St. Mark the Evangelist, Martyr

 Today the Church remembers St. Mark the Evangelist, who is the traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark. 

Ora pro nobis.

Mark was born c. 5 AD in the city of Cyrene, in modern Libya. He is said to have founded the Church of Alexandria, one of the most important episcopal sees of early Christianity. 

According to William Lane (1974), an "unbroken tradition" identifies Mark the Evangelist with John Mark, and John Mark as the cousin of Barnabas. However, Hippolytus of Rome in “On the Seventy Apostles” distinguishes Mark the Evangelist (2 Tim 4:11), John Mark (Acts 12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37), and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10; Phlm 1:24). 

According to Hippolytus, they all belonged to the "Seventy Disciples" who were sent out by Jesus to disseminate the gospel (Luke 10:1ff.) in Judea. According to Eusebius of Caesarea (Eccl. Hist. 2.9.1–4), Herod Agrippa I, in his first year of reign over the whole of Judea (AD 41), killed James, son of Zebedee, and arrested Peter, planning to kill him after the Passover. Peter was saved miraculously by angels, and escaped out of the realm of Herod (Acts 12:1–19). Peter went to Antioch, then through Asia Minor (visiting the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, as mentioned in 1 Peter 1:1), and arrived in Rome in the second year of Emperor Claudius (AD 42; Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.14.6). Somewhere on the way, Peter encountered Mark and took him as his travel companion and interpreter. Mark the Evangelist wrote down the sermons of Peter, thus composing the Gospel according to Mark (Eccl. Hist. 15–16), before he left for Alexandria in the third year of Claudius (43 AD). According to Acts 15:39, Mark went to Cyprus with Barnabas after the Council of Jerusalem (c. 50 AD).

According to tradition, in AD 49, about 19 years after the Ascension of Jesus, Mark travelled to Alexandria and founded the Church of Alexandria. Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and the Coptic Catholic Church trace their origins to this original community. Aspects of the Coptic liturgy can be traced back to Mark himself. He became the first bishop of Alexandria and he is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa. According to Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 2.24.1), Mark was succeeded by Annianus as the bishop of Alexandria in the eighth year of Nero (62/63 AD), probably, but not definitely, due to his coming death. Later Coptic tradition says that he was martyred on 25 April 68 AD. 

Evidence for Mark the Evangelist's authorship of the Gospel that bears his name originates with Papias. Scholars are "almost certain" that Papias is referencing John Mark. Catholic scholars have argued that identifying Mark the Evangelist with John Mark and Mark the Cousin of Barnabas has led to the downgrading of the character of Barnabas from truly a "Son of Comfort" to one who favored his blood relative over principles. Identifying Mark the Evangelist with John Mark also led to identifying him as the man who carried water to the house where the Last Supper took place (Mark 14:13), or as the young man who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:51–52).

The Coptic Church accords with identifying Mark the Evangelist with John Mark, as well as that he was one of the Seventy Disciples sent out by Christ (Luke 10:1), as Hippolytus confirmed. Coptic tradition also holds that Mark the Evangelist hosted the disciples in his house after Jesus's death, that the resurrected Jesus Christ came to Mark's house (John 20), and that the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost in the same house. Furthermore, Mark is also believed to have been among the servants at the Marriage at Cana who poured out the water that Jesus turned to wine (John 2:1–11).

According to the Coptic tradition, Mark was born in Cyrene, a city in the Pentapolis of North Africa (now Libya). This tradition adds that Mark returned to Pentapolis later in life, after being sent by Paul to Colossae (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). Some, however, think these actually refer to Mark the cousin of Barnabas (if you differentiate the two rather than being the same man), who was serving with him in Rome (2 Tim 4:11). In any event, Mark returned from the Pentapolis and made his way to Alexandria. When Mark returned to Alexandria, the pagans of the city resented his efforts to turn the Alexandrians away from the worship of their traditional gods. On 25 April AD 68, they placed a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.

Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

Armenian Genocide

 Today, we remember the Armenian Genocide (also known as the Armenian Holocaust), which was the systematic mass murder and expulsion of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians Christians carried out in Turkey and adjoining regions by the Muslim Ottoman government between 1894 and 1923. The starting date is conventionally held to be 24 April 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities rounded up, arrested, and deported from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the region of Angora (Ankara), 235 to 270 Armenian Christian intellectuals and community leaders, the majority of whom were eventually murdered.

The genocide was carried out during and after World War I and implemented in two phases—the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and subjection of army conscripts to forced labour, followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly, and the infirm on death marches leading to the Syrian Desert. Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and massacre. Most Armenian diaspora communities around the world came into being as a direct result of the genocide.

Other Christian ethnic groups were similarly targeted for extermination, including the Assyrian Christian genocide, in which as many as 300,00 native Christians, and the Greek Christian genocide in which as many as 750,00 Christians were murdered, and their treatment is considered by some historians to be part of the same genocidal policy.

The Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Christian Genocide is acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, because scholars point to the organized manner in which the killings were carried out. It is the second-most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust.

Turkey denies that the word genocide is an accurate term for these crimes, but in recent years has been faced with increasing calls to recognize them as such. As of 2019, governments and parliaments of 32 countries, including the United States, Russia, and Germany, have recognized the events as a genocide.

On this Day of Remembrance, we should remember and pray for the martyrs and the refugees in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and Syria. We should pray for the safety of the half a million Christians remaining in Syria, who are placed at risk because of religious persecution.

Almighty God, our Refuge and our Rock, your loving care knows no bounds and embraces all the peoples of the earth: Defend and protect those who fall victim to the forces of evil, and as we remember this day those who endured depredation and death because of who they were, not because of what they had done or failed to do, give us the courage to stand against hatred and oppression, and to seek the dignity and well-being of all for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, in whom you have reconciled the world to yourself; and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

A Prayer for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.

St. George, Martyr

 Today the Church remembers St. George, Martyr.

Ora pro nobis.

George was born to parents Gerontios and Polychronia. His father was a Roman officer and a Greek native of Lydda. His mother was from Syria. Both were Christians from noble families of the Anici and George was raised to follow their faith. His father died when George was young. When George was still a child, his mother, owning lands in Syria, moved there with her son and raised him in strict piety.

When George was old enough, he joined the Roman army. By his late 20's, George became a Tribunus and served as an imperial guard for the Emperor at Nicomedia.

On February 24, 303 A.D., Diocletian, who did much for the restoration of Roman might, was clearly concerned with the danger presented to pagan civilization by the triumph of the Crucified  and Risen Savior Jesus, and intensified his persecution against the Christians in the final years of his reign. Following the advice of the Senate at Nicomedia, Diocletian gave all his governors full freedom in their court proceedings against Christians, and he promised them his full support. He also decreed that every Christian the army passed would be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods. George refused to abide by the order and told Diocletian, who was angry but greatly valued his friendship with George's father.

When George announced his beliefs before his peers, Diocletian was unable to keep the news to himself. In an effort to save George, Diocletian attempted to convert him to believe in the Roman gods, offered him land, money and slaves in exchange for offering a sacrifice to the Roman gods, and made several other offers that George refused.

Finally, after exhausting all other options, Diocletian ordered George's execution. In preparation for his death, George gave his money to the poor and then he was tortured. He was lacerated on a wheel of swords and required resuscitation three times, but still George did not turn from God.

On April 23, 303 A.D., George was decapitated before Nicomedia's outer wall. His body was sent to Lydda for burial, and other Christians went to honor George as a martyr.

The histories of the saints tell of many who became followers of Jesus because of the witness of George’s faith, many from the military who served with him and who were also martyred. Even the emperor’s wife, Alexandra, declared herself a Christian and was also martyred. 

Almighty God, who gave to your servant George boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

St. Abdisho and Companions, Martyrs

Today the Church remembers St. Abdisho and Companions, Martyrs.

