Monday, October 5
Evening Prayer
Orthodox Saints

Opening Sentence

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2

Confession

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 106

Part II Et fecerunt vitulum

19
Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb *
and worshiped a molten image;
20
And so they exchanged their Glory *
for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.
21
They forgot God their Savior, *
who had done great things in Egypt,
22
Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham, *
and fearful things at the Red Sea.
23
So he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, *
to turn away his wrath from consuming them.
24
They refused the pleasant land *
and would not believe his promise.
25
They grumbled in their tents *
and would not listen to the voice of the LORD.
26
So he lifted his hand against them, *
to overthrow them in the wilderness,
27
To cast out their seed among the nations, *
and to scatter them throughout the lands.
28
They joined themselves to Baal-Peor *
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29
They provoked him to anger with their actions, *
and a plague broke out among them.
30
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, *
and the plague came to an end.
31
This was reckoned to him as righteousness *
throughout all generations for ever.
32
Again they provoked his anger at the waters of Meribah, *
so that he punished Moses because of them;
33
For they so embittered his spirit *
that he spoke rash words with his lips.
34
They did not destroy the peoples *
as the LORD had commanded them.
35
They intermingled with the heathen *
and learned their pagan ways,
36
So that they worshiped their idols, *
which became a snare to them.
37
They sacrificed their sons *
and their daughters to evil spirits.
38
They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters, *
which they offered to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was defiled with blood.
39
Thus they were polluted by their actions *
and went whoring in their evil deeds.
40
Therefore the wrath of the LORD was kindled against his people *
and he abhorred his inheritance.
41
He gave them over to the hand of the heathen, *
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42
Their enemies oppressed them, *
and they were humbled under their hand.
43
Many a time did he deliver them,
but they rebelled through their own devices, *
and were brought down in their iniquity.
44
Nevertheless, he saw their distress, *
when he heard their lamentation.
45
He remembered his covenant with them *
and relented in accordance with his great mercy.
46
He caused them to be pitied *
by those who held them captive.
47
Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations, *
that we may give thanks to your holy Name
and glory in your praise.
48
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting; *
and let all the people say, "Amen!"
Hallelujah!

Gloria Patri

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Gospel

Matthew 8:28-34 (NRSV)

28 When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 Suddenly they shouted, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" 30 Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31 The demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine." 32 And he said to them, "Go!" So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. 33 The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. 34 Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.

The Word of the Lord.

Canticle 15 The Song of Mary
Magnificat Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Departure of St. Gregory the Monk
On this day we commemorate the departure of St. Gregory the monk. He was the son of Christian parents who were exceedingly rich from one of the cities of Upper Egypt. They gave great importance to teaching their son the subjects of medicine and then they taught him the doctrine of the Church. Next, they sent him to Abba Isaac, bishop of their city, who ordained him a deacon to serve the altar.

When his parents wanted him to get married, he refused. After this, the bishop promoted him to a full deacon and he was regular in his prayers. He had been inclined to solitude since his early years and thus he used to pay many visits to Abba Pachomius.

He went to his parents, took a large sum of money from them and brought it to St. Pachomius beseeching him to spend it on building monasteries. The Saint accepted his alms and spent it on building the monasteries of the Coenobitic.

After a while, Abba Pachomius ordained him a monk and he toiled in practising all kinds of virtues. People who had lived a life of lust and impurity learned from him by just looking at his appearance. He dwelt there for thirteen years.

When St. Macarius went to visit St. Pachomius, Gregory asked St. Pachomius to permit him to go back with St. Macarius. He dwelt with St. Macarius for two years, then he asked him if he could live alone. He dug out a small cave for himself in the mountain where he dwelt for seven years. He used to visit St. Macarius twice each year; on Christmas and on Easter, to be guided by him in his spiritual fight. When he had completed twenty-two years of toil, God wished him to rest. God sent an angel to him informing him that after three days he would depart from the world.

St. Gregory called the elders of the desert, and bade them farewell and asked them to remember him in their prayers. After the three days he departed in peace.



