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Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week
14. The commemoration of the Leave-taking of Theophany, and the holy Equal-to-the-apostles Nina, Enlightener of Iberia, and the holy Fathers who were slain at Sinai and Raitho.
Fast day, but Wine and Oil Allowed.
The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ 223]. Brethren:
3 8To me, the one who is less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach the Gospel of the unsearchable wealth of the Christ among the nations, 9and to enlighten all as to what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from the ages in God, Who created all things through Jesus Christ, 10in order that now the much-variegated wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and to the authorities in the heavenlies through the Church, 11according to the purpose of the ages which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in Whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13Wherefore I ask you not to be fainthearted at mine afflictions on behalf of you, which is your glory. 14For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15from Whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named, 16that He would grant you, according to the wealth of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17that the Christ might dwell in your hearts through faith, having been rooted and founded in love, 18in order that ye might be able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, 19and to know the love of the Christ which surpasseth knowledge, that ye might be filled to all the fullness of God.
20Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly above all things that we ask for ourselves or think, according to the power which energizeth itself in us, 21to Him be the glory in the Church in Christ Jesus, to all the generations of the age of the ages. Amen.
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 51]. The Lord said:
For Gk. usage, see Mk. 11:22-26; for Sl. usage, see Mk. 11:23-26.
11 22“Be having faith in God. 23“For verily I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, ‘Be thou taken away and be thou cast into the sea,’ and doubt not in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith is coming to pass, it shall be to him whatsoever he shall say. 24“On this account I say to you, all things, whatsoever ye ask for yourselves when ye pray, keep on believing that ye are receiving them, and they shall be to you. 25“And whenever ye stand praying, be forgiving if ye have anything against anyone, in order that your Father Who is in the heavens might also forgive your transgressions. 26“But if ye forgive not, neither will your Father Who is in the heavens forgive your transgressions.”
For the Equal-to-the-apostles:
The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 131]. Brethren:
4 9I think that God showed forth us the apostles last, as condemned to death; for we became a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ. We are weak, but ye are strong. Ye are held in honor, but we are dishonored. 11Until the present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are being buffeted, and never at rest. 12And we toil working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we bear up; 13being evilly spoken of, we beseech. We became as the filth of the world, the off-scouring of all until now. 14I do not write these things shaming you, but admonishing you as my beloved children. 15For if ye have myriads of tutors in Christ, yet ye have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I begot you through the Gospel. 16Therefore, I beseech you, keep on becoming imitators of me.
For the venerable Fathers:
The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 325]. Brethren:
10 32Remind yourselves of the former days in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great contest of sufferings: 33partly, being made a show of both by reproaches and affliction; and partly, having become partners of those who conducted themselves thus. 34For ye also sympathized with those in bonds and ye yourselves accepted the seizure of your possessions with joy, knowing in yourselves that ye have in the heavens a better and abiding possession. 35Do not begin therefore to cast away your boldness which hath great recompense. 36For ye have need of patience, that, after ye do the will of God, ye might receive for yourselves the promise. 37“For yet a very little while, the One Who cometh will come, and will not delay [cf. Hab. 2:3]. 38“Now the just shall live by faith; and if one should draw himself back, My soul hath no pleasure in him [cf. Hab. 2:4].”
for Sl. usage, see [Rom. 8:28-39].
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 104]. The Lord said this parable:
25 1“The kingdom of the heavens shall be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2“And five of them were prudent, and five were foolish. 3“Those who were foolish took lamps for themselves and took no oil with them; 4“but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5“But while the bridegroom tarried, they all dozed and went on sleeping. 6“But in the middle of the night, there came to pass a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!’ 7“Then all those virgins were wakened and trimmed their lamps. 8“And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9“But the prudent answered, saying, ‘Peradventure there might not be enough for us and you, but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10“But while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and they who were ready went in with him to the wedding festivities; and the door was shut. 11“And afterwards the remaining virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12“But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say to you, I know ye not.’ 13“Be watching then, for ye know not the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man cometh.”
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 67]. The Lord said:
12 32“Cease being afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. 33“Sell your possessions and give alms. Make for yourselves purses which do not become old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, where no thief draweth near nor moth destroyeth; 34“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35“Let your loins be girded about and the lamps be kept burning; 36“and be ye like to men waiting for their own lord—whenever he should depart from the wedding festivities—that when he cometh and knocketh, straightway, they might open to him. 37“Happy are those slaves whom the lord, after he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say to you that he shall gird himself about and shall have them recline at table, and will come forth and minister to them. 38“And if he should come in the second watch, and in the third watch should he come, and find them thus, happy are those slaves. 39“But know ye this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not let his house be broken into. 40“Ye therefore also keep on becoming ready, for in the hour ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.”
January 27th — Civil Calendar January 14th — Church Calendar
1. St Sava, Archbishop of Serbia.
The son of Stefan Nemanja, the great Serbian national leader, he was born in 1169. As a young man he yearned for the spiritual life. This led him to flee to the Holy Mountain, where he became a monk and with rare zeal followed all the ascetic practices. Nemanja followed his son’s example and himself went to the Holy Mountain, where he lived and ended his days as the monk Simeon. Sava obtained the independence of the Serbian Church from the Emperor and the Patriarch and became its first archbishop. He, together with his father, built the monastery of Hilandar and many other monasteries, churches and schools throughout the land of Serbia. He traveled to the Holy Land on two occasions, on pilgrimage to the holy places. He made peace among his brothers, who were in conflict over their rights, and also between the Serbs and their neighbors. In creating the Serbian Church, he created the Serbian state and Serbian culture along with it. He brought peace to all the Balkan peoples, working for the good of all, for which he was venerated and loved by all on the Balkan peninsular. He gave a Christian soul to the people of Serbia, which survived the fall of the Serbian state. He died in Trnovo in the reign of King Asen, being taken ill after the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Theophany in 1236. King Vladislav took his body to Mileseva, whence Sinan Pasha removed it, burning it at Vracar in Belgrade on April 27th, 1595.
2. Our Holy Fathers, the Martyrs of Sinai and Raithu.
These holy fathers were killed by the Saracens; those of Sinai in the fourth century, and the others in the fifth.
3. St Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.
An ardent fighter against Arianism in the West, he suffered greatly for his choice of Orthodoxy. Of his writings on many subjects, the most important are those on the Holy Trinity. He entered into rest in the Lord in the year 367.
4. St Nina, the Enlightener of Georgia.
Hearing of the Georgian people, the maiden Nina desired from her early years to travel to Georgia and baptize the Georgians. The Mother of God appeared to her and promised her that she would take her to that land. When the Lord opened the path to her, the young Nina indeed went to Georgia, where she very quickly gained the love of the people. She baptized Mirian, King of Georgia, his wife Nana and their son Bakar, who then zealously aided Nina in her missionary efforts. Nina traveled throughout Georgia in the course of her life, and succeeded in bringing all the people to the Christian faith—and this during a time of fearful persecution of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian. She rested from her many labors and entered into peace in the Lord in the year 335. Her grave is in a church in Samtavro. She performed many miracles both during her lifetime and after her death.
FOR CONSIDERATION
If the dogma of faith seems at times to you to be tough food, you must first try to fulfil Christian moral dogma, and then the understanding of the dogma of faith will be revealed to you. The inquisitive examination of high things, without the effort to rectify one’s life, is of no use whatever. At one time, a group of Egyptian monks was considering Melchisedek, and being unable to come to any clarity about the mysterious personality of this ancient king and high priest, they invited Abba Copres to their place of assembly and questioned him concerning Melchisedek. Hearing this, Copres smote himself on the mouth three times and said: ‘Woe to you, Copres! You have set aside that which God ordained for you to do, and you investigate that which God does not require of you.’ The monks were filled with shame, and dispersed. St John Chrysostom writes: ‘If we hold true dogma and give no thought to our conduct, we shall find this of no use; and also if we give thought to our conduct and neglect true dogma, we shall receive nothing useful to our salvation. If we wish to be delivered from Gehenna and obtain the Kingdom, we must be adorned from both sides: with both true faith and uprightness of life.’
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.
