Sayings of the Holy Fathers:

We must always be attentive to the assaults of the devil, for can we hope that he will leave us without temptations, when he did not leave our Founder and Source of faith and Perfecter the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? The Lord Himself said to the Apostle Peter: `Simon, Simon, behold, satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat (Lk. 22:31). And thus we must ever call upon the Lord in humility and pray the He may not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength, but that He may deliver us from the evil one.


St. Seraphim of Sarov

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'But I say to you,' the Lord says, 'love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you.' Why did he command these things? So that he might free you from hatred, sadness, anger and grudges, and might grant you the greatest possession of all, perfect love, which is impossible to possess except by the one you loves all equally in imitation of God.


St. Maximus Confessor

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Offer to the Lord the weakness of your nature, fully acknowledging your own powerlessness, and imperceptibly you will receive the gift of chastity.

St. John Climacus

Daily Reading

Friday

LITURGY

Romans 11:25-36

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Matthew 12:1-8

1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

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HOLY HIEROMARTYR DOROTHEOS, BISHOP OF TYRE

Troparion Tone 4

O Dorotheos, wise Hierarch of Christ,/ thou didst receive the light of wisdom as a gift from the Father of lights./ Thou didst increase the talents given to thee/ and contest in thine old age beyond the bounds of nature./ And thou, O Hieromartyr, art interceding for our souls.

Kontakion Tone 3

By preaching Orthodox doctrine, O Hieromartyr,/ thou didst offer thyself as a godly and holy gift./ Thou didst first excel in asceticism/ and then contest in martyrdom,/ and attain to receiving the victor's prize from Christ our God.

The Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher

The Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher was born at Sykhem -- an ancient city of Samaria. Justin's parents, being Greeks, were pagan. From the time of his childhood the saint displayed profundity of mind, love for knowledge and a fervent devotion to the cognition of Truth. When he came of age he studied the various schools of Greek philosophy: the Stoics, the Peripatetics (Aristotelians), the Pythagoreans, the Platonists -- and he concluded, that none of these pagan teachings revealed the way to the knowledge of the True God.

    Once, when he was strolling in a solitary place beyond the city and pondering about where to seek out the way to the knowledge of Truth, he met an old man, who in the ensuing conversation revealed to Justin the essential essence of the Christian teaching and advised him to seek out the solutions to all the questions of life in the books of Holy Scripture. "But before anything else, -- said the holy elder, -- pray diligently to God, so that He might open to thee the doors of Light. No one is able to comprehend Truth, unless it be given him in understanding by God Himself, Who revealeth it to each that seeketh Him in prayer and in love".

    In his 30th year of life Justin accepted holy Baptism (between the years 133 and 137). From this time Saint Justin devoted his talents and vast philosophical knowledge to preaching the Gospel among the pagans. He began to journey about throughout the Roman empire, everywhere sowing the seeds of the faith of salvation. "Whosoever is able to proclaim Truth and does not proclaim, that one will be condemned by God", -- he wrote.

    Justin opened up a school, where he preached Christian philosophy. Saint Justin subsequently defended the veracity and the salvificity of the Christian teaching, persuasively confuting pagan sophistry (thus, for example, in a debate with the Cynic philosopher Crescentius) and heretical distortions of Christianity (in particular, he spoke out against the teachings of the Gnostic, Marcian).

    In about the year 155, when the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) started a persecution against Christians, Saint Justin personally gave him an "Apologia" (Apology) in defense of Christians innocently condemned to execution -- Ptolemy and Lucias, the name of a third remaining unknown. In the "Apologia" he demonstrated the falseness of the slander against Christians accused "unjustly for the mere name as loathsome and transgressive Christians". The "Apologia" made such a favourable effect upon the emperor, that he ceased with the persecution. Saint Justin journeyed with the decision of the emperor to Asia Minor, -- where they were persecuting Christians with particular severity, and he himself distributed the joyous message about the imperial edict throughout the surrounding cities and countryside.

    At Ephesus occurred the debate of Saint Justin with the Rabbi Trypho. The Orthodox philosopher on the basis of the Old Testament prophetic writings demonstrated the truth of the Christian teaching of faith. Saint Justin gave an account of this debate in his work "Dialogue with Trypho the Jew".

    A second "Apologia" of Saint Justin was addressed to the Roman Senate. It was written in the year 161, soon after Marcus Aurelius (161-180) ascended the throne.

    Having returned to Italy, Saint Justin, like the Apostles, preached everywhere the Gospel and by his Divinely-inspired words he converted many to the Christian faith. When the saint arrived at Rome, the envious Crescentius -- whom Justin always defeated in debate -- brought against him many false accusations before the Roman court. Saint Justin was put under guard, subjected to torture and accepted a martyr's death (+ 166).

    In addition to the above-mentioned works, the following array of compositions belong to the holy martyr Justin the Philosopher: "Observations about the Soul", "Demonstration against the Hellenes", "Speech against the Hellenes". Saint John Damascene preserved a significant part of a non-surviving work of Saint Justin "About the Resurrection". The church historian Eusebios asserts, that by Saint Justin were written books entitled "The Singer", "Denunciation of all Existing Heresies" and "Against Marcian".

    The relics of Saint Justin the Philosopher rest in Rome.

    In the Russian Church the memory of the martyr is particularly glorified in temples of his name.

© 1997 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

Daily Reading

Monday

LITURGY

Romans 9:18-33

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. 30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Matthew 11:2-15

2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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HOLY MARTYR JUSTIN THE PHILOSOPHER

ST AGAPETI OF THE KIEVAN CAVES

ST HERVE THE BLIND ABBOT

Troparion of St Justin Tone 4

O Justin, teacher of divine knowledge,/ thou didst shine with the rays of true philosophy/ and wast wisely armed against the enemy./ Confessing the truth thou didst contend with the martyrs:/ with them ever entreat Christ our God to save our souls.

Troparion of St Agapeti of the Kievan Caves Tone 5

O righteous Agapeti,/ thou didst heal the sick with edible herbs,/ with humility like Anthony the Great./ And so thou didst bring the unbelieving physician to the Faith,/ and didst guide him on the path of salvation./ Heal our sicknesses also,/ and pray to Christ our God for those who sing to thee.

Troparion of St Herve Tone l

O Herve, thou minstrel and teacher of the Faith,/ thy sweet voice enlightened the darkness though thou wast born without the gift of sight./ Pray that the light of Christ may ever dispel pagan darkness from our lands,/ that God may be glorified.

Kontakion of St Agapeti of the Kievan Caves Tone 5

Thou didst proclaim thy faith as a good physician,/ thou didst rebuke the Armenian and bring him to piety;/ when dying thou didst ask God for life/ and by this miracle bring him to Christ./ Now thou dost stand rejoicing before the Lord:/ pray for us, O righteous one.