Ephesians 6.10-17 (Epistle, Saturday after Theophany)

10A dalje, braæo moja, jaèajte u Gospodu i u sili jaèine njegove. 11Obucite se u sve oružje Božije, da biste se mogli održati protiv lukavstva ðavolskoga: 12Jer naš rat nije s krvlju i s tijelom, nego s poglavarima i vlastima, i s upraviteljima tame ovoga svijeta, s duhovima pakosti ispod neba. 13Toga radi uzmite sve oružje Božije, da biste se mogli braniti u zli dan, i svršivši sve održati se. 14Stanite dakle opasavši bedra svoja istinom i obukavši se u oklop pravde, 15I obuvši noge u pripravu jevanðelja mira; 16A svrh svega uzmite štit vjere o koji æete moæi pogasiti sve raspaljene strijele neèastivoga; 17I kacigu spasenija uzmite, i maè duhovni koji je rijeè Božija.

Colossians 1.3-6 (Epistle)

3Zahvaljujemo Bogu i ocu Gospoda svojega Isusa Hrista, moleæi se svagda za vas, 4Èuvši vjeru vašu u Hrista Isusa, i ljubav koju imate k svima svetima, 5Za nad ostavljeni vama na nebesima, za koji naprijed èuste u rijeèi istine jevanðelja, 6Koje je u vama, kao i u svemu svijetu, i plodno je i raste, kao i u vama, od onoga dana kako èuste i razumjeste blagodat Božiju u istini,

Matthew 4.1-11 (Gospel, Saturday after Theophany)

1Tada Isusa odvede Duh u pustinju da ga ðavo kuša. 2I postivši se dana èetrdeset i noæi èetrdeset, napošljetku ogladnje. 3I pristupi k njemu kušaè i reèe: ako si sin Božij, reci da kamenje ovo hljebovi postanu. 4A on odgovori i reèe: pisano je: ne živi èovjek o samom hljebu, no o svakoj rijeèi koja izlazi iz usta Božijih. 5Tada odvede ga ðavo u sveti grad i postavi ga navrh crkve; 6Pa mu reèe: ako si sin Božij, skoèi dolje, jer u pismu stoji da æe anðelima svojijem zapovjediti za tebe, i uzeæe te na ruke, da gdje ne zapneš za kamen nogom svojom. 7A Isus reèe njemu: ali i to stoji napisano: nemoj kušati Gospoda Boga svojega. 8Opet uze ga ðavo i odvede na goru vrlo visoku, i pokaza mu sva carstva ovoga svijeta i slavu njihovu; 9I reèe mu: sve ovo daæu tebi ako padneš i pokloniš mi se. 10Tada reèe njemu Isus: idi od mene, sotono; jer stoji napisano: Gospodu Bogu svojemu poklanjaj se i njemu jedinome služi. 11Tada ostavi ga ðavo, i gle, anðeli pristupiše i služahu mu.

Luke 14.1-11 (Gospel)

1I dogodi mu se da doðe u subotu u kuæu jednoga kneza farisejskoga da jede hljeb; i oni motrahu na njega. 2I gle, bješe pred njim nekakav èovjek na kome bješe debela bolest. 3I odgovarajuæi Isus reèe zakonicima i farisejima govoreæi: je li slobodno u subotu iscjeljivati? 4A oni oæutješe. I dohvativši ga se iscijeli ga i otpusti. 5I odgovarajuæi reèe im: koji od vas ne bi svojega magarca ili vola da mu padne u bunar odmah izvadio u dan subotni? 6I ne mogoše mu odgovoriti na to. 7A gostima kaza prièu, kad opazi kako izbirahu zaèelja, i reèe im: 8Kad te ko pozove na svadbu, ne sjedaj u zaèelje, da ne bude meðu gostima ko stariji od tebe; 9I da ne bi došao onaj koji je pozvao tebe i njega, i rekao ti: podaj mjesto ovome: i onda æeš sa stidom sjesti na niže mjesto. 10Nego kad te ko pozove, došavši sjedi na pošljednje mjesto, da ti reèe kad doðe onaj koji te pozva: prijatelju! pomakni se više; tada æe tebi biti èast pred onima koji sjede s tobom za trpezom. 11Jer svaki koji se podiže, poniziæe se; a koji se ponižuje, podignuæe se.

