Forefeast of the Meeting of Our Lord


Wednesday reading

James 3:11-4:6
¹¹Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

¹²Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

¹⁵This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

¹⁶For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

¹⁸Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

¹Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

²You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

³You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

⁴Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

⁵Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?

⁶But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:"God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

Mark 11:23-26
²³For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

²⁴Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

²⁵And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

²⁶But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.


Thursday reading

James 4:7-5:9
⁷Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

⁹Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

¹¹Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

¹²There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

¹³Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";

¹⁴whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

¹⁵Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."

¹⁶But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

¹Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

²Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

³Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

⁴Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

⁵You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

⁶You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

⁷Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

⁸You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

⁹Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

Mark 11:27-33
27Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.

²⁸And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?"

²⁹But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:

³⁰The baptism of John-was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.

³¹And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

³²But if we say, 'From men' -they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.

³³So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

On the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord

Commemorated on February 2/15

     On the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, the Church commemorates an important event in the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ (Lk 2: 22-40). On the 40th day after birth the God-Infant was taken to the Jerusalem Temple – the centre of religious life of the God-chosen nation. By the Law of Moses (Lev 12) a woman, having given birth to a child of the male gender, was forbidden for 40 days to enter into the Temple of God. After this interval the mother came to the Temple with the child, so as to offer to the Lord thanksgiving and a purification sacrifice. The Most Holy Virgin, the Mother of God, did not have need for purification, since without defilement she had given birth to the Source of purity and sanctity, but in profound humility she submitted to the precepts of the Law.
     
     At this time there lived at Jerusalem the righteous elder Simeon (the account about him is located under the day of his commemoration – 3 February). It had been revealed to him that he would not die until he should behold Christ the Saviour. By inspiration from above, the pious elder went to the Temple at that very moment when the Most Holy Mother of God and Righteous Joseph had brought there the Infant Jesus, so as to fulfill the ritual ceremony of the Law. The God-Bearer Simeon took the God-Infant in his arms, and having given thanks to God, he uttered a prophecy about the Saviour of the world: "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart, O Lord, with peace according to Thy word, wherefore hath mine eyes beheld Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to the enlightening of gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel" (Lk 2: 29-32). Righteous Simeon said to the Most Holy Virgin: "Behold, This One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel and for the sign spoken against, and for Thee Thyself a sword shalt pierce the soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed" (Lk 2: 35).




     At the Temple also the 84 year old widow Anna the Prophetess, daughter of Phanuel (Comm. 3 February), "who did not leave the temple, serving God both day and night in fasting and prayer. And she also at that time, having drawn near, glorified the Lord and spake about Him (the God-Infant) to all awaiting deliverance at Jerusalem" (Lk 2: 37-38).
     
     Before the Birth of Christ, all righteous men and women lived by faith in the Future Messiah the Saviour of the world, and they awaited His coming. The final righteous ones of the closing Old Testament – Righteous Simeon and the Prophetess Anna – were deemed worthy to meet at the Temple the Bearer of the New Testament, in the Person of Whom both Divinity and humanity do meet.
     
     The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord is among the most ancient feasts of the Christian Church. It is known, that on the day of this solemnity were proclaimed sermons by Sainted Bishops Methodios of Patara (+ 312), Cyril of Jerusalem (+ 360), Gregory the Theologian (+ 389), Amphylokios of Iconium (+ 394), Gregory of Nyssa (+ 400), and John Chrysostom (+ 407). But in spite of its early origin, this feast was not so solemnly celebrated until the VI Century. During the reign of Justinian in the year 528, a catastrophe befell Antioch – an earthquake, in which many people perished. And upon this misfortune there followed others. In the year 544 there appeared a pestilential plague, daily carrying off several thousand people. During these days of widespread travail, it was revealed to a certain pious christian that the celebration of the Meeting of the Lord should be done more solemnly.
     
     When at the day of the Meeting of the Lord the all-night vigil was finally made with church procession, the disasters at Byzantium ceased. In thanksgiving to God, the Church established in 544 that the Meeting of the Lord should be done more solemnly.
     
