Monday, November 10
Evening Prayer
Orthodox Saints

Opening Sentence

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2

Confession

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 77 Voce mea ad Domine

1
I will cry aloud to God; *
I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.
2
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; *
my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire;
I refused to be comforted.
3
I think of God, I am restless, *
I ponder, and my spirit faints.
4
You will not let my eyelids close; *
I am troubled and I cannot speak.
5
I consider the days of old; *
I remember the years long past;
6
I commune with my heart in the night; *
I ponder and search my mind.
7
Will the Lord cast me off for ever? *
will he no more show his favor?
8
Has his loving-kindness come to an end for ever? *
has his promise failed for evermore?
9
Has God forgotten to be gracious? *
has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?
10
And I said, "My grief is this: *
the right hand of the Most High has lost its power."
11
I will remember the works of the LORD, *
and call to mind your wonders of old time.
12
I will meditate on all your acts *
and ponder your mighty deeds.
13
Your way, O God, is holy; *
who is so great a god as our God?
14
You are the God who works wonders *
and have declared your power among the peoples.
15
By your strength you have redeemed your people, *
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16
The waters saw you, O God;
the waters saw you and trembled; *
the very depths were shaken.
17
The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered; *
your arrows flashed to and fro;
18
The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world; *
the earth trembled and shook.
19
Your way was in the sea,
and your paths in the great waters, *
yet your footsteps were not seen.
20
You led your people like a flock *
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Gloria Patri

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Gospel

Luke 14:12-24 (NRSV)

12He said also to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'

15 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, 'Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!' 16Then Jesus said to him, 'Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. 17At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, "Come; for everything is ready now." 18But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, "I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets." 19Another said, "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets." 20Another said, "I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come." 21So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, "Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame." 22And the slave said, "Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.' 23Then the master said to the slave, "Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner."'

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Canticle 15 The Song of Mary
Magnificat Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

On this day also we commemorate the departure of the Great Saint and worshipper St. Ibrahim, the Anchorite. He was from the City of Menuf, the son of exceedingly rich Christian parents.

When he grew up he longed for the monastic life. He went to Akhmim and from there he came to St. Pachomius, who put the garb of a monk on him. He exhausted his body with ascetic practices and worship. He stayed with him for 23 years then he wished to dwell by himself in some of the caves. St. Pachomius allowed him to do so. He made nets to catch fish. One of the laymen used to visit him and take the work of his hands, sell it and buy for him beans. He gave the rest of the money as alms on his behalf.

He led this life for 16 years, his food each evening was a handful of salted beans soaked in water. He covered himself with a piece of sackcloth because the apparel on his body was worn out. He went to the monastery every two or three years to partake of the Holy Communion.

At the beginning of his dwelling in his cave he had many fights with the evil spirits. They disturbed him with strange voices and terrified him with fearful imagines. But he used to overcome them and drive them away.

When his departure drew near, he sent his brother layman who used to serve him to the monastery to bring him Abba Tadros, the Disciple of St. Pachomius. When Abba Tadros came to him he bowed down and asked him to remember him in his prayers. Then St. Ibrahim and St. Tadros rose up and prayed. He laid down with his face towards the east and gave up his soul.

When St. Tadros sent the news of his departure to the monastery, the monks came and carried him. Then they all prayed over him and were blessed by him and they laid him with the bodies of the saints.


The Holy Disciples from the 70: Herastos, Olympos, Rodion, Sosipater, Kuartos (Quartus) and Tercias lived during the I Century.

Saint Rodion, or Herodian, was a kinsman of the Apostle Paul (Rom 16:11), and left the bishop's cathedra [chair] at Patras so as to go to Rome with the Apostle Peter. The holy Disciple Olympos (or Olympian) -- about whom the holy Apostle Paul recollects (Rom 16:15), was also a companion of the Apostle Peter. Both of these Disciples from the 70 were beheaded on the very day and hour, when the Apostle Peter was crucified.

The holy Disciples Herastos, Sosipater, Quartus and Tercias were disciples of the holy Apostle Paul. The Apostle to the Gentiles speaks of them in the Epistle to the Romans: "Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen, do greet you..." (Rom 16:21); "And also do I, Tercias, who wrote down this epistle, greet you" (Rom 16:22); "And Herastos, the city treasurer, doth greet you, and brother Quartus" (Rom. 16: 23).

The Disciple Sosipater, a native of Achaeia, was bishop of Iconium where also he died. The Disciple Herastos was at first a deacon and treasurer of the Jerusalem Church, and later on bishop at Paneadis. The holy Disciple Quartus endured much suffering for his piety and converted many pagans to Christ, dying peacefully in the dignity of bishop in the city of Beirut. The holy Disciple Tercias, having written down the dictation of the Apostle Paul contained in the Epistle to the Romans, was the second bishop of Iconium, where also he died.

