Isaiah 28.14-22 (6th Hour)

14Therefore hear you⌃ the word of the Lord, you⌃ afflicted men, and you⌃ princes of this people that is in Jerusalem. 15Because you⌃ have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood shall we be protected: 16Therefore thus says the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations; and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed. 17And I will cause judgment to be for hope, and my compassion shall be for just measures, and you⌃ that trust vainly in falsehood shall fall: for the storm shall by no means pass by you, 18except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, you⌃ shall be beaten down by it. 19Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you; morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be an evil hope. Learn to hear, 20you⌃ that are distressed; we can’t fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered. 21The Lord shall rise up as a mountain of ungodly men, and shall be in the valley of Gabaon; he shall perform his works with wrath, even a work of bitterness, and his wrath shall deal strangely, and his destruction shall be strange. 22Therefore do not you⌃ rejoice, neither let your bands be made strong; for I have heard of works finished and cut short by the Lord of hosts, which he will execute upon all the earth.

Genesis 10.32-11.9 (Vespers)

32These are the tribes of the sons of Noe, according to their generations, according to their nations: of them were the islands of the Gentiles scattered over the earth after the flood.

1And all the earth was one lip, and there was one language to all. 2And it came to pass as they moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Senaar, and they lived there. 3And a man said to his neighbor, Come, let us make bricks and bake them with fire. And the brick was to them for stone, and their mortar was bitumen. 4And they said, Come, let us build to ourselves a city and tower, whose top shall be to heaven, and let us make to ourselves a name, before we are scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth. 5And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men built. 6And the Lord said, Behold, there is one race, and one lip of all, and they have begun to do this, and now nothing shall fail from them of all that they may have undertaken to do. 7Come, and having gone down let us there confound their tongue, that they may not understand each the voice of his neighbor. 8And the Lord scattered them thence over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city and the tower. 9On this account its name was called Confusion, because there the Lord confounded the languages of all the earth, and thence the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth.

Proverbs 13.19-14.6 (Vespers)

19The desires of the godly gladden the soul, but the works of the ungodly are far from knowledge. 20If you walk with wise men you shall be wise: but he that walks with fools shall be known. 21Evil shall pursue sinners; but good shall overtake the righteous. 22A good man shall inherit children's children; and the wealth of ungodly men is laid up for the just. 23The righteous shall spend many years in wealth: but the unrighteous shall perish suddenly. 24He that spares the rod hates his son: but he that loves, carefully chastens him. 25A just man eats and satisfies his soul: but the souls of the ungodly are in lack.

1Wise women build houses: but a foolish one digs hers down with her hands. 2He that walks uprightly fears the Lord; but he that is perverse in his ways shall be dishonored. 3Out of the mouth of fools comes a rod of pride; but the lips of the wise preserve them. 4Where no oxen are, the cribs are clean; but where there is abundant produce, the strength of the ox is apparent. 5A faithful witness does not lie; but an unjust witness kindles falsehoods. 6You shall seek wisdom with bad men, and shall not find it; but discretion is easily available with the prudent.

St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem

He was born in Damascus to an eminent family, and was well educated in his youth. Discontented with the wisdom of the world, he entered monastic life in the monastery of St Theodosius, where he became the lifelong friend and disciple of John Moschos. Together they visited the monasteries and hermitages of Egypt; they later wrote down their discoveries among the holy monks in the classic Spiritual Meadow. After the death of his teacher, St Sophronius traveled to Jerusalem, which had just been liberated from the Persians. He was there to see the Precious Cross returned from Persia by the Emperor Heraclius, who carried it into Jerusalem on his back. A few years later, in 634, St Sophronius was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem, where he served his flock wisely for three years and three months. He was zealous in the defense of Orthodoxy against the Monothelite heresy: He convoked a Council in Jerusalem which condemned it before it was condemned at the Sixth Ecumenical Council. The holy Patriarch even traveled to Constantinople to rebuke the Patriarch Sergius and Emperor Heraclius, who had embraced the Monothelite error.

The years of peace were few for the Holy Land; for just as the Persian Empire was decisively defeated by Heraclius, the followers of Islam erupted out of Arabia, conquering most of North Africa and the Middle East in a few years. The Saint was so grieved by the capture of Jerusalem in 637 by the Caliph Omar that begged God to take him, so that he might not live to see the desecration of the holy places. His prayer was granted, and he reposed in peace less than a year later.

St Sophronios is the author of the Life of Saint Mary of Egypt, appointed to be read in the churches during every Great Lent. He also wrote the service of the Great Blessing of the Waters. Some have attributed the Vesperal hymn “Gladsome Light” to him, but we know that it dates from before the time of St Basil the Great, who mentions it in his writings. It seems though, that St Sophronios supplemented the hymn, and that its present form is due to him.

St John Moschos, author of the Spiritual Meadow (622)

He is commemorated today along with his disciple and friend St Sophronius (see above).

Holy Martyr Pionius (250)

“A priest of Smyrna, he suffered there in the time of Decius’ persecution. They condemned him to be crucified, which was a great joy to him. And as soon as the soldiers assembled the cross and laid it on the ground, Pionius laid himself on it and stretched out his arms, calling to the soldiers to put the nails into his hands. The cross was inserted into the ground upside down, and a fire lit under the martyr’s head. There were many bystanders. Pionius closed his eyes and prayed to God within himself. The flames could not succeed in igniting even his hair, and when the fire had at last gone out and everyone thought that he was dead, Pionius opened his eyes and cried out joyfully: ‘O Lord, receive my spirit!’, and breathed his last. This saint wrote the life of St Polycarp of Smyrna, together with whom he now makes merry in the Kingdom of Christ. He suffered and was glorified in 250.” (Prologue)