Daily Devotional

Monday, November 10, 2025 (NS)
October 28, 2025 (OS)

Commemorations

Pascalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Twenty-Third Week

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyrs Terence and Neonila, and their children Nita, Sarvilos, Hierakos, Theodoulos, Phokas, Veelee, and Evnike, and the holy Great-martyr Paraskeve of Iconium, and St. Job of Pochaev.

Fasting Information

No Fasting.

Scripture Readings

Pascalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Twenty-Third Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 262].

1 ¹Paul, and Silouanos, and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²We give thanks to God always concerning you all, making remembrance of you in the time of our prayers, ³remembering unceasingly your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father, ⁴knowing, brethren, beloved by God, your election. ⁵For our Gospel did not come to be to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much fullness of assurance, even as ye know of what sort we were among you for your sake.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 59]. At that time:

11 ²⁹When the crowds were gathered together beside Jesus, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeketh after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonas the prophet. ³⁰“For even as Jonas came to be a sign to the Ninevites, thus also the Son of Man shall be to this generation. ³¹“A queen of the south shall be raised up in the judgment with the men of this generation and shall condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something more than Solomon is here. ³²“Men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, something more than Jonas is here. ³³“But no one, having lit a lamp, putteth it in a vault, nor under the bushel, but upon the lampstand, in order that those entering may see the light.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

Epistle

For the Great-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 venerable Father:

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 Great-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.”

For the venerable Father:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 24]. At that time:

6 ¹⁷Jesus stood upon a level place. And there was a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all of Judæa and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases— ¹⁸even those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd was seeking to touch Him, for power was coming forth from Him and healing all. ²⁰And He lifted up His eyes to His disciples, and began to say:
   “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
   ²¹“Blessed are ye who hunger now, for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye who weep now, for ye shall laugh.
   ²²“Blessed are ye whenever men hate you, and whenever they separate you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.
   ²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

November 10th – Civil Calendar
October 28th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Paraskeve.

She was born in the city of Iconium of rich and Christ-loving parents. After their death, the maiden Paraskeve began to give her goods away to the poor and needy, all in the name of Christ the Lord. When a persecution arose under Diocletian (284-305), Paraskeve was taken for trial before the governor of that area. When the governor asked her name, she said that she was called a Christian. The governor rebuked her for not giving her ordinary name, but Paraskeve said to him: ‘I had first to tell you my name in eternal life, and can then give you my name in this transitory life.’ After flogging her, the governor threw her into prison, where an angel of God appeared to her, and healing her of her wounds, comforted her. She destroyed all the idols in the pagan temple by her prayers. After long and harsh torture, she was beheaded with the sword and entered into eternal life.

2. St. Arsenius (Arsenije), Archbishop of Peć.

A great hierarch of the Serbian Church and the successor of St. Sava, Arsenius was born in Srem. He became a monk while still a young man, and gave himself to wholehearted asceticism for his soul’s salvation. Hearing of the wonderful personality and deeds of St. Sava, Arsenius went to him at Žiča, where the saint received him with kindness and drew him into the brotherhood at the monastery. Seeing rare virtues in Arsenius, Sava soon installed him as abbot of the Žiča community. When the Hungarians over-ran the land of Serbia, Sava sent Arsenius south to find a more secluded spot for the archiepiscopal seat. Arsenius chose Peć, and there built a monastery and church to the Holy Apostles, which later became dedicated to the Lord’s Ascension. Before his second departure for Jerusalem, Sava designated Arsenius to succeed him on the archiepiscopal throne, and when Sava died at Trnovo on his way home, Arsenius urged King Vladislav to take Sava’s body onto Serbian soil. He governed the Church wisely for thirty years, and entered into rest in the Lord on October 28th, 1266. On the wall of the altar at Peć is written: ‘O Lord our God, hearken; visit and bless this church,...remember it, and me, the sinner Arsenius.’ He was buried there in the church at Peć.

Translator’s note: St. Arsenius’ relics are now in the monastery of Zhrebaonik in Montenegro.

3. The Holy Martyr Terentios (Terence).

A Syrian, he suffered for the Christian Faith together with his wife and their seven children. After many tortures, during which the power of God was shown, they were all beheaded with the sword.

4. St. Stephen of St. Sava’s.

The writer of many beautiful canons, he lived in the community of St. Sava the Sanctified near Jerusalem. He later became a bishop, and entered peacefully into rest in 807.

5. St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Constantinople.

An opponent of union with Rome, in contrast to his predecessor, John Vekkos (1275-1282), he was an ascetic and a man of prayer from his childhood. Beloved of the people, he incurred the displeasure of some of the clergy for his moral strictness. He withdrew to his monastery on Mount Ganos, where he lived in even stricter asceticism than formerly. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to him and chided him gently for leaving his flock to the wolves. When he had prophesied the day of the earthquake in Constantinople, the Emperor Andronikos called him back to the patriarchal throne, much against his will, and he later secretly withdrew again to his asceticism, entering into rest at the age of a hundred. He was a wonder-worker and a clairvoyant.

6. St. Dimitri, Bishop of Rostov.

A great hierarch, preacher, writer and ascetic, he was born near Kiev in 1651, and died in 1709. Among many other glorious works of instruction that he wrote, especially noteworthy is the translation and publication of the Lives of the Saints. He foresaw his own death three days before, and died while at prayer. He was a great light of the Russian Church, and of Orthodoxy in general. He had heavenly visions during his life; he served the Lord with zeal and entered into the heavenly kingdom.

FOR CONSIDERATION

St. Dimitri of Rostov was a saint in the classical pattern of our first fathers. He not only wrote beautiful books of instruction but also illumined his flock by his example, being a great faster and a man of prayer. He was so humble that he even asked the students in his seminary to pray for him. Whenever the clock struck the hour, he stood in prayer and recited ‘Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice!’ When he was ill—which often happened to him—he asked the seminarians each to recite the ‘Our Father’ for him five times, keeping in mind the five wounds of the Lord Jesus Christ. St. Barbara then appeared to him, and asked him: ‘Why do you pray in the Latin way?’ At this rebuke, the saint fell into despair, for at that time, many Latin false traditions had crept into Russia, and the righteous were endeavoring not to be influenced by them. St. Barbara appeared to him again to comfort him because of his despair, saying to him, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ On another occasion, St. Orestes the Martyr (Nov. 10th) appeared to him, just as Dimitri was writing his life, and said: ‘I endured greater sufferings for Christ than you have recorded.’ He then showed him his left side, and said: ‘This was pierced with a white-hot iron.’ He went on to show him his left arm, saying: ‘This was cut off,’ and his thigh, saying: ‘The flesh was cut away here.’ When St. Dimitri began to wonder whether this Orestes was one of the Five Companions (Dec. 13th), the saint answered his query, saying: ‘I’m not the one among the Five Companions, but the one whose Life you’re now writing.’

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.