Coptic Synaxarium
The Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Tubah
Tubah 6
Commemoration of the Circumcision of
the Lord Christ
On this day, the church
celebrates the commemoration of the circumcision of the Lord Christ, to
Whom is the glory. God had ordained the law of circumcision as a sign that
His people would become a particular people over all others. This was that
every male of the seed of Abraham be circumcised on the eighth day of his
birth. God put every soul that did not obey this law under judgement. As
our Lord Jesus was born from the posterity of Abraham, according to the
flesh, He willed to be circumcised on the eighth day, to fulfill the law
of Moses and to relieve us from the heavy burden of this commandment, as
St. Paul says, "Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the
fathers."
(Romans 15:8) He also gave us the sign of the new covenant through
baptism, as St. Paul says, "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by
the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in Baptism in which you also
were raised with Him, through faith in the working of God, Who raised Him
from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you
all trespasses."
(Colossians 2:11-13) Therefore, He demands from us to
keep the spiritual circumcision, that is to say the circumcision of the
heart, so that we may live for Him in righteousness and in holiness, for
He says, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
Kingdom of God."
(John 3:5)
Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Ascension of Elijah the Prophet
Also, on this day was the
departure of the prophet Elijah (Elias), the Tishbite, to heaven, alive.
This prophet lived during the time of King Ahab. His heart was filled with
sorrow, for he saw the king had turned from the worship of the God of Israel
to the worship of idols. He followed Queen Jezebel, who helped the priests
of Baalzebub. The worship of idols spread out in his days. Therefore, Elijah
stood before the king and said, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before
Whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my
word."
(I Kings 17: 1) Immediately the brooks dried up, for there had been
no rain in the land, and the grass dried up and the drought set in the
whole land. God however did not forsake his zealous servant. He commanded
him to go to the brook of Cherith, and the ravens came to him everyday
and brought him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening.
The Lord ordered the water
of the river to dry, but He did not forsake the prophet Elijah. God commanded
him to go to Zarephath, which belonged to Sidon, where he found a widow
gathering sticks and he asked her for bread to eat. She said to him, "As
the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in
a bin and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks,
that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat
it and die." Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said,
but make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me; and afterward
make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel,
'The bin of flour shall not be used up; nor shall the jar of oil run dry,
until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'" So she went away and
did according to the words of Elijah, and she, the prophet, and her household
ate for many days.
Elijah stayed with the widow
until the drought had ended. She had a son who was sick, and his sickness
progressed until he died. The prophet saw the grief of the woman. He took
her son from her and carried him to the upper room where he was staying
and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and he stretched
himself out on the child three times. The Lord heard the voice of Elijah
and the soul of the child came back to him, and he was revived. Elijah
took the
child and brought him down and gave him to his mother alive.
(I Kings 17:17-23) When Jezebel knew that Elijah executed all the priests of Baal
by the sword, she threatened to kill him. When he saw that, he arose and
ran for his life. He went to Mount Horeb where he hid himself. The Lord
talked to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" So he said, "I have been
very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts; for the children of Israel have
forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets
with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life." The Lord
said to him, "... Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose
knees have not bowed to Baal... "
(I Kings 19:10-18)
When Ahab died and King
Ahaziah reigned, he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the
way of his father Ahab. Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room
in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers to inquire from Baalzebub,
the god of Ekron, whether he would recover from his injury. Elijah, the
Prophet, met with his messengers and he told them to go and tell the King,
"Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire
of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore, thus says the Lord! You
shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall
surely die." When they said this to the King, the King knew that it was
Elijah the prophet. The King sent to him a captain of fifty, and the prophet
was sitting on the top of the hill. He said to Elijah, "Man of God, the
King has said, 'Come down.'" So, Elijah answered and said to the captain,
"If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume
you and your fifty men." And the fire came down from heaven and consumed
them. Then the King sent another captain of fifty and said to him what
the first captain said. And the fire came down from heaven and consumed
them. The third captain came to Elijah and fell on his knees before him
and pleaded with him. Elijah arose and went down with him to the King whom
he rebuked. The King died in his bed.
