Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second General Epistle of Saint Peter [§ 68 A].

3 ¹Beloved, this second epistle, I now write to you, in which I stir up your sincere mind ²to be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³knowing this first, that during the last days mockers shall come, walking according to their own desires, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue thus as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵For this escapeth their notice willingly: that by the word of God were there heavens of old, and an earth having stood together out of water and in water, ⁶by which the world of that time, having been deluged by water, perished. ⁷But the present heavens and the earth, which have been laid up in store by the same word, are being kept for fire until a day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. ⁸But, beloved, let not this one thing escape you, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow as to the promise, as some deem slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing to have any perish, but to have all come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a rushing sound, and the elements, being burned with intense heat, shall be dissolved; and the earth and the works in it shall be burned completely. ¹¹Therefore, because of all these things being dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy modes of life and acts of piety, ¹²expecting and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of the Lord, by reason of which the heavens, being set on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements, being burned with intense heat, shall be melted! ¹³But according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

¹⁴Wherefore, beloved, looking for these things, earnestly endeavor to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless; ¹⁵and be deeming that the long-suffering of the Lord is salvation, even as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom which was given to him, wrote to you, ¹⁶as also in all his epistles, speaking in them concerning these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable twist, as they do also the rest of Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷Ye therefore, beloved, since ye know these things beforehand, be on your guard lest, having been led away by the error of the lawless, ye should fall from your own steadfastness; ¹⁸but keep on increasing in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 61]. The Lord said to His disciples:

13 ²⁴“In those days, after that affliction, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light; ²⁵“and the stars shall be falling from the heaven, and the powers which are in the heavens shall be shaken. ²⁶“And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷“And then He shall send forth His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth unto the uttermost part of the heaven. ²⁸“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch at once should become tender and put forth leaves, ye know that the summer is near; ²⁹“thus also ye, whenever ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that it is near, even at the doors. ³⁰“Verily I say to you that in no wise shall this generation pass away until all these things take place. ³¹“The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words in no wise shall pass away.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our righteous Father Xenophon and his wife, Mary, and their two sons, Arcadios and John, of Constantinople.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

February 8th – Civil Calendar
January 26th – Church Calendar

1. Our Holy Father Xenophon and our Mother Maria, and their sons John and Arkadios.

They were rich and respected citizens of Constantinople. Xenophon and Maria lived godly lives, and made every effort to give their sons a Christian upbringing. When the boys were grown, their parents sent them to Beirut to study, but a storm capsized their ship. By God’s providence, both John and Arkadios were somehow saved and thrown onto the shore by the waves; in two separate places, however, so that each thought the other had perished. Out of grief for each other, they became monks in two different monasteries. After two years of mourning, their parents traveled to Jerusalem to venerate the holy places. There, helped by the insight of a holy man, the brothers were first united with each other and then with their parents. Out of gratitude to God, Xenophon and Maria gave away all their goods to the poor and both embraced the monastic state. This touching story of these four holy souls demonstrates clearly how the Lord guides most wonderfully the destinies of those who believe in Him; how He looses on them trials and sorrows, that they may later, yet more greatly strengthened in their faith, experience the greater joy. They lived and died in the fifth century.

2. Our Holy Father Simeon the Ancient.

A friend and companion of St. Palladios, he lived in asceticism in a cave from his early youth right up to his death. He founded two monasteries and entered into rest in the Lord in the year 390. He was named ‘the Ancient’ by St. Simeon the Stylite, who lived somewhat later.

3. St. David, King of Georgia (1089-1130).

He restored and strengthened Georgia as a country. He was a great zealot for the Christian Faith. He built many new churches throughout Georgia, and restored ancient ones. He is regarded as the regenerator of Orthodoxy in Georgia.

FOR CONSIDERATION

The greatest blessing any country can have is that of good and holy men living within it. Compared with this blessing, all other blessings are as nothing. Devout Christian kings regarded holy people in their lands as the greatest blessing from God. The holy Emperor Constantine the Great said: ‘We bless the Lord Jesus Christ that there exists in my day three glorious saints: the blessed Abba Anthony, Abba Elenius and Abba Efchius.’ Before the Battle of Kulikovo, a battle significant for Russia, the devout Prince Dimitri of the Don went off with his chief advisors and commanders to the forest of Radonezh to seek St. Sergius and beg his prayers. And although the prince prepared his armies for the war of liberation from the Tartars, he placed greater confidence in the prayers of one holy man than in a vast army and many weapons.

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.