Daily Devotional
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 (NS)
May 7, 2025 (OS)
Commemorations
Pascalion — Movable Calendar
Tuesday of the Fifth Week
Menaion — Fixed Calendar
The commemoration of the appearance of the Sign of the precious Cross in the sky over Jerusalem in A.D. 351, the holy Martyr Akakios the Cappadocian at Byzantium, and our venerable Father Nilos, Wonder-worker of Sora.
Fasting Information
No Fasting.
Scripture Readings
Pascalion — Movable Calendar
Tuesday of the Fifth Week
Epistle:
The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 31]. In those days:
12 25Barnabas and Saul, having fulfilled their ministration, returned
from Jerusalem, having taken along with them John who was surnamed Mark.
13 1Now there were in the Church that was in Antioch certain prophets and
teachers, as Barnabas, and Symeon who is called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and also Manaen,
a foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2And as they ministered to
the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate now to Me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them.” 3Then after they fasted and prayed, and laid
their hands upon them, they dismissed them. 4They themselves indeed
therefore were sent forth by the Holy Spirit and went down to Seleucia; and from that place they
sailed to Cyprus. 5And having come to be in Salamis, they began to proclaim the word
of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as an attendant. 6And
having gone through the island, as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a false prophet,
a Jew, whose name was Barjesus, 7who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an
intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.
8But Elymas the magician—for so is his name interpreted—withstood them,
seeking to turn the proconsul in different ways from the faith. 9But Saul, who also
is called Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently on him,
10and said, “O full of all guile and all cunning, son of the devil, enemy
of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
11“And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou
shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.” And immediately there fell a mist and
darkness upon him; and going about he was seeking guides who lead by the hand. 12Then
the proconsul, after he saw what had happened, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the
Lord.
Gospel:
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 33]. The
Lord said to those Jews who had come to Him:
8 51“Verily, verily, I say to you, if anyone should keep My word, he
in no wise shall ever see death.” 52Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we
know that Thou hast a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets, and Thou sayest, ‘If anyone
should keep My word, he in no wise shall ever taste of death’? 53“Thou art
not greater than our father Abraham who died, art Thou? And the prophets died. Whom makest Thou
Thyself?” 54Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; the
One Who glorifieth Me is My Father, of Whom ye say that He is your God.
55“And yet ye have not known Him; but I know Him. And if I should say, ‘I
know Him not,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I know Him and keep His word.
56“Your father Abraham rejoiced exceedingly that he should see My day; and he
saw it and was glad.” 57Then the Jews said to Him, “Thou art not
yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?” 58Jesus said to them,
“Verily, verily, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I am.” 59Then
they took up stones that they might cast at Him; but Jesus was hidden, and went forth out of the
temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Menaion — Fixed Calendar
The commemoration of the appearance of the Sign of the precious Cross in the sky over Jerusalem in A.D. 351, the holy Martyr Akakios the Cappadocian at Byzantium, and our venerable Father Nilos, Wonder-worker of Sora.
Epistle:
For the Cross:
The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 49]. In those days:
26 1Agrippa said to Paul, “It is
permitted thee to speak for thyself.” Then Paul, stretching forth his hand, began to
defend himself:
For Gk. usage, skip to Acts 26:12-20; for Sl. usage, read Acts
26:2-5, 12-20.
2“Concerning all the things of which I am being accused by the Jews,
king Agrippa, I deem myself happy, because I am about to defend myself before thee today,
3“especially because thou art one acquainted with all of the customs and also
the subjects of dispute among the Jews. Wherefore I entreat thee to hear me with
forbearance. 4“So then, my way of life from my youth which was from the
beginning among mine own nation in Jerusalem, all the Jews know, 5“who
knew me before, from the beginning—if they would be willing to testify—that according
to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.... 12“And during
these things,...
Gk. and Sl. usages continue the Reading from here, Acts
26:12-20.
12“As I went to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief
priests, 13“at midday, in the way, I saw, O king, a light from heaven, above the
brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those traveling with me.
14“And after all of us fell down to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me
and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard
for thee to kick against the goads.’ 15“And I said, ‘Who art
Thou, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest.
16“‘But rise up and stand on thy feet; for I appeared to thee for this
purpose, to appoint thee a servant and a witness both of what thou didst see and of what I shall
appear to thee in visions, 17“‘taking thee out for Myself from the people
and the nations, to whom now I send thee forth, 18“‘to open their eyes, in
order to turn them about from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, in
order to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by
faith that is in Me.’ 19“Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I did not
become disobedient to the heavenly vision; 20“but I was bringing tidings to
those in Damascus first and in Jerusalem, and in all the land of Judæa, and to the nations,
to repent and turn to God, practising works worthy of repentance.”
for Sl. usage, see [1 Cor. 1:18-24].
For the venerable Father:
The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213].
Brethren:
5 22The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23meekness, self-control; against
such things there is no law. 24But they who are of the Christ crucified the
flesh with the passions and the lusts. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also
be walking by the Spirit. 26Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one
another, envying one another.
6 1Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken
in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness,
looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2Keep on bearing one
another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.
Gospel:
For the Cross:
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§§ 60,
61]. At that time:
19 6When the chief priests and the officers
saw Jesus, they cried out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him.” Pilate saith to
them, “Ye take Him and crucify Him, for I find no cause for accusation in
Him.” 7The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He
ought to die, because He made Himself Son of God.” 8Therefore, when Pilate heard
this saying, he was the more afraid. 9And he entered into the Prætorium
again, and saith to Jesus, “From what place art Thou?” But Jesus did not give him an
answer. 10Then Pilate saith to Him, “Speakest Thou not to me? Knowest Thou not
that I have authority to crucify Thee, and authority to release Thee?” 11Jesus
answered, “Thou wouldest have no authority at all against Me, except it were given to thee
from above.”... 13Therefore Pilate, having heard this saying, brought out Jesus,
and took his seat upon the tribunal in a place which is called Lithostrotos, but in Hebrew,
Gabbatha. 14Now it was the preparation of the passover, and about the
sixth hour. And he saith to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15But they cried
out, “Take Him away, take Him away, crucify Him.” Pilate saith to them,
“Your King shall I crucify?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king
except Cæsar.” 16Therefore he then delivered Him up to them, in order that
He might be crucified.
And they took Jesus and led Him away. 17And bearing His Cross, He went out
to the place called Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,
18where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on the one side and the other,
and Jesus in the middle. 19And Pilate also wrote a title, and put it on the
Cross. And it was written: “Jesus the Nazaræan, the King of the Jews.”
20Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified
was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. 21Then
the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Write not, ‘The King of the
Jews,’ but that ‘He said, “I am King of the Jews.”’”
22Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23Then the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four
parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic; but the tunic was seamless, woven from the top
throughout. 24They said therefore to one another, “Let us not tear it, but let
us obtain it by lot for whom it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which
saith, “They parted My garments among themselves, and upon My clothing they cast a
lot [Ps. 21(22):18].” These things therefore the
soldiers did. 25Now there had stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother, and His
Mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26Then
Jesus, having seen His Mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, saith to His
Mother, “Woman, behold thy son.” 27Then He saith to the disciple,
“Behold, thy Mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own
home. 28After this, Jesus, knowing that all things now have been accomplished,
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, “I thirst.”... 30Then, when
Jesus took the vinegar, He said, “It hath been finished.” And having bowed His
head, He delivered up the spirit.
31The Jews therefore, since it was the preparation, in order that the bodies
should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath—for great was the day of that
sabbath—asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32Then the soldiers came and indeed broke the legs of the first and of the other who
was crucified with Him. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was
already dead, they did not break His legs. 34But one of the soldiers pierced His side
with a spear, and straightway blood and water came out. 35And the one who hath
seen it hath borne witness, and his testimony is true; and that one knoweth that he
speaketh true things, that also ye might believe.
For the venerable Father:
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.”
Lives of the Saints
(Prologue)
May 20th – Civil Calendar
May 7th – Church Calendar
1. Commemoration of the Appearance of the Precious Cross over Jerusalem.
In the time of the Emperor Constantius, St. Constantine’s son, and Patriarch Kyril of
Jerusalem, the Precious Cross appeared one day at nine o’clock in the morning above
Golgotha, and spread as far as the Mount of Olives. This Cross was brighter than the sun and more
beautiful than the loveliest rainbow. The whole people—believers and unbelievers—left their work
and watched this heavenly sign in fear and wonder. Many unbelievers were converted to faith in
Christ, and also many Arians abandoned their wicked heresy and returned to Orthodoxy. Patriarch
Kyril wrote a letter to the Emperor Constantius about this sign, the emperor himself being
inclined towards Arianism. This took place on May 7th, 357. Thus was it demonstrated by this
means that the Christian Faith does not lie in the worldly theorizing of the sensual
understanding of men, but in the power of God, shown forth through wonders and signs without
number.
2. The Holy Martyr Akakios.
This saint was an officer in the Roman army in the time of the Emperor Maximian. Answering at
judgement for his faith in Christ, he said that he had inherited a devout faith from his parents,
and that he would be steadfast in it, seeing the many miracles of healing that came from the
relics of the Christian saints. After harsh torture endured courageously in the Thracian city of
Pyrrinthus, Akakios was taken to Byzantium, where he underwent further torture and was finally
beheaded with the sword. He suffered with honor and went to the kingdom of eternal joy in the
year 303.
3. Our Holy Fathers of Georgia.
In the sixth century, two hundred years after St. Nina had preached the Gospel in Georgia, the
most holy Mother of God appeared to John, an ascetic of Antioch, and commanded him to choose
twelve of his disciples and go to Georgia, to strengthen the Orthodox Faith there. John did so.
Reaching Georgia, these twelve missionaries were formally welcomed by the prince of that country
and the Catholicos (Patriarch) Evlalius, and immediately began their work with great zeal. The
people gathered around them in hordes, and they strengthened them in the Faith with great wisdom
and many miracles. The chief of these Christ-loving missionaries was St. John of Zedan, and the
names of the others were: Abidus, Anthony, David, Zeno, Thaddeus, Jesse, Isderius, Joseph,
Michael, Pyrrus, Stefan and Shio. With apostolic zeal, they all strengthened the Christian Faith
in Georgia, founded many monasteries and left many disciples to follow them. Thus they became
worthy of glory in heaven and power on earth.
FOR CONSIDERATION
‘I know that my debt was greater, and that more was forgiven me. I was called from
juridical and public work to the priesthood; and therefore I show myself ungrateful if I love
less than the measure to which I am forgiven.’ These are the words of St. Ambrose, who was
unexpectedly called by God to change his calling, and from the practice of law to become a
hierarch in the Church of Christ. By these words, the saint shows how the priestly calling is
higher than the worldly, how he came to it at the call of God, and how he who is called owes
gratitude to God. The debt of gratitude is regarded by all the saints as their greatest debt.
Without gratitude to God, no advance can be made in the spiritual life. Ceaseless gratitude to
God is a seed of grace from which, if it is watered with tears of unceasing repentance, grows a
beautiful fruit—love towards God.
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.
