Week Three, Day One
The Fifteenth Day
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: the Prophet Malachi
+ St. Thomas (not the Apostle)
The Fifteenth day
Morning Prayer
In the name of the Father and……..
Opening Prayer
O God, our refuge and strength, who are the author of all goodness; be ready, we beseech you, to hear our devout prayer and grant us that those things which we ask for faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Sprint, One God. Amen. Our Father…
Psalm 75: 1-10
75:1 To thee, O God, do we give thanks, to thee do we give thanks: for that your name is near your wondrous works declare. 75:2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. 75:3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. 75:4 I said to the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 75:5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. 75:6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 75:7 But God is the judge: he puts down one, and sets up another. 75:8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he pours out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. 75:9 But I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 75:10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Psalm 76: 1-12
76:1 In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. 76:2 In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. 76:3 There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. 76:4 You are more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. 76:5 The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. 76:6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. 76:7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in your sight when once you are angry? 76:8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, 76:9 When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. 76:10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shall thou restrain. 76:11 Vow, and pay to the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents to him that ought to be feared. 76:12 He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Psalm 77: 1-20
77:1 I cried to God with my voice, even to God with my voice; and he gave ear to me. 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. 77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 77:4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 77:5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. 77:7 Will the Lord cast off forever? and will he be favourable no more? 77:8 Is his mercy clean gone forever? doth his promise fail forevermore? 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. 77:10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. 77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember your wonders of old. 77:12 I will meditate also of all your work, and talk of your doings. 77:13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? 77:14 You are the God that doest wonders: you have declared your strength among the people. 77:15 You have with your arm redeemed your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 77:16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. 77:17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: your arrows also went abroad. 77:18 The voice of your thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 77:19 Your way is in the sea, and your path in the great waters, and your footsteps are not known. 77:20 Thou leddest your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Scripture Reading
1st Reading
Ecclesiastes 12: 1-4
12:1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shall say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of Musick shall be brought low; He who receives the Prophet by the name of the Prophet shall receive the Prophet’s reward. Amen
2nd Reading
Romans 10:20-21
10:20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest to them that asked not after me. 10:21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle shall receive the Apostle’s reward. Amen
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 142: 1-2
142:1 I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord did I make my supplication. 142:2 I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble. Halleluiah, stand up and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4th Reading
The Gospel of St. St. Matthew 13: 14-15
13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Heaven and earth shall pass away….
Concluding Prayer
O Almighty God, let us praise you in our morning prayer with voice and mind and deed for your great gift, and since life itself is your gift, may all we have and are be yours; we make this our humble prayer; though our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Our Father…
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Day 15
Evening Prayer
In the name of the Father ……
Opening Prayer
Almighty, ever-living God, who reign above the heavens, we humbly adore and praise you and ask you To sanctify our body, soul and spirit and guide our every thought, words and deeds according to the commandments of your holy law, so that now and forever your grace may free and save us. We ask this through the power of your holy name. Amen. Our Father who art….
Psalm 78: 1-72
78:1 Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 78:3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 78:8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God. 78:9 The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. 78:10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; 78:11 And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had showed them. 78:12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. 78:13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap. 78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. 78:15 He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. 78:16 He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. 78:17 And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness. 78:18 And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. 78:19 Yea, they spoke against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? 78:20 Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people? 78:21 Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; 78:22 Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation: 78:23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, 78:24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. 78:25 Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full. 78:26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind. 78:27 He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: 78:28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations. 78:29 So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire; 78:30 They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, 78:31 The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. 78:32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. 78:33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble. 78:34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God. 78:35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. 78:36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongues. 78:37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. 78:38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. 78:39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passes away, and cometh not again. 78:40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! 78:41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. 78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. 78:43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan. 78:44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink. 78:45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. 78:46 He gave also their increase to the caterpiller, and their labour to the locust. 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost. 78:48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. 78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 78:50 He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; 78:51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham: 78:52 But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 78:53 And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 78:54 And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased. 78:55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. 78:56 Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies: 78:57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. 78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. 78:59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: 78:60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; 78:61 And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand. 78:62 He gave his people over also to the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. 78:63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage. 78:64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation. 78:65 Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. 78:66 And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach. 78:67 Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: 78:68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved. 78:69 And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established forever. 78:70 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: 78:71 From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 78:72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Scripture Readings
1st Reading
Isaiah 26: 11-120
26:11 Lord, when your hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of your enemies shall devour them. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also have wrought all our works in us. He who receives the prophet the by the name of the prophet, shall receive the prophet’s …
2nd Reading
Colossians 4: 2-6
4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open to us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle shall receive the Apostle’s reward. Amen
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 88: 1-2
88:1 O lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: 88:2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline your ear to my cry; Halleluiah, stand up and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4th Reading
The Gospel of St. St. Matthew 4: 23-25
4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought to him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. Heaven and earth shall pass away….
