Eastern Rite ~ Feasts of 5 May AM 7534

Today is the Feasts of the Holy and Glorious Martyr Irene, of Our Venerable Father Nicephoras, Hegumen of the Monastery at Medicius, & of the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon of the Mother of God.

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The holy Great Martyr Irene was born in the city of Magedon in Persia during the fourth century. She was the daughter of Licinius, the pagan ruler of a certain small kingdom, and his wife Licinia, and at birth her parents named her Penelope.

Penelope was very beautiful, and her father kept her isolated in a high tower from the time she was six so that she would not be exposed to Christianity. He also placed thirteen young maidens in the tower with her. An old tutor by the name of Apellian was appointed to give her the best possible education. Apellian was a Christian, and during her lessons, he told the girl about Christ the Savior and taught her about the Christian Faith and Christian virtues.

When Penelope reached adolescence, her parents began to think about her marriage. One night Penelope beheld the following vision: a dove entered the tower with an olive branch in its beak, depositing it on the table. An eagle also flew in carrying a wreath of flowers, and left it on the table. Then a raven flew in through another window and dropped a snake on the table. In the morning Penelope woke up and wondered about the meaning of the things she had seen. She related them to her tutor Apellian and he explained that the dove symbolized her superior education, and that the olive branch represented the grace of God which is received in Baptism. The eagle and the olive branch indicated success in her future life. The snake signified that she would experience suffering and sorrow.

At the end of the conversation Apellian said that the Lord wished to betroth her to Himself and that Penelope would undergo much suffering for her heavenly Bridegroom. After this Penelope refused marriage, was baptized by the priest Timothy, and he named her Irene (peace). She even urged her own parents to become Christians. Shortly after being baptized, she smashed all her father’s idols to pieces.

Since Saint Irene had dedicated herself to Christ, she refused to marry any of the suitors her father had chosen for her. When Licinius learned that his daughter refused to worship the pagan gods, he was furious. He attempted to turn her from Christ by having her tortured. She was tied up and thrown beneath the hooves of wild horses so that they might trample her to death, but the horses remained motionless. Instead of harming the saint, one of the horses charged Licinius, seized his right hand and tore it from his arm. Then it knocked Licinius down and began to trample him to death. This caused a great deal of confusion among the people there but Irene consoled them with the words of Christ: “All things are possible to the one who believes” (Mark 9: 23). And indeed, with wondrous faith, she prayed and through her prayers Licinius rose unharmed in the presence of many eyewitnesses with his hand intact. Then, Licinius and his wife were baptized as Christians, along with almost 3000 others who turned away from the worship of inanimate idols. Licinius abandoned his domain and lived in the tower he had built for his daughter. There he spent the rest of his life in repentance.

Saint Irene lived in the house of her teacher Apellian, and she began to preach Christ among the pagans, leading them to the path of salvation.

When Sedekias (Yesdegerd), the new prefect of the city, heard of the miracles performed by the saint, he summoned Apellian and questioned him about Irene’s manner of life. Apellian replied that Irene, like other Christians, lived in strict temperance, devoting herself to constant prayer and reading holy books. Sedekias summoned the saint to him and urged her to stop preaching about Christ. He also attempted to force her to sacrifice to the idols. Saint Irene staunchly confessed her faith before the prefect, not fearing his wrath, and prepared to undergo suffering for Christ. By order of Sedekias she was thrown into a pit filled with vipers and serpents. The saint spent ten days in the pit and remained unharmed, for an angel of the Lord protected her and brought her food. Sedekias ascribed this miracle to sorcery, and he subjected Saint Irene to many other tortures, but she remained unharmed. Under the influence of her preaching and miracles even more people were converted to Christ, and turned away from the worship of inanimate idols.

Sedekias was deposed by his son Sapor, who persecuted Christians with an even greater zeal than his father had done. Saint Irene went to her home town of Magedon in Persia to meet Sapor and his army, and ask him to end the persecution. When he refused, Saint Irene prayed and his entire army was blinded. She prayed again and they received their sight once more. In spite of this, Sapor refused to recognize the power of God. Because of his insolence, he was struck and killed by a bolt of lightning.

After this, Saint Irene walked into the city and performed many miracles. She returned to the tower built by her father, accompanied by the priest Timothy. Through her teaching, she converted five thousand people to Christ.

Next, the saint went to the city of Callinicus, or Callinicum (possibly on the Euphrates River in Syria). The ruler of that place was King Numerian, the son of Sebastian. When she began to teach about Christ, she was arrested and tortured by the pagan authorities. They enclosed her inside three bronze oxen, one after another, which were heated until they were red-hot. When the Great Martyr was placed within the third ox, it began to walk about, and then it split asunder. Saint Irene emerged from it as if from the fires of hell. This resulted in thousands of souls converting to the faith of Christ.

Sensing the approach of death, Numerian instructed his eparch Babdonus to continue torturing the saint in order to force her to sacrifice to idols. Once again, the tortures were ineffective, and many people turned to Christ.

Christ’s holy martyr then traveled to the city of Constantina, forty miles northeast of Edessa. By 330, the Persian king Sapor II (309-379) had heard of Saint Irene’s great miracles. To prevent her from winning more people to Christ, she was arrested, beheaded, and then buried. However, God sent an angel to raise her up again, and she went into the city of Mesembria. After seeing her alive and hearing her preach, the local king was baptized with many of his subjects.

