1The word of the Lord came to the Prophet Elias and he said to Achab, ‘As the Lord the God of powers lives, the God of Israel, before whom I stand today, there shall be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my mouth.’ The word of the Lord came to Elias, saying, ‘Go from here and towards the east, and hide yourself in the brook Chorrath, which is opposite the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I am commanding the ravens to feed you there.’ So he went and settled by the brook Chorrath, which is opposite the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread in the morning, and meat in the evening; and he drank water from the brook. And it cane to pass after some days that the brook dried up, because there was no rain on the land. Then the word of the Lord came to Elias, saying, ‘Arise and go to Sarepta, which belongs to Sidon, and settle there; for see, I am commanding a widow there to feed you.’ And he arose and went to Sarepta, to the gate of the city. And a widow was there gathering sticks. And Elias he called after her and said, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.’ As she was going to bring it, he called after her and said, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’ But the woman said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in the jar, and a little oil in the jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my children, that we may eat it, and die.’ Elias said to her, ‘Take courage. Go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your children. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of flour will not fail and the jug of oil will not grow less until the day that the Lord sends rain on the whole land.’ The woman went and did as Elias said, and he and she and her children ate. And from that day the jar of flour did not fail, neither did the jug of oil grow less, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elias. After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elias, ‘Why do you trouble me, man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sins to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son?’ But he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, ‘Alas, Lord my God, you have brought calamity upon the widow with whom I am staying, whose witness you are, by killing her son.’ Then he breathed upon the child three times, and called on the Lord and said, ‘Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ And so it happened and he cried out. And the Lord listened to the voice of Elias; the child’s soul came into him again, and he lived. Elias took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother. Then Elias said, ‘See, your son is alive.’ So the woman said to Elias, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.’
Composite 13 - 3 [1] Kings 18, 19 (Vespers)
1The word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite in the third year, saying, ‘Go, and appear before Achab, and I will give rain on the face of the land. And it came to pass that when Achab saw Elias, he said to him, ‘Is it you, the one who is troubling Israel?’ He answered, ‘I am not troubling Israel; but you are, and your father’s house, by forsaking the Lord our God and following Baal. Now therefore have all Israel assemble to me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of the scared groves, who eat at Jezebel’s table.’ So Achab sent to all Israel, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. Elias said to them, ‘How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ Then Elias said to the people, ‘I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but the prophets of the sacred grove are very many. Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull, but put no fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord my God. And the god who answers by fire shall be God.’ All the people answered, ‘The word you have spoken today is good.’ Then Elias said to the prophets of shame, ‘Choose for yourselves one calf and prepare it first; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.’ So they took the calf, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, ‘O Baal, hear us!’ But there was no voice, and no answer. They ran upon the altar that they had made. At noon Elias the Thesbite mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud! For your god likes garrulousness.’ And when the time of the offering of the oblation came, there was nothing. Then Elias the Thesbite said to the prophets of abominations, ‘Stand aside now, and I will offer my holocaust’. And Elias said to the people, ‘Come close’. And all the people came closer to him. Elias took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name’. With the stones he built and repaired the altar of the Lord that had been cast down. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the pieces of wood on the altar he had made, cut the holocaust in pieces, and laid them on the pieces of wood and piled them on the altar. He said, ‘Bring me two jars of water and pour it on the holocaust and on the pieces of wood.’ Then he said, ‘Do it a second time’; and they did it a second time. Again he said, ‘Do it a third time’; and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water. And the prophet Elias cried aloud to heaven and said, ‘Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, hear me today by fire. And let this people known that you alone the Lord. the God of Israel, that I am your servant, and that through you I have done all these things, and that you have turned back the heart of this people to you.’ Then fire from the Lord fell from heaven and consumed the holocaust and the pieces of wood; and the fire licked up the water that was in the trench, the stones, and the dust. And the people fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord indeed is God; he is God.’ Elias said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.’ Then they seized them; and Elias brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there. And after this Elias said to Achab, ‘There is a sound of rushing rain. Harness your chariot and go down, lest the rain catch you.’ Then Elias went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees and prayed to the Lord. And the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a heavy rain. Achab went to Jezreel. Achab told Jezebel his wife all that Elias had done. Then Jezebel sent to Elias, saying, ‘Tomorrow I will sacrifice your life like one of them.’ And Elias heard and was afraid; he arose and fled for his life, and came to Beersheba, in the land of Juda; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly someone touched him and said to him, ‘Arise and eat and drink, for you have a long journey.’ Elias looked, and there at his head was a cake of flour and a jar of water. He arose, ate and drank, and slept again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Arise and eat and drink, for you have a long journey.’ He arose, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to mount Horeb. There he entered a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elias?’ Elias answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the Almighty; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return to your way and you will come to the desert way of Damascus; and you shall anoint Elissaios son of Shaphat as prophet in your place.
1A day came and Elias found Elissaios son of Saphat, who was ploughing. Elias passed by him and threw his mantle over him. Elissaios left the oxen, ran after Elias, and ministered to him. And it came to pass, when the Lord took Elias in a whirlwind as though up to heaven, that Elias went with Elissaios to Galgala. Then Elias said to Elissaios, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the sons of the prophets came, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elias took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water with it; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and the two of them crossed on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elias said to Elissaios, ‘Ask me what I may do for you, before I am taken up from you.’ Elissaios said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken up from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ It came to pass that as they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elias was taken up in a whirlwind as if into heaven. Elissaios kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, Elissaios grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. He picked up the mantle of Elias that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Elissaios took the mantle of Elias that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where then is the God of Elias, Appho?’ And so he struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elissaios went over on dry ground.
Luke 24.12-35
(5th Matins Gospel)
12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he departed to his home, wondering what had happened.
13Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.
14They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened.
15While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them.
16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
17He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”
18One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things which have happened there in these days?”
19He said to them, “What things?” They said to him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;
20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
21But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
22Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb;
23and when they didn’t find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
24Some of us went to the tomb and found it just like the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”
25He said to them, “Foolish people, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?”
27Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28They came near to the village where they were going, and he acted like he would go further.
29They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.
30When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them.
31Their eyes were opened and they recognized him; then he vanished out of their sight.
32They said to one another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?”
33They rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them,
34saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
35They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
Romans 10.1-10 (Epistle)
1Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved.
2For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
3For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn’t subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
4For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law, “The one who does them will live by them.”
6But the righteousness which is of faith says this, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down);
7or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)”
8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart;” that is, the word of faith which we preach:
9that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10For with the heart one believes resulting in righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made resulting in salvation.
James 5.10-20
(Epistle, Prophet Elijah)
10Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear—not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”, so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
13Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.
14Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
20let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Matthew 8.28-9.1 (Gospel)
28When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way.
29Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
30Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them.
31The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”
32He said to them, “Go!” They came out and went into the herd of pigs; and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water.
33Those who fed them fled and went away into the city and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons.
34Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
1He entered into a boat and crossed over, and came into his own city.
Luke 4.22-30
(Gospel, Prophet Elijah)
22All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’”
24He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.
26Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”
28They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue as they heard these things.
29They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.
30But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.
Commemorations
Holy Glorious Prophet Elias (Elijah) (9th c. BC)
Read his marvellous story in the Holy Scriptures, 1 and 2 Kings. At his birth, his father Sabah saw angels of God surrounding the Prophet, clothing him in fire and feeding him flames. At the end of his years on earth, he was carried bodily to heaven by a flaming chariot; with Enoch (Gen. 5:24) he is one of the two ever to be taken bodily to heaven without first dying and being raised. He and Moses appeared standing with Christ at the Transfiguration on Mt Tabor. His name means ‘The Lord is God’.
Martyrs Maria (Skobtsova), Dimitri (Klepenin) and those with them, who perished in the Nazi concentration camps (1944-1945)
Mother Maria was born in Latvia in 1891. Like many of the pre-Revolutionary Russian intelligenstia, she was an atheist and a political radical in her youth, but gradually came to accept the truths of the Faith. After the Revolution, she became part of the large Russian emigre population of Paris. There she was tonsured as a nun by Metropolitan Evlogy, and devoted herself to a life of service to the poor. With a small community of fellow-believers, she established ‘houses of hospitality’ for the poor, the homeless, and the alcoholic, and visited Russian emigres in mental hospitals. In 1939 Metropolitan Evlogy sent the young priest Fr Dimitry to serve Mother Maria’s community; he proved to be a partner, committed even unto death, in the community’s work among the poor. When the Nazis took Paris in 1940, Mother Maria, Fr Dimitry, and others of the community chose to remain in the city to care for those who had come to count on them. As Nazi persecution of Jews in France increased, the Orthodox community’s work naturally expanded to include protection and care of these most helpless ones. Father Dimitri was asked to provide forged certificates of baptism to preserve the lives of Jews, and always complied. Eventually, this work led to the arrest of Mother Maria, Fr Dimitri, and their associates. A fragment survives of the Gestapo’s interrogation of Fr Dimitri:
Hoffman: If we release you, will you give your word never again to aid Jews?
Klepinin: I can say no such thing. I am a Christian and must act as I must. (Hoffman struck Klepinin across the face.)
Hoffman: Jew lover! How dare you talk of helping those swine as being a Christian duty! (Klepinin, recovering his balance, held up the cross from his cassock.)
Klepinin: Do you know this Jew? (For this, Father Dimitri was knocked to the floor.)
“Your priest did himself in,” Hoffman said afterward to Sophia Pilenko. “He insists that if he were to be freed, he would act exactly as before.”
Mother Maria, Fr Dimitri, and several of their colleages, were sent to the Nazi concentration camps (Mother Maria to Ravensbruck, Fr Dimitri to Buchenwald) where, after great sufferings, they perished. It is believed that Mother Maria’s last act was to take the place of a Jew being sent to death, voluntarily dying in his place.
A full account of their life and death is given on the site of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship.
Mother Maria and her companions were glorified by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2004.