Daily Readings

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Daily Readings for Wed, Apr 29, 2009

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 4:13-22

IN THOSE DAYS, when the Jews saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they
recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man that had been
healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But
when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they
conferred with one another, saying, "What shall we do with these men? For
that a notable sign has been performed through them is manifest to all
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order
that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to
speak no more to any one in this name." So they called them and charged
them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and
John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen
to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak
of what we have seen and heard." And when they had further
threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of
the people; for all men praised God for what had happened. For the
man on whom the sign of healing was performed was more than forty
years old.

Gospel Reading

The reading is from John 5:17-24

The Lord said to the Jews who came to him: "My Father is working
still, and I am working." This was why the Jews sought all the more to
kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God
his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing
of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for
whatever he does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the
Son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works
than these he will show him, that you may marvel. For as the Father
raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom
he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the
Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who
does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me,
has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from
death to life."

Reading from the Synaxarion:

Both of these Saints were disciples of the Apostle Paul, who mentions
them in his Epistle to the Romans, saying: "Jason and Sosipater my
kinsmen greet you" (16:21). Jason was from Tarsus of Cilicia, and became
bishop there. Sosipater was from Patras of Achaia, and became Bishop of
Iconium. When they had shepherded their churches well for a long time,
they departed west that they might profit others also, and arrived
finally at the island of Corfu, where they were the first to preach the
Gospel to its people. They suffered many things for Christ's Name, drew
many souls to salvation, and finished the course of their life there.
In the ancient city of Corfu, a church from the first centuries,
built in their honour and bearing in******ions that mention the Saints
by name, verifies the historical account concerning them.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O Holy Apostles, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant
our souls forgiveness of sins.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Second Tone
Being illuminated with the teachings of Paul, ye became luminaries unto
the whole world, O thrice-blessed ones; for ye ever shine upon the
world with miracles, O Jason, thou fountain of healings, and Sosipater,
thou glory of the Martyrs of Christ. O God-bearing Apostles, ye
protectors of them that be in need, entreat God that our souls be saved.

[eVy99]

رد: Daily Readings

god blees u

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رد: Daily Readings

Daily Readings for Thu, Apr 30, 2009

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 12:1-11

ABOUT THAT TIME, Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who
belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the
sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest
Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he
had seized him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four
squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring
him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest
prayer for him was made to God by the Church.

The very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was
sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before
the door were guarding the prison; and behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side
and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his
hands. And the angel said to him, "Wrap your mantle around you and
follow me." And he went out and followed him; he did not know that what
was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the
iron gate leading into the city. It opened to them of its own accord,
and they went out and passed on through one street; and immediately
the angel left him. And Peter came to himself, and said, "Now I am
sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of
Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

Gospel Reading

The reading is from Luke 9:1-6

At that time, Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power
and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them
out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them,
"Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor
money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay
there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when
you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony
against them." And they departed and went through the villages, preaching
the gospel and healing everywhere.

Reading from the Synaxarion:

James was one of the Twelve, like his brother John (celebrated on Sept.
26), whom the Lord called "Sons of Thunder," because they became great
preachers and because of their profound theology. It was the Saint's
boldness in preaching the Gospel that Herod Agrippa, the son of
Aristobulus and grandson of Herod the Great, could not endure, and so he took
him into custody during the days of the Passover, and slew him with
the sword (Acts 12: 1-2); and thus he drank the cup of which the
Saviour had spoken to him prophetically (Matt. 20:23). As for Herod, the
following year he went down to Caesarea, and, as the Acts of the Apostles
records: "Upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his
throne, and made an oration" to the elders of Tyre and Sidon; and the
flatterers that surrounded him "gave a shout, saying, 'it is the voice of a
god, and not of a man.' And immediately an Angel of the Lord smote
him, because he gave not God the glory; and like his grandfather (see
Dec. 29) "he was eaten of worms and gave up the spirit" (Acts
12:21-23)

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O Holy Apostle James, intercede with the merciful God that He grant
unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
The voice of thy God thou heardest when it called to thee, O glorious
James; hence, casting off thy father's love, thou together with John thy
brother didst run straightway to Christ the Lord, and with him was
granted to see the Lord's most divine Transfiguration.

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رد: Daily Readings

Daily Readings for Fri, May 01, 2009

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 5:1-11

IN THOSE DAYS, a man named Ananias with his wife Sapphira sold a
piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back some
of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the
apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your
heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds
of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?
And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How is it that
you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men
but to God." When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and
died. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose
and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an
interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had
happened. And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land
for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much." But
Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to
tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Hark, the feet of those that have buried
your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."
Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in
they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside
her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all
who heard of these things.

Gospel Reading

The reading is from John 5:30-47; 6:1-2

The Lord said to the Jews who came to him: "I can do nothing on my
own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I
seek not my own will but the will of the Father who sent me. If I bear
witness to myself, my testimony is not true; there is another who bears
witness to me, and I know that the testimony which he bears to me is
true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that
the testimony which I receive is from man; but I say this that you
may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing
to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony which I have
is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has
granted me to accomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear me
witness that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has
himself borne witness to me. His voice you have never heard, his form you
have never seen; and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you
do not believe him whom he has sent. You search the ******ures,
because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that
bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have
life. I do not receive glory from men. But I know that you have not the
love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do
not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will
receive. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do
not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I
shall accuse you to the Father; it is Moses who accuses you, on whom
you set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for
he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you
believe my words?"

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is
the Sea of Tiberias. And a multitude followed him, because they saw
the signs which he did on those who were diseased.

Jeremiah the Prophet

Reading from the Synaxarion:

This great Prophet of God, Jeremias, who loved his brethren and
lamented for them greatly, who prayed much for the people and the Holy
City, was the son of Helkias of the tribe of Levi, from the city of
Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. He was sanctified from his mother's
womb, as the Lord Himself said concerning him: "Before I formed thee in
the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth from the womb, I
sanctified thee; I appointed thee a prophet to the nations" (Jer. 1:5). He
prophesied for thirty years, from 613 to 583 B.C. During the last captivity
of the people in the reign of Sedekias, when only a few were left
behind to cultivate the land, this Prophet remained with them by the
permission of Nabuzardan, the captain of the guard under Nabuchodonosor. He
wept and lamented inconsolably over the desolation of Jerusalem and
the enslavement of his people. But even the few that remained behind
transgressed again, and fearing the vengeance of the Chaldeans, they fled into
Egypt, forcibly taking with them Jeremias and Baruch his disciple and
scribe. There he prophesied concerning Egypt and other nations, and he
was stoned to death in Taphnas by his own people about the year 583
B.C., since they would not endure to hear the truth of his words and
his just rebukes. His book of prophecy is divided into fifty-one
chapters, and his book of lamentation into five; he is ranked second among
the greater Prophets. His name means "Yah is exalted."

Apolytikion in the Second Tone
As we celebrate the memory of Thy Prophet Jeremiah, O Lord, through
him we beseech Thee to save our souls.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
O blessed Jeremias, being chosen of God from thy mother's womb, in
thy compassion, thou sorely didst mourn for the falling away of
Israel. And in Egypt, O Prophet, thou wast murdered by stoning for thy
most just rebukes by them that understood not to cry with thee:
Alleluia.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery


Tamara, Queen of Georgia

Reading from the Synaxarion:

Saint Tamara was the only child of King George III. Upon his death in
1184, she became Queen at the age of twenty-four. Despite her youth,
she ruled the country with such wisdom and godliness - leading it to
unprecedented military triumphs over the neighbouring Moslem countries in
defence of her kingdom, fostering arts and letters, and zealously
strengthening Orthodoxy - that her reign is known as the Golden Age of Georgia.
After her coronation, she convoked a local council to correct disorders
in church life. When the bishops had assembled from all parts of her
kingdom, she, like Saint Constantine at the First Ecumenical Council,
honoured them as if she were a commoner, and they Angels of God; exhorting
them to establish righteousness and redress abuses, she said in her
humility, "Do away with every wickedness, beginning with me, for the
prerogative of the throne is in no wise that of making war against God."
Saint Tamara called herself "the father of orphans and the judge of
widows," and her contemporaries called her "King" instead of "Queen." She
herself led her army against the Moslems and fearlessly defeated them;
because of the reverence that even the enemies of Georgia had for her,
entire mountain tribes renounced Islam and were baptized. She built
countless churches and monasteries throughout her kingdom, and was
benefactress also to the Holy Land, Mount Athos, and holy places in Greece and
Cyprus. She has always been much beloved by her people, who have
memorialized her meekness, wisdom, piety, and obedience, and peace loving
nature in innumerable legends, ballads, and songs; the poem written in
her honour by Shota Rustaveli, "The Knight in the Panther Skin," is
the masterpiece of Georgian literature. The great Queen Tamara
departed the earthly kingdom for the heavenly in the year 1212.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Let the mountain-tops and vales of Georgia sound with songs of praise
to laud Tamara as the vessel of wisdom, the smiling sun, the sword
of truth, the conversion of infidels, the most harmonious reed-pipe
of Jesus Christ, and our fervent intercessor before the King of
Kings, entreating Him to grant great mercy unto us.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
O Thou whom thy people called a king in justice and truth, the
father of orphans and the judge of widows, thou sun which shone on the
Georgian land, thou who spentest all thy strength defending thy kingdom,
rise up, O Tamara, and defend us now also, and by thine intercessions
with Christ, save us from sufferings.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery


Ignatios, & Euthemios the New Martyrs

Reading from the Synaxarion:

Of the three newly-shining luminaries of the Holy Mountain, the New
Martyr Euthymius, who was from Demetsana of the Peloponnesus, won the
crown of martyrdom when he was beheaded on Palm Sunday, March 22, 1814.
Saint Ignatius, who was from Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, was martyred by
hanging on October 8, 1814. Saint Acacius, who was from Neochorion of
Thessalonica, was beheaded on May 1, 1815. All three had denied Christ in the
foolishness of youth, and repented with great fervour; all became monks in
the Skete of the Venerable Forerunner on the Holy Mountain; all had
the revered elders Nicephorus and Acacius as their spirtual fathers;
all were martyred in Constantinople; all were about twenty years of
age; and the holy relics of all three are treasured in the
aforementioned Athonite Skete of the Forerunner.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Ye who are equal in number to the unoriginate Trinity stand now with
the choirs of the Angels and hosts of Martyrs in boundless joy before
the thrice-resplendent throne of the Godhead; wherefore, O most wise
ones, ye partake of the beams from that awesome majesty, and grant unto
the faithful the divine enlightenment from on high, unending
well-springs of healings, and the pardon of our grievous sins. O divine
Euthymius, Martyr of Christ, with the wise Ignatius, and God inspired
Acacius, ye ever entreat the Lord God in behalf of all.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
In your zeal to emulate the righteous God-bearing Fathers, ye strove
in ascetic deeds, accepting every affliction; having sought the
Martyrs' glory through death by torments, ye are crowned with twofold
crowns by the Crown-bestower, O Euthymius most righteous, with Saint
Ignatius, and the blest Acacius on high.

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رد: Daily Readings

Daily Readings for Sat, May 02, 2009

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 13:7-16

Brethren, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God;
consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith. Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away
by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be
strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents.
We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no
right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought
into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are
burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in
order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us
go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For
here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come.
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to
God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not
neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are
pleasing to God.


Gospel Reading

The reading is from Matthew 5:14-19

The Lord said to his disciples, "You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it
under a bu****, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Think not that I
have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to
abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven
and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law
until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of
these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven."


Reading from the Synaxarion:

In the half-century after the First Ecumenical Council held in
Nicaea in 325, if there was one man whom the Arians feared and hated
more intensely than any other, as being able to lay bare the whole
error of their teaching, and to marshal, even from exile or hiding, the
beleaguered forces of the Orthodox, it was Saint Athanasius the Great. This
blazing lamp of Orthodoxy, which imperial power and heretics' plots could
not quench when he shone upon the lampstand, nor find when he was hid
by the people and monks of Egypt, was born in Alexandria about the
year 296. He received an excellent training in Greek letters and
especially in the sacred ******ures, of which he shows an exceptional
knowledge in his writings. Even as a young man he had a remarkable depth of
theological understanding; he was only about twenty years old when he wrote
his treatise On the Incarnation. Saint Alexander, the Archbishop of
Alexandria, brought him up in piety, ordained him his deacon, and, after
deposing Arius for his blasphemy against the Divinity of the Son of God,
took Athanasius to the First Council in Nicaea in 325; Saint
Athanasius was to spend the remainder of his life labouring in defence of
this holy Council. In 326, before his death, Alexander appointed
Athanasius his successor.

In 325, Arius had been condemned by the Council of Nicaea; yet
through Arius' hypocritical confession of Orthodox belief, Saint
Constantine the Great was persuaded by Arius' supporters that he should be
received back into the communion of the Church. But Athanasius, knowing
well the perverseness of his mind, and the disease of heresy lurking
in his heart, refused communion with Arius. The heresiarch's
followers then began framing false charges against Athanasius; finally
Saint Constantine the Great, misled by grave charges of the Saint's
misconduct-which were completely false-had him exiled to Tiberius (Treves) in Gaul
in 336. When Saint Constantine was succeeded by his three sons
Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius, in 337, Saint Athanasius returned
to Alexandria in triumph. But his enemies found an ally in
Constantius, Emperor of the East; Saint Athanasius' second exile was spent in
Rome. It was ended when Constans prevailed with threats upon his
brother Constantius to restore Athanasius (see also Nov. 6). For ten
years Saint Athanasius strengthened Orthodoxy throughout Egypt,
visiting the whole country and encouraging all, clergy, monastics, and
layfolk, being loved by all as a father. But after Constans' death in 350,
Constantius became sole Emperor,and Athanasius was again in danger. In the
evening of February 8, 356, General Syrianus with more than five thousand
soldiers surrounded the church in which Athanasius was serving, and broke
open the doors. Athanasius' clergy begged him to leave, but the good
shepherd commanded that all the flock should withdraw first; and only when
he was assured of their safety, he also, protected by divine grace,
passed through the midst of the soldiers and disappeared into the
deserts of Egypt, where for some six years he eluded the soldiers and
spies sent after him.

When Julian the Apostate succeeded Constantius in 361, Athanasius
returned again, but only for a few months. Because Athanasius had
converted many pagans, and the priests of the idols in Egypt wrote to
Julian that if Athanasius remained, idolatry would perish in Egypt, the
heathen Emperor ordered not Athanasius' exile, but his death. Athanasius
took ship up the Nile. When he learned that his imperial pursuers were
following him, he had his men turn back, and as his boat passed that of his
pursuers, they asked him if he had seen Athanasius. "He is not far," he
answered. After returning to Alexandria for a while, he fled again to the
Thebaid until Julian's death in 363. Saint Athanasius suffered his fifth
and last exile under Valens in 365, which only lasted four months
because Valens, fearing a sedition among the Egyptians for their beloved
Archbishop, revoked his edict in February, 366.

The great Athanasius passed the remaining seven years of his life in
peace. Of his fifty-seven years as Patriarch, he had spent some
seventeen in exiles. Shining from the height of his throne like a radiant
evening star, and enlightening the Orthodox with the brilliance of his
words for yet a little while, this much-suffering champion inclined
toward the sunset of his life, and, in the year 373, took his rest from
his lengthy sufferings, but not before another luminary of the truth,
Basil the Great, had risen in the East, being consecrated Archbishop of
Caesarea in 370. Besides all his other achievements, Saint Athanasius
wrote the life of Saint Anthony the Great, with whom he spent time in
his youth; ordained Saint Frumentius first Bishop of Ethiopia; and in
his Paschal Encyclical for the year 367 set forth the books of the
Old and New Testaments accepted by the Church as canonical. Saint
Gregory the Theologian, in his Oration On the Great Athanasius, said he
was "Angelic in appearance, more angelic in mind; ... rebuking with
the tenderness; of a father, praising with the dignity of a ruler ...
Everything was harmonious, as an air upon a single lyre, and in the same
key; his life, his teaching, his struggles, his dangers, his return,
and his conduct after his return ... be treated so mildly and gently
those who had injured him, that even they themselves, if I may say so,
did not find his restoration distasteful."

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
You became a pillar of Orthodoxy, strengthening the Church with
divine dogmas, O Hierarch Athanasios. For by preaching that the Son is
one in essence with the Father you put Arius to shame. O venerable
Father, to Christ our God pray earnestly, entreating that great mercy be
on us bestowed.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Having planted the dogmas of Orthodoxy, thou didst cut out the thorns of
false doctrine; and with the rain of the Spirit, thou didst increase
the seed of the Faith, Wherefore, we praise thee, O righteous
Athanasius.