Wednesday May 7 / 20 ns 2026 † Apodosis of Pascha • The Appearance of the Precious Cross over Jerusalem, St. Neilos of Sora ~ Fish, wine, and olive oil are permitted. Cross: Acts 26:1, 12-20; Day: St. John 12:36-47

If I remembered Thee on my bed at dawn I meditated on Thee.

O God, my God, unto Thee I rise early at dawn. My soul hath thirsted for Thee; how often hath my flesh longed after Thee in a land barren and untrodden and unwatered.

Wednesday

May 7 / 120 ns

2026 

~ Fish, wine, and olive oil are permitted ~

† Apodosis of Pascha

The Appearance of the Precious Cross

over Jerusalem,

St. Neilos of Sora

During the reign of Emperor Constantius, the son of St. Constantine, and Cyril the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Honorable Cross appeared about 9:00 a.m. stretching out from Golgotha to above the Mount of Olives. This cross was brighter than the sun and more beautiful than the most beautiful rainbow. All the people, both believing and unbelieving, left their work and, in fear and amazement, observed this heavenly sign. Many unbelievers converted to the Faith of Christ, and so also did many Arian heretics abandon their evil heresy and returned to Orthodoxy.

About this sign Patriarch Cyril wrote a letter to Emperor Constantius [337-361 A.D.] who leaned toward Arianism. This occurred on May 7, 357 A.D. Thus, even on this occasion it was demonstrated that the Christian Faith is not worldly theorizing, according to sensual understanding of man, but rather in God's power, demonstrated through numerous miracles and signs.

Acts 26:1, 12-20 KJV

26:1 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself.

12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,

13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.

14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks [futile, self-destructive resistance}.

15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Saint John 12:36-47 KJV

36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,

40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

If the Cross of Christ isn't across your shoulders, what good is it in the sky over Jerusalem?

The following is the Cross Christ offers those who freely follow Him.

Love sinners, but hate their deeds, and do not disdain sinners for their failings, so that you yourself do not fall into the temptation in which they abide...
Do not be angry at anyone and do not hate anyone, neither for their faith, nor for their shameful deeds...
Do not foster hatred for the sinner, for we are all guilty... Hate his sins, and pray for him, so that you may be made like unto Christ, who had no dislike for sinners, but prayed for them.
(St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 57,90)


Find evil in yourself and not in other people or things, were with you have not learned how to relate properly. This is how a child relates with fire or a knife: he burns himself, he cuts himself.
(St. Sebastian of Karaganda)

A brother asked an elder: If I see my brother fall into sin, is good to hide him? The Elder answered: When, out of love, we hide the sin of our brother, then God also hides our sins; but when we show our brother's sin before others, then God also makes our sins known to people.
(Ancient Patericon, 9.9)

Do not lose your temper with those who sin. Do not have a passion for noticing every sin in your neighbor and judging it, as we usually do. Everyone will give an answer for himself before God. Especially, do not look with evil intention on the sins of those older than you, with whom you have no business. But correct your own sins, your own heart.
(St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ, I.6)

If you see your neighbor in sin, don't look only at this, but also think about what he has done or does that is good, and infrequently trying this in general, while not partially judging, you will find that he is better than you.
(St. Basil the Great, Conversations, 20).

If you see a man who has sinned and you do not pity him, the grace of God will leave you. Whoever curses bad people, and does not pray for them, will never come to know the grace of God.
(St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, VII.4, VIII.6)

One who strictly prosecutes the misdemeanors of others will find no condescension towards his own.
(St. John Chrysostomos, On the Statutes, 3.6)

NO NEED TO PROSELYTIZE
~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica ~

He who has the Kingdom of God within himself will imperceptibly pass it on to others.
The atmosphere of Heaven will radiate from us even when we keep silence or talk about ordinary things.

Tuesday May 5 / 19 ns 2026 • Righteous Job the Much-Suffering, St. Seraphim of Mt. Domboú ~ Acts 17:19-28; St. John 12:19-36 ~ For contemplation: F A I T H

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there be which go in thereat. St. Matthew 7:13 KJV

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
St. Matthew 15:8 KJV

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
St. Matthew 6:21 KJV

Tuesday 

May 6 / 19 ns

2026

Righteous Job the Much-Suffering

Saint Seraphim of Mt. Domboú

Job was a descendant of Esau the grandson of Abraham and lived in Arabia about 2,000 years before Christ. His father's name was Zareth and his mother's name was Bosora. However, his full name was Jobab. Job was an honorable, god-fearing man and very wealthy. In the seventy-ninth year of his life, God permitted difficult temptations to befall him through Satan as it is written in detail in the Book of Job.

In one day, Job lost all his enormous estates, his sons and his daughters. After that a terrible disease befell him and his entire body was covered with sores from his head to his feet and Job lay on the rubbish heap outside the town and with a piece of potsherd scrapped away the pus from his wounds. Job did not murmur against God, but patiently endured all sufferings to the end. That is why God restored his health, gave him much greater riches than that which he had before and seven sons and three daughters were born to him as many as he previously had. Job lived for a total of two-hundred forty-eight years always glorifying and praising God. Job is considered to be the model of patient endurance of every suffering which God sends upon us and Job is a prototype of the suffering of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 17:19-28
King James Version

19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.


