[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Thu Apr 26 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Acts 8:18-25  (Wednesday)
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles'
hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
19 saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands
may receive the Holy Spirit."
20 But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you
thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!
21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is
not right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps
the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.
23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by
iniquity.
24 Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none
of the things which you have spoken may come upon me."
25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they
returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the
Samaritans.
Scripture Reading 1 of 4


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Acts 8:26-39
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go
toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to
Gaza." This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of
great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had
charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah
the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this
chariot."
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and
said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked
Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: He was led as a
sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So
He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare
His generation? For His life is taken from the earth."
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does
the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture,
preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the
eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being
baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may."
And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God."
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the
eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord
caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on
his way rejoicing.
Scripture Reading 2 of 4


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John 6:35-39  (Wednesday)
35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me
shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes
to Me I will by no means cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the
will of Him who sent Me.
39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has
given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last
day.
Scripture Reading 3 of 4


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John 6:40-44
40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the
Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise
him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the
bread which came down from heaven."
42 And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father
and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down
from heaven'?"
43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among
yourselves.
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and
I will raise him up at the last day.
Scripture Reading 4 of 4



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------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Hieromartyr Basil the Bishop of Amasea
The Hieromartyr Basil, Bishop of Amasea, lived at the beginning of the
fourth century in the Pontine city of Amasea. He encouraged and
comforted the Christians suffering persecution by the pagans. During
this time the Eastern part of the Roman Empire was ruled by Licinius
(311-324), the brother-in-law of the holy emperor Constantine the
Great (May 21). Licinius deceitfully signed St Constantine's Edict of
Milan (313), which granted religious toleration to Christians, but he
hated them and continued to persecute them.
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St Stephen the Bishop of Perm
Saint Stephen the Enlightener of Perm, and Apostle to the Zyrians, was
born around the year 1340 into the family of Simeon, a cleric of the
Ustiug cathedral. He was greatly influenced by his pious mother Maria.
Endowed with great abilities, he already displayed an unusual zeal for
the service of the Church: in a single year he learned to read the
Holy Books and he assisted his father in church during services,
fulfilling the duty of canonarch, and also that of reader.
The young saint received monastic tonsure at the Monastery of St
Gregory the Theologian at Rostov. The monastery was famed for its fine
library. Since St Stephen wanted to read the holy Fathers in their
original language, he studied Greek.
In his youth, when he had assisted his father in church, he frequently
spoke with the Zyrian people. Now, having been immersed in the rich
culture of the Church, St Stephen burned with a desire to convert the
Zyrians to Christ.
To facilitate the enlightenment of the Zyrians, he compiled an
alphabet of their language and translated some of the Church books.
For this pious work Bishop Arsenius of Rostov (1374-1380), ordained
him to the rank of hierodeacon.
Having prepared himself for missionary activity, St Stephen journeyed
to Moscow (1379) to see Bishop Gerasimus of Kolomna, who then oversaw
the affairs of the metropolitanate. The saint implored him, "Bless me,
Master, to go into a pagan land, Perm. I want to teach the holy Faith
to the unbelieving people. I am resolved either to lead them to
Christ, or to lay down my life for them and for Christ." The bishop
joyfully blessed him and ordained him as a hieromonk. He provided him
with an antimension for the altar table, holy chrism and service
books, and Great Prince Demetrius gave him a document of safe passage.
>From Ustiug St Stephen made his way along the North Dvina River up to
the confluence of the Vychegda into it, where settlements of the
Zyrians began. The proponent of faith in Christ suffered many toils
and struggles, deprivation and sorrow, living among the pagans who
worshipped idols "with fire, water, trees, a stone and golden
woman-figure, and shaman, and wizard, and wood."
Father Stephen was sad to see that the Zyrians continued to worship a
"sacred birch tree." Immense in its thickness and height, the birch
tree grew on an elevated spot. The Zyrians gathered there and brought
wild animals there for sacrifice.
