Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the Seventeenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ 226]. Brethren:

4 ¹⁷This I say and testify in the Lord: ye are no longer to walk even as also the rest of the nations walk, in the vanity of their mind, ¹⁸who have been darkened in thought and alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; ¹⁹who, having become insensible, gave themselves up to licentiousness, for the working of all uncleanness with greediness. ²⁰But ye have not thus learned the Christ— ²¹if indeed ye heard Him and were taught in Him, as truth is in Jesus: ²²to put off from yourselves the old man, with respect to the former manner of life, who is being corrupted according to the desires of the deceit, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴and to put on the new man, who, according to God, was created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

²⁵Wherefore, having put off the falsehood, “Be speaking truth each one with his neighbor [cf. Zach. 8:16].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 24]. At that time:

6 ¹⁷Jesus stood upon a level place. And there was a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all of Judæa and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases— ¹⁸even those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd was seeking to touch Him, for power was coming forth from Him and healing all. ²⁰And He lifted up His eyes to His disciples, and began to say:
   “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
   ²¹“Blessed are ye who hunger now, for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye who weep now, for ye shall laugh.
   ²²“Blessed are ye whenever men hate you, and whenever they separate you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.
   ²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heavens.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of Hieromartyr Cyprian and Deaconess Justina.

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy [§ 280]. Child Timothy:

1 ¹²I have gratitude toward the One Who empowereth me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He deemed me faithful, Who Himself put me into service, ¹³who before was a blasphemer and persecutor and an insolent man; but I was shown mercy, because being ignorant I did it in unbelief. ¹⁴And the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵Faithful is the saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first. ¹⁶But for this cause I was shown mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to those who are about to believe on Him to life everlasting. ¹⁷Now to the King of the ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory, to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 36]. The Lord said to the Jews who had come to Him:

10 ⁹“I am the door; by Me if anyone should enter, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰“The thief cometh not, except that he might steal, and slay, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. ¹²“But the hireling, who indeed is not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep and fleeth; and the wolf seizeth them and scattereth the sheep. ¹³“Now the hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling and careth not about the sheep. ¹⁴“I am the good shepherd; and I know those that are Mine, and am known of those that are Mine. ¹⁵“Even as the Father knoweth Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶“And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; them also it is needful for Me to bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

October 15th – Civil Calendar
October 2nd – Church Calendar

1. St. Andrew the Fool for Christ.

By birth a Slav, he was bought as a slave by Theognostus, a rich man in Constantinople, in the time of the Emperor Leo the Wise, son of the Emperor Basil the Macedonian. Andrew was a handsome young man, both in body and soul. Theognostus took a fancy to him and allowed him to learn to read and write. Andrew prayed fervently to God and attended church services with great devotion, and in obedience to a heavenly revelation, resolved on the ascesis of folly for Christ’s sake. Once, when he went to the well for water, he cast off his clothes and cut them to pieces, feigning madness. Saddened by this, his owner Theognostus put him in chains and took him to the church of St. Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds, that prayers be read for him. But, as Andrew did not recover as far as his owner could see, he was freed as being sick in mind. Holy Andrew feigned madness all day and spent the nights in prayer. He lived without a roof over his head, spending the nights in the open and going about half-naked in a single, tattered garment and eating a little bread when kindly people shared theirs with him. Whatever he received, he gave away to beggars, and when he gave it to them he would mock them to avoid their thanks, for holy Andrew looked only for the reward from God. Therefore great grace from God abode in him, and he was able to discern men’s secrets, see angels and demons, drive demons from men and turn men from sin. He had a most wonderful vision of Paradise and the exalted powers of heaven; he saw the Lord Christ on His throne of glory; he, with his disciple Epiphanios, saw the most holy Mother of God in the Vlachernai church sheltering the Christian people with her veil (see Oct. 1st); he heard in heaven unspeakable words which he dared not recount to men. After unprecedentedly harsh asceticism, he entered into rest and the eternal glory of his Lord in 911.

2. The Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Virgin Justina.

Cyprian moved from Carthage to Antioch, where Justina lived with her parents, Edesius and Cleodonia. Edesius was an idolatrous priest and his whole household was pagan, but when Justina, going round the Christian churches, came to know the true Faith, she brought both her father and mother to Christ the Lord and all three were baptized by the bishop, Optatus. Cyprian was a magician, and had links with unclean spirits and powers of divination. A dissolute youth Aglaidas, a pagan, tried to lead Justina astray, being enraptured by her beauty, and when the holy maiden firmly rejected him, sought Cyprian’s help. Cyprian invoked evil spirits, one after the other, on Justina, to set alight in her the passion of impurity towards Aglaidas, but they were totally unsuccessful in this, for St. Justina, with the sign of the Cross and prayer to God, drove out the evil spirits. Then Cyprian came to know the power of the Cross, and was himself baptized, in time becoming priest and bishop. The wicked pagans seized both him and Justina, and they were sent for trial to Damascus, and then tortured and beheaded in Nikomedia at the end of the third century.

3. The Holy Martyrs David and Constantine.

Christian princes of Argueti, they were condemned to death for Christ in Imereti by Caliph Emil-el-Mumenim and drowned in a river in 730. At the time of their death they prayed to God that He would forgive the sins of all who invoked them in prayer for help. After their prayer was finished, a thunderbolt fell and a voice came from heaven saying that their prayer was heard. Their relics are preserved in Georgia in the monastery of Modzameta.

FOR CONSIDERATION

A vision of St. Andrew the Fool for Christ: There was a monk in Constantinople who was known as an ascetic and spiritual guide, and many people sought his prayers. But this monk had the secret vice of love of money. He collected money, and gave to no one. St. Andrew met him in the street, and saw a terrible snake coiled round his neck. St. Andrew pitied him for this, and began to exhort him: ‘Why, my brother, are you destroying your soul? Why have you coupled yourself with the demon of love of money? Why have you given it a resting-place within you? Why do you gather gold, as though it will go to the grave with you and not pass into the hands of others? Why do you make yourself a miser? While others hunger and thirst and die of cold, you gloat over your heap of gold. Is this the way of repentance? Is this the monastic life? Do you see what we have here?’ At that moment, the monk’s eyes were opened, and he saw the black demon and was filled with horror. The demon leapt off the monk and fled, driven by Andrew’s power. At this, a glorious angel of God came to the monk, for his heart was changed and turned towards good, and he went immediately and gave all his hoarded gold to the poor and needy. After that, he was pleasing to God in everything, and became more famous than before.

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.