Tradition says that the body of St. Stephen was taken by the Rabbi Gamaliel, a secret disciple of Christ, and buried in a cave in the town of Capargamala. In the year 415, Gamaliel appeared in a dream to the priest Lucian in that town, and revealed the burial place of the Protomartyr. His relics were translated from Palestine to Constantinople.

Our venerable father Basil of Moscow, was a Fool-for-Christ in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He came from a humble household, and was training to be a cobbler. At sixteen he went to Moscow to live his life as Fool for Christ. Purified by his great deeds and prayers of his souls, St. Basil was granted the gift of foreseeing the future. His holiness was renowned throughout the land, even after his death in 1557. The veneration of St. Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple, where the saint is buried, and the attached Protection church were renamed for him: the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.   

 

Troparion

O martyr Stephen, your head was crowned with a kingly crown on account of all the struggles you endured for Christ our God. You beheld the vision of your Savior seated at the right hand of God. Do not cease to intercede with Him for the salvation of our souls.

 

Kontakion

O blessed Stephen worthy of all praise, you are the very first to have been planted in the earth by the Divine Gardener, the very first to have shed your blood for Christ, the very first to have been crowned with the crown of victory by Christ in heaven. You are the first to have suffered for Christ and to have received a martyr’s rewards. 

 

Readings for the Protomartyr

Epistle

Acts 6:8 – 7:5a, 47-60

Stephen was a man filled with grace and power, who worked great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called “Synagogues of Roman Freedom” (that is, the Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia) would undertake to engage Stephen in debate, but they proved no match for the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. They persuaded some men to make the charge that they had heard him speaking blasphemies against Moses and God, and in this way they incited the people, the elders, and the scribes. All together they confronted him, seized him, and led him off to the Sanhedrin. There they brought in false witnesses, who said: “This man never stops making statements against the holy place and the law. We have heard him claim that Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” The members of the Sanhedrin who sat there stared at him intently. Throughout, Stephen’s face seemed like that of an angel.

The high priest asked whether the charges were true. To this Stephen replied: “My brothers! Fathers! Listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia and before he settled in Haran. God said to him, Leave your country and your kinsfolk, and go to the land I will show you. So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God made him move from there to this land where you now dwell. God did not give him any of it as his heritage, not even a foot of land.

“It was Solomon, however, who constructed [the temple]. Yet the Most High does not dwell in buildings made by human hands, for as the prophet says: ‘The heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool; what kind of house can you build me? asks the Lord. What is my resting-place to be like? Did not my hand make all these things?’

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always opposing the Holy Spirit just as your fathers did before you. Was there ever any prophet whom your fathers did not persecute? In their day, they put to death those who foretold the coming of the Just One; now you in your turn have become his betrayers and murderers. You who received the law through the ministry of angels have not obeyed it.”

Those who listened to his words were stung to the heart; they ground their teeth in anger at him. Stephen meanwhile, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked to the sky above and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. “Look!” he exclaimed, “I see an opening in the sky, and the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand.” The onlookers were shouting aloud, holding their hands over their ears as they did so. Then they rushed at him as one man, dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses meanwhile were oiling their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As Stephen was being stoned he could be heard praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And with that he died. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 21: 33-42

The Lord said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, “Listen to another parable. There was a property owner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug out a vat, and erected a tower. Then he leased it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey. When vintage time arrived he dispatched his slaves to the tenants to obtain his share of the grapes. The tenants responded by seizing the slaves. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. A second time he dispatched even more slaves than before, but they treated them the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ When they saw the son, the tenants said to one another, ‘Here is the one who will inherit everything. Let us kill him and then we shall have his inheritance!’ With that they seized him, dragged him outside the vineyard, and killed him. What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to those tenants when he comes?”

They replied, “He will bring that wicked crowd to a bad end and lease his vineyard out to others who will see to it that he has grapes at vintage time.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone of the structure. It was the Lord who did this and we find it marvelous to behold’?”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

2 Corinthians 4: 1-6

Brothers and sisters: Because we possess this ministry through God’s mercy, we do not give in to discouragement. Rather, we repudiate shameful, underhanded practices. We do not resort to trickery or falsify the word of God. We proclaim the truth openly and commend ourselves to every man’s conscience before God. If our gospel can be called “veiled” in any sense, it is such only for those who are headed toward destruction. Their unbelieving minds have been blinded by the god of the present age so that they do not see the splendor of the gospel showing forth the glory of Christ, the image of God. It is not ourselves we preach but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts, that we in turn might make known the glory of God shining on the face of Christ. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 24: 13-28

The Lord said to his disciples: “The man who holds out to the end is the one who will see salvation. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all the nations. Only after that will the end come. 

