The Holy Martyrs Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonica: Carpus was the bishop of Thyatira; Papylus, a deacon; Agathonica, sister of the same Papylus. There were many others at Pergamum in Asia, who were crowned with martyrdom for their blessed confession of Christ in the year 250. 

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

To those who live on earth, God has granted your bodies as a precious treasure, a stream from which healing flows, dispelling all manner of sickness and pouring out divine grace. Therefore, O divine martyrs Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonica, we celebrate your memory today with love. 

Readings for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle

Galatians 2: 16-20

Brothers and sisters: Knowing that a man is not justified by legal observance but by faith in Jesus Christ, we too have believed in him in order to be justified by faith in Christ, not by observance of the law; for by works of the law no one will be justified. But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we are shown to be sinners, does that mean that Christ is encouraging sin? Unthinkable! If, however, I were to build up the very things I had demolished, I should then indeed be a transgressor. It was through the law that I died to the law, to live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

Gospel

John 17: 1-18

At that time Jesus looked up to heaven and said: “Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son that your Son may give glory to you, inasmuch as you have given him authority over all mankind, that he may bestow eternal life on those you gave him. Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. I have given you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Do you now, father, give me glory at your side, glory I had with you before the world began. I have made your name known to those you gave me out of the world. These men you gave me were yours; they have kept your word. Now they realize that all you gave me comes from you. I  entrusted to them the message you entrusted to me and they received it. They have known that in truth, I came from you, they have believed it was you who sent me. 

“For these I pray–not for the world but for these you have given me, for they are really yours. Just as all that belongs to me is yours, so all that belongs to you is mine. It is in them that I have been glorified. I am in the world no more, but these are in the world as I come to you. Oh, father, most holy, protect them with your name would you have given me that they may be one, even as we are one. As long as I was with them, I guarded them with your name which you gave me. I kept careful watch, and not one of them was lost, none but him who was destined to be lost – in fulfillment of Scripture. Now, however, I come to you; I say all this while I am still in the world that they may share my joy completely.

“I gave them your word, and the world has hated them for it; they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to guard them from the evil one. They are not of the world, and more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them by means of truth– “Your word is truth.’ As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

Readings for the Council Fathers

Epistle

Hebrews 13: 7-16

Brothers and sisters: Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you; consider how their lives ended, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good to have our hearts strengthened by the grace of God and not by foods which are useless to those who take them as a standard for living. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. The bodies of the animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus died outside the gate, to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us go to him outside the camp, bearing the insult which he bore. For here we have no lasting city; we are seeking one which is to come. Through him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge his name. Do not neglect good deeds and generosity; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.

Gospel

John 17: 1-13

At that time Jesus looked up to heaven and said: “Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son that your Son may give glory to you, inasmuch as you have given him authority over all mankind, that he may bestow eternal life on those you gave him. Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. I have given glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Do you now, Father, give me glory at your side, a glory I had with you before the world began. I have made your name known to those you gave me out of the world. These men you gave me were yours; they have kept your word. Now they realize that all you gave me comes from you. I entrusted to them the message you entrusted to me and they received it. They have known that in truth I came from you, they have believed it was you who sent me.

For these I pray–not for the world but for these you have given me, for they are really yours. Just as all that belongs to me is yours, so all that belongs to you is mine. It is in them that I have been glorified. I am in the world no more, but these are in the world as I come to you. O Father most holy,  protect them with your name which you have given me that they may be one, even as we are one. As long as I was with them, I guarded them with your name which you gave me. I kept careful watch, and not one of them was lost, none but him who was destined to be lost – in fulfillment of Scripture. Now, however, I come to you; I say all this while I am still in the world that they may share my joy completely.”

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

The holy martyrs Probus, Tarachus, and Andronicus were persecuted under the emperor Diocletian, and gave their lives confessing for Christ at Anazarbus in Cilicia in the year 292.

