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Daily Readings
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Thursday, 26th March 2026 --- 17 Baramhat 1742
Readings for Thursday of sixth week of Great Lent
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 144 : 5,7
Chapter 144
| 5 | Bow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
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| 7 | Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners,
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 7 : 36 - 50
Chapter 7
| 36 | Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.
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| 37 | And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,
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| 38 | and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
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| 39 | Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."
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| 40 | And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it."
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| 41 | "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
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| 42 | And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"
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| 43 | Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."
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| 44 | Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
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| 45 | You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.
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| 46 | You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
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| 47 | Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
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| 48 | Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
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| 49 | And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
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| 50 | Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 72 : 6 - 7
Chapter 72
| 6 | He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth.
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| 7 | In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more.
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 11 : 20 - 28
Chapter 11
| 20 | But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
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| 21 | When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.
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| 22 | But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.
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| 23 | He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
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| 24 | "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, "I will return to my house from which I came.'
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| 25 | And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.
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| 26 | Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
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| 27 | And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"
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| 28 | But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 3 : 1 - 31
Chapter 3
| 1 | What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?
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| 2 | Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.
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| 3 | For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
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| 4 | Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged."
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| 5 | But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)
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| 6 | Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
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| 7 | For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
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| 8 | And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?--as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.
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| 9 | What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
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| 10 | As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
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| 11 | There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
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| 12 | They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."
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| 13 | "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips";
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| 14 | "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."
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| 15 | "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
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| 16 | Destruction and misery are in their ways;
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| 17 | And the way of peace they have not known."
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| 18 | "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
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| 19 | Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
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| 20 | Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
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| 21 | But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
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| 22 | even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
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| 23 | for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
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| 24 | being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
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| 25 | whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
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| 26 | to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
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| 27 | Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
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| 28 | Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
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| 29 | Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
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| 30 | since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
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| 31 | Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
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The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 1 : 1 - end
Chapter 1
| 1 | That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--
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| 2 | the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--
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| 3 | that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
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| 4 | And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
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| 5 | This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
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| 6 | If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
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| 7 | But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
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| 8 | If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
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| 9 | If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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| 10 | If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
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1 John 2 : 1 - 6
Chapter 2
| 1 | My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
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| 2 | And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
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| 3 | Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
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| 4 | He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
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| 5 | But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
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| 6 | He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
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Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 7 : 23 - 34
Chapter 7
| 23 | "Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
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| 24 | And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
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| 25 | For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
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| 26 | And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, "Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?'
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| 27 | But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
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| 28 | Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?'
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| 29 | Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
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| 30 | "And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
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| 31 | When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,
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| 32 | saying, "I am the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and dared not look.
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| 33 | "Then the LORD said to him, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
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| 34 | I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."'
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The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
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Synaxarium
Day 17 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramhat, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Seventeenth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Departure of Lazarus, the beloved of
the Lord
On this day the righteous Lazarus, the beloved
of the Lord Christ, departed. He was the brother of Martha and Mary who
anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair. When
Lazarus fell sick the sisters sent to the Lord Christ saying: "Lord, behold,
he whom You love is sick." When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness
is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be
glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place
where He was" to magnify the miracle. Then after this He said to the disciples,
"Let us go to Judea again." The disciples told Him, "Rabbi, lately the
Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" Jesus answered,
"Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he
does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. "But if one
walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." These
things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps,
but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he
sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought
that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them
plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not
there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."
When the Lord came to Bethany which is nearby Jerusalem
He stood before the tomb and said: "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister
of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench,
for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you
that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Then they took
away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted
up His eyes and prayed then he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come
forth!" And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes,
and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him,
and let him go."
(John 11:1-45) That was to manifest the reality of his
death, so no one would think that this was deception with previous arrangement,
for that the miracle was magnified and many believed.
May The prayers of this righteous be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of the Saints George the
Ascetic, Belasius the Martyr, and Anba Joseph the Bishop
On this day also the church
celebrates the commemoration of the Saints George the ascetic, Belasius
the martyr, and Anba Joseph the bishop.
May their prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Basilius, Bishop of Jerusalem
On this day also of the
year 1615 A.M. (March 26th., 1899 A.D.) the great father Anba Basilius,
Metropolitan of Jerusalem, departed. This father was born in the village
of El-Dabah, Farshout county, the province of Quena, for righteous parents.
