Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Special Commemorations

The Sunday After the Theophany

According to the Typikon of the Great Church, if this service coincides with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, these readings are read on January 7th.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ mid 224]. Brethren:

4 ⁷To each of us was given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. ⁸Wherefore, He saith, “Having ascended on high, He led captivity captive” and “gave gifts to men [cf. Ps. 67(68):19(18)].” ⁹Now that He ascended, what is it except that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰The One Who descended is the same also Who ascended above all of the heavens, in order that He might fill all things. ¹¹And He gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, ¹²for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of ministering, to the building up of the body of the Christ, ¹³until we all might come to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 8]. At that time:

4 ¹²After Jesus heard that John was delivered up, He withdrew into Galilee. ¹³And having left Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is beside the sea, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthaleim, ¹⁴in order that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, ¹⁵“O land of Zabulon, and land of Nephthaleim, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations [cf. Is. 9:1], ¹⁶“the people who sit in darkness saw a great light; and to those who sit in the region and shadow of death, light rose up to them [cf. Is. 9:2].” ¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim and to say, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens hath drawn near.”

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Thirty-First Week

Mode Plagal Two — Ninth Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to Timothy [§ mid 280]. Child Timothy:

1 ¹⁵Faithful is the saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first. ¹⁶But for this cause I was shown mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to those who are about to believe on Him to life everlasting. ¹⁷Now to the King of the ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory, to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 105]. The Lord said this parable:

25 ¹⁴“A certain man, going abroad, called his own slaves and delivered up to them his property. ¹⁵“And to one, indeed, he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own strength; and straightway he went abroad. ¹⁶“And the one who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷“And in like manner, the one who received two, he also gained another two. ¹⁸“But the one who received the one went away and dug in the earth, and hid the money of his lord. ¹⁹“And after a long time the lord of those slaves cometh, and settleth accounts with them. ²⁰“And the one who received the five talents came forward and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, thou didst deliver up to me five talents; behold, I gained another five talents above them.’ ²¹“And his lord said to him, ‘Well done, O good and faithful slave! Over a little thou wast faithful, I will appoint thee over much; enter into the joy of thy lord.’ ²²“And also the one who received two talents said, ‘Lord, thou didst deliver up to me two talents; behold, I gained another two talents above them.’ ²³“And his lord said to him, ‘Well done, O good and faithful slave! Over a few things thou wast faithful, I will appoint thee over much; enter into the joy of thy lord.’ ²⁴“And also the one who received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Lord, I have come to know that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering together from where thou didst not winnow. ²⁵“‘And I was afraid and went away and hid thy talent in the earth; behold, thou hast thine own.’ ²⁶“And his lord answered and said to him, ‘O evil and reluctant slave! Thou knewest that I reap where I did not sow, and gather together from where I did not winnow! ²⁷“‘Then it was needful for thee to have put my money to the bankers, and I should have received for myself mine own with interest. ²⁸“‘Take away then the talent from him, and give it to him who hath the ten talents. ²⁹“‘For to everyone who hath, it shall be given, and he shall be in abundance; but from the one who hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him. ³⁰“‘And cast ye out the unprofitable slave into the darkness, the outer one. There shall be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.’”

After He said these things, He cried aloud, “The one who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

13. The commemoration of the Afterfeast of Theophany, and the holy Martyrs Hermylos and Stratonikos at Belgrade.

On account of the Leave-taking of the Feast of Theophany on the 14^th of January, some texts have transferred the other services of that day (St. Nina and the venerable Fathers) to this day.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 199]. Brethren:

1 ³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴Who gave Himself for our sins, so that He might deliver us out of the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to Whom be the glory to the ages of the ages. Amen.

⁶I marvel that ye are so quickly transferring yourselves from the One Who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, ⁷which is not another Gospel, only there are some who trouble you and wish to turn around the Gospel of the Christ. ⁸But even if we, or an angel from out of heaven, should preach a gospel to you besides what Gospel we preached to you, let such a one be anathema. ⁹As we have said before, and now again I say, if anyone preach a gospel to you besides what ye received, let such a one be anathema. ¹⁰For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I were yet trying to please men, I should not be a slave of Christ.

