From the calendar, 2027.

Tuesday, January 26

Ven. Xenophon, Mary, and their sons Arcadius and John

Fast-free

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. EpistleHebrews 9:8–10, 15–23
2. GospelMark 8:22–26

Ask about these readings in Study

Epistle.

Hebrews 9:8–10, 15–23

2 min read

8the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

9It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

10concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

15And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

16For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

17For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.

18Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.

19For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20saying, 'This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.'

21Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.

22And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

23Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Open in the Reader

Gospel.

Mark 8:22–26

1 min read

22Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.

23So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

24And he looked up and said, 'I see men like trees, walking.'

25Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

26Then He sent him away to his house, saying, 'Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.'

Open in the Reader

In remembrance.

Ven. Xenophon, Mary, and their sons Arcadius and JohnRead the life

Xenophon was a wealthy senator in Constantinople during the reign of Justinian. He and his wife Mary had two sons, Arcadius and John, to whom they gave every advantage of education. When they were of age, Xenophon sent them both to study law in Berytus (Beirut). But the ship on which they set out was wrecked in a storm, and the two brothers were cast ashore, alive but separated, neither knowing whether the other had survived.

Read the full life

St Simeon the Elder of Mount Sinai

St Ammonas of Egypt, disciple of St Anthony the Great (350)Read the life

“Saint Ammonas was a disciple of Saint Antony the Great and became his successor at the head of the hermits of the outer mountain of Pispir, after having spent fourteen years at Scetis in ceaseless prayer to the Lord to be granted victory over anger. He was afterwards consecrated bishop, probably by Saint Athanasius the Great. He possessed impassibility to the extent of being as though ignorant of the existence of evil, and incapable of passing judgment on anyone.

Read the full life

Our Holy Mother Paula of Rome (404)Read the life

She was born in 347 to a noble family in Rome, and at age sixteen married Toxotius, a prominent nobleman. Though her husband was a pagan, he was devoted to her and gave her freedom to keep a Christian home and rear her children as Christians. They were blessed with five children. When she was thirty-two her husband died suddenly, and Paula resolved to turn her large house in Rome into a monastery. Later she traveled to the Holy Land with her spiritual father St Jerome (June 15). In Bethlehem she established two monasteries, one for women (where she dwelt) and one for St Jerome and his companions. Every day the nuns chanted the entire Psalter, which they were required to learn by heart. Paula was exceptionally austere in her fasting and lavish in her almsgiving, often giving away to the poor even the goods needed by her community for subsistence.

Read the full life

Further.

The Library

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

Study

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.