(2 Kings 1:1-18)
After that, Elijah went
to the Jordan River and he took with him Elisha, his disciple. He struck
the water with his mantle, and the river was divided and the two of them
crossed over on dry ground. While they were talking to each other, suddenly
a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, separated the two of them,
and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
(2 Kings 2:1-12)
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of Marcianus, the Eighth Pope
of Alexandria
Also on this day in 154
A.D., St. Marcianus, 8th Pope of Alexandria, departed. He was born in Alexandria.
When Pope Omanius departed, the fathers of the church gathered with the
people of Alexandria and discussed whom they should choose for the vacant
throne. By consensus, they chose Marcianus for his intellect and righteousness.
He sat on the throne of St. Mark for 9 years, 2 months and 26 days. He
was always teaching his flock and protecting the church from all the foreign
teachings. When he completed his well pleasing course to God, he departed
in peace.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St. Basil the Great, Bishop
of Caesarea
Today also of the year 379
A.D., the great St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, departed. His father's name
was "Isosorus" (Isidore), who was a priest and a holy man. He begot five
children: St. Basil of Caesarea, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Kisarion (Cherion),
St. Peter of Sebastia, and St. Machrina. They all lived in holiness all
their lives. He was instructed in the art of rhetoric, at the hands of
the philosopher Libianius of Antioch, and he worked as an advocate. In
358 A.D., he abandoned the world and all its vain glories. He travelled
through the wilderness of Egypt, where he witnessed the ascetics and was
influenced by them. Upon his return, he withdrew to a wild and beautiful
spot in Pontus and devoted himself to prayer and study. When the news of
his holiness spread around, many came to him and they took him as a guide
to lead them in the way of perfection. In 362 A.D., he was promoted to
the priesthood. He continued to teach the believers, to defend the faith,
and to save those who had been loSt.
In 370 A.D., he was ordained
Bishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia. For his boldness in truth and for his rebuke
of the emperors who conducted themselves against the doctrine and those
who behaved immorally. Emperor Valens wanted to exile St. Basil, but he
declined because of the death of his son. Another time, when the Emperor
wanted to sign an order for his exile, the pen broke in his hand, he took
another pen and that also broke, and the same thing happened to a third
pen. Valens tore the paper and left the saint to shepherd his flock
and manage his church in peace. St. Basil was filled with the Holy Spirit,
and wrote the liturgy that is named after him. God wrought by his hands
many signs and miracles. Among them, some heretics gained control over
one of the churches and decided to close it unless someone opened it by
his prayers. By the prayers of this saint, the church was opened and the
believers gained access to it once again. Another sign: Abba Ephraim saw
a pillar of light between earth and heaven and heard a voice saying, "This
is Basil." St. Ephraim came to the city of Caesarea and witnessed the virtues
of St. Basil. St. Basil ordained him a deacon.
Among his miracles was that
a woman wrote all her sins on paper and gave it to St. Basil. He prayed
for her and her sins were forgiven, except one sin. He told her to go to
Abba Ephraim to pray for her. When she went to Abba Ephraim, he sent her
back to St. Basil saying, "Hurry, go back to meet him before his death."
When she came back, she found that he had passed away. She wept and she
put the paper that she had written on his body and the written sins were
blotted out. Also among his miracles was a Jewish physician, who was known
for his professional accuracy and who told the saint that he would die
after three days. The saint prayed to God, Who prolonged his life, and
he did not die on the day that the physician expected him to die. The physician
believed and was baptized with all his household. Another example is that
of a young man who wrote a covenant with the devil to deny his Christianity
and his baptism. Through the prayer of the Saint, the young man was saved
from the servitude of the devil. This saint had many virtues and performed
many miracles besides the above mentioned ones. He wrote many articles,
homilies, and discourses. He put down canons which the believers follow
till now. He also wrote commentaries on some of the Books of the Old and
New Testaments.
May His prayers be with us, and Glory be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.