“When you see the abominable and destructive thing which the prophet Daniel foretold standing on the holy ground (let the reader take note!), those in Judea must flee to the mountains. If a man is on the roof terrace, he must not come down to get anything out of his house. If a man is in the field, he must not turn back to pick up his cloak. It will be hard on pregnant or nursing mothers in those days. Keep praying that you will not have to flee in winter or on a sabbath, for those days will be more filled with anguish than any from the beginning of the world until now or in all ages to come. Indeed, if the period had not been shortened, not a human being would be saved. For the sake of the chosen, however, the days will be shortened. If anyone tells you at that time, ‘Look, the Messiah is here,’ or ‘He is there,’ do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear, performing signs and wonders so great as to mislead even the chosen if that were possible. Remember, I have told you all about it beforehand; so if they tell you, ‘Look, he is in the desert,’ do not go out there; or ‘He is in the innermost rooms,’ do not believe it. As the lightning from the east flashes to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Where the carcass lies, there the vultures gather.”

 

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

 

 The feast of the procession of the Wood of the venerable and life-creating Cross was established in the reign of the Greek Emperor Manuel as a memorial of the Greek victory over the Saracens. The procession with the relic of the Precious Cross was made from the imperial palace to the church of Hagia Sophia; there the relic remained for fourteen days, and was then carried back in procession to the church in the palace grounds.

The holy seven Maccabees, their mother Solomonia, and the elder Eleazar at Antioch in Syria, under Antiochus Epiphanes the king: For the sake of keeping the law of the Lord with unconquered faith, they were cruelly handed over to death with their mother. She suffered with her sons as they were martyred, one by one, and was crowned with them, as it is written in the second book of the Maccabees [2 Mac. 7]. Likewise is commemorated St. Eleazar, one of the first scribes, a man of advanced age. In that same persecution, refusing to eat forbidden meat on account of his love for the Torah of the Lord, he achieved a most glorious death rather than a shameful life; he voluntarily went to his punishment, leaving an excellent example of virtue.

 

Troparion – Cross

Save your people, O Lord, and bless your inheritance. Grant victory to your Church over evil and protect Your people by Your cross. 

 

Troparion – Martyrs

We beseech You, O Lord; and through the sufferings these saints endured for Your sake, we implore You heal all our infirmities.

 

Kontakion – Cross

Christ our God, who were willingly raised upon the cross, grant Your mercies to the new people who bear Your name. By Your power grant joy to the Church. Give her victory over evil with Your invincible trophy, the weapon of peace, as an ally.

 

Kontakion – Martyrs

Seven pillars of divine wisdom, seven beacons of divine light, great martyrs before the age of martyrs, pray to God for all of us, O wise Maccabees, for we observe your memory with devotion.

 

Readings for the Cross

Epistle

1 Corinthians 1: 18-24

Brothers and sisters: The message of the cross is complete absurdity to those who are headed for ruin, but to us who are experiencing salvation it is the power of God. Scripture says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and thwart the cleverness of the clever.” Where is the wise man to be found? Where the scribe? Where is the master of worldly argument? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into folly? Since in God’s wisdom the world did not come to know him through “wisdom,” it pleased God to save those who believe through the absurdity of the preaching of the gospel. Yes, Jews demand “signs” and Greeks look for “wisdom,” but we preach Christ crucified–a stumbling block to Jews, and an absurdity to Gentiles; but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

 

Gospel

John 19: 6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30b-35a

At that time when the chief priests and the temple guards saw Jesus with Pilate they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “Take him and crucify him yourselves; I find no case against him.” The Jews responded, “We have our own law, and according to that law he must die because he made himself God’s Son.” When Pilate heard this kind of talk, he was more afraid than ever. Going back into the praetorium, he said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” Jesus would not give him any answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Then Pilate asked him “Do you not know that I have the power to release you and the power to crucify you?” Jesus answered: “You would have no power over me whatever unless it were given from above.”

Pilate heard the people shouting so he brought Jesus outside and took a seat on a judges’ bench at the place called the Stone Pavement – Gabbatha in Hebrew. It was the Preparation Day for Passover, and the hour was about noon. Pilate said to the Jews, “Look at your king!” At this they shouted “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” “What!” Pilate exclaimed. “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests replied, “We have no king but Caesar.” In the end, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified. 

Jesus was led away, and carrying the cross by himself, went out to what is called the Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they crucified him, and two others with him; one on either side, Jesus in the middle. Pilate had an inscription placed on the cross which read, JESUS THE NAZOREAN THE KING OF THE JEWS. This inscription, in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, was read by many of the Jews, since the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. The chief priests of the Jews tried to tell Pilate, “You should not have written, ‘The King of the Jews.’ Write instead, ‘This man claimed to be King of the Jews.’”

Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Seeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, there is your son.” In turn he said to the disciple, “There is your mother.” From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care.

Then Jesus bowed his head, and delivered over his spirit. Since it was the Preparation Day the Jews did not want to have the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, for that sabbath was a solemn feast day. They asked Pilate that the legs be broken and the bodies be taken away. Accordingly, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the men crucified with Jesus, first of the one, then of the other. When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers thrust a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. This testimony has been given by an eyewitness, and his testimony is true. He tells what he knows is true, so that you may believe. 

