Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Twenty-Fifth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 275].

2 ¹Brethren, we beseech you with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together before Him, ²in order that ye be not quickly shaken from your reason, nor to be stirred—neither by a spirit, nor by a word, nor by an epistle as if by us—as if the day of Christ hath arrived. ³Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day shall not come unless the apostasy should come first, and the man of the sin be revealed, the son of the perdition, ⁴who opposeth and exalteth himself above all which is called God or an object of worship, so as for him to sit in the temple of God as God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵Do ye not remember that when I was yet with you I was telling you these things? ⁶And now ye know that which restraineth, in order that he be revealed in his own time. ⁷For the mystery of the lawlessness already is energizing itself, only there is the one who restraineth now, until he should come to be taken out of the midst. ⁸And then the lawless one shall be revealed—whom the Lord shall destroy by the breath of His mouth, and shall bring to nought by the manifestation of His coming— ⁹whose coming is according to the energy of Satan in all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰and in all deceit of the unrighteousness in those who are perishing, because they received not the love of the truth, in order for them to be saved. ¹¹And on this account God shall send to them an influence of error for them to believe the lie, ¹²that they all might be judged who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in the unrighteousness.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 61]. The Lord said to those Jews who had come to Him:

11 ⁴²“Woe to you, the Pharisees! For ye tithe the mint and the rue and every herb, and pass by the judgment and the love of God. These ye ought to have done, and not to keep on leaving aside those others. ⁴³“Woe to you, the Pharisees! For ye love the first seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are as the graves which are unseen, and the men who are walking over them do not know it.” ⁴⁵And answering, one of the doctors of the law saith to Him, “Teacher, when Thou sayest these things, Thou insultest us also.” ⁴⁶And He said, “Woe to you also, the doctors of the law! For ye burden men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyrs Galacteon and Episteme.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 325]. Brethren:

10 ³²Remind yourselves of the former days in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great contest of sufferings: ³³partly, being made a show of both by reproaches and affliction; and partly, having become partners of those who conducted themselves thus. ³⁴For ye also sympathized with those in bonds and ye yourselves accepted the seizure of your possessions with joy, knowing in yourselves that ye have in the heavens a better and abiding possession. ³⁵Do not begin therefore to cast away your boldness which hath great recompense. ³⁶For ye have need of patience, that, after ye do the will of God, ye might receive for yourselves the promise. ³⁷“For yet a very little while, the One Who cometh will come, and will not delay [cf. Hab. 2:3]. ³⁸“Now the just shall live by faith; and if one should draw himself back, My soul hath no pleasure in him [cf. Hab. 2:4].”

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

November 18th – Civil Calendar
November 5th – Church Calendar

1. Our Holy Father Galacteon and our Mother Episteme, the Martyrs.

They were born in the city of Edessa in Phoenicia, both of pagan parents. Galacteon’s mother was barren until she was baptized. After her Baptism, she brought her husband also to the true Faith and baptized her son Galacteon, bringing him up a Christian. When the time came for Galacteon to marry, his devout mother Leucippe died, and his father betrothed him to a maiden called Episteme. Galacteon did not wish to enter into marriage at all, and he quickly urged Episteme to be baptized and then to become a nun at the same time as he became a monk. Both went away to the mountain of Publion, Galacteon to a men’s monastery and Episteme to a women’s, and each of them became a true light in the monastery. They were first in labors, in prayer, in humility and obedience, and first in love. They did not leave their monasteries, and neither saw the other until the time of their death. A fierce persecution arose, and they were both brought to trial. While they were mercilessly whipping Galacteon, Episteme was weeping, and they then whipped her also. They cut off their hands and feet, and finally their heads. One Eutolius, a man who had been a servant of Episteme’s parents and then a monk together with Galacteon, took their bodies and buried them. He also wrote the Lives of these two wonderful martyrs for Christ, who suffered and received their heavenly crowns in 253.

2. The Holy Apostles Patrobus, Hermes, Linus, Gaius and Philologus.

They were of the Seventy. Patrobus was bishop of Neapolis; Hermes was in Philippopolis (Rom. 16:14), Linus in Rome (II Tim. 4:21), Gaius in Ephesus (Rom. 16:23) and Philologus in Synope (Rom. 15:16). All of them fulfilled the law of Christ with love and went to His kingdom.

3. St. Jonah (Iona), Archbishop of Novgorod

Born in Novgorod and orphaned early, he was taken and educated by a God-fearing woman. Michael the Fool for Christ of Klops saw him once as a young boy and said to him prophetically: ‘Ivan, my little one, be diligent in your studies, for you will be archbishop in Novgorod the Mighty’. And so it came to pass, for later, after the death of Archbishop Evtimy, this Jonah was elected and consecrated to the throne of Novgorod. Jonah was God-fearing and merciful, such as is rare in a mortal man. He built churches and monasteries and cared for his flock as a true and good shepherd. He was offered the throne of Moscow as metropolitan but declined, excusing himself because of his great age. He entered into rest peacefully on November 5th, 1570, and went to the joyful, heavenly mansions. One hundred years after his death, a great fire broke out in Novgorod. The relics of this holy hierarch did not catch fire among the flames, but on the contrary, began to show healing powers and to give off a sweet and wonderful fragrance.

FOR CONSIDERATION

As shadow is to reality (although even this is too weak a comparison), so is physical love to spiritual. Brotherhood and sisterhood of blood is nothing compared with the same relationship in the spirit. Galacteon was betrothed by his father to the maiden Episteme. He baptized her, and then they both received the monastic schema. Their physical love was transformed into spiritual, a love as strong as death. Galacteon’s spiritual love for Episteme was so great that he had no need to see her with his bodily sight; for, with spiritual love, neither physical contact or even meeting are necessary. Episteme’s spiritual love for Galacteon was so great that, when she heard that he had been taken for martyrdom, she ran after him, begging him not to cast her away, but as a spiritual father and brother, let her share his martyrdom. When Galacteon was flogged on his naked body by his merciless torturers, holy Episteme wept. When the torturers cut off their hands and feet for Christ’s sake, they both rejoiced and glorified God. Such was the power of their love for Christ the Lord and such was the mutual spiritual love with which they loved each other. Truly, physical love is like a gaudy butterfly that passes in a moment, but spiritual love is enduring.

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.