Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Seventh Week or Saturday Before Pentecost or Saturday of Souls

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 51A]. In those days:

28 ¹After Paul and those with him were brought through safely, then they found out that the island was called Melita. ²And the barbarians were showing no common philanthropy to us; for they kindled a fire and took in all of us, because of the rain that came on and because of the cold. ³And after Paul gathered a great number of dry sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. ⁴And when the barbarians saw the beast hang itself from his hand, they were saying to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath come through safely from out of the sea, justice doth not suffer to live.” ⁵He indeed then shook off the beast into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶But they were expecting that he was about to become inflamed or to suddenly fall down dead. But when for a long time they expected and saw nothing out of place happen to him, they changed their minds and were declaring him to be a god. ⁷Now in the parts surrounding that place there were lands belonging to the chief of the island, by name Publius, who received us and lodged us for three days in a kindly manner. ⁸And it came to pass that the father of Publius, being constrained by fevers and dysentery, was lying down, to whom Paul, after he entered and prayed, laid his hands on him and healed him. ⁹Then after this took place, the rest who had infirmities in the island were coming and being cured. ¹⁰They also honored us with many honors; and when we put out to sea, they themselves laid on us the things for our need.

¹¹And after three months we put out to sea in a ship which had wintered in the island, an Alexandrian with an ensign, the Twin Brothers. ¹²And having landed at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. ¹³From that place, having gone around, we arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind came on; and on the second day we came to Puteoli, ¹⁴where, having found brethren, we were besought to tarry with them seven days. And thus we came to Rome. ¹⁵And from that place, the brethren, having heard the things concerning us, came out to meet us as far as Appius Forum and Three Taverns, whom Paul, having seen, gave thanks to God and took courage. ¹⁶And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the military commander; but Paul was permitted to lodge by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷And it came to pass after three days that Paul called together those who were chiefs of the Jews; and having come together, he began to say to them, “Men, brethren, though I did nothing contrary to the people or to the customs of the fathers, yet was I delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, ¹⁸“who, after they examined me, were willing to release me, because there was not even one cause of death in me. ¹⁹“But when the Jews contradicted it, I was compelled to appeal to Cæsar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. ²⁰“For this cause therefore I invited you, to see you and to speak to you; for on account of the hope of Israel I have around me this chain.” ²¹And they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judæa concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren that came report or speak anything evil concerning thee. ²²“But we deem it fitting to hear from thee what thou thinkest; for indeed concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against.” ²³And after they themselves appointed him a day, more were coming to him in the lodging, to whom he set forth and testified the kingdom of God, trying to persuade them concerning the things of Jesus, from both the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning until evening. ²⁴And some on the one hand were persuaded by the things which were spoken, but some on the other hand kept on disbelieving. ²⁵And when they were dissonant toward one another, they dismissed themselves, after Paul spoke one word, “Well spoke the Holy Spirit by Esaias the prophet to our fathers, ²⁶“saying, ‘Go to this people and say, “Hearing ye shall hear, and in no wise shall understand; and seeing ye shall see, and in no wise shall perceive [Is. 6:9]; ²⁷“‘“for the heart of this people was made fat; and with their ears they heard heavily; and their eyes they closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and be converted; and I shall heal them [cf. Is. 6:10].”’ ²⁸“Be it known therefore to you that this salvation of God was sent forth to the nations, and they will hear.” ²⁹And after he said these things, the Jews departed having much discussion among themselves.

³⁰And Paul stayed two whole years in his own hired house, and kept on receiving all those who came in to him, ³¹proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all freedom of speech, without hindrance.

For the Commemoration of the Departed

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 270].

4 ¹³Brethren, we do not wish you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, that ye may not be grieving, even as the rest who have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and is risen, so also those who fell asleep through Jesus will God bring with Him. ¹⁵For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we the living, the ones remaining over until the coming of the Lord, in no wise shall precede those who fell asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with a voice of an archangel, and with a trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. ¹⁷Then we the living, the ones remaining over, shall be carried off together with them in clouds to a meeting of the Lord in the air, and so shall we always be with the Lord.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 67]. At that time:

21 ¹⁴Jesus was made manifest to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

