Saturday, 10 August 2024

Saturday of the 7th week after Pentecost

97 days after Pascha · Tone 5 · Liturgy · Dormition Fast (Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

Holy Archdeacon and Martyr Lawrence of Rome

Saint Lawrence (Laurentius) was, according to ancient tradition, a native of northern Spain, sent in his youth to Rome where he became a disciple of the future Pope Sixtus II. When Sixtus was elevated to the see of Rome in 257 he ordained Lawrence deacon and made him chief of the seven deacons of the Roman Church, with the duty of administering the goods of the church and the care of the poor. In August of 258 the emperor Valerian issued an edict ordering that all bishops, priests and deacons be put to death without delay. Pope Sixtus was beheaded on 6 August together with the deacons Felicissimus and Agapitus. As Sixtus was led away Lawrence followed weeping, lamenting that he was being left behind, but the bishop foretold that the deacon would follow him in three days to a more glorious contest. The prefect of Rome, hearing that the church had wealth, demanded that Lawrence hand over its treasures. Lawrence asked for three days, gathered the poor, the lame, the blind and the widows whom the church supported, and presented them to the prefect, saying, "Behold the treasures of the Church." Enraged, the prefect ordered him roasted alive on a gridiron over slow coals. Saint Lawrence endured the torture with such serenity that he is said to have remarked to his executioners, "Turn me over, this side is cooked." He gave up his soul to God on 10 August 258, and his witness moved many to embrace the faith, including the soldier Romanus, who was baptised by him in prison and martyred shortly afterwards. He is commemorated on 10 August.

Holy Martyr Romanus the Soldier of Rome

The Holy Martyr Romanus was a Roman soldier who guarded the prison where the archdeacon Lawrence was held during the persecution of Valerian in 258. Witnessing the tortures inflicted on Lawrence, Romanus saw a radiant youth standing beside the martyr and wiping his wounds, and was so struck by this vision that his own heart was opened to belief in Christ. Bringing a pitcher of water into the prison, he begged Lawrence to baptise him; the deacon poured the water over his head and named him a Christian. Almost immediately Romanus was seized by his fellow soldiers and brought before the emperor; before he could be questioned he cried out, "I am a Christian." For this confession he was condemned and beheaded on 9 August 258, the day before Saint Lawrence himself was put to the gridiron, and his memory is observed together with that of the archdeacon on 10 August.

Holy Martyrs Sixtus, Pope of Rome, Felicissimus and Agapitus

Saint Sixtus II became Bishop of Rome in 257, succeeding Pope Stephen I, and from his short pontificate he is remembered for restoring peace between the Roman see and the churches of Africa and the East. When the emperor Valerian issued his second decree against the Christians in 258, ordering the immediate execution of bishops, priests and deacons, Sixtus continued to celebrate the holy mysteries with his clergy in the catacombs of Praetextatus on the Appian Way. On 6 August 258 he was discovered there with his deacons during the divine liturgy and was beheaded, together with the deacons Felicissimus and Agapitus, who shared his martyrdom on the same day. Two more deacons of the Roman church, Januarius and Magnus, were also martyred at that time, while the seventh and chief deacon, Lawrence, was put to death three days later. The bodies of Sixtus, Felicissimus and Agapitus were buried in the catacombs where they had been seized, and their feast was celebrated at Rome from very ancient times. In the Eastern Orthodox Church their memory is observed together with that of Saint Lawrence on 10 August, the day of the archdeacon's passion.

Also commemorated: Holy Martyr and Archdeacon Lawrence of Rome

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

Romans — Romans 12.1-3

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ²And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

³For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

³For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Matthew — Matthew 10.37-11.1

³⁷He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁷He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. ³⁸And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. ³⁹He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. ³⁹He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

⁴⁰He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

⁴⁰He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. ⁴¹He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴¹He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward: and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. ⁴²And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward.

¹And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

¹And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities.