5th SUNDAY OF PASCHA — Tone 4. Samaritan Woman. St. Nikephoros the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople (828).
Tone 4 Troparion (Resurrection)
When the women disciples of the Lord learned from the angel the joyous message of Your Resurrection, they cast away the ancestral curse and elatedly told the apostles: “Death is overthrown! Christ God is risen,// granting the world great mercy!”
Tone 8 Troparion (Midfeast)
In the middle of the feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of piety, as You cried to all: “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink!”// O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory to You!
Tone 8 Kontakion (Pentecostarion)
The Samaritan Woman came to the well in faith; she saw You, the Water of wisdom and drank abundantly.// She inherited the Kingdom on high, and is ever glorified!
Tone 8 Kontakion (Midfeast)
Christ God, the Creator and Master of all, cried to all in the midst of the feast of the Law: “Come and draw the water of immortality!” We fall before You and faithfully cry:// “Grant us Your mercies, for You are the Fountain of our life!”
Tone 1 Prokeimenon (Pentecostarion)
Sing praises to our God, sing praises! / Sing praises to our King, sing praises! (Ps. 46:6)
V. Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! (Ps. 46:1)
Acts 11:19-26, 29-30 (Epistle)
Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Tone 4
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. Go forth, prosper and reign, for the sake of meekness, righteousness and truth! (Ps. 44:3b)
V. For You love righteousness, and hate iniquity. (Ps. 44:6)
John 4:5-42 (Gospel)
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?” The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ? Then they went out of the city and came to Him. In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
The Holy Martyr Photina (Svetlana) the Samaritan Woman, her sons Victor (named Photinus) and Joses; and her sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskevḗ, Kyriake; Nero’s daughter Domnina; and the Martyr Sebastian: The holy Martyr Photina was the Samaritan Woman, with whom the Savior conversed at Jacob’s Well (John. 4:5-42).
During the time of the emperor Nero (54-68), who displayed excessive cruelty against Christians, Saint Photina lived in Carthage with her younger son Joses and fearlessly preached the Gospel there. Her eldest son Victor fought bravely in the Roman army against barbarians, and was appointed military commander in the city of Attalia (Asia Minor). Later, Nero called him to Italy to arrest and punish Christians.
Sebastian, an official in Italy, said to Saint Victor, “I know that you, your mother and your brother, are followers of Christ. As a friend I advise you to submit to the will of the emperor. If you inform on any Christians, you will receive their wealth. I shall write to your mother and brother, asking them not to preach Christ in public. Let them practice their faith in secret.”
Saint Victor replied, “I want to be a preacher of Christianity like my mother and brother.” Sebastian said, “O Victor, we all know what woes await you, your mother and brother.” Then Sebastian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He was dumbfounded, and his face was somber.
For three days he lay there blind, without uttering a word. On the fourth day he declared, “The God of the Christians is the only true God.” Saint Victor asked why Sebastian had suddenly changed his mind. Sebastian replied, “Because Christ is calling me.” Soon he was baptized, and immediately regained his sight. Saint Sebastian’s servants, after witnessing the miracle, were also baptized.
Reports of this reached Nero, and he commanded that the Christians be brought to him at Rome. Then the Lord Himself appeared to the confessors and said, “Fear not, for I am with you. Nero, and all who serve him, will be vanquished.” The Lord said to Saint Victor, “From this day forward, your name will be Photinus, because through you, many will be enlightened and will believe in Me.” The Lord then told the Christians to strengthen and encourage Saint Sebastian to peresevere until the end.
All these things, and even future events, were revealed to Saint Photina. She left Carthage in the company of several Christians and joined the confessors in Rome.
At Rome the emperor ordered the saints to be brought before him and he asked them whether they truly believed in Christ. All the confessors refused to renounce the Savior. Then the emperor gave orders to smash the martyrs’ finger joints. During the torments, the confessors felt no pain, and their hands remained unharmed.
Nero ordered that Saints Sebastian, Photinus and Joses be blinded and locked up in prison, and Saint Photina and her five sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskevḗ and Kyriake were sent to the imperial court under the supervision of Nero’s daughter Domnina. Saint Photina converted both Domnina and all her servants to Christ. She also converted a sorcerer, who had brought her poisoned food to kill her.
Three years passed, and Nero sent to the prison for one of his servants, who had been locked up. The messengers reported to him that Saints Sebastian, Photinus and Joses, who had been blinded, had completely recovered, and that people were visiting them to hear their preaching, and indeed the whole prison had been transformed into a bright and fragrant place where God was glorified.
Nero then gave orders to crucify the saints, and to beat their naked bodies with straps. On the fourth day the emperor sent servants to see whether the martyrs were still alive. But, approaching the place of the tortures, the servants fell blind. An angel of the Lord freed the martyrs from their crosses and healed them. The saints took pity on the blinded servants, and restored their sight by their prayers to the Lord. Those who were healed came to believe in Christ and were soon baptized.
