The preliminary celebration of the feast of the Introduction of the Holy Mother of God into the temple begins, as the services for the day include prayers and songs that prepare us for this great feast of the Virgin.
On November 20, we honor the memory of St. Gregory the Decapolitan and Dasius of Dorostol.
Saint Gregory lived in the IX century. He was a native of Irinopolis, one of the cities of the Decetogradie district in Palestine, or in Greek Decapolis, that is why he remained with the nickname Decapolis.
In his quest for moral perfection, he became a monk and devoted himself to prayer, guarding the purity of his mind and body. He was restrained in everything, as he liked to say that if athletes undergo such hardships, how much more should spiritual people control themselves in all respects in order to receive not a laurel, but an eternal crown from God. Out of jealousy for the purity of the faith, Gregory joined the fierce struggles against the iconoclast emperors. He undertook many journeys and finally settled in Thessaloniki, where he devoted himself to written works. Died of a serious illness in Constantinople in 816.
Saint Dasius lived at the end of the 3rd century during the reign of Emperor Maximian
and was a soldier in a Roman unit in the Danube city of Durostorum or Dorostol (today Silistra). The inhabitants of the city were preparing for the festival of the pagan god Saturn and, according to custom, a month before the festival they chose a handsome young man, dressed him in rich clothes and gave him royal honors, and on the day of the festival they sacrificed him to the deity.
In 302, the choice fell on Dasius. On learning this, he said: “If I am destined to die, I had better die for Christ as a Christian.” He openly confessed his faith in Christ to the military and civil authorities, even rebuking them for their delusions. Therefore he was sentenced to death and after cruel torture he was beheaded on November 20.
Source: BTA/Prof. Ivan Zhelev
2023-11-20 05:20:21
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