Feb. 14 – Ven. Avksentiy (Auxentius)

The Venerable Avksentiy was at first a famous nobleman at the court of the Greek emperor Feodosiy the Younger, and he was distinguished by honest and diligent service. The splendor of court life aroused in him a disgust for worldly glory and wealth, and he took monastic vows in one of the monasteries in the capital, Constantinople. But soon he withdrew from the noisy capital to Bithynia, to Mount Oxia, and living as a recluse, he was granted the gift of working miracles and of foresight. Once two men came to him: an Orthodox Christian and a heretic. The first he received with love, but he would not even speak with the latter. The heretic was offended and began to revile the righteous man, but he was punished with a severe illness. When he repented and came to the venerable one to ask forgiveness, he was forgiven and healed. St. Avksentiy also learned and told the brethren about the death of St. Simeon the Stylite (memory September 1). He attended the Fourth Ecumenical Council. He reposed in great old age, around the year 470.

St. Kirill (in the world called Konstantin) was a philosopher and teacher of the Slavs in the Christian faith, together with his brother Mefodiy. He came from a noble family. He was raised together with Emperor Mikhail III. A brilliant career at court awaited him, but his heart loved God above all else. Rejecting an advantageous marriage, Kirill withdrew to the desert, to Mount Olimp. His brother Mefodiy later arrived there as well. From there the Lord called both of them to preach to the Slavs. The Moravian prince Rostislav sent envoys to Constantinople with a request: “Our people confess the Christian faith, but we have no teachers who could explain the faith to us in our native language. Send us such teachers.” The emperor and the patriarch rejoiced and proposed that ss. Mefodiy and Kiril go there. “Do they have a written language?” Kirill asked the emperor, “because to preach only orally is like writing on sand.” Then the emperor wished, and the patriarch blessed, that Kirill should compose the Slavic alphabet and translate the sacred and liturgical books into Slavic. Saint Kirill prepared for this great work with fasting and prayer. The alphabet was soon ready. It was composed mostly of Greek letters, along with some newly invented by St. Kirill. The first thing he translated into Slavic was selected passages from the Gospel and the Apostle that are read in church during services. Then the Psalter, the Horologion, and other liturgical books were translated. When the holy brothers arrived in Moravia, the Moravians were very pleased to have the services conducted in their native language. This greatly aided the success of the preaching of Christ among the Moravians and Slavs in general. At the same time as ss. Kiril and Mefodiy, missionaries from the Western Roman Church were also preaching to the Moravians. Having no such success as the holy brothers, they grew envious and began to oppose them. They spread the opinion that the word of God could be read only in the three languages on which the inscription on Christ’s cross was made—that is, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin—and they called them heretics and brought a complaint to Rome. The pope wished to see the Slavic preachers, and they arrived in Rome. Pope Adrian received them with honor, approved and consecrated on the throne of the ancient church their Slavic books. In Rome, St. Konstantin fell ill, took the schema with the name Kirill, and reposed in 869. From his deathbed he said to his brother Mefodiy: “I was with you like a pair of oxen plowing one field. And now I fall in the furrow, having finished my day, and you, I know, love Mount Olimp, but do not abandon the enlightenment of the Slavs because of it.” St. Kirill was buried in the church of St. Kliment, Pope of Rome, in Rome. By order of Pope Adrian, the burial was performed very solemnly. Soon miracles began to occur at the tomb of St. Kirill. The church where St. Kirill was buried was later destroyed, and his tomb was covered by its ruins.

The Translation of the Relics of Mikhail of Chernigov (memory September 20). He, together with his boyar Feodor, was martyred in the Golden Horde by order of the Tatar khan Baty, because they refused to pass through the purifying fire kindled before the khan’s tent and to bow to idols, in 1246 [note: corrected year from common sources]. Their bodies were thrown to be eaten by dogs, but pious Russian Christians secretly took them and carried them to Chernigov. From there, in 1578 [corrected from text’s 1572], under Tsar Ioann the Terrible, they were transferred to Moscow. They rest in the Archangel Cathedral, under the floor.

The Venerable Maroy the hermit labored in the Syrian desert, near the city of Kirr. His holy life was attested by many miracles, especially the healing of the sick. He reposed around 370. Among his disciples were: Iakov the hermit (memory November 26), Limney (February 22), and Domnina (March 1). According to Church tradition, St. Maroy heals from fever.

The Venerable Avraamiy was bishop of Kharran in Mesopotamia. At first he labored on Mount Lebanon. Having become a bishop, he did not change his strict way of life. Emperor Feodosiy, wishing to see the ascetic bishop, summoned him to Constantinople. There he reposed.