Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second General Epistle of Saint Peter [§ 68 A].

3 ¹Beloved, this second epistle, I now write to you, in which I stir up your sincere mind ²to be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³knowing this first, that during the last days mockers shall come, walking according to their own desires, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue thus as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵For this escapeth their notice willingly: that by the word of God were there heavens of old, and an earth having stood together out of water and in water, ⁶by which the world of that time, having been deluged by water, perished. ⁷But the present heavens and the earth, which have been laid up in store by the same word, are being kept for fire until a day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. ⁸But, beloved, let not this one thing escape you, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow as to the promise, as some deem slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing to have any perish, but to have all come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a rushing sound, and the elements, being burned with intense heat, shall be dissolved; and the earth and the works in it shall be burned completely. ¹¹Therefore, because of all these things being dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy modes of life and acts of piety, ¹²expecting and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of the Lord, by reason of which the heavens, being set on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements, being burned with intense heat, shall be melted! ¹³But according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

¹⁴Wherefore, beloved, looking for these things, earnestly endeavor to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless; ¹⁵and be deeming that the long-suffering of the Lord is salvation, even as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom which was given to him, wrote to you, ¹⁶as also in all his epistles, speaking in them concerning these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable twist, as they do also the rest of Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷Ye therefore, beloved, since ye know these things beforehand, be on your guard lest, having been led away by the error of the lawless, ye should fall from your own steadfastness; ¹⁸but keep on increasing in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 61]. The Lord said to His disciples:

13 ²⁴“In those days, after that affliction, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light; ²⁵“and the stars shall be falling from the heaven, and the powers which are in the heavens shall be shaken. ²⁶“And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷“And then He shall send forth His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth unto the uttermost part of the heaven. ²⁸“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch at once should become tender and put forth leaves, ye know that the summer is near; ²⁹“thus also ye, whenever ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that it is near, even at the doors. ³⁰“Verily I say to you that in no wise shall this generation pass away until all these things take place. ³¹“The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words in no wise shall pass away.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

11. The commemoration of Hieromartyr Blaise, Bishop of Sebaste, and our holy Father Demetri, Wonder-worker of Vologda.

Epistle

For the Hieromartyr:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 311]. Brethren:

4 ¹⁴Having then a great High Priest Who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us be holding fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest Who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who hath been tempted in all respects according to our likeness, without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore be coming with boldness to the throne of grace, that we might receive mercy and find grace for help in due season.

5 ¹For every high priest being taken from among men is being appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, ²who is able to feel in due measure with those who are ignorant and led astray, since he himself also is compassed about with weakness. ³And by reason of this he ought, even for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. ⁴And no one taketh the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, even as also Aaron. ⁵Thus also the Christ glorified not Himself to become a high priest, but the One Who said to Him, “Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee [Ps. 2:7].” ⁶Even as He saith also in another place, “Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek [Ps. 109(110):4].”

For the Wonder-worker:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213]. Brethren:

5 ²²The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴But they who are of the Christ crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be walking by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

6 ¹Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness, looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ²Keep on bearing one another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.

Gospel

For the Hieromartyr:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ mid 34]. At that time:

10 ¹After Jesus called to Himself His twelve disciples, He gave to them authority over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every weakness.... ⁵These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, “Do not begin to go into the way of the nations, and do not begin to enter into a city of the Samaritans. ⁶“But go rather to the sheep, the lost of the house of Israel. ⁷“And as ye go, be preaching, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens hath drawn near.’ ⁸“Be healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, casting out demons; freely ye received, freely give.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

February 24th – Civil Calendar
February 11th – Church Calendar

1. The Hieromartyr Vlasios (Blaise), Bishop of Sebaste.

Born in Cappadocia, Vlasios was meek and God-fearing from early childhood. He was chosen for his virtues as bishop of Sebaste, and was a great spiritual and moral light in that pagan town. During a period of violent persecution of Christians, Vlasios encouraged his flock and visited the martyrs in prison, among whom was the famous Efstratios.

When the city of Sebaste was left entirely denuded of Christians—some killed and others fled—Vlasios, by then an old man, retired to the mountain of Argeos and lived there in a cave. Ferocious wild beasts, recognizing a holy man, came to him and he gently tamed them. But the persecutors found the saint in that hidden spot and took him for trial. On the way there, Vlasios healed a boy who had a bone stuck in his throat, and at the petition of a poor widow, made the wolf that had taken her pig return it to her. The benighted judges tortured him, flogging him terribly. By his steadfastness in the Christian Faith, Vlasios brought many unbelievers to the Faith. Seven women and two children were thrown into prison with him; the women were slain first, then Vlasios and the two children. He suffered and was glorified in 316.

Vlasios’ prayers are sought for the health and well-being of domestic animals and for protection from wild beasts. In the West, he is also invoked against sore throats.

2. The Holy Martyr George of Kratovo.

George was a Bulgarian from the town of Kratovo. As a young man, George was a goldsmith; and in his heart and soul a faithful and devout Christian. As soon as he reached the age of eighteen, the Turks tried to convert him to Islam, but George remained as firm as a diamond in the Faith. The Turks then tortured him with many harsh tortures and finally burned him alive at the stake. He suffered for the Christian Faith on February 11th, 1515, in Sofia in the time of Sultan Selim, and was glorified with unfading glory in heaven.

3. St. Theodora.

A Greek empress, she was the wife of the wicked Emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast. After the death of Theophilus, Theodora reigned with her son, Michael III, and the veneration of icons was immediately restored at the Council of Constantinople in 842. This was the occasion of the institution of the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which is celebrated to this day on the first Sunday in the Great Fast. This holy woman who gave such service to the Church gave her soul to God on February 11th, 867. By the wonderful providence of God, it was at this time of total triumph of Orthodoxy over all heresies that Saints Kyril and Methodius were sent as missionaries to the Slav peoples.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Matter is not, of itself, evil, as certain Christian heretics (for example, the Manicheans) and some philosophers have asserted. Not only is it not evil; it is not the sole spreader of evil, for the spirit does this just as much as matter does. Every material thing is weighed down and inhibited by the soul of man, but it is not evil. Matter is corruptible, weak and helpless in comparison with the immortal spirit, but it is not itself evil. If it were evil, how could the Lord Jesus have instituted the holy Communion from bread and wine, and how could bread and wine be called His body and blood? If matter were in itself evil, how could people be baptized in water? How could the Apostle Iakovos have ordained that the sick be anointed with oil? How could blessed water stay fresh and have miraculous powers? How could the Cross have power? How could Christ’s robe have borne the healing power of the Savior, from which the woman with the issue of blood was healed? How could the relics of the saints and how could icons have such wonder-working gifts, and such good from the kingdom of blessings befriend man? How, further, could good come to man through evil? No; matter is in no way evil in itself.

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.