The holy martyr Sabbas Stratelates came from a Gothic tribe. For his bravery, he attained the high rank of military commander, or “stratelates,” and he served under the Roman emperor Aurelian (270-275). From his youth, Sabbas was a Christian and he fervently followed the commands of Christ. He helped the needy, and visited Christians in prison. Because of his pure and virtuous life, the saint received from the Lord the gift of wonderworking, healing the sick, and cast out demons in the name of Christ. When the emperor learned that St. Sabbas was a Christian, he demanded that he apostatize. The martyr threw down his military belt and declared that he would not forsake his faith. They beat him, burned him with torches, and threw him into a cauldron with tar, but the martyr remained unharmed. Looking in at his torments, seventy soldiers came to believe in Christ. They were beheaded by the sword. St. Sabbas was thrown in prison. At midnight, while he was praying, Christ appeared before the martyr and shone on him the light of His Glory. The Savior bade him not to fear, but to stand firm. Encouraged, the Martyr Sabbas underwent new torture in the morning and was drowned in a river in 272.

Troparion

Casting off the robes of dignity and honor, O martyr, you confessed Christ before the torturer, the evil king. For this you were subjected to great sufferings, O glorious one, and you obtained a crown of victory from the King of all. You have been placed among heaven’s legions. Therefore, pray for the salvation of our souls, O Sabbas.

Kontakion

Showing yourself an invincible Goth, you slayed the barbarians. Enduring a martyrdom of extreme cruelty, you crushed legions of unseen devils. You assumed a crown of victory, O blessed Sabbas, and we ask you to intercede with Christ for us.

Epistle

Acts 14: 6-18

In those days, Paul and Barnabas fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Oebre and to the surrounding country, where they continued to proclaim the good news.

At Lystra there was a man who was lame from birth; he used to sit crippled, never having walked in his life. On one occasion he was listening to Paul preaching, and Paul looked directly at him and saw that he had the faith to be saved. Paul called out to him in a loud voice, “Stand up! On your feet!” The man jumped up and began to walk around. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, “Gods have come to us in the form of men!” They named Barnabas Zeus; and Paul they called Hermes, since he was the spokesman. Even the priests of the temple of Zeus, which stood outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gates because he wished to offer sacrifice to them with the crowds.

When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowds. “Friends, why do you do this?” they shouted frantically. “We are only men, human like you. We are bringing you the good news that will convert you from just such follies as these to the living God, ‘the one who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them.’ In past ages he let the Gentiles go their way. Yet in bestowing his benefits, he has not hidden himself completely, without a clue. From the heavens he sends down rain and rich harvests; your spirit he fills with food and delight.” Yet even with a speech such as this, they could scarcely stop the crowds from offering sacrifice to them. 

Gospel 

John 7: 14-30

At that time the feast of Tabernacles was half over by the time Jesus went into the temple area and began to teach. The Jews were filled with amazement and said, “how did this man get his education when he had no teacher?”

This was Jesus‘s answer: “My doctrine is not my own; it comes from him who sent me. Any man who chooses to do his will will know about this doctrine – namely, whether it comes from God or is simply spoken on my own. Whoever speaks on his own is bent on self-glorification. The man who seeks glory for him who sent him is truthful; there is no dishonesty in his heart. Moses has given you the law, has he not? Yet not one of you keeps it. Why do you look for a chance to kill me?”

“You are mad!” The crowd retarded. “Who wants to kill you?” Jesus answered: “I have performed a single work and you profess astonishment over it. Moses gave you circumcision though it did not originate with Moses but with the patriarchs. And so, even on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man can be circumcised on the sabbath to prevent a violation of Mosaic law, how is it that you are angry with me for curing a whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by appearances and make an honest judgment.”

This led some of the people of Jerusalem to remark: “Is this not the one they want to kill? Here he is speaking in public and they don’t say a word to him! Perhaps even the authorities have decided that this is the Messiah. Still, we know where this man is from. When the Messiah comes, no one is supposed to know his origins.”

At this, Jesus, who was teaching in the temple area, cried out: “So you know me, and you know my origins? The truth is, I have not come of myself. I was sent by One who has the right to send, and him you do not know. I know him because it is from him I come: he sent me.”

