Fasting Guidelines
Apodosis of Pentecost. Tone seven.
Fast-free Week. Fast-free
Today’s Commemorations
- St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker ( movable holiday on the Saturday closest to June 19th ).
- St. Tychon , bishop of Amathus in Cyprus (425).
- Venerable Tikhon of Kaluga or Medin (1492).
- Venerable Tikhon of Lukhov (1503).
- Venerable Moses of Optina, founder of the Optina Skete (1862).
- New Martyr Hermogenes (Germogen), bishop of Tobolsk, Euphremius, Michael and Peter priests and Martyr Constantine (1918).
- Translation of the relics (2002) of St. Theophan the Recluse, bishop of Tambov (1894).
- Martyrs Tigrius and Eutropius of Constantinople (404).
- Venerable Tikhon of Krestogorsk (Vologda).
- St. Mark the Just of Apollonias, nephew of the Apostle Barnabas.
- Five Martyrs of Nicomedia (Greek).
- Forty Martyrs of Rome (Greek).
- St. Kaikhosro the Georgian (1612) (Georgia).
Scripture Readings
Romans 1:7-12
To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
Matthew 5:42-48
Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Saints and Feasts Celebrated Today
St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker ( movable holiday on the Saturday closest to June 19th ). 
Archbishop John was born on June 4, 1896 in Kharkov province, to the pious aristocrats Boris and Glafira Maximovitch; at baptism he was given the name Michael. Even in childhood Michael displayed a certain striving toward holiness, similar to that displayed by his distant relative, the renowned Siberian missionary Holy Hierarch John of Tobolsk, who was glorified by God through his working of miracles and the witness of his incorrupt relics. Michael was a sickly child with a poor appetite. He would take his toy soldiers and make them into monks, and the fortresses into monasteries. The Sviatogorsk Monastery, not far from the Maximovitch estate, provided the impetus for young Michael to take a seriously contemplative attitude toward life. Under the influence of the youth Michael, his governess converted to Orthodoxy. In 1914, Michael completed the Poltava Military Academy, and entered the Kharkov Imperial University school of law. He was an excellent student, although he devoted part of his time to studying saints lives and other religious literature. In the religious life of Kharkov, the young Michael was provided with the first step along the path of piety. In the crypt under the Kharkov cathedral church lay the relics of the Miracle-Worker Archbishop Melety Leontovitch, who spent his nights standing, with arms uplifted in prayer. Michael came to love this saint, and began to emulate his podvig [spiritual struggle] by staying awake all night. Thus, gradually, young Michael began to develop the desire to dedicate himself fully to God, and as a concomitant, began to manifest exalted spiritual qualities: abstinence and strictness toward himself, profound humility, and compassion for the suffering. Even before his departure from Russia, young Michael made the acquaintance of the Most-blessed Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovistky), founder of the Russian Church Abroad. At the close of the civil war, Michael and his entire family emigrated to Yugoslavia, where he enrolled in the Department of Theology of Belgrade University, from which he graduated in 1925. Metropolitan Anthony came to greatly love Michael, and kept the youth near him. In 1926, Metropolitan Anthony tonsured Michael to the monastic rank with the name John (after St. John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk), and soon thereafter ordained him a hierodeacon. On the Feast of the Entry of the Most-holy Theotokos into the Temple, monk John became a hieromonk. In 1929 he began to teach at the Serbian high school, and soon, with his capacity for inspiring lofty Christian ideals in his students, won their love. As a hieromonk, John continued to practice the podvig of strict asceticism, to which he joined a podvig of all-night prayer, a podvig beyond the capacity of most people. It was during this time that, at the request of local Greeks and Macedonians, he began to serve in Greek for them. Like Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt, Vladyka served the Liturgy daily, acquiring thereby great spiritual strength, and having fanned within him the flame of love for God and for men.Hieromonk John began to visit hospitals and to search out the sick, those in need of prayer, consolation, and Communion. Inasmuch as Hieromonk Johns renown was constantly growing, the bishops abroad resolved to elevate him to the episcopate. Wishing to decline such a lofty calling, Hieromonk John emphasized the fact that he had a speech impediment; the bishops remained unmoved, pointing out to him that the Prophet Moses had also had a speech impediment. Hieromonk