1 Timothy 5.22-6.11 (Epistle)

22Să nu-ţi pui mâinile peste nimeni cu grabă şi să nu te faci părtaş păcatelor altora; pe tine însuţi păzeşte-te curat. 23Să nu mai bei numai apă, ci să iei şi câte puţin vin, din pricina stomacului tău şi din pricina deselor tale îmbolnăviri. 24Păcatele unor oameni sunt cunoscute şi merg înainte la judecată, iar ale altora vin pe urmă.

25Tot aşa şi faptele bune sunt cunoscute; şi cele ce nu sunt cunoscute nu pot să rămână ascunse. 1Toţi cei ce sunt sub jugul robiei să socotească pe stăpânii lor vrednici de toată cinstea, ca Numele lui Dumnezeu şi învăţătura să nu fie vorbite de rău. 2Iar cei ce au stăpâni credincioşi să nu-i dispreţuiască, sub cuvânt că sunt „fraţi”, ci să le slujească şi mai bine, tocmai fiindcă cei ce se bucură de binefacerile slujbei lor sunt credincioşi şi preaiubiţi. Învaţă pe oameni aceste lucruri şi spune-le apăsat. 3Dacă învaţă cineva pe oameni învăţătură deosebită, şi nu se ţine de cuvintele sănătoase ale Domnului nostru Isus Hristos şi de învăţătura care duce la evlavie, 4este plin de mândrie şi nu ştie nimic; ba încă are boala cercetărilor fără rost şi a certurilor de cuvinte, din care se naşte pizma, certurile, clevetirile, bănuielile rele, 5zadarnicele ciocniri de vorbe ale oamenilor stricaţi la minte, lipsiţi de adevăr şi care cred că evlavia este un izvor de câştig. Fereşte-te de astfel de oameni. 6Negreşit, evlavia însoţită de mulţumire este un mare câştig. 7Căci noi n-am adus nimic în lume, şi nici nu putem să luăm cu noi nimic din ea. 8Dacă avem, dar, cu ce să ne hrănim şi cu ce să ne îmbrăcăm, ne va fi de ajuns. 9Cei ce vor să se îmbogăţească, dimpotrivă, cad în ispită, în laţ şi în multe pofte nesăbuite şi vătămătoare, care cufundă pe oameni în prăpăd şi pierzare. 10Căci iubirea de bani este rădăcina tuturor relelor; şi unii, care au umblat după ea, au rătăcit de la credinţă şi s-au străpuns singuri cu o mulţime de chinuri. 11Iar tu, om al lui Dumnezeu, fugi de aceste lucruri, şi caută neprihănirea, evlavia, credinţa, dragostea, răbdarea, blândeţea.

Luke 20.1-8 (Gospel)

1Într-una din acele zile, când învăţa Isus norodul în Templu şi propovăduia Evanghelia, au venit deodată la El preoţii cei mai de seamă şi cărturarii cu bătrânii 2şi I-au zis: „Spune-ne, cu ce putere faci Tu aceste lucruri sau cine Ţi-a dat puterea aceasta?” 3Drept răspuns, El le-a zis: „Am să vă pun şi Eu o întrebare. Spuneţi-Mi: 4Botezul lui Ioan venea din cer sau de la oameni?” 5Dar ei cugetau astfel între ei: „Dacă răspundem: „Din cer”, va zice: „Atunci de ce nu l-aţi crezut?” 6Şi dacă răspundem: „De la oameni”, tot norodul ne va ucide cu pietre; căci este încredinţat că Ioan era un proroc.” 7Atunci au răspuns că nu ştiu de unde venea botezul lui Ioan. 8Şi Isus le-a zis: „Nici Eu n-am să vă spun cu ce putere fac aceste lucruri.”

Holy Great Martyr James the Persian (421)

“This Saint was from the city of Bythlaba and was of noble birth; he was the closest and most honoured friend of Isdiger (or Yazdegerd) I, King of Persia (reigned 399-420). Though a Christian from his youth, James renounced Christ because he was allured by the King’s friendship and flatteries. When his mother and his wife learned of this, they declared to him by letter that they would have nothing more to do with him, since he had preferred a glory that is temporal to the love of Christ. Wounded in soul by these words and coming to himself, the Saint wept over his error, and repudiated the worship of the idols. Therefore, becoming exceedingly wroth, the King — this was Bahram (or Varahran) V (reigned 421-438), Isdiger’s son and successor — condemned him to a most bitter death, the likes of which not even a brute beast was ever condemned to: that is, his body was dismembered at every joint of his arms and legs. And so, when he had been cut asunder limb by limb to his very hips and shoulders, the courageous Martyr was finally beheaded, in the year 421.” (Great Horologion)

Repose of Archimandrite Lazarus (Moore) (1992) (Nov. 14 OC)

Though he has not been glorified by the Church, Fr Lazarus was a pioneer and exemplar of Orthodoxy in the West.

He was born in England in 1902. In his early manhood he moved to western Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer for several years. While working in Alberta, he sensed a call to become a missionary and went to an English missionary college for five years.

Sad to say, our sources are unclear about how he came to the Orthodox faith from this unlikely beginning. But in 1934 he spent seven weeks on Mt Athos, then lived as a monk in Yugoslavia. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Theophan (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), then sent to Palestine to serve the Russian Mission in Jerusalem.

In 1948, the new State of Israel gave the Mission’s property to the Soviet Union and the mission was left dispossessed. Fr Lazarus served as priest to the Russian Convent in Aïn Karim and Transjordan, then was sent to India in 1952, where he helped in Orthodox missionary work for twenty years. Several of his books and translations, such as his biography/study of St Seraphim of Sarov, were written while he lived in India. While there, he met Mother Gavrilia of Greece, whose beautiful biography Ascetic of Love includes good descriptions of him during his life in India. Though very strict in his Orthodoxy, he was flexible in externals: in India he wore a white rather than a black cassock, because black clothing had offensive connotations to the Indian people.

In 1972 Fr Lazarus was called to Greece, then in 1974 to Australia, where he served for nine years. In 1983 he moved to California in answer to call from Fr Peter Gillquist to assist members of the former ‘Evangelical Orthodox Church’ in their move to Orthodoxy. In 1989 he moved to Alaska, where he continued this work. He reposed in Eagle River, Alaska in 1992. Following is an excerpt from an account of his last days by members of his community in Eagle River:

“Father always signed his name with TWA, “Traveling With Angels”. A few days before his death, after battling cancer many years, faithfully using the Jesus Prayer as the medicine for his affliction, the Archangel Michael appeared to help him. His final journey homeward had begun, TWA… ‘the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ (2 Timothy 4: 6-8).”