[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Thu Dec 27 05:00:18 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Thu Dec 27 2007

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James 1:19-27
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow
to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and
receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your
souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a
man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what
kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in
it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one
will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his
tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to
visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world.
Scripture Reading 1 of 4

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Acts 6:8-15; 7:1-5,47-60  (Saint)
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs
among the people.
9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the
Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia),
disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which
he spoke.
11 Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses and God."
12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and
they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.
13 They also set up false witnesses who said, "This man does not cease
to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law;
14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy
this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.
15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his
face as the face of an angel.
1 Then the high priest said, "Are these things so?"
2 And he said, "Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he
dwelt in Haran,
3 and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives,
and come to a land that I will show you.'
4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran.
And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in
which you now dwell.
5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his
foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to
him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
47 But Solomon built Him a house.
48 However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands,
as the prophet says:
49 Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you
build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?
50 Has My hand not made all these things?'
51 You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always
resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they
killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now
have become the betrayers and murderers,
53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not
kept it.
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they
gnashed at him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw
the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God!"
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran
at him with one accord;
58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses
laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit."
60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not
charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Scripture Reading 2 of 4

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Mark 11:27-33
27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the
temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.
28 And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these
things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?"
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one
question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do
these things:
30 The baptism of John-was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.
31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From
heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
32 But if we say, 'From men' -they feared the people, for all counted
John to have been a prophet indeed.
33 So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus
answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority
I do these things."
Scripture Reading 3 of 4

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Matthew 21:33-42  (Saint)
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a
vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a
tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the
vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and
stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did
likewise to them.
37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will
respect my son.'
38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves,
'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to
those vinedressers?
41 They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and
lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the
fruits in their seasons."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?
Scripture Reading 4 of 4

