Lives of all saints commemorated on July 15

The Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the First Six Ecumenical Councils.

In the Ninth Article of the Nicea-Constantinople Symbol of Faith proclaimed by the holy Fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils, we confess our faith in “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.” By virtue of the catholic nature of the Church, an Ecumenical Council is the Church’s supreme authority, and possesses the competence to resolve major questions of church life. An Ecumenical Council is comprised of archpastors and pastors of the Church, and representatives of all the local Churches, from every land of the “oikumene” (i.e. from all the whole inhabited world).

The Orthodox Church acknowledges Seven Holy Ecumenical Councils:

The First Ecumenical Council (Nicea I) (May 29, and also on seventh Sunday after Pascha) was convened in the year 325 against the heresy of Arius, in the city of Nicea in Bithynia under Saint Constantine the Great, Equal of the Apostles.

The Second Ecumenical Council (Constantinople I) (May 22) was convened in the year 381 against the heresy of Macedonias, by the emperor Theodosius the Great.

The Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus) (September 9) was convened in the year 431 against the heresy of Nestorius, in the city of Ephesus by the emperor Theodosius the Younger.

The Fourth Ecumenical Council (Chalcedon) (July 16) was convened in the year 451, against the Monophysite heresy, in the city of Chalcedon under the emperor Marcian.

The Fifth Ecumenical Council (Constnatinople II) (July 25) “Concerning the Three Chapters,” was convened in the year 553, under the emperor Justinian the Great.

The Sixth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople III) (January 23) met during the years 680-681, to fight the Monothelite heresy, under the emperor Constantine Pogonatos.

The fact that the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicea II) is not commemorated today testifies to the antiquity of today’s celebration. The Seventh Council, commemorated on the Sunday nearest to October 11, was convened at Nicea in the year 787 against the Iconoclast heresy, under the emperor Constantine and his mother Irene.

The Church venerates the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils because Christ has established them as “lights upon the earth,” guiding us to the true Faith. “Clad in the garment of truth,” the doctrine of the Fathers, based upon the preaching of the Apostles, has established one faith for the Church. The Ecumenical Councils, are the highest authority in the Church. Such Councils, guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and accepted by the Church, are infallible.

The Orthodox Church’s conciliar definitions of dogma have the highest authority, and such definitions always begin with the Apostolic formula: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...” (Acts 15: 28).

The Ecumenical Councils were always convened for a specific reason: to combat false opinions and heresies, and to clarify the Orthodox Church’s teaching. But the Holy Spirit has thus seen fit, that the dogmas, the truths of faith, immutable in their content and scope, constantly and consequently are revealed by the conciliar mind of the Church, and are given precision by the holy Fathers within theological concepts and terms in exactly such measure as is needed by the Church itself for its economy of salvation. The Church, in expounding its dogmas, is dealing with the concerns of a given historical moment, “not revealing everything in haste and thoughtlessly, nor indeed, ultimately hiding something” (Saint Gregory the Theologian).

A brief summary of the dogmatic theology of the First Six Ecumenical Councils is formulated and contained in the First Canon of the Council of Trullo (also known as Quinisext), held in the year 692. The 318 Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council are spoken of in this Canon I of Trullo as having: “with unanimity of faith revealed and declared to us the consubstantiality of the three Persons of the Divine nature and, ... instructing the faithful to adore the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with one worship, they cast down and dispelled the false teaching about different degrees of Divinity.”

The 150 Holy Fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council left their mark on the theology of the Church concerning the Holy Spirit, “repudiating the teaching of Macedonius, as one who wished to divide the inseparable Unity, so that there might be no perfect mystery of our hope.”

The 200 God-bearing Fathers of the Third Ecumenical Council expounded the teaching that “Christ, the Incarnate Son of God is One.” They also confessed that “she who bore Him without seed was the spotless Ever-Virgin, glorifying her as truly the Mother of God.

The 630 Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council decreed that “the One Christ, the Son of God... must be glorified in two natures.”

The 165 God-bearing Holy Fathers of the Fifth Ecumenical Council “in synod anathematized and repudiated Theodore of Mopsuestia (the teacher of Nestorius), and Origen, and Didymus, and Evagrius, renovators of the Hellenic teaching about the transmigration of souls and the transmutation of bodies and the impieties they raised against the resurrection of the dead.”

