Many miracles in the Old Testament involve water. To name but a few, the water of the Nile turned to blood after Moses lifted his rod and struck the water before Pharaoh and His servants (Exodus 7:20). Not only was the Nile turned to blood, but also "their rivers, their canals, their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone" (Exodus 7:19).
In chapter 14 of Exodus, Moses divided the waters of the Red Sea, and the Hebrews passed over as if on dry land. When they were safely across, the waters came together, and their Egyptian pursuers were drowned.
On their forty year journey to the Promised Land, the Hebrews camped at Rephidem, but there was no water for them to drink. The people murmured against Moses, asking him why he had led them out of Egypt. God told Moses to strike the rock at Horeb. Then water came out of it so that everyone could drink (Exodus 17:6).
In Judges 6:36-40 we read about Gideon and the dew on the fleece. When Gideon squeezed the fleece, there was enough to fill a bowl with water.
On the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Church remembers the man who lay paralyzed at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem for thirty-eight years, waiting for someone to put him into the pool. The first person to enter the pool after an Angel troubled the water would be healed of his infirmities, but someone always entered the pool before him. Seeing the man, the Lord felt compassion for him and healed him.
The Lord healed the paralytic during the days of the Passover, when He had gone to Jerusalem for the Feast, and He remained there teaching and working miracles. According to Saint John the Theologian, this miracle took place on the Sabbath.
Like some Old Testament miracles, many of Christ's miracles also involved water, and they prefigure the Church's Baptism, which cleanses us of every sin. In the Sheep Pool, once a year, only one person was healed, but Christ saves endless multitudes by divine Baptism. Sometimes, as in the case of Saint Vladimir (July 15), Baptism can also heal our bodily infirmities.
In the Canon for the Paralytic, the Angel who stirred the water in the Sheep Pool is identified as the Archangel Michael. Some of the Troparia call him "Leader of the Angels," and "Supreme Commander" (Ode 1). In Ode 3 we ask him to "protect us from falling into the passions of life." In Ode 6, we ask Saint Michael to guide us on the paths of life." In Ode 8, we ask him to pray with all the Bodiless Hosts, that we may be granted deliverance from our offenses, correction of our life, and the enjoyment of eternal blessings.
As we remember the paralytic, let us ask Christ to "raise up our souls, paralyzed by sins and thoughtless acts" (Kontakion of the paralytic).
Hieromartyr Januarius, Bishop of Benevento, and his companions, at Pozzuoli
Hieromartyr Januarius Bishop of Benevento, and the deacons Proculus, Sossius and Faustus, Desiderius the Reader, Eutychius and Acution suffered martyrdom for Christ about the year 305 during the persecution ordered by the emperor Diocletian (284-305).
They arrested Saint Januarius and led him to trial before Menignus, the governor of Campagna (central Italy). Because of his firm confession of Christianity, they threw the saint into a red-hot furnace. But like the Babylonian youths, he came out unharmed. Then at Menignus’s command, they stretched him out on a bench and beat him with iron rods until his bones were exposed.
In the crowd were Deacon Faustus and the Reader Desiderius, who wept at the sight of their bishop’s suffering. The pagans surmised that they were Christians, and threw them into prison with the hieromartyr Januarius, in the city of Puteolum. At this prison were two deacons who had been jailed for confessing Christ: Saints Sossius and Proculus, and also two laymen, Saints Eutychius and Acution.
On the following morning they led out all the martyrs into the circus to be torn to pieces by wild beasts, but the beasts would not touch them. Menignus claimed that all the miracles were due to sorcery on the part of the Christians, and immediately he became blinded and cried out for help. The gentle hieromartyr Januarius prayed for his healing, and Menignus recovered his sight. The torturer’s blindness of soul, however, was not healed. He accused the Christians of sorcery, and ordered the martyrs beheaded before the walls of the city (+ 305).
Christians from surrounding cities took up the bodies of the holy martyrs for burial, and those of each city took one, in order to have an intercessor before God. The inhabitants of Neapolis (Naples) took the body of the hieromartyr Januarius. With the body, they also collected his dried blood.
Since the fifteenth century, the blood liquifies when the container is placed near another relic, believed to be the martyr’s head. Many miracles proceeded from the relics of the hieromartyr Januarius. During an eruption of Vesuvius around 431, the inhabitants of the city prayed to Saint Januarius to help them. The lava stopped, and did not reach the city.
