Our venerable father Benedict was born in the Italian province of Nursia in the year 480, to wealthy and distinguished parents. He did not remain long in school for he realized himself that through book-learning he could lose “the great understanding of his souls.” He left school “an unlearned wise man and an understanding fool.” He retreated to a monastery, where he was tonsured by the monk Romanus, after which he withdrew to a steep mountain where he remained in a cave for more than three years in a great struggle with his soul. He gathered many disciples around himself, and then went to Monte Casino. There he founded his celebrated monastery and composed his “Rule for Monks.” This rule spread so widely that he has deserved to be called patriarch of monks in the West. It is said that he died on the twenty-first day of March in 550.
Troparion
The divine image was clearly preserved in you, O father; you took up your cross and followed Christ, teaching us by your life not to favor the passing flesh but attend to our immortal souls. O venerable Benedict, your soul now rejoices with the angels.
Kontakion
You were enriched by God’s grace and sealed your calling with works. Pleasing to Christ God in prayer and fasting, you have shown yourself filled by the Spirit’s gifts, O Benedict, champion against the enemies, healer of the sick, and swift help for our souls.
Genesis 9: 8-17
God said to Noah and to his sons with him: See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: the birds, the tame animals, and all the wild animals that were with you–all that came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastated the earth. God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature–every mortal being– so that the waters will never again become a flood to destroy every mortal being. When the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature–every mortal being that is on earth. God told Noah: This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and every mortal being that is on earth.
Proverbs 12: 8-22
For their good sense people are praised, but the perverse of heart are despised.
Better to be slighted and have a servant than put on airs and lack bread.
The just take care of their livestock, but the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
Those who till their own land have food in plenty, but those who engage in idle pursuits lack sense.
A wicked person desires the catch of evil people, but the root of the righteous will bear fruit.
By the sin of their lips the wicked are ensnared, but the just escape from a tight spot.
From the fruit of their mouths people have their fill of good, and the works of their hands come back upon them.
The way of fools is right in their own eyes, but those who listen to advice are the wise.
Fools immediately show their anger, but the shrewd conceal contempt.
Whoever speaks honestly testifies truly, but the deceitful make lying witnesses.
The babble of some people is like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise is healing.
Truthful lips endure forever, the lying tongue, for only a moment.
Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but those who counsel peace have joy.
No harm befalls the just, but the wicked are overwhelmed with misfortune.
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who are truthful, his delight.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Our holy father Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, died while in exile on the island of Prochonis in the year 827. After the death of the last iconoclast emperor, the relics of the holy father were brought back to Constantinople, first to the church of Hagia Sophia and then finally to the Church of the Holy Apostles in the year 846.
Troparion
You reaped your reward from your patience, unceasing prayer, love of the poor, and constant comfort of the needy. O blessed and merciful Nicephorus, beseech Christ to save our souls.
Kontakion
The choir of patriarchs honors your memory with chants and hymns of praise, O Nicephorus; transferring your relics, it inherits your spirit. Therefore, the Church glorifies Christ the King, who alone loves human-king
Genesis 8:21 – 9:7
When the Lord smelled the sweet odor, the Lord said to himself: Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, since the desires of the human heart are evil from youth; nor will I ever again strike down every living being, as I have done.
All the days of the earth,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. Fear and dread shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Any living creature that moves about shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants. Only meat with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. Indeed for your own lifeblood I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from a human being, each one for the blood of another, I will demand an accounting for human life.
Anyone who sheds the blood of a human being,
By a human being shall that one’s blood be shed;
For in the image of God
Have human beings been made.
Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.
Proverbs 11:19 – 12:6
Justice leads toward life, but pursuit of evil, toward death.
The crooked in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those who walk blamelessly are his delight.
Be assured, the wicked shall not go unpunished, but the offspring of the just shall escape.
Like a golden ring in a swine’s snout is a beautiful woman without judgment.
The desire of the just ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
One person is lavish yet grows still richer; another is too sparing, yet is the poorer.
Whoever confers benefits will be amply enriched, and whoever refreshes the other will be refreshed.
