Eastern Rite ~ Feasts of 13 October AM 7533

Today is the Sunday of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and of the Holy Martyrs Carpus, Papylas Agathodorus, and Agathonike.

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Today the Church remembers the 350 holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council under the holy Patriarch Tarasius (February 25).

The Synod of 787, the second to meet at Nicea, refuted the Iconoclast heresy during the reign of Empress Irene and her son Constantine VI.

The Council decreed that the veneration of icons was not idolatry (Exodus 20:4-5), because the honour shown to them is not directed to the wood or paint, but passes to the prototype (the person depicted). It also upheld the possibility of depicting Christ, Who became man and took flesh at His Incarnation. The Father, on the other hand, cannot be represented in His eternal nature, because “no man has seen God at any time” (John 1:18).

In Greek practice, the holy God-bearing Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council are commemorated on October 11 (if it is a Sunday), or on the Sunday which follows October 11. According to the Slavic menaion, however, if the eleventh falls on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, the service is moved to the preceding Sunday.

Troparion — Tone 8

Most glorious are You, O Christ our God! / You have established the Holy Fathers as lights on the earth! / Through them you have guided us to the true faith! / O greatly Compassionate One, glory to You!

Kontakion — Tone 6

The Son who shone forth from the Father / was ineffably born, two-fold in nature, of a woman. / Having beheld Him, we do not deny the image of His form, / but depict it piously and revere it faithfully. / Thus, keeping the True Faith, / the Church venerates the icon of Christ Incarnate.

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The Martyrs Carpus, Papylus, Agathodorus and Agathonike suffered at Pergamum during the persecution of Decius in the third century.

The governor of the district where the saints lived discovered that Carpus and Papylus did not celebrate the pagan festivals. He ordered that the transgressors be arrested and persuaded to accept the Roman pagan religion. The saints replied that they would never worship false gods. The judge then ordered them to be bound in iron chains and led through the city, and then to be tied to horses and dragged to the nearby city of Sardis.

Agathodorus and Agathonike voluntarily followed after Carpus and Papylus. Saint Agathonike was choked to death with ox sinews and Saints Carpus, Papylus and Agathodorus were beheaded in Sardis.

During his life, Saint Papylus was known for his gift of curing the sick. Since his martyrdom, he has granted healing to all who pray to him with faith.

Troparion — Tone 4

Your holy martyr Carpus and his companions, O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls

Kontakion — Tone 4

(Podoben: “As You were voluntarily raised...”)
The Master has granted your relics to those on earth / as a precious treasure and a fountain flowing with streams of healings; / they cleanse diseases of every kind / and give grace to souls in a never-ending stream; / and so with one accord we celebrate your feast with love, Carpus and Papylus.