Thursday, 30 January 2025

Synaxis 3 Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom

Thursday of the 32nd week after Pentecost

270 days after Pascha · Tone 6 · Red cross half-circle (vigil typikon symbol) · No Fast (Fish, Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

★ The Three Holy Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom

The Three Holy Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers are honoured together on 30 January in the Orthodox Church in a celebration called the Synaxis of the Three Holy Hierarchs. Although each of the three great Fathers has his own individual feast day in January—Basil the Great on 1 January, Gregory the Theologian on 25 January, and John Chrysostom with the translation of his relics on 27 January—the Church has designated 30 January as a day for their common commemoration.

According to Orthodox tradition, during the reign of Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118), a controversy arose in Constantinople regarding which of the three hierarchs was greatest. Some argued for Saint Basil above the other two because of his exceptional ability to explain the mysteries of the Faith, his rise to angelic rank through virtue, his role as organiser of monastic life, and his stern shepherding of Christian morals. The three saints themselves appeared in a vision to Bishop John, advising him to compile a common feast for them and to set aside a day for their joint commemoration so that all three would be equally honoured. The Church then established 30 January as the day of common commemoration of the three hierarchs.

The Three Hierarchs are the Patron Saints of education and teaching, and their combined feast emphasises the unity of the Church's teaching authority and the complementary gifts that each brought to the defence and exposition of Orthodox doctrine. Basil contributed his administrative genius and his theological clarity; Gregory brought his profound theological insights and his defence of the divinity of the Holy Spirit; John contributed his incomparable eloquence and his moral courage in confronting abuse of power. Together they represent the fullness of apostolic teaching and the triumph of Orthodox Christianity over heresy.

Hieromartyr Hippolytus, Pope of Rome

Hippolytus (170-235) was a Christian presbyter and theologian of the early Church who lived in Rome during a period of significant theological controversy and intermittent persecution. He was an accomplished scholar and prolific writer, composing biblical commentaries, theological treatises, and polemical works against various heresies. Hippolytus became involved in disputes regarding the succession of papal authority and ecclesiastical discipline, and was eventually martyred under the Roman emperor during a period of Christian persecution. His death transformed him into a witness to the faith, a hieromartyr whose blood sealed his testimony to Christ. The tradition records that his relics were later venerated and his memory honoured by the Church he had served with his learning and ultimately with his life. Hippolytus is remembered as a man of considerable theological learning, pastoral dedication, and ultimate sacrificial witness. He is venerated as a great martyr and doctor of the Church, commemorated on 30 January as a hieromartyr and intercessor.

Holy Martyr Theophilus the New of Constantinople

Theophilus was a Christian martyr of Constantinople venerated in the Orthodox tradition. He lived during a period of theological dispute and occasional persecution in the Byzantine Christian world. Theophilus bore witness to the Orthodox faith with steadfast conviction, remaining true to the teachings of the Church despite pressures and dangers. He endured suffering and ultimately martyrdom for his refusal to compromise his faith or deny Christ. His death became a testimony to the power of grace and the triumph of faith over worldly force. Theophilus is venerated as a martyr and witness to the faith, commemorated on 30 January as a holy martyr and intercessor for those who face trials in their faith.

Saint Basil the Great, archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia

Basil the Great was born in 329 in Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, to a distinguished Christian family of considerable wealth and influence. His father was also named Basil, and his mother was Saint Emmelia. His paternal grandmother, Saint Macrina the Elder, and his sister, the venerable and learned Macrina the Younger, were also noted for their exceptional piety and spiritual gifts. From his youth, Basil received an excellent classical education. He studied at Caesarea, Constantinople, and finally at Athens (circa 351-356), where he developed a lifelong friendship with Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. After completing his education, he began a career in rhetoric and public speaking, but the influence of his sister Macrina confirmed his earlier inclination toward the ascetical and monastic life. He withdrew from secular pursuits and established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi in Pontus, where he lived an austere life of prayer and study. In 370, when Eusebius, the Bishop of Caesarea, died, Basil was chosen to succeed him as bishop. He brought to his episcopal office the same vigour and organisational skill that characterised all his endeavours. As archbishop, he wrote several influential works on monasticism, theology, and canon law, including the Longer Rules and Shorter Rules for monasteries, which became foundational to monastic life in the Orthodox Church. His Hexaëmeron ("Six Days") consists of nine Lenten sermons on the days of Creation; his treatise Against Eunomius defends the deity of the Son against Arian heresies; and his work On the Holy Spirit expounds the full divinity and consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit. Basil was a passionate defender of Orthodox Christianity against the heresy of Arianism, which denied the full divinity of the Son. With all his strength he resisted the Emperor Valens, who sought to impose Arianism in his diocese. Though the emperor, impressed by Basil's uncompromising conviction, considered banishing him, he left him unmolested. Basil also established charitable institutions to aid the poor, the ill, and travellers. His most enduring legacy was the creation of the Basilias, believed to be one of the earliest forms of a Christian hospital for the poor. He fell asleep in the Lord on 1 January 379 and is honoured as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs and greatest Church Fathers of the Orthodox tradition. His feast day on 30 January commemorates him together with Gregory and John Chrysostom.

Saint Theophilus the New of Cyprus

Theophilus the New was a holy man and monk venerated in the Orthodox tradition of Cyprus. He lived in the period following the iconoclastic controversy and devoted himself to the monastic life with great dedication. Theophilus became known for his spiritual wisdom, his commitment to Orthodox theology and practice, and his pastoral concern for those who sought his guidance. He exemplified the monastic ideals of prayer, fasting, and virtue, and his life bore witness to the possibility of sanctification through faithful adherence to the Gospel and the teachings of the Church fathers. Theophilus is commemorated in the liturgical tradition as a holy monk and intercessor, venerated on 30 January.

