From the calendar, 2027.
Saturday, January 30
Synaxis 3 Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom
Fish allowedFish, wine and oil are allowed. No meat, dairy or eggs.
Epistle.
Ephesians 5:1–8
1 min read
1Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
2And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
3But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
5For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7Therefore do not be partakers with them.
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Epistle.
Hebrews 13:7–16
1 min read
7Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
10We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
14For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
15Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
16But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Gospel.
Luke 14:1–11
1 min read
1Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.
2And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.
3And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?'
4But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.
5Then He answered them, saying, 'Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?'
6And they could not answer Him regarding these things.
7So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:
8'When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;
9and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.
10But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.
11For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'
Gospel.
Matthew 5:14–19
1 min read
14'You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
17'Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matins Gospel.
John 10:9–16
1 min read
9I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
12But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
14I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Vespers Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 1:8–11, 15–17
1 min read
8Behold, I am delivering the land in your presence; go in and inherit the land I swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give it to them and their seed after them.'
9'So I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I alone am not able to bear you.
10The Lord your God multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.
11May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you, just as He said.
15So I took from you wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men and made them leaders over you: leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; judges to interpret the law for you.
16'Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the resident alien with him.
17You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall judge the small and the great; you shall not shrink before any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. The case too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.'
Vespers Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 10:14–21
1 min read
14Indeed, heaven and heaven of heaven belong to the Lord your God, also the earth and everything in it.
15The Lord chose your fathers to love them; and He chose their seed after them, you above all nations, as it is this day.
16Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.
17For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.
18He administers justice for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing.
19Therefore, love the resident aliens, for you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
20You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and hold fast to Him, and take oaths in His name.
21He is your boast and your God, who did these great and glorious things for you, the things you saw with your own eyes.
Vespers Old Testament.
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1–9
1 min read
1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, And no torture will ever touch them.
2In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died, And their departure was considered to be misfortune,
3And their passage from us to be their destruction; But they are at peace.
4For though in man's view they were punished, Their hope is full of immortality.
5Though chastened in a few things, Great kindness will be shown them, For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.
6He tested them like gold in a furnace And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.
7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, And they will run about like sparks through straw.
8They will judge nations and rule over peoples, And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.
9Those who trust in Him will understand truth, And the faithful shall continue with Him in love, Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.
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.