Concluding prayer
Lord, our Almighty God and King of all nations who are our beginning and end and the source of all that we do and say. Prompt our actions with your grace, and complete them with your all-powerful help. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Holy Son, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. Our Father who art……..
The Synaxarium:
THE FIFTH MONTH
TIR 08
(January 16)
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT,
ONE GOD. AMEN.
On this day was consecrated the church of Saint Abba Macarius, of the desert of Scete, by the hand of the honorable saint Abba Benjamin, the thirty-eighth Archbishop of the city of Alexandria. This took place after great tribulation had come upon him through Makokaz (Makawkas), the heretic, the Melchite; and Abba Benjamin fled into Upper Egypt, [and stayed there] till the end of ten years. When God had destroyed that heretic Makokas (Makawkas), and the churches and the Christians were at rest and in peace, Abba Benjamin returned to his throne, and lived in his own house. And the chief monks of the holy desert of Scete came to him, and they asked him to go with them and consecrate the new church, that is to say, the church of Abba Macarius; and he rose up and went with them in great joy, and he consecrated the church. And when he began to anoint the table of the altar with the holy Meron oil, the saint saw the hand of God anointing it with him, and he fell upon his face in great fear. And one of the Cherubim raised him up and said unto him, “Rise up, be not afraid, and write for this place a holy rule, for it is God’s mystery. And no man shall enter it in pride of heart, nor by bribery, but only him that is appointed thereto; and no man shall dare to speak a vain word therein, for it is a house of the holy things of God. This Canon shall be the rule in this sanctuary for ever. For behold the days shall come when they shall destroy the commandments which their fathers ordained, and they shall not discharge their obligations, and the holy place shall become a place of scoffing.” And Abba Benjamin said, “Verily this is the house of God, and this is the door of heaven.” And as he was holding converse with the Cherub, he looked towards the west of the church and saw an aged man with a beautiful face, and a long beard, and his countenance was shining like that of an angel. And Abba Benjamin was pleased when he saw that [old man], and he said within himself, “If one of the bishops were to die, I should make this old man bishop in his stead.” And the Cherub said unto him, “O Benjamin, whouldst thou make this old man bishop? This is Abba Macarius, the father of all archbishops, and bishops, and monks, and he hath come in the spirit this day to rejoice with his sons; and not an archbishop who was appointed by him, and not one of his sons, will be absent, neither will the spiritual fruits of his monasteries be wanting.” And the Cherub said unto him, “If his sons have kept his commandments, and have followed in his steps, they will be with him where he is in glory; but if they have transgressed his commandments they shall not share [his] inheritance with him.” And Abba Macarius said unto the angel, the Cherub, “My lord, do not decide about my sons in these words; but if there be left in the bunch only a single grape, the blessing of God shall be on it. If there be left in them love for each other I believe that God will not drive them away from His kingdom.” And the Archbishop Abba Benjamin marveled at the mercy of Abba Macarius; and Abba Benjamin wrote a Canon and placed it in the church for a perpetual memorial. And he asked our Lord Jesus Christ that his death might take place as it were to-day, and in consequence he died on the eighth day of the month of Ter.
