Hebrews 8.7-13 (Epistle)

7Jer da je onaj prvi bez mane bio, ne bi se drugome tražilo mjesta. 8Jer kudeæi ih govori: evo dani idu, govori Gospod, i naèiniæu s domom Izrailjevijem i s domom Judinijem nov zavjet; 9Ne po zavjetu koji naèinih s ocevima njihovima u onaj dan kad ih uzeh za ruku da ih izvedem iz zemlje Misirske; jer oni ne ostaše u zavjetu mome, i ja ne marih za njih, govori Gospod. 10Jer je ovo zavjet koji æu naèiniti s domom Izrailjevijem poslije onijeh dana, govori Gospod: daæu zakone svoje u misli njihove, i na srcima njihovima napisaæu ih, i biæu im Bog, i oni æe biti meni narod. 11I nijedan neæe uèiti svojega bližnjega, i nijedan brata svojega, govoreæi: poznaj Gospoda; jer æe me svi poznati od maloga do velikoga meðu njima. 12Jer æu biti milostiv nepravdama njihovima, i grijeha njihovijeh i bezakonja njihovijeh neæu više spominjati. 13A kad veli: nov zavjet, prvi naèini vethijem; a što je vetho i ostarjelo, blizu je kraja.

Mark 8.11-21 (Gospel)

11I iziðoše fariseji, i poèeše se prepirati s njim, i kušajuæi ga iskahu od njega znak s neba. 12I uzdahnuvši duhom svojijem reèe: zašto rod ovaj znak traži? Zaista vam kažem: neæe se dati rodu ovome znak. 13I ostavivši ih uljeze opet u laðu, i otide na onu stranu. 14I zaboraviše uèenici njegovi uzeti hljeba, i nemahu sa sobom u laði do jedan hljeb. 15I zapovijedaše im govoreæi: gledajte, èuvajte se kvasca farisejskoga i kvasca Irodova. 16I mišljahu jedan drugome govoreæi: to je što hljeba nemamo. 17I razumjevši Isus reèe im: šta mislite što hljeba nemate? Zar još ne osjeæate, niti razumijete? Zar je još okamenjeno srce vaše? 18Oèi imate i ne vidite? uši imate i ne èujete? I ne pamtite li 19Kad ja pet hljebova prelomih na pet hiljada, koliko kotarica punijeh komada nakupiste? Rekoše mu: dvanaest. 20A kad sedam na èetiri hiljade, koliko punijeh kotarica nakupiste komada? A oni rekoše: sedam. 21I reèe im: kako ne razumijete?

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.