Isaiah 41.4-14 (6th Hour)

4Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM. 5The nations saw, and feared; the ends of the earth drew near, and came together, 6every one judging for his neighbor and that to assist his brother: and one will say, 7The artificer has become strong, and the coppersmith that smites with the hammer, and forges also: sometimes he will say, It is a piece well joined: they have fastened them with nails; they will fix them, and they shall not be moved. 8But you, Israel, are my servant Jacob, and he whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraam, whom I have loved: 9whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and from the high places of it I have called you, and said to you, You are my servant; I have chosen you, and I have not forsaken you. 10Fear not; for I am with you: wander not; for I am your God, who have strengthened you; and I have helped you, and have established you with my just right hand. 11Behold, all your adversaries shall be ashamed and confounded; for they shall be as if they were not: and all your opponents shall perish. 12You shall seek them, and you shall not find the men who shall insolently rage against you: for they shall be as if they were not, and they that war against you shall not be. 13For I am your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, 14Fear not, Jacob, and you Israel few in number; I have helped you, says your God, he that redeems you, O Israel.

Genesis 17.1-9 (Vespers)

1And Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am your God, be well-pleasing before me, and be blameless. 2And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly. 3And Abram fell upon his face, and God spoke to him, saying, 4And I, behold! my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of a multitude of nations. 5And your name shall no more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraam, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6And I will increase you very exceedingly, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you. 7And I will establish my covenant between you and your seed after you, to their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be your God, and the God of your seed after you. 8And I will give to you and to your seed after you the land wherein you sojourn, even all the land of Chanaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them a God. 9And God said to Abraam, You also shall fully keep my covenant, you and your seed after you for their generations.

Proverbs 15.20-16.9 (LXX) (Vespers)

20A wise son gladdens his father; but a foolish son sneers at his mother. 21The ways of a foolish man are void of sense; but a wise man proceeds on his way aright. 22They that honor not councils put off deliberation; but counsel abides in the hearts of counselors. 23A bad man will by no means attend to counsel; neither will he say anything seasonable, or good for the common weal. 24The thoughts of the wise are ways of life, that he may turn aside and escape from hell. 25The Lord pulls down the houses of scorners; but he establishes the border of the widow. 26An unrighteous thought is abomination to the Lord; but the sayings of the pure are held in honor. 27A receiver of bribes destroys himself; but he that hates the receiving of bribes is safe. By alms and by faithful dealings sins are purged away; but by the fear of the Lord every one departs from evil. 28The hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness; but the mouth of the ungodly answers evil things. The ways of righteous men are acceptable with the Lord; and through them even enemies become friends. 29God is far from the ungodly; but he hearkens to the prayers of the righteous. Better are small receipts with righteousness, than abundant fruits with unrighteousness. Let the heart of a man think justly, that his steps may be rightly ordered of God. The eye that sees rightly rejoices the heart; and a good report fattens the bones. 32He that rejects instruction hates himself; but he that mind reproofs loves his soul. 33The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom; and the highest honor will correspond therewith.

2All the works of the humble man are manifest with God; but the ungodly shall perish in an evil day. 5Every one that is proud in heart is unclean before God, and he that unjustly strikes hands with hand shall not be held guiltless. The beginning of a good way is to do justly; and it is more acceptable with God than to offer sacrifices. He that seeks the Lord shall find knowledge with righteousness: and they that rightly seek him shall find peace. All of the works of the Lord are done with righteousness; and the ungodly man is kept for the evil day.

St Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem

He was born in Jerusalem in 315, ordained to the priesthood in 346, and succeeded Maximus as Archbishop of Jerusalem in 350. He was exiled three times by the Arian Emperors Constantius and Valens for his unwavering defense of the Faith. Restored by the Emperor Theodosius, he did not return to the throne, but lived for eight years in peace before reposing in 386.

He was known to all his people as a tireless defender of the poor, and as a great ascetic. He was gentle and humble in his bearing, pale and gaunt from fasting. He struggled throughout his time against the Arian heresy, which had become very strong, claiming the allegiance even of the Emperors. In addition, he lived through the reign of Julian the Apostate, who tried by many means to weaken and undermine the Church and the Christian Faith.

Of St Cyril’s many writings, the best-known are his Catecheses, considered the oldest systematic summary of Christian teaching.

St Ananias (Aninus) the Wonderworker (?)

“Born in Chalcedon, he was little of stature, like Zaccheus, but great in spirit and faith. He denied himself to the world at the age of fifteen and settled near the River Euphrates in a little hut, where he atoned for his sins, and prayed to God, at first with his teacher Mayum and then, after Mayum’s death, alone. By the power of his prayers he filled an empty well with water, healed the sick of various pains and tamed wild beasts. There was a tamed lion with him as his servant. He had insight into distant happenings. When robbers attacked a stylite, Pionius, at some distance from him, and beat him up to such an extent that he decided to come down from his pillar and go to complain to the judges, St Aninus saw his intention in his soul and sent him a letter by means of his lion, telling him to set aside his intention, to forgive his assaulters and to continue in his asceticism. He was inexpressibly generous. The bishop of Neo-Caesarea made a gift to him of a donkey, to ease his carrying of water from the river, but he gave this donkey to some poor man who had complained to him of his poverty. The bishop gave him a second donkey, but he gave that away. Then the bishop gave him a third donkey, not for his own but only to serve as a water-carrier, to be kept and returned. At the time of his death, he saw Moses, Aaron and Or coming to him and calling: ‘Aninus, the Lord is calling you. Get up and come with us.’ This he revealed to his disciples, and gave his spirit to the Lord whom he had served so faithfully. He was 110 years old when he finished his earthly course.” (Prologue)