On September 7, we honor St. Evodius of the Seventy who was the first bishop in succession to Peter the Apostle in Antioch, Syria.  He held this office for 27 years under Emperor Nero.  In one of his works on the Holy Theotokos, St. Evoduis tells of Mary being taken to the Temple at age three and remaining there for eleven years.  She was then entrusted to Joseph for protection.  He also stated that Mary gave birth to the "Savior of the World" when she was fifteen.  A book entitled The Star  (also referred to as The Beacon) was credited to him in the fourteenth century by Nicephorus Callistus, a church historian.  None of his other compositions survived when the Christians were persecuted by Emperor Vespasian; and in Antioch in the year 66, St. Evodius of the Seventy became a martyr.
 
A disciple of the Apostle John referred to as Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer mentions St. Evodius in a letter to the Church of Antioch where he states, "Remember your blessed father Evodius, who was made your first pastor by the Apostles."  Being one of the Seventy, Evodius is believed to have been personally chosen by our Lord Jesus Christ to spread the Word.  On January 4, we honor all Seventy chosen.
 
The icon above depicts St. Evodius with St. Onesiphorus who was Bishop of Colophon.  He was a sincere friend and helper who was also martyred for the faith.  He is mentioned in II Timothy 1:16-18.

ST. GILES, whose name has been held in great veneration for several ages in France and England, is said to have been an Athenian by birth, and of noble extraction. His extraordinary piety and learning drew the admiration of the world upon him in such a manner that it was impossible for him to enjoy in his own country that obscurity and retirement which was the chief object of his desires on earth. He therefore sailed to France, and chose a hermitage first in the open deserts near the mouth of the Rhone, afterward near the river Gard, and lastly in a forest in the diocese of Nimes. He passed many years in this close solitude, living on wild herbs or roots and water, and conversing only with God.

We read in his life that he was for some time nourished with the milk of a hind in the forest, which, being pursued by hunters, fled for refuge to the Saint, who was thus discovered. The reputation of the sanctity of this holy hermit was much increased by many miracles which he wrought, and which rendered his name famous throughout all France. St. Giles was highly esteemed by the French king, but could not be prevailed upon to forsake his solitude. He, however, admitted several disciples, and settled excellent discipline in the monastery of which he was the founder, and which, in succeeding ages, became a flourishing abbey of the Benedictine Order.
 

Saint Aidan was born in Ireland (then called Scotland) in the seventh century. As a monk of the monastery founded by St Columba on the island of Iona, he was known for his strict asceticism.

When the holy King Oswald of Northumbria wanted to convert his people to Christianity, he turned to the Celtic monks of Iona. The first bishop sent to lead the mission proved unsuitable, for he alienated many people by his harshness, and he blamed the hostile disposition of the English for his failure. St Aidan said that the bishop was to blame, and not the English. Instead of being too severe with an ignorant people, he should have fed them with milk rather than solid food (I Cor. 3:2). The bishop was recalled, and an ideal candidate was found to replace him.

St Aidan was consecrated bishop and sent to Northumbria to take charge of the mission. King Oswald gave him the island of Lindisfarne near the royal residence of Bamburg for his episcopal See. St Aidan also founded the famous monastery on Lindisfarne in 635.

St Bede, in his ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE praises Aidan for his humility and piety, recommending him as a model for other bishops and priests to follow. He was not attached to the things of this world, nor did he seek earthly treasures. Whenever he received gifts from the king or from rich men, he distributed them to the poor. On Wednesdays and Fridays he would fast from all food until the Ninth Hour (about 3 P.M.), except during the paschal season.

From Lindisfarne, St Aidan traveled all over Northumbria, visiting his flock and establishing missions. St Oswald, who knew Gaelic from the time he and his family were exiled to Iona, acted as an interpreter for Bishop Aidan, who did not speak English. Thus, the king played an active role in the conversion of his people.

One year, after attending the services of Pascha, King Oswald sat down to a meal with Bishop Aidan. Just as the bishop was about to bless the food, a servant came in and informed the king that a great number of needy folk were outside begging for alms. The king ordered that his own food be served to the poor on silver platters, and that the silver serving dishes be broken up and distributed to them. There is a charming illustration of this incident in the thirteenth century Berthold Missal. Aidan, deeply moved by St Oswald's charity, took him by the right hand and said, "May this hand never perish." According to Tradition, St Oswald's hand remained incorrupt for centuries after his death. St Bede says that the hand was kept in the church of St Peterat Bamburgh, where it was venerated by all.

St Oswald was killed in battle against the superior forces of King Penda on August 5, 642 at a place called Maserfield. He was only thirty-eight years old. St Aidan was deeply grieved by the king's death, but his successor St Oswin was also very dear to him.

