Tikimt 13 — October 23

Saint Ptolemachus and His Brethren

Today we remember Saint Ptolemachus (say it like "Tol-eh-MAH-kus") and the brave friends who believed in God along with him. They are called his brethren, which is an old word for brothers and close friends.

Some powerful people did not want them to keep loving Jesus and telling others about Him. But Ptolemachus and his friends would not stop. They loved God too much to ever say no to Him. They stayed faithful all the way to the end of their lives, giving up everything rather than give up God, and so we call them martyrs.

We do not need to be sad for them, because they were not afraid. They knew that staying close to God is the best and safest place to be, and that He was waiting to welcome them home to heaven. We also send a loving greeting to Paul, who is called the new Tawrasi, and we thank God for all of these brave hearts.

Salutation to Ptolemachus and his brethren.

Abba Zachariah, the Humble Young Monk

There once was a man named 'Akaryos who wanted to live a quiet life of prayer. He had a kind wife and two little children, a boy and a girl. With his wife's blessing, 'Akaryos went to live as a monk in a faraway desert called Scete, a dry, lonely land far from any town, where holy people spent the whole day praying to God.

Later, food became very hard to find in the city. So the mother brought both children out to the desert to find their father. There the family decided that the mother would take the little girl home, and the father would keep the boy. The boy's name was Zachariah (say it like "Zak-a-RYE-ah"), and he was only seven years old.

The holy old men of the desert prayed over little Zachariah and felt sure he would grow up to love God in a wonderful way. And he did! He grew up gentle, kind, and full of good and loving deeds.

Zachariah grew into a very handsome young man, and the monks wondered how someone so good-looking could live happily in their quiet desert. Zachariah did not want anyone fussing over how he looked. He only wanted people to think about God. So one day, in his humble way, he found a quiet way to change how he looked, and he came back home looking very plain and ordinary.

A wise priest named Abba Isidore could see how much Zachariah loved God on the inside. He smiled and told the other monks something beautiful about this humble young man.

Zachariah served God his whole life and was always the most humble of all. Even his own father said he could never be as humble as his son! Zachariah lived a long and happy life of prayer, and at last he died in peace, very pleasing to God.

I have labored greatly, but I have never reached the goodness of my son Zachariah.— 'Akaryos, Zachariah's father

Zachariah came like every other man, and now he has become like an angel of God.— Abba Isidore

More Friends of God We Remember Today

On this day we also remember a whole group of holy people who loved God with all their hearts. Their names are 'Eulana, Eulacius, Theodore, 'Ablas and his friends, Nitolaus, and 'Abela.

We do not know every story about each one, but God knows them all by name, and not a single good thing they did is ever forgotten. We thank God for them, and we ask all of these kind saints to pray for us, that we may love God the way they did.