Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Special Commemorations

The Saturday Before The Exaltation of The Cross

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 126]. Brethren:

2 ⁶We speak wisdom among the perfect, but a wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nought. ⁷But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, which hath been hidden and which God foreordained before the ages to our glory, ⁸which not one of the rulers of this age hath known; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of the glory. ⁹But even as it hath been written: “Eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which God prepared for those who love Him [cf. Is. 64:4].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 39]. The Lord said:

10 ³⁷“The one who loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸“And whosoever taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹“The one who findeth his life shall lose it; and the one who loseth his life on account of Me shall find it. ⁴⁰“The one who receiveth you receiveth Me, and the one who receiveth Me receiveth the One Who sent Me forth. ⁴¹“The one who receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²“And whosoever shall give to one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, in no wise shall he lose his reward.”

11 ¹And it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, He passed over from that place to teach and preach in their cities.

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 132]. Brethren:

4 ¹⁷On this account I sent to you Timothy, who is my child, beloved and faithful in the Lord, who shall remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church. ¹⁸Now some were puffed up as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come quickly to you, if the Lord will, and I will know, not the word of those who have been puffed up, but the power; ²⁰for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. ²¹What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and in a spirit of meekness?

5 ¹It is actually heard that there is fornication among you, and such fornication which is not even named among the nations—so as for one to have his father’s wife. ²And ye are being puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who did this might be taken away from among you! ³For I indeed, being absent in the body but present in the spirit, already have judged, as though I were present, the one who so wrought this thing, ⁴in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—after ye have been gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ— ⁵to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, in order that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 97]. At that time:

24 ¹The disciples of Jesus came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple. ²But Jesus said to them, “See ye not all these things? Verily I say to you, in no wise shall there be left here a stone upon a stone which shall not be put down.” ³And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the completion of the age?” ⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “Be taking heed, lest anyone lead you astray. ⁵“For many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’; and they shall lead astray many. ⁶“But ye are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars; keep on looking out and cease being clamorous; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷“For nation shall be stirred up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be famines, and plagues, and earthquakes, in place after place. ⁸“But all these are a beginning of birth pangs. ⁹“Then they shall deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated by all the nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰“And then many shall be made to stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. ¹¹“And many false prophets shall be raised up, and shall lead astray many. ¹²“And because lawlessness shall have been multiplied, the love of the multitude shall grow cold. ¹³“But the one who endureth to the end, this one shall be saved.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Nativity, and our venerable Mother Theodora of Alexandria, of our venerable Fathers Sergius and Herman, Wonder-workers of Valaam, and Fool for Christ St. Xenia of St. Petersburg.

Epistle

For the venerable Mother and Fool for Christ:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 208]. Brethren:

3 ²³Before faith came, we were being guarded under the law, having been closed up to the faith about to be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law hath become our tutor until Christ, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor. ²⁶For all are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷For as many as were baptized into Christ, ye put on Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to promise.

For the venerable Fathers:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213]. Brethren:

5 ²²The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴But they who are of the Christ crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be walking by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

6 ¹Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness, looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ²Keep on bearing one another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.

Gospel

For the venerable Mother:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 28]. At that time:

8 ³The scribes and the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in adultery. And after they made her stand in the midst, ⁴they say to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught committing adultery, in the very act. ⁵“Now Moses, in the law, commanded us to stone such women. Thou therefore, what sayest Thou?” ⁶But this they were saying, putting Him to the test, in order that they may have an accusation against Him. But Jesus, having stooped down, was writing with His finger on the ground. ⁷And as they continued questioning Him, He lifted up Himself and said to them, “The one who is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her.” ⁸And again He stooped down and was writing on the ground. ⁹But after they heard and were convicted by their own conscience, they were going out one by one, beginning from the eldest. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman being in the midst. ¹⁰And after Jesus lifted up Himself, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of thine? Did no one condemn thee?” ¹¹And she said, “No one, Sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and henceforth no longer go on sinning.”

For the venerable Fathers:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 24]. At that time:

6 ¹⁷ Jesus 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.”