Saint Peter, King of Bulgaria

970

“Saint Peter was a humble, devout and peace-loving man, unlike his father, Tsar Symeon the Warrior (d. 927), during whose reign there had been perpetual warfare. By contrast, Peter’s long reign was peaceful, and notable for the restoration of good relations with Byzantium and with the West. Peter married Maria, the grand-daughter of the Emperor Romanus Lecapenus, who recognized him as basileus (tsar or king), and he obtained independence from Constantinople for the Bulgarian Church with its own Patriarch. He had a great love for Saint John of Rila (19 Oct.), whom he would often consult, and he kept in touch with renowned ascetics of the time like Saint Paul of Latros (15 Dec.). The King acted energetically against the Bogomil heresy, an offshoot of Manicheism, by which some of his people, lacking sufficient instruction in the faith, were being misled. He called a council in order to condemn the heresy and reassert Christian principles. Nevertheless, the infection was to remain active for many years in Bulgaria. Following the invasion of the north of his Kingdom by Prince Svyatoslav of Kiev in 969, Peter abdicated and became a monk. He died in the following year, having consecrated his final days to God alone.” (Synaxarion) A note on the Bogomils: The Bogomils flourished in the Eastern Europe as an organized church from the 10th to the 15th century. In theology they were dualistic, incorporating some Manichean and Gnostic ideas from the Paulicians. They were nationalistic and gained much support through their opposition to Byzantine dominance over the Slavic peoples. They disappeared as an organized body around the fifteenth century, but elements of their beliefs persisted in popular thinking for many centuries afterward.

Daily readings

Vespers

Deuteronomy — Deuteronomy 1.8-11, 15-17

⁸Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them. ⁸Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

⁹And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:

⁹And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: ¹⁰The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. ¹⁰Jehovah your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. ¹¹(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!) ¹¹Jehovah, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you! ¹⁵So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. ¹⁵So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes. ¹⁶And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. ¹⁶And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the sojourner that is with him. ¹⁷Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. ¹⁷Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.

Vespers

Deuteronomy — Deuteronomy 10.14-21

¹⁴Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. ¹⁴Behold, unto Jehovah thy God belongeth heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein. ¹⁵Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. ¹⁵Only Jehovah had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as at this day. ¹⁶Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. ¹⁶Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. ¹⁷For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: ¹⁷For Jehovah your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. ¹⁸He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. ¹⁸He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loveth the sojourner, in giving him food and raiment. ¹⁹Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. ¹⁹Love ye therefore the sojourner; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ²⁰Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; him shalt thou serve; and to him shalt thou cleave, and by his name shalt thou swear. ²⁰Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. ²¹He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. ²¹He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.

Vespers

Wisdom of Solomon — Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9

¹But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.

²In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery,

³And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.

⁴For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.

⁵And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself.

⁶As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering.

⁷And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.

⁸They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.

⁹They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect.

Matins Gospel

John — John 10.9-16

⁹I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. ⁹I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. ¹⁰The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. ¹⁰The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ¹¹I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. ¹¹I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. ¹²But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. ¹²He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them: ¹³The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. ¹³he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me, ¹⁵even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁵As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. ¹⁶And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd.

Epistle

weekly cycle

James — James 4.7-5.9

⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁷Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. ⁸Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. ⁹Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. ⁹Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. ¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. ¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.

¹¹Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. ¹¹Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. ¹²There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? ¹²One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?

¹³Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:

¹³Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: ¹⁴whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ¹⁴Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ¹⁵For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. ¹⁵For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. ¹⁶But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. ¹⁶But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. ¹⁷To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. ¹⁷Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

¹Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.

¹Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. ²Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. ²Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. ³Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. ⁴Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. ⁴Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ⁵Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁵Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. ⁶Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. ⁶Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you.

⁷Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

⁷Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receive the early and latter rain. ⁸Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁸Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. ⁹Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. ⁹Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the judge standeth before the doors.

Epistle

— Hierarchs

Hebrews — Hebrews 13.7-16

⁷Remember them that had the rule over you, men that spake unto you the word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith.

⁷Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and for ever. ⁸Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. ⁹Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. ⁹Be not carried away by divers and strange teachings: for it is good that the heart be established by grace; not by meats, wherein they that occupied themselves were not profited. ¹⁰We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat that serve the tabernacle. ¹⁰We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. ¹¹For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp. ¹¹For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. ¹²Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without the gate. ¹²Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. ¹³Let us therefore go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. ¹³Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. ¹⁴For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. ¹⁴For we have not here an abiding city, but we seek after the city which is to come. ¹⁵Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name. ¹⁵By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. ¹⁶But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. ¹⁶But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Mark — Mark 11.27-33

²⁷And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,

²⁷And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders; ²⁸And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? ²⁸and they said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? or who gave thee this authority to do these things? ²⁹And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁹And Jesus said unto them, I will ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. ³⁰The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me. ³¹And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? ³¹And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? ³²But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. ³²But should we say, From men—they feared the people: for all verily held John to be a prophet. ³³And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. ³³And they answered Jesus and say, We know not. And Jesus saith unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Gospel

— Hierarchs

Matthew — Matthew 5.14-19

¹⁴Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. ¹⁴Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ¹⁵Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. ¹⁶Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

¹⁷Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. ¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. ¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. ¹⁹Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ¹⁹Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.