22And Solomon stood up in front of the altar before all the congregation of Israel; and he spread out his hands toward heaven:
23and he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above and on the earth beneath, keeping covenant and mercy with your servant who walks before you with all his heart;
27But will God indeed dwell with men upon the earth? if the heaven and heaven of heavens will not suffice you, how much less even this house which I have built to your name?
28Yet, O Lord God of Israel, you shall look upon my petition, to hear the prayer which your servant prays to you in your presence this day,
29that your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place which you said, My name shall be there, to hear the prayer which your servant prays at this place day and night.
30And you shall listen to the prayer of your servant, and of your people Israel, which they shall pray toward this place; and you shall hear in your dwelling-place in heaven, and you shall do and be gracious.
Isaiah 61.10-62.5
(Vespers, St Vladimir)
10and they shall greatly rejoice in the Lord. Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with the robe of salvation, and the garment of joy: he has put a mitre on me as on a bridegroom, and adorned me with ornaments as a bride.
11And as the earth putting forth her flowers, and as a garden its seed; so shall the Lord, even the Lord, cause righteousness to spring forth, and exultation before all nations.
1For Sion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as light, and my salvation burn as a torch.
2And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and kings your glory: and one shall call you by a new name, which the Lord shall name.
3And you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4And you shall no more be called Forsaken; and your land shall no more be called Desert: for you shall be called My Pleasure, and your land Inhabited: for the Lord has taken pleasure in you, and your land shall be inhabited.
5And as a young man lives with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell in you: and it shall come to pass that as a bridegroom will rejoice over a bride, so will the Lord rejoice over you.
Isaiah 60.1-16
(Vespers, St Vladimir)
1Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and there shall be gross darkness on the nations: but the Lord shall appear upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you.
3And kings shall walk in your light, and nations in your brightness.
4Lift up your eyes round about, and behold your children gathered: all your sons have come from far, and your daughters shall be borne on men's shoulders.
5Then shall you see, and fear, and be amazed in your heart; for the wealth of the sea shall come round to you, and of nations and peoples; and herds of camels shall come to you,
6and the camels of Madiam and Gaepha shall cover you: all from Saba shall come bearing gold, and shall bring frankincense, and they shall publish the salvation of the Lord.
7And all the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered, and the rams of Nabaeoth shall come; and acceptable sacrifices shall be offered on my altar, and my house of prayer shall be glorified.
8Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with young ones to me?
9The isles have waited for me, and the ships of Tharsis among the first, to bring your children from afar, and their silver and their gold with them, and that for the sake of the holy name of the Lord, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified.
10And strangers shall build your walls, and their kings shall wait upon you: for by reason of my wrath I struck you, and by reason of mercy I loved you.
11And your gates shall be opened continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; to bring in to you the power of the Gentiles, and their kings as captives.
12For the nations and the kings which will not serve you shall perish; and those nations shall be made utterly desolate.
13And the glory of Libanus shall come to you, with the cypress, and pine, and cedar together, to glorify my holy place.
14And the sons of them that afflicted you, and of them that provoked you, shall come to you in fear; and you shall be called Sion, the city of the Holy One of Israel.
15Because you have become desolate and hated, and there was no helper, therefore I will make you a perpetual gladness, a joy of many generations.
16And you shall suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall eat the wealth of kings: and shall know that I am the Lord that saves you and delivers you, the Holy One of Israel.
John 10.9-16
(Matins Gospel)
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.
1 Corinthians 9.13-18 (Epistle)
13Don’t you know that those who serve around sacred things eat from the things of the temple, and those who wait on the altar have their portion with the altar?
14Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Good News should live from the Good News.
15But I have used none of these things, and I don’t write these things that it may be done so in my case; for I would rather die, than that anyone should make my boasting void.
16For if I preach the Good News, I have nothing to boast about, for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me if I don’t preach the Good News.
17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.
18What then is my reward? That when I preach the Good News, I may present the Good News of Christ without charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Good News.
Galatians 1.11-19
(Epistle, St Vladimir)
11But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man.
12For I didn’t receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God and ravaged it.
14I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
15But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace,
16to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.
18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days.
19But of the other apostles I saw no one except James, the Lord’s brother.
Matthew 16.1-6 (Gospel)
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
2But he answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
3In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the signs of the times!
4An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” He left them and departed.
5The disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread.
6Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
John 10.1-9
(Gospel, St Vladimir)
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.
Commemorations
Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir (in holy baptism Basil), enlightener of the Russian Land (1051)
Though his grandmother, Queen Olga, had been a Christian, his father Svyatoslav reverted to paganism, and Prince Vladimir spent the early part of his life believing and living the beliefs of the pagan Russian people. But he sought for something more, and sent emissaries to study the faiths of the Jews, the Muslims, the Western Christians and the Orthodox. After attending services in Agia Sophia in Constantinople, they told him ‘We knew not if we were on earth or in heaven,’ and Prince Vladimir determined to embrace the Christian faith. He was baptised in Cherson in 988, receiving the name Basil. “He came forth from the font not only healed of a blindness lately afflicting him, but also from being passionate and warlike, he became meek, peaceable, and exceedingly godly.” (Great Horologion). He married Princess Anna, sister of the Emperor, and returned home with a retinue of priests from Constantinople. He immediately set about building a Christian nation: casting down the idols, baptizing the people, and establishing a Christian government. His legislation for his recently barbarian nation was modeled on the Gospel, and in its conformity to Christ’s commandments exceeded even the other Christian nations of the time. He reposed in peace in 1015, leaving behind a kingdom that grew to be the largest Orthodox nation in the world.
Holy Martyrs Cyricus and His Mother Julitta (304)
“Holy Julitta was of noble birth. She was widowed young, and left with a newborn child, Cyricus. She lived in Iconium, a city of Lycaonia, and was a very devout Christian. She had her son baptised immediately after his birth and, when he was three years old, instructed him in the Faith and taught him to pray insofar as a child of that age is capable of learning. When Diocletian launched a persecution of Christians, much innocent blood was shed in the city of Iconium. Julitta took her son and hid from the wrath of the pagans in the town of Seleucid, but things were no better there. Julitta was arrested as a Christian and brought to trial. Seeing Julitta so courageously proclaim her faith in the Lord Jesus, the judge, to distress her and make her waver, took the child in his arms and began to kiss it. But Cyricus shouted: ‘I am a Christian; let me go to my mother!’, and he began to scratch the judge, turning his face away from him. The judge was furious, threw the child to the ground and kicked it, and the child rolled down the stone steps and gave his holy and innocent soul to God. Seeing how Cyricus suffered before her, Julitta was filled with joy and gave thanks to God that her son had been counted worthy of the wreath of martyrdom. After harsh torture, Julitta was beheaded, in the year 304. The relics of Ss Cyricus and Julitta have wonderworking power to this day. A part of the relics of these saints is to be found in Ochrid, in the Church of the Holy Mother of God, the Healer.” (Prologue. In the Prologue, the name of Cyricus is spelled “Cerycus.” It is changed here for consistency with other sources.)