From the calendar 2025

Monday, December 15

Hieromartyr Eleutherius of Illyria and his mother, Martyr Evanthia

Appointed readings

2 passages

Epistle

2 Timothy 2:20–26

20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.

21Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

22Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

23But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

24And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

25in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

26and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Gospel

Mark 8:11–21

Open Reader ↗

11Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.

12But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, 'Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.'

13And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.

14Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.

15Then He charged them, saying, 'Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.'

16And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have no bread.'

17But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, 'Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?

18Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?

19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?'

20They said to Him, 'Twelve.' 'Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?'

21And they said, 'Seven.' So He said to them, 'How is it you do not understand?'

The rhythm of the day

Fasting: Strict fast
Weekly tone: Tone 2

In remembrance

The saints commemorated this day

Hieromartyr Eleutherius of Illyria and his mother, Martyr EvanthiaRead the life

His name is a form of the Greek word for “freedom.” He was a native of Rome whose father died at a young age, leaving him to be brought up by his mother Anthia, a Christian who reared him in the fear of God and the love of holiness. His virtue and ability were so evident that he was ordained a priest at the age of seventeen and at twenty was made Bishop of Illyria, a large see roughly comprising modern-day Serbia.

Read the full life

St Stephen of Surozh

Holy Martyr Eleutherius the Cubicularius (4th c.)Read the life

He was from a noble family in Constantinople, and rose to the rank of Cubicularius (Chamberlain). He was not only a counselor to, but a close friend of, the Emperor (probably Julian the Apostate). But Eleutherius was increasingly moved by a desire to become a Christian; so, obtaining a leave from the Imperial court, he moved to the countryside in Bithynia, where he was baptized. There he built a house that concealed an underground chapel.

When Eleutherius returned to court, some jealous courtiers denounced him to the Emperor, who visited Eleutherius’ country house and was furious to discover the underground church. When the Saint would not renounce his faith in Christ, the Emperor, ignoring all previous bonds of friendship, had him beheaded.

Holy Martyr Bacchus the New (787)Read the life

During the reign of Constantine VI and Irene, restorers of the holy icons, the Holy Land was under the control of the Muslim Arabs. Many Christians there apostatized, putting honors and security in this world above their eternal joy. One of these was the father of this Saint, who brought up seven children as Muslims. His wife however, never renounced her Faith and prayed constantly for the conversion of her husband and children. Upon the death of the father, her third son Dachak declared that he wished to become a Christian. He was baptized in the Monastery of St Sabas near Jerusalem, receiving the name Bacchus, and determined to be a monk. But the abbot, fearing reprisals against the Monastery, sent him back to his home in Jerusalem.

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Our Venerable Father Tryphon of Kola, apostle of Laponia (1583), and his disciple the Holy Martyr Jonah (1590)Read the life

Saint Tryphon was the son of a priest from Novgorod. The Synaxarion records that, at the moment of his birth, the verse Blessed is the life of those who dwell in the desert was being sung in the Matins service. In 1525 he was moved by a divine revelation to flee to the far north of Russia and live as a hermit. He settled near the River Kola, where he devoted his nights to prayer, his days to proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the native peoples there. The pagans were hostile at first, but his patience and humility won them over, and he baptized many. He built them a church with his own hands on the shores of Lake Ladoga, and later founded a monastery there. Saint Tryphon reposed in 1583. He predicted his own death and the coming destruction of the Monastery by the Swedes, which came to pass in 1590. All the monks were massacred.

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