21st SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — TTone 4. Synaxis of the Holy Unmercenaries, Martyrs Acindynus, Pegasius, Aphthonius, Elpidephorus, Anempodistus, and 7,000 with them, of Persia (ca. 341-345). St. Marcian of Cyprus (381-391).
Tone 4 Troparion (Resurrection)
When the women disciples of the Lord learned from the angel the joyous message of Your Resurrection,vthey cast away the ancestral curse and elatedly told the apostles: “Death is overthrown! Christ God is risen,// granting the world great mercy!”
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Nicholas)
The truth of your deeds has revealed you to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of meekness and a teacher of self-control; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.// O Father Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Tone 3 Troparion (Unmercenaries)
Let us praise the Radiant band of the Unmercenaries, the twenty-numbered divinely inspired phalanx, that shines with grace from heaven, for they deposed the power of the evil one, and with sympathy alleviate the illnesses of all those who cry out with reverence: // Glory to God in Trinity.
Tone 4 Kontakion (Resurrection)
My Savior and Redeemer as God rose from the tomb and delivered the earth-born from their chains. He has shattered the gates of hell, and as Master,// He has risen on the third day!
Tone 3 Kontakion (St. Nicholas)
You proved yourself to be be a holy priest, O Nicholas. You served God in Myra and lived the gospel of Christ. You offered your life for your people, And rescued the innocent from death. Therefore God has glorified you as a trustworthy guide of things divine.
Tone 4 Kontakion (Unmercenaries)
You have received the grace of remedies, spread strength over those in need, glorious, wonderworking Physicians; by your visitation, cast down the insolence of enemies, //healing the world by wonders.
Tone 6 Kontakion (Steadfast Protectress)
Steadfast Protectress of Christians, Constant Advocate before the Creator; despise not the cry of us sinners, but in your goodness come speedily to help us who call on you in faith. Hasten to hear our petition and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for you always protect those who honor you!
Tone 4 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)
O Lord, how manifold are Your works; / in wisdom have You made them all. (Ps. 103:26)
V. Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, You are very great! (Ps. 103:1)
Tone 4 Prokeimenon (Unmercenaires)
The Lord has shown the wonders of His will / to the saints who are in His land. (Ps. 15:3a)
Galatians 2:16-20 (Epistle)
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
1 Corinthians 12:27 – 13:8 (Unmercenaries)
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
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)
Tone 2
V. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! (Ps. 132:1)
Luke 8:26-39 (Gospel)
Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Matthew 10:1, 5-8 (Unmercenaries)
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
On the will of God that all Christians should be holy
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4)
Only the Church teaches and demonstrates that first there was a plan for the world and then the world was created. That plan was in the wisdom and will and power of God. And we Christians, as the Church of God, are in this plan. According to this plan, God chose us before the foundation of the world for holiness and righteousness and love. God chose us beforehand and adopted us through Him—through Whom? Through the Lord Jesus Christ. For all that we are to God, we are to Him through Jesus Christ.
Apart from Jesus Christ man has no other bond, no other relationship, no other kinship with God, and therefore our choosing and adoption was through our Lord Jesus Christ. He chose us, His Holy Church, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:5), as He had once chosen Israel from among all the nations on earth. Let no one say that this choosing of God destroys man’s free will, so that neither does a Christian have merit because he is a Christian, nor is a pagan condemned because he is a pagan. No, this is a totally erroneous interpretation. For at one time God also chose Israel and some in Israel perished while some were saved. He also chose His Holy Church, calling all nations and peoples to it. But the salvation of those among the chosen does not depend on God’s choice alone, but also on man’s will and effort. O eternal God, our Creator, Who chose us for salvation before Thou hadst even created us, have mercy on us and save us. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
— Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai. The Prologue of Ohrid
Excerpt from The Art of Salvation The Christian Way of Life
The most vibrant form of love for our fellow man is expressed and revealed when we pray wholeheartedly for our enemies, when we forgive with all our heart (not merely as a formality because God says so), and when we love our enemies, who in actuality are our benefactors. The person who bothers us, who criticizes us, who creates temptations and hardships for us, on the one hand becomes an instrument of the devil, but on the other hand an instrument of Christ. The Fathers teach that such a person is Jesus’ instrument that cauterizes our egotism and our pride, and through him we receive therapy. Such a person, of course, acts with hostility; we, however, can graft the wild olive branch into a cultivated olive tree (cf. Rom. 11:17) and produce a crop useful to our lives. Thus, we benefit tremendously when we embrace people who act with hostility toward us. People who compliment us —if, of course, they do so out of love—are praiseworthy because they have within themselves the love of Christ.
Nevertheless, Christ says, “If you love them who love you, where is the grace? This is what sinners, publicans, and the average person does. I am telling you to love your enemies: the people who mistreat you, who persecute you, and who cause you harm” (cf. Mt. 5:44-48).
This is what God, the Heavenly Father does. He makes the sun rise and sends rain to both the righteous and unrighteous, to both the bad and good people. He is the same for all people. He provides the same good things both to His children who love Him wholeheartedly, and to them who curse Him and act impiously toward Him. He does not exclude anyone, so that there is no excuse for anyone. Similarly, when we offer prayers for such people, not only are we justified before God, but we also help them to become enlightened. It is likely that these people don’t think about God, don’t pray, or even make the sign of the Cross. Who will help them? They are in absolute need of our prayers. When we pray for God to forgive and sanctify them, we simultaneously help them come to repentance. This is an immense display of love.
— Ephraim, Elder. The Art of Salvation
Sunday Bulletin October 26, 2025