Akathist to be Prayed During Wildfires

Akathist Hymn to the Burning Bush of

the Most Holy Theotokos

(by Daniil Sandu Tudor)

Kontakion 1

Who is This, as white and pure as dawn? It is the Empress of prayer, it is prayer incarnate.

Porphyrogenite Mistress and Lady of the morning, Betrothed of the Comforter, Renewal of Life,

we run to Thee, parched and consumed with longing! Make us too partakers of the Holy Mount Tabor.

Be Thyself for us cool shade and dew, Thou, prefiguration of Grace, so that our nature might find

its renewal out of Thy fountain of Grace. So that we may declare unto Thee,

with all our being fashioned into a complete prostration:

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Ikos 1

For fifty long centuries, to fulfill its meaning, Thy prophesying ancestry hath importuned Heaven,

through Abraham and David, with prostration and tears of supplication;

fashioning, from imploring prayer, Thy virgin flesh, the mighty unburnt Bush.

The Holy Fire chants within Thee as within a flower of worship.

Nature words through Thee its longing for salvation.

Thou art, Lady, the Hypostasys of the supernatural praise; so fully are we embraced

by the extasy of the godly love that our voices should resound in one calling such as this:

Rejoice, sweetest harvest of Sinaitic fruition;

Rejoice, Thou that hast begotten the Pledge of fire;

Rejoice, Great Entrance of Christ-the-Word’s Scriptures;

Rejoice, resounding organ of the Holy Spirit;

Rejoice, heavenly art of East-rising redemption;

Rejoice, living philosophy of man’s true God-like transfiguration;

Rejoice, pyre of Godly rapture as there is no other;

Rejoice, unit and measure of all symbols and signs;

Rejoice, chord and sound, string and lute;

Rejoice, body and incarnation of incommensurable joy;

Rejoice, extasy that defeated the World’s worthlessness;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 2

All-consoling Virgin Mother,

Thou, Lady, Pious Infant!

Through the unearthly reverence of Thy tender word

and through the loving intercession of Thy solicitous prayer,

Thou hast first entered the wondrous prothesis,

the Holy Altar of man, our emerald place.

With unfearing wisdom,

through the power of Thy virtue,

Thou hast broken the circle of enslavement, of death, of slumber,

vanquishing the curse of nature, the cruel ruler of our lives,

wherefore we, to Him that Hath Given us Thee,

eternally and ardently will chant: Alleluia!

Ikos 2

Sweet Virgin of the eternal age,

Holy Mother of Light!

Lend Thy ear to us sinners,

wretched sons of clay!

Most-kindly, good, all-holy Virgin,

Our Lord Jesus’s golden seat!

release us from the bonds that enslave us,

open to us the “path of Heavens.”

So that, through enlightened revelation,

the sweet knot of the much longed-for Bridegroom,

just like the barefoot Moses would, in yesteryear,

standing with his face in the pyre’s fiery glow,

we may chant to Thee in the shadow of the dusk:

Rejoice, stem of light of the unburnt Bush;

Rejoice, portal of myrrh through which God entered;

Rejoice, ring of a fire that is above Heaven;

Rejoice, relief of exemption melting our inner frost;

Rejoice, flowery cane carrying us throughout our heart’s journey;

Rejoice, thread of shade springing within our inner desert;

Rejoice, ember signet permeating our soul;

Rejoice, mind’s snow that no passion can reach;

Rejoice, highest measure of the kingdom within us;

Rejoice, wisdom emerging from the joy of hereafter;

Rejoice, great wonder kissed with spiritual reverence;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 3

Beyond ages, I can hear Thee, Virgin,

through the voice of Isaiah the fiery prophet.

In the Scripture’s Heaven, Thy word reverberates

with all the resonance of Grace:

“For, behold, an infant will be born unto us

and a son hath been given us.

He hath the sign of a Lord on His shoulder

and His Name is: Wonderful,

the Angel of the Great Council, God the Victor,

the Lord of plenary peace and Father of the age to come.”

This is His Name,

the five word name,

the Holy name of the Lord

that Jesus will bear.

Soul of mine, take notice,

so that we all can cry: Alleluia!

Ikos 3

From an ever Virgin Mother,

the One who hath preserved unscathed

the body of the burning Bush

hath been conceived, hath been incarnated.

The Lord’s Name of glory

hath turned itself into Word for uttering,

God the unseen One

that hath been disclosed in the heart of the fire,

the Face of Heavely Beauty,

the boundless Image

hath bounded Himself,

with measure He measured Himself

and the unnamed One

truly hath shown Himself amongst us,

a meek victor

riding a jennet.

Walk yourselves, thus, on the path of the Light-filled Name,

the ultimate and highest journey.

And you shall pass from death to life

with your nature sanctified,

so as we may chant together

outright and without temptation:

Rejoice, true motif why God can fill our nature;

Rejoice, power carrying us with Jesus upon waters;

Rejoice, mercifulness through which Christ gave Himself to us;

Rejoice, path guiding within us the ultimate consent, Amen;

Rejoice, respite wherein the Logos Reverberates within us;

Rejoice, access and accord with our silent nature;

Rejoice, tenderness that maketh us Emanuel’s brethren;

Rejoice, Journey through which the Holy Spirit throbbeth in our blood;

Rejoice, solitude through which Heaven springeth from our heart;

Rejoice, clarity through which the angel is being fashioned within our body;

Rejoice, purity through which the Name of glory entered the world;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 4

How are we to find respite from thoughts?

O, Virgin Mother, All-holy Virgin!

How can we tear ourselves from the indolence of passions,

the irrepressible temptations enfolding us?

Make Thou, Thyself, for us the coveted “whisper,”

“the proper mastering of the spiritual living.”

May it help us reign in our weak unruly nature

all the way to the ashes of forbearance.

So that, absorbed into Thee, “luminous dispassion,”

out of complete and wholehearted praise,

we may also tower up

a true psalm of Alleluia!

Ikos 4

Theotokos, Thou Kindled flower of the unconsumed Flame.

Thou, image of peace perceived into the cool heart of the fire,

cover us now, Most Kind One.

Under Thy profuse and tender mercy,

Give us the grace to obtain

the rare gift of the Holy Quiver,

the profound breath of the restful flight

from the bosom of the silvery Dove,

which the prophet King could see

soaring over the hights of Bashan.

Turn into flesh for each of us

this kindled overflow of kindness

torn from Thy very breath.

Seal upon our tainted lips

the measure of the pure flare

so that we can ardently chant to Thee:

Rejoice, hesychast leap of most blessed flight;

Rejoice, chastest breath of serene quiver;

Rejoice, spear of the word through the stretch of thought;

Rejoice, spirited homecoming of the Holy Spirit dove;

Rejoice, horizon arching with the cherubim’s wings;

Rejoice, eternity contained within the stretch of a moment;

Rejoice, almighty oar unto the advance of the chosen rowing;

Rejoice, imbibing of the heavens with the fine understanding;

Rejoice, fountain glistening with ripples of Living Water;

Rejoice, astute warmth stemming from Philokalia;

Rejoice, masterful revelation of the lesson of prostration;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 5

“I have come to bring fire on the earth,”
Spoke Jesus with searing word.
Most Chaste One, may the tempest of His love
set us ablaze with the whole convulsion of its scorching
and fill us with incommensurable light
just as It did to Thee, Virgin, who carried Him in Thy womb. May His Love be indispensable for us
and His Name of glory be seared into our soul,

may each humble intake of our breath
kindle within us the calling of the Name,
and may we burn like pyres within God
out of the plenary love of His Name.
And being ablaze in the praising of God
we will call out with the flames of love: Alleluia!

Ikos 5

From Thee, O Virgin, we perceive
the incomprehensible diligence
and the effect of the whispered memorial diptychs accompanied by silent and humble prayer.
Yes, the nature of water is soft,
that of the rock – unspeakably hard.
Yet, the jug standing on the rock
with its suspended trickling,
through its dilligent drop of water
can pierce the hardest rock.
O Virgin, persist, thus,
over our hardened souls
and win us over with Thy drop of Grace,
so that we can chant to Thee in glorifying hymns:

Rejoice, graceful temerity from the “utterance” of the Holy Name;

Rejoice, fine jug of the drop that showeth particular resilience;

Rejoice, luminous hardiness of God’s white rock;

Rejoice, sweetest honeycomb of Jesus the Son of Man;

Rejoice, nest of thought of my own Christ;

Rejoice, Eucharist of word from God’s calling;

Rejoice, overflow of wondrous scent given to us by the Son;

Rejoice, ceaseless prostration of “God, have mercy upon me”;

Rejoice, surge carrying me the sinner away too;

Rejoice, flood of memorial forever widening its breadth;

Rejoice, graceful flow of a wondrous utterance;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 6

Most-Holy Virgin, in front of Thee,

forever and in eternity, all worldly thought

and all the rhetoricians of wisdom

shall be shamed.

For Thou art the seal of unblemished living,

Gate – locked for the shrewd ones,

living reflection of the experience of wonder.

Thou knowst that life was not given us

only to be constantly reinterpreted.

That it implies a richer gain

than merely to be lived.

Life pertains to the Mind beyond thought and place,

beyond the chain of the existing moments.

It is the revelation of the inner fiery heavens

over the fountains of heart and of deed.

It belongs to the Word of the world

that chooseth Himself to be for it

path and incarnation for an eternal: Alleluia!

Ikos 6

Virgin and Pure Mother of ours!
Thou art truly the wakefulness,
the will of mind, gathered in chrism,
the inner eye open
to all surrounding horizons,
heart with its heavens subdued
by the transparency of the cleanest sentiment.
Thou art the most righteous attention
uniting, with the might of perception, beyond words, within a flash of the mind:
the sharpness of cool thought
with the burning surge of life,
the warm and the cool in cross,
bringing to us the highest Reason.
Yet this wakefulness is that of an infant,
clear and profound streamline
with its mighty and distinct current
that never swerves Thy smooth flowing soul;
but it gives Thee Thy mighty and holy modesty
that never ceases to amaze us
and towards which, we, all creation, each to our ability, prostrate and chant to Thee:

Rejoice, cross of ardour and alertness of the chosen one;

Rejoice, axis of heavens with the morning star of wisdom;

Rejoice, clearing up the thoughts with their empty swarm;

Rejoice, unseen reflection, from beyond body;

Rejoice, innermost crystal of my soul;

Rejoice, radiant breakthrough of the mentioning of God;

Rejoice, heart’s psalmodying instrument under the stick of thought;

Rejoice, outcry of five strings into one tune;

Rejoice, unspoken music of the second birth;

Rejoice, unique hight of plenary learning;

Rejoice, bethrodal to the Name of Wisdom;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 7

Holy Mother, to Thy sacred wisdom we run,
to be renewed under the shelter of Thy palms.
For at the holy wedding of the Great Bridegroom
the guard of our entire virtue is demanded.
No impurity of the eyes and clothes is allowed.
Thus, no one from those “unaccustomed with the mysteries” may touch such things.
For who would permit pigs to feed on pearls
or dogs to touch holy vessels?
The drive as well as the endowment is purely spiritual
and comes only from Thee, our heavenly Mother.
Come, thus, humble soul, be cleansed and reconciled
so we can all together take some zeal
from the plenary and pure joy of Alleluia!

Ikos 7

All-holy, all-praised, all-beautiful,

all-philokalical Bride!

Empress of all glory!

Thou art benevolent Mother

and giver

of all that is saintly;

living dowery of the blessed gifts,

those from the Mysteries, those from the Offerings,

from relics, from palms and from words.

