From the calendar, 2027.

Saturday, February 6

St Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna

Fast-free

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. EpistleColossians 1:3–6
2. GospelLuke 16:10–15

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Epistle.

Colossians 1:3–6

1 min read

3We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;

5because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

6which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

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Gospel.

Luke 16:10–15

1 min read

10He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

11Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?

13'No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.'

14Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.

15And He said to them, 'You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

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In remembrance.

St Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna

St Photios, patriarch of Constantinople (891)Read the life

St Photios, along with St Mark of Ephesus and St Gregory Palamas, is counted as one of the Three Pillars of Orthodoxy, who stood against Latinizing influences on the Orthodox Church.

He was born in Constantinople in 810, son of pious parents belonging to one of the prominent families of the City. Both his parents were martyred during the Iconoclast persecution, leaving their son an example of adherence to the True Faith even unto death. He received a superb education, and was widely considered the single most learned person of his time. He was elevated to the Patriarchal throne in 858, after being raised through all the degrees of the priesthood in six days.

Throughout his Patriarchal reign he was troubled by the usual political battles and intrigues and, more importantly, by various threats to the Faith in the form of Manicheans and Iconoclasts.

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Sts Barsanuphius and John the Prophet, monks of Palestine (6th c.)Read the life

‘Saint Barsanuphius the Great, who was from Egypt, and his disciple, Saint John the Prophet, struggled in very strict reclusion during the sixth century at the monastery of Abba Seridus at Gaza of Palestine, and were endowed with amazing gifts of prophecy and spiritual discernment. They are mentioned by Saint Dorotheus of Gaza, their disciple, in his writings. Many of the counsels they sent to Christians who wrote to them are preserved in the book which bears their names. Once certain of the Fathers besought Saint Barsanuphius to pray that God stay His wrath and spare the world. Saint Barsanuphius wrote back that there were “three men perfect before God,” whose prayers met at the throne of God and protected the whole world; to them it had been revealed that the wrath of God would not last long.

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Further.

The Library

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

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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.