Sunday, 6 April 2025

St Mary of Egypt

Fifth Sunday of Lent

14 days before Pascha · Tone 8 · Red cross (polyeleos typikon symbol) · Lenten Fast (Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

★ Saint Methodius, Equal of the Apostles, Enlightener of the Slavs

Saint Methodius (c. 815 to 6 April 885), Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Moravia, was born in Thessalonica into the noble and pious family of the drungarius Leo. He was the eldest of seven brothers; the youngest, Saint Constantine, was given the monastic name Cyril shortly before his death. The family lived among the Slavs of the Thessalonican region, and the brothers learned the Slavic tongue from childhood. Methodius first served in the army and was for about ten years governor of a Slavic principality dependent upon the Byzantine empire (probably one of the Strymon principalities, near the Bulgarian frontier), an office which deepened his command of the Slavic language. About the year 856 he abandoned the world, received tonsure on Mount Olympus in Bithynia, and there gave himself to fasting and prayer. When in 862 the Moravian prince Rostislav sent envoys to the emperor Michael III asking for missionaries who could preach in the Slavic tongue, Saint Methodius, with his brother Cyril and the disciples Gorazd, Clement, Sava, Naum and Angelyar, devised a Slavonic alphabet and translated the Gospel, the Apostle, the Psalter and the divine services into the Slavic language. The brothers came to Moravia in 863 and laboured there for three and a half years. After Saint Cyril's repose at Rome in 869, Methodius was consecrated by Pope Adrian II Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia for the Slavic peoples. At the instigation of certain Latin clergy in Moravia he was seized and imprisoned for nearly three years in a German monastery, where he was tormented and held in bitter cold. In 873 Pope John VIII secured his release and his restoration to his see. He completed the translation of the Old Testament (apart from the books of the Maccabees) and of the Nomokanon. Foreknowing his end, he gave his last blessings to his disciples on 6 April 885 and reposed at the age of about seventy. He is celebrated as Equal of the Apostles in the Slavic Churches and his memory is kept on 6 April (his repose) and, with Saint Cyril, on 11 May, 14 February and 24 May.

Holy 120 Martyrs of Persia

The Holy 120 Martyrs of Persia were a group of Christian captives, mostly Greeks, who were put to death by the Sassanian emperor Shapur II in the great persecution of the middle of the fourth century, between the years 344 and 347. They had been taken prisoner during Shapur's wars against the Christian Roman emperor Constantius II (337 to 361), and were detained as captives in the Persian dominions. When the persecution of the Christians of Persia broke out, Shapur ordered the captives to renounce Christ and to worship the sun and fire as their conquerors did. Among the one hundred and twenty there were nine consecrated virgins, dedicated to God from their youth. None of the company would deny the faith. Some endured prolonged tortures, others were imprisoned, and at last all were brought together to a great pyre and burnt alive, professing Christ to the end. Their suffering took place in the same period as the martyrdoms of Saint Simeon bar-Sabbae of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and the great host of the Persian martyrs of Shapur II's persecution.

Saint Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople

552

Saint Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 512 to 6 April 582), was born in the village of Theium ("Divine") in Phrygia. His father Alexander was an officer in the army of the great Belisarius; his mother Synesia was the daughter of the priest Hesychius of Augustopolis, by whom Eutychius received his Christian upbringing and early education. About the age of thirty he received the angelic schema in one of the monasteries of Amasea, where for the strictness of his life he was made archimandrite of all the Amasean houses.

In the year 552 his bishop sent him on business to Constantinople, where he so impressed the emperor Justinian I that, on the death of the Patriarch Saint Mennas a few weeks later, the emperor procured Eutychius's election as his successor. He presided over the Fifth Ecumenical Council, which assembled at Constantinople in May 553 and condemned the so-called "Three Chapters" and the errors of Origen. He shared the first place at the council with Patriarch Apollinarius of Alexandria and the other ancient sees.

Toward the end of his reign, Justinian inclined to the heresy of "aphthartodocetism" (the teaching that the body of Christ was incorruptible from the moment of His conception, free from natural needs and passions). Saint Eutychius firmly refused to accept this doctrine, and was deposed and exiled in 565, first to the island of Principus in the Sea of Marmara and afterwards to his old monastery at Amasea, where he spent twelve years and five months in patient prayer, working many miracles. After the death of the Patriarch John Scholasticus in 577, the Emperor Justin II and Tiberius II Caesar restored him to the patriarchal throne in Constantinople, where he was received with great rejoicing.

He served his church faithfully for five more years, and on the Sunday after Easter, 6 April 582, foreseeing his end, he gave his last instructions to his clergy and reposed in peace at the age of seventy. He left behind a treatise on the Resurrection and the Last Things, which was praised by Pope Saint Gregory the Great. He is honoured among the saints of the universal Church.

Also commemorated: St Methodius, Enilightener of the Slavs

Daily readings

8th Matins Gospel

John — John 20.11-18

¹¹But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

¹¹But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping: so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; ¹²And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. ¹²and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. ¹³And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. ¹³And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. ¹⁴And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. ¹⁴When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. ¹⁵Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. ¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. ¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself, and saith unto him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is to say, Teacher. ¹⁷Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God. ¹⁷Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. ¹⁸Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. ¹⁸Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, I have seen the Lord; and that he had said these things unto her.

Epistle

weekly cycle

Hebrews — Hebrews 9.11-14

¹¹But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, ¹¹But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; ¹²Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. ¹²nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh: ¹³For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: ¹⁴how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ¹⁴How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Epistle

— St Mary

Galatians — Galatians 3.23-29

²³But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

²³But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. ²⁴So that the law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁴Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. ²⁵But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. ²⁶For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. ²⁶For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. ²⁷For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise. ²⁹And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Mark — Mark 10.32-45

³²And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,

³²And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going before them: and they were amazed; and they that followed were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were to happen unto him, ³³Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: ³³saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles: ³⁴And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. ³⁴and they shall mock him, and shall spit upon him, and shall scourge him, and shall kill him; and after three days he shall rise again.

³⁵And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

³⁵And there come near unto him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying unto him, Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall ask of thee. ³⁶And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? ³⁶And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? ³⁷And they said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy glory. ³⁷They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. ³⁸But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? ³⁸But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I drink? or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? ³⁹And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: ³⁹And they said unto him, We are able. And Jesus said unto them, The cup that I drink ye shall drink; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: ⁴⁰but to sit on my right hand or on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared. ⁴⁰But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. ⁴¹And when the ten heard it, they began to be moved with indignation concerning James and John. ⁴¹And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. ⁴²And Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴²But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. ⁴³But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister; ⁴³But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: ⁴⁴And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. ⁴⁴and whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ⁴⁵For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Gospel

— St Mary

Luke — Luke 7.36-50

³⁶And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

³⁶And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he entered into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. ³⁷And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, ³⁷And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting at meat in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment, ³⁸And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁸and standing behind at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee that had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner. ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Teacher, say on. ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. ⁴¹A certain lender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred shillings, and the other fifty. ⁴¹There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. ⁴²And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? ⁴²When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most? ⁴³Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. ⁴³Simon answered and said, He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. ⁴⁴And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. ⁴⁴And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵Thou gavest me no kiss: but she, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁵Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁶My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. ⁴⁷Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. ⁴⁸And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. ⁴⁸And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. ⁴⁹And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? ⁴⁹And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins? ⁵⁰And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.