In the Orthodox Church, almost every date is the commemoration day of a saint, and June 6 is no exception. For people bearing the appropriate name, this day is a name day - a personal holiday. But for all Christians, the days of remembrance of saints are holidays.
On June 6, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of several saints - St. Simeon the Stylite, St. Nikita the Stylite, St. Xenia of Petersburg and the martyrs Meletius Stratilates, Stephen, John, and with them 1218 soldiers and wives. Christians pray to these saints, remembering their spiritual exploits.
Simeon the Stylite and Nikita the Stylite
The Monk Simeon the Stylite lived in the 6th century. in Syrian Antioch. His mother Martha is also revered as a saint. Already in childhood, Christ appeared to Simeon more than once, predicting future spiritual exploits. At the age of six, Simeon retired to the wilderness, and then came to a monastery, where he met Elder John, who had asceticised on a pillar, and decided to perform the same feat.
From the age of 11, Simeon asceticised on a high pillar. From sunrise to 9 pm, he prayed, then rewrote the Holy Scriptures until sunset. In the 22nd year of his life, the saint, guided by a command from above, founded a monastery on Divnaya Gora.
St. Nikita Pereyaslavsky, who lived in the 12th century, was also a pillar. As a tax collector in Pereyaslavl, he constantly robbed residents. But once, having heard in the church the words from the book of the prophet Isaiah, calling for repentance, Nikita experienced such a shock that he left his sinful life and became a monk.
Desiring to atone for sins, the saint dug a deep hole and prayed, standing at the bottom of his pillar-hole and placing a stone cap on his head, and chains and heavy iron crosses on his body. The saint was killed by his own relatives, who mistook his iron crosses for silver ones.
Ksenia Peterburgskaya
St. Xenia lived in St. Petersburg in the 18th century. At the age of 26, she buried her husband, and this blow of fate forced the young widow to renounce all earthly blessings. She chose the difficult path of foolishness for herself.
Xenia wandered around the city, patiently enduring the bullying of unkind people. However, many tried to help the blessed one, but she refused warm clothes, and gave the money to other poor people.
The holiness of Xenia of Petersburg was evident already during her lifetime. She had the gift of predicting the future, and the people who helped her improved their lives. Ksenia Petersburgskaya died at the age of 70.
Martyr Meletios Stratilates
Saint Meletius lived in the 3rd century, during the time of the Roman emperor Antoninus Heliogobalus. He was a military leader (stratilate). Like many Christians of that time, Meletios had to live surrounded by pagans. Once in the city where he lived, a huge number of mad dogs appeared, which began to terrorize the inhabitants. Meletios realized that demons had taken over the dogs.
Together with his soldiers, he not only killed the dogs, but also destroyed the pagan temples. Thus, he betrayed himself. For adherence to the Christian faith, Meletius was tortured and died under torture, and his subordinates Stephen and John were beheaded. All the soldiers under the command of Meletius also accepted a martyr's death along with their wives and children - a total of 1218 people were killed. The Church also celebrates the Day of Remembrance of Meletius, John, Stephen and all the people who shared their martyrdom with them on June 6.