 

Readings for the martyrs

Epistle

Hebrews 11: 33-40

Brothers and sisters: By faith [the Saints] conquered kingdoms, did what was just, obtained the promises; they broke the jaws of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring swords; though weak they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. Women received back their dead through resurrection. Others were tortured and would not receive deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Still others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about garbed in the skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered the earth. Yet despite the fact that all of these were approved because of their faith, they did not obtain what had been promised. God had made a better plan, a plan which included us. Without us, they were not to be made perfect. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 10: 32-42

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. Whoever loves father or mother, son or daughter, more than me is not worthy of me. He who will not take up his cross and come after me is not worthy of me. He who seeks only himself brings himself to ruin, whereas he who brings himself to nought for me discovers who he is. 

“He who welcomes you welcomes me, and he who welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. He who welcomes a prophet because he bears the name of prophet receives a prophet’s reward; he who welcomes a holy man because he is known to be holy receives a holy man’s reward. And I promise you that whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple will not want for his reward.”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

2 Corinthians 4: 1-6

Brothers and sisters: Because we possess this ministry through God’s mercy, we do not give in to discouragement. Rather, we repudiate shameful, underhanded practices. We do not resort to trickery or falsify the word of God. We proclaim the truth openly and commend ourselves to every man’s conscience before God. If our gospel can be called “veiled” in any sense, it is such only for those who are headed toward destruction. Their unbelieving minds have been blinded by the god of the present age so that they do not see the splendor of the gospel showing forth the glory of Christ, the image of God. It is not ourselves we preach but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts, that we in turn might make known the glory of God shining on the face of Christ. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 24: 13-28

The Lord said to his disciples: “The man who holds out to the end is the one who will see salvation. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all the nations. Only after that will the end come. 

“When you see the abominable and destructive thing which the prophet Daniel foretold standing on the holy ground (let the reader take note!), those in Judea must flee to the mountains. If a man is on the roof terrace, he must not come down to get anything out of his house. If a man is in the field, he must not turn back to pick up his cloak. It will be hard on pregnant or nursing mothers in those days. Keep praying that you will not have to flee in winter or on a sabbath, for those days will be more filled with anguish than any from the beginning of the world until now or in all ages to come. Indeed, if the period had not been shortened, not a human being would be saved. For the sake of the chosen, however, the days will be shortened. If anyone tells you at that time, ‘Look, the Messiah is here,’ or ‘He is there,’ do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear, performing signs and wonders so great as to mislead even the chosen if that were possible. Remember, I have told you all about it beforehand; so if they tell you, ‘Look, he is in the desert,’ do not go out there; or ‘He is in the innermost rooms,’ do not believe it. As the lightning from the east flashes to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Where the carcass lies, there the vultures gather.”

 

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

 

The holy and righteous Eudocimus lived in the time of the emperor Theophilus, the iconoclast. He was a military governor of Cappadocia, and lived a virtuous life before God and man. He died at the age of thirty-three during the 9th century. 

The holy Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a member of the Sanhedrin he did not participate in the “counsel and deed” of the Jews in passing a death sentence for Jesus Christ. After the Crucifixion and Death of the Savior he made bold to go to Pilate and ask him for the Body of the Lord, to Which he gave burial with the help of Righteous Nicodemus, who was also a secret disciple of the Lord. They took down the Body of the Savior from the Cross, wrapped it in a winding-cloth, and placed it in a new tomb, in which no one had ever been buried, in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the presence of the Mother of God and the holy Myrrh-Bearing Women (St Joseph had prepared this tomb for himself). Having rolled a heavy stone before the entrance of the tomb, they departed (John. 19: 37-42; Mt. 27: 57-61; Mark 15: 43-47; Luke. 24: 50-56). St. Joseph traveled around the world, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. He died peacefully in England.

 

Troparion 

Holy Eudocimus, God called you out of this world and led you to the eternal mansions. He will keep your body incorrupt. You lived a life of wisdom and honor, keeping your body pure. Intercede trustingly with Christ that He may save all of us.

 

Kontakion

You yearned for the things of heaven, and you achieved union with them. You perfected your soul like a fiery chariot by the means of the ladder of good works. O most blessed Eudocimus, since you lived your life on earth like an angel, now you have received the Creator’s seal. 

 

Epistle

2 Corinthians 3: 4-11

Brothers and sisters: This great confidence in God is ours, through Christ. It is not that we are entitled of ourselves to take credit for anything. Our sole credit is from God, who has made us qualified ministers of a new covenant, a covenant not of a written law but of spirit. The written law kills, but the Spirit gives life.

If the ministry of death, carved in writing on stone, was inaugurated with such glory that the Israelites could not look on Moses’ face because of the glory that shone on it (even though it was a fading glory), how much greater will be the glory of the ministry of the Spirit? If the ministry of the covenant that condemned had glory, greater by far is the glory of the ministry that justifies. Indeed, when you compare that limited glory with this surpassing glory, the former should be declared no glory at all. If what was destined to pass away was given in glory, greater by far is the glory that endures. 

