Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians [§ 237].

1 ¹²Brethren, I wish you to know that the things concerning me have come rather to the advancement of the Gospel, ¹³so that my bonds in Christ have become manifest in all the Prætorium, and to all the rest; ¹⁴and the majority of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my bonds, more abundantly dare to speak the word without fear. ¹⁵Some on the one hand proclaim Christ even because of envy and strife, but some on the other hand also because of good will: ¹⁶The former announce Christ out of factiousness, not purely, supposing to bring affliction to my bonds; ¹⁷but the latter out of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the Gospel. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is announced. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will be rejoicing. ¹⁹For I know that this shall turn out to my salvation through your entreaty, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰according to mine earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing shall I be ashamed, but in all boldness, as always, also now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 12]. At that time:

4 ¹Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was being led in the Spirit into the wilderness, ²for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing; and they having been brought to an end, afterwards He became hungry. ³And the devil said to Him, “If Thou art God’s Son, command this stone that it become bread.” ⁴And Jesus gave answer to him, saying, “It hath been written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God [cf. Deut. 8:3].’” ⁵And the devil, having brought Him up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the inhabited world in a moment of time. ⁶And the devil said to Him, “To Thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them; for to me it hath been delivered up, and to whomsoever I may wish to give it. ⁷“Thou, therefore, if Thou wilt make obeisance before me, all shall be Thine.” ⁸And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get thee behind Me, Satan. For it hath been written: ‘Thou shalt make obeisance to the Lord thy God, and Him alone shalt thou worship [cf. Deut. 6:13].’” ⁹And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him upon the wing of the temple, and said to Him, “If Thou art God’s Son, cast Thyself down from this place. ¹⁰“For it hath been written: ‘He shall enjoin His angels concerning Thee, to keep Thee [Ps. 90(91):11],’ ¹¹“and, ‘Upon their hands shall they take Thee up, lest ever Thou strike Thy foot against a stone [Ps. 90(91):12].’” ¹²And Jesus answered and said to him, “It hath been said, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God [Deut. 6:16].’” ¹³And after the devil brought to an end every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

¹⁴And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee; and a common report concerning Him went out throughout all the country round about. ¹⁵And He was teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Exaltation, and the holy Great-martyr Efstathios and those with him.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ 233].

6 ¹⁰Brethren, keep on being empowered in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, for you to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; ¹²because for us the wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the cosmic rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of evil on account of the heavenly things. ¹³For this cause take up the full armor of God, in order that ye might be able to withstand in the evil day, and having counteracted all things, to stand. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having girt your loins with truth, and having put on for yourselves the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and having shod your feet in readiness of the Gospel of peace; ¹⁶on the whole, take up the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 106]. The Lord said to His disciples, “Be taking heed of men:

21 ¹²“For they shall lay their hands upon you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name; ¹³“but it shall prove to be a testimony for you. ¹⁴“Therefore settle it for yourselves in your hearts not to premeditate to make a defense; ¹⁵“for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all those who oppose you shall not be able to contradict nor withstand. ¹⁶“And ye shall be delivered up also by parents, and kinfolk, and friends, and brethren; and they shall put some of you to death. ¹⁷“And ye shall be hated by all for My name’s sake. ¹⁸“But a hair of your head in no wise shall perish. ¹⁹“In your patience win your souls.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

October 3rd – Civil Calendar
September 20th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy and Great Martyr Efstathios (Eustace), the General Placidus.

