The monk martyr Nicon was born in Neapolis (Naples). His father was a pagan, and his mother a Christian. He was not baptized, but his mother secretly instructed him in the tenets of Christianity. Nicon was still a pagan when he reached adulthood. He served as a soldier, and showed unusual courage and strength. Once, Nicon and his military company were surrounded by enemies. In deadly peril, he remembered the Christian precepts of his mother and, signing himself with the Sign of the Cross, he prayed to God, vowing to be baptized if he were saved. Filled with unusual strengths, he killed many of the enemy, and put the rest to flight. He managed to return home, giving thanks to God for preserving his life. With the blessing of his mother, he set off in search of a priest. This was no easy thing to do in a time of persecution. St. Nicon took a ship to the island of Chios. He went up on a high mountain and spent eight days in fasting and prayer, entreating the Lord to help him. When St. Nicon had lived on the mountain for three years, an angel revealed to the bishop Theodosius that Nicon should be consecrated bishop, and should move to the province of Sicily with all the monks. Bishop Theodosius obeyed the angel, and then died after he had entrusted the 190 monks to St. Nicon. After he buried Bishop Theodosius, St. Nicon sailed to Sicily with the brethren. 

Troparion

O Lord our God, your holy martyrs have deserved the crown of immortality on account of their good fight. Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.

 

Kontakion

By your holy life you assembled a choir from those who had lived humbly and had followed you before the throne of God on high. Your radiance spans the heavens like the very sun, and the rays of your pains disperse darkness and wash out deceit by the torrent of your blood. 

 

Readings for the day

Genesis 9:18 – 10:1

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japeth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated. 

Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank some wine, became drunk, and lay naked inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness, and he told his two brothers outside. Shem and Japeth, however, took a robe, and holding it on their shoulders, they walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness; since their faces were turned the other way, they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah woke up from his wine and learned what his youngest son had done to him, he said:

“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”

He also said:

    “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be his slave. May God expand Japeth, and may he dwell among the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.”

Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. The whole lifetime of Noah was nine hundred and fifty years; then he died. 

These are the descendants of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japeth, to whom children were born after the flood. 

 

Proverbs 12:23 – 13:9

The shrewd conceal knowledge, but the hearts of fools proclaim folly. 

The diligent hand will govern, but sloth makes for forced labor. 

Worry weighs down the heart, but a kind word gives it joy. 

The just act as guides to their neighbors, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Sloth does not catch its prey, but the wealth of the diligent is splendid. 

In the path of justice is life, but the way of abomination leads to death.

A wise son loves correction, but the scoffer heeds no rebuke. 

From the fruit of the mouth one enjoys good things, but from the throat of the treacherous comes violence. 

Those who guard their mouths preserve themselves; those who open wide their lips bring ruin.

The appetite of the sluggard craves but nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is amply satisfied.

The just hate deceitful words, but the wicked are odious and disgraceful.

Justice guards one who walks honestly, but sin leads the wicked astray. 

One acts rich but has nothing; another acts poor but has great wealth. 

People’s riches serve as ransom for their lives, but the poor do not even hear a threat. 

The light of the just gives joy, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.

 

 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

Hieromartyr Basil was a presbyter in Ancyra, Galatia. Fighting against the Arian heresy, he urged his flock to cling firmly to Orthodoxy. Because of this, St. Basil was deposed from his priestly rank by a local Arian council, but a Council of 230 bishops in Palestine reinstated him. St. Basil continued to openly preach Orthodoxy and denounce the Arians. He, therefore, became a victim of persecution and was subjected to punishment as a man dangerous to the state. The saint remained unshakable, and was tortured for it. When the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) arrived in the city of Ancyra, St. Basil bravely confessed Christ before him at trial, and denounced the emperor for his apostasy. Julian ordered that strips of skin be cut from the saint’s back. St. Bail endured the gruesome torture with great patience. Having made such a prayer, and lacerated all over by red-hot irons, the saint fell into a sweet slumber and gave up his soul to the hands of God on June 29, 362. His commemoration was transferred to March 22 because of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. 