 

Gospel

Mathew 23: 29-39

The Lord said: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You erect tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the saints. You say, “Had we lived in our forefathers’ time we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ Thus you show that you are sons of the prophets’ murderers. Now it is your turn: fill up the vessel measured out by your forefathers. Vipers’ nest! Brood of serpents! How can you escape condemnation to Gehenna? For this reason I will send you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some you will kill and crucify, others you will flog in your synagogues and hunt down from city to city; until the retribution overtakes you for all the blood of the just ones shed on earth, from the blood of holy Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple building and the altar. All this, I assure you, will be the fate of the present generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murderess of prophets and stoner of those who were sent to you! How often have I yearned to gather your children, as a mother bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused me. Recall the saying, ‘You will find your temple deserted.’ I tell you, you will not see me from this time on until you declare, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

 

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

 

The holy apostle Silas was sent by the apostles to the Churches of the gentiles together with Saints Paul and Barnabas. He earnestly fulfilled the office of preaching, full of the grace of God. (Acts 15:22) The holy apostle Silvanus helped both Peter and Paul (I Peter 5:12; II Corinthians 1:19), and became the first bishop of Salonica. Crescens was a fellow-worker with St. Paul (II Tim. 4:10) and then bishop in Galatia and missionary in Gaul. Epaenetus is mentioned by Paul (Rom. 16:7) and became bishop of Carthage.

 

Troparion

Let us praise the apostles Silas, Silvanus, and their companions. They overcame the deceits of idolatry and taught the pagans for the faith. They pray unceasingly for those who keep their memory.

 

Kontakion

O Silas and Silvanus, you were two disciples of the Lord, two vines in the Lord’s vineyard producing clusters of virtue like grapes. You poured out for us the wine of salvation that fills the hearts of the faithful with joy and makes them celebrate your honorable memory. Obtain for us the remission of sins and transgressions.

 

Epistle

2 Corinthians 2:14 – 3:3

Brothers and sisters: Thanks be to God, who unfailingly leads us on in Christ’s triumphal train, and employs us to diffuse the fragrance of his knowledge everywhere! We are an aroma of Christ for God’s sake, both among those who are being saved and those on the way to destruction; to the latter an odor dealing death, to the former a breath bringing life. For such a mission as this, is anyone really qualified? We at least are not like so many who trade on the word of God. We speak in Christ’s name, pure in motivation, conscious of having been sent by God and of standing in his presence. 

Am I beginning to speak well of myself again? Or do I need letters of recommendation to you or from you as others might? You are my letter, known and read by all men, written on your hearts. Clearly you are a letter of Christ which I have delivered, a letter written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh in the heart. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 23: 23-28

The Lord said: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You pay tithes on mint and herbs and seeds while neglecting the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and good faith. It is these you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

“Blind guides! You strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, and leave the inside filled with loot and lust! Blind Pharisees! First cleanse the inside of the cup so that its outside may be clean. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful to look at on the outside but inside full of filth and dead men’s bones. Thus you present to view a holy exterior while hypocrisy and evil fill you within.”

 

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

The holy martyr Callinicus, a native of Cilicia, was raised from childhood in the Christian Faith. Grieving that many misguided people would perish for eternity because they worshiped idols, he went through the cities and villages to proclaim Jesus Christ and His teachings to the pagans, and with the Word of God he converted many to Chrsitianity. In the Galatian city of Ancyra the holy confessor was arrested and brought to trial before the governor, Sacerdonus, a fierce persecutor of Christians. The governor, threatening tortures and death, ordered the saint to offer sacrifice to the idols. The saint fearlessly declared that he was not afraid of martyrdom, since every believer in Christ receives from Him strength in ordeals, and through death inherits an eternal blessing.

 

Troparion

Your martyr Callinicus, O Lord our God, in his struggle received an incorruptible crown from You. With Your strength, he brought down the tyrants and broke the cowardly valor of demons. Through his prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.

 

Kontakion

You were burnt to ashes because you loved Christ. In heaven you have inherited eternal goods. How courageously you endured your pains, O Callinicus. Now that you are in heaven, do not forget us who are still on earth.

 

Epistle

2nd Corinthians 2: 3c-15

Brothers and sisters: My happiness is yours. That is why I wrote you in great sorrow and anguish, with copious tears – not to make you sad but to help you realize the great love I bear you.

If anyone has given offense he has hurt not only me, but in some measure, to say no more, everyone of you. The punishment already inflicted by the majority on such a one is enough; you should now relent and support him so that he may not be crushed by too great a weight of sorrow. I therefore beg you to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to test you and learn whether you are obedient in all matters. If you forgive a man anything, so do I. Any forgiving I have done has been for your sakes and, before Christ, to prevent Satan – whose guile we know too well – from outwitting us. 