King Oswin once gave St Aidan a horse and a cart for his journeys (the bishop usually traveled on foot). Soon after this, Bishop Aidan met a beggar and gave him the horse and cart. The king heard of this and was disturbed by it. He asked St Aidan why he had given the royal gift away when there were ordinary horses in the stables which were more suitable for a beggar. Aidan rebuked him, asking if the king regarded the foal of a mare more highly than the Son of God. At first, he did not understand. Then he fell at the bishop's feet, weeping tears of repentance. Asking for forgiveness, Oswin promised never again to judge St Aidan's charitable deeds.

St Aidan raised the king to his feet, declaring that he had never seen a king who was so humble. He prophesied that Oswin would soon depart from this life, since the people did not deserve such a ruler. His prophecy was soon fulfilled, for St Oswin was murdered at Gilling on August 20, 651. St Aidan departed to the Lord on August 31, less than two weeks later. He died at Bamburgh, by the west wall of the church. The beam on which he was leaning to support himself still survives, even though the church was twice destroyed by fire. The beam may still be seen in the ceiling of the present church, above the baptismal font.

On the day St Aidan died, St Cuthbert was a young man tending his master's sheep. Looking up, Cuthbert saw a vision of angels bearing someone's soul to heaven in a sphere of fire. Later, he learned that Bishop Aidan had died at the very hour that he had seen the vision.

At first, the holy bishop Aidan was buried at Lindisfarne on the right side of the altar in the church of St Peter. In 664 the Synod of Whitby declared that all the churches of Britain must follow Roman practices, and that Celtic customs were to be suppressed. St Colman, the third Bishop of Lindisfarne, was unable to accept this decision. Therefore, he decided to retire to Iona, taking the bones of St Aidan with him. Celtic customs survived on Iona until the eighth century.
 

Saint Lawerence

Having had a father and a brother named Lawrence, this name was of interest to me.
 
On August 10, we honor St. Laurence, a cave dweller and recluse from the the Kiev Far Caves.  He lived a life of prayer and fasting to overcome the temptations of this life.  Not much is noted of his early life other than he came from Spain.  His office included caring for the sacred vessels of the church and distributing money to the needy.  St. Laurence (or St. Lawence) was a Roman Catholic Archdeacon when Emperor Valerian ordered many Christians and specifically Roman Catholic clergy to be executed.  He was one of the last seven deacons to be executed in what was referred to as the persecution of Valerian.  His remains lie to this day in the Catacomb of Cyriaca in the Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra.

Before Pope Sixtus of Athens was executed, he gave all of the church's sacred vessels to the care of St. Laurence.  After the Pope was beheaded, the vessels were demanded of St. Laurence.  He then asked for three day's time to prepare then before giving them up.  At the end of his three days, he presented a collection of poor and needy souls to the Prefect instead claiming they were the Church's treasure.  This act angered the Prefect so that he had him racked and scourged with scorpions.  He was then placed on a red-hot gridiron and burned to death.  St. Laurence was said to have no complaints or groans, but told his persecutors when he had been burned on one side to turn him over.  When they had done so and he was near death, he told them, "My flesh is now well done, you may taste of it."  He then prayed for his persecutors and gave up his spirit on August 10, 258.
 
In later years, Constantine the Great and several popes have honored him so,that the eventual result was the erection of the basilica of San Lorenzo which still exists over his burial place.  Prudentius wrote of his death in poetic fashion in a hymn called "Peristephanon," (Hymnus II).  Some believe this execution to be a legend rather than a factual account of events; however, the Roman Catholic Church has kept an accounting of all those who were martyred over the centuries that included the manner, place and date of their deaths.  There is a basilica in Rome dedicated to St. Lawrence that was built in his honor by Pope Damasus called San Lorenzo in Damaso.  Another church of San Lorenzo was erected in Lucina which still stands today.  Many icons show the saint with a gridiron in the background representing his martyrdom.

St. Martha of Bethany
Born and died 1st century.
Contemporary of our Lord and the Apostles.

We best know Martha from the Gospel’s of John and Luke as the sister of Mary (whom the Roman Catholic Church believes to be Mary Magdalene), and of Lazarus (whom Jesus raised from the dead). Jesus and his disciples visited and received lodging and food at the home of Martha on at least two occasions recorded in the Scriptures.  She and her brother and sister lived in the town of Bethany, approximately a mile and a half from Jerusalem along the road to Jericho on the south side of the Mount of Olives.

The account of the dinner event recorded in Luke 10:38-42 depicts Martha as worried and anxious, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

It may seem as if Jesus is chiding Martha in this passage but He is merely teaching. He loved Martha. It was Martha who acknowledges that, “You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” Jn. 11:27. In this, she acknowledges him as God and Savior.

Little is known about what becomes of St. Martha .We have no further information provided by Holy Scriptures, only legends.

Saint AnneMother of the B.V.M.(Hebrew: “Hannah”, meaning “grace”).

Wife of Joachim, Mother of Mary, Grandmother of our Lord Jesus. Patroness of Brittany and Canada (the shrine of St. Anne de Beaupré). Her dates of birth and death are unknown.

Very little is known of St. Anne, she is not mentioned in the canonical gospels and it appears she died very early in Jesus life or before His birth. She lived in Nazareth.