Whoever hoards grain, the people curse, but blessings are on the head of the one who distributes it!
Those who seek the good seek favor, but those who pursue evil will have evil come upon them.
Those who trust in their riches will fall, but like green leaves the just will flourish.
Those who trouble their household inherit the wind, and fools become slaves to the wise of heart.
The fruit of justice is a tree of life, and one who takes lives is a sage.
If the just are recompensed on the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
Whoever loved discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates reproof is stupid.
A good person wins favor from the Lord, but the schemer he condemns.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Our venerable father and confessor Theophane of the Sygrian Mountains in Bithynia in the monastery of Ager Magnus. He was called the Chronographer. Having been a very wealthy man, he became a poor monk. He was held in prison for two years by the emperor Leo the Armenian on account of his defense of the cult of holy icons. From there he was deported to Samothrace, where, consumed by his tribulations, he yielded up his spirit in 817.
Our holy father Gregory, pope of Rome: After entering the monastic life, he performed the duty of ambassador to Constantinople. Then on the third of September, he was chosen for the Roman See. He dealt well with earthly matters and, as a servant of the servants of God, he attended to holy things. He showed he was a true pastor in directing affairs, in fully assisting the needy, in fostering the monastic life, and everywhere strengthening or extending the faith. He also wrote excellently on many things concerning moral and pastoral matters.
Troparion – Theophane
Adorning your life with purity and disciplining your body, you slew the goats of the devil, O father Theophane. You were carried to eternal life in the Lord. As you stand before Him, now pray for all of us.
Troparion – Gregory
You received divine grace from heaven, O blessed Gregory, and strength from his divine power. You sought to follow the way of the Gospel, and your journey’s end brought you Christ’s reward. O blessed saint, beg Him to save us.
Kontakion – Theophane
You became very much like the shepherds of Christ. You led the flocks of monks into the heavenly sheepfold. There you taught your flock the law of Christ, O father; and now you sing in the heavenly abode, and you rejoice happy in their company.
Epistle
Hebrews 4:14 – 5:6
Brothers and sisters: Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession of faith. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who was tempted every way that we are, yet never sinned. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need.
Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. One does not take this honor on his own initiative, but only when called by God as Aaron was. Even Christ did not glorify himself with the office of high priest; he received it from the One who said to him, “You are my son; today I have begotten you”; just as he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Gospel
Mark 8:34 – 9:1
At that time Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them: “If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and follow in my steps. Whoever would preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s sake will preserve it. What prophet does a man show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process? What can a man offer in exchange for his life? If anyone in this faithless and corrupt age is ashamed of me and my doctrine, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.” He also said to them: “I assure you, among those standing here there are some who will not taste death until they see the reign of God established in power.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
The Carlin Family, Michael Hefferon, Shirley Kunze, Michael Mina, Peter Mina, Fr, John Mina, Mila Mina, Lana Zimmerman, Patrick Zimmerman, Shannon O’Neill, Fern Bonowicz, All the sick and suffering of St. Mary’s
WEEKLY DEPOSIT:
Collection: $3,851.00; Online: $180.00; Santa Paula: $492.00; Candles: $12.00; Church Improvements: $1,425.00; Santa Paula Improvements: $25.00; Special Gift: $50.00; Reimbursement: $694.46
Total: $6,729.46 / Attendance – PSM: 82; VCO: 75
Every Means of Healing
What does it mean to take up your cross? It means the willing acceptance, at the hand of Providence, of every means of healing, bitter though it may be, that is offered. Do great catastrophes fall on you? Be obedient to God’s will, as Noah was. Is sacrifice demanded of you? Give yourself into God’s hands with the same faith as Abram had when he went to sacrifice his son. Is your property ruined? Do your children die suddenly? Suffer it all with patience, cleaving to God in your heart, as Job did. Do your friends forsake you, and you find yourself surrounded by enemies? Bear it all without grumbling, and with faith that God’s help is at hand, as the apostles did.