Hieromartyr Theodore of Perge in Pamphylia, his mother, Philippa, and Martyrs Dioscorus, Socrates, and Dionysius
The Holy Martyrs Theodore, his mother Philippa, Dioscorus, Socrates and Dionysius suffered during the reign of the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) in Perge, Pamphylia. When they were conscripting robust and healthy young men for military service, then they led the youth Theodore and the others to the military commander Theodotus.
The military commander ordered the youth to offer sacrifice to idols, but the martyr submitted neither to persuasion nor threats. Then the military commander had him placed on a red-hot plate and poured liquid tar on him. Suddenly, there was an earthquake, and a torrent of water gushed forth from the ground and extinguished the fire.
The martyr Theodore remained unharmed, and gave praise to God. The commander ascribed his deliverance to sorcery, so Saint Theodore suggested that he test the power of his gods by putting the pagan priest Dioscorus through the same trials.
The commander told Dioscorus to lie upon the red-hot plate, and call on the help of Zeus. Saint Dioscorus replied that he believed in Christ, and he was prepared to throw the idol of Zeus into the fire. Again the military commander commanded him to get on the heated plate. Saint Dioscorus fell at the knees of Saint Theodore, asking that he pray for him. Then he got onto the plate, crying out: “I thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, that You have numbered me among Your servants. Accept my soul in peace.” Then he died, having been delivered from terrible torment.
They continued to torture Saint Theodore. They tied him to wild horses, which began to run. But at the city walls the horses fell down and collapsed, and the martyr Theodore remained unharmed. Two soldiers, Socrates and Dionysius, saw how a fiery chariot came down from the heavens to Saint Theodore, on which the martyr was carried off.
The astonished soldiers shouted: “Great is the God of the Christians!” They seized them and on the next day threw them into a fiery furnace with the martyr Theodore. But a heavenly dew cooled the furnace, and the saints remained alive.
In the morning, the military commander ordered soldiers to look upon the burned bodies of the martyrs. The soldiers returned and reported that the three youths were unharmed. Saint Theodore’s mother, Philippa, encouraged the martyrs in their act.
The military commander told Saint Philippa to save her son, by urging him to offer sacrifice to the idols. Saint Philippa said that when her son was born it was revealed to her that he would be crucified for Christ. Hearing this, the military commander commanded them to crucify Saint Theodore, and to cut off the heads of the other martyrs. Saint Theodore hung on the cross for three days, offering prayers to God until he finally died.
Martyrs Isaac, Apollos, and Quadratus, of Nicomedia
The Holy Martyrs Isaac, Apollos and Quadratus were pagans who served at the court of the emperor Diocletian (284-305). They were among the spectators who witnessed the sufferings of the Holy Great Martyr George (April 23).
His faith, valor and miracles caused them to believe in Christ. The saints openly declared themselves Christians, and reproached the emperor for his impiety and cruelty. They were sentenced to death. The martyr Quadratus was beheaded with a sword, and the martyrs Apollos and Isaac perished by starvation (+ 303).
Saint Maximian, Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Maximian (or Maximus) was born in Rome to wealthy and pious parents. He was a guiless man who preferred to live far from worldly vanity. He was also learned, intelligent, and was known for his many virtues, the integrity of his life, and his incomparable character. Because of his pure and holy life, Patriarch Sisinίos of Constantinople ordained him as a priest. At his own expense, Saint Maximian would pay for the burial of persons who were conspicuous for the holiness of their lives.
After the heresiarch Nestorios was deposed and exiled, Saint Maximian became Patriarch on October 25, 431, with the fervent support of both the reigning Emperor Theodosios the Younger (408-450), and the faithful people.
Saint Maximian reposed peacefully on April 21, 434 (Great and Holy Thursday).
The Recovery of the Relics of Saint Theodore of Sanaxar
The Relics of Hieromonk Theodore (Ushakov) the restorer of the Monastery, were recovered on April 21, 1999, and he was glorified for local veneration on June 28/July 11, 1999.
Present at the celebrations and the rite of canonization, which was performed by the ruling Bishop, His Grace Bishop Barsanuphios of Saransk and Mordovia, the Archimandrite of the Monastery, and ruling bishops from the neighboring dioceses: His Eminence Archbishop Seraphim of Penza and Kuznetsk, and His Eminence Archbishop Proklos of Simbirsk and Melekes.
Saint Theodore is commemorated on February 19, (the day of his blessed repose), on April 21/May 21 (the recovery of his holy relics), and on May 23/June 5 (the Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov and Yaroslavl).
The relics of Saint Theodore of Sanaxar now rest in the cathedral church of Saint John the Baptist.