Johns consecration, and his assignment to the Diocese of Shanghai, China, took place in May 1934. The newly-consecrated Vladyka arrived in Shanghai at the end of November, and immediately made efforts to restore church unity. He established ties with the local Orthodox Serbs, Greeks, and Ukrainians. At the same time, he began the work of erecting a huge cathedral church dedicated to Surety of Sinners Icon of the Mother of God, as well as a three-storey parish house and bell tower. Gifted with boundless energy, Vladyka John served as the inspiration for the building of churches, hospitals, and orphanages, and played an active part in many benevolent undertakings in Russian Shanghai. But despite such frenetic activities, Vladyka John continued to live as if in another world. In order to avoid secular glory and human praise, he from time to time pretended to act the fool. He remained in constant prayer, and if he did not serve in the church, then he would read the daily cycle of services himself. Often Vladyka would walk barefoot, even on the coldest of days. He would eat once a day, and during the fasts of the church would eat nothing by prosphoras. Each morning, to quicken his spirit, he would pour cold water over himself. He did not make social visits, but those in need of help he would visit, at unpredictable times and in bad weather. He would visit those he knew to be sick on a daily basis, taking with him the Holy Gifts. He possessed the gift of clairvoyance, and the gift of powerful prayer. There is documented a multitude of instances in which miraculous help came through the prayers of Vladyka John. In 1939, a certain parishioner, beset by a number of tribulations, began to lose her faith. Once, upon entering the Church while Vladyka was serving, she witnessed a flame, shaped like a large tulip, descend into the Chalice during the consecration of the Holy Gifts. After seeing this miracle, her faith returned to her, and she repented of her faint-heartedness. It once happened that as the result of constantly being on his feet, Vladykas leg became very swollen, and the physicians, fearing the possibility of gangrene, prescribed that he be hospitalized. After much pleading with him, they succeeded in talking Vladyka into entering the Russian Hospital. But he did not remain there long. The same evening, he secretly left and went to the cathedral, where he served the All-night vigil. By the next day, the swelling had completely gone. Vladyka used to visit prisons, and he served the Liturgy for those underSt.John of Shanghai and San Francisco, Mural, NW side of our cathedral arrest. Often, upon seeing Vladyka, the spiritually ill would become calm, and would piously receive Communion. Once, Vladyka John was asked to commune a dying patient at the Russian Hospital in Shanghai. On that occasion, Vladyka took a priest along with him. Upon their arrival, he noticed a gregarious young man of about 20, playing a harmonica The lad was to be discharged the following day. Vladyka John called to him and said: I want to give you Communion right now. The young man immediately confessed his sins and received Communion. The astonished priest asked Vladyka why he had tarried with an apparently healthy young man instead of going to the one who was dying. Vladyka answered: He will die tonight, and the other one, who is seriously ill, will live for many years. And so it came to pass. An enormous feat of charity was Vladykas building in Shanghai of an orphanage to serve orphans and needy children. At first, there were only 8 orphans living there, but over the years, the orphanage gave shelter to hundreds of children, with an overall total of 1,500. Vladyka himself gathered up ailing and starving children from the streets of the Shanghai slums. It once happened that during the war, there was not enough food in the orphanage to feed the children. Vladyka prayed all night, and in the morning, the doorbell rang. The representative of some charitable organization had brought a substantial donation to the orphanage. During the Japanese occupation, Vladyka declared himself to be the temporary head of the Russian colony, and showed great courage in defending Russians before the occupying Japanese powers. In Shanghai, there was a voice teacher named Anna Petrovna Lushnikova who taught Vladyka proper breathing and enunciation, thereby improving his diction. At the end of each lesson, Vladyka paid her $20.00. During the war, in 1945, she was gravely wounded, and happened to be in a French hospital. Sensing that she might die during the night, Anna Petrovna begged the nurses to call Vladyka John, so that he might give her Communion. Because, as the result of war-time conditions the hospital was locked up at night, the nurses refused. On that stormy night, Anna Petrovna