Daily Scripture Readings and Lives of the Saints for Sunday, January 25, 2015 Feasts and Saints celebrated today: 15th Sunday of Luke Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople The Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Russia Readings for today: John 21:14-25 St. Pauls Letter to the Hebrews 7:26-28; 8:1-2 Luke 19:1-10 15th Sunday of Luke Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone From on high didst Thou descend, O Compassionate One; to burial of three days hast Thou submitted that Thou mightest free us from our passions. O our Life and Resurrection, Lord, glory be to Thee. Seasonal Kontakion in the First Tone Your birth sanctified a Virgins womb and properly blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and saved us O Christ our God, give peace to Your commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom You love, as only the loving One. The content on this page is under copyright and is used by permission. All rights reserved. These works may not be further reproduced, in print or on other websites or in any other form, without the prior written authorization of the copyright holder: Resurrectional Apolytikion (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA Seasonal Kontakion (c) Narthex Press Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople Reading from the Synaxarion: This great Father and Teacher of the Church was born in 329 in Arianzus, a village of the second district of Cappadocia, not far from Nazianzus. His father, who later became Bishop of Nazianzus, was named Gregory (commemorated Jan. 1), and his mother was named Nonna (Aug. 5); both are among the Saints, and so are his brother Caesarius (Mar. 9) and his sister Gorgona (Feb. 23). At first he studied in Caesarea of Palestine, then in Alexandria, and finally in Athens. As he was sailing from Alexandria to Athens, a violent sea storm put in peril not only his life but also his salvation, since he had not yet been baptized. With tears and fervour he besought God to spare him, vowing to dedicate his whole self to Him, and the tempest gave way to calm. At Athens Saint Gregory was later joined by Saint Basil the Great, whom he already knew; but now their acquaintanceship grew into a lifelong brotherly love. Another fellow student of theirs in Athens was the young Prince Julian, who lat er as Emperor was called the Apostate because he denied Christ and did all in his power to restore paganism. Even in Athens, before Julian had thrown off the mask of piety; Saint Gregory saw what an unsettled mind he had, and said, What an evil the Roman State is nourishing (Orat. V, 24, PG 35:693). After their studies at Athens, Gregory became Basils fellow ascetic, living the monastic life together with him for a time in the hermitages of Pontus. His father ordained him presbyter of the Church of Nazianzus, and Saint Basil consecrated him Bishop of Sasima (or Zansima), which was in the archdiocese of Caesarea. This consecration was a source of great sorrow to Gregory, and a cause of misunderstanding between him and Basil; but his love for Basil remained unchanged, as can be plainly seen from his Funeral Oration on Saint Basil (Orat. XLIII). About the Year 379, Saint Gregory came to the assistance of the Church of Constantinople, which had already been troubled for forty years by the Arians; by his supremely wise words and many labours he freed it from the corruption of heresy, and was elected Archbishop of that city by the Second Ecumenical Council, which assembled there in 381, and condemned Macedonius, Archbishop of Constantinople, the enemy of the Holy Spirit. When Saint Gregory came to Constantinople, the Arians had taken all the churches and he was forced to serve in a house chapel dedicated to Saint Anastasia the Martyr. From there he began to preach his famous five sermons on the Trinity, called the Triadica. When he left Constantinople two years later, the Arians did not have one church left to them in the city. Saint Meletius of Antioch (see Feb. 12), who was presiding over the Second Ecumenical Council, died in the course of it, and Saint Gregory was chosen in his stead; there he distinguished himself in his expositions of dogmatic theology. Having governed the Church until 382, he delivered his farewell speech - the Syntacterion, in which he demonstrated the Divinity of the Son - before 150 bishops and the Emperor Theodosius the Great; in this speech he requested, and received from all, permission to retire from the see of Constantinople. He returned to Nazianzus, where he lived to the end of his life, and reposed in the Lord in 391, having lived some sixty-two years. His extant writings, both prose and poems in every type of metre, demonstrate his lofty eloquence and his wondrous breadth of learning. In the beauty of his writings, he is considered to have surpassed the Greek writers of antiquity, and because of his God-inspired theological thought, he received the surname Theologian. Although he is sometimes called Gregory of Nazianzus, this title belongs properly to his father; he himself is known by the Church only as Gregory the Theologian. He is especially called Trinitarian Theologian, since in virtually every homily he refers to the Trinity and the one essence and nature of the Godhead. Hence, Alexius Anthorus dedicated the following verses to him: Like an unwandering star beaming