 

Troparion

O holy priest-martyr Basil, you lent yourself to the apostle’s way of life and succeeded them on their throne. Inspired by God, you found the way to contemplation through the practice of virtue. Therefore, you became a perfect teacher of truth, fighting for the faith unto the shedding of your blood. Intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls. 

Kontakion

You ran the course and kept the faith, O Basil. Because of this you were crowned with glory in martyrdom and hailed as an immovable pillar of the Church. You confessed the Son to be coeternal in the Trinity with the Father and the Spirit. Now beg the Holy Trinity to save all of us who honor you. 

Readings for the day

Genesis 9: 8-17

God said to Noah and to his sons with him: See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: the birds, the tame animals, and all the wild animals that were with you–all that came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastated the earth. God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature–every mortal being– so that the waters will never again become a flood to destroy every mortal being. When the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature–every mortal being that is on earth. God told Noah: This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and every mortal being that is on earth. 

 

Proverbs 12: 8-22

For their good sense people are praised, but the perverse of heart are despised. 

Better to be slighted and have a servant than put on airs and lack bread. 

The just take care of their livestock, but the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

Those who till their own land have food in plenty, but those who engage in idle pursuits lack sense. 

A wicked person desires the catch of evil people, but the root of the righteous will bear fruit. 

By the sin of their lips the wicked are ensnared, but the just escape from a tight spot. 

From the fruit of their mouths people have their fill of good, and the works of their hands come back upon them. 

The way of fools is right in their own eyes, but those who listen to advice are the wise. 

Fools immediately show their anger, but the shrewd conceal contempt. 

Whoever speaks honestly testifies truly, but the deceitful make lying witnesses. 

The babble of some people is like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise is healing. 

Truthful lips endure forever, the lying tongue, for only a moment. 

Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but those who counsel peace have joy. 

No harm befalls the just, but the wicked are overwhelmed with misfortune. 

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who are truthful, his delight. 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

St. James, Bishop and Confessor, was inclined toward the ascetic life from his early years. St. James left the world and entered the Studite monastery, where he was tonsured. He led a strict life, full of works, fasting, and prayer. Pious and well versed in Holy Scripture, St. James was elevated to the bishop’s throne of Catania(Sicily). During the reign of the iconoclast emperor Constantine V Copronymus (741-775), St. James was repeatedly urged not to venerate the holy icons. They exhausted him in prison, starved him, and beat him, but he bravely endured all these torments. St. James died in exile. 

 

Troparion

O guide of the true faith, mirror of piety and commendable behavior, bright star of the universe, and adornment of pontiffs, you enlightened us all by your teachings. O wise James, inspired by God and lyre of the Holy Spirit, intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls. 

 

Kontakion

By mortifying your body, O blessed James, you abandoned the world and followed Christ. You were given the anointing of the priesthood and have been admitted to angelic choirs. Now pray for all of us who bless you. 

 

Readings for the day

Genesis 8:21 – 9:7

When the Lord smelled the sweet odor, the Lord said to himself: Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, since the desires of the human heart are evil from youth; nor will I ever again strike down every living being, as I have done. 

    All the days of the earth, 

    Seedtime and harvest,

    Cold and heat,

    Summer and winter,

    And day and night

    Shall not cease.

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. Fear and dread shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Any living creature that moves about shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants. Only meat with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. Indeed for your own lifeblood I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from a human being, each one for the blood of another, I will demand an accounting for human life. 

    Anyone who sheds the blood of a human being,

    By a human being shall that one’s blood be shed;

    For in the image of God

    Have human beings been made.

Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it. 

 

Proverbs 11:19 – 12:6

Justice leads toward life, but pursuit of evil, toward death. 

The crooked in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those who walk blamelessly are his delight.

Be assured, the wicked shall not go unpunished, but the offspring of the just shall escape. 

Like a golden ring in a swine’s snout is a beautiful woman without judgment. 

The desire of the just ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

One person is lavish yet grows still richer; another is too sparing, yet is the poorer.

Whoever confers benefits will be amply enriched, and whoever refreshes the other will be refreshed. 

Whoever hoards grain, the people curse, but blessings are on the head of the one who distributes it!

Those who seek the good seek favor, but those who pursue evil will have evil come upon them. 