Martyrdom of St. Quadratus, one of the Seventy Apostles
On this day we also commemorate the martyrdom of St. Quadratus, one of the Seventy Apostles, who were chosen by the Lord. He was born in the City of Athens in Greece and was one of its wealthy and learned nobles. He believed in the Lord Christ and served him. Having received the grace of the Comforter on the day of Pentecost, he went to preach the Gospel in many countries. He entered a Gnostic city and when he preached there, the people of the city believed and he baptized them and taught them the living Commandments. When he returned to Athens to preach there, they stoned him and tortured him severely. Finally they cast him into a fire and he received the crown of martyrdom.

The celebration of a day in common to honour the All-Russian Sainted Hierarchs Peter, Alexei and Jona was established by Patriarch Job on 5 October 1596. Sainted Philip was enumerated to it in the year 1875, by petition of Sainted Innocent (Innokentii), Metropolitan of Moscow (commemorated 31 March and 23 September); and Sainted Ermogen -- was added only in the year 1913.

Celebrating the memory of the Sainted-Hierarchs on a day in common, the Church offers each of them equal honour, as heavenly protectors of the city of Moscow and prayerful intercessors for the Fatherland.

Information about the Lives of the Sainted-Hierarchs is located under the day of their memory: Saint Peter -- 21 December, Saint Alexei -- 12 February, Saint Jona -- 31 March, Saint Philip -- 9 January, Saint Ermogen -- 17 February.

The Holy Martyress Charitina was orphaned in childhood and raised like an actual daughter by the pious Christian Claudius. The young woman was very pretty, very sensible, kind and fervent in faith. She imparted to other people her love for Christ, and she converted many to the way of salvation.

During a time of persecution under the emperor Diocletian (284-305), Saint Charitina was subjected to horrible torments for her strong confession of the Lord Jesus Christ, and she died with prayer to the Lord (in the year 304).

The Lives of the Monks Damian the Presbyter and Healer, Jeremii [Jeremia], and Matfei [Matthew] the Perspicacious -- Wonderworkers of Pechersk, were described by the Monk Nestor the Chronicler (commemorated 27 October).

The Monk Damian (+1071) still remembered the Baptism of Rus (in year 988). The zealous imitator of the Monk Feodosii [Theodosii] (commemorated 3 May) was gentle, industrious and obedient, to the joy of all the brethren. He spent the entire night at prayer and reading the Divine Scriptures. Saint Damian was strict at fasting and, except for bread and water, he ate nothing. The Lord rewarded him with the gift of treating maladies.

The Monk Jeremii had of the Lord the gift to see into the future, and to see into the moral condition of a person. The monk died in old age (+c.1070).

The Monk Matfei (+c.1088) was also endowed with the gift of seeing into the spiritual world. By his insight the elder would tell brethren, things to avoid doing of danger for the soul.

In the Iconographic Original it says: "Matfei with the image of a perspicacious elder, from black greyed of beard like Vlas, in black klobuk, a monastic robe, hands pressed to the heart".

The general tropar to these saints is: "By the light of Christ's commandments your hearts were enlightened, and ye did dispel the dread darkness: like an abode of the Trinity ye three art fathers, Damian, Jeremii with Matfei, from whom grace we do receive, ye heal the infirm, and the future ye do announce with the Angel in co-communion of essence, pray ye to Christ God to grant unto us the communion of the saints." Their memory is also on 28 September and the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent.

The Nun Kharitina, Princess of Lithuania, pursued asceticism in a Novgorod women's monastery in honour of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, built in Sinich hill.

Having resolved to dedicate her life to the Lord, she accepted monasticism. For her virtuous life the nun was made hegumeness of the monastery. And until the time of her death, she was a sister to all by way of humility, purity and strict temperance. She reposed in the year 1281 and was buried in the Petropavlov (Peter and Paul) monastery church.

In the Iconographic Original it says: "The holy and righteous Kharitina, head of the Petrovsk maidens monastery, at Novgorod. She was born of Lithuanian royalty; by likeness a maiden of simple appearance, in a single garb without mantle".

The PriestMartyr Dionysios, Bishop of Alexandria, was at mature age converted to Christianity by the reknown teacher of the Church, Origen (III), and became his student. Afterwards, he was the head of the Alexandrian Catechetical School, and then in the year 247, he was elevated to bishop of Alexandria.