The 170 Holy Fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council “taught that we ought to confess two natural volitions, or two wills [trans. note: one divine, and the other human], and two natural operations (energies) in Him Who was incarnate for our salvation, Jesus Christ, our true God.”

In decisive moments of Church history, the holy Ecumenical Councils promulgated their dogmatic definitions, as trustworthy delimitations in the spiritual battle for the purity of Orthodoxy, which will last until such time, as “all shall come into the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph. 4: 13). In the struggle with new heresies, the Church does not abandon its former dogmatic concepts nor replace them with some sort of new formulations. The dogmatic formulae of the Holy Ecumenical Councils need never be superseded, they remain always contemporary to the living Tradition of the Church. Therefore the Church proclaims:

“The faith of all in the Church of God hath been glorified by men, which were luminaries in the world, cleaving to the Word of Life, so that it be observed firmly, and that it dwell unshakably until the end of the ages, conjointly with their God-bestown writings and dogmas. We reject and we anathematize all whom they have rejected and anathematized, as being enemies of Truth. And if anyone does not cleave to nor admit the aforementioned pious dogmas, and does not teach or preach accordingly, let him be anathema” (Canon I of the Council of Trullo).

In addition to their dogmatic definitions, the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils exerted great efforts towards the strengthening of church discipline. Local Councils promulgated their disciplinary canons according to the circumstances of the time and place, frequently differing among themselves in various particulars.

The universal unity of the Orthodox Church required unity also in canonical practice, i.e. a conciliar deliberation and affirmation of the most important canonical norms by the Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils. Thus, according to conciliar judgment, the Church has accepted: 20 Canons from the First, 7 Canons from the Second, 8 Canons from the Third, and 30 Canons from the Fourth Ecumenical Synods. The Fifth and the Sixth Councils concerned themselves only with resolving dogmatic questions, and did not leave behind any disciplinary canons.

The need to establish in codified form the customary practices during the years 451-680, and ultimately to compile a canonical codex for the Orthodox Church, occasioned the convening of a special Council, which was wholly devoted to the general application of churchly rules. This was convened in the year 692. The Council “in the Imperial Palace” or “Under the Arches” (in Greek “en trullo”), came to be called the Council in Trullo. It is also called the “Quinisext” [meaning the “fifth and sixth”], because it is considered to have completed the activities of the Fifth and Sixth Councils, or rather that it was simply a direct continuation of the Sixth Ecumenical Council itself, separated by just a few years.

The Council in Trullo, with its 102 Canons (more than of all the Ecumenical Synods combined), had a tremendous significance in the history of the canonical theology of the Orthodox Church. It might be said that the Fathers of this Council produced a complete compilation of the basic codex from the relevant sources for the Orthodox Church’s canons. Listing through in chronological order, and having been accepted by the Church the Canons of the Holy Apostles, and the Canons of the Holy Ecumenical and the Local Councils and of the holy Fathers, the Trullo Council declared: “Let no one be permitted to alter or to annul the aforementioned canons, nor in place of these put forth, or to accept others, made of spurious inscription” (2nd Canon of the Council in Trullo).

Church canons, sanctified by the authority of the first Six Ecumenical Councils (including the rules of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787, and the Constantinople Councils of 861 and 879, which were added later under the holy Patriarch Photius), form the basis of THE RUDDER, or KORMCHAYA KNIGA (a canon law codex known as “Syntagma” or “Nomokanon” in 14 titles). In its repository of grace is expressed a canonical norm, a connection to every era, and a guide for all the local Orthodox Churches in churchly practice.

New historical conditions can lead to the change of some particular external aspect of the life of the Church. This makes creative canonical activity necessary in the conciliar reasoning of the Church, in order to reconcile the external norms of churchly life with historical circumstances. The details of canonical regulation are not fully developed for the various eras of churchly organization all at once. With every push to either forsake the literal meaning of a canon, or to fulfill and develop it, the Church again and again turns for reasoning and guidance to the eternal legacy of the Holy Ecumenical Councils, to the inexhaustable treasury of dogmatic and canonical truths.

