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- Holy Prophet Obadiah (Abdias)
- Obadiah's is the shortest prophetic book in the Old Testament. The
scriptures tell us little of where or when he lived. Some believe that
he is the Obadiah who served as steward of King Ahab's household and,
when Jezebel was killing the prophets, hid a hundred of them in a cave
and fed them. It is said that this Obadiah later became a disciple of
the Prophet Elijah (Elias). His name means "servant of God."
- Holy Martyr Barlaam of Antioch (304)
- Saint Barlaam was an old man, living in Antioch during the
persecution of Diocletian and Maximian. When he confessed Christ before
the Governor and refused to sacrifice to the idols, he was tortured for
days: his flesh was torn by iron claws and he was stretched on the
rack. When these conventional tortures failed, the Governor invented a
new torment: Barlaam's hand was stretched over an altar to the idols,
and a burning coal with incense was put in his palm. The torturers
reasoned that when pain forced him to drop the coal, they would be able
to say that he had offered sacrifice to the gods. But the holy Barlaam
held his hand steady and watched calmly as his hand was burnt up by the
coal. At last his hand fell to the ground and the Martyr gave up his
soul to God.
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In some accounts, St Barlaam survived his torments and
reposed in peace. Some have held that he came from Cappadocia rather
than Antioch, but this is probably incorrect. Saint John Chrysostom
once delivered a homily at St Barlaam's tomb in Antioch on his feast
day.
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source: http://www.abbamoses.com |
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Category: Today's saint |
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