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Third Day of the Nativity of our Lord
The third day of the Nativity is dedicated to the Protomartyr St
Stephen. This is the third day of the three day Winter Pascha.
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Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen
The Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen was the eldest of the
seven deacons, appointed by the Apostles themselves, and therefore he
is called "archdeacon." He was the first Christian martyr, and he
suffered for Christ when he was about thirty. In the words of
Asterias, he was "the starting point of the martyrs, the instructor of
suffering for Christ, the foundation of righteous confession, since
Stephen was the first to shed his blood for the Gospel."
Filled with the Holy Spirit, St Stephen preached Christianity and
defeated Jewish teachers of the Law in debate. The Jews maligned St
Stephen, saying that he had uttered blasphemy against God and against
Moses. St Stephen came before the Sanhedrin and the High Priest to
answer these charges. He gave a fiery speech, in which he recounted
the history of the Jewish nation, and denounced the Jews for
persecuting the prophets, and also for executing the promised Messiah,
Jesus Christ (Acts ch. 7).
During his speech, St Stephen suddenly saw the heavens opened and
Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God. The Jews shouted and
covered their ears, and rushed at him. They dragged him out of the
city and stoned him, but the holy martyr prayed for his murderers. Far
off on the heights stood the Mother of God with the holy Apostle John
the Theologian, and She prayed fervently for the martyr. Before his
death St Stephen said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. O Lord, lay not
this sin to their charge." Then he joyfully gave up his pure soul to
Christ.
The body of the holy Protomartyr Stephen, left to be eaten by beasts,
was secretly taken up by the Jewish teacher Gamaliel and his son
Habib, who buried Stephen on his estate. They both believed in Christ,
and later received holy Baptism.
St Stephen is also commemorated on August 2 (Translation of his
relics) and on September 15 (Uncovering of his relics in the year
415).
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Venerable Theodore Graptus, "the branded," Confessor
Saint Theodore the Confessor, and his brother Theophanes (October 11)
were born in Jerusalem of Christian parents. From early childhood
Theodore shunned childish amusements and loved to attend church
services. With his younger brother Theophanes (October 11), he was
sent to the Lavra of St Sava to be educated by a pious priest. Both
brothers became monks, and St Theodore was ordained to the holy
priesthood.
The iconoclast emperor Leo V the Armenian (813-820) expelled and
replaced the pious ruler Michael I Rhangabe (811-813). In the
beginning, Leo concealed his heretical views, but later declared
himself an iconoclast. The Patriarch of Jerusalem sent the two
brothers to Constantinople to defend the holy icons. Theodore refuted
Leo's arguments, proving the falseness of his beliefs. Leo ordered
that both brothers be beaten mercilessly, and then had them sent into
exile, forbidding anyone to help them in any way.
Under the subsequent emperors, Michael II (820-829), and particularly
under the iconoclast Theophilus (829-842), both brothers returned from
exile. Again they were urged to accept iconoclasm, but they bravely
endured all the tortures. They were sent into exile once more, but
later returned. This time they were subjected to fierce torture, and
finally, their faces were branded with the verses of a poem which
mocked the holy confessors. Therefore, the brothers were called "the
Branded."
The city prefect asked St Theodore to take communion with the
iconoclasts just once, promising him freedom if he did. But the holy
martyr replied, "Your proposal is the same as saying: 'Let me cut off
your head once, and then you may go wherever you wish.'"
After torture the holy brothers were banished to Apamea in Bithynia,
where St Theodore died around the year 840. St Theophanes survived
until the end of the iconoclast heresy, and died as Bishop of Nicea.
St Theophanes was author of many writings in defense of Orthodoxy. The
relics of St Theodore were transferred to Chalcedon, where they worked
many healings.
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St Theodore the Archbishop of Constantinople
Saint Theodore, Archbishop of Constantinople, was a native of
Constantinople, led a pious life, was ordained as a priest and served
in the cathedral of Hagia Sophia, where he was also the keeper of the
sacred vessels.
In the year 676 he was chosen to be Patriarch of Constantinople,
although after two years he was deposed because of slander. But truth
triumphed, and St Theodore was restored to the Patriarchal throne in
683. He then guided the Church of Constantinople to the very end of
his life. He died around the year 686.
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Icon of the Mother of God "the Merciful"
The All-Merciful Kykko Icon of the Mother of God: This icon was
painted, according to Tradition, by the holy Evangelist Luke. It
received its name "Kykkiotisa" from Mount Kykkos, on the island of
Cyprus. Here it was placed in an imperial monastery (so designated
because it was built with donations from the Emperor), in a church
named for it. Before coming to the island of Cyprus, the wonderworking
icon of the Mother of God was brought throughout the region by the
will of God. At first, it was in one the earliest Christian
communities in Egypt, and then it was taken to Constantinople in 980,
where it remained in the time of Emperor Alexius Comnenos (end of the
eleventh to early twelfth century).
During these years it was revealed to the Elder Isaiah through a
miraculous sign, that by his efforts the wonderworking image painted
by the Evangelist Luke would be transferred to Cyprus. The Elder
exerted much effort to fulfill the divine revelation.
When the icon of the Mother of God arrived on the island, many
miracles were performed. The Elder Isaiah was instrumental in building
a church dedicated to the Theotokos, and placing the Kykko Icon in it.
>From ancient times up to the present day, those afflicted by every
sort of infirmity flock to the monastery of the Mother of God the
Merciful, and they receive healing according to their faith. The
Orthodox are not the only ones who believe in the miraculous power of
the holy icon, but those of other faiths also pray before it in
misfortune and illness.
Inexhaustible is the mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos, Mediatrix for
all the suffering, and Her icon fittingly bears the name, the
"Merciful." The wonderworking "Kykkiotisa" Icon of the Mother of God
possesses a remarkable peculiarity: from what time period is unknown,
but it is covered by a half shroud from the upper left corner to the
lower right, so that no one is able to see the faces of the Mother of
God and the Divine Infant. The depiction of the Mother of God appears
to be of the Hodigitria ("Directress") type, as is also the Smolensk
Icon of the Mother of God. The head of the Mother of God is adorned
with a crown.
A copy of this icon is particularly venerated at the women's Nikolsk
monastery in the city of Mukachev.
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