Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Second Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 15]. In those days:

5 ²¹The apostles, having heard that, entered into the temple during the early morning and began teaching. But the high priest came and those with him, and they called together the sanhedrin and all the council of elders of the sons of Israel, and sent off to the prison to have them brought. ²²But after the officers came and found them not in the prison, they returned and reported, ²³saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut with all security, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but after we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴Now when the priest and the captain of the temple-guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were quite at a loss concerning them and what this would become. ²⁵But a certain one came and reported to them, saying, “Behold, the men whom ye yourselves put in the prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they were fearing the people, lest they should be stoned. ²⁷And after they brought them, they stood them in the sanhedrin. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸saying, “We did charge you by a command not to teach on this name, did we not? And behold, ye have made Jerusalem full of your teaching, and intend to bring the blood of this Man upon us.” ²⁹But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “It is needful to obey God rather than men. ³⁰“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, Whom ye yourselves laid hands upon and hanged on a tree. ³¹“This One did God exalt with His right hand to be a Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³²“And we are His witnesses of these words, and also the Holy Spirit Whom God gave to those who obey Him.” ³³Now after they heard that, their hearts were sawn asunder, and they were taking counsel to kill him.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 19]. At that time:

6 ¹⁴The people, having seen what sign Jesus did, began to say, “This is truly the Prophet Who cometh into the world.” ¹⁵Then Jesus, having known that they were about to come and seize Him in order that they might make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain Himself alone.

¹⁶And when it became evening, His disciples went down to the sea; ¹⁷and having embarked into the ship, they were going across the sea to Capernaum. And already it had become dark, and Jesus had not come to them. ¹⁸And the sea was stirred up by a great wind blowing. ¹⁹Then after they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the ship; and they became afraid. ²⁰But He saith to them, “I am; cease being afraid.” ²¹Then they were willing to receive Him into the ship; and straightway the ship came to be at the land to which they were going.

²²On the morrow, the crowd which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one into which His disciples entered, and that Jesus did not enter together with His disciples into the little boat, but that His disciples went away alone— ²³but there came little boats from Tiberias, near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord gave thanks. ²⁴When the crowd therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves also embarked into the ships and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵And after they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when didst Thou arrive here?” ²⁶Jesus answered them and said, “Verily, verily, I say to you, ye seek Me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷“Cease working for the meat which perisheth, but for the food which abideth to everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give to you; for this One did God the Father seal.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Mother Elisabeth the Wonder-worker of Constantinople, and the Martyr Savvas the General of Rome and 70 soldiers with him.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

May 7th – Civil Calendar
April 24th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Savvas Stratelates.

This famous Savvas lived in Rome in the time of the Emperor Aurelian, and held a general’s rank. He was of a noble Gothic family. He often visited Christians in prison, helping them from his abundance. Through his great purity and fasting, God gave him power over unclean spirits. When he was charged with being a Christian, he stood courageously before the emperor, cast his officer’s belt before him and publicly confessed Christ the Lord. He was tortured in various ways: flogged, flailed with iron rods, burned with torches. But he did not succumb to these deadly tortures, and was seen to be alive and well. His comrades, the soldiers, seeing clearly that God was helping Savvas, accepted the Christian Faith, and seventy of them were immediately beheaded at the emperor’s command. Christ the Lord Himself appeared to Savvas in the prison in great light, and strengthened His martyr. Then Savvas was condemned to death by drowning. He was thrown into a deep river, where he gave his soul to God in the year 272. And his soul went to the Lord to Whom he had remained faithful under many tortures.

2. Our Holy Mother Elisabeth

She embraced monasticism in early youth in the monastery of Ss. Kosmas and Damian in Constantinople, and took on herself a heavy asceticism for the sake of Christ the Lord and of her soul. She regarded herself as the bride of Christ, and this world as illusory. From her great love for God flowed a great compassion for people, especially for the sick and suffering. By the gift she had received from God, she healed many diseases and much distress among the people. At her nightly prayers she was seen all illuminated with heavenly light. And after her death, her relics had the power of healing, and many of the sick and suffering have come to her grave through the ages. She entered peacefully into rest and went to the eternal joy of her Lord in the year 540.

3. The Holy Martyrs Evsevios, Neon, Leontios and Longinos.

These four were army comrades of St. George. Seeing the courageous endurance and marvels of the saint, they became Christians and were consequently beheaded.

4. The Holy Martyrs Pasikratees and Valention.

When the judge urged Pasikratees (Pasicrates), and also the martyr’s brother, Papianos (who had fallen away from Christ through fear of torture) to offer sacrifice to idols, Pasikratees put his hand into the fire and cried: ‘The body is dead and burned by fire, but the soul is immortal and does not feel visible torture.’ His mother upheld him and greatly encouraged him to endure to the end. He was beheaded along with Valention (Valentine), and they both went to the kingdom of Christ in about 302.

5. Our Holy Father Thomas the Fool for Christ.

Whenever, in his monastic work, he had to go into the city of Antioch, Thomas feigned madness for the sake of Christ. A certain Anastasios, refusing to give him the requested alms for the monastery, gave him a blow instead. Then Thomas prophesied: ‘From now on, I shall receive nothing from Anastasios, nor will Anastasios be able to give anything.’ One day later, Anastasios died; and Thomas also, about to return to the monastery, gave up the spirit. And so the prophecy of this holy man was fulfilled. St. Thomas departed this life in Laphnis near Antioch, in the time of Patriarch Domnos (546-560).

6. The Holy New-Martyrs Luke and Nicholas

The young man Luke (or Doukas), a tailor by profession, suffered for Christ in 1546, and Nicholas in 1776.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Exhorting Christians to come to church for prayer, St. John Chrysostom says: ‘If a messenger brings an imperial or princely document to a subject citizen, the citizen does not examine the life of the bearer, whether he is rich or poor, righteous or sinful, but listens carefully to what he reads. If anyone has not heard him, he asks someone who has. So, if you have such enormous respect for an earthly ruler, how necessary it is to listen to us priests, here where the Creator of the heavenly powers speaks through us sinners.’ And, indeed, what are the holy Scriptures but documents of the King of heaven? How can it not interest us every day and every hour, that unique and saving document, when the least decree of the lowest authority in the state interests us? St. Anthony says: ‘Let all that you do be justified in holy Scripture.’ But how can you have justification from holy Scripture if you do not know the Scriptures?

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.