From the calendar, 2027.

Wednesday, June 9

Leavetaking of Pascha / Forefeast of Ascension

Fish allowedFish, wine and oil are allowed. No meat, dairy or eggs.

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. EpistleActs 18:22–28
2. GospelJohn 12:36–47

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Epistle.

Acts 18:22–28

1 min read

22And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.

23After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.

25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.

26So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

27And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;

28for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

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Gospel.

John 12:36–47

1 min read

36While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.' These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

37But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,

38that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: 'Lord, who has believed our report?

39And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?'

40'He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

41These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

42Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;

43for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

44Then Jesus cried out and said, 'He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.

45And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

46I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

47And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

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great doxology · leavetaking.

Leavetaking of Pascha / Forefeast of Ascension

In remembrance.

St Cyril of AlexandriaRead the life

“St Cyril was… from Alexandria, born about the year 376, the nephew of Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who also instructed the Saint in his youth. Having first spent much time with the monks of Nitria, he later became the successor to his uncle’s throne in 412. In 429, when Cyril heard tidings of the teachings of the new Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, he began attempting through private letters to bring Nestorius to renounce his heretical teachings about the Incarnation; and when the heresiarch did not repent, Saint Cyril, together with Pope Celestine of Rome, led the Orthodox opposition to his error. Saint Cyril presided over the Third Ecumenical Council of the 200 holy Fathers in the year 431, who gathered in Ephesus under Saint Theodosius the Younger.

Read the full life

Ven. Kirill of BelozerskRead the life

He was born in Moscow in 1337, and took up the monastic life while young. Though he desired a life of strict silence and solitude, he was made abbot of the Simonov Monastery against his will. After a few years, obeying a revelation from the most holy Theotokos, he left his abbacy and went to the wilderness of Belozersk (White Lake) to live as a hermit. Others gathered there to live under his guidance, and in time the community became the Monastery of Belozersk. Saint Kyril was sought from far off as a staretz, or spiritual father, and was granted gifts of wonderworking. His humility was remarkable, as the following story shows.

Read the full life

St Columba of Iona (597)Read the life

He was born to a prominent noble family, the Ui-Niall clan of Ireland, but he forsook all worldly things and became a monk at a young age. He founded the monasteries of Derry and Durrow, and traveled as a missionary in Ireland for almost twenty years. In 565 he settled on the island of Iona, off the coast of Scotland; there he remained for 32 years, establishing the famous monastery of Iona and continuing in his missionary labors. He reposed in peace at Iona.

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.