Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the Fifth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 36]. In those days:

15 ⁵There rose up certain of those from the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶And the apostles and the presbyters were gathered together to see about this matter. ⁷And after much discussion took place, Peter rose up and said to them, “Men, brethren, ye know that from former days God Himself chose among us for the nations to hear by my mouth the word of the Gospel, and to believe. ⁸“And God, the Knower of hearts, bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as also to us; ⁹“and He made no distinction between both us and them, having purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰“Now then why tempt ye God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ¹¹“But through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe we are to be saved in like manner as they.” ¹²And all the multitude became silent, and were listening to Barnabas and Paul relating how many signs and wonders God wrought among the nations through them. ¹³And after they became silent, Iakovos answered, saying, “Men, brethren, hear me. ¹⁴“Symeon related how God first visited to take from the nations a people for His name. ¹⁵“And to this agree the words of the prophets, even as it hath been written: ¹⁶“‘“After these things I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen, and I will build again the things which have been dug down, and I will set it up [cf. Amos 9:11], ¹⁷“‘“so that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, even all the nations upon whom My name hath been called upon them,” saith the Lord Who doeth all these things [cf. Amos 9:12].’ ¹⁸“Known to God are all His works from eternity. ¹⁹“Wherefore I judge that we are not to trouble those who from the nations are turning to God, ²⁰“but that we write to them to abstain from the pollutions of the idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. ²¹“For Moses from generations of old hath in every city those proclaiming him, since he is read every sabbath day.” ²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and to the presbyters, with the whole Church, to send chosen men from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas surnamed Barsavas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, ²³having written by their hand thus: “The apostles and the presbyters and the brethren to those brethren who are of the nations in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. ²⁴“Whereas we have heard that certain from among us who went out troubled you with words, upsetting your souls, saying, ‘Be circumcised and keep the law’—to whom we gave no such command— ²⁵“it seemed good to us, having come to be of one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶“men who have handed over their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷“We have sent forth therefore Judas and Silas, who shall themselves also relate verbally the same things. ²⁸“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no further burden than these necessary things: ²⁹“that ye abstain from sacrifices to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication; from which, if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare-well.”

³⁰So when they were dismissed, they went to Antioch; and after they gathered together the multitude, they delivered the epistle. ³¹And having read it, they rejoiced for the consolation. ³²Both Judas and Silas, being themselves also prophets, by much discourse exhorted the brethren and confirmed them. ³³And after they continued for a time, they were sent forth in peace from the brethren to the apostles. ³⁴But it seemed good to Silas to abide there.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 37]. The Lord said to those Jews who had come to Him:

10 ¹⁷“On this account My Father loveth Me, because I lay down My soul, that I might take it again. ¹⁸“No one taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This commandment I received from My Father.” ¹⁹A division therefore again arose among the Jews on account of these words. ²⁰And many of them were saying, “He hath a demon and is mad; why hear ye Him?” ²¹Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is possessed by a demon. A demon is not able to open the eyes of the blind, is he?”

²²And it came to be the feast of the dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³And Jesus was walking about in the temple in Solomon’s porch. ²⁴Then the Jews came round about Him and were saying to Him, “Until when dost Thou lift up our soul? If Thou art the Christ, tell us openly.” ²⁵Jesus answered them, “I told you, and ye believe not. The works which I do in the name of My Father, these bear witness concerning Me. ²⁶“But ye believe not; for ye are not of My sheep, even as I said to you. ²⁷“The sheep, those that are Mine, hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸“And I give them eternal life.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Prophet Esaias, and the Great-martyr Christopher, and the translation of the precious relics from Myra to Bari of our holy father among the saints and wonder-worker, Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (commemorated on Gk. calendar on the 20^th of May).

Epistle

For the Prophet:

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 266].

For Gk. usage, see 1 Thess. 2:14-20; for Sl. usage, see 1 Thess. 2:14-19.

2 ¹⁴Brethren, ye became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judæa in Christ Jesus. For ye also suffered the same things by your own countrymen, even as they have by the Jews, ¹⁵who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, ¹⁶forbidding us to speak to the nations that they might be saved, to the end that they fill up their sins always. But the wrath came upon them to the uttermost.

¹⁷But we, brethren, having been made orphans from you for an hour’s time—in person, not in heart—endeavored more abundantly to see your face with great desire. ¹⁸Wherefore we wished to come to you, indeed I Paul, both once and twice, and yet Satan hindered us. ¹⁹For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of boasting? Are not also ye before our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? ²⁰For ye are our glory and joy.