They nursed him with the milk of righteousness since his young age, as
they taught him reading and writing, so he grew on loving perfection and
moral excellence. When he was twenty-five years old he went to the monastery
of St. Antonios and put on the monastic garb in the year 1559 A.M. He persevered
in worshipping and ascetism and because he was adorned with righteousness
and piety they ordained him priest in the year 1565 A.M. and archpriest
(Hegumen) in the year 1568 A.M., then they appointed him an Abott for the
monastery. He managed the monastery well with gentleness, wisdom and meekness
that made the blessed Anba Kyrellos IV to ordain him Metropolitan for Jerusalem
and the parishes that were attached to him: El-Kaliobia, El-Sharkia, El-Dakahlia,
El-Gharbia, Suez, Domiat, and Port-Said. He had shown prudence in managing
the affairs of these parishes that made him the center of admiration and
pride to the Copts. All his efforts were dedicated for the building of
churches all over his parish, buying and renovating properties in Jaffa
and Jerusalem. He was loved by all the people of Syria and Palestine, regardless
of their religion or political persuasion, especially the rulers of Jerusalem,
for his wise policy and straight morals. During his days a dispute aroused
from the Ethiopians where they claimed their ownership for the monastery
of El-Sultan in Jerusalem. Because of this father and his vigilance they
could not establish an ownership for the monastery. He attended the enthronement
of Pope Demetrius II, the hundred eleventh, and Pope Kyrellos V, the hundred
twelfth. He spent his days in continuous effort for what was good for his
people and departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Sedhom Bishay in Domiat
On this day also the church
commemorates the martyrdom of Sedhom Bishay in Domiat on the 17th. of Baramhat
year 1565 A.D. (March 25th., 1844 A.D.). He endured the torture for the
Name of the Lord Christ and his martyrdom made the rising of the Cross
during the Christian funeral processions openly, for it was forbidden before.
This martyr was a clerical employee in the government of the port of Domiat
during the days of Mohammed Ali Basha the Governor of Egypt. A revolt of
mobs in the port arose, they seized Sidhom Bishay and accused him falsely
that he cursed Islam and witnessed against him before the religious judge
a low uncivilized person and a donkey driver. The judge decided either
he would forsake his faith or be killed, he whipped him and then sent him
to the Governor of the city. After the Governor had examined his case he
issued the same judgement against him as the judge did. Sidhom was steadfast
in his Christian faith, not caring to be killed. They whipped, dragged
him on his face down the stairs in the Governor palace, then they put him
on a buffalo facing the tail and went around with him in the streets of
the city insulting and degrading him. The Christians in the city became
afraid and locked themselves in their houses.
The mob continued to insult
him and tortured him in different ways until he was about to deliver his
soul; so they brought him to the door of his house and left him there.
His family went out and brought him inside and five days later he departed
to heaven. His departure was a great martyrdom, and the Christians counted
him among the holy martyrs. They gathered regardless of their denomination
and joined in his funeral in a celebration that there was nothing like
it before. The Christians carried their arms and the priest put on their
vestments headed by the Archpriest Yousef Michael who was the head of the
Coptic congregation in Domiat and accompanied by the priests of the other
denominations. They marched in his fu.eral in the streets of the city and
in front of him the deacons carrying the banners of the Cross, and they
arrived to the church where they prayed the funeral rites. The people went
on objecting this reprehensible and painful incident and talking about
the patience and endurance of the different kinds of torture in silence
and the steadfastness of Sidhom the martyr. The prominent people of the
Christian community in Domiat deliberated as how to avoid these incidents
in the future. They decided to ask the consuls of the foreign countries
to mediate with the ruler of the country and the Pope the Patriarch of
the Copts and sent to them detailed reports. Mr Michail Sorour the official
representative of seven countries in Domiat was in charge of this mediation.
The ruler of Egypt was concerned about this incident and sent two official
representatives to examine the case. So they reopened the inquiry and they
realized the injustice and the ill-treatment that befell the great martyr
and convicted the judge and the governor for their wrong doing, stripped
them from their honor then exiled them. They asked, as a good will and
to comfort the people, to allow the raising of the Cross publicly before
the Christian funerals, and the ruler allowed that in Domiat. This was
allowed later on all over the country during the Papacy of Pope Kyrellos
IV.
May The blessings of this great martyr be with us and glory be to
God forever. Amen.
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Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 45 : 10 - 11
Chapter 45
| 10 | Listen, O daughter, Consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father's house;
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| 11 | So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
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Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Luke 1 : 26 - 38
Chapter 1
| 26 | Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
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| 27 | to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
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| 28 | And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
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| 29 | But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
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| 30 | Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
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| 31 | And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
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| 32 | He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
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| 33 | And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
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| 34 | Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
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| 35 | And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
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| 36 | Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
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| 37 | For with God nothing will be impossible."
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| 38 | Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page