Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Twenty-First Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Colossians [§ 252]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, see Col. 1:24-29, 2:1; for Sl. usage, see Col. 1:24-29.

1 ²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings on behalf of you, and fill up the things lacking of the afflictions of the Christ in my flesh, on behalf of His body, which is the Church, ²⁵of which I became a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, ²⁶the mystery which hath been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now is made manifest to His saints, ²⁷to whom God willed to make known what is the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory, ²⁸Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, in order that we might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; ²⁹for which I also labor, struggling according to the energy of Him Who Himself energizeth in me in power.

2 ¹For I wish you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 31]. At that time:

7 ¹⁷The report concerning Jesus went forth in all Judæa and in all the country round about.

¹⁸And His disciples brought tidings to John concerning all these things. ¹⁹And John called to himself a certain two of his disciples, and sent them to Jesus, saying, “Art Thou the coming One, or do we look for another?” ²⁰And after the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist hath sent us to Thee, saying, ‘Art Thou the coming One, or do we look for another?’” ²¹And in the same hour He cured many of diseases and plagues, and of evil spirits; and to many blind He graciously gave the power of sight. ²²And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what ye saw and heard: the blind are recovering their sight, the lame are walking, the lepers are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the poor are being preached the Gospel; ²³“and happy is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.” ²⁴And after the messengers of John departed, He began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What have ye gone out into the wilderness to behold? A reed being shaken by the wind? ²⁵“But what have ye gone out to see? A man who hath been clothed in soft garments? Behold, those in glorious garments and in luxury are in the palaces. ²⁶“But what have ye gone out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. ²⁷“This is he concerning whom it hath been written: ‘Behold, I send forth My messenger before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee [cf. Mal. 3:1].’ ²⁸“For I say to you, among those born of women, no one is a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹And all the people who heard Him—even the tax collectors—justified God and were baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰But the Pharisees and the doctors of the law, who were not baptized by him, set aside the counsel of God in regard to themselves.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Charitina, and the holy Enlighteners Peter, Alexii, Jonah, Philip, Germogen, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonder-workers of All Russia.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 335]. Brethren:

13 ¹⁷Be obedient to those who lead you, and keep on submitting, for they are watchful for your souls, as those about to render an account, that they may do this with joy, and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable for you. ¹⁸Keep on praying for us; for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to conduct ourselves well. ¹⁹But I beseech you more abundantly to do this, that I might be restored more quickly to you.

²⁰Now the God of peace Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of the sheep, the great One, in the blood of an everlasting covenant, ²¹may He render you perfect in every good work, in order to do His will, doing in you that which is well-pleasing before His face, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 11]. The Lord said to His disciples:

5 ¹⁴“Ye are the light of the world. A city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. ¹⁵“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lampstand, and it giveth light to all those in the house. ¹⁶“Thus, let your light shine before men, that they might see your good works, and might glorify your Father Who is in the heavens.

¹⁷“Do not begin to think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I came not to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸“For verily I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall have passed away, one iota or one tittle in no wise shall pass away from the law, until all shall have taken place. ¹⁹“Whosoever then shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall do and teach them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

October 18th – Civil Calendar
October 5th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Charitina.

Orphaned young, she was adopted by an eminent Christian man called Claudius, who brought her up as his own daughter. Charitina was meek, humble, obedient and silent. She studied the law of God day and night and vowed to live in perpetual virginity as a true bride of Christ. But, Charitina having brought others to the Christian Faith, the Emperor Diocletian’s governor, Dometius, heard of her and sent soldiers to take her from her foster-father for trial. The judge asked her: ‘Is it true, little girl, that you are a Christian, and that you delude others by bringing them to this dishonorable faith?’ Charitina courageously replied: ‘It is true that I am a Christian, and a lie that I delude others. I lead those in error to the way of truth, bringing them to my Christ.’ The wicked judge ordered that her hair be cut off and live coals put on her head, but the maiden was preserved by God’s power. They threw her into the sea, but God delivered her from it. She was bound to a wheel which began to turn, but an angel of God stopped the wheel and Charitina remained unharmed. Then the wicked judge sent some dissolute youths to rape her. Fearing this dishonor, St. Charitina prayed to God to receive her soul before these dissolute men could foul her virginal body and so, while she was kneeling in prayer, her soul went out from her body to the immortal kingdom of Christ.

2. The Hieromartyr Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria.

Born in Alexandria of eminent, pagan parents, he was educated in Hellenic philosophy and then studied with Origen. As a young man, he read St. Paul’s epistles, came to faith in Christ and was baptized by Demetrius, the then Bishop of Alexandria. He himself became bishop there in 247, and served God and the people of God as a true pastor in very difficult circumstances. The Church was outwardly persecuted by pagans and inwardly split by heretics. There were also the effects of a plague, that weakened the people for several years. He lived for three years outside Alexandria, hidden by the faithful, that he should not be killed before his time. In those three years, he wrote many epistles and other works for his flock, instructing them and encouraging them in the upholding of Orthodoxy. Among his writings are a few canons which were adopted by the Church, and his letter against Novatius is also regarded as a canonical writing. He governed the Church for seventeen years, and entered into rest in 265.

3. Our Holy Father Evdokimos (Eudocimus) of Vatopedi.

In 1841, when the bone-chapel at Vatopedi was being restored, workmen found the relics of a man kneeling and holding an icon of the Mother of God. Not knowing who this man could have been and when he had lived, the monks gave him the name Evdokimos and transferred his relics to the church, where they are preserved to this day. Many miracles of healing have been performed by them. Today the following words are carved on his coffin: ‘This coffin was made for the honored head of St. Evdokimos by the monk Gabriel, whom the saint healed of great sickness.’

4. Our Holy Fathers Damian, Jeremiah and Matthew.

Seers and wonder-workers of the Kiev Caves, they lived in the eleventh century.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Whenever men strive earnestly to see the truth, and when they put nothing else before the truth, God, in His gentle way, comes to meet them. This is shown to us in the life of St. Dionysius of Alexandria. Even as a young man and a pagan, Dionysius read all the literature of Greece in order to come to the truth. But, being dissatisfied with that, he began to read everything that came to hand. One day, by God’s providence, a poor woman met him and offered to sell him a manuscript containing several of St. Paul’s epistles. Dionysius joyfully bought them and read them. They so captivated him that he sought out the woman again and asked if he could get anything else like that from her. The woman sent him to a Christian priest, who gave him all of Paul’s epistles. Reading them all carefully, Dionysius came to faith in Christ and received Baptism without the slightest hesitation.

The Millenarian heresy had taken root in Arsinoë and was spreading the false teaching that Christ would soon come and found on earth an earthly kingdom that would last a thousand years. At the forefront of this heresy was one Korakion, a disciple of Nepos of Arsinoë. Dionysius was at pains to go to Arsinoë and disillusion the Millenarians, and put an end to the spread of this heresy among the faithful. At a great gathering of Millenarians and Orthodox, Dionysius disputed with Korakion and other of the leaders of the Millenarians. The debate continued for three whole days. See what zeal the Christians of former times showed for the examination of the truth! And God blessed their labors and their zeal because of the prayers of St. Dionysius. At the end of the debate, Korakion and his followers cast off their false teaching and accepted the Orthodox teaching of St. Dionysius.

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.