Orate pro nobis.

Abdisho was a 4th c. AD martyr. According to the Syrian Passio, Abdisho (Abdiesus, Ebedjesu, or Hebed-Jesus) was chorbishop (auxiliary bishop) of Kaskar, a city in southern Mesopotamia. He lived under the rule of the Sassanid Empire. The Sasanian or Sassanid Empire, officially known as Eranshahr ("Land/Empire of the Iranians") was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th–8th centuries AD. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its neighbouring arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).

Abdisho lived during the reign of Shapur II, also known as Shapur the Great, who was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigned for the entirety of his 70-year life, from 309 to 379. Accused of conspiracy with the Romans, the arch-nemesis of the Sassanid Empire, he was caught up in the persecutions of Christians conducted by King Shapur II. Many thousands of Christians were martyred by Shapur and are commemorated on different days.

Records indicate that Abdisho was accompanied in his martyrdom by Abrosimus, Acepsimus, Azadanes, Azades, Bicor, Mareas, Milles, and a women named Tarbula. Some were Persian courtiers, others priests and bishops. Tarbula was the sister of St. Simeon, and suffered a particularly cruel death by being sawn in two. Along with Abdisho, 38 Christians were martyred by Shapur II in 374 AD.

Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyr Abdisho and his 38 fellow martyrs triumphed over suffering and were faithful even to death: Grant us, who now remember them in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with them the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

St. Apollonius the Apologist, Martyr

 Today the Church remembers St. Apollonius the Apologist, Martyr.

Ora pro nobis.

Saint Apollonius the Apologist, or Saint Apollonius of Rome, (died 21 April 185 AD) was a 2nd-century Christian martyr and apologist who was martyred in 185 AD under the Emperor Commodus (161-192 AD).

Four different sources speak of Saint Apollonius of Rome:

* a record of the trial incorporated into the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea (265-340 AD);

* chapters 40 and 42 of the De Viris Illustribus by Saint Jerome (347-420 AD),

* two versions of the Passio of Apollonius, one Greek, the other Armenian, which were discovered in the late 19th century.

These sources present Apollonius as a senator of Rome, and an exceedingly talented man, well versed in philosophy. He was denounced as a Christian to the Pretorian Prefect Perennius. Summoned to defend himself, he read to the senate, according to Saint Jerome, "a remarkable volume" in which, instead of recanting, he defended the Christian faith. As a result, he was condemned to death on the basis of the law established by the Emperor Trajan.

The sources say he was subjected to two investigations, the first by the Prefect Perennius, the second, three days later, by a group of senators and jurists. The hearings were conducted in a calm and courteous manner. Apollonius was permitted to speak with only rare interruptions, aimed at getting him to tone down his remarks, which were making him liable to punishment.

Apollonius was not afraid to die, because, he said: "There is waiting for me something better: eternal life, given to the person who has lived well on earth." And he argued for the superiority of Christianity's concepts of death and life.

The sources disagree on the manner of his death. The Greek Passio says he died after having his legs crushed, a punishment inflicted also on the slave who denounced him; but in the Armenian account he is decapitated, which is the more probable given that decapitation was the right of Roman citizens and not torture. (St. Paul himself appealed for his Roman citizenship rights, both in the manner of his imprisonment and death by decapitation.)

The account about Apollinarius in the Roman Martyrology is as follows:

"At Rome, commemoration of Saint Apollonius, philosopher and martyr. Under the Emperor Commodus, he defended, before the Prefect Perennius and the Senate, the cause of the Christian faith in a finely argued address, and then, after being condemned to death, confirmed it by the witness of his blood."

Almighty God, who gave to your servant Apollinarius boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

The Holy Martyrs Victor, Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian and Caesarius.

Today the Church remembers The Holy Martyrs Victor, Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian and Caesarius.

Orate pro nobis.

