Isaiah 9.9-10.4 (6th Hour)

9And all the people of Ephraim, and they that lived in Samaria shall know, who say in their pride and lofty heart, 10The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower. 11And God shall dash down them that rise up against him on mount Sion, and shall scatter his enemies; 12even Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but still his hand is exalted. 13But the people turned not until they were struck, and they sought not the Lord. 14So the Lord took away from Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day: 15the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail. 16And they that pronounce this people blessed shall mislead them; and they mislead them that they may devour them. 17Therefore the Lord shall not take pleasure in their young men, neither shall he have pity on their orphans or on their widows: for they are all transgressors and wicked, and every mouth speaks unjustly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted. 18And iniquity shall burn as fire, and shall be devoured by fire as dry grass: and it shall burn in the thickets of the wood, and shall devour all that is round about the hills. 19The whole earth is set on fire because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and the people shall be as men burnt by fire: no man shall pity his brother. 20But one shall turn aside to the right hand, for he shall be hungry; and shall eat on the left, and a man shall by no means be satisfied with eating the flesh of his own arm. 21For Manasses shall eat the flesh of Ephraim, and Ephraim the flesh of Manasses; for they shall besiege Juda together. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.

1Woe to them that write wickedness; for when they write they do write wickedness, 2perverting the cause of the poor, violently wresting the judgment of the needy ones of my people, that the widow may be a prey to them, and the orphan a spoil. 3And what will they do in the day of visitation? for affliction shall come to you from afar: and to whom will you⌃ flee for help? and where will you⌃ leave your glory, 4that you⌃ may not fall into captivity? For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.

Genesis 7.1-5 (Vespers)

1And the Lord God said to Noe, Enter you and all your family into the ark, for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2And of the clean cattle take in to you sevens, male and female, and of the unclean cattle pairs male and female. 3And of clean flying creatures of the sky sevens, male and female, and of all unclean flying creatures pairs, male and female, to maintain seed on all the earth. 4For yet seven days having passed I bring rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out every offspring which I have made from the face of all the earth. 5And Noe did all things whatever the Lord God commanded him.

Proverbs 8.32-9.11 (Vespers)

32Now then, my son, hear me: blessed is the man who shall listen to me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways; 33Hear wisdom and be wise, and be not strangers to it. 34watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my entrances. 35For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and in them is prepared favor from the Lord. 36But they that sin against me act wickedly against their own souls: and they that hate me love death.

1Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars. 2She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table. 3She has sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying, 4Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that lack understanding she says, 5Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. 6Leave folly, that you⌃ may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge. 7He that reproves evil men shall get dishonor to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly man shall disgrace himself. 8Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: for to know the law is the character of a sound mind. 11For in this way you shall live long, and years of your life shall be added to you.

Holy Fathers Slain at St Sabbas Monastery

The holy Monastery of St Sabbas is still in existence today, by the providence of God, though several times in its history it has been plundered and left empty. At one time it was attacked by Arab raiders. The monks considered fleeing, but their abbot, Thomas, said, ‘We have fled from the world into this wilderness for the love of Christ; it would be shameful for us now to flee from the wilderness for fear of men. If we are killed here, we shall be killed through love for Christ, for whose sake we have come here to live.’ So the monks agreed with one mind to wait their attackers unarmed. The Arabs killed some with arrows, and shut some in the cave of St Sabbas, lighting a fire at the entrance to suffocate them with smoke. The whole company of monks were thus privileged to give their lives for Christ’s sake.

Accounts of the date differ substantially: the Great Horologion says that they died during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius, when St Modestus was Patriarch of Jerusalem (632-634); the Prologue that they died in 796 during the reign of Constantine and Irene, when Elias was Patriarch of Jerusalem.

St Photine the Samaritan Woman (66)

See her commemoration on February 26.

St Cuthbert the Wonderworker, Bishop of Lindisfarne (687)

‘Saint Cuthbert was born in Britain about the year 635, and became a monk in his youth at the monastery of Melrose by the River Tweed. After many years of struggle as a true priest of Christ, in the service both of his own brethren and of the neglected Christians of isolated country villages, he became a solitary on Farne Island in 676. After eight years as a hermit, he was constrained to leave his quiet to become Bishop of Lindisfarne, in which office he served for almost two years. He returned to his hermitage two months before he reposed in peace in 687.

‘Because of the miracles he wrought both during his life and at his tomb after death, he is called the “Wonderworker of Britain.” The whole English people honoured him, and kings were both benefactors to his shrine and suppliants of his prayers. Eleven years after his death, his holy relics were revealed to be incorrupt; when his body was translated from Lindisfarne to Durham Cathedral in August of 1104, his body was still found to be untouched by decay, giving off “an odour of the sweetest fragrancy,” and “from the flexibility of its joints representing a person asleep rather than dead.” Finally, when the most impious Henry VIII desecrated his shrine, opening it to despoil it of its valuables, his body was again found incorrupt, and was buried in 1542. It is believed that after this the holy relics of Saint Cuthbert were hidden to preserve them from further desecration.’ (Great Horologion)