5TH SUNDAY OF PASCHA—Tone 4
Samaritan Woman
Martyr Isidore of Chios
Vespers
At “Lord, I Call”, sing the stichera verses (4) of the Resurrection in Tone 4.
Then the following stichera (3) for the Midfeast in Tone 4 from the Pentecostarion.
The middle of the days has come,beginning with the Savior's Resurrection,and sealed by the holy Pentecost. The first and the last glisten with splendor. We rejoice in the union of both feasts,as we draw near to the Lord's Ascension: the sign of our coming glorification.
Be glad, O Zion! Hear the announcement of Christ's Resurrection! Let her faithful sons rejoice! The filth of the daughter of Zion is washed away. Jerusalem, stained with the blood of God's murder, is cleansed by theSpirit. With songs of joy she celebrates the middle of the feast.
As it is written,the abundant outpouring of divine gifts is drawing near. The chosen day of the Spirit is halfway come. The true promise of Christ to the Disciplesafter His death, burial, and Resurrection, heralds the coming of the Comforter.
Then this sticheron (1) for the Samaritan Woman in Tone 1from the Pentecostarion.
The Fountain of miracles came to the well at noonto ensnare the daughter of Eve. Once, Eve had been driven out of Paradise by the serpent's guile;now a woman of Samaria came to drawwater. The Savior saw her and said to her: “Give me water to drink,and I will fill you with the waters of eternal life!” She ran to the town and proclaimed to the crowd:“Come and see Christ the Lord! He is the Savior of our souls!”
And these stichera (2) for the Samaritan Woman in Tone 2 from Romanos.
The Lord of compassion came to the welland conversed with a woman of Samaria. She said: “Give me Your water that I may never thirst again! I will drink from the fountain of joy and redemption. O Life-giving Lord, glory to You!”
The Word of the Father,the co-eternal Son without beginning,came and sat by the well, though He is the Fountain of healing. A Samaritan woman came to draw water;when the Savior saw her, He said to her: “Give me water to drink! Go, call your husband!” She thought she was speaking not to God, but to a man. Trying to evade Him, she said: “I have no husband.” But the Teacher replied: “You speak the truth,for you have had five husbands,and the one living with you now is not your husband.” She was amazed by His words and ran back to the town. She said to the crowd: “Come and see Christ, Who grants the world great mercy!”
After “Glory …” Tone 6 (Samaritan Woman, Pentecostarion)
Jesus met the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well. He wraps the earth in clouds, yet He asks for water from her. Oh, wonder! HeWho rides on the cherubim speaks with an adulterous woman. HeWho suspended the earth on the waters asks for a drink. He Whocauses the lakes and springs to overflow is weary with thirst. Truly He desires to set the woman free from the Enemy's snares. He drowns her sins in the waters of life, for He alone is the compassionate Lover of mankind.
After “Now and ever…” sing the Dogmatic in Tone 4
The Prophet David was Father to God through you, O Virgin. He foretold in songs the One Who worked wonders in you: “At Your right hand stands the Queen,” Your Mother, the mediatrix of life. For wishing to renew His fallen image made corrupt in passion, God, without human father, was freely born of her, lifted the lost sheep to His shoulders, and brought it to His Father, joining it to the heavenly pow’rs.// Christ, Who has great and rich mercy, has saved the world, O Theotokos.
At the Aposticha, sing one verse of the Resurrection in Tone 4:
By ascending the Cross, O Lord,You have annulled our ancestral curse. By descending to hell, You have freed the eternal prisoners,granting incorruption to the human race. Therefore in songs we glorify Your life-creating and saving Resurrection.
Then the Paschal Stichera in Tone 5
Verse: Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered. [Let those who hate Him flee from before His face.]
Today, a sacred Pascha is revealed to us; a Pascha new and holy, a Pascha mystical. Pascha, precious Pascha, Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer! A great Pascha! A blameless Pascha! Pascha of the faithful! Pascha which opens the gates of heaven for us! Pascha which sanctifies all the faithful!
Verse:As smoke vanishes so let them vanish. [As wax melts before the fire.]
Come from that scene, O women, bearers of glad tidings, and say to Zion: Receive from us the glad tidings of Christ's resurrection. Exult and be glad, and rejoice Jerusalem, seeing Christ the King coming from the tomb, like a bridegroom in procession!
Verse: So sinners will perish before the face of God. [But let the righteous be glad.]
The myrrh-bearing women, at early dawn, reached the tomb of the Life-giver and they found an angel, sitting upon the stone. He proclaimed to them and said: Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why mourn the incorrupt amid corruption? Go and announce to His disciples:
Verse: This is the day which the Lord has made. [Let us rejoice and be glad in it.]
Pascha of beauty! Pascha of the Lord! Pascha, precious Pascha, has shone on us! Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously! Pascha, deliverance from affliction! For today as from a bridal chamber, Christ has shown forth from the tomb and filled the women with joy saying: Go and proclaim to the apostles!
After “Glory …” Tone 8(Samaritan Woman, Pentecostarion)
In Your inexpressible dispensation, You appeared on earth, O Christ our God. When the woman of Samaria heard Your words, O Lover of mankind,she left her jar at the well and ran to the town. She said: “Come and see Him Who knew every secret hidden in my heart! Could He be the long-awaited Messiah, Who will grant us great mercy?”
After “Now and ever …”
This is the day of resurrection! Let us be illumined by the feast! Let us embrace each other! Let us call “Brothers” even those that hate us,and forgive all by the resurrection,and so let us cry: “Christ is risen from the dead,trampling down death by death,and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” (1x)
Resurrectional Troparion, Tone 4
When the women disciples of the Lordlearned from the angel the joyous message of Thy Resurrection,they cast away the ancestral curseand elatedly told the apostles: “Death is overthrown! Christ God is risen,granting the world great mercy!”
