Orthodox Calendar

Sunday, December 4, 2107
26th Sunday after Pentecost

Nativity Fast — Fish, Wine and Oil are Allowed — Abstain from meat, dairy, and eggs

Scripture Readings

Commemorations

Scripture Readings

Luke 24.1-12 (4th Matins Gospel)

1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. 4While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.

5Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. The men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, 7saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again?”

8They remembered his words, 9returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles. 11These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn’t believe them. 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.

Ephesians 5.8-19 (Epistle)

8For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, 9for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, 10proving what is well pleasing to the Lord. 11Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them. 12For it is a shame even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light. 14Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

15Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore, don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Hebrews 13.7-16 (Epistle, St Alexander)

7Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9Don’t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

10We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat. 11For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside of the camp. 12Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate. 13Let’s therefore go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach. 14For we don’t have here an enduring city, but we seek that which is to come. 15Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name. 16But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Luke 17.12-19 (Gospel)

12As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. 13They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed. 15One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 16He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

17Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

Luke 12.32-40 (Gospel, St Alexander)

32“Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. 33Sell what you have and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

35“Let your waist be dressed and your lamps burning. 36Be like men watching for their lord when he returns from the wedding feast, that when he comes and knocks, they may immediately open to him. 37Blessed are those servants whom the lord will find watching when he comes. Most certainly I tell you that he will dress himself, make them recline, and will come and serve them. 38They will be blessed if he comes in the second or third watch and finds them so. 39But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you don’t expect him.”

Commemorations

Holy Great Martyr Barbara (290)

‘Saint Barbara was from Heliopolis of Phoenicia and lived during the reign of Maximian. She was the daughter of a certain idolater named Dioscorus. When Barbara came of age, she was enlightened in her pure heart and secretly believed in the Holy Trinity. About this time Dioscorus began building a bath-house; before it was finished he was required to go away to attend to certain matters, and in his absence Barbara directed the workmen to build a third window in addition to the two her father had commanded. She also inscribed the sign of the Cross with her finger upon the marble of the bath-house, leaving the saving sign cut as deeply into the marble as if it had been done with an iron tool. When the Synaxarion of Saint Barbara was written, the marble of the bath-house and the cross inscribed by Saint Barbara were still preserved, and many healings were worked there. When Dioscorus returned, he asked why the third window had been added; Barbara began to declare to him the mystery of the Trinity. Because she refused to renounce her faith, Dioscorus tortured Barbara inhumanly, and after subjecting her to many sufferings he beheaded her with his own hands, in the year 290.’ (Great Horologion)

Our Righteous Father John of Damascus (760)

This divinely-enlightened Harp of the Spirit was at the same time one of the Church’s greatest hymnographers and one of Her greatest theologians and defenders of the Faith.

The city of Damascus in Syria fell to the Muslims in 635. At the time of the Caliph Abdul-Malik, responsibility for government of the Christian population was given to Sergius Mansur, a prominent Christian of the city. This Sergius strove to govern in a godly way under the many disabilities imposed by the Caliph, and devoted his wealth to almsgiving and to ransoming Christian prisoners. His son John was born in 675, and along with his adoptive brother Cosmas (October 14) was brought up to love and serve Christ.

John, whose exceptional education included a perfect knowledge of both Greek and Arabic, entered the civil administration and eventually succeeded to his father’s position under the Caliph. When the Emperor Leo the Isaurian began to attack the holy icons, Saint John undertook a spirited defense of the Faith through letters to correspondents throughout the Empire. Normally the Emperor would have killed or exiled the Saint directly, but since he lived in Muslim lands the Emperor could not touch him (an interesting example of Islam unwittingly contributing to the defense of the Christian faith). So the wicked Emperor circulated a forged letter which made it appear that John was plotting against the Caliph. When this letter fell (as planned) into the Caliph’s hands, he was furious, and ordered that the Saint’s right hand be cut off. That evening John placed his severed hand before the icon of the Mother of God and prayed with tears that it might be restored. On awaking he found that his hand had been miraculously restored to him. The miracle convinced the Caliph of his counselor’s innocence, and John was restored to favor; but now John wanted nothing more of worldly honor and wished only to be a monk. Giving up his position, he distributed his fortune among the poor and left for Jerusalem to become a monk at the Monastery of St Sabas.

The Abbot of the monastery put John under an Elder who ordered him to have nothing to do with philosophy, science, poetry, chanting or reading, but to give himself uncomplainingly to menial tasks so as to advance in humility. This the Saint did. Some time later, however, a monk grieving over his brother’s death persuaded John to write a funeral hymn for his consolation. Out of compassion, John wrote the hymn which is used to this day in the Funeral Service. For his disobedience, John was given the job of cleaning all the latrines of the monastery by hand, which, again, he did without complaint. A few days later the Theotokos appeared to the Elder and told him to allow John to compose hymns and poems, which, she told, him, would surpass the Psalms of David in beauty and grace.

Thus the monk John began to write the large body of inspired hymns which grace the Church’s services. Among these are the Canon chanted at the Pascha Service, as well as most of the Resurrectional hymns of the Octoechos.

Saint John’s poetical gifts were matched by his gifts for expressing the Church’s theology: he composed a powerful defense of the icons (in print under the title On the Holy Images), a complete exposition of the Orthodox Faith (On the Orthodox Faith), and the first written refutation of Islam, which he had come to understand well while serving in the Caliph’s court.

In old age, John was ordained a priest by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. He reposed in peace in 760 at the age of eighty-four.

Saint Gennadius, Archbishop of Novgorod (1505)

He was of noble birth, but entered monastic life at Valaam. He lived as a hermit on the island of Solovki from 1430 until 1447, when he was appointed abbot of the Chudov Monastery in Moscow. In 1484 he became Bishop of Novgorod. He found that the Tatar invasions had so disrupted the Church that a complete text of the Holy Scriptures could hardly be found in all of Russia. He ordered and oversaw the publication of the first printed Slavonic edition of the Holy Scriptures, set up schools for the instruction of the clergy, re-established order in the divine services, and fought various heresies. His devotion earned him enemies, and he resigned his episcopate to withdraw once again to a monastery. He reposed in peace in 1505.