Monday June 23 /July 6 ns 2026 • Holy Martyr Agrippína, St. Bárbaros the Myrrh-Gusher ~ Wine and olive oil are permitted ~ Rom. 16:17-24; St. Matt. 13:10-23, 9 ~ QUOTE: The Types of Prayer

Considered essential by the saints, preparation should be made to create a spiritual climate for the mind and the heart before initiating daily prayer by reading and reflecting on the Holy Scripture, the lives and the

God-given writings of the Saints.
To provide and facilitate access,

the PARAGON was created.

Monday

June 23 / July 6 ns 2026

H O L Y  A P O S T L E S

F A S T

Holy Martyr Agrippína

Agrippína was born and educated in Rome. From her childhood she trained herself to live an evangelical life, driving away the stench of passions from her heart and filling her heart with the sweet-smelling fragrance of purity, of virginity and chastity. She was betrothed to Christ the Lord and, as the Bride of Christ, suffered during the reign of Emperor Valerian. She endured flogging with rods until her bones were crushed. An angel of God appeared to her and strengthened her. While being tortured, St. Agrippína gave up her soul to God. Her companions, Bássa, Paula and Agathoníke, translated her relics to the island of Sicily and honorably buried them there. A Church was later built there in St. Agrippina's honor. Countless miracles were wrought from her relics. By the power of her relics, even the Hagarenes were turned away from the town where her relics reposed. St. Agrippína rested in the year 275 A.D. and was crowned with glory.

St. Bárbaros the Myrrh-Gusher

Romans 16:17-24 KJV

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.

23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.

24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Saint Matthew 13:10-23, 9 KJV

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The Types of Prayer

From: Elder Aimilianos, Elder Joseph of Vatopedi Monastery and Elder Joseph the Hesychast

There are many ways in which we can categorize prayer. A simple one is the following:

The first kind is prayer with one’s own words – the personal, ‘confessional’ prayer. It is very comforting and we should practice it, because it aids us in combating loneliness. During this kind of prayer, we simply converse with the Lord, portraying to Him with our own thoughts our concerns to our heavenly Father. As this prayer is a product of our heart, it is impossible for God to disregard such a prayer. However we have here two problems: the first is that we tend to close the perfect God in the very narrow frame of our vision: we want God to act when and exactly how we want. The second problem is the wandering of the mind.

The second kind of prayer is the linear prayer. It is like a small story – for example “Our Father”. This kind of prayer is very beautiful because they are the personal prayers of the saints and is extensively used in the Church’s services. However this type of prayer also has a problem which is shared with the first type of prayer: the wandering of the mind. This occurs because of the mass of information – that is thoughts – in the prayer, so the mind will easily wander in and out of the prayer and think about the meanings, for example, instead of praying to our Father in heaven we will start to think about our daily bread, how to acquire it and how tasty it was also!

That’s why the most powerful prayer is the cyclical prayer, the so-called “Jesus Prayer”: “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me”. This facility comes from it having the Name of Jesus, which itself is a source of Divine Energy, and because there isn’t many thoughts inside which will cause the mind to wander. Also, even if the mind will wander, this is very easy to observe because the cyclical prayer will cease. Besides that, a prayer rope will help even further because it uses the senses which generates the most powerful sensations, the tactile sense, and likewise, the prayer rope will assure us a constant number of prayers so we will avoid the instability of our fallen nature.

           

Sunday June 22 / July 5 ns 2026 † Hieromartyr Evsébios, Bishop of Samosáta; St. Alban of Britain ~ Fish, wine, and olive oil are permitted ~ 5th Matins Gospel: St. Luke 24:12-35 Rom. 10:1-10 (5th Sunday of Epistles); St. Matt. 8:28-9:1 ~ QUOTE: What is a pure heart

Considered essential by the saints, preparation should be made to create a spiritual climate for the mind and the heart before initiating daily prayer by reading and reflecting on the Holy Scripture, the lives and the God-given writings of the Saints.
To provide and facilitate access,

the PARAGON was created.

