Isaiah 3.1-14 (6th Hour)

1Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judea the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water, 2the great and mighty man, the warrior and the judge, and the prophet, and the counsellor, and the elder, 3the captain of fifty also, and the honorable counsellor, and the wise artificer, and the intelligent hearer. 4And I will make youths their princes, and mockers shall have dominion over them. 5And the people shall fall, man upon man, and every man upon his neighbor: the child shall insult the elder man, and the base the honorable. 6For a man shall lay hold of his brother, as one of his father's household, saying, You have raiment, be you our ruler, and let my meat be under you. 7And he shall answer in that day, and say, I will not be your ruler; for I have no bread in my house, nor raiment: I will not be the ruler of this people. 8For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judea has fallen, and their tongues have spoken with iniquity, disobedient as they are towards the Lord. 9Therefore now their glory has been brought low, and the shame of their countenance has withstood them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom, and made it manifest. 10Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying against themselves, Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us: therefore shall they eat the fruits of their works. 11Woe to the transgressor! evils shall happen to him according to the works of his hands. 12O my people, your exactors strip you, and extortioners rule over you: O my people, they that pronounce you blessed lead you astray, and pervert the path of your feet. 13But now the Lord will stand up for judgment, and will enter into judgment with his people. 14The Lord himself shall enter into judgment with the elders of the people, and with their rulers: but why have you⌃ set my vineyard on fire, and why is the spoil of the poor in your houses?

Genesis 2.20-3.20 (Vespers)

20And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help like to himself. 21And God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh instead thereof. 22And God formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. 23And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband. 24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

1And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord God made, and the serpent said to the woman, Therefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, You⌃ shall not eat of it, neither shall you⌃ touch it, lest you⌃ die. 4And the serpent said to the woman, You⌃ shall not surely die. 5For God knew that in whatever day you⌃ should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and you⌃ would be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate. 7And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons to go round them. 8And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden. 9And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where are you? 10And he said to him, I heard your voice as you walked in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself. 11And God said to him, Who told you that you were naked, unless you have eaten of the tree concerning which I charged you of it alone not to eat? 12And Adam said, The woman whom you gave to be with me—she gave me of the tree and I ate. 13And the Lord God said to the woman, Why have you done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate. 14And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this you are cursed above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed, he shall watch against your head, and you shall watch against his heel. 16And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pains and your groanings; in pain you shall bring forth children, and your submission shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. 17And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged you of it only not to eat—of that you have eaten, cursed is the ground in your labors, in pain shall you eat of it all the days of your life. 18Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19In the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread until you return to the earth out of which you were taken, for earth you are and to earth you shall return. 20And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she was the mother of all living.

Proverbs 3.19-34 (Vespers)

19God by wisdom founded the earth, and by prudence he prepared the heavens. 20By understanding were the depths broken up, and the clouds dropped water. 21My son, let them not pass from you, but keep my counsel and understanding: 22that your soul may live, and that there may be grace round your neck; and it shall be health to your flesh, and safety to your bones: 23that you may go confidently in peace in all your ways, and that your foot may not stumble. 24For if you rest, you shall be undismayed; and if you sleep, you shall slumber sweetly. 25And you shall not be afraid of alarm coming upon you, neither of approaching attacks of ungodly men. 26For the Lord shall be over all your ways, and shall establish your foot that you be not moved. 27Forbear not to do good to the poor, whenever your hand may have power to help him. 28Say not, Come back another time, to-morrow I will give; while you are able to do him good: for you know not what the next day will bring forth. 29Devise not evil against your friend, living near you and trusting in you. 30Be not ready to quarrel with a man without a cause, lest he do you some harm. 31Procure not the reproaches of bad men, neither do you covet their ways. 32For every transgressor is unclean before the Lord; neither does he sit among the righteous. 33The curse of God is in the houses of the ungodly; but the habitations of the just are blessed. 34The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.

Composite 2 - Proverbs 10, 3, 8 (Vespers, St Raphael)

1The memory of a just man is praised, and the Lord’s blessing is upon his head. Blessed is one who has found wisdom; a mortal who knows understanding. To import her is better than treasures of gold and silver. She is more valuable than precious stones; nothing of value equals her worth. Justice proceeds from her mouth; she bears law and mercy on her tongue. Therefore, my children, listen to me, for I speak weighty things. And blessed is the one who keeps my ways. For my goings out are the goings out of life, and favour is prepared from the Lord. Therefore I exhort you, and utter my voice to the children of humankind. Because I, Wisdom, have prepared counsel, knowledge and understanding. I have called on them. Counsel and sureness are mine; prudence is mine, strength is mine. I love those who are my friends, while those who seek me will find grace. You innocent, then, understand cunning; you untaught, take it to heart. Listen to me, for I will speak weighty things, and I will open right things from my lips. Because my throat will meditate truth; lying lips are abominable before me. All the words of my mouth are with justice, there is nothing crooked in them nor twisted. They are all straight for those who understand, and right for those who find knowledge. For I teach you what is true, that your hope may be in the Lord and that you may be filled with spirit.

