The holy priest martyr Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who was “fruitful in every good work” (Col. 1:10), was born in the first century, and lived in Smyrna in Asia Minor. He was orphaned at an early age, but at the direction of an angel, he was raised by the pious widow Kallista. After the death of his adoptive mother, Polycarp gave away his possessions and began to lead a chaste life, caring for the sick and infirm. He was very fond of and close to St. Bucolus, Bishop of Smyra (who we celebrate Feb. 6). He ordained Polycarp as deacon, entrusting him to preach the Word of God in church. He also ordained him to the holy priesthood. Under the emperors Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, at about the age of 90, St. Polycarp was given over to the flames in the amphitheater at Smyrna. Before the proconsul and the whole people, he gave thanks to God the Father because he had deemed worthy to be numbered among martyrs and to receive a portion from the cup of Christ.

Troparion

O holy priest-martyr Polycarp, you lent yourself to the apostles’ way of life and succeeded them on their throne. Inspired by God, you found the way to contemplation through the practice of virtue. Therefore, you became a perfect teacher of truth, fighting for the faith unto the shedding of your blood. Intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls. 

Kontakion

O wise priest-martyr Polycarp, you offered spiritual fruits to God and became worthy of Him because of your virtues. Therefore, we who have been enlightened by your teachings, honor your memory and glorify the Lord.

Readings for the day

Genesis 5:32- 6:8

When Noah was five hundred years old, he begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

When human beings began to grow numerous on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of human beings were, and so they took for their wives whomever they pleased. Then the Lord said: My spirit shall not remain in human beings forever, because they are only flesh. Their days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years. 

The Nephilim appeared on earth in those days, as well as later, after the sons of God had intercourse with the daughters of human beings, who bore them sons. They were the heroes of old, the men renown. 

When the Lord saw how great the wickedness of human beings was on earth, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, the Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved.

So the Lord said: I will wipe out from the earth the human beings I have created, and not only the human beings, but also the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air, for I regret that I made them. But Noah found favor with the Lord. 

Proverbs 6:20 – 7:1

Observe, my son, your father’s command, and do not reject your mother’s teaching;

Keep them fastened over your heart always, tie them around your neck.

When you lie down they will watch over you, when you wake, they will share your concerns; wherever you turn, they will guide you.

For the command is a lamp, and the teaching a light, and a way to life are the reproofs that discipline, 

Keeping you from another’s wife, from the smooth tongue of a foreign woman. 

Do not lust in your heart after her beauty, do not let her captivate you with her glance!

For the price of a harlot may be scarcely a loaf of bread, but a married woman is a trap for your precious life.

Can a man take embers into his bosom, and his garments not be burned?

Or can a man walk in live coals, and his feet not be scorched?

So with him who sleeps with another’s wife– none who touches her shall go unpunished.

Thieves are not despised if out of hunger they steak to satisfy their appetite. 

Yet if caught they must pay back sevenfold, yield up all the wealth of their house.

But those who commit adultery have no sense; those who do it destroy themselves.

They will be beaten and disgraced, and their shame will not be wiped away;

For passion enraged the husband, he will have no pity on the day of vengeance;

He will not consider any restitution, nor be satisfied by your many bribes.

My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands.

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

During the persecution against Christians the relics of holy martyrs were usually buried by believers in hidden places. So at Constantinople, near the gates and tower in the Eugenia quarter, the bodies of several martyrs were found. Their names remain unknown by the Church. When miracles of healing began to occur at this spot, the relics of the saints were discovered and transferred to a church with great honor. It was revealed to a pious clergyman, Nicholas Kalligraphos, that among the relics discovered at Eugenia were the relics of the holy Apostle Andronicus of the Seventy and his helper Junia. In the twelfth century, a great domed church was built on the spot where the relics were discovered. This work was undertaken by the emperor Andronicus, whose patron saint was the holy Apostle Andronicus. 

