The Commemoration of the Dedication of the Church of the Resurrection of our Lord in Jerusalem.
When the holy Empress Helena found the
Cross of our Lord in Jerusalem, she stayed awhile in the Holy City,
and built churches in Gethsemane and Bethlehem, and on the Mount of
Olives, as well as other places prominent in the life and work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. On Golgotha, where she found the Honorable Cross,
she began the building of an enormous church. The church was designed
to encompass the Place of the Skull, where the Lord was crucified, as
well as the place where He was buried. The saintly empress wanted to
include the place of His suffering and the place of His glory under
the same roof. However, Helena reposed in the Lord before this
majestic church was completed. By the time it was completed,
Constantine was celebrating the thirtieth year of his reign. Thus,
the consecration of the church and the emperor's jubilee were
celebrated on the same day, September 13, 335. A local council of
bishops was being held in Tyre at that time. These bishops, and many
others, came to Jerusalem for the solemn consecration of the Church
of the Resurrection of the Lord. It was then established that this
day-a day of victory and triumph for the Church of Christ-be solemnly
commemorated every year.
The Holy Bishop-Martyr Cornelius.
Cornelius was a Roman and an officer in
Caesarea of Palestine. As the result of a heavenly revelation, the
Apostle Peter baptized him (Acts 10:1). He was the first among the
pagans to enter God's Church. Until then, some thought that the
Church was only for the Jews and those who received the circumcision
of the Jews. Having been baptized, Cornelius left everything and
followed the apostle. Later, Peter consecrated him a bishop and sent
him to the pagan town of Skep, where St. Cornelius endured much
humiliation and torture for the sake of Christ. Even so, he destroyed
the temple of Apollo there by the power of God, and baptized Prince
Demetrius with 277 other pagans. Being forewarned by God of the day
of his death, Cornelius summoned all the Christians together,
counseled them, prayed to God for them, and peacefully presented
himself to the Lord in honorable old age. In time, his grave site was
neglected and forgotten, but the saint appeared to Silvanus the
Bishop of Troas and revealed it to him, commanding that a church be
built there. The bishop carried this out with the help of Eugenius, a
wealthy citizen. Many miracles have been worked by the relics of St.
Cornelius.
Respectfully Taken From the:
"The Prologue of Ohrid"
by St. Nikolai of Zica, Serbia(Velimirovic)
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