Our venerable father Cosmas, bishop of Maiuma, the hymnographer, was born in Jerusalem. He was a friend to St. John Damascene, whose parents took him in as an orphan and educated him. He helped St. John to compile the Ochtoechos, and he composed many canons to the saints. The canons of Christmas, Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, and the Sunday of the Last Judgment are ascribed to him. He became bishop of the town of Maiuma, near Gaza, in Palestine and died in great old age in the 8th century. 

Troparion – Martyrs

The angelic powers of heaven were rapt in amazement at the successful accomplishments of these holy martyrs: for even in their mortal bodies, they vanquished the bodiless enemy by the power of the holy Cross, and they obtained a spiritual victory. Wherefore, they now intercede with the Lord that He may have mercy on our souls. 

Troparion – Cosmas

You were an eloquent orator in the church, and a divinely inspired musician. You were an image of life and a font of theology, for you soothed all who heard you, our Father Cosmas by your inspired words and beautiful music. 

Kontakion – Martyrs

The soldiers of Christ, the holy martyrs Probus, Tarachus, and Andronicus have shown us the glory of the Holy Trinity by refuting the error of their persecutors and fighting courageously for the faith. 

Kontakion – Cosmas

You were adorned with virtue, blessed Cosmas, and you adorned the Church of Christ with wonderful music. Pray to the Lord for our deliverance from all the snares of enemies, for we appeal to you, O Father, truly rich. 

Epistle

2 Corinthians 3: 12-18

Brothers and sisters: Our hope being [the glory that endures], we act with full confidence. We are not like Moses, who used to hide his face with a veil so that the Israelites could not see the final fading of that glory. Their minds, or course, were dulled. To this very day, when the old covenant is read the veil remains unlifted; it is only in Christ that it is taken away. Even now, when Moses is read a veil covers their understanding. “But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil will be removed.” The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit. 

Gospel

Luke 6: 1-10

At that time on the sabbath Jesus was walking through the standing grain. His disciples were pulling off grain-heads, shelling them with their hands, and eating them. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is prohibited on the sabbath?” Jesus said to them: “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry–how he entered God’s house and took and ate the holy bread and gave it to his men, even though only priests are allowed to eat it?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath.”

On another sabbath Jesus came to teach in a synagogue where there was a man whose right hand was withered. The scribes and Pharisees were on the watch to see if he would perform a cure on the sabbath so that they could find a charge against him. He knew their thoughts, however, and said to the man whose hand was withered, “Get up and stand here in front.” The man rose and remained standing. Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath–or evil? To preserve life–or destroy it?” He looked around at them all and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did so and his hand was perfectly restored. 

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

The holy apostle Philip was one of seven deacons chosen by the Apostles. He converted Samaria to the faith of Christ, baptized the eunuch of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, and passed through cities evangelizing them all until he came to Caesarea, where it is said he rested. 

Our venerable father Theophane, the artist and hymnographer, was bishop of Nicea in the 9th century. He and his brother Theodore joined the monastery of St. Sabbas the Sanctified. They were sent by the Patriarch of Jerusalem to emperor Leo the Armenian, to explain the orthodox teaching about holy icons. He tortured them and his successor, Theophilus, had derisory words branded onto their faces. After the Iconoclastic controversy was ended, Theophane was made bishop in Nicea. 

Troparion – Philip

O Philip, you won apostolic favor and you astonished all Samaria. Your divinely inspired words gave the eunuch understanding so that he was baptized and gave glory to God when he comprehended the Incomprehensible. O holy apostle, obtain grace and great mercy for us from God. 

Troparion – Theophane

Guide to Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and holiness, luminary for the world, inspired adornment of bishops, O wise Theophane, harp of the Spirit, you enlightened all by your teachings; intercede with Christ our God to save our souls. 

Kontakion – Philip

Philip conversed with apostles and fished for people. He was one of the first chosen by the apostles. Today he gives a wealth of cures to the world and protects from calamity those who honor him. Therefore we sing out to him: O apostle, save all of us through your prayers. 

Kontakion – Theophane

You proclaimed the divine Incarnation of Christ, and you exposed the bodiless enemies, O wonderful Theophane. Because of this we perseveringly and piously call to you: Pray unceasingly for all of us. 