The Holy Equal of the Apostles and Great Prince Vladimir, the youngest son of Prince Svyatoslav of Kiev, was born in 963. He was only six years old when his grandmother, the Holy Princess Olga (July 11), who had raised him, reposed, and his father sent him to reign in Novgorod under the tutelage of the voivode Dobryn, his mother's brother. Princess Malusha, who still bore her Scandinavian name Malchrid, was a Christian. After Saint Vladimir converted to Christianity and founded the church of the Tithes at Kiev, she donated her estate to it.

Saint Olga's son Prince Svyatoslav was killed in battle with the Pechenegs three years after his mother's repose. Then his sons' tutors fought a war among themselves. Christian Kiev and pagan Novgorod struggled for supremacy. After the death of his father Svyatoslav in 972, Prince Vladimir of Novgorod was forced to flee to Scandinavia in 976, Vladimir's brother Yaropolk murdered his other brother Oleg of Drelinia and conquered Rus'. For the rest of his life Prince Vladimir mourned their deaths.

At the age of seventeen he began to rule on his own. He spent the first six years of his reign on military campaigns, leading his army personally, reconquering Novgorod from Yaropolk. By 980, Vladimir had consolidated the territory of Kievan Rus' from what is now Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. In addition, he strengthened the frontiers against the incursions of Bulgarians, Baltic tribes, and Eastern nomads.

All the Slavic tribes from the Carpathians and the Neman, and the city of Gorodyon (Grodno) to Beloozero, Anka and Volga united to form a single whole – the Russian land (Русскую землo), and they were called Russians. In gratitude for his victory at Kiev he set up idols of pagan gods - Perun and Beles - and offered them human sacrifices. In ancient times, the Slavs did not have idols and sacrifices, but adopted them much later from other pagan lands.

In the VI century, the Greeks said of them: "They recognize one God as the Ruler of the whole world." He was called Svarog, which means "blue sky." Perun, Veles, and other, lesser deities were thought to be his children. The Slavs believed in the immortality of the soul and in the afterlife, which predisposed them toward Christianity.

In the year 860 the Russians attacked Constantinople from the sea, but the Greeks immersed the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in the ocean. The sea became agitated, and the Russian ships were swept away and retreated. After that, they sent an embassy to Constantinople to request Baptism. This was the first Baptism of Rus'.

Also in 860 Saint Cyril, the enlightener of the Slavs, baptized 200 families in the southern Russian steppes. He made his own translation of the Gospel and the Psalter. Metropolitan Michael was sent to care for the converts, and the Prince gathered the people and called them to be baptized. The elders agreed, but they demanded a miracle. They wanted a Gospel book to be thrown into the fire without being burnt. The Gospel was thrown in, the miracle occurred, and the people were baptized. This was the second Baptism of Rus'.

The third took place under Princess Olga. By that time, there were already many Christians in Kiev and there was a church dedicated to the Prophet Elijah. After Saint Olga's repose, the spread of Christianity was halted temporarily, but not for long. The time of Prince Vladimir had come.

In those days, Kiev was a large trading city. Merchants came from all over the world, as well as preachers of various religions. Saint Vladimir wanted to unite his people, not just under one government, but also under one Faith. The Prince sent envoys to various countries to see which religion would be most suitable for his people. When Vladimir's emissaries returned from Constantinople, they told him that when they stood in the church of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), they did not know "whether they were on earth or in heaven."

Kiev was located on a great waterway from the Varangian region to Constantinople; that is, from Scandinavia to the Byzantine Empire. The proximity of Orthodox Constantinople may have influenced Saint Vladimir, and the memory of Christianity, recently destroyed by Svyatoslav, was revived. According to the XI century writer Jacob Mnikh, the young Prince Vladimir remembered the example of his grandmother, Princess Olga, "the wisest of men," as she was called by her contemporaries. Furthermore, he could not help being influenced by the example of his mother, the Christian Princess Malusha, as well. The heroic death of Holy Protomartyrs Theodore and his son John (July 12) in 983 also made a lasting impression on him.

In one Icelandic saga it is said that in his youth, King Olaf of Norway had lived for a long time at the court of "the Gardarikian king Vol'demar" (Gardarika, that is, the land of cities. The Scandinavians called it Northwestern Russia). When he reached adulthood, he left there on military campaigns, according to the custom of the Scandinavians of that time. While upon the sea, he heard a heavenly voice calling him to Constantinople, where he would come to know the only true God. There he was baptized, and on the way back, he stopped to see King Vol'demar and urged him to convert to Christianity. When he returned from his campaign as a Christian, King Olaf encouraged his people to be baptized.

