Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Thirty-Third Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First General Epistle of Saint Peter [§ 62].

4 ¹²Beloved, cease being astonished by the strangeness of the proving by fire which is taking place among you, in order to test you, as if a strange thing were happening to you, ¹³but according as ye take part in the sufferings of Christ, be rejoicing, that also in the revelation of His glory ye might rejoice exultingly. ¹⁴If ye are being reproached in the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of the glory and power and the Spirit of God resteth upon you. On the one hand, according to them, He is being blasphemed, but on the other hand, according to you, He is being glorified. ¹⁵For let none of you be suffering as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a busybody in the matters of others. ¹⁶But if any suffer as a Christian, let him cease being ashamed, but keep on glorifying God in respect to this. ¹⁷For it is the time for the judgment to begin from the house of God; but if first from us, what shall be the end of those who disobey the Gospel of God? ¹⁸And “if the righteous one scarcely is saved, where shall the ungodly one and sinner appear [cf. Prov. 11:31]?” ¹⁹Therefore, they who suffer indeed according to the will of God, let them be committing their souls in well doing, as to a faithful Creator.

5 ¹The presbyters who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow presbyter and witness of the sufferings of the Christ, who also am a partaker of the coming glory to be revealed: ²Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising the episcopal office, not by constraint, but willingly, not for sordid greed of gain, but readily, ³neither as exercising lordship over the clergy, but becoming examples to the flock; ⁴and after the chief Shepherd hath been made manifest, ye shall carry off the unfading crown of the glory. ⁵In like manner ye younger ones, be subject to the elders. And all being subject to one another, gird yourselves with humility; for God “setteth Himself against the proud, but giveth grace to the humble [Prov. 3:34].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 52]. At that time:

11 ²⁷Jesus came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking about in the temple, the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders come to Him, ²⁸and say to Him, “By what authority doest Thou these things? And who gave Thee this authority that Thou mayest be doing these things?” ²⁹And Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will question you for one word; and answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things: ³⁰“The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, “If we should say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did ye not believe him?’ ³²“But if we should say, ‘From men’?”—they were fearing the people; for all held that John was a prophet. ³³And answering, they say to Jesus, “We know not.” And Jesus answered, saying to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of Nativity, and the 20,000 Martyrs who were burned alive in Nicomedia.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ mid 96]. Brethren:

8 ³Because of the impossibility of the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sent His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin—and in regard to sin, condemned sin in the flesh— ⁴in order that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. ⁵For they that are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh, but they that are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the spirit is life and peace. ⁷Because the mind of the flesh is enmity toward God; for it is not subject to the law of God, for neither can it be. ⁸And they that are in the flesh are not able to please God. ⁹But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if anyone doth not have the Spirit of Christ, this same one is not of Him.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 77]. At that time:

14 ²⁵Great crowds were going together with Jesus. And He turned and said to them, ²⁶“If anyone come to Me, and hate not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and still, his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷“And whosoever doth not bear his own cross and come after Me is not able to be My disciple. ²⁸“For which of you, intending to build a tower, doth not sit down first and count the cost, to see whether he hath the means for its completion, ²⁹“lest perchance, having laid a foundation and not being able to finish it, all those who see it should begin to mock him, ³⁰“saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? ³¹“Or what king, going to contend with another king in war, doth not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who cometh against him with twenty thousand? ³²“Otherwise, while he is still far off, he sendeth forth an embassy and asketh the conditions for peace. ³³“So then, every one of you who doth not renounce all that he himself possesseth is not able to be My disciple. ³⁴“The salt is good; but if the salt should be insipid, with what shall it be seasoned? ³⁵“Neither for the land nor for manure is it fit; they cast it out. The one who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

for Sl. usage, see [Lk. 10:19-21].

