Commemoration of
St. Theodoros the Captain
St. Theodoros the Captain is a Saint recognized by all traditional churches of Christendom. The Armenian Church commemorates this Saint on the first Saturday during the period of Great Lent.
According to hagiographers, St. Theodoros was born to God-fearing and pious parents in the village of Saroo, near the town of Amasia. He was a soldier in the Roman Army, and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a Captain.
In the beginning of the fourth century, Rome was under the rule of the Emperor Diocletian. Instead of worshipping at the temple of the pagan goddess Rea, as he had been instructed to, St. Theodoros burns the temple to the ground, thus demonstrating that pagan idols were false. For this act, Diocletian imprisons St. Theodoros, and he suffers severe tortures. In the year 306 A.D., he is martyred by being set on fire.
St. Theodoros is also known as the “Slayer of the Dragon”, as he was said to have defeated a great and mighty dragon due to his courage and faith.
SCRIPTURE READING
Book of Wisdom (8:19-9:5)
As a child I was blessed with natural gifts, and a good soul was my heritage, or rather, being good, I had entered into an undefiled body. But realizing that I could not possess Wisdom[f] unless God gave her to me—and this itself was an indication of understanding, to know the source of that gift—I turned to the Lord and implored him and with all my heart I said: “God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy, by your word you have created all things, and in your wisdom you have fashioned man to have power over all the creatures you have made, to govern the world in holiness and righteousness, and to mete out justice with an upright heart. Grant me Wisdom, who sits beside your throne, and do not exclude me from the number of your children. “For I am your servant and the son of your handmaid, a weak man with but a short time to live and with meager comprehension of justice and law.
Isaiah (62:6-9)
I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord has sworn by His right hand And by the arm of His strength: "Surely I will no longer give your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored. But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the Lord; Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts."
Romans (8:28-39)
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Gospel of St. Matthew (10:16-22)
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.