The holy martyr Eustace was a Roman military leader in the time of the emperors Titus and Trajan. He was a righteous and merciful pagan. One day while hunting, he found a stag. In the stag’s antlers, a cross appeared, and Eustace heard a voice telling him to find a Christian priest and be baptized. He and his whole family were baptized, and then left Rome for Egypt on their way to Jerusalem. On the journey, they were all separated. Years later, they found each other again only to be martyred after confessing for Christ in front of the emperor Hadrian.
The holy martyr Prince Michael of Chernigov was a sickly child who was known for his great piety. In his youth he was healed by the intercession of St. Nikeras the Stylite of Pereyaslavl. When the Mongol horde invaded and conquered the area in 1240, Prince Michael and his counselor Theodore went to meet the Mongol khan. A pagan priest demanded the two worship fire before their meeting, but the saints refused. They had come prepared to confess for Christ. Prince Michael was beaten and beheaded. The Mongols promised Theodore great honor if he participated in a pagan ritual, but he steadfastly refused, and followed the path of his prince. He too was beheaded. The confessors’ unwavering faith impressed the khans so much so that they no longer required the conquered Russians to perform any pagan rituals.
Troparion – martyrs
Your martyrs, O Lord our God, in their struggles received incorruptible crowns from You. Armed with Your strength, they brought down the tyrants and broke the cowardly valor of demons. Through their prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.
Troparion – confessor
Having completed your life as martyrs, having been adorned with the crowns of confessors flowing up to the heavens, O wise Michael, pray to Christ our God to protect your country according to his great mercy.
Kontakion – martyr
O holy Eustace, you were an imitator of Christ in His passion. You drank of His cup with courage and thereby became a sharer of His glory, receiving divine forgiveness from on high from the God of all.
Kontakion – confessors
Perceiving an earthly kingdom as nothing and having abandoned passing glory, you came to the labor of voluntary ascetic effort. You preached the Trinity to the impure torturers, O passion-bearer Michael and brave Theodore. Standing before the King of Powers, pray to protect your country without harm, and for us who venerate you unceasingly.
Epistle
1 Corinthians 4:17 – 5:5
Brothers and sisters: I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Christ, just as I teach them in all the churches. Some have grown full of self-importance, thinking that I will not come to you. But I shall come to you soon, the Lord willing, and find out, not what they say, but what they can do. The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. Which do you prefer, that I come to you with a rod, or with love and a gentle spirit?
It is actually reported that there is lewd conduct among you of a kind not even found among the pagans-a man living with his father’s wife. Still you continue to be self-satisfied, instead of grieving, and getting rid of the offender! As for me, though absent in body I am present in spirit, and have already passed sentence in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the man who did this deed. United in spirit with you and empowered by our Lord Jesus, I hand him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Gospel
Matthew 24: 1-13
At that time Jesus left the temple precincts, and his disciples came up and pointed out to him the buildings of the temple area. His comment was: “Do you see all these buildings? I assure you, not one stone will be left on another–it will all be torn down.” While he was seated on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: “Tell us, when will all this occur? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the world?”
In reply Jesus said to them: “Be on guard! Let no one mislead you. Many will come attempting to impersonate me. ‘I am the Messiah!’ they will claim, and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed. Such things are bound to happen, but that is not yet the end. Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another. There will be famine and pestilence and earthquakes in many places. These are the early stages of the birth pangs. They will hand you over to torture and kill you. Indeed, you will be hated by nations on my account. Many will falter then, betraying and hating one another. False prophets will rise in great numbers to mislead many. Because of the increase of evil, the love of most will grow cold. The man who holds out to the end, however, is the one who will see salvation.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Friday, September 19 –
