Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Nineteenth Week

Mode Two — Eighth Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 194]. Brethren:

11 ³¹The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is blessed to the ages, knoweth that I lie not. ³²In Damascus the ethnarch of Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes, wishing to take me; ³³and through a window in a braided rope-basket was I let down through the wall, and escaped his hands.

12 ¹Indeed it is not expedient for me to boast; for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. ²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I know not, or out of the body I know not, God knoweth—such a one was carried off as far as the third heaven. ³And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I know not, God knoweth— ⁴that he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not allowed for a man to speak. ⁵On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on behalf of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses. ⁶For if I should wish to boast, I shall not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I forbear, lest anyone should reckon to me above what he seeth me to be or what he heareth in any degree of me. ⁷And lest I should be lifted up by the surpassingness of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn for the flesh, a messenger of Satan, that he may keep on buffeting me, lest I should be lifted up. ⁸Concerning this I besought the Lord thrice, that it might stand off from me. ⁹And He hath said to me, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for My power is being made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of the Christ might dwell upon me.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 17]. At that time:

5 ¹Jesus was standing by the Lake Gennesaret, ²and He saw two ships standing by the lake; but the fishermen disembarked from them and washed the nets. ³And He embarked into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out to sea a little from the land. And He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the ship. ⁴And when He left off talking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught.” ⁵And Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we toiled through the whole night, and took nothing; but upon Thy word, I will let down the net.” ⁶And after they did this, they enclosed a great multitude of fish; and their net was being broken through. ⁷And they nodded to their partners, those in the other ship, so that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. ⁸And after Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at the knees of Jesus, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹For astonishment seized him, and all those with him, on account of the draught of the fish which they took together; ¹⁰and in like manner also were Iakovos and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Cease being afraid; from henceforth thou shalt be taking men alive.” ¹¹And when they brought down their ships upon the land, they left all and followed Him.

*** In the Typikon of those who have placed the 1 ^stWeek of St. Luke so that it follows the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross, sometimes necessitating a jump over Readings from St. Matthew to St. Luke, the “Sunday of the First Week of St. Luke” may not always correspond with the 18 ^thSunday after Pentecost. Subsequent Sundays of St. Luke also may not concur with the numbered Sunday after Pentecost which we have given in the header of this work. Consult with Liturgical Calendar to determine the actual week number after Pentecost in order to synchronize the Epistle Readings with the Gospel Readings of St. Luke.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Father Chariton the Confessor, and the holy and right-believing Passion-bearer Wenceslaus of Bohemia.

Epistle

For the venerable Father:

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 the Passion-bearer:

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 17]. In those days:

6 ⁸Stephen, full of faith and of power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹But there rose up some of those from the synagogue which is called that of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. ¹⁰And they were not able to stand against the wisdom and the spirit by which he was speaking. ¹¹Then they suborned men, who said, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹²And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes. And having set upon him, they seized him, and brought him to the sanhedrin. ¹³And they set up false witnesses, saying, “This man ceaseth not speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; ¹⁴“for we have heard him saying that this Jesus the Nazaræan shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” ¹⁵And having looked intently upon him, all those sitting in the sanhedrin saw his face as though it were a face of an angel.

7 ¹Then the high priest said, “Are then these things so?” ²And he began saying, “Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, ³“and said to him, ‘Get thee out from thy land and from thy kindred, and come here into a land which I shall show thee [cf. Gen. 12:1].’ ⁴“Then after he went out from the land of the Chaldæans, he dwelt in Haran. And from that place, after his father died, He removed him into this land in which ye now dwell. ⁵“And He did not give him an inheritance in it, not even the breadth of a footstep. And yet He promised to give it to him for a possession, and his seed after him, though he had no child.... ⁴⁷“But Solomon built Him a house. ⁴⁸“But the Most High dwelleth not in temples made by hand, even as the prophet saith, ⁴⁹“‘The heaven is a throne to Me, and the earth a footstool of My feet; what manner of house will ye build Me,’ saith the Lord, ‘or what is the place of My rest [cf. Is. 66:1]? ⁵⁰“‘My hand did make all these things, did it not [cf. Is. 66:2]?’ ⁵¹“O stiff-necked and uncircumcised in the heart and in the ears, ye always fall in a direction contrary to the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, also do ye. ⁵²“Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? And they slew those who announced beforehand about the coming of the righteous One, of Whom now ye have become betrayers and murderers, ⁵³“ye who received the law by the disposition of angels, and guarded it not.” ⁵⁴And when they heard these things their hearts were sawn asunder, and they were gnashing their teeth at him. ⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed intently into the heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right of God; ⁵⁶and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens having been opened and the Son of Man standing on the right of God.” ⁵⁷And they cried out with a loud voice, and they held their ears together, and rushed upon him with one accord. ⁵⁸And they cast him outside of the city and began stoning him. And the witnesses themselves laid aside their garments at the feet of a young man who was called Saul. ⁵⁹And they kept on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰And having knelt down, he cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not make this sin stand against them.” And having said this, he fell asleep.

Gospel

For the venerable Father:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 24]. At that time:

6 ¹⁷ Jesus stood upon a level place. And there was a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all of Judæa and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases— ¹⁸even those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd was seeking to touch Him, for power was coming forth from Him and healing all. ²⁰And He lifted up His eyes to His disciples, and began to say:

“Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹“Blessed are ye who hunger now, for ye shall be filled.

Blessed are ye who weep now, for ye shall laugh.