Sunday

June 22 / July 5 ns 2026

H O L Y  A P O S T L E S

F A S T

F i s h,

w i n e  &  o l i v e  o i l

permitted today

Holy Hieromartyr Evsébios, Bishop of Samosáta

Evsébios was great in exposing Arianism. When the throne of Antioch became vacant, Meletius was elected patriarch at the insistence of Evsébios. Meletius was a great beacon of the Church who, after his death, was found worthy of great praise by St. John Chrysostomos. However, the Arians quickly banished Meletius from Antioch. When Constantine's pernicious son Constantius died another much worse than he was crowned, Julian the Apostate. During the time of Julian's persecution of Christians, St. Evsébios removed his clerical attire and donned a soldier's uniform so that, under the guise of a soldier, he visited the persecuted Church throughout Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine strengthening the Orthodox Faith everywhere and installing the necessary priests and deacons and other clergy and, in some places, bishops.

Following the stormy death of Julian, St. Evsébios counseled Meletius to convene a Council in Antioch in 361 A.D. at which twenty-seven hierarchs were present and the Arian heresy was condemned once more and the Faith of Orthodoxy was proclaimed in the same manner as it was expressed at the First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea 325 A.D]. Along with Meletius and Evsébios, St. Pelagius of Laodicea the famous ascetic and chaste one, made a great impact at the Council of Antioch. This Council was held during the reign of the pious Emperor Jovian. However, Emperor Jovian soon died and the wicked Valens was crowned and again the persecution of Orthodoxy ensued. St. Meletius was exiled to Armenia, Evsébios exiled to Thrace and Pelagius exiled to Arabia. After Valens, Gratian was crowned emperor and it was he who granted freedom to the Church and recalled the exiled hierarchs to their former sees. Thus, they returned: Meletius to Antioch, Evsébios to Samosata and Pelagius to Laodicea. At this time, many dioceses and many parishes were widowed and Evsébios zealously hurried to find and to give to the people canonical shepherds. When he came to the town of Doliche to enthrone the newly elected bishop Marinus and to denounce the heresy of Arius, which was strong in this town, a fanatical heretic hurled a ceramic tile at Evsébios' head and mortally wounded him. This great zealot, saint and martyr of Orthodoxy died to live eternally in the blessedness of Paradise. He suffered in the year 379 A.D.

St. Alban Protomartyr of Britain

Orthros Saint Luke 24:12-35 KJV

12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

Romans 10:1-10 KJV

10 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The Explanation Today's Holy Gospel

by Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid

Saint Matthew 8:28-9:1 KJV

28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. While the men in the boat were yet wondering what manner of man this was that even the winds and the sea obeyed him, the demons come to proclaim the answer .  Although Mark and Luke speak of one man who was possessed by a legion of demons*, understand that this one man was one of the two mentioned by Matthew, evidently, the more notorious of the two period Jesus came alone toward them, since no one dared to bring them to him, so fierce were they. They dwelt among the tombs because the demons wish to inspire the belief that the souls of those who have died become demons. Let no one believe this; For when the soul departs from a man, it does not wander about the earth. For the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God**, and the souls of sinners are also LED away as was the soul of the rich man***.                                          

29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Behold, they proclaim Him to be the son of God, but first they declare their enmity. The demons consider it torment to be prevented from harming men. Understand the demons' words, "before the time", to mean that they thought that Christ, not enduring their great wickedness, would not wait for the time of their punishment .  But this is not so; For the demons are permitted to contend with us until the end of the world.

30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.  The demons asked this so that they could drown the swine and thus the owners would be grieved and would not welcome Christ. Christ granted the demons their request in order to show how great is their bitterness toward men, and that if they had the power, and were not prevented as they are by God, they would do worse things to us than they did to the swine. For God protects those possessed by demons so that they do not kill themselves.

32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.  The inhabitants of the city begged Jesus to leave because they were grieved and thought that they would suffer something worse thereafter. 

You O reader learned that where there is swine-like life, it is not Christ who dwells there, but demons.

9 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

*St. Mark 5:9; St. Luke 8:27

**Wisdom of Solomon 3:1

*** The Rich Man and Lazarus St. Luke 16:19-31

What is a pure heart?

