From the calendar, 2025.

Tuesday, September 2

Ven. Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev Caves

Fast-free

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. Epistle2 Corinthians 8:16–9:5
2. GospelMark 3:13–19

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Epistle.

2 Corinthians 8:16–9:5

2 min read

16But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.

17For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord.

18And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches,

19and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind,

20avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—

21providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

22And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you.

23If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

24Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.

9:1Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you;

2for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority.

3Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready;

4lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting.

5Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.

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Gospel.

Mark 3:13–19

1 min read

13And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

14Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,

15and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:

16Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter;

17James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, 'Sons of Thunder';

18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;

19and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

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In remembrance.

Ven. Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev Caves

Martyr Mamas of Caesarea in Cappadocia (275), and his parents, Martyrs Theodotus and RufinaRead the life

He began his life in the cruelest of circumstances: both of his parents were imprisoned for their faith in Christ. First his father, Theodotus, died in prison, then his mother, Rufina, died shortly after his birth, so the infant was left alone in prison beside the bodies of his parents. But an angel appeared to the widow Ammia, telling her to go to the prison and rescue the child. Ammia obtained the city governor’s permission to bury the parents and bring the child home. He was called Mamas because he was mute until the age of five and his first word was `Mama’. Despite his late beginning, he showed unusual intelligence and, having been brought up in piety, soon openly proclaimed his Christian faith. When he was only fifteen years old he was arrested and brought before the Emperor Aurelian.

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St John IV, Patriarch of Constantinople, known as John the Faster (595)Read the life

He was born and raised in Constantinople. When he came of age he worked as a goldsmith and an engraver at the mint; but, renouncing worldly things, he was ordained a deacon and given charge of the distribution of alms in Constantinople. He gave freely to all with no consideration of their worthiness. The Synaxarion says ‘the more he distributed the more God filled his purse, so that it seemed inexhaustible.’

Read the full life

Ven. Anthony of the Kiev Caves

Righteous Eleazar, son of Aaron and second High Priest of IsraelRead the life

He was the son of Aaron, the first High Priest of Israel, and he in turn became the second High Priest. He reposed in peace.

Repose of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) of Platina (1982). (August 20 OC)Read the life

This modern-day pioneer of Orthodoxy and monasticism in America has not been glorified as a Saint of the Church, though many individuals ask his prayers and icons of him have been painted.

Eugene Rose was born in 1934 in California, where he spent all his life. Following an intense spiritual search that took him through study of several Eastern Religions (he earned a graduate degree in Chinese Philosophy), he providentially encountered the Russian Orthodox community in San Francisco, and in 1962 was received into the Orthodox Church. The sanctity of Archbishop (now Saint) John Maximovich was especially important to his development in the Faith.

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Further.

The Library

The Fathers, the services and the lives of the saints.

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Ask a question about a passage. Answers cite their sources.

What this is.

The Scripture the Orthodox Church reads each day, the saints it remembers, and a study aid that answers from Scripture and the Fathers and shows its sources.

Divine Liturgy. The Church's main service, at which Holy Communion is given. Its Epistle and Gospel are what most people mean by the day's readings.

Matins. The morning service of praise. On Sundays and feasts it has a Gospel of its own.

Vespers. The evening service. The Church's day begins at sunset, so a feast's Vespers is served the evening before.

Hours. Short services of psalms and prayer at set times of the day: the First, Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours.

Tone. The hymns of the week are sung in one of eight tones, or melodies, which follow each other week by week.

New Calendar. Fixed feasts are kept on the civil date, as in the OCA and the Antiochian Archdiocese. Churches on the Old Calendar keep them 13 days later. Pascha is the same for both.