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Daily Scripture Readings and Lives of the Saints for Monday, May 2, 2011
Readings for today:
St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 13:7-16
Matthew 5:14-19
Feasts and Saints celebrated today:
Removal of the Relics of St. Athanasius the Great
Hesperos & Zoe the Righteous
Boris, King & Enlightener of Bulgaria (Michael in Baptism)
Jordan the Wonderworker
Epistle Reading
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 13:7-16
Brethren, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God;
consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith. Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away
by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be
strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents.
We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no
right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought
into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are
burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in
order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us
go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For
here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come.
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to
God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not
neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are
pleasing to God.
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Gospel Reading
The reading is from Matthew 5:14-19
The Lord said to his disciples, "You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it
under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Think not that I
have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to
abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven
and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law
until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of
these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven."
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Removal of the Relics of St. Athanasius the Great
Reading from the Synaxarion:
In the half-century after the First Ecumenical Council held in
Nicaea in 325, if there was one man whom the Arians feared and hated
more intensely than any other, as being able to lay bare the whole
error of their teaching, and to marshal, even from exile or hiding, the
beleaguered forces of the Orthodox, it was Saint Athanasius the Great. This
blazing lamp of Orthodoxy, which imperial power and heretics' plots could
not quench when he shone upon the lampstand, nor find when he was hid
by the people and monks of Egypt, was born in Alexandria about the
year 296. He received an excellent training in Greek letters and
especially in the sacred Scriptures, of which he shows an exceptional
knowledge in his writings. Even as a young man he had a remarkable depth of
theological understanding; he was only about twenty years old when he wrote
his treatise On the Incarnation. Saint Alexander, the Archbishop of
Alexandria, brought him up in piety, ordained him his deacon, and, after
deposing Arius for his blasphemy against the Divinity of the Son of God,
took Athanasius to the First Council in Nicaea in 325; Saint
Athanasius was to spend the remainder of his life labouring in defence of
this holy Council. In 326, before his death, Alexander appointed
Athanasius his successor.
In 325, Arius had been condemned by the Council of Nicaea; yet
through Arius' hypocritical confession of Orthodox belief, Saint
Constantine the Great was persuaded by Arius' supporters that he should be
received back into the communion of the Church. But Athanasius, knowing
well the perverseness of his mind, and the disease of heresy lurking
in his heart, refused communion with Arius. The heresiarch's
followers then began framing false charges against Athanasius; finally
Saint Constantine the Great, misled by grave charges of the Saint's
misconduct-which were completely false-had him exiled to Tiberius (Treves) in Gaul
in 336. When Saint Constantine was succeeded by his three sons
Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius, in 337, Saint Athanasius returned
to Alexandria in triumph. But his enemies found an ally in
Constantius, Emperor of the East; Saint Athanasius' second exile was spent in
Rome. It was ended when Constans prevailed with threats upon his
brother Constantius to restore Athanasius (see also Nov. 6). For ten
years Saint Athanasius strengthened Orthodoxy throughout Egypt,
visiting the whole country and encouraging all, clergy, monastics, and
layfolk, being loved by all as a father. But after Constans' death in 350,
Constantius became sole Emperor,and Athanasius was again in danger. In the
evening of February 8, 356, General Syrianus with more than five thousand
soldiers surrounded the church in which Athanasius was serving, and broke
open the doors. Athanasius' clergy begged him to leave, but the good
shepherd commanded that all the flock should withdraw first; and only when
he was assured of their safety, he also, protected by divine grace,
passed through the midst of the soldiers and disappeared into the
deserts of Egypt, where for some six years he eluded the soldiers and
spies sent after him.
When Julian the Apostate succeeded Constantius in 361, Athanasius
returned again, but only for a few months. Because Athanasius had
converted many pagans, and the priests of the idols in Egypt wrote to
Julian that if Athanasius remained, idolatry would perish in Egypt, the
heathen Emperor ordered not Athanasius' exile, but his death. Athanasius
took ship up the Nile. When he learned that his imperial pursuers were
following him, he had his men turn back, and as his boat passed that of his
pursuers, they asked him if he had seen Athanasius. "He is not far," he
answered. After returning to Alexandria for a while, he fled again to the
Thebaid until Julian's death in 363. Saint Athanasius suffered his fifth
and last exile under Valens in 365, which only lasted four months
because Valens, fearing a sedition among the Egyptians for their beloved
Archbishop, revoked his edict in February, 366.
