Readings for Sunday 14 February 2027
7 Amshir 1743
First Sunday of Amshir
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 82 : 8,6
| 8 | Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations. |
| 6 | I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 6 : 15 - 21
| 15 | Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. |
| 16 | Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, |
| 17 | got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. |
| 18 | Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. |
| 19 | So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. |
| 20 | But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." |
| 21 | Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. |
Glory be to God forever.
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Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 119 : 105,73
| 105 | Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. |
| 73 | Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 8 : 51 - 59
| 51 | Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." |
| 52 | Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, "If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' |
| 53 | Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?" |
| 54 | Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. |
| 55 | Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, "I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. |
| 56 | Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." |
| 57 | Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" |
| 58 | Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." |
| 59 | Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. |
Glory be to God forever.
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Divine Liturgy
Pauline 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 with us. Amen.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
| 11 | But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. |
| 12 | For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? |
| 13 | But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." |
| 1 | Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? |
| 2 | Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? |
| 3 | Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? |
| 4 | If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? |
| 5 | I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? |
| 6 | But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! |
| 7 | Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? |
| 8 | No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! |
| 9 | Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, |
| 10 | nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. |
| 11 | And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. Peter . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
2 Peter 3 : 14 - 18
| 14 | Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; |
| 15 | and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, |
| 16 | as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. |
| 17 | You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; |
| 18 | but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. |
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.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us. Amen.
Acts 9 : 3 - 9
| 3 | As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. |
| 4 | Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" |
| 5 | And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." |
| 6 | So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." |
| 7 | And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. |
| 8 | Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. |
| 9 | And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God. Amen.
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Synaxarium
Day 7 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir.
May God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins are forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers. Amen.
The Seventh Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of St.Alexandros the Second,
the Forty-Third Pope of Alexandria
On this day of the year 715 A.D., the
Holy Father Abba Alexandros the Second, the Forty-Third Pope of Alexandria,
departed. He was from the City of Bana. He became a monk in the monastery
of Pateron (Barbarun) or the monastery of the fathers, which was also known
as El-Zugag monastery, which was west of Alexandria. Because of his righteousness
and his knowledge, he was chosen to the throne of St. Mark. During his
papacy, he suffered many hardships. He was contemporary to the Caliph El-Walid
Ibn Abd-Elmalek. When the latter took the caliphate, he appointed his brother
Abdallah a governor of Egypt in the year 698 A.D. He mistreated the Christians
of Egypt, and confiscated the monasteries of the wilderness of Shiheet
(Scetis). His evil nature went to the extreme. One day he entered
a monastery in Upper Egypt, and saw an icon of the Virgin Mary, the Mother
of God, and inquired about it. He was told that it was the Virgin Mary,
the Mother of Christ, the Savior of the world, he spat on the icon and
said, "If I live, I shall destroy all the Christians." He then blasphemed
against the Lord Christ also. At night, he saw a vision during his sleep
which disturbed him, and filled his heart with fear. He wrote to his brother
saying, "that he suffered the day before as he saw a Man sitting on a great
throne, and His face shone more than the sun, and around Him were thousands
carrying arms. We were bound behind Him. When I asked who He was, I was
told that He was Christ Jesus, the King of the Christians, Whom I mocked
and despised the day before. One of the armed men came and pierced my side
with a spear."
His brother was extremely sad when he
heard about the vision. The same night, that man, Abdallah, caught a severe
fever and died. Forty days later, his brother El-Walid died also. In 701
A.D. another Governor replaced Abdallah, and he followed his predecessor's
policy. He mistreated the Christians, and arrested St.Alexandros and tortured
him until the believers collected for him three thousand Dinari. God perished
this Governor soon after that. The following Governor, was even more wicked
than the one before him. He ordered the arrest of the Pope, and asked him
for three thousand Dinari. The Pope excused himself saying that part of
the money that he paid to his predecessor was collected from some of the
believers and the rest was borrowed. The Governor did not accept his words,
and finally the Pope asked him for a grace period. The Pope went to Upper
Egypt to collect the money from the believers. During his travel, an ascetic
monk asked two of his disciples to dig out a cave. While they were digging,
they found five copper jars filled with gold. They kept one of them and
gave the rest to the hermit, which he sent to the Pope. The two disciples
took the gold and left the desert. They went out into the world, married,
and owned cattle, slaves and maidenservants. The Governor was informed
about these two men, and he called them to him. He threatened them if they
did not tell him the truth about their sudden wealth. They told him about
the five jars of gold, and that four jars were given to the Pope. He rushed
to the patriarchate and plundered all the church vessels. He seized the
Pope, insulted him and put him in prison. He demanded from the Pope the
jars and the three thousand Dinari. He did not release him until the Pope
gave it all to him.
Shortly after that, this Governor died,
and another even more evil came after him. He ordered the Christians to
tattoo on their wrists, instead of the sign of the honorable Cross, the
name of the "beast" that St. John the Theologian had prophesied about in
all the land. He also commanded the Pope to tattoo the sign of the beast
on his wrist, but the Pope refused. As the Governor insisted, the Pope
asked him for three days. The Pope went to his cell and prayed to the Lord
Jesus Christ not to forsake him so that he would not fail in this test.
The Lord answered his prayer, so he fell with a brief sickness. He went
to the Governor and asked his permission to go to Alexandria. The Governor
refused, thinking that the Pope was pretending to be sick just to escape
the tattooing. Afterwards, the Lord inspired him that he would depart from
this world after four days. He told this to his disciples, and asked them
to prepare a carriage to carry his body and to bury him beside the holy
fathers. He departed in peace, and was carried for his burial as he requested.
During the papacy of Abba Alexandros, the Melkites had a Patriarch in Egypt
by the name of Anastasius, who was hated by his own people because he loved
the Orthodox Copts and was peaceful with them. He left his own congregation
and went to Pope Alexandros, and confessed the Orthodox faith before him.
The Pope treated the Patriarch well, honored him and wanted to hand him
the affairs of the patriarchate so he could go and worship in seclusion
in one of the monasteries. Father Anastasius refused and said to him, "If
I had desired the patriarchal seat, I could have remained there, for I
was a patriarch, but now I want to be your disciple." He finally accepted,
however, to become a bishop in one of the bishoprics, and he shepherded
the flock entrusted to him well. Abba Alexandros remained on the seat of
St. Mark for 24 years and 9 months.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Departure of St.Theodorus (Theodor),
the Forty-Fifth Pope of Alexandria
On this day also, of the
year 728 A.D., St. Theodorus (Theodore), 45th Pope of Alexandria, departed.
He was a monk in a monastery near Mariut, which was known as the monastery
of Tanboura, under the guidance of a virtuous elder called Yoannis (John).
Abba Yoannis was inspired by the Holy Spirit that his disciple Tadros one
day would become a Pope. He told those who were in authority. Tadros struggled
in his worship, and was perfect in his humility and meekness. He was chosen
by the will of God to become the Pope of Alexandria. He shepherd the flock
of the Lord Christ well. He continued to read and to preach to his people,
especially on Sundays and on feast days. He completed 12 years on the seat
of St. Mark and departed in peace.
May His prayers be with us, and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
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Divine Liturgy Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 96 : 6,4
| 6 | Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. |
| 4 | For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 6 : 22 - 27
| 22 | On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone-- |
| 23 | however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks-- |
| 24 | when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. |
| 25 | And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" |
| 26 | Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. |
| 27 | Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." |
Glory be to God forever.
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