Wednesday
May 28 / June 10 ns 2026
Apostles Fast - Fast Day
Holy Hieromartyr Evtychés,
Bishop of Melitené;
St. Andrew the Fool for Christ
Bishop of Melitené;
St. Andrew the Fool for Christ
Evtychés was one of the lesser apostles and was born in Sebastopol. He was a disciple and imitator of the Apostle John the Theologian and the Apostle Paul. Even though he is not numbered among the seventy apostles, nevertheless, he is called an apostle because he was a disciple of the great apostles and, because in his evangelical service, he displayed true apostolic zeal.
Consecrated a missionary bishop, St. Eutyches traveled much, having, an angel as his companion. In prison, he received heavenly bread from an angel. When his body was scrapped with a serrated iron rod, blood flowed from him with unusual fragrant myrrh. He was thrown into a fire and before wild beasts and finally beheaded with a sword in Sebastopol.
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Saint Matthew 7:21-23 KJV
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
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From death you shall pass to everlasting life, from ignominy in men's sight to glory with God, and from the adversities and chastisements of this world to eternal peace with the angels. Earth did not accept you as a citizen, but heaven will welcome you. The world persecuted you, but the angels will bear you aloft to the presence of Christ. You will even be called friend by Him and will hear the longed-for word of commendation: 'Well done, good and faithful servant, brave soldier and imitator of the Lord, follower of the King, I shall reward you with My own gifts and I shall pay heed to your words even as you did to Mine.'
THE FAITHFUL'S GLORY
Saint Basil the Great
You will ask the salvation of your brethren still laboring under tribulation and you will receive from the King for your comrades in the faith and in holy love a share in His blessings. You will join in the never-ending dance and wear your crown in the sight of the angels, ruling under the King over His creatures and living blessedly in the company of the blessed. But if He wish to leave you still on earth after your conflicts in order to wage other and more diversified kinds of warfare and rescue many from contests with visible and invisible foes, great will be your glory even upon earth; you will be held in honor by your friends who will have found in you a defender, a friend in need, and an able spokesman. They will cherish you as a brave soldier; they will honor you as a noble champion; they will salute you as a friend and welcome you with joy as an angel of God and, according to Paul, as Christ Jesus. [ Gal. 4:14 ]
Such, then, are the similitudes of the spiritual warfare. But our discourse is not addressed to men only; for members of the female sex are not rejected because of physical [delicacy], but, chosen for the army of Christ by reason of their virility of spirit, they also battle on the side of Christ and fight no less valiantly than men. Some even win a greater renown. Of the number of these are they who compose the virgin throng. Of these are they who are pre-eminent in the combat for the confession of the faith and in the triumphs of martyrdom. Indeed, women as well as men followed after the Lord during His life on earth and both sexes ministered to our Savior, Since this is the glorious recompense laid up for the army of Christ, the fathers of sons and the mothers of daughters should be filled with longing for it. Let them, in their desire to have worthy envoys and spokesmen with Christ, bring before Him their offspring, rejoicing in the everlasting hopes which their children will share in with themselves. And let us not become faint-hearted in our concern for our children nor grow fearful if they suffer tribulation, but let us be happy that they will be glorified. Let us offer to the Lord the gifts received from Him, so that we may be partners with our children in glory, going before Him together with them and standing with them in His presence. Certainly, to those who show an alacrity such as this and who nobly contend for the victory, the words of the Psalmist may be appropriately applied: 'Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. [ Ps. 114:15 ] And the prayer of Moses will be offered for them : 'Bless, O Lord, their works, strike the brow of their enemies. [ Deut. 33:11 ] Fight manfully, then, like good soldiers and run nobly your race for the everlasting crown [1 Cor. 9:24,25] in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to whom be glory for ever, Amen.