–St. Nikolai Velimirovich
Veneration of the Cross
Today is “Shot in the Arm Sunday” – a day on which the Church encourages us to keep up our practice of the Fast by displaying the Precious, Holy & Lifegiving Cross. We look at the Holy Cross and remember what the Great Fast is all about: recalling God’s gift of Himself for us.
We do not focus on Christ’s sufferings today as we do in Holy Week. Instead, we look at the effect of His saving death. Every day this week the Church prays the following: “The angel’s fiery sword will no longer guard the gate of Paradise for the cross of the Lord has put it out wondrously. The power of Death has been broken, the victory of Hades wiped out and You, my Savior, have stood up and called out to all those bound in hell: ‘Come now; enter into Paradise.’”
We express our faith in the joyful victory of Christ over Death by surrounding the cross with flowers. In many churches people take one of these flowers home and put it in their icon corner as a reminder of Christ’s triumph. We are no longer captive to the power of Death which has been defeated by the cross.
“Whoever will lose his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it.” A vocation is a cross, a way to lose our lives for the Lord and His Gospel by giving life to the world in a life of prayer and devotion to the holy mysteries of the Church. The Lord may be showing you that holy orders or the religious life is something to consider. Contact the Vocations Office at 206-329-9219 or email: vocations@ephx.org
The February 2023 edition of GCU magazine is available in the back of the church.
Our venerable father Sophronius was born in Damascus around 560. From his youth he was distinguished for his piety and his love for classical studies. He was especially proficient in philosophy, and so he was known as Sophronius the Wise. The future hierarch, however, sought the true philosophy of monasticism, and conversations with the desert-dwellers. He went to Jerusalem to the monastery of St. Theodosius. After the death of St. Modestus in 634, St. Sophronius was chosen Patriarch of Jerusalem. He toiled much for the welfare of the Jerusalem Church as its primate. Toward the end of his life, St. Sophronius and his flock lived through a two year siege of Jerusalem by the Moslems. Worn down by hunger, the Christians finally agreed to open the city gates, on the condition that the enemy spare the holy places. But this condition was not fulfilled, and St. Sophronius died in grief over the desecration of the Christian holy places. Written works by Patriarch Sophronius have come down to us in the area of dogmatics, and likewise his “Excursus on the Liturgy,” the Life of Saint Mary of Egypt, and also about 950 troparia and stikheras from Pascha to the Ascension, including the prayer for the solemn blessing of the water on the Feast of the Theophany.
Troparion
O guide of the true faith, mirror of piety and commendable behavior, bright star of the universe, and adornment of pontiffs, you enlightened us all by your teachings. O wise Sophronius, inspired by God and lyre of the Holy Spirit, intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls.
Kontakion
You advanced by heavenly fervor and spread the true dogma by your lips. You ruled your Church well and reformed the monks within it. You clearly preached words of instruction for us, and so we sing to you, O blessed patriarch: Rejoice, luminous glory of the faithful.
Epistle
Hebrews 10: 32-38
Brothers and sisters: Recall the days gone by when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great contest of suffering. At times you were publicly exposed to insult and trial; at other times you associated yourselves with those who were being so dealt with. You even joined in the suffering of those who were in prison and joyfully assented to the confiscation of your goods, knowing that you had better and more permanent possessions. Do not, then, surrender your confidence; it will have great reward. You need patience to do God’s will and receive what He has promised.