Victor, Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian and Caesarius suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD) when he began a fierce persecution against Christians. One of the first to suffer was the St. George. He was a soldier in the Roman army. Saint George was a soldier of Cappadocian Greek origin and member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, when he was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He became one of the most venerated saints and in Christianity.

Saint George’s unshakable faith and bravery during his suffering led many pagans to Christ. The faithful witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra of Rome to become a Christian as well, so she joined George in martyrdom.

Fellow soldiers, Victor, Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian and Caesarius were struck with astonishment that Saint George suffered no harm from the wheel of torture, and they declared in the hearing of all that they also believed in Christ.

At the judge’s order, the holy martyrs were beheaded at Nicomedia in 303 AD.

Almighty God, who gave to your servants Victor, Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian, and Caesarius boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

SS. Simeon Barsabae, Bishop of Seleucid-Ctesiphon in Persia, and Companions, Martyrs.

Today the Church remembers SS. Simeon Barsabae, Bishop of Seleucid-Ctesiphon in Persia, and Companions, Martyrs.

Orate pro nobis.

St. Simeon suffered during a persecution against Christians under the Persian emperor Sapor II (310-381 AD). They accused the saint of collaborating with the Roman Empire and of subversive activities against the Persian emperor.

In the year 344 AD, the emperor issued an edict which imposed a heavy tax upon Christians. When some of them refused to pay it, this was regarded as an act of rebellion, so the emperor began a fierce persecution against Christians.

Saint Simeon was brought to trial in iron fetters as a supposed enemy of the Persian realm, together with the two martyr priests Abdhaikla and Hanania. The holy bishop would not even bow to the emperor, who asked why he would not show him the proper respect. The saint answered, “Formerly, I bowed because of your rank, but now, when you ask me to renounce my God and abandon my faith, it is not proper for me to bow to you.”

The emperor urged him to worship the sun, and he threatened to eradicate Christianity in his land if he refused. But neither urgings nor threats could shake the steadfast saint, and they led him off to prison. Along the way the eunuch Usphazanes, a counsellor of the emperor, saw the saint. He stood up and bowed to the bishop, but the saint turned away from him because he, a former Christian, out of fear of the emperor, now worshipped the sun.

The eunuch repented with all his heart, he exchanged his fine attire for coarse garb, and sitting at the doors of the court, he cried out bitterly, “Woe to me, when I stand before my God, from Whom I am cut off. Here was Simeon, and he has turned his back on me!”

The emperor Sapor learned about the grief of his beloved tutor and asked him what had happened. He told the emperor that he bitterly regretted his apostasy and would no more worship the sun, but only the one true God. The emperor was surprised at the old man’s sudden decision, and he urged him not to abjure the gods whom their fathers had reverenced. But Usphazanes was unyielding, and they condemned him to death. Saint Usphazanes asked that the city heralds report that he died not for crimes against the emperor, but for being a Christian. The emperor granted his request.

Saint Simeon also learned about the death of Usphazanes, and he gave thanks to the Lord. When they brought him before the emperor a second time, Saint Simeon again refused to worship the pagan gods and confessed his faith in Christ. The enraged emperor gave orders to behead all the Christians in the prison before the saint’s eyes.

Without fear the Christians went to execution, blessed by the holy hierarch, and they bent their heads beneath the sword. Saint Simeon’s companion, the Priest Habdelai, was also beheaded. When they came to the Priest Ananias, he suddenly trembled. Then one of the dignitaries, Saint Phusicus (Pusicius), a secret Christian, was afraid that Ananias would renounce Christ, and he cried out, “Do not fear the sword, Elder, and you will see the divine light of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Saint Phusicus betrayed himself by this outburst. The emperor gave orders to pluck out his tongue and to flay the skin off him. Along with Saint Phusicus, his daughter Askitrea was also martyred. Saint Simeon was the last to go before the executioner, and he placed his head on the chopping-block (April 13, 344 AD). Executions continued all during the holy week following the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus until April 23.

