The Prokeimenon is in the 1st Tone: And He presented him to his mother.
And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and
Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us // as we have set our hope on
Thee!
v: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous! Praise befits the just! (Ps
32/33:1)
The Second Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians
BRETHREN: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart,
not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you,
that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,
may have an abundance for every good work.
As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.”
Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food,
supply and multiply the seed you have sown
and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
while you are enriched in everything for all liberality,
which causes thanksgiving through us to God. Hebrews 9:1-7
The Alleluia is in the 1st Tone: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
v: God gives vengeance unto me, and subdues people under me.
v: He magnifies the salvation of the King and deals mercifully with
David, His anointed, and his seed forever.
The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
AT THAT TIME, JESUS: went into a city called Nain; and many of
His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was
being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow.
And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her,
He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him
stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
So he who was dead sat up and began to speak.
they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”;
and, “God has visited His people.” Luke 7:11-16
The Life of St. Pelagia the Penitent
Saint Pelagia (distinguished as Pelagia the Penitent, or Pelagia the
Harlot) was converted to Christianity by Saint Nonnus, Bishop of
Edessa (whose feast day is the Saturday of Cheesefare Week). Before
her acceptance of Christianity through Baptism, she was a courtesan
and head of a dance/theater troupe in Palestinian Antioch. Going by
the name Margarita (a pearl), she was not only well-known for living a
life of frivolity and prostitution, she was known as the foremost actress
and prominent prostitute in the region – her beauty was known far and
wide.
At the time a council in Antioch had been called and the
bishops and priests assembled. One of the bishops, Nonnus, had been
called up to give a word to the assembled brethren, so he began to
“speak words for the edification and salvation of all.” Suddenly, at the
same time, the (in)famous Pelagia, elegantly (and immodestly) clothed
in a revealing dress made only of beaded pearls, gold, jewels leaving
her hair, arms, legs, and feet bare and uncovered as she made her way
through the city on a donkey, surrounded by her entourage and a
crowd of admirers. Along with the throng of boys and girls dressed in
gold with collars of gold on their necks going before and after her, the
street filled with the sound of music and the smell of perfume. She was
undeniably beautiful, breathtakingly so, but the priests and bishops
turned their faces away from her in shock and shame.
All did so, except the Bishop Nonnus, who instead openly
stared at her intently, even turning around after she’d passed and
watching until she’d gone out of view. Finally, after being struck by
the outer beauty of Pelagia and having foreseen the spiritual greatness
within her, he turned to his fellow bishops and said, “Were you not
delighted by such great beauty!?” They didn’t reply, so he asked
again. When they still remained silent, after kneeling down and
weeping into his Bible, he rebuked them, saying that the prostitute
“Margarita” put them to shame. He noted that she put much more
effort, time, and energy into her appearance than they did in serving
God. He said: “I was greatly delighted and her beauty pleased me very
much – You see, God will bring her before his terrible judgment seat
and will judger her on her gifts, just as he will judge our calling as to stay and follow Nonnus to where he was lodging, then she sent him
bishops.” an anonymous letter, saying “‘Greetings from a sinner and disciple of
He went on: “How many hours does this woman spend in her the devil. I have heard of your God, how he bent the heavens and came
chamber, giving all her mind and attention to adorning herself for the down to earth not for the righteous but for the salvation of sinners. So
play, in order to lack nothing in beauty and adornment,” yet “We, greatly did he humble himself that he came near to publicans, and he
brothers, have an almighty Father in heaven offering us heavenly gifts whom the cherubim do not dare to look upon spoke with sinful men.
