Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Tuesday of the Fifth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 31]. In those days:

12 ²⁵Barnabas and Saul, having fulfilled their ministration, returned from Jerusalem, having taken along with them John who was surnamed Mark.

13 ¹Now there were in the Church that was in Antioch certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas, and Symeon who is called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and also Manaen, a foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ²And as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate now to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³Then after they fasted and prayed, and laid their hands upon them, they dismissed them. ⁴They themselves indeed therefore were sent forth by the Holy Spirit and went down to Seleucia; and from that place they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵And having come to be in Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as an attendant. ⁶And having gone through the island, as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus, ⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸But Elymas the magician—for so is his name interpreted—withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul in different ways from the faith. ⁹But Saul, who also is called Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently on him, ¹⁰and said, “O full of all guile and all cunning, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹“And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.” And immediately there fell a mist and darkness upon him; and going about he was seeking guides who lead by the hand. ¹²Then the proconsul, after he saw what had happened, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 33]. The Lord said to those Jews who had come to Him:

8 ⁵¹“Verily, verily, I say to you, if anyone should keep My word, he in no wise shall ever see death.” ⁵²Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that Thou hast a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets, and Thou sayest, ‘If anyone should keep My word, he in no wise shall ever taste of death’? ⁵³“Thou art not greater than our father Abraham who died, art Thou? And the prophets died. Whom makest Thou Thyself?” ⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; the One Who glorifieth Me is My Father, of Whom ye say that He is your God. ⁵⁵“And yet ye have not known Him; but I know Him. And if I should say, ‘I know Him not,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I know Him and keep His word. ⁵⁶“Your father Abraham rejoiced exceedingly that he should see My day; and he saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷Then the Jews said to Him, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸Jesus said to them, “Verily, verily, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I am.” ⁵⁹Then they took up stones that they might cast at Him; but Jesus was hidden, and went forth out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Vasiliskos of Comana.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

June 4th – Civil Calendar
May 22nd – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Vasiliskos.

A kinsman of St. Theodore the Tyro, he was martyred together with Eftropios and Kleonikos (March 3rd). When these two were crucified and gave up the spirit, Vasiliskos was taken back to prison. A change of governors occurring at this time, Vasiliskos remained a long time confined in prison. He besought God with tears that He would not deprive him of a martyr’s death for His sake. After he had prayed at length, the Lord Jesus appeared to him and promised to fulfill his desire, sending him to his village to say farewell to his mother and brothers. Thereupon the new governor, Agrippa, arrived and sent to have Vasiliskos brought from the village immediately. On the way to the city of Amaseia, the Lord worked great wonders through His martyr, bringing many of the people to faith in Christ. Agrippa ordered the martyr to offer sacrifice to Apollyon. ‘“Apollyon” means “Destroyer”,’ said Vasiliskos, and with fervent prayer, he knocked the idol to dust and burned the temple with fire from heaven. The terrified Agrippa attributed this all to magic, and ordered that Vasiliskos be beheaded with the sword. Agrippa immediately became insane, and in his madness, went to the place of execution, found a little of the martyr’s blood in the dust and smeared it on himself under his belt, being restored to health by it. Having come to his senses, he was baptized. Later, a certain Marinus, a citizen of Comana (the place of Vasiliskos’ execution) built a church over the martyr’s relics, and many of the sick found healing there.

2. The Holy Martyr John (Jovan) Vladimir, King of Serbia.

He came of a princely family from Zahumlje. His grandfather was named Hvalimir and his father Petrislav. He was a wise ruler—merciful, meek, chaste and courageous. He was fervent in prayer and a devoted builder and benefactor of churches. But he had major battles to fight, both inside and outside his realm; internally with heretics and Bogomils, and externally with invaders, with King Samuel of Bulgaria and the Emperor Basil. Samuel captured him by guile and threw him into prison. While he was in prison, an angel of God appeared to him and foretold that he would soon be released from prison, but that he would die a martyr’s death. Getting to know Vladimir better, Samuel became attached to him and gave him his daughter Kosara in marriage. When Samuel died, his son Radomir became king, but his twin brother Radislav killed him and then summoned Vladimir on some pretext and beheaded him as well, in 1015. The relics of this holy martyr-king are preserved incorrupt in his monastery near Elbasan, and numerous wonders have been worked over them through the ages and to this day. In 1925, a church was built to this royal martyr near the monastery of St. Naum, which famous monastery he founded.

3. The Second Ecumenical Council.

This council was held in Constantinople in 381, in the time of the Emperor Theodosios the Great. Its purpose was to confirm the teaching of the Orthodox Church about the Holy Spirit. Makedonios (Macedonius), Bishop of Constantinople (d. 362), had taught wrongly that the Holy Spirit is God’s creature and not a divine Person, equal to the Persons of the Father and the Son and one in being with Them. Makedonios was condemned by this council and the Nicene Creed was amplified with teaching on the Holy Spirit.

4. Holy and Righteous Melchisedek, King of Salem.

He was a contemporary of our forefather Abraham. According to the Apostle Paul, he was, as king and priest, a type of the Lord Jesus (Heb. 7).

FOR CONSIDERATION

How was Moses able to fast for forty days? How were many Christian ascetics able to live, and live long, with prolonged periods of abstinence from food and drink? A carnal man, unacquainted with the spiritual life, finds this impossible to believe. It is impossible to prove it to him, for it can be understood only from experience. When St. Vasiliskos’ torturers left him for three days without food or water, and then urged him to eat, he refused, saying that he was not hungry. ‘I am,’ he said, ‘filled with immortal nourishment and will not receive mortal food. Earthly bread feeds you, but I am fed by the heavenly word of God; the universe gives you wine, but I receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. You are nourished by meat, but I by fasting; bodily power strengthens you, but me the Cross of Christ; gold enriches you, but me the love of Christ; clothing beautifies you, but me good works. You are made merry by laughter, but I am comforted in my spirit through prayer.’ Behold this man, one of many, in whom the words of Christ are confirmed: ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (Matt. 4:4).

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.