Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Special Commemorations

The Saturday After the Theophany

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ 233].

6 ¹⁰Brethren, keep on being empowered in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, for you to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; ¹²because for us the wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the cosmic rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of evil on account of the heavenly things. ¹³For this cause take up the full armor of God, in order that ye might be able to withstand in the evil day, and having counteracted all things, to stand. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having girt your loins with truth, and having put on for yourselves the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and having shod your feet in readiness of the Gospel of peace; ¹⁶on the whole, take up the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 7]. At that time:

4 ¹Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He hungered. ³And the tempter, having come to Him, said, “If Thou art God’s Son, command that these stones become loaves.” ⁴But He answered and said, “It hath been written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which goeth forth out of the mouth of God [cf. Deut. 8:3].’” ⁵Then the devil taketh Him to the holy city, and setteth Him upon the wing of the temple, ⁶and saith to Him, “If Thou art God’s Son, cast Thyself down; for it hath been written: ‘He shall enjoin His angels concerning Thee; and upon their hands shall they take Thee up, lest ever Thou strike Thy foot against a stone [cf. Ps. 90(91):11, 12].’” ⁷Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it hath been written: ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God [Deut. 6:16].’” ⁸Again, the devil taketh Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. ⁹And he saith to Him, “All these things will I give to Thee if Thou wilt fall down and make obeisance to me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus saith to him, “Get thee behind Me, Satan. For it hath been written: ‘Thou shalt make obeisance to the Lord thy God, and Him alone shalt thou worship [cf. Deut. 6:13].’” ¹¹Then the devil leaveth Him, and behold, angels drew near and were ministering to Him.

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Thirty-First Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Colossians [§ 249].

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

1 ¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ²to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossæ: Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ⁴after we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love which ye have toward all the saints, ⁵on account of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, which ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel, ⁶which is come to you, even as it is also in all the world, and is bearing fruit and increasing, as also in you, from the day in which ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 88]. The Lord said this parable:

18 ²“There was a certain judge in a certain city, who feared not God nor regarded man. ³“Now there was a widow in that city; and she kept on coming to him, saying, ‘Avenge me of mine adversary.’ ⁴“And he would not for a time; but afterwards he said within himself, ‘Even if I fear not God nor regard man, ⁵“‘at any rate, because this widow giveth me trouble, I will avenge her, that in the end she may not wear me out by her coming.’” ⁶And the Lord said, “Hear what the judge of injustice saith. ⁷“And God, shall He in no wise bring about the avenging of His elect who cry aloud to Him day and night, and yet He is long-suffering over them? ⁸“I tell you that He will bring about the avenging of them quickly.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of Theophany, and the holy Martyr Polyefktos of Melitene in Armenia, and the holy Metropolitan Philip of Moscow and All Russia, the new confessor.

Epistle

For the 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.

For the Hierarch:

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

For the Mid-feast:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 2]. In those days:

1 ⁹Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And straightway, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens being parted, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon Him; ¹¹and there came to be a voice out of the heavens, “Thou art My Son, the Beloved, in Thee I am well pleased.”

¹²And straightway, the Spirit driveth Him forth into the desert. ¹³And He was there in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts; and the angels were ministering to Him.

¹⁴Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵and saying, “The time hath been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God hath drawn near; repent ye and believe ye in the Gospel.”

For the Hierarch:

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)

January 22nd – Civil Calendar
January 9th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Polyefktos (Polyeuctus).

The Armenian town of Melitene was soaked in Christian blood, as was all the land of Armenia. The first blood shed for Christ in that town was that of St. Polyefktos, spilled in about the year 259, during the reign of Valerian. There were in the town two friends who were officers: Nearchos and Polyefktos, the former baptized and the latter unbaptized. When a decree went out from the emperor that all Christians were to be killed, Nearchos prepared himself for death, though with great sorrow at not having brought his friend Polyefktos to the true Faith. When Polyefktos became aware of Nearchos’ sorrow, he promised to become a believer. On the following day, he related to Nearchos a dream that he had: the Lord Himself had appeared to him in light, stripped his old clothing from him, clothed him in new and shining raiment and set him upon the saddle of a winged horse. After relating this dream, Polyefktos went off to the town, tore up the royal decree on the persecution of Christians and smashed many statues of idols. He was tortured and condemned to death. On the way to the place of execution, he caught sight of Nearchos in the crowd and called joyfully to him: ‘O Nearchos, farewell, and remember the pact between us!’ And St. Nearchos later ended a martyr for Christ in the fire. His feast is on April 22nd.

2. Our Holy Father Efstratios.

A native of Tarsus, he was a great ascetic and man of prayer. During seventy-five years of monastic life, he never lay on his left side to sleep, but always on his right. In church, he repeated to himself throughout the service: ‘Lord, have mercy’. He died at the age of 95.

3. St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow.

Born on February 11th, 1507, he was standing one day in church, while still a young man, when he heard the priest read from the Gospel the words: “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). He was filled with awe at these words, as though they were said to him alone, and was enlightened in that same moment. He went off to the monastery of Solovetsky (Solovki), where, after a long and hard novitiate, he received the monastic schema. In time he became abbot, and resplendent as the sun in holiness, became known throughout the land of Russia. Because of this, Tsar Ivan the Formidable, a great ally of the saint, translated him to the vacant See of Moscow as metropolitan in 1566. But soon the Judaizer sect and the nobles plotted against the new metropolitan, slandering him and succeeding in having him deposed and imprisoned at Tver. When Tsar Ivan later began to investigate the lawfulness of this deposition, the Judaizer conspirators, desiring to silence Philip, murdered him in the monastery of his exile on December 23rd, 1569.

After some years, the body of the saint was found to be whole and incorrupt, and giving off a very beautiful fragrance. It was transferred to the monastery of Solovetsky.

FOR CONSIDERATION

The Orthodox Church, in teaching men perfect love, at the same time teaches them perfect obedience, from which flow both order and harmony among the faithful. The bishops owe obedience to the Lord, the priests to the bishops and the faithful to the one and the other. St. Ignatius writes about this: “It is your duty to obey without hypocrisy; he who would deceive his visible bishop would scorn also the Invisible.... I beg you, take care to fulfill all in the unity of God, under the guidance of your bishops, who occupy the place of God, and the priests, who constitute the assembly of the apostles,...not thinking that whatever may seem to you to be right, that should you do on your own, in isolation.”

[The Orthodox have always accepted this, but when the bishop preaches anything other than true Orthodoxy, the faithful are admonished by the testimony of the apostles, who were contemporaries of St. Ignatius, that they must not be obedient to disobedience. The faithful have, in such instances, ousted the bishop and replaced him with one who is Orthodox.]

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.