was beside herself, and kept calling upon Vladyka. Suddenly, about 11:00 PM, Vladyka appeared in the ward. Unable to believe her eyes, Anna Petrovna asked Vladyka whether she was dreaming or whether he had actually come to her. Vladyka smiled, prayed, and administered Holy Communion. Afterwards, she calmed down and slept. The next morning she felt healed. As the hospital had been tightly secured, no one believed Anna Petrovnas report that Vladyka had visited her during the night. However, a patient in a neighboring bed confirmed that she had also seen Vladyka. The greatest surprise was the discovery of a $20 bill under Anna Petrovnas pillow. In this way, Vladyka left material evidence of his visit. Archpriest George Larin, who had been an altar boy of Vladykas in Shanghai, relates: Despite Vladykas strictness, all of the altar boys loved him very much. To me, Vladyka was an ideal, one which I wanted to emulate in every way. Thus, during Great Lent, I would not sleep in bed, and instead lay on the floor. I would not eat my usual meals with the family, but instead would partake of bread and water in solitude
.My parents became worried and took me to Vladyka. Hearing them out, the prelate asked the guard to go to the store and bring a sausage. In response to my tearful cries that I did not wish to violate Lent, the wise prelate admonished me to eat the sausage and to always remember that obedience to parents is more important than personal accomplishment. How then should I proceed, Vladyka? I asked, hoping nonetheless to especially apply myself. Go to church as you always did, and at home, do what your mother and father ask. I remember how grieved I was that Vladyka did not assign to me some special deeds to accomplish. With the coming of the Communists to power, the Russians in China were once again forced to flee, most through the Philippine Islands. In 1949, approximately 15,000 refugees from the Chinese mainland were living in a camp on the island of Tubabao. Every night, he made a circuit of the island, and by his prayers and the sign of the Cross, protected the island from the seasonal typhoons , something acknowledged by the Filipinos themselves. By the lobbying efforts of Vladyka in Washington, a law regarding Russian refugees was amended, with the result that many Russians were permitted to enter the United States. It was during this trip to Washington in 1949, that on September 11th, the Feastday of the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner, Vladyka founded our parish. In 1951, Vladyka was appointed to head the Diocese of Western Europe, with his cathedra in Paris. Vladyka expended great efforts to unite to the Church Abroad parishes of the French Orthodox Church, and he helped establish the Orthodox Church of Holland. Vladyka turned his attention to the existence of local saints who had lived in antiquity but who were heretofore unknown to the Orthodox Church. At his initiative, the Synod passed a resolution with respect to veneration of a host of saints who had lived in the West prior to the schism of 1054. Vladyka was constantly travelling across Europe, and he sometimes would celebrate the Divine Liturgy in Dutch, in French; later he also served in English. Many revered him as an unmercenary-healer. E.G. Tchhertkoff reminisces about the time during which Vladyka was in Western Europe: On several occasions, I visited Vladyka while he was living in the Cadet Corps building near Parish. He occupied a small cell on the top floor. In the cell, there was a table, an armchair and several chairs, and in the corner, icons and a lectern with books upon it. There was no bed in the cell, as Vladyka did not lie down to sleep, but rather prayed while leaning on a staff topped with a cross-bar. Sometimes he prayed on his knees. It was likely that when he prostrated himself, he would fall asleep for a little while in that position on the floor. That is how he brought himself to exhaustion! Sometimes during our conversation, he appeared to doze. But whenever I stopped talking, he would immediately say, Continue, I hear you! Whenever he did not serve, but remained home, he usually walked barefoot (to mortify the flesh) even on during the hardest frosts. He would be walking barefoot in the cold, along the rocky road from the military school, which was on a hill inside a park, to the church at the gate. Once he happened to injure his foot. The doctors were unable to heal it, and they feared the possibility of sepsis. They were forced to hospitalize Vladyka, but he refused to lie down in the bed. However, at the urging of the administration, Vladyka finally acceded, and lay down in the bed, but only after placing a boot under himself to make himself uncomfortable. The French hospital nurses said You have brought us a saint! Each morning, a priest would come to serve a Liturgy, and Vladyka would receive Communion. “Since for a long time our church did not have a permanent priest, once a priest from another parish came to us to celebrate Vespers. The whole service lasted only 45 minutes (usualy it takes 2 and a half hours)! We were horrified! So many parts of Vespers were skipped that we decided to tell about this to Vladika. We hopped that he will influence the priest to follow the established order of Orthodox services. But Vladika pleasently smiling said to us: `How difficult is to please you people. I celebrate too long and he too short!’ With such kindness and meeknes he taught us not to judge.” Vladika’s reputation for holiness, too, spread among the non-Orthodox as well as the Orthodox population. In one of the Catholic churches of Paris, a priest strove to inspire his young people with these words: “You demand proofs, you say that now there are neither miracles nor saints. Why should I give you theoretical proofs, when today there walks in the streets of Paris a Saint – Saint Jean Nus Pieds (Saint John the Barefoot).” Many people testify to the miracles worked by the prayers of Archbishop John in Western Europe. V. D. recounts: “Many were aware that it was not necessary to ask Vladika to visit someone. The Lord Himself inspired him where and to whom to go. Vladika John was known to many in the French hospitals and was admitted therein at any time. Besides, Vladika unerringly directed himself where he was needed. My brother, when wounded in the head, was taken to the hospital. The x-ray revealed a large fracture of the skull. His eyes swelled and became sanguinous; he was in critical condition. Vladika, who did not know my brother, somehow found him in the hospital, prayed over him and gave him communion. When my brother underwent a follow up of head x-rays, there was no fracture to be found. My brother recuperated very fast. The doctor was dumbfounded!”
St. Tychon , bishop of Amathus in Cyprus (425). 
Sainted Tykhon, Bishop of Amaphuntum, was born in the city Amaphuntum on the island of Cyprus. His parents raised their son in Christian piety, and taught him the reading of Sacred books. There is an account extant, that the gift of wonderworking appeared in Saint Tykhon at a still quite youthful age. His father was the owner of a bread bakery and he sent his son to distribute bread. The holy lad gave bread free to the needy. Learning about this, his father became angry, but the son answered, that he had read in the holy books, that “in giving to God one receiveth back an hundredfold”. “I too, – said the youth, – gave to God the bread which was taken” and he persuaded his father to go to where the grain was stored. With astonishment the father saw that the granary which formerly was empty, was now filled to overflowing with wheat. From that time the father did not hinder his son from distributing bread to the needy. A certain gardener brought from the vineyard the dried prunings of vines. Saint Tykhon gathered them, planted them in his garden and besought the Lord, that these branches might take root and yield salubrious fruit for the health of people. The Lord did so through the faith of the holy youth. The branches took root, and their fruit had a particular and very pleasant taste and was used during the lifetime of the saint and after his death for the wine in making the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. They accepted the pious youth into the church clergy, made him a reader, and afterwards the bishop of Amaphuntum Memnon ordained him to the dignity of deacon. After the death of Bishop Memnon, Saint Tykhon by universal agreement was chosen as bishop of Amaphuntum. The ordination was headed by Sainted Epiphanios, Bishop of Cyprus (+ 403, Comm. 12 May). Saint Tykhon laboured zealously for the eradication of the remnants of paganism on Cyprus – he destroyed an idolatrous temple and spread the Christian faith. The sainted-bishop was generous, his doors were open to all, and with love he listened to and fulfilled the request of each person who came to him. Fearing neither threats nor tortures, he firmly and fearlessly confessed his faith before pagans. In the service to Sainted Tykhon it is pointed out, that he foresaw the time of his death, which occurred in the year 425. The name of Sainted Tykhon of Amaphuntum was accorded great honour in Russia. In honour of the saint, temples were constructed at Moscow, at Nizhni Novgorod, at Kazan and other cities. But the saint was particularly venerated in Voronezh diocese, where there were three archpastors in succession sharing the name with the Sainted-bishop of Amaphuntum: Sainted Tikhon I (Sokolov) (+ 1783, Comm. 13 August), Tikhon II (Yakubovsky, until 1785) and Tikhon III (Malinin, until 1788).
