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THE
ELEVENTH
MONTH IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, On this day died Saint Thaddeus the apostle, who was one of the Twelve Great Apostles. This blessed apostle our Lord chose, and he was of the number of the Twelve Apostles. When the Holy Spirit Paraclete had descended upon him, he departed into all the cities, and preached the preaching of the Holy Gospel, and he turned many of the Jews and pagans to the knowledge of their Creator, and he baptized them with Christian baptism. One day as he was journeying in the country of Syria our Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto him in the form of a young man with a goodly presence, and He said unto him, “Peace be unto thee O My beloved Thaddeus, the apostle! Fear not, I will be with thee.” And the apostle said unto Him, “May Thy peace be with me.” And then He gave him the salutation of “Peace,” and went up into heaven. When the apostle drew nigh unto the city, he saw an old man ploughing the fields, and he went to him and said unto him, “Peace be unto thee.” And he also said unto him, “O old man, give me bread to eat”; and the old man said unto him, “I have none here.” But stay with the oxen, and I will go and fetch some for thee to eat.” And he said unto him, “Go in peace,” and when the old man went the apostle remained with the oxen, [and said,] “The man hath gone to do me a kindness.” And he rose up, and seized the plough, and he cried out to the oxen so that he might plough. And Peter, the chief of the Apostles, sowed for him, for he was with him then, and he blessed the seed in the Name of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ. And Thaddeus ploughed three furrows, and the seed germinated that day, and became ears filled with wheat. When the old man returned to the fields, and saw what the apostle had done, he fell down at his feet and said, “Art thou God Who hath come down from heaven?” And Thaddeus said unto him, “I am not God, but a servant of God.” And that [old] man said unto him, “In return for the good which thou hast done for me I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” And the apostle said unto him, “It is unnecessary for thee to do this, but take thine oxen and lead them back to their master, and make known to thy wife that I am here, and let her prepare supper in your house, that I may eat; for I was to go into this city and tarry [there] this day for the Lord Jesus Christ hath called me.” And the man took the ears of corn from the fields, which the apostles had sown, and he came unto the city with his oxen. And when he came unto the city the men saw him carrying ears of corn, and they said unto him, “Where didst thou get these ears of corn this day? Is it not the time for sowing?” And he answered them never a word, and took back the oxen to their owner; and he came unto his dwelling, and they made ready a good [meal] for the apostle. And the story of the man came to the nobles of the city, and they sent to him, saying, “Where didst thou get these ears of corn? Tell us, that thou mayest not die an evil death.” And he answered and said unto them, “A certain man passed whilst I was ploughing”; and he told them the whole story to the end. And the nobles said unto him, “Go and bring him to us,” and the man said unto them, “Wait a little; he is coming to my house, and when he cometh ye can see him.” And Satan corrupted the hearts of the nobles, and they said, “Woe be unto us if this man be one of the Twelve Man who are magicians! Rise up, let us go out to kill him.” And other men answered and said, “We cannot kill him, for we have heard that Jesus their God doeth what they want; but let us take a woman, and set her naked outside the city; and when the apostle wisheth to come into the city and seeth her, he will not enter.” And they brought a woman who was a harlot, and stripped her naked, and set her by the gates, and when the apostle had come to the gates of the city he saw the naked woman, and she perceived that wickedness of her deed. And the apostle prayed and said, “O my Lord Jesus Christ, send Michael the Archangel, and let him hang up this woman by the hair of her head in the air whilst I enter the city”; and forthwith she was hung up by the hair of her head, and all the nobles saw her hanging, but they could not perceive what held her. And she cried out and said, “God will judge the nobles of the city,” but none of the men of the city believed her, because Satan had hardened their hearts. And the apostle prayed to God and said, “O Lord, strengthen me to fight Satan, who hath risen up against me.” And the apostle prayed, and Michael the Archangel came down and drove away the evil spirits, which vexed the souls of the men of the city. And the apostle went about in the city, and preached in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the men of the city believed; and straightway they took down the woman who was hanging in the air. And after this Thaddeus appointed bishops and priests over them, and he baptized them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And he appointed the woman who had been suspended in the air to minister in the church, and he healed the sick, and opened the eyes of the blind, and the dumb spoke, and the lame walked, and devils were driven out, and he raised the dead, and at length all the people of the city believed. And Satan was wroth, and he entered into the heart of a rich young man who loved money, and he sent him to the apostle. And he came and bowed down before him, and said unto him, “O servant of God, I have much money, what am I to do that I may live?” And the apostle said unto the young man, “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. Slay not, steal not, and fornicate not. What thou wouldst not that men should do unto thee, that do not to others; and sell thy possessions, and give [the price thereof] to the poor of this city.” And when the young man heard these words, his wrath against the apostle increased, and he seized him by the neck, wishing to kill him, but this did not take place for God strengthened him; and his eye did not go forth from his head under the tribulation of the choking. And the apostle said unto him, “Our Lord saith, ‘It is as easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle as for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew xix, 24). And the young man said unto him, “These words of thine are not true; a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle.” And at that moment a man who had with him a camel passed before him, and the apostle seized him and made him stand still. And the apostle asked a certain tailor for a needle, and the tailor, wishing to help the apostle, brought him a needle with a large eye. And the apostle thanked [him] and said unto him, “Bring a needle with a small eye, so that the glory of God may be manifest in this city”; and the tailor did as he commanded him, and brought him a needle with a small eye. And straightway the apostle stretched out his hands and prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he said, “Come thou and thy camel into the eye of this needle”; and the man and his camel came into the eye of the needle. And the apostle said, “Do it again so that all the people may know”; and when the people saw this wonderful thing, they lifted up their voices and said, “There is no god except the Lord God of Thaddeus, the Apostle.” And when the young man saw this, he bowed down with his face to the ground, and he asked the apostle to forgive him his sin, and to take all his possessions and distribute them among the poor. And the apostle did as he asked him, and taught him the Law of the Faith, and he baptized him in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and likewise all the men of the city; and he administered unto them the Holy Mysteries, the Body of our Lord and His precious Blood. And the apostle went forth from them, and they set him on his way and bade him farewell in peace. After this he came to the country of Syria, and he preached therein, and many men believed through him. And much tribulation and punishment came upon him from the Jews and the Gentiles; and then he died in peace. Salutation to Thaddeus.
Glory
be to God Who is glorified in His Saints.
Amen. |
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