[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sun Nov 18 05:00:16 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sun Nov 18 2007

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Mark 16:9-20  (3rd Matins Gospel)
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared
first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.
10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and
wept.
11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her,
they did not believe.
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they
walked and went into the country.
13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe
them either.
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He
rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not
believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature.
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will
cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it
will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they
will recover.
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into
heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with
them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3

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Ephesians 4:1-6
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy
of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with
one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one
hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in
you all.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

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Luke 12:16-21
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain
rich man yielded plentifully.
17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I
have no room to store my crops?'
18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build
greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for
many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." '
20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required
of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward
God.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

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Martyr Platon of Ancyra
The Holy Martyr Platon, brother of the holy Martyr Antiochus the
Physician (July 16), was born at the city of Ancyra in Galatia. While
still a youth he left home and went through the cities, preaching the
Word of God to pagans, amazing his audience with the persuasiveness
and beauty of his speech, and his profound knowledge of Greek
learning.
Because of his preaching he was arrested and brought for trial to the
temple of Zeus before the governor Agrippinus. At first, the judge
attempted to persuade the saint to turn away from Christ by flattery.
He assured the youth that he might be on a par of intellect with the
greatest of the philosophers Plato, if only he worshipped also the
pagan gods. To this St Platon answered, that the wisdom of the
philosopher, although great, was but ephemeral and limited, whereas
the true, eternal and unbounded wisdom comprised the Gospel teachings.
Then the judge promised to give him his beautiful niece for his wife
if he would deny Christ. He also threatened him with torture and death
if he refused. St Platon replied that he chose a temporal death for
the sake of eternal life. The patience of the governor was exhausted,
and he gave orders to mercilessly beat the martyr, and then send him
off to prison.
When they led St Platon off to prison, he turned to the people
gathered about the temple, and he called on them not to forsake the
Christian Faith. Seven days later they again led the Martyr Platon for
trial before Agrippinus in the temple of Zeus, where they had the
implements of torture already prepared: boiling cauldrons, red-hot
iron and sharp hooks. The judge offered the martyr a choice: either to
offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, or to feel the effects of these
implements of torture on his body. Again the saint steadfastly refused
to worship idols, and after his tortures they threw him in prison for
eighteen more days without bread or water. But seeing that this did
not shake the martyr, they offered him his life and freedom if he
would only say, "Great is the god Apollo." The martyr refused to deny
Chirst or to sacrifice to the idols. Therefore, Agrippinus ordered the
holy Martyr Platon to be beheaded.
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Martyr Roman the Deacon of Caesarea
The Holy Martyr Roman was deacon at a church in Palestinian Caesarea.
During one of the persecutions against Christians he moved to Antioch,
where he encouraged Christians in the faith by his example and fervent
preaching.
When the Antiochian governor Asklepiades was considering the
destruction of the Christian temple, St Roman called on the believers
to stand up for their sanctuary. He persuaded them that if they
managed to protect the church, then there would be rejoicing on earth
in the Church Militant, and if they should perish in defense of the
church, there would still be rejoicing in the heavenly Church
Triumphant. Seeing such a firm resolve among the people, the governor
did not dare to carry out his plans.
Some time afterwards, there was a pagan celebration in the city and
many people came to Antioch from the surrounding area. St Roman began
denouncing the idol-worship and called on all to follow Christ. They
arrested him and subjected him to torture. During his torments the
martyr saw a boy, a Christian named Barulas in the crowd. He directed
the governor's attention to him saying, "This young man is wiser than
you, though you are older than he, because he knows the True God. You,
however, worship lifeless idols."
The governor Asklepiades gave orders to bring the boy to him. To all
the questions of the governor, Barulas firmly and without fear
confessed his faith in Christ, the True God. Asklepiades in a rage
gave orders to whip Barulas, and then behead him. Before his death the
holy child asked his mother, who was present at the execution, to give
him something to drink. The mother called out to him to endure bravely
to the end. She herself carried her son to the place of execution, and
later buried him.
St Roman was sentenced to burned alive, but a heavy rain extinguished
the fire. The saint began glorifying Christ and insulting the pagan
gods. The governor commanded that his tongue be cut out, but even
deprived of his tongue, St Roman loudly continued to glorify the Lord.
Then the torturers placed a noose around his neck and choked him to
death.
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Martyr Barulas the Youth of Caesarea
No information available at this time.
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Martyr Zacchaeus the Deacon of Caesarea in Palestine
The Holy Martyrs Zacchaeus, Deacon of Gadara, and Alphaeus, Reader of
Caesarea, suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Among those
arrested during the most fierce persecution against Christians was St
Zacchaeus, a deacon of the Gadara church, who openly confessed his
faith and did not renounce Christ under torture.
The Diocletian persecution was so fierce that many did not endure, and
frightened of the tortures, they agreed to offer sacrifice to the
pagan gods. St Alphaeus, a reader of the church of Caesarea, zealous
for the glory of God, approached a crowd of those fallen away from
Christ on their way to offer pagan sacrifice. He urged them not to
defile themselves with the impious sacrifices.
They arrested St Alphaeus and after tortures and torments they
shackled him together with St Zacchaeus. They threw the martyrs into
prison for the night, where they prayed continually, supporting one
another in their resolve to endure all the sufferings for the name of
Christ and thereby gain eternal life. The next morning, the holy
Martyrs Zacchaeus and Alphaeus were beheaded for confessing Christ.
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Martyr Alphaeus of Caesarea in Palestine
The Holy Martyrs Alphaeus, Reader of Caesarea, and Zacchaeus, Deacon
of Gadara, suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). The
Diocletian persecution was so fierce that many did not endure, and
frightened of the tortures, they agreed to offer sacrifice to the
pagan gods.
St Alphaeus, a reader of the church of Caesarea, zealous for the glory
of God, approached a crowd of those fallen away from Christ on their
way to offer pagan sacrifice. He urged them not to defile themselves
with the impious sacrifices.
They arrested St Alphaeus and after tortures and torments they
shackled him together with St Zacchaeus. They threw the martyrs into
prison for the night, where they prayed continually, supporting one
another in their resolve to endure all the sufferings for the name of
Christ and thereby gain eternal life. The next morning, the holy
Martyrs Zacchaeus and Alphaeus were beheaded for confessing Christ.
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Martyr Romanus
No information available at this time.
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New Martyr Anastasius of Epirus
No information available at this time.
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