Bucolus was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, who consecrated him Bishop of Smyrna. In Smyrna there were few that were baptized. In the darkness of paganism, St. Bucolus shone as bright as a candle. He distinguished himself with every virtue, especially meekness and humility. Before his death, Bucolus consecrated the glorious Polycarp as his successor to the episcopacy. He died peacefully in the 2nd century.
Silvanus of Esmesa in Syria, was a bishop, who, when he had led the same Church for forty years, finally, under the emperor Maximinus, was thrown to the wild beasts. Together with Luca the deacon and Mocius the lector he received the palm of martyrdom in 313.
Troparion
Your life has shown you to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of gentleness, and a teacher of moderation. You acquired greatness through humility and wealth through poverty. O father and bishop Bucolus, intercede with Christ our God to save our souls.
Kontakion
Radiant with the light of the priesthood, you illuminated the people, O pastor. You destroyed the darkness of idolatry, and you dispersed the clouds of passions by your cures. You went before the unsetting Light. Now we ask you to pray for us who honor you, O blessed Bucolus.
Epistle
2nd Timothy 3: 10-15
Timothy, my son: you have followed closely my teaching and my conduct. You have observed my resolution, fidelity, patience, love, and endurance, through persecution and sufferings in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know what persecutions I have had to bear, and you know how the Lord saved me from them all. Anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus can expect to be persecuted. But all the while evil men and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others, themselves deceived. You, for your part, must remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know who your teachers were. Likewise, from your infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, the source of the wisdom which through faith in Jesus Christ leads to salvation.
Gospel
Luke 18: 10-14
The Lord told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee with head unbowed prayed in this fashion: ‘I give you thanks, O God, that I am not like the rest of men – grasping, crooked, adulterous – or even like this publican. I fast twice a week. I’ll pay tithes on all I possess.’ The other man, however, kept his distance, not even daring to raise his eyes to heaven. All he did was beat his breast and say, ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Believe me, this man went home from the temple justified but the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled while he who humbled himself shall be exalted.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Saturday, February 5 –
