Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Fifth Week

Mode Four — Fifth Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 103].

10 ¹Brethren, indeed the good pleasure of my heart and entreaty to God on behalf of Israel is for their salvation. ²For I bear witness to them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to full knowledge. ³For they being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, submitted not to the righteousness of God. ⁴For Christ is the end of the law in regard to righteousness for everyone who believeth. ⁵For Moses writeth of the righteousness which is of the law, that “the man who doeth those things shall live in them [cf. Lev. 18:5].” ⁶But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh thus, “Say not in thy heart, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens [cf. Deut. 30:12]?’” (that is, to bring down Christ) ⁷or, “‘Who shall descend into the abyss [cf. Ps. 106(107):26]?’” (that is, to bring up Christ from the dead). ⁸But what saith it? “The word is near to thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart [Deut. 30:14]” (that is, the word of faith which we proclaim): ⁹That if thou confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in thy heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesseth unto salvation.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 28]. At that time:

8 ²⁸After Jesus came into the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two possessed by demons coming out of the sepulchers, exceedingly fierce, so that no one was able to pass by that way. ²⁹And behold they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Son of God? Art Thou come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰Now there was far off from them a herd of many swine feeding. ³¹And the demons besought Him, saying, “If Thou cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” ³²And He said to them, “Go.” And they came out and went away into the herd of swine. And behold all the herd of swine rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the waters. ³³And they who fed them fled, and went away into the city and related everything, and the matter of those possessed by demons. ³⁴And behold, the whole city went out to meet Jesus. And after they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart from their borders.

9 ¹And He embarked into the ship, and went across, and came into His own city.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of Hieromartyr Efsevios, Bishop of Samosata.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

July 5th – Civil Calendar
June 22nd – Church Calendar

1. The Hieromartyr Evsevios (Eusebius), Bishop of Samosata.

He was a major opponent of Arianism. When the patriarchal throne of Antioch became vacant, Meletius was elected patriarch. This Meletius was a shining light in the Church and deserved the great eulogy given by St. John Chrysostom at his death. But the Arians soon drove Meletius from Antioch. When Constantius, Constantine’s evil son, died, he was followed by Julian the Apostate, a man even worse than he, as ruler of the empire. During Julian’s persecution of Christians, St. Evsevios took off his cassock, clad himself in soldier’s garb and travelled around the persecuted churches of Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine, strengthening the Orthodox Faith everywhere and creating the necessary priests, deacons and other clergy and raising some to the episcopate. After the news of Julian’s death, St. Evsevios advised Meletius to summon a council of the Church in Antioch. This took place in 363, and the twenty-seven hierarchs present denounced Arianism once again and proclaimed the Orthodox Faith as it was expressed at the First Ecumenical Council. Besides Meletius and Evsevios, St. Pelagios of Laodicea, a man of great asceticism and chastity, made a great impact at this council, which took place during the reign of the devout Emperor Jovian. But he died soon after, and the evil Valens took the throne, and the persecution of Orthodoxy began afresh. St. Meletius was banished to Armenia, Evsevios to Thrace and Pelagios to Arabia. After Valens, the Emperor Gratian came to the throne and restored freedom to the Church, returning the exiled bishops to their rightful places: Meletius to Antioch, Evsevios to Samosata and Pelagios to Laodicea. Many dioceses were vacant at that time and Evsevios was quick to find canonical pastors for the people. But when he arrived at the city of Doliche with the newly chosen bishop, Marinos, to install him as bishop and denounce the Arian heresy (which was strong in that city), a certain fanatical heretic threw a tile from the roof and gave him a mortal wound. This great zealot for Orthodoxy, this saint and martyr, died and entered into eternal life in the blessedness of Paradise in the year 379.

2. The Holy Martyrs Zeno and Zenas.

St. Zeno was a Roman officer in the Arabian city of Philadelphia, and Zenas was his servant. When a persecution of Christians began during the reign of the Emperor Maximian, St. Zeno stepped boldly before the governor, Maximus, and confessed his faith in the one, living God, counselling Maximus to give up dead idols and accept the one, true Faith. The governor was outraged and threw Zeno into prison. When the faithful Zenas visited his master in the prison, he too was seized and imprisoned. The two were thereupon tortured for Christ and finally thrown into the flames, which the pagans brought to a great heat with oil. Their souls were crowned in the kingdom of Christ while their mortal remains were buried in the Church of St. George at a place called Cyparisson.

3. St. Alban.

An English nobleman, he hid a Christian priest in his house during a persecution, and was instructed by him in the Christian Faith. He then gave his clothing to the priest and himself over to torture. Condemned to death, he converted his executioner to Christianity.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Why does the good Lord permit assaults and trials to fall on the true Faith, while heretics and pagans enjoy a delightful tranquillity? ‘Why?’ asks St. John Chrysostom, and immediately gives the answer: ‘That you should recognize their weakness (that of the heretics and pagans) when they disintegrate of themselves with no external pressure, and that you should triumph in the power of the Faith which suffers misfortunes and yet multiplies through its opponents.’ ‘Whether we quarrel with the pagans or the wretched Jews, it is quite sufficient evidence of divine power that the Faith which has been exposed to innumerable battles still holds the victory,’ even though the entire world rises against it. St. Isaac the Syrian says: ‘The wondrous love of God for man can most easily be perceived when a man is in such dire straits that his very hope is threatened. God thus demonstrates His power of salvation, for a man never acknowledges the power of God when he enjoys tranquility and freedom.’

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.