Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — 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 [§ 53]. At that time:

10 ²⁵A certain doctor of the law came to Jesus, tempting Him, and saying, “Teacher, by having done what shall I inherit eternal life?” ²⁶And He said to him, “In the law what hath been written? How readest thou?” ²⁷And he answered and said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind [cf. Deut. 6:5; 11:13]; and thy neighbor as thyself [cf. Lev. 19:18].” ²⁸And He said to him, “Thou didst answer rightly; be doing this, and thou shalt live.” ²⁹But he, wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰And taking it up, Jesus said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who both stripped him and laid blows upon him, and went away, leaving him, as it happened, half-dead. ³¹“Now, by a coincidence, a certain priest was going down on that road. And having seen him, he passed by on the opposite side. ³²“And in like manner also a Levite, having come to be by the place, came and saw him, and passed by on the opposite side. ³³“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came down to him; and having seen him, he was moved with compassion. ³⁴“And he drew near and bound up his wounds, pouring over oil and wine; and he put him upon his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵“And on the morrow, after he came forth, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend besides, on my coming back, I will repay thee.’ ³⁶“Which then of these three seemeth to thee to have proved to be a neighbor of the one who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷And he said, “The one who rendered mercy in dealing with him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go on thy way, and be thou doing in like manner.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

11. The commemoration of the holy Martyrs Menas of Egypt, Victor at Damascus, and Vincent of Spain, and our venerable father and confessor, Theodore of the Studite Monastery.

Epistle

For the Martyrs:

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§§ 176, 177]. Brethren:

4 ⁶It is God Who said, “Let there be light [cf. Gen. 1:3]” to shine out of darkness, Who shined in our hearts, for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the preeminence of the power may be of God, and not from us. ⁸In every way we are afflicted, but not straitened; we are at a loss, but not utterly at a loss; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; cast down, but not destroyed— ¹⁰always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. ¹¹For we, the living, are always being delivered to death on account of Jesus, that also the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. ¹²So that indeed death energizeth itself in us, but life in you. ¹³But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which hath been written: “I believed, wherefore I spoke [Ps. 115(116):1(10)],” we also believe, and therefore speak, ¹⁴knowing that the One Who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also through Jesus, and shall present us with you. ¹⁵For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, which abounded through the majority, might cause the giving of thanks to abound more to the glory of God.

for Sl. usage, see [Eph. 6:10-17].

For the venerable Father:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 335]. Brethren:

13 ¹⁷Be obedient to those who lead you, and keep on submitting, for they are watchful for your souls, as those about to render an account, that they may do this with joy, and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable for you. ¹⁸Keep on praying for us; for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to conduct ourselves well. ¹⁹But I beseech you more abundantly to do this, that I might be restored more quickly to you.

²⁰Now the God of peace Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of the sheep, the great One, in the blood of an everlasting covenant, ²¹may He render you perfect in every good work, in order to do His will, doing in you that which is well-pleasing before His face, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

For the Martyrs:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§§ 38, mid 79]. The Lord said tohis disciples:

10 ³²“Everyone who shall confess in Me before men, I also will confess in him before My Father Who is in the heavens. ³³“But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Who is in the heavens.... ³⁷“The one who loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸“And whosoever taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me.”...

19 ²⁷Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we left all things and followed Thee; what then shall be for us?” ²⁸And Jesus said to them, “Verily I say to you, that ye who followed Me, in the regeneration, whenever the Son of Man shall have taken His seat upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹“And everyone who leaveth houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, on account of My name, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit life everlasting. ³⁰“But many who are first shall be last, and the last first.”

For the venerable Confessor:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 10]. At that time:

For Gk. usage, see Mt. 4:23-5:13; for Sl. usage, see Mt.4:25-5:13.

4 ²³Jesus was going around all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. ²⁴And the report of Him went out into all Syria. And they brought to Him all those who were ill, constrained by various diseases and torments, and possessed by demons, and lunatics, and paralytics; and He cured them. ²⁵And great crowds followed Him from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judæa, and beyond the Jordan.

5 ¹And seeing the crowds, He went up into the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ²And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying:
   ³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
   ⁴“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
   ⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
   ⁶“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
   ⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.
   ⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
   ⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
   ¹⁰“Blessed are they who have been persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
   ¹¹“Blessed are ye whenever they reproach you and persecute you, and say every evil word against you falsely on account of Me.
   ¹²“Be rejoicing and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in the heavens. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt should become insipid, with what shall it be salted? For it is no longer good for anything, except to be cast out and to be trampled underfoot by men.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

November 24th – Civil Calendar
November 11th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy and Great Martyr Menas.

An Egyptian by birth and a soldier by profession, St. Menas, as a true Christian, could not bear to look upon the foul offering of sacrifice to idols, so he left the army and the town, the society of men and everything else, and went to a deserted mountain. It was easier for Menas to live with the wild beasts than with pagans. One day, Menas looked from afar in spirit at a pagan festival in the town of Cotyaeus, then went to the town, and before them all, confessed his faith in Christ the living God, denouncing idolatry and paganism as falsehood and darkness. The governor of that town, one Pyrrhus, asked who and what he was. The saint replied: ‘My fatherland is Egypt; my name is Menas. I was an officer, but seeing the worship of idols, I rejected your honors. I have come now to proclaim my Christ before you all as the living God, that He may reveal me as His servant in the kingdom of God.’ Hearing this, Pyrrhus put holy Menas to harsh torture. He was flogged, flayed with iron flails, burned with torches and tortured in many other ways, finally being beheaded. His body was burned to prevent Christians taking it, but they did succeed in rescuing some bits from the flames. They buried these remains with care, and they were later taken to Alexandria and buried there. A church was built over them. St. Menas suffered in about 304, and entered into the kingdom of Christ. He was and remains a great wonder-worker in both lives: both on earth and in heaven. Whoever has glorified Menas or invoked his aid with faith in time of need has received help. He has often appeared as a soldier on horseback, to help the faithful or to punish the faithless.

2. The Holy Martyr Stefan (Stephen) of Dečani, King of Serbia.

He was the son of King Milutin and father of King Dušan. At the command of his ill-informed father he was blinded, and at the command of his light-minded son was, in old age, drowned. At the time of his blinding, St. Nicholas appeared to him in the church at Ovče Polje (the Sheep-Pasture) and gestured towards his own eyes, saying: ‘Stefan, don’t be afraid; your eyes have been given to me and I will return them to you in due course.’ He spent five years in Constantinople, as an exile in the monastery of the Pantocrator. By his wisdom and ascesis, his meekness and devotion, his patience and greatness of soul, Stefan surpassed not only the monks in that monastery, but those in the whole of Constantinople. When five years had passed, St. Nicholas appeared to him again and said to him: ‘I have come to fulfill my promise.’ He then made the sign of the Cross over the blind king, and he received his sight. Out of gratitude to God, he built the monastery of Dečani, a rare example of the finest Byzantine work and one of the most famous memorials of Serbian devotion. The holy King Stefan, St. Sava and the holy Prince Lazar make a trio of holiness, nobility and self-sacrifice; the gift of the Serbian people. He lived his time on earth as a martyr, and died a martyr in 1336, receiving the wreath of immortal glory from the Almighty Whom he had served so faithfully.

3. The Holy Martyrs Victor and Stephanis.

Victor was a Roman soldier, and was tortured for Christ in the time of the Emperor Antoninus (138-161). During his torture, a young woman, Stephanis, revealed that she also was a Christian. Victor was beheaded and Stephanis was torn in half, being tied by the hands and feet to the tops of palm trees.

4. The Holy Martyr Vincent the Deacon.

From the diocese of Saragossa in Spain, he was terribly tortured for Christ the Lord, and finally burned on an iron grid. He gave his soul into God’s hands in 304. His body is preserved in Rome, in the church bearing his name.

5. Our Holy Father Theodore the Studite.

The famous abbot of Studium, he suffered greatly for the sake of the icons. He was a wise organizer of the monastic life, an inspired teacher of Orthodoxy and wonderful ascetic. He entered into rest in Constantinople in 826, at the age of sixty-eight.

6. St. Urošica, Prince of Serbia.

He was son of King Dragutin. He preserved his chastity and purity in marriage, and myrrh flowed from his tomb.

FOR CONSIDERATION

If ever there was a holy king on the throne of an earthly kingdom, that king was Stefan of Dečani. The Greeks, who regarded the Slavs as barbarians, marveled at the beauty of Stefan’s soul, as one of the rarest wonders of that age. When the Emperor John Cantacuzene sent the abbot of the Pantocrator monastery to King Milutin on business, the king, among other things, asked after his son Stefan. ‘Are you asking me about that second Job, your Majesty?’ the abbot replied. ‘Know that his godliness exceeds your royal majesty.’ The Greek emperor was at first very harsh towards Stefan, shutting him in an isolated palace and forbidding him any visitors, and then transferring him to the Pantocrator monastery in the hope that the strict asceticism would weaken and kill him. But God preserved blessed Stefan, and he bore the ascesis of fasting and prayer like a perfected monk. His wisdom began to be talked of throughout Constantinople, and the emperor began to value him and turn to him for advice. Thus, for example, St. Stefan contributed to the downfall of the notorious heresy of Barlaam, against which St. Gregory Palamas fought. Barlaam was in Constantinople at that time, and by skillful intrigues, had brought many of those eminent in the Church and the court to his way of thinking. In perplexity, the emperor summoned Stefan and asked him what was to be done with Barlaam. The wise Stefan answered in the words of the Psalmist: ‘I hated them, O Lord that hate Thee,’ and he added: ‘Dangerous men must be driven from our company.’ Hearing this, Emperor John Cantacuzene drove Barlaam with dishonor from the capital.

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.