Orthodox Calendar, December 26

Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God

On the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church has established the celebration of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God. The name of today’s festival signifies the gathering of the faithful in order to praise and glorify the All-Holy Virgin, who gave birth to our Savior.

On the first day of the Nativity of the Lord, the Church glorifies the Redeemer of the human race, and the blessed deliverance which freed the sinful world from the snares of the Enemy. On the second day of the Nativity of the Lord, which was such a great event for our salvation, the Church calls upon us to honor the Ever-Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord, in an appropriate manner.

The day after many of the Church’s Feast Days is called the Synaxis – such as the day after the Nativity of the Theotokos, when the righteous Joachim and Anna are commemorated; or the day following the Feast of Theophany, when we honor Saint John the Baptist, etc.

The Feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God dates back to very ancient times. In the IV century, some Holy Fathers, such as Saint Epiphanios of Cyprus (May 12), were already preaching about it.

In the ancient Menaia, the Feast of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos was called “the Nativity Gifts.” This refers to the gifts which the Magi from the East brought to the newborn King of the Jews – the Divine Child Jesus. The Feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God was also called “the Flight into Egypt.”

On December 26, the early Church commemorated the Wise Men who came to worship the Savior, and the flight into Egypt, as well as the Synaxis of the Mother of God. That is why some icons of the Nativity of the Lord depict His Birth, the worship of the shepherds and the Magi, as well as the Flight into Egypt. Sometimes the inscription reads “The Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos.”

Now, however, we commemorate “the Adoration of the Magi: Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar, and also the shepherds in Bethlehem who were watching their flocks and came to see the Lord” on the first day of the Nativity (December 25), but the Flight into Egypt is commemorated separately on December 26, the second day of the Nativity.

Before the massacre of the 14,000 Holy Innocents (December 29), an Angel warned Saint Joseph to take the Child and His Mother and flee to Egypt and to remain there until the Angel brought him word that it was safe for him to return to Nazareth, “for Herod will seek the child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13).

In the icon of the Flight into Egypt there are mountains. The Virgin sits on a donkey with her Child, looking back at Joseph. He holds a staff, and his cloak is thrown over his shoulder. A young man (Tradition says this was Saint Joseph’s son James, the Brother of the Lord) leads the donkey carrying a rush basket, and looks back at the Virgin. Behind them is a fortified town with idols toppling from the walls. This event was prophesied by Isaiah: “Behold, the Lord sits on a swift cloud,¹ and shall come to Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and their heart shall faint within them” (Isaiah 19:1); and the Prophet Hosea alludes to it: “Out of Egypt have I called my Son” (Hosea 11:1). This is also mentioned in the Church’s hymns.

Saint Nicodemus of Tismana

Pious Nicodemus was of Macedo-Romanian origin. He was born in Prilep, in the South of Serbia, about 1320, being related to the ruler prince of Wallachia Nicolae Alexandru Basarab (1352-1364) and to Saint knyaz Lazarus of Serbia (1371-1389).

He learned to read the Holy Scriptures ever since he was a child and loved to serve Christ. When his parents wanted to see him holding high positions according to their rank, he gave up all his parents’ fortune and the fame of the world.

Dressed in poor clothes he fled his parents’ house and went to the Holy Mount Athos where he entered Hilandar Monastery.

After three years of discipleship he was tonsured into monasticism and then ordained deacon and after a while priest.

Later on he went back to Serbia where he set up two monasteries and a parish church. About 1369 Saint Nicodemus arrived in Wallachia miraculously crossing the River Danube.

With the blessing of Saint Hyacinth, the then metropolitan of Wallachia, he settled here and set up Motru and Vodiţa Monasteries.

In 1375, Saint Nicodemus was a member of the delegation who went to the Patriarchate of Constantinople to reconcile it with the Church of Serbia after a few disagreements.

Saint Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople (1354-1355; 1364-1376) highly esteemed Saint Nicodemus, elevated him at the rank of archimandrite and gave him the patriarchal walking staff and three particles of holy relics.

He came back to Wallachia where, through divine instruction, he set up Tismana Monastery in 1378.

Pious Nicodemus settled there together with some of his disciples, but the number of those who would serve Christ under the spiritual guidance and advice of the wise abbot was increasing. He taught them all kindly and guided them to fulfil the will of God.

Saint Nicodemus was a great founder and organiser of the monastic life over here, according to the regulations of the Holy Mount Athos, and his disciples also founded, helped by the righteous Romanian ruler princes, the first coenobitic monasteries of Wallachia, which had also the task of opposing Catholic proselytism.

In the course of time, Tismana Monastery benefited from the help of ruler princes Radu I (1377-1383), Dan I (1382-1386) and Mircea the Old (1386-1418), whose father confessor pious Nicodemus was.

Between 1399 and 1405 he retreated at Prislop Monastery in Transylvania and in 1406 he returned to Wallachia.

Soon afterwards, Saint Nicodemus met ruler prince Mircea the Old at Tismana, who called him “my prayerful father Nicodemus”, and in November he participated in Severin in the meeting with king Sigismund of Hungary (1385-1437), whom he impressed with his gift to work miracles.

Saint Nicodemus corresponded with Euthymius, Patriarch of Tarnovo (1375-1393), for defending the true faith against the Bogomil heresy.

Saint Nicodemus fell asleep into the Lord on 26 December 1406 and was buried in the porch of the big church of Tismana Monastery.

His relics were kept for a while at Tismana, but later on they were hidden in an unknown placed because of the hostility of the time. Only the forefinger of his right hand and his lead cross that he used to wear on his chest remained at Tismana.

The holiness of his life and the miracles he made both during his lifetime and after his falling asleep into the Lord made the faithful venerate archimandrite Nicodemus as saint as soon as he passed away from this world.