Saint Dionysios exerted much effort for the defence of Orthodoxy from heresy, and he encouraged his flock in the firm confession of the True Faith during times of persecution under the emperors Decius (249-251) and Valerian (253-259).

The holy bishop underwent much suffering. When a plague appeared in Alexandria, the saint called on his flock to tend sick christians and pagans alike, and to bury the dead. About the repose of his spiritual children he wrote: "By such manner the best of our brethren have departed life. This generation of the dead -- a deed of great piety and firm faith, no wise less a martyrdom". Saint Dionysios none the less illumined his flock with deeds of love and charity. He died in the year 264 or 265.

The Holy Martyress Mamelkhva the Persian before conversion to the Christian faith was a pagan priestess to the goddess Artemida.

The sister of the saint convinced her to accept Baptism. When the pagans saw Mamelkhva in the white baptismal garb, they pelted her with stones. The saint suffered in the year 344.

The Monk Gregory Khandzti was the founder and head of the Klardzheti monastery. He was descended from an illustrious Gruzian [Georgian] lineage, flourishing by the good will of the emperor Ashuta Kuropalata (786-826). The vocation to monastic life was evident even in the childhood years of the monk. Thus did he explain to his mother about leaving home to enter upon the ascetic way: "Forgive me, my mother, but I am departed from thee not on a whim, but because it happened that it was pleasing to God".

The Monk Gregory spent all his life in unceasing prayer, in tears, temperance, patience, meekness, in deepest humility and untiring works. He worthily gained for himself the glory of a pious and zealous servant of the Church of Christ, and he was chosen under the emperor Ashuta Kuropalata as the hegumen of the Khandzti monastery. Distinguished by his profound obedience to the will of God, Saint Gregory saw the meaning of earthly life to be particularly in obedience, as bestowing the supreme blessed freedom of all creatures. He placed obedience to a spiritual father at the foundation of all the way of monastic life, inspiring monastic institutions throughout all Klardzeti, and afterwards in future as an archimandrite -- throughout all Gruzia.

During this time in Byzantium, after the iconoclastic council of 815, the Orthodox were forcefully oppressed. Georgian [Gruzian] monasticism, spiritually nourished by the Monk Gregory Khandzti, defended and affirmed the purity of the Orthodox faith, while simultaneously struggling with Monophysitism.

In 825 Gregory Khandzti "upon arrival at Constantinople, venerated the Wood of Life and all the holy relics, and he joyfully made the rounds of all the places of Divine-pilgrimage," and he took with him to Gruzia "relics of the saints, holy icons and other blessed items in abundance." Saint Gregory was a zealous advocate of the co-operation of Church and state, independent and equal in relation to each other. His views were favourably received in the decisions of a Church Council, convened in Dzhavakheti, and they assisted in the consolidation of the Autocephalous Gruzian Orthodox Church. The spiritual son of the Monk Gregory Khandzti, Bishop Ephrem of Atskur, "established the blessing of myrh (chrism) in Gruzia, with the blessing of the Jerusalem Patriarch and his witness," as Gregory Merchuli testifies in his compilation of the Life of Saint Gregory Khandzti.

According to tradition, Saint Gregory Khandzti spent the final month of his life in a solitary cell, where he was vouchsafed blessed visions. The monks of the monastery saw a radiance lighting up his cell, and they were convinced that it was "not a burning fire, but the Spirit of God" that beshone the righteous, like the Light of Tabor. The Gruzian [Georgian] Church makes the memory of Saint Gregory Khandzti on 5 October, on the day of his blessed death.

Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass
against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages A

Show us your mercy, O Lord;

And grant us your salvation.

Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

Let your people sing with joy.

Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;

For only in you can we live in safety.

Lord, keep this nation under your care;

And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

Let your way be known upon earth;

Your saving health among all nations.

Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;

Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in us clean hearts, O God;

And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Collect of the Day: Pentecost, proper 22

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.

For Mission

O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

World Cycle of Prayer

We pray for the people of Madagascar.

CARE page about Madagascar

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer

We pray for our sisters and brothers, members of the Disciples of Christ.

The Disciples of Christ

For the Right Use of God's Gifts

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor you with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Knowledge of God's Creation

Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Care of Children

Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer of Self-Dedication

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

General Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Benediction

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Alleluia.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13