In an impotent rage Nero gave orders to flay the skin from Saint Photina and to throw the martyr down a well. Sebastian, Photinus and Joses had their legs cut off, and they were thrown to dogs, and then had their skin flayed off. The sisters of Saint Photina also suffered terrible torments. Nero gave orders to cut off their breasts and then to flay their skin. An expert in cruelty, the emperor readied the fiercest execution for Saint Photis: they tied her by the feet to the tops of two bent-over trees. When the ropes were cut the trees sprang upright and tore the martyr apart. The emperor ordered the others beheaded. Saint Photina was removed from the well and locked up in prison for twenty days.
After this Nero had her brought to him and asked if she would now relent and offer sacrifice to the idols. Saint Photina spit in the face of the emperor, and laughing at him, said, “O most impious of the blind, you profligate and stupid man! Do you think me so deluded that I would consent to renounce my Lord Christ and instead offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?”
Hearing such words, Nero gave orders to again throw the martyr down the well, where she surrendered her soul to God (ca. 66).On the Greek Calendar, Saint Photina is commemorated on February 26. Slavic Calendar: March 20th.
PASCHA ON SINAI: A Pilgrim’s Account
Excerpt from PASCHA ON SINAI by Alexander Bogatirev
Archbishop Damianos served next morning, the feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem [at St. George’s Monastery in Raitho – a Sinai dependency]. The meeting of the hierarch was not accompanied by ringing of the bells; he was met quietly and without ceremony, as if he were merely an elderly relative. He blessed everybody in the courtyard and slowly walked up the steep stairs with difficulty, supported by priests on both sides. He was vested in a tiny landing by the doorway. There were rows of chairs in front of him. His Eminence kissed the icons and the crucifix near the entrance, mounted the ambo, and blessed the worshippers. The priests’ choir burst forth with joy and magnificence, so all those present felt clearly that they were in the blessed Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Apart from several hymns, I have no knowledge of the Greek language. But this fact doesn’t prevent me from participating in their services with all my heart. You can just listen and look at the celebrating priests, while repeating Jesus Prayer or “Lord, have mercy” in your mind, and you don’t feel uncomfortable because you don’t understand their words. Without the head’s involvement, the soul feels that it is in the house of God and rejoices at this.
There are several differences between Greek and Russian services. And some peculiarities of the services of St. George’s Monastery are explained by the fact that its “community” consists only of Fr. Arsenios and Hierodeacon Dionysios, and the monastery’s church in effect has become the parish church for a handful of Orthodox families living in El Tor. These are Greeks, Egyptians, and Arabs. The Creed is only sung by child subdeacons and not by the whole congregation. First the Greek children in sticharia aged six to eleven come out, and they are followed by young Arabs of the same age.
His Eminence sat down on his bishop’s seat under the canopy and sang along with the celebrating priests and the psaltis joyfully. At certain points he was given a book and he did the prescribed readings alone. The archbishop’s eyesight is poor so he has to use a strong magnifying glass every time. Subdeacons on both sides provided him with light from lanterns. But it didn’t confuse the hierarch—he read joyously, and when he finished, he looked around at the priests and parishioners with his eyes that radiated love. And his joy spread to everybody. And nobody paid attention to his infirmity anymore.
I had a chance to watch Archbishop Damianos for a few hours. During the service this joy turned into rapture now and then. And after the service, when by tradition the people proceeded from the church into a large parish hall for coffee, Archbishop Damianos’s facial expression changed. It became like that of a child. He turned his face towards those who addressed him and looked at everybody with love. He communicated with the people for over an hour, and the joyful expression didn’t leave his face for a single moment.
Fr. Arsenios introduced me to him, calling me “a church writer.” His Eminence seized my hand and spoke with fervor for a long time about how important it is to tell modern people about the Church and Christ, and about modern life of monasteries. “People think that Christianity belongs to the past, to the time when Christ lived on earth, when the Church was established, and when the first martyrs suffered and laid down their lives for their Divine Teacher. These people claim that now life is different.
The world has seduced everybody into a whirlwind of fuss and vanities, entertainment, hard labor, wheeler-dealer finance, and the pursuit of lucre. So ever more people are walking away from Christ. And we need to remind them that Christ is not our past, but our present and that He is with us forever. And all the talk about progress (that pushes the Lord into the background) is empty and silly. Only what is conservative and what keeps the world and mankind from destruction is progressive.
The salvation of the world is in observing the commandments of Christ and not in vulgar progress. The commandments are immutable and they won’t change till the end of time. And we must speak about this interestingly and with great talent. I bless you to write about the Church and the Truth of Christ!” His Eminence made the sign of the cross over me and didn’t let go of my hand for a long time, looking into my eyes affectionately.
Sunday Bulletin May 26, 2024