Proverbs 10.31-11.12 (Vespers, St Raphael)

31The mouth of the righteous drops wisdom: but the tongue of the unjust shall perish. 32The lips of just men drop grace: but the mouth of the ungodly is perverse.

1False balances are an abomination before the Lord: but a just weight is acceptable to him. 2Wherever pride enters, there will be also disgrace: but the mouth of the lowly meditates wisdom. 3When a just man dies he leaves regret: but the destruction of the ungodly is speedy, and causes joy. 4Possessions will not profit in a day of wrath, but righteousness will deliver from death. 5Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing. 6The righteousness of upright men delivers them: but transgressors are caught in their own destruction. 7At the death of a just man his hope does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes. 8A righteous man escapes from a snare, and the ungodly man is delivered up in his place. 9In the mouth of ungodly men is a snare to citizens: but the understanding of righteous men is prosperous. 10In the prosperity of righteous men a city prospers: but by the mouth of ungodly men it is overthrown. 11At the blessing of the upright a city shall be exalted. 12A man void of understanding sneers at his fellow citizens: but a sensible man is quiet.

Wisdom of Solomon 4.7-15 (Vespers, St Raphael)

7But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest. 8For honorable age is not that which stands in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years. 9But wisdom is the gray hair to men, and an unspotted life is old age. 10He pleased God, and was beloved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated. 11Yes speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit decieve his soul. 12For the bewitching of naughtiness does obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence does undermine the simple mind. 13He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time: 14For his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked. 15This the people saw, and understood it not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he has respect to his chosen.

John 10.1-9 (Matins Gospel, St Raphael)

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.

Hebrews 13.17-21 (Epistle, St Raphael)

17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.

18Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to live honorably in all things. 19I strongly urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you sooner.

20Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, 21make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

John 10.9-16 (Gospel, St Raphael)

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 Raphael, bishop of Brooklyn (1915)

He was born in Syria in 1860, in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. In his childhood, his family took refuge in Lebanon after their parish priest, St Joseph of Damascus (July 10) was martyred; but they later returned to Damascus. In 1879 he was tonsured a monk and entered into the service of Patriarch Hierotheos of Antioch. The Balamand Seminary had been closed since 1840, but the young monk was offered a scholarship at the Constantinople Patriarchate’s seminary at Halki. Returning to Syria with a theological degree, St Raphael became assistant to Gerasimos, the new Patriarch of Antioch, traveling and preaching on his behalf. After further studies in Kiev, he transferred to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow and for a time was professer of Arabic studies at the Theological Academy in Kazan. (At that time the downtrodden Orthodox of the Middle East received considerable aid and theological training from the Tsar and from the Church in Russia).

In 1895 he was sent to the United States to shepherd the Arab Orthodox Community in New York, which was without a church or a priest. He quickly consecrated a chapel and with great energy set about the work of shepherding his flock there; but he was concerned not only for them but for the Arab Christian immigrants scattered through North America, most of whom were without a pastor and in danger of falling into heterodoxy or abandoning religious life. He traveled widely throughout the continent, visiting, counseling and serving Arab Christians, preaching, celebrating marriages and baptisms, receiving confessions and celebrating the Divine Liturgy, usually in private houses. In 1898 he published the first Orthodox prayer book in Arabic to appear in the New World. In 1899, he made a seven-month journey through forty-three American cities, seeking out the “scattered sheep” of the Church in America. His services were attended not only by Arabs but by Russians and Greeks, all of whom at that time depended on the Russian mission to North America. During this entire period, he held the official rank of Archimandrite, though his work and duties exceeded those of most bishops.

In 1901, Patriarch Meletios was elected to the see of Antioch, the first Arab to occupy the patriarchal throne for 168 years. Several proposals were made to elect Archimandrite Raphael to a see in Syria; but he refused all such offers, pointing out the Orthodox people’s great and little-met needs in North America. In 1904, the Moscow Patriarchate made him Bishop of Brooklyn, the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated on American soil. He redoubled his already impressive pastoral work, ordaining priests to the many new parishes that he had founded, and assisting Saint Tikhon (then Bishop of North America) in the care of his huge diocese. In 1905 he laid the foundation of the Monastery of St Tikhon in Pennsylvania.

