HOLY MARTYR LAWRENCE, ARCHDEACON OF ROME:

AUGUST 10/23

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HOLY MARTYR LAWRENCE, ARCHDEACON OF ROME

ST BLANE, HIERARCH

Troparion of the Feast Tone 7
Thou wast transfigured on the mount, O Christ God,/ revealing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they could bear it./ Let Thine everlasting light shine upon us sinners/ through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Giver of Light, glory to Thee.

Troparion of St Lawrence Tone 3
Aflame with the Spirit like a living coal/ thou didst burn up the thorns of error,/ O blessed trophy-bearer Lawrence,/ archdeacon of Christ./ Like rational incense thou didst become a whole burnt offering/ to Him Who magnified thee./ Wherefore shelter from all assaults of the enemy those who glorify thee.

Troparion of St Blane Tone 5
Drifting over the sea in a boat without oars/ thou wast directed by God to the Island of Bute, O Hierarch Blane,/ where thou didst devote thyself to apostolic labours./ O performer of miracles,/ thou art worthy to be praised as Equal to the Apostles./ Wherefore we beseech thee pray to Christ our God/ that He will raise up labourers to recultivate that northern part of His Vineyard,/ so long overgrown with the weeds of heresy and apostasy,/ which thou didst once tend with such care,/ that again many may be led into the way of salvation.

Kontakion of the Feast Tone 7
Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God,/ and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they were capable,/ that when they should see Thee crucified,/ they might know that Thy suffering was voluntary/ and might proclaim to the world/ that Thou art indeed the reflection of the Father.

Kontakion of St Lawrence Tone 2
With divine fire thou didst kindle thy heart, O Lawrence/ and reduce the fire of the passions to ashes./ O staff of athletes, Godbearing Martyr,/ thou didst cry with faith while contesting:/ No one will separate me from the love of Christ.



THE HOLY MARTYRS LAWRENCE AND SIXTUS, POPE OF ROME, AND OTHERS WITH THEM

When Pope Stephen was slain (August 2), then St. Sixtus, who was an Athenian by birth, was appointed in his place. At first, Sixtus was a philosopher and, after that, a Christian. At that time, the Bishops of Rome were slain one after the other, so that, to become Bishop of Rome meant to be taken out to death. Emperor Decius was determined to destroy Christianity and Pope Sixtus was quickly brought to trial with two of his deacons, Felicicius and Agapitus. As they were led to prison, Lawrence said to the pope: "Where are you going Father, without your son? Where O bishop, without your Archdeacon?" The pope consoled him, prophesying to Lawrence that he will undergo even greater tortures for Christ and that he [Lawrence] will shortly follow him [Sixtus]. And indeed, as soon as they had beheaded Sixtus and his two deacons, Lawrence was apprehended. Beforehand, Lawrence had placed all of his affairs and the affairs of the church in order. As treasurer and Oikonomos [steward] of the church, he removed all of the church's valuables to the home of the widower, Cyriacus. On that occasion, he healed Cyriacus of a terrible head pain by the touch of his hand and restored the sight of a blind man, Crescention. Thrown into prison, even there Lawrence healed Lucillus, a prisoner of many years, of blindness and after that baptized him. Witnessing this Hippolytus, the jailer, was also baptized, and later suffered for Christ (August 13). Since Lawrence did not want to deny Christ but, on the contrary, advised Emperor Decius to reject his false gods, he was beaten on the face with stones and beaten on his entire body with a scorpion [a whip, curved at the end like the tail of a scorpion] i.e., by a chain with sharp teeth. Romanus, a soldier present at the torture, believed in Christ and was immediately beheaded. Finally, they placed Lawrence naked on a gridiron and lighted a fire. Roasting in the fire, St. Lawrence thanked God and mocked the emperor for his paganism. After Lawrence gave up his pure and heroic soul to God, his body was removed at night by Hippolytus and taken, at first, to the home of Cyriacus and afterwards to a cave where Hippolytus honorably buried him. St. Lawrence, with the others, suffered in the year 258 A.D.


Saint Nikolai Velimirovic, Bishop of Zicha
The Prologue of Ochrid