Venerable Tikhon of Kaluga or Medin (1492). 
The Monk Tikhon of Medynsk and Kaluzh, in his youth accepted monastic vows at one of the Moscow monasteries, , but through his love for solitude he settled at an isolated spot near Maloyaroslavl’. He pursued asceticism in a deep dense forest, on the bank of the River Vepreika, in the hollow of an aged giant oak. Once during the time of an hunt prince Vasilii Yaroslavich (grandson of Vladimir the Brave), having come upon the Monk Tikhon, angrily ordered him to immediately quit his domain, and made bold to raise his lash against the monk. The hand of the prince grew immediately numb. Taken aback by such punishment, the prince repented of his conduct and with humility asked forgiveness. He received healing through the prayer of Saint Tikhon. The prince entreated the monk to remain always in his domain and build there a monastery for monks, promising to provide it all the necessities. The Monk Tikhon built a monastery in honour of the Uspenie (Dormition or Repose) of the Most Holy Mother of God, which he headed. He guided the monastery until extreme old age, and he died in the year 1492, having accepted the great monastic-schema. The body of the Monk Tikhon was buried at the cathedral church of the monastery founded by him. The celebration of the Monk Tikhon was established at the Council of 1584. Among the disciples of the Monk Tikhon, particularly distinguished by his sanctity of life was the Monk Nikiphor of Kaluzh. It is assumed, that he was the successor of the Monk Tikhon in guiding the monastery. The Monk Nikiphor is depicted on icons together with other Kaluzh saints: the Monk Paphnutii of Borovsk (Comm. 1 May), the Monk Tikhon of Kaluzh and Blessed Lavrentii of Kaluzh (Comm. 10 August).
St. Kaikhosro the Georgian (1612) (Georgia). 
The life of St. Kaikhosro the Georgian has been passed down to our century in the works of Archbishop Timote (Gabashvili), a famous Church figure and historian of the 18th century. In a passage describing the frescoes and commemoration books of the Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem, Bishop Timote writes that an image of St. Kaikhosro the Georgian is among the sacred frescoes. According to the commemoration books of the Holy Cross Monastery, St. Kaikhosro the Georgian was tortured to death by Shah Abbas I in 1612 for his pious veneration of the holy icons.
Venerable Tikhon of Lukhov (1503).
