Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Special Commemorations

The Saturday After the Nativity of Christ

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy [§ 288]. Child Timothy:

6 ¹¹Be pursuing righteousness, piety, faith, love, patience, meekness. ¹²Keep on fighting the good fight of the faith. Be laying hold of eternal life, to which thou wast also called, and didst confess the good confession before many witnesses. ¹³I enjoin thee before God Who maketh alive all things, and Christ Jesus Who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴that thou keep the commandment spotless, irreproachable, until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which in His own times He shall reveal the blessed and only Potentate, the King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who lord as lords, ¹⁶the One Who alone hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable, Whom not one of mankind did see, nor is able to see, to Whom be honor and everlasting might. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 46]. At that time:

12 ¹⁵Great crowds followed Jesus, and He cured them all. ¹⁶And He strictly warned them that they should not make Him manifest, ¹⁷in order that what was spoken through Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ¹⁸“Behold, My Servant Whom I chose, My Beloved, in Whom My soul is well pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall declare judgment to the nations [cf. Is. 42:1]. ¹⁹“He shall not strive nor cry out, nor shall anyone hear His voice in the streets [cf. Is. 42:2]. ²⁰“A crushed reed He shall not break to pieces, and a smoking flax He shall not quench, until He should send forth the judgment to victory [cf. Is. 42:3, 4].”

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Thirty-Third Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy [§ 293]. Child Timothy:

2 ¹¹Faithful is the saying. For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. ¹²If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. ¹³If we are faithless, yet that One remaineth faithful; He is not able to deny Himself.

¹⁴These things be putting in remembrance, solemnly testifying before the Lord not to dispute about words to no use, to the overturn of those who hear. ¹⁵Endeavor to present thyself approved to God, a workman that hath no cause for shame, cutting in a straight line the word of the truth. ¹⁶But profane and empty babblings, be shunning; for they will advance to more ungodliness, ¹⁷and their word will have spread as gangrene, of whom is Hymenæos and Philetos, ¹⁸who missed the mark concerning the truth, saying the resurrection already came to pass; and they are overturning the faith of some. ¹⁹Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth firm, having this seal: “The Lord knoweth those who are His [cf. Num. 16:5]”; and, “Let everyone who nameth the name of Christ stand off from injustice [cf. Num. 16:27; Is. 26:13, 52:11; Jer. 20:9].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 84]. The Lord said:

17 ³“Be taking heed to yourselves. Now if thy brother should sin against thee, rebuke him; and if he should repent, forgive him. ⁴“And if seven times in the day he should sin against thee, and seven times in the day he should return to thee, saying, ‘I repent,’ thou shalt forgive him.” ⁵And the apostles said to the Lord, “Add faith to us.” ⁶But the Lord said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard, ye would say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted out and be planted in the sea’; and it should obey you. ⁷“But which of you, having a slave plowing or shepherding, will say to him when he cometh in from out of the field, ‘straightway, come forth and recline at table’? ⁸“But will he not say to him, ‘Make ready what I might sup on, and gird thyself, and be serving me while I eat and drink; and after these things thou shalt eat and drink’? ⁹“He doth not have gratitude toward that slave because he did the things which were commanded him, doth he? I think not. ¹⁰“Thus also ye, whenever ye have done all things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable slaves, for we have done that which we were bound to do.’”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Nativity, and the Virgin-martyr Anysia at Thessalonica, and the Martyr Zotikos, keeper of orphans.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

January 12th – Civil Calendar
December 30th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Anysia.

