Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Eighth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 142]. Brethren:

9 ¹³Ye know, do ye not, that those who labor at the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who wait upon the altar partake with the altar? ¹⁴Even so the Lord appointed to those who proclaim the Gospel to live of the Gospel. ¹⁵But I used none of these things. Now I am not writing these things that it should be so with me; for it were good for me to die rather than that anyone should make empty the basis for my boasting. ¹⁶For if I be preaching the Gospel, it is no boast to me, for necessity is laid upon me; and woe to me if I be not preaching the Gospel! ¹⁷For if I practise this willingly, I have a reward; but if unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. ¹⁸What then is my reward? That when I preach the Gospel, I might set forth the Gospel of Christ without charge, so as not to have made full use of mine authority in the Gospel.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 65]. At that time:

16 ¹The Pharisees and Sadducees, having come to Jesus, put Him to the test and asked Him to show them a sign from the heaven. ²And He answered and said to them, “After it becometh evening, ye say, ‘Fine weather, for the heaven is fiery red’; ³“and at morning, ‘Stormy weather today, for the heaven is fiery red and lowering.’ Hypocrites! On the one hand ye know how to discern the face of the heaven, but on the other hand are ye not able to know the signs of the times? ⁴“An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonas the prophet.” And He left them behind and went away.

⁵And His disciples, having come to the other side, forgot to take bread. ⁶But Jesus said to them, “Be taking heed and be on guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Apostles Silas, Silouanos, Crescens, Epanetos, and Andronikos of the Seventy, and the holy Martyr John the soldier at Constantinople.

Epistle

For the Martyr:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 88]. Brethren:

5 ¹Therefore, having been justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through Whom also we have had access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. ³And not only so, but we boast in afflictions also, knowing that the affliction worketh out patience; ⁴and patience, a tested character; and a tested character, hope. ⁵And the hope doth not put to shame, for the love of God hath been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us. ⁶For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸But God commendeth His own love to us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. ¹⁰For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 36]. The Lord said:

8 ¹⁶“No one, having lit a lamp, covereth it with a vessel or putteth it underneath a bed, but placeth it upon a lampstand, that they who enter in may see the light. ¹⁷“For nothing is secret which shall not become manifest, nor hidden that shall not be known and come to light. ¹⁸“Be taking heed then how ye hear: for whosoever hath, it shall be given to him; and whosoever hath not, even what he seemeth to have shall be taken away from him.”

¹⁹And His Mother and brethren came to Him, and were not able to meet with Him on account of the crowd. ²⁰And it was reported to Him by some who said, “Thy Mother and Thy brethren are standing outside, wishing to see Thee.” ²¹And He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brethren are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

for Sl. usage, see [Mt. 16:24-28].

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

August 12th – Civil Calendar
July 30th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Apostles Silas, Silvanus, Crescens, Epaenetus and Andronicus.

These are all among the Seventy. St. Silas was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, to settle a quarrel among the faithful concerning circumcision: namely, whether or not it was necessary to circumcise pagans who had embraced Christianity (Acts 15:22). After that, Silas travelled with Paul around Asia and Macedonia, and was installed as Bishop of Corinth, where he died peacefully. Silvanus helped the two greatest apostles (I Pet. 5:12; II Cor. 1:19). As bishop in Thessalonica, he labored much and suffered much, until he exchanged the earthly life for the heavenly. Crescens was a fellow-worker with the Apostle Paul (II Tim. 4:10), and then bishop in Galatia and a missionary in Gaul, where he died a martyr for Christ under Trajan. St. Epaenetus is mentioned by the Apostle Paul (Rom. 16:5), and became Bishop of Carthage. Andronicus (Rom. 16:7), Bishop of Pannonia, is also commemorated separately on May 17th.

2. The Hieromartyr Valentine.

He was bishop in the Italian town of Interamna. He healed the brother of the Roman tribune Frontanus of an illness. When Cherimon, the son of the eminent philosopher Craton, fell ill, Craton, at Frontanus’ advice, asked Bishop Valentine to come to Rome. Cherimon was all cramped-up, so that his head was caught between his knees. Valentine shut himself in the room with the sick boy and spent the whole night in prayer. The following day, he brought Cherimon out in full health, and gave him to his father. Then Craton was baptized, with his whole household and those of his pupils. Cherimon left his father’s house and went with Valentine. Then Abundius, son of the Roman eparch, was baptized. Infuriated by this, the eparch took Valentine, and after torturing him, had him beheaded. Three pupils of Craton: Proclus, Abibus and Apollonius, were beheaded at the same time. Abundius took their bodies and buried them. They all suffered in 273, and became citizens of the heavenly kingdom.

3. The Hieromartyr Polychronius, Bishop of Babylon.

When the Emperor Decius conquered Babylon, he arrested Polychronius, together with three priests, two deacons and two baptized princes, Eudin and Senis. Polychronius would make no reply before the emperor, but kept silent, while St. Parmenius, one of the priests, spoke for them all. The emperor took the bishop and priests to Persia, to the city of Kordoba, and had them beheaded with an axe, but he took the princes with him to Rome, threw them first to the wild beasts and then had them slain with the sword. They all suffered with honor in 251.

4. St. John the Soldier.

He was a secret Christian. Sent by Julian the Apostate to slaughter Christians, he did not kill them but helped them to hide. Julian had him thrown into prison in Constantinople. When the wicked emperor perished, John gave himself to the ascetic life, living with purity and holiness. He entered peacefully into rest in old age. After his death, he appeared to various people who needed his help. His prayers are of aid in the tracking-down of thieves.

5. Our Holy Mother Angelina.

Wife of a Serbian despot, her relics lie in the monastery of Krušedol.

FOR CONSIDERATION

It is necessary to distinguish between the sinner and the penitent. If you have taken on yourself the role of denouncing a sinner, take good care that you do not denounce a penitent. How dear a repentant sinner is to God is seen in the story of the Prodigal Son. So you also must hold dear him who has become dear to God.

It happened at one time that a monk fell into sin, because of which he was driven out of his monastery. This monk went to St. Anthony, confessed his sin, repented and stayed some time with him. Then St. Anthony sent him back to his monastery, but they would not receive him there and drove him out again. The penitent went again to St. Anthony. St. Anthony sent him back again to the monastery with the following message to the fathers: ‘A ship suffered shipwreck and lost its cargo. Only with great difficulty did it get to the harbor and you want to drown that which has been saved from drowning!’ Hearing this wise message, the fathers received their repentant brother into the monastery with joy.

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.