Gospel
Mark 2: 14-17
At that time as Jesus moved on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus at his tax collector’s post, and said to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and became his follower. While Jesus was reclining to eat in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and those known as sinners joined him and his disciples at dinner. The number of those who followed him was large. When the scribes who belonged to the Pharisees party saw that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and offenders against the law, they complained to his disciples, “Why does he eat with such as these?” Overhearing the remark, Jesus said to them, “People who are healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do. I have come to call sinners, not the self-righteous.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
During the time of the persecutions of Christians, many of the faithful fled to the mountains and into the caves. So did the mother of Quadratus(or Codratus). She gave birth to him in the forest, but died shortly thereafter. By the Providence of God the infant Quadratus remained alive and was nourished in a miraculous manner: a cloud appeared over him, dropping sweet dew into his mouth. The childhood and youth of the saint was spent in the wilderness. When he was a young man, he chanced upon some Christians who enlightened him with the light of the true faith. Quadratus studied medicine and healed the sick with natural cures and more often, with the spiritual power of prayer, which had been with him since childhood. When a new persecution arose under Decius, Quadratis was brought to trial and cast into prison. Five companions joined him and confessed in the name of Christ. They were Cyprian, Dionysius, Anectus, Paul, and Cresens. They were tortured, but all stood firmly for the Faith. The martyrs were ordered to be thrown to the wild beasts to be torn apart. But the beasts would not touch them. Then the saints were tied behind chariots and dragged through the streets of the city. Finally, they were beheaded by sword. A spring of water gushed out of the ground at that spot, which is called “Quadratus” even today and is a reminder of the heroic deaths of these six holy innocents of Christ. They honorably suffered for the truth in the year 250, in Corinth.
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
By enduring violence you slew the proud enemy as you and your companions felt the pains of the sword. We celebrate your memory, holy Codratus, and we sing: All you unconquerable martyrs, remember us to the Lord.
Genesis 8: 4-21
In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to diminish until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared.
At the end of forty days, Noah opened the hatch of the ark that he had made, and he released a raven. It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth. Then he released a dove, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. But the dove could find no place to perch, and it returned to him in the ark, for there was water over all the earth. Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him inside the ark. He waited yet seven days more and again released the dove from the ark. In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had diminished on the earth. He waited yet another seven days and then released the dove; but this time it did not come back.
In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth. Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground had dried. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
Then God said to Noah: Go out of the ark, together with your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you– all creatures, be they birds or animals or crawling things on the earth– and let them abound on the earth, and be fertile and multiply on it. So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives; and all the animals, all the birds, and all the crawling creatures that crawl on the earth went out of the ark by families.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and choosing every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the Lord smelled the sweet odor, the Lord said to himself: Never again will I curse the ground because of the human beings, since the desires of the human heart are evil from youth; nor will I ever again strike down every living being, as I have done.
Proverbs 10:31 – 11:12
The mouth of the just yields wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
The lips of the just know favor, but the mouth of the wicked, perversion.
False scales are an abomination to the Lord, but an honest weight, his delight.
When pride comes, disgrace comes; but with the humble is wisdom.
The honesty of the upright guides them; the faithless are ruined by their duplicity.
Wealth is useless on a day of wrath, but justice saves from death.
The justice of the honest makes their way straight, but by their wickedness the wicked will fall.
The justice of the upright saves them, but the faithless are caught in their own intrigue.
When a person dies, hope is destroyed; expectation pinned on wealth is destroyed.
The just are rescued from a tight spot, but the wicked fall into it instead.
By a word the impious ruin their neighbors, but through their knowledge the just are rescued.
When the just prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
Through the blessings of the upright the city is exalted, but through the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
Whoever reviles a neighbor lacks sense, but the intelligent keep silent.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
The forty holy martyrs, martyred at Sebaste in Armenia on a frozen lake. They were comrades , not in blood, but in faith and obedience to the will of their heavenly Father. At the time of the emperor Licinius, after binding and savage tortures, the martyrs were ordered to pass the night naked at the coldest time of winter in a swamp in the open air. They consummated their martyrdom by the breaking of their legs at crucifixion. The forty martyrs are: Cyrion(or Quirio), Candidus, Domnus, Hesychius, Heraclius, Smaragdus, Eunocius(or Eunicus), Valens, Vivianus, Claudius, Priscus, Theodulus, Eutychius, John, Xanthius, Helianus, Sisinius, Aggais, Aetius, Flavius, Acacius, Ecdicius, Lysimachus, Alexander, Elias, Gorgonius, Theophilus, Dometian, Gaius, Leontuis, Athanasius, Cyril, Sacerdon, Nicholas, Valerius, Philoctimon, Severian, Chudion, Aglaius, and Meliton.
