Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the Fourth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 107].

11 ²⁵Brethren, I do not wish you to be ignorant regarding this mystery—in order that ye be not wise in yourselves—that hardness in part hath happened to Israel until the fullness of the nations should enter in. ²⁶And so all Israel shall be saved, even as it hath been written: “The Deliverer shall come out of Sion, and He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; ²⁷“and this is the covenant from Me to them, whenever I should take away their sins [cf. Is. 59:20, 21; Jer. 38(31):31, 34].” ²⁸On the one hand, as regards the Gospel they are enemies for your sakes; but on the other hand, as regards the election they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. ²⁹For not to be repented of are the gifts of grace and calling of God. ³⁰For even as ye also once disobeyed God, but now ye were shown mercy by their disobedience, ³¹so also these now disobeyed, that by the mercy shown to you they also might have mercy shown them; ³²for God shut up all in disobedience, that He might have mercy upon all. ³³O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! ³⁴“For who did know the mind of the Lord? Or who became His counselor [Is. 40:13]?” ³⁵Or who first gave to Him, and it shall be recompensed to him? ³⁶For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be the glory to the ages. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 44].

12 ¹At that time, on the sabbath, Jesus went through the sown fields; and His disciples hungered, and began to pluck the ears of grain and to eat. ²But after the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, Thy disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a sabbath.” ³But He said to them, “Did ye not read what David did when he hungered and those with him: ⁴“how he entered into the house of God and ate the loaves set forth before the presence of God, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests only? ⁵“Or did ye not read in the law that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless? ⁶“But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷“But if ye had known what this is, ‘I wish mercy and not sacrifice [cf. Hos. 6:7],’ ye would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸“For the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus.

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)

July 4th – Civil Calendar
June 21st – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus.

Of a noble senatorial family, he lived in Tarsus in Cilicia and suffered in the reign of Diocletian. Although only eighteen years old when he was taken for trial for the Faith, St. Julian was already both educated and resolute in Christian Faith and devotion. The imperial governor took him from city to city for a whole year, torturing him all the while and attempting to persuade him to renounce Christ. Julian’s mother followed her son at a distance. When the governor seized her and sent her to urge her son to renounce Christ, she spent three days in the prison with him, giving him precisely the opposite advice, teaching him and giving him the strength not to lose heart but to go to his death with courage and gratitude to God. His torturers then sewed Julian into a sack of sand with scorpions and snakes and threw him into the sea, and his mother also died under torture. The waves carried his body onto the shore, and the faithful took it to Alexandria, where they buried it in 290. His relics were later taken to Antioch. St. John Chrysostom himself gave a eulogy for the holy martyr Julian: ‘A holy voice comes forth from the lips of the martyr, and with this voice is poured out a light brighter than the rays of the sun.’ He said further: ‘Take whomsoever you will, be he a madman or one possessed, and lead him to the grave of this saint, to the martyr’s relics, and you will see the demon immediately jump out and flee as from blazing fire.’ It is evident from this speech that many wonders must have been wrought at St. Julian’s grave.

2. Our Holy Fathers Julius and Julian.

Greek-born brothers, they were brought up from their youth in the Christian Faith, and vowed to live in perpetual virginity and the service of the Church. Julius was a priest and Julian a deacon. They received an imperial decree from the Emperor Theodosios the Younger to destroy the idols throughout the whole empire and build Christian churches. Like two apostles, these two brothers turned pagans into Christians in the East and the West, and built a hundred churches during their lifetime. They entered peacefully into the Lord’s rest near Milan, the inhabitants of which city invoke St. Julius’ help against wolves.

3. The Holy Martyr Archil II, King of Georgia.

He was the son of King Stefan and grandson of the great Georgian King Wachtang. An outstanding Christian and defender of Christianity, King Archil was tortured by the Moslems and beheaded for Christ on March 20th, 744. He was eighty years old when he suffered for the Lord and entered into eternal blessedness.

4. The Holy Martyr Luarsab II, Prince of Kartli.

A prince of Georgia, he was the son of George X, who suffered for the Faith and was poisoned by the King of Persia. Luarsab was then thrown into prison near Shiraz, where he languished for seven years. Then he and his two servants were hanged in the prison yard on the orders of Shah Abbas I, on June 21st, 1662. A heavenly light was seen over his grave.

FOR CONSIDERATION

When a man begins to train himself in silence, it seems to him to be something lesser than speech; however, when he is trained in silence, then he knows that speech is the lesser. St. Sisoës the monk said: ‘I should like to guard my heart, but I am incapable of so doing.’ His elder replied: ‘How can any of us guard our hearts when the gate—the tongue—stands open?’ Charillos, the nephew of Lycurgus, was once asked why his uncle issued so few laws. ‘Those who speak little require few laws,’ he replied.

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.