Those who trust in their riches will fall, but like green leaves the just will flourish. 

Those who trouble their household inherit the wind, and fools become slaves to the wise of heart. 

The fruit of justice is a tree of life, and one who takes lives is a sage.

If the just are recompensed on the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

Whoever loved discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates reproof is stupid. 

A good person wins favor from the Lord, but the schemer he condemns. 

No one is made secure by wickedness, but the root of the just will never be disturbed.

A woman of worth is the crown of her husband, but a disgraceful one is like rot in his bones. 

The plans of the just are right; the designs of the wicked are deceit. 

The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright saves them. 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

 

Saints John, Sergius, Patrick and others slain in the Monastery of St. Sabbas. During the eighth century the area around Jerusalem was subjected to frequent incursions of the Saracens. On March 13, 796 the Saracens broke into the monastery and demanded all the valuables. The monks told them that there was nothing in the monastery but a meager supply of food and old clothing. Then the Saracens began to shoot arrows at the monks. Thirteen men were killed and many were wounded, and monastery cells were set afire. The Saracens intended to torch the monastery church, but seeing a throng of people in the distance, they mistook it for an army sent from Jerusalem. The Saracens managed to get away, carrying off the little they were able to plunder. After the enemy fled, Father Thomas, an experienced physician, began to help those who remained alive.

 

Troparion

O God of our ancestors, You always deal with us according to your everlasting compassion, take not your mercy away from us; but through the prayers of our ancestors, guide our lives along the way of peace. 

 

Kontakion

Having truly spurned worldly and passing pleasures, you preferred the desert life, O blessed saints. By turning aside from beauty and comfort, you fashioned heavenly crowns for yourselves. You rejoice in the company of martyrs and ascetics, and we also keep your precious memory as we sing: Deliver us, O fathers, from all afflictions. 

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Hebrews 4:14-5:6

    Brothers and sisters: Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession of faith. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who was tempted every way that we are, yet never sinned. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need.

    Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. One does not take this honor on his own initiative, but only when called by God as Aaron was. Even Christ did not glorify himself with the office of high priest; he received it from the One who said to him, “You are my son; today I have begotten you”; just as he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”

 

Gospel

Mark 8: 34-9: 1

At that time Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them: “If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and follow in my steps. Whoever would preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s sake will preserve it. What prophet does a man show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process? What can a man offer in exchange for his life? If anyone in this faithless and corrupt age is ashamed of me and my doctrine, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.” He also said to them: “I assure you, among those standing here there are some who will not taste death until they see the reign of God established in power.”

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

St. Chrysanthus came from a pagan family who moved from Alexandria to Rome in the third century. He received a fine education, and among the books he read were those in which pagans discussed Christianity. The young man, however, wanted to read books written by Christians themselves. He finally managed to get a copy of the New Testament, which enlightened his rational soul. Seeking someone to instruct him in the Holy Scriptures, he found the presbyter Carpophoros hiding from persecution, and the saint received holy Baptism from him. After this, Chrysanthus began to preach the Gospel. His own father tried to turn him in for being a Christian, and finally, he married him to Daria, a priestess of Minerva. St. Chrysanthus managed to convert his wife to Christ, and the young couple agreed to live a celibate lives. After the death of his father, Chrysanthus and Daria began to live in separate houses. St Chrysanthus converted several young men to Christ, and many pious women gathered around St. Daria. The people of Rome complained to the eparch Celerinus that the saints were preaching celibacy and attracting too many young men and women to monasticism. St. Chrysanthus was sent to the tribune Claudius for torture. The emperor Numerian ordered Saints Chrysanthus and Daria be turned over to the executioners. After many cruel tortures, the martyrs were buried alive in the ground.

 

Troparion

O Lord our God your holy martyrs have deserved the crown of immortality on account of their good fight. Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls. 

 

Kontaktion

In your desire for the perfect Good, you pursued whatever good you saw. By your golden words, Chrysanthus, you led the glorious Daria to Christ. She endured many torments and shamed the enemy. We ask both of you to remember us who keep your memory.