Our Holy Father Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa (395)

“Saint Gregory, the younger brother of Basil the Great, illustrious in speech and a zealot for the Orthodox faith, was born in 331. His brother Basil was encouraged by their elder sister Macrina to prefer the service of God to a secular career (see July 19); Saint Gregory was moved in a similar way by his godly mother Emily, who, when Gregory was still a young man, implored him to attend a service in honour of the holy Forty Martyrs at her retreat at Annesi on the River Iris. Saint Gregory came at his mother’s bidding, but being wearied with the journey, and feeling little zeal, he fell asleep during the service. The Forty Martyrs then appeared to him in a dream, threatening him and reproaching him for his slothfulness. After this he repented and became very diligent in the service of God. He became bishop in 372, and because of his Orthodoxy he was exiled in 374 by Valens, who was on one mind with the Arians. After Valens’ death in 378 he was recalled to his throne by the Emperor Gratian. He attended the Local Council of Antioch, which sent him to visit the churches of Arabia and Palestine, which had been defiled and ravaged by Arianism. He attended the Second Ecumenical Council, which was assembled in Constantinople in 381. Having lived some sixty years and left behind many remarkable writings, he reposed about the year 395. The acts of the Seventh Ecumenical Council call him “Father of Fathers.” (Great Horologion)

Our Holy Father Theophan the Recluse (1894)

This modern-day Church Father was born in Chernavsk in central Russia. The son of a priest, he entered seminary at a young age, then completed the four-year course in theology at the Academy of Kiev. Though he distinguished himself as a student, his heart turned increasingly toward the monastic life, and he was tonsured a monk and ordained a priest upon completion of his studies. During his time at the Academy he often visited the Lavra of the Caves, and there became a spiritual child of Father Parthenius (March 25).

His desire for monastic life was not fulfilled immediately, for the Church felt need of his intellectual gifts. He served as a professor at the Theological Academy in St Petersburg, then worked for seven years in the Russian Mission to the Near East, mostly in Palestine. During this time he gained a perfect mastery of Greek and studied the works of the Church Fathers in the original languages. Returning to Russia, he was soon consecrated a bishop; but after seven years of episcopal service, he at last achieved his heart’s desire, resigning as bishop and retiring to a small monastery at Yvschen, where he spent the rest of his days.

After taking full part in the liturgical and communal life of the monastery for several years, he took up the life of a recluse in 1872. He lived in two small rooms, subsisting almost entirely on bread and tea, visited only by his confessor and the abbot of the monastery. He celebrated the Divine Liturgy every day in his cell. All of his time not taken up by inner prayer was devoted to translating the works of the Fathers into Russian and, increasingly, to writings of his own. Most importantly, he prepared a Russian-language edition of the Philokalia which had a deep impact upon Russian spiritual life.

Though he received no visitors, St Theophan entered into correspondence with many earnest Christians who sought his counsel, and so in time became the spiritual father of many believers throughout Russia. He reposed in peace in 1894.

In addition to the Philokalia, St Theophan produced (among other works): a Spiritual Psalter of selections from St Ephraim the Syrian; The Path to Salvation, an exposition of Orthodox Spirituality written in clear, plain language for those living in the world; collections of his letters to spiritual children; and Unseen Warfare, a treatise on prayer and the ascetical life. This last has an unusual history. In its original form it was written by Lorenzo Scupoli, an Italian Roman Catholic priest. St Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain, recognizing the book’s merit, produced a Greek edition in which he corrected various deviations from Orthodoxy in the original. St Theophan in turn revised the Greek edition extensively, removing some material and adding passages of his own; so that the Italian, Greek and Russian versions are in fact three substantially different books. Many of St Theophan’s works (including Unseen Warfare) are available in good English translations. They are almost unique in presenting the undiluted hesychastic spirituality of the Orthodox Church in plain, straightforward language accessible to most people.