At this they tried to see him, but no one laid a finger on him because his hour had not yet come.

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

The holy great martyr George the Victory-bearer was a native of Cappadocia (a district in Asia Minor), and he grew up in a deeply believing Christian family. When he became a man, St. George entered into the service of the Roman army. He was handsome, brave and valiant in battle, and came to be noticed by the emperor Diocletian (284-305) and joined the imperial guard with the rank of comites, or military commander. Following the advice of the Senate at Nicodemedia, Diocletian gave all his governors full freedom in their court proceedings against Christians, and he promised them his full support. St. George, when he heard the decision of the emperor, distributed all his wealth to the poor, freed his servants, and then appeared in the Senate. The brave soldier of Christ spoke out openly against the emperor’s designs. He confessed himself a Christian, and appealed to all to acknowledge Christ: “I am a servant of Christ, my God, and trusting Him, I have come among you voluntarily, to bear witness concerning the Truth.” After many tortures and miraculous reprieves, St. George was finally beheaded after revealing the Truth of Christ to many, including the Empress Alexandra, who was martyred with him in the year 303.

Troparion

You fought the good fight with faith, O George, a martyr of Christ. You exposed the perversion of the persecutors and offered an acceptable sacrifice to God. Therefore, you also received a crown of victory and through your prayers, O holy one, obtained the forgiveness of sins for all. 

Kontakion

Reared by God, you were a noble sower of piety, harvesting sheaves of virtue. You sowed in tears but reaped in joy; and having honorably fought and given your blood, you were received by Christ. Through your prayers, O holy one, obtain the forgiveness of sins for all. 

Readings for the saint

Epistle

Acts 12: 1-11

In those days King Herod started to harass some of the members of the church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased certain Jews, he took Peter into custody too. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread he had Peter arrested and thrown into prison with four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod intended to bring him before the people after the Passover. Peter was thus detained in prison, while the church prayed fervently to God on his behalf. During the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened in double chains, while guards kept watch at the door. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood nearby and light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. “Hurry, get up!” the angel said. With that, the chains dropped from Peter’s wrists. The angel said, “Put on your belt and your sandals!” This Peter did. Then the angel told him, “Now put on your cloak and follow me.”

Peter followed the angel out, but with no clear realization that this was taking place through the angel’s help. The whole thing seemed to him a mirage. They passed the first guard, then the second, and finally came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them of itself. They emerged and made their way down a narrow alley, when suddenly the angel left him. Peter had recovered his senses by this time, and said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel to rescue me from Herod’s clutches and from all the Jews hoped for.”

Gospel 

John 15: 17-27, 16: 1-2

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

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

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

Readings for the day

Epistle

Acts 10: 21-33

In those days, Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the man you are looking for. What has brought you here?” They answered: “the centurion Cornelius, who was an upright and God-fearing man, well thought of in the whole Jewish community, has been instructed by a holy messenger to summon you to his house. There he is to hear what you have to say.” With that, Peter invited them in and treated them as guests.

The next day Peter went off with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa. The following day, he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius, who was expecting them, had called in his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered, Cornelius went to meet him, dropped to his knees before him and bowed low. Peter said as he helped him to his feet, “Get up! I am only a man myself.” Peter then went in, talking with him all the while. He found many people assembled there, and he began speaking to them thus: “You must know that it is not proper for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or to have dealings with him. But God has made it clear to me that no one should call any man unclean or impure. That is why I have come in response to your summons without raising any objection. I should, of course, like to know why you summoned me.” Cornelius replied: “Just three days ago at this very hour, namely three o’clock, I was praying at home when a man in dazzling robes stood before me. ‘Cornelius,’ he said, ‘your prayer has been heard and your generosity remembered in God‘s presence. Send someone to Joppa to invite Simon known as Peter to come here. He is a guest in the house of Simon the leather tanner, by the sea.’ (Then Cornelius continued) I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. All of us stand before God at this moment to hear whatever directives the Lord has given you.”