²²“Blessed are ye whenever men hate you, and whenever they separate you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heavens.”

For the Passion-bearer:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 52]. The Lord said to His disciples:

15 ¹⁷“These things I command you, that ye be loving one another.

¹⁸“If the world hate you, ye know that it hath hated Me before it hath hated you. ¹⁹“If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world—but I chose you for Myself out of the world—therefore the world hateth you. ²⁰“Keep on remembering the word which I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹“But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they know not the One Who sent Me. ²²“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no pretext for their sin. ²³“The one who hateth Me hateth My Father also. ²⁴“If I did not do the works among them which no other one hath done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵“But this cometh to pass that the word might be fulfilled which hath been written in their law: ‘They hated Me without a cause [cf. Ps. 34(35):22, 68(69):5(4)].’ ²⁶“But whenever the Paraclete should come, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of the truth Who proceedeth from the Father, that One shall bear witness concerning Me. ²⁷“And ye also are bearing witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.

16 ¹“These things I have spoken to you, in order that ye should not be made to stumble. ²“They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea moreover, there cometh an hour that everyone who killeth you should think that he offereth God a service.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

October 11th – Civil Calendar
September 28th – Church Calendar

1. Our Holy Father Chariton the Confessor.

Chariton was an eminent and devout citizen of the city of Iconium. Imbued with the spirit of his compatriot, St. Thekla, Chariton openly confessed the name of Christ. When a harsh persecution of Christians broke out under the Emperor Aurelian, Chariton was immediately brought to trial before the governor. The judge ordered him to worship false gods, to which Chariton replied: ‘All your gods are furies, which were aforetime through pride cast out from heaven into the nethermost hell.’ Chariton openly showed his faith in the one, living God, the Creator of all, and in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind. Then the governor ordered that Chariton be so beaten and tortured that his whole body became covered with wounds until it was like one great wound. After the evil death of Aurelian, whose evil-doing caught up with him in the end, Chariton was released from torture and imprisonment. He traveled to Jerusalem, but on the way was seized by robbers from whom he was freed by God’s providence. He did not return to Iconium, but withdrew to the wilderness of Pharan, where he founded a community and gathered a group of monks together. Having given a rule to this community and desiring to escape the praise of men, he withdrew to another desert near Jericho where, in time, he founded another community, called after him. He finally founded another community, Souka, called in Greek the Old Lavra. He died at a great age and entered into the glory of his Lord on September 28th, 350, and his relics are preserved in his first monastery. The practice of tonsuring monks is attributed by some to St. Chariton.

2. The Holy Prophet Baruch.

A disciple and faithful friend of the holy Prophet Jeremias, he foretold the return of the Jews from slavery in Babylon and the coming of the Son of God on earth. It is held that he was killed by the Jews in Egypt, as was the Prophet Jeremias, in the seventh century before Christ.

3. The Holy Martyr Mark the Shepherd.

In the time of Diocletian, Magnus, governor of Antioch, went hunting with his soldiers. Chasing a wild beast, the soldiers saw that it fled to the shepherd, Mark, who was keeping his flocks just there. The beast stood fawning around Mark, the man of God. Seeing this, thirty of the soldiers, being instructed in the Faith by Mark, came to belief in Christ and were immediately beheaded. The governor bound Mark, took him to the town, summoned three brothers, Alexander, Alphaeus and Zossima, and ordered them to make instruments of torture to use on Mark, but the three of them, having talked with St. Mark, embraced the Christian Faith and refused the governor’s command. The governor condemned them to death, and ordered that molten lead be poured into their mouths. After this, holy Mark was beheaded and his body placed in the temple of Artemis, which temple was then destroyed by God’s power.

4. The Holy Martyr Vatslav (Wenceslas), King of the Czechs.

The grandson of St. Ludmilla, he lived as king in spiritual striving in the Faith like the great ascetics, and strengthened the Orthodox Faith among his people. He took care when sitting in judgement that no innocent man should suffer. In his zeal for the Christian Faith and his love for his neighbor, holy Vatslav bought pagan children who had been sold as slaves and immediately baptized them, bringing them up as Christians. He translated St. John’s Gospel into Czech and brought the relics of St. Vitus and his grandmother, Ludmilla, to Prague. His brother Boleslav invited him to stay and killed him at his court. Immediately after this, Boleslav began to make German priests and to have the Liturgy celebrated in Latin. Holy Vatslav suffered in 929. His relics are preserved in Prague.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Guiding the destiny of this world, and especially of His holy Church, God often uses surprising touches, and changes the evil destiny of His servants into good. This is shown a number of times in the life of St. Chariton. After harsh torture, Chariton was thrown into prison and promised certain death, but Emperor Aurelian died suddenly, and under the new emperor, Christian captives were set free. Thus Chariton escaped death. When he was travelling to Jerusalem, robbers seized him and carried him off to their cave. They left him there and went off to plunder, intending to kill Chariton when they returned. There was in the cave a wine cask in which a poisonous snake was trapped. This snake had made itself drunk with the wine and had spat it out, with its venom, into the vessel. When the robbers returned, they, being thirsty from their journey and the broiling heat, drank the wine and one by one fell dead. And so again, on this occasion and by this extraordinary occurrence, St. Chariton was delivered from death. The Lord kept sending misfortune on His servant so that, by these misfortunes, He might temper and purify him like gold in the fire, and bind him more closely to Himself; and He delivered him from death because Chariton had yet to found several monasteries, and by his labors, set many human souls on the way of salvation.

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.