Troparion

O Lord our God,  your holy martyrs have deserved the crown of immortality on account of their good fight. Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls. 

Kontakion

O mighty pillars of faith and martyrs fighting for truth, you endured a host of pain for the sake of Christ, and you lay hidden for so long. Now you have been uncovered like a hidden treasure and are carried into the church by the bishop. You are generous with those who honor you. Therefore, pray for the salvation of our souls. 

Readings for the day

Genesis 5: 1-24

This is the record of the descendants of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them in the likeness of God; he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and named them mankind.

Adam  was one hundred and thirty years old when he begot a son in his likeness, after his image; and he named him Seth. Adam lived eight hundred years after he begot Seth, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Adam was nine hundred and thirty years; then he died. 

When Seth was one hundred and five years old, he begot Enosh. Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he begot Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Seth was nine hundred and twelve years; then he died. 

When Enosh was ninety years old, he begot Kenan. Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he begot Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Enosh was nine hundred and five years; then he died. 

When Kenan was seventy years old, he begot Mahalalel. Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he begot Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Kenan was nine hundred and ten years; then he died. 

When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he begot Jared. Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he begot Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Mahalalel was eight hundred and ninety-five years; then he died. 

When Jared was one hundred and sixty-two years old, he begot Enoch. Jared lived eight hundred years after he begot Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Jared was nine hundred and sixty-two years; then he died. 

When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he begot Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah for three hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. The whole lifetime of Enoch was three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer here, for God took him.

Proverbs 6: 3-19

So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: Go, hurry, rouse your neighbor!

Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids;

Free yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, or like a bird from the hand of the fowler. 

Go to the ant, O sluggard, study her ways and learn wisdom;

For though she has no chief, no commander or ruler, 

She procures her food in the summer, stores up her provisions in the harvest. 

How long, O sluggard, will you lie there? When will you rise from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest–

Then poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like a brigand.

Scoundrels, villains, are they who deal in crooked talk. 

Shifty of eye, feet ever moving, pointing with fingers,

They have perversity in their hearts, always plotting evil, sowing discord.

Therefore their doom comes suddenly; in an instant they are crushed beyond cure. 

There are six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to him,

Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that plots wicked schemes, feet that are quick to run to evil,

The false witness who utters lies, and the one who sows discord among kindred.  

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

Our venerable father Timothy of Symbola was of Italian descent. He became a monk at a young age and pursued asceticism at a monastery called “Symbola”, in Asia Minor near Mount Olympus. At that time Theoctistus was the archimandrite of the monastery. St. Timothy was a disciple of Theoctistus and also of St. Platon of the Studion Monastery. He spent many years as a hermit, roaming the wilderness, the mountains and forests, both day and night offering up prayers to the Lord God. He died at a great old age, in the year 795.

Our father among the saints Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch (323-331) was born in Side, Pamphylia. He was Bishop of Beroa (modern Aleppo), and enjoyed the love and esteem of the people, and at the request of his flock he was elevated by the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (325) to the See of Antioch. St. Eustathius was the first to preside over the First Ecumenical Council. The Council condemned the heretical teachings of Arius and incorporated the Orthodox confession into the Symbol of Faith (the Nicene Creed). 

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 – Timothy

Rising in the east like a radiant star, you illumine the hearts of the faithful by your miracles. O vessel of miracles, O most blessed Timothy.

Kontakion – Eustathius

You preached that the Word had one nature with the Father and the Spirit, O pastor Eustathius. You defeated Arius with the cords of your dogma. You were a heavenly light to the fathers of the Council and have become a champion of the Trinity. As you stand before them, pray for the salvation of our souls. 

Readings for the day

Genesis 4: 16-26

Cain then left the Lord’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Cain had intercourse with his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Cain also became the founder of a city, which he named after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael; Mahujael became the father of Methusael, and Methusael became the father of Lamech. Lamech took two wives; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, who became the ancestor of those who dwell in tents and keep livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal, who became the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the reed pipe. Zillah, on her part, gave birth to Tubalcain, the ancestor of all who forge instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

Wives of Lamech, listen to my utterance:

I have killed a man for wounding me. 