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, the door of opportunity was opened wide for me by the Lord. Yet I was inwardly troubled because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went off to Macedonia. Thanks be to God, who unfailingly leads us on in Christ’s triumphal train, and employs us to diffuse the fragrance of his knowledge everywhere! We are an aroma of Christ for God’s sake, both among those who are being saved and those on the way to destruction. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 23: 13-22

The Lord said: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You shut the doors of the kingdom of God in men’s faces, neither entering yourselves nor admitting those who are trying to enter. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You travel over sea and land to make a single convert, but once he is converted you make a devil of him twice as wicked as yourselves. It is an evil day for you, blind guides! You declare, ‘If a man swears by the temple it means nothing, but if he swears by the gold of the temple he is obligated.’ Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the temple which makes it sacred? Again, you declare, ‘If a man swears by the altar it means nothing, but if he swears by the gift on the altar he is obligated.’ How blind you are! Which is more important, the offering or the altar which makes the offering sacred? The man who swears by the altar is swearing by it and everything on it. The man who swears by the temple is swearing by it and by him who dwells there. The man who swears by heaven is swearing by God’s throne and by him who is seated on that throne.”

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

The holy apostles and deacons Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas were of the seven chosen to be deacons in Acts 6:1 ff. and are described as “full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.” The congregation of the disciples chose them, and the Apostles laid their hands on them, that they might minister in service of the needy. St. Prochorus accompanied the holy Apostle Peter, who made him bishop in the city of Nicomedia. After the Dormition of the Theotokos, Prochorus was a companion and coworker of the holy Apostle John the Theologian and was banished with him to the island of Patmos. There he wrote down the Book or Revelation concerning the final fate of the world. Upon returning to Nicomedia, St. Prochorus converted pagans to Christ in the city of Antioch, where he suffered martyrdom. St. Nicanor suffered the same day that the holy Protomartyr Stephen and many other Christians were killed by stoning. St. Timon was later appointed by the Apostles as bishop of the city of Bostra in Arabia and suffered from the Jews and pagans for preaching the Gospel. He was thrown into a furnace, but by the power of God he came out unharmed. The tradition of the Roman Church says that St.Timon died by crucifixion. St. Parmenas zealously preached Christ in Macedonia. He died after being afflicted with an illness. Some say that St. Parmenas suffered martyrdom under Trajan (98-117) in the final year of his reign. 

 

Troparion

O holy apostles, intercede with the all-merciful God, that He may grant us forgiveness for our sins.

 

Kontakion

You were deacons and eye-witnesses of the Word, chosen vessels of the faith and glorious saints. Today we take up the celebration of your memory and glorify you with a light and happy heart. 

 

Epistle

1 Corinthians 4: 9-16

Brothers and sisters: As I see it, God has put us apostles at the end of the line, like men doomed to die in the arena. We have become a spectacle to the universe, to angels and men alike. We are fools on Christ’s account. Ah, but in Christ you are wise! We are the weak ones, you the strong! They honor you, while they sneer at us! Up to this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, poorly clad, roughly treated, wandering about homeless. We work hard at manual labor. When we are insulted we respond with a blessing. Persecution comes our way: we bear it patiently. We are slandered, and we try conciliation. We have become the world’s refuse, the scum of all; that is the present state of affairs. 

I am writing you in this way not to shame you but to admonish you as my beloved children. Granted you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you have only one father. It was I who begot you in Christ Jesus through my preaching of the gospel. I beg you, then, be imitators of me.

 

Gospel

Matthew 17: 14-22

At that time a man came up to Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord,” he said, “take pity on my son, who is demented and in a serious condition. For example, he often falls into the fire and frequently into the water. I have brought him to your disciples but they could not cure him.” In reply Jesus said: “What an unbelieving and perverse lot you are! How long must I remain with you? How long can I endure you? Bring him here to me!” Then Jesus reprimanded the demon and it came out of the boy. That very moment the boy was cured.

The disciples approached Jesus at that point and asked him privately, “Why could we not expel it?” “Because you have so little trust,” he told them. “I assure you, if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you. This kind does not leave but by prayer and fasting.”

When they met again in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men who will put him to death, and he will be raised up on the third day.”

 

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

 

The holy great-martyr Panteleimon’s Christian mother passed away when he was just a child.  His pagan father sent him to study the medical sciences.  He became such a skilled physician that he was invited to become the doctor to the royals in Nicomedia.  His curiosity for Truth, Goodness and Beauty was not satiated by his studies though and he was led to meet and hear the wisdom of the monastics.  After raising a snake-bitten boy from the dead through the intercession of Christ, he was baptized.  He lived his life using both his human skills as a physician and his access to the miraculous as a Christian to heal all who came to him without cost.  His faith, and the jealousy of the other physicians in the region caused the emperor to torture and finally kill him.  His relics continue to heal many who approach them in faith.  He is the patron of soldiers and healers.

The memory of our holy father Clement the Wonderworker, archbishop of Ohrid in Illyricum (modern Bulgaria) was notable for his learning and his knowledge of sacred scriptures, and carried the light of faith to the Bulgarian people. With him are commemorated the holy bishops Gorazd, Nahum, Sabas, and Angelarius, who continued the work of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria. 

