8th Sunday of Matthew On the day of the Lord Sunday, August 03rd. , of year in grace in the Lord 2014 we celebrate Saints Isaacius, Dalmatus, & Faustus, Ascetics of the Dalmation Monastery Saint Salome the Holy Myrrhbearer Saint Theoctistus the Wonderworker Epistle Reading St. Pauls First Letter to the Corinthians 1:10-17 Prokeimenon. Grave Mode. Psalm 28.11,1 The Lord will give strength to his people. Verse: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory. BRETHREN, I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloes people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas, or I belong to Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispos and Gaius; lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Alleluia ,Alleluia, Alleluia Gospel Reading The Reading is from Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew 14:14-22 At that time, Jesus saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves. Jesus said, They need not go away; you give them something to eat. They said to him, We have only five loaves here and two fish. And he said, Bring them here to me. Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. Eighth Orthros Gospel Matins Gospel Reading The Reading is from Apostle and Evangelist St. John 20:11-18 At that time, Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him. Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni! (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, I have seen the Lord; and she told them that He had said these things to her. Sts Isaacius, Dalmatus, & Faustus, Ascetics of the Dalmation Monastery Of these, Saint Isaacius is celebrated also on May 30. He became a monk at an early age and was a worker of every virtue; a zealot for the Orthodox Faith, he was also deemed worthy of the gift of prophecy. The Saint dwelt in a small hut near Constantinople. When Valens the Arian marched against the Goths, who were at the Danube River, this righteous one went out himself to meet the Emperor and, taking in hand the reins of the Emperors horse, said to him with boldness that God had incited the barbarians to come against him, since he himself had incited many to speak against God in blasphemy, and had driven Gods true worshippers out of the divine houses of prayer. Furthermore, he told him, if he ceased fighting against God by means of heresy and returned the good shepherds (that is, the Orthodox bishops) to the flock of Christ, he would easily gain the victory over his enemies. However, if he did not desist from these things, nor have God as his ally, at the very outset of the battle both he and his army would certainly be destroyed. Learn from experience, he said, that it is hard to kick against the pricks. Thou shalt not return, and this expedition will be destroyed. But the Emperor became angry and had the righteous one locked in prison that he might punish him and put him to death on his return after he conquered the barbarians. But he was utterly defeated and was burned alive in a certain village in the year 378 (Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Eccl. Hist., ch. 4: 31-32). When his surviving soldiers returned from the war, wishing to tempt the Saint, they came to him and said, Prepare to make thy defense before the Emperor, who is coming to fulfil what he spoke against thee. But the Saint answered, It has already been seven days that I smelled the stink of his bones, which were burned in the fire. Thus the righteous one was released from prison. All marveled because of his prophecy, and he became even more wondrous by means of the zeal he displayed in behalf of Orthodoxy in 381, when the Second Ecumenical Council was convoked. After this, a monastery was built in Constantinople for him, and he piously shepherded those struggling with him in asceticism. Having served as an example of the monastic life for them, he reposed in peace about the end of the fourth century, leaving Dalmatus as his successor. As for Saint Dalmatus, he was at first a soldier in the second division of the soldiers known as the Scholarii. Later, however, he forsook all things and taking his son Faustus, went to the above-mentioned monastery of Saint Isaacius, where he donned the monastic habit. Through his virtue he became venerable in the sight of all. He was present at the Third Ecumenical Council that was convoked in Ephesus in 431, and there displayed his zeal for Orthodoxy against Nestorius. The Council elected him Archimandrite of the monasteries in Constantinopie. Having lived for more than eighty years, he reposed in the Lord. Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone O God of our Fathers, ever dealing with us according to Thy gentleness: take not Thy mercy from us, but by their entreaties guide our life in peace. Kontakion in the Second Tone With hymns let us extol Isaacius, Dalmatus, and Faustus as Christs servants, who shone forth brilliantly in asceticism in the world, and overturned the heresies by faith; for they cry out in behalf of us all. Salome the Holy Myrrhbearer Saint Salome who was the daughter of St. Joseph the Betrothed and his first wife (who was also named Salome). THe Theotokos would have been her stepmother. She married Zebedee who was a fisherman and became mother of the disciples James and John. She was probably a widow at the time of the Crucifixion of Christ as Zebedee is no longer mentioned. She is the one who asked Jesus, Command that these two sons of mine might sit, one on thy right hand and one on thy left, in thy kingdom (Mt 20:20,21). She was also one of the witnesses of the Crucifixion (Mt 27:55,56). She also was one of the myrrhbearers who helped put Christ into the tomb and went to the tomb later to anoint Christ and witnessed His Resurrection. When she came with the other women they found the stone of the tomb rolled away. and when they entered they saw a young man sitting on the right clothed in a white robe. They saw Christ was missing and the angel told them that He was raised was not there and to go tell the disciples and Peter that He went before them to Galilee. (Mk 16:1-8) She is celebrated as one who first brought tidings of the Resurrection to the world, especially on the Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women. St. Theoctistus the Wonderworker Tone of the week: Grave Tone Eighth Eothinon Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Grave Tone Thou didst abolish death by Thy Cross; Thou didst open Paradise to the thief; Thou didst transform the myrrh-bearers lamentation, and didst bid Thine Apostles to preach that Thou art risen, O Christ God, granting great mercy to the world. Seasonal Kontakion in the Grave Tone You were transfigured upon the mount, O Christ our God, and Your disciples, in so far as they could bear, beheld Your glory. Thus, when they see You crucified, they may understand Your voluntary passion, and proclaim to the world that You are truly the effulgence of the Father.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:11:54 +0000
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