For the venerable Fool for Christ:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 104]. The Lord said this parable:

25 ¹“The kingdom of the heavens shall be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. ²“And five of them were prudent, and five were foolish. ³“Those who were foolish took lamps for themselves and took no oil with them; ⁴“but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵“But while the bridegroom tarried, they all dozed and went on sleeping. ⁶“But in the middle of the night, there came to pass a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!’ ⁷“Then all those virgins were wakened and trimmed their lamps. ⁸“And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹“But the prudent answered, saying, ‘Peradventure there might not be enough for us and you, but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰“But while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and they who were ready went in with him to the wedding festivities; and the door was shut. ¹¹“And afterwards the remaining virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹²“But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say to you, I know ye not.’ ¹³“Be watching then, for ye know not the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man cometh.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

September 24th – Civil Calendar
September 11th – Church Calendar

1. Our Holy Mother Theodora.

From Alexandria, she was the wife of a young man. Urged on by a fortune-teller, she committed adultery with another man. Her conscience immediately began to trouble her, and she cut off her hair and dressed in men’s garb, then went off to the men’s monastery of Octodecatos under the man’s name of Theodore. Her labors, fasts, vigils, meekness and tearful repentance were a source of wonder to all the brethren. Slandered by some harlot, who said that Theodora had lain with her, she would not let the truth be known, regarding it as a punishment from God for her former sin. Driven out of the monastery, she spent seven years outside the monastery gates, caring for the harlot’s child. She overcame all the enemy’s assaults, refusing to worship Satan, to take food from the hand of a soldier or to heed her husband’s demand that she return to him—for all that was simply devilish illusion, and when Theodora made the sign of the Cross, it all vanished away like smoke. After seven years, the abbot of the monastery received her back, and she lived there in asceticism a further two years and then entered into rest in the Lord. Only then did the monks learn that she was a woman; an angel appeared to the abbot and explained everything to him. Her husband came to her funeral, and remained till his death in the cell of his former wife. St. Theodora had very great grace from God: she tamed wild beasts, healed sicknesses and brought water to a dry well. Thus God glorified this true penitent, who, with heroic endurance, spent nine years repenting of one sin. She entered into rest in the year 490.

2. St. Paphnutios the Confessor.

A bishop in the Egyptian Thebaid, he suffered greatly for the Orthodox Faith: heretics put out one of his eyes and broke his left leg. He took part in the First Ecumenical Council, refuting the Arian heresy with great power. The Emperor Constantine valued him greatly, and often kissed him on the missing eye, lost for the truth of Orthodoxy. At the council, he stood in opposition to the western representatives, who proposed that secular priests be completely forbidden to marry. He was chaste throughout the whole of his life.

3. Our Holy Father Ephrosynus the Cook.

A simple man and a man of God, he served as cook in a certain monastery in the ninth century. The spiritual father of this monastery dreamed one night that he was in Paradise, and there saw Ephrosynus, who chose for him three apples of Paradise. When he awoke, he saw these three lovely and fragrant apples on his pillow. He quickly found Ephrosynus and asked him: ‘Where were you last night, brother?’ ‘Where you were, father,’ the blessed man of God replied. The spiritual father then revealed the whole affair to the monks, and all knew of the holiness and godliness of Ephrosynus. But he, fearing the praise of men, immediately fled from the monastery and hid himself in the desert, where he spent the rest of his life.

4. The Holy Martyr Ia.

Denounced by an idolatrous priest, she suffered for the Lord in Persia in the time of Sapor II, in 363. According to tradition, the sun was darkened at the time of her death, and the whole air was filled with a wonderful fragrance. She is glorified forever by the Lord.

5. The Holy Martyrs Diodore, Didymus and Diomedes.

They were flogged for Christ’s sake in Laodicea, and gave their souls into the hands of their Lord.

FOR CONSIDERATION

One must not hinder any man on the path of perfect self-giving and service of God. Many holy women, who determined to flee wedlock and consecrate themselves to God, were followed and hindered by their husbands. These women have usually escaped in the end, remaining steadfast in their intention, and have often, by their example, wakened their husbands’ consciences and set them on the way of salvation. St. Theodora had to conceal herself from her husband with the greatest caution, and she therefore dressed herself in men’s clothing and hid in a men’s monastery. But there have also been husbands with godly wisdom, who, with their wives, fulfilled their desire to withdraw from the world and consecrate themselves entirely to God. The Emperor Frederick was betrothed to a maiden, Agnes Cheshka, but she would not agree to enter into wedlock, and breaking off the betrothal, went into a monastery. Then the wise emperor said: ‘If she had left me for some mortal man, I would have had my revenge; but I dare not consider myself affronted that, in my place, she has chosen the King of heaven.’

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.