Isaiah 7.1-14 (6th Hour)

1And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joatham, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, there came up Rasim king of Aram, and Phakee son of Romelias, king of Israel, against Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not take it. 2And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind. 3And the Lord said to Esaias, Go forth to meet Achaz, you, and your son Jasub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller's field. 4And you shall say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let your soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands: for when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again. 5And as for the son of Aram, and the son of Romelias, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, saying, 6We will go up against Judea, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabeel king of it; 7thus says the Lord of hosts, This counsel shall not abide, nor come to pass. 8But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rasim; and yet within sixty and five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from being a people. 9And the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelias: but if you⌃ believe not, neither will you⌃ at all understand. 10And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying, 11Ask for yourself a sign of the Lord your God, in the depth or in the height. 12And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13And he said, Hear you⌃ now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do you⌃ contend against the Lord? 14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel.

Genesis 5.32-6.8 (Vespers)

1And Noe was five hundred years old, and he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth. And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose. 3And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall certainly not remain among these men for ever, because they are flesh, but their days shall be one hundred and twenty years. 4Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown. 5And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil continually, 6then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered it deeply. 7And God said, I will blot out man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even man with cattle, and reptiles with flying creatures of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them. 8But Noe found grace before the Lord God.

Proverbs 6.20-7.1 (Vespers)

20My son, keep the laws of your father, and reject not the ordinances of your mother: 21but bind them upon your soul continually, and hang them as a chain about your neck. 22Whenever you walk, lead this along and let it be with you; that it may talk with you when you wake. 23For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction: 24to keep you continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue. 25Let not the desire of beauty overcome you, neither be you caught by your eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids. 26For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men. 27Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments? 28or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet? 29So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her. 30It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul: 31but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods. 32But the adulterer through lack of sense procures destruction to his soul. 33He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off. 34For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35He will not forego his enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.

1My son, keep my words, and hide with you my commandments. My son, honor the Lord, and you shall be strong; and fear none but him:

Apostles of the Seventy Archippus and Philemon

Archippus was the son of Saints Philemon (Nov. 22) and Apphia (Feb. 15), and, like them, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul, who calls him “our fellow soldier” (Philm. 2). He and his father preached the Gospel at Colossae, and Archippus probably served as a priest for the church that gathered there at his family’s house (Col. 4:17). Archippus’ fervor in preaching the Gospel of Christ so angered the pagans that they seized him and brought him before the governor Androcles. When the Saint refused to sacrifice to Artemis, he was stripped, beaten, tormented in various ways, and finally stoned to death.

Our Venerable Mother Philothea of Athens (1589)

“This bright star of compassion arose in the dark days of the Turkish occupation to shed God’s mercy upon the oppressed people of Athens and to guide many endangered souls onto the path of righteousness.” (Synaxarion)

She was born in 1528 to the prominent Venizelou family, miraculously answering her mother’s prayer of many years. Though even in childhood she showed a love for ascesis and prayer, she was much sought-after as a wealthy heiress, and was married at the age of twelve to a rough, violent man. She endured his ill-treatment nobly, and prayed daily for his conversion. After three years, the brutal husband died, and Philothea gave herself entirely to a life of prayer and fasting, living like a hermitess though still in her parents’ house. When her parents died ten years later, she used her entire fortune to found a convent. Its design had been given her in a vision by the Apostle Andrew, and it was dedicated to him. Alongside the monastery, she founded a hospital, a hospice for the poor, and schools where boys and girls could receive a Christian education, something obviously not provided by the Turkish rulers.

As soon as the monastery was begun, she took monastic vows under the name of Philothea, and she, her own maidservants, and many young women of the city, became the first nuns there. Philothea continued in her boundless compassion for the poor and infirm, whom she visited and tended. She was so free in her almsgiving that more than once the monastery was left without food or other necessities of life, and the sisters began to complain about her. But each time, large donations appeared unexpectedly and saved the community from starvation.

Philothea offered asylum and refuge to Christian slave women who had fled their masters to preserve their faith and chastity. This angered the Turks, who surrounded the monastery, seized Philothea, and brought her before the judge. She was told to deny Christ or die, and when she refused was sentenced to death; but some influential Athenian Greeks were able to intervene on her behalf and to obtain her release.

Immediately upon her release she redoubled her prayers, her apostolic labors and her works of mercy, and was soon granted the gift of working miracles and healings. So many disciples came to join her that she established a second monastery. Her growing influence aroused the hatred of some of the Turks, who broke into the monastery one night and beat her violently, leaving her half-dead. She bore the effects of her injuries patiently, and after a short time gave back her soul to God in 1589.

Twenty years after her repose, a beautiful scent began to issue from her tomb. Her precious relics, venerated at the Cathedral in Athens, remain incorrupt to this day.