[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Fri Nov 16 05:00:17 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Fri Nov 16 2007

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1 Peter 1:1-2:6  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion
in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in
sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready
to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need
be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than
gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to
praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet
believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 receiving the end of your faith-the salvation of your souls.
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched
carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who
was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings
of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they
were ministering the things which now have been reported to you
through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit
sent from heaven-things which angels desire to look into.
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your
hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former
lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your
conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges
according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time
of your stay here in fear;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like
silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from
your fathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot.
20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but
was manifest in these last times for you
21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and
gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the
Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently
with a pure heart,
23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible,
through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
24 because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the
flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word
which by the gospel was preached to you.
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and
all evil speaking,
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may
grow thereby,
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but
chosen by God and precious,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a
holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ.
6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in
Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him
will by no means be put to shame."
Scripture Reading 1 of 6

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1 Peter 2:21-3:9  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He
suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges
righteously;
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we,
having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you
were healed.
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the
Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if
some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the
conduct of their wives,
2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.
3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair,
wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-
4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the
incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very
precious in the sight of God.
5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in
God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,
6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are
if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor
to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of
the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one
another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the
contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may
inherit a blessing.
Scripture Reading 2 of 6

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1 Peter 4:1-11  (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves
also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has
ceased from sin,
2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for
the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of
the Gentiles-when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness,
revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with
them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.
5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living
and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead,
that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live
according to God in the spirit.
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and
watchful in your prayers.
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love
will cover a multitude of sins."
9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as
good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone
ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that
in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom
belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Scripture Reading 3 of 6

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John 21:15-25  (Matins Gospel)
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him,
"Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My
lambs."
16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you
love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He
said to him, "Tend My sheep."
17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love
Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you
love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know
that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.
18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded
yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will
stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where
you do not wish.
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And
when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved
following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said,
"Lord, who is the one who betrays You?"
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"
22 Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is
that to you? You follow Me."
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple
would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die,
but, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?"
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these
things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they
were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could
not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
Scripture Reading 4 of 6

