Isaiah 5.16-25 (6th Hour)

16But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be glorified in righteousness. 17And they that were spoiled shall be fed as bulls, and lambs shall feed on the waste places of them that are taken away. 18Woe to them that draw sins to them as with a long rope, and iniquities as with a thong of the heifer's yoke: 19who say, Let him speedily hasten what he will do, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it. 20Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; who make darkness light, and light darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter. 21Woe to them that are wise in their own conceit, and knowing in their own sight. 22Woe to the strong ones of you that drink wine, and the mighty ones that mingle strong drink: 23who justify the ungodly for rewards, and take away the righteousness of the righteous. 24Therefore as stubble shall be burnt by a coal of fire, and shall be consumed by a violent flame, their root shall be as chaff, and their flower shall go up as dust: for they rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and insulted the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore the Lord of hosts was greatly angered against his people, and he reached forth his hand upon them, and struck them: and the mountains were troubled, and their carcasses were as dung in the midst of the way: yet for all this his anger has not been turned away, but his hand is yet raised.

Genesis 4.16-26 (Vespers)

16So Cain went forth from the presence of God and lived in the land of Nod over against Edem. 17And Cain knew his wife, and having conceived she bore Enoch; and he built a city; and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18And to Enoch was born Gaidad; and Gaidad begot Maleleel; and Maleleel begot Mathusala; and Mathusala begot Lamech. 19And Lamech took to himself two wives; the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the second Sella. 20And Ada bore Jobel; he was the father of those that dwell in tents, feeding cattle. 21And the name of his brother was Jubal; he it was who invented the lute and harp. 22And Sella also bore Thobel; he was a smith, a manufacturer both of brass and iron; and the sister of Thobel was Noema. 23And Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Sella, Hear my voice, you⌃ wives of Lamech, consider my words, because I have slain a man to my sorrow and a youth to my grief. 24Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain's behalf, on Lamech's it shall be seventy times seven. 25And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying, For God has raised up to me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. 26And Seth had a son, and he called his name Enos: he hoped to call on the name of the Lord God.

Proverbs 5.15-6.3 (Vespers)

15Drink waters out of your own vessels, and out of your own springing wells. 16Let not waters out of your fountain be spilled by you, but let your waters go into your streets. 17Let them be only your own, and let no stranger partake with you. 18Let your fountain of water be truly your own; and rejoice with the wife of your youth. 19Let your loving hart and your graceful colt company with you, and let her be considered your own, and be with you at all times; for ravished with her love you shall be greatly increased. 20Be not intimate with a strange woman, neither fold yourself in the arms of a woman not your own. 21For the ways of a man are before the eyes of God, and he looks on all his paths. 22Iniquities ensnare a man, and every one is bound in the chains of his own sins. 23Such a man dies with the uninstructed; and he is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance, and has perished through folly.

1My son, if you become surety for your friend, you shall deliver your hand to an enemy. 2For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth. 3My son, do what I command you, and deliver yourself; for on your friend's account you are come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even your friend for whom you are become surety.

Apostles of the Seventy Archippus and Philemon

Archippus was the son of Saints Philemon (Nov. 22) and Apphia (Feb. 15), and, like them, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul, who calls him “our fellow soldier” (Philm. 2). He and his father preached the Gospel at Colossae, and Archippus probably served as a priest for the church that gathered there at his family’s house (Col. 4:17). Archippus’ fervor in preaching the Gospel of Christ so angered the pagans that they seized him and brought him before the governor Androcles. When the Saint refused to sacrifice to Artemis, he was stripped, beaten, tormented in various ways, and finally stoned to death.

Our Venerable Mother Philothea of Athens (1589)

“This bright star of compassion arose in the dark days of the Turkish occupation to shed God’s mercy upon the oppressed people of Athens and to guide many endangered souls onto the path of righteousness.” (Synaxarion)

She was born in 1528 to the prominent Venizelou family, miraculously answering her mother’s prayer of many years. Though even in childhood she showed a love for ascesis and prayer, she was much sought-after as a wealthy heiress, and was married at the age of twelve to a rough, violent man. She endured his ill-treatment nobly, and prayed daily for his conversion. After three years, the brutal husband died, and Philothea gave herself entirely to a life of prayer and fasting, living like a hermitess though still in her parents’ house. When her parents died ten years later, she used her entire fortune to found a convent. Its design had been given her in a vision by the Apostle Andrew, and it was dedicated to him. Alongside the monastery, she founded a hospital, a hospice for the poor, and schools where boys and girls could receive a Christian education, something obviously not provided by the Turkish rulers.

As soon as the monastery was begun, she took monastic vows under the name of Philothea, and she, her own maidservants, and many young women of the city, became the first nuns there. Philothea continued in her boundless compassion for the poor and infirm, whom she visited and tended. She was so free in her almsgiving that more than once the monastery was left without food or other necessities of life, and the sisters began to complain about her. But each time, large donations appeared unexpectedly and saved the community from starvation.

Philothea offered asylum and refuge to Christian slave women who had fled their masters to preserve their faith and chastity. This angered the Turks, who surrounded the monastery, seized Philothea, and brought her before the judge. She was told to deny Christ or die, and when she refused was sentenced to death; but some influential Athenian Greeks were able to intervene on her behalf and to obtain her release.

Immediately upon her release she redoubled her prayers, her apostolic labors and her works of mercy, and was soon granted the gift of working miracles and healings. So many disciples came to join her that she established a second monastery. Her growing influence aroused the hatred of some of the Turks, who broke into the monastery one night and beat her violently, leaving her half-dead. She bore the effects of her injuries patiently, and after a short time gave back her soul to God in 1589.

Twenty years after her repose, a beautiful scent began to issue from her tomb. Her precious relics, venerated at the Cathedral in Athens, remain incorrupt to this day.