     Church melodists adorned this feast with many a church work of song: in the VII Century – Sainted Andrew ArchBishop of Crete; in the VIII Century – Sainted Cosma Bishop of Maium, Monk John Damascene, Sainted Germanos Patriarch of Constantinople; and in the IX Century – Sainted Joseph the Studite, ArchBishop of Thessalonika.
     
     With the event of the Meeting of the Lord is associated the icon of the Most Holy Mother of God named: "the Softening of Evil Hearts" or "Simeon's Prophecy", which it is necessary to distinguish from the icon "Seven Arrows".
     
     The icon "Simeon's Prophecy" symbolises the fulfillment of the prophecy of the righteous elder Simeon: "for Thee Thyself a sword shalt pierce the soul" (Lk 2: 35).

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

The Meeting of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ
Feb 15
Scripture Reading

Luke 2:25-32 (Matins Gospel)
²⁵And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

²⁷So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,

²⁸he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

²⁹Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation

³¹Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

³²A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."

Hebrews 7:7-17 (Epistle, Meeting)
⁷Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

⁸Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

⁹Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,

¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron
1²For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

¹³For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

¹⁵And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest

¹⁶who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.

¹⁷For He testifies:"You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

Luke 2:22-40 (Gospel, Meeting)
²²Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

²³(as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD"),

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

²⁵And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

²⁷So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,

²⁸he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

²⁹Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation

³¹Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

³²A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."

³³And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.

³⁴Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against

³⁵(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

³⁶Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;

³⁷and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

³⁸And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

³⁹So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Troparia
Feast of the Meeting of our Lord; God & Savior Jesus Christ with Symeon, Troparion, Tone I —
Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos full of grace,/ for from thee hath shone forth the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God,/ enlightening them that are in dark­ness./ Be glad thou also, O righteous elder,/ who receivest in thine arms the Deliverer of our souls,// Who granteth us Resurrection.

Kontakion, Tone I —
O Thou Who didst hallow the Virgin’s womb by Thy birth/ and didst bless the hands of Symeon as was meet,/ now Thou hast come and saved us O Christ God./ In the midst of battle grant peace to Thy community,/ and strengthen kings whom Thou hast loved,// O Thou Who alone lovest mankind.

As part of our personal morning and evening daily prayers, we read certain Psalms according to the day of the week.

Psalm 5 is read Sunday mornings.
¹Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
²Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
³My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
⁵The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
⁶You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
⁸Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.

¹¹But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
¹²For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.


Psalm 69(numbered 70 in non-Orthodox Bibles) is read Sunday evenings.
¹Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord!

²Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
³Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, “Aha, aha!”

⁴Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”

⁵But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.

Psalm 89(90) is read Monday morning

A Prayer of Moses, a man of God.
¹Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
²Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

³You turn man to destruction,
And say, “Return, O children of men.”
⁴For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
⁵You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
⁶In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.

⁷For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
⁸You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
⁹For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
¹⁰The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
¹¹Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
¹²So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

¹³Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
¹⁴Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
¹⁵Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
¹⁶Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
¹⁷And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us.

Psalm 142(143) in the evening

A Psalm by David, when his son persecuted him.
¹Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
²Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

³For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
⁴Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.

⁵I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
⁶I spread out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

⁷Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
⁸Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.

⁹Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
In You I take shelter.
¹⁰Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.

¹¹Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
¹²In Your mercy cut off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.

Psalm 100(101), read Tuesday morning

A Psalm of David.
¹I will sing of mercy and justice;
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.

²I will behave wisely in a perfect way.
Oh, when will You come to me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

³I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
⁴A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not know wickedness.

⁵Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,
Him I will destroy;
The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart,
Him I will not endure.

⁶My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,
That they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a perfect way,
He shall serve me.
⁷He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.
⁸Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.

140(141) read Tuesday evening

A Psalm of David.
¹Lord, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
²Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

³Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

⁵Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.

For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
⁶Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
⁷Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.

⁸But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
Do not leave my soul destitute.
⁹Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.

Psalm 3(3) is read on Wednesday mornings.

A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.
¹Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
²Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah

³But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
⁴I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

⁵I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷Arise, O Lord;
Save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
⁸Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

Psalm 129(130) is read Wednesday Evenings.