St Stephen's cell was not far from the birch tree. He prayed and set
fire to the tree in order to end the superstition. The Zyrians, seeing
that the tree had been destroyed, meant to kill him. The saint said to
them, "Judge for yourselves whether or not your gods have any power,
since they are not able to defend themselves from the fire. Can they
be gods, when they are so powerless? They have no mind, neither can
they see or hear. Your idol could not defend itself against me, a weak
man. Are all your other gods so powerless? The Christian God is not
like this. He sees everything, knows everything and is Almighty, since
He created the whole world and foresees everything. How good He is,
particularly to those who know Him! I desire only what is good for
you, to bring you to the true God. He will love you and bless you,
when you sincerely begin to honor Him." On the site of the "sacred
birch tree," St Stephen built a church in honor of the Archangel
Michael, the vanquisher of the spirits of darkness.
The newly-baptized Zyrians themselves began to remove that which they
once worshiped. They cut down sacred trees, they destroyed idols, and
they brought to St Stephen the rich gifts set aside for the pagan
sacrifices. He told his Zyrian helper Matthew to throw everything into
the fire, except the linen cloth which was used for foot wrappings.
But things came to a head among the Zyrians after St Stephen got the
better of their chief priest Pama, who rose up against the spread of
Christianity. The pagan priest entered into a debate with St Stephen.
"Christian, you have only one God," said Pama, "but we have many
helpers on the land, and in the water, granting us good hunting in the
forests, and with its abundance providing food and pelts to Moscow,
the Horde and faraway lands. Our gods reveal to us the magic
mysteries, inaccessible to you."
St Stephen answered that the true God is one; the Almighty is one, but
experience has proven that the idols are powerless. After a lengthy
dispute the pagan priest Pama challenged St Stephen to pass through
fire and water in a test of faith. St Stephen humbly replied, "Great
is the Christian God. I accept your challenge."
Pama, however, lost his nerve and entreated the saint to save him from
certain death. "You are witnesses," said St Stephen to the people "how
he wished to resolve the dispute about faith by fire and water, but he
does not wish to be baptized. Who has regard for Pama now? What is to
be done with him?"
"Let the deceiver be put to death," the people said, "for if Pama is
set free, he will make mischief for you." "No," the saint replied,
"Christ has not sent me to hand anyone over to death, but to teach.
Since Pama does not wish to accept the saving Faith, let his
stubbornness punish him, but I will not." Pama was banished. In
thanksgiving for his victory over the chief pagans, St Stephen built a
church in honor of St Nicholas at Vishero. After this, the saint's
preaching of Christ was more successful.
In 1383, St Stephen was consecrated Bishop of Malaya Perm [Lesser
Perm]. Like a loving father he devoted himself to his flock. To
encourage the newly-converted, St Stephen opened schools adjacent to
the churches, where they studied the Holy Scriptures in the Permian
language. The saint supervised the instructions, and taught them what
they needed to know in order to become priests and deacons. St Stephen
taught several of his students how to write in the Permian language.
The saint built churches, in which he placed Zyrian priests, and
services were conducted in the Zyrian language.
St Stephen translated the HOROLOGION [Book of Hours], the PSALTER, and
other liturgical books into the Zyrian language.
During a crop failure the saint provided the Zyrians with bread. Many
times he protected them from the trickery of corrupt officials, gave
them alms, and defended them from the incursions of other tribes,
interceding for them at Moscow. The fruit of his efforts and good
deeds came in the conversion of all of Perm to Christianity. This
great deed was accomplished by his strength of faith and Christian
love. The life of the saint was a victory of faith over unbelief, of
love and meekness over malice and impiety.
There was a touching "meeting in absence" of St Stephen of Perm with
St Sergius of Radonezh, occurring in the year 1390 as St Stephen
journeyed to Moscow on church business. St Stephen fervently loved the
Radonezh ascetic and very much wanted to pay him a visit, but had no
time to do so. Ten versts from the monastery of St Sergius, St Stephen
turned in the direction of the monastery and with a bow he said,
"Peace to you, my spiritual brother!"
St Sergius, who was eating a meal with the brethren, stood up, made a
prayer and, bowing towards the direction where the saint rode,
answered, "Hail also to you, pastor of the flock of Christ, may the
peace of God be with you!"
The deep spiritual connection of St Stephen of Perm and St Sergius of
Radonezh is recalled even today in a certain prayer recited each day
in the trapeza.
Besides building churches, St Stephen also founded several monasteries
for the Zyrians: the Savior Ulianov wilderness monastery 165 versts
from Ust-Sysolsk, the Stephanov 60 versts from Ust-Sysolsk, the
Ust-Vym Archangel, and the Yareng Archangel.
In the year 1395 St Stephen again went to Moscow on affairs of his
flock, and died there. His body was placed in the Church of the
Transfiguration in the Moscow Kremlin. The Zyrians bitterly lamented
the death of their archpastor. They earnestly entreated the Moscow
prince and the Metropolitan to send the body of their patron back to
Perm, but Moscow did not wish to part with the relics of the saint.
The glorification of St Stephen began already at the beginning of the
fiftenth century. The Life of the saint was written soon after his
death. The hieromonk Pachomius the Serb composed the service to him,
with the hieromonk Epiphanius the Wise, who was a disciple of St
Sergius of Radonezh. He also knew St Stephen and loved to converse
with him.
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Righteous Virginmartyr Glaphyra
The Virgin Glaphyra. Licinius burned with passion for Glaphyra, a
maidservant of his wife Constantia.The holy virgin reported this to
the empress and sought her help. Dressing her in men's attire and
providing her with money, the empress Constantia sent her to Pontus in
the company of a devoted servant. They told the emperor that Glaphyra
had gone mad and lay near death. On her way to Armenia, St Glaphyra
stopped in Amasea, where the local bishop, St Basil, gave her shelter.
At this time the saint was building a church in the city. St Glaphyra
donated all the money that she had received from Constantia for its
construction, and in a letter to the empress she asked her to send
additional funds to complete the church. The empress fulfilled her
request. However, St Glaphyra's letter fell into the hands of the
emperor. The enraged Licinius ordered the governor of Amasea to send
him the hierarch and the maidservant. St Glaphyra died before the
edict arrived in Amasea, and St Basil was sent to the emperor. Two
deacons, Parthenius and Theotimos, followed after him and lodged near
the prison where the saint was held.
The pious Christian Elpidephoros bribed the jailer and each night he
visited the saint with Parthenius and Theotimos. On the eve of the
saint's trial, he sang Psalms and chanted, "if I should sojourn at the
extremity of the sea... even there Thy hand would guide me, and Thy
right hand would hold me" (Ps 138/139:9-10). These were prophetic
words.
Three times he broke down in tears. The deacons were afraid that the
saint would not be able to endure the coming torments, but he calmed
them.
At the trial St Basil resolutely refused the emperor's offer to become
a pagan priest, and so he was sentenced to death. Elpidephoros gave
the soldiers money, and they allowed the saint to pray and to speak
with his friends before execution. Then the saint said to the
executioner, "Friend, do as you have been ordered." Calmly, he bent
his neck beneath the sword.
When the martyr had been beheaded, Elpidephoros tried to ransom his
relics from the soldiers. But the soldiers were afraid of the emperor
and they threw the saint's body and head into the sea. After this, an
angel of God appeared to Elpidephoros three times in a dream, saying,
"Bishop Basil is in Sinope and awaits you."
Heeding this call, Elpidephoros and the deacons sailed to Sinope, and
there they hired fishermen to lower their nets. When they lowered the
net on the suggestion of the deacons Theotimos and Parthenius, they
came up with nothing. Then Elpidephoros declared that he would ask
them to lower the net in the name of the God Whom he worshiped. This
time, the net brought up the body of St Basil. The saint's head was
attached to his body once more, and only the gash on his neck
indicated the blow of the sword. The relics of St Basil were taken to
Amasea and buried in the church he built.
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St Joannicius of Devich in Serbia
No information available at this time.
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Icon of the Mother of God of Mozdok and Dubno-Krasnogorsk
No information available at this time.
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