Daily Devotional

Commemorations

Pascalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy and Great-martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-streamer, and the remembrance of the great and terrible earthquake.

Fasting Information

Scripture Readings

Pascalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 178]. Brethren:

5 ¹We know that if our earthly house of the tabernacle should be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house made without hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For also in this we groan, longing to have put on over ourselves our habitation which is from heaven, ³if it be indeed that after we clothe ourselves we shall not be found naked. ⁴For also we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon, in order that what is mortal might be swallowed up by that which is life. ⁵Now the One Who wrought us for this same thing is God, Who also gave us the earnest of the Spirit. ⁶Therefore always being of good courage and knowing that dwelling at home in the body we are abroad from the Lord— ⁷for we walk by faith, not by what is seen— ⁸we are of good courage then and are well pleased rather to be abroad from the body and to dwell at home with the Lord. ⁹Wherefore, we also endeavor earnestly, whether dwelling at home or abroad, to be well-pleasing to Him. ¹⁰For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of the Christ, in order that each one might receive for oneself the things done through the agency of the body, according to what one did, whether good or bad.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 36]. The Lord said:

8 ¹⁶“No one, having lit a lamp, covereth it with a vessel or putteth it underneath a bed, but placeth it upon a lampstand, that they who enter in may see the light. ¹⁷“For nothing is secret which shall not become manifest, nor hidden that shall not be known and come to light. ¹⁸“Be taking heed then how ye hear: for whosoever hath, it shall be given to him; and whosoever hath not, even what he seemeth to have shall be taken away from him.”

¹⁹And His Mother and brethren came to Him, and were not able to meet with Him on account of the crowd. ²⁰And it was reported to Him by some who said, “Thy Mother and Thy brethren are standing outside, wishing to see Thee.” ²¹And He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brethren are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy and Great-martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-streamer, and the remembrance of the great and terrible earthquake.

Epistle

For the Great-martyr:

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy [§ 292]. Child Timothy:

2 ¹Be thou empowered in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; ²and the things which thou heardest from me in the midst of many witnesses, commit thou these things to faithful men who shall be competent also to teach others. ³Thou therefore suffer hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No one serving as a soldier is entangled with the affairs of life, in order that he might please the one who enlisted him. ⁵And if anyone also contend as an athlete in the games, he is not crowned unless he contend lawfully. ⁶The farmer who laboreth must be first to partake of the fruits. ⁷Be considering what I say; O may the Lord give thee understanding in all things! ⁸Be remembering Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, Who hath been raised from the dead, according to my Gospel, ⁹in which I suffer hardship even to bonds as a malefactor, but the word of God hath not been bound. ¹⁰On this account I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they might also attain salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

In remembrance of the Earthquake:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§§ mid 331-mid 333]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, see Heb. 12:6-29; for Sl. usage, see Heb. 12:6-13, 25-27.

12 ⁶“The Lord loveth whom He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth [cf. Prov. 3:12].” ⁷If ye endure chastisement, God is dealing with you as with sons; for who is a son whom the father chastiseth not? ⁸But if ye are without chastisement, of which all have become partakers, then ye are bastards and not sons. ⁹Furthermore, we indeed used to have fathers of our flesh as instructors, and we were giving them respect. We shall much more be subject to the Father of the spirits and live, shall we not? ¹⁰For they indeed for a few days were chastening us according to that which seemed fit to them; but He for our profit, for us to partake of His holiness. ¹¹Now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to be a matter of joy, but of grief; then afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been exercised by it. ¹²Wherefore, “Set straight the hands which were weakened and the knees which were palsied [cf. Is. 35:3],” ¹³and, “Make straight paths for your feet [cf. Prov. 4:26],” lest that which is lame should be put out of joint, but that it rather might be healed. ¹⁴Be pursuing peace with all, and sanctification without which no one shall see the Lord: ¹⁵exercising oversight lest any be falling short, away from the grace of God; “lest any root of bitterness springing up [cf. Deut. 29:18]” be troubling you, and by this many be defiled; ¹⁶lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau who, in return for one act of eating, gave away his birthright. ¹⁷For ye also know that afterward, wishing to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found not a place of repentance, although he sought it out with tears.

¹⁸For ye have not come to the mount which hath been touched and which hath been burned with fire, and to “a thick dark cloud and darkness and tempest [cf. Deut. 4:11, 5:22],” ¹⁹and “a sound of a trumpet [cf. Ex. 19:16]” and to “a voice of words [Deut. 4:12],” which they who heard begged for the word not to be put any more to them. ²⁰For they were not bearing that which was expressly commanded: “Even if a beast should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot down with a dart [cf. Ex. 19:13].” ²¹And so fearful was the appearance! Moses said, “‘I am greatly afraid [Deut. 9:19]’ and trembling.” ²²But ye have come to Mount Sion and the city of the living God, a heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, ²³a festal assembly and Church of the firstborn ones who have been registered in the heavens, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous who have been perfected, ²⁴and to Jesus, Mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better than Abel. ²⁵Be taking heed that ye do not refuse Him Who speaketh. For if those escaped not who refused the one who gave divine warning on the earth, much more shall we not escape who turn ourselves from the One from the heavens, ²⁶the voice of Whom then shook the earth; but now He hath promised, saying, “Yet once I shake not only the earth, but also the heaven [cf. Hag. 2:7].” ²⁷And the utterance, “Yet once,” signifieth the transposition of the things which are shaken, as having been made, in order that the things which are not shaken might remain. ²⁸Wherefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be having gratitude by which we may worship God well pleasingly with reverence and piety. ²⁹For also, “Our God is a consuming fire [cf. Deut. 4:24].”

Gospel

For the Great-martyr:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 52]. The Lord said to His disciples:

15 ¹⁷“These things I command you, that ye be loving one another.

¹⁸“If the world hate you, ye know that it hath hated Me before it hath hated you. ¹⁹“If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world—but I chose you for Myself out of the world—therefore the world hateth you. ²⁰“Keep on remembering the word which I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹“But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they know not the One Who sent Me. ²²“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no pretext for their sin. ²³“The one who hateth Me hateth My Father also. ²⁴“If I did not do the works among them which no other one hath done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵“But this cometh to pass that the word might be fulfilled which hath been written in their law: ‘They hated Me without a cause [cf. Ps. 34(35):22, 68(69):5(4)].’ ²⁶“But whenever the Paraclete should come, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of the truth Who proceedeth from the Father, that One shall bear witness concerning Me. ²⁷“And ye also are bearing witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.

16 ¹“These things I have spoken to you, in order that ye should not be made to stumble. ²“They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea moreover, there cometh an hour that everyone who killeth you should think that he offereth God a service.”

In remembrance of the earthquake:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 27]. At that time:

8 ²³After Jesus embarked into the ship, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, so that the ship was covered by the waves; but He was sleeping. ²⁵And His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us; we are perishing.” ²⁶And He saith to them, “Why are ye cowardly, O ye of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ²⁷And the men wondered, saying, “What manner of man is this One, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

November 8th – Civil Calendar
October 26th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy and Great Martyr Demetrius.

