Daily Reading:

Wednesday September 30th/October 13th

20th Week After Pentecost

Fast Day

HOLY HIEROMARTYR GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Illumine my heart, O Master who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge. Open Thou the eyes of my mind to the understanding of Thy Gospel teachings. Implant also in me a love for Thy blessed commandments. Grant me the grace to overcome all my carnal desires, so that I may enter more completely into a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well pleasing to Thee. For Thou art the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, together with Thine all-holy, good and life-creating Spirit; now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Thy law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom. On Thee do I set my hope, O my God, that Thou shalt enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of Thy knowledge, not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; that in reading the lives and sayings of the Saints I may not sin, but that such may serve for my restoration, enlightenment and sanctification, for the salvation of my soul, and the inheritance of life everlasting. For Thou art the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good deed and every gift. Amen.

By the intercessions of Thine All-immaculate Mother and of all Thy Saints, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen

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Philippians 2:24-30

But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.

Luke 6:46-7:1

"And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." Now when He had ended all His sayings in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum.

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HOLY HIEROMARTYR GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR, BISHOP AND EVANGELIST OF GREAT ARMENIA
ST MICHAEL, METROPOLITAN OF KIEV
ST MIDAN

Troparion of St Gregory Tone 3
Thou didst sow the knowledge of God in the hearts of the faithful,/ by cultivating the Faith;/ made radiant by the wounds of martyrdom/ thou didst shed thy light on all./ O Hierarch Gregory, pray to Christ our God to grant us His great mercy.

Troparion of St Michael, Metropolitan of Kiev Tone 4
The prophecy of the first-called Apostle has been fulfilled today:/ grace has illumined these hills,/ the faith is increased,/ and those who were not a people are now the people of God, a holy nation,/ a flock of Christ of which thou, O Michael, art first shepherd,/ and thou dost serve it by giving it baptism./ O Hierarch standing before God, pray that all may be saved.

Troparion of St Midan Tone 8
Amongst Angelsey's adornment of Saints,/ thy virtuous life shines forth to illumine these islands, O Father Midan./ We pray thee to intercede with Christ our God/ that His mercy, and not our weakness, will prevail that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion of St Gregory Tone 2
Let us the faithful praise Hierarch Gregory/ who is a shepherd, teacher and enlightener;/ and he is an athlete for the Truth./ He intercedes with Christ our God that we may be saved.

Kontakion of St Michael Tone 2
Thou didst appear as a second Moses/ bringing the vine from Egyptian idolatry into the land of promise./ And thou didst say of it: Faith shall be established in this land,/ and fruit to nourish the world shall flourish on the summits of Kiev/ more than on the heights of Lebanon./ Having this fruit we bless thee,/ O Hierarch Michael.

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The Hieromartyr Gregory, Enlightener of Great Armenia, was born in the year 257. He was descended from the line of the Parthian Arsakid emperors. The father of St. Gregory, Anak, in striving after the Armenian throne, had murdered his kinsman, the emperor Kursar, in consequence of which all the line of Anak was marked for destruction.

A certain kinsman saved Gregory: he carried off the infant from Armenia to Caesarea Cappadocia and raised him in the Christian Faith. At maturity, Gregory married, had two sons, but soon was left a widower. Gregory raised his sons in piety. One of them -- Orthanes, afterwards became a priest, and the other -- Arostanes, accepted monasticism and went off into the wilderness.

In order to atone for the sin of his father, who had murdered the father of Tiridates, Gregory entered into the service of the latter and was a faithful servant to him. Tiridates loved Gregory like a friend, but he was intolerant of the Christian confession of faith. After ascending the Armenian throne, he began to demand that St. Gregory renounce the Christian Faith.

The steadfastness of the saint embittered Tiridates, and he gave his faithful servant over to cruel tortures: they suspended the sufferer head downwards with a stone about his neck, for several days they choked him with a stinking smoke, they beat and ridiculed him, and forced him to walk in iron sandals inset with nails.

During the time of these sufferings St. Gregory sang Psalms. In prison the Lord healed all his wounds. When Gregory again stood before the emperor cheerful and unharmed, he was astonished and gave orders to repeat the torments. St. Gregory endured them, not wavering, with all his former determination and bearing. They then poured hot tin over him and threw him into a pit filled with vipers. The Lord, however, saved His chosen one: the snakes did him no harm.

Some pious women fed him with bread, secretly lowering it into the pit. A holy angel, appearing to the martyr, invigorated his powers and encouraged his spirit. Thus it went on for fourteen years. During this time the emperor Tiridates wrought yet another evil deed: he martyred the holy virgin St. Ripsima, the aged abbess Gaiana and another 35 virgins from one of the Asia Minor monasteries.


http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/September/Sep-30.html#1