Epistle

Colossians 2: 1-7

Brothers and sisters: I want you to know how hard I am struggling for you and for the Laodiceans and the many others who have never seen me in the flesh. I wish their hearts to be strengthened and themselves to be closely united in love, enriched with full assurance by their knowledge of the mystery of God – namely Christ – in whom every treasure of wisdom and knowledge is hidden.

I tell you all this so that no one may delude you with specious arguments. I may be absent in body but I am with you in spirit, happy to see good order among you and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Continue, therefore, to live in Christ Jesus the Lord, in the spirit in which you received him. Be rooted in him and built up in him, growing ever stronger in faith, as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. 

Gospel

Luke 9: 12-18

As sunset approached the Twelve came and said to Jesus, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go into the villages and farms in the neighborhood and find themselves lodging and food, for this certainly is an out-of-the-way place.” Jesus answered them, “Why do you not give them something to eat yourselves?” They replied, “We have nothing but five loaves and two fish. Or shall we ourselves go and buy food for all these people?” (There were about five thousand men.) Jesus said to his disciples, “have them sit down in groups of fifty or so.” They followed his instructions and got them all seated. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to his disciples for distribution to the crowd. They all ate until they had enough. What they had left, over and above, filled twelve baskets. Jesus went to pray in seclusion and his disciples were with him.

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

The holy martyrs Eulampius and Eulampia were brother and sister. They lived at the beginning of the 4th century in the city of Nicomedia. Eulampius became upset after reading the decree of the emperor Maximian (284-305) sentencing all Christians to execution. Eulampius was horrified that the emperor was taking up arms against his own subjects rather than fighting the enemies of his country. The youth was brought to trial and commanded to renounce the Christian Faith. His sister, Eulampia, appeared before the judges and declared that she also was a Christian. The martyrs were tortured and thrown into a red-hot furnace, but the Lord protected them from the fire. Finally, they beheaded Eulampius, but Eulampia died from her torments before she could be beheaded. 

Troparion

Your martyrs, O Lord our God, in their struggles received an incorruptible crown 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

Let us honor the wise Eulampius and Eulampia, fearless martyrs. They were brother and sister in the flesh. Through the power of the crucified Christ, they put to shame their persecutors guile, and they together became the glory and praise of martyrs. 

Epistle

Colossians 1: 24-29

Brothers and sisters: Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the church. I became a minister of this church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from the ages and generations past but now revealed to his holy ones. God has willed to make known to them the glory beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles – the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men to teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ. For this I work and struggle, impelled by that energy of his which is so powerful a force within me. 

Gospel

Luke 9: 7-11

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening and was perplexed, for some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others said, “Elijah has appeared”; and still others said, “One of the prophets of old has risen.” But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who is this man about whom I hear all these reports?” Herod was very curious to see Jesus.

The apostles on their return related to Jesus all they had accomplished. Taking the apostles with him, Jesus retired to a town call Bethsaida, but the crowds found this out and followed him. He received them and spoke to them of the reign of God, and he healed all who were in need of healing.

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

Gospel

Luke 7: 36-50

At that time there was a certain Pharisee who invited Jesus to dine with him. Jesus went to the Pharisee’s home and reclined to eat. A woman known in the town to be a sinner learned that he was dining in the Pharisee’s home. She brought in a vase of perfumed oil and stood behind him at his feet, weeping so that her tears fell upon his feet. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissing them and perfuming them with the oil. When his host, the Pharisee, saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet he would know who and what sort of woman this is that touched him–that she is a sinner.” In answer to his thoughts, Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to propose to you.” “Teacher,” he said, “speak.”

Jesus said, “Two men owed money to a certain money-lender; one owed a total of five hundred coins, the other fifty. Since neither was able to repay, he wrote off both debts. Which of them was more grateful to him?” Simon answered, “He, I presume, to whom he remitted the larger sum.” Jesus said to him, “You are right.”

Turning then to the woman, Jesus said to Simon: “You see this woman? I came to your home and you provided me with no water for my feet. She has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since I entered. You did not anoint my feet with perfume. I tell you, that is why her many sins are forgiven–because of her great love. Little is forgiven the one whose love is small.”

