Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Fifth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 117]. Brethren:

15 ⁷Be receiving one another, even as also the Christ Himself received us to the glory of God. ⁸Now I say that Jesus Christ hath become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, in order to confirm the promises to the fathers, ⁹and so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy, even as it hath been written: “For this cause I will confess to Thee among the nations, and I will chant to Thy name [Ps. 17(18):50(49)].” ¹⁰And again he saith: “Rejoice, ye nations, with His people [Deut. 32:43]!” ¹¹And again: “Praise the Lord, all the nations; and praise Him, all the peoples [Ps. 116(117):1].” ¹²And again, Esaias saith: “There shall be a root of Jesse; and the One Who riseth up to rule over the nations, on Him shall the nations hope [Is. 11:10].” ¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, in order for you to abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴And I myself also am persuaded concerning you, my brethren, that ye yourselves also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, being able also to admonish one another. ¹⁵But I am writing more boldly to you, brethren, in part, as reminding you, because of the grace which was given to me by God, ¹⁶in order for me to be a liturgist of Jesus Christ to the nations, ministering as priest in sacred sacrifice the Gospel of God, that the offering of the nations might be acceptable, sanctified in the Holy Spirit.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 48]. At that time:

12 ³⁸Some of the Scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from Thee.” ³⁹But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh for a sign; and there shall be no sign given to it, except the sign of Jonas the prophet. ⁴⁰“For even as Jonas was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so the Son of Man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹“Men, Ninevites, shall stand up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for they repented at the proclamation of Jonas; and behold, something more than Jonas is here. ⁴²“A queen of the south shall be raised in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something more than Solomon is here. ⁴³“But whenever the unclean spirit should go out from the man, he goeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. ⁴⁴“Then he saith, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’ And after he cometh, he findeth it unoccupied, swept clean, and adorned. ⁴⁵“Then he goeth and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the latter things of that man become worse than those of the former. Thus it shall be also to this wicked generation.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of Hieromartyr Efsevios, Bishop of Samosata.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

July 5th – Civil Calendar
June 22nd – Church Calendar

1. The Hieromartyr Evsevios (Eusebius), Bishop of Samosata.

He was a major opponent of Arianism. When the patriarchal throne of Antioch became vacant, Meletius was elected patriarch. This Meletius was a shining light in the Church and deserved the great eulogy given by St. John Chrysostom at his death. But the Arians soon drove Meletius from Antioch. When Constantius, Constantine’s evil son, died, he was followed by Julian the Apostate, a man even worse than he, as ruler of the empire. During Julian’s persecution of Christians, St. Evsevios took off his cassock, clad himself in soldier’s garb and travelled around the persecuted churches of Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine, strengthening the Orthodox Faith everywhere and creating the necessary priests, deacons and other clergy and raising some to the episcopate. After the news of Julian’s death, St. Evsevios advised Meletius to summon a council of the Church in Antioch. This took place in 363, and the twenty-seven hierarchs present denounced Arianism once again and proclaimed the Orthodox Faith as it was expressed at the First Ecumenical Council. Besides Meletius and Evsevios, St. Pelagios of Laodicea, a man of great asceticism and chastity, made a great impact at this council, which took place during the reign of the devout Emperor Jovian. But he died soon after, and the evil Valens took the throne, and the persecution of Orthodoxy began afresh. St. Meletius was banished to Armenia, Evsevios to Thrace and Pelagios to Arabia. After Valens, the Emperor Gratian came to the throne and restored freedom to the Church, returning the exiled bishops to their rightful places: Meletius to Antioch, Evsevios to Samosata and Pelagios to Laodicea. Many dioceses were vacant at that time and Evsevios was quick to find canonical pastors for the people. But when he arrived at the city of Doliche with the newly chosen bishop, Marinos, to install him as bishop and denounce the Arian heresy (which was strong in that city), a certain fanatical heretic threw a tile from the roof and gave him a mortal wound. This great zealot for Orthodoxy, this saint and martyr, died and entered into eternal life in the blessedness of Paradise in the year 379.

2. The Holy Martyrs Zeno and Zenas.

St. Zeno was a Roman officer in the Arabian city of Philadelphia, and Zenas was his servant. When a persecution of Christians began during the reign of the Emperor Maximian, St. Zeno stepped boldly before the governor, Maximus, and confessed his faith in the one, living God, counselling Maximus to give up dead idols and accept the one, true Faith. The governor was outraged and threw Zeno into prison. When the faithful Zenas visited his master in the prison, he too was seized and imprisoned. The two were thereupon tortured for Christ and finally thrown into the flames, which the pagans brought to a great heat with oil. Their souls were crowned in the kingdom of Christ while their mortal remains were buried in the Church of St. George at a place called Cyparisson.

3. St. Alban.

An English nobleman, he hid a Christian priest in his house during a persecution, and was instructed by him in the Christian Faith. He then gave his clothing to the priest and himself over to torture. Condemned to death, he converted his executioner to Christianity.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Why does the good Lord permit assaults and trials to fall on the true Faith, while heretics and pagans enjoy a delightful tranquillity? ‘Why?’ asks St. John Chrysostom, and immediately gives the answer: ‘That you should recognize their weakness (that of the heretics and pagans) when they disintegrate of themselves with no external pressure, and that you should triumph in the power of the Faith which suffers misfortunes and yet multiplies through its opponents.’ ‘Whether we quarrel with the pagans or the wretched Jews, it is quite sufficient evidence of divine power that the Faith which has been exposed to innumerable battles still holds the victory,’ even though the entire world rises against it. St. Isaac the Syrian says: ‘The wondrous love of God for man can most easily be perceived when a man is in such dire straits that his very hope is threatened. God thus demonstrates His power of salvation, for a man never acknowledges the power of God when he enjoys tranquility and freedom.’

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.