In 1955, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church generalised the veneration of Pious Nicodemus all over the Romanian Patriarchate, considering him as one who renewed the Romanian coenobitic monasticism and as protector of Oltenia.

Through his holy prayers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Troparion

Tone 1

Thou didst follow the great Shepherd who arose from the Virgin, like sheep of the flock, O Nicodemus our Father. By fasting, vigil and prayers, thou didst make thyself a consecrated worker of heavenly things, healing the souls of those who faithfully had recourse to thee. Therefore, we say: Glory to Him Who has glorified thee! Glory to Him Who has given thee strength! Glory to Him Who has showed renewal for all through thee.

Venerable Martyr Gerasimus of Tismana

At Holy Baptism, he received the name Gregory, after his father. His mother was named Elena and ended her life as a nun. He inherited from his righteous parents the love of God and the love of prayer.

At the age of 12, he was accepted into the Holy Monastery of Bogdana, not far from his birthplace. He attended the Monastic Seminary at Neamț Monastery, then at Cernica Monastery. During this period, he entered as a brother into the Holy Monastery of Tismana, where he was tonsured into monasticism and given the name Gerasimus.

The Venerable Father showed great diligence in church services, obedience, and his cell rule, gaining the gift of tears and unceasing prayer. Being a fellow sufferer in his heart with all people, he was soon deemed worthy of the priestly rank, which he loved and honoured throughout his life, for he said: “I desired and still desire to be only a servant of the Altar, a service which, with God’s help, I have never defiled.”

Thus, laying these two cornerstones of his life, namely monasticism and priesthood, upon them, he founded all his thoughts, words, and deeds, always taking testimony from Scripture and the words of the Holy Fathers for all he did. In this way, he became a skilled preacher and a wise confessor.

At the age of 25, he was called to be the abbot of Arnota Monastery, which needed rebuilding after a severe fire. He fulfilled this service with complete dedication for two years before resigning when the bishop who appointed him retired.

He then moved to the Monastic Seminary at Cernica, taking the position of librarian-accountant, where he encouraged students to pay attention to their souls and learning. Later, he was sent to Transnistria as part of the Romanian Orthodox Mission to revive faith after 20 years of atheism.

There, he learned to serve in Slavonic within a week, striving to learn Russian and Ukrainian, the languages his parishioners speak in the village of Păsățel. He won their love by serving with great sacrifice in conditions of severe poverty, repairing the church with his own hands and reopening a skete. He also helped restore the cathedral in Balta.

Afterwards, he was called back to his monastery of repentance, Tismana, to be its abbot. Despite the post-war poverty, he made numerous improvements to the monastery, church, and Cioclovina skete and rebuilt the burnt cell block.

He became renowned as a spiritual man, full of wisdom and unwavering in the traditions of the Holy Fathers, with a gentle face and a habit of compassion. He did everything out of love and gave rebuke or penance with great sorrow, being more severe with himself than with others. He also had the gift of walking among wolves without being harmed by them.

Seeing his good deeds, God wanted to crown him further, adding to the secret martyrdom of his daily monastic struggles the visible martyrdom. Thus, he was arrested by order of the atheistic regime on the feast of St. John the Evangelist when he was 35 years old.

He was tortured, enduring hunger, cold, insults, and beatings. However, the servant of Christ rejoiced, considering it an honour to suffer a small part of Christ’s Passion, believing there was no more tremendous sacrifice or honour than to die for Him. Then, sentenced to 10 years of hard labour, they took away his monastic robe and sent him first to Aiud, where he encouraged all prisoners, who were greatly tormented by hunger, with five or six dying each day.

He was then sent with others to the Danube-Black Sea Canal, where they were again mocked, beaten, and forced to work beyond their strength, deprived of food and water. The Saint did not forget his priestly calling but continued to hear confessions and give communion in secret, helping his fellow prisoners in their work and strengthening them with words of comfort. For this, the guards oppressed him excessively, as did some prisoners, including a young unbeliever.

Soon, both the Saint and that young man fell ill with tuberculosis, and on the brink of death, they were both taken to the prison hospital in Târgu Ocna. There, despite his own physical weakness, he served as a spiritual father to all, advising, confessing, and giving communion, teaching about stillness and the Jesus Prayer to those who asked, for he was an advanced practitioner of this prayer.

As his end approached, the young man began to repent and confess God. Seeing his repentance, the Saint went to his bedside, supported by two prisoners, as he could no longer stand alone. He comforted him gently, assuring him of his love and forgiveness, that of all Christians, especially Christ’s love. After receiving his confession and giving him the Holy Mysteries, he assured him of a place in heaven.

Before passing from this life, the Saint heard angelic songs and was taken to the heavenly abode, about which he testified to those around him: “I was far away, in places of greenery, song, and fragrance, made of light. It’s wonderful there. There’s peace. Actually, it cannot be described what it’s like there. There’s so much happiness that even the joy of seeing it is a suffering due to the contrast between the two worlds.” And to those who suffered with him, he gave prophetic words of comfort: “One day, there will be a pilgrimage here… Now we are few, but faith still exists in the world, and the world will be saved. It seems impossible now, but beyond human means, there is divine economy, and it will renew humanity.” Then, blessing all, he departed from them on December 26th, on the commemoration of Saint Nicodim of Tismana. His body was thrown into the graves near the prison, while his spirit rejoices in the heavenly dwellings with the saints and martyrs, swiftly aiding all who call upon him with faith.

Through his holy prayers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Troparion, Tone 8:

Guide of monks and chosen adornment of confessors, Holy Father Gerasimus, the praise of Tismana, who is glorified in the company of martyrs and rejoices in heaven with Saint Nicodemus, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!