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 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.

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.”