Troparion — Tone 2

By faith You justified the Forefathers, / when through them You betrothed Yourself beforehand to the Church of the Gentiles. / The saints boast in glory, / that from their seed there is a glorious fruit: / she who bore You without seed. / By their prayers, O Christ God, save our souls.

Kontakion — Tone 6

You did not worship the graven image, / O thrice-blessed youths, / but shielded by the ineffable Essence, / you were glorified in your trial by fire. / In the midst of the unbearable fire you called upon God, crying: / “Hasten, O compassionate One. / and in Your mercy, come to our aid, / for You can do so if You will.

Epistle: Colossians 3:4-11

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Gospel:  Luke 14:16-24

Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.  At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’

Forefathers of the Lord

The Sunday that falls between December 11-17 is known as the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers. These are the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh, who lived before the Law and under the Law, especially the Patriarch Abraham, to whom God said, “In thy seed shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3, 22:18).

Martyrs Philemon, Apollonios, Arrian, and Theonas of Alexandria

These Saints lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (ca. 290). Arrian, the ruler of Thebes in Egypt, arrested 37 Christians, including Saints Askalon and Leonidas (May 20). Arrian gave them the choice of sacrificing to the idols, or being tortured and executed. Most preferred to die rather than deny Christ. One of them, the Reader Apollonios, was afraid of being tortured, so his gave his clothes and four gold coins to a pagan musician named Philemon (Philḗmon) to offer sacrifice to the idols in his place. Philemon wore Apolonnios’ clothes and covered his face. As he approached the altar, his heart was illumined with divine grace, and the eyes of his mind were opened. He made the Sign of the Cross and confessed Christ .The ruler asked what this meant, and Philemon cried aloud, “I am a Christian, and the servant of Christ.” Then Arrian sent for Philemon to come and play his flute, in order to calm “Apollonios” so that he would be more inclined to worship idols. Arrian’s servants could not find Philemon, so instead they brought his brother Theonas. Recognizing his disguised brother, Theonas laughed and said, “Philemon stands before you.” Arrian ordered Philemon’s face to be uncovered, then told him to take off Apollonios’ garments and to offer sacrifice with him. Instead, Philemon ridiculed the pagan “gods.” He said that he had truly become a Christian, although he had not been baptized. Philemon prayed fervently, and suddenly a heavy rain fell, which was a Baptism for him. Since it was Apollonios who caused Philemon to believe, Arrian brought him before him as well, and this time he confessed Christ. As a result, Arrian tortured them cruelly, and then beheaded them. Immediately, Arrian was stricken with blindness. Saint Philemon appeared to him in a dream and told him to smear some dirt from his grave on his eyes, and he would be cured. That is exactly what happened. Then Arrian and his four bodyguards believed in Christ, and later they were all martyred together circa 305.