Daily Devotional

Sunday, November 9, 2025 (NS)
October 27, 2025 (OS)

Commemorations

Pascalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Twenty-Second Week

Mode Plagal One — Eleventh Eothinon

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica.

Fasting Information

No Fasting.

Scripture Readings

Pascalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Twenty-Second Week

Mode Plagal One — Eleventh Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 215]. Brethren:

6 ¹¹See with what size letters I am writing to you with mine own hand. ¹²As many as wish to make a good show in the flesh, these constrain you to be circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted for the Cross of Christ. ¹³For not even they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but they wish you to be circumcised, in order that they might boast in your flesh. ¹⁴But may it not be for me to boast, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom the world hath been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision hath any strength, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. ¹⁶And as many as walk by this rule, peace be upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

¹⁷Henceforth, let no one be giving me troubles, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 39]. At that time:

8 ⁴¹A certain man came to Jesus, whose name was Jairos, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell at the feet of Jesus and besought Him to come into his house, ⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He was going, the crowds were pressing closely upon Him. ⁴³And a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who expended her whole living on physicians and could not be cured by anyone, ⁴⁴came behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment. And immediately the flow of her blood stanched. ⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” But when all denied it, Peter said, and those with him, “Master, the crowds compass Thee and press Thee tightly, and sayest Thou, ‘Who is the one who touched Me?’” ⁴⁶And Jesus said, “Someone touched Me; for I know that power went forth from Me.” ⁴⁷And after the woman saw that she did not escape notice, she came trembling; and having fallen down before Him, she declared to Him before all the people for what cause she touched Him, and how she was healed immediately. ⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good courage; thy faith hath made thee well. Go thou in peace.” ⁴⁹While He is yet speaking, someone cometh from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Thy daughter hath died; do not be troubling the Teacher.” ⁵⁰But after Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Cease being afraid; only keep on believing, and she shall be made well.” ⁵¹And after He entered into the house, He did not allow anyone to go in, except Peter and Iakovos and John, and the father and the mother of the girl. ⁵²And all were weeping and beating their breasts. But He said, “Cease weeping; she did not die, but sleepeth.” ⁵³And they kept on laughing scornfully at Him, knowing that she did die. ⁵⁴But He put them all outside and took hold of her hand and called, saying, “Girl, arise.” ⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that something be given to her to eat. ⁵⁶And her parents were amazed. And He gave orders to them to tell no one what took place.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica.

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)

November 9th – Civil Calendar
October 27th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Nestor.

At the time of the martyrdom of St. Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher, there was in Thessalonica a young man, Nestor, who had learned the Christian Faith from St. Demetrius himself. At that time, the Emperor Maximian, an opponent of Christ, ordered various games and amusements for the people. The emperor’s favorite was a Vandal called Lyaeus, a man of Goliath-like size and strength. As the imperial gladiator, Lyaeus challenged men every day to a duel and slew them, and this blood-letting of his delighted the blood-lust of the idolatrous emperor. He built a special arena, like a terrace on pillars, for Lyaeus’ duels. Underneath this terrace were planted spears with sharp cutting-edges pointing upwards. When Lyaeus had overcome someone in the duel, he would push him from the terrace above onto the whole forest of prepared spears. The pagans stood around with their emperor, and were delighted when some poor wretch writhed in torment on the spears until he died. Among Lyaeus’ innocent victims were a large number of Christians, for, when there was a day when no one came forward voluntarily to duel with Lyaeus, then, by the emperor’s orders, Christians were compelled to fight with him. Seeing this horrifying enjoyment of the pagan world, Nestor’s heart swelled with pain and he resolved to go himself to the arena of the gigantic Lyaeus. He first went to the prison where St. Demetrius was kept, and asked his blessing to do this. St. Demetrius blessed him, signed him with the sign of the Cross on forehead and breast, and said to him: ‘You will overcome him, but you will suffer for Christ.’ The young Nestor then went to Lyaeus’ arena. The emperor was there with a large crowd, and they all bewailed the probable death of the young Nestor, trying to dissuade him from fighting Lyaeus, but Nestor crossed himself and said: ‘O God of Demetrius, help me!’ With God’s help, Nestor overcame Lyaeus, felled him and threw him down onto the sharp spears, where the heavy giant soon found death. Then the whole people shouted: ‘Great is the God of Demetrius!’ But the emperor had lost face before the people, and mourning his favorite, became filled with wrath against Nestor and Demetrius, and the wicked emperor ordered that Nestor be beheaded with the sword and Demetrius run through with spears. Thus this glorious Christian hero, Nestor, left behind his young, earthly life in 306, and entered into the kingdom of his Lord.

2. Our Holy Father Nestor the Chronicler.

He arrived at the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev at the age of seventeen, while St. Theodosius was still abbot. He wrote the first history of the Russian people, into which he interwove the history of Russian asceticism. He was distinguished by a rare humility and meekness. In his glorious literary works, he often refers to himself as unworthy, vulgar, ignorant and filled with every sin. But God, Who knows the heart of man, glorified this wonderful man who was so pleasing to Him. When Nestor entered into rest, on October 27th, 1114, his relics performed many miracles.

3. St. Andrew (Andrei), Prince of Smolensk.

From love of Christ, he set aside worldly glory and honor, hid himself in a monastery and there, disguised and unknown, served as verger for thirty years. He entered peacefully into rest in the Lord in 1390, and his wonder-working relics were found in 1540.

Author’s note: In the Greek Great Synaxarion, St. Procula Claudia is also commemorated on this day. She was that wife of Pilate who suffered in a dream at the time of the Lord’s condemnation. Because of this, she tried to turn her husband from the shedding of innocent blood, but in vain (Matt. 27:19). She later became a disciple of Christ, and was baptized. She suffered greatly for the name of Christ, but finally entered into rest peacefully.

FOR CONSIDERATION

A miracle of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica: That the saints of God live clothed in great glory and power in heaven is known to Orthodox Christians, not by some reasoning of their own, but by the help and revelation of the saints. They appear sometimes in order to be seen and heard by men, sometimes either to be seen or heard and sometimes, unseen and unheard, they have influenced our thoughts, our circumstances and our actions. Among many of St. Demetrius’ miracles, this one is noted: In the Church of St. Demetrius in Thessalonica, a young man called Onesiphoros was given the job of verger. His main task was to keep an account of the candles and lamps. This young man began to steal candles and take them home, then sell them again. St. Demetrius appeared to him and said: ‘Brother Onesiphoros, your action is displeasing to me, for you are stealing candles, and are by this bringing trouble on others and especially on yourself. Stop this, and repent.’ Onesiphoros was terrified and ashamed, and for a time stopped stealing candles. But this was later forgotten, and he again began to steal. One morning, an eminent man took some large candles to the saint’s tomb, lit them, prayed a moment and then went out. Onesiphoros came up to the candles and put out his hand to take them. At that moment, a voice like thunder was heard: ‘Are you doing that again?’ As though struck by a thunderbolt, Onesiphoros fell to the ground unconscious. When some people came into the church, they lifted him up and he came to himself little by little, and related all that had happened to him, and they were all amazed and glorified God.

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.