Eastern Rite ~ Feasts of 20 November AM 7533

Today is the Forefeast of the Entrance of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple, and the Feasts of Our Venerable Father Gregory of Decapolis, of Our Holy Father Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople, and the Commemoration of Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska, First Superior of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate.

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The Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple has only one day of forefeast. The hymns for today praise Saint Anna for bringing her daughter, the living temple of God, to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The three Old Testament readings at Great Vespers refer to the Temple. The first lesson (Exodus 40:1-5, 9-10, 16, 34-35) refers to the arrangement of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation (a portable sanctuary which was carried by the Israelites in their wanderings). The second lesson (III Kings/I Kings 7:51; 8:1, 3-7, 9-11) describes the dedication of Solomon’s Temple. The third lesson (Ezekiel 43:27-44:4) speaks of the gate of the sanctuary which faces east. God enters through this gate, which is shut so that no one else can enter by it.

Troparion — Tone 4

Today Anna bequeaths joy to all instead of sorrow by bringing forth her fruit, the only ever-Virgin. / In fulfilment of her vow, / today with joy she brings to the temple of the Lord / the true temple and pure Mother of God the Word.

Kontakion — Tone 4

Today the universe is filled with joy / at the glorious feast of the Mother of God, and cries out: / “She is the heavenly tabernacle.”

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Saint Gregory the Decapolite was born in the Isaurian city of Decapolis (ten cities) in the eighth century. From his childhood, he loved the temple of God and church services. He read the Holy Scripture constantly and with reverence.

In order to avoid the marriage which his parents had intended for him, he secretly left home. He spent all his life wandering: he was in Constantinople, Rome, Corinth, and he lived as an ascetic on Olympus for a while. Saint Gregory preached the Word of God everywhere, denouncing the Iconoclast heresy, strengthening the faith and fortitude of the Catolics, whom the heretics in those times oppressed, tortured and imprisoned.

Through his ascetic effort and prayer, Saint Gregory attained the gifts of prophecy and wonderworking. After overcoming the passions and reaching the height of virtue, he was permitted to hear angelic singing in praise of the Holy Trinity. Saint Gregory left the monastery of Saint Menas near Thessalonica, where he had laboured for a long time, and he went again to Constantinople in order to combat the Iconoclast heresy. At the capital, a grievous illness undermined his strength, and he departed to the Lord in the year 816.

Saint Gregory was buried at a monastery in Constantinople, and many miracles took place at his tomb. As a result, the monks removed the holy relics of Saint Gregory and enshrined them in the church where people could venerate them.

When Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, the relics of Saint Gregory were carried to the region of the Danube by a Turkish official. In 1498 Barbu Craiovescu, the Ban of the Romanian Land (Wallachia) heard of the miracles performed by the holy relics and bought them for a considerable sum of money. Barbu Craiovescu placed the relics in the main church of Bistritsa Monastery which he founded in Rimnicu Vilcea, where they remain to the present day.

A small book describing the miracles and healings performed by Saint Gregory the Decapolite in Romania has been written by Abbess Olga Gologan, who reposed in 1972.

Troparion — Tone 4

The twofold lamps of divine gifts, / Proclus, shepherd of New Rome, and Gregory, scion of Decapolis, / guide us by the light of grace as divinely-inspired fathers. / Let us draw near and eagerly beseech them, / that we may receive forgiveness and salvation of our souls.

Kontakion — Tone 3

The Church knows you to be a brilliant sun / enlightening all with the rays of healing and the beauty of virtue. / Therefore, as we celebrate your honoured memory, / we glorify your struggles, ever-blest and all-wise father Gregory.

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Saint Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople, from his early years devoted all his time to prayer and the study of Holy Scripture. The Lord granted him the great good fortune to be a disciple of Saint John Chrysostom (November 13), who at first ordained him as a deacon, and then to the holy priesthood. He witnessed the appearance of the Apostle Paul to Saint John Chrysostom. Saint Proclus received from his teacher a profound understanding of Holy Scripture and learned to elucidate his thoughts in a polished form.

After the exile and death of Saint John Chrysostom, the holy Patriarch of Constantinople Sisinius (426-427) consecrated Saint Proclus as bishop of the city of Kyzikos, but under the influence of Nestorian heretics, he was expelled by his flock there.

Saint Proclus then returned to the capital and preached the Word of God in the churches of Constantinople, strengthening listeners in the Orthodox Faith and denouncing the impiety of the heretics. He once preached a sermon before Nestorius in which he fearlessly defended the title “Theotokos” in speaking of the Holy Virgin. Upon the death of the Patriarch Saint Sisinius, Saint Proclus was chosen to take his place. Having thus been made Patriarch of Constantinople, he guided the Church over the course of twelve years (434-447). By the efforts of Saint Proclus, the relics of Saint John Chrysostom were transferred from Comana to Constantinople in the time of the holy emperor Saint Theodosius II (408-450).

When Saint Proclus was Patriarch, the Empire suffered destructive earthquakes, lasting for several months. At Bithynia, in the Hellespont, and in Phrygia cities were devastated, rivers disappeared from the face of the earth, and terrible flooding occurred in previously dry places. The people of Constantinople came out of the city with the patriarch and emperor at their head and offered prayers for an end to the unprecedented calamities.

During one prayer service, a boy from the crowd was snatched up into the air by an unseen force and carried up to such a height that he was no longer to be seen by human eyes. Then, whole and unharmed, the child was lowered to the ground and he reported that he heard and he saw the angels glorifying God singing: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal.” All the people began to sing this Trisagion Prayer, adding to it the refrain, “Have mercy on us!” Then the earthquakes stopped. The Byzantine Churches sings still this prayer at divine services to this very day.

The Constantinople flock esteemed their Patriarch for his ascetic life, for his concern about the downtrodden, and for his preaching. Many works of the saint have survived to the present day. Best known are his discourses against the Nestorians, two tracts of the Saint in praise of the Mother of God, and four tracts on the Nativity of Christ, setting forth the Orthodox teaching about the Incarnation of the Son of God. The activity of the holy patriarch in establishing decorum in all the church affairs gained him universal esteem. Surrounded by love and respect, Saint Proclus departed to the Lord after serving as Patriarch for twenty years.

Troparion — Tone 4

The twofold lamps of divine gifts, / Proclus, shepherd of New Rome, and Gregory, scion of Decapolis, / guide us by the light of grace as divinely-inspired fathers. / Let us draw near and eagerly beseech them, / that we may receive forgiveness and salvation of our souls.

Kontakion — Tone 4

Today with the most revered of all cities / we fittingly celebrate your honoured translation to heaven, / Father of Fathers, wise Proclus.

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Blessed Josaphata Michaelina Hordashevska was the first member of the Sisters Servant of Mary Immaculate. In 1869, Michaelina Hordashevska was born in Lviv. At the age of 18, she decided to consecrate her life to God in a contemplative monastery of the Order of St Basil the Great, then the only Eastern-rite woman's congregation. When the Basilians decided to establish a woman's congregation that focused on the active life, Michaelina was elected to be the first leader. When she agreed, she was sent to the Felician sisters to give her the experience of active paramonastic life. Michaelina took the name "Josaphata", in honour of the Ukrainian martyr St Josaphat Kuntsevych. She was the first superior of the young sisters there, training them in the spirit and charisma of the Sisters Servants: "serve your people where the need is greatest". At the age of 49, she died amidst terrible suffering from bone cancer. She is buried in the generalate of the Sisters Servants in Rome. She was Beatified by John Paul II on 27 June 2001 in Lviv.