Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Twelfth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ mid 125].

For Gk. usage, see 1 Cor. 1:26-2:5; for Sl. usage, see 1 Cor. 1:26-29.

1 ²⁶Brethren, ye see your calling, that there are not many wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many well-born. ²⁷But God chose for Himself the foolish things of the world, that He may put to shame the wise; and God chose for Himself the weak things of the world, that He may put to shame the mighty things. ²⁸And God chose for Himself the low-born of the world and the despised, and the things that are nothing, that He might make of no effect the things that are, ²⁹so that no flesh should boast before Him. ³⁰But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹in order that, even as it hath been written: “He that boasteth, in the Lord let him boast [cf. Jer. 9:23, 24].”

2 ¹And I, brethren, having come to you, came not according to excellency of speech or of wisdom, announcing to you the testimony of God. ²For I decided not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, even this One Who was crucified. ³And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 82]. At that time:

20 ²⁹As Jesus went forth from Jericho, a great crowd followed Him. ³⁰And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, after they heard “Jesus is passing by,” cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David.” ³¹And the crowd rebuked them that they should be silent; but they kept on crying out the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David.” ³²And Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do ye wish that I should do to you?” ³³They say to Him, “Lord, that our eyes might be opened.” ³⁴And Jesus was moved with compassion and touched their eyes; and straightway their eyes recovered sight, and they followed Him.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Dormition, and the holy Apostle Thaddæos of the Seventy, and the holy Martyr Vassa, and her sons Theognios, Agapios, and Pistos.

Epistle

No reading given.

Gospel

For the Apostle:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 12]. At that time:

3 ¹³Jesus went up into the mountain and calleth to Himself whom He Himself was wanting; and they went forth to Him. ¹⁴And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, ¹⁵and to have authority to cure the diseases and to cast out the demons: ¹⁶And to Simon He gave the name, Peter; ¹⁷and Iakovos the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of Iakovos; and He gave them the name Boanerges, which is, sons of thunder; ¹⁸and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and Iakovos the son of Alphæos, and Thaddæos, and Simon the Cananite, ¹⁹and Judas Iscariote, who also delivered Him up.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

September 3rd – Civil Calendar
August 21st – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Apostle Thaddaeus.

One of the Seventy, he was not that Thaddaeus who was one of the Twelve. St. Thaddaeus first saw and heard John the Baptist, and then saw the Lord Jesus and followed Him. The Lord included him among His seventy, lesser apostles, whom He sent two and two before His face (Luke 10:1). After His glorious Resurrection and Ascension, the Lord sent Thaddaeus to Edessa, Thaddaeus’ birthplace, in fulfillment of His promise to Avgar, which He made when He sent him the napkin with the imprint of His face. By kissing this napkin, Avgar was healed of his leprosy, though not entirely; a little of the leprosy remained on his face. When St. Thaddaeus visited Avgar, the latter received him with great joy. Christ’s apostle instructed him in the true Faith and then baptized him. When the baptized Avgar came up out of the water, the remaining leprosy fell from him and he was completely healed. Glorifying God, Prince Avgar desired that his people should come to the knowledge of the true God and glorify Him. The prince called together all the citizens of Edessa before the holy Apostle Thaddaeus, to hear him preach about Christ. Hearing the apostle’s words and seeing their miraculously-healed prince, the people cast away their idols and their unclean living, embraced the Christian Faith and were baptized, and the city of Edessa became resplendent with the Christian Faith. Prince Avgar brought much gold and offered it to the apostle, but Thaddaeus said to him: ‘Having abandoned my own, do I accept another’s?’ St. Thaddaeus preached the Gospel throughout Syria and Phoenicia, and entered into rest in the Lord in the Phoenician city of Beirut.

2. The Holy Martyr Vassa and her children: Theognios, Agapios and Pistos.

Vassa was the wife of a pagan priest, but she was secretly a Christian and brought her sons up in a Christian spirit. Her husband hated her for her faith, and handed her over to the judge for torture, together with her sons. After harsh torture, her sons were beheaded (it is thought, in Edessa in Macedonia). Vassa was filled with joy to see her sons thus gloriously finish their martyrs’ course for Christ, and herself went with yet greater desire from torture to torture. When she was thrown into the sea, angels appeared to her and took her to an island in the Sea of Marmara, where she was slain with the sword under Maximian. Thus holy Vassa was in a twofold manner made worthy of the kingdom of Christ: as a martyr and as the mother of martyrs.

3. Our Holy Father Abraham (Avraamy) of Smolensk.

Born in the town of Smolensk at the prayers of his parents, he early embraced the monastic state and gave himself to strict asceticism, emulating the holy fathers of the desert. He later founded the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Smolensk. He underwent many temptations from demons and from men, enduring them with great fortitude and thanksgiving to God. At a time of great drought, he brought rain by his prayers. Living fifty years in asceticism, he entered peacefully into rest in the Lord in about 1220.

4. Our Holy Forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

They are also commemorated on the Sunday of the Forefathers before the Nativity of Christ, as righteous and pleasing to God.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Great-souled forgiveness of slanderers and prayer for them is a distinctive mark of the Christian saints, who regard slander against themselves as sent, not by men but by demons, the greatest instigators of every slander, as of every sin in general. St. Abraham of Smolensk was slandered to the prince and the bishop by his envious priests as an imposter, a magician and a hypocrite. The slanderers sought nothing less than that he should be burned. The prince and bishop believed the slanderers, and Abraham was driven out of Smolensk and forbidden to celebrate the divine Mysteries. During the whole time of his exile and condemnation, Abraham repeated the prayer of St. Stephen the first martyr: ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge’ (Acts 7:60). It was later established that Abraham’s accusers were false and slanderous. The furious prince sought to punish the slanderers severely, and the bishop to excommunicate them, but holy Abraham fell on his knees before the bishop and begged him with tears to forgive them. He would not return to his monastery or begin again the celebration of the divine Mysteries until his slanderers had been pardoned and set free.

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.