Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Cheesefare

Epistle

The Reading is from the General Epistle of Saint Jude [§ 78]. Beloved:

¹¹Woe to the impious! For they went in the way of Cain, and were poured out in the error of Balaam for a reward, and destroyed themselves in the gainsaying of Kore.

¹²In your love feasts these are hidden rocks in the sea, when they feast with you, shepherding themselves without fear. They are waterless clouds being carried about by winds; fruitless autumnal trees which twice died and were uprooted; ¹³wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shameful things; wandering stars, to whom hath been kept the blackness of darkness forever. ¹⁴And to these also, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came amidst myriads of His saints, ¹⁵“to do judgment against all, and to convict all the impious among them for all their works of impiety which they did impiously, and for all the hard things which impious sinners spoke against Him.” ¹⁶These are murmurers, complainers, walking according to their desires; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, showing respect to persons for the sake of advantage. ¹⁷But ye, beloved, be reminded of the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸that they were saying to you, that in the last time there shall be mockers walking according to their own desires of impieties. ¹⁹These are they who cause divisions by separating themselves, material-minded ones, not having the Spirit. ²⁰But ye, beloved, building up yourselves by your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto life eternal. ²²And to some, on the one hand, be showing mercy, who are in doubt; ²³but to some, on the other hand, be saving in fear, snatching them out of the fire, hating even the garment which hath been stained by the flesh.

²⁴Now to Him Who is able to guard you from stumbling, and to make you stand before the presence of His glory blameless in exceeding joy, ²⁵to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, might and authority, both now and to all the ages. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 110]. At that time:

For Gk. usage, see Lk. 23:1-31, 33, 44-56; for Sl. usage, see Lk 23:2-34, 44-56.

23 ¹The chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people led Jesus before Pilate. ²And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this One perverting the nation, and hindering the giving of tribute to Cæsar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” ³And Pilate questioned Him, saying, “Thou art the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “Thou sayest.” ⁴And Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I do not find even one charge in this Man.” ⁵But they kept waxing stronger, saying, “He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all of Judæa, beginning from Galilee even to here.” ⁶And having heard Galilee named, Pilate inquired whether the Man were a Galilæan. ⁷And having come to know that He was from the jurisdiction of Herod, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem during those days. ⁸And Herod, having seen Jesus, was gladdened exceedingly; for he was wishing for a considerable time to see Him, because he had heard many things concerning Him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by Him. ⁹And he kept on questioning Him with many words, but He answered nothing. ¹⁰And the chief priests and the scribes had stood by, vigorously accusing Him. ¹¹And Herod with his troops, having treated Him with contempt and having mocked Him, threw around Him bright raiment, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹²And on that same day Herod and Pilate became friends with one another; for before they were at enmity between themselves. ¹³And after Pilate called together to himself the chief priests and the rulers and the people, ¹⁴he said to them, “Ye brought to me this Man, as one who turneth away the people. And behold, having examined Him before your face, I did not find even one charge in this Man of which ye bring as an accusation against Him. ¹⁵“No, not even did Herod, for I sent you up to him; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by Him. ¹⁶“Therefore, after I chastise Him, I will release Him.” ¹⁷Now of necessity he had to release one to them at the feast. ¹⁸And all together they cried out, saying, “Go on taking this One away, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹who, on account of a certain sedition taking place in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison. ²⁰Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, addressed them again. ²¹But they kept calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him.” ²²And a third time he said to them, “Why, what evil did this One do? Not one cause of death did I find in Him. Therefore, after I chastise Him, I will release Him.” ²³But they were being urgent with loud voices, asking for Him to be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests were prevailing. ²⁴And Pilate adjudged their request to be done. ²⁵And he released to them him—the one who on account of sedition and murder was cast into the prison—whom they were asking for themselves; but he delivered up Jesus to their will.

²⁶And as they led Him away, they laid hold of Simon, a certain Cyrenian, who was coming from a field, and laid the Cross upon him, to bear it behind Jesus. ²⁷And there was following Him a great multitude of people, and of women who were beating their breasts and lamenting Him. ²⁸And Jesus, having turned to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, cease weeping for Me, but be weeping for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹“For behold, days are coming, in which they shall say, ‘Happy are the barren, and the wombs which bore not, and the breasts which gave not suck.’ ³⁰“Then ‘they shall begin to say to the mountains, “Fall upon us”; and to the hills, “Cover us [Hos. 10:8; Is. 2:19; Rev. 6:16, 9:6].”’ ³¹“For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall take place in the dry?” ³²And two others, malefactors, were also being led with Him to be put to death.