The great Athanasius passed the remaining seven years of his life in
peace. Of his fifty-seven years as Patriarch, he had spent some
seventeen in exiles. Shining from the height of his throne like a radiant
evening star, and enlightening the Orthodox with the brilliance of his
words for yet a little while, this much-suffering champion inclined
toward the sunset of his life, and, in the year 373, took his rest from
his lengthy sufferings, but not before another luminary of the truth,
Basil the Great, had risen in the East, being consecrated Archbishop of
Caesarea in 370. Besides all his other achievements, Saint Athanasius
wrote the life of Saint Anthony the Great, with whom he spent time in
his youth; ordained Saint Frumentius first Bishop of Ethiopia; and in
his Paschal Encyclical for the year 367 set forth the books of the
Old and New Testaments accepted by the Church as canonical. Saint
Gregory the Theologian, in his Oration On the Great Athanasius, said he
was "Angelic in appearance, more angelic in mind; ... rebuking with
the tenderness; of a father, praising with the dignity of a ruler ...
Everything was harmonious, as an air upon a single lyre, and in the same
key; his life, his teaching, his struggles, his dangers, his return,
and his conduct after his return ... be treated so mildly and gently
those who had injured him, that even they themselves, if I may say so,
did not find his restoration distasteful."
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Thou wast Orthodoxy's steadfast pillar, holding up the Church with
godly dogmas, O great Hierarch, for thou didst preach unto all that God
the Son is one essence in very truth with God the Father; thus thou
didst shame Arius. Righteous Father Athanasius, do thou entreat Christ
God that His great mercy may be granted unto us.
Kontakion in the Second Tone
Having planted the dogmas of Orthodoxy, thou didst cut out the thorns of
false doctrine; and with the rain of the Spirit, thou didst increase
the seed of the Faith, Wherefore, we praise thee, O righteous
Athanasius.
This content is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved:
Reading (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Kontakion (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Daily Scripture Readings and Lives of the Saints for Monday, May 2, 2011
Readings for today:
St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 13:7-16
Matthew 5:14-19
Feasts and Saints celebrated today:
Removal of the Relics of St. Athanasius the Great
Hesperos & Zoe the Righteous
Boris, King & Enlightener of Bulgaria (Michael in Baptism)
Jordan the Wonderworker
Epistle Reading
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 13:7-16
Brethren, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God;
consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith. Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away
by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be
strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents.
We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no
right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought
into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are
burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in
order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us
go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For
here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come.
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to
God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not
neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are
pleasing to God.
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Gospel Reading
The reading is from Matthew 5:14-19
The Lord said to his disciples, "You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it
under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Think not that I
have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to
abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven
and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law
until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of
these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven."
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Removal of the Relics of St. Athanasius the Great
Reading from the Synaxarion:
In the half-century after the First Ecumenical Council held in
Nicaea in 325, if there was one man whom the Arians feared and hated
more intensely than any other, as being able to lay bare the whole
error of their teaching, and to marshal, even from exile or hiding, the
beleaguered forces of the Orthodox, it was Saint Athanasius the Great. This
blazing lamp of Orthodoxy, which imperial power and heretics' plots could
not quench when he shone upon the lampstand, nor find when he was hid
by the people and monks of Egypt, was born in Alexandria about the
year 296. He received an excellent training in Greek letters and
especially in the sacred Scriptures, of which he shows an exceptional
knowledge in his writings. Even as a young man he had a remarkable depth of
theological understanding; he was only about twenty years old when he wrote
his treatise On the Incarnation. Saint Alexander, the Archbishop of
Alexandria, brought him up in piety, ordained him his deacon, and, after
deposing Arius for his blasphemy against the Divinity of the Son of God,
took Athanasius to the First Council in Nicaea in 325; Saint
Athanasius was to spend the remainder of his life labouring in defence of
this holy Council. In 326, before his death, Alexander appointed
Athanasius his successor.
