Thursday 2 June 2033
Ascension of the Lord
The Ascension of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ
Ascensiontide, day 1 · 39 days since Pascha
Ascension of the Lord
Saints commemorated
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St Nicephorus the Confessor
Nicephorus the Confessor (c. 758 – 828) was Patriarch of Constantinople from 806 to 815 and, after Tarasius, the second of the great iconodule patriarchs to lead the Church. Born of a confessing family — his father had suffered exile for the holy icons — he served as imperial secretary, took part in the Seventh Ecumenical Council as a lay commissioner, and was raised from the lay state to the patriarchal throne. When the emperor Leo V the Armenian revived iconoclasm, Nicephorus resisted to his own ruin: refusing to surrender the images, he was deposed in 815 and exiled across the Bosphorus, where for thirteen years he wrote the great refutations of the heresy — and where, with his Breviarium and chronological tables, he left works of history besides. He reposed in exile in 828. After the Triumph of Orthodoxy (843), the Empress Theodora and Patriarch Methodius brought his relics home to the capital on 13 March 846, incorrupt, and laid them among the patriarchs in the Church of the Holy Apostles. He is kept on June 2 (repose) and March 13 (the translation of his relics).
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Holy New Martyr Constantine (1819)
Constantine (†2 June 1819) was born a Muslim in the village of Ypsilometopo on Lesbos, and was healed in his blindness as a boy by the holy water of the Christians. Working afterwards as a greengrocer in Smyrna, he came to love the worship of the Church, and made his way to Mount Athos, where he was catechised at the Skete of Kavsokalyvia and baptised by the exiled Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V, receiving the name Constantine. Not content to be saved alone, he went back among his own people to bring his brothers and sisters to Christ; he was recognised, denounced, tortured with a red-hot iron cap, and sent to Constantinople, where — having invited his judge to become a Christian — he was hanged on 2 June 1819. He is one of the last of the New Martyrs of the Ottoman yoke, and one of the small and precious company of them who came to Christ out of Islam.
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Hieromartyr Erazmo of Ochrid (303)
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Erasmus of Formia
Erasmus (†c. 303), bishop of Formia in Campania, is one of the most widely venerated and least securely documented of the martyrs of the great persecution. The tradition the Orthodox calendars have received makes him a bishop who fled the persecution to Mount Lebanon and lived there seven years in hiding; who was brought at an angel's bidding out of concealment, seized, and tried before Diocletian and afterwards before Maximian; who was scourged, smeared with pitch and set alight, shut in a spiked cask and rolled downhill, and each time preserved; who converted great multitudes — the Slavic and Greek notices say twenty thousand — by his endurance; and who at length was brought to Formia and reposed there. In the West he became Saint Elmo, patron of sailors, and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers; the Orthodox books keep him on May 4, and the OCA styles him confessor rather than martyr, since the tradition has him die of his sufferings rather than by the sword.
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John the New of Suceava
John the New (c. 1300 – c. 1330/1332) was a Greek merchant of Trebizond who was tortured to death at Cetatea Albă — the Asprokastron of the Greeks, the Akkerman of the Turks, the Belgorod of the Slavs, at the mouth of the Dniester — for refusing to abandon Christ for the religion of its Tatar governor. Denounced out of commercial envy by the Western shipmaster who had carried him there, he was beaten with rods until his flesh came away, dragged through the streets tied to a wild horse, and beheaded in the open street; and the pillar of light that stood over his body that night is the first of the wonders reported of him. Some seventy years later Alexander the Good, Voivode of Moldavia, brought his relics to Suceava, where they remain — and where they made a foreign merchant-martyr into the heavenly patron of Moldavia and of Bukovina, "the protector of all the Moldavian land." He is honoured on June 2 for his martyrdom and, in Romanian usage, on June 24 for the bringing of his relics.
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Juliana of Vyazma
Juliana (†21 December 1406) was the wife of Prince Simeon Mstislavich of Vyazma, and died at Torzhok defending her marriage and her chastity against Yuri Svyatoslavich, the dispossessed Prince of Smolensk. Sheltering in the same town as his exiled kinsmen, Yuri conceived a passion for her; when she refused him he killed her husband at table and turned on her, and when she wounded him with a knife he cut off her hands and feet with his sword and had her body thrown into the frozen Tvertsa. In the spring her body was found — the tradition says floating against the current — and was buried at the Transfiguration Cathedral of Torzhok, where healings were reported at her tomb through four centuries until the Church uncovered her relics and glorified her on 2 June 1819. She is honoured among the Wonderworkers of Novy Torg and is one of the Russian Church's patrons of the sanctity of marriage.
