Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Fourteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 195]. Brethren:

12 ¹⁰I am well pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in straits, for Christ’s sake; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have become foolish in boasting! Ye compelled me. For I ought to be commended by you; for I lacked nothing of the exceedingly super apostles, even though I am nothing. ¹²Indeed the signs of the apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and works of power. ¹³For what is it in which ye were less than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong. ¹⁴Behold, I am ready to come to you a third time. And I will not burden you; for I seek not your things, but you. For the children ought not to lay up in store for the parents, but the parents for the children. ¹⁵Now I with the greatest pleasure will spend and will be expended utterly for your souls, even if loving you more abundantly, I am being loved the less. ¹⁶But let it be so, I did not burden you; but being crafty, I took you with guile. ¹⁷I did not take advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent forth to you, did I? ¹⁸I besought Titus, and with him I sent the brother. Titus did not take advantage of you in anything, did he? We walked in the same spirit, did we not? We walked in the same steps, did we not? ¹⁹Again, do ye think that we are making a defense to you? We speak before God in Christ; but we do all things, beloved, for your building up.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 16]. At that time:

4 ¹⁰When Jesus was alone, those about Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable of the sower. ¹¹And He began to say to them, “To you it hath been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, everything is done in parables, ¹²“that ‘seeing they see and perceive not, and hearing they hear and understand not, lest they should turn again and their sins be forgiven them [cf. Is. 6:9, 10].’” ¹³And He saith to them, “Know ye not this parable? And how will ye know all the parables? ¹⁴“The sower soweth the word. ¹⁵“And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown; and whenever they hear, Satan straightway cometh and taketh away the word which hath been sown in their hearts. ¹⁶“And these in like manner are the ones who are sown upon the rocky places who, whenever they hear the word, straightway, receive it with joy; ¹⁷“and they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Then after affliction or persecution ariseth on account of the word, straightway they are made to stumble. ¹⁸“And these are the ones who are sown in the midst of thorns; such as hear the word, ¹⁹“and the cares of this age, and the deceit of wealth, and the desires concerning the rest entering in choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. ²⁰“And these are the ones who were sown on the good ground, such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit: one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred.” ²¹And He was saying to them, “The lamp doth not come, in order that it might be put under the bushel or under the couch, doth it? It is in order that it might be placed upon the lampstand, is it not? ²²“For nothing is hidden, except that it should be made manifest; nor did a secret thing take place, but that it should come to light. ²³“If anyone hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Dormition, and the holy Martyr Andrew the General and the 2,593 martyrs with him.

Epistle

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

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 106]. The Lord said to His disciples, “Be taking heed of men:

21 ¹²“For they shall lay their hands upon you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name; ¹³“but it shall prove to be a testimony for you. ¹⁴“Therefore settle it for yourselves in your hearts not to premeditate to make a defense; ¹⁵“for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all those who oppose you shall not be able to contradict nor withstand. ¹⁶“And ye shall be delivered up also by parents, and kinfolk, and friends, and brethren; and they shall put some of you to death. ¹⁷“And ye shall be hated by all for My name’s sake. ¹⁸“But a hair of your head in no wise shall perish. ¹⁹“In your patience win your souls.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

September 1st – Civil Calendar
August 19th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Andrew Stratelates.

He was an officer, a tribune, in the Roman army in the time of the Emperor Maximian. A Syrian by birth, he served in his native land. When the Persians attacked the imperial Roman army, this Andrew was entrusted with the command in the battle against the enemy whence his title: commander, stratelates. A secret Christian, although as yet unbaptized, Andrew commended himself to the living God, and taking only the cream of the army, went to war. Before the battle, he told his soldiers that, if they all called upon the aid of the one true God, Christ the Lord, their enemies would become as dust scattered before them. All the soldiers, fired with enthusiasm by Andrew and his faith, invoked Christ’s aid and attacked. The Persian army was utterly routed. When the victorious Andrew returned to Antioch, some jealous men denounced him as a Christian and the imperial governor summoned him for trial. Andrew openly proclaimed his steadfast faith in Christ. After harsh torture, the governor threw Andrew into prison and wrote to the emperor in Rome. Knowing Andrew’s popularity among the people and in the army, the emperor ordered the governor to set Andrew free, but to seek another occasion and another excuse (not his faith) to kill him. By God’s revelation, Andrew came to know of this imperial command, and taking his faithful soldiers (2,593 in all) with him, went off to Tarsus in Cilicia, where they were all baptized by the bishop, Peter. Persecuted here also by imperial might, Andrew and his companions withdrew deep into the Armenian mountain of Tavros. There in a ravine, while they were at prayer, the Roman army came upon them and beheaded them all. Not one of them would recant, all being determined on death by martyrdom for Christ. On the spot where a stream of the martyrs’ blood flowed down, a spring of healing water sprang forth, healing from every disease. The bishop, Peter, came secretly with his people and buried the martyrs’ bodies in that same place. They all suffered with honor at the end of the third century and were crowned with wreaths of eternal glory, entering into the kingdom of Christ our God.

2. Our Holy Father Theophanes.

Born in Ioannina, he left everything as a young man and went to the Holy Mountain, where he became a monk in the monastery of Docheiariou. In fasting, prayer, vigils and the stripping away of all that was unnecessary, he stood out among all the monks, and was consequently chosen in due time as abbot. Later, through some disagreement with the monks, he left the Holy Mountain, and with his nephew, went to Berea in Macedonia, where he founded a monastery dedicated to the most holy Mother of God. When this monastery began to flower with the spiritual life, he left his nephew in charge and went to Naousa, where he founded another monastery, in honor of the Holy Archangels. He died peacefully some time in the fifteenth century. His wonder-working relics rest today in Naousa, and reveal God’s great power.

3. The Holy Martyrs Timothy, Agapius and Thekla.

They suffered for Christ in the time of the wicked Emperor Diocletian. Timothy was burned by fire, and Agapius and Thekla thrown to the wild beasts.

FOR CONSIDERATION

When some unexpected trouble falls upon us guiltless, we should not immediately bemoan the fact, but seek God’s providence in it, which can, through this trouble, bring us something new and helpful. The great Theophanes, abbot of Docheiariou, one day received the shocking news that the Turks had seized his sister’s son, forced him to embrace Islam and then taken him to Constantinople. Theophanes immediately went himself to Constantinople and succeeded, with God’s help, in locating his nephew and taking him secretly to his monastery on the Holy Mountain. There, he brought him back to the Christian Faith and made him a monk. But the brethren grumbled against their abbot and his nephew, from fear of the Turks, for they were afraid that the Turks would hear of it and would come and destroy the monastery. Not knowing what else to do, St. Theophanes took his nephew and withdrew secretly, not only from Docheiariou but from the Holy Mountain, and went to Berea. The later activities of Theophanes in Berea and Naousa prove how useful misfortune can be to the Church. That which Theophanes would never have achieved on the Holy Mountain, he achieved in these other places to which he had fled: he founded two monasteries in which, in due time, many monks found salvation and many people were upheld. Also, added to this, his holy relics among the people became a source of healing, for the strengthening of the Faith in unbelievers and in those of little faith. Thus God, in His wisdom, guides the destinies of men through unexpected ills, which seem to men at the time to be for their loss.

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.