1st Sunday of Luke

On September 27 the Antiochian Orthros synaxarion commemorates holy Martyr Kallistratos and the holy 49 Martyrs with him. The synaxarion verses are plain: When Kallistratos’ neck with a sword was sundered, he was joined to the Martyrs’ triumphant army. On the twenty-seventh Kallistratos and company were taken up hence.

Kallistratos was a soldier. One night one of his colleagues caught him praying and reported him to the harsh commander Persentinus. Ordered to offer sacrifice to idols, Kallistratos immediately refused. He was harshly beaten and thrown into the sea, but God’s power preserved him, and he emerged from the sea unharmed. Seeing his endurance and his miracles, forty-nine soldiers came to believe in Christ the Lord. They were beaten and thrown into prison with him. In prison Kallistratos instructed his companions in the Faith and encouraged them. They showed great courage in suffering, and the Lord showed great power through them. The wicked torturer sent soldiers to the prison at night, and they slew Kallistratos and the other forty-nine. They suffered for the truth in 304.

The fuller OCA menologion fills the Orthros outline. Kallistratos was a native of Carthage. An ancestor, Neochorus, had served under Tiberius in Palestine under Pontius Pilate and was a witness of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. Raised in faith by a Christian father, Kallistratos excelled among pagan comrades by good conduct and gentle disposition, keeping night prayer when others slept. After the beating and dragging over sharp stones, he was sewn into a leather sack and drowned; the sack struck a rock and tore, and dolphins carried him to shore. Bound later and thrown into a great lake, the martyrs’ bonds broke and they stood in the water with bright faces, rejoicing in a Baptism that coincided with martyrdom. Bright crowns appeared over their heads, and a voice said, “Be brave, Kallistratos, with your company, and come rest in the eternal habitations.” An idol fell and smashed; another 135 soldiers believed. At night the fifty were cut to pieces with swords; the 135 buried their relics, and a church was later built on the spot as Kallistratos had foretold.

On the Sunday whose Gospel turns fishermen into fishers of men, Kallistratos turns soldiers into a company of confessors. The net that breaks under the weight of fish finds its martyr twin in the prison that cannot hold faith: what Christ gathers by miracle, Kallistratos gathers by endurance, until the night sword finishes what the sea could not.

On this day the Orthros also names Venerable Savvatios of Solovky. The OCA life places him among the founders of northern monasticism. In 1396 he received the tonsure at the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery and pursued a strict life of humility and gentle love. Burdened by esteem, he sought solitude at Valaam, then—again fleeing fame—asked blessing to settle the uninhabited island of Solovki in the White Sea. Leaving Valaam by night at God’s command, he met Saint Germanus near the Vyg River; together they crossed three days of harsh sea, raised a cross by Sekirna hill, and built cells. When Germanus went for supplies, Savvatii sensed his end, sailed to the mainland, received the Holy Mysteries from Igumen Nathanael, and reposed on September 27, 1435. About thirty years later Saint Zosimas transferred his relics to the Transfiguration church on Solovki.

Savvatii’s flight into emptiness answers Peter’s forsaking of boats and nets. The island that had no inhabitants becomes a habitation of prayer; the fisherman who leaves everything finds a monk who seeks a place where there is nothing left to leave—only the Cross and a cell.

The Orthros synaxarion also commemorates the Apostles Aristarchos, Zenon, and Mark of the Seventy. Mark (also named John) preached with Paul and Barnabas and was made bishop of Biblos in Phoenicia. Aristarchus, co-worker of Paul and one of the Seventy, became bishop of Apamea in Syria; his name stands in Acts and in Paul’s captivity epistles. Zenas (Zeno), called “the lawyer” in Titus 3:13, became bishop of Diospolis (Lydda) in Palestine. On a Sunday that begins Luke’s cycle of apostolic calling, the Church remembers three of the Seventy who already lived what Christ promised Peter: from now on you will catch men.

