Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Twenty-Fifth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 274].

1 ¹Paul, and Silouanos, and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³We are bound to give thanks to God always concerning you, brethren, even as it is meet, because your faith increaseth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth, ⁴so that we ourselves boast in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions which ye bear, ⁵which is a token of the righteous judgment of God, in order for you to be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer; ⁶since it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those afflicting you, ⁷and to you who are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of His power, ⁸in a flaming fire rendering vengeance on those who know not God, and on those who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁹who shall pay the penalty, everlasting destruction from the face of the Lord “and from the glory of His might [Is. 2:10, 19, 21],” ¹⁰whenever He should come to be glorified in His saints, and to be marvelled at in all those who believe, because our testimony to you was believed in that day.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 75]. At that time:

14 ¹²Jesus went into the house of a certain ruler of the Pharisees on the sabbath to eat bread; and He was saying to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever thou makest a midday meal or a supper, do not be calling thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinfolk, nor thy rich neighbors, lest ever they also should invite thee in turn, and it would become a recompense to thee. ¹³“But whenever thou makest a reception, be inviting the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. ¹⁴“And thou shalt be happy, because they have not wherewith to recompense thee; for it shall be recompensed to thee in the resurrection of the just.”

¹⁵And after one of those who reclined at table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Happy is he who shall eat dinner in the kingdom of God.”

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.