This glorious and wonder-working saint was born in the city of Thessalonica of well-born and devout parents. Begged of God by these childless parents, Demetrius was their only son and was, because of this, most carefully cherished and educated. His father was the military commander of Thessalonica, and when he died, the emperor made Demetrius commander in his place. In doing this, the Emperor Maximian, an opponent of Christ, particularly recommended him to persecute and exterminate the Christians in Thessalonica. Demetrius not only disobeyed the Emperor: he openly confessed and preached Christ the Lord in the city. Hearing of this, the emperor was furious with Demetrius, and at one time, on his way back from a war against the Sarmathians, went to Thessalonica especially to look into the matter. The emperor, therefore, summoned Demetrius and questioned him about his faith. Demetrius proclaimed openly before the emperor that he was a Christian, and furthermore, denounced the emperor’s idolatry. The enraged emperor cast him into prison. Knowing what was awaiting him, Demetrius gave his goods to his faithful servant, Lupus, to give away to the poor, and went off to prison, glad that suffering for Christ was to be his lot. In the prison, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: ‘Peace be with thee, thou sufferer for Christ; be brave and strong!’ After several days, the emperor sent soldiers to the prison to kill Demetrius. They came upon the saint of God at prayer, and ran him through with their spears. Christians secretly took his body and gave it burial, and there flowed from it a healing myrrh by which many of the sick were healed. A small church was very soon built over his relics. An Illyrian nobleman, Leontius, became sick of an incurable illness. He ran prayerfully up to the relics of St. Demetrius and was completely healed, and in gratitude built a much larger church in place of the old one. The saint appeared to him on two occasions. When the Emperor Justinian wanted to take the saint’s relics from Thessalonica to Constantinople, a spark of fire leapt from the tomb and a voice was heard: ‘Leave them there, and don’t touch!’ and thus the relics of St. Demetrius have remained for all time in Thessalonica. As the defender of Thessalonica, St. Demetrius has many times appeared and saved the city from calamity, and there is no way of counting his miracles. The Russians regarded St. Demetrius as the protector of Siberia, which was overcome and annexed by Russia on October 26th, 1581.

2. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Ioasaph.

A disciple of St. Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople, he lived in asceticism on the Holy Mountain. He had such great love for Christ the Lord that all his asceticism seemed to him inadequate, and he longed to suffer for love of his Lord. He therefore went to Constantinople, where he openly confessed the Holy Trinity and the Son of God before the Turks. The furious Turks beheaded him on October 26th, 1536.

3. Commemoration of the Great Earthquake in Constantinople.

In the time of the Emperor Leo the Isaurian, in 740, there was a terrifying and long-lasting earthquake in Constantinople. The people realized that this was God’s punishment for their sins, and entreated the most holy Mother of God and St. Demetrius with great penitence, until God had mercy and the earthquake ended.

FOR CONSIDERATION

A miracle of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica: St. Demetrius was, in his lifetime, military commander of Thessalonica, and he did not lay down this office at his death. People felt his presence in Thessalonica especially at times of great need. He defended the city, kept misfortune at a distance, repelled invaders and helped all who called upon his name. Here is a wonderful example of his help to people in need: the barbarians once invaded Thessalonica, but could not take it. Infuriated by this, they plundered the whole area and took two beautiful maidens into captivity, giving them to their prince. The girls were skilled in embroidery, and when the prince saw some of their handiwork, he said to them: ‘I hear that there is in your land a great god, Demetrius, who works great wonders. Embroider his face on linen for me.’ The girls told him that St. Demetrius was not a god, but a servant of the true God and the helper of Christians, and they at first refused to embroider the saint’s face, but when the prince threatened them with death, they promised to do it and finished the work by St. Demetrius’ Day. On the eve of the feast, therefore, they both looked at their work and wept with sorrow, one of them because they had to spend the feast in slavery and the other because they had to give the embroidered likeness of their beloved saint to an unclean barbarian, and the two maidens prayed to St. Demetrius to forgive them. Then the saint appeared, and took both maidens as an angel had once taken the Prophet Abbakum (Habakkuk); he took them to Thessalonica and set them down in his church. There, the all-night vigil service was in progress, and a great many people were gathered in the church. Learning of the miraculous saving of these two Christian girls, everyone glorified God and His great servant and commander Demetrius.

Daily Scripture Readings taken from The Orthodox New Testament, translated and published by Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, Colorado, copyright © 2000, used with permission, all rights reserved.

Daily Prologue Readings taken from The Prologue of Ochrid, by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, translated by Mother Maria, published by Lazarica Press, Birmingham, England, copyright © 1985, all rights reserved. Edited by Dormition Skete.