Thou art the Great Teaching,

desirable and bright,

of all Oikonomia of blessings,

as a lustre with seven candles

before God’s Great Throne,

wherefore all angels and saints glorify Thee:

Rejoice, paschal blessing of new fulfillment;

Rejoice, patriarchal blessing gently laid on our heads over ages;

Rejoice, felicitous adoption of us all unto theosis;

Rejoice, weighed preciousness bestowed by the touch of the cleansing grace;

Rejoice, light anointed over the meek minds;

Rejoice, tremendous bestowal of unspeakable strength of the soul;

Rejoice, temerity of purpose given to the righteous hearts;

Rejoice, unity of purpose of all reconciled Churches;

Rejoice, sapphire-precious truth inlaid unto our senses;

Rejoice, spirited treasure affording us the blessed seventh day respite;

Rejoice, word made eternal over the wondorous silence;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 8

Empress, All-holy Lady,

Mother untempted by marriage,

Thou art the only human heart within which, ceaslessly,

the Name of glory chants,

out of its living and guileless purpose.

Thou keepest the crown of praises for the All-blameless One,

for only within Thee, as never before,

the heart of man

with the heart of God

hath beaten and beat together as one.

Prayer as an hourglass of thought and of heavens

flows within Thee

and twins itself with the clear ektenia of the mystery

near God’s love.

O, Thou, Abundance of pure Light

unfading and unsurpassed!

Soften our hearts with Thy gifts, O Blessed One!

So that, gifted and worthy,

as to a Church,

we will trust ourselves to Thee,

to be able to chant Alleluia!

Ikos 8

Mother of God, Heart of Light,

Mother of God, Heart of earth,

Mother of God, Heart without blame,

Mother of God, Heart of the Word!

For Thee we yearn, shamed and diminished,

with spent soul and broken knees.

Because of the overwhelming plague of sin,

our hearts have become as hard

as the edge of the blue flintrock, unspeakably bleak.

“The Lord hath let us go

about the ways of our minds.”

Our broken thought wades through mist.

But, now, behold, to Thee we prostrate,

Mother of Jesus,

Embrace us as the rocks of life

eager for the morning springs,

the eternal morning,

and revive us with new and clean hearts

so that we may sing to Thee:

Rejoice, my soul’s arch of aliance;

Rejoice, coffer locked with the Name of God;

Rejoice, living ship sailing over the world’s billows;

Rejoice, casket sheltered from all the emptiness of clay;

Rejoice, throne upon which life is founded;

Rejoice, resonance box through which a ray resounds;

Rejoice, nave holding all services of grace;

Rejoice, shrine of thought for the most spiritual altar;

Rejoice, holy-day of the heavens wherein the mind performs the Liturgy;

Rejoice, chest of flame in all our bosoms;

Rejoice, Church all-eager for the trinitarian wedlock;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 9

Lord Jesus Christ, our hearts’ gentle Bridegroom!

I am also part of the Holy Virgin’s family, a recently adopted offspring.

To Thee I prostrate my forehead

and like Thomas I place my hand on the holy spot.

Tightly curled up within myself, standing speechless,

I am waiting as a blindman on the bridge of

“the unfading Light from the deep,

which is put in man as an innermost sun

to shine whole within the boundaries of being.”

Since I cannot see Thee from the darkness, the thickness of sin,

I feel Thee timidly,

with the finger of hope, with the finger of faith,

with the finger of suspicion, of longing and even of doubt,

and powerless I would put the other hand too,

but my heart, pierced by the burning lightning shaft,

painfully sweet, with its breath whispers

Thy whole calling and despite my will

my heartbeat of prayer runs towards the light chanting Alleluia!

Ikos 9

All-holy Virgin, All-helpful,

Thou art more prescient

than all the heavenly Minds,

and Thou knowest the meaning of the godly design

for the redeeming Transfiguration.

Thou art the mastery, the art, the industry and all the blessed human craft
which together make the chimera of our sins worthy of salvation.

That is why we persist in glorifying Thee:

Rejoice, confirmed wisdom of sainthood in detail;

Rejoice, Sophianic insight of the work done by inward advice;

Rejoice, godly sweetening of the Name like the pouring chrism;

Rejoice, monastic astuteness in the tear-soaked chanting;

Rejoice, drop-precise measure for cherubimic infancy;

Rejoice, golden ascesis upon the mat of the desert;

Rejoice, crown of litanies from the knots of the prayer rope;

Rejoice, crammed hesychasm under the candle’s gentle truth;

Rejoice, stool manuscript for the hesychast prayer;

Rejoice, Thou flight of the palms with the right standing rapture;

Rejoice, engolpion smile for the heart’s aridity;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 10

O! Unblemished Grace-filled Lady,

Virgin with the wing span of the Great Eagle,

Apocalyptic sign of the blameless womb,

Church – bearer of the inward man!

Help me build myself in the unspoken nature

from the litany’s unfolding with its soft calling.

And give me the lumionous birth, my Confessoress,

so that, from the understanding of Resurrection I may cry too: Alleluia!

Ikos 10

Thou, Generous Mother, Teacher of mystery,

Lady of hope, of the blue twilight,

Mistress with three stars on Thy cloak

Saint Arghira of our infirmities!

To Thee, again, I have exerted myself,

broken by the world and defeated by thoughts.

After the holy guidance and blessing

I have been made partaker to my salvation.

I have resolved, rightly and unabated

to strive, at all times, for prayer.

But the clay idol, my thought,

does not allow me the respite

to make my prayer into God’s baptistry

with the heart’s contrition for which I crave.

See me through, thus, my Helper

and give me tears, the salt of repentance,

to wash with them the spectre of powerlessness,

to become worthy to chant to Thee:

Rejoice, weeping rose of the return of mystery;

Rejoice, tenderness of repentance with light as Thy cloak;

Rejoice, blessing of the tear, revelation of Wisdom;

Rejoice, discernment in tune with the world’s sighs;

Rejoice, heavens endowed with all the rains of salvation;

Rejoice, moist wonder from the eyes of childhood;

Rejoice, porphyry of the kingly endeavours of the Amen;

Rejoice, crystal of grace from the Thorn’s tears;

Rejoice, dew of benevolence strengthening the faithful;

Rejoice, helper, even in fall, of those less spritual;

Rejoice, omophorion covering any weakness;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 11

I thank Thee, All-merciful Virgin Mother,
for delivering me from death yet again.
Danger and temptation are allowed only for testing. Through the ceaseless calling
of the light-filled allmighty Name
my senses and my heart’s will

have passed the threshold into silence.
Freed from them
I am waiting to be overwhelmed
by the godly hearing, seeing and speech.
From now on, may only these be uttered within me. May my Beloved, Himself, the heavenly Jesus,

see, speak and understand
through my entire seeing, hearing and will.
May Christ live like this
through all my vigour
so that He can call through me to God: Alleluia!