 

Gospel

Hebrews 10: 32-38

    Brothers and sisters: Recall the days gone by when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great contest of suffering. At times you were publicly exposed to insult and trial; at other times you associated yourselves with those who were being so dealt with. You even joined in the suffering of those who were in prison and joyfully assented to the confiscation of your goods, knowing that you had better and more permanent possessions. Do not, then, surrender your confidence; it will have great reward. You need patience to do God’s will and receive what He has promised. 

 

Epistle

Mark 2: 14-17

    At that time as Jesus moved on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus at his tax collector’s post, and said to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and became his follower. While Jesus was reclining to eat in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and those known as sinners joined him and his disciples at dinner. The number of those who followed him was large. When the scribes who belonged to the Pharisees party saw that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and offenders against the law, they complained to his disciples, “Why does he eat with such as these?” Overhearing the remark, Jesus said to them, “People who are healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do. I have come to call sinners, not the self-righteous.”

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

St. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, was born in Jerusalem in the year 315 and was raised in strict Christian piety. Upon reaching the age of maturity, he became a monk, and in the year 346 he became a presbyter. In the year 350, upon the death of Archbishop Maximus, he succeeded him on the episcopal throne of Jerusalem. As Patriarch of Jerusalem, St. Cyril fought against the heresies of Arius and Macedonius. In doing so, he aroused the animosity of the Arian bishops, and they sought to have him deposed and banished from Jerusalem. St. Cyril’s works include twenty-three Instructions (18 are Catechetical, for those preparing for baptism, and 5 are for the newly-baptized) and two discourses on Gospel themes: “On the Paralytic,” and “Concerning the Transformation of Water into Wine at Cana.” At the heart of the Catechetical Instructions is a detailed explanation of the Symbol of Faith. The saint suggests that a Christian should inscribe the Symbol of Faith upon “the tablets of the heart.” St. Cyril, a great ascetic and a champion of Orthodoxy, died in the year 386.  

 

Troparion

The sincerity of your deeds has revealed you to your people as a teacher of moderation, a model of faith, and an example of virtue. Therefore, you attained greatness through humility and wealth through poverty. O father and archbishop Cyril, ask Christ our God to save our souls.

 

Kontaktion

You enlightened your people by your words which came from divine inspiration. You honored the indivisible nature of the Trinity which embraces three Persons. We rejoice that you are an advocate of God, and we celebrate your all-holy memory.

 

Readings for the day

Genesis 8: 4-21

In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to diminish until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared.

At the end of forty days, Noah opened the hatch of the ark that he had made, and he released a raven. It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth. Then he released a dove, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. But the dove could find no place to perch, and it returned to him in the ark, for there was water over all the earth. Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him inside the ark. He waited yet seven days more and again released the dove from the ark. In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had diminished on the earth. He waited yet another seven days and then released the dove; but this time it did not come back.

In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth. Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground had dried. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 

Then God said to Noah: Go out of the ark, together with your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you– all creatures, be they birds or animals or crawling things on the earth– and let them abound on the earth, and be fertile and multiply on it. So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives; and all the animals, all the birds, and all the crawling creatures that crawl on the earth went out of the ark by families.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and choosing every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the Lord smelled the sweet odor, the Lord said to himself: Never again will I curse the ground because of the human beings, since the desires of the human heart are evil from youth; nor will I ever again strike down every living being, as I have done. 

 

Proverbs 10:31- 11:12

The mouth of the just yields wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. 

The lips of the just know favor, but the mouth of the wicked, perversion.

False scales are an abomination to the Lord, but an honest weight, his delight. 

When pride comes, disgrace comes; but with the humble is wisdom. 

The honesty of the upright guides them; the faithless are ruined by their duplicity.

Wealth is useless on a day of wrath, but justice saves from death. 

The justice of the honest makes their way straight, but by their wickedness the wicked will fall.

The justice of the upright saves them, but the faithless are caught in their own intrigue. 

When a person dies, hope is destroyed; expectation pinned on wealth is destroyed.

The just are rescued from a tight spot, but the wicked fall into it instead.

By a word the impious ruin their neighbors, but through their knowledge the just are rescued. 

When the just prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. 

Through the blessings of the upright the city is exalted, but through the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. 

