Orthodox Devotional — Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Orthodox Devotional — Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Tuesday of the 5th Sunday of Pascha | Tone 4
Commemorations:
- St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus (†403)
- St. Germanos, Archbishop of Constantinople (†740)
Christ is Risen! ☦️
📖 Epistle — Acts 12:25–13:12
12:25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
13:4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:
13:7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
13:9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
13:10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
13:12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
🔍 OSB Commentary Notes — Acts 13
The Church in Antioch sends forth Barnabas and Saul not by human appointment but by the direct word of the Holy Spirit, spoken during fasting and worship. The Orthodox Study Bible notes the pattern in Acts: the Spirit calls, the community discerns, and the laying on of hands seals the mission — a model of apostolic sending that flows from liturgical life, not merely institutional authority.
The first missionary journey leads directly to Cyprus — land of today’s commemorated saint, Epiphanius. The confrontation with Elymas the sorcerer echoes Peter’s rebuke of Simon Magus (Acts 8): the Gospel advances not by political strategy but by the power of the Spirit, and those who oppose it discover that power firsthand. Paul’s new name — no longer Saul — signals a new identity forged in apostolic mission.
📖 Gospel — John 8:51–59
8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
8:52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
8:53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
8:54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
8:55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
🔍 OSB Commentary Notes — John 8:58
“John 8:58 — Jesus identifies Himself as having existed before Abraham. Before His coming in the flesh as Man, Jesus existed as the eternal Son of the Father, for He is begotten from the Father before all ages.” — Orthodox Study Bible
The words “I AM” (egō eimi) are not merely a statement of prior existence — they are the Divine Name revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). Christ does not say “Before Abraham was, I was” — He says I am, present tense, eternal tense. This is why the crowd reaches for stones: they understand exactly what He is claiming, even as they reject it.
The Paschal season gives these words special resonance. The Risen Christ who appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, to Thomas — is the same One who existed before Abraham, before creation, the eternal Word through whom all things were made. His resurrection is not a new event but the unveiling of who He always was.
🕯️ On the Saints of This Day
St. Epiphanius of Cyprus was called “the Five-Tongued” — fluent in Hebrew, Egyptian, Syriac, Greek, and Latin. He spent his life defending Orthodoxy against Arianism and composed the Panarion, an encyclopedic refutation of eighty heresies. He became bishop not by ambition but by being literally blown there by a storm — a ship that should have taken him elsewhere was redirected by contrary winds to Cyprus. God’s appointments do not always look like our plans.
St. Germanos of Constantinople was a fearless confessor who opposed the Iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian, was deposed for it, and lived the rest of his days in exile — in peace. He is composer of many of the Church’s beloved hymns, including those for the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple. His witness: beauty and truth are worth defending, whatever the cost.
Today we honor two men who faced hostile powers — one with words and scholarship, one with silence and exile — and both remained unbroken.
🌅 Closing Reflection
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
Three words that cracked the world open. The disciples who would later proclaim the Risen Christ were learning, in passages like this one, what the resurrection would confirm: that Jesus is not a great teacher, not a prophet among prophets, but the eternal I AM — God Himself, clothed in flesh.
The missionary journey of Barnabas and Paul proceeds from this same reality. They go not in their own name, but sent by the Spirit of the One who was before all things. Their authority is borrowed, derivative, joyful — because it is His.
May we keep His saying today. May we never taste death.
Christ is Risen! ☦️
Readings sourced from orthocal.info | Commentary from the Orthodox Study Bible Generated: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 — 5th Week of Pascha, Tone 4
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