Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

The Wednesday of the Mid-Pentecost

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 34]. In those days:

14 ⁶The apostles fled for refuge to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and the country round about; ⁷and there they were preaching the Gospel.

⁸And a certain man in Lystra, disabled in his feet, who was lame from his mother’s womb and who never had walked, was sitting. ⁹This same one heard Paul speaking, who, having looked intently on him and perceiving that he had faith to be made well, ¹⁰said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on thy feet.” And he leaped and was walking about. ¹¹And after the crowds saw what Paul did, they lifted up their voice in Lycaonian, saying, “The gods, having become like men, came down to us.” ¹²And they indeed began calling Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, since he was the leader of the discourse. ¹³And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was before their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gateways, and was intending to sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴But the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, after they heard this, tore their garments and rushed into the crowd, crying out, ¹⁵and saying, “Men, why do ye these things? We also are men of like feelings with you, preaching the Gospel to you to turn you from these vanities to the living God, Who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all the things in them, ¹⁶“Who in the generations which have gone by suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷“And yet indeed, He left not Himself without witness, doing good, giving rain from heaven to us and fruit-bearing seasons, filling our hearts with food and good cheer.” ¹⁸And saying these things, they scarcely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 26].

7 ¹⁴It now already being the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. ¹⁵And the Jews were wondering, saying, “How knoweth this One letters, since He hath not learned?” ¹⁶Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but of the One Who sent Me. ¹⁷“If anyone be willing to do His will, he shall know concerning the teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from Myself. ¹⁸“The one who speaketh from himself seeketh his own glory; but the One Who seeketh the glory of the One Who sent Him, this One is true, and unrighteousness is not in Him. ¹⁹“Moses hath given you the law, hath he not? And yet not one of you doeth the law. Why do you seek to kill Me?” ²⁰The crowd answered and said, “Thou hast a demon; who seeketh to kill Thee?” ²¹Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and ye all wonder on this account. ²²“Moses hath given you circumcision—not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers—and on a sabbath ye circumcise a man. ²³“If a man receive circumcision on a sabbath, in order that the law of Moses should not be broken, are ye bilious because I made a whole man sound on a sabbath! ²⁴“Cease judging according to appearance, but judge the righteous judgment.” ²⁵Then some of those from Jerusalem were saying, “This is the One Whom they seek to kill, is it not? ²⁶“But behold, He speaketh boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Can it be that the rulers indeed came to know that this is truly the Christ? ²⁷“But we know from what place this One is; but the Christ, whenever He may be coming, no one knoweth where He is from.” ²⁸Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “Ye both know Me, and ye know from what place I am; and I have not come of Myself, but the One Who sent Me is true, Whom ye know not. ²⁹“But I know Him; for I am from Him, and that One sent Me forth.” ³⁰Then they began seeking to lay hold of Him; but no one laid his hand upon Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Mother Elisabeth the Wonder-worker of Constantinople, and the Martyr Savvas the General of Rome and 70 soldiers with him.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

May 7th – Civil Calendar
April 24th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Savvas Stratelates.

This famous Savvas lived in Rome in the time of the Emperor Aurelian, and held a general’s rank. He was of a noble Gothic family. He often visited Christians in prison, helping them from his abundance. Through his great purity and fasting, God gave him power over unclean spirits. When he was charged with being a Christian, he stood courageously before the emperor, cast his officer’s belt before him and publicly confessed Christ the Lord. He was tortured in various ways: flogged, flailed with iron rods, burned with torches. But he did not succumb to these deadly tortures, and was seen to be alive and well. His comrades, the soldiers, seeing clearly that God was helping Savvas, accepted the Christian Faith, and seventy of them were immediately beheaded at the emperor’s command. Christ the Lord Himself appeared to Savvas in the prison in great light, and strengthened His martyr. Then Savvas was condemned to death by drowning. He was thrown into a deep river, where he gave his soul to God in the year 272. And his soul went to the Lord to Whom he had remained faithful under many tortures.

2. Our Holy Mother Elisabeth

She embraced monasticism in early youth in the monastery of Ss. Kosmas and Damian in Constantinople, and took on herself a heavy asceticism for the sake of Christ the Lord and of her soul. She regarded herself as the bride of Christ, and this world as illusory. From her great love for God flowed a great compassion for people, especially for the sick and suffering. By the gift she had received from God, she healed many diseases and much distress among the people. At her nightly prayers she was seen all illuminated with heavenly light. And after her death, her relics had the power of healing, and many of the sick and suffering have come to her grave through the ages. She entered peacefully into rest and went to the eternal joy of her Lord in the year 540.

3. The Holy Martyrs Evsevios, Neon, Leontios and Longinos.

These four were army comrades of St. George. Seeing the courageous endurance and marvels of the saint, they became Christians and were consequently beheaded.

4. The Holy Martyrs Pasikratees and Valention.

When the judge urged Pasikratees (Pasicrates), and also the martyr’s brother, Papianos (who had fallen away from Christ through fear of torture) to offer sacrifice to idols, Pasikratees put his hand into the fire and cried: ‘The body is dead and burned by fire, but the soul is immortal and does not feel visible torture.’ His mother upheld him and greatly encouraged him to endure to the end. He was beheaded along with Valention (Valentine), and they both went to the kingdom of Christ in about 302.

5. Our Holy Father Thomas the Fool for Christ.

Whenever, in his monastic work, he had to go into the city of Antioch, Thomas feigned madness for the sake of Christ. A certain Anastasios, refusing to give him the requested alms for the monastery, gave him a blow instead. Then Thomas prophesied: ‘From now on, I shall receive nothing from Anastasios, nor will Anastasios be able to give anything.’ One day later, Anastasios died; and Thomas also, about to return to the monastery, gave up the spirit. And so the prophecy of this holy man was fulfilled. St. Thomas departed this life in Laphnis near Antioch, in the time of Patriarch Domnos (546-560).

6. The Holy New-Martyrs Luke and Nicholas

The young man Luke (or Doukas), a tailor by profession, suffered for Christ in 1546, and Nicholas in 1776.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Exhorting Christians to come to church for prayer, St. John Chrysostom says: ‘If a messenger brings an imperial or princely document to a subject citizen, the citizen does not examine the life of the bearer, whether he is rich or poor, righteous or sinful, but listens carefully to what he reads. If anyone has not heard him, he asks someone who has. So, if you have such enormous respect for an earthly ruler, how necessary it is to listen to us priests, here where the Creator of the heavenly powers speaks through us sinners.’ And, indeed, what are the holy Scriptures but documents of the King of heaven? How can it not interest us every day and every hour, that unique and saving document, when the least decree of the lowest authority in the state interests us? St. Anthony says: ‘Let all that you do be justified in holy Scripture.’ But how can you have justification from holy Scripture if you do not know the Scriptures?

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.