Eastern Rite ~ Feasts of 2 December AM 7533

Today is the Feast of the Holy Prophet Habacuc and the Commemoration of the Passing into Eternal Life of Blessed Hieromartyr Ivan Sleziuk, Catacomb Bishop of Ivano-Frankivs’k and Confessor.

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The Holy Prophet Habacuc, the eighth of the Twelve Minor Prophets, was descended from the Tribe of Simeon, and he prophesied around 650 B.C.

The Prophet Habacuc foresaw the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the Babylonian Captivity and the later return of the captives to their native land. During the war with the Babylonians, the prophet withdrew to Arabia, where the following miracle occurred. When he was bringing dinner to the reapers, he met an angel of the Lord, and instantly by the strength of his spirit he was transported to Babylon, where at the time the Prophet Daniel was languishing in prison. The food intended for the reapers assuaged the hunger of the exhausted Prophet Daniel (Dan. 14:33-37).

After the end of the war with the Babylonians, the Prophet Habacuc returned to his homeland and died at a great old age. His relics were found at the time of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), together with the relics of the Prophet Micheas (August 14).

The Fourth Ode of the Psalter (“O Lord, I have heard thy report, and was afraid...”) is based on Habacuc 3:2-19.

Troparion — Tone 2

We celebrate the memory / of Your prophet Habacuc, O Lord; / through him, we entreat You, / save our souls.

Kontakion — Tone 8

Divinely eloquent Habacuc, / you announced to the world the coming forth of God from the south, from the Virgin. / Standing on the divine watch, you received a report from the radiant angel: / “You proclaimed the Resurrection of Christ to the world!” / Therefore in gladness we cry out to you: / “Rejoice, splendid adornment of the prophets!”

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Blessed Hieromartyr Ivan Sleziuk was born on 14 January 1896, in the village of Zhyvachiv, Zhyvachiv, in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1923 he was ordained to the Priesthood. In April of 1945 Bishop Hryhoriy Khomyshyn consecrated him as his co-adjutor with right of succession to the Eparchy of Stanyslaviv (now Ivano-Frankivs’k). On June 2, 1945, Bishop Ivan was arrested for his faith, and sentenced to ten years in the forced labour camps in Vorkuta, Russia. He was transferred in 1950 to Mordovia, RSFSR. He was released on 15 November 1954, and returned to Ivano-Frankivs’k, UkSSR. Arrested again for his faith in 1962, he was sentenced to five years in the forced labour camps. Released on 30 November 1968, he had to go often to the KGB for regular "talks." The last visit was two weeks before his death, which occurred 2 December 1973, in Ivano-Frankivs’k. He was declared Venerable on 24 April 2001 by Pope John Paul II by a decree of martyrdom and was Beatified on 27 June 2001, again by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine.

Blessed Hieromartyr Ivan is also commemorated on 27 June as one of the Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe.

Testimony of Bishop Sofron Dmyterko:

“As the deceased himself said, they locked him in a separate isolated area, and no one visited him. He stayed there for two hours. Then they told him: ‘You’re free to go.’ It was difficult for him to walk because, as he himself said, after this he felt dizzy, as if he had a fever, his skin was burning. The Sisters of St. Vincent, who helped him out, also said that the bishop returned from this ‘conversation’ with a very red face, he felt exhausted, stayed in bed and died two weeks later. There was and still is a suspicion that the KGB used radiation to get rid of one more Uniate bishop.” – From the testimony of Bishop Sofron Dmyterko