Gospel

John 7: 1-13

At that time, Jesus moved about within Galilee. He had decided not to travel in Judea because some of the Jews were looking for a chance to kill him. However, as the Jewish feast of Booths drew near, his brothers had this to say: “You ought to leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples there may see the works you are performing. No one who wishes to be known publicly keeps his actions hidden. If you were going to do things like these, you may as well display yourself to the world at large.” As a matter of fact, not even his brothers had much confidence in him.

Jesus answered them: “It is not yet the right time for me, whereas the time is always right for you. The world is incapable of hating you, but it does hate me because of the evidence I bring against it that what it does is evil. Go up yourselves to the festival. I am not going up to this festival because the time is not yet ripe for me.” Having said that, he stayed on in Galilee. However, once his brothers had gone up to the festival he too went up, but as if in secret and not for all to see.

During the festival, naturally, the Jews were looking for him, asking, “Where is that troublemaker?” Among the crowds there was much guarded debate about Jesus. Some maintained, “He is a good man,” while others kept saying, “Not at all — he is only misleading the crowd!” No one dared talk openly about him, however, for fear of the Jews.

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

Our venerable father Theodore the Sykeote was born in the mid-sixth century in the village of Sykeon, not far from the city of Anastasiopolis. When his mother, Maria, conceived the saint, she had a vision of a bright star overshadowing her womb. A clairvoyant elder, whom she consulted, explained that this was the grace of God being poured forth on the baby in her womb. When the boy reached the age of six, his mother presented him with a golden belt, since she intended that her son should become a soldier. That night the Holy Martyr George appeared to her in a dream, and he told her not to consider military service for her son because the boy was destined to serve God. When he was older, St. Theodore went to venerate the holy places in Jerusalem, and there at the Chozeba Lavra near Jordan, he received monastic tonsure. As bishop, St. Theodore toiled much for the welfare of the Church, but his soul yearned for solitary communion with God. After several years he went again to venerate the holy places in Jerusalem. And there, concealing his identity, he settled at the Lavra of Saint Sava, where he lived in solitude from the Nativity of Christ until Pascha. St. Theodore departed for the Lord in the year 610. 

Troparion

Having followed the path of the holy from your youth, you became a vessel full of graces. You graced the world with miracles, O priestly Theodore, and you cast out many devils. Now pray to the Lord for all of us. 

Kontakion

Ascending by virtue as if in a chariot of fire, you took up your abode in heaven, O God-bearer. You lived on earth like an angel in the flesh, and now you sing praises with angels in heaven. You became a heavenly fount of miracles, O Theodore. 

Epistle

Acts 10: 1-16

In those days, in Caesarea there was a centurion named Cornelius, of the Roman cohort Italica, who was religious and God-fearing. The same was true of his whole household. He was in the habit of giving generously to the people and he constantly prayed to God. One afternoon at about three he had a vision in which he clearly saw a messenger of God coming toward him and calling, “Cornelius!” He stared at the sight and said in fear, “What is it, sir?” The answer came: “Your prayers and your generosity have risen in God’s sight, and because of them he has remembered you. Send some men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, known as Peter. He is a guest of Simon the leather-tanner whose house stands by the sea.” When the messenger who spoke these words had disappeared, he called two servants and a devout soldier from among those whom he could trust. He explained everything to them and dispatched them to Joppa.

About noontime the next day, as the men were traveling along and approaching the city, Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray. He became hungry and asked for some food, and while it was being prepared he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open and an object come down that looked like a big canvas. It was lowered to the ground by its four corners. Inside it were all the earth’s four-legged creatures and reptiles and birds of the sky. A voice said to him: “Get up, Peter! Slaughter, then eat.” He answered: “Sir it is unthinkable! I have never eaten anything unclean or impure in my life.” The voice was heard a second time: “What God has purified you are not to call unclean.” This happened three times; then the object was snatched up into the sky. 

Gospel

John 6: 56-69

The Lord said to the people coming to him: “The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever.”

He said this in a synagogue instruction at Capernum. After hearing his words, many of his disciples remarked, “This sort of talk is hard to ensure! How can anyone take it seriously?” Jesus was fully aware that his disciples were murmuring in protest at what he had said. “Does it shake your faith?” he asked them.

“What, then, if you were to see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before…? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words I spoke to you are spirit and life. Yet among you there are some who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the start, or course, the ones who refused to believe, and the one who would hand him over.