Prince Vladimir, however, was still a pagan, and he adhered to pagan customs. He also had five wives. How he was brought to Christ, and how his conversion was took place, remains a mystery.

Metropolitan Hilarion († 1053) in his "Word of Law and Grace," addressed the departed Great Prince Vladimir, saying, "How did you believe? How was your mind moved to love what is unseen, and to strive for heavenly things? You have not seen any Apostle who, after coming to your land, inclined your heart to humility. Guided only by your kind heart and sharp mind, you realized that there is one God."

He continued: "Upon him came a visitation of the Most High, and the eye of the All-Merciful God looked upon him; and a thought shone forth in his heart - he realized the futility of idol worship, and sought the one God, the Creator of all things, both visible and invisible. He had heard about the Orthodox, and the strong Christ-loving faith of the Byzantine Empire, who honor the one God in Trinity, and worship Him. When he heard all this, he was aflame in spirit, and with all his heart he longed to be a Christian, and to convert his entire land to Christianity."

As to the reason for the conversion of Saint Vladimir to Christ, another writer of the XI century, Saint Nestor the Chronicler (October 27) states in his Life of Saints Boris and Gleb: "In those years there was a Prince named Vladimir, who ruled the Russian land. He was righteous and merciful to the poor, to orphans, and to widows, but he was a pagan. God intervened and made him a Christian, just like Saint Eustathios Plakidas (September 20). So Prince Vladimir became a Christian, receiving the name Basil at his Baptism."

Although Venerable Nestor the Chronicler pointed out that the Holy Prince Vladimir's experience was similar to that of Saint Eustathios, the exact details are not known. Meanwhile, by the will of God, external events led Saint Vladimir to the fulfillment of his desire. The Byzantine Emperors Constantine and Basil asked Vladimir to help them put down the revolt of Phokas. Vladimir agreed, but asked for the hand of Princess Anna Porphyrogenita, in return. The Emperors agreed, and sent clergy and the sacred utensils required for the Baptism of Rus'.

But when Vladimir defeated Phokas, they did not fulfill their obligations. Then Vladimir conquered Korsun, thereby forcing the Emperors to keep their promise. He returned Korsun to the Greeks as a ransom for his bride. His army was baptized and, according to the "Tale of the Baptism of Russia," he himself was baptized. This was in 988, and the Chronicle says that before Baptism he became blind, but received his sight when he came out of the water. However, Jacob Mnikh (XI century) writes that Vladimir captured Korsun when he was already a Christian, and that he was baptized in 987 at his estate Vasiliev (now Vasilkov).

When Prince Vladimir returned to Kiev, the Orthodox priests who came with him were obviously Bulgarians (Bulgaria was then subject to the Byzantine Empire). They baptized the people of Kiev at the confluence of the river, then called Khreshchatyk, with the Dnieper. They brought with them liturgical books translated into Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodios (May 11), the enlighteners of the Slavs. With them was Metropolitan Michael of Kiev (June 15, September 30). At Kiev, where people had heard of Christianity, the Faith was quickly established. In the north, at Novgorod, Rostov, and Murom, paganism lasted longer, and it took a great deal of effort for princes and preachers to uproot it.

Prince Vladimir was twenty-five years old at the Baptism of Rus'. With all the fervor of youth, he began to fulfill the precepts of Christ, especially those about helping the poor, sick and disadvantaged. This assistance was provided on a large scale. Throughout Russia, the poor were sought and were given everything they needed, and the sick also received treatment. During Saint Vladimir's reign, the state served the people, which was very unusual in those days. In ancient times there was no death penalty in Russia. Instead, there was a "penalty," that is, a monetary fine. Saint Vladimir confirmed this custom, saying: "I am afraid of sin." This custom became law and entered the Code of Laws compiled under his son, Great Prince Yaroslav under the name "Russkaya Pravda."