And on this day also died the holy father Abba Andronicus, the thirty-seventh Archbishop of the city of Alexandria. This holy man was a deacon, and a son of one of the elders of the city of Alexandria, and he was a wise and a merciful man, and he was learned in the Books of the Church. The son of his father’s brother was governor of Alexandria, and because of his office, and the size of his house, this saint did not live in monasteries as did all the archbishops his predecessors, but he lived in his nephew’s house in the city of Alexandria all the days of his life and archiepiscopate. And this father was appointed archbishop in the tenth year of the reign of Heraclius, Emperor of Rome, in the nine hundred and thirty-third year of the kingdom of King Alexander (A.D. 621-2). And in the days of his father Kesra (Khusrau), King of Persia, rose up, and he was an infidel and worshipped the sun. And he gathered together his armies, now they were many, and he invaded the country of Rome, and the countries of Syria and Palestine, and he laid waste these countries, and carried off their goods. Then he attacked the country of Egypt and came to the city of Alexandria, [round about which] there were two hundred monasteries, which were full of monks, and also full of goods and possessions wherewith the monks lived lives of pleasure. And because of this God gave the King of Persia a dominion over them, and he plundered the monasteries, and slew all the monks who were in them, and only the few were left alive who hid themselves from him and escaped; and to this day these monasteries have neither been [re]-built nor [re]-consecrated. And when the men of Alexandria heard what the Persians had done, they opened to them the gates of the city. And Kesra (Khusrau) the king saw in a dream and it seemed as if one said unto him, “Behold, I have given this city into thy hand. Thou shalt not lay it waste, but slay the strong men who are therein, for they are men of violence. And take the king of the city, and bind him in fetters, and send him away.” And he ordered the men of the city to bring unto him the strong young men, the days of whose years were from eighteen years up to forty or fifty years, so that he might give each of them twenty dinars in gold, and might enroll them as soldiers to serve in his regiments and armies, and protect the city. And the people imagined that what he said was the truth, and eighty hundred men went out to him. And when he began to count all their numbers, they imagined that they were going to receive gold; but as soon as he had finished counting them all, he slew them with the sword. And then he went up into Upper Egypt, and came to the city Nikyus (Pshati, in the province of Menu). and he heard that in the cells, and in the monasteries and religious houses, there were seven hundred monks whose works were evil, and he killed them all with the sword. And when Heraclius, the Emperor of Rome, heard of what the King of Persia had done, he gathered together his army, and marched against him, and slew all his army, and plundered all his country. And the spiritual fight of this Abba Andronicus was exceedingly good, and he sat for seven years, and he pleased God, and he died in peace in the three hundred and forty-seventh year of the martyrs (A.D. 631), before the kingdom of the Arabs [was established] in the country of Egypt.
And on this day also died the holy father Abba Benjamin, the thirty-eighth Archbishop of the city of Alexandria. This was a man of the city of Barset, and the son of one of the wealthy men thereof, and he became a monk, in his early years, with a certain holy man whose name was Tewenas (Theonas), in a monastery to the west of the city of Alexandria. And he grew continually in good works, and he became very learned in the Scriptures, and in the Books of the Church. One night he saw a vision and it seemed as if one said unto him, “Rejoice, O Benjamin, for thou shalt pasture the flock of Christ.” And he told his teacher that he had seen a vision, and his teacher said unto him, “Beware of Satans, lest they lead thee astray by pride.” And he added to his virtues and to his righteousness, and then his teacher took him with him, and carried him to Abba Andronicus, and told him of the vision which his son Benjamin had seen; and Abba Andronicus made him a priest, and delivered to him the charge of the church, and he continued to administer the church rightly and well until Abba Adronicus died, and then he was appointed archbishop. And great tribulation fell upon him while he held office. And before the great tribulation came upon him, the angel of God appeared unto him, and told him what would happen unto him, and commanded him to flee, and to take his bishops with him. And this father consecrated the Offering and administered to the people the Holy Mysteries, and he commanded them to be strong in the True Faith, and he made them to know what was going to happen. And then he sent letters to all the bishops, and to all the heads of the monasteries, and commanded them to take to flight. Then he departed into the desert of Scete, to the monastery of Abba Macarius, and from there he departed into Upper Egypt. And Heraclius, Emperor of Rome, had dominion over the churches, and over the believers, and he punished very many of them. And he seized the brother of Abba Benjamin, whose name was Minas, and he tortured him, and burnt his sides with fire, and afterwards he had him drowned in the river. And