Saint Azates the Eunuch, a close official to the emperor, also received the crown of martyrdom, along with Saints Abdechalas, Usthazanes, and Azades. The sources indicate that 1,150 Martyrs perished because they refused to accept the Persian religion.

Almighty God, who gave to your servants Simeon, Abdhaikla, Hanania, Usphazanes, Phusikas, Askitrea, and their Companions boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

SS. Basilissa and Anastasia, Martyrs

 Today the Church remembers SS. Basilissa and Anastasia, Martyrs.

Orate pro nobis.

Basilissa and Anastasia were described as "Roman matrons of high rank and great wealth". They were disciples of and might have been baptized by the apostles Peter and Paul. When the emperor Nero (54-68 AD) persecuted Christians and gave them over to torture and execution, Basilissa and Anastasia took the bodies of the holy martyrs and gave them reverent burials, including Peter and Paul after their martyrdom in Rome on the same day in 67 AD. The location of the two tombs eventually became St. Peter's Basilica and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The burials exposed Basilissa and Anastasia to more persecution, and they were arrested for collecting the relics of and burying the bodies of other martyred Christians. They refused to recant their Christian faith and were beheaded with swords by order of Nero in 68 AD, after being tortured, including having their tongues torn out, their skins scraped with hooks, being burned with fire, and their breasts and feet cut off. Their relics are at Santa Maria della Pace Church in Rome. A statue of Basilissa is among the statues that line the colonnade overlooking St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love in the heart of your holy martyrs Basilissa and Anastasia: Grant to us, your humble servants, a like faith and power of love, that we who rejoice in their triumph may profit by their example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Pope St. Martin I

 Today the Church remembers Saint Martin the Confessor, Pope of Rome.

Ora pro nobis. 

Martin was a native of the Tuscany region of Italy. He received a fine education and entered into the clergy of the Roman Church. After the death of Pope Theodore I (642-649 AD), Martin was chosen to succeed him. By this time, the Roman Emperors had long been ruling from Constantinople, and Rome was considered something of a backwater as it had been sacked multiple times and never returned to its former imperial glory or population. It had become the rule that the Emperor had to agree to the election of any bishop, and Martin was ordained the bishop of Rome with his consent. This created lasting enmity between Martin and Emperor Constans.

At this time the peace of the Church was disturbed by the Monothelite heresy (the false doctrine that in Christ there is only one will, whereas in fact He has a divine, and a human will). The endless disputes of the Monothelites with the Orthodox took place in all levels of the population. Even the emperor Constans (641-668 AD) and Patriarch Paul of Constantinople (641-654 AD) were adherents of the Monothelite heresy. The emperor Constans II published the heretical “Pattern of Faith” (Typos), obligatory for all the population. In it all further disputes were forbidden.

The heretical “Pattern of Faith” was received at Rome in the year 649 AD. Saint Martin, a firm supporter of Orthodoxy, convened the Lateran Council at Rome to condemn the Monothelite heresy. At the same time Saint Martin sent a letter to Patriarch Paul, persuading him to return to the Orthodox confession of faith. The enraged emperor ordered the military commander Olympius to bring Saint Martin to trial. But Olympius feared the clergy and the people of Rome who had descended upon the Council, and he sent a soldier to murder the holy hierarch. When the assassin approached Saint Martin, he was blinded. The terrified Olympius fled to Sicily and was soon killed in battle.

In 654 AD, the emperor sent another military commander, Theodore, to Rome. He accused Saint Martin of being in secret correspondence with the enemies of the Empire, the Muslim Saracens, and of blaspheming the Most Holy Theotokos, and of uncanonically assuming the papal throne.

Despite the proofs offered by the Roman clergy and laity of Saint Martin’s innocence, the military commander Theodore with a detachment of soldiers seized Saint Martin by night and took him to Naxos, one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. Saint Martin spent an entire year on this almost unpopulated island, suffering deprivation and abuse from the guards. Then they sent the exhausted confessor to Constantinople for trial.

