1 Peter 1.1-2, 10-12, 2.6-10 (Epistle)

1Petru, apostol al lui Isus Hristos, către aleşii care trăiesc ca străini, împrăştiaţi prin Pont, Galatia, Capadocia, Asia şi Bitinia, 2după ştiinţa mai dinainte a lui Dumnezeu Tatăl, prin sfinţirea lucrată de Duhul spre ascultarea şi stropirea cu sângele lui Isus Hristos: Harul şi pacea să vă fie înmulţite! 10Prorocii, care au prorocit despre harul care vă era păstrat vouă, au făcut din mântuirea aceasta ţinta cercetărilor şi căutării lor stăruitoare. 11Ei cercetau să vadă ce vreme şi ce împrejurări avea în vedere Duhul lui Hristos, care era în ei, când vestea mai dinainte patimile lui Hristos şi slava de care aveau să fie urmate. 12Lor le-a fost descoperit că nu pentru ei înşişi, ci pentru voi spuneau ei aceste lucruri, pe care vi le-au vestit acum cei ce v-au propovăduit Evanghelia prin Duhul Sfânt trimis din cer şi în care chiar îngerii doresc să privească. 6Căci este scris în Scriptură: „Iată că pun în Sion o Piatră din capul unghiului, aleasă, scumpă; şi cine se încrede în El nu va fi dat de ruşine.” 7Cinstea aceasta este, dar, pentru voi care aţi crezut! Dar pentru cei necredincioşi, „Piatra pe care au lepădat-o zidarii a ajuns să fie pusă în capul unghiului”, 8şi „o Piatră de poticnire şi o Stâncă de cădere”. Ei se lovesc de ea, pentru că n-au crezut Cuvântul, şi la aceasta sunt rânduiţi. 9Voi însă sunteţi o seminţie aleasă, o preoţie împărătească, un neam sfânt, un popor pe care Dumnezeu Şi l-a câştigat ca să fie al Lui, ca să vestiţi puterile minunate ale Celui ce v-a chemat din întuneric la lumina Sa minunată; 10pe voi, care odinioară nu eraţi un popor, dar acum sunteţi poporul lui Dumnezeu; pe voi, care nu căpătaserăţi îndurare, dar acum aţi căpătat îndurare.

Mark 12.1-12 (Gospel)

1Isus a început pe urmă să le vorbească în pilde. „Un om a sădit o vie. A împrejmuit-o cu un gard, a săpat un teasc în ea şi a zidit un turn; apoi a arendat-o unor vieri şi a plecat din ţară. 2La vremea roadelor, a trimis la vieri un rob, ca să ia de la ei din roadele viei. 3Vierii au pus mâna pe el, l-au bătut şi l-au trimis înapoi cu mâinile goale. 4A trimis iarăşi la ei un alt rob; ei l-au rănit la cap şi l-au batjocorit. 5A mai trimis un altul pe care l-au omorât; apoi a trimis mulţi alţii, dintre care, pe unii i-au bătut, iar pe alţii i-au omorât. 6Mai avea un singur fiu preaiubit; la urmă, l-a trimis şi pe el la ei. „Vor primi cu cinste pe fiul meu!”, zicea el. 7Dar vierii aceia au zis între ei: „Iată moştenitorul; veniţi să-l omorâm, şi moştenirea va fi a noastră.” 8Şi au pus mâna pe el, l-au omorât şi i-au aruncat trupul afară din vie. 9Acum, ce va face stăpânul viei? Va veni, va nimici pe vierii aceia, şi via o va da altora. 10Oare n-aţi citit locul acesta din Scriptură: „Piatra pe care au lepădat-o zidarii a ajuns să fie pusă în capul unghiului; 11Domnul a făcut acest lucru şi este minunat în ochii noştri”?” 12Ei căutau să-L prindă, dar se temeau de norod. Pricepuseră că împotriva lor spusese Isus pilda aceasta. Şi L-au lăsat şi au plecat.

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.