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Pothinus, Blandina and the Martyrs of Lyons
In the year 177, in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the Christians of Lugdunum (Lyons) and Vienne in Gaul were seized by the mob and the magistrates and destroyed in the amphitheatre at the annual provincial games. Their bishop, the aged Pothinus — a Greek of Asia, and by tradition a hearer of Polycarp — was beaten and died in prison; the slave-girl Blandina, whose own mistress had feared she would prove too weak to confess, outlasted every torturer in the city and was killed last of all; and with them suffered Sanctus the deacon of Vienne, Maturus the newly baptised, Attalus of Pergamum, Alexander the Phrygian physician, Biblis who denied and then recovered her confession, the boy Ponticus, the nobleman Vettius Epagathus and the ascetic Alcibiades. Their bodies were burnt and the ashes swept into the Rhône. The letter in which the surviving Christians of Vienne and Lyons told the story to the churches of Asia — preserved by Eusebius — is one of the greatest documents of the early Church, and the company is kept on June 2 in East and West alike.
British Isles and Ireland
- St. Odo the Good, 22nd archbishop of Canterbury (959)
- St. Adalgis (c.686)
- St. Bodfan (7th C)
Troparia & kontakia
Apolytikion — Tone 4
Thou wast taken up in glory, O Christ our God, and didst gladden thy disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit; and by the blessing they were made certain that thou art the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.
Exapostilarion — Tone 2 (sung three times)
Before the eyes of thy disciples thou wast taken up, O Christ, to be enthroned together with the Father; and the angels running on before thee cried aloud: Lift up the gates, lift them up, for the King has gone up to the glory that is the source of light.
Kontakion — Tone 6
Having fulfilled the dispensation for our sake, and united the things of earth with the things of heaven, thou wast taken up in glory, O Christ our God, in no way parted from us, but remaining inseparable and crying to those who love thee: I am with you, and no one is against you. Leaving on earth the things of earth, and yielding the ashes to the dust, come, let us wake and lift up our eyes and our thoughts on high; let us mortals send our sight and our senses together flying toward the gates of heaven; let us reckon that we are on the Mount of Olives and are gazing upon the Redeemer as he is borne upon a cloud.
Kontakion — Tone 2
Neither fire nor pitch nor the iron teeth of the cask could turn thee from the confession, O hierarch Erasmus, but by thy patience thou didst draw a countless people to Christ; wherefore the sea and them that sail upon it cry out to thee: deliver us, O father, from the tempest.
Kontakion — Tone 4
The Church of Moldavia keepeth thee as her crown and her defence, O great martyr John: for thy blood, poured out in a stranger's city, hath watered our land, and thy relics, borne home in glory, pour forth healing upon all that draw near. Wherefore we cry unto thee: rejoice, O boast of Trebizond and guardian of Suceava.
Kontakion — Tone 1
O initiate of heaven's mysteries and unshaken herald of Orthodoxy, thou didst shine upon the Church as her radiant star, and for the icon of Christ didst gladly bear thine exile; and now thy sacred relics, returning in glory to thy city, pour forth sanctification on them that cry: Rejoice, O Father Nicephorus, boast of the faithful.
Kontakion — Tone 2
They were cast into the fire and their dust into the waters, that no memorial might remain of them; but their names are written in heaven and read in every church, and the letter of their brethren proclaims them still. Wherefore we honour the martyrs of Lyons, the boast of the West and the harvest of the East.
The
O Lord, having in thy goodness fulfilled the mystery hidden from the ages and from the generations, thou didst come with thy disciples to the Mount of Olives, having with thee her who bore thee, the Maker and Fashioner of all things; for she who as a mother grieved above all others in thy Passion had also to enjoy the surpassing joy of the glorifying of thy flesh — in which we too, sharing it, glorify at thine ascent into the heavens, O Master, thy great mercy that has come upon us.
