life to perfection.
He was ordained a deacon and became master of the great
Christian school of Nisibis, commenting on the Holy
Scriptures and explaining, the dogmas of the Orthodox
faith. After Julian the Apostate's death and the treaty
concluded in 363 between Jovian, the Roman Emperor, and
Sapor, the Persian King, Nisibis fell under Persian rule.
Many Christians therefore left their country and with them
the blessed Ephrem, who henceforth taught in Edessa, in
January 29
The translation of the relics of the holy Hieromartyr
Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch (under Theodosius
the Younger, 408-450)
Thrown into Rome's amphitheater, Saint Ignatius was torn
apart by beasts who left only his hardest bones. An
incomparable treasure, his relics were transferred to
Antioch, deposited in a place called the "Cemetery," and
preserved for the holy Church by the martyr's intercession.
Consequently, his relics were transferred to an ancient
pagan temple, called Tychaion. (Temple of Fortune), which
God suggested to Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408450) to consecrate to the glorious martyr for his greater
veneration. These holy relics were then carried into the city
on a chariot and placed inside the ancient pagan temple
with great religious solemnities.
Fifth Class Feast.
January 30
Memory of the holy Hieromartyr Hippolytus, Priest of
the Church of Rome (Third century)
Our Fathers among the Saints the Ecumenical Teachers
Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John
Chrysostom
A priest of Rome under Pope Saint Zephyrinus' episcopate
(199-217), Hippolytus composed numerous treatises in
Greek against all the heresies concerning the unity of God
in the Holy Trinity and the divine Monarchy. He clearly
commented upon a good number of Holy Books, fixed the
date of Easter, composed a universal history, and fixed the
January 31
Memory of the holy Wonderworkers and
Unmercenaries Cyrus and John (+312)
According to tradition, Saint Cyrus was a native of
Alexandria. John was a soldier and a native of Edessa in
Mesopotamia. They were martyred in Canopus, Egypt,
under Maximin Daia, the Caesar of the Orient, in 312.
Many miracles having been worked at their tomb, they
were surnamed anargyres, without doubting because they
freely healed all maladies and infirmities by the grace of
Christ.
Fifth Class Feast.