I realise that calling the 40 martyrs of Sebaste the "patron saints of marriage" might be stretching the case a bit—mainly because the concept of "patron saint" carries a lot of superstitious baggage with it—but these are the saints that are commemorated in the Orthodox marriage service.Well, their annual commemoration, "feast-day" (I almost typed "feats-day", which in their case would be very appropriate) occurs on March 9th, and as they are my favorites among the martyrs, I couldn't pass up the chance to share their story with the brethren outside the Orthodox koinonía, who may not have heard it.
I published a 12-page booklet about the 40 martyrs, which you can download and read, by clicking here. Read it on line, or print it out. It's formatted to be printed as a 5½ x 8½" booklet, if you have the right kind of printer (one that prints in color, folds and staples).
Kalí sarakostí,
Romanós
Superb booklet . . . thank you, brother. I had the honor of being at your parish for the Sunday of Orthodoxy. How good it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity!
ReplyDeletePray for this catechumen.
Pax
Romanos -
ReplyDeleteI found your blog via a blog-roll of a correspondent of mine, John, over at notesfromacommonplacebook
He and I share a common background in the 'Stone/Campbell-Restoration Movement' Church of Christ/Christian Church nondenoms (how's that for a descriptive mouthful!)
Amusingly, though, we share some friends as Athanasius and Nektaria are fellow parishioners.
As a catechumen, I don't feel it is my place to advertise too loudly in the blogosphere my parish affiliations, lest my own errors be ascribed somehow to my fellow workers. Moreover, my wife desires a certain amount of privacy in her/our life and thus I post under a nom-de-plume which may, or may not, be the Saint's name I take at chrismation. I'm not sure how introducing myself as "Hi, I'm Hilarius" will be taken by newcomers in the coffee line [grin].
However, you are welcome to e-mail me at tenbroecke@hotmail.com
My name is Eric. Pray for me.