Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Third Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 20]. In those days:

8 ²⁶An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Rise up and go toward the south, on the way which goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza”; the same is desert. ²⁷And having risen, he went. And behold, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a potentate under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, and who had come to Jerusalem to make obeisance, ²⁸was returning, and he was both sitting in his chariot and reading the Prophet Esaias. ²⁹And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and join thyself to this chariot.” ³⁰And Philip ran up and heard him reading the Prophet Esaias, and said, “So then dost thou really understand what thou readest?” ³¹But he said, “No. How can I, unless someone should guide me?” And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²And the section of the Scripture which he was reading was this: “As a sheep He was led to slaughter; and as a lamb dumb before him who sheareth him, thus He openeth not His mouth [cf. Is. 53:7]. ³³“In His humiliation, His judgment was taken away; but who shall describe His generation? For His life is being taken away from the earth [cf. Is. 53:8].” ³⁴And the eunuch answered and said to Philip, “I entreat thee, concerning Whom speaketh the prophet this? Concerning himself or concerning some other?” ³⁵And Philip opened his mouth and began from this Scripture, and preached the good tidings to him—Jesus. ³⁶And as they were going along the way, they came upon some water. And the eunuch saith, “Behold, water; what hindereth me to be baptized?” ³⁷And Philip said, “If thou believest with all thy heart, it is possible.” And he answered and said, “I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.” ³⁸And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. ³⁹And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried off Philip, and the eunuch saw him no longer; then he went on his way rejoicing.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 22]. The Lord said to the Jews who had believed in Him:

6 ⁴⁰“This is the will of the One Who sent Me, that everyone who seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up in the last day.” ⁴¹The Jews then were murmuring about Him, because He said, “I am the bread, the One having come down out of the heavens.” ⁴²And they were saying, “This is Jesus, the son of Joseph, of Whom we know the father and the Mother, is it not? How is it then that this One saith, ‘I have come down out of the heavens’?” ⁴³Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Cease murmuring with one another. ⁴⁴“No one is able to come to Me unless the Father, the One Who sent Me, should draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Apostles of the Seventy, Jason and Sosipater, and their companions (commemorated on Sl. calendar on the 28^th of April). The commemoration of the holy Nine Martyrs of Kyzicus, Theognis, Rufus, Antipater, Theostichos, Artemas, Magnos, Theodotos, Thavmasios, and Philemon (commemorated on Gk. calendar on the 28^th of April).

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

May 12th – Civil Calendar
April 29th – Church Calendar

1. St. Basil of Ostrog.

Basil was born in Popovo Selo in Herzegovina, of simple and devout parents. From his youth he was filled with love for the Church of God, and when he grew up he went to the monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God at Trebinje, and became a monk. As such, he quickly became known for his serious and rare ascetic life, for he loaded himself with ascetic practices, each harder than the last. He was later chosen and consecrated as Bishop of Zahum and Skenderia, much against his will. As a bishop, he first lived in the monastery at Tvrdoš, whence, as a good pastor, he confirmed his flock in the Orthodox Faith, keeping it from the cruelty of the Turks and the guile of the Latins. But when he was too pressed-upon by his enemies, and when Tvrdoš* was destroyed by the Turks, Basil moved to Ostrog, where he lived in strict asceticism, protecting his flock by his unceasing and loving prayers. He went peacefully to the Lord in the 16th century, leaving his whole and healing body, incorrupt and wonder-working, to the present day. The miracles at the grave of St. Basil are without number. Both Christians and Moslems hasten to his relics and find healing of the gravest sicknesses and sufferings. A great national gathering takes place there every year at Pentecost.

* Author’s Note: A new church, on the ruins of the old Tvrdoš, has been built in our day by Nikolai Runjevac, from the village of Poljica near Trebinje—a wonderful foundation in the sight of God and His people.

2. The Nine Holy Martyrs of Kyzikos.

These nine courageous martyrs, burning with love for Christ, refused to offer sacrifice to idols or to deny Christ the Lord, for which they were harshly tortured and finally beheaded. In the time of the Emperor Constantine, a church was built in Kyzikos in honor of these martyrs, and their incorrupt relics were laid there. Their names were: Theognes, Roufos, Antipater, Theostichos, Artemas, Magnos, Theodotos, Thaumasios and Philemon. They all scorned the temporal for the sake of the eternal, and the corruptible for the incorruptible. Therefore the Lord brought them into His eternal family and crowned them with wreaths of unfading glory. They suffered with honor and were glorified in the 3rd century.

3. Our Holy Father Memnon the Wonder-worker.

From his youth, Memnon gave himself to fasting and prayer, and purified himself so greatly that he became a dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. He cured incurable illnesses and worked many other miracles. He appeared during storms at sea and saved boats from destruction. He entered peacefully into rest in the Lord in the second century, and went to His heavenly courts.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Nothing can be hidden from the omniscient God. To Him is known at every moment what is being done on earth, both in the external and in the internal, spiritual world. Not a single intention, not a single wish, not a single thought of his can a man hide from God. How can that which cannot be hidden from holy men be hidden from God? The great Tsar Ivan the Formidable came one day to church. In the church, Blessed Basil the Fool for Christ was at prayer. The tsar was indeed physically present in the church, but his mind was on Sparrow Hill, not far from Moscow, on which a palace had been begun. Throughout the service, Ivan was thinking of how to continue and complete his palace on that hill. After the service, the tsar saw Basil, and asked him where he had been. ‘In church,’ replied Basil, and immediately asked the tsar: ‘And where were you, my tsar?’ ‘I, too, have been in church,’ replied the tsar. But to this, the discerning saint made answer: ‘You are not speaking the truth, my little Ivan, for I saw you in thought walking on Sparrow Hill and building a palace there!’

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.