in those days the Emperor Heraclius saw in his sleep that one said unto him, “Behold there shall come upon thee many people who are circumcised, and they shall overcome thee, and shall rule over the country.” Now he imagined that these people would be Jews, and that he would baptize many of them, but the vision which he saw referred to the kingdom of the Muslims. And they were Muslims, and they came to him from the land of Yatreb which is a district and a kingdom in the land of Syria. And in those days ‘Amr, the son of As, came to the land of Egypt, and he ruled over it, and dwelt therein for three years. In the one hundred and nineteenth year (sic) of the martyrs ‘Amr came to the city of Alexandria, and he destroyed the fortress thereof, and he burned many churches, and he burned the church of Saint Mark the Evangelist, on the sea-shore, which is known to be now under the earth (i.e. submerged). And he likewise burned the monasteries and the churches which were round about the city of Alexandria, and he carried off as spoil all the goods which were in them. Then the captain of the soldiers brought ships to the church of the Blessed Mark, and he thrust his hand into the sarcophagus and found the body of Saint Mark and carried it to this ship. And when ‘Amr, the son of As, learned the story of Abba Benjamin, and why he had fled, he wrote his letter and sent it into every district in Egypt, saying, “Come, be not afraid, and govern thy people and thy churches.” And Abba Benjamin came forth from the place whither he had fled in the tenth (?) year of the reign of the Emperor Heraclius, and in the third year of the kingdom of the Muslims. And ‘Amr, the son of As, honored Abba Benjamin with great honor, and he commanded his soldiers to give back the churches, and all their possessions, and all their lands to his priests. And he said unto him, “Pray for me, for I am going to the country of the West, and I will become the king over the Five Cities, and when I come back I will do whatsoever thou desirest.” And Abba Benjamin said unto him, “God shall make straight thy path”; and he told him everything that would happen unto him. And when ‘Amr wished to go away, they brought nigh the ships so that the soldiers might depart, and outside the port they took all the ships, except the ship in which was the head of Saint Mark the Evangelist, for that would not go out of the port. And all the sailors gathered together, and tied ropes to that ship, and to these they tied other ropes and hauled, but the ship would not leave the port. And ‘Amr, the governor, said, “Burn this ship,” but the captain was afraid to do so, and he told ‘Amr that he was afraid, because of the head of Saint Mark the Evangelist which was in it, and he revealed the matter to him. And the governor sent to Abba Benjamin and told him about the head of Saint Mark the Evangelist, and that night Abba Benjamin saw a vision, and in it Saint Mark said unto him, “Prepare for me a place with thee.” And when Abba Benjamin heard these words he rose up, and went to the governor, and told him [about the vision], and he said unto him, “This is the head of Saint Mark the Evangelist.” And as soon as Abba Benjamin had taken from the ship the head of Saint Mark, that ship left the port immediately. When the governor saw this he marveled exceedingly, and he gave Abba Benjamin much money, and commanded him to build a church for Saint Mark; and Abba Benjamin built a beautiful church for him, and laid the head and body of the saint in it. And this father fought strenuously with the pagans, and he converted many of them, and brought them into the True Faith and confirmed them. And in the days of this saint God brought a great and severe famine upon all countries, and no famine which had ever been before it was so dire. And countless people died of this famine, and their bodies were cast into the highways and market-places of the cities. And Abba Benjamin suffered from a disease in his foot for twenty years, and he died in peace; and all the days of his archiepiscopate were nine and thirty years.
And on this day also [died] Melkeyas (Malachi) the prophet and righteous man, whom they call “Malak.” This prophet was born after the people returned from the Captivity, in a place which is called Sufas. When he was a young man he followed a good course of life, and all the people honored him for his righteousness, and for this reason they called him “Melkeyas” (Malachi), which is, being interpreted, “angel” (or “prince”), because his appearance was exceeding goodly; and he described in his prophecy everything which was to come to pass. And the angel of God used to appear unto him by night, and hold converse with him, but the people never saw the angel, and they only heard his voice; now some of them were worthy to see his face openly, even as it is written in the Book of Judges. And being still a young man he died and was buried with his fathers in his own field. Salutation to Melkeyas (Malachi).
Salutation to Andronicus, who after living on the top of a pillar for seventy years died before the coming of the Muslim kings into Egypt.
Salutation to Abba Benjamin who was so learned in the Scriptures that he was made Archbishop of Alexandria.
Salutation to the consecration of thy house [O Mark the Evangelist], by Abba Benjamin. [These salutations are omitted in the Bodleian MS.]
Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.
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