8 October - the Church commemorates saint Sergius of Radonezh

Saint Sergius raised the little boy from the dead

On October 8th (September 25th, old style) the Church commemorates the great Russian wonderworker, Saint Sergius of Radonezh. In 1314 the righteous noble couple, Cyril and Maria, who lived near Rostov the Great, gave birth to a son, Bartholomew. The infant refused his mother’s milk on Wednesdays and Fridays, and also on those days when Maria ate meat. At the age of seven Bartholomew was sent to school together with his brothers Stephen and Peter. Inspite of his diligence, learning came poorly to Bartholomew, and he tearfully prayed for the gift of “understanding book learning.”

One day Bartholomew saw a monk standing under an oak tree and praying. After finishing with his prayers, the elder gently asked the youth: “What do you want, child?” Bartholomew replied: “Pray to God for me and ask Him to open up my mind to book learning.” The elder prayed, then gave the youth a piece of prosfora and said: “Take this, child, and eat. It is given to you as a sign of God’s grace and for the sake of understanding the Holy Scriptures.” The monk then visited Bartholomew’s house, blessed his parents and commanded Bartholomew to read the Psalter. The boy began to fluently read the psalms.  Read more