If Cain is avenged seven times,

Then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Adam again had intercourse with his wife, and she gave birth to a son who she called Seth. “God has granted me another offspring in place of Abel,” she said, “because Cain killed him.” To Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh.

At that time people began to invoke the Lord by name. 

Proverbs 5:15- 6:3

Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.

Should your water sources be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?

Let them be yours alone, not shared with outsiders;

Let your fountain be blessed and have joy of the wife of your youth, your lovely hind, your graceful doe. Of whose love you will ever have your fill, and by her ardor always be intoxicated.

Why then, my son, should you be intoxicated with a stranger, and embrace another woman?

Indeed, the ways of each person are plain to the Lord’s sight; all their paths he surveys;

By their own iniquities the wicked will be caught, in the meshes of their own sin they will be held fast;

They will die from lack of discipline, lost because of their great folly.

My son, if you have become surety to your neighbor, given your hand in pledge to another, 

You have been snared by the utterance of your lips, caught by the words of your mouth. 

So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: Go, hurry, rouse your neighbor!

Our holy father Leo, Pope of Rome who was born in Etruria [Tuscany], first stood out as a diligent deacon of Rome. He was then elevated to the chair of Peter, where rightly and by his  merit he deserved to be called “the Great.” He nourished his flock by his excellent and prudent discourse. He exerted all his influence to put an end to the unrest by the heretics in the Church, and by his letters to the holy emperors Theodosius II (408-450) and Marcia (450-457), he actively promoted the convening of the Fourth Ecumenical council in 451, to condemn the heresy of the Monophysites. At the Council, at which 630 bishops were present, a letter of St. Leo wrote to the deceased Saint Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople was read. Saint Flavian had suffered for orthodoxy under the “Robber Council” of Ephesus In the year 49. And the letter of Saint Theo the orthodox teaching about the two natures in the Lord Jesus Christ was that fourth. All bishops present at the council were in agreement with this teaching and saw the Heretics Eutyche, Discorus were excommunicated from the church. He rested in the Lord at Rome, where he was buried on this day (471). 

Troparion

O guide of the true faith, mirror of piety and commendable behavior, bright star of the universe, and adornments of pontiffs, you enlightened us all by your teachings. O wise Leo, inspired by God and lyre of the Holy Spirit, intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls. 

Kontakion

O glorious Leo, when you rose to the episcopal see, you stopped the mouths of lions by exposing your flock with the knowledge of God. Therefore, you were glorified, O contemplator of things divine.

Epistle

Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40, 12: 1-2a

Brothers and sisters: By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; he wished to be ill-treated along with God’s people rather than enjoy the fleeting rewards of sin. Moses considered the reproach borne by God’s Anointed greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

What more shall I recount? I have no time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was just, obtained the promises; they broke the jaws of lions; put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; though weak they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. Women received back their dead through resurrection. Others were tortured and would not receive deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Still others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned; sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about garbed in the skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, they dwelt in caves and in holes of the earth. Yet despite the fact that all of these were approved because of their faith, they did not obtain what had been promised. God had made a better plan, a plan which included us. Without us, they were not to be made perfect. 

Therefore, since we for our part are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead; let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith. 

Gospel

John 1: 43-51

At that time Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee, but first he came upon Philip. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. Philip sought out Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses spoke of in the law– the prophet too– Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” Nathanael’s response to that was, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  and Philip replied, “Come, see for yourself.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he remarked: “This man is a true Israelite. There is no guile in him.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked Jesus. “Before Philip called you,” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree.” “Rabbi,” said Nathanael, “you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus responded: “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than that.”

Jesus went on to tell them, “I solemnly assure you, you shall see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

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