• Marvel at how wisely the Lord arranges our salvation, drawing to Himself each one by means of the things that are his own and with which he is familiar. As He had attracted the Magi with a star, so now He draws the fishermen by means of fish. (Theophylact)
• Behold the gentleness of Christ, how He does not command, but requests, that Peter put out from land. (Theophylact)
• “At Thy word I will let down the net.” Such was the warmth of his trust even before he had faith. (Theophylact)
• The net is the Gospel: like the fisherman’s net, which is a lowly and commonplace thing, the Gospel is composed of humble, everyday words which reach down and condescend to the simplicity of the people. (Theophylact)
• Let us admire the skillfulness of the method employed in making them a prey who were to make prey of the whole earth. (Cyril of Alexandria)
• For many have taken part with the holy Apostles in their labors, and still do so, especially such as search into the meaning of what is written in the holy Gospels. (Cyril of Alexandria)
• Calling back to his consciousness the crimes he had committed, he trembles and is afraid, and as being impure ventures not to receive Him Who is pure. (Cyril of Alexandria)
• For in His condescension to men, He called the wise men by a star, the fishermen by their art of fishing. (Chrysostom)
• When Christ commanded to let down the nets, the multitude of the fishes taken was just as great as the Lord of the sea and land willed. For the voice of the Word is the voice of power. (Gregory of Nyssa)
• Mark their faith and obedience. For though they were eagerly engaged in the employment of fishing, yet when they heard the command of Jesus, they delayed not, but forsook all and followed Him. (Chrysostom)

”So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.”

Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid (c. 1107)

The Lord flees glory, which all the more pursues Him. When the crowd pressed against Him, He entered the boat, so that from the boat He could teach those standing on the shore, and everyone would be in front of Him, rather than some coming towards Him from behind. And when He had finished teaching the people, He did not leave the owner of the boat without payment, but gave him a two-fold benefit: He bestowed on him an abundance of fish, and He made him His disciple. Marvel at how wisely the Lord arranges our salvation, drawing to Himself each one by means of the things that are his own and with which he is familiar. As He had attracted the Magi with a star, so now He draws the fishermen by means of fish. Behold the gentleness of Christ, how He does not command, but requests, that Peter put out from land. Behold also the obedience of Peter, how he welcomes into his boat a man whom he did not know, and obeys Him in everything.

Saint John Chrysostom (c. 407)

For they clung to Him with love and admiration, and longed to keep Him with them. For who would depart while He performed such miracles? Who would not be content to see only His face, and the mouth that uttered such things? Nor as performing miracles only was He an object of admiration, but His whole appearance was overflowing with grace. Therefore when He speaks, they listen to Him in silence, interrupting not the chain of His discourse; for it is said, that they might hear the word of God. This was a sign of leisure, but according to Matthew He finds them mending their nets. For so great was their poverty, that they patched up their old nets, not being able to buy new ones. But our Lord was very desirous to collect the multitudes, that none might remain behind, but they might all behold Him face to face; He therefore enters into a ship.

Saint Gregory the Theologian (c. 390)

Condescending to all, in order that He might draw forth a fish from the deep, i.e. man swimming in the ever changing scenes and bitter storms of this life.

”When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”

Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid (c. 1107)

When the Lord tells him to launch out into the deep, Peter does not become exasperated and leave Him, nor does he reply, “I have toiled the whole night and gained nothing, and now I should obey you and do it all again?” Peter said nothing like this, but instead, “At Thy word I will let down the net.” Such was the warmth of his trust even before he had faith. And he caught so great a number of fish that he was not able to haul them in, and he beckoned to his companions in the other boat. He calls them with a signal, because his astonishment at the catch was so great that he could not even speak.

You may also understand these things in a spiritual sense. The boat is the synagogue of the Jews. Peter represents the teachers of the law. For the teachers of the law also toiled the whole night before Christ came (the time before Christ’s sojourning on earth was indeed night) and took in nothing. But when Christ came, and it became day, the teachers of the law were replaced by the Apostles who, at His word, that is, at His command, let down the net of the Gospel in which they caught so great a number of men that the Apostles could not haul in the catch by themselves. And so they beckon to their partners and companions and together pull in the net. These are the pastors and teachers of the Church in every generation who teach and interpret the words of the Apostles, laboring with the Apostles to catch mankind. Consider also the words, “Let down the net.” The net is the Gospel: like the fisherman’s net, which is a lowly and commonplace thing, the Gospel is composed of humble, everyday words which reach down and condescend to the simplicity of the people. This is why it is said that the net is let down. If any one should say that letting down the net also indicates the depth of meaning of the Gospel, neither would he be off the mark. Therefore the words of the prophet have also been fulfilled, “Behold, I will send many fishermen, saith the Lord, and they shall fish for them; and afterward I will send many hunters, and they shall hunt for them” (Jer. 16:16). The fishermen are the holy Apostles, and the hunters are the leaders and teachers of the Church in each generation.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria (c. 444)

