15 Baramudah 1741
Readings for Wednesday of first 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 30 : 5 - 7
| 5 | For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. |
| 6 | Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." |
| 7 | LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. |
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 9 : 15 - 17
| 15 | And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. |
| 16 | No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. |
| 17 | Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." |
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 105 : 43,45
| 43 | He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. |
| 45 | That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. Praise 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 John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 1 : 9 - 15
| 9 | That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. |
| 10 | He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. |
| 11 | He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. |
| 12 | But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: |
| 13 | who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. |
| 14 | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. |
| 15 | John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me."' |
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 Corinthians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
1 Corinthians 15 : 50 - 58
| 50 | Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. |
| 51 | Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- |
| 52 | in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. |
| 53 | For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. |
| 54 | So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." |
| 55 | "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" |
| 56 | The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. |
| 57 | But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 58 | Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. Peter . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
1 Peter 1 : 10 - 21
| 10 | Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, |
| 11 | 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. |
| 12 | 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. |
| 13 | Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; |
| 14 | as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; |
| 15 | but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, |
| 16 | because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." |
| 17 | And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; |
| 18 | knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, |
| 19 | but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. |
| 20 | He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you |
| 21 | who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. |
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 - 13
| 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. |
| 5 | And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, |
| 6 | as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. |
| 7 | And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" |
| 8 | Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: |
| 9 | If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, |
| 10 | let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. |
| 11 | This is the "stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' |
| 12 | Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." |
| 13 | Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. |
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 106 : 1 - 2
| 1 | Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. |
| 2 | Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise? |
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 2 : 12 - 25
| 12 | After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. |
| 13 | Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
| 14 | And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. |
| 15 | When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. |
| 16 | And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" |
| 17 | Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." |
| 18 | So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" |
| 19 | Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." |
| 20 | Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" |
| 21 | But He was speaking of the temple of His body. |
| 22 | Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. |
| 23 | Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. |
| 24 | But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, |
| 25 | and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 15 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 Fifteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramudah
Commemoration of the Consecration of the first altar for St.Nicholas, Bishop of Mora for Jacobite Christians
On this day, the church commemorates the consecration of the first altar that was built by the Jacobite Christians, who were residing in the land of Egypt for St.Nicholas, bishop of Mora. St.Nicholas was one of the fathers of the council of Nicea, the Three Hundred and Eighteen. This altar was built in the church of the saint Anba Shenouda, to the east of the city.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of St.Agabus, the Apostle
This day also, marks the commemoration of the consecration of the church of St. Agabus, one of the Seventy Apostles. He prophesied about the events that afflicted St. Paul saying: "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" (Acts 21:10-11)
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Alexandra, the Empress
On this day also, St. Alexandra, the Empress, Emperor Diocletian's wife, departed. When the great martyr, St. George deluded Emperor Diocletian that he would worship his idols, the Emperor embraced his head and brought him into his royal palace. The Saint prayed and read some of the Psalms before Empress Alexandra and interpreted to her what he read. He explained to her the Divinity of the Lord Christ. His words entered her heart and she believed in the Lord Christ, to Whom is the glory. When the Saint stood before the idols, he called the Name of the Lord Christ, and the idols were destroyed. The Emperor and those with him were humiliated. When the Emperor returned to the palace and told the Empress what had happened, she told him: "Did I not tell you not to set yourself against the Galilean, for their God is strong and powerful?" Diocletian became extremely raged, tortured her severely, then threw her in prison where she departed in peace.
May Her prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of Pope Mark, (Marcus) VI, the 101st Patriarch
On this day also, of the year 1372 A.M. (April 20th., 1656 A.D).), Pope Mark (Marcus) VI, 101st Patriarch of Alexandria, departed. He was known as Marcus El-Bahgoury. He was from Bahgourah, and became a monk in the monastery of St. Antonios. When Pope Matteos III, 100th Pope, departed, the archon Beshara, the lay leader of that time, agreed with the people on ordaining this father. Anba Khristozolo, Bishop of Jerusalem, headed the celebration of the enthronement, on Sunday, the fifteenth of Barmoudah, 1362 A.M. (April 20th. 1646 A.D.), and was called Marcus VI. After his ordination, a vast dispute took place between him and the archon Beshara. From his famous achievements, he issued an order preventing the monks from living in the world, ordering them to return to their monasteries. The monks were raged because of this order, did not consent to it, and refrained from obeying it. Satan, the enemy of the good, moved one of the monks called Kodsy, to write a petition to the Governor (Basha), accusing the Pope that he tortured the people and killed them. The Governor ordered an investigation to uncover the truth. During the inquiry, the monk denied writing the petition. The Pope was exonerated from the accusations that were in the complainant petition, but he was ordered to pay a heavy fine which was paid by the lay leaders of the country.
On the 21st of Tubah, 1365 A.M., an order was issued to prevent Christians from riding horses, wearing red caftans (A long sleeved outer garment), and red broadcloth skull caps. However they were to wear blue caftans thirty feet long. The Patriarch went to Upper Egypt and stayed there for four years, during which he collected much money and was foolish in his conduct, to the point that all the people, bishops, priests, and lay leaders, were exasperated. The dispute, existed between him and the archon Beshara, went on until he returned to Cairo. He then reconciled with him, and his behavior was straighten after that. He built the prayer hall in the convent of the church of the virgin in Haret Zeewaila in Cairo. Pope Marcus departed on the fifteenth of Barmoudah, 1372 A.M. (April 20th. 1656 AD.). He was buried in the church of Abu Saifain in Old Cairo, after he stayed on the Chair for ten full years. He was a contemporary to El Sultan Ibrahim I and El Sultan Mohammed IV, and the Chair was vacant for four years, seven months and sixteen days after him.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.