Day 3 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Abib, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Third Day of the Blessed Month of Abib
Departure of St.Kyrillos (Cyril) the First, the Twenty-Fourth Pope of Alexandria
On this day, of the year 160 A.D. (June 27th, 444 A.M.), the great father, the pillar of faith and the lamp of the Orthodox church, St. Kyrillos (Cyril) the First, the Alexandrian Pope, and the twenty-fourth Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, departed. This saint was the son of the sister of Pope Theophilus (23rd patriarch). He was raised by his uncle at the school of Alexandria where he was educated in its Theological and Philosophical subjects needed to defend Christianity and the Orthodox faith. After he learned a great deal of these subjects, his uncle sent him to the monastery of St. Macarius in the wilderness. There, he became a disciple to a righteous old monk called Sarabamon. He taught him the church books, and the sayings of the pure fathers. He trained his mind and body by practicing the works of righteousness and virtues for a period of time. After he spent in the wilderness five years, Pope Theophilus sent him to Abba Sarapion, the honorable bishop, so he increased in wisdom and knowledge. Shortly after, the bishop returned him to Alexandria. His uncle was rejoiced, ordained him a deacon, appointed him a preacher in the cathedral and made him his scribe. Whenever Kyrillos gave a sermon, he captured the hearts of his listeners with his eloquence, fluency, and his strong influence.
Since that time, he became well known for his vast knowledge, his great righteousness, and his deep influence in his teaching. When his uncle Pope Theophilus departed in the 18th of Babah 128 A.M. (October 15th, 412 A.M.), they enthroned this father in his place on the 20th of Babah, 128 A.M. (Oct. 17th, 412 A.D.). The church was illumined with his knowledge, and he gave special attention to resisting paganism and defending the Christian faith. He started to refute the falsity of Emperor Julian the Infidel in his ten essays that had been written after his apostasy. These were the favorite readings of the pagan young people of Alexandria and their pride, for they believed that it destroyed the principles of the Christian faith. Pope Kyrillos refuted them in terms that were clear, strong and convincing. He set out to rebut the heretics until he was able to close their churches and seize their contents. He ordered the expulsion of the Jews from Alexandria which led to a disturbance and confrontation between the Jews and the Christians. This led to the widening of the contention between the governor and this great saint. Because of his strong devotion to the Christian ethics and teachings, he found himself compelled to ask for reconciliation with the governor. However, the governor refused to accept the reconciliation, and the conflict between them continued for a period of time.
When the heresy of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, emerged, a Universal Council convened for him. He denied that the Virgin was the mother of God (Theotokos). Two hundred bishops assembled in the city of Ephesus during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II, known by Theodosius the Less. St. Cyril (Kyrillos), Pope of Alexandria, presided over this council. He debated Nestorius, explained to him his heretic opinion, and threatened him with excommunication and exile from his Chair, if he did not change his erroneous opinion. St. Kyrillos composed twelve discourses wherein he explained the true faith, refuting the error of Nestorius. Anba John, Patriarch of Antioch, and some of the bishops of the East disagreed with him, taking Nestorius' side. Nevertheless, shortly after, they came back and agreed with Kyrillos who was victorious over the enemies of the church. He wrote many discourses and valuable epistles, confirming in them, that God the Word is One Nature, One Will, and One Person incarnated. He anathematized anyone who separated Christ or differed from this true faith. The Emperor exiled Nestorius in the year 435 A.D. to the land of Egypt, and remained in the city of Akhmim until his death in the year 440 A.D. From the monumental works of Pope Kyrillos was the commentary of the Holy Books. When he finished his strife, he fell sick for a short time and departed in peace. He remained on the Alexandrian Chair for thirty-one years, eight months, and ten days.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Celestine, Pope of Rome
On this day also, the great Pope Celestine, bishop of the city of Rome, departed (July 27th, 432 A.D.). This saint was the disciple of St. Boniface, bishop of Rome. At the time of his death, he commended that father Celestine would succeed him, and then he cautioned him saying, "Take heed O my son for there would be ravening wolves in the city of Rome." This father was a righteous and well learned monk. When Pope Boniface departed on September 4th, 422 A.D., they ordained Celestine in his place on September 10th, 422 A.D., during the reign of Emperor Honorius. This Emperor died in the city of Raffeen in France in the year 423 A.D. One of the Emperors (Julian the Infidel) wanted to appoint Nestorius a patriarch for Rome and expel Celestine the saintly Pope. The people rose up and expelled Nestorius which made Emperor Julian enraged against him. This Saint fled to one of the monasteries nearby Pentapolis (Five cities) and dwelt there. God wrought many signs and miracles by his hands. Then, the angel Raphael appeared to him in a dream saying: "Rise up and go to the city of Antioch to its patriarch St. Dimitrius, and abide with him for the Emperor had decided in his heart to kill you upon his return from the war." When he woke up, he went forth from that monastery along with two brothers and came to the city of Antioch.