Ikos 11

O, you, heart, mind and thought of mine!
Wound yourselves asking God the right questions.
Which discernable sign, I wonder, do heavenly fruit have?
And what answer shall you hear
in your spritual father’s utterance:
if the image of the unseen Revelation descends upon you
through the golden breadth of the blessed visions,
then you will have been most attentive to the spirit’s radiance
just like the Virgin’s pure spirit was when She entered the Church. And you shall grow so high-resounding and in tune
just as a praising trumpet that the angels blow.
And your senses will be perceptive as the flower of the righteous Jesse who searches the horizon eagerly waiting for the sign of the Three. This is the sign we hunger for and may the Holy Lady give it to us
so that, in Her merciful intercession, we can all declare unto Her:

Rejoice, Thou, ladder with its foot in the heart of the faithful;

Rejoice, hesychast purity of serene prayer;

Rejoice, warmth of grace overwhelming the flesh;

Rejoice, unearthly doing sanctifying us with your weavings;

Rejoice, Thou, heavenly water springing from the eyes’ abyss;

Rejoice, peace detached from the wilderness of thought;

Rejoice, ascending clearing of a boundless mind;

Rejoice, spiritual prevision of the incommensurable mysteries;

Rejoice, unearthly bolt towards the unspoken head of the ladder;

Rejoice, inexpressible enlightenment from the heart;

Rejoice, infinity of perfection with unblemished body;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 12

Thou art the Amma empress of my soul.
Give me rest under the shelter of Thy Image;
under Thy golden amber eyes,
allow me as well to burn unconsummed,
from the fountain of the unspoken arcanum of living prayer. From Thy ring of cool shelter,
Thou, sealed Spring,
let me, again and again, renew,
the great peace of the joyful rest
with the stream of Thy perpetual grace.
Thou, Holy Amma, ignite me thus
with the living joy of victory
so that I may chant ablaze and clean
out of the whole peace of consciosness: Alleluia!

Ikos 12

Mother of God, Confessoress lover of earth! Wellspring of the Word’s teaching of mystery! Thou art divinely gentle and meek,
But, as the Song of Songs testifies

Thou art also infinitely just and formidable “as whole armies under their flags.”
Thou art bright, serene and sharp
as a dreaded blade.

Thou hast readily helping saints in the heavenly Jerusalem, Thy eager sons of “self denial,”
all the hosts of hermits and anchorites,
Thy whole line of wise confessors

imparting infinite tresures of benediction,
all their grace for clarifying, cleansing and redeeming
from Thy endless chastity and mercifulness,
all that is called “the virtuous Gnosis”
or the Saints’ Legacy
which Thou hast given to us all
through the Fathers’ writings, labour and words of wisdom, for which we will eternally be powerless to praise Thee for, to honour Thee for and to glorify Thee, except for singing: Rejoice, Sword defending the hesychast legacy;

Rejoice, immortal warrantor of our transfiguration;

Rejoice, chalice wherein God’s blessing lies;

Rejoice, torch sheltering man’s holy metamorphosis;

Rejoice, tireless weaver of silent miracles;

Rejoice, undisputed strategian of the invisible warfare;

Rejoice, watchful eye guarding us with Thy sweet severity;

Rejoice, canon bestowing order with precise alertness;

Rejoice, shield guarding the land of the living;

Rejoice, portal protecting creation from any uncleanliness;

Rejoice, strickle pulverizing the spectre of horridness;

Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer.

Kontakion 13 (This kontakion is read three times) O! Ever virtuous Mother of God
and most-blessed Mother of Man!
May this our prostration,

in its ceaseless flow,
be as twenty-four theorbos and chalices.
And may its sweet-scented offering
towards the Holy Trinity, upraised joy,
from Thy hands to the Bridegroom Christ,
fulfil its fruition of true-worship.
So that we can cry out together with the heavens, out of a protective un-restraining embrace,
to the One above all: Alleluia!

 Jan. 15 Our Venerable Fathers Paul of Thebes and John the Hut-Dweller

Our venerable father Paul of Thebes was a disciple of St. Anthony the Great. He is one of the earliest of the “desert fathers” and lived as a hermit in Theibaid in Egypt during the middle of the fourth century.

Our venerable father John the hut-dweller lived in Constantinople during the fifth century. He left home, and returned 6 years later and lived as a beggar in a hut wearing rags. He survived on the charity of his parents, who did not recognize him, and devoted his life to contemplation. His parents only recognized him after his death by a gold codex of the Gospels they had given him. 

 

Troparion

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

 

Kontakion – Paul

Now that we have assembled let us sing the praises of that unwaning light from the divine Sun. O father Paul, you shine on those who are in the darkness of ignorance. O beauty of Thebes, you lead us all to heaven. You are the immovable foundation of monks, and of all those who keep the fast. 

 

Kontakion – John

Having loved that poverty which no one can rob, you turned down your parents’ wealth, O John. Taking the Gospel of Christ in your hands, you followed Him; now pray for us unceasingly.

 

Readings for the saints

Epistle

Galatians 5:22 – 6:2

In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another. 

Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 11: 27-30

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone who the Son wishes to reveal Him.” 

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourself. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” 

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Hebrews 10:1-18

Brothers and sisters: Since the law had only a shadow of the good things to come, and no real image of them, it was never able to perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices offered continually year after year. Were matters otherwise, the priests would have stopped offering them, for the worshipers, once cleansed, would have had no sin on their conscience. But through those sacrifices there came only a yearly recalling of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take sins away. Wherefore, on coming into the world, Jesus said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me; holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the book, I have come to do your will, O God.’” First Jesus says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” (These are offered according to the prescription of the law.) Then he says, “I have come to do your will.” In other words, Jesus takes away the first covenant to establish the second.

