Isaiah 5.7-16 (6th Hour)

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. 8Woe to them that join house to house, and add field to field, that they may take away something of their neighbor's: will you⌃ dwell alone upon the land? 9For these things have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts: for though many houses should be built, many and fair houses shall be desolate, and there shall be no inhabitants in them. 10For where ten yoke of oxen plow the land shall yield one , and he that sows six homers shall produce three measures. 11Woe to them that rise up in the morning, and follow strong drink; who wait at it till evening: for the wine shall inflame them. 12For they drink wine with harp, and lute, and drums, and pipes: but they regard not the works of the Lord, and consider not the works of his hands. 13Therefore my people have been taken captive, because they know not the Lord: and there has been a multitude of dead bodies, because of hunger and of thirst for water. 14Therefore hell has enlarged its desire and opened its mouth without ceasing: and her glorious and great, and her rich and her pestilent men shall go down into it. 15And the mean man shall be brought low, and the great man shall be disgraced, and the lofty eyes shall be brought low. 16But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be glorified in righteousness.

Genesis 4.8-15 (Vespers)

8And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go out into the plain; and it came to pass that when they were in the plain Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him. 9And the Lord God said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? and he said, I know not, am I my brother's keeper? 10And the Lord said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries to me out of the ground. 11And now you are cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12When you till the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to you: you shall be groaning and trembling on the earth. 13And Cain said to the Lord God, My crime is too great for me to be forgiven. 14If you cast me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from your presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that any one that finds me shall kill me. 15And the Lord God said to him, Not so, any one that slays Cain shall suffer sevenfold vengeance; and the Lord God set a mark upon Cain that no one that found him might kill him.

Proverbs 5.1-15 (Vespers)

1My son, attend to my wisdom, and apply your ear to my words; 2that you may keep good understanding, and the discretion of my lips gives you a charge. Give no heed to a worthless woman; 3for honey drops from the lips of a harlot, who for a season pleases your palate: 4but afterwards you will find her more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword. 5For the feet of folly lead those who deal with her down to the grave with death; and her steps are not established. 6For she goes not upon the paths of life; but her ways are slippery, and not easily known. 7Now then, my son, hear me, and make not my words of none effect. 8Remove your way far from her; draw not near to the doors of her house: 9lest you give away your life to others, and your substance to the merciless: 10lest strangers be filled with your strength, and your labors come into the houses of strangers; 11And you repent at last, when the flesh of your body is consumed, 12and you shall say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart avoided reproofs! 13I heard not the voice of him that instructed me, and taught me, neither did I apply my ear. 14I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. 15Drink waters out of your own vessels, and out of your own springing wells.

St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem

He was born in Damascus to an eminent family, and was well educated in his youth. Discontented with the wisdom of the world, he entered monastic life in the monastery of St Theodosius, where he became the lifelong friend and disciple of John Moschos. Together they visited the monasteries and hermitages of Egypt; they later wrote down their discoveries among the holy monks in the classic Spiritual Meadow. After the death of his teacher, St Sophronius traveled to Jerusalem, which had just been liberated from the Persians. He was there to see the Precious Cross returned from Persia by the Emperor Heraclius, who carried it into Jerusalem on his back. A few years later, in 634, St Sophronius was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem, where he served his flock wisely for three years and three months. He was zealous in the defense of Orthodoxy against the Monothelite heresy: He convoked a Council in Jerusalem which condemned it before it was condemned at the Sixth Ecumenical Council. The holy Patriarch even traveled to Constantinople to rebuke the Patriarch Sergius and Emperor Heraclius, who had embraced the Monothelite error.

The years of peace were few for the Holy Land; for just as the Persian Empire was decisively defeated by Heraclius, the followers of Islam erupted out of Arabia, conquering most of North Africa and the Middle East in a few years. The Saint was so grieved by the capture of Jerusalem in 637 by the Caliph Omar that begged God to take him, so that he might not live to see the desecration of the holy places. His prayer was granted, and he reposed in peace less than a year later.

St Sophronios is the author of the Life of Saint Mary of Egypt, appointed to be read in the churches during every Great Lent. He also wrote the service of the Great Blessing of the Waters. Some have attributed the Vesperal hymn “Gladsome Light” to him, but we know that it dates from before the time of St Basil the Great, who mentions it in his writings. It seems though, that St Sophronios supplemented the hymn, and that its present form is due to him.

St John Moschos, author of the Spiritual Meadow (622)

He is commemorated today along with his disciple and friend St Sophronius (see above).

Holy Martyr Pionius (250)

“A priest of Smyrna, he suffered there in the time of Decius’ persecution. They condemned him to be crucified, which was a great joy to him. And as soon as the soldiers assembled the cross and laid it on the ground, Pionius laid himself on it and stretched out his arms, calling to the soldiers to put the nails into his hands. The cross was inserted into the ground upside down, and a fire lit under the martyr’s head. There were many bystanders. Pionius closed his eyes and prayed to God within himself. The flames could not succeed in igniting even his hair, and when the fire had at last gone out and everyone thought that he was dead, Pionius opened his eyes and cried out joyfully: ‘O Lord, receive my spirit!’, and breathed his last. This saint wrote the life of St Polycarp of Smyrna, together with whom he now makes merry in the Kingdom of Christ. He suffered and was glorified in 250.” (Prologue)