August 20

S. V. Bulgakov, Handbook for Church Servers

February 9

D. Holy Martyr Nicephorus He was born in Antioch, Syria about the middle of the Third Century. St. Nicephorus up to the time of his sufferings had a great friendship with the priest Sapricius; but they quarreled about something or other and began to hate each other. Nicephorus soon repented and made an effort to reconcile with Sapricius; but Sapricius did not want to hear about reconciliation. Then a severe persecution of Christians began. Sapricius was among the first to be seized for torture for confessing Christ and after undergoing torture was led out for execution. When Sapricius was led to the place of execution, Nicephorus asked that before his death Sapricius would be reconciled with him, and was sorry that Sapricius rejected this request, and the Lord punished him, removing him from being a confessor with thepower of martyrdom because of his hardness of heart: Sapricius seeing the instrument of execution denied Christ. Then Nicephorus confessed himself a Christian and asked to be beheaded instead of the apostate Sapricius.

Kontakion, tone 1

Having been united in love, O Nicephorus,

You clearly destroyed the spite of hatred,

And beheaded by the sword,

You became a divine martyr of the incarnate Savior

Pray for us, who sing your glorious memory.

The Leavetaking of the Meeting of the Lord. On this day sometimes (see page 64 and below) the feast of the Meeting of the Lord is taken leave.

Note that If the Meeting of the Lord falls on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, or on the Monday or Tuesday of Meatfare week, the Leavetaking will fall on the following Friday. If the Meeting of the Lord falls on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday of Meatfare week, the Leavetaking will fall on Tuesday of Cheesefare week. If the Meeting of the Lord falls on Meatfare Sunday or on the Monday of Cheesefare week, the Leavetaking will fall on the Thursday of the same week. If the Meeting of the Lord falls on the Tuesday or Wednesday of Cheesefare week, the Leavetaking falls on theSaturday of the same week. If the Meeting of the Lord falls on Thursday,Friday or Saturday of Cheesefare, the Leavetaking will fall on Cheesefare Sunday. If the Meeting of the Lord falls on Cheesefare Sunday then there is no Leavetaking.

Refer to the Chapters in the Ustav (Typikon) and Menaion: If the Leavetaking of the Meeting of the Lord comes before the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, on any day of the week, except for Sunday; If it falls on a Sunday before the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee; if it falls on the Sunday of the Pharisee, or the Prodigal Son, or Cheesefare, or on Tuesdayor Thursday of Cheesefare week, or on the Saturday of Cheesefare.

Hieromartyr Bishops: Marcellus of Sicily, Philagrius of Cyprus and Pancratius of Tauromina. They were disciples of Apostle Peter and he placed them as bishops in different cities. All three accepted the crown of martyrdom for spreading the Christian faith among the pagans.

The Arabs killed the Martyr Peter of Damascus, for confessing the Christian faith in 743.

The Venerable Nicephorus and Gennadius of Vazheozero, disciples of the Venerable Alexander of Svir (see Aug. 30).

Gennadius was the son of wealthy parents, but distributed all his estate to the poor. He appeared before the Venerable Alexander by the Svir Riverwho then tonsured him and he then became his disciple and took the habit. After some years, Gennadius went to search for solitude for himself in another place and built a cell for himself on the Vazheozero, where he led solitary monastic life up to his death, which happened on January 8, 1516. The Venerable Nicephorus appeared in chains before the Venerable Alexander after the monastery on the Svir River was already founded, and withlove the Venerable Alexander accepted him into the brotherhood. After seven-years of ascetic effort in the Svir Monastery, the Venerable Nicephorus traveled to Kiev to venerate the holy places, and, having returned from there, he settled into the place of the ascetic efforts of the Venerable Gennadius on the Vazheozero. Here he built the Zadne-Nikiforovskii Hermitage, in which he died on February 9, 1550 (see the Olonets Diocese).

S. V. Bulgakov, Handbook for Church Servers, 2nd ed., 1274 pp., (Kharkov,1900) p 0075

Translation: Archpriest Eugene D. Tarris =A9 1/10/2002. All rights reserved.

S. V. Bulgakov, Handbook for Church Servers, 2nd ed., 1274 pp., (Kharkov, 1900), pp 290-1. Translated by Archpriest Eugene D. Tarris (c) 7/28/2001. All rights reserved.

Troparion and Kontakion take from the Menologian for windows

Posted with Permission from the Translator