From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

May 4th - Saint Pelagia, Martyr of Tarsus in Cilicia
(southeastern Asia Minor); 3rd v.

Died c. 300; feast day formerly October 8. She lived in the third
century, during the reign of Diocletian (284-305), daughter of
illustrious pagans. When she heard about Jesus Christ from her
Christian friends, she believed in Him and desired to preserve her
virginity, dedicating her whole life to the Lord. =C2 Emperor
Diocletian's heir (a boy he adopted), saw the maiden Pelagia, was
captivated by her beauty and wanted her to be his wife. The holy
virgin told the youth that she was betrothed to Christ the Immortal
Bridegroom, and had renounced earthly marriage.

Pelagia's reply greatly angered the young man, but he decided to leave
her in peace for awhile, hoping that she would change her mind. At the
same time, Pelagia convinced her mother to let her visit the nurse who
had raised her in childhood. She secretly hoped to find Bishop Linus
of Tarsus, who had fled to a mountain during a persecution against
Christians, and to be baptized by him. She had seen the face of Bishop
Linus in a dream, which made a profound impression upon her. The holy
bishop told her to be baptized. St. Pelagia traveled in a chariot to
visit her nurse, dressed in rich clothes and accompanied by a whole
retinue of servants, as her mother wished.

Along the way St. Pelagia, by the grace of God, met Bishop Linus.
Pelagia immediately recognized the bishop who had appeared to her in
the dream. She fell at his feet, requesting Baptism. At the bishop's
prayer a spring of water flowed from the ground.

Bishop Linus made the Sign of the Cross over St. Pelagia, and during
the Mystery of Baptism, angels appeared and covered the chosen one of
God with a bright mantle. After giving the pious virgin Holy
Communion, Bishop Linus offered a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord
with her, and then sent her to continue her journey. She then
exchanged her expensive clothing for a simple white garment, and
distributed her possessions to the poor. Returning to her servants,
St. Pelagia told them about Christ, and many of them were converted
and believed.

She tried to convert her own mother to Christ, but the obdurate woman
sent a message to Diocletian's son that Pelagia was a Christian and
did not wish to be his wife. The youth realized that Pelagia was lost
to him, and he fell upon his sword in his despair. Pelagia's mother
feared the emperor's wrath, so she tied her daughter up and led her to Diocletian's court as a Christian who was also responsible for the
death of the heir to the throne. The emperor was captivated by the
unusual beauty of the virgin and tried to turn her from her faith in
Christ, promising her every earthly blessing if she would become his
wife.

The holy virgin refused the emperor's offer with contempt and said, =E2=80=9CYou are insane, Emperor, saying such things to me. I will not do y= our
bidding, and I loathe your vile marriage, since I have Christ, the
King of Heaven, as my Bridegroom. I do not desire your worldly crowns
which last only a short while. The Lord in His heavenly Kingdom has
prepared three imperishable crowns for me. The first is for faith,
since I have believed in the true God with all my heart; the second is
for purity, because I have dedicated my virginity to Him; the third is
for martyrdom, since I want to accept every suffering for Him and
offer up my soul because of my love for Him.=E2=80=9D

Diocletian sentenced Pelagia to be burned in a red-hot bronze bull.
Not permitting the executioners to touch her body, the holy martyr
signed herself with the Sign of the Cross, and went into the brazen
bull and her flesh melted like myrrh, filling the whole city with
fragrance. St. Pelagia's bones remained unharmed and were removed by
the pagans to a place outside the city. Four lions then came out of
the wilderness and sat around the bones letting neither bird nor wild
beast get at them. The lions protected the relics of the saint until
Bishop Linus came to that place. He gathered them up and buried them
with honor. Later, a church was built over her holy relics. The
Service to the holy Virgin Martyr Pelagia of Tarsus says that she was =E2=80=9Cdeemed worthy of most strange and divine visions.=E2=80=9D


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Troparion Tone 3

Thou didst abandon dark ignorance through knowledge of the Faith,
/ O Pelagia, fair virgin of Christ.
/ Thou wast refreshed by His dew and didst finish thy contest by fire.
/ O glorious Martyr,
/ entreat Christ our God to grant us His great mercy.


Saint Quote:
He who wishes for anything but Christ does not know what he wishes; he
who asks for anything but Christ, does not know what he is asking; he
who works, and not for Christ, does not know what he is doing.
-- St. Philip

Bible Quote
Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and
humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. =C2 (Matthew
11:29)


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Supreme Lord
By St Albert the Great (1200-1280)=C2

We pray to You, O Lord,
who are the supreme Truth,
and all truth is from You.
We beseech You, O Lord,
who are the highest Wisdom
and all the wise
depend on You, for their wisdom.
You are the supreme Joy,
and all who are happy, owe it to You.
You are the Light of minds
and all receive
their understanding from You.
We love, we love You above all.
We seek You, we follow You
and we are ready to serve You.
We desire to dwell under Your power
for You are the King of all.
Amen

--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)