 

Troparion

O holy victorious healer Panteleimon, intercede with the merciful God that He may grant our souls the forgiveness of sins. 

 

Kontakion

You imitated the merciful Lord. By the grace to heal which He gave you, heal our souls through your effective prayers, O martyr of Christ our God. Drive away the demons from those who honor you and who sing in their faith: Save us, O Lord. 

 

Readings for the Great-Martyr

Epistle

2nd Timothy 2: 1-10

Timothy, my son: You must be strong in the grace which is ours in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me through many witnesses you must hand on to trustworthy men who will be able to teach others. Bear hardship along with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier becomes entangled in the affairs of civilian life; he avoids this in order to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if one takes part in an athletic contest, he cannot receive the winner’s crown unless he has kept the rules. The hardworking farmer is the one who should have the first share of the crop. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will make my meaning fully clear. 

Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead. This is the gospel I preach; in preaching it I suffer as a criminal, even to the point of being thrown into chains–but there is no chaining the word of God! Therefore I bear with all of this for the sake of those whom God has chosen, in order that they may obtain the salvation to be found in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. 

 

Gospel

John 15:27 – 16:2

The Lord said to his disciples: “The command I give you is this, that you love one another. If you find that the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own; the reason it hated you is that you do not belong to the world. But I chose you out of the world. Remember what I told you: no slave is greater than his master. They will harry you as they harried me. They will respect your words as much as they respected mine. All this they will do to you because of my name, for they know nothing of him who sent me. If I had not come to them and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; now, however, their sin cannot be excused.

“To hate me is to hate my Father. Had I not performed such works among them as no one has ever done before, they would not be guilty of sin; but as it is, they have seen, and they go on hating me and my Father. However, this only fulfills the text in their law: ‘They hated me without cause.’ When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father – and whom I myself will send from the Father – he will bear witness on my behalf. You must bear witness as well, for you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have told all this to keep your faith from being shaken. Not only will they expel you from synagogues; a time will come when anyone who puts you to death will claim to be serving God!”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Romans 15: 30-33

Brothers and sisters, I beg you, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea, and that the offerings I bring to Jerusalem may be well received by the saints there; so that, God willing, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in spirit by your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 17:24 – 18:4

At that time the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does your master not pay the temple tax?” “Or course he does,” Peter replied. Then Jesus on entering the house asked, without giving him time to speak: “What is your opinion, Simon? Do the kings of the world take tax or tolls from their sons, or foreigners?” When Peter replied, “From foreigners,” Jesus observed: “Then their sons are exempt. But for fear of disedifying the collectors go to the lake, throw in a line, and take out the first fish you catch. Open its mouth and you will discover there a coin worth twice the temple tax. Take it and give it to them for you and me.”

Just then the disciples came up to Jesus with the questions, “Who is of greatest importance in the kingdom of God?” Jesus called a little child over and stood him in their midst and said: “I assure you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God. Whoever makes himself lowly, becoming like this child, is of greatest importance in that heavenly reign.”

 

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

The holy priest-martyr Hermolaus was a priest in Nicomedia in the time of the Emperor Maximian, and was with the 20,000 martyrs condemned to be burned in their church. He and two other priests escaped. They were caught, tortured, and martyred. 

The holy venerable Paraskevia was born in Rome, to Christian parents. She preached Christ even as a small child. When her parents died, she gave away all her goods to the poor and received the monastic habit. She was denounced by the emperor Anoninus Pius and beheaded in the 2nd century.

Our Venerable Father Moses the Carpathian of the Monastery of the Caves was in the service of St. Boris, and after the saint’s death in 1015, Moses fled to Kiev. He was later taken captive by the Polish king when he invaded Kiev. Moses was bought by a widow who wanted him for her husband. Moses refused as he wished to become a monk, and endured 100 lashes everyday until the widows death. He fled back to Kiev to the Monastery of the Caves where pursued asceticism for 10 years; he died in about the year 1043 and was buried in the Near Caves. 

 

Troparion – Martyrs

Your martyrs, O Lord our God, in their struggle received incorruptible crowns from You. With Your strength, they brought down the tyrants and broke the cowardly valor of demons. Through their prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls. 

 

Troparion – Venerable Woman

Your promised pledge is like a marriage, for you promised your fidelity to the one faith, and you inherited life, O Paraskevia, the martyr named for Christ. From your heritage you bestow health, and you pray for the salvation of our souls. 

 

Troparion – Venerable Father

We praise you with sacred hymns of another Joseph, O Most Honored Moses, great lover of purity and chastity, equal of the angels. We earnestly pray to you: Entreat Christ our God to heal all our passions and to grant us great mercy. 

 

Kontakion – Priest-Martyrs

Living like a good pastor, you received a martyr’s crown. You scattered the sacrifices before the idols and proved yourself a good shepherd of your flock. You were an honest teacher for Panteleimon, O wise saint. We venerate you on this account, O father Hermolaus, and cry out: Deliver us from misfortune through your prayers. 

 

Kontakion – Venerable Woman

Come you faithful, let us praise Paraskevia the martyr. She shines with miracles in the world, dispelling the mist of lies, and she gives bountiful grace to those who sing: Rejoice, O long-suffering martyr.

 

Epistle

2 Corinthians 1: 12-20

Brothers and sisters: Conscience gives testimony to the boast that in our behavior toward all and especially toward you we have always acted from God-given holiness and candor; this has been prompted, not by debased human wisdom, but by God’s goodness. We never write anything that you cannot read and understand. I hope that, just as you know us to a certain degree already, you will in time come to know us well, and will recognize that we shall be your boast, and you ours, on the day of our Lord Jesus. 

Confident as I am about this, I wanted to visit you first so that a double grace might be yours. I planned to visit you, both on my way to Macedonia and on my return, that I might receive your help on my journey to Judea. DO you suppose that in making those plans I was acting insincerely? Or that my plans are so determined by self-interest that I change my mind from one minute to the next? As God keeps his word, I declare that my word to you is not “yes” one minute and “no” the next. Jesus Christ, whom Silvanus, Timothy, and I preached to you as Son of God, was not alternately “yes” and “no”; he was never anything but “yes.” Whatever promises God has made have been fulfilled in him; therefore it is through him that we address our Amen to God when we worship together. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 22: 23-33

At that time some Sadducees, who hold there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question: “Teacher, Moses declared, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother must take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.’ Once there were seven brothers. The eldest died after marrying, and since he had no children, left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second, the third, and so on, down to the seventh. Last of all the woman died too. At the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven of them married her?” Jesus replied: “You are badly misled because you fail to understand the Scriptures and the power of God. When people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but live like angels in heaven. As to the fact that the dead are raised, have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob’? He is the God of the living, not of the dead.” The crowds who listened were spellbound by his teaching. 

 

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

 

The Holy Anna was the daughter of the priest Matthan and his wife Mary. She was of the tribe of Levi and the lineage of Aaron. According to Tradition, she died peacefully in Jerusalem at age 79, before the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. During the reign of Saint Justinian the Emperor (527-565), a church was built in her honor at Deutera. Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) restored her church, since St. Anna had appeared to his pregnant wife. It was at this time that her body and maphorion (veil) were transferred to Constantinople.

Memory of the Holy Women Olympiada and Euphraxia at Nicomedia in Bithynia: Olympiada was a widow who, bereft of her husband while still young, passed the remainder of her life most piously in Constantinople among women devoted to God. She was a deaconess, first in the time of Patriarch Nectraius, and then under John Chrysostom. She assisted the poor and was also very faithful to St. John Chrysostom in his exile. Euphraxia went with her mother to Egypt, traveling around the monasteries and giving alms. She received a monastic habit and entered into deep ascetic discipline. 

The Fifth Ecumenical Council was held in Constantinople in the time of the Emperor Justinian the Great in the year 553. All the Monophysite heresies were condemned at this council, as were the works of Origen (against the resurrection of the dead).

 

Troparion

O holy Anna, you are filled with the wisdom of God, and you gave birth to the most pure Mother, the one who gave birth to Life. Therefore, you have been carried up in glory on this day to the blessedness of heaven, to the abode of those who exalt with joy. And now you pray, O ever-blessed one, for the forgiveness of sins for all those who honor you with all their heart.

 

Kontakion

Let us celebrate the memory of Christ’s ancestors, and fervently ask for their help so that, delivered from all affliction, we may cry out: O God, who glorified them according to your good will, remain always with us.

 

Readings for the Feast of the Holy Anna

Epistle

Galatians 4: 22-31

Brothers and sisters: Abraham had two sons, one by the slave girl, the other by his freeborn wife. The son of the slave girl had been begotten in the course of nature, but the son of the free woman was the fruit of the promise. All this is an allegory: the two women stand for the two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, and brought forth children to slavery: this is Hagar. The mountain Sinai [Hagar] is in Arabia and corresponds to the Jerusalem of our time, which is likewise in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem on high is freeborn, and it is she who is our mother. That is why Scripture says: “Rejoice, you barren one who bear no children; break into song, you stranger to the pains of childbirth! For many are the children of the wife deserted-far more that of her who has a husband!” You, my brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, as Issac was. But just as in those days sons born in nature’s course persecuted the one whose birth was in the realm of the spirit, so do we find it now. What does Scripture say on the point? “Cast out slave girls and son together; for the slave girl’s son shall never be an heir on equal terms with the son” of the one born free. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave girl but of a mother who is free. 

 

Gospel

Luke 8: 16-21

The Lord said to his disciples: “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For whoever asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds’ whoever knocks, is admitted. What father among you will give his son a snake if he asks for a fish, or hand him a scorpion if he asks for an egg? If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children good things, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who seek him.”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

2 Corinthians 1: 1-7

Paul, by God’s will an apostle of Jesus Christ, and Timothy his brother, to the church of God that is at Corinth and to all the holy ones of the church who live in Achaia. Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from him. As we have shared much in the suffering of Christ, so through Christ so we share abundantly in his consolation. If we are afflicted it is for your encouragement and salvation, and when we are consoled it is for your consolation, so that you may endure patiently the same sufferings we endure. Our hope for you is firm because we know that just as you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the consolation. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 21: 43-46

The Lord said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will yield a rich harvest. The man who falls upon the stone will be smashed to bits; and he on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realized he was speaking about them. Although they sought to arrest him, they had reason to fear the crowds who regarded him as a prophet.

 

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

 

     

The holy great martyr Christine lived during the 3rd century. She was born into a rich family, and her father was governor of Tyre. By the age of 11 the girl was exceptionally beautiful, and many wanted to marry her. Christina’s father, however, envisioned that his daughter should become a pagan priestess. One time Christina was visited by an angel who instructed her in the true faith in Christ, the Savior of the world. The angel called her a bride of Christ and told her about her future suffering. After many methods of torment, the local governor Julian gave orders to throw her into a red-hot furnace and lock her in it. After five days they opened the furnace and found the martyr alive and unharmed. Seeing the miracle take place, many believed in Christ the Savior, and the torturers executed St. Christina with a sword. 

The holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, baptized Roman and David, who were princes of Rus’ and sons of St. Vladimir the Great. They preferred to suffer death at the hands of their brother Svyatopolk than resist him through violence. Boris obtained the palm of martyrdom on the river Alta near Pereslavl and Gleb a short time later near Smolensk in the year 1015. 

 

Troparion

Righteous martyrs for the gospel and sharers in the passion, you did not oppose the violence of the enemy. Although your brother tried to kill your bodies, he still could not touch your souls. Let the evil lover of power groan unhappily. You are filled with joy among the angels standing before the Holy Trinity. Please pray for your homeland and its conversion and for the salvation of its people. 

 

Kontakion

Today the memory of your suffering gleams, O noble martyrs; it compels us to praise Christ our God. Rushing to gather around your holy relics, we seek gifts of health by your prayers. You are heavenly healers, O holy ones.

 

Readings for the martyrs

Epistle

Romans 8: 28-39

Brothers and sisters: We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who have called according to his decree. Those whom he foreknew he predestined to share in the image of his Son, that the Son might be the first-born of many brothers. Those he predestined he likewise called; those he called he also justified; and those he justified he in turn glorified. What shall we say after that? If God is for us, who can be against us? Is it possible that he who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides? Who shall bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? God, who justifies? Who shall condemn them? Christ Jesus, who dies or rather was raised up, who is at the right hand of God and who intercedes for us? 

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Trial, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? As Scripture says: “For your sake we are being slain all the day long; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.” Yet in all this we are more than conquerors because of him who has loved us. For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

 

Gospel

John 15:17- 16:2

The Lord said to his disciples: “The command I give you is this, that you love one another. If you find that the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own; the reason it hated you is that you do not belong to the world. But I chose you out of the world. Remember what I told you: no slave is greater than his master. They will harry you as they harried me. They will respect your words as much as they respected mine. All this they will do to you because of my name, for they know nothing of him who sent me. If I had not come to them and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; now, however, their sin cannot be excused.

“To hate me is to hate my Father. Had I not performed such works among them as no one has ever done before, they would not be guilty of sin; bit as it is, they have seen, and they go on hating me and my Father. However, this only fulfills the text in their law: ‘They hated me without cause.’ When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father – and whom I myself will send from the Father – he will bear witness on my behalf. You must bear witness as well, for you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have told all this to keep your faith from being shaken. Not only will they expel you from synagogues; a time will come when anyone who puts you to death will claim to be serving God!”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

1 Corinthians 16: 4-12

Brothers and sisters: It is fitting that I should go myself [to take your gift to Jerusalem, those whom you have chosen for the task] will accompany me. 

I shall come to you after I have passed through Macedonia. If it is at all possible, I should like to remain with you for some time – even to spend the winter with you – that you may provide me with what I need for the rest of my journey. I do not want to see you just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. I intend to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost. A door has been opened wide for my work, but at the same time there are many opposed. If Timothy should come, be sure to put him at ease among you. He does the Lord’s work just as I do, so let no one treat him disdainfully. Rather, help him come to me by sending him on his way in peace. I am expecting him with the brethren. As for our brother Apollos, I urged him strongly to go to you with the brethren, but he did not wish to go at this time. He will go when circumstances are more favorable. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 21: 28-32

The Lord said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “What do you think of this case? There was a man who had two sons. He approached the elder and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The son replied, ‘I am on my way sir’; but never went. Then the man came to his second son and said the same thing. This son said in reply, ‘No, I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. Which of the two did what the father wanted?” They said, “The second.” Jesus said to them, “Let me make clear that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came preaching a way of holiness, you put no faith in him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe in him. Yet even when you saw that, you did not repent and believe him.”

 

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