Sunday, 21 July 2024

4th Sunday after Pentecost

77 days after Pascha · Tone 3 · Liturgy · No Fast

Saints commemorated

Holy Martyr Victor of Marseilles and his companions

Saint Victor was a Christian soldier, an officer in the Roman army stationed at Marseilles in southern Gaul, of Egyptian birth, who suffered for Christ in the persecution of the emperor Maximian about the year 290. When the persecution broke out, Victor went secretly by night through the houses of the faithful, exhorting them to constancy. Denounced and brought before the prefects Asterius and Eutychius, and afterwards before the emperor himself, he openly confessed Christ and refused to offer incense to the gods. He was racked, beaten with rods, dragged bound through the streets, and at last thrown into prison; while he lay there in chains, three soldiers who had been set to guard him, Longinus, Alexander and Felician, were converted by his preaching, and were arrested and beheaded together. Victor was led out again, scourged, and ordered to offer incense before a statue of Jupiter; with his foot he overturned the idol. For this his foot was struck off; finally Maximian commanded that he be ground beneath a millstone, but the stone broke while he was yet alive, so that the executioners cut off his head with a sword. The faithful gathered up the bodies and buried them in a cave on the seashore, where in the fifth century Saint John Cassian raised over them the famous Abbey of Saint-Victor of Marseilles, one of the oldest monastic centres of the West. Saint Victor is patron of Marseilles and of the Estonian capital Tallinn.

Holy Prophet Ezekiel

The Holy Prophet Ezekiel, son of the priest Buzi, lived in the sixth century before Christ and was of the tribe of Levi. He was born at Sarir in the land of Judah and, while still a young priest, was carried away to Babylon at the age of twenty-five together with king Jeconiah and many of the people in the second deportation by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. There, by the river Chebar in the land of the Chaldeans, when he was thirty years old, the heavens were opened and he received his prophetic call: he beheld the divine Chariot-throne borne by the four living creatures with the faces of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle, and the wheels full of eyes, and the firmament above and the likeness of a man as it were of fire upon the throne, signifying the appearing of the Word made flesh. He prophesied for some twenty-seven years among the captives, contemporary with Jeremiah at Jerusalem and Daniel at the Babylonian court. He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and its rebuilding, the gathering of Israel and, by the famous vision in the valley of dry bones, the resurrection of the dead. The closed gate of his vision of the new Temple is understood by the Church as a type of the ever-virginity of the Theotokos. According to tradition the prince of his own people, enraged that he had reproved their idolatry, ordered him to be tied to wild horses and torn asunder. He was buried in the tomb of Shem and Arphaxad in Babylonia, where his memorial was honoured for centuries.

Our Righteous Fathers John and Symeon, the Fool for Christ's Sake

570

These two brothers in Christ were from Edessa in Mesopotamia. After a pilgrimage to Jerusalem they fled the world together; they were tonsured as monks, but soon left their monastery to struggle in prayer near the Dead Sea. Thus they passed thirty years in silence and asceticism. Symeon was then commanded by God to leave the desert and serve God among the world’s people. At their parting John said to him: ‘Keep your heart from all that you see in the world. Whatever there may be that touches your hand, let it not take hold of your heart. When food passes your lips, let not your heart be sweetened by it. If your feet have to move, let there be peace within you. Whatever you do outwardly, let your mind remain tranquil. Pray for me, that God may not part us from each other in the world to come.’ Symeon went to Emesa in Syria, where he spent the rest of his life, feigning madness in order to conceal his holiness from men. But he performed miracles of healing and appeared to people of the city in dreams, calling them to repentance. He was given the gift of discernment of others’ inward condition, and while dancing and raving through the streets would approach people, whisper their sins in their ears, and call them to repentance. He reposed peacefully in 590; John, who had remained in the desert, reposed soon afterward.

Venerable Symeon, Fool-for-Christ of Emesa, and his fellow ascetic John

Saints Symeon and John were Syrian Christians of the sixth century, joined from boyhood in close friendship at the city of Edessa. Both were of wealthy families: Symeon, the elder, was unmarried and lived with his aged mother; John, the younger, lived with his father and his young wife. About the year 552, when Symeon was thirty and John twenty-four, they made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. On the road they spoke continually of the salvation of the soul; passing through the Jordan they saw the great monasteries on the desert's edge, and both were seized with so vehement a desire to flee the world that, at the monastery of Saint Gerasimos, they were tonsured monks together, leaving their families behind. They withdrew to a cave near the Dead Sea, where for twenty-nine years they lived in extreme asceticism, in unceasing prayer and silence, struggling for one another's sake. After many years, Symeon, judging himself sufficiently purified, told John that he was called to go and serve the salvation of others. He took his leave with tears and entered the city of Emesa in Phoenicia, where for the rest of his life he played the fool for Christ, hiding his sanctity under apparent madness, eating in the marketplace, mingling with harlots and tax-collectors, suffering blows and mockery, while secretly he worked many wonders, brought sinners to repentance, and preserved the city from earthquake and plague. John remained in the desert in solitary prayer. Both reposed about the year 590, and on the night of Symeon's burial his sanctity was revealed and his body was found to have vanished from the grave. Saint Symeon is the prototype of the long line of holy fools who follow the saying of Saint Paul, "We are fools for Christ's sake."

Marcella, Virgin-Martyr of Chios

c. 1500

Her mother died when she was very young, and she was brought up by her father. As she grew older, she grew in virtue and beauty. Her father conceived an illicit desire for her and made improper advances toward her, which troubled her so greatly that she fled her village and hid in the mountains. Her father pursued her, even wounding her with arrows in his effort to possess her. Finally she took refuge in a cloven rock. When her father found that he could not drag her from her refuge, he viciously dismembered her and threw her head into the sea. From the rock that had sheltered her a stream appeared, whose water had healing virtues. The holy Marcella is especially venerated on Chios to this day.

Daily readings

4th Matins Gospel

Luke — Luke 24.1-12

¹Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. ²And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. ²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. ³And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: ⁴And it came to pass, while they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel: ⁵and as they were affrighted and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? ⁵And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, ⁶He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, ⁷saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. ⁷Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. ⁸And they remembered his words, ⁸And they remembered his words, ⁹And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. ⁹and returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. ¹⁰Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James: and the other women with them told these things unto the apostles. ¹¹And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved them. ¹¹And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. ¹²But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and he departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass. ¹²Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Epistle

weekly cycle

Romans — Romans 6.18-23

¹⁸Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. ¹⁸and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness. ¹⁹I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. ¹⁹I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification. ²⁰For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. ²⁰For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness. ²¹What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. ²¹What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. ²²But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. ²²But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ²³For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Matthew — Matthew 8.5-13

⁵And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

⁵And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, ⁶And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. ⁶and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. ⁷And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. ⁷And he saith unto him, I will come and heal him. ⁸The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. ⁸And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. ⁹For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. ⁹For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. ¹⁰And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. ¹⁰When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. ¹¹And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: ¹¹And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. ¹²But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ¹²but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. ¹³And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. ¹³And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed in that hour.