Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 187]. Brethren:

8 ¹⁶Thanks be to God, the One Who keepeth on giving earnestness into the heart of Titus for you. ¹⁷For indeed he accepted the exhortation; and being more than ordinarily earnest, of his own accord he went out to you. ¹⁸And we sent with him the brother whose praise is in the Gospel throughout all of the churches— ¹⁹and not only that, but who was also ordained by the churches as our fellow traveler in the matter of this grace, which is ministered by us to the glory of the same Lord and your eagerness— ²⁰avoiding this for ourselves, lest anyone should blame us in this abundance which is ministered by us, ²¹we thought beforehand for what is good not only before the Lord, but also before men. ²²And we sent with them our brother whom we often proved to be earnest in many things, but now much more earnest by reason of his great confidence which he hath toward you. ²³Whether it be necessary to say anything on behalf of Titus, he is my partner and a fellow worker in regard to you; or whether ye wish to hear anything regarding our brethren, they are apostles of the churches, Christ’s glory. ²⁴Therefore show ye to them, and to the person of the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.

9 ¹For indeed, concerning the ministration which is to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; ²for I know your eagerness, concerning which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia hath been prepared from last year; and the zeal of you provoked the majority. ³But I sent the brethren, that the basis for our boasting which is on your behalf should not be empty in this respect, that, just as I was saying, ye may be prepared; ⁴lest perchance if the Macedonians should come with me and find you unprepared, we—that we may not say, ye—should be put to shame in this basis of the boasting. ⁵Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they should go before to you, and prepare beforehand your previously announced blessing, that the same is to be ready, even as a blessing, and not as extortion.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 12]. At that time:

For Gk. usage, see Mk. 3:13-21; for Sl.usage, see Mk. 3:13-19.

3 ¹³Jesus went up into the mountain and called to Himself whom He Himself was wanting; and they went forth to Him. ¹⁴And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, ¹⁵and to have authority to cure the diseases and to cast out the demons: ¹⁶And to Simon He gave the name, Peter; ¹⁷and Iakovos the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of Iakovos; and He gave them the name Boanerges, which is, sons of thunder; ¹⁸and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and Iakovos the son of Alphæos, and Thaddæos, and Simon the Cananite, ¹⁹and Judas Iscariote, who also delivered Him up.

²⁰And they come into a house; and a crowd cometh together again, so that it is not possible for them even to eat bread. ²¹And after those with Him heard of it, they went out to lay hold of Him; for they were saying, “He is beside Himself.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Transfiguration, and the holy Martyrs Photios and Aniketos of Nicomedia, and our venerable Father Maximos the Confessor (transferred to this date on account of the Leaving-taking of the Feast).

Epistle

For the Confessor:

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.

For the Hierarch:

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

7 ²⁶Such a High Priest was fitting for us: holy, guileless, undefiled, Who hath been separated from the sinners and hath become higher than the heavens, ²⁷Who hath no need daily, even as the high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, then for those of the people; for this He did once for all after He offered up Himself. ²⁸For the law appointeth men high priests who have weakness; but the word of the oath, which is after the law, appointeth the Son, Who hath been perfected forever.

8 ¹Now in reference to the things being spoken of, the chief point is: We have such a High Priest, Who sat down on the right of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, ²a Liturgist of the holies and of the tabernacle, the true one, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Gospel

For the Hierarch:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 11]. The Lord said to His disciples:

5 ¹⁴“Ye are the light of the world. A city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. ¹⁵“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lampstand, and it giveth light to all those in the house. ¹⁶“Thus, let your light shine before men, that they might see your good works, and might glorify your Father Who is in the heavens.

¹⁷“Do not begin to think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I came not to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸“For verily I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall have passed away, one iota or one tittle in no wise shall pass away from the law, until all shall have taken place. ¹⁹“Whosoever then shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall do and teach them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

August 25th – Civil Calendar
August 12th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyrs Aniketas and Photius.

The Emperor Diocletian at one time visited the city of Nikomedia with the evil intention of utterly exterminating the Christians there. But, when he began his merciless torture of the Christians, St. Aniketas, one of the governors of the city, presented himself before him and courageously confessed before the emperor his faith in Christ the Lord, God incarnate in the flesh for our salvation. Aniketas also denounced the worship of idols as that of deaf and dumb stones, unworthily worshipped by ignorant men. The furious emperor commanded that his tongue be cut out, but Aniketas, by the power of God, continued to speak. Then a lion was let loose on him, which fawned about him. At that moment, the Temple of Hercules fell down. Photius, a kinsman of Aniketas,’ seeing the wonders and his kinsman’s endurance, embraced him, confessed that he himself was a Christian and cried out to the Emperor: ‘You should be ashamed, you idolater; your gods are nothing!’ The emperor ordered that he be beheaded immediately, but the executioner, lifting up his hand against St. Photius, gave himself a blow with his sword and died. After harsh torture, the two of them were thrown into prison, where they remained for three years. They were then taken out and thrown into an enormous burning furnace. Many other Christians, men, women and children, went into the flames voluntarily after them, and the prayers of the Christians were heard rising from the flames, thanking God for their death by martyrdom. They all suffered in about 305. St. Aniketas and St. Photius are invoked in the prayers at the blessing of oil and water.

2. The Hieromartyr Alexander, Bishop of Comana.

He lived in the town of Comana near Neocaesarea as a simple charcoal-burner. When the Bishop of Comana died, St. Gregory of Neocaesarea, the Wonder-worker (Nov. 17th), was invited to preside over the council to choose a new bishop. At the council there were both clergy and laymen. They were unable to come to agreement on one person, estimating the candidates they selected according to their outward worth and behaviour. St. Gregory told them that they must not give so much weight to the outward impression as to the soul and the spiritual aptitude. Then some wag called out mockingly: ‘Then let’s choose Alexander the charcoal-burner as bishop!’ and there was general laughter. St. Gregory asked who this Alexander was. Thinking that his name would not have come before the council except by the providence of God, he commanded that he be brought. Being a charcoal-burner, he was black with soot and in rags, and his appearance provoked further mirth in the council. Then Gregory took him aside and asked him to tell the truth about himself. Alexander told him that he had been a Greek philosopher, enjoying great honor and position, but that he had set it all aside, demeaned himself and made himself as a fool for Christ from the time that he had read and understood the holy Scriptures. Gregory commanded that he be bathed and clad in new clothes, then went into the council with him, and before them all, began to examine him in the Scriptures. All were filled with amazement at the wisdom and grace of Alexander’s words, and were quite unable to recognize the former charcoal-burner in this wise man. With one voice, they chose him as bishop, and he received the love of his flock for his holiness, his wisdom and his goodness. He died a martyr for Christ under Diocletian.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Learn to respect and love lowly and simple people. They are the greatest on earth, and are also the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They have no pride, that basic folly from which the rich and powerful of this world suffer. They often accomplish their purpose in this world perfectly, and it seems odd to them that any should praise them for it, while the great on earth seek recognition for their least act, often not performed perfectly. St. Alexander was an eminent philosopher, but he left everything, hid himself from exalted company and earthly praise and mingled with the lowliest and the simplest as a charcoal-burner among charcoal-burners. In place of his former eminence and honor, he joyfully endured having children run after him, laughing at his soot and his rags. He was not the only one who elected to live with the lowly and the simple. Many kings and princes, coming to know the sweetness of the Christian Faith, have taken off their crowns and fled the vanity of noble birth among simple people. Did not the King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ, reveal Himself among shepherds and fishermen? St. Zeno advises: ‘Do not choose a place of fame in which to live, nor associate with men of eminent name.’

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.