From My Life in Christ

by Saint John of Kronstadt

What is a pure heart? It is meek, humble, guileless, simple, trusting, true, unsuspicious, gentle, good, not covetous, not envious, not adulterous.

My soul! remember thy heavenly dignity and do not be disturbed by corruptible, worthless things. Honor also in other people their heavenly dignity, and do not dare offend or hate them for any perishable cause; love with all thy might that which is spiritual and heavenly, and despise that which is material, earthly.

Remember the words of thy Savior: "Give us this day our daily bread"--only this day's. The highest Christian wisdom lies concealed in these words. Remember also that the Lord Himself showed during His life an example of carelessness in regard to means of subsistence, and was contented with voluntary offerings only: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work."

If your heart swells or you weep at the very name of beloved John of Kronstadt, before reading his words of love for us, meekly say a brief prayer beforehand and ask for his embrace.

Saturday June 21 / July 4 ns 2026 • Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus ~ Fish, wine, and olive oil are permitted ~ Rom. 8:14-21; St. Matt. 9:9-13 ~ The Explanation of today's Holy Gospel of St. Matthew 9:9-13 ~ FOR CONSIDERATION: Resist

Considered essential by the saints, preparation should be made to create a spiritual climate for the mind and the heart before initiating daily prayer by reading and reflecting on the Holy Scripture, the lives and the God-given writings of the Saints.
To provide and facilitate access the PARAGON was created.

Saturday

June 21 / July 4 ns 2026

H O L Y  A P O S T L E S

F A S T

F i s h, W i n e  &  O l i v e  O i l

permitted today

Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus

The holy martyr Julian was of noble and senatorial origin. He lived in Tarsus in Cilicia and suffered during the reign of Diocletian. Even though he was only eighteen years of age when he was subjected to torture for the Faith, St. Julian was sufficiently educated and strengthened in Christian piety. The imperial deputy led him from town to town for an entire year torturing him and all the time trying to persuade him to deny Christ. Julian's mother followed her son from a distance. When the deputy seized Julian's mother and sent her to counsel her son to deny Christ, for three days in prison she spoke the opposite advice, teaching him and encouraging him not to despair in spirit but with thanksgiving and courage go to his death. The torturers then sewed Julian in a sack with sand, scorpions and serpents and tossed the sack into the sea and Julian's mother also died under torture. His relics were tossed by the waves to the shore and the faithful translated them to Alexandria and honorably buried them in the year 290 A.D. Later, St. Julian's relics were translated to Antioch. Later on, St. John Chrysostomos, himself, delivered a eulogy [an oration of praise] for the holy martyr Julian. St. John Chrysostomos said: "From the mouth of the martyr proceeded a holy voice and, together with the voice, a light emanated brighter than the rays of the sun." Further, he added: "Take anyone, be it a madman or one possessed, and bring him to the grave of this saint where the relics of the martyr repose and you will see how he [the demon] without fail will leap out and flee as from a burning fire." It is obvious from these words how numerous miracles must have taken place at the grave of St. Julian.

Romans 8:14-21

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Saint Matthew 9:9-13 KJV

9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The Explanation of the Holy Gospel of
St. Matthew 9:9-13 

by Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid

He did not call Matthew together with Peter and John, but when he knew that he would obey He likewise called Paul later, when it was time.  Marvel that Matthew is converted by word alone is the work of God.

Joyful because he had received Christ into his house Matthew invited the publicans. Christ ate with them so that He might benefit them also, even though He was criticized for doing it. For this Pharisees wanted to separate his disciples from Him, and so they slandered Him for eating with publicans.

He says I have not come now as judge but as physician, and for this reason I endure stench and filth. He also rebukes them for being ignorant when He says go ye and learn this means, since up to the present time you have not managed to learn so at least from this time on go and learn that God prefers mercy towards sinners above any sacrifice. The words I am not come to call the righteous he spoke ironically that is I have not come to call you consider yourselves to be righteous but I have come to call sinners. I do this not so that they remain sinners, but in order for them to repent.

For Consideration: Resistance

Having experienced and thereby knowing full well the awesome power of desire, consider then the measure of recompense we may be granted by resisting it?