Urho - The Way, New York, NY (2026)

09/14/2026

𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔

Today the Church commemorates the Feast of the Discovery of the Cross.

What is so festive about this episode?

If at all, it should elicit indignance at the domestication of the Cross of Christ by the Empire.

The Cross, the most ignominious imperial instrument of ex*****on, which Christ grabbed from the hands of the empire by effacing His flesh and blood, emptied it of its imperial import, once again falls into the hands of the empire.

The empire then conveniently and subtly converts the crucified Christ into the crucifying Christ co-opting the Cross as the signet of war beginning with the Emperor Constantine.

Crusades and Holocaust were glaring examples of the new meanings ascribed to the Cross of Christ by the Empire.

From where it was implausible that a Christian would fight in the army as it involved killing, post Constantine's legalization of Christianity the entire army became Christian.

Prelates inspired mercenaries for war by assuring them that they would get a free pass to Heaven if they killed for the Church.

Later the liturgical texts of the Church were systematically cleansed of the imperial smirch by shifting the blame of executing Christ exclusively to the Jews from the Roman Empire thereby completey exonerating the Empire.

Cross, the very instrument of inclusion (John 12:32) was insidiously transmuted to the instrument of discrimination and detest by the imperial hegemony.

Overnight the Church was transported from margins to mansions; streets to Roman basilicas. Scriptures began to be read from the position of power and privilege and the profound power of powerlessness that Jesus proclaimed and practiced was ditched.

A radically democratic community of equals and disciples was metamorphosed into a hierarchical model of government, ruled and controlled by kings, lords, princes, and men.

It was made axiomatic that the enemies of the Empire were the enemies of all.

All structures developed by the Empire for the so called 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦, the well-being, of the Church, completely and irrevocably altered the 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦, the being, of the Church.

All this because the Empire never converted to Christianity; it was Christianity which converted to the Empire.

Repent and Retrieve the Cross from the clutches of the Empire. Better late than never.

~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥

09/04/2026

Join us tomorrow at 10am EDT/7:30pm IST as Dayroyo Imad Syryany talks about his new English translation of the Sh'himo, the Syriac Prayer of the Hours.

📝 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙮𝙧𝙤𝙮𝙤 𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙙
From Lebanon, Dayroyo Imad graduated with a Bachelor of Theology and a Diploma of Syriac Studies and Liturgy from Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary in Syria in 2017. He completed graduate studies at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago in 2023 with a Master's of Divinity and Master's of Arts in Pastoral Counseling. He was tonsured as a monk brother in the Order of the Holy Cross in Saydnaya, Syria in 2023. He currently serves as the acting supervisor of the curriculum, formator, and instructor at the Mor Aphrem Seminary. He was co-editor of the book "160 Unpublished Homilies of Jacob of Serugh" along with H.E. Mor Serverios Roger Akhrass (2017). He also edited and translated the book "Jacob of Serugh: Homilies on Topics from the New Testament" (Arabic, 2021). Today, we talk about his latest effort in editing and translating the Syriac-English Shhimo.

08/05/2026

// 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 //

Jesus transfigures only before them who show the nerve to ascend the mountain. His glory can be beheld by those who are ready to transcend the apparent enticements offered by the "six days" (Matt 17:1) of the world so as to reclaim our true yet lost glory reserved in the timelessness of the seventh day, the eternal Sabbath. Origen observes;

"𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥."

Paradise yearns for us and this yearning was made blatant in the transfiguration of Christ on the mountain revealing to his chosen disciples our primordial robe of glory which we transgressively traded for a robe of flesh. Paradise is envisioned as a mountain drawing reference from Ezekiel 28:13-14. This mountain can only be ascended through the Cross. As St. Ephrem puts it; "𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦."

The Passion inevitably precedes the glorification. Origen explains how Christ was lured by Satan through Peter to abandon His Passion on the Cross by the temptation of the booths. We seem to prefer God in booth than in flesh. An attempt to de-incarnate Christ always lurks around the corner. Rowan Williams remarks;

"𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦. 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴...𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳."

Lastly transfiguration of Christ is intrinsically exegetical in nature. As St. Ephrem suggests not only does Christ affirm his Lordship over heaven and earth by ordering them to descend the assumed Elijah and raise the buried Moses respectively but also fulfils in Himself the Prophecy and Law which Elijah and Moses respectively represent; for after the prostration the disciples "saw no one except Jesus himself alone" (Matt 17: 8). Fascinatingly this mountain is a typological repesentation of the Church. For St. Ephrem remarks;

"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴."

𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 !

~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥

07/27/2026

𝑺𝒕. 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅

St. Simeon the Stylite (from Greek στῦλος stylos meaning pillar or column) was one of the most formidable ascetics that Christianity ever witnessed. The extreme eccentricities of his ascesis though daunting were never revulsive but awe-inspiring even to his disparagers who drew nigh to ponder his vocation more closely.

St. Simeon was born in 386 C.E. in a village named Sis from the region of Nicopolis in Northern Syria. Born to Christian parents he was baptized while young. However, he wasn’t trained in the rudiments of Christian faith for he had to tend his parents' sheep from an early age thus spent most of his time in fields and mountains.

Once when it snowed and the sheep had to stay indoors Simeon happened go to church along with his parents where he heard the Beatitude of Christ; “𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥” (𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵. 5:4). There began his long and arduous calling of mourning for his sins and the sins of the world which ultimately fetched him the title “𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴” (ܪܺܫܳܐ ܕ݂ܰܐܒܺܝܠܶܐ risho dabile).

St. Simeon stayed a few years in monasteries at Tel’ada and Telneshe but the severity of his ascetic exercises so outweighed and alarmed his fellow monks that the Abbot ordered him to depart lest he might cause harm to the weaker ones who might try to emulate his practices.

On leaving the monasteries, Simeon wandered as a recluse for a brief stint and finally began mounting pillars of increasing heights beginning with 11 cubits, 17 cubits, 22 cubits and eventually 40 cubits on which he spent roughly the last 40 years of his life completely unsheltered exposing himself to the “flames of the sun, frosts of the winter, fierce blasts of the winds and the weakness of human nature” yet absolutely unshaken. Simeon reposed in the Lord in 459 C.E.

Simeon’s life seemed to enliven the testimony of the Psalmist; “𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴…𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦” (𝘗𝘴.18:33; 40:2). The stance of continual prayer on the pillar which Simeon had inaugurated was not a passing vogue but was sustained by his followers until mid-nineteenth century.

Much ink may be spilled on the rigorous ascetic athleticism of Simeon but I intend to bring forward a striking distinctiveness of Simeon which evidently sets him apart i.e. his ardent love towards incense. In fact, Simeon’s ascetical life begins and ends with incense.

As the Syriac Vita records; “𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺…𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘹 (𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘯), 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘹 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵.” After actively attending to the Scriptures and realizing the significance of offering incense Simeon “𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨; ‘𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.’”

Once an angel visited Simeon and taught him to build an altar. Simeon complied with the commands of the angel and built the altar. He then inquired the angel; “𝘔𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.’”

Incidentally, the Church likens her martyrs to incense. For instance, the Qolo of Tuesday Matins states; “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.”

Just as resin burns and transforms into a sweet fragrance rising upward so also the pillar of Simeon resembled a crucible in which the squalor of his sufferings transformed into a pleasing spectacle of God’s grace. As St. Jacob of Serug poignantly puts it; “𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴.”

That Simeon was truly a spectacle of God’s grace and that this grace triumphs nature was evidently unveiled when his foot was afflicted with a gangrenous ulcer and the flesh decayed leaving the bones and tendons visible, he was still able to maintain his stance with his entire body weight being balanced on one foot. It was this same grace which strengthened Simeon to bear the blows of Satan.

St. Jacob of Serug further mentions; “𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵: ‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵? 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘎𝘰, 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.’”

Finally, the death of Simeon was way fragrant than incense. As the vita notes; "𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥.”

