Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 204]. Brethren:

2 ²¹I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nought.

3 ¹O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you so as not to be persuaded to the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth among you crucified? ²This only I desire to learn from you: Did ye receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ³Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now being brought to perfection in the flesh? ⁴Did ye suffer so many things in vain? If indeed it really is in vain. ⁵Therefore the One Who supplieth the Spirit to you and energizeth works of power in you, is it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? ⁶Even as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness [Gen. 15:6].” ⁷Know ye therefore that they who are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 22]. At that time:

6 ¹Jesus came into His own country; and His disciples followed Him. ²And a sabbath having come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “From what place came these things to this One? And what is the wisdom which hath been given to Him, that even such works of power are done by His hands? ³“This is the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and Brother of Iakovos, and Joses, and Juda, and Simon, is it not? And His sisters are here with us, are they not?” And they were made to stumble in Him. ⁴But Jesus was saying to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kinfolk, and in his own house.” ⁵And He was not able to do even one work of power there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick and cured them. ⁶And He was marvelling because of their unbelief. And He was going around the villages in a circuit, teaching. ⁷And He calleth to Himself the twelve, and began to send them forth two by two; and He was giving them authority over the spirits, the unclean ones.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Cross, and the appearance of the wonderworking Lesna Icon of the Theotokos, and the holy Great-martyr Niketas.

Epistle

For the Icon:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 320]. Brethren:

9 ¹The first tabernacle also used to have both ordinances of worship and the sanctuary of this world. ²For a tabernacle was furnished: the first in which were both the lampstand and the table, and the laying forth of the loaves, which is called Holy; ³and after the second veil, a tabernacle which is called Holy of Holies, ⁴which hath a golden censer, and the ark of the covenant which hath been covered all around from every side with gold, in which was the golden jar having the manna, and the rod of Aaron that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; ⁵and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, concerning which now is not the time to speak severally. ⁶Now after these things were thus furnished, the priests, on the one hand, enter into the first tabernacle, performing worship services; ⁷on the other hand, into the second, the high priest entereth alone once for all every year, not without blood, which he offereth on behalf of himself and the faults of ignorance of the people.

For the Great-martyr:

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy [§ 292]. Child Timothy:

2 ¹Be thou empowered in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; ²and the things which thou heardest from me in the midst of many witnesses, commit thou these things to faithful men who shall be competent also to teach others. ³Thou therefore suffer hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No one serving as a soldier is entangled with the affairs of life, in order that he might please the one who enlisted him. ⁵And if anyone also contend as an athlete in the games, he is not crowned unless he contend lawfully. ⁶The farmer who laboreth must be first to partake of the fruits. ⁷Be considering what I say; O may the Lord give thee understanding in all things! ⁸Be remembering Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, Who hath been raised from the dead, according to my Gospel, ⁹in which I suffer hardship even to bonds as a malefactor, but the word of God hath not been bound. ¹⁰On this account I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they might also attain salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Gospel

For the Icon:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 54]. At that time:

10 ³⁸ Jesus entered into a certain village. And a certain woman, by name Martha, received Him into her house. ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat down beside the feet of Jesus, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted about much serving, and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, is it no concern to Thee that my sister left me to serve alone? Speak to her therefore that she should help me.” ⁴¹And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things. ⁴²“But there is need of one thing, and Mary chose the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”...

11 ²⁷And it came to pass, as He was speaking these things, a certain woman out of the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts which Thou didst suck.” ²⁸But He said, “Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”

For the Great-martyr:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 36]. The Lord said to His disciples:

10 ¹⁶“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Become therefore wise as the serpents and guileless as the doves. ¹⁷“But continue being on guard against men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. ¹⁸“And also ye shall be brought before governors and kings on account of Me, for a testimony to them and to the nations. ¹⁹“But whenever they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what ye should speak; for it shall be given to you in that hour what ye shall speak. ²⁰“For ye are not the ones who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father Who is speaking in you. ²¹“Now a brother shall deliver up a brother to death, and a father a child; and children shall rise up against parents and shall put them to death. ²²“And ye shall be hated by all for My name’s sake; but the one who endureth to the end, this one shall be saved.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

September 28th – Civil Calendar
September 15th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Niketas.