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

January 10th – Civil Calendar
December 28th – Church Calendar

1. The 20,000 Holy Martyrs of Nikomedia.

In the time of the wicked Emperor Maximian Hercules, the Christian Faith flourished in Nikomedia, and spread from day to day. At one time the emperor, staying in the city, came to know of the large number of Christians, and he was greatly enraged and devised a means of slaughtering them all. The feast of the Nativity of Christ was approaching, and the emperor, discovering that all the Christians gathered in the church on this feast, ordered that, on that day, the church be surrounded by soldiers and set alight. When all the Christians were assembled in the church after midnight and the glorious celebration was beginning, the soldiers surrounded the church so that no one could leave, and the emperor’s envoy went into the church and told the Christians of the emperor’s command that they either immediately offer sacrifice to idols or all be burned to death. Then the archdeacon, a courageous soldier of Christ, aflame with divine zeal, began to encourage the people, reminding them of the Three Holy Children in the furnace in Babylon. ‘Look, my brethren,’ he said, ‘at the table of sacrifice in the Lord’s altar, and understand that our true Lord and God will now sacrifice on this; so shall we not lay down our lives for Him in this holy place?’ The people were fired with enthusiasm to die for Christ, and all the catechumens were baptized and chrismated. The soldiers then set fire to the church on all sides and the Christians, twenty thousand of them, were burned in the flame singing the glory of God. The church burned for five days, and a smoke with a fragrant and intoxicating smell rose from it, and a marvelous golden light was seen around it. Thus these many men, women and children died gloriously and received wreaths of eternal glory in the kingdom of Christ. They suffered and were glorified in the year 302.

2. Our Holy Father Simon the Myrrh-Streamer.

The founder of the monastery of Simonopetra on the Holy Mountain, he was famed for his asceticism, his visions and his miracles. He entered peacefully into rest and went to Christ in 1257.

3. The Holy Martyr Domna.

A virgin and priestess of the foul idols at the court of the Emperor Maximian, she read the Acts of the Apostles one day, came to faith in Christ and was baptized by Bishop Kyril in Nikomedia, together with a eunuch called Indes. St. Kyril sent her to a women’s monastery, where blessed Agatha was abbess. When the emperor began to search for Domna, Agatha dressed her in men’s clothing and sent her to a men’s monastery. This was at the time that the twenty thousand Christians were burned in the church by the Emperor Maximian. Immediately after this, by the emperor’s command, Ss. Indes, Gorgonios and Peter were thrown into the sea with rocks around their necks; Zeno the commander, who had openly denounced the emperor for his idolatry, was beheaded; St. Theophilus, a deacon with Bishop Anthimos, was killed with stones and arrows. Abbess Agatha, the nun Theophila, and the nobles Dorotheos, Mardonios, Migdonios and Efthymios were also slain for the sake of Christ. One night, Domna was walking by the sea and saw some fishermen casting their nets into the water. She was grieving deeply for St. Indes. Called by the fishermen to help them, she went to their aid, and by God’s providence, drew out three human bodies in the net. Domna recognized Indes, Gorgonios and Peter, took their bodies and gave them burial. When the emperor learned that a young man was tending and censing the graves of the Christian martyrs, he ordered that he be beheaded, and St. Domna was seized and beheaded, and was crowned with a wreath of glory in the heavenly kingdom with the other martyrs.

FOR CONSIDERATION

A story of the divine Christ Child: When the most holy Virgin, with her divine Child and righteous Joseph, drew near to the city of Hermopolis, they saw a tree before the gate of the city. The travelers were weary from their long journey, and went up to the tree to rest a little. But the tree was very tall and gave little shade. The Egyptians called this tree ‘Persea’ and worshipped it as a god, for they believed that some divinity was hidden within it. In fact, an evil spirit dwelt in this tree. So, when the divine family drew near to the tree, it trembled and the evil spirit, terrified at the presence of the Christ Child, fled. Then the tree bent its tip down and worshipped its Maker like a rational creature. The bent tree thus gave a deep shade, in which the weary travelers could rest. From that day, the tree received miraculous healing power from Christ the Lord, to heal every human sickness.

The holy travelers then went on to the village of Matarea. Near the village, they saw a fig tree, and while Joseph went into the village, the holy Virgin sheltered with the Lord under this tree. Then a marvel was seen: the tree bowed its crown down to the ground to give shade to the travelers, and its lower branches opened in such a way that mother and Child could go inside and rest. What was even stranger: a living spring of water suddenly sprang up near the fig tree. Joseph found a hut near this, and they settled there, and they drank the water from this wonderful spring. This was the only spring of living water to be found in the whole of the land of Egypt, for all the other water in Egypt comes from the Nile, which branches out into innumerable canals. Thus, like called to like: the Lord Jesus, the deathless and heavenly Spring of living water, called forth this spring of living water from the earth.

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.