4 July 2024 (MIA)

Macedonian Orthodox Church Calendar

The Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus

Of a noble senatorial family, he lived in Tarsus in Cilicia and suffered in the reign of Diocletian. Although only eighteen years old when he was taken for trial for the Faith, St Julian was already both educated and resolute in Christian faith and devotion. The imperial governor took him from city to city for a whole year, torturing him all the while and attempting to persuade him to renounce Christ. Julian’s mother followed her son at a distance. When the governor seized her and sent her to urge her son to renounce Christ, she spent three days in the prison with him, giving him precisely the opposite advice, teaching him and giving him the strength not to lose heart but to go to his death with courage and gratitude to God. His torturers then sewed Julian into a sack of sand with scorpions and snakes and threw him into the sea, and his mother also died under torture. The waves carried his body onto the shore, and the faithful took it to Alexandria, where they buried it in 290. His relics were later taken to Antioch. St John Chrysostom himself gave an eulogy for the holy martyr Julian: `A holy voice comes forth from the lips of the martyr, and with this voice is poured out a light brighter than the rays of the sun.’ He said further: `Take whomsoever you will, be he a madman or one possessed, and lead him to the grave of this saint, to the martyr’s relics, and you will see the demon immediately jump out and flee as from blazing fire.’ It is evident from this speech that many wonders must have been wrought at St Julian’s grave.

Catholic Calendar

St. Elizabeth of Portugal

Elizabeth was a Spanish princess who was given in marriage to King Denis of Portugal at the age of twelve. She was very beautiful and very loveable. She was also very devout, and went to Mass every day. Elizabeth was a holy wife, but although her husband was fond of her at first, he soon began to cause her great suffering. Though a good ruler, he did not imitate his wife’s love of prayer and other virtues. In fact, his sins of impurity gave great scandal to the people. Later, to make matters worse, the King believed a lie told about Elizabeth and one of her pages by another page, who was jealous of his companion. In great anger the King ordered the one he believed guilty, to be sent to a lime-burner. The lime-burner was commanded to throw into his furnace the first page that came. The good page set out obediently, not knowing death was waiting for him. On his way he stopped for Mass, since he had the habit of going daily. The first Mass had begun, so he stayed for a second one. In the meantime, the King sent the wicked page to the lime-burner to find out if the other had been killed. And so it was this page that was thrown into the furnace! When the King learned what had happened, he realised that God had saved the good page, punished the liar, and proven Queen Elizabeth to be innocent. This amazing event helped greatly to make the King live better. He apologised to his wife in front of everyone and began to have a great respect for her. In his last sickness, she never left his side, except for Mass, until he died a holy death. St. Elizabeth lived for eleven more years, doing even greater charity and penance. She was a wonderful model of kindness toward the poor and a successful peacemaker between members of her own family and between nations.