St Thomas Eastern Orthodox Church

09/07/2026

Saint Sozon lived in the late III century. He was from Lykaonia in Cilicia, and originally his name was Tarasios. When he became a Christian, he was baptized and received the name Sozon. A shepherd by profession, he tried to imitate the meekness of the sheep, at which he marveled. “I am ashamed,” he said, “that I am inferior to sheep.”

He studied the Holy Scriptures attentively, and he also guided Christ‘s rational sheep to good pastures. One day, while watering his flock at a spring, Sozon fell asleep under an oak tree, where he had a vision which foretold his impending martyrdom for Christ. He was also informed that the spring would become a source of blessing and of healing for many, since it would be sanctified by God‘s grace. When he awakened, he entrusted his flock to another shepherd and journeyed to Pompeiopolis in Cilicia. Seeing what impiety there was in that city, his heart was profoundly grieved.

Entering one of the temples of the idolaters, he beheld a golden statue representing a pagan “god.” Then, with great courage, he broke off the statue‘s right hand with his shepherd‘s crook and smashed it into tiny pieces, which he distributed to the poor. This caused a great uproar in the city. Maximian, the governor of Cilicia, became very angry, and a search was made to find the culprit. Many innocent people were arrested and tortured in an attempt to force a confession from them.

When Saint Sozon heard about this, he could not permit others to suffer for something he had done. Therefore, he presented himself before the governor and responded to his threats in a calm manner, saying that the statue was not doing anyone much good inside the temple, and so he used the gold for the benefit of the poor.

Maximian asked the Saint how he dared to dishonor their “god” in such a way. Sozon replied, “I did this so that you might know that your ‘god’ is powerless. When I struck off his hand, he did not protest or make any attempt to stop me, nor did he cry out with pain. How could he? Your idol is deaf and dumb and without breath. It cannot see, hear, speak, or defend itself. If your ‘god’ was real, I would not have been permitted to break it.”

When Maximian heard these words, he ordered that Saint Sozon be tortured without mercy. He was suspended and his body was raked with iron claws. Then iron boots were nailed to the soles of his feet, and he was paraded through the city. Throughout his torments, he never ceased to glorify the Savior Christ. Once again he was suspended from a tree and beaten with iron rods, so that his body was mangled and his bones were broken. Amid such torture, the Saint surrendered his soul to God in the year 304.

Seeing that he was dead, the soldiers took him down from the tree and built a large fire to burn his body so that the Christians would not be able to claim it and venerate it. Suddenly, there was thunder and lightning, rain and hail, which put out the fire. The pagans fled in fear, and the holy relics were not damaged. The faithful came at midnight, when it was very dark. They were troubled because they could not find the relics, but a light from Heaven shone upon Christ‘s holy martyr to guide them. Gathering the Saint‘s relics, the Christians gave them an honorable burial.

Many miracles took place at the tomb, and also at the spring where the Saint had his vision under the oak tree. Later, a church was built by the spring, and was dedicated to Saint Sozon. In that holy place praise was offered to the one true God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to Whom be glory throughout all the ages. Amen.

Troparion — Tone 4
O Martyr Sozon, you pledged your life to God, Enduring the contest and becoming a sharer in Christ’s passion. Save from temptation those who cry to you: “Glory to him who strengthened you! Glory to him who crowned you! Glory to him who through you works healing for all!”

Kontakion — Tone 2
As we come together on this day, let us, with loud voices, remember the true and God-bearing martyr, and athlete of piety, Sozon, the divine initiate of grace, the most bountiful giver of healings, for he intercedes with God for us all.

09/07/2026

ORTHODOX QUOTE OF THE DAY

"But if a person forces himself and laments, 'Oh, well, it's Friday; I have to fast,' he will surely torment himself. If however, he understands the meaning of fasting and does it out of love for Christ, he will rejoice in it..."

— Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

In Phrygia, not far from the city of Hieropolis, in a place called Cheretopos, there was a church named for the Archangel Michael, built over a miraculous spring.

This church was built by a certain inhabitant of the city of Laodicia in gratitude to God for healing his mute daughter. The holy Chief Commander Michael appeared to this man in a dream and revealed to him that his daughter would receive the gift of speech after drinking from the water of the spring. The girl actually did receive healing and began to speak. After this miracle, the father and his daughter and all their family were baptized. In fervent gratitude, the father built the church in honor of the holy Chief Commander Michael. Not only did Christians begin to come to the spring for healing, but also pagans. In so doing, many of the pagans turned from their idols and were converted to the faith in Christ.

At this church of the holy Chief Commander Michael, a certain pious man by the name of Archippus served for sixty years as church custodian. By his preaching and by the example of his saintly life he brought many pagans to faith in Christ. With the general malice of that time towards Christians, and especially against Archippus, the pagans thought to destroy the church in order to prevent people from coming to that holy place of healing, and at the same time kill Archippus.

Toward this end they made a confluence of the Lykokaperos and Kufos Rivers and directed its combined flow against the church. Saint Archippus prayed fervently to the Chief Commander Michael to ward off the danger. Through his prayer the Archangel Michael appeared at the temple, and with a blow of his staff, opened a wide fissure in a rock and commanded the rushing torrents of water to flow into it. The temple remained unharmed. Seeing such an awesome miracle, the pagans fled in terror. Archippus and the Christians gathered in church glorified God and gave thanks to the holy Archangel Michael for the help. The place where the rivers plunged into the fissure received the name “Chonae”, which means “plunging.”

The Chudov (“of the Miracle”) monastery in Moscow is named for this Feast.

Troparion — Tone 4
Michael, commander of the heavenly hosts, / we who are unworthy beseech you, / by your prayers encompass us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory, / and faithfully preserve us who fall down and cry out to you: / “Deliver us from all harm, for you are the commander of the powers on high!”

Troparion — Tone 5
O Chief Commander Michael, / you were seen overshadowing your church like a cloud raining waters of immortality. / You preserved it like another ark, / and turned aside the flow of the rivers with your staff, / for the glory of the Faith, and to the delight of our souls.

Kontakion — Tone 2
Michael, commander of God’s armies / and minister of the divine glory, / prince of the bodiless angels / and guide of mankind, / ask for what is good for us, and for great mercy, / as supreme commander of the Bodiless Hosts.

09/06/2026

ORTHODOX QUOTE OF THE DAY

"We must be most careful not to eat before Divine service. We must remember that 'The kingdom of God is not meat and drink,' that is, that God cannot reign in the heart that is overburdened with surfeiting and drunkenness."

— Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

09/05/2026

The Holy Prophet Zachariah and the Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. They were descended from the lineage of Aaron: Saint Zachariah, son of Barach, was a priest in the Jerusalem Temple, and Saint Elizabeth was the sister of Saint Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. The righteous spouses, “walking in all the commandments of the Lord” (Luke 1:6), suffered barrenness, which in those times was considered a punishment from God.

Once, during his turn of priestly service in the Temple, Saint Zachariah was told by an angel that his aged wife would bear him a son, who “will be great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:15) and “will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias” (Luke 1:17).

Zachariah doubted that this prediction would come true, and for his weakness of faith he was punished by becoming mute. When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she announced that his name was John, although no one in their family had this name.

They asked Zachariah and he also wrote the name John down on a tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.

When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the new-born Messiah would be among them.

Herod knew about John’s unusual birth and he wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers.

In these tragic days Saint Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (MT 23: 35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and Saint John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.

On the Greek calendar, Saints Zachariah and Elizabeth are also commemorated on June 24, the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

Troparion — Tone 2
Celebrating the memory of the Righteous Zachariah and Elizabeth, O Lord, / together with them we pray to You: "Save our souls."

Troparion — Tone 4
Robed in the vestments of the priesthood, / according to the Law of God you offered whole-burnt offerings in a sacred manner, wise Zachariah. / You became a luminary and a seer of the mysteries, / bearing within yourself the signs of grace, all-wise one. / Slain by the sword in the temple of God, O prophet of Christ, / intercede together with the Forerunner / that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion — Tone 3
Today the prophet Zachariah, priest of the Most High / and parent of the Forerunner, / has prepared a banquet to his memory to nourish the faithful, / mixing the drink of righteousness. / Therefore we praise him as a divine initiate of the grace of God.

09/05/2026

ORTHODOX QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The problem of our life is union with God, and sin completely prevents this; therefore flee from sin as from a terrible enemy as from the destroyer of the soul, because to be without God is death and not life."

— Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

09/04/2026

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” [John 10:11].

“O Lord, make this man also, who has been proclaimed a steward of the episcopal grace, to be an imitator of You, the true Shepherd, Who laid down Your life for Your sheep....” [Prayer of Consecration of a Bishop]. On September 25, 1921, these words were prayed over Father Gorazd Pavlik as he was consecrated the Bishop of Moravia and Silesia. It is doubtful that anyone in attendance that day, including the new bishop, expected that he would be called upon to live that prayer in a literal way.

Matthias Pavlik was born in 1879 in the Moravian town of Hrubavrbka in what would later become the Czech Republic. He was born into a Roman Catholic family, completed the Roman Catholic seminary in Olomouc and was ordained a priest. With the end of World War I and the formation of the new nation of Czechoslovakia from the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the laws requiring observance of the Catholic religion were loosened. Father Matthias, along with thousands of others left the Catholic Church with many seeking a home in the Orthodox Church, which in that region was then under the protection of the Orthodox Church of Serbia. Taking monastic vows, he assumed the name “Gorazd” who was a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius and who succeeded Saint Methodius as the bishop of Moravia. At the age of 42, Father Gorazd was consecrated an Orthodox bishop in Belgrade, Serbia by the Serbian Patriarch Dimitri along with the illustrious Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky of Kiev and several other bishops, including Bishop Dositheus of Zagreb. Bishop Dositheus was a key figure in the re-birth of the Orthodox Church among Carpatho-Rusyns and was glorified as a saint of the Orthodox Church in May, 2000.

Bishop Gorazd immediately set to work building up the Orthodox Faith, building eleven churches and two chapels, translating service books into the Czech language. He paid particular attention to the Carpatho-Rusyns in the eastern part of the Czech Republic who were also returning to the Orthodox Faith of their ancestors. In that region, in 1934 he took part in the 20th anniversary commemoration of the Marmarosh-Sigotsky trial. This trial occurred in 1914 when 94 Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox, together with their priest, Saint Alexis Kabaluk, were tried for treason for renouncing the Greek Catholic Faith and embracing Orthodoxy.

For twenty years, the bishop faithfully cared for his flock as a good shepherd. He remained faithful to the Orthodox Faith despite attempts by many Catholics to persuade him to renounce Orthodoxy. When many Roman Catholic priests rose up against him, the Catholic Bishop Stoian said, “Leave Pavlik alone, you are not worthy to tie his laces, it would be good if everyone were like Pavlik.”

When the German N***s invaded and conquered Czechoslovakia in 1938, the Orthodox Church was placed under the Orthodox metropolitan of Berlin, Germany, Metropolitan Seraphim (Liade). The German ruler of Czechoslovakia, Reinhard Heydrich, was assassinated on May 27, 1942 by a group of Czech resistance fighters who then were allowed to hide in the crypt of Saints Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Cathedral. When Bishop Gorazd learned of this he realized what great danger he and his flock were in if the N***s uncovered this hiding place. Before leaving for Berlin to take part in the consecration of Father Philip Gardner as a bishop, he insisted that the resistance fighters leave the Cathedral and find another place of refuge. But on June 18, the hiding place was revealed after a betrayal and torture, and all members of the group were killed.

The N***s immediately began massive reprisals. The two Cathedral priests and senior lay officials were arrested. Bishop Gorazd, trying to save his people and his church from destruction, wrote letters to the N**i authorities taking the blame for the actions in the Cathedral, in which he stated, “I am giving myself up to the authorities and am prepared to face any punishment, including death.”

Bishop Gorazd was arrested on June 27, 1942, tortured and executed by firing squad at the Kobylisz Shooting Range on September 4. He was 63 years old. The two Cathedral priests were also shot. Along with the priests and bishop, a total of 550 people were executed by the N***s in reprisal for the assassination. In one particularly heinous act, the entire village of Lidice was exterminated. All of the men were executed, the women and children placed in labor camps, and all village dwellings destroyed. Following the martyrdom of the bishop, the Orthodox Church in Bohemia and Moravia was suppressed and all churches closed. Orthodox priests were exiled to forced labor camps in Germany.

Because Bishop Gorazd willingly laid down his life in order to protect his flock, he was recognized by the Orthodox Church of Serbia as a new martyr on May 4, 1961. On August 24, 1987 he was glorified in the Cathedral of Saint Gorazd in Olomouc, Moravia. His feast day is observed on the day of his martyrdom, September 4. Today, at the site of his martyrdom at the Kobylisz Shooting Range, a monument has been erected in his memory and those others who suffered at the hands of the N***s.

