1st SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 8. All Saints. “Seven Arrows” Icon of the Mother of God.
Tone 8 Troparion (Resurrection)
You descended from on high, O Merciful One! You accepted the three day burial to free us from our sufferings!// O Lord, our Life and Resurrection, glory to You!
Tone 4 Troparion (All Saints)
As with fine porphyry and royal purple, Your Church has been adorned with Your martyrs’ blood shed throughout all the world. She cries to You, O Christ God: “Send down Your bounties on Your people,//grant peace to Your habitation and great mercy to our souls!”
Tone 8 Kontakion (All Saints)
The universe offers You the God-bearing Martyrs as the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator.By their prayers keep Your Church, Your habitation, in abiding peace// through the Theotokos, O most Merciful One!
Tone 8 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)
Pray and make your vows / before the Lord, our God! (Ps. 75:10a)
V. In Judah God is known; His Name is great in Israel. (Ps. 75:1)
Tone 4 Prokeimenon (All Saints)
God is wonderful in His saints, / the God of Israel. (Ps. 67:35a)
Hebrews 11:33-12:2 (Epistle)
who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Tone 4
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. The righteous cried and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles. (Ps. 33:17)
V. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; the Lord will deliver them out of them all. (Ps. 33:19)
Matthew 10:32-33, 37-38, 19:27-30 (Gospel)
Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Synaxis of All Saints
The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to rise above our fallen state and to attain sainthood, thereby fulfilling God’s directive to “be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16, etc.). Therefore, it is fitting to commemorate All Saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
This feast may have originated at an early date, perhaps as a celebration of all martyrs, then it was broadened to include all men and women who had borne witness to Christ by their virtuous lives, even if they did not shed their blood for Him.
Saint Peter of Damascus, in his “Fourth Stage of Contemplation,” mentions five categories of saints: Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, and Monastic Saints (Philokalia [in English] Vol. 3, p.131). He is actually quoting from the Octoechos, Tone 2 for Saturday Matins, kathisma after the first stichology.
Saint Νikόdēmos of the Holy Mountain (July 14) adds the Righteous to Saint Peter’s five categories. The list of Saint Νikόdēmos is found in his book The Fourteen Epistles of Saint Paul (Venice, 1819, p. 384) in his discussion of I Corinthians 12:28.
The hymnology for the feast of All Saints also lists six categories: “Rejoice, assembly of the Apostles, Prophets of the Lord, loyal choirs of the Martyrs, divine Hierarchs, Monastic Fathers, and the Righteous….”
Some of the saints are described as Confessors, a category which does not appear in the above lists. Since they are similar in spirit to the martyrs, they are regarded as belonging to the category of Martyrs. They were not put to death as the Martyrs were, but they boldly confessed Christ and came close to being executed for their faith. Saint Maximus the Confessor (January 21) is such a saint.
The order of these six types of saints seems to be based on their importance to the Church. The Apostles are listed first, because they were the first to spread the Gospel throughout the world.
The Martyrs come next because of their example of courage in professing their faith before the enemies and persecutors of the Church, which encouraged other Christians to remain faithful to Christ even unto death.
Although they come first chronologically, the Prophets are listed after the Apostles and Martyrs. This is because the Old Testament Prophets saw only the shadows of things to come, whereas the Apostles and Martyrs experienced them firsthand. The New Testament also takes precedence over the Old Testament.
The holy Hierarchs comprise the fourth category. They are the leaders of their flocks, teaching them by their word and their example.
The Monastic Saints are those who withdrew from this world to live in monasteries, or in seclusion. They did not do this out of hatred for the world, but in order to devote themselves to unceasing prayer, and to do battle against the power of the demons. Although some people erroneously believe that monks and nuns are useless and unproductive, Saint John Climacus had a high regard for them: “Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men” (LADDER, Step 26:31).
The last category, the Righteous, are those who attained holiness of life while living “in the world.” Examples include Abraham and his wife Sarah, Job, Saints Joachim and Anna, Saint Joseph the Betrothed, Saint Juliana of Lazarevo, and others.
The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-911). His wife, the Holy Empress Theophano (December 16) lived in the world, but was not attached to worldly things. She was a great benefactor to the poor, and was generous to the monasteries. She was a true mother to her subjects, caring for widows and orphans, and consoling the sorrowful.