He found its Patriarch ill, told him what had happened to him, and stayed in one of the monasteries of Antioch. Sts. Ignatius and Boniface along with a third venerable person appeared to the Emperor in a dream and said to him, "Why have you left the city of the saints without a bishop. Behold, God will remove your soul from you, and you shall die by the hands of your enemies." The Emperor asked, "What shall I do?" They replied, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered saying, "I do believe." They said to him, "Send and bring our son bishop Celestine with honor, and restore him to his throne." When the Emperor awoke from his dream, he wrote to the patriarch of Antioch, Demetrius, asking him to inform his envoys of the whereabouts of Celestine, and return him to his See. They found him and returned him to his Chair with great honor, and the people received him with joy and happiness. The peace and the affairs of the church were established by his presence. When Nestorius blasphemed and the Council assembled for him, Celestine was unable to attend the Council, because of his illness, so he sent two priests with a letter excommunicating Nestorius in it. The Emperor believed in what Nestorius said, nevertheless he yielded to the decisions of the Council and exiled Nestorius to Egypt. When the Lord willed for Celestine to depart from this world, St. Boniface, his predecessor, and St. Athanasius, the Apostolic, appeared to him and told him, "Affirm your people in the faith, for Christ is calling you." When he woke up he commanded his people saying, "Take heed to yourselves, for behold ravening wolves shall come into this city." Having said this he added, "I am leaving, for the saints are calling for me." When he said that, he departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 110 : 4,5,7
Chapter 110
| 4 | The LORD has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." |
| 5 | The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. |
| 7 | He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 16 : 13 - 19
Chapter 16
| 13 | When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" |
| 14 | So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." |
| 15 | He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" |
| 16 | Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." |
| 17 | Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. |
| 18 | And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. |
| 19 | And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 73 : 23 - 24
Chapter 73
| 23 | Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. |
| 24 | You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. |
Psalms 73 : 28
Chapter 73
| 28 | But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works. |
Psalms 9 : 14
Chapter 9
| 14 | That I may tell of all Your praise In the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
John 15 : 17 - 25
Chapter 15
| 17 | These things I command you, that you love one another. |
| 18 | "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. |
| 19 | If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. |
| 20 | Remember the word that I said to you, "A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. |
| 21 | But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. |
| 22 | If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. |
| 23 | He who hates Me hates My Father also. |
| 24 | If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. |
| 25 | But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, "They hated Me without a cause.' |
And Glory be to God forever.
Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Corinthians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
2 Corinthians 4 : 5 - 5 : 11
Chapter 4
| 5 | For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. |
| 6 | For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. |
| 7 | But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. |
| 8 | We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; |
| 9 | persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- |
| 10 | always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. |
| 11 | For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. |
| 12 | So then death is working in us, but life in you. |
| 13 | And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, |
| 14 | knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. |
| 15 | For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. |
| 16 | Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. |
| 17 | For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, |
| 18 | while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. |
Chapter 5
| 1 | For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. |
| 2 | For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, |
| 3 | if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. |
| 4 | For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. |
| 5 | Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. |
| 6 | So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. |
| 7 | For we walk by faith, not by sight. |
| 8 | We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. |
| 9 | Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. |
| 10 | For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. |
| 11 | Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 Peter 2 : 18 - 3 : 7
Chapter 2
| 18 | Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. |
| 19 | For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. |
| 20 | For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. |
| 21 | For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: |
| 22 | "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; |
| 23 | who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; |
| 24 | who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. |
| 25 | For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. |
Chapter 3
| 1 | Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, |
| 2 | when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. |
| 3 | Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- |
| 4 | rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. |
| 5 | For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, |
| 6 | as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. |
| 7 | Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. |
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 20 : 17 - 38
Chapter 20
| 17 | From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. |
| 18 | And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, |
| 19 | serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; |
| 20 | how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, |
| 21 | testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 22 | And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, |
| 23 | except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. |
| 24 | But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. |
| 25 | "And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. |
| 26 | Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. |
| 27 | For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. |
| 28 | Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. |
| 29 | For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. |
| 30 | Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. |
| 31 | Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. |
| 32 | "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. |
| 33 | I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. |
| 34 | Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. |
| 35 | I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."' |
| 36 | And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. |
| 37 | Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, |
| 38 | sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 107 : 32,41,42
Chapter 107
| 32 | Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders. |
| 41 | Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, And makes their families like a flock. |
| 42 | The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth. |
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
John 10 : 1 - 16
Chapter 10
| 1 | "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. |
| 2 | But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. |
| 3 | To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. |
| 4 | And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. |
| 5 | Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." |
| 6 | Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. |
| 7 | Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. |
| 8 | All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. |
| 9 | I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. |
| 10 | The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. |
| 11 | "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. |
| 12 | But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. |
| 13 | The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. |
| 14 | I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. |
| 15 | As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. |
| 16 | And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. |
And Glory be to God forever.
In his book The Great Spiritual Migration, Brian McLaren writes about the possible meaning behind Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (see John 2:13-17):
Perhaps it is not merely the cost of sacrifice that Jesus protests. Perhaps it is the whole belief system associated with sacrifice, based on the fundamental, long-held belief that God is angry and needs to be appeased with blood. Perhaps Jesus is overturning that belief right along with the cashiers’ tables, right along with the whole religious system built upon it. . . .
More than seven hundred years before Jesus, Hosea dared to say that God desired compassion, not sacrifice [see Hosea 6:6]. . . . Around the same time, Isaiah dared to say that God found sacrifices disgusting when people weren’t seeking justice for the oppressed (Isaiah 1-2). And centuries earlier, the poet-king David made the audacious claim that God takes no pleasure in sacrifice, but desires a “contrite spirit” and “truth in the innermost being” (Psalm 51). In other words, . . . when [Jesus] said sacrifice wasn’t necessary . . . he was siding with the prophetic and mystical/poetic traditions within Judaism, even though that set him against the traditions of the priests and scholars. . . .
When the prophets Amos, Isaiah, and Micah come along, they don’t advocate rejecting religion and culture, even though they are highly critical of its spiritual hypocrisy and social injustice. They want their religion to expand, to evolve, to learn and grow. The same is true with Jesus. He came, he said, not to abolish or replace, but to fulfill what came before him [see Matthew 5:17]. . . . [Or “transcend and include,” as Ken Wilber would say.]
The spirit of goodness, rightness, beauty, and aliveness, Jesus said, is always moving. Like wind, like breath, like water, the Spirit is in motion, inviting us to enter the current and flow.
The problem is that we often stop moving. We resist the flow. We get stuck. The word institution itself means something that stands rather than moves. When our institutions lack movements to propel them forward, the Spirit, I believe, simply moves around them, like a current around a rock in a stream. But when the priestly/institutional and prophetic/movement impulses work together, institutions provide stability and continuity and movements provide direction and dynamism. Like skeleton and muscles, the two are meant to work together.
For that to happen, we need a common spirituality to infuse both our priestly/institutional- and our prophetic/movement-oriented wings. The spirituality will often be derived from the mystical/poetic/contemplative streams within our tradition. Without that shared spirituality, without that soul work that opens our deepest selves to God and grounds our souls in love, no movement will succeed and no institution will stand. . . . It’s the linking of action and contemplation, great work and deep spirituality, that keeps the goodness, rightness, beauty, and aliveness flowing.
Reference:
Brian D. McLaren, The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian (Convergent: 2016), 27, 28, 103, 180-181.