³³And when they came upon the place which is called Skull, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right and the other one on the left. ³⁴And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And when they divided His garments among themselves, they cast a lot.... ⁴⁴And it was about the sixth hour, and there came to be a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵while the sun failed, and the veil of the temple was torn in the midst. ⁴⁶And Jesus, having cried out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” And having said these things, He gave up the spirit. ⁴⁷Now after the centurion saw that which took place, he kept on glorifying God, saying, “Verily this Man was righteous.” ⁴⁸And all the crowds that came together to see this sight, when they beheld the things which took place, beat their breasts and were turning back. ⁴⁹And all His acquaintances, and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.

⁵⁰And behold, there was a man, by name Joseph, being a counselor, who was a good man and just ⁵¹(this one had not been in agreement with the counsel and their deed), from Arimathæa, a city of the Jews, who himself also was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for himself the body of Jesus. ⁵³And having taken it down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a sepulcher hewn out of stone, in which no one was ever yet laid. ⁵⁴And it was the day of preparation, and the sabbath was dawning.

⁵⁵And the women also, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶And they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumed ointments. And indeed they rested during the sabbath according to the commandment.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our holy father among the saints, Porphyrios, Bishop of Gaza.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 335]. Brethren:

13 ¹⁷Be obedient to those who lead you, and keep on submitting, for they are watchful for your souls, as those about to render an account, that they may do this with joy, and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable for you. ¹⁸Keep on praying for us; for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to conduct ourselves well. ¹⁹But I beseech you more abundantly to do this, that I might be restored more quickly to you.

²⁰Now the God of peace Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of the sheep, the great One, in the blood of an everlasting covenant, ²¹may He render you perfect in every good work, in order to do His will, doing in you that which is well-pleasing before His face, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

March 11th – Civil Calendar: Non-Leap Year
March 10th – Civil Calendar: Leap Year
February 26th – Church Calendar

1. St. Porphyrios, Bishop of Gaza.

This great bishop and pastor was born in Thessalonica of wealthy parents. He spent his youth to the age of 25 in his hometown, then left his parents’ home and worldly life and went off into the Egyptian desert. Under the guidance of an experienced spiritual father, the young Porphyrios became a monk and remained for five years. He then paid a visit to the Holy Land in company with his friend, the monk Mark. He lived another five years in asceticism in a cave near Jerusalem. But then his legs became weak and he was no longer able to walk. But he was always able, crawling on his knees, to be present at Divine Service. One night the Lord Himself appeared to him in a vision and healed him of the weakness in his legs, and he became completely well. When he was chosen as bishop of Gaza, Porphyrios accepted this obligation with a heavy heart. He found only 280 Christians in Gaza; the rest of the inhabitants being fanatical idol-worshippers. Only by his great faith and patience did Porphyrios succeed in bringing the people of Gaza to the Christian Faith. He had to travel in person to Constantinople, to the Emperor Arkadios and the patriarch, John Chrysostom, to beg for help in the unequal struggle against the idolaters. Seeking support, he received it. The temples of the idol-worshippers were closed, the idols demolished and a fine church built with thirty marble pillars. There was special help forthcoming from the Empress Evdoxia. Porphyrios lived long enough to see the whole city brought to the Christian Faith, but only after great toil, suffering and tearful prayer on his part. He entered peacefully into rest in 421. He was a wonder-worker during his lifetime and after his death. His relics are preserved in Gaza to this day.

2. The Holy Martyr John Calpha.

This saint was born in Galata in Constantinople. He was an architect by profession. He offended the Turks by his wholehearted confession of the Christian Faith, and they tried to force him to become a Muslim. ‘I shall never deny my sweet Jesus Christ,’ replied John heroically, ‘I believe in Him, serve Him and confess Him.’ After harsh torture, the Turks beheaded him in Constantinople on February 26th, 1575. He suffered with honor for his beloved Christ and went to the courts of the Lord.

FOR CONSIDERATION

St. John Chrysostom writes thus against those who make a tumult in church and leave it before the end of the service: ‘Some draw near (to holy Communion), not with trembling but with commotion, crowding one another, quarrelling, shouting, grumbling, jostling their neighbors, full of disorder. I have myself often spoken of this, and shall not give up speaking. You know the good order that prevails at the pagan Olympic Games, when the Master of Ceremonies goes round the stadium with a wreath on his head, clad in long robes and with a staff in his hand, and the crier calls for quiet and order. Is it not scandalous that there, where the devil holds sway, there should be such quietness, and where Christ invites men to Himself, there should be great tumult? Silence in the stadium and shouting in church! Quietness on the sea but a storm in the harbor! When you are invited to dinner, you do not presume to leave the table before the other, even if you have finished first; but here, until the terrible Mysteries of Christ are completed, while divine service is still in progress, do you leave in the middle and go away? How can that be forgiven? How can it be put right?’ (From a Homily on the Theophany).

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.