Daily Devotional

Saturday, November 9, 2024 (NS), October 27, 2024 (OS)

No Fasting.

Saturday of the Twentieth Week

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica.

Jump to Prologue

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Twentieth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 168].

1 ⁸Brethren, we wish you not to be ignorant concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia, that we were weighed down excessively, beyond our power, so as for us to have been utterly at a loss even of living. ⁹But we ourselves have had the sentence of death in ourselves, in order that we should not have trust in ourselves, but in God Who raiseth the dead, ¹⁰Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver; in Whom we have hope that He shall yet deliver, ¹¹ye also helping together by entreaty on our behalf, that for the gracious gift, by means of many persons toward us, thanks might be given by many on our behalf.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 36]. The Lord said:

8 ¹⁶“No one, having lit a lamp, covereth it with a vessel or putteth it underneath a bed, but placeth it upon a lampstand, that they who enter in may see the light. ¹⁷“For nothing is secret which shall not become manifest, nor hidden that shall not be known and come to light. ¹⁸“Be taking heed then how ye hear: for whosoever hath, it shall be given to him; and whosoever hath not, even what he seemeth to have shall be taken away from him.”

¹⁹And His Mother and brethren came to Him, and were not able to meet with Him on account of the crowd. ²⁰And it was reported to Him by some who said, “Thy Mother and Thy brethren are standing outside, wishing to see Thee.” ²¹And He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brethren are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

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.