By this “will,” we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Every other priest stands ministering day by day, and offering again and again those same sacrifices for sins and can never take away sins.  But Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are placed beneath his feet. By one offering he has forever perfected those who are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit attests this to us, for after saying, “This is the covenant I will make with them after those days says the Lord: I will out my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds,” he also says, “Their sins and their transgressions I will remember no more.” Once these have been forgiven, there is no further offering for sin.

 

Gospel

Mark 8: 30-34

At that time Jesus gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer much, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, but put to death, and ride three days later. He said these things quite openly. Peter then took Jesus aside to remonstrate him. At this Jesus turned around and, eyeing the disciple, reprimanded Peter. “Get out of my sight, you satan! You are not judging by God’s standards but by man’s!” Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them: “If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and follow in my steps.” 




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

Jan. 14 Our Venerable Fathers of Sinai and Raitho, killed by Arabs

There were two occasions when the monks and hermits of Sinai and Raitho were murdered by the barbarians. The first took place in 312 when forty Fathers were killed at Mt. Sinai, and thirty-nine were slain at Raitho the same day. The second massacre occurred nearly a hundred years later. 

 

Troparion

God of our father, You always deal with us in Your kindness. Take not Your mercy away from us; but through their prayer guide our life in peace.

 

Kontakion

You fled the fury of the world and found for yourselves a calm haven. You were crowned with martyrs’ blood by the yoke of fasting; for this you have been admitted into the company of martyrs and monks. 

 

Epistle

Hebrews 9: 8-10; 15-23

Brothers and sisters: The Holy Spirit was showing thereby that while the first tabernacle was still standing, the way into the sanctuary had not yet been revealed. This is a symbol of the present time, in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that can never make perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but can only cleanse in matters of food and drink and various ritual washings: regulations concerning the flesh, imposed until the time of the new order. 

This is why Christ is mediator of a new covenant: since his death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions committed under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Where there is a testament, it is necessary that the death of the testator be confirmed. For a testament comes into force only in the case of death; it has no force while the testator is alive. Hence, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. When Moses had read all the commandments of the law to the people, he took the blood of goats and calves, together with water and crimson wool and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.” He also sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of worship with blood. According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary that the copies of the heavenly models be purified in this way, but the heavenly realities themselves called for better sacrifices. 

 

Gospel

Mark 8:22-26

At that time when Jesus arrived in Bethsaida, some people brought him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle in the man’s eyes Jesus laid his hands on the man and asked, “Can you see anything?” The man opened his eyes and said, “I can see people but they look like walking trees!” Then a second time Jesus laid hands on the man’s eyes, and he saw perfectly; his sight was restored and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him home with the admonition, “Do not even go into the village.”



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



Jan. 13 The Holy Martyrs Hermolaus and Stratonicus

The Emperor Licinius raised a great persecution of Christians. The holy martyr Hermolaus, a Christian and a deacon in the Church, was arrested and brought to trial. When Hermolaus was informed that he was being led away to be tortured, he greatly rejoiced. In vain did the emperor threaten him. Hermolaus openly confessed his faith in Christ, and responded to all the threats of the emperor saying: The Lord is with me; I fear not; What can man do against me? (psalm 118:6). Following excruciating tortures, Hermolaus was thrown into a dungeon. The guard was the holy martyr Strantonicus, a secret Christian, who sympathized with the suffering of Hermolaus with all his heart. When it was reported to the emperor that Stratonicus was also a Christian, the emperor ordered that both of them be drowned in the Danube River. Then the executioners tied Hermolaus and Stratonicus in a net, and both were drowned. Three days later, their bodies washed ashore. Christians discovered their bodies and buried them about eighteen miles from Belgrade in the year 315. 

 

Troparion

Your martyrs, O Lord our God, in their struggles 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.

 

Kontakion

O martyrs, you both met a blessed end in water and drowned the devil by the grace of God. You have received crowns of triumph for this and have been admitted to angelic choirs. Now remember those who honor you.

 

Readings for the fathers

Epistle

Romans 8:28-39

Brothers & sisters: We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his decree. Those whom he foreknew he predestined to share 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 died 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 the 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

Luke 6:17-23

At that time, coming down the mountain with the twelve, Jesus stopped at a level stretch where there were many of his disciples; a large crowd of people was with them from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coast of Tyre and Sidon, people who came to hear him and be healed of this diseases. Those who were troubles with unclean spirits were cured; indeed, the whole crowd was trying to touch him because power went out from him which cured all. 

Then, raising his eyes to his disciples, he said: “Blest are you poor, the reign of God is yours. Blest are you who hunger; you shall be filled. Blest are you who are weeping; you shall laugh. Blest shall you be when men hate you, and proscribe your name as evil because of the Son of Man. On the day they do so, rejoice and exult, for your reward shall be great in heaven.”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Hebrews 8: 7-13

Brothers and sisters: If that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no place for a second one. But God, finding fault with them, says, “Days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant and I grew weary of them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach their fellow citizens or their brothers, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know me, from least to greatest. I will forgive their evildoing, and their sins I will remember no more.”

When he says, “a new covenant,” he declares the first one obsolete. And what has become obsolete and has grown old is close to disappearing. 

 

Gospel

Mark 8:11-21

At that time the Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus. They were looking for some heavenly sign from him as a test. With a sigh from the depths of his spirit Jesus said: “Why does this age seek a sign? I assure you, no such sign will be given it!” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

They had forgotten to bring any bread along; except for one loaf they had none with them in the boat. So when Jesus instructed them, “Keep your eyes open! Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod,” they concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. Aware of this Jesus said to them, “Why do you suppose that it is because you have no bread? Do you still not see or comprehend? Are your minds completely blinded? Have you eyes but no sight? Ears but no hearing? Do you remember when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets of fragments did you collect?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them again, “Do you still not understand?”



