Isaiah 4.2-5.7 (6th Hour)

2And in that day God shall shine gloriously in counsel on the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel. 3And it shall be, that the remnant left in Sion, and the remnant left in Jerusalem, even all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem, shall be called holy. 4For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Sion, and shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning. 5And he shall come, and it shall be with regard to every place of mount Sion, yes, all the region round about it shall a cloud overshadow by day, and there shall be as it were the smoke and light of fire burning by night: and upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6And it shall be for a shadow from the heat, and as a shelter and a hiding place from inclemency of weather and from rain.

1Now I will sing to my beloved a song of my beloved concerning my vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a high hill in a fertile place. 2And I made a hedge round it, and dug a trench, and planted a choice vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and dug a place for the wine-vat in it: and I waited for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth thorns. 3And now, you⌃ dwellers in Jerusalem, and every man of Juda, judge between me and my vineyard. 4What shall I do any more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it? Whereas I expected it to bring forth grapes, but it has brought forth thorns. 5And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for a spoil; and I will pull down its walls, and it shall be left to be trodden down. 6And I will forsake my vineyard; and it shall not be pruned, nor dug, and thorns shall come up upon it as on barren land; and I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Juda his beloved plant: I expected it to bring forth judgment, and it brought forth iniquity; and not righteousness, but a cry.

Genesis 3.21-4.7 (Vespers)

21And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and clothed them. 22And God said, Behold, Adam is become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and so he shall live forever— 23So the Lord God sent him forth out of the garden of Delight to cultivate the ground out of which he was taken. 24And he cast out Adam and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life.

1And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, I have gained a man through God. 2And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And it was so after some time that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the Lord. 4And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts, 5but Cain and his sacrifices he regarded not, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his countenance fell. 6And the Lord God said to Cain, Why are you become very sorrowful and why is your countenance fallen? 7Have you not sinned if you have brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still, to you shall be his submission, and you shall rule over him.

Proverbs 3.34-4.22 (Vespers)

34The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble. 35The wise shall inherit glory; but the ungodly have exalted their own dishonor.

1Hear, you⌃ children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2For I give you a good gift; forsake you⌃ not my law. 3For I also was a son obedient to my father, and loved in the sight of my mother: 4who spoke and instructed me, saying, Let our speech be fixed in your heart, keep our commandments, forget them not: 5and do not neglect the speech of my mouth. 6And forsake it not, and it shall cleave to you: love it, and it shall keep you. 8Secure it, and it shall exalt you: honor it, that it may embrace you; 9that it may give to your head a crown of graces, and may cover you with a crown of delight. 10Hear, my son, and receive my words; and the years of your life shall be increased, that the resources of your life may be many. 11For I teach you the ways of wisdom; and I cause you to go in right paths. 12For when you go, your steps shall not be straitened; and when you run, you shall not be distressed. 13Take hold of my instruction; let it not go, —but keep it for yourself for your life. 14Go not in the ways of the ungodly, neither covet the ways of transgressors. 15In whatever place they shall pitch their camp, go not there; but turn from them, and pass away. 16For they can’t sleep, unless they have done evil: their sleep is taken away, and they rest not. 17For these live upon the bread of ungodliness, and are drunken with wine of transgression. 18But the ways of the righteous shine like light; they go on and shine, until the day be fully come. 19But the ways of the ungodly are dark; they know not how they stumble. 20My son, attend to my speech; and apply your ear to my words: 21that your fountains may not fail you; keep them in your heart. 22For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

St Tarasius, Abp. of Constantinople

He was a nobleman born in Constantinople, and distinguished himself in a secular career, rising in the year 780 to the rank of protasecretis, Principal Secretary of State to the Emperor Constantine VI and his mother the Empress Irene, who was serving as regent.

His life took a sudden turn when, in 784, Patriarch Paul IV resigned, recommending Tarasios as the only man capable of restoring the Patriarchate, ravaged by the iconoclast heresy, to true Faith and full communion with the other Patriarchates. Tarasios, though unwilling, was virtually forced to accept the Patriarchate by the rulers and the Senate: he agreed at last on condition that an Ecumenical Council be summoned immediately to put an end to the iconoclast heresy. In a few days he was raised from a layman through all the degrees of the clergy and on December 25 784, was consecrated Archbishop of Constantinople.

At Saint Tarasios’ insistence, the Imperial rulers summoned a Church Council, which met at Constantinople in 786. Before its sessions had even begun, iconoclasts burst into the church and drove out the Fathers, who were forced to reconvene in Nicaea, where the first session opened. Patriarch Tarasios presided, and the Council concluded with a condemnation of the iconoclast heresy and the restoration of veneration of the holy images.

As Archbishop, the Saint was a model of humility, compassion, and firmness in the Faith. He refused to have any servants and dressed simply, a living rebuke to the luxury that had corrupted the clergy at that time. His works of charity were so great that he became known to the people as ‘the new Joseph’: he founded hospices and shelters, distributed the Church’s wealth freely to the poor, and often invited the poor to his own table to share his simple fare. He insisted on exercising all gentleness and mercy in restoring repentant heretics to the Church, a policy that met with opposition from the more severe leaders of the Studion monastery. At the same time he was unbending in the defense of the Faith: when the Emperor Constantine came of age he repudiated his wife Mary in order to marry Theodota, one of her servants. The Patriarch refused to bless the adulterous union and threatened the Emperor with excommunication if he persisted in sin. The Emperor had Tarasios imprisoned, forced his licit wife to enter a monastery, and found a priest, Joseph, to bless his second marriage. The following year Constantine was blinded and dethroned, and Tarasios regained his freedom.

The holy Patriarch continued to serve his Church faithfully, occupying the episcopal throne for a total of twenty-six years. In his last years, despite a long and painful illness, he continued to serve the Divine Liturgy daily, supporting himself with his staff. In the year 806, serving at the altar, he began to chant from Psalm 85, Bow down thine ear, O Lord, and hear me, and gave up his soul to God.

“In 820, the Emperor Leo the Armenian, who for seven years had supported the iconoclasts and had fiercely persecuted the Orthodox, had a disturbing dream. He saw a stern-looking Saint Tarasius ordering a man by the name of Michael to run Leo himself through with a sword. Six days later, Leo was in fact assasinated by Michael the Stammerer, who seized power… In physical appearance, Saint Tarasius is said to have closely resembled Saint Gregory the Theologian.” (Synaxarion)