He went on to say: “This is why I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” From this time on many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in his company any longer. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you want to leave me too?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe; we are convinced that you are God’s holy one.”

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

The holy bishop martyr Januarius and his companions Proculus, Sonius and Faustus (deacons), Desiderius (lector), Eutyches, and Akutionus were martyred in the reigns of Maximian and Galerius the emperors, by the persecutor Timothy. Januarius was bishop of Benevento in Italy. To this day, many wonders are worked at the tomb of this saint. 

The holy martyr Theodore and his mother Philippa suffered under the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161) in Perga, Pamphylia along with Dioscorus, Socrates, and Dionysius. The military commander there ordered the youth to offer sacrifice to idols, but the martyr submitted to neither persuasion nor threats. Then the military commander had him placed on a red-hot plate and poured liquid tar on him. Suddenly, there was an earthquake, and a torrent of water gushed forth from the ground and extinguished the fire. The military commander told St. Philippa to save her son by urging him to offer sacrifice to the idols. St. Philippa replied that when her son was born, it was revealed to her that he would be crucified for Christ. Hearing this, the military commander ordered to crucify St. Theodore, and the other martyrs to be beheaded. St. Theodore hung on the cross for three days, offering prayers to God until he finally died. 

Troparion 

Anointed with the grace of the priesthood, you became good shepherds for God’s people. You were snatched and eaten like sheep, but you were offered like a sacrifice to God in imitation of your Master who was slaughtered like a lamb. Pray for us who hold fast to your cherished memory. 

Kontakion

You were anointed with the chrism of the priesthood and washed in the blood of martyrdom. You are radiant as you sing praise in heaven’s halls. Guard those who come to your temple and sing; Preserve us who supplicate Christ our God. 

Epistle

Acts 9: 32-42

In those days, when Peter was making numerous journeys, he went -among other places- to God’s holy people living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you! Get up and make you bed.” The man got up at once. All the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon, upon seeing him, were converted to the Lord. 

Now in Joppa there was a certain woman convert named Tabotha (in Greek Dorcas, meaning gazelle). Her life was marked by constant good deeds and acts of charity. At about that time she fell ill and died. They washed her body and laid it out in an upstairs room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples who had heard that Peter was there sent two men to him with the urgent request, “Please come over to us without delay.” Peter set out with them as they asked. Upon his arrival they took him upstairs to the room. All the windows came when she was still with them. Peter first made everyone go outside; then he knelt down and prayed. Turning to the dead body, he said, “Tabitha, stand up.” She opened her eyes, then looked at Peter and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her to her feet. The next thing he did was call in those who were believers and the widows to show them all that she was alive. This became known all over Joppa, and because of it, many came to believe in the Lord.

Gospel

John 5: 1-15

At that time, on the occasion of a Jewish feast, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Pool there is a place with the Hebrew name Bethesda. Its five porticos were crowded with sick people lying there blind, lame, or disabled waiting for the movement of the water. There was one man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus, who knew the man had been sick for a long time, said when he saw him lying there, “Do you want to be healed?” “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I do not have anyone to plunge me into the pool once the water has been stirred up. By the time I get there, someone else has gone in ahead of me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk!” The man was immediately cured; he picked up his mat and began to walk.

The day was a sabbath. Consequently, some of the Jews began telling the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath, and you are not allowed to carry that mat around.” He explained, “It was the man who cured me who told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” “This person who told you to pick it up and walk,” they asked, “who is he?” The man who had been restored to health had no idea who it was. The crowd in that place was so great that Jesus had been able to slip away.

Later on, Jesus found the man in the temple precincts and said to him: “Remember, now, you have been cured. Give up your sins so that something worse may not overtake you.” The man went odd and informed the Jews that Jesus was the one who had cured him. 

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

Our venerable father Theodore Trichinas was born in Constantinople to wealthy and pious parents. From childhood, St. Theodore was inclined toward monasticism, so he left his home, family, and former life in order to enter a monastery in Thrace. There he began his arduous ascetic struggles. He dressed in a hair-shirt, from which he derived the name “Trichinas” (“Hair-shirt Wearer”). He even slept on a stone in order to avoid bodily comfort, and to prevent himself from sleeping too much. His life was adorned with miracles, and he had the power to heal the sick. He reposed at the end of the fourth century or the beginning of the fifth century. A healing myrrh flows from his relics. The name of St. Theodore Trichinas is one of the most revered in the history of Orthodox monasticism. St. Joseph the Hymnographer composed a Canon to the saint. 

