Apostle Onesimus of the Seventy; Our Venerable Father Dalmatius of Siberia (1697); Our Venerable Father Anthimos of Chios (1960)

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, ²to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house: ³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, ⁵hearing of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, ⁶that the fellowship of your faith may become effective in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus. ⁷For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸Therefore though I have all boldness in Christ to command you that which is appropriate, ⁹yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. ¹⁰I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have become the father of in my chains, ¹¹who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me. ¹²I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, ¹³whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News. ¹⁴But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will. ¹⁵For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while that you would have him forever, ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. ¹⁸But if he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, put that to my account. ¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides). ²⁰Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.

²¹Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say.

²²Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

The whole company of them rose up and brought him before Pilate. ²They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

³Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “So you say.”

⁴Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

⁵But they insisted, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee even to this place.”

⁶But when Pilate heard Galilee mentioned, he asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷When he found out that he was in Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days.

⁸Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle done by him. ⁹He questioned him with many words, but he gave no answers. ¹⁰The chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him. Dressing him in luxurious clothing, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹²Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before that they were enemies with each other.

¹³Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and behold, having examined him before you, I found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him. ¹⁵Neither has Herod, for I sent you to him, and see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him. ¹⁶I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

¹⁷Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast. ¹⁸But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!”— ¹⁹one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder.

²⁰Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Jesus, ²¹but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!”

²²He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.” ²³But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. Their voices and the voices of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴Pilate decreed that what they asked for should be done. ²⁵He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus up to their will.

²⁶When they led him away, they grabbed one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid the cross on him to carry it after Jesus. ²⁷A great multitude of the people followed him, including women who also mourned and lamented him. ²⁸But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰Then they will begin to tell the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and tell the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?” ³³When they came to the place that is called “The Skull”, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Having said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷When the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸All the multitudes that came together to see this, when they saw the things that were done, returned home beating their chests. ⁴⁹All his acquaintances and the women who followed with him from Galilee stood at a distance, watching these things.

⁵⁰Behold, there was a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man ⁵¹(he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was also waiting for God’s Kingdom. ⁵²This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³He took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid. ⁵⁴It was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near. ⁵⁵The women who had come with him out of Galilee followed after, and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶They returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.