A Song of Ascents.
¹Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
²Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

³If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
⁴But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

⁵I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
⁶My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
⁸And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

Psalm 62(63) is read Thursday mornings

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
¹O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
²So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

³Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
⁴Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
⁵My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

⁶When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
⁷Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
⁸My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

⁹But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
¹⁰They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.

¹¹But the king shall rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

Psalm 130(131) Thursday evening

A Song of Ascents. Of David.
¹Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

²Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

Psalm 102(103) is read Friday morning.

A Psalm of David.
¹Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
²Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
³Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
⁴Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
⁵Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
¹²As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
¹⁴For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
¹⁸To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

¹⁹The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
²¹Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
²²Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!


Psalm 16(17) on Friday evening.

A Prayer of David.
¹Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
²Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.

³You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me and have found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
⁴Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
⁵Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.

⁶I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
⁷Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
⁸Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
⁹From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They have closed up their fat hearts;
With their mouths they speak proudly.
¹¹They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
¹²As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.

¹³Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
¹⁴With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.

¹⁵As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

Psalm 5 is read Saturday morning.

A Psalm of David.
¹Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my meditation.
²Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
³My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
⁵The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
⁶You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
⁸Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.

¹¹But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
¹²For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Psalm 50(51) Saturday evening

A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
¹Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

³For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just ^[a]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
⁹Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
¹³Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

¹⁴Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
¹⁶For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

March 5/Feb 21 readings from Scripture

1 John 3:10-20

¹⁰In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

¹²not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.

¹³Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

¹⁵Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

¹⁹And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

²⁰For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.


Mark 14:10-42

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.

¹¹And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

¹²Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?"

¹³And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.

¹⁴Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" '

¹⁵Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.

¹⁶So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷In the evening He came with the twelve.

¹⁸Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me."

¹⁹And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?"

²⁰He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.

²¹The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.

²²And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

²³Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

²⁵Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

²⁶And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.'

²⁸But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.

²⁹Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."

³⁰Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."

³¹But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And they all said likewise.

³²Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."

³³And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.

³⁴Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch."

³⁵He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.

³⁶And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."

³⁷Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?

³⁸Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

³⁹Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.

⁴⁰And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

⁴¹Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.

1 John 4:20-5:21

²⁰If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

²¹And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

¹Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.

³For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

⁴For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.

⁵Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

⁶This is He who came by water and blood-Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.

⁷For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

⁸And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.

¹⁰He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.

¹¹And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

¹⁴Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

¹⁷All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

¹⁸We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.


Mark 15:1-15

¹Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.

²Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."

³And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.

⁴Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!"

⁵But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

⁶Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.

⁷And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.

⁸Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.

⁹But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

¹⁰For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

¹²Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"

¹³So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"

¹⁴Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"

¹⁵So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

Scripture for today

Jude 1:1-10
¹Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

²Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

³Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

⁴For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

⁶And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ⁷as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

⁸Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

⁹Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

¹⁰But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.

Luke 22:39-42, 45-23:1
³⁹Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.

⁴⁰When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."

⁴¹And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed,

⁴²saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."

⁴⁵When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.

⁴⁶Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."

⁴⁷And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.

⁴⁸But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"

⁴⁹When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"

⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this." And He touched his ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?

⁵³When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

⁵⁴Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance.

⁵⁵Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.

⁵⁶And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."

⁵⁷But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."

⁵⁸And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"

⁵⁹Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."

⁶⁰But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

⁶¹And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."

⁶²So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

⁶³Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.

⁶⁴And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?"

⁶⁵And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

⁶⁶As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying,

⁶⁷If You are the Christ, tell us. But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.

⁶⁸And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.

⁶⁹Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.

⁷⁰Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?" So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."

⁷¹And they said, "What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

¹Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.

The transition into Great Lent begins this evening with the Forgiveness Vespers service.

Verse on Lord, I call from Vespers last night for Cheesefare Sunday. It is a favorite of mine.

O Paradise, garden of delight and beauty,
dwelling-place made perfect by God,
unending gladness and eternal joy,
the hope of the prophets and the home of the saints,
by the music of thy rustling leaves beseech the Creator of all
to open the gates which my sins have closed,
that I may partake of the Tree of Life and Grace//
which was given to me in the beginning!

