- THE HOLY RIGHTEOUS AND LONG-SUFFERING JOB
Job was a descendant of Esau the grandson of Abraham and lived in Arabia about 2,000 years before Christ. His father’s name was Zareth and his mother’s name was Bosora. However, his full name was Jobab. Job was an honorable, god-fearing man and very wealthy. In the seventy-ninth year of his life, God permitted difficult temptations to befall him through Satan as it is written in detail in the Book of Job. In one day, Job lost all his enormous estates, his sons and his daughters. After that a terrible disease befell him and his entire body was covered with sores from his head to his feet and Job lay on the rubbish heap outside the town and with a piece of potsherd scrapped away the pus from his wounds. Job did not murmur against God, but patiently endured all sufferings to the end. That is why God restored his health, gave him much greater riches than that which he had before and seven sons and three daughters were born to him as many as he previously had. Job lived for a total of two-hundred forty-eight years always glorifying and praising God. Job is considered to be the model of patient endurance of every suffering which God sends upon us and Job is a proto-type of the suffering of the Lord Jesus.
- THE HOLY MARTYR BARBARUS
Barbarus was a soldier during the reign of Julian the Apostate. When the emperor’s commander Bacchus led the Roman army against the Franks, Barbarus, who was secretly a Christian, was serving in the army. In battle there appeared a certain hero on the side of the Franks, similar to Goliath of old and he challenged the Romans to send one of their men to come out to do battle. Commander Bacchus advised Barbarus to go. Barbarus prayed in his heart to the Living Lord, went out and defeated that giant. As a result, the Frankish army became confused and fled. Then the commander prepared a great celebration and ordered that sacrifices be offered to the idols. During the sacrificial offerings, the commander learned that Barbarus kept himself apart. When he was asked about that, Barbarus declared that he is a Christian. The commander informed the emperor and the emperor ordered that Barbarus be subjected to the most severe tortures. But Barbarus endured all with rare courage and composure. During his tortures, many miracles were manifested and many soldiers, witnessing this, accepted the Faith of Christ. Among them was the Commander Bacchus along with Callimachus and Dionysius. All three were beheaded for the Name of Christ and, after them, Barbarus was also beheaded in the year 362 A.D. Their souls took up habitation in the kingdom of Christ the Immortal King.
- SAINT BARBARUS THE ROBBER
After having committed many crimes, Barbarus repented and at first condemned himself to crawl on all fours for three years and to eat with dogs and, second, to live twelve years in the forest without clothes, without a roof and without food except grass and leaves. He received news from the angels that his sins are forgiven. Some merchants traveling through the forest and seeing Barbarus from afar thought that it was an animal and not a man, aimed their arrows at him and pierced him. Dying, Barbarus begged them to inform the nearest priest about him. The priest arrived and buried him honorably. From his body flowed healing myrrh (oil) which cured various diseases and pains of men.