Apocryphal literature, chiefly the Protoevangelium of James, which dates back only to circa 150 A.D. records her as well advanced in years and childless. In this account, Anne prays beneath a laurel tree where she lives in Galilee. Her prayer is heard by the Lord who sends and angel to proclaim that she will conceive a child, “who’s seed shall be spoken of in all the word”. The account states that Anne replied, "As the Lord my God liveth, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life " And thus Anne became the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 As recorded in the “Calendar of Constantinople” (the oldest liturgical document of the Greek Church (first half of the eighth century) the Greeks keep a collective feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne on the 9th of September.

St. Anne has been greatly venerated by the Eastern Church since earliest times.  Legend states that the relics of St. Anne were brought from the Holy Land to Constantinople in 710 and retained in the Church of St. Sophia until 1333. The Western Church did not venerate St. Anneuntil introduction in England by Urban VI on November 21, 1378. It was extended to the universal Latin Church in 1584.

St. James the Greater; Apostle and brother of St. John the “Beloved”

Birth date unknown – Martyred A.D. 44

Prior Occupation:Fisherman, Sea of Galilee; acquaintance of the Apostle’s Peter and Andrew

We know little of the early life of James the Greater, only that he and his brother the Apostle John were sons of a Galilean fisherman named Zebedee. Their mother, Salome, later became a close follower and supporter of Jesus. It was Salome who approached Jesus and asked Him to allow her sons to sit on His right and left hand in the Kingdom (Matthew 20:21).

James is called “The Greater” to distinguish him from the Apostle James the Less, (referring perhaps to stature not necessarily accomplishments, or that he became an Apostle before James, the son of Alpheus).  Nicknamed by Jesus as, “The Sons of Thunder”, James and John had a severe temper. It was their suggestion to Jesus: "Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?" (Luke 9:54), referring to the Samaritans who refused to receive Christ.

 As Phillip sought his brother Simon Peter and brought him to the Messiah, so John brought his older brother James. Jesus called them from the fishing boat of their father and told them to follow Him and He would make them, along with Peter and Andrew, “fishers of men”. He later declared them "Apostles", (from the Greek apostello which means "to send forth"). James, along with his brother John and Peter held a special standing as Apostles. They are the only three that were allowed to witness the miracle of the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51), the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28), and to accompany the Agony of the Lord in the deeper reaches of the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37; Mark 14:33).

James the Great was the first martyred Apostle. He was beheaded during the Feast of the Passover in 44A.D. in Jerusalem at the order of King Herod Agrippa I who sought favor among the Jews by persecuting the new Church. It is recorded by St. Clement of Alexandria that the accuser who led the Apostle to judgment was so moved by his confession, he became himself a Christian, and they were beheaded together.

Ss. Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves

(July 10) – Anthony of the Caves – 983 – 1073

Born in Liubech, Ukraine, secular name Antyp.  As a youth, joined the Greek Orthodox monastery at Mt. Athos, where he adopted the name Anthony.
He later returned to the Ukraine, where he reputedly resided in a cave near Berestove near Kiev.  
With St. Theodosius of the Caves, he founded the Kyrvian Cave Monastery, and Anthony emerged as founder of monasterism in the Ukraine.
He led a life of great austerity – lived on bread, water, and raised his own vegetables.  He Welcomed all to share his austere life.  He retired to Chernigov, and returned to St. Petersburg, where he died at 90.

St. Thomas More, Knight, Lord Chancellor of England, author and martyr.
St. Thomas More, 1478-1535

Born London 2-7-1477 or 1478, executed on Tower Hill 7–6-1535
His parents were Sir John, barrister and judge, by first wife Agnes Graunger.  
Born on Milk St. London, he studied at Oxjord, where he wrote comedies, and studied Greek and Latin literature.  Removed to London where he studied law, becoming a barrister in 1501.  Determined instead to be a monk, he lived with the Carthusians, but instead felt it his duty to serve his country; he entered Parliament in 1504, and married for the first time. He was a  lifelong friend of Erasmus.
Thimas! writings so angered Henry VII that More withdrew from public life until the death of the king in 1509; he then became undersherriff of London.
When his wife died in childbirth he soon married Dame Alice.
He became active under Henry Viii, became a member of the Privy Council and was knighted in 1521.

By helping Henry write "Defense of the Seven Sacraments" he was made Speaker of the House of Commons and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1525.
He helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech.
In spite of refusing to endorse Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, be became Lord Chancellor in 1529.
 
This was the begging of the end.  He resigned in 1532 citing ill health, but really because Henry's stance toward the Roman Church.  When he refused to attend Ann Boleyn's coronation, he was accused of complicity in opposition to  Henry's break with Rome, and refused to sign the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy.  Then off to the Tower of London, and beheading 7-6-35, as guilty of treason.
His final words on the scaffold: "The King's good servant, but God's first."
He was beatified in 1886, and cannonized by Rome, Pope Pius XI, in 1935.