From the calendar 2028

Monday, July 3

Martyr Hyacinth

Appointed readings

2 passages

Epistle

Romans 12:4–5, 15–21

Open Reader ↗

4For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

5so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

7or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

8he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

10Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

11not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

12rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

13distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

15Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

16Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

18If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

19Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord.

20Therefore 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.'

21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Gospel

Matthew 12:9–13

Open Reader ↗

9Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.

10And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?'—that they might accuse Him.

11Then He said to them, 'What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?

12Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.'

13Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

The rhythm of the day

Fasting: Fast-free
Weekly tone: Tone 3

In remembrance

The saints commemorated this day

Martyr HyacinthRead the life

He was a young courtier to the Emperor Trajan, and a secret Christian. When the Emperor and his court were offering sacrifice to the idols, Hyacinth stood apart; he was noticed and brought before the Emperor where, when interrogated, he proclaimed himself a Christian and refused to make sacrifice to the pagan gods. For this he was brutally whipped, then thrown into prison, where the Emperor ordered that he be given only food that had been sacrificed to idols. This Hyacinth refused to eat and, after eight days, died in prison.

Trans. Rel. Philip, Metr. Moscow

Our Holy Father Isaiah the Solitary (491)Read the life

One of the Desert Fathers, he lived in asceticism first at Scetis in Egypt, then in Palestine; he died in Gaza. His instructive writings are often quoted by the Fathers.

Abba Isaiah said: The crown of all good works consists in this: that a man place all his hope in God, that he flee to Him once and for all with all his heart and strength, that he be filled with compassion for all and weep before God, imploring His help and mercy.

Our Holy Father Alexander, founder of the Monastery of the Unsleeping Ones (430)Read the life

“Born in Asia and educated in Constantinople, he went into the army after completing his studies and became an officer. Reading the Holy Scriptures, he came upon the Saviour’s words: ‘If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me’ (Matt. 19:21). These words made such an impression on him that he sold and gave away all that he had, and went off to the desert. After long asceticism and striving for purification, he founded the community of the ‘Wakeful Ones’ (Acoemetae) with a special rule. According to this rule, the services in the church continued day and night in unbroken sequence. The brethren were divided into six groups, each having its appointed hours of day or night to go to church and take over the reading and singing from the previous group.

Read the full life

Our Father among the Saints Anatolios, Archbishop of Constantinople (458)Read the life

He was a priest from Alexandria. At the ‘Robber Council’ at Ephesus in 449, Dioscoros, the monophysite who occupied the Patriarchal throne in Alexandria, had Anatolios installed as Patriarch of Constantinople, thinking that he would prove an ally. But Anatolios quickly emerged as a fervent champion of Orthodoxy: he convened a council of bishops just before the Council of Chalcedon in 451, at which Pope Leo’s Orthodox “Tome” (see February 18) was approved, though Dioscoros had not allowed it to be read at the Robber Council. At the Council of Chalcedon, Anatolios condemned Nestorius, Eutyches, and his frustrated patron Dioscoros. He reposed in peace in 458.

Anatolios is believed to be the author of the ‘Anatolian Stichera’ found in the weekly Vespers and Matins services; but these may have been composed by another Anatolios, a monk and a disciple of St Theodore the Studite.