Memorial Day of St. Maximian, Patriarch of Constantinople

On May 4, the Holy Orthodox Church honors the memory of St Maximian, Patriarch of Constantinople Maximian lived in the 5th century in the luxurious Byzantine Empire, where the Christian religion became dominant for several centuries But, despite the greatness of Orthodoxy, there was no unity in the Eastern Church, and many interpretations gave rise to false heretical movements It was Patriarch Maximian who managed to unite the Christian churches of the Eastern Empire under a single patriarchate The saint was born into a noble, wealthy family, which provided him with an excellent education and a comfortable existence But for the future patriarch, luxury and wealth did not matter; he was content with a modest existence, and donated family funds to tombs for the burial of saints and pious Christians The purity of Maximian’s thoughts was noticed by the rulers of the Church of Constantinople; he was invited to take the rank of presbyter, and soon he was offered to take the patriarchal throne The rise of Maximian came at a time of troubles and coincided with the spread of the Nestorian heresy among Orthodox Christians The culprit of desecration of the faith, Archbishop Nestorius, was excommunicated by a general meeting of the clergy at a council in the city of Ephesus But some Eastern churches expressed disagreement over the anathema of Nestorius and did not accept Maximian as the new Patriarch of Constantinople After several months of negotiations, thanks to prolonged diplomacy and God's help, all the Eastern churches were united, recognizing Maximian as their common head The Patriarch of Constantinople introduced himself to the Lord on Maundy Thursday, having lived a long pious life full of godly deeds In folk tradition, May 4 was a special day, nicknamed Lyalnik In Russian villages, young girls gathered around a blossoming apple tree and, singing songs, danced around the tree The ritual was intended to cherish and preserve good weather At the same time, there was a belief that the night of May 4 was the time of witches They could make the grass poisonous and harm pets It was necessary to look after the cattle especially carefully It was also recommended to look closely at natural phenomena that could predict the weather for the future: - blooming bird cherry indicated a hot, dry summer, but its too abundant flowering indicated heavy summer rains; - the first spring thunder promised a bountiful grain harvest; - ants could also predict a rich harvest of wheat if by May 4 they managed to clean up the anthill and cleanse themselves; - but the light rain that began that day threatened to drag on for several days