Niketas was a Goth by birth, and a disciple of Bishop Theophilus of the Goths, who took part in the First Ecumenical Council. When Athenarik, Prince of the Goths, began to persecute the Christians, St. Niketas stood before the prince and denounced him for his paganism and inhumanity. Tormented by terrible tortures, Niketas the more strongly confessed his faith in Christ, and prayed to God with thanksgiving. His mind was unceasingly lifted up to God and immersed in Him, and in his hand beneath his robe he held an icon of the holy Mother of God with the pre-eternal Christ Child standing and holding the Cross in His hands. St. Niketas carried this icon because the holy Mother of God had appeared to him and comforted him. Finally, the torturer threw Christ’s martyr into the flames, in which St. Niketas breathed his last; but his body remained untouched by the fire. His friend Marianus took his body from the land of the Goths (Wallachia and Bessarabia) to Cilicia, to the town of Mopsuestia, where he built a church dedicated to St. Niketas and placed the wonder-working relics of the martyr in it. Niketas suffered and was glorified in 372.

2. Our Holy Father Philotheus.

He was from the village of Myrmix or Mravin in Asia Minor. His mother had the same name the other way round—Theophila. He was a priest, and a wonder-worker even during his lifetime. On one occasion, he turned water into wine, and on another multiplied bread. He entered into rest in the Lord in the tenth century, and myrrh was found to flow from his relics.

3. The Holy Martyr Porphyrios.

An actor, he first mocked at Christians before Julian the Apostate. On one occasion, when he was mimicking the Christian Mystery of Baptism, he was dipped into the water, pronouncing the words: ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’ When he emerged from the water, he cried out: ‘Now I am a Christian!’ Everyone thought that this was in jest, as always, but he held firm to it, stopped mocking Christians and finally suffered for Christ. He was beheaded in 361, and entered into the kingdom of Christ.

4. The Holy Martyrs Theodotus, Asclepidotus and Maximus.

Nobles of Trachis, they suffered for Christ near Philippopolis in the village of Saltis, some time between 305 and 311, and entered into the kingdom of heaven.

5. St. Vissarion, Archbishop of Larissa, the Wonder-worker.

He founded the Monastery of the Savior in the diocese of Larissa, and was glorified by his miracles both during his lifetime and after his death. He lived in the sixteenth century.

6. The Holy New-Martyr John of Crete.

He suffered for the Christian Faith under the Turks in the city of Ephesus in 1811.

7. St. Joseph, Bishop of Alaverdsk.

One of the twelve Syrian fathers (see May 7th), who were sent to the Caucasus area to preach the Gospel, St. Joseph went peacefully to the Lord in 570. His wonder-working relics are preserved in the Cathedral in Alaverdsk.

FOR CONSIDERATION

God is not mocked. He either punishes mockers to correct them, or turns them to that which they mocked. St. Porphyrios was at first famous among the pagans as a mocker of Christianity. On one occasion, he enacted a mock Christian Baptism before the Emperor Julian the Apostate and his court. But something utterly unpremeditated happened. When Porphyrios went down into the water and spoke the words of Baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity, his soul was suddenly changed within him and he indeed became a Christian. In place of his mocking of the Christian Faith, he began to denounce the emperor for his impure idolatry. For this he was tortured and beheaded. A similar thing happened with a comedian, Gennesus, probably in the time of Diocletian. This Gennesus presented the Christian Eucharist before a crowd of pagans, delighting them all with his mockery and wit. But all of a sudden he changed and cried out before the people: ‘I believe, and want to be baptized!’ The onlookers thought at first that this was part of the act, but he went on reiterating his faith in Christ. When, before the judge and the emperor, he remained steadfast in his faith, he was tortured and killed. Thus do Christ’s mockers become His martyrs.

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.