- Holy Prophet Joel
- His name means "The Lord is God." He is counted second among the
"minor Prophets." The Old Testament book of his prophecies, which bears
his name, includes his prophecy of the coming of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost (Joel 2:28), which was quoted by the Apostle Peter (Acts
2:17).
- Holy Martyr Varus and those with him
- "He was a Roman officer in Egypt and a secret Christian. When seven
Christian teachers were thrown into prison, Varus kept visiting them
there, supplying their needs and serving them with great devotion. He
marvelled at the martyrs, and grieved that fear would not let him stand
up as a martyr for Christ. These men of God gave him courage, and Varus
made up his mind to go and be tortured with them. One of these godly men
died in prison, and, when the wicked governor had the martyrs brought
before him and saw that there were only six of them, he asked where the
seventh was. 'I am the seventh!', cried Varus. The furious governor had
him tortured first. He ordered that he be flogged with dry thongs, then
that he be tied to a tree and hacked to pieces bit by bit with knives
until he gave his holy soul to God. His body was then thrown onto a
dung-heap. A woman of Palestinian birth, Cleopatra, the widow of an
officer, was there with her son John. She secretly took the relics of
the holy martyr off the dung-heap and buried them in her house. She then
asked the governor's permission to take the body of her dead husband
back from Egypt to Palestine. As she was an officer's widow, the
governor at once gave her permission. This blessed Christian woman,
Cleopatra, however, took the body, not of her husband but of the holy
martyr Varus, taking it to her village of Edra, near Tabor, and burying
it there. She then built a church dedicated to St Varus, and he appeared
to her often from the other world, resplendent as an angel of God."
Saint John of Rila Saint John of Rila founded the renowned monastery of that name in Bulgaria in
the tenth century. Over the centuries, great and wondrous healings
have flowed from his holy relics. source: http://www.abbamoses.com |