Father Edward Pehanich
Posted with permission, the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese, Johnstown, PA

Troparion — Tone 4
Orthodox leader and restorer of the Moravian Church, / Godly chief shepherd, Father Gorazd! / With joy, you suffered for the Truth. / Pray to our gracious God to save our souls!

Kontakion — Tone 2
Amid currents of uncertainty, you remained in truth like the hardest diamond, / and you preached to your native land Orthodoxy -- the way of salvation. / After a God-favored life as a teacher of the Gospel, O high priest and shepherd, / you patiently and bravely received the martyrs’ crown from Christ the Savior. / O Martyr, Enlightener, Father Gorazd, pray for us in the Kingdom of God.

09/04/2026

ORTHODOX QUOTE OF THE DAY

"He who bears distress patiently will attain joy, and he who endures the repulsive will know delight."

— Evagrios the Solitary

09/03/2026

The Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, and those with him suffered during the persecution against Christians under the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). The persecution became particularly intense after a fire at the imperial court at Nicomedia. The pagans accused the Christians of setting the fire and reacted against them with terrible ferocity.

In Nicomedia alone, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, as many as twenty thousand Christians were burned inside a church. However, this monstrous inhumanity did not frighten the Christians, who firmly confessed their faith and endured martyrdom for Christ.

Saints Dorotheus, Mardonius, Migdonius, Peter, Indes and Gorgonius died during this period. One of them was beheaded by the sword, others perished by burning, or being buried alive, or by drowning in the sea. The soldier Zeno boldly denounced the emperor Maximian, for which he was stoned, and then beheaded.

Then the holy Virgin Martyr Domna, a former pagan priestess, perished at the hands of the pagans, and also Saint Euthymius, because of their concern that the bodies of the holy martyrs should be buried. Bishop Anthimus, who headed the Church of Nicomedia, hid himself in a village not far from Nicomedia at the request of his flock. From there he sent letters to the Christians, urging them to cleave firmly to the holy Faith and not to fear tortures.

One of his letters, sent with Deacon Theophilus, was intercepted and given to the emperor Maximian. Theophilus was interrogated and died under torture, without revealing to his torturers the whereabouts of Bishop Anthimus. After a while Maximian managed to learn where Saint Anthimus was, and sent a detachment of soldiers after him.

The bishop met them along the way, but the soldiers did not recognize the saint. He invited them to join him and provided a meal, after which he revealed that he was the one they sought. The soldiers did not know what to do. They wanted to leave him and tell the emperor that they had not found him. Bishop Anthimus was not one to tolerate a lie, and so he would not consent to this.

The soldiers came to believe in Christ and received holy Baptism. The saint ordered them to carry out the emperor’s instructions. When Bishop Anthimus was brought before the emperor, the emperor ordered that the instruments of ex*****on be brought out and placed before him. “Do you think, emperor, to frighten me with these tools of ex*****on?” asked the saint. “No indeed, you cannot frighten one who wishes to die for Christ! Ex*****on is frightening only for the cowardly, for whom the present life is most precious.” The emperor then directed that the saint be fiercely tortured and beheaded by the sword.

Bishop Anthimus joyfully glorified God with his last breath, and received the crown of martyrdom. (See December 28 for another account of the Nicomedian martyrs.)

Troparion — Tone 1
You protected your flock with your blood, / not fearing your adversaries. / Now you rejoice in heaven standing before the throne. / Glory to Christ who has strengthened you; / glory to your courage; / glory to your endurance, O holy Hieromartyr Anthimus!

Troparion — Tone 4
Your holy martyrs O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!

Kontakion — Tone 4
Illustrious priest and steadfast martyr, / Anthimus, worthy of praise: / You assailed the worship of idols, / and championed your flock which fervently cries to you: / By your prayers deliver us from dangers!

Kontakion — Tone 4
Living honorably as a priest, / you completed the course of martyrdom; / you extinguished the worship of idols / and became a champion of your flock, divinely-wise one. / Therefore, we honor you, / mystically crying out: / “Through your prayers deliver us from calamity, ever-memorable Anthimus.”