Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Fourth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 102]. Brethren:

9 ¹⁸God, to whom He will, hath mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. ¹⁹Thou wilt say then to me, “Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath withstood His express will?” ²⁰Yea rather, O man, who art thou that answerest against God? The thing formed shall not say, shall it, to the one who formed it, “Why didst thou make me thus?” ²¹Or hath not the potter authority over the clay, out of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? ²²God, although willing to show wrath and to make His power known, bore in much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, ²³in order that He also might make known the wealth of His glory on the vessels of mercy—which He had afore prepared unto glory, ²⁴even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. ²⁵As He saith also in Osee, “I will call that which is not My people, My people; and that which is not beloved, beloved [cf. Hos. 2:23]. ²⁶“And it shall be in the place where it was said to them, ‘Ye are not My people,’ there shall they be called sons of the living God [cf. Hos. 1:10].” ²⁷And Esaias also crieth out concerning Israel, “And if the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved [cf. Is. 10:22]; ²⁸“for He is consummating the word, and cutting it short in righteousness, because the Lord shall make a word which hath been shortened upon the earth [cf. Is. 10:23].” ²⁹And according as Esaias foretold, “Except the Lord of Sabaoth left us a seed, we should have become as Sodom, and we should have been made like unto Gomorrah [Is. 1:9].” ³⁰What then shall we say? That the nations which pursued not righteousness came upon righteousness, but a righteousness which is of faith; ³¹but Israel which pursued a law of righteousness, arrived not unto a law of righteousness. ³²Why? Because it was not by faith, but as by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the stone of stumbling. ³³Even as it hath been written: “Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offense; and everyone who believeth on Him shall not be ashamed [cf. Is. 28:16].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 40]. At that time:

11 ²After John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent two of his disciples, ³and said to Him, “Art Thou the coming One, or do we look for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what ye are hearing and seeing: ⁵“the blind are recovering their sight and the lame are walking; the lepers are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing; the dead are being raised and the poor are being preached the Gospel. ⁶“And happy is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.” ⁷And as these went their way, Jesus began to say to the crowds concerning John, “What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? A reed being shaken by the wind? ⁸“But what went ye out to see? A man who hath been clothed in soft garments? Behold, those wearing soft garments are in the houses of kings. ⁹“But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. ¹⁰“For this is he about 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].’ ¹¹“Verily I say to you, there hath not arisen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist; but the least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. ¹²“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens is being taken by force, and the forceful seize it. ¹³“For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴“And if ye are willing to receive it, he is Elias, who is about to come. ¹⁵“The one who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable mother among the saints, Fevronia, the Virgin-martyr of Nisibis, and the blessed Prince Peter and blessed Princess Fevronia (tonsured David and Ephrosynia), Wonder-workers of Murom.

Epistle

For the Martyr:

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 181]. Brethren:

6 ¹We, working together, beseech you also not to receive the grace of God in vain— ²for He saith, “In an acceptable time I heard thee, and in a day of salvation I helped thee [Is. 49:8]”; behold, now is an acceptable time; behold, now is a day of salvation— ³by not giving even one cause of stumbling in anything, that the ministry might not be blamed. ⁴But in all things commending ourselves as ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in straits, ⁵in blows, in imprisonments, in instabilities, in toils, in vigils, in fastings, ⁶in pureness, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned, ⁷in the word of truth, in the power of God, by the weapons of righteousness of the right hand and of the left, ⁸by glory and dishonor, by ill-fame and good fame; as deceivers and yet true; ⁹as unknown and well-known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not put to death; ¹⁰as ones sorrowful, but always rejoicing; as poor, but enriching many; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

For the Wonder-workers:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213]. Brethren:

5 ²²The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴But they who are of the Christ crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be walking by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

6 ¹Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness, looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ²Keep on bearing one another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.

Gospel

For the Martyr:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 33]. At that time:

7 ³⁶A certain one of the Pharisees was asking Jesus that He would eat with him. And He entered into the house of the Pharisee, and reclined at table. ³⁷And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she found out that He was reclining at table in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster flask of perfumed ointment, ³⁸and she stood beside His feet behind Him, weeping; and she began to wet His feet with tears, and was wiping them off with the hairs of her head; and she was kissing His feet ardently and anointing them with the perfumed ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee who invited Him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, “This One, if He were a prophet, would know who and of what sort the woman is who toucheth Him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to thee.” And he saith, “Teacher, say it.” ⁴¹“There were two debtors to a certain creditor: the one was owing five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²“But when they had nothing to pay back the debt, he showed himself gracious to both. Say which of them then will love him more?” ⁴³Simon answered and said, “I suppose that he, to whom he showed himself the more gracious.” And He said to him, “Rightly thou didst judge.” ⁴⁴And He turned to the woman, and said to Simon, “Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house; water thou gavest Me not for My feet, but she with tears did wet My feet, and with the hairs of her head wiped them off. ⁴⁵“A kiss thou gavest Me not, but she from the time that I entered did not cease from ardently kissing My feet. ⁴⁶“With oil thou didst not anoint My head, but she anointed My feet with perfumed ointment. ⁴⁷“For which reason I say to thee, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” ⁴⁸And He said to her, “Thy sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹And those reclining at table with Him began to say among themselves, “Who is this Who even forgiveth sins?” ⁵⁰And He said to the woman, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go thy way in peace.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