The Holy Martyr Orestes lived at the end of the III Century in the city of Tiana in Cappadocia during the time of the emperor Diocletian. He was an illustrious and capable soldier, and from childhood Saint Orestes was truly a good Christian.

By order of the emperor, the military-officer Maximinus was dispatched to Tiana for dealing with Christianity, which then had spread widely throughout Great Cappadocia. Orestes was among the first brought to trial to Maximinus. He bravely and openly confessed his faith in our Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus Christ. The prosecutor offered the saint riches, honours and reknown for renouncing the One True God, but Saint Orestes was unyielding. By order of Maximinus, they took Orestes to a resplendid pagan temple and again demanded he worship idols. When he refused, 40 soldiers, taking turns one after the other, beat the holy martyr with lashes, with canes, with rawhide, and then they tormented him with fire. Saint Orestes cried out to the Lord: "Oh God, make with me a sign of blessing, let those hating me see it and be put to shame". And the Lord heard His true servant. The earth began to tremble, and the idols fell down and were smashed. Everyone rushed out of the temple, and when Saint Orestes came out, the very temple tumbled down.

Infuriated, Maximinus ordered the holy martyr to be locked up in prison for seven days giving him neither food nor drink, and on the eighth day to continue with the torture. They wedged nails into the heels of the martyr, and then tied him to a wild horse. Dragged over the stones, the holy martyr expired to the Lord in the year 304. His relics were thrown into the sea.

When many years had passed, in 1685, a certain monk of the Kievo-Pechersk Lavra (Dimitrii, afterwards the Sainted-Hierarch of Rostov, commemorated 28 October) was copying from an ancient manuscript the Life of Saint Orestes. He became tired and fell asleep. The holy martyr appeared to him in a dream vision and, having shown him the deep wound in his chest and the lacerated sinews of his arms and bruised knees, he bid him to add these into his life, since not all the torments which befell the saint were recorded in the ancient manuscript. The humble monk carried out the wish of the holy Martyr Orestes and he gave praise to God, Who is Wondrous in His Saints.

The PriestMartyr Milios, Bishop of Persia, and his two Disciples, lived during the IV Century. The holy Martyr Milios was banished from the city of Suza, where his bishop's cathedra was situated. By his pious and ascetic life he was vouchsafed gifts of prophecy and healing. The saint suffered in the year 341 with two if his students, Abrosim and Sinos [trans. note: this text variance of name from the header above is in the Russian original, perhaps reflecting alternate Graeco-Russian transcriptions of Persian names], in their native city of Suza. They returned there after long wanderings and brought many to Christ.

The Holy Martyr Constantine was a Gruzian prince from Upper Kartalinia. He was famed in his country for his generosity to the poor, and for the patronage of churches and clergy. During his time Gruzia was often subject to invasion from various enemies. In one of these battles with the barbarians, Constantine was taken captive and brought to Tiflis to the emir Buga, who at first locked him in prison, but later transferred him to the emperor Dzhepar, who demanded he renounce Christ, but Constantine firmly confessed his faith. They locked him away into a fetid prison cell. Because of his stoic strength of faith, on orders of the emperor he was beheaded with the sword in the year 842 at age 85. They hung up the body of the saint in the city square, but Christians took it and brought it to Gruzia. The place of burial is unknown.

In honour of the holy Martyr Constantine, a feastday was established under the Catholikos John II (871-893), and later on a service was compiled by the Catholikos Anthony.

The Breaking on the Wheel of the Holy GreatMartyr George: Gruzia (Georgia) -- having been enlightened with the Christian faith by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina (+335, commemorated 14 January), a kinswoman of the holy GreatMartyr George the Victory-Bearer (+303, commemorated 23 April) -- has especial veneration to Saint George as its patron-saint. One of the names of Gruzia [Georgia] -- is in honour of George (this name is preserved now in many languages of the world). In his honour the holy GreatMartyr Nina established a feastday. It is celebrated at present in Georgia on 10 November, in remembrance of the Breaking on the Wheel of Saint George. During the year 1891 in the Caucassus, near the village of Kakha in the Zakatal'sk region, a new church in place of the old was built in honour of the holy GreatMartyr George the Victory-Bearer, and many of the heterodox Bogomils thronged to it.

Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass
against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages A

Show us your mercy, O Lord;

And grant us your salvation.

Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

Let your people sing with joy.

Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;

For only in you can we live in safety.

Lord, keep this nation under your care;

And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

Let your way be known upon earth;

Your saving health among all nations.

Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;

Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in us clean hearts, O God;

And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Collect of the Day: Pentecost, proper 27

O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.

For Mission

O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

World Cycle of Prayer

We pray for the people of Taiwan.

The China Post

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer

We pray for our sisters and brothers, members of the Bible Fellowship Church.

The Bible Fellowship Church

For the Right Use of God's Gifts

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor you with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Knowledge of God's Creation

Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Care of Children

Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer of Self-Dedication

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

General Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Benediction

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Alleluia.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13