Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

The Sunday of the Third Week of the Great Fast or Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross.

Mode Three — Eleventh Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 311]. Brethren:

4 ¹⁴Having then a great High Priest Who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us be holding fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest Who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who hath been tempted in all respects according to our likeness, without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore be coming with boldness to the throne of grace, that we might receive mercy and find grace for help in due season.

5 ¹For every high priest being taken from among men is being appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, ²who is able to feel in due measure with those who are ignorant and led astray, since he himself also is compassed about with weakness. ³And by reason of this he ought, even for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. ⁴And no one taketh the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, even as also Aaron. ⁵Thus also the Christ glorified not Himself to become a high priest, but the One Who said to Him, “Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee [Ps. 2:7].” ⁶Even as He saith also in another place, “Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek [Ps. 109(110):4].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 37]. The Lord said:

8 ³⁴“Whosoever is willing to follow after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and keep on following Me. ³⁵“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life on account of Me and of the Gospel, this same one shall save it. ³⁶“For what shall it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his soul? ³⁷“Or what shall a man give as an exchange for his soul? ³⁸“For whosoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this generation, the adulterous and sinful one, also the Son of Man shall be ashamed of him, whenever He should come in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

9 ¹And He was saying to them, “Verily I say to you, that there are some of those standing here who in no wise shall taste of death, until they see the kingdom of God having come in power.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, our most holy Lady Theotokos.
According to the Greek Typikon of the Great Church (Hagia Sophia of Constantinople), if the Feast of the Annunciation should fall on either holy and Great Friday or Great Saturday, the service would be transferred to Pascha.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 306]. Brethren:

2 ¹¹Both He Who sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹²saying, “I will announce Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the church will I hymn Thee [cf. Ps. 21(22):22]”; ¹³and again, “I will trust in Him [cf. Is. 8:17]”; and again, “Behold, I and the children whom God gave Me [Is. 8:18].” ¹⁴Since then the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, in order that through death He might bring to nought the one who hath the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and might set free those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶For surely He taketh not hold of the nature of the angels, but He taketh hold of the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like His brethren, that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, in order to be made an expiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For having Himself been tempted in that which He suffered, He is able to help those who are tempted.

Gospel

In the Orthros

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 4].

1 ³⁹In those days Mariam rose up and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; ⁴⁰and she entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elisabeth. ⁴¹And it came to pass, as Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²And she cried out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ⁴³“And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴“For behold, as the sound of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe in my womb leaped in exultant joy. ⁴⁵“And happy is she who believed, for there shall be a fulfillment of those things which were spoken to her from the Lord.” ⁴⁶And Mariam saith:

“My soul doth magnify the Lord, ⁴⁷“and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior,

⁴⁸“for He looked upon the low estate of His slave. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

⁴⁹“For the mighty One did great things to me, and holy is His name.”... ⁵⁶And Mariam stayed with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

In the Liturgy

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 3]. In those days:

1 ²⁴Elisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, conceived, and was concealing herself five months, saying, ²⁵“Thus the Lord hath done to me, in the days in which He looked upon me, to take away my reproach among men.”

²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent forth by God to a city of Galilee, the name of which was Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin who was espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mariam. ²⁸And the angel entered and said to her, “Rejoice thou who hast been shown grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.” ²⁹And having seen him, she was greatly troubled at his word, and was considering what kind of salutation this may be. ³⁰And the angel said to her, “Cease being afraid, Mariam; for thou didst find grace with God. ³¹“And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. ³²“This One shall be great, and shall be called Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give to Him the throne of His father David. ³³“And He shall reign over the house of Jacob to the ages, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” ³⁴But Mariam said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I know not a man?” ³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; wherefore also that Holy One Who is born of thee shall be called Son of God. ³⁶“And behold, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, she hath even conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who is called barren. ³⁷“For all of that which is spoken shall not be impossible with God.” ³⁸And Mariam said, “Behold, the slave of the Lord; may it be to me according to thy word.” And the angel departed from her.

Synaxarion Readings

Synaxarion for the Third Sunday of Great Lent
Adoration of the Precious and Life-giving Cross

“Let all the earth venerate the Cross, through which it has learned to worship Thee, the Logos.”

On this third Sunday of the Great Fast we celebrate the veneration of the precious and life-giving Cross. Since during the forty days of the Fast we are also in a way crucified, mortified to the passions, contrite, abased, and sorrowful, the precious and life-giving Cross is offered to us as refreshment and confirmation, calling to mind the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and comforting us. If our God was crucified for our sake, how great should be our effort for His sake, since our afflictions have been assuaged through the Lord’s tribulations, and by the commemoration and the hope of the Cross of glory. For as our Savior in ascending the Cross was glorified through dishonor and grief, so should we also endure our sorrows, in order to be glorified with Him. Also, as those who have traveled a long hard road, weighed down by the labors of their journey, in finding a shady tree, take their ease for a moment and then continue their journey rejuvenated, so now in this time of the Fast, this sorrowful and laborious journey, the holy fathers have planted the life-giving Cross for our relief and refreshment, to encourage and make easier the labors that lie ahead. Or as when there is a royal procession, the king’s scepter and banners precede him, and then he himself appears, radiant and joyous in his victory, causing his subjects to rejoice with him. So then our Lord Jesus Christ, desiring to show His sure victory over death and His glory on the day of the Resurrection, sends His scepter before Himself, the sign of His kingship, the life-giving Cross, to gladden and refresh us, as it greatly fortifies and enables us to be prepared to receive the King with all possible strength and to praise Him in His radiant victory.

This week lies at the middle of the holy Forty Day Fast. The Fast is like a bitter source because of our contrition and the sadness and sorrow for sin that it brings. And as Moses plunged the branch in the bitter waters of Marah, making them sweet, so God, Who has led us through the spiritual Red Sea away from Pharaoh, through the life-giving wood of the precious and life-giving Cross, sweetens the bitterness of the Forty Day Fast and comforts us as those who were in the wilderness, until the time when by His Resurrection He will lead us to the spiritual Jerusalem. And since the Cross is called, and indeed is, the Tree of Life, it is fitting that the holy fathers have planted the Tree of the Cross in the middle of the Great Fast to commemorate both Adam’s tasting of its sweet fruit and of its being taken from us in favor of the Tree of the Cross, tasting of which we shall in no way die but will have even greater life.

Through the power of Thy Cross, O Christ our God, preserve us also from the temptations of the evil one. And make us worthy to venerate Thy divine Passion and life-bearing Resurrection, having radiantly traversed the great length of the Fast, and have mercy on us, as Thou art good and lovest mankind. Amen.

Translated from Triodion, siest ‘Tripesnets: Triod’ Postnaya, Moscow, 1904, by Robert Parent.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

April 7th – Civil Calendar
March 25th – Church Calendar

1. The Annunciation.

When the most holy Virgin had lived and served in the Temple at Jerusalem for eleven years, and was by then fourteen years old when, that is, she was entering on her fifteenth year—the priests informed her that, according to the law, she could no longer remain in the Temple but must be betrothed and marry. But, to the great surprise of all the priests, the most holy Virgin replied that she had dedicated herself to God and wished to remain a maiden till death and enter into wedlock with no one. Then, by God’s providence and under His inspiration, Zacharias, the high priest and father of the Forerunner, in consultation with the other priests, chose twelve unmarried men from the tribe of David so that they might entrust the Virgin Mary to one of them to preserve her virginity and care for her. She was thus entrusted to Joseph, an old man from Nazareth and a kinsman of hers. In his house, the most holy Virgin continued to live in the same manner as in the Temple, passing her time in the reading of the sacred Scriptures, in prayer, in pondering on the works of God, in fasting and in handwork. She scarcely ever left the house, nor took an interest in worldly matters or events. She generally conversed very little with anyone, and never without a particular need. She was intimate only with the two daughters of Joseph. But when the time prophesied by the Prophet Daniel had come and when God was pleased to fulfill the promise made to Adam when He drove him out of Paradise, and to the prophets, the mighty Archangel Gabriel appeared in the chamber of the most holy Virgin, at the precise moment (as some priestly writers have related) that she was holding open on her lap the book of the Prophet Isaias and pondering on his great prophecy: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son’. Gabriel appeared to her in angelic light and said to her: ‘Rejoice, thou who hast been shown grace, the Lord is with thee!’ and so forth, just as is related in the Gospel of the divine Luke. With this angelic greeting and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the salvation of mankind and the renewal of creation were set in motion. The archangel turned the first page of the story of the New Testament with the word ‘Rejoice!’ to show by this the joy that the New Testament signifies for mankind and for all things created. And therefore the Annunciation is looked upon as a joyous, as well as a great, feast.

2. The Holy Martyrs Pelagia, Theodosia and Dula.

These three holy women suffered for the Lord. Pelagia and Theodosia were slain with the sword after imprisonment and torture, but St. Dula, a slave, suffered alone and died in the city of Nikomedia. God transplanted His three white roses, stained with the blood of martyrdom, into His heavenly garden.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Once they asked Abba Athanasius: ‘How can the Son be equal to the Father?’ And he replied: ‘Even as one has two eyes but one sight.’ An excellent answer. As well as this we might add: ‘Even as one has two ears but one hearing. And likewise for all three divine hypostases: there are three candles, but the same light.’

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.