Memorial of Saints (July 10)

on July 10:

• Rufina and Secunda, virgin and martyrs;
• Amalburga, widow;
• Amalburga, virgin;
• Antony and Theodosius of Pechersk, abbot

Rufina (d. ca. 257 A.D.) and her sister Secunda were daughters of a Roman senator. They were engaged to be married, but when the men they were engaged to be married to apostasized during the persecution of Christians under Valerian, they refused to do the same. They fled from Rome to escape the persecution. They were then captured and then beheaded for their faith.

Antony Pechersk (983-1073 A.D.) was educated to be a hermit. He went to Russia and built a hermitage at Kiev on the Dnieper River. He attracted others and thus began the Caves of Kiev - the first Russian monastery established by Russian monks for Russians. With Theodosius Pechersk, he is considered the father of Russian monasticism.

Theodosius Pechersk (d. 1074 A.D.) in about 1032 A.D. became a monk at the Caves of Kiev, founded by Antony Pechersk. When he became abbot after Barlaam, he replaced Antony's concept of monasticism based on the austerities of the Egyptian hermits with the more moderate approach of the Palestinian monks. He emphasized harmony between the active and contemplative life. During the four decades of his abbacy, the Caves of Kiev became a great monastery.

Memorial of Saints (July 9)

Augustine Zhao Kong: was a Chinese diocesan priest who was martyred with his 119 companions in 1815 A.D. Among their number was an eighteen year old boy, Chi Zhuzi, who cried out to those who had just cut off his right arm and were preparing to flay him alive: "Every piece of my flesh, every drop of my blood will tell you that I am a Christian."

also on July 9:

• Everild, virgin;
• The Martyrs of Gorkum: Nicholas Pieck, Jerome Weerden, Leonard Vechel, Nicholas Janssen, Godfrey van Duynen, John van Oosterwyk, John van Hoornaer, Adrian van Hilvarenbeek, James Lacops, Andrew Wouters, Antony van Willehad, and Nicasius van Heeze;
• Veronica Giuliani, virgin

The Martyrs of Gorkum were a group of missionaries who opposed the Calvinist forces that seized the town of Gorkum. These Calvinist forces were opposed to the Spanish rule. They seized these missionaries and subjected them to various indignities. Despite a letter from the prince of Orange ordering their release, they were hanged at deserted Ruggen Monastery on the outskirts of Briel on July 9, and their bodies were callously thrown into a ditch. They were all canonized in 1867 A.D.

Memorial of Saints (July 8)

Aquila and Prisca; Procopius, martyr; Kilian and Companions, martyrs; Withburga, virgin; Adrian III, pope; Grimbald; Sunniva and Companions; Raymund of Toulouse

Aquila (1st century A.D.) was a Jewish tentmaker. He and his wife Prisca left Rome when the Roman Emperor forbade Jews to live in Rome. Aquila and Prisca went to Corinth where they met St. Paul. Converted to the faith by St. Paul, they accompanied Paul in his mission to Ephesus. They eventually returned to Rome and made their house a church for the Christian community. Both Aquila and Prisca suffered martyrdom either in Asia Minor (according to the Roman Martyrology) or in Rome.

Procopius (d. 303 A.D.) was born at Jerusalem and became a lector, translator and exorcist when he moved to Bethsan. During the persecution of Christians under Diocletian, when he refused to sacrifice to the gods, he was beheaded. Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea called him "the Great" in the story written of him in his martyrdom.