Thursday, 3 April 2025

Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

17 days before Pascha · Tone 7 · Liturgy · Lenten Fast (Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

Holy Martyrs Elpidephoros, Dios, Bithonios and Galycos

The Holy Martyrs Elpidephorus, Dius, Bithonius and Galycus suffered for confessing the Christian faith in the third century, in the persecutions of the Roman emperors. The synaxarion preserves only the manner of their death: each was given over to a different torment, and so each obtained a different crown of martyrdom. Saint Elpidephorus was beheaded with the sword. Saint Dius was put to death by stoning. Saint Bithonius was drowned in the sea. Saint Galycus was thrown to wild beasts and torn in pieces in the arena. They are listed together in the menologia of Constantinople and in the Greek menaia under 3 April. They are not to be confused with the Persian martyr Elpidephorus, the companion of Saints Acindynus, Pegasius, Aphthonius and Anempodistus, who is commemorated on 2 November.

Saint Illyricus of Mount Myrsinon

Saint Illyricus the Wonderworker (Illyrikos Thaumatourgos) was an ascetic who lived on Mount Myrsinon in the Peloponnesus, in a hermitage near present-day Pyrgos in Elis, Greece. The dates of his birth and repose are not preserved in the synaxaria, but he is reckoned among the holy hesychasts of the early Byzantine period. He devoted himself to the strict ascetic life on the mountain, dwelling in solitude, fasting and prayer. His sanctity and his gift of wonderworking drew many monks to seek him as a spiritual father, and a community grew up around his hermitage. He healed the sick, cast out demons and brought help to those in distress. Reposing in peace, he is commemorated on 3 April in the synaxarion of Constantinople and in the Greek menaia, and his memory is especially honoured in the local churches of the Peloponnese.

Saint Joseph the Hymnographer

816

Saint Joseph the Hymnographer was born in Sicily in the year 816 to the pious Christians Plotinus and Agatha. To escape the Arab invasions of the island the family moved to the Peloponnese, and at the age of about fifteen Joseph entered the monastery of Latomos at Thessalonica, where he received tonsure and the priesthood. Recognised for his piety and learning, he was brought to Constantinople by Saint Gregory the Decapolite, with whom he laboured for the veneration of the holy icons during the second iconoclast persecution.

Sent by Saint Gregory to Rome to seek the support of the Pope against the iconoclasts, Joseph was captured at sea by Arab pirates and taken to Crete, where he was held in prison. There, by his prayer and the intercession of Saint Nicholas of Myra, who appeared to him in the cell, he was miraculously delivered. Returning to Constantinople, he received the relics of the Apostle Bartholomew and built a church in his honour, and gathered around himself a small monastic community.

Under the renewed iconoclasm of the emperor Theophilus (829 to 842) Saint Joseph was again persecuted and exiled to Cherson for eleven years. After the Triumph of Orthodoxy in 843 he was recalled by the holy empress Theodora, and was made skeuophylax (keeper of sacred vessels) of the Great Church of Hagia Sophia, an office he held under the patriarchs Saint Ignatius and Saint Photius. Filled with deep love for the saints, he composed canons in their honour for almost every day of the year. Cardinal Pitra reckoned that he wrote a thousand canons; more than two hundred are preserved in the Menaia under the acrostic of his name, and many of the canons of the Paraklitiki are also his work. He reposed in peace around 886. He is commemorated on 3 April in the Greek tradition and on 4 April in the Slavic.

Venerable Nicetas the Confessor of Medikion

Saint Nicetas the Confessor was born in Bithynian Caesarea of pious parents in the second half of the eighth century. His mother died eight days after his birth, and his father Philaretos took the monastic habit, leaving the boy in the care of his grandmother. From childhood Nicetas spent his time at the church and was a disciple of the hermit Stephen, who placed him in the monastery of Medikion (Mydicia) in Bithynia, near the Sea of Marmara, founded by Saint Nicephorus.

After seven years he was ordained presbyter at the monastery, around the year 790. When the elder Saint Nicephorus, abbot of the community, became gravely ill he entrusted to Nicetas the guidance of the brotherhood, and at his repose Nicetas was unanimously chosen abbot by the monks. Under him the Medikion grew to more than one hundred ascetics renowned for the rigour of their life.

When the iconoclast emperor Leo V the Armenian (813 to 820) renewed the persecution of the holy images, the abbots of the great monasteries of Bithynia were summoned to Constantinople and pressed to accept the heresy. Saint Nicetas at first held firm, was scourged and imprisoned, but in a moment of weakness was deceived into communicating with the iconoclast Patriarch Theodotos when Orthodox icons were placed before him. Returning to his monastery, when he saw that the persecution continued he repented bitterly. He hastened back to Constantinople, openly denounced the heresy, and was again imprisoned for six years until the death of Leo. Released by Michael II he refused to return to Medikion lest he confuse his disciples by his earlier act, and withdrew to a hermitage near the imperial city, where he lived in repentance and unceasing prayer until his peaceful repose in 824. Many miracles are attributed to him, both in life and at his tomb.

