Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Fourth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 26]. In those days:

10 ³⁴Peter opened his mouth and said, “In truth, I comprehend that God is not a respecter of persons, ³⁵“but in every nation, the one who feareth Him and worketh righteousness is acceptable to Him. ³⁶“The Logos Whom He sent forth to the sons of Israel, preaching the Gospel, peace through Jesus Christ—this One is the Lord of all. ³⁷“Ye know the matter which came to pass throughout all of Judæa, which began from Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed: ³⁸“how God anointed Him, Jesus, the One from Nazareth, with the Holy Spirit and with power, Who went about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. ³⁹“And we are witnesses of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, Whom also they killed, having hanged Him on a tree. ⁴⁰“God raised this One on the third day, and gave Him to become manifest, ⁴¹“not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴²“And He commanded us to proclaim to the people, and to testify that He is the One Who was ordained by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³“To this One all the prophets bear witness that, through His name, everyone who believeth in Him is to receive forgiveness of sins.”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 29]. The Lord said to the Jews who had come to Him:

8 ¹²“I am the light of the world; the one who followeth Me in no wise shall walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of the life.” ¹³The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “Thou art bearing witness concerning Thyself; Thy testimony is not true.” ¹⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness concerning Myself, My testimony is true, for I know from what place I came and where I am going; but ye do not know from what place I am coming from and where I am going. ¹⁵“Ye judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶“And even if I should judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father Who sent Me. ¹⁷“And it hath also been written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ¹⁸“I am One Who beareth witness concerning Myself, and the Father Who sent Me beareth witness concerning Me.” ¹⁹Then they said to Him, “Where is Thy Father?” Jesus answered, “Ye neither know Me, nor My Father; if ye had known Me, ye would have known My Father also.” ²⁰These words spoke Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hold of Him, for His hour had not yet come.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Mother Elisabeth the Wonder-worker of Constantinople, and the Martyr Savvas the General of Rome and 70 soldiers with him.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

May 7th – Civil Calendar
April 24th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Savvas Stratelates.

This famous Savvas lived in Rome in the time of the Emperor Aurelian, and held a general’s rank. He was of a noble Gothic family. He often visited Christians in prison, helping them from his abundance. Through his great purity and fasting, God gave him power over unclean spirits. When he was charged with being a Christian, he stood courageously before the emperor, cast his officer’s belt before him and publicly confessed Christ the Lord. He was tortured in various ways: flogged, flailed with iron rods, burned with torches. But he did not succumb to these deadly tortures, and was seen to be alive and well. His comrades, the soldiers, seeing clearly that God was helping Savvas, accepted the Christian Faith, and seventy of them were immediately beheaded at the emperor’s command. Christ the Lord Himself appeared to Savvas in the prison in great light, and strengthened His martyr. Then Savvas was condemned to death by drowning. He was thrown into a deep river, where he gave his soul to God in the year 272. And his soul went to the Lord to Whom he had remained faithful under many tortures.

2. Our Holy Mother Elisabeth

She embraced monasticism in early youth in the monastery of Ss. Kosmas and Damian in Constantinople, and took on herself a heavy asceticism for the sake of Christ the Lord and of her soul. She regarded herself as the bride of Christ, and this world as illusory. From her great love for God flowed a great compassion for people, especially for the sick and suffering. By the gift she had received from God, she healed many diseases and much distress among the people. At her nightly prayers she was seen all illuminated with heavenly light. And after her death, her relics had the power of healing, and many of the sick and suffering have come to her grave through the ages. She entered peacefully into rest and went to the eternal joy of her Lord in the year 540.

3. The Holy Martyrs Evsevios, Neon, Leontios and Longinos.

These four were army comrades of St. George. Seeing the courageous endurance and marvels of the saint, they became Christians and were consequently beheaded.

4. The Holy Martyrs Pasikratees and Valention.

When the judge urged Pasikratees (Pasicrates), and also the martyr’s brother, Papianos (who had fallen away from Christ through fear of torture) to offer sacrifice to idols, Pasikratees put his hand into the fire and cried: ‘The body is dead and burned by fire, but the soul is immortal and does not feel visible torture.’ His mother upheld him and greatly encouraged him to endure to the end. He was beheaded along with Valention (Valentine), and they both went to the kingdom of Christ in about 302.

5. Our Holy Father Thomas the Fool for Christ.

Whenever, in his monastic work, he had to go into the city of Antioch, Thomas feigned madness for the sake of Christ. A certain Anastasios, refusing to give him the requested alms for the monastery, gave him a blow instead. Then Thomas prophesied: ‘From now on, I shall receive nothing from Anastasios, nor will Anastasios be able to give anything.’ One day later, Anastasios died; and Thomas also, about to return to the monastery, gave up the spirit. And so the prophecy of this holy man was fulfilled. St. Thomas departed this life in Laphnis near Antioch, in the time of Patriarch Domnos (546-560).

6. The Holy New-Martyrs Luke and Nicholas

The young man Luke (or Doukas), a tailor by profession, suffered for Christ in 1546, and Nicholas in 1776.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Exhorting Christians to come to church for prayer, St. John Chrysostom says: ‘If a messenger brings an imperial or princely document to a subject citizen, the citizen does not examine the life of the bearer, whether he is rich or poor, righteous or sinful, but listens carefully to what he reads. If anyone has not heard him, he asks someone who has. So, if you have such enormous respect for an earthly ruler, how necessary it is to listen to us priests, here where the Creator of the heavenly powers speaks through us sinners.’ And, indeed, what are the holy Scriptures but documents of the King of heaven? How can it not interest us every day and every hour, that unique and saving document, when the least decree of the lowest authority in the state interests us? St. Anthony says: ‘Let all that you do be justified in holy Scripture.’ But how can you have justification from holy Scripture if you do not know the Scriptures?

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.