Jesus said to her then, “Your sins are forgiven”; at which his fellow guests began to ask among themselves, “Who is this that he even forgives sins?” Meanwhile Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has been your salvation. Now go in peace.”

The holy apostle James Alpheus was one of the Twelve, a witness of the true words and miracles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a witness to his passion, resurrection, and ascension. After the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, it fell to James to preach the gospel in Eleutheropolis and the surrounding area. He suffered in Egypt in the town of Ostracina, being crucified by pagans. 

Our venerable father Andronicus and his wife Athanasia: Andronicus was a goldsmith in Antioch during the reign of emperor Theodosius the Great. Both he and his wife were very devout, and gave a third of all they earned to the poor. They had two children and lost both of them on the same day to death. After this, they took the monastic habit in Egypt. After many years of the monastic life, they died eight days apart; Athanasia first, and then Andronicus (4th century)

Troparion – Apostle

O holy Apostle James, intercede with the merciful God that he may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.

Troparion – Venerables

O Andronicus, our God-bearing father, you were shown to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in bodily form, and a worker of miracles. Through fasting, prayers and vigils you received heavenly gifts to heal the sick and the souls of those who, with faith, run to you. Glory to Him who gives you strength. Glory to Him who crowned you. Glory to Him who works healing for all through you.

Kontakion – Apostle

Let us extol James with praises as a herald of God, for he implanted wise doctrines deeply in the souls of all. Now he stands before the throne of the Master and rejoices in the company of angels, praying for all of us unceasingly. 

Readings for the Apostle

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 like 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 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 preachings of the gospel. I beg you, be imitators of me. 

Gospel

Luke 10: 16-22a

The Lord said to his disciples: “He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me. And he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me.”

The seventy-two disciples returned in jubilation saying, “Master, even the demons are subject to us in your name.” Jesus said in reply: “I watched Satan fall from the sky like lightning. See what I have done; I have given you power to tread on snakes and scorpions and all the forces of the enemy, and nothing shall ever injure you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice so much in the fact that the devils are subject to you as that your names are inscribed in heaven.”

At that moment Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said: “I offer you praise, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children. Yes, Father, you have graciously willed it so.”

Readings for the day

Epistle

Colossians 1: 18-23

Brothers and sisters: It is [Christ] who is head of the body, the church; he who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead, so that primacy may be his in everything. It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person, both on earth and in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his cross.

You yourselves were once alienated from him; you nourished hostility in your hearts because of your evil deeds. But now Christ has achieved reconciliation for you in his mortal body by dying, so as to present you to God holy, free of reproach and blame. But you must hold fast to faith, be firmly grounded and steadfast in it, unshaken in the hope promised you by the gospel you have heard. It is the gospel which has been announced to every creature under heaven, and I, Paul, am its servant. 

Gospel

Luke 8: 22-25

At that time Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us cross over to the far side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he slept. A windstorm descended on the lake, and they began to ship water and to be in danger. They came to awaken him, saying, “Master, master, we are lost!” He awoke and rebuked the wind and the tumultuous waves. The waves subsided and it grew calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” Filled with fear and admiration, they said to one another, “What sort of man can this be who commands even the winds and the sea and they obey him?” 

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

Our venerable mother Pelagia the Penitent was converted to Christianity by St. Nonnus, Bishop of Edessa. Before her baptism, Pelagia was head of a dance troupe in Palestinian Antioch, living a life of frivolity and prostitution. One day Pelagia, elegantly dressed, was making her way past a church where St. Nonnus was teaching in the church about the dread Last Judgment and its consequences, so Pelagia came. The teaching made a tremendous impression on her. With the fear of God and weeping tears of repentance, she asked the saint for baptism. Seeing her sincere and full repentance, Bishop Nonnus baptized her. After this St. Pelagia journeyed to Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. She lived there in a cell, disguised as the monk Pelagous, living the ascetic seclusion, and attaining great spiritual gifts. When she died in 457, she was buried in her cell.