The bishop saw the importance of integrating the faithful into the life of their new homeland, and was an early advocate of the use of English in American Church services. When Isabel Hapgood’s Service Book — the first useful English translation of the Church’s services — was published in 1906, he advocated its use in all his parishes.

In 1912, St Raphael was found to be suffering from heart disease, but continued his exhausting pastoral work for two more years. In 1915 he was finally unable to continue, and reposed after two months’ illness.

When his relics were transported in 1998 from Brooklyn to Antiochian Village in Ligonier, PA, they were found to be incorrupt, and in 2000 he became the most recently glorified Saint of North America.

In North America St Raphael is commemorated on the anniversary of his repose: February 27 on the Civil/New Calendar, February 14 on the Julian Calendar. He is also commemorated with the Synaxis of Saints of North America on the Second Sunday after Pentecost. The Patriarchate of Antioch also commemorates him, but on Saturday before the Synaxis of the Archangels (November 8).

Our Holy Father Procopius of Decapolis (9th c.)

He was from Decapolis near the Sea of Galilee, and entered monastic life as a youth. When the Emperor Leo the Isaurian began his persecution of the holy icons, Procopius, who had previously spent his life in hiddenness and silence, boldly stood forth to defend the true Orthodox veneration of the icons. For this he was cruelly tortured and imprisoned. When the cruel Leo died and the icons were restored to the churches, Procopius returned to his monastery, where he lived in peace to a great old age. The Prologue concludes, ‘In old age, he entered into God’s Kingdom, where he beheld with joy the living angels and saints whose images were on the honoured icons on earth.’

Our Venerable Father Titus of the Lavra of the Kiev Caves (1190)

Titus and Evagrius, two monks in the famed Kiev Caves Lavra, were dear friends who, through the instigation of the demons, allowed a disagreement to descend into mutual enmity. Despite the efforts of their brother monks to reconcile them, their mutual hatred grew, to the extreme that when one of them censed the church, the other would turn and walk out.

Titus fell gravely ill and, feeling that his end was near, at last repented and asked that Evagrius come and be reconciled with him. Evagrius was unwilling, but the other monks brought him by bodily force to his brother’s bedside. Titus fell at his feet and said ‘Forgive me for having offended and wounded you in my anger. Bless me!’ Evagrius, unmoved, shouted ‘I will never forgive him, neither in this world nor in the next!’ As soon as he had uttered these words he suddenly fell down dead. Titus, on the other hand, rose up, completely cured of his illness. He told his brethren that he had seen a spear come down from heaven and strike Evagrius, and that the spear had then touched and healed him; and that the swarms of demons who had been terrifying him as he lay dying, vanished at the moment he asked Evagrius to forgive him. Saint Titus spent the rest of his days in repentance and love, and fell asleep in peace around 1190.

Our Holy Father Leander, Bishop of Seville and Apostle of Spain (600)

He was born to an aristocratic Roman family living in Spain: his father Severian was Duke of Cartagena. Saint Leander embraced monastic life as a young man in Seville, capital of the Visigoths, who had embraced Arianism and caused the Arian heresy to dominate throughout Spain. Leander became a leading figure in the struggle to restore his land to Orthodoxy, founding a school in Seville to promote the Orthodox faith. In 583 he travelled to Constantinople to seek the Emperor’s support for the Spanish Orthodox; while there he met St Gregory the Great (the future Pope of Rome), with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. On his return to Spain, Leander was made Bishop of Seville.

One of the holy bishop’s converts was Hermengild, one of the sons of the Arian king Leovigild. When Hermengild rose up against his father in the name of Orthodoxy, Leovigild launched a violent persecution of the Orthodox throughout his kingdom. (Leovigild had his son imprisoned, then executed on Pascha Day of 586.) By God’s grace, at the very height of the persecution Leovigild fell mortally ill, repented, and embraced the true Faith; at his urging his son and successor Recared converted to Orthodoxy and convened the Third Council of Toledo in 589, at which he proclaimed that the Gothic and Suevic peoples were returning to the unity of the One Church. Saint Leander presided at the Council, and devoted the rest of his life to educating the (mostly) newly-Orthodox people of Spain in the Faith. It was he who established the early form of the Mozarabic Liturgy. He reposed in peace on March 13, 600. (He is venerated on this day because his name was incorrectly placed on February 27 in the Roman Martyrology.)