Saturday, 31 August 2024

Saturday of the 10th week after Pentecost

118 days after Pascha · Tone 8 · Liturgy · No Fast

Saints commemorated

★ Placing of the Honourable Cincture of the Most Holy Theotokos

The Orthodox Church keeps as a feast on this day the placing of the venerable Cincture, or Sash, of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Church of the Mother of God at Chalcoprateia in Constantinople, and afterwards in the Church of the Mother of God at Blachernae. According to ancient tradition, after her dormition the Theotokos let down her cincture from heaven into the hands of the Apostle Thomas, in token that her body had been translated to glory; the cincture was preserved by the faithful in Jerusalem and there transmitted from generation to generation, until in the reign of the Emperor Arcadius (395-408) it was brought to Constantinople and laid up in a precious reliquary in the Chalcoprateia Church. Under the Emperor Leo the Wise (886-912) the reliquary was opened and the sash was placed upon the empress Zoe, who was healed of an unclean spirit; the empress in gratitude embroidered the sash with golden threads, and the sealing of the reliquary was henceforth marked by an annual feast. Portions of the precious cincture are preserved on Mount Athos at the monastery of Vatopedi and at other places, where they continue to bestow many graces. The feast is the last of the moveable cycle of the ecclesiastical year, which begins on 1 September.

★ The Placing of the Sash of the Most Holy Theotokos (395-408? 886- 912?)

At the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, her sash came into the possession of the Apostle Thomas and after various transfers came to Cappadocia. It was later taken from there to Constantinople, where it was kept in a sealed casket in the Church of the Theotokos at Blachernae, at the time of the Emperor Arcadius (395-408). The casket was not opened until the reign of the Emperor Leo the Wise (886-912), when the Empress Zoe, who was ill, had a vision in which she was told to have the sash placed upon her. The Emperor obtained the blessing of the Patriarch, the sash was placed upon the Empress, and she was immediately healed. Some accounts say that today’s feast celebrates the bringing of the sash to Constantinople; others that it commemorates the miraculous healing of the Empress.

Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage

Saint Cyprian was born about the year 200 at Carthage in North Africa to a wealthy and noble pagan family, and was given a brilliant education in rhetoric and philosophy. After many years as a celebrated teacher he was converted to Christ in middle life by the priest Caecilius, who became his spiritual father. Distributing his goods to the poor, he was soon ordained priest and within two years, in 248, was elected Bishop of Carthage. As bishop he led his Church through the great persecution of the Emperor Decius, withdrawing for a time so as to govern by letters, and afterwards through the controversies over the reception of the lapsed and the validity of heretical baptism. His writings, including On the Unity of the Church and a wealth of pastoral letters, are a foundation of Latin theology of the Church and the episcopate. Under the persecution of the Emperor Valerian he was banished, and at last on 14 September 258, he was beheaded with the sword outside Carthage, the first bishop of the African Church to be crowned with martyrdom. The Orthodox Church honours his memory on the thirty first of August, the day of his ordination.

Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne

Saint Aidan was an Irish monk of Iona who became the apostle of Northumbria in northern Britain. After the death of King Edwin in 633 the Christian faith newly planted in that kingdom was almost overthrown, until the holy King Oswald, who had himself been baptised on Iona, asked the brethren of that monastery for a missionary to lead his people back to Christ. Saint Aidan was sent in 635 and was given by the king the island of Lindisfarne, near the royal stronghold of Bamburgh, for his episcopal seat. From there he founded the famous Lindisfarne monastery, trained native English clergy and travelled tirelessly through the north on foot, accompanied often by the king himself who served as his interpreter. He was a man of profound humility, almsgiving and prayer, who gave to the poor whatever he received from the rich, who freed the slaves of his land with money paid by his patrons, and who would not ride on a horse where he could walk among his people. He fell asleep in the Lord on 31 August 651 at Bamburgh, leaning against a beam of the church which by tradition has never since been consumed by fire.

Saint Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople

Saint Gennadius served as Patriarch of Constantinople from 458 to 471, during the reigns of the Emperors Leo I and Anastasius. Renowned for his profound knowledge of Holy Scripture, he was the author of commentaries on the books of the prophets and on the epistles of Saint Paul, fragments of which are preserved in the catenae of the fathers. As patriarch he was a careful guardian of the canons of the Church, particularly in his concern that those ordained to the priesthood should be of true learning and piety; he convened a council at Constantinople in 459 against simony, requiring that no man receive holy orders for money under pain of deposition. After thirteen years on the throne he reposed in peace, and is honoured among the holy hierarchs of the great Church.

Also commemorated: Sash of the Theotokos

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

Romans — Romans 15.30-33

³⁰Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

³⁰Now I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; ³¹that I may be delivered from them that are disobedient in Judæa, and that my ministration which I have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints; ³¹That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; ³²That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. ³²that I may come unto you in joy through the will of God, and together with you find rest. ³³Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. ³³Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Matthew — Matthew 17.24-18.4

²⁴And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

²⁴And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the half-shekel came to Peter, and said, Doth not your teacher pay the half-shekel? ²⁵He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? ²⁵He saith, Yea. And when he came into the house, Jesus spake first to him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute? from their sons, or from strangers? ²⁶Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. ²⁶And when he said, From strangers, Jesus said unto him, Therefore the sons are free. ²⁷Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. ²⁷But, lest we cause them to stumble, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a shekel: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

¹At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

¹In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ²And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, ²And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, ³and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. ³And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.