Whoever reviles a neighbor lacks sense, but the intelligent keep silent. 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

St. Alexis was born in Rome to the pious and poverty-loving parents Euphemianus and Aglais. The couple was childless for a long time and they constantly prayed to the Lord to grant them a child, so the Lord consoled them with the birth of their son Alexis. After he moved to Edessa, Alexis sold everything he had, distributed the money to the poor, and began to live near the church of the Most Holy Theotokos under a portico. The saint used a portion of the alms he received to buy bread and water, and he distributed the rest to the aged and infirm. St. Alexis dwelt in Edessa for seventeen years. He secretly boarded a ship bound for Cilicia, intending to visit the church of St. Paul in Tarsus, but God ordained otherwise. A storm took the ship far to the west and it reached the coast of Italy. He journeyed to Rome and decided to live in his own house. Unrecognized, he humbly asked his father’s permission to settle in some corner of his courtyard. Euphemianus settled Alexis in a specially constructed cell and gave orders to feed him from his table. St. Alexis dwelt at the house of his parents for seventeen years and the Lord revealed to him the day of his death. Then the saint, taking paper and ink, wrote certain things that only his wife and parents would know. He also asked them to forgive him for the pain he had caused them. 

 

Troparion

Rich in poverty and clean of heart by virtue, you adorned your life by partaking in the passion. With a clean conscience you took up fasting and persevered in prayer like an angel. You glowed like the sun on the world, O most blessed Alexis.

 

Kontakion

You made your parents’ home that of a stranger, and you lived in its shelter as a beggar. When you passed from this life you were crowned in glory, and your reputation has become magnificent on earth. Rejoice, O Alexis, man of God and joy of angels.

 

Readings for the day

Genesis 7:11- 8:4

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month: on that day

    All the fountains of the great abyss burst forth

    And the floodgates of the sky were opened.

For forty days and forty nights heavy rain poured down on the earth. 

On the very same day, Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japeth, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of Noah’s sons had entered the ark, together with every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, every kind of crawling thing that crawls on the earth, and every kind of bird. Pairs of all creatures in which there was the breath of life came to Noah into the ark. Those that entered were male and female; of all creatures they came, as God commanded Noah. he the Lord shut him in. 

The flood continued upon the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth, but the ark floated on the surface of the waters. Higher and higher on the earth the waters swelled, until all the highest mountains under heaven were submerged. The waters swelled fifteen cubits higher than the submerged mountains. All creatures that moved on earth perished: birds, tame animals, wild animals, and all that teemed on the earth, as well as all humankind/ Everything on dry land with the breath of life in its nostrils died. The Lord wiped out every being on earth: human beings and animals, the crawling things and the birds of the air; all were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left. 

And when the water had swelled on the earth for one hundred and fifty days, God remembered Noah and all the animals, wild and tame, that were with him in the ark. So god made a wind sweep over the earth, and the waters began to subside. The fountains of the abyss and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the downpour from the sky was held back. Gradually the waters receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred and fifty days, the waters had so diminished that, in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 

Proverbs 10: 1-22

The Proverbs of Solomon: A wise son gives his father joy, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. 

Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but justice saves from death.

The Lord does not let the just go hungry, but the craving of the wicked he thwarts. 

The slack hand impoverishes, but the busy hand brings riches.

A son who gathers in summer is a credit; a son who slumbers during harvest, a disgrace.

Blessings are for the head of the just; but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The memory of the just serves as blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. 

A wise heart accepts commands, but a babbling fool will be overthrown.

Whoever walks honestly walks securely, but one whose ways are crooked will fare badly. 

One who winks at a fault causes trouble, but one who frankly reproves promotes peace.

The mouth of the just is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 

Hatred stirs up disputes, but love covers all offenses. 

On the lips of the intelligent is found wisdom, but a rod for the back of one without sense. 

The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool is imminent ruin.

The wealth of the rich is their strong city; the ruin of the poor is their poverty. 

The labor of the just leads to life, the gains of the wicked, to futility.

Whoever follows instruction is in the path to life, but whoever disregards reproof goes astray. Whoever conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. 

Where words are many, sin is not wanting; but those who restrain their lips do well. 

Choice silver is the tongue of the just; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. 

The lips of the just nourish many, but the fools die for want of sense. 