with splendour, Thou bringest us by mystic teachings, O Father, To the Trinitys sunlike illumination, O mouth breathing with fire, Gregory most mighty. Apolytikion of Gregory the Theologian in the First Tone The pastoral flute of your theology conquered the trumpets of orators. For it called upon the depths of the Spirit and you were enriched with the beauty of words. Intercede to Christ our God, O Father Gregory, that our souls may be saved. Kontakion of Gregory the Theologian in the Third Tone O Glorious One, you dispelled the complexities of orators with the words of your theology. You have adorned the Church with the vesture of Orthodoxy woven from on high. Clothed in this, the Church now cries out to your children, with us, Hail Father, the consummate theological mind. The content on this page is under copyright and is used by permission. All rights reserved. These works may not be further reproduced, in print or on other websites or in any other form, without the prior written authorization of the copyright holder: Reading (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA Apolytikion of Gregory the Theologian (c) Narthex Press Kontakion of Gregory the Theologian (c) Narthex Press The Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Russia Reading from the Synaxarion: On the Sunday that falls nearest to January 25, we commemorate all the faithful throughout the former Russian Empire who died at the hands of the atheists, beginning in the year 1917. Among them are the Royal Family (see July 4), followed by Patriarch Tikhon the Confessor (see Mar. 24), and an innumerable multitude of clergy, monastics, and layfolk who confessed the Name of Christ in the face of every conceivable mockery, torment, and bitter death. Apolytikion of The Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Russia in the Third Tone In these latter times, a host of Martyrs, * newly crowned with grace, rejoice in Heaven, * glorified with diverse forms of martyrdom; * for having censured the madness of godless foes, * they gained the laurels of triumph and victory. * Hence, they fervently entreat Christ for us unceasingly, * to grant great mercy unto us who sing their praise. Kontakion of The Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Russia in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone The choirs of Martyrs who contested in the ancient times * welcome the hosts of victors newly crowned by Christ our God, * and they form one common festival in divine joy. * For these ranks which fought for faith throughout the Russian land * set at nought the wicked schemes of godless tyranny. * Hence, we cry to them: * Rejoice, ye Passion-bearers of the Lord. The content on this page is under copyright and is used by permission. All rights reserved. These works may not be further reproduced, in print or on other websites or in any other form, without the prior written authorization of the copyright holder: Reading (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA Apolytikion of The Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Russia (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA Kontakion of The Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Russia (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA Prayer Before Reading Scripture Shine within our hearts, loving Master, the pure light of Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our minds that we may comprehend the message of Your Gospel. Instill in us also reverence for Your blessed commandments, so that having conquered all sinful desires, we may pursue a spiritual life, thinking and doing all those things that are pleasing to You. For You, Christ our God, are the light of our souls and bodies, and to You we give glory together with Your Father who is without beginning and Your all holy, good, and life giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Orthros Gospel Reading The reading is from John 21:14-25 At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, 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. A second time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, 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 everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go. (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, Follow me. Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, Lord, who is it that is going to betray you? When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this man? Jesus said to him, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me! So, the word went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die; but Jesus did not say to him that he would not die. He said, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. Epistle Reading The reading is from St. Pauls Letter to the Hebrews 7:26-28; 8:1-2 Brethren, it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever. Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord. Gospel Reading The reading is from Luke 19:1-10 At that time, Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaios; he was a chief collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaios, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today. So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaios stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 17:45:12 +0000
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