Troparion
O forty soldiers of Christ and honorable martyrs, you went through fire and water, O mighty warriors, and have come to live with the angels. Join them in praying to Christ for those who praise you. Glory to Him who strengthened you! Glory to Him who crowned you! Glory to Him who heals us through you!
Kontakion
You left the crowds of this world and joined the Master in heaven, O forty martyrs. Passing through fire and water, you reaped glory and honor in heaven, O blessed saints.
Readings for the Saints
Epistle
Hebrews 12: 1-10
Brothers and sisters: 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. For the sake of the joy which lay before him he endured the cross, heedless of its shame. He has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Remember how he endures the opposition of sinners; hence do not grow despondent or abandon the struggle. In your fight against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. Moreover, you have forgotten the encouraging words addressed to you as sons: “My sons, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord nor lose heart when he reproves you; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he receives.” Endure your trials as the disciples of God, who deals with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you do not know the discipline of sons, you are not sons but bastards. If we respected our earthly fathers who corrected us, should we not all the more submit to the Father of spirits, and live? They disciplined us as seemed right to them, to prepare us for the short span of mortal life; but God does so for our true profit, that we may share his holiness.
Gospel
Matthew 20: 1-16
The Lord told this parable: “The reign of God is like the case of the owner of an estate who went out at dawn to hire the workman for his vineyard. After reaching an agreement with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them out to his vineyard. He came out about midmorning and saw other men standing around the marketplace without work, so he said to them, ‘You too go along to my vineyard and I will pay you whatever is fair.’ At that they went away. He came out again around noon and did the same. Finally, going out in late afternoon he found others standing around. To these he said, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ‘No one has hired us,’ they told him. He said, ‘You go to the vineyard too.’
When evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workmen and give them their pay, but begin with the last group and end with the first.’ When those hired late in the afternoon came up they received a full day’s pay, and when the first group appeared they supposed they would get more; yet they received that same daily wage. Thereupon they complained to the owner, ‘This last group did only an hour’s work, but you have put them on the same basis as us who have worked a full day in the scorching heat.’ ‘My friend,’ he said to one in reply, ‘I do you no injustice. You agreed on the usual wage, did you not? Take your pay and go home. I intend to give this man who was hired last the same pay as you. I am free to do as I please with my money, am I not? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
Readings for the day
Genesis 7:11 – 8:4
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month: on that day
All the fountains of the great abyss burst forth
And the floodgates of the sky were opened.
For forty days and forty nights heavy rain poured down on the earth.
On the very same day, Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japeth, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of Noah’s sons had entered the ark, together with every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, every kind of crawling thing that crawls on the earth, and every kind of bird. Pairs of all creatures in which there was the breath of life came to Noah into the ark. Those that entered were male and female; of all creatures they came, as God commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.
The flood continued upon the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth, but the ark floated on the surface of the waters. Higher and higher on the earth the waters swelled, until all the highest mountains under heaven were submerged. The waters swelled fifteen cubits higher than the submerged mountains. All creatures that moved on earth perished: birds, tame animals, wild animals, and all that teemed on the earth, as well as all humankind/ Everything on dry land with the breath of life in its nostrils died. The Lord wiped out every being on earth: human beings and animals, the crawling things and the birds of the air; all were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left.
And when the water had swelled on the earth for one hundred and fifty days, God remembered Noah and all the animals, wild and tame, that were with him in the ark. So god made a wind sweep over the earth, and the waters began to subside. The fountains of the abyss and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the downpour from the sky was held back. Gradually the waters receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred and fifty days, the waters had so diminished that, in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
Proverbs 10: 1-22
The Proverbs of Solomon: A wise son gives his father joy, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but justice saves from death.
The Lord does not let the just go hungry, but the craving of the wicked he thwarts.
The slack hand impoverishes, but the busy hand brings riches.
A son who gathers in summer is a credit; a son who slumbers during harvest, a disgrace.
Blessings are for the head of the just; but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
The memory of the just serves as blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
A wise heart accepts commands, but a babbling fool will be overthrown.
Whoever walks honestly walks securely, but one whose ways are crooked will fare badly.