Probably because of Simeon’s exceeding fondness for incense he received a unique privilege of being buried in a church; an honour deprived to the apostles or any other martyrs. Among the saints Simeon was the first to be buried in a church; and that too not just any church but the greatest church constructed in the 5th cent. (476-490 C.E.) by the Emperor Constantine in Qalat Siman. It was an absolute architectural marvel for its time widely renowned for its size, beauty and workmanship yielding substantial influence not just on the religious and artistic culture of late antiquity but on the economy of Syria as well.

Festal Greetings !

~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥

07/20/2026

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕 𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒋𝒂𝒉: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒔

As a prophet chauffeured by the Spirit of God (1 Kings 18:12; John 3:8), Elijah appears out of the blue in 1 Kings 17 – without any formal warning or introduction whatsoever – to reproof King Ahab, the most idolatrous King whom Israel had to endure. The wisdom of God is indeed marvellous for He raises the right person at the right time. As we sing in the Qolo of Wednesday Compline;

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦: 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘩𝘢𝘣, 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘩, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺-𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴.”

From Moses until the period of judges, Yahweh’s work is spearheaded by the High Priests. From King David, Yahweh worked through Kings. Finally, when the Kings fell for idolatry and rejected Yahweh, He begins a new form of ministry led by the prophets. Prophet Elijah kick starts this new paradigm of prophetic era and hence may indubitably be conferred with the title “Father of the Prophets.”

The life and witness of Elijah reinforce the meaning of his name which is “Yahweh is my God” (אליהו – Eliyahu). A maxim that Elijah often uses is “𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥…”This bolsters the fact that Elijah is the true prophet of Yahweh for the false ones could never stand before Him (Jer.23: 18, 22). With this axiom Elijah confronts King Ahab, son of Omri, who reigned over Israel in Samaria.

Ahab was the most notorious and outrageous King of Israel who overtly endorsed and practiced idolatry. He married a callous Sidonian Princess Jezebel (who would later become the chief contriver of anti-Yahweh pursuits in Ahab's palace) and erected an altar for Baal and worshipped him. The Scripture records of King Ahab; “𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮” (1 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 16:33).

In a nutshell, King Ahab pitched a policy to “Re-Canaanitize Israel” as is symbolically depicted in his desire to convert the vineyard of Naboth into a vegetable garden (legan yaraq, לגן ירק) an expression used only in Deut 11:10 in reference to the land of Egypt.

Owing to the idolatry of King Ahab, Yahweh through his prophet Elijah, shut the heavens and withheld rain for 3 years and six months (1 Kings 17:1; Jas.5:17). Drought was one of the curses Yahweh had promised if Israel ever worshipped idols; “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥.” (𝘋𝘦𝘶𝘵. 28: 23-24).

As if the ordeal of drought was not enough, Yahweh sends off Elijah to Zarephath - Jezebel’s territory and thus the territory of Baal - thereby depriving Israel not only of food but also the word of God. On the contrary, the food of the widow of Zarephath is replenished and her son is raised from dead. Elijah becomes the first one to revive someone from dead an act which even the great Moses could not do. In so doing, Elijah proclaims Yahweh’s superiority not only above Baal – the Canaanite god of fertility but also over Mot – the Canaanite god of the underworld. What a sight to behold! Going into the territory of Baal and obliterating it outright.

In the third year of the drought, Elijah returned to Samaria and single-handedly renewed the Sinai-covenant on the Mount of Carmel. He openly challenged the 450 priests of Baal. Elijah asked for two bulls one for himself and one for the priests of Baal. Both of them chopped the bulls and laid them on wood. Then they both had to call on their respective gods. The god who answered with fire would be considered the true God. As expected no response came from Baal however Yahweh sent fire from heaven and consumed the offering of Elijah fulfilling the prophecy of David, “𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘳” (𝘗𝘴 51:19). Elijah then slaughtered all the prophets of Baal. After this Yahweh sent rain and renewed the land.

Elijah then headed to Beersheba and later to Mount Horeb where he sought God in a great wind, an earthquake and a fire all associated with Yahweh’s advent (2 Sam 22:11; Is 29:6). Yet he encountered God in a voice entrusting him with three tasks to overthrow King Ahab’s house which were to anoint Hazael (a Gentile) and Jehu (an Israelite) as the two swords of Yahweh and Elisha as a prophet who would assume his place.

