Orthodox Daily Devotional
Orthodox Daily Devotional
Monday, April 27, 2026 — Monday of the 3rd Week of Pascha
Tone: 2 | Fast: None
Commemorations
- Hieromartyr Simeon, Kinsman of the Lord ✝️ (feast day)
- Our Holy Father Stephen, Abbot of the Kiev Caves and Bishop of Vladimir (1094)
- Burning of the relics of St. Sava I of Serbia by the Turks (1594)
Epistle: Acts 6:8–7:5, 47–60
The Witness and Martyrdom of St. Stephen the Protomartyr
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
Then said the high priest, Are these things so? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldæans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
OSB Notes — Acts 6–7
The Orthodox Study Bible notes that Stephen was one of the Seven chosen as deacons (Acts 6:1–6), ordained by the laying on of apostolic hands — an early pattern of ordained ministry in the Church. His description as “full of faith and power” echoes the language of the Spirit-filled life: the gifts poured out at Pentecost manifest visibly in his works.
Stephen’s speech (ch. 7) is the longest recorded address in Acts. He traces the arc of salvation history — Abraham, Joseph, Moses — to show that Israel has repeatedly rejected God’s messengers. The climax, “the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands,” is not anti-Temple polemic but a reminder that God cannot be contained: He is present in His people who bear the Holy Spirit. The council’s fury reveals that Stephen’s words landed precisely where they were aimed.
Most striking is the parallel to the Passion: Stephen prays for his killers (“Lord, lay not this sin to their charge”), as Christ prayed from the Cross (“Father, forgive them”). The Protomartyr imitates his Lord completely — this is the shape of sainthood. Crucially, Jesus is described as standing at the right hand of the Father, not seated — suggesting He rises to receive His first martyr.
Gospel: John 4:46–54
The Healing of the Nobleman’s Son — The Second Sign
So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judæa into Galilee.
OSB Notes — John 4:46–54
John’s Gospel calls the Lord’s mighty works signs (sēmeia) — they point beyond themselves to the identity of Christ. This is the second sign at Cana, deliberately echoed by the Evangelist. The first transformed water into wine; this one speaks life across distance. Neither required physical proximity or touch: the Word of Christ is sufficient.
The nobleman’s progression is instructive: he comes seeking a miracle (“come down, or my child dies”) and is met by a gentle rebuke about sign-dependent faith. Yet his desperation becomes the doorway — “Sir, come down ere my child die” — pure petition stripped of bargaining. Christ responds with a declarative word: Go. Your son lives. The man believed before verification. When the servants confirm the healing, the whole household is brought to faith.
The OSB tradition connects this to the Paschal season: Christ, risen and glorified, speaks life from afar into situations of death. The nobleman’s faith and the father’s whole household entering belief mirrors the Paschal movement — death encountered, Word spoken, life restored.
Today’s Saints in Brief
Hieromartyr Simeon, Kinsman of the Lord — Nephew of Joseph the Betrothed and one of the Seventy, Simeon became the second Bishop of Jerusalem after the martyrdom of St. James. He governed the Church to age 120 and was condemned under Trajan on two counts — as Christian and as a descendant of David. He died by crucifixion, like his Lord, and like today’s epistle hero Stephen, followed his Master to the very end.
St. Stephen of the Kiev Caves — A disciple of St. Theodosius, he served faithfully as abbot and then endured slander and expulsion from his own monastery. Vindicated by God, he was made bishop. His patience under unjust suffering echoes the reading from Acts.
Burning of St. Sava’s Relics (1594) — When the Turks burned the relics of Serbia’s beloved patron, they intended to extinguish hope. Instead, the Church remembers this date as a martyrdom of memory — and Sava’s intercession continues. The tyrant’s bonfire could not put out a saint.
Reflection
Three threads braid together today:
The face of an angel. Stephen stood before murderous accusers and his face shone. Not because he was unafraid — because he was full of the Holy Spirit. Pascha is the feast of that same Spirit released into the world. We are in the third week; the question the season asks is: does the Resurrection actually change the face we bring into hard places?
The word that travels. The nobleman’s son was healed by a word spoken twenty miles away. Christ needs no physical presence to act — His word carries life wherever it goes. This is the ecclesial reality we live in: the Word proclaimed, the Gospel read, the Eucharist offered — Christ is present and healing.
The fire that cannot win. Simeon crucified. Stephen stoned. Sava’s bones burned. Again and again the Church is told: this will end you. And again and again it does not. Christ is risen is not a sentiment. It is a fact that keeps rewriting history.
Christ is Risen! ☦️ Truly He is Risen!
Generated: 2026-04-27 03:00 AM CT | Source: orthocal.info + Orthodox Study Bible (brain)
Write a comment