The people loved their Prince, praising him in songs and epics, calling him the Beautiful Sun. Saint Vladimir summoned the elders of the people from all over Russia for meetings and provided feasts for them. The memory of these feasts is also preserved in the epics. He built new cities, such as Volodymyr-Volynsky (where his palace once stood), Vladimir in the land of Suzdal, and others. He strengthened the boundaries of his possessions as a defense against the neighboring pagan tribes. In order to unite Russia, he sent his sons to rule in different cities: at Rostov, Murom, Novgorod, Polotsk, and other places. Soon the influence of the Varangians began to wane, and the importance of the Slavs increased. In Kiev, at the place where the Russian Protomartyrs Theodore and John were murdered, he built the church of the Tithes and dedicated it to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, donating a tenth of his income for its upkeep.

The Holy Prince Vladimir reposed on July 15, 1015 in his beloved village of Berestov and was buried in the church of the Tithes. A piece of his holy relics was kept in Holy Wisdom Cathedral, established by his son, Great Prince Yaroslav the Wise.

The Feast Day of Saint Vladimir was instituted by Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23) after May 15, 1240, because of Saint Vladimir's help and intercession at Saint Alexander's renowned victory over the Crusaders at the Neva River. In Russia, the Church veneration of the Holy Prince began much earlier. In Saint Hilarion's "Word of Law and Grace," the holy Prince is called "an apostolic sovereign," similar to Saint Constantine (May 20); and his evangelization of the Russian land is likened to the preaching of the Gospel by the Holy Apostles.

Saint Vladimir is commemorated on July 15 (the day of his repose) and on the second Sunday of Great Lent, along with the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves, and all Saints who shone forth in Little Russia.

The Holy Martyrs Quiricus and Julitta lived in the city of Iconium in the province of Lykaoneia in Asia Minor.

Saint Julitta was a Christian, descended from an illustrious family. Widowed early on, she raised her three-year-old son Quiricus on her own. In those days men, women, and even young children entered the contest and obtained imperishable crowns from Christ. During Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians, Saint Julitta fled the city with her son and two trustworthy handmaidens, leaving behind her home, her property, and her servants.

Concealing her noble rank, she went first to Seleukeίa, and then to Tarsus, where she was recognized, arrested, and brought to trial before the ruler Alexander. Strengthened by the Lord, she answered the judge’s questions, and firmly confessed her faith in Christ.

The ruler ordered Julitta to be stretched out and beaten. During her torments, Saint Julitta kept repeating, “I am a Christian, and I will not offer sacrifice to demons.”

The little boy Quiricus cried when he saw his mother being tortured, and wanted to go to her. The ruler Alexander tried to sit him on his lap, but the boy kicked him in the stomach and shouted, “Let me go to my mother, I am a Christian.”

Infuriated, Alexander took the child by the foot and threw him down the stone steps of the tribunal, and so Saint Quiricus struck his head on the sharp edges and died.

Saint Julitta, seeing the broken body of her son, gave thanks to God that He had allowed her child to be perfected before her, and to receive the unfading crown of martyrdom. After her sides had been raked with hooks, and hot pitch had been poured over her feet, Saint Julitta was beheaded with a sword in the year 304 or 305. Secretly, her two maids buried the bodies of the Martyrs in a field.

The relics of Saints Quiricus and Julitta were uncovered during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great (May 21). A monastery was built near Constantinople in honor of these holy martyrs, and a church was built not far from Jerusalem.

The head of Saint Quiricus is in Grigoriou Monastery on Mount Athos. Portions of the relics of Saint Julitta may be found in the following Monasteries on Mount Athos: the Greatest Lavra, Simonopetra, Xenophontos, and Dionysiou, as well as at Palaiokastro on Kerkyra, and Kykko Monastery on Cyprus.

We pray to Saints Quiricus and Julitta for family happiness, and for the restoration of sick children to health.

This courageous soldier of Christ was from the island of Tenedos, which lies opposite the renowned city of Troy, and he was one of the first Christians to be put to death during the persecution of the Church under Diocletian in the early IV century.

Since Saint Aboudimos would not agree to worship idols, or to eat any food which had been sacrificed to them, he was bound and severely beaten. All the while he kept shouting, “I am a Christian.” Then they broke his ribs with iron nails; and when he continued to confess Christ, they beheaded him.

The Saint’s holy relics were seen on the island of Tenedos at the beginning of the XII century by the Russian pilgrim Daniel.