Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?April_26th_=E2=80=93_St=2E_Stephen_of_Perm=2C_Bishop?= To : All From : rich Date : Thu Apr 25 2019 08:58:57 From: rich April 26th =E2=80=93 St. Stephen of Perm, Bishop Born at Ust Yug in 1345; died in Moscow in 1396. In the early days of Christianity in the region, the Russian Church had sent out missionaries to preach the Gospel to the Mongols and Finns. But it wasn't until the 14th century that this zeal was revived. Saint Stephen, one of the great Russian missionary bishops, had been born among the Zyriane people (Permiaks or Komi), who lived southwest of the Ural mountains but east of the Volga, and he longed to convert his own folk to Christianity. After about 15 years in a monastery at Rostov preparing himself for a missionary work, he set out on a preaching mission among them. Soon Saint Stephen, a worthy successor to Saints Cyril and Methodius, realized that he needed to make a translation of the Scriptures and liturgy into their tongue. His biographer tells us that he believed that every people should worship God in its own tongue, because languages also are from God. Because the Zyrians at that time did not possess even an alphabet, and Stephen was so convinced that every people has its own peculiar contribution to make to God's service that he would not give his converts even the Russian characters. Instead, this Russian invented an alphabet for them using for letters parts of the traditional elements of Zyrian carvings and embroidery. He set up schools to teach this alphabet to his converts. Like many other Russian missionaries, Stephen used the celebration of public worship as an initial means of attracting the heathen by its beauty and impressive solemnity. Having distinguished himself as a missionary and as a champion of the downtrodden and oppressed as far away as Novogorod and Moscow, he was recognized by being name the first bishop of Perm (now Molotov) in 1383. As bishop, he had to oppose the first Russian dissenters, known as Strigolniks, who had much in common with the Lollards and Hussites (Attwater, Bentley, Walsh). Saint Quote: "I fear the good opinion which my friends have formed of me: they will believe me in Heaven and leave me to suffer." --St. Francis de Sales Bible Quote: No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.=C2 (1 John 4-12) <><><><> Novena in Honor of Jesus as True King Over a period of 9 consecutive days: Pray one Our Father Pray one Hail Mary Pray one Glory Be O Lord our God, You alone are the Most Holy King and Ruler of All Nations. We pray to You, Lord, in the great expectation of receiving from You, O Divine King, mercy, peace, justice and all good things. Protect, O Lord our King, our families and the land of our birth. Guard us, we pray, Most Faithful One! Protect us from our enemies and from Your Just Judgement. Forgive us, O Sovereign King, our sins against You. Jesus, You are a King of Mercy. We have deserved Your Just Judgement. Have mercy on us, Lord, and forgive us. We trust in Your Great Mercy. O Most Awe-inspiring King, we bow before You and pray; may Your reign, Your kingdom, be recognized on earth! Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .