[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Mon Dec 17 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Hebrews 8:7-13
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would
have been sought for a second.
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are
coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and with the house of Judah-
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the
day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of
Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded
them, says the LORD.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and
write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be
My people.
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother,
saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them
to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and
their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
13 In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete.
Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2


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Mark 9:42-10:1
42 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to
stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around
his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to
enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell,
into the fire that shall never be quenched-
44 where 'Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for
you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into
hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-
46 where 'Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for
you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two
eyes, to be cast into hell fire-
48 where 'Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'
49 For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will
be seasoned with salt.
50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season
it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.
1 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the
other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as
He was accustomed, He taught them again.
Scripture Reading 2 of 2



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Righteous Priest Aaron
No information available at this time.
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Righteous Benjamin
No information available at this time.
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Righteous Deborah
No information available at this time.
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St Ezra
No information available at this time.
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Righteous Isaac
No information available at this time.
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Righteous Jacob
No information available at this time.
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St Judith
No information available at this time.
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St Miriam
No information available at this time.
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Prophet Nathan
No information available at this time.
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Prophet Nehemiah
No information available at this time.
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Righteous Noah
No information available at this time.
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Righteous Rebecca
No information available at this time.
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St Sarah
No information available at this time.
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Prophet Solomon
No information available at this time.
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St Susanna
No information available at this time.
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Prophet Daniel
The Holy Prophet Daniel is the fourth of the major prophets.
In the years following 600 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered by the
Babylonians, the Temple built by Solomon was destroyed, and many of
the Israelite people were led away into the Babylonian Captivity.
Among the captives were also the illustrious youths Daniel, Ananias,
Azarias and Misael.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ordered that they be instructed in the
Chaldean language and wisdom, and dressed them in finery. Handsome
children of princely lineage were often chosen to serve as pages in
the palace. For three years, they would be fed from food from the
king's table. After this they would be allowed to stand before his
throne. Daniel was renamed Baltasar, Ananias was called Shadrach,
Misael was called Mishach, and Azarias was known as Abednego. But
they, cleaving to their faith, disdained the extravagance of court,
refusing to defile themselves by eating from the king's table and
drinking his wine. Instead, they lived on vegetables and water.
The Lord granted them wisdom, and to St Daniel the gift of insight and
the interpretation of dreams. The holy Prophet Daniel preserved his
faith in the one God and trusted in His almighty help. He surpassed
all the Chaldean astrologers and sorcerers in his wisdom, and was made
a confidant to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Once, Nebuchadnezzar had a strange dream which terrified him (Daniel
2:1-6). He summoned magicians, sorcerers, and Chaldeans before him to
interpret the dream. When they asked him what he had dreamt, the king
refused to tell them. He said, "If you do not make known to me the
dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and
your houses shall be laid in ruins." The Babylonian wise men protested
that no magician or sorcerer could be expected to do this. Only the
gods could reveal the dream and its meaning, they told him.
The king ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be executed. When they
sought Daniel and his companions to put them to death, Daniel asked
that the king's sentence not be carried out. He said that he could
tell the king what he dreamt, for it had been revealed to him in a
vision. Daniel was brought before the king and was able to reveal not
only the content of the dream, but also its prophetic significance.
After this, the king elevated Daniel to be ruler of the whole province
of Babylon, and the chief of all the wise men.
During these times King Nebuchadnezzar ordered a huge statue to be
made in his likeness. It was decreed that when people heard the sound
of trumpets and other instruments, they should fall down and worship
the golden idol. Because they refused to do this, the three holy
youths Ananias, Azarias and Misael were cast into a fiery furnace. The
flames shot out over the furnace forty-nine cubits, felling the
Chaldeans standing about, but the holy youths walked in the midst of
the flames, offering prayer and psalmody to the Lord (Daniel 3:26-90).
The Angel of the Lord appeared in the furnace and cooled the flames,
and the young men remained unharmed. This "Angel of Great Counsel," as
he is called in iconography, is identified with the Son of God (Daniel
3:25, Isaiah 9:6). In the first Canon for the Nativity of the Lord
(Ode 5), the Church sings: "Thou hast sent us Thine Angel of Great
Counsel." The emperor, upon seeing this, commanded them to come out,
and was converted to the true God.
Under King Baltasar, St Daniel interpreted a mysterious inscription
("Mane, Thekel, Phares"), which had appeared on the wall of the palace
during a banquet (Daniel 5:1-31), foretelling the downfall of the
Babylonian kingdom. Under the Persian emperor Darius, St Daniel was
slandered by his enemies, and was thrown into a den with hungry lions,
but they did not touch him, and he was not harmed. The emperor Darius
then rejoiced over Daniel and ordered people throughout his realm to
worship the God of Daniel, "since He is the living and eternal God,
and His Kingdom shall not be destroyed, and His dominion is forever"
(Daniel 6:26).
The holy Prophet Daniel grieved deeply for his people, who then were
undergoing righteous chastisement for a multitude of sins and
offenses, for transgressing the laws of God, resulting in the grievous
Babylonian Captivity and the destruction of Jerusalem: "My God,
incline Thine ear and hearken; open Thine eyes and look upon our
desolation and that of Thy city, in which Thy Name is spoken; for we
do not make our supplication before Thee because of our own
righteousness, but because of Thy great mercy" (Dan 9:18). Because of
Daniel's righteous life and his prayers for the people's iniquity, the
destiny of the nation of Israel and the fate of all the world was
revealed to the holy prophet.
While interpreting the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, the holy,
glorious Prophet Daniel spoke of a great and final kingdom, the
Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ (Dan 2:44). The prophetic vision
about the seventy weeks (Dan 9:24-27) speaks about the signs of the
First and the Second Comings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and is
connected with those events (Daniel 12:1-12).
St Daniel interceded for his people before King Cyrus, who esteemed
him highly, and who decreed freedom for the Israelite people. Daniel
himself and his fellows Ananias, Azarias and Misael, all survived into
old age, but died in captivity. According to the testimony of St Cyril
of Alexandria (June 9), Sts Ananias, Azarias and Misael were beheaded
on orders of the Persian emperor Chambyses.
St Daniel and the three holy youths are also commemorated on the
Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, and on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers
(Sunday before the Nativity).
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Holy Youth Ananias
The Holy Youth Ananias ("God is gracious") was a companion of the Holy
Prophet Daniel. He was chosen to serve in the king's palace with
Daniel, Azarias, and Mishael (Daniel 1:6), who were all from the tribe
of Judah. They gave Ananias the Chaldean name Shadrach ("royal"). They
were thrown into a fiery furnace when they refused to worship the
golden idol set up by King Nebuchadnezzar, but the angel of the Lord
preserved them (Daniel 3:25).
The Seventh and Eighth Odes of the nine Biblical Odes at the back of
the Psalter are taken from The Song of the Three Holy Youths (found in
the Septuagint text of the Old Testament used by the Orthodox Church).
The Three Holy Youths and the Prophet Daniel are also commemorated on
the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers and the Sunday of the Holy Fathers.
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Holy Youth Azarias
The Holy Youth Azarias ("whom God helps") was a companion of the Holy
Prophet Daniel. He was chosen to serve in the king's palace with
Daniel, Ananias, and Mishael (Daniel 1:6), who were all from the tribe
of Judah. They gave Azarias the Chaldean name Abednego ("servant of
Nego"). They were thrown into a fiery furnace when they refused to
worship the golden idol set up by King Nebuchadnezzar, but the angel
of the Lord preserved them (Daniel 3:25).
The Seventh and Eighth Odes of the nine Biblical Odes at the back of
the Psalter are taken from The Song of the Three Holy Youths (found in
the Septuagint text of the Old Testament used by the Orthodox Church).
The Three Holy Youths and the Prophet Daniel are also commemorated on
the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers and the Sunday of the Holy Fathers.
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Holy Youth Misael
The Holy Youth Misael ("Who is what God is?") was a companion of the
Holy Prophet Daniel. He was chosen to serve in the king's palace with
Daniel, Azarias, and Ananias (Daniel 1:6), who were all from the tribe
of Judah. They gave Misael the Chaldean name Meshach ("guest"). They
were thrown into a fiery furnace when they refused to worship the
golden idol set up by King Nebuchadnezzar, but the angel of the Lord
preserved them (Daniel 3:25).
The Seventh and Eighth Odes of the nine Biblical Odes at the back of
the Psalter are taken from The Song of the Three Holy Youths (found in
the Septuagint text of the Old Testament used by the Orthodox Church).
The Three Holy Youths and the Prophet Daniel are also commemorated on
the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers and the Sunday of the Holy Fathers.
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Venerable Daniel the Confessor (in Schema Stephen) of Spain,
and Egypt
Saint Daniel the Confessor, (in the schema Stephen) lived in the tenth
century. He was a Spanish dignitary, and prefect of the island of
Niverta. Disdaining worldly glory, he became a monk in Rome and went
on pilgrimage to the holy places at Constantinople and Jerusalem,
where he received the Great Schema and the name Stephen. He received
the crown of martyrdom after he refused the Saracens' demand that he
renounce Christ and become a Moslem.
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Venerable Dionysius of Aegina
Saint Dionysius of Zakynthos, the Bishop of Aegina was born in 1547 on
the island of Zakynthos. Though born into a noble family, he was
determined to flee the world and set his mind upon heavenly things. He
entered the monastery of Strophada, and after the prescribed time, he
was clothed in the angelic schema by the abbot. Though young in years,
he surpassed many of his elders in virtue, and was found worthy of
ordination to the holy priesthood.
Although he protested his unworthiness, St Dionysius was consecrated
Bishop of Aegina. In that office he never ceased to teach and admonish
his flock, and many were drawn to him in order to profit from his
wisdom. He feared the praise of men, lest he should fall into the sin
of vainglory, so he resigned his See and returned to Zakynthos.
In 1579 the diocese of Zakynthos was widowed (when a bishop dies, his
diocese is described as "widowed"), and Dionysius agreed to care for
it until a new bishop could be elected. Then he fled from the worldly
life which gave him no peace, and went to the Monastery of the Most
Holy Theotokos Anaphonitria, twenty miles from the main village.
A certain stranger murdered the saint's brother Constantine, an
illustrious nobleman. Fearing his victim's relatives, the stranger, by
chance or by God's will, sought refuge in the monastery where St
Dionysius was the abbot. When the saint asked the fugitive why he was
so frightened, he confessed his sin and revealed the name of the man
he had murdered, asking to be protected from the family's vengeance.
St Dionysius wept for his only brother, as was natural. Then he
comforted the murderer and hid him, showing him great compassion and
love.
Soon the saint's relatives came to the monastery with a group of armed
men and told him what had happened. He pretended to know nothing about
it. After weeping with them and trying to console them, he sent them
off in the wrong direction. Then he told the murderer that he was the
brother of the man he had killed. He admonished him as a father, and
brought him to repentance. After forgiving him, St Dionysius brought
him down to the shore and helped him to escape to another place in
order to save his life. Because of the saint's Christ-like virtue, he
was granted the gift of working miracles.
Having passed his life in holiness, St Dionysius reached a great age,
then departed to the Lord on December 17, 1624. Not only are the
saint's relics incorrupt, but he is also one of Greece's "walking
saints" (St Gerasimus and St Spyridon are the others). He is said to
leave his reliquary and walk about performing miracles for those who
seek his aid. In fact, the soles of his slippers wear out and must be
replaced with a new pair from time to time. The old slippers are cut
up, and the pieces are distributed to pilgims. On August 24, we
celebrate the Transfer of his Holy Relics. Through the prayers of
Saint Dionysius, may Christ our God have mercy upon us and save us.
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Martyr Avakum the Deacon of Serbia
The holy New Martyr Avakum (Habakkuk) was born in Bosnia in 1794, and
was named Lepoje by his parents. Lepoje's father died when he was
still a young boy, so his mother took him to the Mostanica monastery,
where his uncle was the spiritual Father. He grew up in the monastery,
and later became a monk with the name Avakum. When he was eighteen, he
was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan Joseph (Sakabenta).
In 1809, the monks took part in an unsuccessful revolt against the
Turks, and had to flee for their lives. They settled in the
Annunciation monastery in Trnava near Cacak, where the igumen was St
Paisius.
After the collapse of Karageorge's revolt in 1813, the Turks began a
reign of terror against the Serbs. Disease also swept the area because
of the many bodies left unburied. The people attempted another revolt
under Hadj-Prodan Gligorijevic, and the monks of Trnava became
involved in it. The rebellion took place on the Feast of the Cross
(September 14), but it was crushed by the Turks. Many people were
captured, and some were executed on the spot as a warning to others.
Some of the prisoners were sent to Suleiman Pasha in Belgrade, among
whom were Sts Paisius and Avakum. The holy deacon Avakum sang "God is
with us" (from Compline) in the prison cell, while St Paisius prayed.
The Turks offered to free anyone who would convert to Islam. Some of
the prisoners agreed to this, but the majority refused to deny Christ,
and so they were put to death.
The Turks tried to pressure Avakum to save himself by embracing their
religion, but he refused even to consider it. His former spiritual
Father, Gennadius, accepted the offer of the Turks and urged Avakum to
follow his example. The courageous deacon declared that he was a
warrior of Christ, and preferred to die rather than deny Christ.
St Avakum was sentenced to be impaled on a stake, which he was forced
to carry to the place of execution. His own mother urged him to
embrace Islam, then to seek forgiveness later because he had been
forced into it. The saint thanked her for giving him life, but not for
her advice.
At the place of execution, the Turks asked him one more time to
consider his youth and not to die before his time. Avakum laughed and
asked, "Don't even Turks eventually die?"
They replied, "Of course they do."
"Well then," he said, "the sooner I die, the fewer sins I will have."
Because of his courage and steadfastness in his faith, the Turks
decided not to impale him. They killed him quickly by stabbing him in
the heart with a sword on January 27, 1815.
St Avakum the deacon is commemorated on December 17 with St Paisius.
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St Paisius
The holy New Martyr Paisius was igumen of the Annunciation monastery
in Trnava near Cacak, Serbia. After the collapse of Karageorge's
revolt in 1813, the Turks began a reign of terror against the Serbs.
Disease also swept the area because of the many bodies left unburied.
The people attempted another revolt under Hadj-Prodan Gligorijevic,
and the monks of Trnava became involved in it. The rebellion took
place on the Feast of the Cross (September 14), but it was crushed by
the Turks. Many people were captured, and some were executed on the
spot as a warning to others.
Some of the prisoners were sent to Suleiman Pasha in Belgrade, among
whom were Sts Paisius and Avakum. The holy deacon Avakum sang "God is
with us" (from Compline) in the prison cell, while St Paisius prayed.
The Turks offered to free anyone who would convert to Islam. Some of
the prisoners agreed to this, but the majority refused to deny Christ,
and so they were put to death.
St Paisius was taken from prison and forced to carry a stake to the
place of execution. He was impaled, and the stake was set into the
ground. The holy martyr exclaimed, "Glory to God." Then the vizier
clapped his hands to signal his soldiers to draw their swords and
begin killing some of the other prisoners. Forty-eight people were
killed, and their bodies were raised up on posts. After suffering for
some time, St Paisius surrendered his soul to God, thereby obtaining
the crown of martyrdom on December 17, 1814.
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