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 Theodore, pray to Christ our God that He may save our souls.

Kontakion

You became famous for your life, O wise father Theodore. For, dressed in the rough garment of a hair shirt, you won treasures in heaven, which surpass those of any king. Now you have traded your laborer’s garb for heaven’s robes. Pray unceasingly for all of us, O venerable father. 

Epistle

Acts 9: 19b-31

In those days, Saul stayed some time with the disciples in Damascus, and soon began to proclaim in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. Any who heard it were greatly taken aback. They kept saying: “Isn’t this the man who worked such havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoke this name? Did he not come here purposely to apprehend such people and bring them before the chief priests?”

Saul for his part grew steadily more powerful, and reduced the Jewish community of Damascus to silence with his proofs that this Jesus was the Messiah.

After quite some time had passed, certain Jews conspired to kill Saul, but their plot came to his attention. They went so far as to keep close watch on the city gates day and night in an attempt to do away with him. Some of his disciples, therefore, took him along the wall one night and lowered him to the ground, using ropes and a hamper. When he arrived back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples there; but it turned out they were all afraid of him. They even refused to believe that he was a disciple. Then Barnabas took him in charge and introduced him to the apostles. He explained to them how on his journey Saul had seen the Lord, who had conversed with him, and how Saul had been speaking out fearlessly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. Saul stayed on with them, moving freely about Jerusalem and expressing himself quite openly in the name of the Lord. He even addressed the Greek-speaking Jews and debated with them. They for their part responded by trying to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, some of them took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Meanwhile throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria the church was at peace. It was being built up and was making steady progress in the fear of the Lord; at the same time it enjoyed the increased consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Gospel

John 15: 17-27, 16: 1-2

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

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

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

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

Our venerable father John of the Ancient Caves is so called because he lived in the Lavra of St. Chariton during the eighth century. This was called the “Old,” or ancient cave, since it was one of the oldest of the Palestinian monasteries. The Lavra was situated not far from Bethlehem, near the Dead Sea. In his early years, St. John went to venerate the holy places of Jerusalem, and settled at the Lavra, where he labored in fasting, vigil, and prayer. He was ordained to the holy priesthood, and glorified by his ascetic life.

Troparion

In you, O holy father John, the faithful image of God shone forth, for you carried your cross and followed Christ. You taught by your deeds how to spurn the body, for it passes away; and how to value the soul, for it is immortal. Therefore, your soul is forever in happiness with the angels.  

Kontakion

You gave up food, wealth, and fame, and you lived as a wander in the deserts. You withered your body by your abstinence, and with courage you passed your life in silence. For this we sing to you, O venerable model of virtue: Beg Christ our God to forgive the sins of those who lovingly cherish your memory. 

Epistle

Acts 8:40 & 9: 1-19a

In those days, Philip found himself at Azotus next, and he went about announcing the good news in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus which would empower him to arrest and bring to Jerusalem anyone he might find, man or woman, living according to the new way. As he traveled along and was approaching Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed about him. He fell to the ground and at the same time heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, sir?” Saul asked. The voice answered, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Get up and go into the city, where you will be told what to do.” The men who were traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They had heard the voice but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground unable to see, even though his eyes were open. They had to take him by the hand and lead him to Damascus. For three days he continued blind, during which time he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias to whom the Lord had appeared in a vision. “Ananias!” he said. “Here I am, Lord,” came the answer. The Lord said to him, “Go at once to Straight Street, and at the house of Judas ask for a certain Saul of Tarsus. He is there praying.” (Saul saw in a vision a man named Ananias coming to him and placing his hands on him so that he might recover his sight.) But Ananias protested: “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. He is here now with authorization from the chief priests to arrest any who invoke your name.” The Lord said to him: “You must go! This man is the instrument I have chosen to bring my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I myself shall indicate to him how much he will suffer for my name.” With that Ananias left. When he entered the house he laid his hands on Saul and said, “Saul, my brother, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the way here, to help you recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized, and his strength returned to him after he had taken food. 

