Daily Devotional
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 (NS)
April 10, 2025 (OS)
Commemorations
Pascalion — Movable Calendar
Wednesday of the Renewal Week
Menaion — Fixed Calendar
The commemoration of the holy Martyrs Terence, Africanos, Maximos, Pompeios, and 36 others, and also the blessed Zenon, Alexander, and Theodore at Carthage, and our holy father among the saints, Hieromartyr Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople.
Fasting Information
No Fasting.
Bright Week - No Fasting All Week
Scripture Readings
Pascalion — Movable Calendar
Wednesday of the Renewal Week
Epistle:
The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 5]. In those days:
Gk. usage, Acts 2:22-38; Sl. usage, Acts 2:22-36.
2 22Peter spoke to the people. “Men, Israelites, hear these
words: Jesus the Nazaræan, a Man from God, Who hath been shown forth to you by works of
power and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in your midst, even as ye yourselves
know— 23“this One, given up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God—ye took and affixed to the Cross by lawless hands and did slay,
24“Whom God raised up, having loosed the throes of death, inasmuch as it was not
possible for Him to be held by it. 25“For David saith in regard to Him,
‘I was foreseeing the Lord before my face continually, because He is on my right, that I
should not be shaken [Ps. 15(16):8]. 26“‘Therefore
my heart was gladdened, and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also shall rest upon hope [Ps. 15(16):9], 27“‘for Thou wilt not
leave behind my soul in Hades, nor wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption [Ps. 15(16):10]. 28“‘Thou madest known to me the
paths of life; Thou shalt fill me full with good cheer with Thy countenance [Ps.
15(16):11].’ 29“Men, brethren, it is allowed to speak with freedom
of speech to you concerning the Patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his
sepulcher is among us until this day. 30“Therefore being a prophet—and
knowing that God swore with an oath to him that from the fruit of his loins,
according to his flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit upon his throne—
31“he foresaw and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul
was not left behind in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32“This Jesus
did God raise up, of Whom we are all witnesses. 33“Therefore having been exalted
to the right of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He
poured out this which ye now see and hear. 34“For David did not ascend into the
heavens, but he saith himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit Thou on My right,
35“‘“until I should place Thine enemies as a footstool of Thy
feet [Ps. 109(110):1].”’ 36“Assuredly
therefore, let all the house of Israel know that God made Him, this same Jesus Whom ye
crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Gospel:
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 4]. At that
time:
1 35John was standing, and two of his disciples. 36And having
looked at Jesus walking, he saith, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37And the
two disciples heard Him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38And Jesus turned, and
beheld them following, and saith to them, “What seek ye?” And they said to Him,
“Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where art Thou
staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and see.” Then they went and saw
where He was staying. And they stayed with Him that day; and it was about the tenth hour.
40Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard this from
John, and followed Him. 41This same one first findeth his own brother
Simon, and saith to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is, being interpreted,
the Christ), 42and he led him to Jesus. And having looked at him, Jesus said,
“Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas. Thou shalt be called Kephas” (which is
interpreted, a stone).
43On the morrow Jesus intended to go forth into Galilee; and He findeth Philip,
and saith to him, “Follow thou Me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of
the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, “We
have found the One of Whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote—Jesus the son
of Joseph, Who is from Nazareth.” 46And Nathanael said to him, “Out
of Nazareth can there be any good thing?” Philip saith to him, “Come and see.”
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and saith concerning him, “Behold,
truly an Israelite in whom is no guile.” 48Nathanael saith to Him, “From
what place knowest Thou me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called
thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” 49Nathanael
answered, and saith to Him, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of
Israel.” 50Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to thee,
‘I saw thee underneath the fig tree,’ believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things
than these.” 51And He saith to him, “Verily, verily, I say to thee,
henceforth ye shall see the heaven having been opened, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of Man.”
Menaion — Fixed Calendar
The commemoration of the holy Martyrs Terence, Africanos, Maximos, Pompeios, and 36 others, and also the blessed Zenon, Alexander, and Theodore at Carthage, and our holy father among the saints, Hieromartyr Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople.
Epistle:
For the Hierarch:
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.
for Sl. usage, see [Heb. 13:7-16].