Saint Seraphim of Vyritsa

1949

Born in 1866, he married and had three children. In 1920, at the age of 54, he and his wife quietly separated and each entered monastic life. Eventually he became the spiritual father of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where, as a clairvoyant staretz, he also confessed thousands of laity. He said, “I am the storage room where people’s afflictions gather.” In imitation of his patron saint, he prayed for a thousand nights on a rock before an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He reposed in the Lord in 1949 and the Church of Russia glorified him in August of 2000. Thus his whole life as a monk was spent under Communist persecution.

Also commemorated: Presanctified Liturgy

Daily readings

6th Hour

weekly cycle

Isaiah — Isaiah 42.5-16

⁵Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

⁵Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: ⁶I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; ⁶I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; ⁷To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. ⁷to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. ⁸I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. ⁸I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images. ⁹Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. ⁹Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. ¹⁰Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

¹⁰Sing unto Jehovah a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. ¹¹Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. ¹¹Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. ¹²Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands. ¹²Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands.

¹³The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. ¹³Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man; he will stir up his zeal like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout aloud; he will do mightily against his enemies. ¹⁴I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

¹⁴I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will gasp and pant together. ¹⁵I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. ¹⁵I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. ¹⁶And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them. ¹⁶And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Vespers

weekly cycle

Genesis — Genesis 18.20-33

²⁰And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; ²⁰And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; ²¹I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. ²¹I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. ²²And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

²²And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah.

²³And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ²³And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? ²⁴Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? ²⁵That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? ²⁵That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? ²⁶And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. ²⁶And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake. ²⁷And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: ²⁷And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes: ²⁸peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five. ²⁸Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. ²⁹And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty’s sake. ²⁹And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. ³⁰And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. ³⁰And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. ³¹And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake. ³¹And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. ³²And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. ³²And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake. ³³And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. ³³And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

Vespers

weekly cycle

Proverbs — Proverbs 16.17-17.17

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. ¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. ¹⁸Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁸Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁹Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. ¹⁹Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. ²⁰He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. ²⁰He that giveth heed unto the word shall find good; And whoso trusteth in Jehovah, happy is he. ²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent; And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. ²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. ²²Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly. ²²Understanding is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it; But the correction of fools is their folly. ²³The heart of the wise instructeth his mouth, And addeth learning to his lips. ²³The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. ²⁴Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. ²⁴Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. ²⁵There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. ²⁵There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death. ²⁶He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him. ²⁶The appetite of the laboring man laboreth for him; For his mouth urgeth him thereto. ²⁷A worthless man deviseth mischief; And in his lips there is as a scorching fire.

²⁷An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire. ²⁸A perverse man scattereth abroad strife; And a whisperer separateth chief friends. ²⁸A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends. ²⁹A man of violence enticeth his neighbor, And leadeth him in a way that is not good.

²⁹A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good. ³⁰He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass. ³⁰He that shutteth his eyes, it is to devise perverse things: He that compresseth his lips bringeth evil to pass. ³¹The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. ³¹The hoary head is a crown of glory; It shall be found in the way of righteousness. ³²He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. ³²He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city. ³³The lot is cast into the lap; But the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah. ³³The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

¹Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife. ¹Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, Than a house full of feasting with strife. ²A servant that dealeth wisely shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, And shall have part in the inheritance among the brethren. ²A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. ³The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; But Jehovah trieth the hearts. ³The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. ⁴An evil-doer giveth heed to wicked lips; And a liar giveth ear to a mischievous tongue. ⁴A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. ⁵Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker; And he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished. ⁵Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. ⁶Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. ⁶Children’s children are the crown of old men; And the glory of children are their fathers. ⁷Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. ⁷Excellent speech becometh not a fool; Much less do lying lips a prince. ⁸A bribe is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it; Whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. ⁸A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. ⁹He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. ⁹He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; But he that harpeth on a matter separateth chief friends. ¹⁰A rebuke entereth deeper into one that hath understanding Than a hundred stripes into a fool. ¹⁰A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. ¹¹An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. ¹¹An evil man seeketh only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. ¹²Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, Rather than a fool in his folly. ¹²Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. ¹³Whoso rewardeth evil for good, Evil shall not depart from his house. ¹³Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. ¹⁴The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with. ¹⁴The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: Therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling. ¹⁵He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah. ¹⁵He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. ¹⁶Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? ¹⁶Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, Seeing he hath no understanding? ¹⁷A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. ¹⁷A friend loveth at all times; And a brother is born for adversity.