Sunday, 21 April 2024

St Mary of Egypt

Fifth Sunday of Lent

14 days before Pascha · Tone 5 · Liturgy · Lenten Fast (Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

Hieromartyr Anastasius II, patriarch of Antioch

Saint Anastasius II was patriarch of Antioch from 599 to 609, in succession to Saint Anastasius I the Sinaite. A learned man of Greek culture, he was a friend of Saint Gregory the Great, pope of Rome, and translated into Greek the latter's Pastoral Rule, a work of profound influence in the eastern Church. His patriarchate fell in a turbulent period, as the eastern Roman empire reeled under the early Persian invasions and as the religious tensions between Chalcedonians and the followers of Severus continued to trouble Syria. About the year 609, during a furious uprising of the Jews of Antioch under the misrule of the emperor Phocas, Anastasius was seized by the rioters in his cathedral, dragged through the streets, mutilated and slain in hatred of the faith. Together with him many other Christians were martyred in the same tumult. The Church has ever since honoured Anastasius II among the hieromartyrs, both for his confession of the truth, and for the gentle pastoral wisdom by which he had governed his flock. His memory in some calendars is kept on this day, in others on 20 April, together with that of his namesake Anastasius I and Gregory of Antioch.

Hieromartyr Januarius and those with him

305

These martyrs gave glorious witness to Christ during the persecutions of Diocletian. St Januarius, Bishop of Benevento in Italy, was arrested and cast into a burning furnace, but he stood in the midst of the flames, singing praises to God, and emerged unharmed. After other cruel tortures, he was bound and cast in prison in Pozzuoli, along with his deacon Faustus and his reader Desiderius. With them in prison were two deacons from Pozzuoli, Proclus and Sossus, and two laymen, Eutychius and Acutius. All seven were cast to wild beasts; but when the animals came near the Saints, they fell affectionately at their feet and refused to harm them. Finally, all seven Christians were beheaded. Some Christians from Naples secretly took the body of Januarius and buried it in their church. Countless wonders have been worked at his grave, including the restoration of a dead man to life.

Hieromartyr Januarius, bishop of Benevento, and his companions

Saint Januarius was bishop of Benevento in southern Italy at the close of the third century. During the persecution unleashed by the emperor Diocletian (284 to 305) the deacon Sosius of Misenum was arrested for his confession of Christ. Hearing of his imprisonment, Januarius went to visit and encourage him, taking with him his deacon Festus and the reader Desiderius. As they entered the prison they too were seized and brought before Timothy, the governor of Campania, at his court in Nola. Januarius confessed his faith without hesitation, refusing to offer sacrifice to the idols, and so was cast into a burning furnace; but, like the three holy youths in Babylon, he came out unharmed, and many soldiers and pagans, beholding the miracle, believed in Christ. The governor, accusing the Christians of sorcery, ordered them to be exposed in the amphitheatre to the wild beasts; but the beasts would not touch them. Then the governor, suddenly struck blind, was healed only by the prayer of the holy bishop, but in his obstinacy he persisted in the persecution. Januarius, the deacons Sosius, Proculus and Festus, the reader Desiderius and the laymen Eutychius and Acutius were all beheaded together before the walls of Pozzuoli about the year 305. The blood of Saint Januarius was gathered up by a faithful woman; preserved in vials, it has from the fifteenth century been seen to liquify each year on his feasts, a wonder confessed before the world. He is the chief patron of the city of Naples, where his relics are kept in the cathedral, and the people have many times invoked him against the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius.