Yes!

Today's homily was a beautiful lesson on Paradise.

My parish did Forgiveness Vespers after coffee hour. We have a good number of people, including choir director, who drive at least an hour to church.

Forgiveness Vespers is soul stirring. Truly a beautiful experience.

6 more hours until I'm allowed to eat.

If I went a full work day without food, I’d be majorly hangry.

I haven't stopped all day. Started with Matins@7AM and ended with The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. Prostrations!

Just got home.

Scripture.

Isaiah 1:19-2:3 (6th Hour)

¹⁹If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;

²⁰But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

²¹How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.

²²Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water.

²³Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

²⁴Therefore the Lord says, The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.

²⁵I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy.

²⁶I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

²⁷Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness.

²⁸The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

²⁹For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen.

³⁰For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.

³¹The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.

¹The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

²Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.

³Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Genesis 1:14-23 (Vespers, 1st Reading)

¹⁴Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;

¹⁵“and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

¹⁶Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

¹⁷God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth,

¹⁸and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

¹⁹So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

²⁰Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

²¹So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²²And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

²³So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Proverbs 1:20-33 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)

²⁰Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.

²¹She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:

²²“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.

²³Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

²⁵Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke,

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,

²⁷When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

29Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord,

³⁰They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke.

³¹Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

³²For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

Troparia

The First Week of Great Lent, Kontakion, Tone VI —
My soul, my soul, arise! Why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near, and you will be confounded. Awake, then, and be watchful, that Christ our God may spare you, Who is everywhere present and fills all things.

The 42 Martyrs of Amorium, Tone IV —
In their sufferings, O Lord,/ Thy martyrs received imperishable crowns from Thee our God;/ for, possessed of Thy might,/ they set at nought the tormentors and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons.// By their supplications save Thou our souls.

Kontakion, Tone IV "Having been lifted up" —
Having suffered on earth for the sake of Christ,/ and been shown to be pious crown-bearers,/ ye have received the reward of dwelling in joy in the heavens;/ for, having set at nought every wile of the enemy,// by the pain and blood of your wounds ye ever bestow remission of sins from on high upon them that praise you.

Kontakion, Tone II "Seeking the highest" —
With wreaths of praise, as is meet, let us all crown the newly-revealed stars of faith/ who suffered ardently for Christ/ and who pray to Him in our behalf,// in that they are pillars and ramparts of the Christian realm.

Scripture

Isaiah 2:3-11 (6th Hour)

³Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

⁴He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

⁵O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord.

⁶For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners.

⁷Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots.

⁸Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made.

⁹People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them.

¹⁰Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty.

¹¹The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

Genesis 1:24-2:3 (Vespers, 1st Reading)

²⁴Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.

²⁵And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

²⁸Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

²⁹And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

³⁰“Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

³¹Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

¹Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.

²And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

³Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Proverbs 2:1-22 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)

¹My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,

²So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

³Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,

⁴If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

⁸He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.

¹⁰When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

¹¹Discretion will preserve you;

¹²To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;

¹⁵Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;

¹⁶To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,

¹⁷Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life—

²⁰So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.

²¹For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

Troparia

The First Week of Great Lent, Kontakion, Tone VI —
My soul, my soul, arise! Why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near, and you will be confounded. Awake, then, and be watchful, that Christ our God may spare you, Who is everywhere present and fills all things.

Kontakion, Tone II "He Who dwelleth in the highest" —
The radiant day of the pastors who were bishops in Cherson/ hath dawned with splendor./ We hymn the feast of those who suffered for the sheep of Christ./ O hieromartyrs, entreat Christ, the chief Shepherd,/ that He honor us with a place with the sheep on His right hand,/ that we may cry aloud to you:// Rejoice, O sacred fathers who shed your blood for Christ!

Isaiah 2:11-21 (6th Hour)

¹¹The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

¹²For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low—

1³Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan;

¹⁴Upon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up;

¹⁵Upon every high tower, And upon every fortified wall;

¹⁶Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops.