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



Jan. 12 The Holy Martyr Tatiana

The holy martyr Tatiana was a Roman whose parents were from the nobility. She was a Christian and a deaconess in the church. After the death of Emperor Heliogabalus, there reigned the Emperor Alexander, whose mother, Mammaea, was a Christian. Alexander himself was wavering and indecisive in his faith, for he kept statues of Christ, Apollo, Abraham, and Orpheus in his palace. His chief assistants took it upon themselves to persecute Christians without orders from the emperor. When they brought out the virgin Tatiana for torture, she prayed to God for her tortures, and their eyes were opened. They saw four angels around the martyr. Seeing this, eight of them believed in Christ, for which they were also then tortured and slain. Tatiana was martyred around the year 227.

 

Troparion

O Jesus, your lamb Tatiana cries out to You with great love. O my Bridegroom, I long for You in great pain. I am crucified with You, and in baptism I am buried with You. I suffer for your sake in order to reign with You. I die for You in order to live in You. Accept me as an immaculate victim since I am immolated for your love. Through her intercession, O merciful One, save our souls.

 

Kontakion

You shone in glory and were stained in your own blood, and like a beautiful bird you soared to heaven. O martyr Tatiana, pray for those who honor you. 

 

Readings for the saint

Epistle 

James 4: 7- 5:9

Brothers and sisters: Submit to God; resist the devil and he will take flight. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you backsliders. Begin to lament, to mourn, and to weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into sorrow. Be humbled in the sight of the Lord and he will raise you on high.

Do not, my brothers and sisters, speak ill of one another. The one who speaks ill of his brother or judges his brother is speaking against the law. It is the law he judges. If, however, you judge the law you are no observer of the law, you are its judge. There is but one Lawgiver and Judge, one who can save and destroy. Who are you to judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go to such and such a town, spend a year there, trade, and come off with a profit!” You have no idea what kind of life will be yours tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears briefly and vanishes. Instead of saying, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that,” all you can do is make arrogant and pretentious claims. All such boasting is reprehensible. When a man knows the right thing to do and does not do it, he sins. 

As for you, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted, your fine wardrobe has grown moth-eaten, your gold and silver has corroded, and their corrosion shall be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. See what you have stored up for yourselves against the last days. Here, crying aloud, are the wages you withheld from the farmhands who harvested your fields. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived in wanton luxury on the earth; you fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. You condemned, even killed, the just man; he does not resist you.

Be patient, therefore, my brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer awaits the precious yield of the soil. He looks forward to it patiently while the solid receives the winter and spring rains. You, too, must be patient. Steady your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. DO not grumble against one another, my brothers and sisters, lest you be condemned. See! The judge stands at the gate. 

 

Gospel 

Mark 12: 38-44

The Lord said: “Be on guard against  the scribes, who like to parade around in their robes and accept marks of respect in public, front seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. These men devour the savings of widows and recite long prayers for appearance’ sake; it is they who will receive the severest sentence.”

Taking a seat opposite a treasury, Jesus observed the crowd putting money into the collection box. Many of the wealthy put in sizable amounts; but one poor widow came and out in two small copper coins worth a few cents. Jesus called his disciples over and told them: “I want you to observe that this poor widow contributed more than all the others who donated to the treasury. They gave from their surplus wealth, but she gave from her want, all that she had to live on.”

 

Readings for the day 

Epistle

Ephesians 4: 7-13

Brothers and sisters: Each of us has received God’s favor in the measure in which Christ bestows it. Thus you find Scripture saying: “When He ascended on high, he took a host of captives and gave gifts to men.” “He ascended”- what does this mean but that he had first descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the very one who ascended above the heavens, that he might fill all men with his gifts.

It is He who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in roles of service for the faithful to build up the body of Christ, till we become one in faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, and form that perfect man who is Christ come to full stature. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 4: 12-17

At that time when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went down to line in Capernaum by the sea near the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what had been said through Isaiah the prophet: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali along the sea beyond the Jordan, heathen Galilee: A people living in darkness has seen a great light. On those who inhabit a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.” From that time on Jesus began to proclaim this theme: “Reform your lives! The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”


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

 

Jan. 11 Our Venerable Father Theodosius, Founder of the Common Life

Our venerable father Theodosius, founder of the Common Life, lived during the fifth and sixth centuries, and was the founder of cenobitic monasticism. He was born in Cappadocia to pious parents. Endowed with a splendid voice, he zealously toiled at church readings and singing.

Yearning for a solitary life, St. Theodosius settled in Palestine into a desolate cave, in which, according to tradition, the three Magi had spent the night, having come to worship the Savior after his Nativity. He lived there for thirty years in great abstinence and unceasing prayer. People flocked to the ascetic, wishing to live under his guidance. When the cave could no longer hold all the monks, St. Theodosius prayed that the Lord Himself would indicate a place for the monks. Taking the censer with cold charcoal and incense, the monk started walking into the desert. At a certain spot the charcoal ignited by itself and the incense smoke began to rise. Here the monk established the first cenobitic monastery or Lavra. Soon the Lavra of St. Theodosius became renowned, and up to 700 monks gathered there. Before his death, St. Theodosius summoned to him three beloved bishops and revealed to them that he would soon depart for the Lord. After three days, he died at the age of 105 (in the year 529). The saint’s body was buried with reverence in the cave in which he lived at the beginning of his ascetic life. 

 

Troparion

Your abundant tears made the wilderness bloom, and your sufferings made your labors fruitful a hundredfold; you became a shining torch over the world. O venerable Father Theodosius, pray to Christ our God that He may save our souls.

 

Kontakion

You were planted in the courts of your Lord and blossomed forth with beautiful and admirable virtues, O master of God’s holy sheepfold. You multiplied your children in the wilderness and quenched their thirst with your abundant tears. Therefore we cry out: Rejoice O father Theodosius.