They carried the sick man on a stretcher, but the judges callously ordered him to stand up and answer their questions. The soldiers propped up the saint, who was weakened by illness. False witnesses came forward slandering the saint and accusing him of treasonous relations with the Muslim Saracens. The biased judges did not even bother to hear the saint’s defense. In sorrow he said, “The Lord knows what a great kindness you would show me if you would deliver me quickly over to death.”

After such a trial they brought the saint out in tattered clothes to a jeering crowd. They shouted, “Anathema to Pope Martin!” But those who knew the holy Pope was suffering unjustly, withdrew in tears. Finally the sentence was announced: Saint Martin was to be deposed from his rank and executed. They bound the half-naked saint with chains and dragged him to prison, where they locked him up with thieves. These were more merciful to the saint than the heretics.

In the midst of all this the emperor went to the dying Patriarch Paul and told him of the trial of Saint Martin. He turned away from the emperor and said, “Woe is me! This is another reason for my judgment.” He asked that Saint Martin’s torments be stopped. The emperor again sent a notary and other persons to the saint in prison to interrogate him. The saint answered, “Even if they cripple me, I will not have relations with the Church of Constantinople while it remains in its evil doctrines.” The torturers were astonished at the confessor’s boldness, and they commuted his death sentence to exile at Cherson in the Crimea.

Saint Martin departed to the Lord, exhausted by sickness, hunger and deprivations on September 16, 655 AD. Two other bishops, who were banished to Cherson, also died after many hardships. The Saint was buried just outside the city of Cherson, in the Blachernae church of the Most Holy Theotokos. Great crowds of people visited his tomb because of the many miracles which took place there. Later, his relics were transferred to Rome, and placed in a church dedicated to Martin of Tours. 

The Monothelite heresy was condemned at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in 680 AD.

Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servant Martin, may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last we may with him attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

Pope St. Julius I

 Today the Church remembers Pope St. Julius, Bishop of Rome

Ora pro nobis.

Julius was a native of Rome and the son the son of a Roman named Rusticus. He was elected Pope to succeed Pope St. Mark on February 6, 337 AD. Julius was soon involved in the Arian controversy, which not only made him famous but also was the origin for the Catholic belief that the Bishop of Rome is the head of the Church with universal jurisdiction.

Arianism is the rejected, heretical belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God the Father, with the difference that the Son of God did not always exist but was begotten/made before "time" by God the Father; therefore, Jesus was not coeternal with God the Father, but at the same time Jesus began to exist outside time as time applies only to the creations of God. Jesus was therefore considered a creature but not like the other creatures. The First Ecumenical Council of Nicea rejected this teaching. St. Athanasius I, Pope of Alexandria (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373 AD), also called Athanasius the Great, was the chief defender of Trinitarianism against Arianism . In addition to the conflict with the Arians (including powerful and influential Arian churchmen led by Eusebius of Nicomedia, the new Patriarch of Constantinople), he struggled against the Emperors Constantine, Constantius II, Julian the Apostate and Valens (all supporters of Arianism). He was deposed and exiled from Alexandria five times by Arian heretics. After the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia, who had recently become the patriarch of Constantinople, renewed their deposition of Athanasius of Alexandria at a synod held in Antioch in 341 AD, they resolved to send delegates to Constans, emperor of the West, and also to Julius, Bishop of Rome, setting forth the grounds on which they had proceeded. Julius, after expressing an opinion favourable to Athanasius, adroitly invited both parties to lay the case before a synod to be presided over by himself. This proposal, however, the Arian Eastern bishops declined to accept. On the second banishment of Athanasius from Alexandria, he came to Rome, and was recognised as a regular bishop by the synod presided over by Julius in 342 AD. Julius sent a letter to the Eastern bishops that is an early instance of the claims of primacy for the bishop of Rome. Even if Athanasius and his companions were somewhat to blame, the letter runs, the Alexandrian Church should first have written to the pope. "Can you be ignorant," writes Julius, "that this is the custom, that we should be written to first, so that from here what is just may be defined" (Epistle of Julius to Antioch, c. xxii).

