Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Second Week

Mode One — Second Eothinon

Epistle

For the Second Sunday

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ mid 81]. Brethren:

2 ¹⁰Glory and honor and peace to everyone who worketh good, both to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹¹For there is no respect of persons with God. ¹²For as many as did sin without law shall also perish without law; and as many as did sin in the law shall be judged by the law. ¹³For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. ¹⁴For whenever the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, who have not the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts one with another accusing or also excusing, ¹⁶in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel.

For All Saints of Russia

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§§ 330, 331]. Brethren:

11 ³³All the saints through faith struggled against kingdoms, wrought righteousness, attained to promises, stopped mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edges of the sword, were empowered out of weakness, became strong in battle, turned back encampments of aliens. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection. And others were tortured, not accepting release, that they might attain a better resurrection. ³⁶And others received trial of mockings and of scourgings, and, moreover, of bonds and of imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted; they died, murdered by the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in need, afflicted, ill-treated— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They were made to wander in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves, and in the holes of the earth. ³⁹And these all, having been approved by testimony through faith, received not for themselves the promise, ⁴⁰God having foreseen some better thing concerning us, that they should not be made perfect without us.

12 ¹Therefore we also, having so great a cloud of witnesses which is set around us, and having laid aside every weight and sin that is easily circumvented, let us by means of patience be running the course which is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the originator and accomplisher of our faith, Who, in exchange for the joy set before Him, endured a cross, having despised the shame, and hath sat down on the right of the throne of God.

For All Saints of the Holy Mountain Athos

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 Second Sunday

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 9]. At that time:

4 ¹⁸As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, throwing a casting-net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And He saith to them, “Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰And they straightway left the nets and followed Him. ²¹And having gone on from that place, He saw two other brothers, Iakovos the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²²And they straightway left the ship and their father, and followed Him.

²³And Jesus was going around all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

For All Saints of Russia:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 10]. At that time:

4 ²⁵Great crowds followed Jesus from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judæa, and beyond the Jordan.

5 ¹And seeing the crowds, He went up into the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ²And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

⁴“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are they who have been persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

¹¹“Blessed are ye whenever they reproach you and persecute you, and say every evil word against you falsely on account of Me.

¹²“Be rejoicing and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in the heavens. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

For All Saints of the Holy Mountain Athos:

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.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of Hieromartyr Eftychios (or Eftychous), Bishop of Melitene, and our holy father among the saints, Niketas, Bishop of Chalcedon.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

June 10th – Civil Calendar
May 28th – Church Calendar

1. St. Niketas the Confessor, Bishop of Chalcedon.

He renounced the world in his youth and withdrew to follow the path of monastic asceticism. He shone like the sun with virtue and came to the attention of the ecclesiastical authorities, being raised to the episcopal throne of Chalcedon. He was, as a hierarch, particularly compassionate to the poor and cared for many orphans, widows and beggars. When the wicked Emperor Leo the Armenian made his stand against the icons, St. Niketas came courageously to their defence, denouncing the emperor and expounding their meaning. He was finally driven into exile for his confession of the Faith, and after much hardship and suffering, went to the Lord to receive a wreath of glory in the kingdom of God.

2. The Holy Martyr Heliconis.

She was born in Thessalonica and educated in Christian piety. She went to Corinth in the time of Gordian and Philip, where she outspokenly denounced all who sacrificed to idols. When the governor, Perinos, urged her to offer sacrifice to Aesculapius, Christ’s martyr said to him: ‘Hear me, and know that I am a servant of Christ; as for Aesculapius, I do not know who he is. Do what you will.’ She was brought to trial for these words and terribly tortured. She was thrown into the flames, but a great gush of blood poured from her body and extinguished it, and she remained alive. She was thrown to the lions, but they would not touch her and instead fawned round her. Thrust into a temple for at least the semblance of offering sacrifice to idols, she smashed the idols, thereby arousing still greater hatred in her tormentors. Lying in prison covered all over with wounds, she saw the Lord Himself with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. He healed her wounds, comforting and encouraging her. Later, she was led out to the scaffold to be beheaded with the sword. Before her beheading, Heliconis raised her arms high and prayed that God accept her and bring her into the company of His flock in the heavenly fold. When she had finished her prayer, a voice was heard from heaven: ‘Come, make haste; a crown and a throne are prepared for thee.’ She was finally beheaded and received a wreath of glory from the Lord, for Whose love she was sacrificed like an innocent and pure lamb.

3. St. Ignatius (Ignaty), Bishop of Rostov.

This hierarch guided the flock of Christ for twenty-six years with great love and compassion. When he died and his body was placed in the church, some of those present saw him leave his coffin and rise up in the air above the church. He blessed the people and the city from on high, and then returned to his coffin. Many other miracles were wrought at his grave. He went to the Lord on May 28th, 1288.

FOR CONSIDERATION

From The Paradise of the Fathers: The brethren said, “If a man attaineth unto purity of heart what is the sign thereof? And when will he know himself if the heart is coming to purity?” The elder said, “When he seeth that all men are fair, and when no man appeareth to him to be unclean or polluted; whosoever is thus indeed standeth with purity. And if this be not the case, how can he fulfill the word of the apostle which saith, ‘When a man standeth wholly with purity, he will think that every man is better than he in heart and in truth,’ unless it be that he attaineth to the state of him of whom it is said, ‘He whose eyes are pure seeth not wickedness.’”

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.