Gospel:
For the Hieromartyr:
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 67]. The
Lord said:
12 32“Cease being afraid, little flock,
for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. 33“Sell your
possessions and give alms. Make for yourselves purses which do not become old, an unfailing
treasure in the heavens, where no thief draweth near nor moth destroyeth; 34“for
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35“Let your loins be
girded about and the lamps be kept burning; 36“and be ye like to men waiting for
their own lord—whenever he should depart from the wedding festivities—that when he
cometh and knocketh, straightway, they might open to him. 37“Happy are
those slaves whom the lord, after he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say to you that he
shall gird himself about and shall have them recline at table, and will come forth and
minister to them. 38“And if he should come in the second watch, and in the third
watch should he come, and find them thus, happy are those slaves. 39“But
know ye this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he
would have watched and not let his house be broken into. 40“Ye therefore also
keep on becoming ready, for in the hour ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.”
Lives of the Saints
(Prologue)
April 23rd – Civil Calendar
April 10th – Church Calendar
1. The Holy Martyrs Terence, Africanus, Maximus, Pompeius and 36 others with them.
They suffered for Christ and were crowned with wreaths of glory in the time of the Emperor
Decius. By the emperor’s orders, the governor of Africa notified all the people that they
must offer sacrifice to idols. In the case of opposition, the governor was to put the stubborn to
harsh torture. Hearing this threat, many lapsed from the Faith and worshipped idols. But these
forty martyrs remained steadfast, for which they were put to torture. St. Terence encouraged his
companions with these words: ‘Let us, my brethren, keep ourselves from denying Christ our
God; that He may not deny us before His heavenly Father and the holy angels.’ The governor
divided them into two groups; thirty-six of them, after flogging and having salt rubbed in their
open wounds, he beheaded. But the first four he cast into prison with heavy chains round their
necks and on their hands and feet. An angel of God appeared to them in the prison and touched
their chains, which fell from them. Then the angel brought them a table abundantly heaped with
food, and fed them. They were again taken out and tortured, and again shut up in the prison.
Also, the governor ordered sorcerers to gather as many poisonous reptiles as possible, such as
snakes and scorpions, and to shut them up with the martyrs. But the reptiles would not touch the
men of God, but huddled together in one corner, where they remained for three days. When the
prison was opened on the third day, the reptiles fell on the sorcerers and bit them. At last the
governor passed sentence of death on these four martyrs. When they were taken to the scaffold,
they joyfully sang psalms and hymns of thanksgiving to God, Who had accounted them worthy of a
martyr’s death. They suffered with honor and attained to the kingdom in the year 250.
2. The 6,000 Holy Martyrs in Georgia.
In the wilderness of David-Garejeli in Georgia, there were twelve monasteries in which monks
had lived the ascetic life for centuries. In 1615, Shah Abbas I invaded Georgia, laid it waste
and slew innumerable Christians. One day, while out hunting at dawn on the day of Pascha itself,
he saw the light of many candles shining in the hills. This was the monks of all twelve
monasteries in procession all round the Church of the Resurrection, walking with candles in their
hands. When the shah discovered that it was monks, he asked in disbelief: ‘Isn’t the
whole of Georgia put to the sword by now?’ and ordered his generals to go and slaughter the
monks at once. An angel of God appeared to Abbot Arsenius, and revealed their imminent death to
him, and Arsenius informed the brethren. They then all received Communion in the Holy Mysteries
and prepared for death. Then the attackers arrived, hacked the abbot to pieces when he came out
ahead of the others, and then killed all the rest. They all suffered with honor and were crowned
with unfading wreaths in 1615. Thus ended the history of these famous monasteries, which had been
like a flame of spiritual enlightenment in Georgia for more than 1,000 years. There remain just
two today: St. David and St. John the Baptist. The King of Georgia, Archil, gathered the remains
of all the martyrs and buried them. Their relics are to this day full of myrrh for the healing of
those in sickness. [These saints are commemorated on Bright Tuesday.]
FOR CONSIDERATION
When a man detaches his mind from the earth and opens it to God with the desire of pleasing
Him, then God reveals His will to him in various ways. St. Peter Damascene writes: ‘If a
man has a wholehearted desire to please God, to him will God show His will through his thoughts,
or through some other person or through holy Scripture.’ Such a man will be careful and
will await the promptings of God, both inward and outward. For him there is no such thing as
chance, and the world becomes for him as a ten-stringed harp that gives forth no sound but in
response to the finger of God.
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.