Holy martyr Theodore at Perge in Pamphylia, with his mother Philippa

The holy martyrs Theodore, his mother Philippa, the soldiers Dioscorus, Socrates and Dionysius suffered for Christ at Perge in Pamphylia during the reign of the emperor Antoninus Pius (138 to 161). Saint Philippa had received from God before her son was born a revelation that he was destined to be crucified for the name of Christ, and she raised him in the faith with this knowledge. When the youth Theodore came of age he was conscripted into the Roman army; but he refused to take part in the customary sacrifice to the idols and openly confessed himself a Christian. The military commander Theodotus had him stretched on a red-hot iron plate and poured liquid pitch over his body. At that moment a great earthquake shook the place and a stream of water gushed up from the earth, putting out the fire, while Theodore was found unharmed and giving glory to God. Theodotus then ordered him bound to wild horses to be torn apart, but the horses ran only as far as the city walls and there fell down dead, leaving the saint unhurt. The soldiers Socrates and Dionysius beheld a chariot of fire descending from heaven and bearing the martyr up; in astonishment they cried out, "Great is the God of the Christians!" and they too were arrested and beheaded. The pagan priest Dioscorus, witnessing the wonders, also confessed Christ and was cast into the same furnace prepared for Theodore, in which he gave up his soul to God. Lastly Theodore was crucified, fulfilling the prophecy made to his mother before his birth. Saint Philippa, having seen her son perfected in martyrdom, was herself beheaded with the sword.

Saint Maximian, patriarch of Constantinople

Saint Maximian was patriarch of Constantinople from 25 October 431 to his repose in April 434. A native of Rome and a man of holy life, he had retired to Constantinople, where he lived as a simple priest devoted to prayer and almsgiving. He was renowned for using his own resources to provide tombs for the poor and for the strangers who died in the city, regarding the burial of the dead as a chief work of mercy. After the deposition of the heretical Nestorius at the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431, the emperor Theodosius II and the assembled bishops chose Maximian as the new archbishop of the imperial city, the heir to a see that had been wracked by the disputes over the divine motherhood of the Theotokos. He governed the Church of Constantinople for two and a half years with quiet wisdom, healing the divisions which Nestorius had left and labouring for the restoration of communion among the eastern hierarchs. He was a faithful supporter of Saint Cyril of Alexandria in the defence of the union of the divine and human natures in the one person of Christ. He reposed peacefully on the eve of Holy Pascha 434 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles. The Greek Church keeps his memory on this day.

Daily readings

2nd Matins Gospel

Mark — Mark 16.1-8

¹And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

¹And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. ²And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. ²And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. ³And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? ³And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? ⁴And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. ⁴and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great. ⁵And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. ⁵And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. ⁶And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. ⁶And he saith unto them, Be not amazed: ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him! ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. ⁷But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. ⁸And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. ⁸And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them: and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid.

Epistle

weekly cycle

Hebrews — Hebrews 9.11-14

¹¹But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, ¹¹But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; ¹²Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. ¹²nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh: ¹³For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: ¹⁴how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ¹⁴How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Epistle

— St Mary

Galatians — Galatians 3.23-29

²³But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

²³But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. ²⁴So that the law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁴Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. ²⁵But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. ²⁶For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. ²⁶For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. ²⁷For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise. ²⁹And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Mark — Mark 10.32-45

³²And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,

³²And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going before them: and they were amazed; and they that followed were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were to happen unto him, ³³Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: ³³saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles: ³⁴And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. ³⁴and they shall mock him, and shall spit upon him, and shall scourge him, and shall kill him; and after three days he shall rise again.

³⁵And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

³⁵And there come near unto him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying unto him, Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall ask of thee. ³⁶And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? ³⁶And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? ³⁷And they said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy glory. ³⁷They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. ³⁸But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? ³⁸But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I drink? or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? ³⁹And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: ³⁹And they said unto him, We are able. And Jesus said unto them, The cup that I drink ye shall drink; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: ⁴⁰but to sit on my right hand or on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared. ⁴⁰But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. ⁴¹And when the ten heard it, they began to be moved with indignation concerning James and John. ⁴¹And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. ⁴²And Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴²But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. ⁴³But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister; ⁴³But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: ⁴⁴And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. ⁴⁴and whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ⁴⁵For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Gospel

— St Mary

Luke — Luke 7.36-50

³⁶And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

³⁶And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he entered into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. ³⁷And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, ³⁷And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting at meat in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment, ³⁸And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁸and standing behind at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee that had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner. ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Teacher, say on. ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. ⁴¹A certain lender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred shillings, and the other fifty. ⁴¹There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. ⁴²And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? ⁴²When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most? ⁴³Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. ⁴³Simon answered and said, He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. ⁴⁴And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. ⁴⁴And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵Thou gavest me no kiss: but she, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁵Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁶My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. ⁴⁷Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. ⁴⁸And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. ⁴⁸And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. ⁴⁹And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? ⁴⁹And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins? ⁵⁰And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.