July 8th – Civil Calendar
June 25th – Church Calendar

1. Our Holy Mother, the Martyr Fevronia.

She was the daughter of Prosphorus, a Roman senator. In order to escape marriage with a mortal man, she betrothed herself to Christ and became a nun in the East, in Assyria, in a monastery where her aunt, Bryaena, was abbess. Lysimachus, a nobleman’s son, was desirous of entering into marriage with Fevronia, but the Emperor Diocletian, suspecting him of being a secret Christian, sent him to the East with his uncle, Silenus, to seize and kill the Christians. Silenus was as ferocious as a wild beast and mercilessly exterminated the Christians wherever he could. Lysimachus, on the contrary, protected the Christians whenever possible and hid them from his bestial uncle. Having emptied Palmyra of Christians, Silenus came to the city of Nisibis, close to which there was the monastery of fifty ascetic virgins in which Fevronia was a nun. Although she was barely twenty years old, Fevronia was held in respect both in the monastery and in the city for her meekness, wisdom and restraint. The monastery followed the rule of a former abbess, Blessed Platonida, and every Friday the nuns would spend their time in prayer and reading sacred books, with no other work. Bryaena had appointed Fevronia to read to the other sisters while standing behind a curtain, so that no one would be distracted or captivated by the beauty of her face. When Silenus heard about Fevronia, he ordered that she be brought before him. When the holy maiden refused to renounce Christ and enter into marriage with a mortal man, he ordered them to whip her and then cut off her hands, breasts and feet and finally to slay her with the sword. But a fearful divine punishment came upon her tormentor that very day. A demon entered into him, and a fearful terror took hold of him. In his terror, he struck his head on a marble pillar and fell down dead. Lysimachus ordered that Fevronia’s body be gathered together and brought to the monastery for solemn burial, and he, together with many of the soldiers, was baptized. Many healings were wrought through Fevronia’s holy relics, and she herself appeared on the day of her feast, standing in her usual place among the sisters. They beheld her with both fear and joy. St. Fevronia suffered and went to eternal blessedness in the year 310, and her relics were translated to Constantinople in 363.

2. Our Holy Father Dionysius.

The founder of the monastery of St. John (Dionysiou) on Mount Athos, he was born in Koritza in Albania. His elder brother, Theodosius, went off to the Holy Mountain and became for a time abbot of the monastery of Philotheou. When St. Dionysius had grown up, he went to his brother at Philotheou and became a monk at his hand. By divine dispensation, when Theodosius was engaged on some business for his monastery in Constantinople, he was elected and consecrated Metropolitan of Trebizond. A wondrous light began to appear to Dionysius each night on the spot where he later built the monastery of St. John the Forerunner. Understanding the light as a sign from heaven that he was to build a monastery, Dionysius went to Trebizond to seek help from his brother and from the Emperor Alexios Komnenos. The emperor gave him both money and a Royal Charter, which is still preserved in the monastery. Dionysius founded the monastery of St. John the Forerunner in 1380. When pirates plundered the monastery, Dionysius went again to Trebizond, and there finished his earthly course at the age of seventy-two. Dionysiou still flourishes like a flower to the present day. An icon of the Mother of God known as ‘Of the Praises,’ a gift from the Emperor Alexios Komnenos to Dionysiou, can be found in the monastery. According to tradition, it was before this icon that the Akathist to the Mother of God, composed by Patriarch Sergius, was read for the first time.

FOR CONSIDERATION

‘Whoever desires to escape future tribulations must bear the present ones with joy,’ said St. Mark the Ascetic. People consider slander a great tribulation, and there are few who can bear it without grumbling.

But how beautiful are the fruits of tribulations borne with a good grace! Tribulation is given to us for profitable spiritual commerce, and we let the opportunity slip by and are left empty-handed in the market-place.

Consider: Ss. Athanasius, Basil, John Chrysostom, Makarios, Sisoës and thousands of other followers of the One Who was most maligned were themselves maligned. But God, Who orders all things for our salvation, so disposed that, on the thorns of slander, fragrant roses would spring up for all the slander endured for the name of Christ. If he had not been slandered, would Stephen have seen the heavens open and the glory of God appear in the sky? And did not all the slander against Joseph the Chaste serve for his still greater glory?

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.