 

Readings for the saint

Epistle

2 Corinthians 4: 6-15

Brothers and sisters: 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. This treasure we possess in earthen vessels to make it clear that its surpassing power comes from God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way possible, but we are not crushed; full of doubts, we never despair. We are persecuted but never abandoned; we are struck down but never destroyed. Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed. While we live we are constantly being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh. Death is at work in us, but life in you. We have that spirit of faith of which the Scripture says, “Because I believed, I spoke out.” We believe and so we speak, knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up along with Jesus and place both us and you in his presence. Indeed, everything is ordered to your benefit, so that the grace bestowed in abundance may bring greater glory to God because they who give thanks are many. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 11: 27-30

The Lord said to his disciples: “everything has been given over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son– and anyone whom the Son wished to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Ephesians 6: 10-17

Brothers and sisters: Draw your strength from the Lord and His mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against tactics of the devil. Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above. You must put on the armor of God if you are to resist on the evil day; do all that your duty requires, and hold your ground. Stand fast, with the truth as the belt around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and zeal to propagate the gospel of peace as your footgear/ In all circumstances hold faith up before you as your shield; it will help you extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, the word of God. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 4: 1-11

At that time Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “if you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread.” Jesus replied, “Scripture has it: ‘Not on bread alone is man to live but every utterance that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Next the devil took him to the holy city, set him on the parapet of the temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. Scripture has it: ‘He will bid his angels take care of you; with their hands they will support you that you may never stumble on a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “Scripture also has it: ‘You shall not put the Lord you God to the test.’”

The devil then took him up a very high mountain and displayed before him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, promising, “All these will I bestow on you if you prostrate yourself in homage to me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Away with you Satan! Scripture has it: ‘You shall do homage to the Lord your God; Him alone shall you adore.’” At this the devil left him, and the angels came and waited on him.

 

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

 

Jan. 10 Our Holy Father Gregory of Nyssa; The Venerable Dometian, Bishop of Melitene; Our Venerable Father Marcian

Our holy father Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, brother of St. Basil the Great, one of the great theologians of the Byzantine Church (c. 395)

The venerable Dometian, Bishop of Melitene, who lived under Emperors Justinian the Lesser and Maurice. He was known for his remarkable intelligence, prudence, and spiritual zeal, and for his love of the poor. (602)

Our venerable father Marcian, priest and treasurer of the Great Church in Constantinople, second in command to Patriarch Gennadius. (c. 471)

 

Troparion

God of our fathers, You always deal with us according to Your everlasting compassion. Take not Your mercy away from us; but through their prayers guide our life in peace.

 

Kontakion – Gregory

That heavenly hierarch of the Church and precious mystic orator of Wisdom, that vigilant mind, Greogory of Nyssa, sings praises along with the angels and finds delight in the Light divine. He now prays unceasingly for all of us. 

 

Kontakion – Marcian

You were anointed with the divine priesthood, and you showed this by virtue and obedience to Christ. Having finished your course, O Father, you sing with the angels in heaven: Glory to your compassion, O Savior! Glory to your kingdom! Glory to your providence, O Lover of Humankind!

 

Readings for St. Gregory

Epistle

1 Corinthians 12: 7-11

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 10: 1,5-8

Then He summoned His twelve disciples and gave them the authority to expel unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease of every kind.

Jesus sent these men on mission as the Twelve, after giving them the following instructions:

“Do not visit pagan territory and so not enter a Samaritan town. Go instead after the lost sheep of the house 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.”

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Hebrews 7: 18-25

Brothers and sisters: The former commandment [concerning the levitical priesthood and the law it serves] has been annulled because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law brought nothing to perfection. But a better hope has supervened, and through it we draw near to God. This has been confirmed by an oath. The priests of the old covenant became priests without an oath, unlike Jesus to whom God said: “The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: ‘You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’” Thus has Jesus become the guarantee of a better covenant. Under the old covenant there were many priests because they were prevented by death from remaining in office; but Jesus, because he remains forever, has a priesthood which does not pass away. Therefore he is always able to save these who approach God through him, since he forever lives to make intercession for them. 

 

Gospel

Luke 21:37 – 22:8

At that time Jesus would teach in the temple by day, and leave the city to spend the night on the Mount of Olives. At daybreak all the people came to hear him in the temple.

The feast of Unleavened Bread known as the Passover was drawing near, and the high priests and scribes began to look for some way to dispose of Jesus; but they were afraid of the people. Then Satan took possession of Judas, the one called Iscariot, a member of the twelve. He went off to confer with the chief priests and officers about a way to hand Jesus over to them. They were delighted, and agreed to give him money. Judas accepted, then kept looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over without creating a disturbance.

The day of Unleavened Bread arrived on which it was appointed to sacrifice the paschal lamb. Accordingly, Jesus sent Peter and John off with the instruction, “Go and prepare our Passover supper for us.”

 

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


Jan. 9 The Holy Martyr Polyeuctus

The holy martyr Polyeuctus: The Armenian city of Melitene was drenched with the blood of Christians, as was the entire country of Armenia. The first blood shed for Christ in this city was that of St. Polyeuctus in the year 259, during the reign of Valerian. In Melitene were two friends: Nearchus and Polyeuctus. Both were officers- Nearchus was baptized and Polyeuctus was unbaptized. When the command of the emperor was sent out concerning the persecution of Christians, Nearchus prepared for death; but he was in great sorrow because he had not succeeded in converting his friend Polyeuctus to the true Faith. When Polyeuctus learned of the reason for Nearchus’s sorrow, he promised to embrace the Faith. The following day Polyeuctus related this dream to Nearchus: the Lord Himself had appeared to him in light, removed Polyeuctus’s old clothes from him and dressed him in radiant new clothes – and sat him in the saddle of a winged horse. After this, Polyeuctus went to town, shredded the emperor’s decree concerning the torturing of Christians, and destroyed many statues of idols. He was tortured and condemned to death. When he was brought to the place of execution, he looked at Nearchus in the throng of people and joyfully cried out to him: “Save yourself, my dear friend! Remember the vow of love confirmed between the two of us!” later, St. Nearchus died by fire as a martyr for Christ. 

 

Troparion

Your martyr Polyuectus, 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

When our Savior bowed His head in the Jordan River, the heads of the serpents were crushed, and when Polyeuctus was beheaded, he put demons to shame. 

