Last month, we talked about the busy start to our summer,
with the Feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost coming late in May, followed by
the Sunday of All Saints and the Apostles’ Fast in June. While there are no
Great Feasts or extended fasts in July – we do keep the traditional fasts on Wednesday and Friday throughout the month – there are a number of especially
noteworthy feast days gracing our calendars.
July 1 marks the feast of the Holy Unmercenary Physicians
Cosmas and Damian of Rome, so called because they “treated the infirm by the
power of our Lord Jesus Christ and took no payment for rendering aid to the
sick,” and we continue with celebrations for St. John of San Francisco (July
2), St. Andrew of Crete (July 4), St. Vladimir of Kiev (July 15), the New
Martyr Elizabeth of Russia (July 18), St. Seraphim of Sarov (July 19), the
Prophets Elias (July 20) and Ezekiel (July 21), St. Mary Magdalene (July 22),
St. Anna (July 25), St. Panteleimon (July 27) and St. Joseph of Arimathea (July
31), among many others. Let’s talk about one “hometown hero” you may be less
familiar with.
St. Joseph of Damascus (July 10) was the priest of the
Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
(al-Mariamiyeh) in Damascus. On July 9th, 1860 the brutal massacre of Christians, which began in the mountains of Lebanon, spread to Damascus. Some
Damascenes (including Michael Hawaweeny and his wife Mariam, who was pregnant
with their son, the future St. Raphael of Brooklyn) fled Damascus for the city
of Beirut. Most, however, took refuge in al Mariamiyeh. St. Joseph took up his
communion kit and began to make his way to the Cathedral by jumping from
rooftop to rooftop across the narrow streets of the Old City. As he went, he
stopped to confess and commune the aged and infirm who could not flee their
homes, encouraging them with stories from the Lives of the Great Martyrs. On
the morning of July 10th, the Cathedral was surrounded and burned by a
fanatical crowd. Those inside perished in the flames; of those who escaped and
fled into the streets, most were shot or caught and forced back into the
burning building, while only a few, including St. Joseph, survived. As he
roamed the narrow streets searching for survivors, he was apprehended and
brutally killed. St. Joseph's sacred relics were then pitched into the city
dump along with those of the other New Martyrs, numbering 2,500 men plus women
and children. St. Joseph and his companions were glorified by the Holy Synod of
Antioch in 1993. (Adapted from antiochian.org)
Through their intercessions, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have
mercy upon us! Amen.
