From the calendar, 2026.

Friday, January 9

Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene in Armenia

Strict fastNo meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil.

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. EpistleJames 2:1–13
2. GospelMark 9:33–41

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Epistle.

James 2:1–13

2 min read

1My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

2For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,

3and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, 'You sit here in a good place,' and say to the poor man, 'You stand there,' or, 'Sit here at my footstool,'

4have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

5Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

6But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

7Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you do well;

9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

10For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

11For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

13For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

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Gospel.

Mark 9:33–41

1 min read

33The Way of Discipleship Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, 'What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?'

34But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.

35And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.'

36Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them,

37'Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.'

38Now John answered Him, saying, 'Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.'

39But Jesus said, 'Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.

40For he who is not against us is on our side.

41For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

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In remembrance.

Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene in ArmeniaRead the life

Polyeuctus and Nearchus were fellow-officers and close friends, serving in the Roman army at Miletene in Armenia. Nearchus was a Christian. Polyeuctus, though abundant in virtues, was still imprisoned in idol- worship. When the Emperor Decius’ persecution broke out (239-251), an edict was issued requiring all soldiers to show their loyalty by making public sacrifice to the gods. Nearchus sadly told Polyeuctus that because of the decree they would soon be parted. But Polyeuctus, who had learned about the Christian faith from his friend, answered that Christ had appeared to him in a vision, exchanging his military uniform for a shining garment and giving him a winged horse. Polyeuctus took the vision as a sign that he was to embrace the Faith, and that he, with Nearchus, would soon be lifted up to heaven.

Read the full life

Hieromartyr Philip, Metropolitan of MoscowRead the life

He was born in 1507 to a noble family, and served briefly in the royal court. At the age of thirteen he entered the Solovki Monastery on the White Sea, within the Arctic circle. Here he lived in great austerity and eventually became Abbot. Through his labors and prayers the monastery soon became a center of spirituality and culture throughout the region. His fame reached the attention of Tsar Ivan IV (“the Terrible”), who in 1566 made him Metropolitan of Moscow, much against the Abbot’s desire.

Tsar Ivan revered Philip (“even as Herod had revered Saint John the Baptist,” says the Great Horologion), and had been a generous benefactor of Solovki Monastery.

Read the full life

Saint Peter II, Bishop of Sebaste (4th c.)Read the life

He was the tenth and youngest child of a family of saints, the brother of St Basil the Great, St Macrina and St Gregory of Nyssa. His father died shortly after his birth in 319, and he was reared mostly by his sister St Macrina. He was ordained to the priesthood by his brother St Basil in 370, and consecrated Bishop of Sebaste at the opening of the Second Ecumenical Council (381). Saint Peter took an active part in the Council, oversaw his flock wisely, and reposed in peace.

Venerable Eustratius the Wonderworker (9th c.)Read the life

He was born to pious parents in Tarsia in Bithynia. At the age of twenty he entered monastic life at the Monastery of Agaures near his home. There he became a model of prayer, ascesis and zeal for holiness — he possessed nothing but the cloak he wore, and did not even have his own cell, choosing instead to sleep on the bare ground. When he slept he would not lie on his back or his left side, but always on his right side. In church, he stood repeating ‘Lord, have mercy!’ to himself throughout the services. He was ordained to the priesthood, and in time was made abbot of the community. But just at that time, Leo the Armenian became Emperor and revived the iconoclast heresy. The monks of Agaures, who held to the Orthodox Faith, scattered to caves and forests to escape persecution.

Read the full life

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.