In 325, Arius had been condemned by the Council of Nicaea; yet
through Arius' hypocritical confession of Orthodox belief, Saint
Constantine the Great was persuaded by Arius' supporters that he should be
received back into the communion of the Church. But Athanasius, knowing
well the perverseness of his mind, and the disease of heresy lurking
in his heart, refused communion with Arius. The heresiarch's
followers then began framing false charges against Athanasius; finally
Saint Constantine the Great, misled by grave charges of the Saint's
misconduct-which were completely false-had him exiled to Tiberius (Treves) in Gaul
in 336. When Saint Constantine was succeeded by his three sons
Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius, in 337, Saint Athanasius returned
to Alexandria in triumph. But his enemies found an ally in
Constantius, Emperor of the East; Saint Athanasius' second exile was spent in
Rome. It was ended when Constans prevailed with threats upon his
brother Constantius to restore Athanasius (see also Nov. 6). For ten
years Saint Athanasius strengthened Orthodoxy throughout Egypt,
visiting the whole country and encouraging all, clergy, monastics, and
layfolk, being loved by all as a father. But after Constans' death in 350,
Constantius became sole Emperor,and Athanasius was again in danger. In the
evening of February 8, 356, General Syrianus with more than five thousand
soldiers surrounded the church in which Athanasius was serving, and broke
open the doors. Athanasius' clergy begged him to leave, but the good
shepherd commanded that all the flock should withdraw first; and only when
he was assured of their safety, he also, protected by divine grace,
passed through the midst of the soldiers and disappeared into the
deserts of Egypt, where for some six years he eluded the soldiers and
spies sent after him.
When Julian the Apostate succeeded Constantius in 361, Athanasius
returned again, but only for a few months. Because Athanasius had
converted many pagans, and the priests of the idols in Egypt wrote to
Julian that if Athanasius remained, idolatry would perish in Egypt, the
heathen Emperor ordered not Athanasius' exile, but his death. Athanasius
took ship up the Nile. When he learned that his imperial pursuers were
following him, he had his men turn back, and as his boat passed that of his
pursuers, they asked him if he had seen Athanasius. "He is not far," he
answered. After returning to Alexandria for a while, he fled again to the
Thebaid until Julian's death in 363. Saint Athanasius suffered his fifth
and last exile under Valens in 365, which only lasted four months
because Valens, fearing a sedition among the Egyptians for their beloved
Archbishop, revoked his edict in February, 366.
The great Athanasius passed the remaining seven years of his life in
peace. Of his fifty-seven years as Patriarch, he had spent some
seventeen in exiles. Shining from the height of his throne like a radiant
evening star, and enlightening the Orthodox with the brilliance of his
words for yet a little while, this much-suffering champion inclined
toward the sunset of his life, and, in the year 373, took his rest from
his lengthy sufferings, but not before another luminary of the truth,
Basil the Great, had risen in the East, being consecrated Archbishop of
Caesarea in 370. Besides all his other achievements, Saint Athanasius
wrote the life of Saint Anthony the Great, with whom he spent time in
his youth; ordained Saint Frumentius first Bishop of Ethiopia; and in
his Paschal Encyclical for the year 367 set forth the books of the
Old and New Testaments accepted by the Church as canonical. Saint
Gregory the Theologian, in his Oration On the Great Athanasius, said he
was "Angelic in appearance, more angelic in mind; ... rebuking with
the tenderness; of a father, praising with the dignity of a ruler ...
Everything was harmonious, as an air upon a single lyre, and in the same
key; his life, his teaching, his struggles, his dangers, his return,
and his conduct after his return ... be treated so mildly and gently
those who had injured him, that even they themselves, if I may say so,
did not find his restoration distasteful."
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Thou wast Orthodoxy's steadfast pillar, holding up the Church with
godly dogmas, O great Hierarch, for thou didst preach unto all that God
the Son is one essence in very truth with God the Father; thus thou
didst shame Arius. Righteous Father Athanasius, do thou entreat Christ
God that His great mercy may be granted unto us.
Kontakion in the Second Tone
Having planted the dogmas of Orthodoxy, thou didst cut out the thorns of
false doctrine; and with the rain of the Spirit, thou didst increase
the seed of the Faith, Wherefore, we praise thee, O righteous
Athanasius.
This content is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved:
Reading (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Kontakion (c) Holy Transfiguration Monastery
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