[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Thu Apr 3 05:00:15 CDT 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Thu Apr 3 2008

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Isaiah 28:14-22  (6th Hour)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, Who rule
this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, And with
Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes
through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And
under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for
a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the
plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters
will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with
Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it
will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to
understand the report.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so
narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as
in the Valley of Gibeon That He may do His work, His awesome work, And
bring to pass His act, His unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts, A destruction determined
even upon the whole earth.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3

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Genesis 10:32-11:9  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
32 These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their
generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided
on the earth after the flood.
1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they
found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
3 Then they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks and bake
them thoroughly. They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for
mortar.
4 And they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower
whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we
be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons
of men had built.
6 And the Lord said, Indeed the people are one and they all have one
language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they
propose to do will be withheld from them.
7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may
not understand one anothers speech.
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all
the earth, and they ceased building the city.
9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused
the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them
abroad over the face of all the earth.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3

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Proverbs 13:19-14:6  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
19 A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an
abomination to fools to depart from evil.
20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools
will be destroyed.
21 Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his childrens children, But the
wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
23 Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of
justice there is waste.
24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him
disciplines him promptly.
25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach
of the wicked shall be in want.
1 The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with
her hands.
2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, But he who is
perverse in his ways despises Him.
3 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, But the lips of the wise
will preserve them.
4 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by
the strength of an ox.
5 A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter
lies.
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy
to him who understands.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3

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Venerable Nicetas the Confessor the Abbot of Medikion
Saint Nicetas the Confessor was born in Bithynian Caesarea (northwest
Asia Minor) of a pious family. His mother died eight days after his
birth, and his father Philaretos became a monk. The child remained in
the care of his grandmother, who raised him in a true Christian
spirit. From his youth St Nicetas attended church and was a disciple
of the hermit Stephanos. With his blessing, St Nicetas set off to the
Mydicia monastery, where St Nicephorus (March 13) was the igumen.
After seven years of virtuous life at the monastery, famed for its
strict monastic rule, St Nicetas was ordained presbyter. St
Nicephorus, knowing the holy life of the young monk, entrusted to him
the guidance of the monastery when he himself became ill.
Not wanting power, St Nicetas devoted himself to the enlightenment and
welfare of the monastery. He guided the brethren by his own example.
Soon the fame of the lofty life of its inhabitants of the monastery
attracted many seeking salvation. After several years, the number of
monks had increased to one hundred.
When St Nicephorus departed to the Lord in his old age, the brethren
unanimously chose St Nicetas as igumen.
The Lord granted St Nicetas the gift of wonderworking. Through his
prayer a deaf-mute child received the gift of speech; two
demon-possessed women were healed; he restored reason to one who had
lost his mind, and many of the sick were healed of their infirmities.
During these years under the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820), the
Iconoclast heresy resurfaced and oppression increased. Orthodox
bishops were deposed and banished. At Constantinople a council of
heretics was convened in 815, at which they deposed the holy Patriarch
Nicephorus (806-815), and in his place they chose the heretical layman
Theodotus. They also installed heretics in place of exiled and
imprisoned Orthodox bishops.
The emperor summoned all the heads of the monasteries and tried to
bring them over to the Iconoclast heresy. Among those summoned was St
Nicetas, who stood firmly for the Orthodox confession. Following his
example, all the igumens remained faithful to the veneration of holy
icons. Therefore, they threw him into prison. St Nicetas bravely
underwent all the tribulations and encouraged firmness of spirit in
the other prisoners.
Then the emperor and the false patriarch Theodotus attempted to trick
those who remained faithful to Orthodox teaching. They promised that
the emperor would give them their freedom and permit the veneration of
the icons on one condition: that they take Communion from the
pseudo-patriarch Theodotus.
For a long time the saint had doubts about entering into communion
with a heretic, but other prisoners begged him to go along with them.
Acceding to their entreaties, St Nicetas went into the church, where
icons were put out to deceive the confessors, and he accepted
Communion.
But when he returned to his monastery and saw that the persecution
against icons was continuing, he then repented of his deed, returned
to Constantinople and fearlessly denounced the Iconoclast heresy. He
ignored all the emperor's threats.
St Nicetas was again locked up in prison for six years until the death
of the emperor Leo the Armenian. Enduring hunger and travail, St
Nicetas worked miracles by the power of his prayers: through his
prayer the Phrygian ruler released two captives without ransom; three
shipwrecked men for whom St Nicetas prayed, were thrown up on shore by
the waves.
St Nicetas reposed in the Lord in 824. The saint's body was buried at
the monastery with reverence. Later, his relics became a source of
healing for those coming to venerate the holy confessor.
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Virginmartyr Theodosia of Tyre
Once, during a persecution against Christians, which had already
lasted for five years, the seventeen-year-old St Theodosia visited
condemned Christian prisoners in the Praetorium in Caesarea,
Palestine. It was the day of Holy Pascha, and the martyrs spoke about
the Kingdom of God. St Theodosia asked them to remember her before the
Lord, when they should come to stand before Him.
Soldiers seized her and led her before the governor Urban after seeing
the maiden bow to the prisoners. The governor advised her to offer
sacrifice to the idols but she refused, confessing her faith in
Christ. Then they subjected the saint to cruel tortures, raking her
body with iron claws until her bones were exposed.
The martyr was silent and endured the sufferings with a happy face,
and when the governor told her again to offer sacrifice to the idols
she answered, "You fool, I have been granted to join the martyrs!"
They threw the maiden with a stone about her neck into the sea, but
angels rescued her. Then they threw the martyr to the wild beasts to
be eaten by them. Seeing that the beasts would not touch her, they cut
off her head.
By night St Theodosia appeared to her parents, who had tried to talk
their daughter out of her intention to suffer for Christ. She was in
bright garb with a crown upon her head and a luminous gold cross in
her hand, and she said, "Behold the great glory of which you wanted to
deprive me!"
The Holy Martyr Theodosia of Tyre suffered in the year 307. She is
also commemorated on May 29 (the transfer of her relics to
Constantinople, and later to Venice).
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Martyr Irene
No information available at this time.
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St Illyricus the Monk of Mt. Myrsinon in the Peloponnesus
Saint Illyricus the Wonderworker devoted himself to ascetic struggles
on Mount Marsion in the Peloponessos. The dates of his birth and death
are unknown.
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Martyr Elpidephorus
The Holy Martyrs Elpidephorus, Dius, Bithonius, and Galycus suffered
for their faith in Jesus Christ. They cut off the head of St
Elpidephorus with a sword.
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Martyr Dius
The Holy Martyrs Dius, Elpidephorus, Bithonius, and Galycus suffered
for their faith in Jesus Christ. St Dius was executed by stoning.
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Martyr Bithonius
The Holy Martyrs Bithonius, Elpidephorus, Dius, and Galycus suffered
for their faith in Jesus Christ. St Bithonius was drowned in the sea.
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Martyr Galycus
The Holy Martyrs Galycus, Elpidephorus, Dius, and Bithonius suffered
for their faith in Jesus Christ. St Galycus was condemned to be eaten
by wild beasts.
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Icon of the Mother of God "the Unfading Bloom"
The "Unfading Bloom" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. On this icon the
Most Holy Theotokos holds Her Divine Son upon Her right arm, and in
Her left hand is a bouquet of white lilies. This bouquet symbolically
signifies the unfading flower of virginity and spotlessness of the
All-Pure Virgin, Whom the Church hymns: "Thou art the Root of
virginity and the Unfading Blossom of purity." Copies of this icon
were glorified at Moscow, Voronezh, and other places in Russia.
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