Orthodox Calendar

Monday, October 31, 2022
Monday of the 21st week after Pentecost

No Fast

Scripture Readings

Commemorations

Scripture Readings

Philippians 4.10-23 (Epistle)

10But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your thought for me; in which you did indeed take thought, but you lacked opportunity. 11Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. 12I know how to be humbled, and I also know how to abound. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need. 13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 14However you did well that you shared in my affliction. 15You yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning of the Good News, when I departed from Macedonia, no assembly shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you only. 16For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to my need. 17Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increases to your account. 18But I have all things and abound. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable and well-pleasing sacrifice to God. 19My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

21Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22All the saints greet you, especially those who are of Caesar’s household.

23The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Romans 16.1-16 (Epistle, Apostles Stachys, Amplias, et al)

1I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the assembly that is at Cenchreae, 2that you receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, and of my own self.

3Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the Gentiles. 5Greet the assembly that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first fruits of Achaia to Christ. 6Greet Mary, who labored much for us. 7Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, who were also in Christ before me. 8Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. 9Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. 10Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet them of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. 12Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet Persis, the beloved, who labored much in the Lord. 13Greet Rufus, the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16Greet one another with a holy kiss. The assemblies of Christ greet you.

Luke 11.29-33 (Gospel)

29When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will also be to this generation. 31The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here. 32The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.

33“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.

Commemorations

Holy Apostles Stachys, Apelles, Amplias, Urban, Narcissus and Aristobolus.

They are numbered among the Seventy. All six are mentioned by St Paul in the sixteenth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. Stachys was appointed Bishop of Byzantium by the Apostle Andrew, and reposed in peace in AD 54. Apelles became Bishop of Heraclea in Asia Minor. Amplias and Urban were made Bishops in Macedonia by St Andrew; both died as Martyrs. Narcissus became Bishop of Athens and died a Martyr. Aristobulus became Bishop of Britain, where he reposed in peace.

New Martyr Nicholas of Chios (1754)

Raised in piety, he worked as a stone-mason until an accident deprived him of his reason and of the power of speech. The local Turkish rulers took advantage of his condition to declare him a Muslim. For years thereafter he was employed as a shepherd until he met a monk named Cyril, who prayed fervently that he be restored to his senses. He was miraculously restored, and almost immediately was filled with the desire to repent and to live only for Christ, devoting himself to prayer, fasting and vigil. Some time later he was falsely suspected of a crime by the (Christian) people of his village, and brought before the Turkish authorities. When he was questioned, he declared ‘I was born a Christian, I was brought up as a Christian, I have never denied Christ for Islam, and I never will deny Him, but will die a Christian.’ For this he was brutally tortured. Many local Christians, including the village priest, feared for their own safety and urged him to deny Christ, but Nicholas only rebuked them and stood firm. After many days of torture he was finally slain by the sword. The Synaxarion tells how a thick darkness fell on the whole island of Chios. When the dismayed Turks burned the Martyr’s body to be rid of this miracle, they were further dismayed when a heavenly scent rose from the flames, revealing the Saint’s entry into eternal glory.