Orthodox Calendar – March 16
Holy Martyr Sabinus
The Holy Martyr Sabinus was the administrator of the Egyptian city of Hermopolis. During a persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305), Saint Sabinus and some like-minded companions hid in a remote village.
His hiding place was revealed by a certain ungrateful beggar who had brought him food. The saint used to feed him and help him with money, but the man betrayed him for two pieces of gold. Sabinus was seized with six other Christians, and after torture they were all drowned in the Nile in 287.
Troparion — Tone 1
With godliness you preached to the ungodly / that the Creator of all took flesh without undergoing change. / You excelled in your holy contest, / for by meeting death in the river you attained to the Source of incorruption. / Therefore, we praise you, blessed Sabinus.
Saint Christodoulos
Saint Christodoulos (1020-1093) was born in Bithynia to righteous Christian parents and took the monastic vows at a very young age. His monastic name means “Christ’s servant” in Greek.
Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118) helped him build a monastery dedicated to St John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos, near the cave where the saint wrote the Book of Revelation.
The walls of this monastery have survived to our days. When the Arab muslims attacked Patmos, the venerable took refuge with his disciples in Evia (Epirus), where he passed away in March 16, 1093.
Later, his disciples found his whole relics and took them to the monastery he had founded in Patmos, where they still offer healing to those who come to find it with faith.
Commemoration of all our God-bearing Fathers and Mothers who shone forth in asceticism
The holy acetics are virtuous men and women who contended against the devil and their own passions. By examining their lives and their struggles against the Enemy, we take courage from the victory they have achieved, and are inspired to imitate their God-pleasing conduct. They also teach us that fasting is not merely abstinence from food, but involves refraining from inappropriate speech and unseemly actions.
Since these holy ascetics share the same human nature that we have, their example is an encouragement to us as we embark on our own spiritual struggles. Their lives are a model for us to follow as we seek to acquire and practice the various virtues and to turn away from everything evil. If we undertake these same struggles of prayer, fasting, and good works, we shall receive from God the same reward they did.
Most of the holy ascetics commemorated today have their own separate Feast Day during the year, while some are remembered only on this day.