For the Hierarch:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 335]. Brethren:

13 ¹⁷Be obedient to those who lead you, and keep on submitting, for they are watchful for your souls, as those about to render an account, that they may do this with joy, and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable for you. ¹⁸Keep on praying for us; for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to conduct ourselves well. ¹⁹But I beseech you more abundantly to do this, that I might be restored more quickly to you.

²⁰Now the God of peace Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of the sheep, the great One, in the blood of an everlasting covenant, ²¹may He render you perfect in every good work, in order to do His will, doing in you that which is well-pleasing before His face, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

For the Prophet:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 14]. At that time:

4 ²² The crowds were wondering at the words of grace which were proceeding out of Jesus’ mouth, and were saying, “This is the Son of Joseph, is it not?” ²³And He said to them, “No doubt, ye will say this parable to Me, ‘Physician, heal thyself; as much as we heard was done in Capernaum, do also here in Thy country.’” ²⁴And He said, “Verily I say to you that not one prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵“But in truth I say to you, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine arose over all the land; ²⁶“and to not even one of them was Elias sent, except to Sarepta of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷“And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisaios the prophet, and not one of them was cleansed, except Neman the Syrian.” ²⁸And all in the synagogue were filled with anger when they heard these things. ²⁹And they rose up and cast Him outside of the city; and they led Him up to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down headlong. ³⁰But He, having passed through the midst of them, kept going on His way.

For the Hierarch:

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)

May 22nd – Civil Calendar
May 9th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Prophet Isaias (Isaiah).

This great prophet was of royal birth. He was born in Jerusalem of Amoz the brother of Amaziah, King of the Jews. By the great grace of God that was within him, Isaias was made worthy to see the Lord of Sabaoth on His heavenly throne, surrounded by six-winged seraphim which cried unceasingly: ‘Holy, holy, holy Lord of Sabaoth’ (Is. 6). Isaias prophesied many things, both to individuals and to nations. Once he walked for three years naked through the streets of Jerusalem, prophesying the imminent fall of the city to the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, and warning the king and the leaders of the people not to seek help from Egypt and Ethiopia, because they too would shortly be over-run by the same Sennacherib, but to seek the aid of the all-seeing God. And this prophecy, like all the rest, was literally fulfilled (37:31-35). But his most important prophecies were on the incarnation of God, on the conception of the most pure Mother of God, on John the Baptist and on many events in the life of Christ. This clairvoyant, because of his pure heart and zeal for God, also received the gift of working miracles. Thus, when the besieged city of Jerusalem was suffering from thirst, he prayed to God and water flowed out from beneath the hill of Sion. This water was named Siloam (‘sent’), and it was to that water that, later, the Lord sent the man born blind, to wash himself and receive his sight (Is. 8:6; Jn 9:7). In the time of King Manasseh, when Isaias thundered against the pagan practices of the king and the leaders of the people, comparing that generation with Sodom and Gomorrah, the anger of the leaders and the people was lifted up against this great prophet, and he was seized, taken out of Jerusalem and sawn in half. He lived and prophesied seven hundred years before Christ.

2. St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker of Myra in Lycia.

On this day is commemorated the translation of his relics. In the time of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Patriarch Nicholas Grammatikos, in 1087, the body of this saint was taken from Myra in Lycia to the town of Bari in Italy. This came to pass because of a Moslem attack on Lycia. The saint appeared to a priest in Bari and commanded that his relics be taken there. At that time, the town of Bari was Orthodox and under the administration of an Orthodox patriarch. At the translation of the saint’s relics, many miracles were wrought on those who touched them, and a healing myrrh flowed in abundance from them. Also on this day is commemorated the miracle worked by St. Nicholas on Stefan of Dečani, King of Serbia. This was when the saint restored the sight of the blind King Stefan.

3. The Holy Martyr Christopher.

A great wonder-worker, he is especially venerated in Spain. His help is invoked particularly against infectious illnesses and great pestilence. He was martyred for Christ and glorified in 249.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Every Christian can take on himself some martyrdom for his Faith, both in times of persecution of the Faith and in times of peace. Abba Athanasius says: ‘Be tortured by your conscience, die to sin, be as a dead man on earth, and you will be a martyr by desire. They fought aforetime with kings and princes; you have the king of sin—the devil—and the princes, the demons. Formerly there were idols, heathen temples and those who sacrificed to idols. And these remain as thoughts in the soul. He who is a slave to lust bows down before the idol of Aphrodite. He who is in anger and fury bows down to the idol of Ares. He who is avaricious and blind to the trouble of his neighbor bows down to the idol of Hermes. But if you restrain yourself from all this, and keep yourself from the passions, you have conquered the idols, turned from evil and false belief and become a martyr for the Faith.’ And so, a man does not need to yearn for persecution and martyrdom. Every man in every age can endure martyrdom for the sake of Christ and His Gospel.

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.