Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Renewal Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 8]. In those days:

3 ¹¹As the lame man who was healed held fast to Peter and John, all the people, utterly amazed, ran together toward them on the porch which is called Solomon’s. ¹²And after Peter saw it, he answered to the people, “Men, Israelites, why do ye wonder at this? Or why do ye look intently on us, as if by our own power or piety we have caused him to walk? ¹³“The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, Whom ye delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, after the latter adjudged to release Him. ¹⁴“But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and ye yourselves asked for a man, a murderer, to be granted to you, ¹⁵“and ye killed the originator of life, Whom God raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. ¹⁶“And in the power of His name by faith, this man, whom ye see and know, was strengthened by His name, and the faith which is by Him gave this complete soundness to him before you all.”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 11]. At that time:

3 ²²Jesus came, and His disciples, to the Judæan land; and there He was spending time with them, and was baptizing. ²³And John was also baptizing in Ænon near Saleim, because there was much water there. And they were coming and were being baptized. ²⁴For John had not yet been cast into the prison. ²⁵Then there arose an inquiry from the disciples of John with a Jew about purification. ²⁶And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He Who was with thee across the Jordan, to Whom thou hast borne witness, behold, this One is baptizing, and all are coming to Him.” ²⁷John answered and said, “A man is able to receive nothing unless it hath been given to him from the heavens. ²⁸“Ye yourselves bear witness to me that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but that ‘I have been sent forth before that One.’ ²⁹“The one who hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice. This joy then, which is mine, hath been made full. ³⁰“It is needful for that One to go on increasing, but for me to go on decreasing. ³¹“The One Who cometh from above is above all. The one who is out of the earth is of the earth, and speaketh of the earth; the One Who cometh out of the heavens is above all. ³²“And what He hath seen and heard, this He testifieth; and no one receiveth His testimony. ³³“The one who receiveth His testimony hath set his seal to this, that God is true.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our holy father among the saints, Eftychios, Patriarch of Constantinople, and the venerable Methodios, Equal-to-the-apostles, Archbishop of Moravia and Enlightener of the Slavs.

Epistle

For the Equal-to-the-apostles:

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

7 ²⁶Such a High Priest was fitting for us: holy, guileless, undefiled, Who hath been separated from the sinners and hath become higher than the heavens, ²⁷Who hath no need daily, even as the high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, then for those of the people; for this He did once for all after He offered up Himself. ²⁸For the law appointeth men high priests who have weakness; but the word of the oath, which is after the law, appointeth the Son, Who hath been perfected forever.

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.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

April 19th – Civil Calendar
April 6th – Church Calendar

1. St. Eftychios, Patriarch of Constantinople.

He was born in Phrygia of devout parents, and was the son of an officer. Once, Eftychios was playing with some other children of his own age, their game being to write their names on a wall and put beside them the rank that they reckoned they would have in life. When Eftychios’ turn came, he wrote: ‘Eftychios—Patriarch!’ He became abbot of a monastery in Amaseia at the age of thirty, and ten years later the Metropolitan of Amaseia sent him to the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553 as his representative. At the council, he shone like a bright star among the Church fathers, both for his learning and his devotion. When a quarrel arose about whether heretics could be anathematised after their deaths or not, he supported his belief that they could by citing III Kings (I Kings KJV) 13:1-8, and IV Kings (II Kings) 23:16. He became greatly liked by both Emperor Justinian and Patriarch Menas. The emperor very frequently turned to him for advice, and Menas (at that time very wealthy) designated him his heir and asked the emperor to ensure that this happened. And so it came to pass. Eftychios governed the Church in peace for twelve years. But then the devil raised a storm against him. This storm reached the Emperor Justinian himself. The emperor was deluded and fell into the Monophysite heresy of Aphthartodocetism, which taught the falsehood that the Lord Jesus, before the Resurrection, had a divine and incorrupting body, not feeling hunger or thirst or pain. Eftychios stood firmly against this heresy, for which the emperor sent him into exile to his first monastery. There Eftychios lived for twelve years and eight months, being shown to be a great wonder-worker, healing people of various diseases by his prayers and by anointing with holy oil. Justinian repented and died, and his successor, Justin II, called Eftychios back to the patriarchal throne, on which this saint remained till his death, governing the Church of God in peace. In 582, at the age of seventy, he went to the kingdom of Christ the Lord, the Lord Whom he had served so faithfully and courageously all his life.

2. The 120 Holy Martyrs in Persia.

When the Persian King Sapor plundered the Byzantine lands, he took 120 Christians into slavery. He put pressure on them to deny Christ and worship fire, but in vain. He then threw them into the fire and burned them alive. Among these martyrs were nine virgins, consecrated to God. They all suffered with honor between 344 and 347, and went to the courts of Christ the King.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Of a certain orator of olden times it is said that he strove day and night to perfect his oratory. Someone said to him: ‘Demosthenes will never permit you to be the chief orator!’ to which he at once replied: ‘Nor I him, to be the only!’ If you can’t be a first-class saint, like St. Anthony, don’t shrug your shoulders and say: ‘I can’t do anything,’ but apply your effort and double your talent. ‘In My Father’s house are many mansions,’ said the Lord. If you deserve only to find yourself in the smallest of these mansions, you will be more glorious and happier than any earthly monarch who has ever lived. To each according to his talent. You won’t be a St. Anthony—but the kingdom of God is not entirely populated by St. Anthonies!

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.