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Apostle and Evangelist Matthew
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, was also named Levi (Mark
2:14; Luke 5:27); he was one of the Twelve Apostles (Mark 3:18; Luke
6:45; Acts 1:13), and was brother of the Apostle James Alphaeus (Mark
2:14). He was a publican, or tax-collector for Rome, in a time when
the Jews were under the rule of the Roman Empire. He lived in the
Galilean city of Capernaum. When Matthew heard the voice of Jesus
Christ: "Come, follow Me" (Mt. 9:9), left everything and followed the
Savior. Christ and His disciples did not refuse Matthew's invitation
and they visited his house, where they shared table with the
publican's friends and acquaintances. Like the host, they were also
publicans and known sinners. This event disturbed the pharisees and
scribes a great deal.
Publicans who collected taxes from their countrymen did this with
great profit for themselves. Usually greedy and cruel people, the Jews
considered them pernicious betrayers of their country and religion.
The word "publican" for the Jews had the connotation of "public
sinner" and "idol-worshipper." To even speak with a tax-collector was
considered a sin, and to associate with one was defilement. But the
Jewish teachers were not able to comprehend that the Lord had "come to
call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mt. 9:13).
Matthew, acknowledging his sinfulness, repaid fourfold anyone he had
cheated, and he distributed his remaining possessions to the poor, and
he followed after Christ with the other apostles. St Matthew was
attentive to the instructions of the Divine Teacher, he beheld His
innumerable miracles, he went together with the Twelve Apostles
preaching to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt. 10:6). He
was a witness to the suffering, death, and Resurrection of the Savior,
and of His glorious Ascension into Heaven.
Having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, which descended upon the
Apostles on the day of Pentecost, St Matthew preached in Palestine for
several years. At the request of the Jewish converts at Jerusalem, the
holy Apostle Matthew wrote his Gospel describing the earthly life of
the Savior, before leaving to preach the Gospel in faraway lands.
In the order of the books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew
comes first. Palestine is said to be the place where the Gospel was
written. St Matthew wrote in Aramaic, and then it was translated into
Greek. The Aramaic text has not survived, but many of the linguistic
and cultural-historical peculiarities of the Greek translation give
indications of it.
The Apostle Matthew preached among people who were awaiting the
Messiah. His Gospel manifests itself as a vivid proof that Jesus
Christ is the Messiah foretold by the prophets, and that there would
not be another (Mt. 11:3).
The preaching and deeds of the Savior are presented by the evangelist
in three divisions, constituting three aspects of the service of the
Messiah: as Prophet and Law-Giver (Ch. 5-7), Lord over the world both
visible and invisible (Ch. 8-25), and finally as High Priest offered
as Sacrifice for the sins of all mankind (Ch. 26-27).
The theological content of the Gospel, besides the Christological
themes, includes also the teaching about the Kingdom of God and about
the Church, which the Lord sets forth in parables about the inner
preparation for entering into the Kingdom (Ch. 5-7), about the
worthiness of servers of the Church in the world (Ch. 10-11), about
the signs of the Kingdom and its growth in the souls of mankind (Ch.
13), about the humility and simplicity of the inheritors of the
Kingdom (Mt. 18:1-35; 19 13-30; 20:1-16; 25-27; 23:1-28), and about
the eschatological revelations of the Kingdom in the Second Coming of
Christ within the daily spiritual life of the Church (Ch. 24-25).
The Kingdom of Heaven and the Church are closely interconnected in the
spiritual experience of Christianity: the Church is the historical
embodiment of the Kingdom of Heaven in the world, and the Kingdom of
Heaven is the Church of Christ in its eschatological perfection (Mt.
16:18-19; 28:18-20).
The holy Apostle brought the Gospel of Christ to Syria, Media, Persia,
Parthia, and finishing his preaching in Ethiopia with a martyr's
death. This land was inhabited by tribes of cannibals with primitive
customs and beliefs. The holy Apostle Matthew converted some of the
idol-worshippers to faith in Christ. He founded the Church and built a
temple in the city of Mirmena, establishing there his companion Platon
as bishop.
When the holy apostle was fervently entreating God for the conversion
of the Ethiopians the Lord Himself appeared to him in the form of a
youth. He gave him a staff, and commanded him to plant it at the doors
of the church. The Lord said that a tree would grow from this staff
and it would bear fruit, and from its roots would flow a stream of
water. When the Ethiopians washed themselves in the water and ate the
fruit, they lost their wild ways and became gentle and good.
When the holy apostle carried the staff towards the church, he was met
by the wife and son of the ruler of the land, Fulvian, who were
afflicted by unclean spirits. In the Name of Christ the holy apostle
healed them. This miracle converted a number of the pagans to the
Lord. But the ruler did not want his subjects to become Christians and
cease worshiping the pagan gods. He accused the apostle of sorcery and
gave orders to execute him.
They put St Matthew head downwards, piled up brushwood and ignited it.
When the fire flared up, everyone then saw that the fire did not harm
St Matthew. Then Fulvian gave orders to add more wood to the fire, and
frenzied with boldness, he commanded to set up twelve idols around the
fire. But the flames melted the idols and flared up toward Fulvian.
The frightened Ethiopian turned to the saint with an entreaty for
mercy, and by the prayer of the martyr the flame went out. The body of
the holy apostle remained unharmed, and he departed to the Lord.
The ruler Fulvian deeply repented of his deed, but still he had
doubts. By his command, they put the body of St Matthew into an iron
coffin and threw it into the sea. In doing this Fulvian said that if
the God of Matthew would preserve the body of the apostle in the water
as He preserved him in the fire, then this would be proper reason to
worship this One True God.
That night the Apostle Matthew appeared to Bishop Platon in a dream,
and commanded him to go with clergy to the shore of the sea and to
find his body there. The righteous Fulvian and his retinue went with
the bishop to the shore of the sea. The coffin carried by the waves
was taken to the church built by the apostle. Then Fulvian begged
forgiveness of the holy Apostle Matthew, after which Bishop Platon
baptized him, giving him the name Matthew in obedience to a command of
God.
Soon St Fulvian-Matthew abdicated his rule and became a presbyter.
Upon the death of Bishop Platon, the Apostle Matthew appeared to him
and exhorted him to head the Ethiopian Church. Having become a bishop,
St Fulvian-Matthew toiled at preaching the Word of God, continuing the
work of his heavenly patron.
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St Fulvianus the Prince of Ethiopia, in Holy Baptism Matthew
No information available at this time.
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St Sergius of Malopinega
Saint Sergius of Malopinega (in the world Simeon), was born in 1493.
His father, Markian Stephanovich Nekliud, was descended from Novgorod
nobles. Together with other fellow citizens they left their
native-place setting off "to the side of the icy sea," when Great
Novgorod was finally subjugated to the power of Moscow by Ivan III.
There in the northlands, Markian Stephanovich married Apollinaria, a
maiden from a rich and noble family. The pious spouses raised their
son Simeon in the fear of God, they gave him a fine education, and
inculcated in him the love for "book-learning." Having grown old,
Markian and Apollinaria by mutual agreement went to monasteries.
Markian (in monasticism Matthew) was afterwards igumen of the
Resurrection monastery in the city of Keurola. Apollinaria died a
schemanun with the name Pelagia.
Simeon was ordained presbyter at the canonical age of thirty to serve
the churches of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Great Martyr
George in the Malopinega district. The holy presbyter Simeon with love
finished his pastoral service at age sixty-two. With apostolic zeal he
labored over the conversion of the pagan Chud people. The rare
personal qualities of the pastor contributed much to the success of
his preaching. As the Chronicle notes, he possessed a kindly soul and
pure mind, a courageous heart, humility and quiet strength, love for
truth, and was merciful to the poor to the point of self-denial.
In the final year of his life, the monk took the schema with the name
Sergius and died on November 16, 1585. Following the saint's final
instructions, they buried him near the altar of the Transfiguration
church. Later, a chapel was built over his grave. The old hand-written
manuscript tells about the numerous miracles which occurred at the
grave of the saint.
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St Hypatius of Gangra
Hieromartyr Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra, was bishop of the city of
Gangra in Paphlagonia (Asia Minor). In the year 325 he participated in
the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, at which the heresy of Arius
was anathematized.
When St Hypatius was returning in 326 from Constantinople to Gangra,
followers of the schismatics Novatus and Felicissimus fell upon him in
a desolate place. The heretics ran him through with swords and spears,
and threw him into a swamp. Like the Protomartyr Stephen, St Hypatius
prayed for his murderers.
An Arian woman struck the saint on the head with a stone, killing him.
The murderers hid his body in a cave, where a Christian who kept straw
there found his body. Recognizing the bishop's body, he hastened to
the city to report this, and the inhabitants of Gangra piously buried
their beloved archpastor.
After his death, the relics of St Hypatius were famous for numerous
miracles, particularly for casting out demons and for healing the
sick.
>From of old the hieromartyr Hypatius was particularly venerated in the
Russian land. Thus in the year 1330 the Ipatiev monastery was built at
Kostroma, on the place where the Mother of God appeared with the
Pre-eternal Christ Child, the Apostle Philip, and the hieromartyr
Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra. This monastery later occupied a
significant place in the spiritual and social life of the nation,
particularly during the Time of Troubles.
The ancient copies of the Life of the hieromartyr Hypatius were widely
distributed in Russian literature, and one of these was incorporated
into THE READING MENAION of Metropolitan Macarius (1542-1564). In this
Life there is an account of the appearance of the Savior to St
Hypatius on the eve of the martyr's death.
The entry for the saint's Feast consists of his Life, some prayers,
and words of praise and instruction. The pious veneration of St
Hypatius was also expressed in Russian liturgical compositions. During
the nineteenth century a new service was written for the hieromartyr
Hypatius, distinct from the services written by St Joseph the Studite,
contained in the March MENAION.
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