Let us admire the skillfulness of the method employed in making them a prey who were to make prey of the whole earth; even the holy Apostles, who, though themselves well skilled in fishing, yet fell into Christ’s meshes, that they also, letting down the drag-net of the Apostolic preachings, might gather unto Him the inhabitants of the whole world. For verily He somewhere said by one of the holy prophets, “Behold I send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall catch them as fish: and afterwards I will send many hunters, and they shall hunt them as game.” By the fishers He means the holy Apostles; and by the hunters, those who successively became the rulers and teachers of the holy churches. And observe that He not only preaches, but also displays signs, giving thereby pledges of His power, and confirming His words by the display of miracles: for after He had sufficiently conversed with the multitudes, He returns to His usual mighty works, and by means of their pursuits as fishers catches the disciples as fish: that men may know that His will is almighty, and that the creation ministers to His most godlike commands.

As He had now taught them sufficiently, and it was fitting also to add some divine work to His words for the benefit of the spectators, He bade Simon and his companions push off a little from the land, and let down the net for a draught. But they replied that they had been labouring the whole night and had caught nothing: in the name, however, of Christ, they let down the net, and immediately it was full of fish; in order that by a visible fact, and by a type and representation, miraculously enacted, they might be fully convinced that their labor would not be unrewarded, nor the zeal fruitless which they displayed in spreading out the net of the Gospel teaching; for that most certainly they should catch within it the shoals of the heathen. But observe this, that neither Simon nor his companions could draw the net to land; and therefore, being speechless from fright and astonishment—for their wonder had made them mute—they beckoned to their partners, those who shared their labours in fishing, to come and help them in securing their prey. For many have taken part with the holy Apostles in their labors, and still do so, especially such as search into the meaning of what is written in the holy Gospels; and others besides them, even the pastors and teachers and rulers of the people, who are skilled in the doctrines of truth. For still is the net drawn, while Christ fills it, and summons unto conversion those in the depths of the sea, according to the Scripture phrase; those, that is to say, who live in the surge and waves of worldly things.

Saint John Chrysostom (c. 407)

For in His condescension to men, He called the wise men by a star, the fishermen by their art of fishing.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c. 394)

When Christ commanded to let down the nets, the multitude of the fishes taken was just as great as the Lord of the sea and land willed. For the voice of the Word is the voice of power, at whose bidding at the beginning of the world light and the other creatures came forth. At these things Peter wonders, for he was astonished, and all that were with him.

”When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid (c. 1107)

Out of great reverence for Jesus, Peter begs Him not to remain in the boat, and calls himself a sinner who is not worthy to be with Him.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria (c. 444)

For this reason also Peter, carried back to the memory of his former sins, trembles and is afraid, and as being impure ventures not to receive Him Who is pure: and his fear was laudable: for he had been taught by the law to distinguish between the holy and the profane. Calling back to his consciousness the crimes he had committed, he is alarmed and trembles, and as being unclean, he believes it impossible he can receive Him who is clean, for he had learnt from the law to distinguish between what is defiled and holy.

Saint John Chrysostom (c. 407)

But mark their faith and obedience. For though they were eagerly engaged in the employment of fishing, yet when they heard the command of Jesus, they delayed not, but forsook all and followed Him. Such is the obedience which Christ demands of us; we must not forego it, even though some great necessity urges us.

Source: The Explanation of the Gospel of St. Luke on Luke 5:1–11 (full continuous commentary; johnsanidopoulos.com reprint)

Beyond the verse cuts above, Theophylact’s continuous treatment is the clearest Eastern pastoral grammar for this Sunday: Christ flees glory and pays the boat-owner with both fish and discipleship; He draws each vocation by what is familiar to it; gentleness requests rather than commands; Peter’s “at Thy word” is warmth of trust before full faith; astonishment makes him signal rather than speak; and the spiritual reading maps synagogue, night of the Law, apostolic Gospel-net, and every generation’s pastors as partners hauling the same catch. Jeremiah 16:16 (“many fishermen... many hunters”) seals the typology. For a preacher who wants one Father to carry the pericope end to end, Theophylact is the safest single voice.