Julius convened a synod in Rome in 340 or 341 AD after two bishops had been elected to replace Athanasius by opposing parties, which neither group attended, and in a letter to the bishops under the jurisdiction of Eusebius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Julius declared that Athanasius was the rightful bishop of Alexandria and reinstated him. The matter was not finally settled until the Council of Sardica (Sofia), summoned by emperors Constans and Constantius in 342 or 343 AD, which ultimately declared Julius' action correct and that any deposed bishop had the right of appeal to the Pope in Rome.

It was through the influence of Julius that, at a later date, the council of Sardica in Illyria was held, which was attended by only seventy-six Eastern bishops, who speedily withdrew to Philippopolis and deposed Julius at the council of Philippopolis, along with Athanasius and others. (This was an early sign of the schism to come between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.) The three hundred Western bishops who remained, confirmed the previous decisions of the Roman synod and issued a number of decrees regarding church discipline. The first canon forbade the transfer of bishops from one see to another, for if frequently made, it was seen to encourage covetousness and ambition.

By its 3rd, 4th, and 5th decrees relating to the rights of revision claimed by Julius, the council of Sardica perceptibly helped forward the claims of the bishop of Rome that he and his successors were the head of all Churches and had universal jurisdiction, a claim that is still rejected by the Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglicans, and Protestants.

Some have stated that, around 350 AD, Julius I declared December 25 as the official date of the birth of Jesus; this is based on a letter quoted only in a 9th-century source, but this letter is a forgery. At the time, this was one of the commonly believed dates for Jesus' birth and was used by Hippolytus of Rome in his Commentary on Daniel around 200 AD. It is claimed that Pope Julius declared December 25th as Christmas after patriarch Cyril of Jerusalem asked for clarification on what date historical records stored in Rome indicate as Jesus' birth. This claim, like the 9th century letter, is a fabrication.

The actual date of Jesus's birth is unknown. It has been noted that the 25th of December is two days after the end of the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Some have speculated that part of the reason this date was chosen may have been because Julius was trying to create a Christian alternative to Saturnalia, but Saturnalia continued to be celebrated until at least the mid-5th c. AD.

Saturnalia had a rival contender as the possible forerunner of the Western date of Christmas: the festival of ‘dies natalis solis invicti’, ‘birthday of the unconquered sun’. The Philocalian calendar also states that December 25th was a Roman civil holiday honouring the cult of sol invicta. With its origins in Syria and the monotheistic cult of Mithras, sol invicta certainly has similarities to the worship of Jesus. The cult was introduced into the empire in AD 274 by Emperor Aurelian (214-275), who effectively made it a state religion, putting its emblem on Roman coins.

Sol invicta succeeded because of its ability to assimilate aspects of Jupiter and other deities into its figure of the Sun King, reflecting the absolute power of ‘divine’emperors. But despite efforts by later pagan emperors to control Saturnalia and absorb the festival into the official cult, the sol invicta ended up looking very much like the old Saturnalia. Constantine, the first Christian emperor, was brought up in the sol invicta cult, in what was by then already a predominantly monotheist empire. It is therefore possible that the date established for Christmas was intended to replace this festival rather than Saturnalia. Another reason for the decision may have been because, in 274 AD, the Roman emperor Aurelian declared 25 December the birthdate of Sol Invictus and that Julius I allegedly may have thought that he could attract more converts to Christianity by allowing them to continue to celebrate on the same day, but this cannot be historically verified. It is most likely that the date of Christmas derives from the concept in Judaism that links the time of the deaths of prophets to their conception or birth. From this, early ecclesiastical number-crunchers extrapolated that the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy following the Annunciation on March 25th would produce a December 25th date for the birth of Christ.

Julius I died in Rome on 12 April 352 AD.

Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen.