Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Nineteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians [§ 235]. Brethren:

1 ¹Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: ²Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴always in every entreaty of mine making the entreaty with joy for you all, ⁵for your communion in the Gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being persuaded of this very thing, that the One Who began a good work in you will bring it to perfection until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷even as it is right for me to think this on behalf of you all, because I have you in my heart, in both my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel, ye all are my fellow partakers of the grace.

Gospel

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

3 ¹⁹Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by John for Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, and for all the evils which Herod did, ²⁰added also this above all, he even shut up John in the prison.

²¹Now it came to pass, as all the people were being baptized, Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. ²²And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape as a dove upon Him; and there came to be a voice out of heaven, saying, “Thou art My Son, the Beloved; in Thee I am well pleased.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Exaltation, and our holy father among the saints, Evmenios, Bishop and Wonder-worker of Gortyna.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

October 1st – Civil Calendar
September 18th – Church Calendar

1. St. Evmenios (Eumenius), Bishop of Gortyna in Crete.

He gave himself to Christ with his whole heart from his youth, freeing himself of two heavy burdens: the burden of riches and the burden of the flesh. He freed himself from the first by giving away all his goods to the poor and needy, and from the latter by strict fasting. He thus healed himself and was able to heal others. Passionless and filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Evmenios shone with a radiance that could not be hidden, as it is written: ‘A city set on a hill cannot be hid’ (Matt. 5:14), and so holy Evmenios could not be hidden from the world. Seeing him, the people chose him as their bishop in Gortyna. As a bishop, he governed Christ’s flock as a good shepherd. He was a father to the poor, riches to the needy, consolation to the sad, healing to the sick and a marvellous wonder-worker. He worked many miracles by his prayers: he killed a poisonous snake, drove out demons, healed many of the sick, and did this not only in his home city but in Rome and in the Thebaid. In the Thebaid, he brought rain from God in a time of drought, and there finally finished his earthly course and entered into the eternal presence of his Lord. He lived and worked in the seventh century.

2. The Holy Martyr Ariadne.

In the town of Promisea in Phrygia in the time of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138), there lived a pagan patrician, Tertullus. The maiden Ariadne was a slave of his, and a Christian. On his son’s birthday, Tertullus ordered a great sacrifice to the idols, in which Ariadne did not take part, staying at home and praying to the true God. Her owner was furious with her for this, and put pressure on her to deny Christ and worship idols. When Ariadne refused to do this, he had her whipped and tortured in other ways, then threw her into prison. He soon released her from prison and drove her from the house, but quickly changed his mind and sent servants to bring her back. Ariadne was already a long way from the town. When she saw her persecutors, she prayed to God beside a great rock, and the rock opened and hid her. The servants were nonplussed at this, quarrelled among themselves and came to blows, and so perished at one another’s hands.

3. The Holy Martyr Bidzini, Prince of Georgia.

He died for the Christian Faith under Shah Abbas II in 1661, together with his kinsmen Elisbar and Shavel.

FOR CONSIDERATION

‘Insofar as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me’ (Matt. 25:40), says the Lord. When giving alms, in giving to the poor we give to the living Lord Christ Himself. There was a man in Constantinople who had a rare compassion. Going through the streets of the city, he put his gift into the hands of the poor and immediately went on his way, to avoid hearing their thanks and becoming known. When one of his friends asked him how he had become so compassionate, he replied: ‘One day in church, I heard the priest say that what we give to the poor we give into the hands of the Lord Christ Himself. I didn’t believe this, thinking that it couldn’t be so, Christ being in heaven. Once, though, on the way home, I saw a poor man standing in the beggars’ place—and the face of Christ shining over his head. Someone passed by and gave the beggar a piece of bread, and I saw the Lord stretch out His hand, take the bread and bless the giver. From that moment, I’ve always seen that face over the heads of the beggars, and therefore, with great fear, I give all the alms I can.’

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.