Troparion, Tone 8(Midfeast)
In the middle of the feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of piety, as Thou didst cry to all: “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink!” O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory to Thee!
Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos
The Holy Martyr Photina (Svetlana) the Samaritan Woman, her sons Victor (named Photinus) and Joses; and her sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva, Kyriake; Nero’s daughter Domnina; and the Martyr Sebastian: The holy Martyr Photina was the Samaritan Woman, with whom the Savior conversed at Jacob’s Well (John. 4:5-42).
During the time of the emperor Nero (54-68), who displayed excessive cruelty against Christians, Saint Photina lived in Carthage with her younger son Joses and fearlessly preached the Gospel there. Her eldest son Victor fought bravely in the Roman army against barbarians, and was appointed military commander in the city of Attalia (Asia Minor). Later, Nero called him to Italy to arrest and punish Christians.
Sebastian, an official in Italy, said to Saint Victor, “I know that you, your mother and your brother, are followers of Christ. As a friend I advise you to submit to the will of the emperor. If you inform on any Christians, you will receive their wealth. I shall write to your mother and brother, asking them not to preach Christ in public. Let them practice their faith in secret.”
Saint Victor replied, “I want to be a preacher of Christianity like my mother and brother.” Sebastian said, “O Victor, we all know what woes await you, your mother and brother.” Then Sebastian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He was dumbfounded, and his face was somber.
For three days he lay there blind, without uttering a word. On the fourth day he declared, “The God of the Christians is the only true God.” Saint Victor asked why Sebastian had suddenly changed his mind. Sebastian replied, “Because Christ is calling me.” Soon he was baptized, and immediately regained his sight. Saint Sebastian’s servants, after witnessing the miracle, were also baptized.
Reports of this reached Nero, and he commanded that the Christians be brought to him at Rome. Then the Lord Himself appeared to the confessors and said, “Fear not, for I am with you. Nero, and all who serve him, will be vanquished.” The Lord said to Saint Victor, “From this day forward, your name will be Photinus, because through you, many will be enlightened and will believe in Me.” The Lord then told the Christians to strengthen and encourage Saint Sebastian to persevere until the end.
All these things, and even future events, were revealed to Saint Photina. She left Carthage in the company of several Christians and joined the confessors in Rome.
At Rome the emperor ordered the saints to be brought before him and he asked them whether they truly believed in Christ. All the confessors refused to renounce the Savior. Then the emperor gave orders to smash the martyrs’ finger joints. During the torments, the confessors felt no pain, and their hands remained unharmed.
Nero ordered that Saints Sebastian, Photinus and Joses be blinded and locked up in prison, and Saint Photina and her five sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva and Kyriake were sent to the imperial court under the supervision of Nero’s daughter Domnina. Saint Photina converted both Domnina and all her servants to Christ. She also converted a sorcerer, who had brought her poisoned food to kill her.
Three years passed, and Nero sent to the prison for one of his servants, who had been locked up. The messengers reported to him that Saints Sebastian, Photinus and Joses, who had been blinded, had completely recovered, and that people were visiting them to hear their preaching, and indeed the whole prison had been transformed into a bright and fragrant place where God was glorified.
Nero then gave orders to crucify the saints, and to beat their naked bodies with straps. On the fourth day the emperor sent servants to see whether the martyrs were still alive. But, approaching the place of the tortures, the servants fell blind. An angel of the Lord freed the martyrs from their crosses and healed them. The saints took pity on the blinded servants, and restored their sight by their prayers to the Lord. Those who were healed came to believe in Christ and were soon baptized.
In an impotent rage Nero gave orders to flay the skin from Saint Photina and to throw the martyr down a well. Sebastian, Photinus and Joses had their legs cut off, and they were thrown to dogs, and then had their skin flayed off. The sisters of Saint Photina also suffered terrible torments. Nero gave orders to cut off their breasts and then to flay their skin. An expert in cruelty, the emperor readied the fiercest execution for Saint Photis: they tied her by the feet to the tops of two bent-over trees. When the ropes were cut the trees sprang upright and tore the martyr apart. The emperor ordered the others beheaded. Saint Photina was removed from the well and locked up in prison for twenty days.
After this Nero had her brought to him and asked if she would now relent and offer sacrifice to the idols. Saint Photina spit in the face of the emperor, and laughing at him, said, “O most impious of the blind, you profligate and stupid man! Do you think me so deluded that I would consent to renounce my Lord Christ and instead offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?”
Hearing such words, Nero gave orders to again throw the martyr down the well, where she surrendered her soul to God (ca. 66).
On the Greek Calendar, Saint Photina is commemorated on February 26.
A Roman officer in the navy, Isidore confessed himself as a Christian to the commander of the fleet, Numerian, while they were on the Aegean island of Chios. Because he was unwilling to repent and worship the gods of the state, he was tormented and beheaded.
His body was cast into a cistern. A young Christian woman, Myrope,with the help of a friend, retrieved the body although it was guarded by soldiers. On learning that the soldiers would be put to death if they failed to find the body, Myrope went to Numerius and confessed that she had taken Isidore's body, but refused to say where it was then interred. Numerius had her publicly flogged, then thrown into prison.
Before she died, she had a vision of Holy Isidore, who "encouraged her with the news that although she was about to die for what she had done it would not have been in vain because she would be giving her life for Jesus Christ and not for Isidore or their Christian friends."
Her body was interred beside Isidore's, and a chapel erected over the graves. Saint Marcian built another in the fifth century. In 1525, the relics of Isidore and Myrope were moved by the Latins to the Church of Saint Mark in Venice.
1