The Monk Tikhon of Lukhovsk, and Kostroma (in the world Timofei), was born within the bounds of the Lithuanian princedom and was in military service there. In the year 1482, not wanting to accept Uniatism, he went from Lithuania to Russia. The saint gave away everything that he had, accepted monastic orders with the name Tikhon and settled in Kostroma diocese in the Lukhovsk region. The city of Lukh was at that time given to prince Feodor Bel’sky, together with whom the Monk Tikhon had come from Lithuania. On the banks of the boundary of the Kopitovka the Monk Tikhon made his cell. When two monks, Photii and Gerasim, came to him in the wilderness, the monk because of them moved a distance of three versts from the Koptovka to a more satisfactory location. The monks earned their living by the work of their hands. The Monk Tikhon copied books with skill, and was a fine lathe turner. Out of humility he did not become a priest. The Monk Tikhon died on 16 June 1503, in such poverty, that his disciples did not know how they would bury him. But to their comfort the archbishop of Suzdal’ sent a monastic burial shroud, in which to consign him to the earth. Soon after his death at the place of his labours there arose a monastery in honour of Sainted Nicholas the Wonderworker. In 1569 at the grave of the Monk Tikhon there began healings of the sick, and his relics were found to be undecayed. But the hegumen Konstantin, who brought the relics above ground, was struck blind; having recovered his eyesight, he concealed the relics of the Monk Tikhon back into the ground. From this time began the veneration of the Monk Tikhon. His life with 70 posthumous miracles that were recorded was compiled in the year 1649.
Martyrs Tigrius and Eutropius of Constantinople (404).
The Priest-martyr Tigrias the Presbyter and the Martyr Eutropios the Reader were contemporaries of Sainted John Chrysostom (+ 407, Comm. 13 November) and were among his clergy. The holy Presbyter Tigrias was a mild and kindly pastor, Saint Eutropios was distinguished for his purity of life and prudence. When Saint John Chrysostom was banished from Constantinople in 404, the holy Tigrias and the reader Eutropios were arrested as his partisans and accused in the arson of churches and buildings, belonging to the opponents of Saint John Chrysostom. Saint Tigrias was put to torture, beaten with leather and banished to Mesopotamia, where he was imprisoned and died. Saint Eutropios they flogged, suspended, struck at him with iron and threw him in prison. When the torments were repeated, he died. His body, thrown for devouring by dogs, was taken by night and buried by Christians. At the time of burial was heard Angelic singing.
Five Martyrs of Nicomedia (Greek).
On this day also is celebrated the memory of 5 Nikomedian and 40 Roman Martyrs. The time of their suffering is unknown.
Additional Saints and Feasts Celebrated Today
Venerable Moses of Optina, founder of the Optina Skete (1862).
New Martyr Hermogenes (Germogen), bishop of Tobolsk, Euphremius, Michael and Peter priests and Martyr Constantine (1918).
Translation of the relics (2002) of St. Theophan the Recluse, bishop of Tambov (1894).
Venerable Tikhon of Krestogorsk (Vologda).
St. Mark the Just of Apollonias, nephew of the Apostle Barnabas.
Forty Martyrs of Rome (Greek).
Today’s Hymns
St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, Troparion of the saint, in Tone V
Lo, thy care for thy flock in its sojourn
prefigured the supplications
which thou dost ever offer up for the whole world.
Thus do we believe, having
come to know thy love,
O holy hierarch and wonderworker John.
Wholly
sanctified by God
through the ministry of the all-pure Mysteries
and thyself
ever strengthened thereby,
thou didst hasten to the suffering,
O most gladsome
Healer.
Hasten now also to the aid of us who honor thee with all our heart.
Kontakion, in Tone IV
Thy heart hath gone out to all who entreat thee with love,
O holy hierarch
John,
and who remember the struggle of thy whole industrious life,
and thy
painless and easy repose,
O faithful servant of the all-pure
Directress.
Holy Hieromartyr & Wonderworker Tychon of Amathus, Troparion, in Tone I
A desert dweller, an angel in the flesh,
and a wonderworker wast thou shown
to be,
O our God-bearing father Tychon,
for having acquired heavenly
gifts through fasting, vigilance, and prayer,
thou dost heal the infirm,
and
the souls of those who have recourse to thee with faith.
Glory to Him Who hath
given thee strength!
Glory to Him Who hath crowned thee!
Glory to Him Who
worketh healings for all through thee!
Download today’s octoechos HERE.
Download today’s menaion HERE.
Courtesy of St. Sergius Church
Hymns, Readings, Feast Day, and Fasting Information provided by Holy Trinity Orthodox Church.
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