Troparion

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 Pelagia, your soul rejoices with the angels.

Kontakion

Having exhausted your body with fasting, with vigilant prayers you entreated the Creator concerning your deeds, that you might receive complete remission. You manifestly acquired this, O mother, having shown is the path of repentance.

Epistle

Colossians 1: 1-2, 7-11

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the holy ones at Colossae, faithful brothers in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace.

You comprehended God’s gracious intention through the instructions of Epaphras, our dear fellow slave, who represents us as a faithful minister of Christ. He it was who told us of your love in the Spirit.

Ever since we heard this we have been praying for you unceasingly and asking that you may attain full knowledge of his will through perfect wisdom and spiritual insight. Then you will lead a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way. You will multiply good works of every sort and grow in the knowledge of God. By the might of his glory you will be endowed with the strength needed to stand fast, even to endure joyfully whatever may come. 

Gospel

Luke 8: 1-3

At that time Jesus journeyed through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve accompanied him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and maladies: Mary called the Magdalene, from whom the seven devils had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who were assisting them out of their means. 

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

The holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus were nobles of the court of the emperor Maximian. The emperor valued them for their courage, wisdom, and zeal. When they refused to offer sacrifice to pagan Gods, the emperor turned against them, dressing them in women’s clothing and paraded them through the city of Rome. They were sent to Syria to be tortured. Bacchus died first, and came back from the dead to urge Sergius to fidelity. He was then martyred. 

Troparion

Your martyrs, O Lord our God, in their struggle received incorruptible crowns from You. Armed 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 long-suffering Sergius and glorious Bacchus, you are the staunch support of those who are Christ’s passion-bearers. O eyes of the Church of Christ, enlighten the eyes of our souls. Now pray to the Lord that we might escape the darkness of sin, and that we come to see the unsetting Sun through your prayers, O saints. 

Epistle

Philippians 4: 10-23

Brothers and sisters: It gave me great joy in the Lord that your concern for me bore fruit once more. You had been concerned all along, of course, but lacked the opportunity to show it. I do not say this because I am in want, for whatever the situation I find myself in I have learned to be self sufficient. I am experienced in being brought low, yet I know what it is to have an abundance. I have learned how to cope with every circumstance – how to eat well or go hungry, to be well provided for or do without. In him who is the source of my strength I have strength for everything.

Nonetheless, it was kind of you to want to share in my hardships. You yourselves know, my dear Philippians, that at the start of my evangelizing, when I left Macedonia, not a single congregation except yourselves shared with me by giving me something for what it had received. Even when I was at Thessalonica you sent something for my needs, not once but twice. It is not that I am eager for the gift; rather, my concern is for the ever-growing balance in your account. Herewith is my receipt, which says that I have been fully paid and more. I am well supplied because of what I received from you through Epaphroditus, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 

My God in turn will supply your needs fully, in a way worthy of his magnificent riches in Christ Jesus. All glory to our God and Father for unending ages! Amen.

Give my greetings in Christ Jesus to every member of the church. My brethren here send you theirs, as do all those who believe, particularly those in Caesar’s service. May the favor of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. 

Gospel

Luke 7: 36-50

At that time there was a certain Pharisee who invited Jesus to dine with him. Jesus went to the Pharisee’s home and reclined to eat. A woman known in the town to be a sinner learned that he was dining in the Pharisee’s home. She brought in a vase of perfumed oil and stood behind him at his feet, weeping so that her tears fell upon his feet. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissing them and perfuming them with the oil. When his host, the Pharisee, saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet he would know who and what sort of woman this is that touched him–that she is a sinner.” In answer to his thoughts, Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to propose to you.” “Teacher,” he said, “speak.”

Jesus said, “Two men owed money to a certain money-lender; one owed a total of five hundred coins, the other fifty. Since neither was able to repay, he wrote off both debts. Which of them was more grateful to him?” Simon answered, “He, I presume, to whom he remitted the larger sum.” Jesus said to him, “You are right.”