Gospel

John 8: 21-30

The Lord said to the people coming to him: “I am going away. You will look for me but you will die in your sins. Where I am going you cannot come.” At this some of the Jews began to ask, “Does he mean he will kill himself when he claims, ‘Where I am going you cannot come?’”

Jesus went on: “You belong to what is below; I belong to what is above. You belong to this world–a world which cannot hold me. That is why I said you would die in your sins. You will surely die in your sins unless you come to believe that I AM.” 

“Who are you, then?” they asked him. Jesus answered: “What I have been telling you from the beginning. I could say much about you in condemnation, but no, I only tell the world what I have heard from him, the truthful One who sent me.” They did not grasp that he was speaking to them of the Father. Jesus continued: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man you will come to realize that I AM and that I do nothing by myself. I say only what  the Father has taught me. He has not deserted me since I always do what pleases him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him. 

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

Our venerable father John was born at the end of the eighth century. At a young age he became a disciple of St. Gregory of Decapolis and accepted the monastic tonsure from him at the monastery in Thessalonica. Under the guidance of this experienced teacher, St. John attained great spiritual perfection. When the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) renewed the persecution against Orthodox Christians who venerated the holy icons, St. Gregory of Decapolis, St. Joseph the Hymnographer, and St. John went from Thessalonica to Constantinople to raise opposition to the Iconoclast heresy. In spite of the persecution, Saints Gregory and John fearlessly defended Orthodoxy for several years, and preached the veneration of icons. After many hardships, St. Gregory died (around 820), and soon after his faithful disciple John also departed for the Lord. St. Joseph the Hymnopgrapher transferred the relics of Saints Gregory and John and placed them in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Troparion

In you, O holy father John, the faithful image of God shone forth, for you carried your cross and followed Christ. You taught by your deeds how to spurn the body, for it passes away; and how to value the soul, for it is immortal. Therefore, your soul is forever in happiness with the angels.

Kontakion

Adorning your life with chastity, O father, you disciplined your body. You overcame the attacks of the foe, O blessed saint, and you presented yourself before God to enjoy the life of unending bliss as you so richly deserve, O John. Pray to the Lord for our salvation.

Epistle

Acts 8: 26-39

In those days, an angel of the Lord then addressed himself to Philip: “Head south toward the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” Philip began the journey. It happened that an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace (a name meaning Queen) of the Ethiopians, had come on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning home. He was sitting in his carriage reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and catch up with that carriage.” Philip ran ahead and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He said to the eunuch, “ Do you really grasp what you are reading?” “How can I,” the man replied, “unless someone explains it to me?” With that, he invited Philip to get in and sit down beside him. This was the passage of Scripture he was reading: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, like a lamb before its shearer he was silent and opened not his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who will ever speak of his posterity, for he is deprived of justice. Who will ever speak of his posterity, for he is deprived of his life on earth?” The eunuch said to Philip, “Tell me, if you will, of whom the prophet says this himself or someone else?” Philip launched out with this Scripture passage as his starting point, telling him the good news of Jesus. As they moved along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is some water right there. What is keeping me from being baptized?” He ordered the carriage stopped, and Philip went down into the water with the eunuch and baptized him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away and the eunuch saw him no more. Nevertheless the man went on his way rejoicing. 

Gospel

John 6: 40-44

The Lord said to the people coming to him: “Indeed, this is the will of my Father, but everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day.”

At this point the people started to murmur in protest because he claimed, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They kept saying: “ Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? How can I claim to have come down from heaven?”

“Stop your murmuring,” Jesus told them. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; I will raise him up on the last day.

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

Our venerable father Simeon of Saba in Persia, bishop of Seleucis and Ctesiphon, who, by the order of Sapor II, king of the Persians, was arrested and loaded with chains when he refused to adore the sun. Instead, he bore testimony to our Lord Jesus Christ with a bold and most steadfast voice. First he was tormented in a prison workhouse for a while with a hundred other companions from among bishops, priests, and other orders of clergy. Then, on the Friday of the Passion of our Lord, all of them were slain by the sword before the eyes of Simeon, who ardently encouraged each one. Finally he was beheaded.

