The Gospel (Luke 1:5) relates that the righteous parents of St. John the Baptist, the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth, lived in the ancient city of Hebron. They reached old age without having children, since Elizabeth was barren. Once, St. Zechariah was serving in the Temple of Jerusalem when he saw the Archangel Gabriel. The angel predicted that St. Zechariah would father a son, who would announce the Savior, the Messiah, awaited by the Old Testament Church. St. Elizabeth came to be with child, and fearing derision at being pregnant so late in life, she kept it secret for five months. Then her relative, the Virgin Mary, came to share her own joy. Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” was the first to greet the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. St. John leapt in his mother’s womb at the visit of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and the Son of God incarnate within her. Soon St. Elizabeth gave birth to a son. On the eighth day, in accordance with the Law of Moses, he was circumcised and was called John.

 

Troparion

Prophet and forerunner of the coming of Christ, although we honor you with love, we cannot give you worthy praise. Through your glorious and holy birth, your mother was freed from barrenness and your father from his loss of speech, and the incarnation of the Son of God is proclaimed to the world. 

 

Kontakion

Today, she who once was barren gives birth to Christ’s forerunner. He himself is the fulfillment of all prophecy; for in the Jordan, he imposed his hand upon the Word of God whom the prophets have foretold and was shown to be his prophet, herald and forerunner.

 

Readings for the feast

Epistle

Romans 13:11b thru 14:4

    Brothers and sisters: It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us live honorably as in daylight; not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. 

    Extend a kind of welcome to those who are weak in faith. Do not enter into disputes with them. A man of sound faith knows he can eat anything, while one who is weak in faith eats only vegetables. The man who will eat anything must not ridicule him who abstains from certain foods; the man who abstains must not sit in judgment on him who eats. After all, God himself has made him welcome. Who are you to pass judgment on another’s servant? His master alone can judge whether he stands or falls. And stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 

 

Gospel

Luke 1: 5-25, 57-68, 76-80

    In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly order of Abijah; his wife, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Aaron. Both were just in the eyes of God, blamelessly following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. They were childless, for Elizabeth was sterile; moreover, both were advanced in years.

    Once, when it was the turn of Zechariah’s class and he was fulfilling his functions as a priest before God, it fell to him by lot according to priestly usage to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. While the full assembly of people was praying outside at the incense hour, an angel of the Lord appeared to Him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was deeply disturbed upon seeing him, and overcome with fear. 

    The angel said to him: “Do not be frightened, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son who you shall name John. Joy and gladness will be yours, many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He will never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. Many of the sons of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. God himself will go before him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers and their children and the rebellious to the wisdom of the just, and to prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed.”

    Zechariah said to the angel: “How am I to know this? I am an old man; my wife is too advanced in age.” The angel replied: “I am Gabriel, who stand in attendance before God. I was sent to speak to you and bring this good news. But now you will be mute–unable to speak–until the day these things take place, because you have not trusted my words. They will all come true in due season.” Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, wondering at his delay in the temple. When he finally came out he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision inside. He kept making signs to them, for he remained speechless.

    Then, when his time of priestly service was over, he went home. Afterward, his wife Elizabeth conceived. She went into seclusion for five months, saying, “In these days the Lord is acting on my behalf; he has seen fit to remove my reproach among men.”

    When Elizabeth’s time for delivery arrived, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives, upon hearing that the Lord has extended his mercy to her, rejoiced with her. When they assembled for the circumcision of the child on the eighth day, they intended to name him after his father Zechariah. At this his mother intervened, saying: “No, he is to be called John.”

    They pointed out to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then, using signs, they asked the father what he wished him to be called. He signaled for a writing tablet and wrote the words, “His name is John.” This astonished them all. At that moment his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 

    Fear descended on all in the neighborhood; throughout the hill country of Judea these happenings began to be recounted to the last detail. All who heard stored these things up in their hearts, saying, “What will this child be?” and, “Was not the hand of the Lord upon him?”

    Then Zechariah, his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, uttered the prophecy, “Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel because he has visited and ransomed his people. And you, O child, shall be called prophet of the Most High; for you shall go before the Lord and prepare straight paths for him, giving his people a knowledge of salvation in freedom from their sins. All this is the work of the kindness of our God; he, the Dayspring, shall visit us in his mercy to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

    The child grew up and matured in spirit. He lived in the desert until the day when he made his public appearance in Israel.

 

Readings for the day

Epistle 

Romans 9: 6-18

    Brothers and sisters: It is not that God’s word has failed. For not all Israelites are true Israelites nor are all Abraham’s descendants his children, but as Scripture says, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be called.” That means that it is not the children of the flesh who are not children of God; it is that children of the promise who are to be considered descendants. And this was the promise: “I will return at this time, and Sarah shall have a son.” Not only that; for when Rebekah had conceived twin children by one man, our father Isaac–while they were yet unborn and had done neither good nor evil, in order that God’s decree might stand fast “not by works but by the favor of him who calls” –God said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” It is just as Scripture says, “I have loved Jacob and hated Esau.” What are we to say, then? That God is unjust? Not at all! He says to Moses, “I will show mercy to whomever I choose; I will have pity on whomever I wish.” So it is not a question of man’s willing or doing but of God’s mercy. Scripture says to Pharaoh, “This is why I might be proclaimed throughout all the earth.” In other words, God has mercy on whom he wishes, and whom he wishes he makes hardhearted. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 10: 32-36 & 11:1

    The Lord said to his disciples: “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever disowns me before men I will disown before my Father in heaven.

    “Do not suppose that my mission on earth is to spread peace. My mission is to spread, not peace, but division. I have come to set a man at odds with his father, a daughter with her mother, a daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law: in short, to make a man’s enemies those of his own household.” When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he left that locality to teach and preach in their towns.

 

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

The holy martyr Agrippina was a Roman by birth. She did not wish to marry, and totally dedicated her life to God. During the time of persecution against Christians under the emperor Valerian (253-259) the saint went before the court and bravely confessed her faith in Christ, for which she was given over to torture. They beat the holy virgin with sticks so severely that they broke her bones. Afterwards, they put St. Agrippina in chains, but an angel freed her from her bonds. The holy confessor died from the tortures she endured. The Christians Bassa, Paula, and Agathonike secretly took the body of the holy martyr and transported it to Sicily, where many miracles were worked at her grave. In the 11th century the relics of the holy martyr Agrippina were transferred to Constantinople.

 

Troparion

You were overcome with love of the heavenly Lord and turned from the world and care of the flesh. You endured the afflictions imposed on you, saying: Receive me into your love, O Christ, King of ages, for I am being consumed for You. Make those who honor you happy in his mercy, O most praiseworthy martyr Agrippina. 

 

Kontakion

The radiant day of your shining virtues has arrived. On this day the Church of God honors you and calls all to cry out joyfully: Rejoice, O virgin and martyr, most honorable Agrippina. 

 

Epistle

Romans 8: 22-27

    Brothers and sisters: We know that all creation groans and is in agony even until now. Not only that, but we ourselves, although we have the Spirit as first fruits, groan inwardly while we await the redemption of our bodies. In hope we were saved. But hope is not hope if its object is seen; how is it possible for one to hope for what he sees? And hoping for what we cannot see means awaiting it with patient endurance.

    The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.

 

Gospel

Matthew 10: 23-31

    The Lord said to his disciples: “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I solemnly assure you, you will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

    “No pupil outranks his teacher, no slave his master. The pupil should be glad to become like his teacher, the slave like his master. If they call the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! Do not let them intimidate you. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not become known. What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. 

    “Do not fear those who deprive the body of life but cannot destroy the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for next to nothing? Yet not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted; so do not be afraid of anything. You are worth more than an entire flock of sparrows.”

 

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

 

The holy martyr Eusebius, bishop of Samosata who, at the time of the Arian emperor, visited the Churches of God in the disguise of a soldier so that he might strengthen them in the Catholic faith. Then, under the emperor Valens, he was exiled to Thrace. When the peace of the Church returned, he was called back from his exile in the time of the emperor Theodosius. Finally, when he was again visiting churches, he was struck on the head by a roof tile thrown at him from above by an Arian woman and died a martyr at Dolicha in Syria in the year 379. 

 

Troparion

O holy priest-martyr Eusebius, you lent yourself to the apostles’ 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 lived your life in holiness and completed it with martyrdom. You extinguished the sacrificial fires of the idols, and now you have found favor with the Lord our God. Pray for our salvation, O father Eusebius. 

 

Epistle

Romans 8: 2-13

    Brothers and sisters: The law of the spirit, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. The law was powerless because of its weakening by the flesh. Then God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, thereby condemning sin in the flesh, so that the just demands of the law might be fulfilled in us who live, not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. Those who live according to the flesh are intent on the things of the flesh, those who live according to the spirit, on those of the spirit. The tendency of the flesh is toward death but that of the spirit is toward life and peace. The flesh in its tendency is at enmity with God, it is not subject to God’s law. Indeed, it cannot be; those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, while the spirit lives because of justice. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through his Spirit dwelling in you. 

    We are debtors, then, my brothers – but not to the flesh, so that we should live according to the flesh. If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the spirit you put to death evil deeds of the body, you will live. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 10: 16-22

    The Lord said to his disciples: “What I am doing is sending you out like sheep among wolves. You must be clever as snakes and innocent as doves. Be on your guard with respect to others. They will haul you into court, they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to give witness before them and before Gentiles on my account. When they hand you over, do not worry about what you will say or how you will say it. When the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. You yourselves will not be the speakers; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. 

    “Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will turn against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all on account of me. But whoever holds out till the end will escape death.”

 

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

 

 

 

Julian was of noble and senatorial origin. He lived in Tarsus in Cilicia and suffered during the reign of Diocletian. Even though he was only eighteen years old when he was subjected to torture for the Faith, St. Julian was sufficiently educated and strengthened in Christian piety. The imperial deputy led him from town to town for an entire year, torturing him and all the while trying to persuade him to deny Christ. Julian’s mother followed her son at a distance. When the deputy seized Julian’s mother and sent her to counsel her son to deny Christ, she spoke to him for three days in prison, giving him the opposite advice, teaching him and encouraging him not to lose heart but to go to his death with thanksgiving and courage. The torturers then sewed Julian in a sack with sand, scorpions, and serpents and cast the sack into the sea. Julian’s mother also died under torture. St. Julian’s relics were thrown onto the shore by the waves, and the faithful translated them to Alexandria and buried them honorably in the year 290. 

 

Troparion

O Lord our God, your martyr Julian has deserved the crown of immortality on account of his good fight. Armed with your strength, he has vanquished his persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through his supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls. 

 

Kontakion

Today let us praise Julian, an invincible warrior in holiness, the herald and soldier of truth. Let us cry out to him: Intercede with Christ our God for our salvation.

 

Epistle

Romans 7:14 thru 8:2

    Brothers and sisters: We know that the law is spiritual, whereas I am weak flesh sold into the slavery of sin. I cannot even understand my own actions. I do not do what I want to do but what I hate. When I act against my own will, by that very fact I agree that the law is good. This indicates that it is not I who do it but sin which resides in me. I know that no good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; the desire to do right is there but not the power. What happens is that I do, not the good I will to do, but the evil I do not intend. But if I do what is against my will, it is not I who do it, but sin which dwells in me. This means that even though I want to do what is right, a law that leads to wrongdoings is always ready at hand. My inner self agrees with the law of God, but I see in my body’s members another law at war with the law of my mind; this makes me the prisoner of the law of sin in my members. What a wretched man I am! Who can free me from this body under the power of death? All praise to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So with my mind I serve the law of God but with my flesh the law of sin.

    There is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the spirit, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, has freed you from the law of sin and death. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 10: 9-15

    The Lord said to his disciples: “Provide yourselves neither gold nor silver nor copper in your belts; no traveling bag, no change of shirt, no sandals, no walking staff. The workman, after all, is worth his keep. 

    “Look for a worthy person in every town or village you come to and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his home, bless it. If the home is deserving, your blessing will descend on it. If it is not, your blessing will return to you. If anyone does not receive you or listen to what you have to say, leave that house or town, and once outside it shake its dust from your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than it will for that town.”

 

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

 

The Hieromartyr Methodius, bishop of Patara (Lycia in Asia Minor), was distinguished for his genuine monastic humility. Calmly and with mildness he instructed his flock, but he firmly  defended the purity of Orthodoxy and he energetically contended against heresies, especially the widespread heresy of the Origenists. He left behind a rich literary legacy: works in defense of Christianity against paganism, explications of Orthodox dogmas against the heresy of Origen, moral discourses, and explanations of Holy Scripture. St. Methodius was arrested by pagans, steadfastly confessed before them his faith in Christ, and he was sentenced to death by beheading in the year 312. 

