Isaiah 41.4-14 (6th Hour)

4Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 5The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 6They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. 7So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. 8But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

10Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 11Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 12Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 13For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 14Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Genesis 17.1-9 (Vespers)

1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

9And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Proverbs 15.20-16.9 (LXX) (Vespers)

20A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother. 21Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly. 22Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. 23A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! 24The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. 25The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow. 26The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words. 27He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live. 28The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things. 29The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. 30The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat. 31The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. 32He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. 33The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

1The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. 2All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. 3Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. 4The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. 5Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. 6By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. 7When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. 9A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Our Holy Father Nicetas the Confessor (824)

He was born in Caesarea of Bithynia. His widowed father became a monk, leaving Nicetas to the care of his grandmother. Nicetas himself, when he was grown, entered a monastery in Midikion, on the Sea of Marmara. After seven years of monastic life he was ordained hieromonk by Patriarch Tarasios. When Nikephoros, the abbot of the monastery, died, the brethren chose Nicetas as their new abbot.

When Leo the Armenian became Emperor, he revived the iconoclast heresy, even though it had been put down under the Empress Irene and condemned by an Ecumenical Council. The Emperor deposed and exiled the holy Patriarch Nicephoros, putting a heretic in his place. Nicetas, because he was known for his holiness and steadfast reverence for the holy icons, was imprisoned and tortured, but did not waver in his defense of Orthodoxy. Nicetas was taken from prison to prison, torture to torture, and exiled twice, until at last Leo the Armenian died and the Orthodox Emperor Michael came to the throne and freed all those imprisoned for Orthodoxy.

Once freed, Nicetas retired to a secluded hermitage near Constantinople, where he passed the remainder of his life in prayer and thanksgiving. When he died, his body was taken back to his monastery; during the journey, many of the sick who touched his holy body were healed.

Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (886)

“Saint Joseph was from Sicily, the son of Plotinus and Agatha. Because Sicily had been subjugated by the Moslems, he departed thence and, passing from place to place, came with Saint Gregory of Decapolis (see Nov. 20) to Constantinople, where he endured bitter afflictions because of his pious zeal. Travelling to Rome, he was captured by Arab pirates and taken to Crete, whence he later returned to Constantinople. He became an excellent hymnographer and reposed in holiness shortly after 886 (according to some, it was in 883). The melismatic canons of the Menaion are primarily the work of this Joseph; they bear his name in the acrostic of the Ninth Ode. He also composed most of the sacred book known as the Paracletike, which complements the Octoechos. For this reason, Joseph is called par excellence the Hymnographer.” (Great Horologion)

The “bitter afflictions” which St Joseph suffered were probably due (judging from his dates) to his veneration of the holy icons.

Note: In the Slavic calendar he is commemorated on April 4.

Saint Seraphim of Vyritsa (1949) (March 21 OC)

Born in 1866, he married and had three children. In 1920, at the age of 54, he and his wife quietly separated and each entered monastic life. Eventually he became the spiritual father of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where, as a clairvoyant staretz, he also confessed thousands of laity. He said, “I am the storage room where people’s afflictions gather.” In imitation of his patron saint, he prayed for a thousand nights on a rock before an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He reposed in the Lord in 1949 and the Church of Russia glorified him in August of 2000. Thus his whole life as a monk was spent under Communist persecution.