¹⁷The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

¹⁸But the idols He shall utterly abolish.

¹⁹They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

²⁰In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats,

²¹To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

Genesis 2:4-19 (Vespers, 1st Reading)

⁴This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

⁵before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;

⁶but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

⁷And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

⁸The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

⁹And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

¹¹The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

¹²And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.

¹³The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.

¹⁴The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;

¹⁷“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

¹⁸And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

¹⁹Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

Proverbs 3:1-18 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)

¹My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;

²For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.

³Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,

⁴And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

⁸It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

¹⁰So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction;

¹²For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;

¹⁴For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.

Troparia

The First Week of Great Lent, Kontakion, Tone VI —
My soul, my soul, arise! Why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near, and you will be confounded. Awake, then, and be watchful, that Christ our God may spare you, Who is everywhere present and fills all things.

Kontakion, Tone II "Seeking the highest" —
Thou wast shown to be a radiant beacon throughout the ends of the earth,/ O holy hierarch Theophylactus;/ and having preached the Word Who is of one essence with the Father and the Spirit,/ thou didst enlighten the council of the godly fathers,/ and wast shown to be a favorite of the Trinity.// Standing before Him, pray thou unceasingly in behalf of us all.

Isaiah 3:1-14 (6th Hour)

¹For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah The stock and the store, The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;

²The mighty man and the man of war, The judge and the prophet, And the diviner and the elder;

³The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the skillful artisan, And the expert enchanter.

⁴“I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them.

⁵The people will be oppressed, Every one by another and every one by his neighbor; The child will be insolent toward the elder, And the base toward the honorable.”

⁶When a man takes hold of his brother In the house of his father, saying, “You have clothing; You be our ruler, And let these ruins be under your power,”

⁷In that day he will protest, saying, “I cannot cure your ills, For in my house is neither food nor clothing; Do not make me a ruler of the people.”

⁸For Jerusalem stumbled, And Judah is fallen, Because their tongue and their doings Are against the Lord, To provoke the eyes of His glory.

⁹The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.

¹⁰“Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

¹¹Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be given him.

¹²As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.”

¹³The Lord stands up to plead, And stands to judge the people.

¹⁴The Lord will enter into judgment With the elders of His people And His princes: “For you have eaten up the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses.

Genesis 2:20-3:20 (Vespers, 1st Reading)

²⁰So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

²¹And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

²²Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

²³And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

²⁴Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

²⁵And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

¹Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

²And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

³“but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

⁴Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

⁵“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

⁸And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

⁹Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

¹⁰So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

¹¹And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

¹²Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

¹³And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

¹⁴So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.

¹⁵And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

¹⁶To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

¹⁷Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

¹⁸Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.

¹⁹In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

²⁰And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Proverbs 3:19-34 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)

¹⁹The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens;

²⁰By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

²²So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck.

²³Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;

²⁶For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.

³⁰Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways;

³²For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, But His secret counsel is with the upright.

³³The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just.

³⁴Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.

Troparia

The First Week of Great Lent, Kontakion, Tone VI —
My soul, my soul, arise! Why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near, and you will be confounded. Awake, then, and be watchful, that Christ our God may spare you, Who is everywhere present and fills all things.

The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, Troparion, Tone I —
By the pangs of Thy saints/ wherewith they suffered for Thee,/ be entreated, O Lord, and heal all our pains// O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Kontakion, Tone VI —
Having left all the army of the world,/ ye did cleave unto the Master in the heavens, O forty passion-bearers of the Lord;/ for, having passed through fire and water, O blessed ones,// as is meet ye received glory from the heavens and a multitude of crowns.

Luke 21:12-19 (Matins Gospel)

¹²But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.

¹³But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.

¹⁴Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;

¹⁵for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.

¹⁷And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.

¹⁸But not a hair of your head shall be lost.

¹⁹By your patience possess your souls.

Hebrews 1:1-12

¹God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

²has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

³who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

⁴having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

⁵For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"?

⁶But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."

⁷And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire."

⁸But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

¹⁰And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;

¹²Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."

