Sixth Sunday of Pascha – Sunday of the Blind Man

The Epistle for the Sunday of the Blind Man is Acts 16:16-34:

¹⁶It happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling. ¹⁷Following Paul and us, she cried out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation!" ¹⁸She was doing this for many days.

But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" It came out that very hour. ¹⁹But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. ²⁰When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men, being Jews, are agitating our city, ²¹and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans."

²²The multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore their clothes off of them, and commanded them to be beaten with rods. ²³When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, ²⁴who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.

²⁵But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were loosened. ²⁷The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, "Don't harm yourself, for we are all here!"

²⁹He called for lights and sprang in, and, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, ³⁰and brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

³¹They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." ³²They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.

³³He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household. ³⁴He brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his household, having believed in God.