The investiture of Elisha was performed with the prophetic mantle Elijah adorns as he stands before Yahweh in his prophetic capacity (1 Kings 19:19) and therefore it should not be surprising that Elisha receives this mantle as the double share of Elijah’s spirit as he dodging death is taken up to heaven by a whirlwind in a fiery chariot driven by two horses of fire.

May I conclude with the words of St. Jacob of Serug;

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘮𝘱, ‘𝘎𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘐 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘎𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦. 𝘎𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦.’”

Blessed Feast !

~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥

07/15/2026

𝑴𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅

The oldest document narrating the martyrdom of St. Kuriakose and St. Yulithi is the 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘢 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘢 which presents the three year old St. Kuriakose as a militantly loquacious evangelizer and his mother St. Yulithi as an avid disciple.

St. Kuriakose took birth in 302/305 C.E. in Iconium, Turkey as the sole child of St. Yulithi, a descendent of Asia Kings in Asia Minor. After the demise of St. Yulithi’s husband who was an army officer, the mother and child were left all alone to face the gruesome persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Owing to this, St. Yulithi along with her son fled to Seleucia, Syria and then later to Tarsus.

On arriving Tarsus, the Tetrarch Alexandros, seized and coerced them to renounce the Lord and offer sacrifices to his idols. St. Kuriakose’s response to the Tetrarch’s injunction is very well recorded in the Sedro of Vespers;

“𝘛𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴? 𝘛𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘴? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘧? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

This infuriated the Tetrarch and both St. Kuriakose and St. Yulithi were subjected to ghastly tortures. The Sedro further mentions;

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵! 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥'𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯, 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘪𝘭!”

One of the chief characteristics we decipher of the martyrs is that they really aspired to die for Christ. We thus sing in the Qolo of Thursday Vespers (𝘚𝘩’𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘰);

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘴.”

Therefore, the greatest wisdom imparted by the martyrs is how to creatively instrumentalize our death – a common and inevitable phenomenon. Just as the Immortal Son of God entered His immortality through His death on the Cross so must we enter our immortality by wholeheartedly embracing our mortality. Cross then becomes the way to dignify our mortality.

Moving ahead, St. Yulithi unveils a motherhood completely antithetical to the conventional conceptions. Her response on the death of her child is contrary to the response not only of the mothers of the Holy Innocents – who are traditionally depicted as archetypes of inconsolable grief (Jer. 31:5) – but also the Virgin Mary Herself. They all grieved over the death of their children unlike St. Yulithi who rejoiced at her son’s martyrdom because she subordinated biology to Christology.

If you think about it, the separation of a child from its mother through death is only one link in a chain of separations that begins in the womb. From the moment the embryo is formed in the mother, the mother and child begin to drift apart. The painful and somewhat dangerous act of birth tears one body from another, shattering the concept of unity thereby creating a growing distance.

The infant thereafter develops motor skills and articulates its own voice, learning to walk and eventually to separate. Death in this sense is partly a more accentuated form of the natural sequence of separation inherent in earlier stages of the life cycle but also a process that is fundamentally different in terms of its finality.

St. Yulithi was able to make subservient the life-giving possibilities of her womb by attributing the breath and life of her son to the Creator of the Universe thereby affirming God as the true Father of humanity (Ps 104:29-30).

St. Yulithi encouraged and rejoiced in the martyrdom of her only son, St. Kuriakose because she knew that albeit she had given birth to him, his birth was imperfect and that it would be complete only if he were born from the womb of eternal life i.e. Death just as exemplified by Christ who is no wonder known as the “𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥” (𝘊𝘰𝘭 1:18). This is the great mystery of life which the Church visually represents through Holy Baptism.

Being inspired by St. Yulithi may we also display a versatile motherhood one which leads our kids to the foot of the Cross of Christ where they encounter God their true Father.

~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥

07/06/2026

Memory Eternal ♱

06/29/2026

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆

Biblical Numerology recognizes 12 (much like 3, 7, 10, 50 and 100) as a number of authority and divine order signifying the indefectible governmental foundation of God and His power over creation. As the product of the numbers 3 and 4 where 3 represents the Holy Trinity and 4 the four quarters of the world, the number 12 denotes a harmonious blend of the heavenly and the earthly spheres.

