Daily Devotional

Sunday, May 20, 2029 (NS), May 7, 2029 (OS)

No Fasting.

Seventh Sunday of Pascha, or the Sunday of the Holy Fathers

Mode Plagal Two — Tenth Eothinon

The commemoration of the appearance of the Sign of the precious Cross in the sky over Jerusalem in A.D. 351, the holy Martyr Akakios the Cappadocian at Byzantium, and our venerable Father Nilos, Wonder-worker of Sora.

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Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Seventh Sunday of Pascha, or the Sunday of the Holy Fathers

Mode Plagal Two — Tenth Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 44]. In those days:

20 ¹⁶Paul decided to sail by Ephesus, so that to spend time in Asia might not happen to him; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to himself the presbyters of the church. ¹⁸And when they came to him, he said to them,... ²⁸“Be taking heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit set you for Himself as bishops, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which He preserved for Himself through His own blood. ²⁹“For I know this, that after my departure grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock, ³⁰“and among your own selves men shall rise up, speaking things which have been perverted, to draw away the disciples after themselves. ³¹“Wherefore keep on watching, remembering that for three years I ceased not admonishing each one night and day with tears. ³²“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build up and to give you an inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. ³³“I desired of no one silver or gold or clothing; ³⁴“but ye yourselves know that these hands ministered to my needs, and those who were with me. ³⁵“I showed you by example all things, that so toiling it is needful to help those who are weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ³⁶And having said these things, he kneeled down and prayed with them all.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 56]. At that time:

17 ¹Jesus lifted up His eyes to the heaven, and said, “Father, the hour hath come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son might glorify Thee, ²“even as Thou gavest Him authority over all flesh, in order that all whom Thou hast given Him, He should give to them life eternal. ³“And this is the eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou didst send forth. ⁴“I glorified Thee on the earth. I finished the work which Thou hast given Me that I should do. ⁵“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thyself, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world came to be. ⁶“I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou hast given Me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou hast given them to Me, and they have kept Thy word. ⁷“Now they have come to know that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are from Thee. ⁸“For the words which Thou hast given Me, I have given them; and they received them, and know truly that I came forth from Thee; and they believed that Thou didst send Me forth. ⁹“I make request concerning them. I do not make request concerning the world, but concerning these whom Thou hast given Me, for they are Thine; ¹⁰“and all My things are Thine, and Thy things are Mine, and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹“And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep in Thy name those whom Thou hast given Me, in order that they may be one, even as We. ¹²“When I was with them in the world, I was keeping them in Thy name. Those whom Thou hast given Me I guarded, and none of them perished, except the son of the perdition that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³“And now I come to Thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in them.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

Epistle

For the Cross:

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 49]. In those days:

26 ¹Agrippa said to Paul, “It is permitted thee to speak for thyself.” Then Paul, stretching forth his hand, began to defend himself:

For Gk. usage, skip to Acts 26:12-20; for Sl. usage, read Acts 26:2-5, 12-20.

²“Concerning all the things of which I am being accused by the Jews, king Agrippa, I deem myself happy, because I am about to defend myself before thee today, ³“especially because thou art one acquainted with all of the customs and also the subjects of dispute among the Jews. Wherefore I entreat thee to hear me with forbearance. ⁴“So then, my way of life from my youth which was from the beginning among mine own nation in Jerusalem, all the Jews know, ⁵“who knew me before, from the beginning—if they would be willing to testify—that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.... ¹²“And during these things,...

Gk. and Sl. usages continue the Reading from here, Acts 26:12-20.

¹²“As I went to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests, ¹³“at midday, in the way, I saw, O king, a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those traveling with me. ¹⁴“And after all of us fell down to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵“And I said, ‘Who art Thou, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest. ¹⁶“‘But rise up and stand on thy feet; for I appeared to thee for this purpose, to appoint thee a servant and a witness both of what thou didst see and of what I shall appear to thee in visions, ¹⁷“‘taking thee out for Myself from the people and the nations, to whom now I send thee forth, ¹⁸“‘to open their eyes, in order to turn them about from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, in order to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith that is in Me.’ ¹⁹“Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I did not become disobedient to the heavenly vision; ²⁰“but I was bringing tidings to those in Damascus first and in Jerusalem, and in all the land of Judæa, and to the nations, to repent and turn to God, practising works worthy of repentance.”

for Sl. usage, see [1 Cor. 1:18-24].

For the venerable Father:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213]. Brethren:

5 ²²The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴But they who are of the Christ crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be walking by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

6 ¹Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness, looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ²Keep on bearing one another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.

Gospel

For the Cross:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§§ 60, 61]. At that time:

19 ⁶When the chief priests and the officers saw Jesus, they cried out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him.” Pilate saith to them, “Ye take Him and crucify Him, for I find no cause for accusation in Him.” ⁷The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself Son of God.” ⁸Therefore, when Pilate heard this saying, he was the more afraid. ⁹And he entered into the Prætorium again, and saith to Jesus, “From what place art Thou?” But Jesus did not give him an answer. ¹⁰Then Pilate saith to Him, “Speakest Thou not to me? Knowest Thou not that I have authority to crucify Thee, and authority to release Thee?” ¹¹Jesus answered, “Thou wouldest have no authority at all against Me, except it were given to thee from above.”... ¹³Therefore Pilate, having heard this saying, brought out Jesus, and took his seat upon the tribunal in a place which is called Lithostrotos, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour. And he saith to the Jews, “Behold your King!” ¹⁵But they cried out, “Take Him away, take Him away, crucify Him.” Pilate saith to them, “Your King shall I crucify?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Cæsar.” ¹⁶Therefore he then delivered Him up to them, in order that He might be crucified.

And they took Jesus and led Him away. ¹⁷And bearing His Cross, He went out to the place called Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on the one side and the other, and Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹And Pilate also wrote a title, and put it on the Cross. And it was written: “Jesus the Nazaræan, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. ²¹Then the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Write not, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that ‘He said, “I am King of the Jews.”’” ²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³Then the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic; but the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout. ²⁴They said therefore to one another, “Let us not tear it, but let us obtain it by lot for whom it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, “They parted My garments among themselves, and upon My clothing they cast a lot [Ps. 21(22):18].” These things therefore the soldiers did. ²⁵Now there had stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother, and His Mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶Then Jesus, having seen His Mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, saith to His Mother, “Woman, behold thy son.” ²⁷Then He saith to the disciple, “Behold, thy Mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. ²⁸After this, Jesus, knowing that all things now have been accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, “I thirst.”... ³⁰Then, when Jesus took the vinegar, He said, “It hath been finished.” And having bowed His head, He delivered up the spirit.

³¹The Jews therefore, since it was the preparation, in order that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath—for great was the day of that sabbath—asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³²Then the soldiers came and indeed broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and straightway blood and water came out. ³⁵And the one who hath seen it hath borne witness, and his testimony is true; and that one knoweth that he speaketh true things, that also ye might believe.

For the venerable Father:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 24]. At that time:

6 ¹⁷Jesus stood upon a level place. And there was a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all of Judæa and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases— ¹⁸even those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd was seeking to touch Him, for power was coming forth from Him and healing all. ²⁰And He lifted up His eyes to His disciples, and began to say:
   “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
   ²¹“Blessed are ye who hunger now, for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye who weep now, for ye shall laugh.
   ²²“Blessed are ye whenever men hate you, and whenever they separate you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.
   ²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

May 20th – Civil Calendar
May 7th – Church Calendar

1. Commemoration of the Appearance of the Precious Cross over Jerusalem.

In the time of the Emperor Constantius, St. Constantine’s son, and Patriarch Kyril of Jerusalem, the Precious Cross appeared one day at nine o’clock in the morning above Golgotha, and spread as far as the Mount of Olives. This Cross was brighter than the sun and more beautiful than the loveliest rainbow. The whole people—believers and unbelievers—left their work and watched this heavenly sign in fear and wonder. Many unbelievers were converted to faith in Christ, and also many Arians abandoned their wicked heresy and returned to Orthodoxy. Patriarch Kyril wrote a letter to the Emperor Constantius about this sign, the emperor himself being inclined towards Arianism. This took place on May 7th, 357. Thus was it demonstrated by this means that the Christian Faith does not lie in the worldly theorizing of the sensual understanding of men, but in the power of God, shown forth through wonders and signs without number.

2. The Holy Martyr Akakios.

This saint was an officer in the Roman army in the time of the Emperor Maximian. Answering at judgement for his faith in Christ, he said that he had inherited a devout faith from his parents, and that he would be steadfast in it, seeing the many miracles of healing that came from the relics of the Christian saints. After harsh torture endured courageously in the Thracian city of Pyrrinthus, Akakios was taken to Byzantium, where he underwent further torture and was finally beheaded with the sword. He suffered with honor and went to the kingdom of eternal joy in the year 303.

3. Our Holy Fathers of Georgia.

In the sixth century, two hundred years after St. Nina had preached the Gospel in Georgia, the most holy Mother of God appeared to John, an ascetic of Antioch, and commanded him to choose twelve of his disciples and go to Georgia, to strengthen the Orthodox Faith there. John did so. Reaching Georgia, these twelve missionaries were formally welcomed by the prince of that country and the Catholicos (Patriarch) Evlalius, and immediately began their work with great zeal. The people gathered around them in hordes, and they strengthened them in the Faith with great wisdom and many miracles. The chief of these Christ-loving missionaries was St. John of Zedan, and the names of the others were: Abidus, Anthony, David, Zeno, Thaddeus, Jesse, Isderius, Joseph, Michael, Pyrrus, Stefan and Shio. With apostolic zeal, they all strengthened the Christian Faith in Georgia, founded many monasteries and left many disciples to follow them. Thus they became worthy of glory in heaven and power on earth.

FOR CONSIDERATION

‘I know that my debt was greater, and that more was forgiven me. I was called from juridical and public work to the priesthood; and therefore I show myself ungrateful if I love less than the measure to which I am forgiven.’ These are the words of St. Ambrose, who was unexpectedly called by God to change his calling, and from the practice of law to become a hierarch in the Church of Christ. By these words, the saint shows how the priestly calling is higher than the worldly, how he came to it at the call of God, and how he who is called owes gratitude to God. The debt of gratitude is regarded by all the saints as their greatest debt. Without gratitude to God, no advance can be made in the spiritual life. Ceaseless gratitude to God is a seed of grace from which, if it is watered with tears of unceasing repentance, grows a beautiful fruit—love towards God.

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.