2 Timothy 2:1-10 (St. Theodore)

¹You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

²And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

³You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

⁴No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

⁵And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

⁶The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.

⁷Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,

⁹for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.

¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Mark 2:23 - 3:5

²³Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.

²⁴And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

²⁵But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:

²⁶how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?

²⁷And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

²⁸Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

¹And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

²So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

³And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."

⁴Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent.

⁵And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

John 15:17-16:2 (St. Theodore)

¹⁷These things I command you, that you love one another.

¹⁸If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

²⁰Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

²¹But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

²³He who hates Me hates My Father also.

²⁴If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.

²⁵But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'

²⁶But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

²⁷And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

¹These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.

²They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.

Hebrews 12:1-10 (40 Martyrs)

¹Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

²looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

⁴You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:"My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

⁶For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."

⁷If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

⁸But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

⁹Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

¹⁰For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

Matthew 20:1-16 (40 Martyrs)

¹For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

²Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

⁴and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went.

⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'

⁷They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'

⁸So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'

⁹And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.

¹⁰But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.

¹¹And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner,

¹²saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'

¹³But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

¹⁴'Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

¹⁵'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?'

¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.

Troparia

The First Week of Great Lent, Kontakion, Tone VI —
My soul, my soul, arise! Why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near, and you will be confounded. Awake, then, and be watchful, that Christ our God may spare you, Who is everywhere present and fills all things.

Great Martyr Theodore Tyro, Troparion, Tone II —
Great are the triumphs of faith! In a fountain of flame the holy martyr Theodore rejoiced as in refreshing water. For having been made a whole burnt offering by fire, he was offered as sweet bread to the Trinity. By his prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.

Kontakion, Tone VIII—
Having received the faith of Christ in thy heart as an inner shield, thou didst overcome all the opposing forces, O great champion, and thou hast been crowned with a heavenly crown, O Theodore, for thou art eternally invincible.

The Holy Martyr Theodore of Tyre

Commemorated on Saturday of the 1st week of the Great Lent

     The Holy Martyr Theodore of Tyre was a soldier in the city of Alasium of the Pontine district (northeast province of Asia Minor, stretching alongside the coast of the Pontus Euxine, i.e. the Black Sea), under the command of a certain Brincus. They commanded him to offer sacrifice to idols. Saint Theodore firmly and in a loud voice confessed his faith in Christ the Saviour. The commander gave him several days to think it over, during which time Saint Theodore prayed intensely. They charged him with setting afire a pagan temple and threw him into prison for death by starvation. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him there, comforting and encouraging him. Brought again to the governor, Saint Theodore yet once more boldly and fearlessly confessed his faith, for which he was subjected to new torments and condemned to burning. The martyr Theodore without hesitation climbed onto the bon-fire and with prayer and laudation gave up his holy soul to God.
     


    This occurred in about the year 306 under the Roman emperor Gallerius (305-311). Unharmed by the fire, the body of Saint Theodore was buried in the city of Eukhaitakheia, not far from Amasium. His relics were afterwards transferred to Tsar'grad, to a church dedicated to his name. His head is situated in Italy, in the city of Gaeto.

    Later on, 50 years after the martyr's death of Saint Theodore, the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), wanting to commit an outrage upon the christians, commanded the city-commander of Constantinople during the first week of Great Lent to sprinkle all the food provisions in the market-places with the blood of idol-sacrifices. Saint Theodore, having appeared in a dream to archbishop Eudoxios, ordered him to inform all the christians, – that no one should buy anything at the market-places, but rather to eat cooked wheat with honey – kolivo ( kut'ya or sochivo).

    In memory of this occurrence the Orthodox Church annually makes celebration of the holy GreatMartyr Theodore of Tyre on Saturday of the first week of Great Lent. On the eve of Saturday, on Friday, in the Divine Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts after the amvon prayer there is read the molieben-kanon to the holy GreatMartyr Theodore, compiled by the monk John Damascene. After this, kolivo is blessed and distributed to the faithful. The celebration to the GreatMartyr Theodore on Saturday of the first week of Great Lent was set by the Patriarch of Constantinople Nektarios (381-397).

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.