One who winks at a fault causes trouble, but one who frankly reproves promotes peace.
The mouth of the just is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Hatred stirs up disputes, but love covers all offenses.
On the lips of the intelligent is found wisdom, but a rod for the back of one without sense.
The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool is imminent ruin.
The wealth of the rich is their strong city; the ruin of the poor is their poverty.
The labor of the just leads to life, the gains of the wicked, to futility.
Whoever follows instruction is in the path to life, but whoever disregards reproof goes astray. Whoever conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
Where words are many, sin is not wanting; but those who restrain their lips do well.
Choice silver is the tongue of the just; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
The lips of the just nourish many, but the fools die for want of sense.
It is the Lord’s blessing that brings wealth, and no effort can substitute for it.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Our venerable father Theophylactus, along with St. Michael (Bishop of Synada) lived an ascetic life at a monastery on the coast of the Black Sea. The zealous ascetics were granted the gift of wonderworking by their God-pleasing labors and intense prayers. During a drought, when the field workers were weakened by thirst, the saints prayed and an empty vessel became filled with enough water to last the entire day. After several years at the monastery, they were both consecrated as bishops by the Patriarch Tarasius. St. Michael was made Bishop of Synada, and St. Theophylactus was made Bishop of Nicomedia. Heading the Church of Nicomedia, St. Theophylactus cared for the flock entrusted to him. He built churches, hospices, homes for wanderers, he generously distributed alms, was the guardian of orphans, and personally attended to those afflicted with leprosy. When the iconoclast Leo the Armenian came to the imperial throne, he reinstated iconoclast heresy despite the Seventh Ecumenical Council’s decision. St. Theophylactus opposed the emperor to his face and predicted a speedy death for the emperor. For his bold prophecy, the saint was removed from his see and sent into exile in Strobil. He languished there for thirty years until his death, which took place around the year 845.
Troparion
You tried to live a hidden life, O praiseworthy father, but Christ made you a lamp upon the light of thought. He handed you the tablets of spiritual knowledge. Enlighten us by them, O holy Theophylact.
Kontakion
You became a lamp for the whole world, O father, and by preaching that the Word had the nature common to the Father and the Spirit, you enlightened the Council of heavenly fathers. You became a defender of the Trinity. As you stand before them, pray unceasingly for all of us.
Genesis 7: 6-9
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth. Together with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, Noah went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Of the clean animals and the unclean, of the birds, and of everything that crawls on on the ground, two by two, male and female came to Noah into the ark, just as God has commanded him.
Proverbs 9: 12-18
If you are wise, wisdom is to your advantage; if you are arrogant, you alone shall bear it.
Woman Folly is raucous, utterly foolish; she knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house upon a seat on the city heights,
Calling passersby as they go on their way straight ahead:
“Let those who are naive turn in here, to those who lack sense I say.
Stolen water is sweet, and bread taken secretly is pleasing!”
Little do they know that the shades are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol!
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
The Heiromartyrs Basil, Ephraim, Elpidius, Agathodorus, Aetherius, and Caption carried the Gospel of Christ into the North Black Sea region from the Danube to the Dniper, including Crimea. They were bishops of Cherson at different times during the fourth century, and they sealed their apostolic activity with martyrdom. Only Aetherius died in peace. Long before the Baptism of Rus under St. Vladimir, the Christian Faith spread into the Crimea, which in antiquity was called Tauridia, and was ruled by the Roman Emperor. The beginning of the enlightenment of Tauridia is attributed to the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. At the beginning of the fourth century a bishop’s See was established at Cherson. This was a critical period when Cherson served as a base for the Roman armies which constantly passed through the area.
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
The day of splendor of those brilliant bishops of Cherson has come today. We are singing for the feast of those shepherds who died for the sheep of Christ. O princes of shepherds and martyred priests, beg Christ to put us with the sheep at his right hand so that we may sing out to you: Rejoice, O priestly fathers who poured out your blood for Christ.