It is the Lord’s blessing that brings wealth, and no effort can substitute for it.  

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

The Holy Martyr Sabinus was administrator of the Egyptian city of Hermopolis. During a persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian, St. Sabinus and some like- minded companions hid in a remote village. His hiding place was revealed by a certain ungrateful beggar who had brought him food. The saint used to feed him and help him with money, but the man betrayed him for two pieces of gold. Sabinus was seized with six other Christians, and after torture, they were drowned in the Nile in 287.

The Holy Martyr Papas lived in the city of Laranda (Asia Minor) during the reign of Maximian(305-311). They arrested him for his belief in Christ. His feet were put into boots with sharp nails hammered into the soles, and made to walk. They took him to the city of Diocaesarea and later to Seleucia, Isauria to stand trial. St. Papas died bound to a barren tree, which then became fruitful.

 

Troparion

O Lord our God, your holy martyrs have deserved the crown of immortality on account of their good fight. Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls. 

 

Kontakion

O God-bearing Sabinus, strong sprout of heaven, divine flower and fruitful branch, fill with joy those who venerate your memory and pray unceasingly for all of us. 

 

Readings for the day

Genesis 7: 6-9

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth. Together with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, Noah went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Of the clean animals and the unclean, of the birds, and of everything that crawls on on the ground, two by two, male and female came to Noah into the ark, just as God has commanded him.

Proverbs 9: 12-18

If you are wise, wisdom is to your advantage; if you are arrogant, you alone shall bear it.

Woman Folly is raucous, utterly foolish; she knows nothing.

She sits at the door of her house upon a seat on the city heights, 

Calling passersby as they go on their way straight ahead: 

“Let those who are naive turn in here, to those who lack sense I say. 

Stolen water is sweet, and bread taken secretly is pleasing!”

Little do they know that the shades are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol!

 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

 

The holy martyr Agapius and his companions: the holy martyrs Timolaus, Dionysius, Pausis, Romulus, Alexander, and another Alexander. They all suffered in Caesarea in Palestine at the hand of Prince Urban during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. All seven were extremely young men, and none of them were Christians except Agapius. Neither were they baptized with water, but theirs was a baptism by blood. One day these seven young men were observing how Christians were being tortured: one in the fire, another on the gallows, and a third before wild beasts. Seeing with what great forbearance these Christians endures all their pain and suffering, these seven became inflamed with a zeal for Christ. They tied their hands behind their backs and came before Urban, saying: “We also are Christians.” The flattery and threats of Urban were in vain. These young men were joined by a distinguished citizen of this town, Agapius, who had previously suffered much for Christ. They became all the more inflamed in their faith and love for the Lord. All were beheaded in the year 303. 

 

Troparion

O Lord our God, your holy martyrs have deserved the crown of immortality on account of their good fight. Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.

 

Kontakion

These seven martyrs endured much for the Trinity, and by grace they destroyed many scheming devils. By their spirit they have been joined to the holy ones. By their prayers, O Lord, be generous to us. 

 

Readings for the day

Genesis 7: 1-5

Then the Lord said to Noah: Go in the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this generation have I found to be righteous before me. Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate; likewise, every bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a female, to keep their progeny alive over all the earth. For seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the face of the earth every being that I have made. Noah complied, just as the Lord had commanded. 

 

Proverbs 8:32- 9:11

“Now, children, listen to me; happy are they who keep my ways.

Listen to instruction and grow wise, do not reject it!

Happy the one who listens to me, attending daily at my gates, keeping watch at my doorposts;

For whoever finds me finds life, and wins favor from the Lord;

But those who pass me by do violence to themselves; all who hate me love death.”

Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns;

She has prepared her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. 

She has sent out her maidservants; she calls from from the heights out over the city:

“Let whoever is naive turn in here; to any who lack sense I say,

Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!

Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.”

Whoever corrects the arrogant earns insults; and whoever reproves the wicked incurs opprobrium.

Do not reprove the arrogant, lest they hate you; reprove the wise, and they will love you.

Instruct the wise, and they become still wiser; teach the just, and they advance in learning.

The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

For by me your days will be multiplied and the years of your life increased.

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com