Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

The Saturday of the Fourth Week of the Great Fast

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 313]. Beloved:

6 ⁹We have been persuaded of the better things concerning you, even those things which hold on to salvation, though we speak thus. ¹⁰For God is not unjust, to be forgetful of your work and the labor of love which ye yourselves showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister. ¹¹And we desire each of you to show the same earnestness to the full assurance of the hope until the end, ¹²in order that ye might not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and long-suffering inherit the promises.

Another Reading for Saturday of the Fourth Week of the Great Fast in Commemoration of the Departed

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 163]. Brethren:

15 ⁴⁷The first man is of earth, earthy; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸As is the earthy, such are they also who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also who are heavenly. ⁴⁹And even as we bore the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly. ⁵⁰Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood is not able to inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹Behold, I tell you a mystery: On the one hand we shall not all fall asleep, but on the other hand we shall all be changed— ⁵²in a moment, in a wink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For it is needful for this corruptible to put on itself incorruption and this mortal to put on itself immortality. ⁵⁴But whenever this corruption should put on itself incorruption, and this mortal should put on itself immortality, then the word which hath been written shall come to pass: “Death is swallowed up in victory [cf. Is. 25:8]. ⁵⁵“O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory [cf. Hos. 13:14]?” ⁵⁶Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God Who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 31]. At that time:

7 ³¹Jesus, having departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, came to the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of the borders of Decapolis. ³²And they bring to Him a deaf man having an impediment in his speech; and they beseech Him that He might lay His hand on him. ³³And He took him away, aside from the crowd, and put His fingers into his ears, and He spit and touched his tongue. ³⁴And having looked up to the heaven, He sighed, and saith to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be thou opened.” ³⁵And straightway his ears were opened, and the band of his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak rightly. ³⁶And He Himself gave them express orders that they should tell no one; but as much as He was giving them express orders, much more abundantly were they proclaiming it. ³⁷And beyond all measure they were astonished, saying, “He hath done all things well. He maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.”

Commemoration of the Departed

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 16]. The Lord said to the Jews who had come to Him:

5 ²⁴“Verily, verily, I say to you, that the one who heareth My word and believeth the One Who sent Me hath everlasting life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed over out of death into life. ²⁵“Verily, verily, I say to you, that an hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear shall live. ²⁶“For even as the Father hath life in Himself, so He also gave to the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷“and He also gave to Him authority to execute judgment. That He is Son of Man, ²⁸“cease marvelling at this; for an hour is coming in which all those in the graves shall hear His voice, ²⁹“and shall go forth—they who did good things to a resurrection of life, but they who practised bad things to a resurrection of condemnation. ³⁰“I am not able to do anything of Myself. Even as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the One Who sent Me, the Father.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the appearance of the wonderworking image of the all-holy Theotokos, known as the Iveron Icon or Keeper of the Gate, and our venerable Father Hypatios the Wonder-worker, Bishop of Gangra, and our holy father among the saints, Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of Siberia and Alaska.

Epistle

For the Icon:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 320]. Brethren:

9 ¹The first tabernacle also used to have both ordinances of worship and the sanctuary of this world. ²For a tabernacle was furnished: the first in which were both the lampstand and the table, and the laying forth of the loaves, which is called Holy; ³and after the second veil, a tabernacle which is called Holy of Holies, ⁴which hath a golden censer, and the ark of the covenant which hath been covered all around from every side with gold, in which was the golden jar having the manna, and the rod of Aaron that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; ⁵and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, concerning which now is not the time to speak severally. ⁶Now after these things were thus furnished, the priests, on the one hand, enter into the first tabernacle, performing worship services; ⁷on the other hand, into the second, the high priest entereth alone once for all every year, not without blood, which he offereth on behalf of himself and the faults of ignorance of the people.

For the Hierarchs:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 318]. Brethren:

7 ²⁶Such a High Priest was fitting for us: holy, guileless, undefiled, Who hath been separated from the sinners and hath become higher than the heavens, ²⁷Who hath no need daily, even as the high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, then for those of the people; for this He did once for all after He offered up Himself. ²⁸For the law appointeth men high priests who have weakness; but the word of the oath, which is after the law, appointeth the Son, Who hath been perfected forever.

8 ¹Now in reference to the things being spoken of, the chief point is: We have such a High Priest, Who sat down on the right of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, ²a Liturgist of the holies and of the tabernacle, the true one, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Gospel

For the Icon:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 54]. At that time:

10 ³⁸ Jesus entered into a certain village. And a certain woman, by name Martha, received Him into her house. ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat down beside the feet of Jesus, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted about much serving, and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, is it no concern to Thee that my sister left me to serve alone? Speak to her therefore that she should help me.” ⁴¹And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things. ⁴²“But there is need of one thing, and Mary chose the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”...

11 ²⁷And it came to pass, as He was speaking these things, a certain woman out of the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts which Thou didst suck.” ²⁸But He said, “Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”

For the Hierarchs:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 11]. The Lord said to His disciples:

5 ¹⁴“Ye are the light of the world. A city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. ¹⁵“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lampstand, and it giveth light to all those in the house. ¹⁶“Thus, let your light shine before men, that they might see your good works, and might glorify your Father Who is in the heavens.

¹⁷“Do not begin to think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I came not to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸“For verily I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall have passed away, one iota or one tittle in no wise shall pass away from the law, until all shall have taken place. ¹⁹“Whosoever then shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall do and teach them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

April 13th – Civil Calendar
March 31st – Church Calendar

1. The Hieromartyr Hypatios, Bishop of Gangra.

Born in Cilicia, he was bishop in the town of Gangra. At the First Ecumenical Council, he was lauded on all sides for his devout life and miracles. The Emperor Constantius ordered a bust of Hypatios to be made in the saint’s lifetime, and he kept this bust in his palace as a weapon against every adverse power. Returning once from Constantinople, Hypatios was attacked in a gorge by a heretic, Novatian, and was pushed off the road into the mud. On top of that, a woman of that company threw a rock at his head, and the saint thus finished his earthly course. But this woman suddenly went insane, and taking the same rock, began to strike herself with it. When they brought her to the grave of St. Hypatios and prayed for her, she was healed by Hypatios’ compassionate spirit and spent the rest of her life in repentance and prayer. St. Hypatios suffered and went to the eternal kingdom of Christ our God in 326.

2. St. Jonah (Iona), Metropolitan of Moscow.

He was born in the province of Kostmor, becoming a monk at the age of twelve and as such living in the Simonov monastery near Moscow. He became Bishop of Ryazan in the time of Metropolitan Photius, and when Photius died, Jonah was chosen as metropolitan and sent to Constantinople for consecration and confirmation. But, at the same time, a man called Isidore, a Bulgarian by birth, outwitted Jonah, arrived in Constantinople before him and was consecrated as the Metropolitan for Russia. Jonah returned to his seat at Ryazan. But the malicious Isidore ended his reign as metropolitan in an evil way. He went to the Council of Florence, and only returned to Moscow three years later. He was condemned as an apostate from Orthodoxy and exiled. It is not known where he died. Jonah, the good and wise pastor, came to the Metropolitical throne. He was a great wonder-worker, a clairvoyant and a spiritual guide. When the Hagarenes besieged Moscow, Jonah sent them packing by his prayers. In old age, he desired to experience such illness that he would suffer greatly, and would by his sufferings be completely purified before his departure to the other world. At his prayer, God gave him wounds in his feet, which were foreseen in a vision by a priest, Iakov. The saint died of these wounds and went to join the citizens of heaven on March 31st, 1461. Many miracles were performed through his relics. A dumb man, John, was brought to the saint’s relics. John kissed Jonah’s hand, and as he related afterwards, the hand grabbed hold of his tongue and he felt a sharp pain. When it let his tongue go, he went back to his friends—and spoke as if he had never been dumb.

3. The Hieromartyr Audas, Bishop of the City of Suza.

He was beheaded for Christ in 418 in Persia by King Yazdgird. His deacon, St. Benjamin, was released by the torturers on condition that he preach the Gospel no more. He observed this condition for a time, but his heart could not bear it and he began again to spread the truth of Christ among the people. For this he was arrested and killed in 421, three years after St. Audas.

4. Our Holy Father Apollonius.

A famous Egyptian hermit, he renounced the world at the age of fifteen and withdrew to a mountain, where he lived for forty years eating only wild plants. After that, he founded a monastery in which he had 500 monks. He entered peacefully into rest in 395.

FOR CONSIDERATION

St. John of the Ladder says. ‘He who is inwardly proud of his own tears and condemns in his own mind those who do not weep, is like a man who begs weapons from the king against the enemy and kills himself with them.’ If your heart has been softened either by repentance before God or by learning the boundless love of God towards you, do not be proud towards those whose hearts are still hard. Remember how long your heart was hard. Seven brothers were ill in one hospital. One recovered from his illness and got up, and hastened to serve his other brothers with brotherly love, to speed their recovery. Be like this brother. Reckon all men as your brothers, and sick brothers at that. And if you come to feel that God has given something healthier to you than to them, know that that is given through mercy, that, as a healthy man, you may serve your frailer brethren. Who could take pride in that—as if health were all your own doing rather than God’s? As if a stagnant pool could clear of itself, and not be cleared by some spring, deeper and purer.

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.