Saturday, 20 March 2027

St Theodore Tyro (the Recruit)

First Saturday of Lent

43 days before Pascha · Tone 8 · Liturgy · Lenten Fast (Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

Saint Cuthbert, Wonderworker of Lindisfarne

‘Saint Cuthbert was born in Britain about the year 635, and became a monk in his youth at the monastery of Melrose by the River Tweed. After many years of struggle as a true priest of Christ, in the service both of his own brethren and of the neglected Christians of isolated country villages, he became a solitary on Farne Island in 676. After eight years as a hermit, he was constrained to leave his quiet to become Bishop of Lindisfarne, in which office he served for almost two years. He returned to his hermitage two months before he reposed in peace in 687.

‘Because of the miracles he wrought both during his life and at his tomb after death, he is called the “Wonderworker of Britain.” The whole English people honoured him, and kings were both benefactors to his shrine and suppliants of his prayers. Eleven years after his death, his holy relics were revealed to be incorrupt; when his body was translated from Lindisfarne to Durham Cathedral in August of 1104, his body was still found to be untouched by decay, giving off “an odour of the sweetest fragrancy,” and “from the flexibility of its joints representing a person asleep rather than dead.” Finally, when the most impious Henry VIII desecrated his shrine, opening it to despoil it of its valuables, his body was again found incorrupt, and was buried in 1542. It is believed that after this the holy relics of Saint Cuthbert were hidden to preserve them from further desecration.’ (Great Horologion)

Saint Niketas the Confessor, Archbishop of Apollonias

Saint Niketas was Archbishop of Apollonias in Bithynia, on the southern shore of Lake Apolloniatis in Asia Minor, in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Trained from his youth in the study of the holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, he was raised to the episcopate in his own region for the depth of his learning, the soundness of his faith, and the gentleness of his pastoral care. He governed his see as a tender father to his flock and as a steadfast champion of the Orthodox faith. His ministry fell during the second great outbreak of the iconoclast heresy. When the emperor Leo the Armenian renewed the persecution against the holy icons, demanding that bishops and abbots subscribe to the iconoclast policy of the court, Saint Niketas refused to betray the tradition of the Church. He defended the veneration of the holy images by reference to Holy Scripture and to the teaching of the Fathers, showing that the honour rendered to the icon passes to the prototype. For this confession he was seized, deprived of his see, and sent into exile, where, after enduring many hardships for the sake of Christ and the holy icons, he reposed in peace about the year 813. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on 20 March together with the other holy confessors of his generation, who by their patient suffering preserved the faith of the seven Ecumenical Councils.

Saint Wulfram, Archbishop of Sens

703

Saint Wulfram was born about the year 640 at Milly in the region of Fontainebleau, the son of an officer in the household of King Dagobert. Brought up at the Frankish court, he excelled in piety and learning, and embraced the clerical state. About the year 692 he was elected Archbishop of Sens, but after only a short time on that ancient throne he was drawn by the example of the saints to a more retired life and resigned the see in favour of his successor, Saint Amatus. He withdrew to the great abbey of Fontenelle in Normandy, where he received the monastic habit. There he heard reports of the heathen Frisians and was filled with apostolic zeal to bring them to Christ. With companions from Fontenelle he sailed to Frisia in the days of King Radbod, preaching the Gospel along the coasts and rivers, baptising those who believed, and rescuing children whom the Frisians, by ancient custom, exposed to the rising tide as offerings to the sea. By his prayers more than one such victim was preserved alive. He converted Radbod's son and many of the people, although the king himself in the end drew back from the font. Worn out by his labours, Saint Wulfram returned to Fontenelle, where he reposed in peace on 20 March in the year 703 or thereabouts. His relics were afterwards translated to Abbeville. He is honoured among the apostles of the Frisians and is commemorated on 20 March by the Orthodox Church among the western saints of the undivided faith.

The Holy Fathers Slain at the Monastery of Saint Sabbas

The Martyred Holy Fathers John, Sergius, Patrick and others were slain at the Monastery of Saint Sabbas (also called the Lavra of Saint Sabbas) during the eighth century. The area around Jerusalem was subjected to frequent incursions of the Saracens (Arab raiders).

On Great Thursday, 20 March, the Saracens descended upon the Lavra with a large force and began to assault the monks. The survivors were driven into the church, where they were tortured in order to force them to reveal where any treasure might be hidden.

The barbarians seized Saint John, a young monk who had cared for vagrants and the poor with great compassion. They beat him fiercely, then they cut the sinews of his hands and feet and dragged him over stones by his feet, tearing the skin from his back.

The keeper of the church vessels, Saint Sergius, hid the sacred vessels and attempted to flee, but he was captured and beheaded by the cruel raiders. Saint Patrick and seventeen other monks also fell under the swords of the barbarians. Eighteen men perished in a cave within the monastery.

The wicked Saracens who plundered the monastery and murdered these holy fathers were punished by God with a sudden illness, and they all perished. Their bodies were devoured by wild beasts, demonstrating divine justice.

St Photine the Samaritan Woman

See her commemoration on February 26.

Also commemorated: Holy Fathers Slain at St Sabbas Monastery

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

Hebrews — Hebrews 1.1-12

¹God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

¹God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, ²hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; ²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; ³who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; ³Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; ⁴Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. ⁴having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.

⁵For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son? ⁵For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

⁶And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. ⁶And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. ⁷And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire: ⁷And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

⁸but of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. ⁸But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. ⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. ⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of thy hands: ¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: ¹¹They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment; ¹¹They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; ¹²And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. ¹²And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail.

Epistle

— St Theodore

2 Timothy — 2 Timothy 2.1-10

¹Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

¹Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. ²And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. ³Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ³Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. ⁴No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. ⁵And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, except he have contended lawfully. ⁵And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. ⁶The husbandman that laboreth must be the first to partake of the fruits. ⁶The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. ⁷Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. ⁷Consider what I say; for the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things. ⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel: ⁸Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: ⁹Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. ⁹wherein I suffer hardship unto bonds, as a malefactor; but the word of God is not bound. ¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. ¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Mark — Mark 2.23-3.5

²³And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

²³And it came to pass, that he was going on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears. ²⁴And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? ²⁴And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? ²⁵And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? ²⁵And he said unto them, Did ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were with him? ²⁶How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? ²⁶How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? ²⁷And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: ²⁷And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: ²⁸so that the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath. ²⁸Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

¹And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had his hand withered.

¹And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. ²And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. ²And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. ³And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. ³And he saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. ⁴And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. ⁴And he saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace. ⁵And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. ⁵And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored.

Gospel

— St Theodore

John — John 15.17-16.2

¹⁷These things I command you, that ye love one another. ¹⁷These things I command you, that ye may love one another. ¹⁸If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁸If the world hateth you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. ¹⁹If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. ²⁰Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. ²⁰Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. ²¹But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. ²¹But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²²If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. ²³He that hateth me hateth my Father also. ²³He that hateth me hateth my Father also. ²⁴If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁴If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. ²⁵But this cometh to pass, that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. ²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me: ²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: ²⁷and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. ²⁷And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

¹These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

¹These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be caused to stumble. ²They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God. ²They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.