In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, on the nineteenth of June, they celebrate the feast of the glorious Archangel Michael. The reason for their celebration is as follows:
In the city of Alexandria, there was a great synagogue built by Queen Aclaebatra, the daughter of King Ptolemy, in the name of the star Zuhal, and every year on the nineteenth day of June, the people gathered in that synagogue and held a great festival.
They continued to do this to that idol until the time of Abba Alexander, which was in the fourth century, after the three hundred years of grace. When Abba Alexander was appointed bishop of the city of Alexandria, and when the righteous Constantine reigned, because the Christian religion had spread, he wanted to destroy that idol, but the wicked people prevented him. And they said to him: "We are accustomed to celebrating this festival in this place. Behold, eighteen popes have passed before you, and they have not changed this custom."
But Abba Alexander rebuked them; he taught them. He exposed their error and said to them: "This idol is neither harmful nor beneficial. And whoever worships it worships demons. If you listen to my advice, I will make this festival for you as it was before; that is, that we break the idol, bless the synagogue, and name it a church in the name of the glorious angel, the archangel Michael. We will also celebrate this great festival. And let the cows and sheep that are slaughtered be food for the poor and the hungry, and for the needy in the name of the glorious angel. For he is worthy of God, and he intercedes for us. ” Having said this, he pleased them with this good advice; and they obeyed him.
After this, they renovated that synagogue and built a church in the name of this glorious angel, the archangel Michael. And they celebrated it on this day. And it is well known. It remained until the time of the Muslims, and then they destroyed it. This festival was established; it remains until today.
Again, on this day, God appointed the Archangel Michael with great honor over all the angels in his family. This glorious angel is honored and prays and intercedes before our Lord for the children of men and for all creation. The miracles of this glorious Archangel Michael are many. One of them is this:
There was a man who feared God. He celebrated the feast of the holy archangel Michael on the nineteenth day of every month, especially in the months of June and November. And there was a rich man who was not merciful to his neighbor and hated and despised this God-fearing man when he celebrated the feast of the holy archangel Michael. He also mocked him for his compassion for the poor. As his death and earthly life drew near, the God-fearing ordered his wife to celebrate the feast of the glorious angel Michael and to give alms. After this, he rested and was buried.
And his wife was pregnant. And the time came for her to give birth, and she travailed in pain. And being in great anguish, she prayed, saying, "O angel of God, have mercy on me, for thou hast great power in him: pray for me before God." And when she had said this, a light shone in her house. And she was delivered of her trouble; and the wife gave birth to a beautiful son. And the angel of God, Saint Michael, descended from heaven and blessed the child, saying, "God has decreed that this child will inherit all the wealth and possessions of this ruthless rich man."
The rich man went to his house, and opened the door to his master, and heard this from the angel. When he heard this, he was filled with great sorrow. He began to look for a reason to kill the child. But the Lord was watching over him. After this, the rich man prepared a reason and said to her, "Give me your son, so that he will serve me. I will bring him up while I visit and teach him. I will give you twenty shekels of gold for Bethlehem." When she heard this from the rich man, she was very happy about her misfortune. She gave him her son. He gave her twenty pieces of gold and took her son. He was happy, saying, "My wish has been fulfilled."
A box appeared, the same height as the child, and he put the child in the box and closed it. They carried him to the sea and threw him into the sea. It was not given to him by the will of the king, but by the will of the king, and he reached the port of a country twenty days' journey away from that country, and it floated on the sea. There was a man who was stationed in the sea and guarded it, and he saw the box floating on his life, and he took it out of the sea and took it to his house. He began to think about how to open this box. As he thought about this, our Lord put the idea in his mind to go to the sea. He immediately got up and went to the sea and found a man fishing.
He said to the fisherman, “Throw your net in my name, and I will give you the price of whatever fish you catch.” The fisherman did as he was told. At that moment, a large fish was caught. He took the price and went home. He slaughtered it to fry for dinner. He found the key in his stomach. He thought to himself, “Can this key open this box?” And when he put it in, the box opened quickly. And he found this little boy inside. He was very happy because he had no child. And he thanked our Lord. And he raised the child well. And the child grew up and became a man.
After many years, the rich man got up and went to that country. At evening, he arrived at the gate of the shepherd. The rich man said to the shepherd, “Can I find lodging with you until tomorrow? I will pay you the rent.” The shepherd said, “You can stay as you say.” The rich man stayed there. When dinner was near, he called the child “Baharan.” The rich man heard him and asked, “Is this your son?” The shepherd said, “Yes; he is my son, whom God gave me, for I found him at sea when he was a little boy.” The rich man said, “When did you find him?” He replied, "Twenty years ago." Then he realized that he had thrown him into the sea and was very sad.
The next day, when he set out on his journey, he made up a devilish excuse and said to the shepherd, "I want you to give me your son so that I can send him to a country called Egalit, because I have something I have forgotten to do at home. I will give you twenty ounces of gold as reward." The boy's father was pleased with the money and gave him his son Bahran. He ordered him, “My son Bahran, come to this noble man to send you home about this matter; you will return home in peace.”
Then the rich man wrote a letter to his steward, saying, “When you read this letter, kill the one who brought it and throw it into a pit. Let no one know.” He wrote a sign between them, sealed it, and gave it to Bahran. He also gave him provisions for his journey. And the sea arose and he began his journey. As he was traveling and saw that there was still a day's journey left, Michael, the archangel, appeared to him, riding on a white horse, in the form of a king and said to him, "Young man, what is this that you are holding?" He said, "It is a letter from a rich man to deliver to his house in a certain country." He said, "Show me the letter." And he was afraid and gave it to him.