and rewards [beyond value], yet take no such thought [or time, or My lord, you are very holy, and so, just as your lord Jesus showed
attention] for the adornment of our wretched souls.” himself to the harlot in Samaria at the well will you look upon me, as
he did whose follower you are, as I have heard Christians say? If you
That very night, after coming into the room he was staying in
are a true disciple of Christ, do not reject me, for through you I may
there, he fell down on his face and wept, beating his breast as he
deserve to see His face.” The Bishop sent back a reply, “Whoever you
prayed: “O Lord, Jesus Christ, I know I am a sinner and unworthy, for
are, show yourself to God and you will be saved. But I tell you, I am a
today the ornaments of a harlot have shone more brightly than the
man, a sinner, and a servant of God, and you would tempt my
ornaments of my soul. How can I even face you? What words can
humanity. But if you really do desire God, have strength and faith and
justify me in your sight? I am a sinner and unworthy, for I stand
come to me among the other bishops, for I cannot let you see me
before your altar, yet I do not offer you a soul adorned with the beauty
alone.” Filled with joy at the response, she ran to the church. Having
you want to see in me. This woman, she promises to please men; I have
called all the bishops, Nonnus brought her in. She immediately fell on
promised to please you, but my filthiness makes me a liar. […] I do not
her face at his feet, crying: “‘I beg you, my lord, imitate your master
keep your commandments. I cannot hope in anything good that I do,
the Lord Jesus Christ and pour out on me your goodness and make me
but I place my trust in Your mercy, which saves.”
a Christian. I am an ocean of sin, a deep pit of iniquity and I ask to be
He spent the rest of the night weeping and praying such things until he
baptized.” Not completely convinced of her sincerity, Nonnus
fell asleep, exhausted, on the floor. When the sun arose, it was Sunday
demanded assurance that she would not return to her former life,
morning and he awoke, telling his deacon, James, of a dream he’d had
noting a canon requiring harlots to have sponsors who will guarantee
that night: as he was serving the Liturgy when, suddenly, a black dove
they won’t return to prostitution. At this, she again fell at his feet,
appeared on the corner of the altar. It began flying around him, in and
weeping, charging him to be her assurance, saying that her soul was in
out of the altar, until he held out his hands and it came to him. Having
his hands. She swore that she would confess her all of her many sins,
caught it, he went and washed it, after which it was found to be white
but if having heard them he refused her and withheld baptism, then
as snow. He released the bright dove and it flew off into the heavens.
judgment would surely fall on his head, not hers!
They then went to the cathedral to serve the Divine Liturgy with the
Amazed at how greatly she desired reconciliation with God,
Bishop of Antioch, along with the other local bishops, during which
and seeing her sincere and full repentance, Bishop Nonnus baptized
time the ruling bishop gave the Gospel book to Nonnus, asking him to
her with her birth name Pelagia (“of the sea”), chrismating her and
preach. And preach he did, teaching in the church about the dread Last
giving her the Holy Communion, before sending her with the
Judgment and its consequences both good and bad; by the hand of the
Deaconness Romana (her new godmother) to go learn about her new
mercy of God.
faith, along with the catechumens receiving instruction. That night the
At this very moment “Margarita,” who had never before
devil appeared to Pelagia, urging her to return to her former life. The
entered a church and had never given any thought to her soul or her
saint prayed, as she’d been taught, signed herself with the Sign of the
sins, peaked in to listen; she he was so struck by the preaching of
Cross, and the devil vanished. Three days after her baptism, Saint
Nonnus, she was pierced with fear of the Lord and started crying so
Pelagia gathered up her valuables and took them to Bishop Nonnus
hard that she couldn’t control them, she ran out and told two servants
and gave them to him, asking that he dispose of them as he saw fit,
saying “These are the riches with which Satan ensnared me; my choic
is now the riches of Christ.” The bishop ordered that they be
distributed among the poor saying, “Let this be wisely dispersed, so
that these riches gained by sin may become a wealth of
righteousness.”
On the 8th day after her baptism, when it was customary for the
baptized to take off their white robes, Pelagia rose during the night,
snuck in and took a monastic tunic from Bishop Nonnus, and fled the
city, never to be seen there again. Her godmother wept, but the Bishop,
noticing his missing cloak, said simply that “Don’t weep, but rejoice:
she has chosen the better portion.” Pelagia secretly journeyed to
Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, where she, disguised as the monk
Pelaguis, lived the ascetic life in a secluded cell, praying, fasting, &
attaining great spiritual gifts. Only Nonnus and his deacon knew her
true identity, until her death some years later. When it came time to
bury her, the other monks realized Pelagius was Pelagia, so the
Deacon James explained, telling her amazing story, which spread
throughout the land. He ended his written Life of St. Pelagia with a
prayer: “May the life of this harlot, this account of total conversion,
join us to her and bring us all to the mercy of the Lord on the day of
judgement, to whom be glory and power and honor to the ages of ages.
Amen.”