John 10.1-9 (Matins Gospel, St Innocent)

1“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.” 6Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.

7Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door. 8All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture.

Isaiah 6.1-12 (6th Hour)

1And it came to pass in the year in which king Ozias died, that I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and the house was full of his glory. 2And seraphs stood round about him: each one had six wings: and with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one cried to the other, and they said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4And the lintel shook at the voice they uttered, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said, Woe is me, for I am pricked to the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips; and I have seen with my eyes the King, the Lord of hosts. 6And there was sent to me one of the seraphs, and he had in his hand a coal, which he had taken off the altar with the tongs: 7and he touched my mouth, and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, and will take away your iniquities, and will purge off your sins. 8And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? And I said, behold, I am here, send me. And he said, Go, and say to this people, 9You⌃ shall hear indeed, but you⌃ shall not understand; and you⌃ shall see indeed, but you⌃ shall not perceive. 10For the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 11And I said, How long, O Lord? And he said, Until cities be deserted by reason of their not being inhabited, and the houses by reason of there being no men, and the land shall be left desolate. 12And after this God shall remove the men far off, and they that are left upon the land shall be multiplied.

Genesis 5.1-24 (Vespers)

1This is the genealogy of men in the day in which God made Adam; in the image of God he made him: 2male and female he made them, and blessed them; and he called his name Adam, in the day in which he made them. 3And Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son after his own form, and after his own image, and he called his name Seth. 4And the days of Adam, which he lived after his begetting Seth, were seven hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters. 5And all the days of Adam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. 6Now Seth lived two hundred and five years, and begot Enos. 7And Seth lived after his begetting Enos, seven hundred and seven years, and he begot sons and daughters. 8And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. 9And Enos lived one hundred and ninety years, and begot Cainan. 10And Enos lived after his begetting Cainan, seven hundred and fifteen years, and he begot sons and daughters. 11And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died. 12And Cainan lived one hundred and seventy years, and he begot Maleleel. 13And Cainan lived after his begetting Maleleel, seven hundred and forty years, and he begot sons and daughters. 14And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. 15And Maleleel lived one hundred and sixty and five years, and he begot Jared. 16And Maleleel lived after his begetting Jared, seven hundred and thirty years, and he begot sons and daughters. 17And all the days of Maleleel were eight hundred and ninety and five years, and he died. 18And Jared lived one hundred and sixty and two years, and begot Enoch: 19and Jared lived after his begetting Enoch, eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. 20And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty and two years, and he died. 21And Enoch lived one hundred and sixty and five years, and became the father of Mathusala. 22And Enoch was well-pleasing to God after his begetting Mathusala, two hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. 23And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty and five years. 24And Enoch was well-pleasing to God, and was not found, because God translated him.

Proverbs 6.3-20 (Vespers)

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. 4Give not sleep to your eyes, nor slumber with your eyelids; 5that you may deliver yourself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare. 6Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he. 7For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master, 8he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labors kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom. 9How long will you lie, O sluggard? and when will you awake out of sleep? 10You sleep a little, and you rest a little, and you slumber a short time, and you fold your arms over your breast a little. 11Then poverty comes upon you as an evil traveller, and lack as a swift courier: but if you be diligent, your harvest shall arrive as a fountain, and poverty shall flee away as a bad courier. 12A foolish man and a transgressor goes in ways that are not good. 13And the same winks with the eye, and makes a sign with his foot, and teaches with the beckonings of his fingers. 14His perverse heart devises evils: at all times such a one causes troubles to a city. 15Therefore his destruction shall come suddenly; overthrow and irretrievable ruin. 16For he rejoices in all things which God hates, and he is ruined by reason of impurity of soul. 17The eye of the haughty, a tongue unjust, hands shedding the blood of the just; 18and a heart devising evil thoughts, and feet hastening to do evil, —are hateful to God. 19An unjust witness kindles falsehoods, and brings on quarrels between brethren. 20My son, keep the laws of your father, and reject not the ordinances of your mother:

Hebrews 7.26-8.2 (Epistle, St Innocent)

26For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself. 28For the law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son forever who has been perfected.

1Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2a servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man.

John 10.9-16 (Gospel, St Innocent)

9I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture. 10The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 13The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; 15even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.

St Innocent, enlightener of Alaska and Siberia (1879)

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.

While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniaminov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.

In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

Hieromartyr Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra (326)

He was born in Cilicia in Asia Minor, and became Bishop of Gangra, the capital of Paphlagonia. He took part in the First Ecumenical Council, where he was praised by all for his piety and miracles. It is said that the Emperor Constantius kept a bust of Hypatius in his palace as a weapon against demonic powers. The Saint was murdered by the Novatians, a sect which believed that there is no forgiveness for sins committed after Baptism. [The popularity of this belief helps to explain why many believers at that time postponed baptism until very late in life.] As Hypatius was traveling home from Constantinople, they attacked him on the road and stoned him to death. A woman who took part in the attack went mad and began to beat herself with a stone; she was only healed when her friends took her to the grave of St Hypatius and prayed for her. Restored by his compassionate intercession, she spent the rest of her life in repentance and prayer.

St Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow (1461)

He became a monk at the age of twelve and lived in the Simonov Monastery near Moscow. He later became Bishop of Ryazan, then was chosen as Metropolitan of Moscow (at this time the Russian Church was still under the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Metropolitanate of Moscow was its highest office). But through some political intrigue, a man named Isidore became Metropolitan instead. It was this Isidore who attended the Council of Florence and voted for the infamous Union with Rome perpetrated there. When he returned to Moscow three years later he was condemned as an apostate and exiled. Bishop Jonah at last became Metropolitan in his place. In his lifetime he was widely known as a healer, wonder-worker, seer and spiritual father. In his last years he prayed to suffer greatly through some illness, so as to be purified by his sufferings. In answer to this prayer, he was given wounds in his feet, of which he died. His relics continued to perform many wonders. The Prologue recounts, “A dumb man, John, was brought to the saint’s relics. John kissed Jonah’s hand and, as he related afterwards, the hand grabbed hold of his tongue and he felt a sharp pain. When it let his tongue go, he went back to his friends — and spoke as if he had never been dumb.”