 

Troparion

Your blood cries out from the earth like that of Abel, O wise saint, for you preached the Incarnation with fearsome boldness. You shamed the lies of Origen, O father Methodius, and now you have been admitted to the court of heaven. Beg Christ our God to save our souls. 

 

Kontakion

You were a priest and a mystic of the Holy Trinity. You preached divine decrees which surpass comprehension. You are strength for the faithful, O Methodius. You prevailed against evil plots, becoming a martyred priest in your blood for the faith. As you stand before Christ, pray for our salvation. 

 

Epistle

Romans 7: 1-13

    Brothers and sisters: Are you not aware (I am speaking to men who know what law is), that the law has power over a man only so long as he lives? For example, a married woman is bound to her husband by law while he lives, but if he dies she is released from the law regarding husbands. She will be called an adulteress if, while her husband is still alive, she gives herself to another. But if her husband dies she is freed from that law, and does not commit adultery by consorting with another man. In the same way, my brothers, you died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to that Other who was raised from the dead, so that we might bear fruit for God. When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions roused by the law worked in our members and we bore fruit for death. Now we have been released from the law – for we have died to what bound us – and we serve in the new spirit, not the antiquated letter.

What follows from what I have said? That the law is same as sin? Certainly not! Yet it was only through the law that I came to know sin. I should never have known what evil desire was unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” Sin seized that opportunity; it used the commandment to rouse in me every kind of evil desire. Without law sin is dead, and at first I lived without law. Then the commandment came; with it sin came to life, and I died. The commandment that should have led to life brought me death. Sin found its opportunity and used the commandment: first to deceive me, then to kill me. Yet the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good. 

Did this good thing then become death for me? Not that either! Rather, sin, in order to be seen clearly as sin, used what was good to bring about my death. It did so that, by misusing the commandment, sin might go to the limit of sinfulness.  

 

Gospel

Matthew 9: 36-38, 10: 1-8

When Jesus saw the crowds, his heart was moved with pity. They were lying prostrate from exhaustion, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples: “The harvest is good but laborers are scarce. Beg the harvest master to send out laborers to gather his harvest.”

Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority to expel unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease of every kind. 

The names of the twelve apostles are these: first Simon, now known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, Zebedee’s son, and his brother John; Phillip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Zealot Party member, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord. Jesus sent these men on mission as the Twelve, after giving them the following instructions:

“Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go instead after the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, make this announcement: ‘The reign of God is at hand!’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons. The gift you have received, give as a gift.”  

 

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

The holy apostle Jude was one of the Twelve apostles of Christ and descended from King David and Solomon, and was the son of Righteous Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife. Tradition says that when St. Joseph returned from Egypt, he began to divide his possessions among his sons. He wanted to allot a share to Christ the Savior, born miraculously and incorruptibly from the All-Pure Virgin Mary. Joseph’s other sons were opposed to this because Jesus was born of another mother. Only James, later called “The Brother of God,” offered to share his portion with Him. Later, Jude came to believe in Christ the Savior as the awaited Messiah, and he followed Him and was chosen as one of the twelve apostles. Mindful of his sin, the Apostle Jude considered himself unworthy to be called the Lord’s brother, and in his Epistle he calls himself merely the brother of James. The holy apostle Jude died as a martyr around the year 80 near Mt. Ararat in Armenia, where he was crucified and pierced by arrows. 

 

Troparion

We recognize that you are one of the Lord’s relatives and a strong martyr who for the faith trampled on lies. We have come to praise you in a sacred manner, O Jude, as we celebrate your holy memory and make our plea; Forgive our sins by the might of your prayers. 

 

Kontakion

You were a chosen disciple with a firm purpose, an invincible pillar of the Church of Christ. You preached the word about Christ to the pagans, telling them to believe in the one God. Therefore, you have been exalted by Him and graced with the gift of healing. You cure the ills of those who hasten to you, O praiseworthy apostle Jude. 

 

Readings for the saint

Epistle

Jude 1: 1-10

    Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who have been called by God; who have found love in God the Father and have been guarded safely in Jesus Christ. May mercy, peace, and love be yours in ever greater measure. 

    I was already fully intent on writing you, beloved, about the salvation we share. But now I feel obliged to write and encourage you to fight hard for the faith delivered once for all to the saints. Certain individuals have recently wormed their way into your midst, godless types, long ago destined for the condemnation I shall describe. They pervert the gracious gift of our God to sexual excess and deny Jesus Christ, our only master and Lord. 

    I wish to remind you of certain things, even though you may already be very well aware of them. The Lord first rescued his people from the land of Egypt but later destroyed those who refused to believe. There were angels, too, who did not keep to their own domain, who deserted their dwelling place. These the Lord has kept in perpetual bondage, shrouded in murky darkness against the judgment of the great day Sodom, Gomorrah, and the towns there abouts indulged in lust, just as those angels did; they practiced unnatural vice. They are set before us to dissuade us, as they undergo a punishment of eternal fire. 

    Similarly, these visionaries pollute the flesh; they spurn God’s dominion and revile the angelic beings. Even the archangel Michael, when his case with the devil was being judged – a dispute over Moses’ body– did not venture to charge him with blasphemy. He simply said, “May the Lord punish you.” These people, however, not only revile what they have no knowledge of but are corrupted through the very things they know by instinct, like brute animals. 

 

Gospel

John 14: 21-24

    The Lord said to his disciples: “He who obeys the commandments he has from  me is the man who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and reveal myself to him.”

    Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said to Jesus, “Lord, why is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered: “Anyone who loves me will be true to my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our dwelling place with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words. Yet the word you hear is not mine; it comes from the Father who sent me.”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Romans 2: 10-16

    Brothers and sisters: There will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who has done good, likewise the Jew first, then the Greeks. With God there is no favoritism.

    Sinners who do not have the law will perish without reference to it; sinners bound by the law will be judged in accordance with it. For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; it is those who keep it who will be declared just. When Gentiles who do not have the law keep it as by instinct, these men although without the law serve as a law for themselves. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts. Their conscience bears witness together with that law, and their thoughts will accuse or defend them on the day when, in accordance with the gospel I preach, God will pass judgment on the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 4: 18-23

    At that time as Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee he watched two brothers, Simon known as Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea. They were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately abandoned their nets and became his followers. He walked along farther and caught sight of two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They too were in their boat, getting their nets in order with their father, Zebedee. He called them, and immediately they abandoned their boat and father to follow him. Jesus toured all of Galilee. He taught in their synagogues, proclaimed the good news of the kingdom, and cured the people of every disease and illness. 

 

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

 

The holy martyr Leontius, a Greek by origin, served as a military chief in the imperial army of the Phoenician city of Tripoli during the reign of Vespasian (70-79). Leontius was distinguished for his bravery and good sense, and the people of Tripoli held him in deep respect because of his virtue. The emperor appointed the Roman senator Adrian as governor of the Phoenician district, with full powers to hunt out Christians, and in case of their refusal to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods, to give them over to torture and death. And on his way to Phoenicia, Adrian received a report that St. Leontius had turned many away from worshiping the pagan gods toward Christ. Learning what had happened, he ordered St. Leontius, Hypatius, and Theodulus to be brought to him. After threatening them with torture and death, he demanded that they renounce Christ and offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. Having suffered patiently harsh tortures in prison, the death of the holy martyrs occurred between the years 70 and 79. 

Troparion

O Lord our God, your holy martyr Leontius has deserved the crown of immortality on account of his good works. Armed with your strength, he has vanquished his persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through his supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls. 

 

Kontakion

You shamed the evil treachery of the torturers, and you prevailed against the false worship of the Greeks. You presented the knowledge of God in piety to all people. For all of this we honor you with love, O wise Leontius. 

 

Epistle

Romans 3: 19-26

    Brothers and sisters: We know that everything the law says is addressed to those who are under its authority. This means that every mouth is silenced and the whole world stands convicted before God, since no one will be justified in God’s sight through observance of the law; the law does nothing but point out what is sinful. 

    But now the justice of God has been manifested apart from the law, even though both law and prophets bear witness to it – that justice of God which works through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. All men have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. All men are now undeservedly justified by the gift of God, through the redemption wrought in Christ Jesus. Through his blood, God made him the means of expiation for all who believe. He did so to manifest his own justice, for the sake of remitting sins committed in the past – to manifest his justice in the present, by the way of forbearance, so that he might be just and might justify those who believe in Jesus. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 7: 1-8

    The Lord said: “If you want to avoid judgment, stop passing judgment. Your verdict on others will be the verdict passed on you. The measure with which you measure will be used to measure you. Why look at the speck in your brother’s eye when you miss the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take that speck out of your eye,’ while all the time the plank remains in your own? You hypocrite! Remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly to take the speck from your brother’s eye.

    “Do not give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before swine. They will trample them under foot, at best, and perhaps even tear you to shreds.

    “Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks, receives. The one who seeks, finds. The one who knocks, enters.”

 

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

The holy martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael were brothers from an illustrious Persian family in the 7th century. Their father was a pagan, but their mother was a Christian who baptized them and raised them with firm faith in Christ the Savior. The brothers received their crowns of martyrdom after refusing to worship pagan gods during their service in the imperial army. 

 

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 blessed martyrs, because of your perfect faith in Christ, you drank the cup of sufferings with generous hearts. You renounced the idols of Persia and proclaimed your belief in the Holy Trinity. O trinity of martyrs, intercede for us at all times. 

 

Epistle

Romans 5:17 thru 6:2

    Brothers and sisters: If death began its reign through one man because of his offense, much more shall those who receive the overflowing grace and gift of justice live and reign through the one man, Jesus Christ. 

    To sum up, then: just as a single offense brought condemnation to all men, a single righteous act brought all men acquittal and life. Just as through one man’s disobedience all became sinners, so through one man’s obedience all shall become just. 

    The law came in order to increase offenses; but despite the increase of sin, grace has far surpassed it, so that, as sin reigned through death, grace may reign by way of justice leading to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

    What, then, are we to say? “Let us continue in sin that grace may abound?” Certainly not! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?

 

Gospel

Matthew 9: 14-17

    At the time the disciples of John came to Jesus with the objection, “Why is it that while we and the Pharisees fast, your disciples do not?” Jesus said to them: “How can wedding guests go in mourning so long as the groom is with them? When the day comes that the groom is taken away, then they will fast. Nobody sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; the very thing he has used to cover the hole will pull, and the rip only get worse. People do not pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and in that way both are preserved.”

 

Our venerable father Tychon was bishop of Amathis on Cyprus. He labored zealously to eradicate the remnants of paganism on Cyprus; he destroyed a pagan temple and spread the Christian Faith. St. Tychon was generous, his doors were open to all, and he listened to and lovingly fulfilled the request of each person who came to him. Fearing neither threats nor tortures, he firmly and fearlessly confessed his faith before pagans. He died peacefully in the year 425.

 

Troparion

You first crucified yourself to the world by becoming poor among the living. Then like a true shepherd, you put your life at the disposal of your flock. Enriching your sheep with miracles, you became a bright light for the Church of Amathis. By shedding light on it, you saved it from the fog of deceit, O father Tychon. By your prayers enlighten us today as we praise you.

 

Kontakion

You preserved in fasting through your love for God, and heaven sent you the power to expose the lies of idols, to save the people and cast out devils, to heal illness by the power of the Comforter.

 

Epistle

Romans 5: 10-16

    Brothers and sisters: If, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son, it is all the more certain that we who have been reconciled will be saved by his life. Not only that; we go so far as to make God our boast through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

    Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world and with sin death, death thus coming to all men inasmuch as all sinned – before the law there was sin in the world, even though sin is not imputed when there is no law – I say, from Adam to Moses death reigned, even over those who had not sinned by breaking a precept as did Adam, that type of the man to come.

    But the gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of the one man all died, much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound for all. The gift is entirely different from the sin committed by the one man. In the first case, the sentence followed upon one offense and brought condemnation, but in the second, the gift came after many offenses and brought acquittal. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 8: 23-27

    At that time Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning a violent storm came up on the lake, and the boat began to be swamped by the waves. Jesus was sleeping soundly, so they made their way toward him and woke him: “Lord, save us! We are lost!” He said to them: “Where is your courage? How little faith you have!” Then he stood up and took the winds and the sea to task. Complete calm ensued; the men were dumbfounded. “What sort of man is this,” they said, “that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

 

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