Wishing to convert even more pagans to Christianity, Saint Irene went to Ephesus, where she taught the people and performed many miracles. The Lord revealed to her that the end of her life was approaching. Then Saint Irene left the city accompanied by six people, including her former teacher Apellian. On the outskirts of the town, she found a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. After making the Sign of the Cross, she went inside, directing her companions to seal the entrance to the cave with a large stone, which they did. She also told them that that no one should move the stone until four days had passed.

Apellian returned after only two days, and found that the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. There are conflicting accounts about her holy relics being taken to Constantinople and other places, including Patras, Samos, and Patmos. According to the Western Martyrologies, Saint Irene was martyred in Thessaloniki after being thrown into the fire, while according to the Menologion of Emperor Basil II, Saint Irene completed her martyric contest by being beheaded.

Saint Irene led thousands of people to Christ through her preaching, and by her example. The Church continues to honor her memory and to seek her heavenly intercession. She is invoked by those wishing to effect a swift and happy marriage. In Greece, she is also the patron saint of policemen.

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I can find nothing regarding St Nicephoros except that he was the predecessor of St Nicetas as Hegumen of the Monastery at Medicius. All searches for him simply lead to St Nicetas.

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According to the iconographic models, the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Orans type -the Mother of God is depicted with her hands upraised, before her is the Divine Infant standing in the chalice. This is the Communion Chalice – an inexhaustible source of spiritual joy and consolation. The Most Holy Theotokos prays for all sinners, and declares that the Inexhaustible Chalice of heavenly help and mercy is prepared for every sufferer.

The Icon's appearance was preceded by an unusual incident which occurred in 1878 in Tula Province. A retired soldier was possessed by the passion of drunkenness. He drank everything that he had, and soon he became a beggar. His legs were paralyzed from abusing alcohol, but that didn't stop him, and he continued to drink. Once, in a dream, the former soldier, now a peasant, saw an Elder who ordered him to go to the city of Serpukhov to the Monastery of the Sovereign Lady Theotokos, where the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon of the Mother of God was located, and to have a Moleben served before it.

Since he had no money, and his legs were paralyzed, the peasant was unable to go. Then the Holy Elder appeared to him a second and a third time, menacingly commanding him to do as he was told. The retired soldier crawled to Serpukhov on all fours, stopping in one of the villages along the way to rest. To alleviate the man's pain and suffering, the old landlady rubbed his legs and laid him on the stove. The next day the soldier felt better, but the woman kept him for another night, rubbing his sore legs again. Leaning on two sticks, and then just one, the peasant slowly reached Serpukhov.

In the Monastery of the Sovereign Lady, he told the nuns about his wondrous dreams and asked that a Moleben be served before the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon of the Mother of God. His request confused the nuns, for no one in the Monastery knew of such an icon. Only after some time did they find the Icon hanging in the passage from the temple to the sacristy. On the reverse side was the inscription "Inexhaustible Chalice." In the countenence of Saint Barlaam of Serpukhov (May 5), the disciple of the Metropolitan Alexei, the peasant recognized the Holy Elder who had appeared to him in his dreams. The former soldier returned home from Serpukhov already freed from his pernicious passion.

News of the wonderworking Icon quickly spread throughout Russia. People suffering from drunkenness, as well as their relatives and friends, hastened to offer prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos asking her to heal them of their affliction. Many came afterward to thank the Sovereign Lady for her great mercy.

The wonderworking Inexhaustible Chalice Icon was kept in the Monastery of the Sovereign Lady until 1919, and after its closure, it was moved to the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas the White on Kaluzhskaya Street. The further fate of the original Icon is unknown.

In 1993, in Serpukhov's Vysotsk Monastery, and in 1995 in the revived Monastery of the Sovereign Lady, copies of the wonderworking Icon were made, and all the proportions and style characteristic of the original were preserved. All this marked the beginning of the revival of the Icon's veneration after many years of atheism.

People come from all over Russia, and from other countries, to venerate the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon. The wonderworking Icon is renowned as a speedy healier of those suffering from the ailments of drug addiction, alcoholism, and smoking. Notice that the Icon not only heals, but also helps to change a person's way of life, leading him to acknowledge his sins, repent, and return to a godly life.

Unfortunately, the exact day on which the Icon was revealed is not known. In the XIX century, the celebration in honor of the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon took place on November 27 (the same day as the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign) since both of these icons are similar in appearance.

At the end of the XX century, after the restoration of veneration of the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon, its celebration was made to coincide with the Feast Day of Venerable Barlaam of Serpukhov (May 5), since the revelation of the wonderworking Icon occurred through the intercession of that Saint. 

Troparion — Tone 4

O believers, let us turn today to the Divine and wonderworking Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, / who fills the hearts of the faithful with her mercy from the heavenly Ineffable Chalice, and shows them miracles; / seeing and hearing about these, / we celebrate spiritually and fervently exclaim: / “Most merciful Sovereign Lady, / heal our illnesses and passions, / entreating your Son Christ God to save our souls.”

Kontakion — Tone 4

Your womb was a Holy Throne, containing Christ God, the Heavenly Bread,1 / whoever eats it will not die;2 as the Nourisher of all, / the Theotokos, has said.

1 John 6:35.
2 John 6:54.