Isaiah 42.5-16 (6th Hour)

5Thus says the Lord God, who made the heaven, and established it; who settled the earth, and the things in it, and gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to them that tread on it: 6I the Lord God have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will strengthen you: and I have given you for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles: 7to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the bound and them that sit in darkness out of bonds and the prison-house. 8I am the Lord God: that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praises to graven images. 9Behold, the ancient things have come to pass, and so will the new things which I tell you: yes, before I tell them they are made known to you. 10Sing a new hymn to the Lord: you⌃ who are his dominion, glorify his name from the end of the earth: you⌃ that go down to the sea, and sail upon it; the islands, and they that dwell in them. 11Rejoice, you wilderness, and the villages thereof, the hamlets, and the dwellers in Kedar: the inhabitants of the rock shall rejoice, they shall shout from the top of the mountains. 12They shall give glory to God, and shall proclaim his praises in the islands. 13The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, and crush the war: he shall stir up jealousy, and shall shout mightily against his enemies. 14I have been silent: shall I also always be silent and forbear: I have endured like a travailing woman: I will now amaze and wither at once. 15I will make desolate mountains and hills, and will dry up all their grass; and I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools. 16And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will cause them to tread paths which they have not known: I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight. These things will I do, and will not forsake them.

Genesis 18.20-33 (Vespers)

20And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha has been increased towards me, and their sins are very great. 21I will therefore go down and see, if they completely correspond with the cry which comes to me, and if not, that I may know. 22And the men having departed thence, came to Sodom; and Abraam was still standing before the Lord. 23And Abraam drew near and said, Wouldest you destroy the righteous with the wicked, and shall the righteous be as the wicked? 24Should there be fifty righteous in the city, will you destroy them? will you not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if they be in it? 25By no means shall you do as this thing is so as to destroy the righteous with the wicked, so the righteous shall be as the wicked: by no means. You that judge the whole earth, shall you not do right? 26And the Lord said, If there should be in Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole city, and the whole place for their sakes. 27And Abraam answered and said, Now I have begun to speak to my Lord, and I am earth and ashes. 28But if the fifty righteous should be diminished to forty-five, will you destroy the whole city because of the five lacking? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there forty-five. 29And he continued to speak to him still, and said, But if there should be found there forty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the forty's sake. 30And he said, Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I shall speak? but if there be found there thirty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the thirty's sake. 31And he said, Since I am able to speak to the Lord, what if there should be found there twenty? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there twenty. 32And he said, Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I speak yet once? but if there should be found there ten? And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake. 33And the Lord departed, when he left off speaking to Abraam, and Abraam returned to his place.

Proverbs 16.17-17.17 (Vespers)

17The paths of life turn aside from evil; and the ways of righteousness are length of life. He that receives instruction shall be in prosperity; and he that regards reproofs shall be made wise. He that keeps his ways, preserves his own soul; and he that loves his life will spare his mouth. 18Pride goes before destruction, and folly before a fall. 19Better is a meek-spirited man with lowliness, than one who divides spoils with the proud. 20He who is skillful in business finds good: but he that trusts in God is most blessed. 21Men call the wise and understanding evil: but they that are pleasing in speech shall hear more. 22Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessors; but the instruction of fools is evil. 23The heart of the wise will discern the things which proceed from his own mouth; and on his lips he will wear knowledge. 24Good words are honeycombs, and the sweetness thereof is a healing of the soul. 25There are ways that seem to be right to a man, but the end of them looks to the depth of hell. 26A man who labors, labors for himself, and drives from him his own ruin. 27But the perverse bears destruction upon his own mouth: a foolish man digs up evil for himself, and treasures fire on his own lips. 28A perverse man spreads mischief, and will kindle a torch of deceit with mischiefs; and he separates friends. 29A transgressor tries to ensnare friends, and leads them in ways that are not good. 30And the man that fixes his eyes devises perverse things, and marks out with his lips all evil: he is a furnace of wickedness. 31Old age is a crown of honor, but it is found in the ways of righteousness. 32A man slow to anger is better than a strong man; and he that governs his temper better than he that takes a city. 33All evils come upon the ungodly into their bosoms; but all righteous things come of the Lord.

1Better is a morsel with pleasure in peace, than a house full of many good things and unjust sacrifices, with strife. 2A wise servant shall have rule over foolish masters, and shall divide portions among brethren. 3As silver and gold are tried in a furnace, so are choice hearts with the Lord. 4A bad man hearkens to the tongue of transgressors: but a righteous man attends not to false lips. 5He that laughs at the poor provokes him that made him; and he that rejoices at the destruction of another shall not be held guiltless: but he that has compassion shall find mercy. 6Children's children are the crown of old men; and their fathers are the glory of children. The faithful has the whole world full of wealth; but the faithless not even a farthing. 7Faithful lips will not suit a fool; nor lying lips a just man. 8Instruction is to them that use it a gracious reward; and wherever it may turn, it shall prosper. 9He that conceals injuries seeks love; but he that hates to hide them separates friends and kindred. 10A threat breaks down the heart of a wise man; but a fool, though scourged, understands not. 11Every bad man stirs up strifes: but the Lord will send out against him an unmerciful messenger. 12Care may befall a man of understanding; but fools will meditate evils. 13Whoso rewards evil for good, evil shall not be removed from his house. 14Rightful rule gives power to words; but sedition and strife precede poverty. 15He that pronounces the unjust just, and the just unjust, is unclean and abominable with God. 16Why has the fool wealth? for a senseless man will not be able to purchase wisdom. He that exalts his own house seeks ruin; and he that turns aside from instruction shall fall into mischief. 17Have you a friend for every time, and let brethren be useful in distress; for on this account are they born.

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)