Genesis 7: 1-5
Then the Lord said to Noah: Go in the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this generation have I found to be righteous before me. Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate; likewise, every bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a female, to keep their progeny alive over all the earth. For seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the face of the earth every being that I have made. Noah complied, just as the Lord had commanded.
Proverbs 8:32 – 9:11
“Now, children, listen to me; happy are they who keep my ways.
Listen to instruction and grow wise, do not reject it!
Happy the one who listens to me, attending daily at my gates, keeping watch at my doorposts;
For whoever finds me finds life, and wins favor from the Lord;
But those who pass me by do violence to themselves; all who hate me love death.”
Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns;
She has prepared her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidservants; she calls from from the heights out over the city:
“Let whoever is naïve turn in here; to any who lack sense I say,
Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.”
Whoever corrects the arrogant earns insults; and whoever reproves the wicked incurs opprobrium.
Do not reprove the arrogant, lest they hate you; reprove the wise, and they will love you.
Instruct the wise, and they become still wiser; teach the just, and they advance in learning.
The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For by me your days will be multiplied and the years of your life increased.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
During a ninth-century war between the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus and the Saracens, the Saracens managed to besiege the city of Ammoria. As a result of treason by the military commander Baditses, Ammoria fell and forty-two of its generals were taken captive and sent off to Syria. During the seven years of their imprisonment, their captors tried in vain to persuade them to renounce Christianity and accept Islam. The captives stubbornly resisted all their seductive offers and bravely held out against terrible threats. After many torments failed to break the spirit of the Christian soldiers, they condemned them to death, hoping to shake the determination of the saints before executing them. The martyrs remained steadfast. The executioners took each one separately and led him off to be beheaded, then threw the bodies into the River Euphrates. In the service of them, these holy passion-bearers are glorified as : the “All-Blessed” Theodore, the “Unconquered” Callistus, the “Valiant” Constantine, the “Wondrous” Theophilus, and “the Most Blessed” Basoes. Saint Aetius and Melissenus were also among the martyrs.
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 vanquished their persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.
Kontakion
We bring crowns of glory to these newly appearing stars who manifested their faith by suffering for Christ. As real pillars and helpers of Christ’s reign, they pray to Him on behalf of all of us.
Genesis 6: 9-22
These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japeth.
But the earth was corrupt in the view of God and full of lawlessness. When God saw how corrupt the earth had become, since all mortals had corrupted their ways on earth, God said to Noah: I see that the end of all mortals has come, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I am going to destroy them with the earth.
Make yourself an ark of gopherwood, equip the ark with various compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall build it: the length of the ark will be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Make an opening for daylight and finish the ark a cubit above it. Put the ark’s entrance on its side; you will make it with bottom, second and third decks. I, on my part, am about to bring the flood waters on the earth, to destroy all creatures under the sky in which there is the breadth of life; everything on earth shall perish. I will establish my covenant with you. You shall go into the ark, you and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you. Of all living creatures you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, one male, one female, to keep them alive along with you. Of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal, and of every kind of thing that crawls on the ground, two of each will come to you, that you may keep them alive. Moreover, you are to provide yourself with all the food that is to be eaten, and store it away, that it may serve as provisions for you and for them. Noah complied; he did just as God commanded him.
Proverbs 8: 1-21
Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding raise her voice?
On the top of the heights along the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
By the gates at the approached of the city, in the entryways she cries aloud:
“To you, O people, I call; my appeal is to you mortals.
You naive ones, gain prudence, you fools, gain sense.
Listen! For noble things I speak; my lips proclaim honest words.
Indeed, my mouth utters truth, and my lips abhor wickedness.
All of them are straightforward to the intelligent, and right to those who attain knowledge.
Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold.
[For Wisdom is better than corals, and no treasure can compare with her.]
I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and useful knowledge I have.
[The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil;] Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate.
Mine are counsel and advice; mine is strength; I am understanding.
By me kings reign, and rulers enact justice;
By me princes govern, and nobles, all the judges of the earth.
Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me.
With me are riches and honor, wealth that endures, and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, and my yield than choice silver.
On the way of righteousness I walk, along the paths of justice,
Granting wealth to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