He was a great Roman military leader in the time of the Emperors Titus and Trajan. Although a pagan, Placidus (for that was his pagan name) was a righteous and merciful man, like the centurion Cornelius, who was baptized by the Apostle Peter (Acts 10). Going hunting one day, he found a stag. By the providence of God, a shining Cross appeared among the stag’s antlers and the voice of God came to Placidus, telling him to go to a Christian bishop and be baptized. Placidus was baptized, along with his wife and two sons. At his Baptism, he received the name Efstathios, his wife the name Theopiste and their sons the names Agapius and Theopistus. After his Baptism, Efstathios went back to the very place where the revelation through the stag had occurred, and thanked God on his knees that he had brought him to the truth. At that, the voice of God came to him again, foretelling suffering for His name and strengthening him. Then Efstathios secretly left Rome with his family, with the intention of hiding among simple people and serving God in an unknown and humble way. Arriving in Egypt, he was immediately beset by trials. Some wicked barbarian carried off his wife, and his two sons were seized by wild beasts. But the barbarian quickly came to a bad end, and a herdsman saved the boys from the wild beasts. Efstathios settled in the Palestinian village of Vadisis, and there lived as a village hireling for fifteen years. After this, the barbarians descended on the Roman Empire, and the Emperor Trajan was sorry that his brave commander Placidus, who had been victorious wherever he had fought, was not with him. The emperor sent his officers to seek the great general throughout the empire. By God’s providence, these officers, who had been friends of Efstathios, came to this village of Vadisis, found him and took him to the emperor. Efstathios gathered the army together and defeated the barbarians. On the way back to Rome, Efstathios went and found his wife and sons. When he arrived in Rome, the Emperor Trajan had died and the Emperor Hadrian was on the throne. When Hadrian summoned Efstathios to offer sacrifice to idols, Efstathios told him that he was a Christian. The emperor put him to torture, together with his wife and sons. When the wild beasts did them no harm, he threw them into a white-hot metal ox. On the third day, they took out their bodies, dead but untouched by the fire. Thus this glorious general gave to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and to God that which is God’s, and entered into the eternal kingdom of Christ our God.

2. The Hieromartyr Hypatios, Bishop of Ephesus, and Andrew the Priest.

Two childhood friends, born in Lycia, they both gave themselves with their whole souls to the service of God when they grew up, Hypatios as a strict monk and ascetic, and Andrew as a priest among the people and a preacher of the word of God. For his great virtues, Hypatios was made Bishop of Ephesus, and Andrew was made priest in the same city. They both suffered in the time of the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian. After terrible tortures for Orthodoxy, they were beheaded in 730, and both went from this transitory world to eternal life.

3. The Holy Prince Michael and his Counselor Theodore.

Prince Michael (Mikhail) of Chernigov went to the Tartar horde with his counselor, Theodore (Fedor), at the invitation of their ruler, Bati. When they refused to follow the Tartar custom of passing through fire and worshiping idols on being received by Bati, they were beheaded, in 1244. Their relics, the witnesses of their death by martyrdom for the sake of Christ, are preserved in the Church of the Archangel in Moscow.

4. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Hilarion

A monk of the Holy Mountain, he suffered voluntarily for the Christian Faith at the hands of the Turks in Constantinople on September 20th, 1804. His wonder-working relics are preserved in the Church of the Transfiguration on the island of Proti.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Suicide is a sin against the Holy Spirit, Who gives life. Suicide is a much graver sin than murder, as a man can yet repent of murder, while there is no repentance for the sin of suicide. Here are two examples of the greatest misfortune, in which a man of little soul would have committed suicide, but in which holy men of God showed themselves heroic. St. Efstathios found himself one day in this predicament: he had left one of his sons on one bank of the river while he carried the other to the opposite bank and returned for the second. Coming to the middle of the river, he looked on one bank and saw a lion seize the son that was there and carry him off; he looked at the other bank and saw a wolf grab hold of his son and carry him off. One little of soul would, in such a situation, have drowned himself in the river and made an end. Efstathios, filled with grief, did not kill himself, but with hope in God, lived for fifteen years as a hireling and waited with patience to see his two sons again. And God rewarded his faith and patience.

St. Hilarion was constrained as a young man to embrace Islam, but his conscience began to torment him and he had no peace. He returned to the Christian Faith, became a monk and gave his body to strict fasting and the harshest asceticism, but spiritual peace did not return to him. Therefore, he went to Constantinople with his spiritual father, Vissarion, and not only confessed his faith in Christ openly at the sultan’s court, but also counseled Bash Agha to go to Russia and be baptized. After ridicule and torture, this brave young man was beheaded, and God glorified him in heaven and on earth. His holy relics have wonder-working power to this day. But where is the glory of the suicide? Where are his relics?

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.