Troparion — Tone 4
Out of the darkness of Hagar's tents thou wast called into the marvellous light of Christ, and having washed thine eyes and thy soul in the water of grace, thou wouldst not be saved alone, O Constantine, but wentest back to thy kindred bearing the Gospel. Wherefore, when the tyrant bade thee deny, thou didst summon him to be baptised, and receivedst the noose as a crown: intercede with Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Troparion — Tone 4 (from the common of a hieromartyr)
As a sharer in the ways and a successor to the thrones of the Apostles, O divinely-inspired one, thou didst find in contemplation the means to ascend to divine heights; rightly dividing the word of truth, thou didst struggle for the faith even unto blood, O hieromartyr Erasmus: intercede with Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Troparion — Tone 4
Thou didst trade for the pearl of great price, O martyr John, and having found it thou didst gladly sell all that thou hadst: for setting at nought the threats of the tyrant and the fire he bade thee worship, thou didst confess the Light that no darkness overtakes, and wast beaten and dragged and beheaded for His name. Wherefore Christ hath given thee to Suceava as a treasure that fadeth not: intercede with Him, O athlete of the Lord, that our souls may be saved.
Troparion — Tone 4
Thou didst love thy husband and thy God more than thine own life, O right-believing Juliana, and wouldst not yield thy purity to a prince's violence; wherefore, mutilated by the sword and cast into the waters, thou wast borne up by God against the stream, and thy grave at Novy Torg became a fountain of healings. O passion-bearer, guard the marriages of the faithful, and pray that our souls may be saved.
Troparion — Tone 3
Thou didst bear in very deed the victory thy name foretells, O all-blessed Nicephorus: a teacher of the Orthodox faith, a defender of the sacred images, and a pillar unshaken of the Church of Christ. For the honour of the icon of the Lord thou didst endure deposition and long exile; wherefore, crowned as a confessor, intercede that our souls may be saved.
Troparion — Tone 4
The Church of Gaul, planted by the hands of Asia, brought forth a first harvest of martyrs: an aged bishop beaten in prison, a deacon burned with plates of brass, a boy and a slave-woman who wearied out their tormentors. O Photinus and Blandina and all the athletes of Lugdunum, whose ashes the river bore away and whose crowns no river can quench, intercede with Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Readings
Vespers
Isaiah 2.2-3
2And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Composite 21 - Isaiah 62.10-63.3, 7-9
1Thus says the Lord: Walk, go through my gates; prepare my way and make a way for my people, and cast the stones out of the way; raise up a standard for the nations. For see, the Lord has made it heard to the ends of the earth: Say to the daughter of Sion: See, your Saviour has come, and his reward is with him, and his work before his face. And he will call it a holy people, redeemed by the Lord; while you will be called a city sought after, and not forsaken. Who is this who comes from Edom, the scarlet of his garments from Bosor, thus beautiful in his apparel? He cries out with much strength. I reason of justice and judgement of salvation. Why are your garments red, and your clothing as from a trodden winepress? I am full of the trodden grape; I have trampled the winepress quite alone, and no man from the nations was with me. I have remembered the mercy of the Lord, I will recall the Lord’s virtues, the Lord’s praise for all the things with which He rewards us. The Lord is a good judge for the house of Israel; he deals with us according to his mercy and according to the multitude of his justice. And he said: Are you not my people? Children will surely not be rebellious; and he became for them salvation out of their every distress. It was not an emissary, not an Angel, but the Lord himself saved them because he loved them and spared them. He redeemed them and took them up and exalted them all the days of the age.
Composite 22 - Zechariah 14.1, 4, 8-11
1Thus says the Lord: See, the day of the Lord is coming, and on that day his feet will stand upon the mount of Olives, opposite Jerusalem, where the sun rises. And on that day living water will come out from Jerusalem, half towards the first sea and half towards the last sea; in spring and in summer it shall be so; and the Lord will be for a King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name, compassing all the earth and the wilderness from Gabaa as far as Remmon, south of Jerusalem; and he shall be exalted and remain on his place from the gate of Benjamin as far as the place of the first gate, as far as the gate of Gomor and as far as the tower of Anameël and as far as the tower of the corners and as far as the king’s winepresses; they shall dwell in it and there shall be no more curse and Jerusalem shall dwell confidently.
Matins Gospel
Mark 16.9-20
9Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Epistle
Acts 1.1-12
1The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
Gospel
Luke 24.36-53
36And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43And he took it, and did eat before them. 44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48And ye are witnesses of these things. 49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. 50And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.