¹⁵When therefore they ate breakfast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?” He saith to Him, “Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I have affection for Thee.” He saith to him, “Be feeding My little lambs.” ¹⁶He saith to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?” He saith to Him, “Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I have affection for Thee.” He saith to him, “Be shepherding My sheep.” ¹⁷He saith to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonas, hast thou affection for Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Hast thou affection for Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I have affection for Thee.” He saith to him, “Be feeding My sheep. ¹⁸“Verily, verily, I say to thee, when thou wast younger, thou used to gird thyself and walk about where thou wouldest; but whenever thou growest old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou wouldest not.” ¹⁹But this He said signifying by what kind of death he shall glorify God. And having said this, He saith to him, “Follow thou Me.” ²⁰And Peter, having turned about, seeth the disciple, whom Jesus loved, following—who also leaned back on His breast at the supper—and said, “Lord, who is the one who is delivering Thee up?” ²¹After Peter saw him, he saith to Jesus, “But Lord, this man—what?” ²²Jesus saith to him, “If I wish him to tarry while I am coming, what is that to thee? Do thou be following Me.” ²³Then this saying went out among the brethren that “that disciple dieth not”; and yet Jesus did not say that “he dieth not,” but, “If I wish him to tarry while I am coming, what is that to thee?”

²⁴This is the disciple who beareth testimony concerning these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. ²⁵And there are also many other things, which if as much as Jesus did may be written one by one, I suppose even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

For the Commemoration of the Departed

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 16]. The Lord said to the Jews who had come to Him:

5 ²⁴“Verily, verily, I say to you, that the one who heareth My word and believeth the One Who sent Me hath everlasting life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed over out of death into life. ²⁵“Verily, verily, I say to you, that an hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear shall live. ²⁶“For even as the Father hath life in Himself, so He also gave to the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷“and He also gave to Him authority to execute judgment. That He is Son of Man, ²⁸“cease marvelling at this; for an hour is coming in which all those in the graves shall hear His voice, ²⁹“and shall go forth—they who did good things to a resurrection of life, but they who practised bad things to a resurrection of condemnation. ³⁰“I am not able to do anything of Myself. Even as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the One Who sent Me, the Father.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our father among the saints, Nikephoros the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Great-martyr John the New of Sochi, who suffered at Belgrade.

Epistle

For the Hierarch:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ mid 318]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, see Heb. 8:1-6; for Sl. usage, see Heb. 8:3-6.

8 ¹Now in reference to the things being spoken of, the chief point is: We have such a High Priest, Who sat down on the right of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, ²a Liturgist of the holies and of the tabernacle, the true one, which the Lord pitched, and not man. ³For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is necessary for this One to have something also which He might offer. ⁴For if, indeed, He were on earth, He would not even be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law, ⁵who worship a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses had been divinely warned when he was about to execute the tabernacle; for, “See,” saith He, “that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shown to thee in the mount [cf. Ex. 25:40].” ⁶But now He hath attained a more excellent liturgy, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.

For the Great-Martyr:

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

For the Hierarch:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 64]. The Lord said to His disciples:

12 ⁸“Everyone who shall confess in Me before men, the Son of Man also shall confess in him before the angels of God. ⁹“But the one who denieth Me before the face of men shall be denied before the face of the angels of God. ¹⁰“And everyone who shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but to the one who blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven. ¹¹“And whenever they bring you in before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, cease being anxious how or what ye should speak in defense, or what ye should say; ¹²“for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what things it is needful to say.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

June 15th – Civil Calendar
June 2nd – Church Calendar

1. St. Nikephoros the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople.

He was a nobleman of Constantinople. His father Theodore, a wealthy and devout man, was a highranking official at the emperor’s court. Nikephoros served several years at court in the same capacity as his father, but then, seeing all the vanity of the world, he withdrew to the shore of the Bosphorus and built a monastery there. This monastery rapidly became filled with monks and he administered it; not, however, himself becoming a monk from a conviction of his unworthiness. He was, in this, an example to all. He had earlier, as a layman, taken part in the Seventh Ecumenical Council, at the request of the emperor and the patriarch, and was of great assistance there with his intimate knowledge of holy Scripture. When Patriarch Tarasios died, Nikephoros, much against his will, was chosen to succeed him. He was immediately professed a monk and received the priestly orders in succession, being enthroned as patriarch in Hagia Sophia in 806. This was in the time of the Emperor Nikephoros, who went off to war against the Bulgars very shortly after this and was killed in battle there. His son Stavrakios reigned for only two months before he died. After this, the good Emperor Michael, called Rangabe, came to the throne, but he reigned only two years before Leo the Armenian attacked him and drove him into exile. When this emperor began his reign, the patriarch sent him a book on the Confession of the Orthodox Faith for him to sign (this being accord­ing to the custom obtaining for all Byzantine emperors, who were regarded as sworn to uphold and defend the true Faith). The emperor did not sign it, but set it aside until his coronation. When the patriarch crowned him, he still refused to sign the book, and revealed himself to be an iconoclast heretic. The patriarch attempted to remonstrate with him and bring him back to the true Faith, but in vain. The emperor exiled him by force to the island of Prokonnesos, where he spent several years in want and privation before going to eternity in the year 829. He governed the Church as patriarch for nine years.