At that moment, the glorious angel Michael erased this message of death. He transformed it into a letter, saying: “When you have received this letter and read it completely, give my daughter Eghel in marriage to Bahran. I have made him heir to my slaves, male and female, and to all my property, internal and external, and I have given him the power to do whatever he wants. Don’t wait for me. I am very late, master! Here is this sign between me and you.” After that, he enclosed the letter and gave it to Bahran, saying: “Go to the rich man’s house and give this letter to his master. And don’t tell him that I met you in the street. I have altered this letter of death for you so that he will not kill you.” Bahran said: “All right, my master, I will do whatever you command me.”
When Bahran arrived at the rich man's house, he gave the letter to his servant. When he read it, he found the sign between them. He understood and knew that it was true. After that, he prepared a wedding for Bahran and married the rich man's daughter with a crown according to church rites. They lived in joy and happiness for about forty days. After this, when the rich man was returning from his journey, he heard the joyful sound of the harp and the flute, and he asked, “What is this that I hear?” They said, “Your daughter Eghel is married to a young man named Bahran who brought your letter. Behold, he has been in marriage for forty days. All your money and possessions, both male and female slaves, have been given to him by your servants, as you commanded.” When he heard this, he was shocked and fell from his horse and died suddenly.
Bahran became a man of good works. He understood that it was the glorious Archangel Michael who had appeared to him and saved him from death; and that it was he who had inherited all the wealth of the rich man who wanted to kill him. He began to commemorate this glorious Archangel Michael every month. He also built a church in his honor. He carved an image of Saint Michael and placed it there. Many wonderful miracles were performed by him. Bahran was ordained a priest and served this church until his death. After his death, through the intercession of the Archangel Michael, he inherited eternal life from the God of his parents.
On the day of the Holy of Holies, this noble angel Michael entered from within the inner veil and prayed before the Lord of Glory, saying: “For your covenant is true, that you may forgive those who commemorate me on earth; O my Creator! I, your servant and messenger, beg of your goodness. For you are merciful and forgiving.” Our Lord, the owner of glory, answers him thus: “O Michael, the chief of the heavenly angels of the spirits! Behold, I command you to bear up three times on your wings from Sheol, as you are able to bear all who commemorate you.” And when he heard these words, he was overjoyed, and carried them on his wings through the sea of fire, and they were numbered by none but the Lord alone.
Therefore, we must strive to make glorify this great and glorious Archangel Michael and commemorate his feast. That he may save us from the snare of Satan, and protect us in all our days; that he may forgive our sins, and remove our afflictions, and bless the fruits of our land; And He will pray before God for us that He may help us to do His will; that He may grant repose to the souls of those who have died among us; that He may bring our fathers and brothers who have gone on the road back to their homes in peace and health; that He may make love among us; that He may confirm us in the true faith until the last moment; that He may preserve our nobles who are the people of Christ and establish them on their thrones; and that He may bring back to the true faith those who have gone astray.
Again, on this day, the God-fearing Astranikos commemorated the repose of his wife, Saint Aphomia. This man celebrated three feasts every month. Here is the memory of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ on the six of each month; the memory of the feast of the Holy Virgin Mary on the twenty-eight of each month; The feast of Saint Michael, the glorious archangel, is commemorated on the nineteenth day of each month. When the time of his death approached, he ordered his wife, Saint Aphomia, not to neglect the alms he had been doing, but rather to commemorate the three feasts.
She begged her husband to make her a statue of the glorious Archangel Michael. He made it for her, and she placed it in her house with honor. After her husband died, she began to do what he had commanded. But Satan envied her. He spoke to her in the guise of a widowed woman. He said to her, "I pity you; I have compassion on you. I advise you to marry and have children before your money runs out and your youth is over. Your husband will inherit the kingdom of heaven. He does not ask for alms.» Aphomia replied, «I have made a covenant before God that I will not have intercourse with another man. Even doves and sparrows do not know another husband. How can this happen to people created in the image of God?»
When she did not listen to his advice, he changed his image and shouted at her. He said to her, «I will come another time.» She chased him away, carrying a picture of the glorious angel Michael. Then, on the twelfth of June, the feast of the Archangel Michael, she was preparing for the feast when a bright angel appeared to her. “O Aphomia! Peace be with you! I am Michael the Archangel. The Lord has sent me to you, and he has commanded you to leave this marriage and become the wife of a believer.” A woman without a husband is like a ship without an anchor; He began to bring her verses from the Old Testament, telling her that Abraham, Jacob, and David had married many women like them, and that they had pleased God.
Saint Aphomia replied, “If you are an angel of God, where is the sign of the cross with you? For no king’s army goes anywhere without the king’s seal.” When the devil heard this, he changed his appearance and woke up. She called out to the glorious angel, Michael. And he immediately came and saved her. And Satan took hold of him and began to torment him. And the devil cried out. “Have mercy on me; do not destroy me before my time; for God is patient with us until the end of the world,” he begged. Then he left him and drove him away.
And the glorious angel Michael said to her: “O blessed Aphomia! Go and prepare your house. Today you are leaving this world in death. And behold, God has prepared for you things that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived.” Having said this, he greeted her and ascended to heaven. After he had prepared the feast, he took her and sent her to the bishop and the priests, and entrusted her with the money that they would give to the poor and to Paul's servants in due time. She stood up and prayed, and she took the image of the Archangel Michael, embraced him and kissed him. At that time she rested in peace.
Thanks be to God. May he protect us through her prayers. May the power of this glorious Archangel Michael protect all of us, Christians. Amen forever and ever.
Source: – Book of Sinksar, June 19, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment