Saint Emilian the Confessor, Bishop of Cyzicus

August 8/21

ST. EMILIAN THE CONFESSOR, BISHOP OF CYZICUS
THE VENERABLE GREGORY SINAITE

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 Emilian Tone 3
In confessing the Faith thou didst proclaim the doctrines of Orthodoxy/ and wast unjustly exiled for rebuking the wicked king./ O righteous and glorious Emilian/ who art the boast of Cyzicus,/ pray to Christ our God to grant us His great mercy.

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 Emilian Tone 3
The Church for which thou didst suffer, O Emilian,/ hymns and glorifies thee./ For thou wast a champion of the Trinity,/ and so we venerate thy memory./ Deliver thy servants from all assaults of the enemy.

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SAINT EMILIAN THE CONFESSOR, BISHOP OF CYZICUS

Emilian served as bishop in Cyzicus during the reign of the nefarious Emperor Leo the Armenian, the iconoclast. Since he did not want to submit to the decrees of the emperor concerning the removal of icons from the churches, Emilian and other Orthodox bishops were banished into exile. He spent five years in exile, enduring much pain and humiliation for the sake of Christ. Emilian died in they year 820
A.D. and took up habitation among the citizens of heaven.

THE VENERABLE GREGORY SINAITE

Gregory is called Sinaite because he received the monastic tonsure on Mount Sinai. During the reign of Emperor Andronicus Palaeologus, about the year 1330 A.D., he arrived at Mt. Athos to visit the monasteries and to inquire about the practice of mental prayer and contemplation. However, these two forms of spiritual works [exercises], at that time, were almost unknown among the holy Athonites. The only one who knew this and practiced it to perfection was St. Maximus of Kapsokalyvia. Gregory spread his teaching about mental prayer throughout all the cells and monasteries on Mt. Athos. His distinguished disciple was Kallistos, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who wrote the biography of St. Gregory. After that, Gregory crossed over to Macedonia and to the other regions of the Balkans and established communities in which the monks practiced mental prayer. Thus, he assisted many to be immersed in prayer and to be saved. His writings about mental prayer and asceticism can be found in the book "Dobrotoljublja The Philokalia." Among other things, he wrote the refrains to the Holy Trinity, "It is meet and right", which is sung at the Midnight Service of the Resurrection. Gregory ranks among the most eminent ascetics and spiritual teachers of the Balkans. He died peacefully after a long and laborious life and took up habitation in the Kingdom of God.

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HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT GREGORY SINAITE

Sinaite, the all-wise one, taught the monks,

And, by his example, confirmed his teachings:

Passionlessness, that is the Promised Land,

By the Spirit, the passionless soul illumined.

Without any thoughts, man then becomes

When, with prayer, his mind rests in the heart.

Of all passions, thoughts are sinful forerunners,

Which, in the demonic authority, keeps the soul.

Sick people are we; for us, the physician medicine prepared,

To be healed, to be healthy.

The Name of Jesus, in your heart, speaks,

It will, as a fire, consume passions,

Let that powerful name, with heavenly radiance

In your heart move, with breathing.

If, in your heart, you do not have Jesus the Lord

All other mortifications, remain as water.

Only Jesus inside me is able

The water of my being, into wine to convert.

As in a nest, your whole mind, in the heart place,

And then glorify Jesus, by ceaseless prayer.

O, Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner!

Let the prayer be slow; not hurried -

Until the heart, from prayer, bursts into flame -

Then, the mind, heaven sees and on earth, remains not.

The Prologue From Ochrid -
of St. Nikolai (Velimirovic) Bishop of Zicha