Turning then to the woman, Jesus said to Simon: “You see this woman? I came to your home and you provided me with no water for my feet. She has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since I entered. You did not anoint my feet with perfume. I tell you, that is why her many sins are forgiven–because of her great love. Little is forgiven the one whose love is small.”

Jesus said to her then, “Your sins are forgiven”; at which his fellow guests began to ask among themselves, “Who is this that he even forgives sins?” Meanwhile Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has been your salvation. Now go in peace.”

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

The holy and glorious apostle Thomas was a fisherman in Galilee, who, after hearing the words of the Lord, became his disciple. Thomas did not believe the other disciples when they announced the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus himself showed his pierced side, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” According to Church Tradition, the holy Apostle Thomas founded Christian churches in Palestine, Mesopotamia, Parthia, Ethiopia and India. Preaching the Gospel earned him a martyr’s death. For having converted the wife and son of the prefect of the Indian city of Meliapur [Melipur], Thomas was locked up in prison, tortured, and finally, pierced with five spears, he departed to the Lord. Part of the relics of the holy Apostle Thomas are in India, in Hungary and on Mt. Athos.

Troparion

You were both a disciple of Christ and a member of the divine apostolic college. Your lack of faith proved the Resurrection of Christ and your touch unleashed reverence, O all-praiseworthy Thomas, now obtain peace and mercy for us. 

Kontakion

O Thomas, full of wisdom and grace, you were a disciple and faithful servant of Christ. You cried out in the sincerity of your repentance: You are my Lord and my God!

Readings for the Apostle

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 like 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 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 preachings of the gospel. I beg you, be imitators of me. 

Gospel

John 20: 19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week, even though the disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them. “Peace be with you,” he said. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. At the sight of the Lord the disciples rejoiced. “Peace be with you,” he said again.

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.” 

It happened that one of the Twelve, Thomas (the name means, “Twin”), was absent when Jesus came. The other disciples kept telling him: “We have seen the Lord!” His answer was, “I will never believe it without probing the nailprints in his hands, without putting my finger in the nailmarks and my hand into his side.”

A week later, the disciples were once more in the room, and this time Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors, Jesus came and stood before them. “Peace be with you,” he said to them; then, to Thomas: “Take your finger and examine my hands. Put your hand into my side. Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!” Thomas said in response, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus then said to him: “You became a believer because you saw me. Blest are they who have not seen and have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs as well – signs not recorded here – in the presence of his disciples. But these have been recorded to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through his faith you may have life in his name. 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Galatians 1: 11-19

Brothers and sisters: I assure you, the gospel I proclaimed to you is no mere human invention. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I schooled in it. It came by revelation from Jesus Christ. You have heard, I know, the story of my former way of life in Judaism. You know that I went to extremes in persecuting the Church of God and tried to destroy it; I made progress in Jewish observance far beyond most of my contemporaries, in my excess of zeal to live out all the traditions of my ancestors.

But the time came when he who had set me apart before I was born and called me by his favor chose to reveal his Son to me, that I might spread among the Gentiles the good tidings concerning him. Immediately, without seeking human advisers or even going to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me, I went off to Arabia; later I returned to Damascus. Three years after that I went up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, with whom I stayed fifteen days. I did not meet any other apostles except James, the brother of the Lord. 

I declare before God that what I have just written is true. Thereafter I entered the regions of Syria and Cilicia. The communities of Christ in Judea had no idea what I looked like; they had only heard that “he who was formerly persecuting us is not preaching the faith he tried to destroy,” and they gave glory to God on my account. 

Gospel

Luke 7: 11-16

At that time Jesus went to a town called Naim, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he approached the gate of the town a dead man was being carried out, the only son of a widowed mother. A considerable crowd of townsfolk were with her. The Lord was moved with pity upon seeing her and said to her, “Do not cry.” Then he stepped forward and touched the litter; at this, the bearers halted. Jesus said, “Young man, I bid you get up.” The dead man sat up and began to speak. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear seized them all and they began to praise God. “A great prophet has risen among us,” they said; and, “God has visited his people.”

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