If I may cite a few references;

1. There were 12 tribes of Israel (Gen 49:28).

2. The breastplate of Aaron – the first High Priest – had twelve stones (Ex 28:21).

3. Moses discovered 12 springs of water in Elim after experiencing the bitter waters of Marah (Ex 15:27).

4. Moses sent 12 spies to Canaan to scout the potential of the land (Num 13:1-3).

5. After receiving the Law, Moses erected twelve pillars at the foot of Mount Sinai (Ex 24:4).

6. Solomon appointed 12 officers over Israel (1 Kings 4:7).

7. Jesus addressed God 𝘈𝘣𝘣𝘢 at the age of 12 (Lk 2:42).

8. Jesus chose 12 apostles (Matt 10: 1-4).

9. The wall of the New Jerusalem has 12 foundation stones each bearing the name of an apostle (Rev 21:14).

10. The woman clothed with the sun had a crown with 12 stars (Rev 12:1).

I could go on...

The Liturgy of the Church as well upholds the solemnity of the number 12. The 𝘌𝘲𝘣𝘰 of Thursday Night Vigil remarks;

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘨𝘦.”

Furthermore, the Sedro of the Vespers of the Feast of the Holy Apostles mentions;

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩.”

The fact that the Holy Apostles are likened to pillars is because – along with the prophets and the martyrs – they form the foundation of the Holy Church as is made evident in the 𝘘𝘰𝘭𝘰 of Tuesday Vespers;

“𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺.”

It is quite intriguing to note that the Ecumenical Councils chose to place the qualifiers of the Church viz. One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic in the same section as that of the Holy Spirit. This is probably because - as Metropolitan John Zizioulas observed - although Christ instituted the Church it is the Holy Spirit that constitutes it for He is the Life-giving Lord of all.

We need to take cognizance of the fact that when we speak of the apostolicity of the Church we are actually referring not to the mere episcopal succession but more vividly to the apostolic kerygma. Therefore, if we are to honour the apostolicity of the Church we must proclaim not our own eccentric faith but the faith of the apostles taught and traditioned by our Lord Jesus Christ strongly bearing in mind the digression of the world from the True Faith as forewarned by St Paul;

“𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘴.” (2 𝘛𝘪𝘮 4:3-4).

Festal Greetings !

~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥

06/29/2026

Blessed Feast ✣ 🕊️

06/26/2026

// 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔' 𝑭𝒂𝒔𝒕 //

The Fast of the Apostles, though inspired from and attributed to the Holy Apostles, is however a dominical fast dedicated to the Holy Spirit. St. John of Mardin writes in his canon of 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘰 𝘥’𝘔𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰; “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 (𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺) 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵.” Furthermore, Mor John of Dara states in his Commentary on Holy Qurobo that the Apostles themselves fasted until the fiftieth day after Pentecost.

Bar Ebroyo records in his 𝘒𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘰 𝘥-𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘺𝘦 (The Book of Guides, also known as Nomocanon) various traditions concerning the observance of this Fast. He mentions that some commenced the Fast the Monday following the feast of Pentecost while some others began on the second Monday following Pentecost. Nevertheless both concluded on June 29th with the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. In the Council of Homs 1946, the period of the Fast was reduced to three days i.e. June 26th – 29th.

The more distant the Fast got from the Feast of Pentecost the more divorced it became from its theological import. Rather than glorifying “the Holy Spirit who 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬” (𝘚𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵) we appear to glorify the Apostles themselves. Although the Apostles walked with Christ and were taught by Christ Himself, they neither understood Christ nor His teachings until the reception of the Holy Spirit because faith is a gift of the Spirit (1 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 2:27). St. Basil the Great remarks; “𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵.” (𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘮 115).

It is the Spirit who enlightens our faculties, mediates our memory, and reminds us the teachings of Christ. As Christ Himself said; “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” (𝘚𝘵. 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 14:26). Therefore as we observe this Fast may we bear in mind the original purport of this Fast.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴; 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴.” (𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵)

~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥

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