Our venerable father Acacius, bishop of Melitene in Armenia. At the Council of Ephesus, he defended the orthodox faith against Nestorius and was then unjustly deposed from his See. 

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

Your memory has become clearer than sunlight, O holy Simeon and blessed Acacius. As good pastors you enlighten the faithful. We now keep your memory and cry out: Beg the only true Lover of Humankind to save us. 

Epistle

Acts 8:18-25

In those days, Simon [the magician] observed that it was through the laying on of hands that the apostles conferred the Spirit, and he made them an offer of money with the request, “Give me that power too, so that if I place my hands on anyone he will receive the Holy Spirit.”

Peter said in answer: “May you and your money rot–thinking that God’s gift can be bought! You can have no portion or lot in this affair. Your heart is not steadfastly set on God. Reform your evil ways. Pray that the Lord may pardon you for thinking the way you have. I see you poisoned with gall and caught in the grip of sin.” Simon responded, “I need the prayers of all of you to the Lord, so that what you have just said may never happen to me.”

After giving their testimony and proclaiming the word of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem bringing the good news to many villages of Samaria on the way.

Gospel

John 6: 35-39

The Lord said to the people coming to him: “I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believed in me shall ever thirst. But as I told you – though you have seen me, you still do not believe. All that the Father gives me shall come to me; no one who comes will I ever reject, because it is not to do my own will that I have come down from heaven, but to do the will of him who sent me. It is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of what he has given me; rather, that I should raise it up on the last day.”

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

The holy martyrs Agape, Irene, and Chiona were sisters who lived at the end of the third century to the beginning of the fourth century, near the Italian city of Aquilea. They were orphaned at an early age. St. Chiona (“snow” in Greek) preserved the purity of her baptism according to the words of the Prophet-King David, “You will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Ps 50/51: 7). St. Irene (“peace” in Greek) preserved the peace of Christ within herself and manifested it to others, according to the Savior’s word, “My peace I give you” (John 14:27). St. Agape (“love” in Greek) loved God with all her heart, and her neighbor as herself (Mt. 22: 37-39).

Troparion

As lambs you were led through martyrdom to Christ, the Shepherd and Lamb. You ran the race and kept the faith. Therefore, with joyful hearts we celebrate your holy memory, O most worthy martyrs, and we glorify Christ. 

Kontakion

Having pledged yourselves to the Lord so gracefully, you made an offering of your blood at your martyrdom. O holy martyrs, you have been admitted to heaven’s banquet hall and to the splendid brilliance of the Light himself. As we celebrate your memory, we bless the Savior and we cry out to you: Pray to the Lord for all of us. 

Epistle

Acts 8: 5-17

In those days, Philip went down to the town of Samaria and there proclaimed the Messiah. Without exception, the crowds that heard Philip and saw the miracles he performed attended closely to what he had to say. There were many who had unclean spirits, which came out shrieking loudly. Many others were paralytics or cripples, and these were cured. The rejoicing in that town rose to fever pitch.

A certain man named Simon had been practicing magic in the town and holding the Samaritans spellbound. He passed himself off as someone of great importance. People from every rank of society were paying attention to him. “He is the power of the great God,” they said. Those who followed him had been under the spell of his magic over a long period; but once they began to believe in the good news that Philip preached about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike accepted baptism. Even Simon believed. He was baptized like the rest and became a devoted follower of Philip. He watched the signs and the great miracles as they occurred, and was quite carried away.

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down to these people and prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit. It had not as yet come down upon any of them since they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. The pair upon arriving imposed hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 

Gospel

John 6: 27-33

At that time Jesus said to the people coming to him, “You should not be working for perishable food but for food that remains unto life eternal, food which the Son of Man will give you; it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” At this they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus replied: “This is the work of God: have faith in the One whom he sent.”

They asked him, “So that we can put faith in you, what sign are you going to perform for us to see? What is the ‘work’ you do? Our ancestors had manna to eat in the desert; according to Scripture, ‘He gave them bread from heavens to eat.’”

Jesus said to them: “I solemnly assure you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from the heavens; it is my Father who gives the real heavenly bread. God’s bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

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