Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Second Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 12]. In those days:

4 ²³The apostles, having been set free, came to their own company and reported as much as the chief priests and the elders said to them. ²⁴And after they heard that, with one accord they lifted up their voice to God and said, “Master, Thou art the God Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all things that are in them, ²⁵“Who by the mouth of Thy servant David said, ‘Why did the nations act arrogantly and the peoples meditate empty things [Ps. 2:1]? ²⁶“‘The kings of the earth stood by, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ [Ps. 2:2].’ ²⁷“For of a truth, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together against Thy holy Servant Jesus, Whom Thou didst anoint, ²⁸“to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel foreordained to be done. ²⁹“And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to Thy slaves to speak Thy word with all boldness, ³⁰“as Thou stretchest forth Thy hand for healing and signs and wonders to be done through the name of Thy holy Servant Jesus.” ³¹And having made entreaty, the place was shaken in which they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and were speaking the word of God with boldness.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 16]. The Lord said to the Jews who had come to Him:

5 ²⁴“Verily, verily, I say to you, that the one who heareth My word and believeth the One Who sent Me hath everlasting life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed over out of death into life. ²⁵“Verily, verily, I say to you, that an hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear shall live. ²⁶“For even as the Father hath life in Himself, so He also gave to the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷“and He also gave to Him authority to execute judgment. That He is Son of Man, ²⁸“cease marvelling at this; for an hour is coming in which all those in the graves shall hear His voice, ²⁹“and shall go forth—they who did good things to a resurrection of life, but they who practised bad things to a resurrection of condemnation. ³⁰“I am not able to do anything of Myself. Even as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the One Who sent Me, the Father.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our holy father among the saints, Symeon, Bishop of Persia, and those with him, Avdella the presbyter, Gothazat, Fousik, and 1,150 others, and our holy father among the saints, Akakios, Bishop of Melitene.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

April 30th – Civil Calendar
April 17th – Church Calendar

1. The Hieromartyr Simeon, Bishop in Persia.

In the time of the wicked King Sapor, Simeon was tortured for Christ together with two of his priests, Audel and Ananias. The king’s eunuch, Ustazan, who had first denied Christ but then, moved by the reprimand of St. Simeon, again confessed the true Faith before the king, was executed before they were. A thousand other Christians were also led to execution with St. Simeon, who purposely stood a little back so that he should be the last to die, and so be able to encourage the other Christians right to the end and keep them from wavering through fear of death. When the priest Ananias laid his head on the block, he was trembling all over. But the king’s clerk, Fusik, who was himself secretly a Christian, began to encourage him, saying: ‘Don’t be frightened, elder. Shut your eyes and be a man, and you’ll see the divine light.’ As soon as he had said this, it was seen that he was a Christian and he was denounced to the king. The king wore him down with harsh tortures, and also his daughter, the maiden Askitria. St. Simeon was eventually beheaded, after having seen his flock into the other world. The following year, on Great Friday, the king’s beloved eunuch, Azat, was slain for Christ, along with another thousand of the faithful. Then the king grieved for his eunuch and gave up killing any more Christians. They all suffered with honor for Christ their King and Lord in about 341.

2. St. Acacius, Bishop of Melitene.

He lived in asceticism in his birthplace, the city of Melitene in Armenia. Blessed Otreius, the bishop of that city, who took part in the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, ordained him to the priesthood. After Otreius’ death, Acacius was chosen as bishop. He participated in the Third Ecumenical Council in 431, which condemned the Nestorian blasphemy concerning the Mother of God. There he, together with St. Kyril of Alexandria, showed great zeal for the purity of the Orthodox Faith. St. Acacius was endowed with great grace by God, and worked many miracles. After long and zealous service of God, he died peacefully in 435.

3. St. Agapetus, Pope of Rome.

He was sent by Theodotus, King of the Goths, to the Emperor Justinian in Constantinople, to dissuade the latter from his campaign against the Goths. On the way, he healed a dumb and blind man. In Constantinople, he helped to uphold Orthodoxy, and died in 536.

4. Our Holy Father Zossima.

One of the founders of the ascetic community on the island of Solovetz (Solovki) in the White Sea. Many great saints were glorified in this community. His predecessor St. Sabbatius entered into rest in 1435, and St. Zossima in 1478.

FOR CONSIDERATION

After the Council of Chalcedon the Emperor Anastasios, a heretic, sent Elias, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Flavian of Antioch to prison. One day these two saints foresaw the death of the heretic emperor, and simultaneously sent each other word of this, saying: ‘Anastasios has at this moment died; let us set out that we may be judged by God together with him!’ The emperor died, and both patriarchs died two days later. What zeal for the true Faith! And what a humble attitude to God’s judgement! These saints saw no other reason for their earthly life than the truth of God. Neither did they say ‘We have judged,’ but ‘Let God judge!’ Our sojourn on earth is not just for the sake of our being here, but for our personal decision for good or evil, for truth or falsehood. Blessed are we if we can lay all before the will of God and the judgement of God. But in all things a strong faith is vital. These Orthodox hierarchs had strong faith.

So had St. Acacius. Once, in a time of great drought, when the people were in despair, Acacius held a procession with the people all round the town. And he arranged for the Liturgy to be celebrated outside the town, outside the Church of St. Eustace. Consecrating the holy Gifts, Acacius did not pour water into the wine, but prayed to God that He, the Almighty, would send water into the chalice from a cloud. God hearkened to the prayer of His faithful servant and sent abundant rain onto the thirsty fields, as well as into the chalice.

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.