On the 30th day of June
From the «Lives of the Saints» of St. Demetrius (Dimitri) of Rostov
The Holy Apostle Peter
Peter, the holy chief apostle, was a zealous rival for the Lord and a glorious confessor of His name; it was he who said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He was the brother of Andrew the First-Called.
He came from Bethsaida, an obscure town of Galilee, the son of Jonah, of the tribe of Simeon.
From fishermen’s nets to the apostolate, and from the catching of fish to the catching of men, the Lord called him.
Instead of a boat he received the Church; instead of an oar, the key of the Kingdom of Heaven.
He preached the Gospel first in Judaea, then in Antioch, and in Pontus, and in Galatia, and in Cappadocia, and in Asia, and in Bithynia, and in Illyricum.
He came as far as Rome and proclaimed the word of God throughout all Italy.
In the midst of the city of Rome he overcame Simon the Magus by the power of Christ, casting him down out of the air to the ground.
Afterwards he was crucified head downward by the emperor Nero, and so was taken up into heaven.
The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called
The holy Andrew was the first-called apostle.
At the outset he was a disciple of the holy John the Baptist.
And he was the first to follow the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
He was the brother of the chief apostle Peter, and it was he who brought Peter to Christ.
After receiving the Holy Spirit he preached Christ in Bithynia and in all the lands about the shore of the Euxine Pontus, and in Cherson, and, by the Providence of God, in Rus’.
He preached also in the Great Scythia, returned to Thrace, and came as far as Hellas and the Peloponnese.
And he was crucified by the proconsul Aegeates at Patras in Achaea.
The Holy Apostle James the Son of Zebedee
James is the holy apostle, the son of Zebedee, whom the Lord named Boanerges, that is, Son of Thunder; he was the brother of the holy John the Theologian.
He beheld the glory of the Lord’s Transfiguration upon Tabor.
After the Ascension of the Lord he thundered like thunder in the ends of the earth.
He preached the word of God first throughout all Judaea, afterwards in Spain, and then returned again to Jerusalem.
With a voice like thunder he rebuked the unbelieving Jews, showing them from the Divine Scriptures that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah.
The Jews could not endure this; they incited against him King Herod, called Agrippa, and the holy apostle drank the cup of suffering for Christ which he had promised to drink, being slain by the sword.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian
John is the holy apostle, evangelist and theologian.
He lay upon the breast of Christ, stood beneath the Cross with the Most Pure Virgin Theotokos, was vouchsafed to be called her son, and at the time of her most honoured Dormition was caught up in a vision of paradise.
He preached the Gospel of Christ at Ephesus and throughout all Asia; and on the island of Patmos he was vouchsafed unspeakable divine revelations, and wrote of them.
He returned to Ephesus and brought many of the peoples of the Asiatic lands to Christ.
He fell asleep in peace, dying a natural death, for he was old in years.
The Holy Apostle Philip
Philip is the holy apostle, a fellow citizen of Peter and Andrew, an expert knower of the prophetic books and of the whole Old Testament.
He brought Nathanael to Christ, saying, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets did write; come and see.”
He preached Christ also in the Assyrian lands, together with the holy apostle Bartholomew and with Mariamne his sister.
At Hierapolis in Phrygia he was crucified head downward by the Greeks, and so died.
The Holy Apostle Bartholomew
Bartholomew is the holy apostle, by birth from Galilee.
At first he preached with the holy Philip in Syria and in Upper Asia.
Now they preached together, now apart, and at times the holy John the Theologian assisted them.
Then, after the falling asleep of Philip, he went into that India which is called Eudaemonia, and having spent a considerable time there in the preaching of the Gospel, and having turned many to Christ, he gave the people the Gospel of Matthew in writing.
His body was placed in a leaden coffin and cast into the sea.
As in a boat it sailed lightly upon the waters and came to shore on the island called Lipari.
The Holy Apostle Thomas
Thomas is the holy apostle, called the Twin, from Paneas, a town of Galilee.
After the Resurrection he touched the wounds of Christ.
He preached Christ to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians and Brahmans, even to the uttermost lands of India.
In the land of Calamina he was pierced through with spears and died for Christ.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew
Matthew the holy apostle, the brother of James the son of Alphaeus, was called from the tax booth to the apostolate, and was the first recorder of the life of Christ.
He wrote the Holy Gospel in the Hebrew tongue.
He preached Christ throughout all Ethiopia and in the land of the Anthropophagi, where, in the city called Myrmene, he departed this life as a martyr.
The Holy Apostle James the Son of Alphaeus
James the son of Alphaeus, the apostle of Christ and brother of Matthew the Evangelist, preached the word of God to idolatrous peoples in various lands and brought countless folk to the knowledge of God.
Being crucified on a cross, he ended his sufferings.
And the pagans who were converted called him the divine seed.
The Holy Apostle Jude, Brother of the Lord
Jude is the holy apostle, the son of the holy Joseph the Betrothed, the carpenter of Nazareth; the holy Luke calls him James, for he was the brother of the holy James, the first bishop of Jerusalem.
Matthew and Mark call him Thaddaeus and Lebbeus.
He preached Christ in Judaea, Galilee, Samaria and Idumaea, in Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia.
In the land of Ararat, when the idolaters hung him upon a tree of the Cross and shot him through with arrows, he laid down his soul for his Lord.
The Holy Apostle Simon the Zealot
Simon is the holy apostle, by birth of Cana in Galilee.
At his wedding Christ turned water into wine.
He was called the Zealot because of his zeal for Christ God.
He proclaimed the word of salvation among the Moors and the Africans.
In Britain he was crucified by the unbelievers and gave up his spirit to God.
The Holy Apostle Matthias
The holy Matthias, numbered among the holy apostles in place of Judas the traitor, preached Christ in Outer Ethiopia.
He endured many sufferings and died a martyr’s death.
The Holy Apostle Paul
The holy Paul is the chief apostle, called later than all the rest by the Lord from on high to the apostolate.
He proved himself a chosen vessel of the name of Jesus Christ.
He bore that name before the Gentiles and kings, from Jerusalem even to Rome.
He was a teacher to many of the heathen.
Being slain by the sword under Nero, he finished the course of his labour.
This holy apostle the Church honours with an equal primacy with the holy apostle Peter, because more than the other apostles he laboured in the preaching of Christ.