Desert Fathers Dispatch

African Saints (from the Prologue of Ohrid)

August 5^th     Cantidus, Cantidian, and Sibelius (4^th century) Martyrs of Egypt.

August 7^th    Or (390) A hermit of the Thebaid (Upper Egypt), said to have supernatural radiance due to his years of strict asceticism.  “For a monk, this is the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ to elevate his mind and unite it with God.”

Potamia (4^th century) Virgin saint of Alexandria.

Hyperechius (4^th century) Desert Father of Egypt.  Six lessons in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers are attributed to him.

August 8^th    Gregory (1346) Known as the “Sinaite” as he received his monastic tonsure on Mt. Sinai in Egypt.  Gregory was very influential on Mt. Athos.  His teachings on mental prayer are found in the Philokalia and wrote several hymns, including “It is Meet and Right” to the Holy Trinity.

August 9^th     Apostle Matthias (1^st century) A follower of Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry and selected to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:23-26).  After Pentecost, Matthias evangelized in Ethiopia as well as Macedonia and Judea where he was stoned and beheaded.

Anthony (1^st century) A citizen of Alexandria who was tortured by a pagan prince for not denying Christ.  He gave his soul to God while burning in a fire.

Psoes (4^th century) Egyptian monk

 

A Word from the Fathers & Mothers

“a brother who had sinned was turned out of the church by the priest.  Abba Bessarion got up and went with him.  ‘I too am a sinner.’”  Abba Bessarion, from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers

 

“A virgin is not one who preserves his body from intercourse, but one who is ashamed of himself when, alone in his cell, he feels a passionate movement in his flesh.”  Monk Isaiah to Ammah Theodora, from the Matericon