Miyazya 13 — April 21

Two Friends Who Loved God — Abba Iyasu and Abba Yosef

Today we remember two good friends, Abba Iyasu (we say his name JOSHUA in our own language) and Abba Yosef (which means JOSEPH). They lived together in a quiet, prayerful home far away, in a place called Dabra Kuerasan. A home like this is called a monastery, where people pray together and help one another love God.

Iyasu and Yosef were learners, or students, of a holy teacher named Abba Milius, and they followed his good example. Every day they prayed, they worked, and they did their best to live the way Jesus taught. People who pray and work hard for God like this are called ascetics. They choose a simple life so they can keep their hearts close to God.

These two friends loved God so much that they stayed faithful to Him even when it was very hard, and even when it cost them their lives. Brave people like that are called martyrs. Iyasu and Yosef were not afraid, because they knew that God was holding them and that they were going home to be with Him forever.

Their kind teacher, Abba Milius, was faithful too, and the Church remembers him later this same month, on the 28th day. How happy it is that teacher and students are still together in God's keeping!

Salutation to Iyasu (Joshua) and Yosef (Joseph) the chosen ones.

Dionysias, the Helping Deaconess

Today we also remember a faithful woman named Dionysias. She was a deaconess, a woman who helps in the church. She cared for people, especially other women and those who were sick or poor.

Dionysias lived a very long time ago, near the very beginning of the Church. The disciples of our Lord Jesus, His closest helpers, chose her for this special work, because they trusted her and knew she loved God with all her heart.

She used her whole life to serve God and to help His people, and she stayed faithful right to the end. Because she gave her life in love for Jesus, the Church honors her as a martyr too. When we help in church and care for others, we are doing the same kind of good work that Dionysias did so long ago.

Banadleus, Faithful to the End

On this day the Church also remembers a saint named Banadleus, who is also called Madleyos.

We do not know many stories about him, but we know the most important thing: he loved God and stayed true to Him, even when it was hard, all the way to the end of his life. That is why he is remembered as a martyr, one of God's brave and faithful friends.

It is good to remember that God knows and loves every one of His saints, even the ones whose stories we have mostly forgotten. God never forgets a single person who loves Him.

Our Father 'Aklesotemos and Four Monks

Last of all today, we remember our father 'Aklesotemos and four monks who lived and prayed with him. These were men who gave their days to quiet prayer, sharing one home and becoming like a family to each other.

'Aklesotemos was a holy leader, and the four monks followed him and prayed beside him. Together they spent their days loving God, helping one another, and doing good. When friends pray together and help each other be kind, they grow stronger in their love for God, just as these five did.

We thank God for all of them, and we ask these gentle fathers to pray for us, so that we may grow up loving God the way they did.