Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the First Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 82]. Brethren:

2 ¹⁴Whenever the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, who have not the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts one with another accusing or also excusing, ¹⁶in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel.

¹⁷Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and boastest in God, ¹⁸and knowest His will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹and hast persuaded thyself to be a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. ²¹Thou therefore who teachest another, dost thou not teach thyself? Thou who preachest not to steal, dost thou steal? ²²Thou who sayest not to commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou who loathest the idols, dost thou rob temples? ²³Thou who boastest in the law, dost thou dishonor God through the transgression of the law? ²⁴“For the name of God is being blasphemed among the nations through you [cf. Is. 52:5],” even as it hath been written. ²⁵For on the one hand circumcision profiteth, if thou continue practising the law; but on the other hand, if thou art a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision hath become uncircumcision. ²⁶Therefore if the uncircumcision be keeping the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? ²⁷And the uncircumcision by nature which fulfilleth the law shall judge thee that with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law. ²⁸For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. ²⁹But he is a Jew who is one in that which is hidden; and circumcision is that of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 14]. The Lord said:

5 ³³“Ye heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt render to the Lord thine oaths [cf. Deut. 19:12; Num. 30:3].’ ³⁴“But I say to you not to swear at all: neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God; ³⁵“nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; nor in regard to Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶“Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, for thou art not able to make one hair white or black. ³⁷“But let your word ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and ‘no,’ ‘no’; and what is more than these is from the evil one. ³⁸“Ye heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth [Ex. 21:24; Deut. 19:21; Lev. 24:20].’ ³⁹“But I say to you do not resist the evil one; but whosoever shall strike thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰“And to the one who doth wish to go to law with thee and take thy tunic, yield to him thine outer garment also. ⁴¹“And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our holy father among the saints, Michael the Confessor, Bishop of Synnada, and the uncovering of the relics of our father among the saints, Leontios, Bishop and Wonder-worker of Rostov.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ mid 318]. Brethren:

8 ³Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is necessary for this One to have something also which He might offer. ⁴For if, indeed, He were on earth, He would not even be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law, ⁵who worship a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses had been divinely warned when he was about to execute the tabernacle; for, “See,” saith He, “that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shown to thee in the mount [cf. Ex. 25:40].” ⁶But now He hath attained a more excellent liturgy, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

June 5th – Civil Calendar
May 23rd – Church Calendar

1. St. Michael, Bishop of Synnada.

From his childhood, this wise and holy hierarch consecrated himself to the service of Christ. He labored in asceticism together with Saint Theophylact of Nikomedia. Once, in a time of drought, these two holy men caused an abundance of rain to fall on the earth by their prayers. Because of the life of asceticism and chastity that Michael had led from his early youth, he was chosen and consecrated by Patriarch Tarasios as Bishop of Synnada. He took part in the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787. At the wish of the emperor, he visited Caliph Harun al-Rashid to conduct peace negotiations. In the time of the wicked Emperor Leo the Armenian, he was deposed from his episcopal throne for his veneration of the holy icons and sent into exile, where he died in want and poverty, faithful to Orthodoxy to the end. He entered into the kingdom of Christ the King in 818.

2. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Michael.

On the death of his parents, this Michael gave all his goods away to orphans and went on pilgrimage to the holy places in Jerusalem. He then entered the monastic community of St. Sava the Sanctified and became a monk. Although quite young and ruddy of face, he became withered and pale from much fasting. At that time, the Arabs held sway over Jerusalem. It once happened that Michael’s spiritual father sent him to the town to sell some handwork. A eunuch of an Arab princess met him on the street and took him to the princess to display his wares. When the princess beheld the handsome monk, she began to burn with an impure lust, and proposed to the monk a carnal sin such as Potiphar’s wife once proposed to chaste Joseph. When Michael refused her impure suggestion and turned to flee, the enraged princess gave orders that he be beaten with staves and taken to the sultan with the false accusation of blasphemy against Mohammed. The sultan urged him to accept Islam, but he refused. They gave him strong poison, hoping to kill him, but he drank it all up with no ill-effect at all. Then the sultan commanded that he be slain with the sword in the center of Jerusalem. The monks found his body and carried it to St. Sava’s monastery, where they gave it burial. St. Michael suffered for Christ and was glorified in the 9th century.

3. Our Holy Mother Ephrosyne, Princess of Polotsk.

She was the daughter of Prince Vseslav of Polotsk. When her parents wished her to be married, she ran away to a monastery and became a nun. An angel of the Lord appeared to her three times to show her the place where she was to build a new monastery for virgins. She brought her own sister, Evdokia, into monasticism and many other young girls from the ranks of the aristocracy. One kinswoman of hers, Zvenislava, a princess of Borisov, brought all her wealth, clothing and precious jewels, and said: ‘I count all the beauty of this world as naught, and wish to give these fine things, prepared for my marriage, to the Church of the Savior. And I desire to espouse myself to Him in a spiritual marriage, and to bow my head beneath His good and light yoke.’ Ephrosyne professed her too, and gave her the name Evpraxia. In old age, Ephrosyne evinced a desire to die in Jerusalem, and prayed for this boon. God heard her prayer, and she did indeed die in the monastery of St. Theodosius in Jerusalem on May 23rd, 1173, during a visit there.

FOR CONSIDERATION

A spiritual man interprets all creation and all natural phenomena in a spiritual and symbolic way, and draws from all things something useful to his soul. Some of the brethren once came to St. John Kolovos and began to speak of how the welcome rain had come and watered the palm trees, and how the new branches on the trees had begun to swell, so that the monks would have material for their handwork. St. John became lost in thought for a while, and then said: ‘Even so does the Holy Spirit descend into the hearts of the saints, and they are renewed and put forth the shoots of the fear of God.’

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.