Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Pascalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 277].

3 ⁶Brethren, we command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw yourselves from every brother who walketh disorderly, and not according to the tradition which they received from us. ⁷For ye yourselves know how it is needful to imitate us, for we led not a disorderly life among you; ⁸nor did we eat bread from anyone as a gift, but with toil and travail, working night and day, in order not to burden any of you; ⁹not that we do not have authority, but in order that we might render ourselves an example to you, for you to imitate us. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat. ¹¹For we hear that some among you are walking disorderly, not working at all, but are busybodies. ¹²Now such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that working with quietness they may eat their own bread. ¹³But ye, brethren, do not begin to lose heart in doing good. ¹⁴And if anyone obey not our word through the epistle, be noting for yourselves that man and cease associating with him, in order that he might be ashamed. ¹⁵And yet do not continue to deem him as an enemy, but be admonishing him as a brother. ¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace continually in every way. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷The greeting of Paul by mine own hand, which is a token in every epistle; so I write.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§§ 82, mid 83]. The Lord said to those Jews who had come to Him:

16 ¹⁵“Ye are they who justify yourselves before the face of men, but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is exalted among men is an abomination before the face of God. ¹⁶“The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is being preached as good tidings, and everyone is forcing himself into it. ¹⁷“But it is easier for the heaven and the earth to pass away than one tittle of the law to fall. ¹⁸“Everyone who divorceth his wife and marrieth another committeth adultery; and everyone who marrieth her who hath been divorced from a husband committeth adultery.”...

17 ¹Then He said to His disciples, “It is impossible that the stumbling blocks should not come, but woe to him through whom they come! ²“It is more profitable for him if a millstone turned by an ass is put about his neck, and he is cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³“Be taking heed to yourselves. Now if thy brother should sin against thee, rebuke him; and if he should repent, forgive him. ⁴“And if seven times in the day he should sin against thee, and seven times in the day he should return to thee, saying, ‘I repent,’ thou shalt forgive him.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyrs and Confessors Gurias, Samonas, and Abibos of Edessa, and the repose of St. Herman, Wonder-worker of Alaska, and the repose of St. Paisius (Velichkovsky) of Moldavia and Mt. Athos.

Epistle

For the Martyrs:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ 233].

6 ¹⁰Brethren, keep on being empowered in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, for you to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; ¹²because for us the wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the cosmic rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of evil on account of the heavenly things. ¹³For this cause take up the full armor of God, in order that ye might be able to withstand in the evil day, and having counteracted all things, to stand. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having girt your loins with truth, and having put on for yourselves the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and having shod your feet in readiness of the Gospel of peace; ¹⁶on the whole, take up the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

For the venerable Monks:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213]. Brethren:

5 ²²The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴But they who are of the Christ crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be walking by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

6 ¹Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness, looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ²Keep on bearing one another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.

Gospel

For the Martyrs:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 103]. The Lord said to His disciples:

20 ⁴⁶“Be on your guard against the scribes, who wish to walk about in full dress, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at the dinners, ⁴⁷“who devour the houses of the widows, and for a pretense offer long prayers. They shall receive greater judgment.”

21 ¹And He looked up and saw the rich casting their gifts into the treasury. ²And He saw also a certain poor widow casting in that place two lepta. ³And He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow cast in more than all; ⁴“for all these did cast into the gifts of God out of that which is superfluous to them, but she, out of her need, cast in her whole means of living which she had.”

for Sl. usage, see [Lk. 12:8-12].

For the venerable Monks:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 24]. At that time:

6 ¹⁷Jesus stood upon a level place. And there was a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all of Judæa and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases— ¹⁸even those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd was seeking to touch Him, for power was coming forth from Him and healing all. ²⁰And He lifted up His eyes to His disciples, and began to say:
   “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
   ²¹“Blessed are ye who hunger now, for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye who weep now, for ye shall laugh.
   ²²“Blessed are ye whenever men hate you, and whenever they separate you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.
   ²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

November 28th – Civil Calendar
November 15th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas and Abibus (Guria, Shamuna, and Habib).