Even before the death of Saint Theophano in 893 or 894, her husband started to build a church, intending to dedicate it to Theophano, but she forbade him to do so. It was this emperor who decreed that the Sunday after Pentecost be dedicated to All Saints. Believing that his wife was one of the righteous, he knew that she would also be honored whenever the Feast of All Saints was celebrated.
Scripture and Spiritual Reading
Reading the Holy Scriptures, the lives of the saints, and books on subjects such as virtue or prayer is very important for shaping our Orthodox phronema. Reading the lives of the saints is especially effective because the stories are inspirational, easy to understand, and easy to remember, and they teach us by example how to orient our minds toward Christ. Works of the Fathers on prayer and the spiritual life are very useful. Theological treatises are probably less useful, especially at the beginning of one’s journey toward an Orthodox phronema. Bible reading also aids our salvation. Orthodoxy has always encouraged Scripture reading for all Christians. When the Faith was brought to a new country, translating the Divine Liturgy and the Scriptures into the language of the people was always a priority. Saint John Chrysostom in particular repeatedly encouraged his fourth-century congregation to read the Scriptures, frequently comparing the Bible to a gold mine containing great treasure or a medicine chest that could cure any ailment. We should not be intimidated by the Bible. The Old Testament can be difficult to understand, but it is not necessary to read the entire Bible if one finds that too daunting. It is perfectly acceptable to read only the New Testament and the Psalms and to skip difficult books such as Revelation or Leviticus. We should not worry if we do not understand everything we read, because we will understand most of it, and we will derive much benefit from it. Saint John Chrysostom said that Scripture reading attracts the grace of the Spirit. It certainly shapes our phronema. Some Orthodox Christians are already very familiar with the Bible. For those who were raised as Protestants, understanding the Bible as an Orthodox Christian will require some adjustment and patience. Books and podcasts can help us acquire an Orthodox phronema of the Bible. An Orthodox understanding will gradually replace a previous Western approach. The Fathers often advocated singing of psalms. Chrysostom challenged his congregation because most of them could not recite even a single psalm, and yet they knew countless worldly songs, including immoral ones. His congregation claimed they did not have time to read the Scriptures, but he replied that they made time for other pursuits. Books were extremely expensive in Chrysostom’s time, yet he did not accept the high cost of books as an excuse for not purchasing a Gospel and reading the Scriptures daily. How can we excuse ourselves today, when Bibles are inexpensive, free online, and available on our cell phones and through podcasts? Let us attract the grace of the Spirit by reading the Scriptures and singing psalms.
Constantinou, Eugenia Scarvelis . Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Christian Mind
On the path of life and the path of death
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12).
It sometimes appears to man that the way of the godless is right, for he sees that the godless man obtains riches and succeeds. Oh, if it were only given to him to see the end of that path! He would be horrified and would never tread on that path. If the end of a path is destruction, can it be the right way? Therefore, O man, do not say that a way is right if you do not see its end. You ask: how can I, a weak and shortsighted man, perceive the end of a long path? In two ways: by reading Holy Scripture within the experience of the Orthodox Church, and by observing the end of the path of life of those around you and who die before you. However, the first way is the more reliable one, and if you adhere to it, know that you will not stumble into the night of eternal death. Only that path is right which is shown by God as right. All other ways that appear right to your mind, but which do not coincide with the way of God, are wrong and deadly. Behold, even the beasts have their paths, but would you travel those paths if they seemed right to you? Do not go, for in the end you will fall into the hungry jaws of the beasts. And the path shown by God, even if it appears wrong to you, is right—therefore travel by it. The path of God occasionally seems wrong to us because of our sins. If we were without sin and if our minds were not distorted by sin, it would not be possible for us, even for a moment, to conceive that another path is right except God’s path. To a distorted mind, many wrong paths seem right, and the only right path seems wrong. O All-seeing Lord, our Guide, correct our minds, that we not be detained on false paths. O Jesus, Thou art the only Way, Truth and Life, and what we invent apart from Thee is the wrong way, a lie and death. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai. The Prologue of Ohrid
Sunday Bulletin June 8, 2025