Dr Augustin Sokolovski
On May 13, the Church commemorates four remarkable saints—the Apostle James the Son of Zebedee and Bishops Donatus of Euroea, Niketas of Novgorod, and Ignatius of Brianchaninov—through whose prayers she asks God for an abundance of grace and blessings in both spiritual matters and everyday life.
The Apostle James was the brother of John the Evangelist and witnessed the most significant events in the Lord’s earthly life. “At that time King Herod laid hands on some members of the church to persecute them, and he had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword,” as stated in the Book of Acts (12:1–2). James is the only one of the Twelve Apostles whose death is mentioned in the New Testament texts.
Donatus of Euroea (+394) was a bishop of the second half of the fourth century and a remarkable miracle-worker, whose deeds closely resemble the miracles performed by his older contemporary, Spyridon of Trimythous. Part of his relics rests in a church dedicated to his memory in the Greek town of Paramythia in northwestern Greece, in Epirus, 30 km from the city of Igoumenitsa, well-known to many pilgrims. It is Paramythia that is commonly identified with the settlement of Euroea, where the saint served as bishop. The ancient church historian Sozomen (400–450) writes that he was originally buried in this church, near which he had, during his lifetime, brought forth a plentiful spring through prayer.
Niketas of Novgorod was a native of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. In his youth, he experienced a powerful temptation from demons. Saved solely by the care and efforts of the monastic community, he recovered spiritually and ended his days as bishop of Veliky Novgorod (+1108). In the works of modern ascetic writers, Niketas’ example is cited as a warning against the wiles of evil spirits and demonic delusion, which in English is usually rendered without translation as the word "prelest."
Ignatius Bryanchaninov lived exactly 60 years. The years of his life are easy to remember: 1807–1867. He left behind numerous letters, sermons, works, and translations that served to educate the faithful of the Russian Church during the great revival of the faith, which began in Russia following the celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ in 1988. It was Ignatius’s works, in particular his stunning “Word on Death,” that inspired the Orthodox American theologian Hieromonk Seraphim Rose (1934–1983), whose canonization has just begun in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
Belief in the Communion of Saints is proclaimed in the Apostles’ Creed of the Early Church. Saints James, Donatus, Niketas, and Ignatius, pray to God for us! Christ is risen!