 

Epistle

Hebrews 7: 1-6

Brothers and sisters: This Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from his defeat of the kings and blessed him. And Abraham apportioned to him one tenth of all his booty. His name means “king of justice”’ he was also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” Without father, mother or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

See the greatness of this man to whom Abraham the patriarch gave one tenth of his booty! The law provides that the priests of the tribe of Levi should receive tithes from the people, their brother Israelites, even though all of them are descendants of Abraham; but Melchizedek, who was not of their ancestry, received tithes of Abraham and blessed him who had received God’s promise. 

 

Gospel

Luke 21: 28-33

The Lord said to his disciples, “When you see the great signs of the coming of the Son of Man, stand erect and hold your heads high, for your deliverance is near at hand.” Then Jesus told them a parable: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. You observe them when they are budding, and know for yourselves that summer is near. Likewise when you see all the things happening of which I speak, know that the reign of God is near. Let me tell you this: the present generation will not pass away until all this takes place. The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass.”

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

 

Jan. 8 Our Venerable Fathers George the Chozebite and Emilian the Confessor; Our Venerable Mother Dominica 

Our venerable father George the Chozebite was a Cypriot monk at the Monastery of the Mother of God at Chozeba near Jericho (614)

Our venerable father Emilian the Confessor was a native of Vannes, in what is now France. He was a recluse (767)

Our venerable mother Dominica, born in Carthage in North Africa, lived a life of asceticism and died in Constantinople under the reign of the Emperor Zenon in 474.

 

Troparion – Venerable Fathers

Come, O people and piously honor the memory of George. Sing praises for his wonderful fasting and praise Emilian for his teachings. Let us sing out: Save our souls, O Christ, through the intercession of these holy monks.

 

Troparion – Dominica

In you, O mother, the divine image was strictly preserved; taking up your cross, you followed Christ. You taught us by example how to spurn the flesh for it passes away, and how to care for the soul, which is immortal. Therefore, O venerable Dominica, your soul rejoices with the angels.

 

Kontakion – Venerable Fathers

O George, you have become a brilliant source of light, enlighten all those who come to you in faith. Intercede for us with Christ our God who appeared in flowing waters and enlightened all of us. 

 

Kontakion – Dominica

O Dominica, you crucified the flesh with your suffering, and your love for Christ was sure and constant. For this you have been crowned and admitted to the choirs of angels. Pray now for all those who venerate you, O mother.

 

Epistle

Hebrews 5:11 – 6:8

Brothers and sisters: About the priesthood we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, for you have become deaf. Although by this time you should be teaching others, you need to have someone teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God; you need milk, not solid food. Everyone whose food is milk alone is ignorant of the word that sanctifies, for he is a child. Solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties are trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

Let us, then, go beyond the initial teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, not laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works, faith in God, instruction about baptisms and laying-on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And, God permitting, we shall advance!

For when men have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and become sharers in the Holy Spirit, when they have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to make them repent again, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves and holding him up to contempt. Ground which drinks in the rain falling on it again and again, and brings forth vegetation useful to those whom it is cultivated, receives the blessing of God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless; it is soon cursed, and finally burned. 

 

Gospel

Luke 21: 5-8, 10-11, 20-24

At that time some disciples were speaking of how the temple was adorned with precious stones and votive offerings. Jesus said, “These things you are contemplating – the day will come when not one stone will be left on another, but it will all be torn down.” They asked him, “When will this be, Teacher? And what will be the sign that it is going to happen?” Jesus said, “Take care not to be misled. Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he’ and ‘The time is at hand.’ Do not follow them. 

Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, plagues, and famines in various places–and in the sky fearful omens and great signs. When you see Jerusalem encircled by soldiers, know that its devastation is near. Those in Judea at the time must flee to the mountains; those in the heart of the city must escape it; those in the country must not return. These indeed will be days of retribution, when all that is written must be fulfilled.

“The women who are pregnant or nursing at the breast will fare badly in those days! The distress in the land and the wrath against this people will be great. The people will fall before the sword; they will be led captive in the midst of the Gentiles. Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”



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

 

Jan. 7 Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John

Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John: A “synaxis” feast follows one of the great feasts, and highlights a major personage of yesterday’s celebration. We remember today the work of the Forerunner, John, who baptized Christ. 

 

Troparion

The memory of the righteous is celebrated with praise, but for you, O Forerunner, the Lord’s testimony is enough. You were shown to be more honorable than the prophets since you were deemed worthy to baptize in waters the Lord you had proclaimed. Therefore, you fought for the truth, and with joy proclaimed the good news to those in Hades, that God has appeared in the flesh to take away the sins of the world and to grant us great mercy. 

 

Kontakion

O Lord, before Your presence in the flesh, the Jordan River trembled and reversed its course out of fear. Struck with awe. John hesitated to perform upon You the baptism foretold by the prophets. The ranks of angels were rapt in wonder when they saw You being baptized in the flesh. All those in darkness received illumination and sang a hymn of praise to You, O Lord; for You appeared and shed Your light upon the whole world. 

 

Epistle

Acts 19:1-8

In those days, while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior of the country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples to whom he put the question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered, “We have not so much as heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” “Well, how were you baptized?” he persisted. They replied, “With the baptism of John.” Paul then explained, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He used to tell the people about the one who would come after him in whom they were to believe- that is Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. As Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came down on them and they began to speak in tongues and to utter prophecies. There were in the company about twelve men in all. Paul entered the synagogue, and over a period of three months debated fearlessly, with persuasive arguments, about the kingdom of God.

 

Gospel

John 1: 29-34

At that time John the Baptizer caught sight of Jesus coming toward him and he exclaimed: “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! It is he of whom I said: ‘After me is to come a man who ranks ahead of me, because he was before me.’ I confess I did not recognize him, though the very reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

John gave this testimony also: “I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from the sky, and it came to rest on him. But I did not recognize him. The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘When you see the Spirit descend and rest on someone, it is he who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen for myself and have testified, ‘This is God’s chosen One.’”

 

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