Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Twenty-Fifth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 276]. Brethren:

2 ¹³We are bound to give thanks to God always concerning you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you for Himself from the beginning to salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, ¹⁴to which He called you through our Gospel, to acquisition of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵So then, brethren, be standing firm and holding fast the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word or by our epistle. ¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, the One Who loved us and gave everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, ¹⁷comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

3 ¹For the rest, brethren, be praying for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, even as also it is with you, ²and that we might be delivered from wayward and evil men; for not all have the faith. ³But faithful is the Lord, Who shall establish you and guard you from the evil one. ⁴And we trust in the Lord as to you, that ye both do and will do what we command you. ⁵And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of the Christ.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 62]. The Lord said to those Jews who had come to Him:

11 ⁴⁷“Woe to you! For ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ⁴⁸“So then ye bear witness and consent to the works of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchers. ⁴⁹“On this account the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send forth to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰“that the blood of all the prophets, which is being poured out from the foundation of the world, might be required of this generation, ⁵¹“from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the temple. Yea, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. ⁵²“Woe to you, the doctors of the law! For ye took away the key of knowledge; ye yourselves entered not, and those trying to enter ye hindered.” ⁵³And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to hold it against Him terribly and to interrogate Him concerning many things, ⁵⁴lying in wait for Him, seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him.

12 ¹In the meantime, after myriads of the populace were gathered together, insomuch that they trampled upon one another, He began to say to His disciples first, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our holy father among the saints, Paul the Confessor, Archbishop of Constantinople.

Epistle

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

For Gk. usage, see Heb. 8:1-6; for Sl. usage, see Heb. 8:3-6.

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. ³For every 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

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 64]. The Lord said to His disciples:

12 ⁸“Everyone who shall confess in Me before men, the Son of Man also shall confess in him before the angels of God. ⁹“But the one who denieth Me before the face of men shall be denied before the face of the angels of God. ¹⁰“And everyone who shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but to the one who blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven. ¹¹“And whenever they bring you in before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, cease being anxious how or what ye should speak in defense, or what ye should say; ¹²“for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what things it is needful to say.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

November 19th – Civil Calendar
November 6th – Church Calendar

1. St. Paul the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople.

When the blessed Patriarch Alexander was lying on his deathbed, the lamenting faithful asked him whom he would leave to follow him as chief pastor of the flock of Christ. Then the sick patriarch said to them: ‘If you want to have a shepherd who will teach you and whose virtues will illumine you, choose Paul; but if you want a suitable man as a figurehead, choose Macedonius.’ The people chose Paul. This was not acceptable to the Arian heretics, nor to the Emperor Constantius, who was at that time in Antioch, and so Paul was quickly deposed and fled to Rome together with St. Athanasius the Great. There, both Pope Julian and the Emperor Constans gave them a warm welcome and upheld them in their Orthodoxy. The emperor and the pope sent letters which restored Paul to his episcopal throne, but after the death of Constans, the Arians raised their heads again and drove the Orthodox Patriarch off to Cucusus in Armenia. While Paul was celebrating the Liturgy one day in exile, he was set on by the Arians and strangled with his pallium. This was in the year 351. In the time of the Emperor Theodosios, in 381, his relics were translated to Constantinople, and in 1236, to Venice, where they still lie.* His beloved priests and secretaries, Markianos and Martyrios, suffered soon after their patriarch, on October 25th, 355 (see their lives on that day).

* A small piece of their relics is kept at the Russian Cathedral in London. —Tr.

2. Our Holy Father Varlaam of Chutinsk, the Wonder-worker.

Born and brought up a Christian in Novgorod the Great, he became a monk on the death of his parents and devoted himself to strict asceticism. He founded a monastery on the bank of the Volkhov River, on a site shown to him by a heavenly light. He was a great wonder-worker both during his lifetime and after his death, being able to penetrate human secrets, to drive out unclean spirits and to heal all sicknesses. A servant of Prince Vasily Vasilievitch was taken seriously ill, and he asked to be carried to the grave of St. Varlaam, and further asked that, if he should die on the way, they should take his dead body to the saint. And so it came to pass: he died on the road, and they brought him dead into the monastery, where he was restored to life, stood up, and prostrated himself before the tomb of the saint. In 1471, Tsar Ivan the Formidable gave orders that the saint’s relics be translated. As soon as his men began to open the tomb, a flame sprang from the grave and blazed along the walls of the church. The tsar was so frightened that he fled from the church, and in his haste, forgot his staff, which is kept to this day beside the saint’s tomb. In commemoration of this wonder, St. Varlaam is also remembered on the Friday after the Sunday of All Saints.

3. Commemoration of the falling of ash from the air.

This occurred in Constantinople in 472 (or 475, according to the Greek Synaxarion), during the reign of the Emperor Leo the Great and Patriarch Gennadios.

FOR CONSIDERATION

If God can bring water from a rock to sustain men, He can also call down fire from heaven as a punishment. The outcome of Sodom and Gomorrah presents a classic example of God’s punishment of incorrigible sinners. That God can repeat this punishment in other places, He demonstrated over Constantinople in the time of Leo the Great and Patriarch Gennadios, in 472. On November 6th, at mid day, the sky suddenly became darkened by thick, dark clouds, which caused darkness to cover the land. These clouds glowed now and then like live coals, and then became dark again, and this phenomenon remained over Constantinople for a full forty days. The terrified people fell to repentance and prayer, and together with the emperor and the patriarch, went in procession through the streets from church to church, praying to God with tears and lamentations. On the final day, hot black ash began to fall from the clouds, and fell from noon till midnight, when it ceased. The following day was clear and fresh, but a hand-high layer of ash lay all over the ground. The people worked to clear their houses and streets of this sooty ash, but all their crops were destroyed. All who had understanding recognized God’s punishment in this event—a gentle punishment because of the speedy repentance of the people before the Lord God. If this had not been so, who knows what would have happened in Constantinople in those days? But timely repentance on the part of sinners, and the prayers of the most holy Mother of God together with the numberless saints and martyrs of Constantinople, greatly mitigated the punishment.

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.