From the calendar, 2025.

Monday, September 22

Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of Sinope

Fast-free

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. EpistleGalatians 4:28–5:10
2. GospelLuke 3:19–22

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Epistle.

Galatians 4:28–5:10

1 min read

28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

29But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

30Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? 'Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.'

31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

5:1Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

2Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.

3And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.

4You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

5For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

7You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

8This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.

9A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

10I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

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Gospel.

Luke 3:19–22

1 min read

19But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

20also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

21When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

22And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.'

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In remembrance.

Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of SinopeRead the life

He was a zealous, wise and wonder-working bishop in his birthplace, Sinope, which lies on the southern shore of the Black Sea. For bringing many idolators to faith in Christ, he was hated by the pagans. He was arrested by the governor Africanus, subjected to various tortures,and finally scalded to death in a bath-house. He contested for the Faith during the reign of the Emperor Trajan.

Venerable Cosmas, desert-dweller of Zographou, Mt Athos (1323)Read the life

“Saint Cosmas came from Bulgaria where his devout parents provided him with a good education in Slavonic and Greek. They wanted him to marry but he was drawn by the love of Christ and, unknown to them, made his way to the Holy Mountain of Athos to become a monk at the Bulgarian monastery of Zographou. On the feast of the Annunciation at the Monastery of Vatopedi, he saw a woman among those serving in the Church and in the refectory, and he was grieved at first to observe this breach of the monastic rule, but overjoyed when he realized that it was the Mother of God who had appeared to him in this way.

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Further.

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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.