10And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan.
11And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place,
12and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it.
13And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of your father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed.
14And your seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in you and in your seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.
15And behold I am with you to preserve you continually in all the way wherein you shall go; and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not desert you, until I have done all that I have said to you.
16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.
17And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Ezekiel 43.27-44.4 (Vespers)
27And it shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, that the priests shall offer your whole burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord.
1Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut.
2And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut.
3For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same.
4And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.
Proverbs 9.1-11 (Vespers)
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.
Luke 1.39-49, 56
(Matins Gospel)
39Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,
40and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
46Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.
47My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
49For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.
56Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.
Philippians 2.5-11
(Epistle, Dormition)
5Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
6who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
8And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.
9Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
2 Corinthians 10.7-18 (Epistle)
7Do you look at things only as they appear in front of your face? If anyone trusts in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again with himself, that even as he is Christ’s, so we also are Christ’s.
8For even if I boast somewhat abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for casting you down, I will not be ashamed,
9that I may not seem as if I desire to terrify you by my letters.
10For, “His letters”, they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.”
11Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such are we also in deed when we are present.
12For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But they themselves, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding.
13But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even to you.
14For we don’t stretch ourselves too much, as though we didn’t reach to you. For we came even as far as to you with the Good News of Christ,
15not boasting beyond proper limits in other men’s labors, but having hope that as your faith grows, we will be abundantly enlarged by you in our sphere of influence,
16so as to preach the Good News even to the parts beyond you, not to boast in what someone else has already done.
17But “he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
18For it isn’t he who commends himself who is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
Luke 10.38-42, 11.27-28
(Gospel, Dormition)
38As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.
40But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.”
41Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
42but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
27It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”
28But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
Mark 3.28-35 (Gospel)
28“Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme;
29but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.”
30—because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him.
32A multitude was sitting around him, and they told him, “Behold, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside looking for you.”
33He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
34Looking around at those who sat around him, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers!
35For whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, and mother.”
Commemorations
The Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
On the Cross, the Lord charged the Apostle John to care for His holy Mother. The Apostle settled her in a house in Jerusalem, where she lived for the rest of her days on earth, praying and offering counsel and encouragement to the Apostles. In her old age, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that in three days’ time she would enter into her rest. Giving thanks to God, she hastened to the Mount of Olives where she prayed continually, preparing herself to meet the Lord. Meanwhile, the Apostles, scattered in various parts of the earth, were caught up in clouds and miraculously brought by the holy Angels to Jerusalem, so that they might all be with the Theotokos at her repose. After she had blessed them, she gave up her soul to God. The Apostles buried her with all honor, solemnity and joy at Gethsemane. The Apostle Thomas, who was delayed (again!) by God’s providence, arrived on the third day and went to her tomb, intending to honor her. But when the Apostles opened her grave, they found her holy body gone and only the winding-sheet remaining. That evening the Theotokos appeared to them surrounded by angels, and said to them, ‘Rejoice: I will be with you always!’. Thus they learned that she had been bodily translated to heaven, anticipating the general resurrection of all. Her age at her repose is not known, but many say that she was about sixty years old.
Repose of Elder Joseph the Hesychast of Mt Athos (1959) (August 15 OC)
Born on the island of Paros in 1898, he entered monastic life in 1921 in response to a heavenly vision. Traveling to Mt Athos he first lived the communal monastic life, but later moved to a Skete for greater solitude. There he received the gift of ceaseless prayer. Elder Joseph and his companion in struggle, Elder Arsenios, moved to St Anne’s Skete, where they remained for the rest of their lives. Here a small company of disciples slowly gathered around them. Many of these, like silent Apostles, have spread out through the Orthodox world, contributing much to its spiritual renewal.