Gurias and Samonas were eminent citizens of Edessa. At the time of a persecution of Christians, they hid outside the city and lived in fasting and prayer, giving courage to the faithful who came to them for counsel. They were seized and taken before the judge, who threatened them with death if they refused to observe the imperial decree on the worship of idols. Christ’s holy martyrs replied: ‘If we observe the imperial decree, we shall be lost even if you do not kill us.’ They were thrown into prison after harsh torture, and were there confined from August 1st to November 10th, enduring hunger, darkness and great hardship. They were then brought out again and tortured afresh, and as they remained steadfast in the Christian Faith, were condemned to death and beheaded with the sword in the year 322, under the wicked Emperor Licinius (who ruled the eastern half of the empire until 324). Later Abibus, a deacon in Edessa, was tortured for Christ his Lord, and in the flames, gave his spirit into God’s hands. His mother took his unharmed body from the fire and buried it together with those of Gurias and Samonas. When the persecution had ended, Christians built a church in honor of these three martyrs, and placed their wonder-working relics in one coffin. Of the manifold miracles of these wonderful saints of God, one is especially remembered: A widow in Edessa had a young daughter, who was to marry a Goth serving in the Greek army. As the mother was concerned at the thought of sending her daughter to a distant land, the Goth swore over the grave of the martyrs that he would do no ill to the girl, but take her as his legal wife. He was, though, in fact, already married. When he took the girl back to his own land, he treated her not as his wife, but as a slave, until his lawful wife died. He then agreed with his kinsman that he should bury his living slave along with his dead wife. The slave implored the holy martyrs with tears to save her, and they appeared to her in the grave, took hold of her, and in an instant, carried her from the land of the Goths to Edessa, to their church. On the following day, when the church was opened, the girl was found by the tomb of the saints, and the story of her miraculous deliverance was heard.

2. The Holy Martyrs Elpidios, Markellos and Efstochios.

They suffered for Christ in the time of Julian the Apostate (361-363). Elpidios was a senator. Seeing the way he was tortured and the miracles he wrought, six thousand pagans came to belief in Christ the Lord.

3. The Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God of Kupyatich.

This icon first appeared to a girl called Anna in the village of Kupyatich, in the Minsk region, in 1182. While keeping the sheep, Anna saw a light in the forest. When she drew near to that light, she caught sight of a smallish Cross on a tree, carrying the image of the most holy Mother of God. Anna took this Cross home, and returned to her flock. To her utter amazement, she again saw the selfsame Cross in exactly the same place. She took it down, tucked it into her bosom and carried it home. When she went to show the Cross to her father, she put her hand into her bosom to bring it out, but it was not there. She told her father what had happened, and he went out, saw the Cross in the forest and took it home, but on the following day, the Cross was yet again missing from the house. They alerted the whole village, and all the villagers went off to see the Cross and do it reverence. The people quickly built a church there, and many wonders were performed by this Cross bearing the image of the Mother of God. This icon is now to be found in the Church of St. Sophia in Kiev.

FOR CONSIDERATION

God most often gives victory in battle to the peacemakers. One example of this is the great Emperor Justinian, and another the holy King Stefan of Dečani. After the death of his father, King Milutin, Stefan took the bandages off his eyes and was joyfully proclaimed king by both the nobles and the people. But Constantine, Simonida’s son and Stefan’s younger brother on his father’s side, raised an army against Stefan. Stefan then wrote to him in the following terms: ‘You have heard what has happened to me; how I received my sight by God’s providence, that works in all things for good. Receiving God’s mercy, I have inherited my father’s throne, to reign over the people in the fear of God and with justice, after the tradition I have inherited. Setting aside your resolve, come and let us meet face to face; take second place in the kingdom as the second son, and do not be a stranger to your paternity; there is room in this land for us both. I am not Cain, the slayer of his brother, but a friend of Joseph, the lover of his brethren. In the words of this latter, I say to you: “You thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good” (Gen. 50:20).’ Thus wrote the holy king. But Constantine took no notice, and was beaten in battle by Stefan. So also was Vladislav, Dragutin’s son, another pretender to the Serbian throne. But the worst of all happened with Michael Shishman, King of Bulgaria. Stefan wrote to him: ‘Remember the meaning of Christian love; calm your wrath and let there be love between us as there was between our parents. Stop shedding Christian blood. Turn your weapons on the enemies of the name of Christ, and not on Christians. Bear in mind how hard you will find it to answer for innocent blood. Know also, that he who robs another loses that which he has.’ Michael scoffed at this letter from the holy king, and was utterly routed at Velbuzhd in 1330. ‘God is with the righteous, not with the mighty.’

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.