Saint John 12:19-36
King James Version

19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.

20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:

21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.

22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.

34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

F A I T H

St. Gregory Palamas

BELIEVING IN GOD IS DIFFERENT from believing God. To believe God is to regard His promises to us as sure and true, but to believe in Him is to have a right understanding of Him. Both are necessary for us and we must speak correctly in both respects, in such a way that people with correct understanding can be confident that we are faithful before the God to Whom our faith is directed and that, being faithful, we shall be justified by Him. “Abraham believed God”, it says, “and it was counted unto Him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3, Gen. 15:6, cf. Gal. 3:6, Jas. 2:23). Why was Abraham counted as righteous because he believed? He had received a promise from God that in his seed, that is, in Isaac, all the tribes of Israel would be blessed (Gen. 17:16; cf. 26:3-5, 24). Then he was commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:1), through whom alone the promise could be fulfilled (Gen. 17:21; 21:12), while he was still a child. “Without contradicting he, the father, was hastening on his way to become his son’s murderer while at the same time regarding the promise concerning his son as infallibly sure (Gen. 22:1-18).

Do you see what sort of faith brings justification? But Christ also promised us that we would inherit eternal life, pleasure, glory and the kingdom, while then He commanded us to be poor, to fast, to live in lowliness and affliction, to be ready to die and to crucify ourselves together with our passions and desires (cf. Gal. 5:24). If therefore we eagerly do these things while at the same time believing God’s promise to us, then we shall have really believed God in the way Abraham did, and it will be counted to us as righteousness.

Monday May 5 / 18 ns 2026 • Holy Great Martyr Irene; Holy Monk-Martyr Ephraim the Newly-Revealed; St. Evthýmios, Bishop of Mádytos ~ Acts 17:1-9; St. John 11:47-54 ~ HOW TO GLORIFY GOD

REJOICE

THOU BRIDE UNWEDDED

May 5 / 18ns 2026

Holy Great Martyr Irene;

Holy Monk-Martyr Ephraim the Newly-Revealed;

St. Evthýmios, Bishop of Mádytos

Irene lived in the Balkans during apostolic times in the town of Magedon. Her father Licinius was of lesser royal nobility. Some think that she was a Slav.

Irene was born a pagan of pagan parents. Penelope was her pagan name. She learned about the Christian Faith from her teacher Appelianus. St. Timothy, the disciple of the Apostle Paul, baptized her and her court attendants and provided her with the epistles of the Apostle Paul to read. Refusing to marry, she enraged her father and he wanted to torture her but, in a miraculous manner, she converted her father to Christianity.

Irene was subjected to various tortures by four kings but, God through His angels, spared her. King Sedechias buried her up to her neck in a ditch filled with snakes and scorpions but an angel of God made these venomous and repulsive creatures ineffective and saved the holy virgin from harm. King Sedechias then wanted to saw her in half but the saw rebounded from her body as from stone. After that, the same king tied her to a wheel under a water mill and released the flow of water hoping, in this manner, to kill her. But the water refused to flow, rather stood still and the virgin remained alive and well. King Sapor, the son of King Sedechias, shod her feet with nails, loaded a sack of sand on her, harnessed her and ordered that she be led like an animal far outside the town.

"Truly, I am a beast before You, O Lord!" said the holy martyr, running bridled behind her torturers. However, an angel of God shook the earth and the earth opened up and swallowed her torturers.  Surviving all tortures, by which she converted a countless number of pagans to Christianity, Irene entered the town of Callipolis [Gallipoli] where she preached the Faith of Christ. The local king Numerian wanted to kill her in this manner: he tossed her into three flaming hot metal oxen; one after the other. But the virgin was saved and remained alive. Many witnessed and believed. The Eparch [governor] Vaudon took her to the town of Constantina where he thought to kill her in this manner: he placed her on red-hot grates. But that did not harm St. Irene and she converted many to the True Faith.

Finally, Irene arrived in the town of Mesembria where she was slain by King Sapor but God restored her to life. The king, with many of the people, upon witnessing this, believed in Christ and were baptized.

Thus, St. Irene, by her suffering and miracles converted over one-hundred thousand pagans to the Faith of Christ. Finally, she lay down in a grave and ordered Appelianus to close the grave. After four days, when they opened the grave, she was not in the grave. Thus, God glorified forever the virgin and martyr Irene, who sacrificed all and endured all so that God may be glorified among men.

Acts 17:1-9 KJV

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

Saint John 11:47-54 KJV

47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

 HOW TO GLORIFY GOD

by Saint Symeon the New Theologian

Let us consider how we should glorify God. We cannot glorify Him in any way other than that in which He was glorified by the Son; for in the same way as the Son glorified the Father, the Son in turn was glorified by the Father. Let us then, diligently use these same means to glorify Him Who allows us to call Him 'our Father in heaven', so that we may be glorified by Him with the glory that the Son possesses with the Father prior to the world (St. John 17:5). These means are the cross, or death to the whole world, the afflictions, the trials and the other sufferings undergone by Christ. If we endure them with great patience, we imitate Christ's sufferings; and through them we glorify our Father and God, as His sons by grace and as co-heirs of Christ.