Day 12 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Tute, 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 Twelfth Day of the Blessed Month of Tute

Assembly of the Third General Council at Ephesus for Trying Nestor, Archbishop of Constantinople

      On this day of the year 431 A.D. assembled the Holy Council at Ephesus which was attended by two hundred bishops. It was the third of the Ecumenical Councils. This was in the twentieth year of the reign of Theodosius the Small, the Son of Arcadius, the son of Theodosius the Great.

      They assembled because of the heresy of Nestor who was Archbishop of Constantinople. He believed that St.Mary did not give birth to the incarnated God, but only to a man, and that afterwards the Son of God dwelt in him, not the dwelling of unity but just the dwelling of desire and will, and therefore, Christ had two Natures and two Wills.

      So these fathers convened and they debated that with him, and they showed him the He, was born of the Virgin, was the incarnated God, as the angel said, "God be with thee; He who shall be born of thee is Holy and shall be called the Son of the Highest." (Luke 1:28-32) And according to the saying of Isaiah, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel," (Isaiah 7:14) and also, "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father." (Isaiah 9:6) St.Cyril discussed this with him saying, "Natures cannot be separated after they have become one by their unity, and we believe that the Word of God which became man has One Nature only." But Nestor would not turn from his teaching nor change his mind. St.Cyril with the whole Council rebuked him and threatened that they would excommunicate him. He would not accept the words of the Council, and they therefore excommunicated him and exiled him from his chair.

      They confirmed that the Virgin St.Mary had given birth to the Incarnated God thw Word. They drew up the Canon and laid down the Laws. These are the laws of the faithful till this day. If it is said that the Nestorians do not say that today, we reply saying because they have mingled with the Christians of the East, and that some of them have turned from their erroneous opinion.

We beseech our God and our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ to guide us in the way of salvation - to whom be praise and glory and worship now and ever. Amen.

Transfer of Relics of St.Aklimos and His Companions

      On this day also we celebrate the transfer of the relics of St.Aklimos the amrtyr and his companions to the city of Alexandria.

May their prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Vespers

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 32:11 & Psalm 32:6

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;
        And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found.

Gospel

Matt 25:14-23

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
"So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, "Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, "Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

Matins

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 112:1-2

Praise the LORD!
        Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
        Who delights greatly in His commandments.
        His descendants will be mighty on earth;
        The generation of the upright will be blessed.

Gospel

Lk 6:17-23

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
        "Blessed are you poor,
           For yours is the kingdom of God.
        Blessed are you who hunger now,
           For you shall be filled.
        Blessed are you who weep now,
           For you shall laugh.
        Blessed are you when men hate you,
           And when they exclude you,
           And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
           For the Son of Man's sake.
        Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
           For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
           For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

Liturgy

Pauline Epistle

From the epistle of teacher St. Paul the apostle to the (...), may his blessings be with us Amen.

Rom 4:13— & Rom 5:1-5

For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations" in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."
Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.

Catholic Epistle

The catholic epistle from the epistle of our teacher St. (...), may his blessings be with us Amen. My beloved.

1Pet 1:3-12

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.
Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.

Do not love the world nor 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 holy blessings be with us all. Amen.

Acts 11:15-24

And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, "John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."
Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed in the holy Church of God. Amen.

Synaxarium

• The Assembly of the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus to Judge Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople.
• The Translocation of the Relics of Sts. Clemus (Aklimos) and His Companions.

Stand up in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A chapter according to St. (...) may his blessing be with us all amen.

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 19:4 & Psalm 132:9,10

Their line has gone out through all the earth,
        And their words to the end of the world.
        In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
        And let Your saints shout for joy.
        For Your servant David's sake,
        Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.

Gospel

Matt 16:13-19

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?"
So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
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. 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. 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."