2. The Holy New-Martyr Constantine.

Born a Moslem on the island of Mytilene, he was healed of a grave illness by the aid of holy water in the church, and seeing other marvels of the Christian Faith, was baptized on the Holy Mountain in the skete of Kapsokalyvia. He later fell into the hands of the Turks, who, after inflicting terrible torture on him, hanged him in Constantinople on June 2nd, 1819.

3. The Holy Martyr John the New of Sochava.

A nobleman of Trebizond, he was denounced by some envious Latin and suffered for Christ in the town of Akerman. After being tortured for not accepting the Islamic religion (for the governor of the town was of that faith), St. John was tied to a horse’s legs and dragged round the town. Some wicked Jews, seeing him thus, ran up and butchered him. That night, a burning column was seen by many people above his body, and three men bathed in light standing around it. Later the Moldavian commander, Joalexander, took his honored body and buried it in the metropolitical church, where it remains to this day and miraculously saves men from various pains and sicknesses. He suffered with honor and was glorified on June 2nd, 1492.

4. The Hieromartyr Erazmo of Ochrid.

This saint was born in Antioch and lived in the reigns of Diocletian and Maximian. He lived in strict asceticism on Mount Lebanon, and was endowed by God with great wonder-working gifts. As a bishop, he set out to preach the Gospel. Arriving at the city of Ochrid, he restored the son of a man called Anastasius to life by his prayers, and baptized him. At this time, Erazmo baptized many other pagans and tore down the idolatrous altar in Ochrid. For this he was denounced to the Emperor Maximian, who was at that time staying in Illyria. The emperor brought him before the copper image of Zeus, and ordered him to bring sacrifices and worship the idol. St. Erazmo, by his power, caused a terrible dragon to come out of the statue, which terrified all the people. The saint then worked another wonder, and the dragon died. Then the saint preached Christ and baptized 20,000 souls. The furious emperor commanded that all 20,000 be beheaded, and put Erazmo to harsh torture, before throwing him into prison. But an angel of God appeared to him, as once to the Apostle Peter, and led him out of the prison. After that, this servant of God went to Campania, where he preached the Gospel to the people, then returned again to the town of Hermelia, where he withdrew to a cave and lived in asceticism for the rest of his days. At the time of his death, he prostrated three times towards the East, and with upraised hands, prayed to God to forgive and give eternal life to all those who would, with faith, call upon his name. At the end of his prayer, a voice was heard from heaven: ‘Let it be as thou hast asked, My little healer Erazmo!’ The saint looked up once more to heaven with great joy and saw a wreath of glory descending upon him, and a choir of angels, prophets, apostles and martyrs waiting to receive his holy soul. He finally cried: ‘Lord, receive my spirit!’ and breathed his last, in about the year 303. The cave and chapel of St. Erazmo stand to this day not far from Ochrid, and from there is proclaimed to this day the great power of the man of God, Erazmo the hieromartyr.

(In the Slavonic Prologue and Menaion, St. Erazmo is commemorated on May 4th; but in the Greek on June 2nd. This latter is more correct, as the feast of this saint has been celebrated in Ochrid on June 2nd from time immemorial.)

FOR CONSIDERATION

The veneration of icons is an integral part of Orthodoxy, and cannot be divorced from it. ‘An icon is a divine thing, but it is not God,’ said St. Nikephoros to the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Armenian. He then explained that Moses had made a bronze serpent and lifted it up in the wilderness, although it had previously been commanded: ‘Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image.’ The latter was commanded so that the chosen people should be saved from the idol-worship of Egypt, and the former so that He, the one most high God, might show His power through a visible thing. Thus He allows His power to be shown forth through icons. It is His holy will and our aid to salvation. If icons were things of little meaning, why did many of the holiest men and women suffer unto death throughout history for the holy icons?

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.