Gospel

For the Martyrs:

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)

January 26th – Civil Calendar
January 13th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyrs Hermylos and Stratonikos.

The Emperor Licinius launched a violent persecution against the Christians. St. Hermylos, a Christian and a deacon in one of the churches, was arrested and condemned to death. When he was told that he was being taken out to martyrdom, he rejoiced greatly. The emperor threatened him in vain; Hermylos openly confessed his faith in Christ, and in reply to the emperor’s threats, said: “The Lord is a helper to me, and I will not fear what man shall do to me” (Ps. 117:6). After harsh torture, Hermylos was flung into prison. But the jailer was one Stratonikos, a secret Christian who was filled with whole-hearted compassion for Hermylos’ sufferings. When he, too, appeared before the emperor as a Christian, Licinius ordered that they both be thrown into the Danube. So Hermylos and Stratonikos were bound together in one net and cast into the river. After three days the river threw their bodies onto the bank, and fellow-Christians took them and buried them a little ways outside Belgrade. These glorious martyrs suffered for Christ and entered into glory in the year 315.

2. St. Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis.

In summer in an open field and in winter in a cave, St. Jacob lived as a hermit. On one occasion he went down into the city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia, to look into the faith and life of the Christians, and was there elected by the people as their bishop. He took part in the First Ecumenical Council in 325 and defended Orthodoxy against the Arians.

It happened at one time that the pagan Persian army attacked Nisibis. St. Jacob went out onto the ramparts with the banner-icon from the church, himself raising it aloft and walking round the ramparts fearless of the arrows the enemy was aiming at him. Walking thus, the saint prayed to God to save the city and the faithful in it by sending flies and mosquitoes on the Persians, thus driving them away from the city walls. He did not, we see, seek the destruction of the enemy. He sought some sort of catastrophe, some quite small occurrence, that would overcome them and remove them from the vicinity. God heard the prayer of His chosen one and sent a plague of flies and mosquitoes on the Persians, driving them away and saving the city of Nisibis. St. Jacob lived long and with honor, and died peacefully in great old age in the year 350.

3. St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.

An ardent fighter against Arianism in the West, he suffered greatly for his choice of Orthodoxy. Of his writings on many subjects, the most important are those on the Holy Trinity. He entered into rest in the Lord in the year 367.

4. Our Holy Father Maximus of Kapsokalyvia.

Maximus lived in the fourteenth century following the ascetic life as a monk on the Holy Mountain according to his own particular way. He pretended to be slightly crazed and constantly changed his abode. He built huts of boughs, and then burned them down in rapid succession. He thus earned himself the name ‘of Kapsokalyvia,’ that is, ‘of the burnt huts’. He was regarded as a fool until St. Gregory the Sinaite came to the Holy Mountain and perceived in Maximus a unique ascetic, a wonder-worker with the gift of prayer and an ‘angel in the flesh’. He went to the Lord in the year 1320.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Good deeds in silence are worth far more than good deeds with show, and incomparably more than the cleverest show without good deeds. From St. Nicholas of Myra not one single word has been preserved, but his deeds have remained. Without any show, he came by night on three occasions to the house of a poor man and threw a purse of gold through the window.

An old man in the hermitage at Myra fell ill and longed to eat a little fresh bread (for the bread eaten there by the monks had been dried in the sun and kept for many months). Hearing this, one of the monks went out without a word and traveled a long way to the town, whence he brought fresh bread for the aged sufferer. The elder, learning of the labor of the monk who brought it, would not eat the bread, saying: ‘This is the blood of my brother’ (i.e. my brother has brought it to me with great difficulty). Then the other monks begged the elder to eat it, saying to him that he must not reject the sacrifice of his brother. What ostentation and what words concerning brotherly love could replace this simple and silent act of brotherly love?

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.