13 Baramudah 1747
Readings for Monday of second of of the Holy Fifty Days
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 27 : 13 - 14
| 13 | I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. |
| 14 | Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! |
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 Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 14 : 23 - 33
| 23 | And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. |
| 24 | But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. |
| 25 | Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. |
| 26 | And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. |
| 27 | But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." |
| 28 | And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." |
| 29 | So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. |
| 30 | But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" |
| 31 | And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" |
| 32 | And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. |
| 33 | Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." |
Glory be to God forever.
Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 112 : 4,6,7
| 4 | Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. |
| 6 | Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. |
| 7 | He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. |
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 Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 8 : 23 - 27
| 23 | Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. |
| 24 | And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. |
| 25 | Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" |
| 26 | But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. |
| 27 | So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" |
Glory be to God forever.
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 Romans.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Romans 1 : 1 - 4
| 1 | Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God |
| 2 | which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, |
| 3 | concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, |
| 4 | and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. John . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
1 John 1 : 1 - 7
| 1 | That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- |
| 2 | the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- |
| 3 | that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. |
| 4 | And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. |
| 5 | This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. |
| 6 | If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. |
| 7 | But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. |
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. Amen.
Acts 4 : 1 - 4
| 1 | Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, |
| 2 | being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. |
| 3 | And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. |
| 4 | However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God. Amen.
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 70 : 5
| 5 | But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay. |
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 3 : 31 - 36
| 31 | He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. |
| 32 | And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. |
| 33 | He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. |
| 34 | For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. |
| 35 | The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. |
| 36 | He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 13 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramudah.
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 Thirteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramudah
Martyrdom of the Saints Joshua and Joseph
On this day, the holy monks Anba Joshua and Anba Joseph were martyred. They were the disciples of St. Melius in the mount of Khorasan, and their biography is mentioned in the 28th day of Baramudah, which is the day of martyrdom of their spiritual teacher Anba Melius.
May Their prayers be with us all. Amen.
Commemoration of Dionisa (Denisa) the Deaconess and Medius the Martyr
This day also marks the commemoration of St. Dionisa (Denisa), the deaconess who was appointed by the apostles and the commemoration of St. Medius the martyr.
May Their prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of Pope Yoannis the Seventeenth, the 105th Patriarch of Alexandria
On this day also, the distinguished Pope and prudent pontiff, Anba Yoannis the seventeenth, 105th Patriarch of Alexandria, departed. The parents of this father were pious Christians from the city of Mallawy, in Upper Egypt. When he was 25 years old, he left this futile world and went to the monastery of St. Antonios. He became a monk there and his name was Abdel Sayed. Then he went to the monastery of Anba Paula, after its renovation. He exerted himself in worship, and educated himself. He learned reading and writing, for he was illiterate, then he thoroughly studied the holy books. After he exerted himself in asceticism and a virtuous life, studying the church subjects and its books, the fathers the monks chose him as a priest for them. Pope Yoannis, 103rd Patriarch ordained him along with his fellow Mourgan El-Assuity, who became, later on, Pope Petros VI, 104th Patriarch. When Pope Petros VI, 104th Patriarch departed, the fathers the bishops, priests, and lay leaders discussed who would be fit for the Patriarchal Chair. They chose this father among others, and brought them from the monasteries to Cairo. After they prayed the Divine Liturgy for three days, they cast the lot, which fell on this father.
He was ordained a Patriarch in the church of the martyr Mercurius Abu Saifain, in Old Cairo, on Sunday, the sixth of Tubah, 1443 A.M. (January 12th., 1727 A.D.). After his ordination and before the reading of the Gospel, they opened the door to the tomb of the fathers the Patriarchs, as the custom, for the newly elected Pope to go down and take the cross and staff from the hand of his departed predecessor. After he went down and took the cross, the bones in the tomb crepitated, and he was terrified, so he ordered to stop this practice, saying that the crosses and staffs were in abundance. The purpose of this custom was that the successor will take a lesson from his departed predecessor, so he would not be deceived by the position and become arrogant, and seeing the fate of his predecessor would be a lesson and example before him always. The Pope stayed after his enthronement a week in Old Cairo, then went to the Patriarchal residence in Haret El-Rum.
This Pope dedicated himself to building churches and monasteries, their renovation and consecration. During his Papacy, a wonderful church was built in the monastery of Anba Paula, the first hermit in the Nemr Mount, and consecrated it himself. He was accompanied by Anba Ebraam, Bishop of El-Bahnasa, and an assembly of the notables. Among them was the archon Girgis El-Sourogy, who paid for the building of this church. After that, Pope Youannis built a church, refectory, and other buildings in the monastery of the honorable saint Anba Antonios, the father of all monks. He consecrated it by his blessed hands and ordained there hegumens, priests, and deacons. The honorable archon Girgis El-Sourogy also paid for these buildings. In the ninth year of his Papacy, in 1451 A.M., the Sultan ordered to raise the taxes for the Christians and Jews three folds. Later, these taxes were raised more and imposed over the monks, priests, children, poor, and beggars without exempting anyone, so the time of this father was difficult and sorrowful for the poor, professionals and trade workers.
During his time, there was also a great increase in prices and a severe earthquake shook Cairo in the middle of the night, which lasted for about an hour. The foundation of the earth violently shook, houses were destroyed, and people trembled then God Had mercy on his people and removed from them these bitter tribulations. When Anba Khristozolo III, 102nd Metropolitan of the Chair of Ethiopia, departed, a group of Ethiopian lay leaders came to Pope Yoannis, in the 17th year of his Papacy, in 1460 A.M. (1744 AD.), and asked him to ordain for them a Metropolitan. He ordained for them the monk John (Youhanna), one of the priests of the monastery of our great father Anba Antonios, and called him Youannis XIV, and returned with joy with him. This Pope lived long and lived until a good old age shepherding his flock with the best of care. When he finished his strife, he fell sick for a short illness and then departed in peace on the Monday of the Paschal week, the thirteenth of Baramudah, year 1461 A.M. (April 20th., 1745 A.D.). He sat on the Chair 18 years, 3 months, and 8 days, and was buried in the tomb of the Patriarchs in the church of St.Mercurius Abu-Saifain in Old Cairo. He was contemporary to the Sultan Ahmed III and the Sultan Mahmoud I. The Chair remained vacant one month and ten days after his departure.
May His blessings be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.