Born in Thessalonica of wealthy and eminent parents, she was brought up in the Christian Faith. She was orphaned young, and gave herself over to pondering on God and prayer in her own home. Fired with the love of Christ, she often said: ‘Oh, how false is the life of youth, for you either create scandal or are scandalized. Better is age, but oh, I am seized with sorrow at the length of time that separates us from heaven!’ She sold her goods and gave away the proceeds to the poor, and herself lived from the labor of her own hands. She kept strict fasts, slept very little and always wept in prayer. When sleep overtook her, she said to herself: ‘It is dangerous to sleep while the enemy keeps vigil.’ At that time, the wicked Emperor Maximian issued a decree that any man was free to kill Christians when and where he came across them, without trial or sentence. This holy maiden once went out into the street to go to church. It was the day of a pagan festival of the sun. A soldier saw her fairness of face and went up to her with impure lust, asking her name. She made the sign of the Cross and said to him: ‘I am Christ’s handmaid, and I’m going to church.’ After the impudent soldier came closer and began to speak as one deranged, he forcibly took her to the temple of the idols and attempted to compel her to offer sacrifice, but Anysia pushed him away and spat in his face. The soldier aimed a blow at her with his sword, and ran her through under the rib. This holy maiden suffered in 298 and was buried by Christians, and was crowned with a wreath of glory by God in the heavenly kingdom. A church was built over her grave.

2. The Holy Apostle Timon.

One of the seven deacons (Acts 6:5), and of the Seventy Apostles, he was made bishop of Bostra in Arabia and there preached the Gospel, enduring much ill-treatment at the hands of the pagans. He was thrown into fire, but remained unharmed. He finally died by crucifixion, and entered into the kingdom of Christ.

3. Our Holy Mother Theodora of Caesarea.

After strict asceticism in the monastery of St. Anna, she entered peacefully into rest in 755.

4. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Gideon.

A Greek by birth, of very poor parents, he was forced to embrace Islam as a youth. In remorse, he fled to the Holy Mountain, where, in the monastery of Karakallou, he received the monastic schema. Desiring martyrdom for Christ, he received the blessing of his spiritual father and went to the place where he had been forced into Islam, and there, openly before the Turks, confessed the Christian Faith and denounced Mohammed as a false prophet. The Turks shaved his head, placed him backwards on a donkey and led him through the town. He rejoiced at this ridicule for the sake of Christ. They then chopped off all his fingers and toes with an axe, as they had once done to St. Iakovos the Persian (Nov. 27th), and finally threw him into a place of excrement, where he gave his holy soul to God in the year 1818, in Turnovo in Thrace. His wonder-working relics are preserved in the Church of the Holy Apostles in the village of Turnovo, and a part of them is to be found in his monastery of Karakallou.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Here are two more examples of how our merciful God helps those who, in their trouble, hope in Him with faith. Blessed Theodora of Caesarea was born into a noble house and given to the monastery of St. Anna for education. Theodora was not only educated there: she also lived in asceticism, preparing herself to receive the monastic schema. The Emperor Leo the Isaurian took her from the monastery by force and betrothed her to one of his commanders. Theodora resisted the marriage with all her soul, but was as powerless as a lamb in a wolf’s claws. She lamented and prayed constantly to God in her heart that He would not forsake her. On the very day of the marriage, while the guests were feasting, news arrived from the emperor that the Scythians had invaded the empire, with a summons for the commander to set out at once with the army against them. The commander went, and never returned, being killed in battle. Thus, by God’s help, Theodora was freed, and as a pure maiden, returned to her monastery, where she received the habit, and as a nun, became known for her rare asceticism.

A second example: in the monastery of the ‘Unsleeping Ones,’ there was great want during a year of famine. St. Markellos, the abbot, welcomed some poor men one day and entertained them, then wanted to give them some money for their journey. He asked the monastery’s treasurer how much money they had altogether, and he replied that they had ten silver pieces. The abbot told him to give all ten coins to the poor men, but the treasurer did not give them all ten. He gave them nine and kept one for the monastery’s needs, as the situation was becoming acute. A rich man suddenly visited the monastery, and brought the abbot ninety talents of gold. Then the discerning Markellos summoned the treasurer and said to him: ‘Behold, God had intended to send us a hundred talents through this devout man, but as you disobeyed me and kept back one silver piece, the Provider of all has kept back ten talents.’

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.