Source: Sermons on the Gospel of Luke (excerpts on Luke 5:2, 5:4, 5:8; johnsanidopoulos.com / Catena)

Cyril presses the missionary figure: the Apostles who were skilled fishers fall into Christ’s meshes so that they may gather the whole earth; the miracle is a type that Gospel labor will not be fruitless among the nations; the partners who help haul are Gospel writers, pastors, teachers, and rulers still drawing the net while Christ fills it. His reading of Peter’s fear as laudable distinction between holy and profane keeps the Sunday from turning the catch into mere success—holiness interrupts triumph.

Source: Catena extracts under Luke 5:1 and 5:4, 5:11 (Homilies tradition)

Chrysostom’s brief strokes are the vocational key: Magi by a star, fishermen by fish; poverty patching old nets; obedience that forsook all without delay. Read beside 2 Corinthians 6:16–7:1, Chrysostom’s demand that we not forego obedience even when necessity urges us pairs with Paul’s call to come out and be separate: the nets left on the shore are also the unclean things the temple of God must not touch.

Source: Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, on Luke 5:1–11 (OrthoChristian reprint)

Averky situates Luke’s longer account against Matthew and Mark and against John’s earlier Galilean contacts: the disciples had returned to fishing; now the Lord calls them to constant following and to catching people for the Kingdom. He reads Peter’s “Depart from me” as awareness of unworthiness before the Miracle Worker’s grandeur, and notes Matthew/Mark’s parallel “fishers of men” addressed to the brothers. Useful as a concise historical frame before the preacher turns to Theophylact or Cyril for spiritual reading.

Peter’s profession argues against the command: night is for fishing; day is for washing nets; they have already failed. “Nevertheless at Your word” is the Sunday’s hinge. Theophylact calls it warmth of trust before faith; Cyril calls the catch a type that Gospel labor will not be fruitless. The First Sunday of Luke will not let discipleship wait for better odds. The deep is both water and the depth of the Gospel’s meaning—and, in Metropolitan Hierotheos’s modern reading, the depth of the heart against a culture that lives only on the surface.

The net that breaks under abundance is, for Theophylact and Cyril, the humble wording of the Gospel that condescends to the people and still gathers nations. The signal to partners is not a footnote: every generation’s pastors and teachers labor with the Apostles to haul what Christ fills. The preacher stands in that second boat. Jeremiah’s fishermen and hunters name the same succession. Apostolic catching is never solitary.

The miracle’s true fruit is not fish but Peter’s confession. Cyril insists the fear is laudable: the impure dares not receive the Pure. Chrysostom and Theophylact show reverence that asks the Holy One to leave the boat—and Christ answers not by leaving but by calling. “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” Holiness does not end the sinner; it remakes the sinner’s vocation. The Epistle’s cleansing of flesh and spirit is the same movement inland from the shoreline: having these promises, perfect holiness in the fear of God.

“They forsook all and followed Him” and “Come out from among them and be separate” are one Sunday. Fishers of men are first temples of the living God. Kallistratos refuses idols and loses a soldier’s safety; Savvatii leaves esteemed monasteries for an empty island; Peter leaves boats that have just become profitable. The catch that could have made them rich becomes the reason they walk away. Luke’s beginning of the Sunday cycle is already an ascetic text: abundance is given so that abundance can be left.

”From the heights Thou didst descend, O compassionate One, and Thou didst submit to the three-day burial, that Thou might deliver us from passion; Thou art our life and our Resurrection, O Lord, glory to Thee.”

Appointed throughout Orthros and the Typika/Liturgy Variables for this Tone 8 Sunday (Kansas Reader Orthros): the compassionate One who descended and rose is the same Lord who steps into Simon’s boat and will not leave fishermen in the shallows of an empty night.

”O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the Creator most constant: O despise not the suppliant voices of those who have sinned; but be thou quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession, and speed thou to make supplication, thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.”

For this non-feast Sunday the Kansas Orthros returns to the ordinary Seasonal Kontakion (not a feast kontakion of the Cross season). After the Resurrectional Apolytikion, the Church’s hymn of protection answers Peter’s “I am a sinful man”: the Theotokos does not despise the voices of those who have sinned but hastens to intercession.

”Arising from the tomb, O mighty Savior, Thou didst rouse the dead; Thou didst raise Adam; while Eve danceth in her new joy at Thy blest Resurrection, O Lord. And the world’s farthest regions keep the festival on Thine arising from the dead with gladness and thanksgiving, O Thou Who art greatly merciful.”

Orthros keeps the Tone 8 resurrectional kontakion before the synaxarion: the world’s farthest regions keeping festival is already the missionary horizon of a Gospel that will turn fishermen into fishers of men.